What's So Funny?

Jacob Samuel is climbing up the comedy ladder step by step, rung by rung. He's a standup and cartoonist and we talk about both in this episode. We also talk about Jews in Canadian comedy.Plus a whole lot about Charlie Demers, too.

Levi McCachen has commitment issues, but he manages to stick through the hour with us. He leads us through his scattershot life, where he tried university a few times (law, philosophy), film school, spoken-word poetry, and finally standup. And we spend a good chunk of time going over various conspiracy theories.

Jason Rowland has led a Walter Mitty life. After leaving his Red Robin roots, he moved on through his own sheer will and a bit of luck to become the general manager of the Vancouver Canadians baseball club. Then he went on to manage one of the top comedy clubs in North America, Vancouver's Comedy MIX. From there, he moved on to become the VP of the World Series of Comedy festival. We talk about all of that. And Slurpees!

Ryan Williams talks about juggling both football and theatre in high school. We also talk about his love of medieval history and geopolitics, which culminated in a spirited (drunk) conversation he had with Jim Gaffigan. Oh, and we discuss standup, too, of course.

Lauren Mather manages Vancouver's Yuk Yuk's comedy club, and also performs a bit herself. She hails from Australia and we talk about her rustic upbringing. She also managed the Halifax Yuks. What an exotic life!

Neema Nazeri is a Toronto comic. He's also a Persian comic. Two for the price of one! He's toured Europe and Australia, been on MTV, and was even on the premiere episode of season 2 of The Beaverton. Sidekick Sam Tonning takes over the reigns on this one as regular host Guy MacPherson is off on spring break. It's a slightly abbreviated episode since Neema is always on the go.

Susan Thompson is transitioning from the spotlight to behind-the-scenes. We talk about her experience going from auto mechanic shop to the standup stage to the management/producer side of things. We also find out she's a bit of a star in Japan. And also that she's dropped about a hundred pounds. Such a life!

Amy Shostak and Tom Hill are not only improvisers, they're also instructors and... well, you'll have to wait until near the end of this episode to hear the big reveal. Who knew?! We talk improv, life, and we get a little serious at the end. A special shout-out to Sam in the booth.

Lady Rizo (née Amelia Zirin-Brown) is a cabaret performer extraordinaire. Trained as an improviser, she's a chanteuse with a quick and sharp wit. She's also the perfect guest: raw, honest, in the moment, funny, willing to go anywhere. Listen for yourself! Rizo was in Vancouver for five or six months performing at Bacio Rosso and is on her way to Chicago. Where she'll end up next, who knows? We brainstorm new possible names for her, she tells us her story of growing up with hippies, and she serenades us with a Jamie Foxx ditty.

Lisa Frischemeier is a relatively new standup comic from Berlin. Strangely, she had never heard of Hogan's Heroes. But she taught us about German humour, the English-speaking standup scene in Berlin, her worst experience performing in Scandinavia, and why she loves abortion jokes.