James P. Connolly, THE MASTER PLAN comedian: Mr. Media Radio Interview

BY BOB ANDELMAN

I was stuck in the car a few weeks ago, waiting to pick my wife up at work, tuning around the Sirius Satellite Radio dial, looking for a few laughs. I had already heard the Howard Stern show earlier in the day and went a few clicks past him and landed on the Blue Collar comedy channel.

The voice I heard—the inflection, particularly—sounded like Steve Martin. It wasn’t him,  but the performer had me laughing the way I used to laugh 30 years ago upon hearing new material from Martin.

This was a fellow named James P. Connolly and he had me in stitches with his routine about how men—when it came to sizing up women—were either ass, breast or leg men. I won’t try to tell his jokes here, but it was so funny I put it on pause and replayed it for my wife when she got in the car.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "When I was in Desert Storm, we were there for a little over a year, and the day we were leaving, they issued us desert boots. It was like a game show parting gift... When I go back to entertain the troops now, I strap those babies on because they probably cost the government $7,425—per boot."

Mrs. Media is not usually in the mood for standup comedy—from me or anyone else—when she gets out of work, but this time I insisted she listen. Three minutes later, she was laughing as hard as I was and I was convulsing all over again.

So I did something I never did before—I tracked down a comedian I heard on Sirius and invited him on the show based on maybe five minutes of material.

Connolly is not an unknown, having performed at the Comedy Store and the Improv, hosted “Movie Obsessions” on VH1 and appearing frequently on the nationally syndicated “Bob and Tom Radio Show.” He’s also released a CD, “The Master Plan,” which you can order on his website.

Open in your default player
Detach into a separate window

You can LISTEN to this interview with comedian JAMES P. CONNOLLY by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!

Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Christian Finnegan, AU CONTRAIRE stand-up comedian: Mr. Media Radio Interview

BY BOB ANDELMAN

Some how, some way, Christian Finnegan has managed to scrape out a unique identity for himself as a stand-up comedian.

He’s the guy who, on first glance, you think maybe he’s gay. But he’s not. Ask him about his father-in-law, if you have any doubt.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "I tried to hold off on Twitter as long as I could. I tried to stay strong against the tide of history... It may not be worth doing a whole stand-up bit about, but if you have a funny thought about salt shakers, you can throw it out into the ether."

And maybe, you think, he’s too smart to be a comedian. But he’s not. Actually, he is pretty smart, so that one could go either way.

He’s smart, he’s topical, and he’s not afraid to let a fart joke fly.

If you’re wondering from where you recognized his wit and clean good looks, think back to VH1’s “Best Week Ever, Comedy Central’s “Chapelle Show” or, more recently “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC.

Finnegan just released a pretty damn funny DVD of his latest work, entitled “Au Contraire!” You may have already seen a shorter version currently in rotation on Comedy Central.

You can find out when he will be in your town at his website, ChristianFinnegan.com.



Open in your default player
Detach into a separate window

You can LISTEN to this interview with stand-up comedian CHRISTIAN FINNEGAN by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!

Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Jason Stuart, MAKING IT TO THE MIDDLE comedian: Mr. Media Radio Interview

Jason Stuart
Comedian
------------

I’m not one to put labels on a person, but I guess if the cover of Jason Stuart’s latest DVD can describe him as “America’s top gay stand-up comic,” then it’s okay for me to repeat it.

But that leads to a question: Does “gay” mean homosexual men only? If he’s the nation’s top gay stand-up comic, where does that leave lesbian comedians such as Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, Carol Leifer or Judy Gold?

And Jason, if you’re #1, who is #2?

Open in your default player
Detach into a separate window

You can LISTEN to this interview with comedian JASON STUART by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!



Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Rabbi Bob Alper, WHAT ARE YOU... A COMEDIAN? rabbi turned standup comedian: Mr. Media Interview

My wife and I love taking vacations in Maine and Vermont. That’s not unusual for Floridians, of course. But it was reading the local paper in Manchester Center, Vermont, probably a decade ago, that I first heard of my next guest.

The story was about a performance by a rabbi-turned-standup comedian named Bob Alper.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a Jewish temple but I have. They’re not naturally funny places. But Rabbi Bob Alper is a naturally funny guy.

We became friends over the years, visiting and breaking bread in Vermont and in Florida. My family and I have seen him perform numerous times and even manned his book sale table once.

He’s just released the first DVD of his act, titled What Are You… A Comedian? so I’m using it as an excuse to feature my friend on today’s show.

You can LISTEN to this Mr. Media interview with RABBI BOB ALPER by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player below!

Open in your default player

Detach into a separate window

Copyright 2008 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Well, Excuuuuuuse Him!

"I cut my hair, shaved my beard, and put on a suit. I stripped the act of all political references, which I felt was an act of defiance. To politics I was saying, 'I'll get along without you very well. It's time to be funny.' Overnight, I was no longer at the tail end of an old movement but at the front end of a new one. Instead of looking like another freak with a crazy act, I now looked like a visitor from the straight world who had gone seriously awry."

-- Steve Martin, writing in his quasi-autobiography Born Standing Up about the development that took his act from small time to one of the all-time comedy greats. If you're looking for a great read and have any familiarity with Martin's stand-up career in the 1970s, this is a must read. Hopefully, he's already at work on a sequel covering his early movies...