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Brett Eidman Wins Comedian Who Matters Contest

Posted by 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.

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!

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David Spade Pops In To Broadway Comedy

Posted by on February 19, 2012
David Spade Pops In To Broadway Comedy

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 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!

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

Posted by 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.

(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!

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Alyse Kenny Brings Monthly Charity Shows To Gotham

Posted by 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

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Comedy Seminar at Gotham Comedy Club

Posted by on February 8, 2012

Andy Engel produces New Talent showcases at Gotham Comedy Club as he has been doing successfully for many years now. All you have to do is to look at the testimonials on his Manhattan Comedy School page to see how respected he is within the comedy community.
http://www.manhattancomedyschool.com/talent-shows/
This time he produced a comedy seminar open to the public, to anyone with an interest in comedy. I came by to “support”, and was not surprised to see a packed room, and I think the main room at Gotham holds over 300 people. I also saw lots of comedians I knew. The moderator was Gotham owner Chris Mazzilli, who I like to call “The Classiest Guy In Comedy.” Chris has been known to wear a suit and tie to the beach! (JK, … LOL)

Chris Mazzilli and Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV at a charity event at Gotham Comedy Club!

Also on the distinguished panel was JoAnn Grigioni, the talent executive from Comedy Central, who I had just seen earlier that day at Amy Schumer’s taping for her new Comedy Central pilot, Conan Smith former agent and now an executive at Apostle Entertainment which is Dennis Leary’s production company, and loved and respected comic Ted Alexandro.

(L-R_ The distinguished panel of Ted Alexandro, Conan Smith, JoAnn Grigioni, and Chris Mazzilli for Andy Engel’s comedy seminar at Gotham!

It was a question and answer session and people got the opportunity to ask whatever they wanted. Questions ranged from how to behave on the road, to how much money you could expect to make as a comic starting out! Ted said he doesn’t think he got paid anything at all the first three years he was performing.

Apostle’s Conan Smith giving a thoughtful answer during the seminar at Gotham Comedy Club!

Comedy Central’s JoAnn Grigioni and Gotham’s Chris Mazzilli listening to Ted Alexandro make a point!

They all agreed that you don’t go into comedy for the money, but that money follows success. Talent finds a home and if you’ve got it, eventually someone’s bound to see it!

Everyone’s answers were honest and insightful. It was a great panel covering all aspects of the comedy world.

I think the seminar was a great idea, people learned a lot and really enjoyed it, and I have a feeling that there will be more of them! Are you listening Andy??? (LOL)

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Al Martin’s Broadway Comedy Club

Posted by on January 31, 2012
Al Martin’s Broadway Comedy Club

I dropped by Broadway Comedy the other night, cause I heard that Ruperto Vanderpool was headlining, and I hadn’t seen him since he performed in one of Anthony Anderson’s fabulous Mixtape Comedy shows. Ruperto and I go back a long ways, and he’s really funny, so I made time to check out the show.

The Broadway Comedy Club entrance on West 53rd Street in Manhattan is like a beacon for comedy and people who need to laugh!

After I got there, and felt the Broadway Comedy energy, I started asking myself why I don’t get over there more!

Then I ran into my old buddy Al Martin who owns the place. Al is a fascinating guy with a long history in comedy.

He’s one of only two comedy club owners I know to own more than one club in NYC at the same time. Besides Broadway on West 53rd Street, which also encompasses “The World” Comedy Club, he also has New York Comedy Club on East 24th Street, which was where I first started to perform when I started doing stand-up.

Al was a stand-up himself, having started performing back in 1988, which gives him a different perspective on comedy than other club owners who don’t perform. Al puts it to good use when he hosts shows, which I’ve seen him do many times. He’s a funny guy.

I remember back when he had New York Comedy on 2nd Avenue around 48th Street, I believe. It was an upstairs club, and I used to drop in pretty often since I lived on 54th and 2nd. I recall meeting Eric Douglas there. Eric was Michael Douglas’s younger half- brother who was a stand-up, and who unfortunately died back in 2004 of a drug overdose.

As a stand-up Al did a lot of TV, including A&E’s Evening at The Improv, Comedy Tonight, and Joan Rivers’ talk show, besides gigs in A.C. and Las Vegas.

New York Comedy opened on East 24th Street in 1994, which I happen to know, ( and don’t ask me how! LOL) had been the exact location of a well known after-hours club!

As of 2001, Al also has a New York Comedy Club in Boca Raton, Florida! And it seats 350. That’s big!

Then in 2005, Al was involved with Boston Comedy Club, down in the Village which left him operating three clubs in NYC at the same time, also a record!
( Somebody call Guinness! LOL )

Anyway this night, I ran into a whole bunch of funny comics I know like Stacey Prussman, Leah Bonnema , Jason Salmon, Ricky Velez, and a new comic to me, who’s opening for Ruperto, named Edgar Rivera.

Headliner Ruperto Vanderpool, Leah Bonnema, and Edgar Rivera at Broadway Comedy Club!

Leah Bonnema had some good lines. She said there are no divorces in her family. There’s lots of murder, but no divorces!

She also dreams of something she never had, … health care! I think she said she was awakened during a dream by her boyfriend, where she was just about to get dental! I thought she should have added the tag, “ but instead I got oral!”

I forgot to tell her, but maybe she’ll read this! (LOL)

Edgar Rivera commented that it was so cold last week that white people stopped jogging! (LOL)

Ruperto Vanderpool killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy Club, with his sleeves rolled up imitating the Jersey Shore guys!

And Ruperto who’s always funny, killed it with his reminiscences about the old days, schoolyard games, playground stuff, and his comparisons between encyclopedias vs. i-Pads. Ruperto and Edgar will be performing together on an upcoming date!

Ruperto, who’s Dominican, and calls himself a “Blacktino”, does fantastic dialects, which always amazes me. He even does Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Audiences love when comics can imitate an accent! Of course it helps when they do it well! (LOL)

When Ruperto talks about Coney Island being the worst amusement park in the world, he gets very physical. He says it’s so old that you have to bring your own tools to tighten up the rides, and he makes his body vibrate as if he was on an out of control ride. It’s very funny!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with headliner Ruperto Vanderpool at Broadway Comedy Club!

When I left I ran into comic/producer Aaron Haber who not only produces shows at Broadway Comedy and The World, but also on Tuesday nights at The Friars Club, where I will probably see him tonight!

Al, who seems to always be planning a new project will soon launch New York Comedy World… a website devoted to everything comedy in New York! Sure hope there’s a place for Comedy Matters TV on there!!! (LOL)

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Kevin Hart Comes To The Comic Strip

Posted by on January 24, 2012

The Grio.com is the first African-American video news site, specifically geared towards bringing stories of interest to that community. Launched by NBC News, it’s editorial mission is to be the primary news source for the Black community on a national level. February is Black History Month and so they are interviewing 100 people who they feel are making a positive effect in the Black community.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the great Kevin Hart at a promo event for their show at Westbury in 2010!

One of those people, not surprisingly is comedian Kevin Hart, who jokingly demanded to know what number he was out of the 100. He felt he should be around number 6! (LOL) NBC made arrangements to meet Kevin at The Comic Strip, thanks to Bob Wachs a co-owner and founder of the club.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV interviewing Kevin Hart at The Comic Strip after his NBC interview with Todd Johnson from www.thegrio.com

It was also very fitting because I had the honor of co-producing an event starring Kevin back in Feb. of 2010, in a benefit for Haiti. It was a sold out event at Westbury Theatre on Long Island, and about 3000 people showed up to see Kevin, Tony Rock, and Wil Sylvince in a tour-de-force, that showed why Kevin is as popular as he is.

The Westbury Flier in a benefit for Haiti starring Kevin Hart, featuring Tony Rock and Wil Sylvince as the MC! It was sold out as are ALL of Kevin’s shows!

Kevin Hart onstage, entertaining 3,000 people at Westbury Theatre on Long Island!

Kevin is one of only a handful of comedians ever to release a live performance as a feature film. That group includes Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Martin Lawrence, and maybe three more so he’s in very special company. (Somehow, I think there’s a connection between pigment and funny! LOLOLOL Albinos are rarely funny, … except for Victor Varnado of course! Of all the albino comedians I know, I’d have to say he’s the funniest! LOL)

He put up his own money to release “Laugh At My Pain” in 200 theatres, which is considered a limited release and it’s already brought in millions of dollars. He’s also got 3 million followers on Twitter, about a million more than he had the last time I saw him which wasn’t that long ago! The man is a phenomenon.

I did a little video chat with him for Comedy Matters TV. See below!

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Third Anniversary of Anthony Anderson’s Comedy Mixtape Show

Posted by on January 24, 2012
Third Anniversary of Anthony Anderson’s Comedy Mixtape Show

Anthony Anderson’s third anniversary of his Mixtape Comedy Show was as good as I expected it to be. I just couldn’t believe it’s been 3 years already since he and his partner in crime Royale Watkins have been bringing the funny to Gotham Comedy Club, the third Sunday of each and every month.

Royale Watkins and Anthony Anderson bantering with each other onstage at the Mixtape Comedy Show at Gotham in NYC!

The show mixes comedy and hip-hop, most of the time with a great DJ, DJ Diamond, who really gets the crowd pumped up! Then there’s a freestyle rap battle which still amazes me how these street MC’s can spit beats on the spot like that. It’s such an incredible talent. Even the ones who lose are admirable just for being able to do it at all. I was glad to see that Royale is just as amazed by it as I am, which he says in the video below.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Tracy Morgan at a previous Mixtape Comedy Show!

You never know in advance who’s gonna be on the show, but it doesn’t matter cause I haven’t seen a weak show yet! The idea is that if you’re coming to see Mixtape Comedy, it doesn’t matter who’s advertised, because you’re coming for the brand. And the brand is hot!!! Plus you never know who’s gonna stop by to do a surprise guest spot. Tracy Morgan is a big fan of the show, and I’ve seen him perform, but this night he just came to watch!

It’s produced by Kristen J. Eddy and Byron Ward and the show is U-Streamed to people all over the United States, and internationally too! They don’t allow profanity which is a nice change. Some of the comics are taken by surprise by that rule. Kurt Metzger told me he was a little nervous that something inappropriate might slip out since he’s not used to working squeaky clean. Fortunately it didn’t and he killed it as he always does.

Because I knew it would be a special show, I came prepared to shoot a little video for Comedy Matters TV. Harris Stanton was the first comic to perform. Harris was also a good friend of Patrice Oneal, who we unfortunately lost very recently, at only 41 years old, due to an untimely stroke.

Harris Stanton, Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Patrice Oneal at the taping of Patrice’s last special for Comedy Central at The Skirball Center in NYC!

Harris is very funny and talks about having been a security guard, with nothing to protect himself but a piece of paper. Then he goes into what I would call “papercut” material, which I thought was very funny, and very true. You can get a nasty cut from a piece of paper, but if a guy had a knife, I wouldn’t want to have to defend myself with a piece of paper!

Harris Stanton doing his thing onstage at Mixtape Comedy Show at Gotham!

He does a really funny bit about a homeless guy who is missing the center part of his nose. The piece of skin that separates your two nostrils. He says in all seriousness, ” You’re never not supposed to have that part of your nose.”

In between acts, Anthony takes the stage to do some comedy, and often gets on Royale for not having things to his liking. They have a little “faux-argument”, and then he apologizes to the white people in the audience for having to witness something like that at a comedy show! (LOL)

Mark Viera was next on the bill and this man is a riot! I love seeing Mark perform, and was very glad to hear that he just signed a deal with Fox to develop his own show, cause he really deserves it! George Lopez is the Exec. Producer of the show, and you can hear the details in the video below. Of course I asked him if I could be on his show, and he of course agreed, … since we’re both from The Bronx and us Bronx boys have to stick together! (LOL)

Mark Viera showing the Mixtape audience why he deserves his own show on Fox!

Sherri Shepherd from “The View” was next and left the audience weak from laughing so hard.

Rising star Kurt Metzger onstage at Gotham for the 3rd anniversary of the Mixtape Comedy Show!

Then Kurt Metzger, who I think is hysterical talked about how every young Black person shot accidentally by stray bullets, is usually on their way to greatness before they were prematurely cut down. His advice is ” If you’re Black and have a scholarship of some kind, my advice is to buy a bulletproof vest. Gangs always shoot at other gangs and miss, killing some Black nerd who was on his way to a life of success.” Sad but true! You read it every day!

Tom Papa, host of The Marriage Ref on NBC, onstage for the Mixtape Comedy Show 3rd anniversary!

And then Tom Papa took the stage with his own particular brand of humor that is so relatable, and on the money, every word out of his mouth brought huge laughs from the audience. His comedy speaks to everyone, like when he marvels at children, ” Your hands are so little”, and wonders why they need pockets in their clothing. “What are you gonna put in there, … your marble??? Check out Tom in the video below as well.

We wish Anthony and Royale, ( and Kristen, and Byron of course!), many more years of success with Mixtape Comedy Show!

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Christian Finnegan Packs ‘Em In At Gotham

Posted by on January 13, 2012

Christian Finnegan spends a lot of time on the road, so when I heard he was headlining at Gotham I made sure to check out his show. Vic Henley was the host/MC and he does that so easily he could probably do it in his sleep, … which a very unusual phrase, that is supposed to mean that something is very simple for a person to do! I would think even the easiest thing would be hard to do in your sleep, but that’s just me!

Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV with Christian Finnegan at his sold-out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

Jesse Joyce was also on the show and he’s always good. I ran into Jesse down in San Antonio Texas last year, when I stopped by to cover the San Antonio comedy scene, and he happened to be headlining the club I walked into. He describes himself as looking like a version of Hugh Laurie who plays Dr. House, … and he does! It’s funny that several comics, ( including me!) have lines telling the audience who they look like, and the audience loves it!

Jesse Joyce onstage at Gotham, and he DOES look a lot like Hugh Laurie!

Jesse was also very close to Greg Giraldo, and wrote material for him for his iconic Roast appearances!

Wali Collins was up next, and he told a story of being a kid and asking his Dad if he could drive their new car. His Dad said, ” You can! All you have to do is take the “F” out of “Way”. And Wali said, ” There’s no “F” in “Way”! And his father said, ” Exactly!” Great joke!

Wali, (not Wally) Collins onstage at Gotham making the people laugh!

Before I knew his name was Wali, I thought it was Wally, like short for Walter. Come to think of it, I don’t think Walter is a popular name in the Black community! I like Wali better!

He also talked about being responsible for his actions in his wife’s dreams. One morning he woke up and his wife was angry at him for not helping her when that “pig monkey” was chasing her! (LOL)

Then Christian took the stage, and the room was packed for him. He comments right away on the fact that people think he looks gay. I knew him from years ago, when he was a lot heavier, but since he lost so much weight he has a very chiseled look. He’s like, ” I’m married. Sorry fellas! I know I give off a certain high school drama teacher vibe!”

Christian Finnegan onstage at his sold out show at Gotham Comedy Club!

He wore a cardigan sweater with a tie as did Wali Collins so he commented that they looked like photographic negatives, and then faux-complained that it was supposed to be a one cardigan show!

Among many other topics he commented on how hard it is to get your first drug dealer to score weed from, when you’re 38 years old. It’s awkward asking young people who they use. Maybe it’s because I still refer to them as “drug dealers”, and not just simply ask ” who’s your guy “, he opined! Very funny show!

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