BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition November 2018

COMEDY
BRIAN POSEHN
CUTTING BOTH A FEARSOME AND FEARLESS PERSONA
JOSH SHEPPARD
Photo by Seth Olenick
Brian Posehn has written a comedic memoir detailing the memorable moments of his life.
ED THE SOCK
RETURNING TO WAGE WAR ON STUPID
JOHNNY PAPAN
Very few of us can resoundingly say we’ve followed
our hobbies and had them turn into a successful
career. Brian Posehn is one of those lucky people
who has done so while also staying true to his
innate sensibilities. The comedian is doing a stand
up tour as well as promoting his new book, a
memoir full of heartfelt anecdotes regarding his
formative years and experiences with his heroes.
In the flurry of changing and shifting landscapes,
the comedian, actor, and writer has been able
to have a consistent output of projects that feel
true to his sensibilities as an artist. Despite being
involved in basically every sitcom from the ‘90s,
Posehn is still able to recollect the best moments of
being in a good writers’ room.
“Being a 20-something and getting the chance to
work with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross was one
of the most rewarding experiences of my career,”
says Posehn. “Bob was the true show runner of ‘Mr.
Show’ – he is one of the only people I would call a
comic genius. He would see the potential in all of
our ideas, whether they worked or didn’t, and this
helped me learn about the process. ‘Mr. Show’ is
still one of my favourite projects that I’ve worked
on.”
Having an unabashed interest in the “nerdy,”
Posehn doesn’t care what you think – he’s going to
do projects that interest him.
“I have been involved in a huge number of
differing subjects. I’d say I’ve had a dream life in
regards to the people I’ve met and had the pleasure
of working with. Just to name a few, I’ve worked on
the Deadpool comics as well as working with Rob
Zombie in The Devil’s Rejects where I got brutally
murdered. I’ve worked with Spielberg and even had
the late great Ronnie James Dio come to my house.”
Fantasies are sometimes best defined by the
hobbies we choose to live through. Dungeons &
Dragons is one of the most creative and immersive
activities, brimming with unlimited potential. Stand
up likewise retains similarities as a storytelling
outlet. The individuals involved must create their
own narrative with a certain dynamism that always
contains different variables at play.
“The unlimited potential and imagination of it all
is very enriching to create what could be described
as pure fantasy. The storytelling aspect really does
have a connection with stand-up in that you can go
anywhere with it.”
Having your niche hobbies directly tied to your
showbiz persona for many could be seen as a
pitfall, potentially too alienating for a mainstream
audience. But Posehn’s ability to continue to work
on mainstream sitcoms while still being able to
reach a dedicated alternative audience shows that
you must be fearless in what you enjoy.
Catch Brian Posehn November 15-17 at Comedy Mix.
Ed the Sock is much more than a mere sock
puppet. He’s also kind of an asshole. But he’s an
educated asshole with strong statements and a
charming knack for calling out stupidity when
he sees it. The gruff-voiced, green-haired, cigar
chomping personality is a key figure in historical
Canadian pop-culture and entertainment. Now,
he is set to embark on his coast-to-coast “War on
Stupid Tour” which will see him unapologetically
comment on modern day societal bullshit such as
fake news, culture wars, outrage warriors, the altright,
the radical left, and much more.
“I have had so many people over the past few
years asking me to come back and speak truth
to morons. I could no longer say no,” Ed explains.
“People are aggravated and frustrated that nobody
is out there expressing the views of the average
intelligent Canadian, because reasonable voices
get drowned out. But nobody drowns me out. I
look forward to pressing the flesh during the tour.
In a figurative sense, not like Weinstein or Cosby. I
can be an asshole, but I am an asshole in service of
non-assholes. Someone needs to be your voice.”
Ed is known for hosting a slew of shows from
the mid-‘90s to 2000s including Ed’s Night Party,
Ed’s Nite In, I Hate Hollywood, This Movie Sucks!,
and the list goes on. He is best known for his work
with MuchMusic during the channel’s golden
years. Ed, upset with MuchMusic’s change in
character over the last several years, made a video
12
entitled “Who Murdered MuchMusic?” which was
ordered to be taken down by the channel’s current
owners, Bell Media.
“MuchMusic is dead. They dropped the ‘music’
from their name a few years back, so now it’s just
called ‘Much,’ which is ironic because they are
clearly ‘Less,’” Ed says. “It was a revolution in how
TV looked, felt, and sounded, a rejection of the
norms of the TV industry. Then management
stopped valuing the channel’s uniqueness and
started trying to emulate traditional television. It
isn’t Bell that killed it – they inherited a channel
that had already shit the bed. They just changed
the sheets.”
Now, Ed the Sock, alongside creator Steven
Kerzner, hopes to restore and revitalize the energy
of MuchMusic through their own web-based
platform: the FU Network, which will feature a
plethora of brand new shows like Hey Ladies,
Shooting the Shit, and other comedic programs.
Old school Ed the Sock fans will be excited to hear
that one of his most popular showcases, Fromage,
will be returning as Fromage: The Cheesy History
of Music Videos, a weekly show that will comically
cover music videos from the 1950s to modern
times.
Ed concludes: “People can now customize what
news biases they immerse themselves in, what kind
of opinions or information they get. They try to
edit out the outside world and get outraged when
the outside world pokes through. We’ve made
ourselves stupid. Someone has to shatter the shell
people have built around themselves, and so far, I
don’t see anyone stepping up. So here I am.”
Ed the Sock performs at the Upstairs Cabaret
(Victoria) on November 28 and the Biltmore
Cabaret (Vancouver) on November 29.
The web-based FU Network aims to restore the energy of the classic MuchMusic era with Ed The Sock.
November 2018