The Dana Gould Hour

Well, things have certainly been eventful, haven't they? The events of the past several weeks have been I think it's safe to say somewhat historic. And important. Not exactly sure where comedy podcasts fit in, but we'll muddle through as best we can.

This was really a perfect storm. With the effects of the lockdown, the proliferation of cell phone videos pulling the veil back on systemic police brutality, then the one two three of Breonna Taylor, Aubrey Adams and George Floyd, now you have a real tinderbox and with a pyromaniac in the White House, the results are sadly predictable. And in this country, sadly unavoidable.

Now, my guest is a good friend of the show and the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts Hacks On Tap, which is a weekly political round up that he co hosts with David Axelrod. Mike is a political strategist, a Republican never Trumper and an all-around great guy. This interview was recorded before the spate of riots and social unrest so that topic is not broached, but we do cover the pandemic, and the election. What I love about Mike's analysis is that he has a baseball coach's approach to elections because he used to run campaigns. He gets right down into the nuts and bolts of what you need to do to win. Because if you don't win, you don't get to do what you want. And that's the truth, Ruth. https://DanaGould.com

We're back! So soon? Why not? The rules are out the window! What the hey? I was on the phone with my good friend Danny Bland, punk rocker, poet, rock star tour manager… Danny is the author of I Apologize In Advance For The Awful Things I'm Gonna Do, In Case I Die and the just released, We Shouldn't Be Doing This. All of these titles are available… at Amazon.com.

Danny and I were on the phone and he was telling me a hilarious story about having to criss-cross the country just as the nation was sliding into lockdown. I stopped him about halfway through the call and said, wait I should be recording this, and I did, and here it is.

Speaking of lockdown, since we're all stuck in the house I thought we'd take a True Tales From Weirdsville look at agoraphobia, and some of its famous, and not so famous sufferers. All of that and more, available right here, so sit back, relax, and let's get on… with our filthy business. https://DanaGould.com

There have been, so far, only two positives from this pandemic that I can see. One, Zoom technology has finally lead to the long delayed question, "Wait, all this time I could have been doing your podcast from my house???" Turns out yes! I don't see that going to the how we did it, "In The Before Times" anytime soon. The second cool thing has been the release of ALPHABETLAND by X.

John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake formed X in the heyday of the late '70's LA punk scene. Their first album, Los Angeles, was released in 1980, and they quickly made an indelible mark on American music.

I love 'em and I always have. Now I had heard, being a fan and all, that they were recording some stuff, and I naturally assumed it was a one-off for a soundtrack or somesuch. But them, on the 40th anniversary of the release of Los Angeles, Bandcamp announced that the album ALPHABETLAND was available for immediate download.

The huh the whaaaaa? So I bought it, sat down to listen. And I knew it would be good. But, you know, it's their first album in 27 years. I was prepared to grade on a curve.

No need. It. Blew. My. Socks off. From the first cut to the last, it is a 27 minute punk rock fist to the solar plexus. tt starts out great, it never lets up and it ends with a flourish. Now many of you may recall that last year Mr. Doe and our mutual friend Tom De Savia were kind enough to invite me to moderate the panel for the book More Fun In The New World, which is the second installment of their two part oral history of LA Punk, the forst being Under The Big Black Sun, both available where fine books are sold. Tom was kind enough to make a call and I am very happy to say we have John Doe and DJ Bonebrake on the podcast today to talk about the album. So let's get right to it.

https://DanaGould.com

Welcome to April! I hope this finds you happy and healthy and safe and well. And home!

We are all fine here high atop the Mulholland Drive view shelf. We are home and doing what we are supposed to are doing (which is not much) and I hope you are doing the same.

My guest is Roger Nygard, an incredibly talented director and writer best known for the hit documentary Trekkies. He also made a brilliant film called The Nature Of Existence and his new documentary is called The Truth About Marriage. It's incredibly entertaining and genuinely informative (and I say that as someone who was married). Speaking of marriage, we have a True Tales deep dive into the very same subject, as well as a look inside one of the most f'd romantic comedies ever – The Graduate.

Now, this episode was recorded BEFORE the explosion of the coronavirus, so it doesn't hang heavy over the conversation. Hopefully that will seem more refreshing than bizarre.

Regardless, let's now get on with our filthy business….

The Chinese have a curse. May you live in interesting times. Interesting times indeed. The first Dana Gould Hour of the social distancing era gets off to a germ-free start with the hilarious Matt Braunger. Matt has a new album out called Please Hold Me! And you can buy it online from the safety of your own home. Also, True Tales From Weirdsville takes on… DISEASE! How it started, how we get it, transfer it, how it has shaped our history and how we beat it, as well as a great disease thriller movie recommendation.

And now, it's on to out very clean and responsible, germ-free business. https://DanaGould.com

We're back! My guest today is Jay Kogen. Now that name is probably mostly familiar to you if you have been a fan of The Simpsons since day one, as he has been there that long. Jay, with his then writing partner Wally Walodarsky, were among the orginal writers who created and formed the show as we know it today.

Jay created Duff Beer, Kang & Kodos and so much more. He was also a writer on Frasier for which he won and Emmy and Jay created, with me, one of my first pilots, the late lamented World On A String, which got made, did not go to series, but did inadvertently lead to me joining The Simpsons myself.

Jay is also a second-generation comedy writer. His dad Arnie was a writer for the Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show and Mad Magazine. Jay grew up in that world. Tons of amazing stories,

On True tales from Weirdsville this episode we have the strange, ugly and oh so prescient story of Confidential Magazine. Anyone who's ever read a James Ellroy novel will know Confidential as off the record, on the QT and very hush hush.

My guest, well, she gained online notoriety as Comic Book Girl 19, and is now rebranding herself simply as Danika. But she is one of those people who is smart, funny and interesting. And her job is being online. We met her at a Halloween party. Uh, my girlfriend and I were dressed as Taylor and Nova from planet of the apes. And we're sitting there judging everyone. And this kindly old nun approached us, and mentioned a mutual friend. And after talking to her for only a few minutes, we invited her on the podcast. The artist formerly known as Comic Book Girl 19, for your listening pleasure.

For me. I'll be on tour with Bobcat Goldthwait this month. February 6th we will be in Atlanta once again, trying to show that almost killed us this time.

So please come on out. For details on these and other exciting opportunities, go to DanaGould.com/events.

Happy Holiday! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanza, Stellar Snowman Independence Day, Spooky Snow Halloween! Whatever it takes!

We have a wonderful show to send you off into the holidays and then we'll see you again in the New Year with a couple surprises. Mehopes you like them.

Two great guests today, Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago is here. The Pixies have been one of my favorite bands since I first started seeing them when we were both starting out back in Boston. And I'm incredibly happy to have Joey on the show. They have a new album out called Beneath The Eeire. It's great. I own it. You should too.

Also, Los Angeles historian Alison Martino is here. Alison was a producer on Hollywood Mysteries and Scandals and runs the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook and Instagram accounts. She grew up in Los Angeles. Her dad was the singer Al Martino who played Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather, so she has seen it all from a first hand perspective.

I have some great shows coming up in the new year, including a staged reading of Plan 9 at Sketchfest in San Francisco. Go to https://www.DanaGould.com/events for information and ticket links.

And now! It's on…. to our filthy business!

https://DanaGould.com

It is indeed Halloween, the most wonderful time of the year. And as always, it's the time that we bring you the episode of the podcast that we hope, we try, will stand head and shoulders above the rest. And THIS episode is no exception.

Joining us are Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. They're the writers of Ed Wood, as well as Man On The Moon, The People vs. Larry Flynt, The People vs. OJ Simpson, Auto Focus and the soon-to-be streaming and currently in theaters Eddie Murphy tour de force, Dolemite Is My Name.

Dr. Herbert West himself, Re-Animator's Jeffrey Combs is with us as well. He'll be talking about Re-Animator, his time in the Star Trek universe as well as his amazing one-man show about Edgar Allen Poe.

And the host of Monster Party, Matt Weinhold is onboard. He'll be joined by writer / director and friend of the podcast Mike Mendez to discuss the year in horror movies and, as usual, so much much more.

If you live in the L.A. area, October 29th at Largo, it's our annual Halloween tradition, Plan 9 From Outer Space LIVE. Starring Dana, Bobcat Goldthwait, Janet Varney, Matt Braunger, Tom Kenney, Jonah Ray, Laraine Newman, Paul F. Tompkins, Steven Webber, G. Charles Wright, Ron Lynch, David Koechner and Jackie Harris-Greenberg with live music by the inimitable Eban Schletter. It's one night only. October 29th in Los Angeles.

For ticket links and information for this and many other live shows, please go to DanaGould.com/events.

You will also see a link to our Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/danagould. Last month, Patreon fans got access to a complete interview with soft-skinned, almond-eyed podcast ingénue Eddie Pepitone. Just for Patreoners. This month you can enjoy Dana's Halloween Mixes!

What's that, you say?

Several years ago Dana put together three CDs of vintagey weird old Halloween music. Stuff, like Black Cat by Tommy Collins or Skeleton In The Closet by Louis Armstrong. Well, this month, our Patreon followers have access to all of those files and more! It's five bucks a month. You get a little something extra. Five bucks. Be a part of it.

But in the meantime…

The kids are at the door. Let's get at it.

An October bonus as we prepare the Halloween show. Hole drummer Patty Schemel with an amazing story of grunge rock, the Cobains, drugs and a survivor's ability to see it all in the rearview. https://DanaGould.com A bonus Patreon-only episode with Eddie Pepitone is available at https://patreon.com/danagould