The Madness Continues

I have all-around good guy and hilarious comedian Tyler Fowler over the studio to chat about how it's possible for him to be this nice, decent, and also good at comedy. I thought it was an either/or!

I've known Tyler for years around the comedy scene as a member of Team Us comedy but haven't had the opportunity to sit down and actually speak with him, and i should've, because the guy is a delight. I'm not just being nice because he and Team Us have booked me so much, but it helps.

Team Us just released a sincerely amazing special on iTunes called Friends With 401k Benefits. Take a listen here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/friends-with-401-k-benefits/1447725179

To book him, get at him, or follow him, take a look for Tyler at http://www.teamuscomedy.com/tyler/

I sit down and banter with a comic I've liked since I first met him. Skyler Higley is not only hilarious and a good joke writer, but has a very unique perspective. It's been a blast to watch him develop.

Before we get into it I remember my friend Dave Metz, who passed away unexpectedly only a few short weeks ago.

It's been a bit! After the new year I sit down with my friend and one of my favorite performers in Chicago, Le Aboav.

They walk me through how they got into comedy, the lucrative field of American Sign Language interpreting, and what it's like to be crushing it every day (something I know nothing about).

Le's a gem and who seems to have their hands in all the best shows in Chicago: Tuxedo Cat, Chill as Fuck (formerly), and all over Lincoln Lodge.

I grew up with Dave around Detroit. I've known him for years and lived with him & Joe McMahon in Chicago in 2014. He just became a father.

We however talk about none of this as we meander from insane topic to insane topic.

I should've brought some Aderall.

I sit down to chat again with three-time guest Corey Wood. We talk about all kinds of bs as we're drinking, but settle eventually on our show Love Hurts, a resounding success at The Playground Theater.

There's one last showing, 12-11 at 8pm at The Playground Theater in Chicago at the corner of Belmont & Halstead.

Come see it before you have to have a Netflix subscription!

Check out tickets for Love Hurts, only $6 here https://goo.gl/CiKTGh

This is a unique episode of The Madness Continues. I connected with Trevor from Ciderscene (www.ciderscene.com) at the South Loop Beer & Cider Festival over getting wasted over cider and we thought it would be fun to visit a cider house and talk about it.

Cider's been a theme on this podcast, and so has talking about and with really cool women who are doing really cool things, so Trevor connected us with Eris Brewery & Cider House here in Chicago (www.erischicago.com). We sit down and talk with one of the owner & operators, Michelle Foik, who proceeded to roast Trevor & myself (who were drinking their delicious ciders).

We talk about cider, the Freemasons, cider, opening a business, Chicago geography, cider, poetry, Wisconsin Dells, waterslides, and cider.

Check out Eris:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erischicago?lang=en

Instagram: www.instagram.com/erischicago/?hl=en

Check out Ciderscene:

Sign up for Ciderscene's newsletter: www.ciderscene.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ciderscene/?hl=en

For the better part of two weeks Chris Trani and I shared a bed in Edinburgh, Scotland. It would've been sexy except for the fact that we were both completely exhausted from comedy during the Fringe and we were sharing the room with Dylan Scott and somtimes St James or even Josh Otusanya.

Chris Trani is one of my best buddies in Chicago comedy - he's one of the first people I really respected and looked up to for his work ethic and skill. He's produced documentaries, lived in other countries, and performs stand-up in both English and Spanish.

He performs all over the city and works the road as well as holds down shows at The House of Blues and Finley Dunnes. The guy's a workaholic.

Strangely we veer off into talking about politics which is nuts because we've never done it before and I hadn't intended to talk with him about it at all. I'll have to have him back soon.

I sit down and have a conversation with one of my favorite people from the Chicago comedy scene, Jarrell Scott Barnes. I've enjoyed about everything this guy has ever done.

He's a member of the Martin Luther Kings of Comedy, a group that's performed all over the city of Chicago at venues as prestigious as the world famous Steppenwolf Theater.

He hosts every Friday at the longest running independent comedy show in the city of Chicago, Lincoln Lodge.

Find him on instagram: goo.gl/UFyYHu

In the green room at Zanies in Chicago, I catch up with Alex Edelman who I haven't seen in five years. Since I met him at the SoGymnase theater in Paris, France.

His rise through the Edinburgh Fringe has been nothing short of amazing. The guy crushed his first year, knocked it out of the park his second, and got more good reviews his third year than have ever been given out before.

We have a ridiculous conversation in between shows in the Zanies green room, with guest swoop-in from hilarious Chicago comedian Toby McMullen.

Brian Morton has been a rather mercurial figure to me in the world of Chicago Comedy. I've known him for three years but never had a full conversation with him. He operates behind the scenes of the Laugh Factory in Chicago. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that we got along well and talked about everything from his introduction to the world of comedy, Chicago, comedians he likes, where he sees The Laugh Factory developing and more.

Check him out by coming to the damn Laugh Factory in Chicago and being a cool dude or dudette!