Recently, Will Ferrell’s FunnyOrDie.com teamed up with HBO to present a new television program entitled, Funny Or Die Presents.  The weekly series airs each Friday night and features a rotating cast of comedians, actors, and FunnyOrDie.com regulars.  The first airing of the show took place on February 19th and, although I have never seen a full episode, it appears that the pay-cable version of FOD follows a similar content as that of the website, however the new format seems to provide for a more in-depth and lengthier approach, allowing the contributors to explore new uncharted territory.

Last Friday, HBO aired Episode #4, which featured a presentation by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.  We are huge fans of Tim and Eric’s work from Tom Goes to the Mayor to Awesome Show, Great Job! and, although they have done an amazing job at establishing their own signature style, they still continuously manage to produce new projects that are fresh and innovative.  If you read our review of last years Awesome Tour or have witnessed any of Wareheim’s video directing work, then you probably understand exactly what we’re referring to.  Father and Son, the duo’s contribution to Funny or Die Presents, is dark  and hilarious piece that exhibits even more range and breaks new barriers for the comedy team. (more…)

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“Hey everyone! Monster Fresh made this group for me, and I think it’s rather ingenious. It worked for Betty White and SNL. I mean, I can picture myself as Slimer, Moranis’s son, the new Stay Puft… Become a fan and pass it on!“ -Har Mar Superstar

BECOME A FAN

I conducted an interview with musician/writer/actor Sean Tillmann (aka: Har Mar Superstar) back in January, in which we spoke of the rumors behind a new Ghostbusters film (now confirmed).  I then asked Tillmann if it was something that he would be interested in being a part of, to which he responded:

“Oh, to be in Ghostbusters 3? It would be amazing. Yes, of course! Are you casting me?”

Of course I was not, but the plan became to get the concept that he was going to be cast out into the ether with the hopes that it would manifest itself into reality.  That didn’t exactly work, but now that I’ve brought up the possibility of such dreams, it’s time for a little follow through.  Since, these days, it has become perfectly clear that the only way to efficiently make a point or to get anything accomplished is to create a FACEBOOK page, here it is.

You loved him in Whip It!, in his Crappy Holidays film shorts, and as “Dancin Rick” in Starsky as Hutch.  With your help, perhaps we will love him in Ghostbusters 3 as “Moranis’ son or like… sidekick?” or something…

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“It was either a massive 30-city tour or start helping out around the house”
- Conan O’Brien

By now, most people know all about the drama surrounding Conan O’Brien finally getting the Tonight Show spot and then, more or less, slowly being pushed from the position that he had dreamed about obtaining for so long.  Details and opinions can me mixed but, when it’s all said and done, it doesn’t matter.  The Tonight Show has lost their credibility and Conan has gained even more of it throughout this entire fiasco.  Jay Leno still comes across as your parents friend who tells bad jokes like, “Working hard or hardly working?“, as he took his role back entertaining the elderly with insomnia.

Recently there have been many rumors about what would be 8 foot Irishman’s next move.  The rumor with the biggest hype behind it was that the former talkshow host/comedy writer my be going on a multi-city live tour.  Due to legally binding stipulations in his exit contract with NBC, which would prevent him from appearing in a talk show spot with any other station for months, this would be a great way for O’Brien to sustain his momentum and remain in the public eye in the meantime.  Well, this is now officially much more than a rumor, as tickets for the tour went live this morning.

Being marketed as, “A night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence“, the 30 city tour kicks off on April 12th in Eugene, OR and ends on June 14th at the FOX theatre in Atlanta, GA.  Perhaps even more surprising than the tour itself, however,  is the information that it will include a stop at the Bonaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN.  The press release states that the live comedy/music review “will include longtime sidekick Andy Richter and the former Tonight Show band” however, word is that Max Weinberg will not be part of it.

Get your tickets fast, because these spots are bound to disappear quickly.

Here are the tour dates: (more…)

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Back in October, comedians, Nick Kroll and Jon Daly introduced their characters of “Bobby Bottleservice” and “Peter Papparazzo” (aka: “The Ed Hardy Boyz”) to the world via a video short on FunnyorDie.com.  Taking jabs at gaudy, tanning bed glamor boys and playing off the name of the classic, fictional teenage detectives, the video featured the duo trying to solve the case of a stolen belt buckle.  We liked that video and posted it.  Apparently, Funny or Die became aware that we had, because I just received an email from the site asking if we’d be interested in posting the follow up as well.  We were. (more…)

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Chilly Gonzales “Piano Talk”

Feb. 11, 2010

Joe’s Pub, NYC

Once upon a time in a far away land known as Quebec, a young musician would be told the “worst four words of [his] life”:

“You Are A Genius.”

Chilly Gonzales descends upon the piano and sings the words in every possible octave and key in an effort to drive their impact further home.  The artist formerly known as Jason Beck was dubbed a child prodigy early on, clearly a major influence on his current onstage persona: think precocious wunderkind-meets jazzy hipster lounge act.  I like to imagine this particular combo is the direct result of what happens when you condemn a gifted child to a nightly gig as cocktail party entertainment. (more…)

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LSD…  it’s a helluva drug.  Back in the day, I did my share (and, perhaps, the shares of a few others).  Some believe that it has the potential to help turn you into such a super genius, that you appear freakishly insane to anyone else that’s not “on your level“.  Then again, it’s always possible that the reverse is happening and they really are going so ape-shit crazy, that it only leads them to believe that that they have a growing mental superiority.  One thing’s for sure; these chemical roller-coasters have the ability to twist up and whack out a synapse, like eating a parasitic egg-salad-sandwich from the vending machine of an interstellar truck stop bathroom.  The reality is that, even with all of the epiphanies and life lessons that one may obtain during these odysseys, there is really no scientific control for the experimenter/guinea pig and, short of a clone or view into a parallel dimension, no one can ever really know if they would have arrived at those same conclusions without the “aid” of the hallucinogen.  The good part is, since there is no way to make that determination, it doesn’t really matter and there are more detrimental things in the world than examining the differences between arrogance and confidence, exploitation and opportunity, respect and glorification, inspiration and contrivance, hustling and…well, hustling.  Despite the blatant self-aggrandizement implied in his stage name, Sean “Har Mar Superstar” Tillmann seems to have an incredibly firm grasp on these concepts and plenty of others.  Of all the electric realizations that I had, however, there is one specific principle that truly epitomizes Tillmann’s career for me: “Regardless of how clearly, simply, honestly, or directly you express a pure truth, it doesn’t mean that anyone else will, necessarily, hear, believe, or even understand what you are trying to relate to them.” (more…)

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