Comedy Bang! Bang!

Comedy Bang! Bang!
Presentation
Genre Comedy, comedy music, absurdism, improv, entertainment, talk
Language English
Updates Weekly
Length 60–120 minutes
Production
Opening theme "Comedy Bang! Bang!" opening theme by Reggie Watts
Ending theme "Closing Up the Plugbag"
Closing theme performers:
Ken Marino and Casey Wilson (2012–2015)[a]
Ben Schwartz and Horatio Sanz (2016–present)
No. of episodes 500 (as of July 24, 2017) (List of episodes)
Publication
Original release May 1, 2009 – present
Provider Earwolf Media
Website Comedy Bang Bang

Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio) is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.[1] It is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, creating and hosting the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV series, as well as for co-founding the weekly Comedy Death-Ray stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Hollywood.

Comedy Death-Ray Radio was formerly broadcast from Southern California's Indie 103 studios, but since the summer of 2010 has been broadcast as part of the Earwolf comedy podcasting network, being recorded in studios owned by the company.

Many notable people in the world of comedy, music, television and film have appeared on the podcast, including Paul F. Tompkins, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Aimee Mann, Jon Hamm, Aziz Ansari, Adam Scott, Patton Oswalt, Seth Rogen, Thomas Lennon, Zach Galifianakis, Ben Stiller, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, St. Vincent, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, James Adomian, Harris Wittels, Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, Nick Kroll, Loudon Wainwright III, Matt Besser, Kevin Nealon, and Andy Daly.

Comedy Bang! Bang! was also a television series on IFC hosted by Scott Aukerman and featuring bandleader "Weird Al" Yankovic (formerly Reggie Watts and Kid Cudi).

History

Comedy Death-Ray Radio first aired May 1, 2009, after Aukerman gained permission from Indie 103 to conduct a "one-month tryout". The first episode's guests were Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon.[1] During occasions when Aukerman has been unable to host, Paul F. Tompkins, Chris Hardwick, Jimmy Pardo or Jerry Minor (in character as "Cyberthug") have guest hosted. Although normally produced in Los Angeles, the show has also been taped in Vancouver, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Austin.[2]

Name change

On the May 15, 2011 "Two-year Anniversary" podcast, Aukerman announced that the show's name was changing to Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast. He went on to say that the show had evolved a great deal in its first two years, and he credited his wife Kulap Vilaysack with coming up with the new name.[3]

Red Hot Chili Peppers parody

In episode 204 (which aired on March 4, 2013), "The Pepper Men," guests Jon Daly and Zach Galifianakis professed their love for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both claimed to be "huge Pepper Men" and had written a song in tribute to the band titled "Abracadabralifornia", which Daly sang using his best Anthony Kiedis imitation.

On January 29, 2014, a very official-looking website called www.RHCP2014.com appeared online claiming to have the brand new Chili Peppers song, "Abracadabralifornia". The song even featured a layout for the band's upcoming Super Bowl appearance complete with sponsors' logos. Various people through websites including Twitter and Facebook at first were fooled by the song although many quickly realized that it was a parody. The song was written and performed by Daly and musician Cyrus Ghahremani. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith Tweeted his approval of the song.[4]

Format and features

The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests with comedy songs and occasionally game segments. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode. The show's most frequent guest Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, directors Garry Marshall and Werner Herzog, actor John C. Reilly, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, actor Alan Thicke, actor Danny Glover, Cake Boss's Buddy Valastro; other frequent guests such as James Adomian has played public television personality Huell Howser, Jesse Ventura, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Hitchens, actor Gary Busey, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, politician Bernie Sanders and food critic Merrill Shindler.

For the first few months of the program, comedian Doug Benson would semi-regularly call the program and give several "8 Words or Less Movie Reviews".

Occasionally the podcast is taped with a live audience, usually at comedy shows or at festival events.

In the last third of the show, Aukerman and his guests will often play one of several improv-style games. The following games have recently been played:

The following games have been played on the podcast in the past, but not recently:

Occasionally, guests will present their own features on the show. Examples include:

Episodes

Reception

"Often strange, consistently hilarious, always unpredictable." – Entertainment Weekly[5]

"One of the 10 Best Comedy Podcasts Of The Moment...never strays far from a laugh." – Rolling Stone[6]

GQ has praised the show, calling it "one of the preeminent places to hear not only the stalwarts of stand-up... but also lesser known comics, like Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti, and Brett Gelman."[7]

The A.V. Club says "The guests are routinely top-notch, the show has a de facto company of ace improvisers enlivening each episode, and Scott Aukerman is a gleefully indulgent host", also saying "For comedy fans, Comedy Bang Bang is essential listening." It frequently appears in the Podmass column, highlighting the best podcasts of each week,[8] and the website named Comedy Bang! Bang! the best podcast of 2013.[9]

See also

Footnotes

    References

    1. 1 2 A Special Thing Forums: "Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today!"
    2. ColdTowne Theater Blog: "THIS JUST IN! COMEDY DEATH RAY INVADES COLDTOWNE Archived 2010-03-01 at the Wayback Machine.."
    3. "These Times They Are A-Changin'". Earwolf. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
    4. Newman, Jason (January 30, 2014). "Red Hot Chili Peppers Parody Song Fools Everyone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
    5. Rottenberg, Josh (June 23, 2011). "Comedy podcasts are booming. What are some of your favorites?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
    6. Berkowitz, Joe (April 6, 2011). "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
    7. "Listen to This! Comedy Death-Ray Radio". GQ. January 29, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
    8. "Podmass’ best podcasts of 2011". The A.V. Club. December 30, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
    9. "The best podcasts of 2013". The A.V. Club. December 4, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
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