Biscuits & Gravy.

Hey, friends-

This week is the big Magner’s Comedy Festival in Boston. I’m doing a live WTF and a standup show on Friday Jan. 27th. There are still a few tickets if you want to come out. It’s going to be a good time. The following week I will be doing another live WTF at Sketchfest in San Francisco on Friday Feb. 3 along with some other shows.

For those of you that are relatively new to the show and you want access to the earlier episode you can always get a premium app subscription or there are some select episodes available at iTunes for purchase at WTF Premium. You can also pick up my new CD if you want on iTunes. If you get it at the site I will sign if for you.

I just want to thank you all again for all the love that came the way of the show for the Todd Glass episode. It was a big deal for him and the support that flowed his way was amazing.

I’m sitting in a hotel in Atlanta. It’s a long week here but the shows have been great. I can’t eat anymore burgers, fried food or biscuits. When you are down here, no matter where you are, you are within a mile or two of Biscuits and Gravy. You could be walking down the street and ask someone, “Hey, where can I get some good Biscuits and Gravy?” They would say, “Well, you can go down the street here a bit or you can come on in and I’ll fix you some.” Sweet people down here. Honestly.

I know now that there really aren’t that many healthy places to eat here because the last few times I’ve been here and hit this wall on the last day. Someone always brings me to the same healthy restaurant called RJ Thomas. It is an odd place that has a bunch of cage tropical birds out front. There are literally a Toucan, Cockatoos and a Macaw or two outside this place as you walk in. The place itself looks like a very small circus from the street. This time I was here I fully realized just how high you have to wave that freak flag to get it above the Confederate flag on that poll. Love the renegade progressive south when I can find it.

Ralphie May is on Monday’s show and I think we had a very intense, loaded conversation about comedy and overcoming hardship in life. Very engaging and revealing talk. On Thursday Paul Feig, the creator of Freaks and Geeks and the director of Bridesmaids, brings it to the garage with a very candid and intelligent talk about comedy, his work, Christian Science, show biz and living with some personal issues that are daunting. This is a comedy nerd dream chat. Great guy. Enjoy.


Love,
Maron

I saw Space Jesus.

Okay, Brothers and Sisters-

I will be in Atlanta at The Laughing Skull Lounge this Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 19th throughout 22nd. Come on out.

I made it out of SLC without becoming part of the LDS. I really had a great time in Utah. I swear. I was there with Ryan Singer and the crowds were great at Wiseguys. Whenever I go to SLC I’m a bit apprehensive. I get nervous. I don’t know anything about Mormonism but I know the corporate HQ is there. I wish I understood more. I wish they spent more time in their missionary efforts explaining the religion to people who are just curious as opposed to spending all their energy recruiting Latinos. I get it. Business is business. It’s all about getting higher numbers.

I was impressed with Temple Square. I saw the Space Jesus and the Tabernacle Organ and between the two, if I was in a slightly more vulnerable place, I’d be in, and out knocking on the doors of Mexican households wearing a suit within weeks. Instead I went ice skating and ate a Belgian waffle. I didn’t become Mormon but I got a little fatter. I had a great time in Utah. Thanks.

space jesus

When Todd Glass called me a few months ago because he wanted to come on the show to talk about something specific that was very important to him I was honored. I was nervous because it was very personal and I had never really had the conversation he wanted to have. I knew I just had to listen and be present for this life changing discussion. I want to thank him for thinking of me to be there for him. On Thursday classic NYC comic Fred Stoller talks about his independent film and the struggle of being and remaining Fred Stoller.


I love you all,
Maron

I have a Twitter problem.

Yes, people. It is me, Marc-

Hope everyone is digging into the new year and having a decent go at it. Let me push a few dates your way. I will be in SLC Utah this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13th and 14th at Wiseguys with the energized and pleasant Ryan Singer. I will be in Atlanta, GA at the Laughing Skull Lounge January 19th through 22nd. I will be doing a live WTF and a standup show at the Magner’s Comedy Festival in Boston on January 27th. Come down and hang if you can.

Oh, and thanks for all the cards and gifts for the holidays. I really appreciate it. I love hearing from everyone.

On a grim but hopeful note the legendary comedian Ron Shock is ill with cancer, but we can help him beat it. Ron was on an early WTF and he is an influential comic who helped create the Texas storytelling style that inspired a young Bill Hicks. If you go to www.ronshock.com you can kick in a few sheckles to help Ron get the treatment he needs. You can also watch an amazing old video of Bill Hicks poolside before he left Houston for NYC and you can of course get yourself up to speed with the Shock catalog. Help if you can.

On a lighter note, I have a Twitter problem. I’m afraid to even clock how many hours of my life I spend refreshing mentions and crunching words. That said, if you aren’t following me on Twitter, I am @marcmaron. Bring it. Seriously though, it’s causing relationship issues. Is there a support group that anyone knows about? Maybe a Twitter rehab where you are only allowed to use Facebook and perhaps Myspace if that still exists. I need to wean myself from the Tweetage. It’s really is like crack and I can only see Facebook status updates as methadone or a gateway drug. But, seriously, I am @marcmaron. Pretend I didn’t just write that.

Also, does GPS cause fights for anyone else? I can' t yell at the machine so I tend to yell at my girlfriend on whose iPhone the machine resides.

On the show this week the mighty Bert Kreischer joins me on Monday. Bert is hilarious and pumped full of actual good energy. I had a great time talking to him. On Thursday the legendary comedic archetype that is Steven Wright hangs in the garage. I was nervous about this one because I have only met Wright briefly many years ago. I didn’t know if I could talk to him for an hour because I only really knew him from his act but we had an amazing chat and he is really sweet guy.

That’s all for now.


Love,
Maron

Charming & Gritty.

Happy New Year!

Dates! SLC Utah at Wiseguys Jan. 13-14! Atlanta, GA at The Laughing Skull Lounge Jan. 19-22! Boston at The Wilbur Theater Jan. 27! Stand up show and Live WTF. Come on out!

We’re a day into the new year and it seems to be going well. I know I do this often but I have to thank all of you again for supporting the show. Last year was an amazing year and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished. I want to thank everyone involved with the show, BM and Sam, the two Ashleys, Brian, Sheila, Olivia and the OWA/TAO crew, Blue Collar Distro, superfan Amy, our sponsors, people who donate and buy stuff and everyone who just listens and enjoys the show. Thank you, really, thanks so much. A special thanks to Jessica for loving me because I know it's not easy. I have a hard time with it.

I’ve been down here in Florida since Christmas Day. I spent 3 days in Key West and 3 days in Islamorada and 3 days at my mother's. If I was to do it again I would have switched the order a bit and put my mother's at the beginning because I think the way I did it may have erased my vacation.

Key West was charming and gritty. I think if there were about 90 percent fewer people it would have been amazing. I did go to the Hemingway House which was really fascinating for me. I have not really read much Hemingway, like almost none, maybe a couple of short stories. I know about him a bit: war, fishing, hunting, macho, bipolar, suicide, genius. What I didn’t know was: cats. The man loved cats. Right now there are 44 cats living on the premises and many of them have six toes. They are descendants from Hemingway’s original six-toed cat. He was a crazy cat guy with his own cat ranch. When I went and looked into his study where he did most of his best work you could smell the cat pee. I have something in common with Ernest Hemingway. Cat pee. I think I may be the only man on the planet with a renewed interest in Hemingway, a writer I had dismissed, because his studio smelled like cat piss. Let the reading begin.

6 toed cat

I spent 3 days in Islamorada at a resort I couldn’t really afford but it was spectacular. I was walking on the private beach and I had a moment when I thought, ‘Why can’t everyone enjoy a beach like this?’ Then I realized everyone can. They’re called public beaches and they are quite a different experience. I guess what I am saying is I understand capitalism a little more clearly and the delusional thinking that drives this economy. In other words, I need my own beach. A guy can dream can’t he?

This week we start 2012 with a live show we did at The Steve Allen Theater with Steve Mazan, Jonah Ray, Maronzio Vance, Eddie Pepitone, Jim Earl and MOJO NIXON. I loved Skid and Mojo, and when I found Mojo down in San Diego I was thrilled he wanted to drive up and do the show. It was great having him. He improvised a song Mojo-style.

I interviewed Russell Brand on December 13th. I planned to put it up in a few weeks, but given the recent event unfolding with his marriage, I thought it best to put it up now. We didn’t talk about it specifically but we did talk about it vaguely. It was a great interview. He is very quick on his mental feet.

Happy New Year!

Love,
Maron

My brain is burnt out.

Merry, Happy, Everyone-

Hope it is all going as well as possible…scratch that. I hope you are having a lovely holiday and are getting a bit of peace of mind and a little love around you. I’m going to keep this one short. I need to relax and re-charge. I hope that happens over the next week. My brain is burnt out yet continues to manufacture waves of panic and worry. It’s very difficult to deal with the massive slow down of everything during the holidays. I hardly got any emails over the last couple of days and I actually feel abandoned somehow.

Let me just remind people that I will be at Wiseguys Comedy Club in Salt Lake City, UT on January 13 and 14th if you are around for that. I am also very excited about the Magner’s Comedy Festival in Boston where I will be doing a standup show and a live WTF featuring some of the great comics I started out opening for like Kenny Rogerson, Mike Donovan, Tony V, Jimmy Tingle, Frank Santorelli and Barry Crimmins. Can't wait to see them. I will be at the Laughing Skull Lounge in Atlanta January 19th through 22nd also. I always have a good time at that place.

Interesting shows this week. On Monday I talk to Josh Blue. Some of you may know him from Last Comic Standing. He has CP yet is undaunted by his condition. I have a hard time performing if I feel fat. This chat really puts trivial problems into perspective. On Thursday Jeff Kahn and his wife Annabelle Gurwitch hang out in the garage. They are married and are both working in show biz. Jeff was one of the original writers for The Ben Stiller Show and Annabelle has written a few books and some of you may know her from Dinner and a Movie. They now perform and write together. If you are married you might want to listen to this. I personally was thrilled to not be married after I talked to them--In a good way.

Again, all the best to you and your families.


Love,
Maron

Fester and Dread.

Merry, happy, folks-

Salt Lake City! Let’s do this. I am returning to Wiseguy’s Comedy Cafe on January 13th and 14th at their Trolley Square club. Looking forward to the show in our nation’s only functioning and established theocracy. Come out if you can, Mormons, non Mormons and not-so-mormony-Mormons.

Here’s another heads-up for the shows in Boston. On January 27th at The Wilbur Theater I will be doing an early show of my standup at 7pm and a late show that will be a live WTF at 10pm. As of now that live WTF will feature some of the great standups I started out opening for. Kenny Rogerson, Tony V, Mike Donovan and Jimmy Tingle have all agreed to do the show. Obviously it is subject to change and there will be more comics announced as we get closer to the date but that is where it stands now.

Thank you all for the gifts and cards that have been coming in. I am really moved by all the love and gratitude coming my way for the show. I’m glad you all dig it and are getting so much out of it. It’s all very humbling in the best way possible. I had no idea what the show would be when I started it and I could never imagine the impact and entertainment it brings to the people that dig it. It is overwhelming for me. I think I may even be experiencing joy which is appropriate for the season. I’ve seen that word bandied about for most of my life but I don’t think I have ever been able to attach my experience to it. Thanks to you people I am a bit. I don’t want to over do it. Too much joy can be dangerous to comedy unless you are doing a ‘joy’ character. Maybe that is what I will evolve into. I’ll be the ‘joy’ guy.

I really wish I were more of a holiday person. I don’t ever seem to find pause in my life and that goes for all sanctioned days of pause and celebration. They generally seem a little lonely and quiet to me. This year I have some crazy love in my life and I am excited to get out of town for a week or so. I’m heading down to Florida to see the mom and then onto the Keys with the girl for some R and R if that is even possible. I think I can do it. R and R for me include some mental festering and dread but if I am on a beach or by a pool or out to dinner no one has to know that. I just have to make sure my face is not in fester and dread mode. It’s a mild adjustment. I’ll put on my vacation face.

Speaking of fester and dread the book is coming along. If I can get the pieces done and not go back and re-read them to the point of hating them we will pull it off. We’ll see.

On the show this week: Monday, one of the biggest draws in the world, Russell Peters is on the show. Russell talks about international comedy and jokes that cross all cultural barriers. On Thursday's show, the snarky and contentious Michael Ian Black. Wait, he's not contentious, I am. Wait, I don't know. Listen and tell me what you think.

Have a great holiday.


Love,
Maron

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