You might know brilliantly witty and wise singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton as the writer of the Portal theme “Still Alive”, or from his many viral hits, albums, huge tours, or even his fan-cruise…

We talk about "JoCo’s" Thing-A-Week project and how it (combined with a timely fascination for crowd-funding) propelled him from a software career, to one of the kings of online creativity. We also discuss the pros and cons of aiming for viral success, his tool-kit for uncovering catchiness in his music, and why he secretly finds it hard to rock authentically.

32 mins of extra content from this interview is available exclusively to the Insiders Club! /,br> We discover Jonathan’s manifesto on art and commerce, and how the book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig informs it; learn how many fans you need to make a cruise happen; and find out what moderation is necessary to keep the space safe for risk…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Bo Burnham, Comedy, Interview, JoCo, Success, USA, Worth, Writing

A ramshackle prospective who's who (also: when's when and where's where) for this year's truncated Edinburgh Fringe. Feels nice. Might see you there.

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Filed Under: Audiences, Carl Hutchinson, comcompod, Comedy, Corona, COVID-19, Daniel Sloss, Dara O'Briain, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Stand Up, The Pleasance, The Stand

Crime fiction powerhouse and former circuit comedian, CK McDonnell is on the cusp of levelling further up, with a TV adaptation of his half a million selling “Dublin Trilogy” in the works.

We talk about how to write fast, being calibrated for tough criticism, solving problems in the shower, and how to let characters evolve - especially Bunny McGarry who went from villain to his best loved creation.

25 mins of extra content from this interview is available exclusively to the Insiders Club! We discover Caimh’s secrets of self-publication, learn about how he cultivates the fanbase that now flock around him, and learn why he won’t record his own audiobooks!

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Chris Addison, comcompod, Comedy, COVID-19, Dan Evans, Dublin Trilogy, Edinburgh, Gary Delaney, Interview, Mock The Week, Sarah Millican, Stand Up, Success, Writing

In an industry awash with “edgelord” comedians, Fin Taylor is the real deal. Erudite, thunderously funny, and provocative having done the reading first, he manages to annoy absolutely everybody.

We talk about how his unusual schooling instilled in him an apparent license to infuriate; how his need to row back from the furthest possible point makes his new material gigs so painful; how he went turbo after an agent-shedding Edinburgh decision; and why he finds self-worth in his material not the audience’s approval…

AND:

35 mins of extra content from this interview is available exclusively to the Insiders Club!

We discover an underground route for UK comics hoping to break America; how to bring a knife to a roast battle; Fin’s new focus on writing prose; and he continues to chip away at the omertà code of silence of the Bearpit Podcast Podcast…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

@FinTaylorcomedy
fintaylor.com

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram www.comedianscomedian.com

I'm doing Edinburgh! www.monkeybarrelcomedy.com

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Filed Under: Audiences, comcompod, Comedy, Coping, Corona, Criticism, Daniel Sloss, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Jeff Ross, Jimmy Carr, Jobs, Joe Wilkinson, John Kearns, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Success, Writing

Stevie Martin has been generating excellent material for years, and is now starting to break through due to her jaw-droppingly funny online videos, packed with punchlines and with a genuinely unique flavour.

We talk about the huge amount of time and prep that goes into her work, as she battles to feel like a “proper comedian” in an industry that prioritises certain styles, backgrounds and looks.

We also explore her brilliant former sketch outfit Massive Dad, and whether their aesthetic made them “unapproachable” as performers; the relative loneliness of stand-up; and trying to love Edinburgh in the way that it deserves to be loved…

Insiders:
35 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club include Stevie on her murky past as an Edinburgh Fringe reviewer! She also shares some surprising insights about what works on Twitter and why, the inside editorial secrets of content creators, and we find out why her next Edinburgh poster might sell her in a very different way than previous years.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: ABK, Acting, Adam Riches, Age, Alasdair Beckett-King, Audiences, Awards, Big Train, Brett Goldstein, Channel 4, comcompod, Comedy, Corona, COVID-19, Edinburgh, Fame, Feminism, Fern Brady, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Nish Kumar, Onstage Persona, Persona, Podcasting, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Success, TV, TV Comedy, Twitch, Twitter, Viral, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, YouTube

Josh Johnson doesn’t put a foot wrong. This masterful young US comic never stops working and is reaping the benefits with a place in the Daily Show writers’ room, and two brand new releases: his own music/comedy collaboration “Mixtape”, and his debut special “# (Hashtag)”.

We encounter a really thoughtful approach to his art, and talk about his possibly unique combination of comedy and non-comic original music; explore embellishment; and how “playing to his weakness” serves his material…

20ish minutes of extra content available exclusively to Insiders as Josh ruminates on vulnerabilities, approach, and how not even the most vexatious of Uber drivers can knock back the offer of free fried chicken.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Alfie Brown, and your invite to the forthcoming ones with Fern Brady and a “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet (MClinPsych)

Connect with Josh Johnson:

https://www.joshjohnsoncomedy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/joshjohnsoncomedy/

https://twitter.com/joshjohnson

https://www.facebook.com/JoshJComedy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLuYADJ6hESLHX87JnsGbjA

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Filed Under: Bob Hope, Comedy, Comedy Central, Coping, Corona, Interview, Kanye, Kanye West, SNL, Soho Theatre, Stand Up, Structure, Success, TV Comedy, USA, Worth, Writing, YouTube

“A drill-sergeant not a perfectionist”, Jessie Cave enjoys simultaneous careers as an actress, comic, artist, and performance artist, all of which marry an extraordinary pragmatism with an attitude of artistic abundance.

We talk about her relentless documentation of her life as a means of seeking permanence, the tragic death of her brother in 2019 - how she processed it, and the effect it had on her creativity - as well as her recent Soho On Demand special “Sunrise”, filmed in Corona to an audience of her sister BeBe, and her new novel “Sunset”.

* Content warning: Sexual assault *

15 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club include Jessie on how her membership of the Harry Potter franchise has a legacy of fandom that isn’t always useful to her as an independent artist, and how the Cave Sisters Patreon has changed her relationship with elements of her following.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

Instagram @JessieCave Twitter @JessieCave Website: www.jessiedoodles.com Find Jessie’s debut novel “Sunset” here: https://linktr.ee/Jessie_Cave Find Jessie and Bebe’s podcast: “We Can’t Talk About This Right Now” on YouTube and podcast providers Patreon: www.patreon.com/cavesisters

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Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Age, Alfie Brown, Alternative Comedy, Art, Audiences, Awards, Cave Sisters, Channel 4, Comedy, Coping, Corona, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Stage Persona, Success, Sunset, TV, Whimsy, Worth, Writing, YouTube

How did a grumpy table magician find a way to turn “being pathetic” into 400 shows a year in his own theatre at Las Vegas?  Only Piff The Magic Dragon knows!

We’ll discover how a shop-bought dragon costume flicked the switch from sackable corporate table guy, to deadpan bulletproof performer and self-styled “loser of America’s Got Talent”. Along the way we’ll find out why the perfect show will never happen, and why a fear of failure turns most magicians into “hack copycats”…

30 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club include Piff on the invention of his own tricks, and how something new with a block of jelly has already cost him two and half years and over $70,000; how own bad magic and guilty shortcuts; his evangelist uprising; and what comics can learn from magicians.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Addiction, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, Cabaret, comcompod, Comedy, Competitions, Coping, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, Fire Breathing, First Open Spot, Fringe, Frisky And Mannish, Gary Delaney, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Onstage Persona, Penn & Teller, Persona, Piff, Piff The Magic Dragon, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Success, USA, Vegas, Worth