Blog Archives
Hey Kids…Twitter! All-Nerd Edition
So, a while back Kobe posted his favorite funny Tweeters, today I’m going to share my favorite nerdy ones.
@DeathStarPR is on a mission to give all the negative publicity the Galactic Empire has received to a more favorable and humorous spin.
Sample tweet: “If a tree falls on an Ewok in a forest and nobody was around to see TK-827 chop it down, did it ever really happen?”
@grantimahara I’m sure you all know Grant Imahara from Mythbusters.
I follow his tweets because he’s clever, funny, and often posts cool behind-the -scenes pics from the set.
Sample tweet: “This is Murray. He’s a hawk. #fromset #Mythbustershttp://twitpic.com/4twyzm“
@TheNerdyBird Jill Pantozzi is a comics journalist who writes for MTV Splashpage and Newsarama.
Her profile says, “Has Boobs, Reads Comics. Need I say more?”
Her feed is a great place to view the comics industry from the perspective of a self-proclaimed geek girl.
Sample Tweet: “I also asked my BF if he would dress up as Thor for me and he said no. : ( He has the beard AND blonde hair. #meanboyfriend“
@GailSimone is the current writer of Birds of Prey and Secret Six at DC Comics.
Her twitter isn’t really about her comics, though. She’s funny and a bit odd, often times starting strange and funny trending topics like #kingshark or teasing fellow comics creators, especially ones from Marvel.
Sample Tweet: “If I wrote an Avengers movie, I would put the JLA in it instead.”
@CobraCommander is, as if you didn’t know, the leader of a terrorist organization determined to rule the world.
Sample tweet: “When you realize you have a guy named Road Pig on your payroll it seriously makes you rethink your career choices.”
Who are your favorite nerdy twitter users? Let us know in the comments!
Mike Lebovitz is a Comedian You Should Know
More often than not when a comedian stays in a condo as opposed to a hotel, it can be a nightmare. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve stayed in condos a handful of times and with the exception of one experience, it’s always been a blast.
Most recently I was in Appleton, Wisconsin and staying with Chicago comedian Mike Lebovitz. We found out that we had a mutual connection in my sister-in-law. Mike is fantastic and we’ve stayed friends since that blizzardy week in America’s Dairyland. He’s also a part of the Chicago comedy scene’s super group Comedians You Should Know who had the number one comedy album on iTunes recently.
Mike came to town a couple weeks back to get is foot in the door of some of our clubs and afterward I decided to pick his brain about comedy and specifically his take on the Detroit scene. Enjoy.
Thor Review
The summer movie season is finally underway and Thor is a worthy jumpoff. It’s an entertaining popcorn flick, bookended by some absolutely fantastic action sequences in Asgard and weighed down regrettably by a “Thor loses his powers and then gets them back” storyline in the middle. It’s not enough to ruin the film though, as the situation is played for laughs pretty well.
Mike vs. Kobe vs. The Game With No Name
A couple of years ago I joined Bobbitt on a trip down to Missouri for a weekend of shows. The journey was memorable for several reasons: spawning a still-running dispute over whose idea it was to go see In Bruges (mine), the discovery of a podcast deconstructing the 1987 triumph Masters of The Universe , the crowning of Mike as the King of The Ozarks and seeing the movie Doomsday , a relentless turd crusade starring Rhona Mitra.
My interview with artist and all around cool chick Katie Cook!
One of the greatest things I’ve done as a comedian is the celebrity roast of Darth Vader. While we ended up raising money for a good cause, I also ended up becoming friends with some pretty awesome people in the Star Wars community. One of those friends is the great Katie Cook. She’s a staple of the convention circuit and her artwork has been used quite a bit by Lucasfilm.
Here’s what I think is particularly awesome. She’s local! Katie is a CCS graduate and has been out to see me perform. I was self conscious about having somewhat of a potty mouth on stage in front of her because her art is so adorable. Well, it turns out she’s not only heard an adult word or two in her life, but she’s been known to use them! I’m still hoping that she and her husband can get together with me and Christine sometime, because he’s pretty damn cool too!
Comedian Trevor Smith
Trevor Smith is a pretty fantastic comedian and he works hard at it. In fact, he’s been working hard at perfecting his craft for a long time now. He started as a comedian on the other side of the state performing in clubs, bars and cutting his teeth in colleges. Recently he’s moved to the Detroit area and is already making a pretty big impact.
Instantly likable on stage, it’s hard not to like Trevor off stage too. He’s not only a genuinely good guy, but he’s also a super fan of the craft of comedy. Also, a talented artist, Trevor first flew into my radar when he sent me the caricature I use on this site and for just about every piece of marketing I create.
Royal Oak video featuring me!
The video was produced by Scott Van de Vyver and is currently running on WROK: Channel 55 on Comcast in Oakland County. Thanks to my friend Richard Wilson for putting it in their programming!
How to be a good MC
I feel lucky that I’m in a position where I get to scout new talent for the Funny Business talent agency. Here are 11 tips and tricks of the trade.
When I started in comedy, if you lived in Michigan and you wanted to work for Funny Business there were two ways in. You could either hope for a recommendation from the go to person at that point in time or you could trek out to Grand Rapids and hope to dazzle Funny Business owner John Yoder in the three minutes of stage time you’d get on the open mic show at Dr. Grin’s.
My interview with Marc Maron!
They say you should never meet your heroes. I’ve found that to be untrue. When I was 18, I met and became friends with Dave Brockie, better known as Oderus Urungus lead singer of Gwar. He took me under his wing for a few years and helped direct me onto my journey as a professional entertainer.
As an adult, my hero is Marc Maron. He’s a master of his craft and a truly unique voice. He’s said in the past that young comics tell him that they want to be “real” and he responds by telling them to work on being funny first. Marc is both real and really funny.
Madison Recap with Marc Maron
Protesting in Madison, Wisconsin
My biggest fear driving home from my week in Madison, Wisconsin was Christine asking, “Did you have a good time?” I’d answer, “Of course! I was at one of my favorite clubs working with my absolute favorite comedian, who I feel like I got to become friends with, of course I had a good time!” Then she’d say, “Good, because that was your Make a Wish. I have some bad news for you.”
My interview with Mike Bobbitt!
Mike Bobbitt is arguably one of the funniest, if not the funniest comedian working in Detroit. In his eight years in the business he’s already performed in numerous comedy festivals and worked with some of the biggest names in the business.
The remarkable thing about Mike Bobbitt is that he’s able to walk the fine line between speaking to a very specific crowd while maintaining a level of accessibility to the masses.
Mike currently wrapped production on the television show that he and his wife wrote. I had a chance to talk to him while he was in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mike, let me start by saying you look really handsome.
Thank you!
You manage to be both cute and cuddly and ruggedly handsome at the same time. That’s quite a feat.
I appreciate that, but this is already starting off a little weird.
Mark Ridley: King of the Comedy Castle
Here’s my first interaction with Mark Ridley. My tenth show was the open mic at the Comedy Castle in March of the year I started. I didn’t get back on stage again there until eight months later. For months and months I was convinced I did something to upset Mark and that was why I wasn’t invited back. Finally in November I built up the courage to talk to him face to face. I told him my concern. He laughed and showed me the humongous list of people who call in every week to go on stage. He assured me that I was fine and then he put me on stage again that following week. From day one for me, Mark Ridley has been a class act!
Over the years he’s done so many things for me. He let me and photographer Trever Long shoot my most recent headshots inside the Castle. My Desperate Houseguys performed there a handful of times for special events. Last month we shot the opening sequence of Deadpan there with a full cast and crew along with thirty extras! Most importantly, he’s been a friend and a mentor. Mark is a straight shooter. It was a pleasure sitting down with him and talk about the business and the Laugh Detroit Comedy Festival which kicks off tomorrow with David Alan Grier.
Hey Kids…Twitter!
Kobe here. Let’s cut right to the chase: I love Twitter. I was a dyed-in-wool, take-no-prisoners Twitter basher for a long time (I don’t need to know what Johnny Tweetdeck is doing every second of the day) but I’ve since become an ardent convert. Turns out it isn’t a relentless onslaught of ZOMG JUSTIN BIEBER hysteria; there are plenty of interesting and entertaining people on there, I just needed to look. I wouldn’t be surprised if we all follow a lot of the same comedians and entertainers: Paul F. Tompkins, Louis CK, Sarah Silverman and so on; the big boppers. But I’m always on the look out for the hidden gems. I’ll share some of mine and you can share some of yours. In no particular order…
@beatonna.In no particular order except for this one, I should say, as Kate Beaton’s Twitter is by far my favorite. She’s the cartoonist responsible for Hark, A Vagrant! an absolutely terrific webcomic. Her Twitter is one-part humorous observations and one-part cartoon strip, as she regularly posts impromptu single-panel comics to it.
@jenny_wade. Jenny Wade is best known (possibly only known) for her role as District Attorney Liz Traynor on the short-lived TV show The Good Guys. This is the textbook definition of a hidden gem, as I would never in a million years have thought to follow her, but a retweet of something she wrote got me to mosey over and check out her twitter, which is one of the funniest out there.
@neiltyson. Another retweet revelation. I’d seen Neil deGrasse Tyson as a guest on the Colbert Report a couple of times and thought he was amusing, and now enjoy his tweets. He’s an astrophysicist and tweets mostly to point out scientific inaccuracies in news reporting or to put scientific theory and factoids in layman’s terms. Funny plus I learn shit.
@Marylandmudflap. I have no idea who the fellow behind MarylandMudFlap is, but I do know he’s hilarious. Receive it!
And of course Michael Lynn Bobbitt can be found @offthemike.
Have a follow suggestion? Some fount of hilarity and entertainment that not enough people know about? Post it in the comments below!
Bill Bushart
Every comedian in Michigan knows who Bill Bushart is. He is the Godfather of our comedy scene. He’s mentored either officially or unofficially just about every one of us at one point in time or another. Not only is he a phenomenal comedian who takes charge of a room like no other, he’s also the Marketing Director at Joey’s Comedy Club in Livonia. There are two vastly different sides to Bill’s persona. There’s the on stage Pitbull who owns a comedy show and then there’s the St. Bernard who will make sure you are safe on your journey.
Photo by Trever Long
Off stage, Bill is the person I try to model myself after. When a newer guy comments that I’m considered one of the nicer people in the scene, I merely tell them that I’m just returning the favor that Bill did for me. And honestly, I wasn’t always this nice. I’d shit on newer guys and Bill would call me on it reminding me that he remembers when I sucked. Bill not only is a great comedian, but also a great human.
I sat down with Bill before one of the shows at Joey’s Comedy Club. If you only know him from his act, this look into the man behind “Uncle Billy” may surprise you. Now go pick up your hair.
Off the Mike 