The Stand-Up Chronicles

Liza Treyger joins me on the show this week.  Liza is a Chicago comic who recently performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland.  We discuss pro wrestling, chatting contests, and not being a comedy nerd.

Here's more on Liza:

Liza Treyger was born in the former Soviet Union and came to America to pursue her dreams of performing comedy and being the best dressed woman in Skokie, Il. She enjoys glitter, Maker’s Mark Manhattans, stiletto heels, avocados. She can't decide if her favorite thing to do is make out or boss people around. She would like to be friends with Britney Spears and marry a man that looks like Christopher Meloni, Aaron Eckhart, or John Malkovich with the personality of her father (but funny).

Follow Liza on Twitter @glittercheese

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Tom Segura joins me this week to talk about working the grave yard shift, morning TV, and podcasting.  Tom has been on Conan and Comedy Central.  His album Thrilled is available on iTunes and through Amazon.com.

Here's more on Tom:

Tom Segura is a comedian originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, though he was raised in too many places to list. His television credits include Conan, Comedy Central Presents (half-hour special), Showtimes’ Russell Peters Presents, and Live at Gotham! When he’s not on tour Tom continues to perform at the top comedy festivals in the world, including Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Comedy Festival – Las Vegas, The South Beach Comedy Festival, and The Global Comedy Festival in Vancouver. Tom also regularly appears on syndicated radio shows The Bob and Tom Show and The Jim Rome show. Additionally, his noted podcast, Your Mom’s House can be heard weekly at YourMomsHousePodcast.com. Tom’s debut album Thrilled is available on iTunes and Amazon.com

For more on Tom, check out his website:  www.tomsegura.com

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Brandt Tobler returns to the show this week to discuss his recent move to LA, setting up your own bar shows, and why you shouldn't gamble.  Brandt has worked with Doug Benson and Doug Stanhope. He's got a CD on iTunes called Token White Boy.

Here's more on Brandt:

Brandt David Tobler was born September 23, 1977 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  When he was 1, he pooped his pants often and everybody laughed at him.

At the age of 5, he stopped shitting his pants and began getting his education at Deming-Miller elementary school. There he met most of his friends, many of whom he remains close to even today. On the playground, lots of kids were drawn to him because he could throw a Nerf Turbo Football really, really far.

Girls did not like him at all.

At the age of 13, he went to McCormick Jr. high school, where he began to make people laugh. He also excelled at basketball and water fights. Brandt was voted Class Clown in ninth grade; he has a picture proving this claim in a yearbook on a shelf in his mother’s garage, if you don’t believe him. Girls still could not stand him.

At the age of 16, Brandt went to high school at Central High, where he was a two-sport star, playing basketball and soccer. He was often compared to Bo Jackson because he liked to wear Nikes and Umbro shorts. He was once again voted Class Clown because he “…knew people that could make that sort of thing happen.”

At the age of 19, Brandt entered a junior college in Wyoming. After about a month he dropped out.

At 20, he went to junior college again, but proceeded to drop out after one month. AGAIN.

At 21, he decided to give it the “Old College Try” once more, this time in Arizona. However, as usual, he dropped out. (This go-round lasted seven whole months.)

College girls didn’t really like him either.

Once he turned 22, Brandt finally came to the conclusion that secondary education was not for him, and he decided to move to Las Vegas with hopes of getting a job as a pirate at Treasure Island. Unfortunately, after his first day on the job, Brandt realized that he was allergic to parrots — and 9-to-5 employment — thus forcing him to retire from Pirate Life forever. He began doing stand-up in the Las Vegas open-mic scene and quickly became a crowd favorite all over town. Brandt is also much-loved among other comedians, partly because he always buys them beer, but mostly because he is a loyal and encouraging friend.

After two years of comedy in Las Vegas he began to travel the country, performing all across the 50 states. He has since returned to Las Vegas and founded the legendary Backyard Comedy Show. In the Backyard Show, Brandt created an independent, grass-roots, censor- and clique-free forum for comics to do what they love to do, which is perform, without having to deal with the confines of typical Vegas-casino red tape. Some of America’s funniest stand-up comedians have come to town to perform with Brandt.

That’s where the story begins… You will be hearing a lot more from Brandt Tobler in the near future. For now you can find Brandt performing nightly all over Los Angeles and beyond. He always delivers a laid-back, offbeat, hilarious brand of comedy you are sure to enjoy.

For more on Brandt - check out his website- brandttobler.com

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Jeff Caldwell returns to the show this week.  Jeff has been on Letterman, Ferguson, and Live at Gotham.  We talk about signs that you're in a good comedy club, why he doesn't do political jokes, and Fawlty Towers.

Here's more about Jeff:

“Funny and smart.” That’s what George Carlin had to say about Jeff Caldwell after a show at Caroline’s in New York. “This guy is incredible,” said Dennis Miller. CBS showed that they agreed with George and Dennis by giving Jeff a deal to develop his own sitcom, and CBS employees David Letterman and Craig Ferguson just had to have Jeff on their shows.

Jeff Caldwell’s quick wit, good taste, and clever material have made him a favorite nationwide. Jeff has shown his comic wares on TV, as a performer and a writer, for corporate clients across America, in colleges (traveling with Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart), and in comedy clubs from the Improv in Hollywood to Big Ben’s Rib Crib in Baltimore. Jeff moved to New York in 1999 and has since become a favorite at the Gotham Comedy Club and the Comic Strip.

Jeff prepared for greatness at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in civil engineering, not traditionally considered a “funny” major. After a shockingly undistinguished nine-month stint with an engineering firm, Jeff decided he was unsatisfied with his student loan debt-load and returned to Johns Hopkins for a Ph.D. program. After two years of pretending to read texts he leapt fully into the hurly-burly of professional stand-up comedy, and ushered in America’s brief love affair with “Engineering Humor.”

Since then Jeff has toured nationally as a comic, building a body of clean and funny material and a warm, witty stage presence. At one Washington, D.C. show, Al and Tipper Gore raved “very funny, very funny” before jealous Secret Service agents rudely swept them away. Jeff is a rare comic who can make the audience double over with laughter without resorting to sleazy, stupid material. It may be his scientific background that enables Jeff to avoid the four-letter words, constructing his show exclusively of five- and eight-letter ones and the occasional semi-colon.

Check out Jeff's website - www.standupguy.com

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Bobcat Goldthwait and Cameron Esposito are my guests this week.  We chat about the South by Southwest Festival, Bobcat's new movie God Bless America, and the differences between writing a joke and writing a movie.

Here's more on Cameron:

Cameron Esposito has appeared at TBS’ Just for Laughs Chicago, SXSW, and the Aspen Rooftop and Bridgetown Comedy Festivals, on LOGO, and NPR’s The Sound of Young America.  Her hour solo show, SIDE MULLET NATION, debuted as a production of TBS’ Just for Laughs Chicago Festival (Best of the Fest, The Onion’s AV Club). SIDE MULLET NATION has been featured in Time Out Chicago (Critics’ Pick), Chicago Reader, and Gapers Block.

Known for her “effervescent storytelling” (AV Club), Cameron acts as ringmaster for Chicago-based touring circus company El Circo Cheapo Cabaret, and created and teaches the world’s only all-female standup course, The Feminine Comique.

Cameron released her debut standup album, Grab Them Aghast, on Rooftop Comedy Records in 2010.

Check out her website - http://therealcameronesposito.com/

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We wrap up Gilda's LaughFest and discuss how comedy can work as therapy with Detroit comic Mike Bobbitt.  Mike can be heard on SiriusXM satellite radio.  He's recently performed with Louis CK and Marc Maron.  He's also got a new CD on iTunes called Full Frontal Nerdity.

Here's more on Mike:

Mike Bobbitt brings a punk rock edge to his nerd comedy by embracing his obsessions and taking the piss out of them at the same time.  With the charm and candor of a smart aleck kid who’s ‘just too smart for his own good’, Mike’s been making audiences laugh for years.  He brings the audience on a humorous journey through the fumbles and foibles of his everyday life.  Mike speaks to a very specific group while maintaining accessibility to the masses.

Mike Bobbitt is the founding member of the Desperate Houseguys comedy show, a contributing writer to the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes, and has been part of many comedy festivals including the Detroit International Comedy Festival, Calgary Funnyfest, Las Vegas World Series of Comedy and Gilda’s Laugh Fest.  His two comedy albums “Mikey Pooh” and “Full Frontal Nerdity” can be heard regularly on XM/Sirius satellite radio.   Recently Mike spent time in Los Angeles where he was part of the prestigious Comedy Bang Bang show sharing the stage with Louis CK, Marc Maron and more!

When not saying funny things into microphones, Mike played small roles in movies with Hilary Swank and Kim Cattrall.  He can also be seen in the national ad campaign for 5 Hour Energy Drink.  Mike is a crap ton of voices in the “Arsenic Lullaby” cartoon based on the Eisner Award winning comic book and starred in the pilot for the supernatural television show “Deadpan”.   He’s won a lot of comedy competitions and even has a trophy on his mantel saying he’s funny.   Mike has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many of the nation’s best comedians and feels lucky that he can count the times he’s had to work with the nation’s worst comedians on one hand.

Mike Bobbitt lives outside of Detroit with his two cats and thousands of action figures.  He also looks good in blue.

Check out his website  - www.offthemike.com

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My guest this week is Vilmos Branyik, the host of The Green Room podcast.  He also hosts several other podcasts which we talk about.  Vilmos has been a stand-up for 20 years.  We'll discuss the origins of his name, podcasting, and the rules of the road.

Here's more on Vilmos:

Vilmos was born and raised in the farming community of Dunlap, Illinois (population 550). In 1968 his family moved to Chicago just in time for the riots. He lived in the Chicagoland area until 1986 and now reside in a small community of 3,500 in Colorado.

These days Vilmos is a nationally touring stand up comedian, radio personality, blogger and contributor to Life & Style Weekly Magazine. With a style describe as "Steven Wright on steroids" he delivers his satirical view of life to audiences leaving them gasping for air.

He also the host of the popular online radio show The Green Room. The Green Room gives the listener an inside look at the world of comedy and how comedians view the world.

For more on Vilmos and his podcasts, check out www.vilmos.com

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My guest this week is Dan Conlin.  Dan is the owner and operator of the Jukebox Comedy Club in Peoria, IL.  We discuss the economy, how to get booked at the club, and we read reviews of the club from the Yelp! website.

Check out the website - www.jukeboxcomedy.com

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Michael Kosta and Jeff Bodart join me on the show this week.  We talk tennis, Jeremy Lin, and Australia.  Michael has been on Conan, the Tonight Show, and Comedy Central Presents.  Jeff has a podcast called Sticky Candy.  He's also been heard on Bob and Tom.

Here's more on Michael:

Michael Kosta is a former professional tennis player turned comedian turned lovemaker.

Kosta regularly appears on The Tonight Show, and this year he performed in his first stand-up special, Comedy Central Presents: Michael Kosta. Michael was also chosen to host the backstage live show for the 63rd Annual Emmy Awards. He also made his Conan debut in the fall of 2011.

You may also recognize Michael’s sarcastic banter from his appearances on Chelsea Lately on the E! Channel, TruTV’s Smoking Gun Presents, Yahoo!’s OMG411, and Showtime’s Live Nude Comedy. He has also hosted pilots for MTV, NBC, and Comedy Central.

Kosta has performed at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen as well as the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal; at the latter, he was invited to perform at a Gala where he (somehow) followed Pamela Anderson.

Not just a pretty face, Michael can also be heard on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show and on The Playboy Comedy Channel on XM/ Sirius Satellite radio. For two seasons Michael hosted CCHA All Access on the Fox Sports Network, where he won a Michigan Emmy as a performer/host.

Michael lives in Los Angeles where he hopes to soon become famous and forget all the little people. You should sleep with him.

Check out his website - www.michaelkosta.com/

Here's more on Jeff:

Since starting stand up in 2001, Jeff Bodart has been making a name for himself performing in comedy clubs across the country. He has appeared multiple times on the nationally syndicated radio show, The Bob & Tom Show. You may have seen Jeff on the Comcast Cable network as well as The WB.

Jeff's style is so relatable you will feel you know him. Being the youngest in his family has prepared him for a life of comedy. His animated and goofy demeanor combined with edgy quips covering his dating life, working out, his favorite food of cheese sticks, and the fact that he could never be on "Survivor" makes for some great laughs for anyone watching his show.

Jeff has been fortunate to be able to bring is comedy stylings to the comedy festivals: The World Series of Comedy, Laugh Your Asheville Off and was also invited to perform at the Cape Fear Comedy Festival.

Jeff has worked with a lot of the top comedians in the country such as; Greg Behrendt, Ron White, Bobcat Goldthwait, Harland Williams, Tommy Chong and Caroline Rhea. Be prepared to love and become a fan of Jeff's once you have experienced the fun.

Check out his website - jeffbodart.com/

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