Former Texas Senator and McCain economic advisor Phill Gramm told the Washington Times on Wednesday that the economy is merely in a state of “mental recession” and that the United States has become a “nation of whiners.”... [continue]

Islands = Mania. That's a good way to start, as facepainted lead singer Nick Thorburn waxes eloquent or arrogant on stage, and the Montreal six-piece come together in a clattering display of Graceland-influenced indie, not to mention the occasional rap, and pretty much anything else you can throw in there. Their latest record, Arm's Way, which some love, and some don't so much love, is a collection of twenty-first century rock songs bordering on the brooding, though the light-hearted catastrophizing that marked their debut album still pops up in places; it will be more than interesting to see these elaborate arrangements manifested on stage. ... [continue]

Switchboard, the all-female improv super-troupe comprised of Second City alumnae Debra Downing-Grosz (UCB theater, Second City Chicago), Rebecca Sohn (The Annoyance Theater, Second City Chicago), and Jean Villepique (iO Chicago, Sceond City, The Office, 30 Rock), performs at the Coldtowne Theater tonight and tomorrow night.... [continue]

According to this disturbing article in the Houston Chronicle, three Houston men have been accused of exhuming a human body and smoking marijuana out of its decapitated head. ... [continue]

The final preliminary round of the Austin Air Guitar Championship is taking place this Tuesday at the Alama Drafthouse. This is the last opportunity for participants to compete for a spot in the finals, wherein a representative of Austin will be chosen to compete in the National Championship in New York. The winner at New York moves on to compete in the World Championship in Finland—and, presumably, to enjoy an elevated social status for his or her remaining days on Earth (air guitar champions don’t believe in the afterlife). We attended the penultimate preliminary round of the Air Guitar Championship at the Alamo Ritz last month; we share the experience after the jump.... [continue]

The most overrated aspect of mainstream film is production quality—3, 2, 1 Kill! proved that in November when the improvised movie event was scripted, filmed, and edited live at the Alamo Ritz. Luckily enough for the film snobs among us—this script is so indie that it doesn’t even exist—3, 2, 1 Kill! returns to the Alamo Ritz this Sunday for another round of seat-of-its-pants storytelling.... [continue]

Heavy Metal in Baghdad has amassed a considerable amount of buzz in the run-up to its US debut at SXSW tonight. The film follows Acrassicauda, the only heavy metal band in Baghdad, from the fall of Saddam Hussein in late 2003 through December 2006. We spoke with Suroosh Alvi, one of Heavy Metal’s directors, about his experience shooting the film in Iraq.... [continue]

It has been almost eight years since the last episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade aired on Comedy Central. But beginning well before the series took to television—from its roots as an improv and sketch comedy troupe in Chicago to the opening of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York City and Los Angeles—the Upright Citizens Brigade has been in the process of constructing a comedy empire.... [continue]

Austin’s newest improv training center, the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation, launched its first series of classes at the recently-opened Salvage Vanguard Theater this past Saturday. ... [continue]

Maria Bamford, along with Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, and Brian Posehn, was one of the original Comedians of Comedy. We spoke with Maria recently about her upcoming performance tonight (sold out) and tomorrow night at Cap City Comedy Club. The Comedians of Comedy premiered at SXSW in 2004, right? Right. Were you there for that? I think I was. Hold on a second. Yes, I was. I was there. What did you think about SXSW? It was awesome. You get to watch movies. I like the place where you watch movies and can have a beer and eat something. The Drafthouse. Yeah. That was really great. I like that. ... [continue]

Tonight’s portion of the see.hear.speak 3 festival is a collection of monologues and one-person performances. Gentleman Brock—or, as he’s formally known, Sir Gentleman Brock LaBorde, Esquire—recently authored a book called The Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman, and he’s rather opinionated on the subject of chivalry. ... [continue]

Tonight is the “Hear” portion of see.hear.speak, the comedy festival that has been taking place at the Coldtowne Theater since last night. One of the performers in Hear—indeed, a headliner of the festival—is Jill Bernard, a Minnesotan (resident of Minnesota) who has toured the continent performing and teaching improv. She even acted as the coach of an aspiring improviser in an episode of MTV’s Made.... [continue]

The 3rd annualSee.Hear.Speak comedy festival begins tonight at the Coldtowne Theater. See.Hear.Speak began as a celebration of alternative comedy formats; each night represents a different comedic medium. Tonight’s show features local video sketch troupe the P! Company, who are currently gearing up for their next show, Hanging with Mr. The P! Company. We recently spoke with P!'s Andy Petruzzo and Kyle Sweeney about video sketch and their participation in See.Hear.Speak 3.... [continue]

Ha – I know, I know. You look at me and see a whirlwind frenzy of globetrotting and peanut serving, ocean-hopping and lavatory monitoring. I can't imagine how glamorous this game of intercontinental hopscotch must appear. Left foot, Belize; right foot, Miami. Left foot, Shanghai; right foot, New York. Well, with a layover in Chicago. And we generally switch posts at that airport because it's a hub. You get the picture. ... [continue]

Joe Rogan is intimidating; not merely physically, but as an evangelist for stand-up comedy as a means of creative expression—as an art form. Rogan famously accused Carlos Mencia of stealing other comics’ material in an exchange that highlighted not just his physical stature but his wit and his dedication to the craft. Having been on the cast of NewsRadio, Rogan certainly has the credentials to back his convictions. We had a chit-chat with him earlier this week, in anticipation of his performance at the Cap City Comedy Club on December 30th and 31st.... [continue]

Photo by Wylie Maercklein, courtesy YTCC The Ultimate Christmas Musical: The Musical!Through 12/22, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmSalvage Vanguard Theater (map)[info] | [tickets]The North Pole is a pretty raunchy place. That’s what the Yellow Tape Construction Company would lead you to believe, anyway. And while we don’t remember Frosty the Snowman dealing smack in any of the Christmas fables we used to read in kindergarten, it’s not implausible. He may be a sentient amalgamation of button, coal,...... [continue]

Image from Coldtowne Official Site 3-2-1 Kill!Tuesday, November 6Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (320 E 6th St)9:45pm, $9 / $7 Student, AFS[info] | [tickets]3-2-1 Kill! was one of the last live shows to play at the Alamo Drafthouse before it shut its doors in June. The format-bending improvised movie extravaganza, starring members of the improv troupes Coldtowne, The Frank Mills, and Parallelogramophonograph and produced by the Coldtowne Theater, debuts at the new Alamo Ritz tonight at 9:45pm....... [continue]

Mac Lethal has been called a “contemporary cross between a folk singer and a stand-up comic” by Rolling Stone – and that dichotomy of inane observation and thought-provoking insight defines his debut album, 11:11. We spoke with Mac Lethal from his tour bus while on the road for the Everybody Loves a Clown Tour with label-mates Grayskul and Atmosphere. That tour bus is currently parked outside of Emo’s, where the Everybody Loves a Clown...... [continue]

You’ve probably seen Carlos Alazraqui as Deputy James Oswaldo Garcia on Reno 911!—but you’ve probably heard him, too. Alazraqui is a prolific voice-over actor, having performed as Néstor in Happy Feet, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, Rocko in Rocko’s Modern Life, Winslow T. Oddfellow in CatDog, and Goofy Goober in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. But in addition to acting, Carlos is also an accomplished stand-up comic. We spoke with Carlos before his run of shows...... [continue]

The Out of Bounds Improv Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament ended on Monday after six days of blithe musings from some of the finest improv and sketch-comedy troupes in the country. In its sixth year, Out of Bounds reached new heights of comedic exuberance over the past week—and, more importantly, surely introduced a new universe of humor to an unimaginable quantity of newcomers. But for some, Out of Bounds was more than a once-a-year...... [continue]