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TOM GREEN Live @ Cobb’s Comedy Club
Oct. 1st, 2nd, & 3rd

- READ PART ONE-

I don’t know if this was a conscious choice, but when you were on The Tonight Show, your bits were more restrained. You took on more of a straight man role.

TG: I didn’t edit those pieces. I was just working for Jay as a correspondent. It wasn’t like the kind of thing I did on my old public access show or my MTV show. I think I learned a lot from working on The Tonight Show for a couple years. Literally, the first thought I had was that they weren’t as crazy as what I’d normally do. But then they’d show the studio audience and they’d be dying of laughter. They were very successful, and I think it opened my eyes to the idea that you can be broad sometimes. You don’t necessarily have to be polarizing and shocking, and you can still get a lot out of it.

I think that’s the difference between Jay Leno, and David Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel’s show. I think his genius comes from really understanding America, and not just appealing to the nutjob audience that I’ve always tried to reach out to.

Do you have specific role models as a host?

TG: Oh yeah. I decided as a kid that I wanted to be a talk show host when I saw David Letterman. I thought, “Oh my gosh, this is so crazy. I want to sit at a desk, and go out in the streets and do crazy stunts with a megaphone, be annoying and outrageous.” Letterman was the first time I’d seen anything on television in that format pushing the boundaries of ridiculousness. When I saw the show at age thirteen, fourteen, it was kind of like the internet is today: you felt like you were watching something no one else knew about. So I love Letterman, but I’ve also gone back and become a huge fan of Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Tom Snyder. I like those single-guest format shows where the guest really gets a chance to speak. I’ve pretty much modeled my living room after the Tonight Show set.

It’s interesting that while you’re doing a very new, unique show, the conventions of it are very classic, in terms of the look and orientation of everything.

TG: I love all the old talk shows of the ’60s. It was an amazing time for television because everything was new. And while there are so many great talk shows today, it does seem to me that all the talk shows on the air are attempting to do their version of Johnny Carson. They have their own variations, but they have the desk, the band…

The monologue.

TG: Right. The audience, occasional wacky bits on the street. That’s fine, but I enjoy that my show has so many new things to it. We cut to audience members via Skype – it’s two-way television. Most shows you have a head writer, producers, someone writes the monologue for you, they pre-interview guests. My show doesn’t have pre-interviews; the guest doesn’t know what I’m going to ask them. Because the show is in my house, it’s a much more laid-back, relaxed setting. I don’t ask negative questions or try to portray people in a negative light, so it creates a different kind of energy. I really try to just encourage people to talk, by giving them the space and freedom to speak. We have the luxury of not having to cut to a commercial break and not really having any time restrictions. You don’t have the pressure to keep the interview moving so you can get all your big jokes and plugs in.

And you only have six minutes!

TG: It creates a very formulaic thing. You can turn on any of the big talk shows, and they’re all very similar. My show is very raw. I don’t have a writing staff. You’re tuning in, you’re seeing two people having a real conversation in the host’s actual house. Something is going on that is much different than what you see on TV.

How many people does it take to produce the show?

TG: We’ve done it with one person before. We have one person up at the house, we’ll invite a guest up, we’ll turn on the studio, and the director will set all the shots up, get behind the switcher, and start switching the cameras. I’ve designed the studio so it can all be run by one person. It’s totally different from television – it’s more like a pirate radio station. I can keep my costs low – I’ve got two full-time employees and that’s it.

Do you feel like your old show pioneered a lot of MTV programming that followed it? Things like Jackass and Punk’d are in roughly the same vein.

TG: Those shows started immediately after mine, with the same MTV executives I’d pitched my show to, who I’d sold my ideas to. There was initially some skepticism about my show, but once we put it on the air and it got a huge response, people realized there was a demand for this raw, guerilla comedy. I certainly think it influenced MTV’s decision to put Jackass and Punk’d on the air and to start moving in my direction. Those guys from Jackass have been really cool. They’ve all come on and done my web show.

I started doing this kind of stuff in 1994 – running around with a video camera filming stuff. I remember when I was pitching the show, before MTV, I would tell people, “This is a new kind of TV. You don’t need a big crew. It’s guerilla.” Television executives thought you couldn’t shoot a show with a video camera – it wouldn’t look professional. You had to use Betacams, and have a bunch of producers overseeing everything. Once you put shows together with the same old-school structure, they all end up looking the same. And I think that’s one thing that changed when my show went on MTV. All those bits in the first season were shot independently by me up in Canada. The process of writing was completely different – we gave the finished bit to the network, instead of proposing an idea and having them editorialize, cut it, and completely change it.

And you can’t really have production notes on something that’s done.

TG: They did try to change some of the edgier stuff, and edit material out. That was the main battle I had with MTV, as they’d try to cut the craziest stuff. It does feel cool to have people recognize that my show was one of the first shows like that. Doing a weekly show where you’re out in the street in that confrontational mode can be stressful. I’m more excited now to just be doing stand-up and not having to do that.

It’s frustrating for me to work for a television network sometimes. Because when you’ve been doing it for as long as I have, you want to be able to do what you want to do. And you never get to do what you want to do, on television.

You’re compromising all the time.

TG: And even if it does turn out funny, you still have to deal with this huge bureaucracy. I don’t necessarily know if I want to do that for the rest of my life. I will do more television again, but with the web, it’s all starting to blur together more. I’m more excited about doing things on my own site.

Considering that people often watch late-night shows online anyway, soon there won’t be a huge difference in how people consume content anyway.

TG: I don’t need to generate the kind of revenue that The Tonight Show does to make that profitable. I don’t have 150 employees. I’m getting 1-2 million viewers per episode, and I’m able to convert that into revenue. I don’t have that huge burden of trying to make a bazillion dollars off the show. I just want the show to pay for itself, be fun to do, and be creatively satisfying. With targeting, you can get a niche audience worldwide, and not have to live with this axe over your head. Whether they would admit it or not, every single person on television is scared shitless they’re about to get cancelled. Even the #1 talk show got cancelled – Jay Leno – then they put it back on. You can be passionate and love what you’re doing, but at any point, you’re a bad month away from complete cancellation.

The internet is a whole new possibility for people to do their own thing. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work right away, but at least you can try. That’s cool. Before the internet, if you wanted to do a television show, unless a network gave you a show, you just couldn’t do it. And that kind of sucks, right?

I’ve read that one of your goals is to someday release a director’s cut of “Freddy Got Fingered.” Is anything holding that back, like rights issues or clearances?

TG: Honestly, I just haven’t been able to make that happen yet – I haven’t aggressively pursued it. I would like to get a movie company to give me access to that footage someday, because I feel there is another movie in there I would like people to see. Any time you do something with a major studio, there’s focus groups and time constraints, and you end up editing the movie differently than you would have. I’m not sure people are aware of this, but the movie has been extremely successful.

Yeah, I was looking up the numbers, and it made back its production budget theatrically, and while I don’t know the DVD sales figures, if nothing else, there’s a lot of people I know who own that movie.

TG: The DVD sold nearly a million copies, which is amazing for a movie like that. It’s a profitable movie, but that’s not what’s exciting. What’s exciting is that people have fallen in love with the movie because it is so crazy. Every scene is taken to the craziest place possible, and that was the point. I think people really responded to it, as they can see it’s not a cookie-cutter comedy movie. I do some music in the show where I strum the guitar, and I start singing “Daddy would you like some sausage?” And no matter where I am, people go crazy for that, and start shouting out lines from the movie. It gets a bigger response than anything else I’ve ever done.

It’s interesting that you can put out a movie, and it gets all these negative reviews, and you feel bad about it for a couple of years. And then you find out that’s just a bunch of noise, and that the media doesn’t always get it right. Around the world, people have been going apeshit when I do X-Ray Cat or the Backwards Man. So I don’t care what a critic from a local paper says anymore, because this movie has found its audience.

When I hear people talking about it, it’s more like they’re describing an art film than a conventional comedy. It’s like Gummo. The other interesting part to me is that the movie clearly did have studio interference, but what could those production notes have been like? Did you actually get executives saying, “Look, when you bite the umbilical cord, could we have a *smaller* spurt of blood?”

TG: When you direct a movie like that, you’ve got to put red herrings in there. When I handed in my initial cut of the movie both to the studio and to the MPAA, it was about an hour longer than it is now. I let every scene go on much longer. I let the blood spurt longer. I put in the most blood and stuff possible – more than I wanted – because I knew they’d come in and make me take it out.

Here’s the thing about making television and movies no one ever really tells you. It’s just a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit. You’re dealing with a bureaucracy of people. Everybody’s scared of getting fired, and worried about getting promoted, whether they’re at the MPAA or an executive at a studio. So they feel like they have to step in and do something. And when they see a scene where a baby gets swung around by the umbilical cord for what seems like ten minutes, they have to say something, because if not, they might lose their job. They’re all in their thirties and they’re all freaking out because it’s their first big job, and they’ve got a car payment, and their parents are so proud they’re working at MTV, so they get involved with this movie.

The other thing about Freddy Got Fingered is that every scene is so relentless, that if you edited it all out, there’d be no movie. So I think they realized at a certain point that they did have to put a movie out. There’s just no cutting around it.

You can’t make it tame without it becoming completely incoherent.

We have a thing on the DVD called the PG-13 version.

What’s it like?

It’s three minutes long.

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Past competitors include Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Ellen Degeneres, Patton Oswalt, Dane Cook, Steven Wright, Louis CK, Mitch Hedberg, Roseanne Barr, and many many more.

This year’s contestants for preliminary round 1 are:

Chris Bennett, Tempe, AZ
Daniel Carroll, New York
Solomon Georgio, Seattle
Vahe Hova, Walnut Creek, CA
Jonny Loquasto, Los Angeles
Jay Montepare, Los Angeles
Toby Muresianu, San Francisco
Patrick Nye, Chicago
Sammy Obeid, Fremont
Rob O’Reilly, New York
Sean Ottey, Tacoma
Marc Patrick, Las Vegas
Lizzy Pilcher, Seattle
Marianne Sierk, Los Angeles
Auggie Smith, Portland
Insane Wayne, Stockton

Night 1: @ Biscuits & Blues, SF, 9/15
Host: Will Franken
1. Auggie Smith, Portland
2. Marianne Sierk, Los Angeles
3. Solomon Georgio, Seattle
4. Rob O’Reilly, New York
5. Jay Montepare, Los Angeles

Night 2: @ Humboldt State University, 9/16
Host: Dave Thomason
1. Auggie Smith, Portland
2. Jay Montepare, Los Angeles
3. Insane Wayne, Stockton
4. Rob O’Reilly, New York
5. Daniel Carroll, New York

Night 3: @ Napa Valley Opera House, 9/17
1. Auggie Smith
2. Solomon Georgio
3. Marc Patrick
4. Marianne Sierk
5. Insane Wayne

Show 4: @ Center for the Arts, 9/18
1. Marianne Sierk
2. Jonny Loquasto
3. Auggie Smith
4. Marc Patrick
5. Insane Wayne

Show 5: @ Montbleu Casino, 9/18
1. Auggie Smith
2. Insane Wayne
3. Sammy Obeid
4. Marc Patrick
5. Jay Montepare

Show 6: @ Crow’s Nest, 9/19
1. Insane Wayne
2. Auggie Smith
3. Rob O’Reilly
4. Sammy Obeid
5. Solomon Georgio

Moving on to the semi-finals:
Solomon Georgio
Marc Patrick
Marianne Sierk
Auggie Smith
Insane Wayne

This year’s contestants for preliminary round 2 are:

Mo Alexander, Memphis
Charlie Ballard, Oakland
Tony Dijamco, L.A.
Dustin Kaufman, Kansas City
Susanna Lee, Portland
Joel Lindley, L.A
Bradley Lum, San Francisco
Steve Monroe, Los Angeles
Nancy Reed, Austin
Nile Seguin, Toronto
Eric Shorts, Indianapolis
Kurt Swann, San Diego
Allen Trieu, Grand Rapids
Cameron Vannini, San Francisco
Johnny Watson, New York
Joe Zimmerman, Ashville, NC

Night 1: @ Sonoma State University, 9/21
1. Steve Monroe
2. Kurt Swann
3. Bradley Lum
4. Allen Trieu
5. Eric Shorts

Night 2: @ Biscuits & Blues, SF, 9/22
1. (tie) Tony Dijamo
1. (tie) Susanna Lee
2. Nile Seguin
3. Nancy Reed
4. Kurt Swann
5. Joe Lindley

Night 3: @ Black Oak Casino, 9/23
1. Steve Monroe
2. Nancy Reed
3. Tony Dijamco
4. Kurt Swann
5. Mo Alexander

Night 4: @ Napa Valley Opera House, 9/24
1. Kurt Swann
2. NIle Seguin
3. Nancy Reed
4. Joel Lindley
5. Mo Alexander

Night 5: @ El Campanil Theatre, 9/25
1. Kurt Swann
2. Nile Seguin
3. Mo Alexander
4. Joe Zimmerman
5. (tie)
Susanna Lee
Joel Lindley

Night 6: @ Crows Nest, 9/26
1. Joe Zimmerman
2. Tony Dijamco
3. Mo Alexander
4. Jonny Watson
5. (tie)
Steve Monroe
Allen Trieu

And moving on to the semi-finals:
Kurt Swann
Nile Seguin
Tony Dijamco
Nancy Reed
Steve Monroe

The 10 semi-finalists are:

Tony Dijamco
Solomon Georgio
Steve Monroe
Sammy Obeid*
Nancy Reed
Nile Seguin
Marianne Sierk
Auggie Smith
Kurt Swann
Insane Wayne

* Due to unforeseen circumstances, Marc Patrick had to drop out of the semi-finals and has been replaced with Sammy Obeid.

SEMI-FINALS:

Night 1: @ Jewish Community Center, 9/28
1. Kurt Swann
2. Solomon Georgio
3. Marianne Sierk
4. Sammy Obeid
5. Auggie Smith

Night 2: @ Chico State University, 9/29
Host: Paul Ogata
1. Auggie Smith
2. Sammy Obeid
3. Insane Wayne
4. (tie) Tony Dijamco, Steve Monroe
5. Solomon Georgio

Night 3: @ Clark Center, 9/30
1. Auggie Smith
2. Sammy Obeid
3. (tie) Kurt Swann, Marianne Sierk
4. Tony Dijamco
5. Steve Monroe

Night 4: @ Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, 10/1
1. Auggie Smith
2. Sammy Obeid
3. Nancy Reed
4. Steve Monroe
5. Insane Wayne

The 5 Finalists are:

Tony Dijamco
Solomon Georgio
Sammy Obeid
Auggie Smith
Kurt Swann

FINALS:

Night 1: @ Throckmorton Theatre, 10/5
1. Auggie Smith
2. Tony Dijamco
3. Sammy Obeid
4. Kurt Swann
5. Solomon Georgio

Night 2: @ Hutchens Street Square, 10/6
Host: Will Franken
1. Kurt Swann
2. Tony Dijamco
3. (tie) Sammy Obeid, Auggie Smith
5. Solomon Georgio

Night 3: @ Sacramento State University, 10/7
Host: Dave Thomason
1. Kurt Swann
2. Tony Dijamco
3. Sammy Obeid
4. Solomon Georgio
5. Auggie Smith

Night 4: @ Cache Creek Casino, 10/8
Host: Will Franken
1. Sammy Obeid
2. Tony Dijamco
3. (tie) Auggie Smith and Kurt Swann
5. Solomon Georgio

Going into the final night tonight (10/9) at Biscuits & Blues, it’s still a wide open race…

Night 5: @ Biscuits & Blues, 10/9
Host: Michael Capozzola
1. Tony Dijamco, Los Angeles
2. Auggie Smith, Portland
3. Sammy Obeid, Fremont
4. Solomon Georgio, Seattle
5. Kurt Swann, San Diego

FINAL RESULTS

1st Place: Auggie Smith, Portland
2nd Place: Tony Dijamco, Los Angeles
3rd Place: Sammy Obeid, Fremont
4th Place: Kurt Swann, San Diego
5th Place: Solomon Georgio, Seattle

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Beginning September 18th, watch LOUIS C.K.: HILARIOUS on cable channel EPIX. If you don’t get EPIX, you can also download the film from their website.

The film is also showing on Wednesday, September 15th, 7:30pm at Embarcadero Center Cinema. (Tickets)

Louis CK opens his new concert film, “Hilarious,” by somehow referencing Hitler, reminding the audience of their inevitable death and acknowledging how awkward it can be to start a show. And then, he proves himself wrong – because he’s completely in charge of the stage from the moment he steps on and picks up the microphone.

As a comedian, Louis CK has long been respected by just about anybody who pays attention to intelligent, so-called “alternative” comedy. But he’s also a notable writer and director. Not only did CK write, direct and edit the “Hilarious” movie, he did the same duties for the first season of his show on FX, titled “Louie,” which just wrapped up and has already been renewed for a second run in the spring of 2011.

But instead of including written scenes like in the television show, the film is Louis CK doing what he’s best known for – shockingly honest material, somehow carved into remarkably funny bits that manage to confront a variety of topics in modern life without delving into tired stereotypes and weak, contrived punchlines.

For a healthy section of “Hilarious,” CK digs into airline travel and being a parent – both topics that have seen their fair share of hacky premises and awful gags from the pastel T-shirt and pushed-up, sleeves-on-a-blazer crowd. And yet in the hands – and mind – of CK, he finds new approaches into that material, flipping the expectations of what a joke about flying has been for decades and aiming the bit in a different direction completely.

CK’s direction leans towards a basic shot of himself onstage, without much decoration or extras to look at. Even his wardrobe for the film – black t-shirt, jeans and hiking boots – points to a simple, yet refined approach to the performance itself: he’s focused on the ideas within the material and his own immense skills as a comic, and allowing that to take center stage. Even though the movie was shot in a theater in Milwaukee, it seems like an intimate show that fans of Louis CK will be sorry to miss.

CK’s ability to mix the awkward with the funny is a classic blend created by a great comedic mind. His willingness to look inward to discover the general dumbing-down and hypocrisy of American culture is startling, especially in an age of finger-pointing and name-calling. Because for everything CK sees around him that makes him angry or confused, he sees the same things in himself and his own actions, and he mines that revelation for plenty of great material.

With “Hilarious,” Louis CK has once again helped to strengthen his reputation as a prolific, intelligent and funny man. While he may be filthy at times, and while he may say shocking things just for the pleasure of offending an audience, within every joke remains a heart – an underlying sadness about the state of affairs in American life and the futility of ever making them better, despite your best efforts. That point of view may be what keeps Louis CK from gaining a gigantic audience or earning himself a catchphrase to sell on t-shirts and bumper stickers, but it also gives comedy fans a great performer to watch and enjoy.

Louis C.K.: Hilarious begins airing on EPIX on September 18th.

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Harland Williams is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, and musician. An accomplished stand-up comic, Harland is known for memorable roles in some of the most beloved comedies of the last twenty years, as well as his eclectic and unpredictable late-night talk show appearances. On Saturday, September 4th, he comes to the Herbst Theatre for a night of stand-up and sketch comedy. (Tickets)

You’re coming to San Francisco for just one night in September. Is there something special about the show that makes it a one-night-only engagement?

It’s special because we’re doing it at the Herbst Theatre, which is a pretty special, spectacular theater, and it’s one night because it’s a combination stand-up show and sketch comedy show. The first half of the show will be stand-up, and then the second half of the show will be Whose Line Is It Anyway-type comedy.

I saw you on Thank God You’re Here, and I don’t know if you have an improvisational background, but that seemed like a really successful episode.

Actually, the guy I did that episode with is the guy who’s going to be doing sketch with me. His name’s Brian Palermo, and he’s from the Groundlings. It’s gonna be hot. (sung) Hot and sexy!

When you got started in comedy, did you do a lot of improv, or was it just standup at the start?

It was all stand-up, but I knew I wanted to do improv, so I slowly started incorporating that into my set.

You seem to have an affinity for that, especially for extremely silly names on the spot.

You’ve got that right, Professor Mushroom Hair.

If you end up doing a movie, is it understood that there’s going to be a lot of improvisation that goes along with your part?

I don’t know if it’s understood. Some directors ask me to do it, and with some directors, I just do it. They either tell me to cut it out or just go for it. I’d say 90% of the time, they love it. Half of my darn lines in movies are the ones that I’ve made up and they’ve kept in.

Specifically, is the “Seven Minute Abs” sequence in There’s Something About Mary yours?

Yes, Seven Minute Abs and the Dumb and Dumber sequence, a lot of that was improv. It’s pretty cool, and I’m happy they’ve let me do it.

Do you consider Dumb and Dumber to be your big break in the business?

It would have to be, because it was my first movie. I guess just by default, I would have to say so, because it’s my first point of reference. It certainly got me noticed, and I think my first Letterman appearance got me noticed, too. But I think the one that opened it up for me, believe it or not, was Down Periscope. People kind of started lining up after they saw me in that movie. It’s bizarre, because it’s a movie that I almost passed on.

Do you feel like you have a particular role that you are most known and loved for?

I wish I had one, but surprisingly, it seems to be all of them. I get people coming up to me, and it’s either Rocket Man, or Half Baked, or Dumb and Dumber, or Freddy Got Fingered. I’d say all of them for gosh sakes. I know that sounds greedy.

You’re just being honest. That’s what the public has demanded from you.

That’s right, man. They want it all.

You were an art student originally. What kind of art were you pursuing?

I studied in classical animation, Disney-style animation. I did that all through college. I just found animation took so long. It could take you a year to animate one guy walking across a field. I thought, I need something more immediate from my laughs. I found that with stand-up, you tell jokes, you get results immediately. And I like that.

Now, does your brother still work in animation?

Steve (Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams) still dabbles in animation, but he’s doing a lot of live-action stuff now. He directed that movie The Wild for Disney a couple of years ago. He still does some computer animation, but he’s been shooting a lot of live-action commercials.

Is there any hostility between the two of you because you did a voice for Madagascar 2 and he directed The Wild?

You know, he auditioned me for a voice in The Wild, and I didn’t get it. But I did get a role in Madagascar. So up his! (Laughs).

After art school, did you go immediately into stand-up comedy? I know you worked as a forest ranger – was that a hiatus between art school and becoming a performer?

That was during my college years. During the spring and summer I would work up north, but once I finished college, I just went straight into performing stand-up.

And you’ve also written children’s books – many children’s books.

I think I have eight or nine kids’ books I’ve written and illustrated. That started when I got out of college. I would work on my books during the day and do stand-up at night. So, working for kids in the daytime, then in the evenings, the adults got my time.

I think some of that is reflected in your standup. There’s stuff that’s very silly and innocent, but also really dirty at the same time.

Guilty as charged.

Do you know if any other comedians write children’s books? And if not, are there any you’d like to see write some?

I know some of the bigger names did it, but as a lark: Whoopi Goldberg, Seinfeld, Jay Leno. I certainly know none of them illustrate kids’ books, if they write them. I think I’m the only one who writes and illustrates his own work. So that would make me Master Artist Children’s Book Comedian of the World.

There’s no area of media you cannot dominate, is what this is saying. You’ve done many comedy albums, but you’ve also done a musical album with your cousin, who is in Barenaked Ladies.

Kevin Hearn.

And you creatively called your band “The Cousins.” Is music something you were interested in as a kid, or is that something you fell into because of the opportunity with your cousin?

I always dreamed of being a rock singer or something, but I think what dissuaded me was the idea of having to work with five other people in a band. And the idea of, after every gig, lugging equipment out to a truck. Even though I love the idea of singing and performing, it was too busy. Stand-up is easy. I just show up with the shirt on my back and go. Had singing been that easy, I probably would have pursued singing. I also think I was a bit too shy to sing back then. Now I’m fine with it, but singing is a very vulnerable thing to do. I shied away from it. But I love it now. Me and my cousin have been singing together our whole lives, so that’s where that came from.

Again, with all the media you’re covering, you’ve also got a podcast, The Harland Highway.

That’s very exciting to me, because that’s a forum where I can step away from doing my stand-up-themed humor. With my podcast, I can ramble, and go into a million different topics. When you’re on stage doing stand-up, there’s some topics that are not so much hilarious, but they are humorous. With stand-up, you have to hear the laughs, but with the podcast, I can kind of go lighter and keep it humorous, and people will still find that amusing. In stand-up, if you don’t hear the laughter you’re dead. I love the podcast because it lets me go into so many rooms and doors that I can’t go into when I’m on stage.

It also seems to fit the desire for immediate feedback, and the idea of not carrying equipment besides a laptop and a microphone.

And you don’t have to deal with executives, or creative people. You just sit down and go. I’m all about that. I like the whole sit-down-and-go thing.

Do you have favorite places to perform in SF?

I really love San Francisco because it’s truly a hip town. A lot of people think they have hip towns, but San Fran, there’s just so much going on there. It’s a great place to do stand-up. San Francisco seems to lean toward the artistic. There’s a lot of art galleries, all the little side streets, there’s a history of poetry and music, there’s a beatnik side to it, and they seem to like the underground stuff. It’s really cool to come there.

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Watch Sammy Franco interview Justin about Purple Onion Thursdays:
(”The audience knows they’re naughty, and they want you to spank them.”)

8pm every Thursday
@ The Purple Onion
140 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco
$10 cash at the door

Upcoming shows:

February 4th:
Hoogie & Gumps
Featuring Comedy Central’s John Hoogasian, and a medley of Bay Area comedians/Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. servers.

February 11th:
Eddie Ifft
NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, worldwide headliner

February 18th:
Brendon Walsh
Montreal Comedy Festival, has a big beard, tours with Doug Stanhope

Februay 25th:
Brent Weinbach
Winner of the prestigious Andy Kaufman Award, conductor of legendary fart orchestra, once delivered a pizza to Brad Pitt

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The answer: Originality.

In this unorthodox comedy workshop held at the legendary Purple Onion nightclub, highly-acclaimed comedian and performance artist, Will Franken, instructs students on how to develop their own unique twist on humor in order to become a more visible presence in the often monotonous world of entertainment.

By relaying essential memorization techniques, character development exercises (including an overview of voices, accents, and sound effects) and, most of all- in helping students to familiarize themselves with the absurdity of their own individual subconscious- The Will Franken Comedy Workshop aims to ensure greater command of the stage for comedians and performers of all levels.

The course will also focus on originality in comedic composition, such as how to craft multi-layered comedic pieces, and how to create well-finessed transitions- all with an eye towards perfecting a full-length headlining set, mounting a one-person theatrical show, or just simply acquiring helpful creative methods to add to one’s comedic repertoire.

About the instructor:
WILL FRANKEN has built a solid reputation as one of America’s most original and provocative comedians. Franken established himself as a San Francisco cult figure and was selected “Best Comedian” by SF Weekly and “Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. His solo show Good Luck With It debuted at the New York Fringe Festival to rave reviews by the New York Times. Franken has appeared at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, on the BBC program The World Stands Up, and won 1st runner-up for the Andy Kaufman Award at the HBO Comedy Festival.

The WILL FRANKEN Comedy Workshop

Saturday, December 5th, 2009
2pm-5pm
Cost: $75

@ The Purple Onion
140 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133

Questions? Call (415) 520-6682 or email contact@SFstandup.com.

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After two months of competition and a field that began with 36 performers vying for the title, on Wednesday night the 2009 San Francisco Women’s Comedy Competition came to a conclusion and named Janine Brito the winner.

The competition began with preliminary rounds at The Brainwash, the popular café/Laundromat/performance space located on Folsom near 7th in San Francisco, where it could be argued every Bay Area comedian must do standup at to be considered part of the club. After multiple rounds the shows moved to Club Deluxe during the popular Monday night comedy shows near the historic Haight/Ashbury intersection.

Co-producer Caitlin Gill hosted the shows throughout the competition, with fellow producer Al Gonzales never far away, aiding with promotion and organization of the contest. And for the big finale the competition took place at the beautiful Improv in San Jose. The six competing for the title were Janine Brito, Emily Heller, Liz Grant, Yayne Abeba, Sheila Bryson, and Chris Burns.

Backstage beforehand, some performers were nervous and jittery, while others walked the hallways confident and calm. Competitor and competition veteran Yayne Abeba took it all in stride as she prepared to take on not only her fellow comics, but the number one performance spot for the night.

Eventual winner Janine Brito greeted a few friends in the lobby about 15 minutes before the show started, then said out loud to nobody in particular, “I’m going to go back upstairs (to the green room) and freak out some more.”

The competition highlighted not only the six female performers, but the great quality of Bay Area comedy in general. As the competition moved on it became harder and harder for audiences and judges to choose their favorites. At the Improv on Wednesday night, comedian Kris Tinkle – who just released his first album, “Almost Awesome,” available on iTunes – found a spot in the balcony to watch the show.

“I don’t have any favorites,” Tinkle said. “When I got the ballot thing, I was like, ‘I can’t vote for anybody; I’m friends with all these people!’ I just want everybody to do well.”

Host Caitlin Gill gave the crowd a quick explanation of the rules and how they could affect the outcome. Each audience member could text in their votes and the judges would be considering the top vote-getters in the final decision, in a nearly instant tally courtesy of sponsor Rogue Communique.

Each of the competitors put forth strong performances during the show. Abeba started the show with a low-key and confident style that has helped make her a favorite up-and-coming comic around the country. Brito took the stage second, showing a few noticeable jitters until the audience greeted her first big punchline with a big laugh and from there she was on a roll.

Emily Heller was strong out of the gate and got big reactions with her material. Liz Grant, a former massage therapist, got the crowd on her side immediately as she discussed her previous marriages and trouble dating. Chris Burns had a steady momentum from the beginning, starting more casual and building to her last joke which had half the crowd emitting shocked “ooh’s.” And Sheila Bryson took the number six performance slot, introducing herself to the crowd by admitting that she’d broken an undergarment backstage just moments before and utilizing the casual, conversational style that helped make her the winner of the Wild Card online spot, in which internet voters chose the woman to take the final slot in the finale of the competition.

After the six competitors did their thing, Jackie Kashian took to the stage. Kashian is a 20-plus year veteran of standup comedy, with a Comedy Central special and a stint on “Last Comic Standing” under her belt. As Kashian kept the crowd going, the judges huddled over a computer backstage, watching the audience reaction roll in via text votes. After the numbers came in, the judges made their decision: Janine Brito had taken a strong lead in audience voting, and it was agreed she had won the grand prize.

Emily Heller took the Runner Up spot, with Yayne Abeba rounding out the top three. After the announcement was made, all six gathered for a moment in the backstage area and signed a copy of the Metro weekly that featured a cover story (by upcoming comic Colleen Watson) about the competition and congratulated the winners.

As part of the grand prize, Brito will receive a new, professionally-designed website, new headshots and makeup and a visit with an image consultant. Janine noted that it really was a great night of comedy, regardless of the competition, and that all the women performing that night had been fantastic and made it clear that the Bay Area was home to some of the funniest up-and-coming comics in the country.

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October 29th, 30th & 31st @ The Rrazz Room
10pm
222 Mason Street, SF

Madame, Madame, Madame! Where do I start? You’ve been a comic icon for decades: Laugh-In in the 60’s, you did the game show circuit in the 70’s (Match Game, Hollywood Squares), numerous variety specials, you hosted Solid Gold in the 80’s, had your own show “Madame’s Place”, had a long-running Vegas show – Madame Goes to Harlem…

Madame: I thought I felt a Google! You’ve done your homework!

Still, we haven’t seen you in a while. Where ya been?

M: You know, plotting and planning my way back to the middle of show business. A comeback is always a hard thing to do. Me and Liza were always exhausted all the time.

Speaking of Liza, you had such success in times of excess, so many of your contemporaries fell victim to life in the fast lane. Did you ever have to check yourself into rehab?

M: Someone thought I was burning my, you know, chandel at both ends at one point and said, “Madame, you’re gonna lose everything unless you enter Betty Ford!” And I said, “If President Ford doesn’t want to do it, why should I?” So I skipped it.

As you know: lots of ups and downs in show business. Some people, like your friend Crazy Mary, couldn’t handle it. How did YOU stay sane through it all?

M: Well, Crazy Mary is the most sane person I know! She looks at life through rose-colored lithium, I’d say. But I don’t mind the ups and downs of show business, as long as it’s on the casting couch.

A common pop-culture term today is “cougar”. You know what that is, right? Even though that’s a popular term today, YOU seemed to be the Proto-Cougar, decades ago.

M: I did hit on the doctor that delivered me! I find younger men are into me. And once they are, I think it would be rude to throw them out, so I just let them stay in there.

Do you have any dating advice for middle-aged single women?

M: Yeah, stay home. Leave them all for me.

Are you dating anyone now?

M: Well, you know, everyone is linking me with my new partner…

How ’bout this Rick Skye character? Anything going on there?

M: He’s my new right-hand man. He’s like so many: he tickled my fancy, so I let him stick around and tickle my nasty. He’s pretty good, too!

Where did you find him?

M: We had auditions. I do prefer the casting couch. If I’m going to fall on my face, I like to start out on my back.

Well, we all know you do, but how much do you miss Wayland?

M: Oh God, yeah. Well, that’s really why I’m back. When I’m working, it reminds me of the days when I was with him, so I can be closer to him. And the audiences, they all tell me stories of when they met him and how much fun he was. So, it’s actually helping me to remember him in a nice way.

Although you hosted Solid Gold and had your own show, those years on Hollywood Squares, with those amazing comedy panels, were classic. Who were your favorite co-stars from back then?

M: I loved sitting under Charo’s Coochie-Coochie! She was quite a pick-me-up, wasn’t she? She’s still going strong, my God! And Charlie Weaver to block! He was a filthy old man.

Ever think about writing a tell-all book where you drag out everyone’s dirty laundry?

M: I thought about it, but if I drag out their dirty laundry, some of mine might go out with it! So, no thank you!

Being Center Square was quite an honor…

M: Yes it was, but poor Paul Lynde had to die before I got it.

Well, he wasn’t just going to give it up…

M: Oh yeah, he was a bitchy old broad. They didn’t even know it was me in there for two years!

Let’s talk a little politics. Do you support same-sex marriage?

M: Well, I think nothing is worse than a marriage where the sex is the same all the time. I think you’ve got to mix it up a little, or it gets boring.

Do you support any type of marriage?

M: In the Bible it says “In the beginning there was Madame & Eve.” So, you know, when it comes to sex, I want everything that’s coming to me. But I am for equal rights, so I do support that, yes.

How about Obama’s health care reform? Do you support that?

M: Well, I feel like I’ve been paying taxes since the beginning of time and they spend that on things I don’t support all the time. So I think it’s time they spend that money on taking care of my friends and neighbors and loved ones.

On SFstandup.com, we have a lot of comedians starting out. Is there any advice you can give them from all your years in show business?

M: Yes, give up! I don’t want the competition! Any good comedian will tell you the same thing. Give up!

Are there any comics working today that you really like?

M: I love Louis CK! Mostly because he hates children. Babies are the worst, aren’t they? You compliment them all day and they don’t say shit back to you! Also, I like Wanda Sykes! I saw her the other night, laughed so hard my I.U.D. fell out! She is funny.

Comedy Central recently gave Jeff Dunham his own show and his special had huge ratings. How bad do you want to strangle that guy?

M: Really bad. I think it’s great he has his own show. I just think it stinks that he uses all my old material. That old Walter, he says all my old shit, I can’t believe it!

Have you ever had a puppet-feud?

M: Yes, with that pig, from the Muppets. I just don’t get her. She goes everywhere without lip-stick. She has no glamour at all!

By the way, is the term “puppet” now politically incorrect, like “midget” and “cripple”?

M: No one calls me “puppet”, unless it’s a term of endearment. I’m a lady first and a legend second, and never a puppet.

Finally, both the Mayan Calendar and John Cusack have predicted that the world will end in 2012. You buying that?

M: If the Mayan Calendar has sexy, naked Latinos in it, I’m buying that one. But I’ll pass on John Cusack. I think the world will end when Joan Rivers’ doctor runs out of plastic, don’t you?

You’ll be performing in San Francisco at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko on Halloween weekend, October 29th, 30th, & 31st. Anything we should know about those shows? Like, should people come in costume?

M: Well, I’m in costume all the time, so I think it would be nice if the audience came in costume for a change. I’ll be the judge –winner takes all of me!

We’ll see ya at the Rrazz room this weekend.

M: It’s gonna be a great show.

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Dave Attell: “I have a website… I’ve never been on it, but I have a pale cousin working on it.”

Jake Johannsen: “I’ve never actually been to [my website], but I’ve seen it demonstrated to me.”

Also featuring: Kevin Meaney, Don Novello, Carlos Alazraqui, Greg Behrendt, Don McMillan, Larry “Bubbles” Brown & more…

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Bob Saget @ The Warfield
October 16th
982 Market Street, San Francisco

I saw a news article that called you “America’s Raunchiest Comic.” How do you feel about that?

BS: Don Rickles came over to me once and said, “I really liked your HBO special, Bob, but you left out 2 ‘fucks’.” But the truth is, if you listen to the people that have been on HBO in the past year, I don’t say anything nearly as crude. It’s just the opposite thing- they saw me as a Dad on a sitcom for 8 years. People go, “why are you saying that? You’re the Dad!”

Your stuff has always been pretty twisted though- I was watching you on the Young Comedian’s Special from 1985 and you were like, “I love my Mom… and you can too for just $12.”

BS: That’s true, and for awhile because of the economy it went up to about $25, but now it’s back down again, cause times are tough. And she’s gotten older.

How did you develop your really fast, kind of rambling style- is that something you did at the beginning or did it develop later?

BS: That’s something I did at the beginning. I was influenced by people like Rodney [Dangerfield], who would just talk and didn’t stop and give people time to react. If you felt like you weren’t getting a laugh, you’d move so quick to the next thing that you’d never have time to not do well. I’ve kind of removed that from my way of being, cause a lot of that was out of nerves, being worried something wasn’t gonna hit. But what I’ve kept- what I’ve learned to do is make it kind of like jazz. All I do is think of a premise, such as, No matter what sick stuff you can think of, someone out there is doing it- someone has done it. Which could involve inanimate objects or sea creatures. And that gives me 12 minutes of things to discuss with people, and it becomes kind of like planned improv. You touch different bases and see what the audience laughs at. It is like jazz, you’re not sure where it’s gonna go.

What’s your experience been like performing in the Bay Area in the past?

BS: I’ve been playing up in the Bay Area my whole career. In the early 80s I would go up and do Cobb’s when it was in the Marina. I actually was there the night it closed at Fisherman’s Wharf, and I was also there to open it at the old Wolfgang’s, where it is now. So I’ve known Tom Sawyer a long time. I played the Holy City Zoo, which was a place when you probably weren’t even born yet. Robin Williams used to go up there, Jeremy Kramer, and a lot of guys. I would play The Other Cafe one week, and Dana Carvey would be there the next week. I liked The Other Cafe a lot, it was a really important place. A guy named Bob Ayres owned it and ran it.

He’s actually putting together a reunion show.

BS: Wow. That’d be cool. Where is he gonna do it?

I don’t know if he has a venue yet, but I think it’s gonna be in 2010.

BS: Well, he was always good to me. I did so much comedy there in the Bay Area over the years, and then I didn’t do it anywhere except L.A. for awhile. Then I went to The Warfield a couple years ago and just loved it. It feels like coming home a little bit. My comedy roots were in L.A., but my comedy brain wasn’t really in L.A. Everybody in L.A. is trying to get a movie and a TV show. I was here in ‘78, so Leno and Letterman were working. Everybody was working out material. I became friends with Dana Carvey and I’d go up to San Francisco and think, “Oh, this is where I should live.” I would always feel guilty that I wasn’t living there, cause everywhere else didn’t feel as though it had as much validity. It’s kind of how Boston is when you’re working in New York all the time and being a specific kind of comedian, then you go to Boston where you get to really gestate and grow as an artist. Obviously San Francisco is a place where I would go for artistic integrity- (laughs) I just got weirder and weirder the more I worked out there.

Did you play guitar in your act back then?

BS: I used to be only a guitar act. I was such a guitar act that at the end of the set, I would sing While My guitar Gently Weeps and I would turn a valve on the guitar and water would pour out all over me. The audience liked it cause I was soaking wet, so I was able to combine props with music. One time I was standing next to Larry David at the Improv in L.A. This was even before he was on the show Fridays. He was like, “All these people want is fucking guitar acts and prop acts.” Then he looked at me and realized he had just pretty much summed me up in one sentence. And then he was like, “Oh, sorry… what is wrong with these people?”

How did San Francisco become the setting for Full House?

BS: I’m not sure because I wasn’t in the original pilot, another guy was in it with John [Stamos] and Dave [Coulier]. And then they re-did it. I was getting fired from a morning TV show in New York. I came to L.A., screen-tested really quick, and then I was in this thing. I guess it was Jeff Franklin, who created the show. He must have come up with the idea to make it San Fran. Here we are 20 years later, and that shot- the logo font of Full House over the Golden Gate Bridge is like, literally a famous piece of pop culture.

All the tourists go by to look at that house, it’s crazy.

BS: I know- nobody goes by the What’s Happening house. (laughs)

Where’s that one at?

BS: (laughs) I have no idea.

What’s the new show you’re doing on A&E?

BS: This was actually a huge thing to mount. We shot in Ukraine, the pilot episode. We’re awaiting word from A&E what its destiny will be. This was me helping guys find mail order brides. It’s really interesting. It’s dark. Age of consent is when a woman says yes.

And they were willing to be on TV talking about that?

BS: Yeah, it was really amazing. In reality shows, people sign their life away when they do these things, but… it’s a willingness to want to be on camera, and portray your journey. These guys are looking for love, as crazy as that sounds. It was fascinating. That would be just one of the subcultures we’d be looking at. I could go and meet Geisha men in Japan, or I would go on the road with a biker gang and try to help them with their problems. It’s a very ambitious show, so I don’t know how many we would do, maybe 9 or something. By 9 I’d have a lung removed- it’s a hard show to do. It’s a very unusual piece- it’s a comedy documentary. It’s not like a travel show, it’s more of an anthropological show.

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