Stay ConnectedSup Doc is the comedy podcast where docs get reviewed and recapped! Hosts Paco Romane and George Chen dive into docs with sharp takes, big laughs, and cool guests from the worlds of tv, movies and music.
No homework required—just show up and have fun.
“A fun way to pore over docs” – Vulture
“Enlightening” – The A.V. Club
Paco and George dig into the enigmatic artist Ray Johnson's life and death with our guest, San Francisco comedy producer Jeff Zamaria. This 2002 documentary directed by John Walter and Andrew L. Moore tries to unwrap the mystery of this central figure in the Fluxus and mail art movement who was known for legendary performances like dropping hot dogs from a low-flying helicopter. A contemporary of Andy Warhol's Ray came out of the legendary Black Mountain College art program. The documentary How To Draw A Bunny was the product of six years of research into Johnson's archives and interviews with figures like Christo, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Judith Malina, and James Rosenquist. The soundtrack includes improvised drumming by Max Roach and additional music by Thurston Moore. Jeff Zamaria is a comedy booker/show producer in San Francisco and the creator of Learn From Me Comedy. He can be seen producing shows all over SF. Originally from "The Mistake On The Lake" (Cleveland, OH), Jeff has been living, sleeping, walking, working, looking and playing in San Francisco since 2005. When he's not working on comedy, he's giving neighborhood folks questionable service at The New Village Cafe. Sure it's just a side job, but it's his passion. He is also single and currently accepting applications. Find Jeff's work at http://www.instagram.com/jeffzamaria/ Dead Bunny by John Held, Jr. http://stendhalgallery.com/?p=3501 **Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc! http://www.patreon.com/supdocpodcast
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Today's whale of a tale concerns the ill-fated voyage of Donald Crowhurst, as seen through the lens of Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell's 2006 documentary, Deep Water. Music journalist and nautical enthusiast Ned Raggett joined Paco and George to discuss his attachment to this story from the 1968 race to circumnavigate the globe. This doc defies logic and will have you saying "...What the..." more times than The Imposter. Befuddling and tragic as it is, we wring some fun out of it. You can catch this doc on Netflix.
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race inspired Robin Knox-Johnston, Bernard Moitessier, and Donald Crowhurst, among others to attempt solo circumnavigation of the globe. Of these men, Donald Crowhurst had the least sailing experience and the most financial gamble riding on the race. He bet his career, family, and ego on the voyage and it takes so many bizarre twists and turns. A fictionalized film version, The Mercy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3319730) directed by James Marsh and starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz finished production and is due out in 2017.
Ned Raggett, to his continued surprise, has something of a writing career. When not keeping the roof over his head while working in UC San Francisco’s library system, he writes for a variety of locations all over the place, including Pitchfork, the Quietus, Flavorwire, FACT, Noisey, the Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle, Bandcamp and a host of others past and present, most notably the All Music Guide, where he freelanced from 1998 to 2012. His weekly column for the Nashville Scene, Ned’s Atomic Link Bin, keeps track of notable English-language music writing, while he also posts quite a lot on Twitter, Facebook and so forth. Occasionally he remembers to eat, breathe and sleep, which reassures his girlfriend Kate.
**Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc!
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It's been a full year since we dropped the very first episodes of Sup Doc! We watched many classic and soon-to-be-classic documentaries, talked to new and old friends, and jumped feet first into podcasting. Paco and George are joined by producer Will to reminisce about our dynamics, getting blocked out of Outside Lands, the secret of the Sup Doc logo design, mystery emails from Anonymous, and what to expect in the next few months of the show. We play clips from Kaseem Bentley and Adam Pfahler about San Francisco 2.0 (Episode 15), Chris Thayer talks about his high school performance art band with Emily Heller and David Gborie live in SF (Episode 22), Beth Lisick gets taken in by the JT LeRoy con and a Haight Street hustler (Episode 3), Jesse Thorn visits a farm sanctuary (Episode 13), and Jamie DeWolf compares L. Ron Hubbard to Stephen King (Episode 16). Paco also appears on The Todd Glass Show (http://nerdist.com/the-todd-glass-show-251-paco-romane) and claims to be friends with Mr. T (a likely story). **Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc! http://www.patreon.com/supdocpodcast. Special thanks to our Patreon supporters; Angi Brzycki, Veronica Belmont, Jaan Shenberger.
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On today's episode, Paco and George discuss the early days of LA's punk rock scene with tech podcaster/writer/founder Peter Rojas. We discuss the influence of college radio to the cult of personality around Darby Crash and pre YouTube digging for clues to the origins of punk.
The Decline Movies were a Rosetta stone for many a suburban teen looking for alternatives of expression. Often referred to as a Rock ‘n Roll anthropologist, Penelope Spheeris worked as a waitress at Denny’s and IHOP to put herself through film school. A holder of a UCLA Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts, she worked as a film editor and a cinematographer before forming her own company in 1974. She produced, directed, and edited videos for major bands through the Seventies and Eighties, concluding her music video work with the Grammy nominated, Bohemian Rhapsody video for WAYNE’S WORLD. Spheeris’ feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION which received stunning and unanimous critical praise. The LAPD shut down Hollywood Boulevard and Chief of Police, Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in L.A. Still fascinated with the subject of punk rock, she wrote and directed SURBURBIA, her first narrative film in 1983. It is a disturbing and somewhat prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. SUBURBIA won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART III would eerily mirror the events she scripted in SUBURBIA. All three DECLINE movies plus a disc of extra footage were released as a DVD box set by Shout Factory! in 2015. https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/documentary/the-decline-of-western-civilization-collection
Peter Rojas created a few different sites, including Gizmodo (now part of Gawker Media), Engadget (now part of AOL), Joystiq (now part of AOL), RCRD LBL (joint venture with Downtown Music), and gdgt (now part of AOL). After all that he was VP of Strategy at AOL & Co-Director of AOL Alpha, the company's experimental product group. He also hosts the MVP podcast with Ryan Block.
**Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc! http://www.patreon.com/supdocpodcast Special Thanks to our SUP DOC Patreon supporters, Angi Brzycki, Jaan Shenberger, and Veronica Belmont!
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Twitter: @peterrojas
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What do Lil Wayne and the Shining have in common? On Ep 29 Paco and George speak with musician William Hutson from the experimental hip-hop group clipping.
The Carter is a 2009 documentary film about American hip hop recording artist Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known as Lil Wayne. The Carter is a no-holds-barred documentary about Lil' Wayne filmed over the course of the year when he transitioned from Rap icon to mainstream Pop star. The film was directed by Adam Bhala Lough and produced by Joshua Krause and Quincy Delight Jones III.
Room 237 analyzes Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's classic horror novel, "The Shining." The making of the soundtrack to Room 237 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T48KPIfB40Y Stanley Film Fest - http://www.stanleyfilmfest.com
William Hutson is an electronic musician, writer, and academic. He is one third of the rap group Clipping, and has released solo recordings under the names Rale, Anthracite, and Tattered Syntax. He has collaborated with Jonathan Snipes on several film scores. He holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from UCLA and writes for The Wire Magazine.
**Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc! http://www.patreon.com/supdocpodcast. Special Thanks to our SUP DOC Patreon supporters, Angi Brzycki, Jaan Shenberger, and Veronica Belmont!
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On Ep 28 Paco and George sit down with comedian Riley Silverman to discuss the 2011 doc Jiro Dreams of Sushi the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. In this episode we cover comedy, midwest, sashimi, docs and more!
A Los Angeles resident with deep midwestern roots, the dark yet silly comedy of Riley Silverman has been seen at the Women in Comedy Festival and as the first transgender performer at Portland's All Jane comedy festival. Her debut comedy album, Intimate Apparel, was a #1 best seller on Amazon. Riley is a contributor to Pajiba.com, was named the #FashionTruth girl for April 2015 by ModCloth as part of their customer beauty campaign, and she was also listed as one of 10 Women Comedians Who Smash the Patriarchy by The Culture Trip.
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George and Paco welcome the talented Veronica Belmont to the Sup Doc Podcast. On EP27 they talk about the doc Broken Dreams - The Boeing 787. The 2014 Al Jazeera doc goes behind the scene to investigate Boeing's "Dreamliner" and finds some workers with quality concerns, alleging drug use and fearing to fly in the plane they build. Scary! Since 2006, Veronica Belmont has been hosting content for the web and TV. This includes everything from video podcasts to red carpet premieres. She's also been a guest on many programs as a tech, science, and futurism commentator. You may have seen her on the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Pre-Show, the Game of Thrones Season 5 Premiere, and Gizmodo: The Gadget Testers. She's also worked for Discovery Digital, Sony Playstation, and CNET Networks. Currently, you can watch her each week on Dear Veronica for Engadget, and Sword & Laser! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os http://www.veronicabelmont.com/
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On Episode 26 of Sup Doc Paco sits down with the hilarious comedian and podcast host (The Todd Glass Show) Todd Glass. They have a candid and funny talk about the 2008 Bill Maher documentary Religulous (available on Netflix) plus organized religion, treating people with respect, and how this documentary changed Todd.
In Religulous Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Bill Maher interviews some of religion's oddest adherents. Muslims, Jews and Christians of many kinds pass before his jaundiced eye. Maher goes to a Creationist Museum in Kentucky, which shows that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time 5000 years ago. He talks to truckers at a Truckers' Chapel. (Sign outside: "Jesus love you.") He goes to a theme park called Holy Land in Florida. He speaks to a rabbi in league with Holocaust deniers. He talks to a Muslim musician who preaches hatred of Jews. Maher finds the unlikeliest of believers and, in a certain Vatican priest, he even finds an unlikely skeptic.
Todd Glass' comedy is often satirical, sometimes irreverent but always funny. His television appearances are many and he has become a veritable fixture on Comedy Central. His podcast The Todd Glass Show is on The Nerdist podcasting network. http://twitter.com/ToddGlass
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Paco and George meet up with Hutch Harris at Lost Weekend Video where we discuss the Kathleen Hanna biography, The Punk Singer (Sini Anderson, 2013).
Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, rose to national attention as the reluctant but never shy voice of the riot grrrl movement. She became one of the most famously outspoken feminist icons, a cultural lightning rod. Her critics wished she would just shut-up, and her fans hoped she never would. So in 2005, when Hanna stopped shouting, many wondered why. Through 20 years of archival footage* and intimate interviews with Hanna, THE PUNK SINGER takes viewers on a fascinating tour of contemporary music and offers a never-before-seen view into the life of this fearless leader.
Hutch Harris was born in New York City, raised in Silicon Valley, and has resided in Portland, Oregon for the past eighteen years. Harris founded and is the lead singer/songwriter of Portland post-pop-punk band The Thermals. In thirteen years, the band has toured fifteen countries, released six records, and is currently set to release their seventh LP "We Disappear" March 25, 2016 via Saddle Creek. In addition to his illustrious music career, Harris is a rapidly up-and-coming comic in the vibrant Portland comedy scene. He has performed stand up in Portland at Helium, Midnight Ma$$, It's Gonna Be OK, Picture This, Keep it Like A Secret and Control Yourself, in Los Angeles at Church, ASSSCAT (UCB Sunset) and Hot Tub, Too Much Fun in Denver, and Cynic Cave in San Francisco.
Kathleen storytelling at Our Hit Parade 2010
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On EP 24 Paco and George talk with filmmaker Marjorie Sturm about her documentary The Cult of JT LeRoy. We talk about JT Leroy's first two novels Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and we get into hero worship, cons, Rachel Dolezal, improvisation, filmmaking and much more.
Authorized and unauthorized, The Cult of JT Leroy received two Jury Awards for Best Feature Documentary (SF IndieFest and Oslo/Fusion International) in 2015 and played at top-tier festivals around the world. Ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, JT’s life and death sprang open a Pandora’s box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of the society we live in. Fraud? Art? Sociopathy? Complicity? The Cult of JT Leroy is a testament to this bizarre and elaborate story that has captured the attention of the world’s media and perplexes to this day.
Jeremiah "Terminator" LeRoy was a literary persona created in 1994 by American writer Laura Albert. LeRoy was supposedly born October 31, 1980 in West Virginia. His backstory was one of prostitution, drug addiction, and vagrancy in California. After his first novel Sarah was published, "LeRoy" started making public appearances. A January 2006 article in The New York Times declared that the person acting as LeRoy in public was Albert's sister-in-law, Savannah Knoop. Knoop wrote her own memoir of the experience called Girl Boy Girl. An Albert-endorsed documentary by Jeff Feuerzeig, Author: The JT LeRoy Story, premiered at Sundance 2016.
Marjorie Sturm is an award-winning filmmaker whose films span a broad perspective: narrative, documentary, and experimental. She was an interviewer, cinematographer, and Bay Area media wrangler for the 99%-Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film which premiered at Sundance in 2013. She received the Grand Festival Award at Berkeley Video and Film Festival for her short narrative "Smoke the Pipe Dream." Sturm has created social activism videos for Consumers Union and worked as a social worker with the mentally ill homeless in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. Sturm studied Psychology at the University of Michigan, and received her MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. She is the younger sibling of the graphic novelist James Sturm and the painter/photographer Ilona Sturm. Sturm lives in San Francisco with composer Ernesto Diaz-Infante and their two children.
(the list of writers recommended by Michelle Tea can be found here at The Bold Italic)
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