I’ve always liked comedian Brian Regan. I think he’s one of the funniest standups going, and has been for years. His bit about going to the emergency room is an all-time great.
His material is clean, too, which earns extra credit in my book.
Brian’s got a four-episode series on Netflix called “Standing Up and Away!”
It’s an interesting format: he does some standup, but they intersperse a few short pre-recorded comedy sketches into the show, and he takes a question from the audience at the end (ala “The Carol Burnett Show”).
I watched all four episodes over the past couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed the stand-up bits and the video sketches. And “Cincinnati” even gets some air time in a recorded sketch – with a callback during the audience questions segment!
If you’re looking for some laughs — and who isn’t these days? — it’s well worth the investment of 24 minutes per episode.
Have some woman in West Chester, Ohio read the story, and send the main photo from it to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for potential use in his “Lookalikes” segment. (I don’t know who you are, but thanks Kathleen Bentley!)
Watch what happened on Monday night.
File this in the “Never in a Million Years” category.
I’m so happy that Cincinnati Magazine got a shout-out, and the crowd cheering “Freekbass! Freekbass!” was surreal. It should be noted that the amazing photo that served as inspiration for the late-night lunacy was the handiwork of Devyn Glista.
(And yes, Jimmy looks more like the guy from Night Moves.)
I’d argue that you could remove the “Cincinnati” from John Kiesewetter’s headline. Nobody else worked their magic in radio like Gary did.
I had the privilege of working with Gary for a couple of years back in the mid 90s. As a kid who always wanted to be on the air, and as a natural goofball, it was a dream come true. A three-hour comedy radio show? Sign me up!
Nobody was better than Gary at doing voices… I sat in the production studio in awe as Gary would switch between different characters, with totally different voices, in the blink of an eye. I learned more from him in a week than I did in all of my college comms classes.
I was only a minor moon in his orbit, at best a “fourth banana” among his crew, which included “Doc” Wolfe, “Nurse” Burns and “Dukie Sinatra.” But I got to write sketches for the show, do some character voices (Fabio, Snoop Dogg, Harry Carey, Tom Brokaw, etc.), serve as Gary’s editor in reviewing/editing the sketches submitted by his other writers, book interview guests, and put together the weekend “best of” show. And when Gary went on vacation, Duke and I got to fill in… the “Holiday Boys” as we called ourselves.
Doc Wolfe said it best in the Kiesewetter article: “Nobody in radio worked harder than Gary Burbank.” We would produce a ton of pre-recorded bits, as well as prep for the live segments.
“We did 30 minutes of recorded material a day, in addition to the live stuff we did on the air,” Wolfe says. “I’d start writing at 6 in the morning, and then we’d get into the studio at 10 and record and edit until he went on at 2 p.m.”
The exec who hired Gary at WLW-AM, Randy Michaels, has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things radio, and knew Gary was a singular talent:
“We loved Gary on the air, for good reasons. He was creative, talented, and he worked hard at his craft. That hard work made the end result sound effortless. There has never been anyone like him. I was in awe of his talent, and will miss him terribly,”
In addition to being a skilled impressionist of the names in the news (he could do Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jerry Springer, and about a gazillion others), Gary had dozens of recurring characters who were far more than one-note gags.
I joined when the show was being syndicated. The fact that Gary’s characters were so richly drawn and performed actually worked against us. You had to spend some time with the show to understand the nuances of the characters. It’s a shame the show never really took off across the country, because Gary certainly had the talent to pull it off.
It’s funny: radio is nothing more than airwaves – here one second, gone the next. But through his hard work and talent, Gary created characters and bits that didn’t just tickle your funny bone — they burrowed into your brain forever.
Amen, Banker Bill!
John Kiesewetter’s article does a very nice job covering Gary’s life and career. Read the entire piece here.
I hope you’re sitting down for this shocking (general) admission: I like going to concerts. A lot. It’s second only to pickleball in the list of ways I spend my leisure time.
Last year I made it to 43 concerts. That will probably be my all-time high water mark. But it’s not for a lack of trying. This last stretch of a week-plus has been quite a run.
Last weekend, it was the Nelsonville Music Festival, on a farm near Nelsonville, Ohio. Which is near Athens (Ohio), home of Joe Burrow. It’s about 2.5 hours east of Cincy. Three glorious (albeit extremely hot) days of music on three stages.
The 3-day event Billboard magazine calls “one of the best-kept secrets of the U.S. music festival circuit” offers a diverse lineup of 40+ national, regional, and local acts from a variety of genres in an intimate setting, along with camping, kid’s activities, unique artisan and retail vendors, local food, and more!
NMF is a production of Stuart’s Opera House, a non-profit historic theater and performing arts center in Nelsonville. All proceeds raised at the festival directly support Stuart’s Opera House, including its tuition-free Arts Education programs.
That Friday evening run – MJ Lenderman, The Bug Club, Waxahatchee, and Dehd – was as good as it gets. Waxahatchee’s set was note-perfect, literally and figuratively.
Saturday’s lineup wasn’t as suited to my admittedly-weird musical tastes, but Low Cut Connie always brings the energy, and I also enjoyed the sets from Gardener, Styrofoam Winos, and Being Dead.
Mrs. Dubbatrubba was taking one for the team by joining me that day. (It was our wedding anniversary – she’s a saint!)
You could count on… let’s see… zero… zero fingers… the number of artists she’d ever heard of, much less heard, so we cut out a bit early to grab a dinner at Little Fish Brewing Co. in Athens. (Thanks to the great reco from our friends Matt and Pam, who were at Nelsonville with two of their kids. Food and atmosphere were top-notch!)
On Sunday morning, I managed to sneak in a hike before heading to Nelsonville.
It was heat-advisory hot once again, but one of Nelsonville’s three stages has trees nearby, and another (Creekside) is in the woods, with “hammock zones” even! Very chill.
Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country and Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band were the undercard highlights for me. I really wanted to stick around for Taj Mahal’s set, but discretion is the better part of valor. With a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me after a full weekend of music, I headed for home around 5:30.
There’s no rest for the weary: last Tuesday, I saw Devo at an indoor show in downtown Cincinnati. I’d never seen them before, and always wanted to. Their set was exactly what you’d want from those wacky kids from Akron (who are now in their 70s!). I loved every second of it!
On Thursday, it was The Rush Tribute Project at Memorial Hall, a gorgeous Samuel Hannaford & Sons-designed 556-seat music hall built in 1908 and loving restored in 2016.
My buddy Craig and I were pretty much in seats 555 and 556…. the very last row of the balcony. But there truly isn’t a bad seat in the house.
I hadn’t planned to go originally. I’m such a Rush fan that part of me wanted to keep my memories of the countless concerts of theirs that I saw “pure.”
But Craig texted me the day before and I signed on. After all, Neil Peart isn’t coming back, and those songs still mean a lot to me.
Yes, the Rush Tribute Project is a tribute band, but they really nailed the songs, which is no small feat when you’re dealing with Rush’s complex arrangements and time signatures. And they gave fans their money’s worth – 27 songs over two sets.
My tour of tours wrapped up on Saturday, at a barn in Martinsville, Ohio.
The husband and wife who comprise the band Over the Rhine (they got their name from the historic district just north of downtown Cincinnati) bought a farm about an hour northeast of Cincinnati several years ago, and lovingly restored the barn on site to turn it into a really cool performance space.
Mrs. Dubbatrubba, our friend Heather, and I drove up to see Patty Griffin, one of our favorite singer-songwriters.
Over the Rhine did a short opening set too. Such a unique and soul-nourishing experience!
Now, it’s time for a bit of rest from the concert scene.
Although Steve Earle is doing an acoustic tour that’s coming through town on Sunday…
I sincerely think that humor will help save humanity from the swamp into which it is sinking. Today we can’t afford to be pessimistic, so let’s try to keep a sense of humor bolted on to our hearts, soul, and spirit!
Jean-Jacques Perrey (1929-2016)
I’m here for it, Jean-Jacques!
It’s super-easy to be pessimistic these days. But don’t let the swamp thing get you!
Fight back, with a smile or a joke. Even a lame Dad Joke will suffice.
Monday isn’t usually a fun day. Back to the daily grind. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I can’t tell you how many mindless meetings I’ve endured in my work life. I can tell you that in most of them, I’ve tried to add a bit of levity to the mix. Because life’s too short. And it’s a bit wacky too, when you stop and think about it.
And the best thing you’ve ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously
Its only life after all
“Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls
Here’s your humor helper for today. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Then it’s up to you to share that smile.
I played pickleball yesterday. As is the custom of the elders.
Some of my friends think I play too much.
(It IS a lie. I played this morning too!) But the reality is I only play on days ending with a “y.”
Yesterday afternoon, I played at a place called PickleBarn. Not to be confused with Pickle Lodge. (I’ve played there before too!) It’s called PickleBarn because:
a. All of the good names were taken
b. It’s two courts inside a pole barn structure.
(The two women who own Pickle Barn had originally intended to renovate the old house on the property and turn it into a rental. But after they bought it, they discovered the land was zoned commercial. Life handed them lemons, and they turned it into a business with lemon-colored plastic balls.)
PickleBarn has a Bluetooth speaker on site so you can connect your phone and listen to some music while you’re playing. One of the dudes I was playing with yesterday hooked up his phone and started playing a bunch of tunes that were… how can I say this diplomatically… boring as heck!
Sorry, but it’s tough to get hyped for some intense pickleball action (perhaps an oxymoron) when you’re listening to Sweet Baby James Taylor and John Denver and Jim Croce.
The songs on his playlist were the polar opposite of “Jock Jams.”
It got me to thinking about what songs I’d want on my own jock jams playlist. Those songs that, when I hear them, get me hyped.
This one is probably my favorite. It’s a bit of a leftfield choice, but that’s how I’m wired.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Travelin’ Band” would be on there too. Some Ramones. Definitely Superchunk’s “Digging for Something.” “Makes No Sense at All” by Hüsker Dü. “Max, Jill Called” by The Bicycle Thief.. OK, these are all leftfield picks. So be it.
I think I should put all MY jock jams into a playlist and play it the next time I’m at PickleBarn… my opponents will be so busy wondering “what sort of weird music is this?” that they won’t be able to concentrate on the game.
Pickleball is my jam. With my jams going, it’ll be even more of a jam!
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