Who Needs FM radio when you can podcast?

Last Friday, Los Angeles morning talk radio The Adam Carolla Show went off the air for the last time. It wasn't because their ratings were suffering, or that Carolla swore over the airwaves and the FCC shut him down. Rather, his L.A. station, 97.1 FreeFM switched their format to Top 40 under the new name of Amp Radio.

It wouldn't be fair to say that The Adam Carolla Show was just another morning zoo show. He gave regular (almost weekly) spots to "alternative" comics such Chris Hardwick, Doug Benson and Dana Gould. A radio guy at heart, Carolla loves funny people and fake laughter was rarely heard when he had a comedian on.

While Carolla expressed anger with L.A. FM radio being taken over by generic Top 40 stations and what he calls "ranchero music", he conceded that the format flip was nothing more than a business decision. He also talked about the station's program diretor's idea to do a Wing Bowl because, as the PD put it, "it's big in Philly."

And he's got other plans set in motion already, debuting his new podcast at Carollaradio.com. The first episode was posted this morning and while Carolla admits the setup is bare bones (for now, he's got plans to "get guests in here, we're going to get more than one mic set and we'll probably get a studio setup"), Carolla sees it as a way to connect with his audience and be able to say whatever the hell he wants.

Meanwhile, an idea has recently been floated around that if Sirius falls, why wouldn't Howard Stern just do a podcast? Certainly this should be taken with a grain of salt-it didn't come out of Stern's camp-but it makes financial sense.

Not that the idea is anything new. I've outlined the comedy podcasts out there that are bringing new voices and ideas straight to audiences that are rarely heard over the airwaves. One of them, Never Not Funny has even successfully ran a premium payment model.

I'm not trying to signal that there's going to be a max exodus from terrestrial and satellite radio, but something is brewing. As it becomes easier to distribute content over mobiles phones, MP3 players and soon internet-ready cars (if anyone will ever be able to afford them), an internet radio show doesn't sound so silly anymore (ahem). And when big names realize that they can do produce, distribute and sell their content themselves for cheaper, watch out.

Meanwhile, in a drastically different yet still effective payment model, Jersey City's free-form WFMU will start their yearly two-week fund raising campaign March 2nd (I know because I'm a proud donor and recently got their mass mailing). If you're a fan of comedy and know of WFMU, it's probably through the tent-pole show The Best Show on WFMU which yesterday started Best Show Gems, a twice a month "podcast featuring highlights from the full radio show. Classic Scharpling and Wurster calls, amazing phone-ins, random weirdness and more! It's a perfect way for a beginner to get on board, or for a longtime fan to look back and remember when."
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RECAP: Louis CK, 2/21

Todd Barry took the stage a little bit after 8:30 and did a very funny set, as would be expected from such a great comedian. Or as he put it, "I'm much too famous to be the opening act." What followed him completely marveled me for the next hour and a half. I don't want to go too much into jokes or what he said in any kind of specificity. But I will say this: Louis CK is the best comedian alive today and is rapidly approaching, if he's not already, being one of the best of all time. What struck me the most while watching him, that more than ever before he speaks with a complete freedom.

I can't imagine there being anything that he would like to say but that he isn't saying. He drops words like "faggot" and "cunt" like they're every day parts of his vocabulary and makes no apologies for them. He speaks about subjects that would (and did) make normal people squeamish and uncomfortable or even offended, and then made those people see things his way and laugh about them. His audience isn't just made up of nihilistic fuck-ups like me who will not have a second thought about laughing at a joke about raping a dead child -- for instance, the group of middle aged women near me were dying at that, even when he kept going in more horrific detail.

Which, I guess, brings me to my larger point. Louis CK never had to sell out or go clean or pander to get a mainstream audience. He never had to tone it down. He never had to go to where the audience was to get them. He's become one of the biggest touring acts of stand-up simply by being the best and the audience came to him. And on his Hilarious tour, he's become more graphic, more extreme, more descriptive of all the horrific details, and yeah, even funnier. He's at the top of the stand-up game being dirty, but also when he's talking about airplanes, or how we use words and language. He can talk about anything and still be the best at it.

Another thing that struck me was how loud on the mic he would get when he was angry. And it wasn't at all artificial like some angry comedians who are known for their yelling. It was completely natural frustration. That's what I felt was most important about the show. Everything he talked about mattered to him. Even when he would get into digressions about the silly or gross, it still led to a larger point or philosophy, so when he did raise his voice in anger, it felt like it mattered to him, so it mattered to me. And yet, he was completely loose and it felt like a natural conversation or dialogue. CK has become the model that all comedians should emulate. Not his style or his subject matter or his delivery. Just that he got to the top by doing the stuff he wanted to do rather than what he thought others wanted him to do. And the result is the single best night of stand-up comedy I've ever seen.

- Luke Giordano is a Phiadelphia comedian and host of the STAND-UP AT THE BULLY PULPIT show at Drexel University on Friday, March 13th.
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Andy Reid plays piano at Helium on Friday nights

That's local comic Steve Odabashian as Andy Reid (coach of the Philadelphia Eagles football team for youse that ain't in the know), filmed by Comcast SportsNet. Steve plays piano and takes requests every Friday night from 6:30-10:45PM at Helium. While he's out in the lobby tonight, Nick DiPaolo, Joe List and Kent Haines will be performing in the showroom.
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TICKET GIVEAWAY: The Whitest Kids U'Know at The Troc

Hot off a third season of their sketch show on IFC and the release of Miss March next month, The Whitest Kids U'Know are going out on tour. The NYC group will be at the Trocadero Theatre next Tuesday and we are giving away a pair of tickets!

To enter, just send an email with your name and the subject of WHITE KIDS to comicvsaudience@gmail.com. We'll draw a random winner next Tuesday.

In the meantime, enjoy these videos by the group:

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TONIGHT: Bedtime Stories: An Evening at Applebee's

This past December, as previously discussed, local comic Gregg Gethard decided to move his monthly topical sketch/monologue show BEDTIME STORIES away from the Philly Improv Theater and the Shubin. The show has landed at Connie's Ric Rac on the Italian Market and the next installment is tonight with the theme of "An Evening at Applebee's". In addition to the lineup below "there's actually a bit of a narrative arc with the show, which is something I've always wanted to try," says Gregg. "I think it might end up as a really special night."

Set to perform are:

Jon Goff
Action Section
Boy Meets Tractor
Little Miss Jamie Fountaine
Secret Pants
Meg and Rob
Chris Cotton and Friends
Animosity Pierre

Here's the official commercial for the show:

Gregg is a frequent writer to C vs. A and in case you were too busy gettin' it on, he wrote a Valentine's Day story last week.

Can't make it? Rob of the sketch group Meg & Rob will be twittering live (@bonyevitch) with a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Hey, by the way, we're on Twitter as well (@comicvsaudience).

The show starts at 8PM and $10 will get you in. And it's BYOB!

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TONIGHT: Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival auditions

Tonight, the Helium Comedy Club is hosting an Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival audition with the hopes that at least one of the comics will make it to the big show. Set to perform are Philadelphia-area stand-up comics Pat Barker, Kent Haines, Chip Chantry, Chris Coccia, Pat House, David James, Anton Shuford, Andy Nolan, Roger Weaver, and Joe Bublewicz. No matter if someone becomes famous or not, that's are a lot of funny comics on one show that will make you laugh.
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PODCAST: An improv set from Rare Bird Show

We've got one last podcast from last Thursday's C vs. A Radio Hour broadcast on G-Town Radio. The in-studio guest was the Philadelphia improv group Rare Bird Show and we were lucky enough to have them perform a set of improv comedy based off a suggestion from someone listening. Definitely worth checking out!

Subscribe to the podcast feed (iTunes)

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(Feel free to write a review in iTunes!)

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Listen to this episode (12:41):

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BREAKING: The State's Kevin Allison coming to the Philly Improv Theater in April

Over the years, the Philly Improv Theater has had some big names from the world of improv teach workshops in Philadelphia. And now, they have a big sketch comedy name. Kevin Allison from the cult MTV show The State will not only teach a beginner sketch writing workshop titled "The Joy of Sketch" and a sketch writing master class in April, but he will perform his one-man show "F*** Up".

Allison performed a sold-out run of the show this past November at The Pit (where he was Artistic Director in 2007) in New York City. In an Apiary interview last year, Allison explained the show:

The show is about me, but in the form of radically different nutjobs: A 90-year-old Jew, a monster, a salty sea dog, a Shakespearian thespian, a singing suicide and so on. There's dancing, hallucinations, urination -- all the ingredients of a hit. In real life, I'm someone who always returned to chasing his dream, even after making a jaw-droppingly catastrophic mess of life on occasions. There's something magically funny and cheering about the guy who walks right under a falling piano but gets back up and plows ahead. It's the reason we love Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Ralph Kramden. So this show is about daring dreamers who fuck up a lot along the way, then go once more into the breach. Comic heroes, I suppose.

Allison's performances and workshops will happen from April 10-12 at the Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge). Performances will be on Friday and Saturday at 10PM and Sunday at 7PM with the workshops held during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Workshop spaces are available now on the PHIT website and tickets to the shows go on-sale March 1st at midnight.
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PODCAST: Rare Bird Show

We've got more podcasts from last Thursday's C vs. A Radio Hour broadcast on G-Town Radio. The in-studio guest was the Philadelphia improv group Rare Bird Show and today, listen to them talk to host Dave Walk about performing in festivals and where they'd like to see Philadelphia improv go next.

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(Feel free to write a review in iTunes!)

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Listen to this episode (14:44):

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Check back tomorrow for a podcast of the live improv set that Rare Bird Show performed later in the show.
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VALENTINE'S DAY by Gregg Gethard

Valentine’s Day is a day of love. It’s a day of flowers. It’s a day of candy. It’s a day of Vermont Teddy Bears.

It is also a day that I once ruined for thousands of people.

This happened in 2002. I was a reporter for the Verona-Cedar Grove Times, easily one of the five worst newspapers in the country. (I know what I speak of as I have worked at three of the five worst newspapers in the world.) My main duties consisted of reporting on local school board issues, local real estate issues and other topics that made me vaguely suicidal.

One day, in early February, I received a call from a lady by the name of Bernice. She told me that she had a “pitch” for me as she had a “very important” story.

She had children who went to The Valley Educational Center, a private school for troubled kids from North Jersey. And, for Valentine’s Day, the kids at this school were going to put messages in puffy paint on t-shirts for folks who lived in a nearby nursing home.

Normally, I wouldn’t write about middle school students drawing hearts on t-shirts in puffy paint for a bunch of people waiting to die. But I decided to cover this story anyways. This was done for two primary reasons:

1. These kids were a bunch of juvenile delinquents. It was a collection of arsonists, thieves and rapists. And if there’s one rule I follow in life, it’s this: Always try to hang out with a group of pre-teen arsonists, thieves and rapists. Paricularly if there’s puffy paint involved.

2. This newspaper was a complete and total piece of shit. I covered stories way more retarded than this one. Earlier in my tenure at this paper, I wrote an article about a guy who grew a really big zucchini in his garden. It was the main story on the front page.

I went to the school, where I met Joel, the school’s executive principal and Robb, the school’s head principal. I have no clue what the difference between these two job titles exactly was. The only difference between them was Robb’s hair, which was straight out of the Jeff Ament collection.

“What you are doing for these kids… it’s just awesome and amazing. I mean, these kids have nothing positive in their lives at all,” Robb said. “So, for what you’re doing, we’re going to love you forever. After this article is written, we’re going to frame it for you.”

I told them that they didn’t have to do it. After all, I was a journalist, and I wasn’t allowed to accept gifts from people I was writing about. (However, I would have accepted the following: food, sporting event tickets, free passes to Loews’ cinema, free passes for Blockbuster videos, light drugs, a job reference, cash, and a new car, preferably a Lexus.)

Robb then told me that his brother was a reporter for the U.S. News and World Report. “He really misses writing these types of stories,” he said. “You know, the articles where you can really impact someone’s life.” I’m pretty sure his brother didn’t miss these types of stories. And I’m definitely sure he didn’t miss the $9.75 per hour wage.

Robb then asked me not to write anything that would “cause further harm” to these kids. I told him I would try my best not to, but that I would be writing down what Robb told me. He continued to talk about how fucked up these kids were.

“They’ve been damaged by life,” he said.

Finally, we made it to the art room. And there, as expected, were a bunch of messed up looking middle school kids – 8th graders with mustaches and/or wearing halter tops -- putting puffy paint on t-shirts. I wish I could be more descriptive than that. But that’s all it was.

I went back to work and wrote this article. It could not have been easier. It’s a story that tells itself. Messed up kids who are “damaged by life” put puffy paint on t-shirts for elderly people. I finished the job and went on with my life.

Two days article, our paper came out. My boss, Milo, called me into his office.

“It’s that guy Robb from the school,” he said. “He’s on the phone. He’s crying.”

I blinked.

“What, is he crying tears of joy?”

“No, he’s pissed as shit.”

I picked up Milo’s phone.

“Hello?” I asked.

“You are a fucking asshole,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You are a fucking piece of shit.”

I asked him what his problem was. He continued to flip out on me.

"Everything in here is a misquote. We went over the rules. I didn't want you to run anything that could hurt these kids," he told me.

"I wrote down what you told me," I said. "Plus, there's not anything in there which could hurt anyone."

"DAMAGED BY LIFE! YOU WROTE THAT THESE KIDS WERE DAMAGED BY LIFE!"

"Because that's what you--"

"Do you know what you did by writing that? DO YOU?"

"No. Please tell me."

"YOU RUINED VALENTINE'S DAY FOR THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES IN NORTH JERSEY. THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES. ALL OF WHOM WANTED TO READ THIS STORY. AND YOU RUINED VALENTINE’S DAY FOR THESE PEOPLE."

Rob and I eventually parted ways, but not before this granola-head cursed at me a few more times.

So, if you’re one the people whose Valentine’s Day I ruined all those years ago, I’m sorry. However, if you’re one of the kids I wrote about in the article, you’re probably in jail anyways.

Gregg Gethard is a Philadelphia writer and comedian. His monthly comedy show BEDTIME STORIES is next Wednesday the 18th at Connie's Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th) at 8PM.
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PODCAST: Ted Alexandro on the C vs. A Radio Hour

Our most recent radio show was yesterday and for those of you that really feel like you have something better to do, we've got podcasts of the highlights. Today, listen to New York City stand-up comedian talk about comedy and his career. Ted is performing through Valentine's Day at Helium.

Subscribe to the podcast feed (iTunes)

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(Feel free to write a review in iTunes!)

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Listen to this episode (8:27):

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Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium revamps Onion show

Have you ever thought that the voices you use when reading The Onion, America’s Finest News Source, just weren't good enough? Well, Philadelphia absurdist theater group Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium are here to help you with that. They are once again putting on their ridiculous, profane show of Onion columns, this time entitled "Raw Onion 2: Laugh 'Til You Cry".

The show will once again be a fundraiser for the group. C vs. A wrote about the show last May (there's video up at Vodavoom.com) and Artistic Director Tina Brock promises many new characters this time around.

It all happens on this Sunday at 6 and 9 PM at L'Etage (624 S. 6th). Tickets are $20.
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