w w w . b o b a n d t o m . c o m
June 14 - 18 2004
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 June
18, 2004
Diverse
Rocker
Refuses to Fade
The name Gene Simmons will
forever conjure up images of the face painted, tongue-wagging, rock and
roll demon from KISS. But considering
the band is ranked among the greatest, most accomplished and well-known
American rock bands in the world, we're sure he doesn't mind. But don't
let the makeup fool you, there's a lot more to Mr. Simmons than you might
think. He's also an accomplished actor, author, movie producer and entrepreneur.
Simmons is the brains behind Tongue Magazine, KISS
Comics and the hit film, Detroit Rock City.
He's also the author of Kiss
and Make-Up, which chronicles Simmons' youth, as well as 30-plus
years of KISS memories. Even with all those other plates spinning, Simmons
hasn't forgotten that it was the music that created his army of fans
in the first place. KISS is once again on tour, this time accompanied
by Poison. So buy your tickets now, then brush up on their tunes with
the new album, KISS Symphony - Alive IV,
as well as Gene Simmons' new solo project, A**Hole.
Jordan
Ward illustration
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 June
18, 2004
Putting
the 'Fun' Back in Dysfunctional
The short lived FOX comedy series Titus took
viewers into the lives of two brothers trying to deal with their crude,
abusive, sadistic, drunken father. It was your typical feel-good, all-american,
heartwarming story. The amazing part about this series was that comedian Christopher
Titus was able to take subject matter like this and turn it into
comedy gold. Of course this really comes as no surprise considering the
show was based on Titus' real life, and he'd been using it as fodder
for his outstanding standup comedy act for years. Though the series was
a hit among critics, FOX, as always, cancelled the show way too soon.
FACTOID – Titus
first gained national attention with his one-man show, "Norman
Rockwell Is Bleeding."
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 June
18, 2004
The
Biggest Little Comedian In The World
Reno
Collier began his career headed down the same
road that most comedians find themselves on, the
path to becoming an elementary school physical education
teacher. That road took an interesting turn when
Reno came to the realization that teachers don't
really make all that much money. To supplement his
meager income, Collier decided his best option was
to become a part-time bartender at the local comedy
club. This career move got him more than a little
extra spending money when one night he took a chance
and came out from behind the bar to try his hand
at comedy during an open mic night. It was here that
Reno discovered his true calling, and decided to
permanently hang up his whistle and retire his gym
shorts.
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June 18,
2004
From Soccer
to Blogger
He plays for five soccer teams, lives
in Kentucky and drinks a lot of beer and in his spare
time he runs a website that’s
visited by over 30 million people every month. Curtis
is the man behind the website (AKA web log or 'blog') Fark.com.
When not partaking in any of the aforementioned activities,
Curtis spends his days pouring over the 2,000 new articles
submitted to him every day in order to find the strangest,
weirdest, funniest and most asinine news to link to.
Along with news, Fark provides links to an array of odd
pictures, sound clips and a multitude of other fascinated
features that only the World Wide Web could provide.
Fark.com has been mentioned in Time,
Newsweek and Wired,
and for some strange reason, it’s regularly featured
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 June
17, 2004
The
White Devil
Pat
Dixon has earned a reputation as one of the funniest and
most promising young comedians working today. Dixon’s
material is bold, creative and filled with punch lines that
not only take audiences off guard, they keep them laughing
from the moment his show begins till it's climactic end. A
trait which nine out of 10 audience members look for in a comedian.
Dixon is able to do this by moving seamlessly through his wide
range of topics with an edgy, contemporary style, and believe
us, that’s no easy feat. If you want proof and Pat isn't
conveniently performing in your town this week, order his brand
new standup comedy album, White
Devil. It's just like the real thing, only slightly different. |
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 June
17, 2004
Little
Timmy Wilson
No comedian causes more controversy when they appear on the air than
the southern singer/songwriter, Tim
Wilson. Not to say we don’t find him hysterically funny, we
just do everything in our power to disassociated with him. Aside from
his unique voice (which makes him sound like a chain smoker in his 60’s),
Wilson is recognized for his love of NASCAR.
Tim has tackled almost every aspect of the sport including the hideousness
of Dale Jarrett’s car, being born a NASCAR fan, and Jeff Gordon’s
sexuality. Want to hear some of these great
tunes? Check out the Tim Wilson Audio
Page.
FACTOID – In
a bizarre bit of irony, one of Tim Wilson's early hit songs
was titled “Garth Brooks Ruined My Life.” This
tune later helped him sign with Garth’s record label,
Capitol Records Nashville, in 1998.
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 June
17, 2004
Size
Doesn’t Matter
If you watched the early episodes of this
season’s Last Comic Standing,
you’ve probably seen Tanyalee
Davis. If you’re not sure, this may refresh your
memory; she was the short one. Standing at a height of only
3’6”, Tanyalee may be the shortest standup working
today. Though she received very little screen time on LCS,
Tanyalee has been featured elsewhere in the media. Not only
has she made multiple appearances on the talk show Maury,
she also had small roles (no pun intended) in the films Austin
Powers in Goldmember and For
the Love of Money. After taking
some time off to recover from being hit by a car in October,
Tanyalee is back on tour, performing at clubs in both the
US and UK, proving to everyone in attendance when it comes
to comedy, size doesn’t matter.
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 June
17, 2004
Lowe
and Behold
The Golden Globe winning former star of the White house drama The
West Wing, Rob
Lowe, now finds himself in a small, picture perfect town in Maine
starring in the TNT mini-series ‘Salem’s
Lot. The two-part, four-hour mini-series is based on the best-selling
novel of the same name by Stephen King. If you’re guessing it’s
a horror story, you’re correct. This genre isn’t anything
new for Lowe as he also starred in the King made for TV movie, The
Stand, only this time he won’t have to play a def-mute.
Lowe is a decorated television actor, having won two Golden Globes and
an Emmy nomination for his work on The West Wing.
He also starred in the highly acclaimed holiday drama, The
Christmas Shoes, and recently completed his work as executive
producer and star of NBC's legal thriller series, The
Lyon's Den. Part one of ‘Salem’s
Lot airs Sunday, June 20th on TNT, with part two airing the following
Monday.
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 June
17, 2004
Tim
Bedore: A Stand Up Guy
Over the past 20 years Tim
Bedore has spent thousands of hours entertaining audiences.
He began his career on the radio but found he enjoyed the
feedback only a live audience could provide, so he went into
standup comedy. Since then, Tim's headlined comedy clubs
across the country and is one of the few comics with the
ability take his act to the airwaves when need be. For those
of you who regularly tune into National Public Radio (we're
sorry), you may have heard Tim's reoccurring radio commentary, Vague
But True. Bedore has written and
recorded over 250 entertaining installments of this popular
editorial segment since its debut
back in 1997. The feature runs regularly on NPR's prestigious
program, Marketplace.
If you can, make sure to catch Bedore perform as part of
the Four
Stand-up Dads comedy tour (featuring good friend
of the show Dan St. Paul).
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 June
16, 2004
Splintered
Personality
Frank Caliendo is
one of the most impressive impressionist working today.
What makes him such a coveted talent is that his range
of impersonated characters is so vast. Caliendo's versatility
and quick wit is evident in his impressions of John
Madden, Ted Knight, Adam Sandler, Robin Williams, Al
Pacino, Jim Rome or any other member of his cast of
thousands. He can pull these voices out in an instant
and often has multiple characters participating in
the same conversation. Caliendo seamlessly flows from
one voice to the next, and all of his impressions are
dead solid perfect. When listening on the radio, you'd
swear the studio was full of celebrities, but it's
just Frank and his splintered personality. You can
see Caliendo transform himself each week on the sketch
comedy show MAD TV (now
shown on Comedy Central as well), and he regularly
appears on the FOX NFL
Pregame Show, FOX Sports
Network, and Jimmy Kimmel
Live. Check
out some of Franks work on the BOB&TOM show by
visiting the Frank
Caliendo Audio Page.
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 June
16, 2004
Law
and Disorder
Comedy Central's cop show spoof, Reno
911! has returned for
its highly anticipated second season. Reno
911! is a half-hour unscripted
parody of the show COPS.
Each episode follows Reno's
finest as they go out on the beat where they are
constantly ending up in outlandish situations complete
with soap opera-like twists and turns. Actor Carlos
Alazraqui portrays the
slightly racist, and somewhat dimwitted member of
the Reno Nevada Sheriff’s Department otherwise
known as Dep.
James Garcia. Whether they're daring kids to
jump from roof to roof, blowing up microwaves, or
playing games with dead bodies in the morgue, Reno
911! gives viewers a chance
to see what life's really like behind the badge;
of a fake police department, that is. Season one
of Reno 911! is available on DVD.
FACTOID - Carlos
Alazraqui was the guy who provided the voice
of the Taco Bell Chihuahua.
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 June
15, 2004
Sesnsitivity
Training
If the serious side of life is a
plate glass window, Derek
Richards’ brand of standup comedy is a cement truck
barreling toward it. Having survived cancer, Richards finds
it hard to follow the societal rules of sensitivity and political
correctness. Instead, he enjoys cracking up audiences with
his raucous tales of family, love and laughing in the face
of a deadly disease. A Detroit native, Richard’s entered
comedy after being kicked off the air at a radio station. His
comedy is fast, fresh and has been known to be a bit fanatical
at times. He’s released two comedy albums, Sensitivity
Training and Who’s Your Daddy, and
has performed for US troops all over the world.
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 June
15, 2004
Bob
Zany, The Other Pink Meat
After a seven day rest, comedian Bob
Zany is poised to return to do what it is he
does best, The Zany Report.
Though he's often denied the laughs his jokes truly
deserve, Bob hasn't given up his personal mission
to deliver a Report that
requires zero fixing. Hey, it could happen.
In all fairness, last week's Report was actually
very good, but just in case Zany doesn't have a repeat
performance in him, there will be new installments
of "Fix-the-Joke, Baby" and the "Bing
Crosby Joke of the Week" to save the segment.
Because as everyone knowns, everything seems funnier
when there are prizes involved.
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June 14, 2004
Stick Around For Bill Scheft
Former standup comedian turned writer,
Bill Scheft pens the the column "The
Show" in Sports
Illustrated, and is the
author of one of the greatest novels of our generation, The
Ringer, but right
now he's first and foremost a sports fan, which means the NBA
Finals, mixed with the opening of MBL interleague play, has
him in a state of total bliss. Speaking of Baseball, if you
see Scheft on the street, make sure to ask him if this is the
year the Red Sox finally win the World Series, he loves that.
Scheft is one of the most comically gifted geniuses we've ever
had on the show, and ranks among our favorite guests (we've
even had him sit in as a co-host when Bob was away). In fact,
we enjoy his phone calls so much, we've even set up a special
hotline just for him, that is unless Zany gets the number.
FACTOID - There is a
movie coming out soon with the title, The Ringer, but
it is not based on Bill Scheft's book. Bill is currently
working on a screenplay adaptation of his film to be
released at a later date.
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