Boston Centric - Bombing with Mike Dorval: Recent Episodes
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He's eating it! She's dying! He's BOMBING! For a stand-up comic there's no pain quite like a joke that bombs. Every comic bombs and in Bombing with Mike Dorval we seek to find out WHY! Every week a new comedian joins Mike to dive into the nitty gritty of joke writing. They'll explore the mechanics of crafting of great joke and the agony of a watching a joke they loved, nurtured, and thought would soar come crashing to Earth. It's a deep dive into the agony and ecstasy of writing jokes.
Topics include:
Car shopping, identity theft, baseball vs football salaries, Ty Cobb history, chapstick, James Bond, and Dwight Howard's condom use/free throw ability.
Topics Include: The Patriot's quarterback controversy, the Lakers woes, Mississippi as vacation destination, and age milestones as a sports fan.
In this episode, Mike and Dan discuss Draymond Green, Russell Westbrook, and they also pick a few NBA team's season win total over/unders.
Topics include:
MLB ignoring Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa's face, the Celtics/Ime Udoka situation.
Topics include:
MLB ignoring Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa's face, the Celtics/Ime Udoka situation.
Mike's car accident
Celtic's Post Season
Kyrie's Contract
The Time the Fire Department Kicked down Dan's door.
Why do the Celtics Look so much better? Game 1 Kyrie and Game 2 Kyrie. The benefit of the bubble for an aging Lakers' Championship win. Do squirrels eat birds? All this and more in this episode of Boston Centric.
Topics include: Rick Pitino's best week. Is Brad Stevens Executive of the Year? Was naming himself the "Black Mamba" was the worst thing Kobe ever did? Is James Harden a drunk? Have injuries taken their toll on Anthony Davis?
Topics include:
Jerry West should sue "Winning Time"
What sports draft is the most impactful?
Was Bill Hicks the genius everyone said he was?
Topics include:
The Celtics current state
Was Rick Pitino right?
Big Baby Doing Stand up
A Kyrie Conspiracy Theory
Super Bowl picks, the documentary "The Tuck Rule", are comedians athletic?, Ben Simmons current state, and did Tom Brady slight Boston Fans.
AFC/NFC Championship picks, Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame chance, will Jimm G be on the Patriots, and which Boston Celtic year hurts the most?
In this episode, Mike and Dan discuss the Celtics' current construction, College Gigs, Westbrook's Future, David Brenner, Zoom Comedy, the worst cities in Upstate New York, Mike's shirt, and if the patriots have a chance in Buffalo this week.
Topics Include:
Will the Leagues shut down again due to increased Covid-19 numbers? Do the Knicks have the worst ownership? The state of the Celtics and Patriots, and is Dan giving the Patriots a participation trophy?
Topics in this episode include: Are the New England Patriots contenders?
At this point in the season, who are the Boston Celtics?
Does James Harden realize Kevin Durant is on the floor?
How to fix the NBA replay.
Gambling on sports.
The Problem with Marcus Smart.
Is there one move that can be made to fix the Celtics?
Our lst Bombing for a while is with someone I've been wanting to talk to. I'm always fascinated by brilliant people who choose to go into comedy and Jiayong fits that description. We talk about going from grad school to stand up, comedy in China, and he teaches me what "cross talk" is.
What's that? You want some uninformed sports commentary? You'd like it to have some tech issues? Can I interest you in some Super Bowl predictions even thought the game was two weeks ago because we couldn't get this episode cleaned up until today? YOU GOT IT! Bombing favorites Dan Boulger and James Patterson joined me to talk sports and comedy in what may become a regular thing if you guys like it. Honestly, we may just keep doing it out of spite.
We had to battle technical difficulties and chatty neighbors but it was worth it to have a really fun talk with HBOs Langston Kerman. From Chicago to a masters in poetry to teaching to headlining clubs and acting in the series "Insecure" it's been a really fascinating comedy trip that ended with a bomb in Walmart.
How do you go from deaf until you're 40 to professional comedian, booker, and producer? That's the journey of Rhode Island's Mike Murray. We talk about telling jokes you can't hear, the technology that allowed him to live his dream, and we always have time for a bomb!
Alana Devich is an amazing person who USED to be an amazing comedian. She's sick, so we put together a benefit at The Comedy Studio to talk about her comedy, ding benefits for so many friends who are hurting and to talk about comedians leaving comedy. Should we try to talk them out of it, or envy them for getting out?!?! One thing we agree on? Alan is amazing and needs to get better! Featuring- Kelly Macfarland, Tim McIntire, Val Kappa, and another comedy escapee, Melane Welch.
From the London Scool of Economics to stand up comedy? And his parents were ok with that? His parents ENCOURAGED that?!?! Rohan Padhye is a lucky guy because he knows that only comedy is going to make him happy. We cover the long strange trip, find out why his 28th year was so damn good and try to save a bomb about the "r" word that is a different "r" word then you might think, in this weeks Bombing.
Ok, I found out that Nick Chambers can sing, has had some very interesting days gigs, and does NOT think he's a millennial. But he is. He's not a "millennial" but he is a millennial. At his heart though, he's an old school, hysterical comedian and we got to the heart of how that happened.
I'll be honest...I did not know about the stand up comedy scene in Nebraska. But it produced Casey Crawford who just got back from Just For Laughs in Montreal, so they're doing something right in Omaha. Casey and I talked about growing up in the midwest, moving to the the East Coast and a bomb you should avoid if you have a "thing" about clowns.
Utah to Vegas to Boston...it's not the typical comedy path and it produced a comic who's anything but typical in Xazmin Garza. We got talk about her past as a columnist and her future in comedy and a VERY NSFW bomb that she just won't give up on.
I got meet Kwasi Mensah at his "Laughing Liberally" show in Boston and came away impressed with his comedy and point of view. He's gotten some added attention recently because of a confrontation with a Trump supporting heckler. Is this a sign of things to come? How did he feel about it and what should someone do in a situation like that? We did a different kind of deep dive this week to explore those questions.
Jimmy Tingle made his first appearance on Johnny Carson on December 15th,1988 and has appeared on pretty much every show you can name since then. He's been one of the most influential political satirists for 30 years and we got talk about the next few years are looking like for him and the world of comedy on this weeks Bombing.
Where have you seen Jon Jon Fisch? The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Last Comic Standing, Premium Blend, some of the finest temples along the East Coast and more. I got to know him when he was beating me in The Boston Comedy festival and we got to relive that wonderful memory when he was in Boston for Thanksgiving.
I had been trying to talk to Giulia Rozzi ever since her album "True Love" came out. I finally got to when she came home to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving and got to talk about jokes, her show, "First Set" and we just can't seem to avoid politics in 2016...
We've talked a little about comedy contests in the past and on this episode we talk to James Scott Patterson as he's about to compete in the semi-finals of the Boston Comedy Festival and former $10,000 champion Dan Boulger. How do you approach a contest? Is it different from a standard set? Is it more stressful? We cover a wide range of topics and there's even a guest appearance by Dave Walsh!
One thing every comedian has heard since Donald Trump won the election is "You must be excited! You're going to have lots of material!" Niki Luparelli and I were less than excited. We decided to address the elephant in the room and talk about what comedy was going to be like in this post trump America.
Comics get there late. Where? Wherever they're supposed to be. But you can't get mad at Emily Ruskowski because she was probably late due to saving a child in her other life as a social worker. How do you bring the heavy stuff she deals with in her everyday life into a comedy stage? How was opening for Gilbert Gotfried? And how does a joke go from being your closer to being your biggest bomb and regret? Let's get some answers....
How may people can die in a joke before it stops being funny? What if they're family members? My guest this week is Chris Pennie and we'll deal with this controversy while breaking down a bomb that explores the age old feud between doctors and mechanics while trying to see what competitive bodybuilding can teach us about stand-up!
Jordan Handren-Seavey took one for the team this week. His voice was ragged, he was about to do a show, and he STILL stepped up to talk about his new album, his favorite bomb, and what it's like to wear the best chapeau in Boston.
This week we have a group chat following a special show at Megan's House which is a group treatment facility for women. How is it different from a typical show? Kelly McFarland, Emily Ruskowski, Jack Burke, Eric Taylor, and Phoebe Angle take the time to talk about a really cool and unique kind of comedy.
If I'm on. Show with Kenice Mobley I check where she is on the lineup so I never miss her. Some comics bring pure heat. Comedy fastballs. Kenice is great because she throws curve and changeups that surprise you and always find the strike zone. Today we talk about her past and future and she even spends time grilling me!
If you could buy stock in a comic, I'd be buying stock in Sam Evans. I got talk to him after he headlined a show and I left very impressed. He was just featured on New Faces in the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival and is going on the road all the time. I caught up with him after he headlined a show in Massachusetts and we got to talk all things comedy...
One of the reasons I like Sam Ike so much is that he can have the smartest room in Cambridge rolling but also kill it in a bar 20 miles from the nearest highway. We sat down in the bar of our favorite Chinese food place/Comedy club to talk about his improv career, moving into stand up and the shows he produces that are somewhere in between. We also see if we can save a bomb about a friend dying and how Kickstarter really works!
Something a little...well, very different this week. A handful of comics, including your weekly Bombing tour guide, arrived for a show that the audience forgot to attend. What happens when the show doesn't go? You get half a dozen comics, a live mic, and some very NSFW storytelling including the great Boston Comedy Death Hoax!
This week we are live on Commonwealth Ave with Rob Crean (and a guest appearance by John Paul Rivera who was only vaping tobacco!). We discuss the difference between being a comedian and a humorist, producing shows and albums, and we do it all while celebrating a very special Allston Christmas!
I love talking to comics who've been writing jokes for a while and can look back on their old jokes and compare them to the new, but I thought it'd be fun to mix things up little bit. Luke Touma was getting ready to leave for a tour of Hawaii when we talked about his brief but action packed career in Boston and his plans for the future in Hollywood and a bomb that's still fresh enough to feel the singe marks!
Who's the best comic in Boston? Al Park can make a really good case for the title. The Improper Bostonian named him the best AND he won the Boston Comedy Festival. So how do you from a Stand Up class to being one of the best in just a few years. Let's find out...
Poor Will Noonan has been haunted by a chicken wing joke he just can't fix for years now. Sure, during that time he's also appeared on Gotham Live, released multiple albums, hosted a hit podcast and been power-bombed by a pro wrestler...but he still can't let go of that chicken wing joke. We'll also talk about whether or not Joe Rogan is the new Johnny Carson on this weeks Bombing!
You may know Tammy Twotone from Glee or The Nightly Show but I know her from being on my very first show at the Comedy Studio 15 years ago. And I still remember her opener! What's changed and what's stayed the same in that time? Let's find out...
How did Brian Longwell become "Brian Longwell"? It's a fun journey that started with an ill conceived comedy contest and ended with a brilliantly conceived character that brings his wisdom to corporations and comedy clubs worldwide!
Shane Mauss is a great comedian. He's had his own specials on Comedy Central and Netflix, done late night TV, sells out comedy clubs, everything you'd expect from a successful stand-up. But my favorite thing about Shane is when he decides to spend an hour doing a deep dive into one subject and pulling every bit of meat on the bone, like with his current one man show on psychedelics. It's a long strange trip on this weeks Bombing.
In addition to a stand up career that saw him on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin, Max Alexander co starred in the definitive movie about comedians, Punchline. We talk about all that AND Julio Iglesias on this weeks Bombing!
So many people move to Hollywood to succeed in comedy. This weeks guest moved from Hollywood to Pennsylvania to feel like a real success. It's a different story for Bombing that goes from Victoria's Secret all the way to World War I!
Benari Poulten is a senior producer for one of the hottest shows on TV, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Before that? You could find him tweeting jokes as GI Jew when he was stationed in the Middle East. How do you go from hot young comic to the battlefield to the writers room of a late night comedy show? He'll tell us all about it and we'll talk about that controversial White House Correspondents Dinner on this week's Bombing!I
I've known Tommy Rico since he first started. In addition to being a terrific comic, Tommy cares more about comedy than anyone I know and he's not afraid to tell you what he thinks. We talk about his journey from Boston to Hollywood with a quick stop in Texas along the way.
Who doesn't love Kelly MacFarland? I've never met a person that doesn't. She emerged from the woods of Maine and made it all the way to Gotham Live and Last Comic Standing. One of the best things about watching Kelly is that she's always going to surprise you and this week she surprised me with a bomb that delighted me far more than the audiences of New England. Middle aged male cheerleaders, you're on warning.
I got a chance to talk to Dan Soder just after the release of his first hour long special Not Special. He was fresh off a five hour drive, starving, and still entertaining as hell. We got to talk about his evolution as a comic and what changed between his half hour special and hour special, how he feels about retiring jokes, and carrying on the proud Arizona comedy tradition of Garry Shandling.
Ever wondered what it's really like to showcase for the most important people in the entertainment industry? Eddie Pence pulls back the curtain and tells us what it feels like to play the Montreal Comedy Festival. I could talk about his late night appearances all day but I have to admit my favorite thing is to talk Star Wars and Super Hero geek jokes for hours on end with Eddie. Do we manage to cover 9/11 too? You better believe it!
Rick Jenkins never meant to be a comedy club owner. He moved from Buffalo to Boston to take part in the comedy boom and then, when the bubble burst, he found himself lamenting it's passing in the bar of a Chinese food restaurant. That night, a club was born. The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square just defied all odds by celebrating it's 20th anniversary. For most of that time it's been known as one of the smartest and coolest rooms in the country. How does he balance being an owner while still being a standup? How does playing one room 99% of the time affect your joke writing? How does it feels when everyone looks to you for advice, laughs, and a joke about whoever happened to die this week? Let's find out...
Any list of the top joke writers in the country that doesn't have Gary Gulman on it is an incomplete list. I got to talk to him about his new Netflix special It's About Time, his appearances on every late night show (seriously), his albums, and a joke that took 18 years to craft! And we get to hear about a bomb that Mel Blanc would love...
Dan Boulger exploded onto the comedy scene by winning the Boston Comedy Festival just after he was born (only a slight exaggeration). Now as he's releasing his first album we get to talk about a journey that includes basketball,diabetes, Ty Cobb and more!
I didn't think anyone had seen more TV as a kid than me. Then I met the TV Guidance Counselor, Ken Reid. His podcast caught fire in the last couple of years, but we cover a longer stretch of time that started in Boston, went around the world, and ends back in Boston with his new album, The Vanity Project. Television, jokes, depression, podcasting, and more, on this weeks Bombing...
DJ Hazard is one of the rare legends of the comedy boom who managed a seamless transition into the 21st century. Maybe its because he's always been exploring the limits of comedy as a form and challenging himself to find something different. Louis CK called him his mentor and said "I just worshipped the guy". Hey, I love him too! I had a great talk with him and he shared his thoughts on joke writing, stories from the road, and a story that every comedian who thinks he "owned" a heckler should definitely hear!
Are you familiar with the phrase "Working blue"? It meansworking dirty and no one in Boston comedy wears the color bluebetter thanTom Dustin. He's not afraid to say anything andnosubject is offlimits. So what happens when you're working on theedge and something goes wrong?
He was MC Mr Napkins when I first saw him rocking the mic with a comedy rap in Cambridge. Since then he's shed the stage name and is rocking the world as Zach Sherwin. How did the evolution occur? Where does comedy rap exist in the world of comedy? What's it like writing for so many different shows (Crazy ex-girlfriend, Epic Rap Battles of History) and what does it feel like to have your bomb happen in front of one of your comedy idols? All that and more on this weeks Bombing!
A great and far reaching talk with my longtime friend, Rosie Tran. She's a comic, actor, and podcaster originally from New Orleans, now transplanted to L.A. We settle important questions like, "Is there any car better on gas than a Honda Civic?" and "Can Mike help Rosie think of a bomb she's written?" Spoiler alert- we found one!
This week I got to have a great and far reaching talk with the ridiculously talented Joe List. We talked about appearing on Letterman, who gets the material when your fiancée is also a comic, and the life changes he made to get him where he is today. Plus we get to hear a bomb that covers love, betrayal, and email! Not to mention our own tech foibles that we never quite get ironed out on this weeks Bombing!
It's episode 10, but really this is episode zero. The very first Bombing ever recorded and it was with a great comedian and great friend in comedy, Tim Mcintire. We talk Thursday Night Fights, dogs, joke stealing, the good old days and so much more. This was the talk that made me want to do more. Enjoy!
We have our very first three-man podcast this episode! Matt Kona and Shaun Bedgood are great comics in their own right and we talk a lot about their jokes and careers, but they're also the producers of Roast Battle Boston. Mike is known for being anti-roast. Will they change his mind? Find out on this weeks Bombing!
You know Patty Ross. If you've seen The Heat, Spotlight, The Three Stooges, Clear History....actually, I don't have enough space for all her credits. But we spend the most time talking about her comedy and her belief that she doesn't really have any jokes. So how is she such an amazing comic? Find out, this week on Bombing.
Those "Last Week Tonight" clips that everyone shares every Monday? Josh Gondelman helped write that. That new book "You Blew it"? That's him too. The Twitter profile Modern Seinfeld? Josh. And his album "Physical Whisper" AND his TV debut on Conan March 23...clearly appearing on Bombing tops all of that! Listen to another delightful bomb and a truly special story about a night we had on the road with royalty this week on Bombing with Mike Dorval!
Erin Judge is an outstanding comic (Comedy central's Live at Gotham) who's about to have her first book published. She's also the first comedian every other comedian turns to for advice in life, love, and comedy. Her material touches on love, sexuality, politics, feminism, the LGBT community and more and it's always great....well, except that one time. Hear about that one time on Bombing!
Where did the Jay Leno show go wrong? They bumped Dwayne Perkins' "Great White Moments in Black History" to the second episode to accommodate some guy named Kanye! Dwayne has done it all and this week he shares a bomb about his favorite subject- love. Can we save this beautiful life filled bomb? Find out on this weeks Bombing!
How good do you have to be to keep a job in late nightfall 22 years? You have to be a joke writing machine. Brian Kiley is a legendary writer and comic with multiple bombs to share including one I just have to fight him on! He's been on The Tonight Show, Late Night, The Late Show, Conan, and now he's on Bombing!
Bombing by telling a joke about bombing? We are working on a lot of different levels on this weeks episode of bombing! Gary Petersen is a great comic willing to share his tales while getting ready to record his first album!
James Scott Patterson is living proof that you don't have to be happy to be funny. The first joke James shared with the world was about searching for a child in a field and it only got darker from there. We cover baseball, drunken poets, sex in space and more on this weeks Bombing.
Myq Kaplan has done The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Conan, Last Comic Standing AND Americas Got Talent. What does he know about bombing? You'd be surprised. Jokes about frats, rafts, farts and killing yourself are covered in depth in the first episode of Bombing.