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 Emmy-winning Chicagoan Allison Silverman has been named executive producer of "The Colbert Report," where she's been from day one, since leaving her previous gig at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." She is moving up the Colbert ladder, from supervising producer and co-head writer.
Colbert commented on Silverman's appointment, saying, "Allison is a rare combination of funny, kind and intelligent. Unfortunately, in her new job, two of those have to go."
Silverman has worked at iO Chicago and Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, and was a staff writer on "The Daily Show." Here is her online Slate diary, where she explains what kind of jokes don't make it on the show, and why. Banned joke types include the hack, the "writers' joke," the overly obscure, and those expected to draw more claps than laughs. She also popped in on our friend Jesse Thorn's "The Sound of Young America" podcast last year.
- Elizabeth McQuern
 Chicago comedy alum Kyle Kinane, who was in town and enjoyed a guest spot at Chicago Underground Comedy a few weeks ago, was on "Last Call With Carson Daly" last night on NBC. (Yes, we thought it was tonight, otherwise we would have posted this yesterday. Sorry, Kyle.)
A few days ago Kyle shared some details with us about his national boob tube debut, and the unlucky popcorn-headed photo that will help introduce him to the American public.
that picture was taken at ravens on my birthday after someone dumped popcorn on my head. that's what they're using for my u.s. television debut. pride and shame are co-mingling awkwardly within my family these days.
salicious details exclusive to the bastion:
-i may wear a hat.
-i will attempt to call mila kunis "baby cheesecakes" on the air.
-my ego's not too big to take the nbc limo (plus if i drive myself i can listen to pegboy and get all nuts about it...that and the studio is five minutes from my house and i wouldn't want some random limo driver thinking i was a prick for making him pick me up down the street, because those kinds of emotions are palpable and can totally throw me off my game. i might have him drive me home though.)
-i'll see if frank caliendo can do an impression "of this right here" and i'll grab my crotch and be all like, "eh?" and "hey ha ha oh-no!"
-i'm doing a cooking segment where i reveal my recipe for breakfast chili.
-i'm doing some sit-ups to get ready and it shows.
We recently received communique from ex-pat Kyle Kinane, giving us a low-down round-up of his goings on in L.A. as of recent. Coming directly on the heels of some VERY steamy pics of he and Morgan Murphy canoodling in a more-than-friendly manner, we enjoyed hearing that things on the beach have been very, very well, and that our recently displaced Josh Cheney is being duly entertained and entertaining.
"The guy at KMart couldn't find a price tag on the Coleman X-Treme Cold cooler that I wanted to purchase, so he just gave it to me. Must've been Josh Cheney's honest face.
With said cooler in the back of my new pick up truck, we headed off to Will Rogers State Beach.
The Eddie Money debate results are as follows.
Cheney: #1. Baby Hold On To Me, #2. Shakin', #3. Take Me Home Tonight
Kinane: #1. Two Tickets (to Paradise), #2. Take Me Home Tonight (original version), #3. Take Me Home Tonight (with me singing the Ronnie Spector parts in a comical manner)
Jeff Klinger rode his bike all the way from Redondo Beach up to the Will Rogers (see map) and we all settled in with some tall-boy Coors lights, played a little frizz (term coined by the famous Abed Gheith--see map), and was mocked by television's Jamie Kaler.
Oh yeah, and Josh and I did a show on a rooftop in downtown L.A. to the rats and the drunks and it was pretty great."
- Kristy Mangel
 Thanks to Jessica Joy for the tip: TJ Miller is making the press rounds on behalf of his ABC show "Carpoolers." Here he is on BuzzSugar, which says "His character, Marmaduke, steals scenes left and right in the pilot, including one where he's interviewing for a job sans pants."
TJ goes on to explain his Chicago comedy roots and says "I obviously love (Carpoolers' executive producer) Bruce McCulloch because of "Kids in the Hall" ... that's one of my comic idols. His show was in my sketch comedy education. So I came to it there and got the pilot out of Chicago and then the pilot got picked up and I got another film out of Chicago and so now I'm in LA, but yeah. I hope to be the rookie of the year this year for network television."
- Elizabeth McQuern
 Can the wild animal that is improv make it in the heavily structured tv environment? Some say "maybe not." Improv elite including Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh made a good go of it with "ASSSSCAT: Improv" on Bravo not long ago, and even called on very special special guests like Tina Fey, Andy Richter, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz but even the best of improv, it seems, suffers on television precisely because of the lack of immediacy that a live performance provides. Even though the popularity of the Drew Carey-hosted "Whose Line Is It Anyway," which ran from 1998 to 2004, broadened interest in improv, spoiled a wider audience's expectation of what improv "really is," according to some.
Nevertheless, NBC and a couple of talented Second City main stage vets are putting their all into network improv these days with "Thank God You're Here," an adaptation of an Australian improv tv show of the same name. How is the show going? According to Chicagoist: "There’s no denying that the show would be a thousand times more enjoyable if the core cast (including Nyima Funk and Maribeth Monroe from Second City) improvised with the guests instead of trying to hit certain beats and spit out fabricated lines...we actually laughed out loud a few times." But Dan Kois of Slate goes so far as to say the show isn't really improv at all: "...the supporting performers in the show clearly have seen a script, or at least a list of setups, gags, and plot points to stick to. Which means 'Thank God You're Here' isn't improv, not in any true sense."
 Students and alum of the Second City Training Center can call 312-475-3564 to make reservations for a MADtv panel event tomorrow night, April 27, from 5-6 PM at 1608 North Wells. "Meet and hear from cast members of FOX's hit sketch comedy show MADtv at this free event for students and alumni of The Second City Training Center. Panelists include Ike Barinholtz, Crista Flanigan, Arden Myrin, Nicole Parker, Jordan Peele and possibly more. Topics will range from the process of creating and producing their shows, differences between writing and performing sketch for stage and television, working with guest stars, as well as a chance for audience members to ask questions. Patrick Brennan will host and moderate." Hm. "Possibly more." Does that mean that visiting MADtv performers are having too much fun in and around the Chicago Improv Festival this week? We hope so.
 Edge Comedy is putting up its "Best of New Faces" show at SEVENS @ The Chicago Center for the Performing Arts (777 N. Green Street) tomorrow, Friday the 27th, at 8 PM. The new faces show will feature Cindy Cornelson, Brendan McGowan, Aaron Eikenberry, and more. The 8 PM "Best of Edge Comedy" show on Saturday the 28th (at the same location) has lined up Hannibal, Cameron Esposito, Fay Canale, Dustin White, Jeff Hansen, and others. Both shows are hosted by Edge producer Dave Odd.
- Elizabeth McQuern
F.O.B. and comedian Christopher Burns is currently in studies at i.O., where he's learning how to Make it Big in comedy writing from local hero Michael McCarthy. We asked Chris to relay to us some info about the 24-weeks-long class, ostensibly for you, dear reader, but let's be honest: this undergrad degree in journalism with a minor in creative writing is going nowhere fast, and we need to step it up a notch. If Mike can't teach us, it can't be learned.
"The focus of the first eight weeks is on talk shows. Basically the Leno, Letterman, Conan type but we also discuss and can write ideas for Colbert, the Daily Show, Bill Maher (which McCarthy seems to really like). The first thing we talked about in week one was two-liners. Reading a news article, and then creating a joke about it in two lines, set-up and punch line. That was our assignment after week one, read the front page of the Chicago Tribune, and write a joke a day about a story on that page. After week two (unfortunately I missed the second class do to a family emergency), he wanted more personal two-liners. Putting "I" into the joke, and telling the two-liner as if you were saying it to your friend at a coffeeshop, so that he could hear what we really found funny about the story and so it came from our point of view. Also this week, he wanted us to develop a two-liner into a monologue. A commentary monologue, where you are just commenting on the news piece from your point of view. And then a CHARACTER monologue, which is commenting on a news piece from the point of view of a character. People did George Bush, a truck driver, the effeminate black guy from the movie Mannequin (seriously), etc.
Next week, our assignment is desk pieces, those little segments in between the monologue and when the guests come out, where the hosts basically make something out of nothing. Low budget funny stuff that takes a few minutes. For example, Letterman's Top 10 list, Conan's "in the year 2000", Leno's small town news stories. This week we are to come up with six each for three separate talk shows. I'm excited for this one.
Anyway, McCarthy is really knowledgeable, and seems, so far, to care about the students and that we move on from this class with material that we can submit to management companies, shows, etc. He's worked for SNL, Whose line is It Anyway?, the Drew Carey Show, Sesame Street. He's written a bunch of screenplays, too. I think for me, the best part of the class is that it is really focusing my writing, and getting to spend three hours a week with someone who has done what I want to do one day. Hearing about his writing process, how he goes about it and hearing about his experiences in the industry have been interesting. He literally writes eight hours a day (with 15 minute breaks every 45 minutes) and that is what it takes.
His breakdown of the talk show formula into these segments is great. I mean, when he's breaking them down, you're like "duh", but having someone break it down and force you to write ideas for each segment and say, "Your job at a talk show would be to write this segment, like this," it just gives you a greater understanding of the formula, why it works, and which great ideas you have that could work within that formula.
The second eight weeks we build a portfolio for SNL and the eight weeks after that is a spec script.
Also something interesting McCarthy told us yesterday: Conan has been doing the "In the Year 2000" bit since at least 1989, when he and Bob Odenkirk were doing it in their sketch show somewhere on Lincoln Ave., and he's still freaking doing it on his show!"
 The Pilgrim Baptist Church of South Chicago, known as the Triple Rock Church in the classic comedy Blues Brothers, has been damaged in a fire, after churchmembers put $165,000 of their own money into renovations and repairs. The building, over one hundred years old, is insured, but the board of trustees worry that insurance may not cover all necessary repairs.
Coincidentally, in January of this year, another (totally unrelated) Chicago church called Pilgrim Baptist (at 3301 S. Indiana), which was widely considered the birthplace of gospel music, burned to the ground.
Donations can be made to the Pilgrim Baptist Church of South Chicago Fire Relief Fund, c/o Charter One Bank, 9200 S. Commercial, Chicago 60617. Call (773) 374-3888. (Hear that, Ackroyd?)
- Elizabeth McQuern
 Lundquist Entertainment (with roots in Chicago) is crossing the border for some shows in Toronto this week. Catch Caleb Hodgekiss before he gets superfamous and and starts dating Lindsay Lohan.
Chicago-based comic Matt Wayne recently shared his thoughts with Shecky Magazine about How Not To Talk To a Comic. Among his tips? Don't assume everything that comes out of a comic's mouth is intended to be funny. Sometimes he is actually just asking for you to pass the salt.
The New Q101 Morning Show has kicked off. Check out the interview with Chicago comedy alum Stephen Colbert (MP3 here).
Chicago stand-up Brady Novak finally stopped dragging his feet on this whole "internet fad" and got a damned MySpace page. Yeah, MySpace...well, it's better than nothing.
 There's lots of speculation and chatter about cast shakeups at Saturday Night Live. Horatio Sanz out? Chris Parnell out? Amy Poehler stepping down so Jason Sudeikis can man the anchor desk alone? As the Apiary says, that place sure is leaky...who can tell how solid any of this info is.
In the meantime, kill some Friday afternoon hours listening to some Fresh Air interviews with Chicago comedy alumni, including some SNL and Daily Show types.
Tim Meadows, 2000.
Jon Favreau, 2002.
Andy Richter, 2002.
Bonnie Hunt, 2002.
Dan Ackroyd, 2004.
Catherine O'Hara, 2004.
Harold Ramis, 2005.
Eugene Levy, 2004, and 2005.
- Elizabeth McQuern
 Adam McKay, vet of Second City and i.O., as well as founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, is the director of Will Farrell's latest, Talladega Nights. He spoke to Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 2004, about his and Farrell's previous effort, Anchorman.
In the interview he talks about his street theater stunt-pulling days in Chicago with the UCB, including a tale about Horatio Sanz getting arrested for staging a fake protest and North and Damen involving plastic guns and tiki torches, and McKay advertising his own suicide, culminating in throwing a CPR dummy off a five story building, and McKay's friends paying the Grim Reaper to recover his soul.
 Tonight, July 27, at the Music Box Theater on 3733 N. Southport, catch thirty-six short comedy films at the Chicago Short Comedy Video and Film Festival.
The 7:30 show will kick off with Charna Halpern speaking, followed by the screening of eighteen short films, including I.O.'s short film, narrated by "serious guy" Bill Kurtis, who investigates I.O. as a murderous cult - written by Adam McKay and featuring Tina Fey.
At the 9:30 show, eighteen more shorts will follow, including George Eckart of Battery Media's animated short, "Pony," written by the Colbert Report's Mike Brumm, and voiced by TJ Jagodowski and Susan Chiara.
 Second City and I.O. alumna Tina Fey has announced that after six seasons as head writer and anchor of Weekend Update, she will be leaving the show to focus her energy on 30 Rock, her new NBC prime time show, which stars Alec Baldwin and is about a late-night comedy show. Whatever will she draw on to make the show feel genuine? Maybe she'll hire some talented writers to help her fluff out the details of that world.
(Update: our Big Poppa in New York, The Apiary, is reporting that Rachel Dratch is also leaving the show, and that Studio 8H is experiencing a "core meltdown" as Lorne Michaels makes announcements that, though scouting for new talent, he plans to simply keep the cast smaller this season.)
-Elizabeth McQuern
Charna Halpern founded i.O. in 1981, with assistance from the late Del Close beginning in 1984. Since then the i.O. Theater has thrived as a comedy training center and performance venue, and shaped generations of talent that now populate the airwaves and movie screens. Some of Charna's best known former students include Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, the late Chris Farley, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, and Seth Meyers. Charna believes that "the funniest people in the world come from Chicago," and thinks there's something special about Chicago that allows comedy to blossom here. In her interview with The Bastion, Charna catches us up on new media and festival developments at i.O., explains how improv concepts can open even non-professionals up to more of life's possibilities, and tells us that she literally saved Del Close's life not once, not twice, but several times.
 i.O. is a respectable 25 years old, yet is still vital and fresh. What's new and exciting at i.O. this season? We hear there are all kinds of cool new media projects evolving there.
Wow, word gets around quickly. Yes, lots of cool things are happening. First, our DVD from the 25th Anniversary Show at The Chicago Theater is being released by New Wave Media this August. i.O. just started a podcast that features our top talent. We are developing some TV shows and have come under the wing of Brillstein-Grey, who are some wonderful people. They recognize the amount of talent here and have been very receptive to our ideas. We are also working on getting more film shorts on our website so that it becomes even more of a fun place to visit. And, I have written a movie about me and Del that some of my very talented friends are doing a second draft on.
The iO West Improv Festival is really growing. The fourth one was last month in LA - can you share some impressions of that experience?
 I am extremely proud of this festival, and much of the credit has to go to my i.O. West producer, James Grace. It has grown to the point where we may have to add another theater next year for some of it, including the closing night. The entertainment industry has recognized this fest as the place to be. One of my favorite things about the festival is that we are able to give awards to those who we feel have helped open doors for improvisation and made the world see that this is an art form to take seriously. The fact that these successful stars show up and are actually honored to receive The Del Close Award from i.O. because they respect what i.O. has done and what the award represents is what touches me the most. The first year we honored Curb Your Enthusiasm. After that it was Shelley Berman, then Fred Willard. This year we honored Harry Shearer, and the award was presented to him, on our behalf, by Eric Idle. It blew me away to have Eric Idle talking about i.O. and improvisation in his speech - not to mention watching him hang out in the green room. So, my impression is that this fest is bringing artists of all levels together. And at the risk of making this too long of an answer, I am also touched when so many students in L.A. tell me how they love i.O. and are so grateful to me for bringing this type of community out there.
Almost everyone we're getting to know in the comedy scene here tells us that the best show going is "The Armando Diaz Experience." Can you explain its appeal?
“The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny” is actually the full name of this show, but few people know that, for some reason. Another detail few people know is how the show came to be. They think Armando Diaz created it and that's not true at all. Adam McKay (writer and director of Anchorman and the soon-to-be-released Talladega Nights), Del, David Koechner and I came up with the show concept - that we have a show that is led by one person instead of a whole team. The original concept was, can one monologist inspire and even lead the piece? This monologist is to have the power to replay a scene, narrate a different take on the scene, and do whatever he wanted to the players in the show. And he/she would have the responsibility to pull it together at the end to bring a moral to the show - to pull together the ideas and explain the point of view these scenes were leading up to. It was the opposite of a Harold, where it was the group responsibility, rather one person's responsibility to say - "so here is what we are saying.” And since so many people were working for Second City as well, we would have the show on Monday so all of our buddies could come back and play with us. In trying to decide on a name, Adam had the idea to name it after his friend, Armando Diaz, and to let him do the monologues for awhile. I asked Adam why he wanted to do that, as Armando wasn't even performing here and he replied, "Let's see if we can make this show so popular that Armando becomes a household name because of the show title." It was part joke and part experiment. We all agreed, and the rest is history. As to your question, which I bet you think I've forgotten by now, I think the appeal in Chicago is still the fact that folks who are now working at Second City and other venues, including TV, miss playing here because they don't really get to improvise in the way we do at i.O. If they are writing for TV, they come home on breaks because they miss the whole scene and are pretty much "jonesing.” The audience knows that all these folks are getting together once a week to have fun, and they don't want to miss it. And I think it's the same in L.A. and even at UCB. In L.A., the top performers can't be on teams anymore as they are working - so they come to reunite in an Armando. The i.O. alumni in New York want to play and get in touch with that side of their abilities and the audience wants to see that. (They call it A.S.S.C.A.T. at UCB, but they aren't fooling anyone.)
Is it gratifying to know that lots of people who have studied at i.O. have gone on to big things - Amy Poehler and Tina Fey behind the desk of SNL's "Weekend Update," for example?
 It's more than just gratifying...how can I describe it? I have seen these folks working their tails off for years and honing their craft. They would go to classes, rehearsals, shows. They'd audition, they'd coach, they'd teach, they'd write shows. They loved i.O. and believed in our ideals. They struggled, they shopped at thrift stores for clothes - they never complained. They loved the work. It's all they ever wanted to do. After years of struggling, their talents were finally appreciated and they were given career opportunities to do the only thing they ever wanted to do. I go through a range of emotions when my people are successful. I feel grateful to be able to help them get to where they are and pride that they are showing the incredible talents they have honed here. I feel relief because I know they are going to be ok and that they have found their way. And I feel incredible love because every one of them gives back and makes sure people know of this special place where people cherish each other to succeed on stage. And last but not least, it is confirmation that I am definitely doing something right. Not only have my people become writers and performers on SNL, MadTV, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Late Night With Conan O'Brien - they are also writing and directing movies - Jon Favreau, Adam McKay, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Andy Dick, and The UCB, who made Martin & Orloff, which I enjoyed. And they all say they use everything they have learned here in their work.
At the same time, countless people who have learned improv with you take those skills and concepts back into totally different kinds of work. What are some of the valuable things that people who don't enter a career in comedy learn from improv and use to enhance their lives?
Those that are not going into the entertainment field are definitely learning valuable skills for their own use. I always say we are saving our corner of the world here because folks are learning the art of agreement. They have learned that life is more interesting when you say "yes." They have learned how to take these skills to work to create more collaborative work environments and they themselves have developed deeper listening skills and spontaneity. They are braver, and as Chris Farley said in my first book, “they can run their fastest and jump their highest."
What do you think is unique about Chicago's culture that has allowed improv to thrive here?
What is unique about our culture? Well first, I think Chicagoans are unique. They are very supportive audiences and they are proud of the fact that the funniest people in the world come from Chicago. They are eager to come out of their comfortable homes to support the stars of tomorrow. The weathermen can warn us on TV that it will be 40 degrees below with the wind chill factor and that folks should not go out unless they have to, and we will still have a full house at i.O. You can't tell Chicagoans that they can't go out. And because traditionally, the funniest people have come from Chicago, funny people from other cities who want to do this kind of work, flock here to "make the scene" as Del would say. So the culture grows and thrives. Most importantly, in Chicago, we take the time to get good. It has been thought of as "the laboratory" for a long time. In L.A. I have been told by casting agents that they will be more interested in an actor if they were trained at i.O. in Chicago because they know that person really worked to get good.
Truth in Comedy, the 1994 book you wrote with Del Close, is thought of as the "improv bible." Matt Besser has referred to Del Close as the "Jesus of improv." Lots of people call i.O. a "mecca." Would you like to go on record as claiming a religious figure for yourself? Perhaps Durga, the Hindu warrior mother goddess?
 Oh, I love that title you suggested. Del used to call me "The Goddess" as well. But that's because I saved his life numerous times. After months of arguing, I convinced him to move out of the filthy apartment he had lived in for years across the street from Second City. I found him a new place by my house and moved him out. The week after he moved, the boiler underneath his old apartment blew up and the whole place burned down. He would have been killed - or at least his cats would have died. And all of his first edition books, which were quite a valuable collection, would have been destroyed. A year later, I decided that instead of working straight through to our next class session, I would give Del a night off, and the two of us would take in a movie. I canceled class. When we came home that night, the entire block was filled with fire trucks. The building burned down and the fire started outside our door, which was the only exit. We would have all been killed had we been in class. There were other times I saved him as well, so I was definitely considered by Del to be a Goddess. So I will accept that title with pride. And it does take a Mother Warrior to keep up the fight for all in this community. ONWARD AND UPWARD, FELLOW WARRIORS.
Okay, back to the real question now. You have written a new book, "Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation." The accompanying DVD features performed examples of the exercises and instructions from the text, as well as performances and interviews by some of your best-known alumni, including the Upright Citizens Brigade, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Stephnie Weir, Tim Meadows, and Andy Dick. Does the book expound on things you've observed and learned since writing the first one?
 The new book takes things further. I insisted that I would not rewrite anything from my first book, so it's important to read Truth In Comedy first. There were so many things that have come up since that book was written. I have had questions about so many things, like what advice do I give to woman in improvisation, etc. And I have noticed over the years,that although I dealt with the importance of agreement, many folks were confused by what that meant. Many advanced people would come to i.O. from Second City and think that agreement meant they had to say YES to everything. They didn't understand that agreement was between the actors - not the characters. Whenever I would explain away the confusion, they were always amazed and relieved because they were continually sacrificing their integrity on stage. I thought it would be a good idea to expound on some of these ideas and help to strengthen the concepts we built long ago regarding team work. Also, I have received so many calls over the years from folks who still couldn't figure out long form because they hadn't ever seen a Harold. I did a book signing at the Chicago improv festival this year, and 70 people in a row thanked me for putting a DVD in the book. "FINALLY," they all said. "Now we can show this to our troupes so they can see what the hell this is supposed to look like." That was a major part of the reason for doing this book.
-Elizabeth McQuern
Has Lorne Michaels been in town scouting for new talent for Saturday Night Live? The SNL casting season is underway, and The Bastion hears that this time last year Michaels was scoping out the fresh young improv talent in Chicago.
Of course, on the first day of new student orientation at Second City, they tell you straight up that you're not going to be plucked from Improv Level Two obscurity and whisked to Weekend Update fame the next week, but as we all know, giant herds of talent have migrated from the Windy City to the Big Apple to populate the stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Second City Chicago recruits of recent years include Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, David Koechner, Ana Gasteyer, Nancy Walls, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz.
So what the dilly, yo? What's the buzz?
-Elizabeth McQuern
 Stephen Colbert, notable Chicago comedy alumnus, continues to enjoy career ascent with movie and television endeavors. He's so busy he doesn't even have time to submit a headshot for his IMDB listing. He delivered a brilliant, much-discussed speech at this year's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, and was named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People.
The good news is, his satirical format is now so well-known that even the least hip and media-savvy public servants now have some kind of clue what they're in for before arriving on the set for an interview. Seattle Democratic congressman Rick Larsen recently taped a segment with Colbert, which is apparently a "badge of honor" among elected officials, and gave himself over to the process with a reasonable attitude: "So what are you gonna do? You just play along. All you can do is just play along."
However, Colbert did manage to catch Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland off guard with a quiz on the Ten Commandments Westmoreland so dearly wanted to have displayed in federal buildings. Colbert asked Westmoreland to name those precious commandments, and the representative, well, came up short. In the linked clip, check out the Cheshire grin on Colbert's face as he concludes the interview with a "that's all I need" handshake...he knows he got a priceless moment there. Do you think Dan Rather would have had the spine? I don't think so.
-Elizabeth McQuern
 They blew into town about a week or so ago, invading open mics and showcases from The Mix, to Chicago Underground Comedy, to The Playground Theater, and have been assaulting the airwaves as guests of the Visitors Locker Room. Tonight the invasion of the L.A. Contingent will culminate at the Empty Bottle for a FREE screening of the complete Channel 101 series, "Yacht Rock".
What the heck is "Yacht Rock?" To quote the Empty Bottle site, it's a serial that "examines the ‘soft rock’ era of the seventies, recreating it in all its dramatic, excessive glory, offering up a gripping, hilarious ‘behind the scenes’ narrative that exposes the intersections and motivations of the Doobie Brothers, Loggins & Messina, Steely Dan and others." Sounds like ironic nostalgia at its finest.
Lots of "Chicago boys gone L.A." have been in town this week, wearing The Bastion out - and many of them will be at the Empty Bottle tonight to cheer on their "Yacht Rock" pals - but it's been nothing short of magical having them all back in sweet home Chicago.
 Jerri Blank is practically a Chicagoan herself, what with her creator Amy Sedaris having been through the Second City program with "Strangers With Candy" co-creators Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. But did you know that the 46-year old former prostitute and recovering drug addict Blank had a real-life inspiration? A 47-year old, yes, former prostitute and recovering drug addict. Her name was Florrie Fisher, and she toured high schools across America in the 1970's, verbally bludgeoning kids with her special brand of bombastic, wild-eyed anti-drug message. With the clips up at YouTube it's pretty clear than Amy nailed it - the hair, the grimacing facial expressions, the rambling intensity.
-Elizabeth McQuern
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