Wednesday
Ben Moore (again)
Ben Moore is quickly becoming a major factor in the midwest comedy scene, cutting his teeth at top rooms all across the nation. Ben is the reigning “Funniest Person in Lexington.” His expanding credits also include TBS, Atlanta’s prestigous Laughing Skull Festival and finalist in 2011 Funniest Person in Cincinnati contest. He’s also got a new iTunes album out, “ Never Coming Back.” Follow Ben on Facebook and twitter.
Tim Bedore
For longer than we can remember comedian Tim Bedore has been calling in or stopping by to deliver an editorial in which he talks about whatever happens to be on his mind. These musings can range from his relationship with his daughter, to hot topics in the news, and even updates on how the animal kingdom is waging war on mankind. From the Animal Conspiracy to his daughter Claire, Tim takes us inside his mind, and with the help of a few sound effects, puts together one of our favorite features. Follow Tim on Facebook. Visit his website here.
Thursday
Auggie Smith
When Auggie takes the stage, audiences across the country quickly realize that they’re in for an evening of riveting, take-no-prisoners stand-up comedy. During Auggie’s set, pop culture and political targets are dissected piece by piece into intelligently written manic rants. His seamless rapid fire style has developed a loyal following across the country. He has spent most of the last two decades keeping a constant road schedule honing his craft and creating a truly memorable, relevant, and constantly evolving live experience.
At the age of 19, Auggie Smith moved from Billings, Montana to Portland, Oregon to pursue a career in stand up comedy. After a few years of toil and struggle, he first achieved acclaim by winning the 1994 Sam Adams Comedy Contest, whose prizes earned him his first national exposure on the television show Evening At the Improv. Auggie truly found his comedy voice in 1997, when he placed second in the Seattle Comedy Competition to legendary comic Mitch Hedberg. This earned him an invitation to the 1998 Montreal Comedy Festival, where he performed a remarkable 12 shows, including New Faces, Danger Zone and The Nasty Show.
Keeping a continuous road schedule of clubs across the nation, Auggie introduced himself to a new legion of fans in January of 2004, with a now legendary appearance on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom Radio Show. The morning was a mix of signature rants and brilliant improv highlighting his sharp point-of-view. His outstanding debut has become one their most replayed treasures.
This led to performing in theaters across the country on the very popular Bob & Tom Comedy Tour, where audiences quickly became aware that the only thing better then listening to Auggie on the radio was sharing the energy he creates in his live performance. Follow him on twitter here. Visit his website here.
Todd Snider
“I Never Met A Story I Didn’t Like”: For years, Todd Snider has been one of the most beloved country-folk singers in the United States, compared to Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, John Prine, and dozens of others. He’s become not only a new-century Dylan but a modern-day Will Rogers, an everyman whose intelligence, self-deprecation, experience, and sense of humor make him a uniquely American character. In live performance, Snider’s monologues are cheered as much as his songs. But never before has he told the whole story. Running the gamut from personal memoir to shaggy-dog comedy to rueful memories of his troubles and triumphs with drugs and alcohol to sharp-eyed observations from years on the road, I Never Met a Story I Didn’t Likeis for fans of Snider’s music, but also for fans of America itself: the broad, wild country that has produced figures of folk wisdom like Will Rogers, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Tonya Harding, Garrison Keillor, and more. There are storytellers and there are performers and there are stand-up comedians. And then there’s Todd Snider, who is all three in one, and something else entirely.
About the Author: Todd Snider is one of the premier folk-rock-country artists in the entire world. He has sold millions of records, topped critics’ favorite lists for the last decade, and performed or collaborated with John Prine, Billy Bragg, Jimmy Buffett, Robert Earl Keen, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Loretta Lynn. He continues to tour nationwide, doing approximately 150 shows per year, and when not touring he makes his home in East Nashville, Tennessee. “>Visit his website here. Get his new book here.
Kevin McCaffrey
Kevin McCaffrey is a comedian and writer based out of New York City. He made his network TV debut on The Late Show with David Letterman in November of 2013, and he currently appears every week on “truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest”. Beginning in June 2014 he’ll appear on VH1’s “I Love the 2000’s” series. He also previously appeared on History Channel’s “I Love the 1880’s”. Kevin also hosts College Stories with Kevin McCaffrey, a weekly podcast talking to comics, writers, and actors about college, and their best/funniest/craziest stories from that time. Follow him on facebook and twitter. Visit his website here. You can download his podcast here.
Chris Distefano
Described as a high energy comic, Chris Distefano acts out a variety of characters derived from his life, typically leaving you on the edge of your seat wondering “Who the hell is that he’s talking about?” Chris has worked at all of the top comedy clubs across New York City including but not limited to Gotham Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, and The Comedy Cellar. Chris has a Bachelors degree in Psychology to impress his mom’s friends, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy to impress his Moms friend’s Moms. You can catch Chris all over MTV! He is a current cast member on MTV2s hit show “GuyCode”. You can also see him featured on MTVs “GirlCode” “Failosiphy” and “Money From Strangers”. Chris was selected from hundreds of comedians across the country to be one of Comedy Centrals “Comics to Watch” as part of the 2012 New York Comedy Festival. He was selected as a finalist in “New York’s Funniest” as a part of the 2012 New York Comedy festival as well. On June 20th, 2013, Chris made his network Televison debut, on The Late Show with David Letterman, on CBS. Chris has opened up for comedy legends such as Richard Lewis, Gilbert Godfried, and Artie Lange. Chris has been heard on Sirius XM radio and his left elbow was featured on a National Subway Commercial. It’s a good elbow. He would know. He loves elbows. Follow him on twitter here.
Patti Vasquez
Funny happens. And it always happens when comedian Patti Vasquez is around. You don’t have to take our word for it either. Lewis Black says, “Patti is simply marvelous.” Bill Maher called her, “The funniest woman in comedy since Carol Burnett.”
For some reason being a mother of two with a “stay at home Dad” (which sounds so much better than “unemployed husband”) while living with her parents is a great motivator for Patti to just get out of the house.
But Patti loves being a mom to her beautiful little boys. Griffin, who loves trains, Batman and talking as much as his mom, is the best big brother to Declan, who loves music, water and hugs. Declan also happens to have special needs, a part of Patti’s life that she isn’t afraid to talk about. She has begun sharing her story with humor and heart for groups such as the Iowa Department of Education, The Hope Network and Gilda’s Club.
Patti Vasquez is a Lipstick Mom. She believes that being a wife and mother doesn’t prevent you from feeling attractive. It says something when you can still feel good even if you’ve spent the day doing laundry and washing sippy cups.
Patti doesn’t dwell on the minutia of motherhood. She tackles social issues with a cheerful edginess that appeals to audiences of all backgrounds. Her hilarious take on the foibles of the human experience keeps people coming back to see what she has to say about relationships, pop culture and random encounters with strangers who have no idea she’s cataloging their ridiculous behavior to share with audiences all over the world.
In addition to headlining in comedy clubs and colleges all over the United States, Canada and Europe, Patti has written and performed four hit solo shows for theater audiences:
“Tequila and Shamrocks: Every Flower Has Her Roots”
“Pregnant Party Girl: From Stoli’s to Stirrups”
“Mamacita: Tales of a Diaper Diva”
“Lipstick Mom: From Mommy To Mamalicious”
Patti has appeared in many comedy festivals including Just For Laughs, HBO’s Las Vegas Comedy Festival, the Chicago Comedy Festival and Marshall’s Women in Comedy Festival in New York City.
On television Patti has appeared on the VERY FUNNY SHOW on TBS and COMEDY.TV along with regular appearances on the wildly popular BOB & TOM TV Show on Superstation WGN and their daily morning radio show syndicated in 139 cities across the country. And now, Patti is featured on the brand new reality series “My Life Is A Joke” on the OWN network!
If you want to be where the funny is then you want to be there when “Patti Happens”. Follow her on twitter. Visit his website here.
Friday
Jimmy Pardo
Jimmy Pardo is as funny talking to a stranger in an elevator as he is talking to a crowd from the comic stage. That’s because everything he observes or thinks, he immediately scans to find the funny. And he always finds the funny. After Jimmy was told for like the thousandth time that he was even funnier offstage than he was onstage, he dropped most of the jokes from his act. Now he spends nearly his entire set interacting with, and making fun of, his audience. And they love it.
Jimmy stands at the very center of the comedy world. That’s not only because he’s the ultimate “comic’s comic,” (as he’s often called), but also because he represents where comedy is going, and everybody wants to come along.
Jimmy’s raucous-but-smart weekly podcast, “Never Not Funny,” has revolutionized the way comedians use the internet to connect with their audiences. It’s the No. 2 paid podcast hosted by a comedian, after Ricky Gervais’s. His guest list reads like a Who’s Who of comedy: Conan O’Brien, Ricard Lewis, Patton Oswalt, and Sarah Silverman have all been guests. Actors Jon Hamm, Ty Burrell and Craig Bierko have appeared on several of the funniest episodes.
“Never Not Funny” was voted by both iTunes and USA Today as one of the top podcasts of 2006. Visit his website here. Follow him on twitter here.
Paul & Storm
Paul and Storm (Paul Sabourin and Greg “Storm” DiCostanzo) are known internationally and across the Internet for their original comedy music (often with a “nerd-ish” bent). In addition to their own live performances, they are co-founders of the geek-oriented variety show w00tstock, along with Wil Wheaton and Adam Savage, and co-produceJoCo Cruise Crazy. The duo’s original webseries musical, “LearningTown“, debuted on YouTube’s Geek & Sundrychannel in January 2013. Also in 2013, their song “Another Irish Drinking Song” was featured in the hit movie Despicable Me 2, and in July had their guitar smashed on stage by George R. R. Martin (and deserved it). Their fifth full-length CD, Ball Pit, comes out in 2014, and was the central item of the duo’s wildly successful Kickstarter campaign.
Drew Curtis
He plays soccer, lives in Kentucky, drinks a lot of beer and in his spare time he runs a website that’s visited by millions of people every month. The ‘He’ in that previous sentence is Drew Curtis, and he’s the man behind the popular website, Fark.com – best described as “What if the Daily Show ran the Drudge Report?”. Fark.com celebrates its 15th year this year, having been (among other things) a catagory on Jeopardy twice and part of a beer-making experiment with Stone Brewing Company launched just last year (W00tstout). Drew himself is a published author on the topic of junk news, a TED speaker on patent trolls and the damage they cause, holds two MBA degrees that he got just for fun, and is father to three kids who all think this kind of life is normal somehow.