SnarkMonkey

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#15 - Kyle Cease Jan 14, 2015

Show notes

Stand-up comic Kyle Cease had everything going for him; best-selling albums, a well-received Comedy Central special, a massive college tour - and then he dropped off the comedy radar. Or...did he? This is a highly philosophical, pretty deep, mildly funny yet ultimately fascinating conversation about being your true self, living in the moment, discovering your potential and lots of other "aerie faerie" stuff that I totally dug talking about...

By the way, if you want to hear more about Kyle's journey this conversation is, in a way, a companion to his talk with Pete Holmes on the You Made It Weird podcast which I encourage you to check out here

Find out more about Kyle and his workshops at kylecease.com and follow him on Twitter @kylecease -LM

#14 - Bob Kushell Jan 07, 2015

Show notes

We go roaring into the New Year with an excellent new podcast featuring writer/producer Bob Kushell, who has just come off a Herculean effort as the show-runner for Charlie Sheen's show Anger Management which just completed 100 episodes. This Southern California native grew up in the San Fernando Valley and, with a vision and a lot of chutzpah, helped start up a sketch comedy troupe which got him his first writing job which led to a long and illustrious career in television (well...long, anyway...) that includes stints on The Simpsons, Dream On, Grounded for Life, Samantha Who and for a very long stretch 3rd Rock From the Sun.

Bob is funny, insightful and incredibly insecure, which makes him even funnier - but you will learn a lot about the business of making television, about being inspired by Bugsy Malone and Bob Fosse, and some revelations into the heretofore unknown life of Jeffrey Tambor. (Ya gotta listen...) -LM

Happy Crazy Banana Pants Dec 20, 2014

Show notes

It's the holiday edition of the groupcast and the MonkeyBoys offer up a few of their favorite things from 2014 - but of course address the Sony hacking, The Interview controversy, why we're all goin' to hell in a handbasket, and The Flash. Again. Also the Serial podcast, Boyhood, a recap on Interstellar and we pay tribute to "Weird Al", Craig Ferguson and Stephen Colbert. There's even a song (eventually) from the ol' Iceman.

Join Rob "The Iceman" Izenberg, Chris "The McGahan" McGahan, new Monkey Jason "The Hubes" Huber and Larry Morgan for the last festive group session of 2014!

#13 - Dave Finkel Dec 16, 2014

Show notes

Along with creative partner Brett Baer, Dave Finkel has been a writer and/or producer on shows like 30 Rock, Just Shoot Me, Norm, The United States of Tara not to mention animated fare like Animaniacs and Pinky & The Brain. They've also been part of Joey, the less-than-successful spinoff of the monster hit Friends, and they even spent their time as "Monkey Boys" Saturday mornings on ABC. Dave's path takes a winding route, from weird, experimental theatre, multiple college experiences, sketch comedy and radio bits to now one of the most popular and talked-about half-hour comedies on network TV as show-runner (along with Brett) for Fox's New Girl.

Find out how Dave's singularly unique, dark, bizarro vision - through trial and error as well as the support of a more, er...grounded...partner - was made adaptable to the mainstream while still staying true to his bent for the surreal.

A conversation that is definitely NSFW (or perhaps anywhere else, for that matter) but is raw, open, real, real funny and oh-so-dark; learn, laugh and cringe with the fabulously demented Dave Finkel.

Follow Dave on Twitter (when he OCCASIONALLY gets around to actually Tweeting) @finkel_is_great and watch New Girl Tuesdays at 9pm/8pm Central on Fox-TV. -LM

Pulling An Andy Dec 13, 2014

Show notes

It's another rant-y, rave-y groupcast in the MonkeyCage this week with the low-down on Sony's leaked emails, what's hot at the box office, a public breakup with Paul Thomas Anderson and a group intervention about Andy's rage issues with telemarketers. Join Rob "The Iceman" Izenberg, Matt Johnson and welcome in The Comedy Couple themselves; Andy Harris & Rhoda Baldwin...

#12 - Jane Wells Dec 09, 2014

Show notes

CNBC reporter Janes Wells covers retail, defense, agriculture, the West Coast economy and more. Snooze-o-rama, right? Well, not exactly - Jane has made a name for herself for highly irreverent-yet-still-informational pieces that get some real traction and attention, especially in the short attention span blogoTwitterverse we now live in...and that ain't an easy feat. Being a respected business reporter AND being genuinely funny (while sometimes being on camera behind a cow) requires some special skills; so how did she get to where she got? Here's a story that involves getting a start via Rick Dees to getting intimately involved with O.J. (not the way you're thinking, perv) to the powerful impact of Mother Teresa's death to Geraldo Rivera...and, on occasion, the aforementioned cow, pigs and a heartwarming report on the big business of ugly holiday sweaters (see that recent report here). We cover it all in this snark-laden ep...enjoy. -LM

See Jane frequently on CNBC (check your local listings) but follow her on Twitter @janewells

It Come A Gully Washer Dec 06, 2014

Show notes

The Boys are Back with some post-Thanksgiving digesting of the latest in media - with reviews of Whiplash, Into the Woods the popular Serial podcast, "Peaky Blinders" and more. We'll cover the Star Wars teaser, the forthcoming P.T. Anderson film Inherent Vice, Josh Brolin AND James Brolin's career, our favorite holiday TV specials and much more.

Join Rob "The Iceman" Izenberg, Michael Ambers, Jason E. Kelley and new Monkey in the room James Napoli for riffing and rapping and ranting and raving and other words that start with "R".

#11 - Ralph Garman Dec 02, 2014

Show notes

The Great Ralph Garman with not-that-great host Larry Morgan in the MonkeyCage

Ralph Garman is best known in Southern California as an integral part of the popular Kevin & Bean Show on 106.7 The World Famous KROQ doing his Show-Biz Beat, Movie Beat and numerous impressions and characters. But, you've also heard him in Family Guy, seen him as the smarmy-then-veddy-British-then-gruff-bounty-hunter emcee on The Joe Schmo Show as well as in a number of movies, and he's also filmmaker Kevin Smith's cohort on the popular Hollywood Babble-On podcast. But, oh, he's so much more; a proud Philly native with a Batman fixation who aspired to be a serious dramatic actor and makes a living doing funny voices and mocking celebrities. Sweet gig!

Here's the cool, strange, Bam! Boom! Pow! journey of the delightful Ralph Garman.

Follow Ralph on Twitter @RalphGarman

#10 - Joanie Fagan & Sarah Tiana Nov 25, 2014

Show notes

Joanie Fagan and Sarah Tiana are two working comedians who came up in different eras, came from different backgrounds and perform very different material - but still have a LOT in common. Not only do we get to hear about the unique paths these two funny ladies took to get to where they are in the comedy world, but also the real-life obstacles they had to wrestle with as a female in yet another male-dominated world. But - man, woman or monkey - you'll find this conversation insightful, inspiring and really, really funny, Joanie and Sarah give you an inside peek into what it's like in the business of going up on stage and trying to get people to laugh at you.

Learn more about them and get their latest performance dates here;

Sarah Tiana: sarahtiana.com - on Twitter @sarahtiana

Joanie Fagan: joaniefagan.com and 3blondemoms.com and follow them on Facebook

Jack Off the Streets: Electric Boogaloo Nov 22, 2014

Show notes

Iceman, Larry, Matt & Andrew "prepping" - not shown; McGahan & JK

It's a wide-ranging, free-for-all in the MonkeyCage this week as Snarksters Rob "Iceman" Izenberg, Matt Johnson, Chris "The McGahan" McGahan, Jason E. Kelley and new Monkey Andrew Fernandez cover the passing of the great Mike Nichols, the Aaliyah movie on Lifetime, Nightcrawler, Bronies, beaver, Bill Cosby, Let's Call Saul - we even get a Special Guest Dad review of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

Give thanks and get an extra large helping of Pop Culture Stuffing in this painfully swollen pre-holiday edition.

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