Monday
Nicole Pence
Nicole Pence is an Emmy-nominated journalist living in Central Indiana.
Pence joined FOX59 in June 2014 to help launch a brand new newscast, “FOX59 NewsPoint at 11PM.”
The NATAS Lower Great Lakes chapter nominated Pence for an Emmy award for her work as a broadcast anchor in April of 2014.
Before coming to FOX59, Pence solo anchored Indianapolis’ number-one rated weekend morning program, Weekend Sunrise on WTHR. Pence helped to increase ratings nearly twenty percent year to year. Pence left WTHR in November of 2013.
Previously, Pence was nominated for a 2010 regional Emmy Award for her work at WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky as the main morning co-anchor. Pence also received second-place honors as “Best News Anchor” in the 2011 Kentucky Associated Press Awards.
Prior to working at LEX-18, Pence reported for Indiana’s NewsCenter (NBC/ABC/CW) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
A midwestern girl, Pence grew up in Columbus, Indiana. She graduated Cum Laude from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana with a double major in Communication Arts & Sciences and Spanish and a minor in Political Science. She also earned her Master’s of Public Affairs (MPA) from Indiana University-Purdue University at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indianapolis with high honors. Pence is married.
In her spare time, Pence loves to travel. She lived with a family in Segovia, Spain, studied cooking in Italy, climbed the Great Wall in Beijing, China, crawled through the Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt, and tangoed in Argentina!
Pence is involved with several Central Indiana organizations, including Make-A-Wish, Pacers Cares, and the DePauw University Alumni Association. Follow her on twitter.
Tuesday
Pat McAfee
Pat McAfee is Number 1 on the field as the punter for the Colts, and he is number one in the hearts of sports fans in Indianapolis. Well, at least he’s in the top 10. Drafted in 2009 out of West Virginia University, McAfee has not only been an important part of the Colts specials teams (and emergency QB if needed), he’s also become one of the faces of the franchise off the field. Follow Pat on twitter. Check out the Pat McAfee Foundation.
Also, vote for Pat in the race to the Pro-Bowl here.
Costaki Economopoulos
Costaki Economopoulos is a comedian, true, but he’s also a football fan. Those two factors alone make him the perfect candidate to give us a comedic look back at the NFL each week with his new feature that’s also been picked up by The Huffington Post and Bleacher Report. With his Greek heritage, it’s not surprising that he’s been described as a “joke philosopher,” and we’re sure he’s not the only one saying that. Costaki is also a talented joke writer who’s punchlines have been heard on “The Tonight Show,” Showtime, BET, and MTV. Follow Costaki on facebook and twitter. Visit his website here.
Rob Haney
Our good friend, comedian Rob Haney is known to be an extremely funny guy, a wonderful joke teller, and most importantly, extremely cheap, (or as he likes to spin it, “price conscience”). Astute listeners out there will recognize his voice from the famous Dog for Sale joke that appears on the album Gone Wild . When not on the road performing, Rob Haney lives in Dayton, OH where he owns the world famous Wiley’s Comedy Club. Follow him on twitter here.
Wednesday
Ryan Singer
Ryan Singer is the rarest of breeds: A comic’s comic who electrifies mainstream audiences with material that is both uncompromising and unpretentious. LaughSpin says, “With his high-energy delivery and unpretentious leanings, there’s not a lot to dislike about comedian Ryan Singer. And it’s not just us saying it: In the last few years, he’s won over audiences headlining the nation’s finer comedy clubs and was hailed by Marc Maron in Rolling Stone as a comedian “who should be big.”
His debut album, HOW TO GET HIGH WITHOUT DRUGS, is an intense exercise in wordplay, improvisation, and storytelling. Those who enter Singer’s world will be rewarded with knowledge of the connections between dimwitted hunters and Tyra Banks, cookies and racial tension, and even gay marriage and dragons, courtesy of a comedian who expertly connects insanity and brilliance.
Both his debut album and sophomore release COMEDY WONDER TOWN were selected as Top 10 Comedy CD’s of the year (2010 & 2012). He was selected by LA Weekly as one of “10 LA Comics to Watch” for 2014, was mentioned in NY Magazine as a “Comic to Watch,” was one of 4 finalist in CMT’s Next Big Comic Contest, is a frequent guest on the WTF Podcast w/Marc Maron and the Bob & Tom Show, regularly heard on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio, and was a regional finalist in Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight. He was the winner of the Golden Shingle Award at the Rooftop Comedy Festival, an award given to the next rising star in comedy. Follow him on twitter. Visit his website here.
Frank Caliendo
You probably know Frank Caliendo from his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Late Show with David Letterman, and his current segments on ESPN NFL Countdown…Or maybe you know him from his decade long run on FOX NFL SUNDAY;as Terry Bradshaw’s nemesis, but the live comedy stage is where Frank really shows you what he’s all about. His high energy act is a blend of observations, impressions, characters and anecdotal stories that start at a frenetic pace and never let up. Once described by the “Hollywood Reporter” as “a combination of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey” Frank is one comedian that should not be missed. Other places you might have seen Frank: “The Late Show with Craig Ferguson”, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, “Conan O’Brien”, “The view”, Comedy Central Presents, “Hot In Cleveland”, “The Comebacks”, “Mike and Mike”, “SportsCenter” and other ESPN shows. Follow Frank on facebook and twitter. Visit his website here.
Beth Stelling
LA Weekly named Stelling no. 2 on a list of “12 L.A. Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013.” Patton Oswalt listed Beth as one of his favorite up-and-coming comics during his AMA on Reddit. Buzzfeed.com says she’s one of “14 Comedians Who You Should Be Paying Attention To.”
Beth was a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and returned to the festival last summer to record HBO Canada’s “Funny As Hell” with Jon Dore.
Beth was deemed one of the “Top 18 Women You Should Be Following On Twitter” by Huffington Post. Nerdist.com has been a big supporter of Beth, including her in their “Four Funny Female Comedians You Need to Know” alongside Shelby Fero, Tig Notaro and Ali Wong. Beth can be heard on Chris Hardwick’s annual podcast “Stand-up Cluster 2013” and with Pete Holmes on his podcast “You Made It Weird” #134.
Liz Miele
Liz Miele started doing stand-up comedy at 16. At 18 she was profiled in the New Yorker. At 22 she appeared on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. Liz continues to perform stand-up comedy all over the country at clubs and colleges. She’s a comedy nerd, a cat enthusiast and has an unhealthy love for all things sweet. When she is not taking an obscene amount of pictures of her cats she is reading something disturbingly sad or pretentiously upbeat and hopeful. She is on a constant search to prove or disprove she is losing her mind and is an avid runner who runs the Marine Corps Marathon in DC every year with her Dad. Her cat’s name is Pasta. She is the second oldest of five kids and both her parents are veterinarians, who own Princeton Animal Hospital and Carnegie Cat Clinic in Princeton, NJ. She’s from New Jersey. She’s almost 5’1”. She has a picture on her wall of a Pegasus Unicorn shitting cupcakes. She has no idea where she got it but it makes her happy everyday she looks at it.
Thursday
David Koechner
Actor, writer and producer David Koechner, an alumnus of Chicago’s Second City Theater, got his first break as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” and since has become an instantly recognizable face appearing in more than 120 films and television shows. He is best known for his roles as Todd Packer on “The Office” and Champ Kind from “Anchorman” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Koechner recently received rave reviews for his role in the dark, twisted and film festival award-winning thriller “Cheap Thrills.” In early 2015, he’ll appear in Paramount’s “Scouts vs. Zombies.”
Additional notable film credits include “Waiting,” “Out Cold,” “Talladega Nights,” “Get Smart,” “Extract,” “Thank You for Smoking” and “A Haunted House.” When not filming, Koechner performs live stand-up comedy across the country and creates original content videos for his YouTube channel, Full On Koechner. He currently resides in Los Angeles, Calif. with his wife and five children. Visit his website. Follow his twitter. (Photo by Eva Rinaldi via Wikimedia Commons)
David Landau
Working the road nonstop since his 21st birthday, Dave Landau has grown into a true comedic juggernaut. Finding himself much in-demand among audiences and club owners due to his deadpan demeanor and those jokes — my God, those jokes — that fluidly fly forth with breakneck pacing and perfect timing. Dave, it can be said with all due respect, is a throwback to another era of comedy. The entertaining everyman. Innocent enough at first blush; as he states his case, you begin to see where you and he have quite a bit in common. A wife, a house. An odd sense of calm in an increasingly crazy world. You’re on a tour of the familiar and prosaic, with Dave Landau as the bus driver.
Then he drops his foot on the accelerator. And things start to get wild. You see, Dave Landau might appear to be just like you, but he’s not really. His mind goes to places that angels would fear to tread, and he has no problem telling you about it. The mark of a great comedian, it is said, is the ability to find jokes where others would find tears. Dave find jokes everywhere; with his own foibles and faults, to his family, to pop culture and the state of the world today.
Cutting his comedic teeth as a teenager in Detroit in the Second City’s Conservatory, Dave Landau has risen to become one of the most in-demand headliners working today. He’s appeared on Comedy Central’s “Live At Gotham” as well as being featured prominently on two consecutive seasons of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He’s become a regular on the nationally-syndicated “Bob & Tom” radio show, and was honored as one of the top 21 club comics of today at HBO’s Las Vegas Comedy Festival.
