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Internet Star Lauren Francesca Parodies Paris Hilton’s Drunk Text with Guest Appearance By Jeffrey Gurian

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on March 5, 2012

Lauren Francesca is an internet sensation who often plays Lady Gaga in the Key of Awesome videos that tend to get upwards of 25 million hits! Lauren and I have been working together for a while and one of our most fun projects was one that I wrote for her, creating the character of Besame Mucho, a “hot” Latina, (as if there’s any other kind! LOL) who is acknowledged by “at least two major men’s magazines” as the best kisser in the world.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with internet star Lauren Francesca, as Besame Mucho on the set of “The Academy of Oral Skills!”

It’s on Funny or Die, and on a million other comedy sites:

We also did one last year for the Oscars where she parodied every movie that was up for an award, and I was in the one about The King’s Speech!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV sitting on Lauren Francesca re-enacting the scene from “The King’s Speech” for Lauren’s parody of The Oscars in 2011!

Now she’s doing one parodying Paris Hilton’s newest video,”Drunk Text” and if you’ll pardon the phrase, it’s “hot”!!!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with internet star Lauren Francesca as Paris Hilton on the set of her new parody film “Drunk Text”!

She had new words written and she wears a long blonde wig, and it’s really funny, and you’ll be seeing it very soon! I was one of the guys in the dark glasses who sit beside her texting and not paying her much attention during the video. The other guy, my “partner in crime”, was Mark Mangold, who’s a successful music business guy.

Jeffrey Gurian and Mark Mangold as “the guys in black” who sit on either side of Lauren/Paris as the whole drunk texting thing goes down!

There was one scene where Lauren/Paris takes a cell phone snapshot up another girl’s dress and sends it to someone as if it was her.

The girl finds out and attacks Paris and pulls her hair. To save Lauren/Paris, I shoot at the girl with a futuristic ray gun!

Jeffrey Gurian with his super powerful futuristic ray gun, protecting Lauren/Paris during her Drunk Text ordeal!

The girl who was to play the part had to leave so because actors are very inventive, actor/producer Walter Masterson who works with Lauren all the time stepped up, put on a skirt, eye make-up, and wig, and pulled it off. The funniest part was he has better legs than most girls!

Hero actor/producer Walter Masterson coming to the rescue by donning women’s clothing and makeup, before the wig went on!

Lauren Francesca fitting the blonde Paris wig on actor Walter Masterson!

Lauren/Paris proceeds to get drunker and drunker until she gets thrown out of the club by the bouncer, in this case played by Joey Boots, but not before she throws up on the club floor, which was a very funny scene to shoot!

Lauren/Paris losing her cookies on the dance floor!

Lauren Francesca/Paris with Joey Boots the bouncer who’s getting ready to throw her out!

Lauren/Paris kicking and screaming as she is thrown out of the club for being too drunk!

Lauren/Paris being dragged out of the club by the bouncer!

Now that I built up the excitement and anticipation, here’s the video! It totally rocks, and I’m all over it!

Tags: "Comedy Matters TV", "Drunk Text", "Musical Parodies", "Paris Hilton", "Perez Hilton", Barely Political, Comedy, Comedy Matters, Jeffrey Gurian, Lauren Francesca, Parodies, parody, The Key of Awesome

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Michelle Slonim-Comedian/Matchmaker

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on March 4, 2012

Michelle Slonim is an interesting woman. Not only is she a stand-up comedian, but she also does fun events to help Jewish people meet each other. She turned the ultra-hip Hotel Chantalle on Ludlow Street into a Kosher “meet-market” and the crowd was very good looking. Sometimes she incorporates comedy performances into her events.

Michelle Slonim with Isramerica and Date My Jewish Friend produced this fun event!

I ran into Gabe Waldman there who owns the great comedy club Stand-Up New York on West 78th Street, which has recently been totally remodeled. Stand-Up gets great stars, and recently had a big write-up on Page 6 for having Chris Rock stop by to rehearse for the Oscars. Check it out at http://www.standupny.com

Gabe Waldman of Stand-Up New York with Michelle Slonim, in a very “hot” leather cowboy hat at Hotel Chantalle!

Michelle will be doing a comedy event this coming Friday March 9th. Check it out!

Michelle Slonim’s upcoming comedy event, 3/9/12, at Town and Village on West 14th Street!

Tags: "Comedy Matters TV", "Date My Jewish Friend", "Hotel Chantalle", "Ludlow Street", "Michelle Slonim", "Winter Love Bash", Comedy Matters, Gabe Waldman, Isramerica, Jeffrey Gurian, Stand Up New York

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Broadway Comedy Hot Saturday Show

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on March 4, 2012

I like dropping by Broadway Comedy Club unexpectedly because you never know who you’ll see there. Saturday night is usually packed so I thought it would be a good time, and I was right.

The welcoming looking marquee of Broadway Comedy Club, on West 53rd Street!

I got to see a great line-up of comics, hosted by the very funny Chris Murphy, who looks more like a rock singer than people tell me I do! Chris is very funny and commented on his appearance by saying that as he was walking in the street some guy yelled out ” Faggot”, and he was pissed off, but of all the guys on the street, he was the only one that turned around!

Chris Murphy MC’ing the show at Broadway Comedy with his long, rockstar hair!

He also commented on his Irishness and their proclivity towards the drink! He said his own father got a DUI while taking his driving test! And it was on the written part! That’s hysterical!

Next up was Dustin Chafin, who I know for a long time, and who also has a look of his own! He’s originally from Texas, and always wears a cowboy hat, but describes his look as a guy who “should be selling meth at a gay rodeo!”

Dustin Chafin, a transplant from Racism, Texas, onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

He says he’s from a little town in Texas called “Racism.”

On dating a girl who encouraged him not to eat meat from animals, and eat salad instead, she said to him, ” If you really liked animals you’d stop eating meat”, and he said, ” if YOU really liked animals, you’d stop eating their food!”

Bill McCarty is a real pro and has been performing for a long time. I think that’s why they gave him the infamous “check spot”! It’s the hardest spot to take cause people are reviewing their checks and arguing over who ordered “gratuity” and things like that! Bill said his health insurance plan is so bad, if he gets sick, he has to find the nearest school and go see the school nurse.

Bill McCarty striking a serious pose while making people laugh at Broadway Comedy Club!

Brian Scott McFadden who I covered in a recent Blog post was also on the show and killed it as he always does. He recently came to the attention of the producers of the new “In Living Color”, who I was helping to find people to audition, for the new show, and I told them about Brian’s strength doing characters. There aren’t many comics who can do so many strong characters. Hope he gets it!

And Russ Meneve was also on the show and is a favorite of mine. You’ve seen him on Letterman and Leno. He’s very edgy and even more than he was before. He’ll say things like, ” Did you ever get a girl so turned on you can feel her nails through your ski mask?” Very edgy!

Russ Meneve who’s so relaxed onstage he can even lean on the mic stand!

On finding a condom in the street: ” Are you telling me that there’s a person so reckless that they’d have sex in the street, yet so responsible they use a condom?” That’s funny!

He told about the Asian delivery man who got stuck in an elevator for hours because he couldn’t find the “R” for “Robby”! That’s like my joke about going into a Chinese restaurant so drunk, I tried to order a sandwich. They got so confused they called the police. And all I remember is someone yelling, ” No blead! We no have blead!” ( Bread, get it??? LOL) And I was like, ” I don’t bereave you!”

What’s also cool about Broadway Comedy is that they have these big flat screen TV’s around the room so you can see the performer wherever you’re sitting.

Russ Meneve, literally star of both stage and screen,(LOL) at Broadway Comedy Club!

Russ is also a good ad-libber which is so important and a skill I’m working to improve onstage. He asked one guy in the audience what he does to get sex, and the guy said he goes out “clubbing.” And Russ said, ” By “clubbing” you mean you club women and drag them into your van?” That was really funny!

All in all a great night at Broadway Comedy on West 53rd Street in the heart of Manhattan’s Times Square area!

Tags: "Bill Mccarty", "Brian Scott McFadden", "Broadway Comedy Club", "Broadway Comedy", "Chris Murphy", "Comedy Matters TV", "Dustin Chafin", Comedy Matters, Jeffrey Gurian

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Aries Spears Kills It At Gotham Comedy Club

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 29, 2012

Aries Spears’ website identifies him as “The Funniest Muther-F#*ker On The Planet” and I don’t think I’d argue with that. Most people tend to hype themselves, but in Aries’ case it’s true. I can see why he was a star on Mad TV. His characters, and ability to do dialects, are amazing. And Gotham Comedy Club was packed to capacity, which not all comics can do.

To give you an idea of how crowded it was, they had to put two strangers at my table, cause they were totally out of space! And I was cool with that! They happened to be nice people!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with L.A. comic Aries Spears at Gotham Comedy Club!

Jimmy Failla was the MC and opened with a strong set. Opening a show the right way is so important. It gets the crowd in the mood to laugh. Jimmy just has that way about him, and coupled with strong material makes for a good host.

Jimmy Failla onstage at Gotham getting the audience in a good mood!

I always knew that hosting was difficult, but when I started doing it myself at The Comic Strip, I REALLY appreciated how much harder it is than just doing a regular spot. A few nights later, Jimmy and I got to perform together at Gotham on Alyse Kenny’s comedy show for the charity, “The Cure Is Now”! Alyse produces a once a month show at Gotham in the Vintage Lounge, each month benefitting a different charity.

Veronica Mosey took the stage next, … and refused to tell us where she put it! (LOL) That’s so silly, but it reminds me of the line, ” I’m a hard act to follow cause when I leave the stage, I take the mic with me!”

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Veronica Mosey doing her comedy thing at Aries Spears’ show at Gotham!

Veronica is always funny, and in a male dominated world, manages to hold her own! She recently got married and was also just profiled on National Lampoon’s Interview Show, the week after I was. You can see her interview at www.nationallampoon.com

Areis did at least an hour seamlessly. Never at a loss for what to do next. He jokes about Blacks and Whites equally, and does an incredible imitation of a “White” voice! He says he uses that voice when he’s talking to a white girl, so that he feels white. As he tells that story he plays the classic Rick Springfield rock song in the background, ” Jessie’s Girl”.

He also does a variety of great ” Black” voices which answers the question that many white people have, whether Black people know that they talk a certain way! Not only do they know, but they can modify it and even “Black it up” when they feel they need to! (LOLOL)

Aries says, you know you’re a big star when you can sell out Africa!

He says that Maury Povich’s show is “Black ignorance at it’s finest!”, which may be the best summation I ever heard.

He said, ” You’ll never see Black people on shows like, ” When Animals Attack.” Black people are too smart for that, to mess with wild animals. You may however see them on shows like
“When Cops Attack!”

He jokes about Africans being so black, that he told one African guy, ” If you stood against a building you’d like like the entryway to an alley!”

He likes when Black people go out to a show and when the bill comes, one person inevitably says, ” Who ordered gratuity???”

The multi-talented Aries Spears making a point during his sold-out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

He wants to be a film star but he thinks he needs to lose some weight first. He says, “You know you have to lose weight when you have to catch your breath from breathing!”

He also does great Indian and English accents, and fantastic impressions of Arnold Schwartzeneggar, and Denzel Washington! (If I had just written “Denzel”, would you have known who I meant? LOL)

And then as a finale he does a rap song while imitating all the rappers like Snoop, DMX, Method Man, Biggie and Jay-Z. The man is an entertainment phenomenon, and if you get a chance to see him go for it!

Tags: "Aries Spears", "Arnold Schwartzeneggar", "Biggie Smalls", "Comedy Matters TV", "FOX TV", "Jimmy Failla", "MAD TV", "Maury Povich", "Sean Carter", "Veronica Mosey", Comedy Matters, DMX, FOX, Gotham Comedy Club, Jay-Z, Jeffrey Gurian, Maury, Snoop Dogg

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Amy Schumer Tapes A Pilot For Comedy Central

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 26, 2012

Comedy Central loves Amy Schumer! Come to think of it, everyone loves Amy Schumer! But she can’t call her new pilot for Comedy Central “Everybody Loves Amy” cause it’s already been done by both Ray Romano and Chris Rock!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Amy Schumer at Gotham Comedy Club! All I needed was a jaunty Captain’s hat! ( Read further to get that one!)

Amy says that if people like her, it’s because she has a “cabbage patch” look, and we played with her when we were children!

A lot of Amy’s jokes are self-deprecating and about her appearance, and audiences love that. It makes them feel better about themselves which is why many female comics always downplayed their looks over the years. Unfortunately, some of them had no looks to downplay in the first place!

The Bowery Poetry Club is a very cool spot and where Amy Schumer taped material for hew new Comedy Central pilot!

Anyway, I went down to the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC, to see Amy tape some new material for the as yet unnamed pilot she’s doing for Comedy Central. The place was packed to overflowing. They were nice enough to hold two seats for me. Unfortunately they were on someone else’s lap, but we all got along, and it was fine! (LOLOL)

Amy only gets cuter and cuter as her career rises. She says about herself: “Right now, on the hotness scale, I’m right where everybody thinks they have a shot!”

She says, ” People think I’m from the Midwest. I think I look like I milked something recently.” All her jokes seem to have a little sexual edge to them and it works great for her!

She also talks a lot about her Mom, Sandy who was there. She took me backstage to meet her, and they look very much alike. Amy did her best not to call her Mom the “C” word, but she just couldn’t help it!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, having a blast backstage interviewing Amy Schumer, after the taping of material for hew new pilot on Comedy Central!

She says she doesn’t like when her Mom brags: ” I can still fit into my wedding dress.” Amy says, ” Who cares! She can still fit into a dress she wore when she was 8 months pregnant. Big deal!”

I always like to meet comic’s Mom’s, especially when they talk about them in their act. Sandy looked like she had a great sense of humor, and for a big career in comedy, you let your daughter call you the “C” word! (LOL)

When Lisa Lampanelli introduced me to HER Mom, she too said she didn’t care. And neither did her Dad who was there in the audience when she referred to him as an ” old, blind bastard!”. Wasn’t that a rapper??? Old Blind Bastard? OBD??? No???

The opening act was Kurt Metzger another comic that everyone loves, despite the fact that he looks nothing like Amy Schumer! Kurt is a wordsmith, and comes up with phrases you don’t hear too often but which are guaranteed to be funny, like when he commented on some guy in the audience sporting a “jaunty Captain’s hat”, which he deemed a real hipster look! ( Now you get the joke above! LOL )

Some words are just funny! They’re “comedy words”! Like, chances are that any joke you write with the words “divining rod” in it will get laughs!

I recently did a fun video interview with Kurt when he was on Anthony Anderson’s 3rd Anniversary Mixtape Comedy Show. You can check that out right here:

And after the taping, Amy was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me to tape a little exclusive video for Comedy Matters TV! And surprisingly enough, that’s right here:

Amy always told me she was grateful for my support and not more than a couple of months ago said to me, “Jeffrey, if I ever get my own show, … you can count on watching it from your living room!”

I know Amy’s show will be a big hit, and I can’t wait to start watching!

Tags: "Bowery Poetry Club", "Comedy Matters TV", "Kurt Metzger", Amy Schumer, Comedy Central, Comedy Matters, Jeffrey Gurian

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Brett Eidman Wins Comedian Who Matters Contest

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 19, 2012

Last month we ran a contest for The Comedian Who Matters. One of the prizes was to perform in my late show at the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip, where I host on Sunday and Monday nights.

The outside of the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip open since 1976!

Most comics’ goal is to pass at The Strip, which was the launching pad for legends like Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Miller, George Wallace, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano and on and on and on!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV, Jerry Seinfeld, and Richie Tienken, owner and founder of The Comic Strip!

I am also doing the book on the 35 year history of the club, which will be out this year, and have already interviewed about 30 of the biggest stars to emerge from that club.

For this contest, I got many great submissions, some international as well, from as far away as India, (that’s how far people would come to perform at The Comic Strip!), and it was really hard to pick the finalists, but I did it with the help of my staff including my producer Sean Mannion, and comic Corinne Fisher who is amazing.

There were six finalists. To make it as fair as possible, I left it up to the public to decide the winner. Whoever got the most votes was the winner and that turned out to be Brett Eidman, (www.bretteidman.com) from upstate New York.

BrettEidman_Jeffrey_BookParty_Friars_Club

Jeffrey Gurian and Brett Eidman at The Friars Club at a party for Jeffrey’s book “Filthy, Funny, and Totally Offensive.”

I happen to know Brett for a while and they couldn’t have picked a more talented, nicer guy than him. Brett is an award winning comedian/writer/actor who is best known for his song parody of “Shaft, Barack Theme” which was played on thousands of radio stations and CNN.

Comedy bits from his CD, “What’s So F#@k’n Funny?” released on the Uproar Entertainment label, are played regularly on Sirius XM radio. A graduate of The Second City,in Chicago, Brett has been seen and heard on several TV and Radio Shows including “Saturday Night Live”, “Law & Order”, and “CollegeHumor”.

Brett’s one man show “One Angry Man” just completed a sold out run in NYC, and deserves to be touring nationally!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with Brett Eidman at his sold out show “One Angry Man!”

He’s fantastic at doing character work, and is currently taking meetings with major agents and managers!

So tomorrow night, Monday 2/20/12, is the night when Brett gets to perform at The Strip.

The Strip is located at 1568 Second Avenue in Manhattan between 81st and 82nd Streets. (212) 861-9386 You can arrive at 10:30 and not have to pay a cover charge if you mention Brett Eidman or Jeffrey Gurian. Brett will hit the stage first after I do my opening.

I hope you’ll all come out and support him! This is big!

Tags: "Brett Eidman", "Comedy Matters TV", "Jerry Seinfeld". Chris Rock", Comedy Matters, Comic Strip Live, Eddie Murphy, Jeffrey Gurian, Ray Romano, The Comic Strip

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David Spade Pops In To Broadway Comedy

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 19, 2012

Al Martin’s Broadway Comedy always has a good line-up. On any given night you can expect to see names like Mike Vecchione, Kurt Metzger, Nate Bargatze, Ted Alexandro, and several others who are on their way to becoming household names. And every once in a while a major star pops in to do a surprise set. Such was the case when David Spade popped in to prepare for his Letterman spot.

David Spade onstage at Broadway Comedy Club preparing for his Letterman spot!

The audience is always thrilled when that happens, and David is always a crowd pleaser. He was on Letterman plugging his appearance this weekend at the Venetian Showroom in Las Vegas.

David Spade and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at a comedy event in Manhattan!

Also at Broadway were two nights of auditions for this years Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal which will be the 30th anniversary. It’s the biggest comedy festival in the world, and everyone who’s anyone in comedy shows up. They even let ME come! (LOL) This year’s lineup should be spectacular!

The night I dropped by I got to see a really talented guy named Brian Scott McFadden. Brian is so talented! He does great characters, voices and can imitate so many accents! Whether he’s doing some nut on the subway going off about his canteloupe, or a brain-damaged boxing coach who repeats every other word he says, his characters are spot-on!

This night he talked about not drinking because he comes from a long line of Irish alcoholics being in Ireland. So when he went to Ireland, and told a bartender he didn’t drink, the guy became incensed! He yelled, ” What do you mean you don’t drink? How would you like it if I had sex with you in front of your grandparents?” To which Brian answered, ” Why is that even an option?”

His observations on what women want, and how trying to figure that out leaves men reacting like a cat following a laser pointer is brilliant, and I don’t use that word lightly! I tried to write some of it down, but it just goes so fast. One tiny example of the juxtapostions of what women want – “They want a strong willed decisive man, who sticks to his guns, yet who’s flexible, open-minded and can admit when he’s wrong.” All I can tell you is that throughout the bit he gets several applause breaks from the audience.

Brian Scott McFadden in the middle of explaining to the men in the audience exactly what women want!

Closing the show was Ricky Velez, who’s very funny, but wore his pants so low, I thought they were about to fall off. I tried to capture it in a photo, but I’m not sure you can tell. They would have been right for a man about 4’10”.

Comic Ricky Velez killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy!

The same Ricky Velez in a rare “pants shot”, wearing pants for a man 4’10”! (LOL)

And coming up on March 1st, The Big Brown Comedy Hour, featuring NYC’s top Arab, Indian, Iranian, Pakistani and other very funny “brown” people!

The show is hosted by The Daily Show’s “Brown” correspondent Aasif Mandvi and features comedians Dean Obeidallah (Comedy Central’s “Axis of Evil”/“The Muslims Are Coming” upcoming documentary), Vidur Kapur (Fox’s “On the Lot”/Logo), Maysoon Zaid (On air Contributor to Current TV’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”), Hari Kondabolu (Comedy Central, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live), Mo Na (NY Arab-American Comedy Festival), Nader Uthman, (NY Arab-American Comedy Festival), Narinder Singh, Sameer Naseem, Fariaz Rabbani (NY Comedy Festival) and more, all coming together in a Jewish owned club! Comedy brings everyone together to laugh at themselves!

Broadway Comedy has a great fun menu as well as fun comics. Personally I love laughing while eating Nathan’s hotdogs and fries. They also have White Castle burgers, nachos, hot wings, Junior’s famous cheesecake, and even a double high chocolate cake for two. Fortunately the shows are so good, you laugh off the calories!

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Jeffrey Gurian on National Lampoon Radio Interview Show With Brian McCarthy

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 13, 2012

I ran into Brian McCarthy from National Lampoon Radio’s Interview Show recently at a party, and he reminded me of when we first met back in the 90’s.

He was kind of new in town, and said he used to see me at many parties and events with spectacular women, and always wondered who I was, but was too nervous to come over and say hello! (LOL)

Then one day he realized we had a mutual friend named Chris Walsch. Chris and I had a comedy sketch troupe that disbanded before we got to do any performances, but we were always hysterical laughing, and I wish I knew what ever happened to him. Brian asked Chris who I was and he told him to the best of his ability! (LOL)

Thankfully the ensuing years have given Brian more courage because the evening I mentioned above, he did come over to say hello, and we had so much fun reminiscing that he invited me to be a guest on his interview show. He and producer Marty Dundics do this really fun show, and I was a guest for about an hour.

Brian McCarthy, the host of National Lampoon Interview Show, showing that he has nothing in his hands, but still does magic with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV!

Brian McCarthy, host of National Lampoon Interview Show and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, pointing each other out to the police, when asked “Who did it???”

You can check it out in the video below! We really had lots of fun!

Tags: "Brian McCarthy", "Comedy Matters TV", "Milton Berle" "Friars Roasts", "National Lampoon Radio Interview Show", "National Lampoon", Comedy Matters, Friars Club, Jeffrey Gurian, National Lampoon Radio

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Robert Kelly’s "You Know What Dude"???

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 12, 2012

I had a real treat last night. My friends from The Syndicate, and Laugh Button, Matt Kleinschmidt, Chris Elles, and Tracey Zucatti invited me to their client Robert Kelly’s podcast called “You Know What Dude?” at Gotham Comedy Club. I had even a better time than I expected.

“You Know What Dude” Poster at Gotham Comedy Club!

I first met Robert when he was doing HBO’s Tourgasm with Dane Cook, Gary Gulman, and Jay Davis, and thought he was very funny from the gitgo.

Jay Davis, Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV, and Robert Kelly back in 2006!

“You Know What Dude” is not the kind of podcast you’d share with your parents, but then again why are you sharing any podcasts with your parents at all???

Not only did they have mics set up at a table for the podcast, they had a standing mic on the stage of Gotham’s Vintage Lounge, so people could also get up and do some stand-up first which I think is a great idea, mixing the two. Let people hear some jokes first and then the comic joins the panel.

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(L-R) Robert Kelly flipping the bird, Bonnie McFarlane, Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Joe DeRosa at Robert Kelly’s podcast!

The room was packed to over-capacity, (just an exaggeration in case the fire department is reading this blog post! LOL), and I wound up sitting next to Conan Smith from Denis Leary’s Apostle Entertainment, who works with both Robert Kelly and Joe DeRosa. The two of us were laughing our asses off!

Funny guy Joe DeRosa, who I happen to like very much for his distinctive delivery and sharp material opened the show and talked a lot about the age-old conundrum of whether a straight guy like himself, would rather have sex with a gorgeous female transexual who still had her male organs down below, or a female transexual, who became a bald, muscular tattooed male, but still had his female organs intact down below.

Joe DeRosa doing what he does best, … making people laugh!

I think the gorgeous female transexual was named Billy Jaye and DeRosa proclaimed that he “would happily skip into a fire to blow Billy Jaye.” That kind of solved that problem, at least for Joe, if not for the rest of the audience! (LOL)

Bonnie McFarlane is not only a funny comic but a very empowered woman. She always winds up in “pissing” contests, (not literally! LOL) with male comics who feel the need to try and “reign her in” comedically in some way. ( No pun attached to the fact that her daughter’s name is Reina. mostly cause I couldn’t think of a joke!)

Bonnie McFarlane giving it back to Robert Kelly and Joe DeRosa who are definitely enjoying it!

To Bonnie’s credit she is NEVER intimidated, but instead goes on the attack and not only holds her own, but often comes out on top, which is exactly where I picture her when she’s with her husband Rich Vos! (LOL)

You gotta be a strong powerful woman to be married to Vos! And you gotta be able to take it when it’s dished out, as it often is when she co-judges The Lottery Show at The Comic Strip.

So when the guys accused Bonnie of self-sabotage, she struck back at Kelly by saying,” Bald people love to rape. It’s the same hormone that makes your hair fall out!” She followed that up with, ” If I was getting raped by a bald guy, I’d try a lot harder to get away, than if I was getting raped by a guy with hair!” You gotta be very hip to pull of a line like that, and she totally did!

What made the show even funnier was when Bob DiBuono came out and did Rich Vos! ( Not “did” him in the Biblical sense! Vos was in Florida, supposedly performing! LOL ) He did the best impression of Rich Vos that I ever heard. I closed my eyes and could actually picture Vos in the room. Everyone said he got more laughs than Vos gets doing his own material.

In the photo below, you can actually see a facial resemblance to Vos. When a good impressionist does his best work, he actually appears like the person he’s imitating. I think it has to do with how the speech muscles have to work in order to imitate a voice perfectly, and those muscles probably have something to do with a person’s appearance.

Bob DiBuono wearing a Rich Vos facial expression! (LOL)

That may explain this photo below when Vos tries his best to smile for a photo! (LOL)

Bonnie McFarlane with her husband Rich Vos who’s doing the best he can to smile! Either that or he’s doing his impression of a man with Bell’s Palsy! (LOL)

The topper on this show was when Robert noticed Wil Sylvince in the room and invited him to join the panel. I was hoping I’d get to hear Wil imitate his Haitian uncle, and anyone who’s ever heard him knows what I mean, ” Why you, why you, why you say dat to me?” (LOLOL)

Wil Sylvince having a laugh while doing Robert Kelly’s podcast “You Know What Dude?”

When I co-produced Kevin Hart back in 2010 at Westbury, in a sold out 2800 seat fundraiser for Haiti, along with Tony Rock, Wil was the MC, and the show was phenomenal!

So was “You Know What Dude?”, and at the end people lined up to have their “You Know What Dude” posters signed by the cast, and Kelly wrote, ” Dear Jeffrey, Thanks for all you do for comedy!”, DeRosa wrote ” Jeffrey you rule”, and what Bonnie wrote is just between her and I! (LOLOL)

I can’t wait to see it again, and maybe one day be a guest on it like I was on National Lampoon Radio last week, which should be airing today!

Tags: "Bob DiBuono", "Chris Elles", "Comedy Matters TV", "Dane Cook", "Gary Gulman", "Jay Davis", "Joe DeRosa", "Laugh Button", "Matt Kleinschmidt", "Robert Kelly", "The Laugh Button", "The Syndicate", "Tourgasm", "Tracey Zucatti", Bonnie McFarlane, Comedy Matters, HBO, Jeffrey Gurian, Rich Vos, Wil Sylvince

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Alyse Kenny Brings Monthly Charity Shows To Gotham

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 8, 2012

Chris Mazzilli and Gotham are always supporting one charity or another. Now comic/actress Alyse Kenny is taking it up a notch by producing a once a month show there, the last Monday of every month called “Alyse Kenny Presents…It’s a Charity Thing!”

Funny ladies Rachel Feinstein (L) and Alyse Kenny at Alyse’s charity show at Gotham!

Each month will benefit a different charity. On the night I went down, the show was to benefit Rosie O’Donnell’s charity, Rosie’s Theater Kids.

It was a great line-up, with fun raffle prizes available to the audience, like VIP tickets to “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”, “The View” and “The Dr. Oz Show”!

The show was hosted by Jimmy Failla, Host of Off The Meter Radio, and I always give extra credit to anyone hosting. Now that I’m doing it on a regular basis, I see how much harder it is than just getting up to do a set, so I give Jimmy props for keeping the show moving smoothly.

Jimmy Failla holding it down onstage at Gotham as the host of the show!

The show also featured comedians Rachel Feinstein, who never fails to make me laugh out loud, Nick Cobb, Matt Baetz, and Greer Barnes! And Alyse got up and did a set as well. She and the audience were thrilled when Jim Gaffigan dropped in unexpectedly and did a killer set, mostly on McDonalds.

Jim Gaffigan who dropped by to do a guest spot on Alyse Kenny’s show at Gotham!

Jim tends to use food and things relating to food as his subject. He’ll always be known for his “hot-pocket” material. This night he went into McDonald’s and their fries, specifically the loose “bonus fry” we’re always so happy to find hiding at the bottom of the bag.

He said we wouldn’t know when breakfast ended if it wasn’t for McDonalds, and he also said that eating fast food gives you a momentary pleasure, followed by intense guilt, followed by Cancer.

Jim Gaffigan killing it onstage at Gotham!

Jim just had his fourth child, so he said he’s trying to be healthy. He takes vitamins, … and puts them in a drawer!

Nick Cobb said ” you know you’re broke when you know exactly how much money you have.” He also wondered about the sexual activity known as “69”! Being 6’4″, he said it’s a short man’s game, and wondered why anyone would want to do it in the first place. He wondered, ( and I’m paraphrasing) … “Who’s that short on time, to take the two most pleasurable things in the world, and combine them? It makes more sense to do each one separately! And he’s right!

Nick Cobb, who claims to be too tall for “69”, onstage at Alyse Kenny’s charity show at Gotham!

Alyse Kenny is fairly new on the comedy scene, and is an actor on ABC’s “What Would You Do?” She is co-writing and starring in the television pilot, “Pryor Knowledge” with Richard Pryor Jr., who just happens to be an old friend of mine, and who I sponsored for membership in The Friars Club. I actually took a photo of him in front of the photo of his Dad, Richard Pryor Sr. that graces one of the upstairs rooms.

Richard Pryor Jr., Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Rain Pryor at the premiere of Paul Provenza’s The Green Room in NYC!

Alyse also just appeared in Eli Shapiro’s indie flick, “Ike Interviews God.” Her clean, fun brand of comedy showcases her skewed view of growing up the daughter of a shrink and cardiologist, her inter-faith marriage and many jobs working in television including as an Emmy Award-winning producer.

Alyse Kenny onstage performing at her charity show at Gotham!

She’s a go-getter and I’m excited about her, and even more excited that I will be performing on her next show on Monday Feb. 27th, which will benefit a charity called The Cure Is Now. You can read about them at www.thecureisnow.org

Come on out and support!

You can read more about Alyse on her website at www.alysekenny.com

Tags: "Alyse Kenny", "Comedy Matters TV", "Jimmy Failla", "McDonald's", "Nick Cobb", "Rosie O'Donnell", "The View", Comedy Matters, Gotham, Gotham Comedy Club, Jeffrey Gurian, Jim Gaffigan, Jimmy Fallon, Paul Provenza, Rachel Feinstein, Rain Pryor, Richard Pryor, Richard Pryor Jr.

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