Joey Commisso makes his What's So Funny? debut. To ease him into such a momentous occasion, we had his good friend and fellow comic Sam Tonning take over the hosting duties. That, and the fact regular host Guy MacPherson was out of town. It's a great conversation. The pair talked about bowling, '90s sitcoms, old-school standup Pat Cooper, and mental health, among other things.
Sunee Dhaliwal is always a good time. This episode is no exception but you also get a serious side of Sunee we hadn't heard before. Sure, we argue a bit about basketball, but not too much. He tells us about his growth spurt in junior high, teaches us a bit about Sikhism, and reveals his latest move after a few years in Toronto.
Angela Galanopoulos came bearing fruit. She brought us figs straight off the whatever-it-is figs grow from. She told us about her pre-entertainment career in government living in Mexico City as well as her current gig improvising and acting. Plus she tells us how Greek she is.
Myles Anderson talks about his transition from musician to comedian. The Victoria-ish native took up the piano late in life (12) and still teaches to this day. But he's also put out a comedy album on 604 Records. We talk about it all in this episode.
David Thomas Newham makes his WSF? debut with a guest host. He passed the test so one day he can come back with the regular host. Just like the old Tonight Show days! Sidekick Sam Tonning talks to the actor/writer/director/producer about Seven Tyrants Theatre and the little comedy lounge above the strip joint at the legendary Penthouse in Vancouver.
Scott Patey returns! The improviser/actor/referee was in studio with guest announcer Pal Mann. Scott talks about his Newfoundland roots, playing nerds in film and television, his rule of C's, working with stars, and bonding with Jim Carrey. And, of course, Rock, Paper, Scissors, the greatest sporting event known to man.
Guy and Sam sit and chat for the hour sans guest. It's a What's So Funny? first! A good, old-fashioned, two-guys-talking podcast episode. In this one, we win friends and influence people and chit-chat about this and that. You'll just have to listen.
Ari Matti makes one last visit with us before departing our fair city for the motherland of Estonia. Ari made a splash during his one-year stay in Vancouver. We talk about it, and he tells us about his separated shoulder and what he'd do with the hosts if we visited him in Tallinn. No spoilers but it involves beating us with leaves.
Taz VanRassel returns! All alone this time. He was last with us back in 2006, with two other guests. This time he gets the hour all to himself. Or most of the the hour since he was a titch late when his regular Sunday Service show ran long. In this episode, the improviser quizzes a 14-year-old on Big Chungus, talks about performing in schools, and he reveals his favourite animal. Shout-out to Graham Clark for interviewing Taz in 2010.
Chris Gaskin returns after a lengthy absence. We patch up a misinterpreted tension between us, and take a trip down memory lane with a clip from 2012 with guest Mark Breslin. We also talk about the comedic influence of Sean Collins, the joy of being a road comic, and quiz him on his wrestling bona fides.
Jacob Samuel is climbing up the comedy ladder step by step, rung by rung. He's a standup and cartoonist and we talk about both in this episode. We also talk about Jews in Canadian comedy.Plus a whole lot about Charlie Demers, too.
Levi McCachen has commitment issues, but he manages to stick through the hour with us. He leads us through his scattershot life, where he tried university a few times (law, philosophy), film school, spoken-word poetry, and finally standup. And we spend a good chunk of time going over various conspiracy theories.
Jason Rowland has led a Walter Mitty life. After leaving his Red Robin roots, he moved on through his own sheer will and a bit of luck to become the general manager of the Vancouver Canadians baseball club. Then he went on to manage one of the top comedy clubs in North America, Vancouver's Comedy MIX. From there, he moved on to become the VP of the World Series of Comedy festival. We talk about all of that. And Slurpees!
Ryan Williams talks about juggling both football and theatre in high school. We also talk about his love of medieval history and geopolitics, which culminated in a spirited (drunk) conversation he had with Jim Gaffigan. Oh, and we discuss standup, too, of course.
Lauren Mather manages Vancouver's Yuk Yuk's comedy club, and also performs a bit herself. She hails from Australia and we talk about her rustic upbringing. She also managed the Halifax Yuks. What an exotic life!
Neema Nazeri is a Toronto comic. He's also a Persian comic. Two for the price of one! He's toured Europe and Australia, been on MTV, and was even on the premiere episode of season 2 of The Beaverton. Sidekick Sam Tonning takes over the reigns on this one as regular host Guy MacPherson is off on spring break. It's a slightly abbreviated episode since Neema is always on the go.
Susan Thompson is transitioning from the spotlight to behind-the-scenes. We talk about her experience going from auto mechanic shop to the standup stage to the management/producer side of things. We also find out she's a bit of a star in Japan. And also that she's dropped about a hundred pounds. Such a life!
Amy Shostak and Tom Hill are not only improvisers, they're also instructors and... well, you'll have to wait until near the end of this episode to hear the big reveal. Who knew?! We talk improv, life, and we get a little serious at the end. A special shout-out to Sam in the booth.
Lady Rizo (née Amelia Zirin-Brown) is a cabaret performer extraordinaire. Trained as an improviser, she's a chanteuse with a quick and sharp wit. She's also the perfect guest: raw, honest, in the moment, funny, willing to go anywhere. Listen for yourself! Rizo was in Vancouver for five or six months performing at Bacio Rosso and is on her way to Chicago. Where she'll end up next, who knows? We brainstorm new possible names for her, she tells us her story of growing up with hippies, and she seren...
Lisa Frischemeier is a relatively new standup comic from Berlin. Strangely, she had never heard of Hogan's Heroes. But she taught us about German humour, the English-speaking standup scene in Berlin, her worst experience performing in Scandinavia, and why she loves abortion jokes.
Ed Hill joins us for the third time, this time smelling of Korean BBQ. We get to the bottom of his anglo-sounding name and talk about his upcoming album recording – also coincidentally his third. And he shares with us his favourite street joke – also coincidentally the only one he knows.
Colin Heath is a clown. No, that's not a knock on the guy. He's a professional who has toured with Cirque du Soleil all over the world and is currently at Bacio Rosso in Vancouver. He's also a playwright, artist, actor, and has even done standup comedy... once. Not only that, but he went to junior high school with our host (not that Heath remembers that).
Brittany Lyseng is our first guest of 2019, the start of our 15th year doing this thing. Wow. The Calgary-born-reared-based standup talks about the ups and downs of the business... the elevator and escalator business, that is. We also talk about her favourite teacher and why she won't be invited to perform at her high school (go Ghosts!). Oh yes, and comedy. We talk about that, too.
Dave Nystrom returns to the What's So Funny? studios 14 years after his first appearance. A year after that, he up and moved to Hollywood, California, USA. For the past few years he's been living in Calgary, Alberta, CA, raising a horde of children and doing standup there and across the country. He tells tales of his years in LaLaLand and reminisces about his early days starting out in Vancouver.
Harry Doupe comes bearing gifts, but that's not the reason we always invite him back around Christmas time. Who better to recap the year than the veteran writer/standup? He's got opinions and stories to keep us going for years. This episode is no exception.
Steve Bays is back, and like always with the musician, it's epic. That is, if you define 'epic' by length. We always have so much to talk about when he comes by. We talk about the BC Ferries, his recent visit to New York City, talking to Seth Meyers, being complimented by Noel Gallagher, and he shows off his amazing array of accents.
Melanie Rose, the comedian not the porn star, returns to the show 100 pounds less than her first visit. She talks about her gangster grandma, felonious fathers (both step- and biological) and criminal ex-consort. We also talk about the perils of being an older standup in the community. And more!
He Fangzhou, or Fangzhou He depending on how you roll, is our guest all the way from... Toronto. The Chinese national came here to study math but somehow got sidetracked into standup comedy. He's love to have the kind of career here that Canadian Mark Roswell (aka Dashan) has in China. But He tells us there's an advantage to a Canadian in China over a Chinese in Canada.
Kevin Kent accosted my beautiful bald head at Bacio Rosso, and yet I still invited him to guest with us. He's an improviser and drag queen from a cabin in the wilds of New Mexico who has run away to join the circus. Kind of. He tells us his life story, from Albuquerque to Chicago to Seattle and now Vancouver, for a couple months, anyway. We recorded this on Grey Cup Sunday, which was news to him.
Kevvy returns. In this episode, the front man for the band Fake Shark comes decked out in Vancouver Grizzlies gear. We talk a bit about the glory of the Grizzlies before moving on to his latest efforts as the foremost comedy album producer in all the land. He also talks about doing standup (of sorts) in high school, his love of Adam Sandler, and his Dave Chappelle tattoo (among others).
