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See What a Night at One of NYC’s Best Comedy Shows is Like with A Night at Whiplash

May 19, 2014
Uncategorized
comedy special, eugene mirman, janeane garofalo, leo allen, nyc, splitsider, whiplash

Whiplash has been one of NYC’s best stand-up shows for years and only now has this experience been captured in a stand-up film/special for all of our enjoyment. Just released today, A Night at Whiplash, presented by Splitsider, is available for DRM-free download for $5 and features performances from Janeane Garofalo, Sean Patton, Eugene Mirman, Michael Che, Jared Logan, Sheng Wang, and the host of Whiplash, Leo Allen.

There’s a trailer here and then you can go buy and watch here.

Normally We Hate Cruises, But The Atlantic Ocean Comedy & Music Festival Sounds Delightful

February 26, 2013
Uncategorized
atlantic, cruise, john hodgman, kcrw, marc maron, maria bamford, maximumfun.org, splitsider

Setting sail at the tail end of Summer thanks to MaximumFun.org, Splitsider, and KCRW, The Atlantic Comedy & Music Festival will feature three nights of of Maria Bamford, John Hodgman, Marc Maron, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal & Kurt Braunohler, and much more. Yes, it’ll cost a pretty penny or many more than that, but definitely would be our cruise trip of choice if we we’re going to spend for being on a boat.

Hopefully, this will redefine the stereotypes of being a cruise ship comedian.

How to Build the Ultimate Black Comedian: A Response

October 5, 2011
Uncategorized
black comedy, hannibal buress, kevin hart, race and comedy, splitsider, urban comedy

by Jeremy Paul

I read Patrice Evans’ article, How to Build the Ultimate Black Comedian posted on Splitsider yesterday, hoping that the column was, in fact, tongue in cheek, biting satire. I read the paragraphs hoping that, what I was reading was, in fact, dripping with sarcasm and that I was just missing it. Seriously, I hope that I am missing out. Please, let the article be a missive, a gotcha, a joke. Just, please, let me be too dense to recognize a superior wit. Yet, I know that my instincts are correct, and I have just read an article which seriously detailed how to create even more horrible black comics who do the same idiocy that I, a comedian with brown skin and black hair, have avoided doing for the better part of my career. So, here is my response to the article I just read, and perhaps, a better way of building an Ultimate Black Comedian.

If you want to piece together black comedians of the past in order to create the perfect  or “Ultimate Black Comic” of the future, how about this, don’t. Stop this exercise and give it real thought. Those comics mentioned shed their influences to be the great comics that they are and were. Patrice named 4 of the most famous “black comics” that the world has ever known and took portions of their performance style in order to concoct a comedian worthy of being called the “Ultimate Black Comic”. To begin, to catagorize Mr. Pryor as a black comic is doing a disservice to his legacy and his comedy. He was as far beyond being a black comic as, well, there is no simile nor metaphor to aptly describe how far beyond the label he was. The other 3 comics that were mentioned, yes, they can be described as black comics. But they are the elite. Patrice, by cobbling together the originality of Pryor, with the style of Murphy, social consciousness of Rock and the absurdity of Chappelle created a hypothetical comic that was, at heart, a comic who spoke about his darkest fears and mistakes, while using a character in a slick way, relating it to politics which resolves itself with the comic yelling “dooky!” to close the joke. Seriously, that comic can be found failing at any open mic that black people trying comedy for the first time go to in order to perform.

Anyone that has seen me perform can attest to the fact that I am anything but a “Black Comic”. Sure, I am a “black man”, but I am not a black comic because the label applies to a segment/group of entertainers that all do the same types of jokes. A black comic is a jew comic is a gay comic is a frat boy comic is an alt comic. It is all the same shit. It is the same material that has been done repeatedly, to the point where I can’t even watch black comics perform anymore because I get angry at the lack of differentiation. 

Don’t believe me? Here is a black comedian’s material stripped down to a single sentence: “This is what it’s like for me to be black." 

Too many of them don’t even try anymore to be themselves, they are trying to be "the next big thing” and they don’t care how many times a joke has been explored and exploited, if it makes the people react, they’ll do it, their own personal beliefs be damned. And before anyone says “Everything has been done before” do me a favor, if you are a comic or aspiring comedian whom seriously believe that everything has been done before, quit. Never touch the mic again. Go apply at a gas station and leave the stage for those of us that know that humanity hasn’t so much as scratched the surface on what can be done.

You want to build the Ultimate Black comic by using the talents of the greats? Okay, how about Pryor’s life experiences and fearlessness, Cosby’s storytelling ability, Rock’s social critiques and cap that off with Whoopi’s ability to change perspectives? That won’t do it for you? Try this less name based formula. Murky personal history, college graduate, relentlessly honest. Excels at telling one liners, stories or traditional short jokes. Can create memorable characters. Loves performing. That’s a recipe. The ultimate black comic, should be able to further the artform, not just appease the 3rd largest ethnic demographic in the United States.

Now, that was just what I saw wrong with the first 6 paragraphs. The tips were what infuriated me about the article and made me hope beyond hope, that Patrice was blowing smoke into my nose. The tips, for being the next great black comic were, in order: grow a mustache, curse in a high voice, be extremely expressive yet be really cool. Some of the types of jokes to do were, “Black people vs. Niggas” (aka Chris Rock’s joke). White people do this, black people do that (made popular by nearly every black comic from 1950 to the present) and “Racism”, which is a staple in nearly every non-caucasian comic in North America. To be certain, those were some of the worst tips to being a great comic you could possibly get. If that is your material and your performance style, quit.

What irked me most was the bottom paragraphs of the article, The Five White Comics That Need Black Versions. We don’t need black versions of white comics. We also don’t need white versions of black comics. The black versions of these comics already exist, and if you don’t know who they are, you haven’t been watching that much comedy lately. How about we get a new crop of black male and female comics that don’t feel the need to scream into the microphone and instead talk at a normal volume because they know that a microphone amplifies sound so that you don’t have to scream every word. I love to watch a black male comic that doesn’t have a bit that is essentially a reason to assume every gay male wants to have sex with him. I love when I meet a black comic that doesn’t have their failed rapper name as the name they use when they go on stage. I’m ecstatic when I watch a comic say something that I haven’t heard a thousand times. You want to build the Ultimate Black Comic? Why not just get comics to understand that they don’t have to try and be like the comics that succeeded before them. That’s how you become the next great one, by being the next great one. Be  great at what you do and people will recognize it, black comic or not…

Jeremy Paul is a comedian, writer, and philosopher from Peoria, Il. He also claims to be the only comedian with health insurance.

Morning Debriefing 9/1/11

September 1, 2011
Uncategorized
comedy shows, late night with jimmy fallon, los angeles, nbc, splitsider

1) Jim Gaffigan on Fallon.

2) Tonight, you can watch the 2nd to last episode of Louie’s 2nd Season (FX 10:30PM), the finale of Children’s Hospital (Adult Swim 12AM), NTSF:SD:SUV with Jeff Goldblum, Moon Bloodgood, and more (Adult Swim 12:15AM), Eddie Izzard, Tim Minchin, Chris Hardwick, Judah Friedlander, and more on the Green Room with Paul Provenza (Showtime 11PM), or just do all of that.

3) Take that overwrought procedural cop drama genre, the Taper is here (written by Sara Schaefer, starring Nick Vatterott & Nick Turner).

4) Internet King Alex Blagg explains why anyone’s comedy will never be as cool as they think it is, even if it’s funny.

5) Finally, Jeff MacKinnon’s coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival comes to a close and we can stop being mad that we’re not there. Is that just us?

6) Denver comic, Deacon Gray gives a taste of what’s it like to be a Christian and a comedian, but not a Christian comedian on his new album “Revival (of the Fittest)”.

7) Puddin’-“Clean-Up”

8) COMEDY CRAWL
Piñata @ Bang Theatre 8PM $14
The Josh & Josh Show @ Bar Lubitsch
8:30PM FREE
The Eddie Pepitone Bloodbath @ Hollywood Improv Lab 8:30PM $5
Live at Carnegie Hall* @ Hollywood Hotel 10PM FREE

9) OPEN MIC RUN
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA 6PM/$4 minimum/first come, first served
ZAPATA VIVE 101 S. First Ave., Arcadia, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/20 spots available/5 min.
COFEE BEAN 16101 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA, Suite 180/Starts 7PM/mixed mic/no purchase necessary
SANDWICH SPOT 3101 Ocean Park Ave., Santa Monica, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/first come, first served
CAFE ON 2ND 7 S. 2nd St., Alhambra, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM/first come, first served/10 min.
SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/one item min.
CAFE UNURBAN 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 9PM/No purchase necessary 
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel, past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/first come, first served/coffee and bottled water available   

10) OK, sleep… I get why people like you.

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Morning Debriefing 3/15/11

March 15, 2011
Uncategorized
aflac, brent weinbach, bridgetown comedy festival, comedy central, comedy news, conan, downtown, eddie pepitone, gilbert gottfried, hermosa beach, higherstakeschildrensbooks, james adomian, jan davidson, jimmy dore, kyle kinane, last comic standing, little tokyo, longshot podcast, los angeles, los feliz, moshe kasher, patton oswalt, portland, sean conroy, splitsider, ucb, west hollywood, what to watch

1) The Bridgetown Comedy Festival (@bridgetown on Twitter) in Portland (it’s a big festival that relatively close to LA) has been officially announced!!! I.E. April 21st-24th with some of LA’s best including Kyle Kinane, Brent Weinbach, James Adomian, Jimmy Dore, Moshe Kasher, Mike Phirman, Jan Davidson, and much more!!!  More details to come as we get them here at the Comedy Bureau.

2) #HigherStakesChildrensBooks-hilarious way to get through Tuesday on Twitter.  Follow this hashtag to find stuff like this “@pattonoswalt Blueberries for Salo: 120 Day of Sodom” (may or may not be NSFW)

3) What to Watch/DVR This Week via Splitsider

4) Want to win guest spot on the Longshot Podcast w/Eddie Pepitone, Sean Conroy, Jamie Flam, and Amber Kenny?  Make a video and you could be famous* (*amongst comedy nerds)

5) This Town is Big Enough for the Both of Us… and Even More-where the new comedy haunts in LA are.

6) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
The Good Luck Show @ The Good Luck Bar 7:30PM FREE 
Out of the Wheelhouse @ Palms Bar 7:30PM FREE/$10 drink min. 
Alonzo Bodden @ Comedy & Magic Club 8PM $15/2 drink min.
Comedy Death Ray @ UCB Theatre
8:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Lower Crust Comedy @ Genghis Cohen 9PM $6 
Holy Fuck! @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE 

7) OPEN MIC RUN
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st, Los Angeles, CA (downtown)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM
TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA (Echo Park)/Sign-up 7:30PM/Starts 8PM
COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM
WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM    

8) Gilbert Gottfried got fired from Aflac as their spokesperson through tweeting what were deemed as offensive jokes about the recent disaster in Japan.  Given the current state of the insurance industry, I’m pondering when they started caring about image?

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Morning Debriefing 3/1/11

March 1, 2011
Uncategorized
chris fairbanks, comedy, comedy crawl, comedy shows, conan, fuel tv, harland williams, hollywood improv, los angeles, los angeles comedy festival, morning debriefing, open mic run, scoomies, splitsider, tbs, what to watch

1) The Los Angeles Comedy Festival is Officially Taking Submissions. 

3) What to Watch/DVR This Week [via Splitsider]

4) Harland Williams interview on Conan.  Spoiler Alert: This is the perfect way to start your day.

5) The Scoomie’s are coming soon.  That’s right the awards for comedians by comedians and not really anyone else just like it should be.  Have category suggestions? Go here.

6) Last night Chris Fairbanks’ Comedy Special aired late on Fuel TV.  It’s the first comedy special they’ve aired and hopefully they’ll air it again.  Check back here for details.

6) ON THE HORIZON:
Mary Mack’s North Star Comedy Hour & Meat Raffle @ Michael Woolson Studio Sat. Mar. 5th 8PM 
Rory Scovel @ Hollywood Improv April 1st 8PM $18/2 item min. 

7) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
¡Satiristas! LIVE @ The Actors Gang 7PM Pay What You Can 
The Good Luck Show @ Good Luck Bar 7:30PM FREE 
Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge @ Red Rock 8PM FREE 
Found Footage Festival @ Largo $20 8PM FREE
Drunk on Stage @ Akbar 8PM FREE
Comedy Death Ray @ UCB Theatre 8:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Holy Fuck! @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE 
Lower Crust Comedy @ Genghis Cohen 9PM $6 

8) OPEN MIC RUN
BACK HOME IN LAHAINA 519 E. Carson St., Carson, CA/Sign-up 6:30PM
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH
422 E. 1st, Los Angeles, CA (downtown)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM
COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM
WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM   

9) Did you know you could reach the end of your Twitter feed?  Of course you don’t because you’re still part of society.

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Morning Debriefing 2/15/11

February 15, 2011
Uncategorized
action figure therapy, big trouble in little tokyo, comedy, comedy crawl, jim gaffigan, la, morning debriefing, open mic run, Señor Fish, set list, splitsider

1) “Set List”-the Improvised Stand-Up show, in essence “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” for stand up is taping its pilot for Comedy Central tonight at the Comedy Central Stages.  Perhaps, you should go.  Details below in the COMEDY CRAWL.

2) What to Watch/DVR this Week via Splitsider

3) Do you LOVE hilarious web series Action Figure Therapy? Well, there’s ringtones now to get your fix….

4) Big Trouble in Little Tokyo with Ron Lynch and Sean Patton. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘Nuff said. (sign-up 6:30PM/starts 7PM/Señor Fish 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA)

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL-OK, now that we’re done with that love stuff…
Good Luck Show @ Good Luck Bar 7:30PM FREE
Just for Laughs Showcase @ Three of Clubs 1123 Vine St. 8PM FREE
Set List Taping @ Comedy Central Stages 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 8PM FREE-call (323) 960-5519 for RSVP
Comedy Death Ray @ UCB Theatre 8:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Holy Fuck @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE
Lower Crust Comedy @ Genghis Cohen 740 N. Fairfax, Hollywood, CA 9PM $6
Just for Laughs Showcase @ Laugh Factory 10PM $20 general/$30 VIP/2 item min.

6) OPEN MIC RUN
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st, Los Angeles, CA (downtown)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM
COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM
WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM 

7) Recently: This article, “Moral Crusade Against Foodies” went viral yesterday.  Yes, foodies are extreme.  Why can’t we all just meet up at point of reconciliation with bacon?  Like Jim Gaffigan says, “Frying bacon even sounds like applause.”

8) We made it through Valentine’s Day.  We made it and by we, I mean I only started drinking at 3:30PM yesterday.

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