Ep. #77 – Feat. Alissa May Atkinson

Today, Matt welcomes Alissa May Atkinson, a comedian and bartender hailing from Brooklyn, NY. A bar manager at Precious Metal, Alissa (along with her comedy partner Lauren Vino) produces and hosts monthly comedy shows called Midd Riff Comedy, which are held at Precious Metal on the first Friday of every month. With Matt, Alissa chats about how she got started in comedy and what inspires her joke writing. They also chat about the origin of Midd Riff Comedy and how bartending (doubling as a form of entertainment) preps her for performing. And so, from her fascination with the comedic process to her plans for the future, here’s presenting Matt Storm and Alissa May Atkinson.

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Ep. #67 – Feat. Rachel Schenk

Today, Matt welcomes Rachel Schenk, a musician, comedian, and actress hailing from Astoria, Queens. Rachel is no stranger to the world of Crash Chords; she appeared in ep. #95 (with bandmate Mark Robert Turner) as a member of the comedy music duo Afterbirth Monkey, and also in ep. #166 as herself. With Matt, Rachel chats about her newest day job working for The Ride NYC, her chance discovery that she can freestyle rap, and also about her growth as an artist. They also chat about her newest concept album with Afterbirth Monkey called Making a Beeline to Wasted and also about her solo album in the making. And so, with some reflections on her acting, her role in The Restaurant (a film written by Eric T. Ford) and her experience in improv, here’s presenting Matt Storm and Rachel Schenk.

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CCP Ep. #223: ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’ OST by The Lonely Island

It’s day three of our five-day event series with today’s episode marking the last entry in our 2016 review season. We thought we’d end the year nice and light, dabbling into some comedy, some satire, and of course, some obnoxious pop music. Join us as we follow the rise and fall—and rise again—of protagonist Conner4Real in the summer comedy flick, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. With the film and its original soundtrack both written by members of the The Lonely Island (who also star in the film), we’re keeping to our goal of incorporating more cross-media material… and by gum it doesn’t get more cross-media than that! Join us as we stroll through the film, wade through its myriad of cast members, and address the successes and pitfalls of both film & soundtrack as works of comedy. Enjoy!

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Ep. #62 – Feat. Gary O

Today Matt welcomes Gary O: podcaster, producer, and nerd hailing from NYC. As the holidays are upon us, this episode of Autographs is a bit more casual with Matt and Gary delving into a lengthy conversation on pop culture as a whole. They chat about Gary’s experience with conventions, interviews, and creating content; they chat about his previous appearance on the Crash Chords Podcast; and then they cover the top 10 movies of 2016 according to Box Office Mojo. And so, from Disney, to superheroes, to gaming and more, here’s presenting Matt Storm and Gary O.

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CCP Ep. #170: Songs for Your Future [EP] by The Dreamstalks | Feat. Killy Dwyer

Prepare yourself for the music & antics of special guest Killy Dwyer, comic musician and singer-songwriter of Kill the Band. (You’ll be hearing some of their work throughout the episode, so ears open!) And after a hefty interview with Killy herself — covering themes in her songwriting, her background, her studio work, her live act, and the state of the arts in NYC — we finally “lighten” the load at 1:01:44 with a discussion on Killy’s album choice, a short and cheery EP called Songs for Your Future by The Dreamstalks. (And of course, by “lighten” we mean “weigh it down” again with subjects of a fancifully child-scarring nature.) Enjoy!

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Ep. #30 – Feat. Matt Donnelly, Paul Mattingly, & Jacob Smith

Come celebrate the 30th episode of the series by hearing about Matt’s chance honeymoon encounter with Matt Donnelly, Paul Mattingly, and Jacob Smith of Matt & Mattingly’s Ice Cream Social, a podcast out of Las Vegas and spinoff of Penn’s Sunday School Podcast (which Matt Donnelly co-hosts with Penn Jillette). Matt & Paul—successful comics who were found teaching improv classes aboard the Celebrity Summit cruise ship, en route to Bermuda—graciously agreed to meet with Matt Storm for an impromptu podcast under the Autographs banner. In front of a small audience, hear them talk about the origin of their show, the state of comedy, and the difference between pushing the envelop and advocating reprehensible behavior. Cruise with them all by pressing play!

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Ep. #23 – Feat. Insane Ian

Prepare your ears for Insane Ian, parody artist and comedy musician extraordinaire from Baltimore, Maryland. Also a member of the The Funny Music Project (a.k.a. The FuMP), Ian is here to chat with Matt about how he got started down the path of hilarity, and about what goes into creating a solidly funny sketch on a comedy album. His latest album, Internet Famous, has a title track featuring Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. Hear about how that connection developed, the origins of the FuMP, about music, movies, gaming, and more, in this Insane-ly entertaining interview!

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Ep. #20 – Feat. Graham Elwood

This week we welcome special guest, Graham Elwood: comedian, documentarian, and podcast host. An influencial figure in the work of Crash Chords, Graham’s presence in the podcasting community is just as revered as his standup career, particularly as host of the Comedy Film Nerds podcast (co-hosted by Chris Mancini). He is also one of the creators of the podcast festival in L.A. called L.A. Podfest. Having released a documentary on his time performing for the troops in Afghanistan (called Laffghanistan), he is extending his interest in documentaries to a project called “Ear Buds”, a documentary about podcasting. Matt and Graham chat about his latest album, Palm Strike Dance Party (featuring a self-titled song written with former guest Mike Phirman), and about the many branches of the podcasting industry collectively changing the face of entertainment.

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Ep. #18 – Feat. Mike Phirman

First appearing on Crash Chords in a 2010 interview, following the release of The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Part 1), Matt welcomes back one of the most creative comedy musicians to emerge from the west coast, Mike Phirman. With his humble self-released ditties, Phirman’s capacity for brilliant satire also extends to a penchant for over-blowing benign subjects, such as breakfast, streetmeat, and children’s games. Whatever subject is at his whim, he consistently extracts a hilarious and addicting adventure. This time around, Matt and Phirman discuss the process behind writing a great comedy-music song, Phirman’s many influences, how certain tracks came together, and finally the peculiar position he is placed in as a full-time family man — thus caught between writing funny kids songs and writing funny songs for adults.

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CCP Ep. #80: The Wack Album by The Lonely Island

In the mood for some satirical gibberish? Who isn’t. That’s why we’re pushing forward with more reviews of comedy music albums. This week we chose The Wack Album by The Lonely Island (the comedy Hip-Hop troupe composed of former SNL staff & cast members, Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone). Then stick around for a brief intro to the use of satire in art. Conversely, stay tuned for a future discussion on the use of music to a comedic end.

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