SEXY NERDS & DIRTY WORDS - show recap with photos

Thanks to everybody who attended the first ever show of SEXY NERDS &D IRTY WORDS -- we had a killer line-up of guests (pictured below) and a sold-out audience filled with cool people.  (They kept an open mind and stayed "with us" as performers like to say.)

Here are some photos from the event (courtesy of ace photographer Matthew Glasson)

I opened the show with some of my filthiest material: nasty jokes, stuff I refused to tweet, and a collection of my "dirty alliteration" (which was co-written by my wife.)  These jokes were a perfect way to open the show, and the audience dug it, but I really can't share it on the web, as a potential employer might object to jokes like: "I just ate a bowl of diarrhea.  And the worst part is, I wasn't even hungry."

Then Matt Wilson joined me for a staged reading of a classic sex-talk titled "The Roommates Hatch a Plan."

Spoken Nerd poet Jared Singer read his first piece of the night, a very funny and moving autobiographical poem that touched on action figures and Saturday morning cartoons.  I love being at a show where one of the acts makes a passing reference to Yusagi Yojimbo.  Click here to see Jared performing at the Bowery Poetry Poetry Club.

Next, the noted nerd, wit and long-time friend M. Sweeney Lawless revealed the conspiracy theory about putting gorillas on comic book covers.  In the 1950's, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz observed that the best selling comic books were ones that featured primates on the cover.  Meg examined several examples, many of which you can see here with commentary by Meg and me. 

Then the audience was treated to a video-game inspired routine by burlesque performer Iris Explosion.  You can watch Iris work the room as Ms. Pac-Man.  (note: I first saw this act at Tom Blunt's amazing show MEET THE LADY.  If you like my shows, you should see what Tom does.) 

Come to think of it, Ms. Pac-Man was always pretty racy for a kids' arcade game. 

Next up was a high-concept act: Mark Douglas performed as ANDREW 12-SIDED DICE CLAY.  He's the bad-boy of the comic shop, telling jokes that are obscene, obscure and observational.  

We videotaped his set and a few days later it screened at New York Comic Con during a panel on "Geek Humor."  The live-act was a hit and the video killed at Comic Con.  Watch the video HERE and please donate money to our kickstarter campaign so we can make more videos about the 12-Sided Diceman. 

 Also that night we played GEEK BINGO (photos not available.)

The always-entertaining Mike Edison read from his new book, DIRTY! DIRTY! DIRTY!: Of Playboys, Pigs and Penthouse Paupers - An American Tale of Sex and Wonder.   You may recognize Mike from  Kevin Geeks Out About Genre Busters where he performed with his beatnik band, talking about sex, drugs and professional wrestling. 

Related: here's the 3-D trailer for Mike's new book....

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Then we got a return visit from ANDREW 12-SIDED DICE CLAY, who did some of the same jokes -- but from a different camera angle.  We got great coverage (you can see the 3-minute trailer here), the video was shot by Jeremy Carr and edited by Eric Hendricks, the same team who joined me on most of my videos, from AMC's Sci Fi Department to Comedy Central's Puppet Rodeo.  But unlike those web-series, Dice won't get financed by a corporate entity. The material is too dirty and too nerdy.  So we need the support of people like you (specifically, YOU!)  You can pledge here and learn more about our Kickstarter campaign. 

Also, in the video I play a hack comic who is too cool for school.  Here I am wearing a hoodie, with my hands in my pockets, not trying very hard -- because cool people don't try very hard. 

Lastly, closing out the show, Matt Wilson did some racy balloon art and he closed with a "sword swallowing" routine, set to AC/DC's "Back in Black."   We taped his set, I hope he puts it online.  In the meatime, you can see the photos here.... 

Goodnight everybody.  And again, please donate to our kickstarter page! 

"Why do you give into these impulses?"

Yesterday at a work Town Hall, I very publicly asked a question to a boss who made $88 million dollars last year.  Nothing offensive or explicit, but it was a smart-ass remark.  My co-workers giggled and afterwards people gave me high-fives.

I got home and re-told the story to my wife.  Afterwards she faced me with a serious look and asked "Why do you give into these impulses?"

It's a good question, my wife is one of the smartest people I've ever me and she KNOWS me.  (Most people who know me or have worked with me can probably site examples of this terrible, self-destructive behavior.)

I'm going to try and answer that question.

In no particular order:


Sometimes I'll think "it would be cool if someone did (obnoxious act or stupid remark)."  And when no one does it, I decide "I guess I'll have to do it."

*      *      * 

I fell in love with "The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner" and its romanticization of self-destructive rebels.

*      *      * 

Working-class people ruin their opportunities for upward mobility, so that they don't betray their people.

*      *      * 

In high school I did a book report about Abraham Lincoln and fell in love with this detail: John Wilkes Booth shot himself, with the attitude that "only a Booth is worthy to take the life of a Booth."  Maybe I'm wired the same way, I want to beat my oppressors to the punch.

*      *      * 

I fear success.

*      *      * 

In my old sketch group I wrote a scene about a jerk who goes on Jeopardy and keeps losing points by including editorial commentary in his answers.  The Final Jeopardy had a clue about the 40th President of the United States.  But our man bet all his money and said "Who is mass-murdered Ronald Regan?"  He lost the game, but as far as he was concerned he won.

*      *      * 

I think Buddy handled this situation just right:

*      *      * 

Does any of this make sense?

If you could see the inside of my mind, you'd ask "why is the dashboard covered with so many prominently placed SELF-DESTRUCT buttons?"

I think Willy Vlautin would understand -- he writes about a lot of troubled fuck-ups who are their own worst enemies.  In an interview Willy talks about how when he was younger he owned a lot of Charles Bukowski books, and after spending a lot of money on them, he decided the books were a bad influence and if he got rid of the books, he'd turn his life around.  Maybe Vlautin is my Bukowski and I should get rid of his novels.

Don't worry, Willy.  I'll never do that.


To be continued.....

Save the Date: Sunday October 9th

* SEXY NERDS & DIRTY WORDS *

You're invited to this one-time-only comedy-variety show where erotica meets neurotica, where the obscene meets the obscure, it's comedy for geeks, by geeks, it's.... Sexy Nerds and Dirty Words.  

Host KEVIN MAHER (from the long-running series Kevin Geeks Out) presents a line-up of performers guaranteed to delight nerds of all ages. 

Burlesque Performer IRIS EXPLOSION performs a racy dance designed especially for video-game fans. 

Internet super-star MARK DOUGLAS (The Key of Awesome) delivers some R-rated geeky comedy.

Author MIKE EDISON reads from his new book, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!, chronicling the history of America's greatest girlie magazines.




M. SWEENEY LAWLESS uncovers a secret conspiracy in comic book covers.


Performance Poet JARED SINGER shares some "Spoken Nerd" poetry.


Plus a game of GEEK BINGO will help determine who's the biggest geek in the audience. 


Plus: Dramatic reading of fan fiction, un-censored tweets and a special video-taping for a segment that will be screened at New York Comic Con. 




SEXY NERDS & DIRTY WORDS
UNDER St Marks, 94 St Marks Place (between 1st Ave and Avenue A) 
Sunday October 9th @ 7:00pm
Just five bucks

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About Kevin Maher (producer/host) 

Kevin Maher is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer whose work has appeared on Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and HBO.  He hosted AMC’s THE SCI FI DEPARTMENT (short-listed for a Webby Award) and created the viral Comedy Central web series “Old People News” and “Puppet Rodeo.”

  

Since 2008, Kevin has geeked out with 24 different installments of his video variety night KEVIN GEEKS OUT, filling those gaps in your education about Bigfoot! – Robots! – Video Games! – Werewolves! – KISS! – Batman! – and Sharks! His shows have been critics’ picks in the Village Voice, Time Out New York, Gothamist, The New York Times’ “Urban Eye”...and what other comedy show can you name that’s been featured in Scientific American Online?

Kevin’s been tapped to host doublewide media’s upcoming television series RANDOM FANDOM, exploring the fan conventions and fanatic cultures for Harry Potter, Steampunk, Star Trek, Big Lebowski and more.

On a dare, Kevin once wrote 100 haiku about BATMAN.

Words to live by

"Ice Cream is good, but an ice cream cake shaped like a whale and covered in fudge is better."

- Tom Carvel

I find great inspiration in the above quote. 


Seriously. 


I'm always finding new ways to make my work better. When I'm producing live shows or videos, I want to add entertainment value anywhere I can. I need to go above and beyond and do it with a sense of showmanship. 

8 Reasons I'm psyched to see ALLIGATOR this Monday

This Monday night, Matthew Glasson and I have the honor of introducing ALLIGATOR (1980) at the 92Y Tribeca.  (Get details and tickets here)

I'm excited for a bunch of reasons:

1. IT'S SHOWING IN 35MM
The way a giant-alligator movie was meant to be seen.

2. I'VE ONLY EVER CAUGHT BITS AND PIECES
When Matthew and I did our 2-hour show devoted to SHARK CINEMA we'd researched dozens of nature-gone-wrong movies from the 1970's and 80's.  But I never got to see ALLIGATOR in its entirety, only the trailer:

A few thoughts about SHARK NIGHT 3-D

Last night I finally got to see SHARK NIGHT.  My friend Ritch Duncan and I saw it at the 42nd Street E-Walk in PRX, in a 500-seat theater with leather seats.  We paid $19.50.  Each.

Yes, that's almost 20 bucks on the shark movie that the A.V. Club rated an "F".  I should not be allowed out of the house with money.

* * *

One character in SHARK NIGHT 3D reveals that his email address is Gordon79.  So presumably he's a 32-year-old college student.

Or it could be the script was written 12 years ago.  That might make sense, because one of the characters is described as being good at making "mix tapes" -- not iTunes playlists, MIX TAPES.

* * *

One guy walked out of the theater during the movie.  Maybe he was expecting SHARK KNIGHT 3-D?


* * *

Whether you see SHARK NIGHT in 2D or 3D, the characters are still in 1D.

Just Sayin'

FACES OF DEATH presents fake animal torture as though it is real.

THE ADVENTURES OF MILO & OTIS does the opposite.

Kevin Geeks Out About Rip-Off Cinema

 

Kevin Geeks Out is the comedy-variety show hosted by writer-comedian Kevin Maher – a confabulation of vintage film clips and videos, new finds, guest experts, games and curiosities. To geek out with Kevin you don’t need to be a geek, you just need to love cool stuff. 

Since 2008, Kevin has geeked out with 23 different installments of his video variety night to fill those gaps in your education about Bigfoot! – Robots! – Video Games! – Werewolves! – KISS! – Batman! – and Sharks! His shows have been critics’ picks in the Village Voice, Time Out New York, Gothamist, The New York Times’ “Urban Eye”...and what other comedy show can you name that’s been featured in Scientific American Online?

This month, Kevin Geeks Out about RIP-OFF CINEMA, chronicling the “knockbusters” that attempt to capture the magic of E.T., KING KONG, WAR OF THE WORLDS and other big-budget blockbusters. The two-hour cultural cavalcade includes trivia, snacks, prizes, and guest speakers presenting rare film footage and TV clips you won’t find on YouTube or Netflix.  Kevin is joined by some very special guests:  

·      Emmy Award-winning Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan looks back at his favorite E.T. rip-off.  (It’s not Mac and Me!)

·      Writer M. Sweeney Lawless gives a brief history of films that aped KING KONG.

·      Comic Book Blogger Nick Nadel presents a montage of Super-hero knock-offs from around the world.

·      Professor Geoff Klock illustrates the difference between a rip-off and an homage.

·      Filmmaker Matthew Glasson shares scenes from his favorite JAWS copycat (that was actually banned from the U.S. for copyright infringement!)

·      Horror Blogger Brian Solomon presents a study of HALLOWEEN rip-offs.

·      And Artist-Baker Sara Reiss serves up “knock-off” themed treats.

·      Plus trivia games and prizes that will include knock-off products.


KEVIN GEEKS OUT ABOUT RIP-OFF CINEMA
Thursday September 15th @ 8pm
92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street  NYC


buy tickets HERE

Separated at Birth?

  

Related posts:

another Separated at Birth?

Who wore it better - Superhero edition

Who wore it better - 80's movie cowboy edition

A IS FOR ANTHRAX: #4 in a series of pop culture primers

The latest Abecedarium comes from writer/heavy-metal fan Rebecca Rogers Maher. 


She notes: "This is by no means a representative sample of heavy metal bands. It's just an alphabetical list of bands I like, or hate, or could make a rhyme with." 

A is for ANTHRAX. They bring the noise. 

B's for BON JOVI: Rich Jersey Boys

C's for CHEVELLE, who send pain below

D is for DANZIG: Short guy on a throne

My wife is funnier than me

My wife and I vandalized this chalk-written sign for a "SCOOTER WASH"

More proof she is funnier than me.

(She had the idea, but I erased the "S" with a splash of water)


related links:

Two killer jokes

A is for AUTOMAN: #3 in a series of pop culture primers

A is for AUTOMAN, A.I. super-cop

B is BEYOND WESTWORLD, T.V. spin-off flop

C's CAPTAIN CAVEMAN, who somehow got laid

D's for DARK SHADOWS, doomed to be re-made

3 PEANUTS parodies that I like more than the JAWS one

Because I'm a JAWS scholar and shark geek, a number of people have shared Charles Forsman's mash-up (of JAWS re-told with the Peanuts gang) with me.

You might think I didn't like it because I'm some kind of a JAWS nut.  

But honestly, I thought it missed the mark when it came to the Peanuts characters.  I have to give credit to Forsman for drawing spot-on character designs in the style of Schulz.  But the strip didn't connect the dots between Charlie Brown, Chief Brody, Hooper, Linus, Quint, Mayor Vaughn, etc. 

So it's not that I'm a JAWS nut, so much as a big PEANUTS fan. I find the early strips groundbreaking and influential and as important to American literature as The Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men. Seriously. 

However, I come not to bury Peanuts parodies, but to praise them.  

So here are three faux-Peanuts strips that I adore. 

First off, buy R. Sikoryak's MASTERPIECE COMICS.  You can get it here cheap. Sikoryak commits to a concept without going to easy jokes.  This collection is brilliant and beautifully illustrated. One of the stand-outs is his "Good Ol' Gregor Brown" where Kafka's Metamorphosis is re-told with the Peanuts cast.  This was presented as a slideshow at Kevin Geeks Out (during a "Holiday Grab Bag" show) -- and it killed.  Buy this book for yourself and get another one for your favorite English teacher. 

(this is just an excerpt, buy the book to read the rest)

Sikoryak's strip is so cool that one fan even went and got it as a tattoo.  The only thing sexier than a Charlie Brown tattoo is Kafka-Peanuts body-art!

Second, MAD Magazine did a 1968 strip titled "Will Success Spoil Charlie Brown?" where Shermy returns to the old neighborhood and sees how the commercial success of PEANUTS has changed everyone.  

As a kid, I didn't realize it was a parody of "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" but I still got the jokes and loved seeing Charlie Brown in a toupee. 

I could not find this online. Sorry. 

But you can find plenty of other great MAD parodies.  Here's a list of the dozens and dozens that ran over the years. 

Third, Ted Rall's "Supply Side Lucy"

This 1996 one-panel gag is, sadly, still true today.  Check out more Ted Rall. He's a daring writer and he always challenges himself to do something different with each book -- whether it's a comics collection, narrative graphic novel or even his fantastic post-modern take on George Orwell's 1984. 

Do you have a favorite PEANUTS parody/homage?  Tell me about it in the comments. 

RELATED POSTS: 

JAWS vs. SHARK NIGHT the two types of shark-movie posters

Horror movie characters: A-Z

Kevin and Matt Geek Out about Shark Cinema

Deleted Scene from Kevin and Matt Geek Out about Shark Cinema

THE FUTURE IS THE INTERNET: a true subway story

You know how certain kinds of films, television shows and stage plays will present a pandering, romanticized view of a homeless person, showing a rattily-dressed but wise old man whose simple words put middle-class problems into perspective.

As much as I love the The Clash’s lyirc about how “the truth is only known by guttersnipes” I’d never had one of these magical encounters.

Until today.

I transferred onto the E-train at Canal Street and I was immediately bowled over by the stench of cheap whiskey at 9:55 in the morning.  I looked up and saw a shabbily-dressed middle-aged man with dreadlocks, drinking brown liquor from a Poland Spring bottle.

Guy: What you reading?

Me: RETROMANIA.

Guy: What’s that about?

Me: How our culture is obsessed with its own past.

Guy: Like China and Kung-Fu movies.

Me: I haven’t gotten to that part yet.

Guy: (smiling) Maybe it won’t be in the book.  But China makes a lot of Kung-Fu movies.  Kung-Fu is very important to China’s history.  It was the Kung-Fu masters that freed China. 

He went on about Kung Fu for a few minutes.  I was standing about 6 inches away from him, but everyone else kept their distance. Still, I got the impression they were watching/listening to this conversation.  It’s the closest I’ve come to having a true Socratic Dialogue.  I wish the train ride would last longer, because this was really getting good.

Guy: (more about how Kung-Fu saved China)

ME: I didn’t know that.

GUY: Kung Fu is very important.

Me: Mmm.

The train pulled into the next stop and the doors opened at Spring Street, where I exited.

Me: (to my new friend) Take it easy.

Just before I left the guy looked at me, pointed and shouted one last thing.  He was dead serious, but also joking.  

Guy: THE FUTURE IS THE INTERNET!

I exited the train, and then came up with a good response after it was too late.

“That’s the one thing Kug-Fu can’t save us from.”

Freelancer's Company Picnic

NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER AND LATE CAPITALISM.  CHECK BACK FOR THE RESCHEDULED PICNIC.  




After the success of the FREELANCER'S CHRISTMAS PARTY, I'm having a follow-up...

THE FREELANCER'S COMPANY PICNIC