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
On EP23 Paco, George, and producer Will talk with comedian/podcaster Red Scott about Making A Murderer, the Netflix doc that took America by storm! Questions will be half answered, jokes will be told, and nothing will be solved!
Exonerated after spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit, Steven Avery filed suit against Manitowoc County, Wis., and several individuals involved with his arrest. Shortly after, however, Avery found himself behind bars again, this time accused of the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach. She was last seen on Avery's property, where she was to photograph a vehicle. Avery and nephew Brendan Dassey were tried and (spoiler alert) convicted of the crime. But that's not the end of the story. When Columbia graduate students Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos read about Avery, they felt his story would make an interesting documentary. And they were right!
Growing up in San Jose, CA, Red Scott never saw things the same way as other kids; he thought he was cool. Born in the early 80s, he established himself as a trend-setter — fat, asthmatic, and socially inept years before Asperger’s was a syndrome or obesity an epidemic. On his way to finding the stage, Red had several diversions, ranging from working as a Software Developer to delivering for Pizza Hut in South Central Los Angeles. Red combines obscure and outdated references with the crazed insistence of a mental patient.
His act encompasses everything from politics to absurdism to wordplay, all combined with deft crowd work. When not on stage, Red explores the myriad of ways an individual can be indoors and fully protected from the sun. His podcast discussing Game of Thrones, “Boars, Gore, and Swords” has twice been featured on BoingBoing. He’s performed in SF Sketchfest 2011-2013 and is a regular at The San Francisco Punch Line, The San Jose Improv, Rooster T Feathers, as well as the usual dive bars and laundromats.
You can find Red on twitter at @red_scott
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For our first SF Sketchfest live show, we had a fun panel to watch Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986) and Neil Diamond Parking Lot (1996), short documentaries by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn. They document two very different sets of music fans in Landover, Maryland a decade apart. HMPL achieved cult status from its beginnings as a cable access doc, circulating on VHS and finally receiving a DVD release in 2006. Our esteemed panel of Emily Heller, Chris Thayer, and David Gborie wax nostalgic and relive teenage embarrassments with Paco and George. We painstakingly explain ska and confront anti-semitism, fully reenacting 1986. There may be a surprise visit from the Sup Doc Parking Lot players (Mary Van Note and Nick Stargu aka DJ Real).
Thanks to all our guests, SF Sketchfest, and Pianofight for hosting.
Comedian Emily Heller has appeared on Conan, on John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show, and at New Faces at the 2012 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. She is the creator and star of the Above Average series The Future. She served as a writer on the FOX comedy Surviving Jack and was a series regular on the TBS comedy Ground Floor.
Chris Thayer is a stand-up comic currently living in Brooklyn, NY. He began doing stand-up in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles. He was a digital writer for—and was featured on—The Pete Holmes Show, a social media writer for TBS & Funny or Die’s America’s Next Weatherman, and wrote for JASH and Comedy Central’s CC: Studios.
David Gborie spent his formative years in Colorado, started comedy in the Bay Area, and is a full-time comedian based in Los Angeles.
Mary Van Note is a stand-up comedienne of the weird variety. She performs at colleges, clubs and festivals across the country and she is the creator and star of the award winning Independent Film Channel web series The Mary Van Note Show: Gavin Really Wants Me. The San Francisco Bay Guardian called her a “Zine-Queen Comedian” as she regularly makes zines, crafts and mini-comics.
Nick Stargu is a musician, comedian, and writer who is best known for his musical comedy act, DJ REAL, which has been featured in the San Francisco Sketch Festival, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, the San Francisco Comedy Competition, and more. And he’s opened for Devo! DJ REAL’s show has all original songs, complete with costume changes, bad dance moves, and interactive multimedia. Nick also performs as Imaginary Radio with comedy partner, Drennon Davis. They have performed at SXSW, SF Sketchfest and the Funny or Die Oddball Festival. Nick and Mary perform together on Story Jams.
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On Episode 21 of Sup Doc, George talks with comedian Hana Michels about My Depression: The Up And Down and Up Of Itby Elizabeth Swados, Robert Marienetti, and David Wachtenheim (2014). Does an animated memoir even count as a documentary? HBO thought so, but we have questions. Hana and George talk about depression, having two therapists as parents, medication, comedy, and generational shifts in humor. Famed Broadway writer, director and composer Elizabeth Swados has struggled with depression her whole life. She shares her experiences with this often-misunderstood condition to make a difficult and sometimes taboo topic more accessible and understandable. Based on Swados’ graphic memoir “My Depression: A Picture Book,” and featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver (as Swados), Steve Buscemi, Fred Armisen and Dan Fogler.
Hana Michels grew up on the west side of Los Angeles, the daughter of two Jewish psychologists, she pursued a career in comedy in hopes of utilizing her unique ability to judge herself at a professional level. While attending Syracuse University she began performing stand up and writing, and has since performed at such venues as New York Comedy Club, the Los Angeles Comedy Store, and the Westside theater as a regular performer and a sketch performer in the Punk Haus Players. Hana's writing for sites such as Vice, Reductress, and Thebadguyswin has ranged from silly and satirical to personal and biting.
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On Episode 20 of Sup Doc hosts Paco Romane and George Chen team up with producer/engineer Will Scovill to review a few of their hand-picked documentaries. Paco reviews the bizarrely hilarious doc Finders Keepers (Amazon) about a guy that finds a mummified leg and believes it's his to keep. George reviews A Poem Is A Naked Person, a bewitching and beguiling doc about the musician Leon Russell (not yet online), and Will reviews Terror From Within a superbly and fantastically made doc about America's second deadliest terrorist attack in Oklahoma (Youtube).
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On Episode 19 of Sup Doc Podcast Paco sits down with comedian/musician/Tony nominated actor Stephen Lynch and they have a lovely chat about the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine about the mixed martial arts career and personal life of extreme fighter Mark Kerr. The doc chronicles Kerr's rise to fame in the early UFC world plus fighting, drama, drugs, crazy women, PrideFC, Bas, Coleman, and much more. In this episode we talk about Stephen's fascination with MMA, plus he introduces me to Ronda Rousey and finally comes clean on what he would do for $5 million dollars. Great talk!
Stephen Lynch is known for his hilarious songs and has released three studio albums and three live albums along with a live DVD. He has appeared in two Comedy Central Presents specials and starred in the Broadway adaptation of The Wedding Singer. Stephen released a new double-disc (Studio & Live) album, Lion, on November 13, 2012. His is also an expert sea kayaker, and recently developed his own unique recipe for a kumquat daiquiri.
Here's a link to the Sports Illustrated article mentioned in the podcast:
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We delve into the California skateboard culture of the ‘80s with the Bones Brigade documentary. This week Paco and George "Animal" Chen talk to Bay Area blogger and comedy braintrust OJ Patterson (Courting Comedy, Blackstronauts, Sylvan Productions). Did you play the Tony Hawk video game? Have you been to Tommy Guerrero’s cafe or wondered how to make middle-aged white men cry? We hope to shine some light on these topics and more. Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012) Featuring Tony Hawk and directed by Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants), this is the personal story of how sheer talent, skill, passion and the belief that anything is possible transformed skateboarding from a fringe pastime to a thrilling action sport filled with extraordinary gravity defying feats as well as a global industry. The Bones Brigade is the team they formed that revolutionized not only their lives, but international pop culture as well. With Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Mike McGill, Stacy Peralta, George Powell, Christian Hosoi, Ben Harper, Fred Durst, Shepard Fairey, Tony Alva.
OJ Patterson is a retired comedian living in Oakland. Born and raised in the East (Michael) Bay of California, Patterson is also the editor of Courting Comedy, producer of the Black Astronauts (Blackstronauts) and writer for a number of comedy publications. @supatrashedbros #retiringprodigy #onhiatus
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Paco and George welcome the multi-talented Sam McPheeters. They discuss the 2011 documentarySamsara, a non-narrative film directed by Ron Fricke and produced by Mark Magidson, who also collaborated on Baraka (1992), a film in a similar vein. Samsara was filmed over five years in 25 countries around the world. It was shot in 70 mm format.
Sam McPheeters is an American artist, journalist, novelist, and performer. Raised in Albany, New York, he became a published author at age 12, with Travelers' Tales,a collection of regional folklore. In 1985, McPheeters grew active with the hardcore punk scene, producing several fanzines and organizing local concerts. After moving to New York City in 1987, he co-founded Born Against in 1989 and the Vermiform Records label in 1990. In 1993, he co-founded the Virginia-based band Men's Recovery Project, and in 2003, he co-founded the Los Angeles-based band Wrangler Brutes. Starting in 2005, McPheeters has written for a variety of national magazines, including the Chicago Reader, Huffington Post, the OC Weekly, and the Village Voice. He is a frequent contributor for Vice. In 2012, his first novel, The Loom Of Ruin, was published through Los Angeles-based Mugger Books. He has a new split short story paperback with Jesse Michaels, available now.
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We talked to Jamie DeWolf about Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. Jamie is not only a story-teller, producer, director, writer, actor and impresario he is also the great-grandson of L. Ron Hubbard. We get into Scientology, family, creativity, derangement of the mind , and so much more! In 2013 Jamie was quoted on The Young Turks as saying that Scientology is one of the most “devious, systematic brainwashing systems that’s ever been invented.”
Going Clear was released on DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 6, as well as on demand on Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, PlayStation, iTunes, Xbox and Vudu on Oct. 30. Watch it now and then join the conversation!
(on Nov 8, 2015, someone from Anonymous provided us with a typed transcript of the entire interview. )
UPDATED: January 20th 2016 "Tom Cruise Scared Of Scientology Expose By L Ron Hubbard's Grandson"...Jamie DeWolf is making powerful people tremble & that is ALWAYS a great thing! Check out the article and the mention of EP16 with Jamie!
Twitter: @jamiedewolf
Instagram: @jamiedewolf
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Sup Doc Podcast presents its debut live show recorded at Lost Weekend Video. Bay Area comedians Paco Romane and George Chen invite a SF Mayoral candidate, a comedian and a Mission business owner/musician to discuss Alexandra Pelosi’s HBO documentary “San Francisco 2.0″ about the changing nature of San Francisco and gentrification.
Our guests are:
Comedian and SF native Kaseem Bentley
SF Mayoral candidate Amy Farah Weiss
Jawbreaker drummer / co-owner of Lost Weekend Video Adam Pfahler
Recorded Oct 18th, 2015 at Lost Weekend Video. Produced by Will Scovill.
In SAN FRANCISCO 2.0, Alexandra Pelosi (HBO’s Emmy®-winning “Journeys with George”) returns to her hometown to document what the tech boom has in store for this historically progressive city, talking to various industry representatives, politicians and longtime residents hoping to maintain their place and not be left behind. Directed, produced and filmed by Pelosi, this insightful film looks at the price of progress, and the challenges of holding onto a collective past. Alexandra Pelosi has always been proud of San Francisco, in particular its “long tradition of embracing nonconformity.” She sets out to explore how the arrival of innovators – the so-called “IT invasion” – is reshaping its iconic neighborhoods and forging a tech paradise in the City by the Bay. Pelosi talks to a range of subjects, from ambitious trendsetters bringing an unprecedented wave of wealth, to the entrenched communities of artists and immigrants who are hoping to hold onto the place they call home. Pelosi interviews a wide array of insiders, including: Gov. Jerry Brown; Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom; San Francisco mayor Ed Lee; former San Francisco mayors Willie Brown and Art Agnos; tech-industry notables Michael Birch (Monkey Inferno), Andrew Houston (Dropbox), Ron Conway (SV Angel) and Sean Gourley (Quid.com); economist Robert Reich; journalists David Talbot and Gary Kayima (Salon); and lifelong residents and small-business owners who have to face an increasingly unaffordable real estate market.
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Paco Romane and George Chen welcome comedians Anna Seregina and Dave Ross (Terrified podcast) to the Sup Doc living room. They discuss the much hyped documentary The Wolfpack (2015, Crystal Moselle).
The Wolfpack is a documentary film about a family who homeschooled and raised their seven children in the confinement of their apartment in the Lower East Side of New York City. Locked away in an apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for fourteen years, the Angulo family's seven children—six brothers named Mukunda, Narayana, Govinda, Bhagavan, Krisna (Glenn), and Jagadesh (Eddie), and their sister Visnu—learned about the world through watching films. They also re-enact scenes from their favorite movies. They were homeschooled by their mother and confined to their 16th-storey four-bedroom apartment in the Seward Park Extension housing project. In January 2010, against their father's instruction to remain inside. All the brothers then decided to begin exploring Manhattan and the world outside.
Dave Ross is a stand-up comedian in Los Angeles. Sometimes his comedy is vulnerable and personal. Other times his comedy is loud, stupid and about butts. You can find him stumbling around L.A. and the country, performing at every festival, club, theater, bar, fire hall or bombed-out stone building that will have him. He's in a sketch group called WOMEN that makes sketches for Comedy Central and IFC's Comedy Crib. He won a MOTH Grand Slam, he got interviewed on WTF with Marc Maron, and he told a story on Comedy Central's Drunk History. He likes his cat. His cat's dope.
Anna Seregina is a stand-up comic and performer, described as having the “worst aura.” She was named a “Comic to Watch” by the SF Weekly. She produces the Los Angeles branch of the long-running SF show “the Business.” She has appeared in comedy festivals (RIOT LA, SF Sketchfest, Bridgetown, Sacramento, Crom, SF Comedy Day, SF Comedy & Burrito), hosted music festivals (Panache’s Bruise Cruise, Phono del Sol), told stories at storytelling events (the Moth, Porchlight), and done weird things publicly (SF MoMA, Artists’ Television Access, SFAI, Public Access TV). She starred in Joey Izzo’s “Stepsister,” which screened at Cannes, San Francisco International, and Traverse City film festivals in 2013. Most facts about her are true. Most truths about her are facts.
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