Chad Riden

July 3, 2012July 3, 2012

July 11th N’Sup Showcase at Zanies

The NashvilleStandUp.com Showcase @ Zanies is a showcase of the funniest professional comedians based in the Nashville area, plus guest sets from traveling comics, and a few up-and-coming young comics from the local Nashville scene. The line-up for the July 11, 2012 show includes: Monty Mitchell, James Austin Johnson, Rob Haynes, Sean Staggs, Paulina Combow, Brad Edwards, Katrina Coleman, Sean Parrott, Chad Riden, Gary Fletcher, Dave Stone, and will be headlined by Dee Jay Dangler.

D.J. Dangler’s comedy is a high-energy blend of curiosity and commentary. He melds East-Coast cynicism with Midwestern politeness to create a unique and accessible take on the way things are or should be. D.J. tells stories that are hauntingly honest, but disarmingly sincere. Believing nothing is off limits, so long as it’s funny, D.J. pushes forward to prove his message that people everywhere, are pretty much the same, and that if you can make enough of those people laugh, you don’t have to get a real job.

The head writer for Comedy Circus, D.J. has performed at Caroline’s onBroadway, Gotham Comedy Club, and the New York Comedy Club. His debut album, “Where my sixes at?” is available on iTunes. He currently tells jokes all over America, except for Texas, and will make his European Debut this summer. His high energy style informs and entertains crowds of every demographic.

The NashvilleStandUp.com Showcase featuring Dee Jay Dangler
Wed., July 11, 2012
doors open: 6:30pm
showtime: 7:30pm

Zanies Comedy Showplace
2025 8th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37204
615-269-0221

tickets:
$5. available at the door, online, or at the Zanies box office at: 615-269-0221

Facebook event:
Wed., July 11, 2012 – 7:30 pm

More info about the N’Sup Showcase @ Zanies is available at: http://NashvilleStandUp.com/showcase/

April 13, 2012April 13, 2012

Moo’ves like Haggard (by Jon Reep & Zach Selwyn) video features Brian E. Kiley

still shot from the Mooves Like Haggard video

A few weeks ago in March when Jon Reep, Zach Selwyn and Brian E. Kiley were doing a week at Zanies, the trio shot a music video for a parody to a Maroon 5 song. Here’s how they describe it:

This is a country spoof of the song “Moves like Jagger”. It’s called “Moo’ves like Haggard” and it’s about a chick who looks like Merle Haggard in a dress. We are in NO WAY making fun of Merle Haggard. We love him! He’s awesome! This is just about an imaginary chick who LOOKS like Merle Haggard. Written by Jon Reep & Zach Selwyn. Music by Toby Semain. Directed by Zach Selwyn. Edited by Jesse Selwyn. Chic played by Brian E. Kiley.

NashvilleStandUp asked Nashville’s own Brian E. Kiley how it happened and this is what he said:

“The two planned to shoot the video for the song in Nashville to take advantage of the country music scenery and themes. Originally Reep was set to play the part of the women himself. When he arrived in Nashville and realized he was working with me again, he instantly knew that casting a 300+ pound man as the woman would make the video that much funnier and he offered me the part. His description of the video was so hilarious that I didn’t even flinch at the idea of being seen in drag, doing some embarrassing things. It was one of those moments where the comedy overpowered the ego. The next two days were spent filming at Zanies and on Broadway in Downtown Nashville inspiring shock and awe in the passers by. The rest is comedy history!”

Here’s the video:

Download Moo’ves like Haggard on iTunes

April 11, 2012April 25, 2012

Win a FREE copy of Paul Strickland’s “Levels of Difficulty” cd!

My mental image of Paul Strickland is him in the Zanies green room looking over pages of his material that had been typed out word for word.. reading it under his breath, rehearsing the inflections and energy he would put into each line. A few years ago, this process struck me as funny because you just don’t see a lot of comics doing that. Most have scraps of paper or napkins with one or two words written on them that represent each joke.. or notebooks full of scribbles – sentence fragments, punchlines, random words and broken thoughts and ideas. You generally don’t see comics going over full transcripts of their acts, or talking about the “arc” of their set or the “through-line” they’re trying to establish but I associate these things with Paul’s process. I’m assuming it was his background in theater that led to these habits, but whatever it is has worked in Paul’s favor.

From his first open mic in February 2006, Paul already seemed to have a good head for the business of comedy. He was always working on new, bookable material. He put effort into everything he did and treated it like a job from the very beginning.. which is exactly why he was able to quit his day job in 2009. Since then he has written and performed his one man shows and traditional standup all over the country.

Paul says, “I firmly believe that making people laugh at themselves and their world is a good way to help them escape while, hopefully, gaining some perspective on what they’re escaping from, and distracting them from the fact that I just took their money.”

Strickland recorded “Levels of Difficulty,” his first stand-up album, a few hours up the road at the Comedy Caravan in Louisville. It is available to buy right now at iTunes and Amazon.

As a ‘thank you’ to the local comedy fans in Nashville who supported Paul from the very beginning, NashvilleStandUp and Paul are happy to be giving away three (3!) copies of the cd on April 22nd. Enter to win below.

Paul says, “Listen, people laughed when I said the things on this CD and we recorded both their laughter and the things I said. Now YOU can laugh WITH people that laughed months ago AT the same things I said MONTHS ago! Building community, that’s what I’m about.”

[UPDATE: the contest has closed! Buy the album already, cheapskate!]

If you don’t have time to screw around, waiting to see if you win, feel free to go ahead and buy it right now:
– iTunes
– Amazon

For more from Paul Strickland, stalk him online:
http://talkingpaul.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/talkingpaul
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1080223703

March 9, 2012March 23, 2012

Mary Mack in Nashville March 19, 2012 @ Bongo Java

NEWER UPDATE: Listen to Marc Maron interview Mary Mack on today’s episode of WTF!

Here’s the teaser video:

Listen to the whole episode here: WTFpod.com

UPDATE: Tuesday 3/20 show has been cancelled. Buy tickets for the 3/19 show here.

Come spend an early, sensible, yet hilarious March evening with Mary Mack, the musical Minnesotan comedian and former clarinetist in one of Nashville’s worst polka bands!

Nashville alt comedy providers, Corporate Juggernaut will present nationally touring comedian and former Sumner County & W.O. Smith music teacher, Mary Mack, for an early evening of comedy at Bongo Java After Hours Theater, March 19 & 20th. Mack, who started comedy about 10 years ago in Nashville with her roommate Jennie Donaldson and their polka band, says the show is more of an abridged hour version of her life than it is a regular comedy show. She is touring this month putting the final touches on what she calls her “Anti One-Woman Show,” subtitled “Sh*t Makes Flowers Grow.”

Mack and her mandolin sing alongs have been featured on the Bob and Tom Radio Show, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, and Comedy Central. She is a cast member on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Big River Radio Wave,” and can be heard on the XM/Sirius Network. As iconic comedian Louie Anderson describes her: “She’s an original character from the Midwest that rings true. She’ll be telling you a joke about one thing, and then she’ll break off into a song about minnows.”

Expect a quirky evening of pleasant surprises situated in an intimate space with a famed performance history: Bongo After Hours Theater (upstairs at the Belmont Bongo Java, 2007 Belmont Blvd, Nashville). Tickets are available online at bongoafterhours.com for $10 or $15 at the door. See Corporatejuggernaut.com or marymackcomedy.com for more info.

Mon ~~& Tues~~, March 19 ~~& 20~~, 2012—7pm

Bongo Java After Hours Theater, 2007 Belmont Blvd, Nashville
(You may have seen Steve Earle perform there among other really great shows.)

Cost: $10 in advance @ www.bongoafterhours.com or $15 @ door
Industry and Clergymen get in free, because Mary needs help in both areas.

February 21, 2012

Billy Wayne Davis releases self-titled album

Billy Wayne Davis is the thinking man’s hillbilly. With a combination of subtle, disarming intelligence and an unmistakable comfort on stage, he has the rare ability to win over every kind of comedy audience imaginable. Billy Wayne’s comedy really has no discernible category. He can be personal, shocking, political and absurd, but his ability to form an instant connection with audiences allows him to get away with anything and everything. For Billy Wayne Davis, no subject matter is off limits because there is nothing he can’t make funny with his trademark drawl and easy charm. He has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Colin Quinn, Lisa Lampanelli, Louis CK and Mitch Hedberg and has toured as the feature act for national headliner Ralphie May. He has performed festivals, comedy clubs and theaters as diverse as Seattle’s Bumbershoot, The Ryman in Nashville, Comedy Works in Denver and the LA Improv.

Years ago, when B. W. Davis started showing up at the old Tuesday night open mic at The Bar Car in Nashville, he was instantly one of my very favorite people on the planet. He embodied everything I love about my best pals from East Tennessee: disarmingly laid back, completely unpretentious, naturally hilarious and smart as a whip. He was immediately one of the funniest comics to call Nashville home. After he followed up his tenure as house emcee at Zanies by going on the road with Ralphie May, he returned to Nashville a much better, road-seasoned comic. When he moved to Seattle, we started seeing him less often – maybe every six or eight months or so when his tours took him back around to his old home.. but his absence just highlighted his exponential growth as a comic each time he returned. Fast forward to January 2012, when Zanies extended his originally planned week of shows into a three-week residency. Sitting in the green room one night, I heard Zanies’ owner Brian Dorfman say, “He has gotten GREAT.” Yeah.. he has.

The material is original, unique, road-tested, and funny but Billy Wayne Davis’ self-titled debut standup album isn’t a perfect show. Davis is heckled several times – and each time he body slams the drunk, annoying morons with style, grace and wit. During track 18, “Feeding My Ewok,” somebody drops a glass on the floor and he reacts in the moment saying, “Did a Jew just get married? What happened?” This gets him a strange reaction from the Seattle crowd and he instantly calls them on it: “Why did you moan that? That’s what they do at the end of their wedding ceremony is they break a fucking glass. That’s the weirdest P-C shit I’ve ever seen right there: I just said ‘Jew’ with a Southern accent and you’re like, ‘Uh-oh. Oh God, I read about this! This is not good!’ That was weird.” and went right back into his bit.

This, to me, is a perfect example of what B-dub does: While in the middle of a well crafted routine there is a distraction. He addresses it with a funny line and is ready to move on.. but smelled a little bullshit in the crowd’s reaction and dove in to explore that. His off-the-cuff reference is smart, well timed, culturally-informed and misinterpreted. This line (and Billy Wayne in general) contradicts the standard stereotypical caricature so often incorrectly associated with anybody with a Southern accent. Davis handily exposes the hypocrisy and prejudice of the people who assume ignorance and racism where there is none.. and he gets laughs with every improvised line as if it’s a bit he has done for years. Turns out, he’s good at this.

Look, I could have scammed a free copy of “Billy Wayne Davis” no problem, but I bought it as soon as it was available for sale because I KNEW that it would be worth every god damn penny.. and it is. You should buy it right now:
– Amazon.com
– iTunes
– RooftopComedy.com

Here’s a funny promo video Billy made for his new album:

Billy Wayne Davis from Billy Wayne Davis on Vimeo.

Follow Billy Wayne Davis online:
Twitter.com/BillyWayneDavis
Facebook.com/BillyWayneDavis