December 10, 2007

Our Holiday Extravaganza!

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Check for current gigs for these guests.

The December 10 show was our holiday bash/ 2007 "pilot season" wrap-up.  The crowd showed up early to hear gypsy jazz by our special musical guests, Le Jazz Hot.  Comedian James P. Connolly opened with a hysterical short stand-up set, followed by a (somewhat) more sober interview about his recent trip to entertain the troops in Afghanistan ("you don't want to disappoint") and his own experiences as a Marine in Desert Storm.  We closed with Barbara Scott (and J. Raoul Brody) performing her unique form of  musical improv comedy (" anything too stupid to be said is sung"), including a spontaneous duet with Kurt.  In-between, writer Po Bronson explained his theories on dealing with writer's block ("every writer gets stuck twice a sentence").   After the show we had a surprise visit from premiere show guest Rob Rodgers, who brought a naughty gift from Sweet Can Productions for the drawing.  And everyone stayed late again --  looks like a trend.

About Our Featured Guests

(clockwise from left) Po Bronson, director Alisa Baker, Barbara Scott, J.  Raoul Brody, James P. Connolly and host Kurt Bodden

BARBARA SCOTT

Barbara Scott is a founding member of True Fiction Magazine improvisational theatre, with whom she's performed internationally. She is also a working actor in film, industrials, trade shows and voiceover (most recently in The Sims).  Barbara teaches at BATS, the American Conservatory Theatre, Full Circle Productions, the San Francisco Opera Center and the SF Conservatory of Music. She has led master improv classes at Stanford University, Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre, the Funny Women Fest in Chicago, and at many international improv festivals.

She also teaches song improvisation (most of the time with Joshua Raoul Brody) with BATS, the San Francisco Opera Company, and in many U.S. and European cities. In 2002 she and Brody taught a series of music classes to improvisers in Tokyo and Osaka.

JOSHUA RAOUL BRODY

Musical Renaissance man Joshua Raoul Brody moved to San Francisco in 1974, where he began his career with the Rick & Ruby Show, touring nationally, playing network television (including Mork & Mindy, Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas), and acting as musical director for their theatrical productions, backing up such artists as Boz Scaggs and Pee-Wee Herman. Over the years, he has provided musical services for Lily Tomlin, Penn & Teller, Florence Henderson, The Residents, and Tom Waits, and created scores and songs for theater and films.  He's also played in a wide variety of settings including the Universal Amphitheater, El Teatro Campesino, the Guthrie Theater and New York's Copacabana.

Brody's theater work runs the gamut from fully composed scores to instantly improvised accompaniment with groups such as True Fiction Magazine (of which he is a co-founder, as is Barbara Scott).  Some of the many other hats Brody has worn include: house pianist for Comedy Celebration Day in Golden Gate Park; musical director for Bay Area TheatreSports; founding member of Those Darn Accordions!; sit-in guest with virtually every comedy act that has a musical bone in its collective body, AND leader of his own comical musedy troupe, The STUPEDS.   When asked to describe himself in one word, Brody replies "Unable to follow instructions."

PO BRONSON

Po Bronson has built a career both as a successful novelist and as a prominent writer of narrative nonfiction. He has published five books, and he has written for television, magazines, and newspapers, including Time, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and for National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Currently he is writing regularly for New York magazine in the United States and for The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Po Bronson's book of social documentary, What Should I Do With My Life?, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained in the Top 10 for nine months. He has been on Oprah, on every national morning show, and on the cover of five magazines, including Wired and Fast Company. His first novel, Bombardiers, was a #1 bestseller in the United Kingdom. His books have been translated into 18 languages. Po speaks regularly at colleges and community "town hall" events. He is a founder of The San Francisco Writer's Grotto, a cooperative workspace for about 40 writers and filmmakers.  From 1992 to 2006 he was on the Board of Directors of Consortium Book Sales & Distribution. He lives in San Francisco with his family.

 

 JAMES P. CONNOLLY

Host of “Live from Here with James P. Connolly” on XM Channel 154 National Lampoon Comedy Radio, comedian James P. Connolly has been a finalist in all the major comedy competitions and festivals including Comedy Central’s “Laugh Riots”, the Boston Comedy Festival and the San Francisco International Comedy Competition.  He has appeared on Comedy Central and HBO, SiTV, UPN, numerous national commercials, voiceover, and multimedia; he hosted of VH1’s “Movie Obsessions” and was a Grand Comedy Champion on Ed McMahon’s “Next Big Star.”

A Harvard University graduate, former Marine Corps Infantry Officer, mobile disc jockey/karaoke host and Universal Studios tour guide,  James has made multiple visits to entertain the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's headlined in top nightclubs and casinos across the country from Las Vegas to Atlantic City.   He recently appeared in the award-winning Fox Searchlight film "The Act", and his work has even taken him to the Cannes Film Festival where the Hollywood Reporter described his performances as "interactive perfection."

 

LE JAZZ HOT

(from L) Paul Mehling, Julian Smedley


Le Jazz Hot (Clint Baker, Jason Vanderford and Paul Mehling, with special guest Julian Smedley) celebrates the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pioneering Hot Club de France, often called Gypsy jazz. Borrowing the all-string instrumentation of bass and 2 guitars from the original Hot Club, the ensemble breathes new life into the music with innovative arrangements of classic tunes and original compositions. Critics have hailed the group’s playing as “intricate, scorching and often brilliant…” The Hot Club of San Francisco has the distinction of being the first American Gypsy-swing band to play at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samoir-sur-Seine, France in 2000.  Le Jazz Hot is back for an encore appearance at Talk Show Live, after first leading off as our house band at our Premiere Show in July 2007.