I talked with L.A. comedian Paul Ogata this week for the podcast. Literally, right when I called, he got locked out of his house. But, like a pro, he powered through our chat. Paul is probably the most professional comedian I have met. From arriving early to shows, to his communication via email, to his website, he just knows what it means to conduct himself in a professional manner. He’s also flat out funny. There is a portion of the interview where Paul has to click over and talk to the locksmith and I am on by myself. Don’t leave…he comes back. I just talk to myself in the downtime. You do it too…don’t lie.

He will be taping a show at the Ice House next Tuesday, June 30th. If you want free tickets, email Paul at paulogata@yahoo.com or hit him up on Twitter – twitter.com/paulogata. Hope you enjoy the interview.

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Scot Richardson runs the most successful series of branded stand-up comedy shows in L.A. – the Comedy Juice franchise. He has successfully turned his one night promotion night at the Laugh Factory into a full time gig with shows at the Hollywood Improv, the Irvine Improv, the Ice House in Pasadena, and Comix in NY. If you’re interested in the comedy biz…Scot is a good dude to listen to.

Get on his discount ticket list to see comedians like Dave Attell, Dane Cook, Wanda Sykes and all the great up and comers in Los Angeles: guestlist@comedyjuice.com

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LIVE at The Comedy District

L.A. comedian Ritchie Angeles is the best host of a comedy show in the city. He is dedicated to helping show producers and fellow comedians put on a great show for the crowd. It’s rare to find that unselfishness and willingness to put the show first. As a fan of comedy, I appreciate his efforts, so I wanted to chat with him about his career and comedy.

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I’m not in the habit of simply reposting emails from PR folks but the email that I got below from the Improv PR person Sindy Godfrey felt different. We’ve all been hit by cancer in some way and it looks like Sindy’s family more so recently. She and the Improv have put together an incredible series of live comedy events in the Los Angeles-area to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These line-ups are awesome. And I love how it’s a series of them and not just one. I hope you have some time to get out to one because not only will you laugh…you’ll be laughing for a great cause…that’s the Daily Double, folks. Sindy’s email is below in it’s entirety.

LAUGH MD’S… 4 Benefits for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Warning: Side effects may include uncontrollable laughter.

Please join me to support my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year 2009 Campaign. A 10 week fundraising campaign in which each dollar raised counts as one vote and the candidate who gets the most donations is named the Orange County LLS Man/Woman of the Year. This year’s fundraising efforts will honor a local patient (6 Year Old Reese Endresen – 2009′s Orange County Boy of the Year who has a rare form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma). My family was impacted twice this year by the disease. My father Bob Stengel was diagnosed on March 3, 2009 with Acute Monocytic Leukemia (AML) and passed away the following morning after diagnosis having experienced no symptoms until one week prior. Then on April 17th, 2009, my 6 year old nephew Jameson was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and is currently undergoing aggressive chemotherapy. I have made it my mission to raise funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma research as a tribute to them, but I need your support to do it.

Don’t miss 4 great nights of comedy for a wonderful cause….
Line-Ups Featuring:

Hollywood Improv (323-651-2583)
Wednesday, May 13th @ 8pm
Featuring:
Gabriel Iglesias from “Last Comic Standing”
Christopher Titus from “Titus” and “Big Shots”
Craig Shoemaker “The LoveMaster”
Anjelah Johnson from “MADtv”
Orny Adams from “Comedian” and “The Tonight Show”
Chris Hardwick from “Attack of the Show!” and Host of MTV’s “Singled Out”
Daryl Wright from “History of the Joke”

Irvine Improv (949-854-5455)
Monday, May 18th @ 8pm
Featuring:
Greg Behrendt – Co-Author of “He’s Just Not That Into You” and writer for “Sex & the City”
Jo Koy from VH-1’s “I Love the New Millennium”
Natasha Leggero from “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “Chelsea Lately”
Michael Kosta from “Live at Gotham”
Ian Bagg from “Comedy Central Presents” and “History of the Joke”
Kenny Kane from UPN’s Seriously Unusual Television” and “The Bob & Tom Radio Show”
& Mark Ellis from MTV’s “Punk’d”

Ontario Improv (909-484-5411)
Monday, June 1st @ 8pm
Featuring:
Jeff Garcia from Nickelodeon’s “Jimmy Neutron” and “Back at the Barnyard”
Steve Trevino from “Mind of Mencia”
Darren Carter from “Be Cool”
Ralph Harris from “Last Comic Standing” and “Evan Almighty”
Alex Reymundo from “The Latin Kings of Comedy” and “Hick-Spanic”
& Steve Wilson from “Comics Unleashed” and “Live at Gotham”

Brea Improv (714-482-0700)
Wednesday, June 3rd @ 8pm
Featuring:
Bob Saget from “Surviving Suburbia”
Bert Kreischer from Comedy Central’s “Comfortably Dumb” and “Reality Bites Back”
Al Madrigal from “Gary Unmarried”
Tom Segura from “Cutman: The Movie” and “Live at Gotham”
Ryan Sickler from “Cutman: The Movie” and “Live at Gotham”
Cort McCown from “Playboy Comedy” and “Dr. 90210″

*all line-ups subject to change without notice

Tickets are now on-sale for $30 and can be purchased by calling the box office numbers listed above or online at www.improv.com.

*Shows are open to ages 18+ (shows may include mature content and language)

For club locations and directions, contact the box office numbers or www.improv.com

A 2-item minimum food and/or beverage purchase is required in the showroom

Thanks to all of the comedians so generously offering their time and talents for these shows so that 100% of the ticket sales can go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

For more information on my campaign or to make a monetary donation directly…. donations can be made online at http://ocie.llsevent.org/SGODFREY or can be mailed to me at the address below (checks must be made payable to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with my name listed in the memo section)

Thank you in advance for your generosity and know that with your support we can make a difference in learning more about this disease and developing more treatments so that less families will have to suffer the sadness and heartbreak my family has faced this year.

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org

In November, HBO launched a series on HBO.com and HBO OnDemand called Ring Life. It’s an incredibly well done narrative series about up-and-coming boxers with compelling life stories. It’s done in the real, raw style that HBO documentary coverage is known for.

It’s time HBO stepped-up and did the same type of documentary-style, reality series for stand-up comedy. The parallels between boxing and stand-up comedy are too many to list in this article, but what is evident to most is the solo journey taken by intriguing personalities to “making it” in a profession that has a one in a million shot of success.

The series needs to be raw, gritty, depressing, and hopeful all at the same time; because that’s what the life of a stand-up comedian is. It needs to be in the clubs, in the greenroom, on the road, at the meetings, at the auditions, and in the hotel rooms at the end of the night. It needs to be there when a comedian bombs or does a shit gig in Buffalo, NY. And it needs to be there when a comedian sells out the Gibson.

We have all been tainted by comedy reality series’ that are anything but real. Tourgasm wasn’t real. Last Comic Standing isn’t real. That stupid Pauley Shore show on Showtime shouldn’t even be mentioned. There have been other online attempts such as Hellgig America on Spike.com, but they are not the quality production that is necessary for people to sit and watch.

I am convinced that HBO is the singular media outlet that can pull this off successfully. Comedy Central censors and that will destroy what is real about comedy. I would love to see it on HBO itself, but maybe it’s a project for HBO Labs to see if the content is distributable across multiple platforms. I will say though that it should be done by the same team that does Ring Life.

HBO is the undisputed leader in boxing coverage and in my opinion needs to start taking steps to becoming the undisputed leader in comedy.

The Howard Stern Show is running another contest called the “Hottest Funniest Chick”.  No info is on the Stern website yet but they seem to have a few entries already.  But only a few.  Here are my recommendations for girls that should enter:

Kris Lezetc – Bottom line…she’s smokin’.  Nice work Matt Iseman.

Christina Pazsitzky - So cute. Really pretty. Funniest female comedian out there.

Dana Min Goodman – She has big boobs and she has dirty material. No brainer really.

Sarah Colona – Fun. Hot. Hilarious.

Who do you recommend?

I spun the one’s and two’s on Tuesday night at Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge at Red Rock. Really it was more like sliding a little bar up and down for 3 second intervals…but whatever…I did my best to fill in for the regular sound guy…the legendary Ted Balaker. I like to think of him as the Laugh Lounge’s version of Kid Capri.

Erik Lundy and Ryan Sickler came out to the show for support. Sounds like Lundy and our girl Christina Pazsitzky might have some great projects going on in the near future for movies and TV. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Sickler was just pimpin’ it (not really…Dana Goodman is his gf…he was there to support).

Fun line-up at the Laugh Lounge. Laura Rosenberg hosted. She’s definitely one of the best hosts in town. Her energy is great for a show. If you want a quality show, get Laura Rosenberg, Richie Angeles, or Carl Hess as your host. Not sure there’s a reason to go beyond those three.

Dana Goodman has one of the best opening lines in comedy, “Titties in the house!”. It never gets old.

Jonny Laquasto and Matty “Ballgame” Balaker had good sets and I really appreciate their support of the website.

Saw Ryan Niemiller for the first time. Ryan has a handicap of some type with his arms…not sure what the condition is…but he didn’t make reference to it until probably 3 or 4 minutes into his set. Brilliant. Really looking forward to seeing him again.

I enjoy hearing Josh Wolf talk about his two teenage kids. He’s probably in his late 30′s, so having two teenage kids at his age can make for some great material. However, the last two times at Laugh Lounge he’s told two very random, very long stories. I think Josh Wolf could have a show about a young-ish dad with two teenagers. He should stick with developing that. It’s about creating intellectual property folks.

Franjola headlined and had the joke of the night…and I quote, “They’ve been able to create the perfect storm of douchebaggery in Hollywood AND Sherman Oaks by putting an Arclight right next to a 24-Hour Fitness in both locations.” Love that guy. Although, he doesn’t like to be filmed so that we can put his stuff on the internet. It’s a mistake. I’ll work on him. Chris is one of the few comedians who is truly educated about current events and could very easily step into a role like Joel McHale has on TalkSoup on E! or even a role like Jon Stewart has on the DailyShow on Comedy Central. He’s doing a tour soon with some of the other folks from “Chelsea Lately” round table. 20 stops at colleges around the country. I’m hoping that builds his buzz. He’s gonna need a Web 2.0 strategy to capitalize though. The kids use Facebook and widgets Franjola. But that’s my opinion…what do I know.

In my opinion (sometimes it’s humble…sometimes it’s not), Tom Segura understands what stand-up comedy is all about. No subject is off limits and there is no “line”…so to speak. That’s stand-up comedy. It’s the one place you are allowed to say anything you want and the audience is allowed to laugh. Very few comedians take advantage of that power and freedom like Segura.

One of the most prolific writers of comedy in Los Angeles, Segura’s jokes are racial, sexual, and most importantly intelligent. I have seen Segura perform 8 – 10 times in the last year or so and he consistently delivers new material every time. Two of my favorite jokes are “Guys with ponytails” and “Men who wear tank tops”. You can check out the videos below.

Segura is no doubt on the cusp of going big. He is currently headlining shows across the country and performing along side the likes of Jay Mohr. Also, you can catch him as Teddy Loons in “Cutman”, which he co-wrote with Ryan Sickler.

Of course, I say check him out live:

Comedy Store – Main Room
Comedy Abuse Show (Send Chris Millhouse a note for 1/2 off = $5)
Thursday, September 11
8:30pm

Videos provided by the good folks at Rooftop Comedy – they understand what stand-up is all about also.

Dan Bialek, the producer of “12 Shiny Nickels”, that show with 12 comedians in 1 hour, posted this bulletin in the events section on Myspace:

Hi, this is Dan Bialek. I run the 12 Shiny Nickels show on Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm.

I would like clarify one issue that arose at tonight’s show. And I’d like to apologize for not making this point more clear in my previous posts.

EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THE SHOW MUST PAY $5 AT THE DOOR.

INCLUDING ALL COMEDIANS.

AGAIN.

INCLUDING ALL COMEDIANS.

I’m sorry. I know that a lot of other shows and comedy clubs in LA let comics hang out at the venue and watch shows for free. I, however, cannot afford this luxury because I have to pay for the theater space, sound equipment, promotions, videography, editing and especially all of the free beer out of my own pocket. And I’m also doing this two nights a week and expenses add up quick.

(I’ll let you in on a little secret, all three shows that I’ve done so far have ended up costing much more to put on than they pulled in money-wise.)

I apologize for those of you who came down to the show tonight under the assumption that you would be granted free admission if you were a comic. I was not trying to mislead you. But please understand that $5 for all the beer you can drink (two nights a week) is still a pretty good deal whether you are a comedian or not.

Thanks again to everyone who came to the show and who performed on it as well. I’m looking forward to many more in the future.

–dan

P.S. Please do not respond to this bulletin with an email asking me to book you on the show. When I want you to do the show I will email you. I promise.

This show is quickly becoming a logistical nightmare for Dan. I feel bad. Too many comedians, two shows a week, free beer, not a enough help, and a terrible business model are going to crush this show. Small line-ups, great comedians, great venue, smart promotion, and slow growth…wins.

Linda Pine produces a stand-up comedy show once a month at Meltdown Comics on Sunset called Comedy Meltdown that is at the top of the list when it comes to professionalism. Yet, some how she pulls it off in a kick-back, nerdy environment that I dig.

The show is free. The beer is free and sponsored (yes…sponsored) by Asahi. You actually have to make a purchase at the store to get free beer…which is genius. It could be a $0.25 comic…doesn’t matter. But it’s a win all the way around for everyone. The lighting is great…the sound system rocks…the comics have their own little room. And check out that huge poster behind the stage. This show kicks ass. I recommend it to everyone. All promoters should aspire to this level of professionalism.

Three comedians I would like to highlight from a stellar line-up: Jonah Ray (who has hosting duties for the monthly show), Chip Pope, and Brent Weinbach:

Jonah Ray is a pro at hosting and did a great job at setting up the other comedians. You’ve heard me use the point guard analogy for hosts – he nailed it. Love that.

Chip Pope was a little unconventional tonight and took on the role of a character name R.O. Mance. A British pop singer from the 80′s. HI-larious! I’m normally not a big fan of this stuff during a stand-up show…but he killed it.

Brent Weinbach might be one of the most talented performers I have seen on stage in a while. I really enjoyed the Russian Alphabet bit…the upper-case letter in particular.

This is a must see show…so stay tuned for next month…definitely a fun Friday night out.