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 SomaCow 349: The Channel Project [1:05:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Originally clicked at SomaCow.com

In this hour, we invited Ryan of The Channel Project to join us in studio, and spent some time familiarizing ourselves, discussing Orlando podcasting, radio, business, and some of the behind the scenes stuff we don’t normally get into on the show. I really enjoyed meeting the guy, and not just because he brought scrumptious Thai to our studios.

We talked at great length about comedians, so I wanted to figure out what I considered to be the five influential comedians on my life. I am sure most of these come as no surprise.

5. Louie Anderson – Hated by kewl people all over the world, Louie’s self effacing nature and loud, abrasive father figure rang true to my adolescent ears. He was somehow impermeable to fat jokes, capable of insulting himself, and maybe even glorifying the abuse of his body. What I knew at that age were slurpees, obesity, and the strange love, fear, contempt, and awe  that can exist between a boy and his pa, and Louie did that with style. His later cartoon work, and horrifying stint on Family Feud notwithstanding, Mr. Anderson was one of the first to make me fall in love with comedy. His book, Dear Dad, Letters From an Adult Child was a painful, but powerful, read.

4. George Carlin – Well, yeah. Obviously.

3. David Cross – I cannot to this day believe what he would say on stage. Bootlegs, handmade vhs and dvd, store bought specials, Mr. Show, and that god awful FOX sitcom, David always seems to be a man floating all around success and public acceptance, but never truly getting the credit he deserves. David is whiny and brilliant, lazy and creative, angry and timid, sarcastic and thoughtful, and viciously capable of lacerating a public figure, audience member, or himself in one well aimed barb. I appreciate his candor, and even when he bombs a bit, it’s still entertaining, because he is bombing fighting the good fight.

2. Sinbad – I know, right? Sorry, but he made me comfortable. His “schtick” centered around familial, momma, and food observations, and he usually played pretty clean, but he gave comedy a much needed wider audience. His roots in Star Search and tendency to win Image awards kind of make him a Man of the People to me, and he never made me feel guilty for being white, unlike Pryor and Murphy and Rock and Chapelle. Sinbad knew I was a cracker, but he was willing to spread cheese on me and make something useful out of the situation.

1. Margaret Cho – If I want to succeed, be funny, have friends, smell well, have a point, be intelligent, avoid herpes, speak clearly, or remain relevant in any way, all I need to do is avoid repeating any decision made by Margaret Cho. What a horrible body of work. I defy anyone to listen to five minutes of anything she has ever done and find ANY redeemable quality to it. Her comedy is what made me realize that hardly any woman, ever, is funny.

Except Tina. Wowzah. Aoooga. Nom.