Results tagged “phillyistinterviews”

You might know comedian Jim Florentine (MySpace) best as Special Ed from the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers. (You know, where you laughed, but then thought you might just be going to hell for laughing?) Phillyist got a chance to talk to Florentine before he yanks your cranks this week with a four-night run at Helium Comedy Club.

Matt Duke (MySpace) is easily one of Phillyist's favorite things about, well, Philly. Because he plays frequently at World Cafe Live—probably our favorite place to catch live music in the city—we've seen him, and talked about him, many times. But it wasn't until his most recent show at WCL that we actually got a chance to talk Duke. So read on, and if you didn't get to see Duke when he played with Tony Lucca and Jay Nash a couple weeks ago, fear not; Matt will be opening for also-ridiculously-talented Charlotte Martin at WCL on Wednesday night. So check out our conversation with Matt, and get details on Wednesday's show below the interview.

Standup comedian Christian Finnegan, who has the benefit of being both hilarious and adorable, will be appearing tonight through Saturday at Helium Comedy Club. You might know him from VH1's Best Week Ever, or perhaps from his spots on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, or you may have the pleasure of knowing his stand-up from his albums, Two for Flinching and his latest, Au Contraire.

A lot of comedians need a shtick. And that's not to say it's a bad thing: heck, a lot of trailblazing comedians relied on their shticks and achieved great success and influenced comedians who followed them. George Carlin's profanity and Sam Kinison's scream (without either of which, we would not have the brilliance of Denis Leary), Gallagher's sledge-o-matic (which is directly to blame for Carrot Top, who was actually surprisingly funny when this Phillyist saw him many, many years ago), Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck..." (which is probably the greatest one-liner gimmick ever). So we love comedians with shtick; but sometimes, it's refreshing to see a comedian who can just go on stage and be themselves, and be very, very funny. We also love local talent. To our delight, we found both in local comedian Chip Chantry.

We were fortunate enough to speak with the first lady of Philadelphia about bicycling in the city because she's the Honorary Chair of the TD Bank Bike Philly ride happening this weekend. (T-shirts may be sold out but you can still get in on the riding action by registering before the ride starts on Sunday morning.) She was kind and gracious even as this Phillyist spent half the interview trying not to infect her through the phone lines with the plague/swine flu/death cold. Which makes sense, because all she wants is for people to be healthy, happy, and enjoy living in Philly.

John Oliver—Daily Show correspondent and reluctant heartthrob—will be performing for one night only at Helium Comedy Club, and it promises to be an evening of deliciously British stand-up comedy. Phillyist had a chance to talk to John in advance of the show, to which you should go...but only if you like stuff that's awesome.

You would think that the godfathers of thrash metal would be intimidating figures to talk to. When Phillyist had the opportunity to sit down with Slayer (MySpace) bassist/vocalist/co-founder Tom Araya, that's exactly what we thought. Boy, were we wrong. Sitting with Araya was sitting with a sage of heavy metal, a gentle spirit with a vast musical background who just happens to front the greatest thrash metal band the world has ever seen. It was pretty damn incredible.

Of all the chefs we met at last weekend's Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, Guy Fieri seemed most like he belonged in New Jersey—even though he's a California boy. Personable, at ease in his surroundings, and completely un-self-conscious (unless you're trying to capture him mid-"Hunch," as you'll see below), Guy's exactly what you'd expect him to be if you're a fan of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. And above all, he's funny. Before we got our chance to chat with him, he taunted the husband one of the event's hostesses for allowing his wife to drive a minivan before insisting that she yodel his introduction. We didn't even get five minutes of Guy's time, but we got at least ten minutes worth of interview material with this fast-talking winner of the second season of The Next Food Network Star. And, as you'll see at the bottom of the interview, he said we can buy him a sandwich sometime. We fully intend to follow through.

In person, Ted Allen is pretty much exactly what you'd expect, only not quite as tall. He's friendly; he's charismatic; he's a little geeky (we shared iPhone tips); and he's very giving of his time to fans and press alike (admittedly, we're a little of both). We met him at the beginning of the California Wine Tour event this past weekend's Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, and while the event's lack of well-versed vintners left something to be desired, our brief time with Ted didn't. We only got a few questions in, but the time was completely ours—and now, we're sharing it with you.

Gregg Gethard, local funny guy extraordinaire, has got a story for you. And a video. And a song. And a few middle school geography questions. All of these elements come together in his Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Comedy Extravaganza. Carmen Sandiego was... well unless you skipped most of the 90s you probably already know what it was: A fantastically popular children's game show on PBS based on the equally popular computer game of the same name. Gregg Gethard is a bloke with his own monthly live comedy series who just happened to be lucky enough to score a slot on the show when he was in 8th grade.

Acclaimed author and Philly denizen Jennifer Weiner (pronounced "Winer," not "Weener"!), author of Good in Bed and In Her Shoes has a new novel, Best Friends Forever, coming out tomorrow (July 14).

I worried I was going to miss the thing entirely—"the thing" being a round-table interview with Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, the director and screenwriter of the film The Hurt Locker. I'd left early, I'd taken the precautionary cab so as not to be made late by a half mile walk in high heels to the Four Seasons. But, my taxi was sitting at 17th and Market with no clear sign that movement would ever be possible. Eventually, finally, it moved and I made it.

After the unhappy revelation last week that Philly is slacking in sexual satisfaction, Phillyist thought we could take matters into our own hands (or phones) and help y'all out. Or at least get some more information from Trojan, the source of the survey. Plus, we were curious what the condom-makers are like. Are they hard-partying lampshade wearers? Lascivious Lady Godiva types?

UK-based Katie Melua will be in town tomorrow night, playing an intimate show at Old City's Tin Angel. She's a big deal in her homeland and has even played for the Queen, but she really likes the smaller venues best, as you'll see below.

Neal Dandade is one of my heroes. Luckily for me, unlike most people's heroes, I know mine. Quite well, actually: Neal and I go back ten years and two thousand miles to Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas. We acted together then, and now I'm lucky to get onstage once a year, but Neal is doing it professionally, performing with a number of improvisational and sketch comedy groups in the Chicago area—including the career-launching Second City. As you'll see from his interview below, improv is a natural fit for Neal, who sometimes thinks so fast it's hard to keep up. ("He was always so bright," as Mamaist put it.) You may actually have seen some of his work: know those Boost Mobile commercials with the rapping George Washington? Neal actually originated the jingle (but hasn't, as of yet, been given any credit for his work).

Jillian Iva's favorite sideshow act is the blockhead—you know, the guy that hammers nails into his nose. Coincidentally, that's the one circus skill that I have. We're on the subject of sideshows because rumor has it that Jillian's grandmother—who is also the namesake for her band, Von Iva—was a snake charmer. It must run in the family, because Jillian is something of a charmer herself. She giggles as she tells me the story, her voice barely hinting at the powerful vocal chops and deep, sexy growl that mesmerize on the band's latest EP, Girls on Film.

The Philadelphia Improv Festival

Mum Puppettheatre founder Robert Smythe

Less Than Jake saxophonist JR

David Terruso of Philly Sketchfest

Local sketch comedy group Meg and Rob