>I keep neglecting to mention this! Sara Benincasa, the lovely host of The Family Hour, has become somewhat of an internet sensation. After Sarah Palin was awarded the VP candidate nomination, Benincasa promptly created a video and slapped it on YouTube. CNN, Newsweek, Wired and a bunch of other sites ran with it, and she is enjoying the maelstrom of positive and negative comments that come with the internet. And boy those negative comments can be pure evil. It’s a bumpy, wild ride this comedy business. Strap in.

—Kambri
The Family Hour is now every Saturday at 9:00 in Ochi’s Lounge. It is still free, and I still tell a story on it every week as the guest “Cousin in Residence”.

>As I mentioned, my main squeeze Christian Finnegan is headlining at Gotham Comedy Club this weekend and wants you to go. What I didn’t tell you is that much of that material will be on a DVD to be released in Spring 2009. The DVD taping will take place October 25th in Philadelphia at the Trocadero Theatre in front of two separate audiences. If you’re in the Philly area and would like to attend, email me and I’ll save you a seat.

I hope my agent gets to see Christian perform since he does some material about My Jailed Deaf Dad and me. After reading my writing for a while, it would be a kick for her to hear about it from someone else’s perspective. She is flying in from Chicago to take me on gobs of meetings with publishers next week. Booked solid for two (maybe three) days, I am. How fun is that? I guess I just need to prove I don’t have three eyes and a speech impediment that might stop me from going on a media tour. I’m sure we’ll review platform stuff which I could talk about till the cows come home. Who knew my marketing days on the Cuervo Nation would actually be useful? When I was doing shots out of a water ski, I sure didn’t.

Umm, what else? A couple of my writer friends from The Daily Show and Colbert Report have agreed to give me blurbs and –brace yourself– AC/DC has a new album coming out. Let there be rock!

—Kambri
Stoked!

>

Metro 9.16.08
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

The Funny Page as published in today’s Metro. If you’re in NYC grab your hard copy today. If you’re a comedian and want to take part, email me your submissions to kcrews@comixny.com.

>I was a guest on Comical Radio today talking all things Love, Daddy: Letters & Stories from My Jailed Deaf Dad and comedy, of course. It was a lot of fun but the time flew by! I hope they’ll have me back again soon. Christian will be their in studio guest next Friday as he’s headlining at Gotham Comedy Club and will need to promote those dates. I’ll be attending at least one show but not sure yet which night and time. Do go out to see him, though. He has a whole new hour of material from the time he headlined there one year ago. That’s pretty impressive, imo.

Meanwhile, I have Christian tentatively booked on Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight. It’s been a few weeks since he was last on due to all the conventions, so I’m sure they’ll have lots to joke about tonight. I’m very curious if my friend Sara Benincasa‘s vlogs of Sarah Palin will be discussed. That would be wild. Why? Because Sara hosts The Family Hour in Ochi’s Lounge (now Saturdays at 9:00) which is the show on which I appear every week.

—Kambri
Olbermann hasn’t confirmed yet or sent over the topics, so we’ll have to wait and see.

>

Ochi’s Party 027
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

I uploaded untouched pics on Flickr but this one sums up around the time when I was like, “Holy sh*t! We’re a fire hazard!” and worried when the people would STOP coming. But it was great fun and we’ll be doing it again every month. Dubbed the First Friday Roundup, we’ll continue to have a free drink offer, discounted food, and what not.

Pencil in Friday, October 3rd from 6:30 – 9:00 for the next one. See you there!

>I’m reading On Writing by Stephen King which I’m thoroughly enjoying. In it, he talks about having a quiet place to write. I know this to be true since my chirping birds, barking / whining/ horny dog, cable TV and internet provide me with constant interruptions. I haven’t been able to write at home as a result. I’ve been unhappy with Chapter One and have been stuck on just where do I want to start. I wish I could retreat to Sherry Weaver‘s cabin as she so generously provided to David Dickerson and would kindly offer to me. However, work here in the city beckons. Sigh.

So, I’ve been trekking around Astoria with Christian‘s old Mac laptop (he bought himself the MacBook Air–sleek!) in search of a quiet corner with an outlet where I can write and tune out with my iPod. His old laptop has internet connection problems which means no browsing endless open house listings, Facebook and MySpace pages. Just me and the page. I’ve tried my favorite local haunts like Cafe Bar (too hectic and tends to have children runnig around), Cup Diner (only one outlet in an area they close when it’s slow), and a few other places all with their negatives.

Then finally I went to a place that had what I wanted: an outlet that is always available, food and drinks, giant glasses of water, nothing of interest going on to distract me and lets me sit quietly with my iPod.

I plugged in and typed away on a new Chapter One and it was good. So, I went back and it was better. And, last night it was magical. My agent loves it. LOVES it. And so do I. I could *feel* it as I was typing. I texted Christian, “ohmygod I’m writing a fu*king masterpiece in god damned Applebees.”

Yes, Applebees is where the magic happens. I guess I should be happy I found a place where the words flowed freely. But do I really want a plaque on their wall commemorating it? Hrrrrmmmm.

I really do love my new chapter and will go back there as many times as it takes! Even though, I’m not done with King’s book, I highly recommend it as a writer’s tool / interesting read.

—Kambri
Getting a haircut Tuesday. Thinking of cutting it short like back in the day.

>We put together our first Comix TV report. This one is about XM Radio’s live tapings of “Unmasked,” a great talk radio show that they record at Comix. Since it’s our first, there are a few things we didn’t do “right” but it turned out alright. I sure did enunciate! Heh.

—Kambri

>Paquita dog blocked a comedian. Who is it?

>As published in today’s Metro.

>I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I met Scott “Reverend” Ramsey for a late lunch meeting. Pencil in the first Friday of each month for your Tex in the City Roundup Party in Ochi’s Lounge beginning October 3rd from 6:30 – 9:00!

Then I was off to see a pretty great co-op one street away from Restaurant Row. Danny Leary joined me for the tour and he was gushing about how great it was. I’m not sold and Christian has to see it, too, of course. But how great would it be to live a block from Don’t Tell Mama and Joe Allens?! Gah! CanNOT compute!

Then I zoomed down to Comix to do a voice over for the first “news item” I filmed for “Comix TV”. It’s a report on XM Radio’s “Unmasked” series. I got some great b-roll footage of Seth Rogan and what not and an interview with the executive producer. I see the mistakes made along the way footage-wise, but what a great first piece it will be and a nice little thing for our reel.

THEN…as if that weren’t enough. A reporter from a Japanese magazine is upstairs waiting to interview me for a feature before I RUN down to the People’s Improv Theater to perform. Holy crap that’s too much in one day for the Friday when most folks have already called it quits for the long weekend.

—Kambri
Can’t wait to get home.

>How do you go to rehab for sex addicton and ask for privacy?

You don’t make a statement about going to rehab for sex addiction.

http://www.popeater.com/movies/article/david-duchovny-in-sex-addiction-rehab/152727?icid=100214839x1208419754x1200473419

—Kambri

>

Ochi’s Lounge Flyer
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

Ochi’s re-opens on Tuesday, September 2nd. Check out the great shows coming soon!

All shows are FREE with purchase of a discounted food or drink item.

www.comixny.com/ochislounge.aspx

>The Latest Ballyhoo with Kurt Braunohler, Kristen Schaal of “Flight of the Conchords”, the re-opening of Ochi’s Lounge party with free food and drinks, and more!

—Kambri
Good stuff!

>

The Funny Page 8.26.08
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

This is The Funny Page appearing in tomorrow’s Metro. This issue has a piece by Christian Finnegan (naturally), a joke by Kevin Tor, another contest and a feature interview with Eddie Brill by the ever awesome Sean L. McCarthy.

>Check out these two great interviews with Christian promoting his Pittsburgh Improv shows.

http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=51019
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/events/s_584017.html

—Kambri

> Paquita’s ears are so big they’ll dog block you. Send in your favorite dog pics and maybe we’ll use one for a Dog Blocked! segment in Metro. You’ll see…it’s one of my late night ideas that sometimes are brilliant. Not sure about this one, though. Hee! But look at those crazy ears. HAHA!

>

Latest Ballyhoo in Metro
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

Here’s the actual clipping from this morning’s Metro. Fun!

>Grab today’s Metro to see The Funny Page and enter the contest we’re having. I’ve already gotten loads of entries and great feedback. Viva la comedy!

Here’s a long overdue clip of God’s Pottery on the season finale of Last Comic Standing. They’re in Minneapolis headlining at Acme Comedy Club all this week if you’re in that neck of the woods.

—Kambri
Working on next week’s column.

>Finally! Here is a sneak peek of our first full page advetorial appearing in Tuesday’s Metro. Click the pic for the larger pdf. Whatcha think? I’m exhausted from putting it together so hopefully each week will get easier. If you have anything newsworthy (comedy related, of course) or funny you’d like to submi for publication, send it my way.

Also, here is a clip of Christian on last night’s Countdown with guest host Rachel Maddow filling in for Olbermann. The topic was all about Julia Child and her secret agent days.

Secret agent Child, Julia Child

—Kambri
Skipping the gym to go to see Tropic Thunder.

>R*chard Lewis wrote me last night to make sure you were coming to his “Unmasked” taping. Are you? I assured him you were. Don’t make me a liar! If you’d like tickets, instructions are here: ballyhoopromotions.net/Events.htm. The taping is Monday and it’s usually about an hour and a half time commitment. Tommy Chong will be taping his interview tomorrow afternoon then in the evening we celebrate his book launch. It will a long day of Chong.

I treated some Tex in the City pals to Freestyle Love Supreme last night. A few were in town from Texas and their jaws were permanently dropped for the whole show. The next time they’re at Comix you really must see them. They’re ridiculously entertaining and their talent will blow your wig back.

—Kambri
Happy two year wedding anniversary to me and Christian!

>
Helping Cheney find the words

—Kambri

>Thanks to Tex in the City, I got Christian an audition for a Nickelodeon show. It’s just an audition but still nice to have gotten the call from an old friend. But even better, Christian filmed a pilot for VH1 that sounds fun (fingers crossed that it gets picked up) and has been cast in an ensemble film. Today he filmed a short with Dean Edwards and Curtis Gwinn written by our pal Bryan Tucker. Fun! I’m not sure what they intend to DO with it but I’ll share it once it’s edited.

—Kambri
Good stuff all around!

I totally forgot to tell you how freaking amazing it was to have Freestyle Love Supreme back at Comix. My pals beat-boxer Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan and Lin-Manuel Miranda (“In the Heights” creator, star and million time Tony winner) were on FIRE. The sold out house was in a frenzy and stuck around after the show to greet the guys. Molly, Shockwave and I spent way too much time at the Hog Pit where $3 PBRs were free flowing.

FLS returns to Comix on Monday the 11th with Utkarsh “UTK” Ambudkar! He was missed last week. And, of course, Shockwave will amaze everyone again. If you haven’t heard, PBS is reviving my all-time favorite show The Electric Company. Shockwave is one of the stars and will be a big star amongst the kids once it debuts in January. Read this NY Times article about the return of the TV classic and this great interview with Shockwave on The Apiary. See him live this Monday at Comix.

From the NY Times:
In a category by himself is the beat-box artist Shockwave (Chris Sullivan). Besides slinging hash at the Electric Diner, he speaks in one-word bursts only — no sentences — and appears in guises like the much missed gorilla and a butcher who cleaves words. But it is his D.J. routine that may be mimicked on playgrounds next year. He appears to be scratching syllables from dueling turntables to form words. It all emanates from his “bruh-bruh-AIN, bruh-bruh-AIN, brain.”

—Kambri
Hey, you guyyyyyyys!!!

>Beginning August 19th, I’ll be writing a comedy gossip column that will appear in Metro. Send me your comedy tips, sightings & gossip to me so we can help spread the good word about working comedians. They don’t get enough ink in my opinion.

Seth Rogan‘s taping was fun. Dude is a gen-u-ine total stoner. I’m not sure when XM will air it but I’m guessing soon. I taped a little promo piece for it that we’ll run in the showroom and put online. That could take a while to edit, though, based on our current tech schedule. Just not enough hours!

Baron Vaughn, recently seen in the musical hit Damn Yankees with Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski, has agreed to direct me in an as of yet non-existent one person show that I want to produce in conjunction with my book. Besides being a talented comedian and actor, he directed Livia Scott in her acclaimed show “Goodnight OJ” and will be working with Carolyn Castiglia on her show that will be staged at Ars Nova. We have our first meeting next week. Time to get cracking on some ideas.

In random news, I think I was misquoted in the NY Press review of a CollegeHumor.com show in which Christian performed. Here is the quote:

“I’m just glad he didn’t go into my dad being in jail for attempted murder,” his wife Kambri confided after the show.

That quote just doesn’t even make sense. First, because Christian DOES talk about my dad on occasion in his set. He has for well over a year and a half. So why would I be glad he didn’t? Second, every time he DOES talk about my dad, it’s basically a free endorsement / plug for my site / book. Third, after the show I met up with my agent who randomly happened to be there and went to dinner. I don’t mind the misquote (ink is ink), but it just struck me as odd.

Umm, what else? Jim Breuer is headlining tonight thru Saturday. Tune in to Opie & Anthony tomorrow morning to hear him on the air from 8:00 – 9:00 and get tickets at www.comixny.com.

Finally, God’s Pottery is on the season finale of Last Comic Standing tonight. They open the show with a new song they wrote for NBC. Pretty exciting!

—Kambri

>Seth Rogen, Tommy Chong, Jim Breuer, Richard Lewis & More in this issue of
The Latest Ballyhoo.

—Kambri

>While at the deli I gave in to temptation and bought a two-pack of my favorite chocolate covered Entenmann’s donuts. I felt guilty as I examined the nutritional facts but tore into the package anyway. They were both covered in mold. But damn it they still smelled so good!

Now I could say it was the universe helping me make the right decision and not start out my day on the wrong note, but truthfully I had hedged my bets. I saw they had expired a few days ago but figured most expiration dates can be fudged a little. Not so. Especially when they live in an un-air conditioned deli. Which is worse? Starting out the day by eating 500 calories of fat-laden sugary goodness when you’re trying to eat healthier? Or excitedly ripping into a package anticipating dark chocolately goodness only to be let down?

—Kambri
I ate the last of Christian’s Lean Pockets instead. Not nearly as satisfying.

>Christian was live from the Disney World studios but they made no mention of it.

Dan Quayle on ‘Dancing’?

—Kambri

>Gideon & Jeremiah need some help in LA!

Hello Friends in Los Angeles and the LA Area!

xoxo,
Gideon & Jeremiah

—Kambri

>

Meat & Potatoes
Originally uploaded by kambricrews

My friends and I are producing another Meat & Potatoes on August 29th @ 8:00 PM at The People’s Improv Theater. http://www.thepit-nyc.com/

>Richard Belzer‘s weekend was great with Paul Shaffer making a surprise guest appearance at the early show. In the audience and hanging out backstage were Taylor Negron, Richard Klein, Gilbert Gottfried, Diane Neal and a few other Law & Order cast members. Richard and his friends were a treat, and I hope he comes back to Comix again soon.

I mentioned to Taylor that we both have written for FreshYarn.com (though he has contributed tons more than I ever have or will), and we had a chat about the complex nature of telling personal, painful stories. He is doing the opposite of me by staging his one man show first then possibly writing a book. I plan on publishing my book first then staging a theatrical production of it, selling movie rights and what not. I’ve already started envisioning where I would produce it, who would direct it, etc. Though that is FAR into the future, it’s fun to dream and aim high.

Oh, and did I tell you Janeane Garofalo gave me a quote? So did Cooper Lawrence & Bob Powers and some other fine folks. I’ve included them in my proposal and created an endorsements page. Apparently having these quotes can increase an advance substantially. Who knew? Not me, but now I’m glad I got them!

—Kambri
Back to the writing desk.

>I sat behind Michael Kors center stage 7 or so rows back to watch my pal Baron Vaughn in Damn Yankees!. He was great and afterwards we had a lovely dinner at Maison, a place I usually only dine at for brunch when I drag Paquita in to the city since they have a huge outdoor dining area. It’s usually packed with tourists but is still a nice place to grab a bite al fresco. Anyway, back to the show. It was loads of fun; Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski were terrific as were the costumes. Catch it now before the limited run ends at City Center.

By the time I got home, I was spent. I had been up since 6:00 AM doing a radio tour with God’s Pottery from this season of Last Comic Standing. They are truly delightful even after two and a half hours of hearing them answer the same questions. Check them out at www.godspottery.com and look for them on the finale of LCS in Vegas.

I didn’t get to bed till after 3:00 this morning so — if you’re counting — that’s 21 hours of non-stop awesomeness, so I slept in till 11:00 today. I especially needed to sleep in since Richard Belzer is headlining two shows tomorrow at Comix and the night will be pretty crazy. There are two bands, lots of celebs expected and it’s his first time at the club so we want it to go perfectly. Throw in the amazing MTV tapings of “Man & Wife”, this has been a pretty dazzling week.

Random side note, Gretchen Bonaduce emailed me about her new show and requested help in spreading the word/video. So here’s that: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ETtR5yXcUUg.

—Kambri
Christian sold out shows at the Ft. Lauderdale Improv this weekend! Yay! He goes to Pittsburgh and Chicago soon so stay tuned if you live in those cities. www.christianfinnegan.com.

>Our favorite restaurant started out as Lil Bistro 33 in a space that only sat 15 people (no exaggeration) — moved to a nicer/bigger spot, dropped the “Lil” to become simply Bistro 33, and is now about to blow the hell up because it is being used as a location for a scene in the upcoming season of Ugly Betty. They sent an email announcing the good news because it means they’ll be closed for business a day or two for filming. I’m so happy for them because they are a truly amazing dining experience treat. If you ever find yourself in Astoria, you really should drop in for a bite.

—Kambri
Thanking the good lord Chef Gary remember us from the Lil days and knows we refer every person in the universe to this favorite spot of ours, so maybe he’ll save us a seat when the lines are out the door.

>
This Bud’s for McCain

—Kambri

>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sketchartists/2669361759/
Originally uploaded by Anya Garrett

Two of the fifteen (?) girl dwarves that all gathered for some brunch in the park. Good times.

>My boys got voted off Last Comic Standing

—Kambri

>I was sick all weekend with laryngitis (that is one painful mo fo affliction!) so slept in as much as I could with lots of feverish dreams. One night, even after waking up several times, I dreamt only of Greg Proops. I fretted over his press itinerary for hours, literally sweating through the details. Had I pitched X? Did I ever hear back from Y? What time do we have to be at Z? It was tiring. My dream was exhausting. I kept waking in cold sweats to readjust, drink water, go to the bathroom, etc., only to return and pick up right where I left off.

Greg arrives in NYC Thursday and I have a nice, healthy little line up of press for him despite the late booking, summer Fridays being in effect, and post-holiday malaise so I have no idea why it was Greg of all people about whom I was dreaming. I’ve met him before (actually worked with him ages ago during psNBC’s heyday) and he’s quite lovely, so I’m not worried about that…unlike some of the other *ahem* characters I’ve had to work with who shall remain nameless*.

—Kambri
*Unless you buy me a drink and I’ll tell you all about those a$$holes. Meanwhile, click here for tickets to see Greg this weekend at Comix.

>Our Mini Hot Dog Eating Contest video has gotten some buzz with some comedy blogs writing it up. I just put it up on Funny or Die, so if you care to vote / re-watch the it, here is the FOD clip:

—Kambri
Home all weekend with laryngitis.

>
How patriotic are you?

—Kambri
Happy 4th of July everybody!

>Christian was on MSNBC’s “Countdown” tonight with guest host Rachel Maddow and talked of The Ponch.

Real endorsements from fictional authorities

And the TRUTH about Christian’s encounter with a real man’s man!

—Kambri
Look for Christian on The Today Show tomorrow morning in the 4th hour.

>

—Kambri
I quit smoking 14 years ago this August 13th and no kids for me, thanks.

>The fabulous Anya Garrett put her favorites of our photo shoot online and looks like she touched up a few, so here’s a better look see.

—Kambri

>Yesterday’s shoot went well. I was tense at first –I haven’t had a real photo shoot of just me since I starred as “Maggie” in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof back in 1998. Back then I was acting regularly and “in character,” so truthfully, the only shoot that was all Me! Me! Me! would have been for my senior photos! I seriously can’t wait to do this again now that I can relax with Anya. I should probably pay to get my hair and make up done, though. How do you even go about doing that?

In no particular order, here are a few favorites. They aren’t touched up and there’s probably one or two more than I could use but, lordy, there were a lot of pictures to go through. Blah, blah, here they are:

—Kambri
Definitely ready for my second close up!

>I had a photo shoot with the lovely Ms. Anya Garrett yesterday. I was a little self conscious at first but definitely loosened up after my bloody mary kicked in. I think we got more than a few keepers out of it.

Carol Hartsell of Drink at Work is busy editing the Mini Hot Dog Eating Championship film and we hope to have it ready in time to go viral before July 4th.

—Kambri
Not much else other than negating my gym visit with a plate of delicious buffalo chicken wings and beer. Mmmm.

>http://godspottery.blogspot.com/2008/06/shocking-sex-news-from-nyc.html

—Kambri

>Christian’s appearance on Olbermann made it on CrooksandLiars.com:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/26/countdown-lame-duck-laughs-or-the-oaf-of-office

—Kambri

>Christian got three pieces of hate mail immediately following his Olbermann appearance. I hadn’t seen it yet so I asked, “Jeez, what the heck did you say?” We were kind of excited about the buzz but it turned out to be the same person writing from three different email addresses. Bummer. I watched the clip and it’s no more or less scathing. But you can judge for yourself:

More political fun

—Kambri

>Everybody here at Comix just gave me a great surprise cake and gifts and they all sang happy birthday to me in Ochi’s Lounge with all the comedians that are here for Ochi’s Motel. So nice! I guess that means I won’t sabotage Florent’s cake tonight after all.

—Kambri
This show tonight is going to be insane!

>Yesterday was so perfect. Christian and I woke up early, went to the gym then headed to Grand Central Station where we hopped on a train to Bridgeport. The train stop was just a block or two away from the theater which was a lovely space with seating for about 270 people. Being a Sunday matinee meant Christian and I were pretty much the youngest people there so Christian wanted to wager on whose head would nod first.

The musical “Barnum” itself is just okay. The review in the paper actually summed it up perfectly when they said the book and score are weak but “Thank God for Scott Ramsey.” He was so perfectly cast and really brought life to the show. When Scott was describing how the musical was originally produced on Broadway, it made more sense. They relied on real circus performers and innovative stage design to make up for half-assed writing. Anyway, he was a delight and afterwords we rode the train home with him and his mom who had flown in from Texas to surprise him.

When we got to Scott’s, he presented me with the most glorious birthday gift of ALL TIME. A recording of a short scene from the movie Klute we filmed when I was 16 and he was 17 — though he looks like he’s 12, and I look like I’m 30. It was for a friend of his who was a film major who had to do it for their editing class. It is fu*king mortifying and delicious and, oh, I can’t wait to share it with the world. I’m actually going to contact The Rejection Show or try to get re-booked on Mortified, it is THAT awe-ful (TM). After viewing it twice, we had an amazing dinner at Rosa Mexicana. All in all, it was a perfect way to spend my birthday.

—Kambri
Christian got me a gorgeous dress he picked up in Santa Monica so I can wear it tonight to Florent’s closing / birthday party. He has the best taste ever!