Shows
The Callback PodcastJohn Riggi Episode #022
I was super excited to get John Riggi as a guest on the podcast. We have been trying to work that out since the podcast began. John is a stand-up comic that I became aware of while in Chicago. I was still attending open-mikes when John had already established himself as one of the city’s top comics. From there I followed John’s career which included writing and appearing on some of the greatest television shows of all time. The Larry Sanders Show alone is an all-time classic and my personal favorite. Check it out on Netf...2013-05-211h 45The Callback PodcastThe Hosts: Oscar Picks Episode #021On this podcast it is us hosts. We catch up with ourselves before Aaron heads out on a long tour, and we make our Oscar predictions. Who will win? We know. Just listen for the answers. Totally guaranteed to win any office pool or Vegas bet. Or your money back. Oh that’s right. We give these shows away for free. On iTunes. If you haven’t done so, go there and subscribe right now. It will help your chances of winning.
2013-02-2158 minThe Callback PodcastSteve Pink Episode #20
Our guest on this show is Steve Pink, who is a very busy man. He is a screenwriter, producer and director of TV shows and movies, most notably Hot Tub Time Machine as well as many projects with his long-time friend, John Cusack. I have known of Steve from the Chicago theater scene and have followed his career ever since. I have been trying to get Steve on the show for a while now, and we were finally able to do it a few weeks ago when he invited us to visit him at Sony Studios where he...2013-02-071h 17The Callback PodcastJay Larson Episode #019Our guest on this episode is Jay Larson. Jay is a very funny stand-up comic that I have seen live many times. If you get a chance to see him live, do, as he is hilarious. Jay actually hosts his own podcast with fellow comic, Ryan Stickler, called The Crabfeast. You can also catch it on Stitcher and iTunes. Jay is also on Twitter and Facebook. We came over to his place and had a fun time talking his breaking into comedy, his love of sports and all sorts of stuff. Really enjoyable time and I hope you all...2013-01-181h 07The Callback PodcastGillian Vigman Episode #018I was really happy to have Gillian Vigman as our first female guest. She is an improvisor and actress that is known for the movies The 40 Year Old Virgin, Step Brothers and The Hangover movies. She currently has recurring roles on TV in Suburgatory and The New Girl. If that isn’t enough, she has been seen on what seems like every commercial ever made. She is Mrs. Jack-In-The-Box, the woman in the 1-800 CONTACTS commercial and is currently in the series of DirecTV spots. I know her from Chicago. We were in a comedy group together where I be...2013-01-081h 34The Callback PodcastRich Hall Episode #017I was so happy to finally get Rich Hall on the podcast. We had to do this podcast without Aaron who was traveling. I have known Rich for around 20 years. I used to tour with Rich as his opening act, and we caught up with him while he was in Los Angeles to record a segment for The Set List for English television. Rich became famous as a stand-up comic in the 80′s and then was a regular on Fridays, Saturday Night Live and Not Necessarily the News where he invented Sniglets: words that should be in a dictionary bu...2012-12-181h 12The Callback PodcastThe Hosts: Tokyo Banana Episode #016This week we have another show with just us hosts. We recap the podcasts up until now. Edgar and I tell of meeting Mr. T at El Pollo Loco. Edgar talks about his recent Vegas trip. Aaron fills us in on his recent trip to Japan where he picked up some Tokyo bananas. Aaron and I tell of our failed attempts to approach potential podcast guests. I tell of my run-in with my girlfriend’s asshole neighbors. Aaron closes out the show with his secret to making great ribs on the BBQ. It is always good to catch-up with th...2012-12-061h 03The Callback PodcastBil Dwyer Episode #015Bil Dwyer is our guest this week on the Callback Podcast. He arrived at our studios by rail one night and we were fortunate enough to sit down with him and talk earnestly about his stand up career, his work on television and film (such as Comedy Central’s “Battlebots”), his personal life and whether or not this lump warrants a trip to the doctor. Also, we learned some helpful tips on how to shoplift socks from the mall!
2012-11-201h 25The Callback PodcastTom Rhodes Episode #014This week’s guest is stand-up comic and television personality Tom Rhodes. I have known Tom for years from my days of opening for him at Zanies in Chicago. He is a very funny fan who sat down with us to talk about his extensive travels having brought his humor to many, many countries. We also talk to him about his past and current projects including his very own podcast which is going strong. For info on how to purchase his comedy albums, download his podcast, read his travel blog or check out anything else he has going on go...2012-10-251h 03The Callback PodcastChris Cottam Episode #013So this week’s guest on the Callback Podcast is director Chris Cottam.
I have had the pleasure of working with Chris many times for BBC productions and knew he’d be a great podcast guest. Aside from the amazing sense of humor Chris possesses, he has been a director of feature films, numerous award-winning commercials and award-winning television shows.
He was in Los Angeles one Saturday morning so we sat down to talk about his life and career, the many projects he is working on now, how he broke into the bu...2012-09-201h 26The Callback PodcastPatrick Keane Episode #012
I first saw our guest this week, Patrick Keane, doing standup at the Hollywood Improv and really enjoyed his stuff. Witty, biting and funny. I got the chance to meet him after another show and found him to be a good guy as well. I asked him to do the podcast, and he agreed. We drove out to his place which is suspiciously near the Manson murder scene and had a great time talking about his upbringing and other forces that led him to Hollywood to pursue comedy as a career. He was just as funny and...2012-09-041h 03The Callback PodcastWayne Federman Episode #011
Wayne Federman was once a sandwich. Let me start from the beginning. We met Wayne in the greenroom of the world famous Hollywood Improv. He is what one might refer to as a renaissance man. He is a standup comic, an actor, a musician, a gentle lover and the biggest basketball fan I’ve ever known. So much so that he wrote a book about “Pistol Pete” Maravich. In my experience the hardest part of writing a book regardless of the subject, is first learning how to read a book.
Here’s a fun dr...2012-08-231h 04The Callback PodcastCraig Cackowski Episode #010
Craig Cackowski was a man without a home for one short afternoon in mid July 2012. So we did what any good podcast would do: we invited him to my apartment in the skies of Sherman Oaks to join us for an interview. At first, like all of our guests, he refused, until he found out there would be fresh tamales. His agent negotiated that we get pork and spinach for him, and we happily obliged. During the interview, Craig’s new show “Trust Us With Your Life” came on the television which is ironic considering he trusted us wit...2012-08-091h 03The Callback PodcastBill Devlin Episode #009
He impersonated a priest. He performed comedy in front of maximum security inmates. He has a certain set of skills. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Bill Devlin joins us this week on the Callback Podcast. We planned on performing this interview on the roof of Bill’s home, but an unseasonal rain storm and the subtle murmur of helicopter blades coming from a downtown LA protest put an end to that idea. We opted instead for the inside of his living quarters where the warmth of summer air coming through the windows and a bottle of...2012-07-311h 29The Callback PodcastBachelor Parties Episode #008Another podcast with just the hosts? You have got to be kidding me! What more do these guys have to talk about? Lots of stuff. That’s what. John helps Aaron and Edgar plan best man speeches, the guys discuss baseball and the state of affairs of the teams that they halfheartedly support, and we all learn the juicy details of Aaron’s priceless piece of artwork, a Velvet E.T. We promise there will be more special guests in the future. Or maybe we’ll just pull the plug on this whole operation. It’s up to you, America...2012-07-131h 11The Callback PodcastSteve Seagren Episode #007
We had booked this week’s guest, actor Steve Seagren to be on our podcast during the joyous morning of Cinco de Mayo. Little did we know, each year on May 5th Steve holes himself up inside his bedroom closet and refuses to come out for anyone or anything. In order to appease him and his demands, we conducted our interview via telephone. We spoke with him for about an hour, and the interview could have continued further but for the fact that we didn’t bring enough quarters with us and the operator refused to let the ...2012-07-031h 18The Callback PodcastScott May Episode #006Every year on May 15, I warn my family and friends to beware the Ides of March. Julius Caesar didn’t and we all know what happened to that guy. Little did I know that I should have heeded my own warning. This week we interview Scott May, the keyboard player for the band The Ides of March. You may have heard the band’s hit song “Vehicle” which was immensely popular and has been used in numerous film and television shows, most notably in the Sylvester Stallone-Donald Sutherland film “Lock Up,” which not only did poorly at the box office but w...2012-06-231h 31The Callback PodcastVince Vieluf Episode #005
I first met the impregnable Vince Vieluf outside of his humble bungalow once owned by Charlie Chaplin (fun fact: Chaplin’s brother Sydney once bit off actress Molly Wright’s nipple). I greeted him with a handshake and he reciprocated by extending his arm and firmly grasping his hand around mine while we simultaneously bobbed our hands up down about 3 or 4 times, while politely smiling at each other and exchanging pleasantries. It was a blast from the past for me, because Vince starred in the very first rated R movie I ever snuck into as a youth, “America...2012-06-121h 24The Callback PodcastRich Ceisler Episode #004It was late Sunday night when Rich Ceisler came into my life as quickly as he left. We called him on the telephone to conduct our no
holds barred interview, an invention that Alexander Graham Bell claims to have invented but I have my doubts. Then again, I’ve always been an Elisha Gray sympathizer. When Rich isn’t traveling the seven seas as a stand up funny man, he eats food and enjoys walking. On a serious note, call the phone number at the end of the interview. This guy doesn’t deserve to be treated like he was2012-06-041h 03The Callback PodcastT Sean Shannon Episode #003
John Novotny, Aaron Glas and I, Edgar Volfson, first met Timothy Sean Shannon in front of his home in Glendale. I won’t say whether it was in Glendale, California or Glendale, Arizona for the sake of guest confidentiality. He decorated his car hole nicely with homemade paintings, stacks of baseball cards and the noticeable musk of Diet Dr. Pepper. From the moment we walked in, T. Sean could not stop bragging about the Emmy he won as a writer for the Emmy winning television show, Saturday Night Live. Because of that, we refused to mention it on...2012-05-291h 28