Tom Rhodes Smart Camp

Sometimes with my podcast I like to imagine it as if I were teaching a university course on stand up comedy. That is why it was an absolute joy for me to sit down with Bill Burr and pick his brain about comedy and his thoughts on the importance of turning over a new hour show every year or two. Personally, for me Bill is one of the most exciting comedians working today. Onstage he is a tempest. He...

The more I get to know Ari Shaffir the more I like him. He is one of the most pleasant human beings walking this earth. Every time I see him he puts a smile on my face. I have never seen him with a dark cloud of emotions hanging over him.  Several years ago he started doing story telling shows and now that concept of his is being produced by Comedy Central digital in a series called 'This can't be...

I was a fan of Carl LaBove before I ever even met him. When I was 17 I went to see Sam Kinison in Orlando and Carl LaBove was the opening act. Carl blew me away that night with his ferocious comedy cyclone, Kinison was wasted and I left the Bob Carr auditorium thinking Carl LaBove was a name to remember. Years later I met Carl when we did the Toronto comedy festival together. On the gala televisio...

I first saw Rick Shapiro perform when I lived in New York City 1998 - 1999. He wasn't playing in comedy clubs then he had a regular Wednesday night stint at a bar in Lower Manhattan. A musician friend of mine took me to see him and the musician friend told me "This guy does more than comedy. He does raw naked truth". I was ready to not like it but what happened over the next two hours as I sat wat...

I believe this episode is among the very best that I have yet been a part of because of the time, love and preparation that went into making it. Sananda Maitreya was once known by a former name that I will not speak because I get the feeling that person no longer exists and that is the way Mr. Maitreya wants it. I love and respect this man so much it is effortless for me to comply with his wishes....

This episode is a heartbreaker. I was shocked and saddened to learn that Dara Faizi died on September 30, 2013 at the tender young age of 25. I became friends with Dara when he was first starting out as a comedian in Holland. He was a young master of comedy even when he just started. He had confidence as a story teller and a command of the stage you don't normally see in a comedian who is just sta...

I've known Jim Breuer since we were both starting out in Florida back at Ron Bennington's Comedy Scene in Clearwater. He has always been bringing head crunching thunder as a comedian since I first saw him. He went on to massive success with Saturday Night Live and co-staring with Dave Chappelle in the quintessential stoner movie of all time 'Half Baked'. We recorded this conversation in Chicago wh...

For the past 3 years in a row my wife and I have rented an apartment in Rome. This year we did something different, we acted like we lived there. Instead of exhausting days visiting the monuments we look it easy, exploring delicious restaurants, relaxing in cozy wine bars... the one treat we planned was a four hour scooter tour with  scooteroma.com   My friend Bert Kreischer turned me on to them....

When I started out on the road I worked the southern circuits of the United States. I have performed in every town that ends in ville or boro.   I did a horrendous gig in Mobile, Alabama many years ago and the best thing about it was I made a life long friendship with Faye Woodruff.   Faye is a southern comedy legend known as the Grand Mother From Hell. She started doing the road once her husband...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Malaysia! Kuah Jenhan is the darling of the Malaysian comedy scene. His jokes are clean and clever and he is admired for turning over fresh new material frequently. I worked with him on my first visit to Kuala Lumpur and got to sit down and have this chat with him when I recently returned. He writes a comedy monthly comedy column for Esquire magazine of Malaysia and recently...

Hasan Minhaj is politically aware and socially conscious in his comedy and in his life. He doesn't take any shit when it comes to offensive stereotypes, just ask Ashton Kutcher who he smacked down for appearing in brown face. Hasan has appeared on MTV's Disaster Date and can be seen in the upcoming Stand Up Planet. He puts his heart and soul into his comedy and his youtube videos brandishing the p...

I worked with Stephan Grant earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur.  He has a lightning quick wit and powers out jokes on a wide range of topics. He writes for many television shows and comedy TV stars in the UK. If you see him work it is no surprise he is in such hot demand as a writer. I enjoyed watching him work night after night and he shoots out punchlines like an AK 47 in rapid powerful processio...

This episode was recorded in Madison, Wisconsin. Many times as a comedian I will work with a younger comedian who I believe has true talent and a bright future. I had met Carlos Valencia through Doug Stanhope several years ago but didn't get to see him work until he opened for me last year at Comedy On State in Madison. He has a dark twisted sense of humor and he is following the path of a comedia...

In my eyes Jonathan Atherton will always remain a great man because he turned my beliefs around on the city of Singapore. I went there once and never wanted to return because I thought it was soulless. He invited me to perform there again and said if I didn't like it he would pay me double.   When I returned he proceeded to show me a Singapore I never knew existed. Late night clubs, fun parties, b...

It's no secret that I love Ireland and I have worked with some wildly funny comedians there. One of them that I like the most is Eleanor Tiernan. I've watched her develop into an amazing performer over the years and if you don't already know her you will be happy to discover her comedy. I like her so much I requested her to work with me last year in Chicago. It was a joy to see her killing the Ame...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Malaysia! What are Moslim people making jokes about? What makes Malaysian stand up more progressive than American stand up? Tom gets to sit down with Malaysia's most famous and veteran comedian Harith Iskander. Harith gave birth to stand up comedy in Malaysia Asia two decades ago and should be considered the true ambassador for bringing stand up comedy to Asia. Listen how th...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Chicago! Let me introduce you to the most interesting couple I know! Rory Zacher & Kelly La Banco two fresh faced kids that moved to Los Angeles to get involved in the porn industry. This episode brings you juicy & surprising behind the scene stories and all that jazz of the business of porn. Get it here!

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Los Angeles! Several years ago I worked with Gina Yashere in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. I loved her as a person and was extremely impressed with her as a comedian. He stories are hard hitting hilarity. Her Mother is from Nigeria and Gina grew up in London. Her unique perspective on the world and skill as a performer I never tired of watching night after night. Just...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Los Angeles! Brian Posehn has been my friend for over 20 years. He has gone on to have an amazing career, writing for HBO's Mr. Show, acting in NBC's Just Shoot Me and Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Show. I don't get to see him very often but when I do it's always a good laugh.  This conversation was recorded at his home in Los Angeles and among the highlights is Brian...

Tom Rhodes is in New Zealand! Tom chats with New Zealand's comedy legend Brendhan Lovegrove.  Brendhan and I met 15 years ago in London while filming a television show together. Working together again in the years that followed in Sydney and Jakarta. Brendhan is one of the main people how got me invited to the New Zealand Comedy festival. This conversation was recorded in my hotel room on a rainy...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Los Angeles! Jimmy Shubert is a comedian I have loved and respected for years. He has always been a strong performer with hard hitting jokes. I've known him for many years and I enjoy him because not only is he a kind hearted friend, he constantly cracks me up.  As a comedian with a lot of years under my belt there are not too many people who just being in their presence cra...

Tom Rhodes is in New Zealand!  After doing the New Zealand Comedy Festival in Auckland for 2 weeks I did a best of the fest tour with a small group of comedians that went all over the country. This was an epic adventure in the land of epic adventures. We performed in gorgeous theaters nightly, had daily flights or long van rides. It was a fun group to travel with because nobody on this tour was a...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Austin, Texas! Lovable lunatic and comedy juggernaut Brendon Walsh and I got together at the Moon Tower Comedy Festival in Austin , Texas to discuss how being in love affects your comedy, pulling the ultimate pranks and the mutual respect we gained from meeting and working together on a very tough gig in Reno, Nevada.

Tom Rhodes Radio is in New Zealand! After doing the NZ comedy Festival in Auckland I did a 2 week best of the fest tour going all over the country. With a small group of comedians we shared planes, van rides, and stages every night for 2 weeks. Of this great group of guys Jesse Griffin and I became fast friends. He is lovably smooth and his jokes are sharply funny.  I thought him to be one of the...

Tom Rhodes Radio is in Los Angeles! I got to sit down with Andy Kindler who revealed why he took marshal arts lessons to defend himself from people he had made fun of.