I’ve been a fan of comedian Billy D. Washington for a while. He’s a smart comic, talented in a lot of ways. He can work clean, he can do political satire, he can write from a more observational aesthetic, and he plays a mean piano. Last week, a post he made on Facebook caught my attention. He said he’d been watching all these new stand-up comedy specials, the gold mine frenzy we’ve had lately, and he’d decided to “compete” again. I got in touch with him immediately to see what he meant, and he said he’d been concentrating on making a living to raise his kids. They’re out of the nest now, and he was looking to be “relevant” again. To get the call when CNN is looking to find out about the comedy business. To get on late night again.

That’s something I think happens frequently to comedians. Maybe they start out with that dream of fame and fortune, but practical concerns get in the way. They either quit or find a way to make it work from a financial perspective. Washington never stopped doing comedy, but he stopped chasing the fame and fortune dream. What he’s looking for now may be a little different. Something in between. Opportunities to show a broader audience what he can do.

I hadn’t spoken to Washington since he came to Boston probably a decade ago. I hope I don’t go that long before I speak with him again. He brought up some aspects of stand-up I had never heard before, like the demise of the “non-celebrity” black comedian. We spoke about how the fact that he can do so many kinds of comedy may have meant he became less identifiable. He’s not the ace satirists, the music parodist, the clean comic. He’s all of those things, depending on the bit, which makes it harder to brand him.

When the conversation is over, stick around to hear “Get Away,” the debut single from Brooklyn band BIRDS from their album Everything All At Once, out Friday August 18 from Greenway Records. It’s great fuzzy pop, something to prop you up a little bit.

Today Erin Judge celebrates the one-year anniversary of her debut novel, Vow of Celibacy, which is on sale for $1.99 on Amazon if you are a Kindle person. I caught up with Erin at the Women In Comedy Festival back in April when she was in town for the Women In Comedy Festival doing stand-up with CAKE Comedy. We talked about comedy then, but didn’t get into her work as an author. So the anniversary was a good opportunity to talk about Vow of Celibacy and what Judge may be doing as a follow-up. Vow is a breezy, entertaining novel with serious underpinnings about body image and sexuality.

“The book is a fun, upbeat, fast-paced novel about female friendships and relationships,” she says.

The main character, Natalie, is a plus-sized, bisexual woman working in the fashion industry. Judge wanted to write something fun but still thought-provoking, and has found it has had an unexpectedly wide appeal. It also won “best fiction” from the Bi Book Awards. We weave in and out of talking about the book, about Judge’s connection to her protagonist, the differences between her stand-up and the book, and the follow-up she is reluctant to write in the wake of the 2016 election. In between we got into a variety of topics, from Wonder Woman and Ghostbusters trolls to the politics of horror to the difference between performing comedy and drama. And in one of my favorite bits of our conversation, what the Nanny and the Dog Whisperer might have to teach comedians.

Find out more about Erin Judge on her Web site, and find Vow of Celibacy on Amazon. You can also head to the CAKE Comedy Web site to find out about their future projects.

After the conversation, listen for “Photograph Of the Future,” a track from Zion Rodman’s debut album, You’re Invited. Rodman is an amazing singer/songwriter with a particularly clear and smooth voice. You can find out more about him on his Web site.

Back in April, Michael Nesmith released his book Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff, his take on his 50 years in music, film, and video, with a healthy dose of philosophy. I'd gotten an advance copy, and immediately pitched a feature to Kirkus Reviews, and I was thrilled when they accepted. That piece appeared around the time the book came out -- you can read it here. This is my description of Infinite Tuesday from the Kirkus Reviews:

As often happens, the conversation was wide-ranging, covering everything from the Monkees to Tapeheads to the nature of memory and the place of video in pop culture. Nesmith is very easy to talk to, open to any subject and thoughtful about how he answers. We spoke for nearly an hour, about the nature of memory when it comes to writing a memoir, the idea of "the collective unconscious" from Repo Man, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, about the Monkees and his solo material, and about the time his idol Bo Diddley pinched my mom's butt. There was a lot there, and it flowed nicely, and I wanted to share that so parts wouldn't be left on my hard drive. After the conversation, a track called "Healin' Slow" from Banditos from their new album Visionland. If you are a fan of Alabama Shakes and The New Pornographers, I think you'll enjoy it. Catch them on tour this summer with Lucero.

The Department of Tangents Podcast is back from a brief hiatus with a comedy and music packed EP32! The main interview here is with The Upper Crust, the world’s leading Rocque band. They have a great new rock and roll record out called Delusions of Grandeur, and I spoke with the band at their CD release party at Once Ballroom in Boston before they hit the stage. Most bands would kill to have either great songs or a great shtick, and The Upper Crust has both. When I told them I felt that AC/DC and Mott the Hoople sounded like strong influences, they pointed out they had a couple of centuries on both of those bands, so it was a moot point. You see, they first got together in the 18th century, a band of aristocrats performing high-voltage rock in their finest silk and platform boots for the unwashed masses. It sure beat working for a living. You’ll hear guitarist/singer Lord Bendover and bassist Count Bassie talk about their history and philosophy, with drummer Jackie Kickassis joining in here and there. A couple of samples from the new album: “Little Castrato” “Heads Will Roll: Before the main interview, though, you get a few minutes with Australian sketch group Aunty Donna, who are in the midst of their first North American tour. I saw them at the Wilbur in Boston Monday night, and they put on an impressive show. There are six members, including a live director, film director, and composer. Only three appear onstage, and once that show starts, they never stop moving. They sing and dance, there are pop culture parodies, live-action silent movies with a Katy Perry soundtrack, and a lot of wonderful silliness. If they are coming to your town, you should see them. I grabbed all six members after their show, and after they had greeted a few hundred adoring fans for hugs and autographs. Wrapping things up, a track from Ali Wong’s new album, Baby Cobra. The Netflix special by the same name put her in the spotlight last year, and she has just released the audio only for it. You can hear a signature bit, “Leaning In,” at the end of the podcast.