Comedy Bang! Bang!

''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:
Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today!
It is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'', creating and hosting the ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' TV series, and co-founding the weekly ''Comedy Death-Ray'' stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood.

''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'' was formerly broadcast from Southern California's Indie 103 studios, but since the summer of 2010 has been broadcast as part of the Earwolf comedy podcasting network, being recorded in studios owned by the company.

''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' was also a television series on IFC hosted by Scott Aukerman and featuring in different seasons bandleaders Reggie Watts, Kid Cudi, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

In 2021, Aukerman and producer Brett Morris launched Comedy Bang Bang World, a website and subscription platform offering the back catalog of the podcast alongside dozens of new spin-off shows and related content.

History

''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'' first aired May 1, 2009, after Aukerman gained permission from Indie 103 to conduct a "one-month tryout". The first episode's guests were Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon. During occasions when Aukerman has been unable to host, Paul F. Tompkins, Chris Hardwick, Jimmy Pardo or Jerry Minor (in character as "Cyberthug") have guest hosted. Although normally produced in Los Angeles, the show has also been taped in Vancouver, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Austin.ColdTowne Theater Blog:
THIS JUST IN! COMEDY DEATH RAY INVADES COLDTOWNE
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Name change

On the May 15, 2011 "Two-year Anniversary" podcast, Aukerman announced that the show's name was changing to ''Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast.'' He went on to say that the show had evolved a great deal in its first two years, and he credited his wife Kulap Vilaysack with coming up with the new name.

Red Hot Chili Peppers parody

In episode 204 (which aired on March 4, 2013), "The Pepper Men," guests Jon Daly and Zach Galifianakis professed their love for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both claimed to be "huge Pepper Men" and had written a song in tribute to the band titled "Abracadabralifornia", which Daly sang using his best Anthony Kiedis imitation.

On January 29, 2014, a very official-looking website called www.RHCP2014.com appeared online claiming to have the brand-new Chili Peppers song, "Abracadabralifornia". The song even featured a layout for the band's upcoming Super Bowl appearance, complete with sponsors' logos. Various people through websites including Twitter and Facebook at first were fooled by the song, although many quickly realized that it was a parody. The song was written and performed by Daly and musician Cyrus Ghahremani. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith tweeted his approval of the song.

Comedy Bang Bang World

In 2021, Aukerman tapped Brett Morris, longtime engineer, creative, and senior production manager of Earwolf to help create a new independent platform for the ''Comedy Bang Bang'' archive as well as launch new like-minded podcasts with their comedy friends.

On October 1, 2021 they launched Comedy Bang Bang World, offering exclusive Discord access, ad-free back episodes of ''CBB'', ''CBB Live'', and fan favorite Earwolf podcasts like ''Affirmation Nation with Bob Ducca'', ''Mike Detective'', and ''Bonanas For Bonanza''. Premium "Maximus" subscribers got brand new shows like ''Scott Hasn't Seen'', ''The Andy Daly Podcast Project'', ''CBB-FM'', ''College Town'', ''We Have To Stop Talkin’ TMNT On CBB'', and the rotating concept feed of ''CBB Presents'', where comedy friends and recurring ''CBB'' characters host their own spin-off podcasts.

''CBB Presents'' recurring podcasts have included ''Hey Randy'' (Tim Baltz), ''WHO ME? An Extremely True Crime Podcast with The Batmin'' ( Bobby Moynihan), ''This Book Changed My Life'' (Lily Sullivan), ''Full Throttle with Bob Ducca'' ( Seth Morris), ''Eat Pray Dunk with Bill Walton'' (Dan Lippert), ''Hi(Nes)! I’m Prov To Meet You'' (Will Hines), ''Entreè PeeE Neur's Entrepreneur Tour'' ( Ego Nwodim), and various one-offs and specials.

Since launching, Andy Daly took his podcasts to his own Patreon channel, and CBB World has expanded its lineup to include the popular podcasts ''Threedom'', ''The Neighborhood Listen'', '' Womp It Up!'', ''Going Deep'', and ''The Gino Lombardo Show''.

Format and features

The podcast begins with a theme song composed and performed by Reggie Watts, followed by the reading of a listener-submitted catchphrase, under the pretense that one will eventually replace the show's original catchphrase, "What's up, hot dog?"

The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests with comedy songs and occasionally game segments. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode.

For the first few months of the program, comedian Doug Benson would semi-regularly call the program and give several "8 Words or Less Movie Reviews".

Occasionally the podcast is taped with a live audience, usually at comedy shows or at festival events.

In the last third of the show, Aukerman and his guests will sometimes play one of several improv-style games. Examples of games played include:
*"Would You Rather?", in which the guests are presented with two typically absurd scenarios; following a brief question-and-answer session with answers made up on the spot by Aukerman, the contestants are asked to choose one of the options, with points given after each round.
* "Riddle Me This", in which one person comes up with a question that is the setup for a joke. An example would be "What's brown and is often spotted near a fast-food restaurant?". The other contestants then come up with answers and vote whose answer was the funniest.
*"Freestyle Rap Battle/Contest", in which the guests take turns performing a freestyle rap.
*"What Am I Thinking?", in which two guests (or Scott) count down together from three and attempt to use word association to say the same word.

The following games have been played on the podcast in the past, but not recently:
*"Jukebox Jury", in which Scott and the guests rate songs sent in by listeners as either "mustard" or "pants", although the meanings of the ratings is unknown.
*"Alive or Dead", in which Scott gives the guests the name of a celebrity and they must determine if that celebrity is alive or dead. The people in question are usually alive but their fictional deaths are described in a humorous way.
*"Who Said It?", in which guests name the person to whom a given quote is attributed.
*"Hollywood Facts", in which Scott and guests list fake celebrity gossip news. This game has largely been discontinued, however the game's theme music is regularly played when guest Andy Samberg appears on the podcast because Samberg recorded it.

Occasionally, guests will present their own features on the show. Examples include:
*"Harris' Foam/Phone Corner", in which Harris Wittels recited jokes, text-messaged to himself, which were deemed unworthy of his stand-up performances, and was ridiculed for his efforts.
*"New No-Nos", in which Paul Rust makes up new rules for life and the world, which he refers to as New No-Nos. Nearly every new rule is a ridiculous idea that does not solve any problem.
*"The Solo Bolo Olympic Song Challenge", in which Ben Schwartz and Scott sing a myriad of different songs, jingles, and show-tunes, attempting to seamlessly transition between songs that have some sort of connection to one another. These connections can include being by the same artist, including the same word or having a similar style, rhythm or melody.

Episodes

Recurring guests

* Paul F. Tompkins (242 episodes)
* Jason Mantzoukas (67 episodes)
* Lauren Lapkus (58 episodes)
*Will Hines (56 episodes)
* James Adomian (54 episodes)
* Andy Daly (52 episodes)
* Jon Gabrus (48 episodes)
* Neil Campbell (46 episodes)
*Lily Sullivan (45 episodes)
* Carl Tart (45 episodes)
*Nick Kroll (43 episodes)
* Drew Tarver (40 episodes)
*Tim Baltz (39 episodes)
*Shaun Diston (39 episodes)
* Ben Schwartz (38 episodes)
*Mike Hanford (37 episodes)
*Dan Lippert (33 episodes)
* Ryan Gaul (32 episodes)
* Jon Daly (31 episodes)
* Paul Rust (30 episodes)
*Horatio Sanz (30 episodes)
* Seth Morris (29 episodes)
* Ego Nwodim (29 episodes)
* Jessica McKenna (28 episodes)
* Matt Besser (27 episodes)
* Mary Holland (27 episodes)
* Tawny Newsome (22 episodes)
* Jessica St. Clair (22 episodes)
* Doug Benson (21 episodes)
* Reggie Watts (21 episodes)
*Matt Apodaca (20 episodes)
* Brett Gelman (20 episodes)
* Harris Wittels (20 episodes)
*"Weird Al" Yankovic (19 episodes)
*Zeke Nicholson (18 episodes)
*Ben Rodgers (18 episodes)
* Paul Scheer (18 episodes)
* Matt Gourley (17 episodes)
* Vic Michaelis (17 episodes)
* Thomas Middleditch (17 episodes)
* Gil Ozeri (17 episodes)
* Brendon Small (17 episodes)
*Joe Wengert (17 episodes)
* Lisa Gilroy (16 episodes)
* John Gemberling (15 episodes)
* Bobby Moynihan (15 episodes)
*Bob Odenkirk (15 episodes)
* Jimmy Pardo (15 episodes)
* Lennon Parham (15 episodes)
* Andy Richter (15 episodes)
*Ryan Rosenberg (15 episodes)
* Patton Oswalt (14 episodes)
* Edi Patterson (14 episodes)
* Paul Brittain (13 episodes)
* Zach Galifianakis (13 episodes)
* Rob Huebel (13 episodes)
*Gillian Jacobs (13 episodes)
* Chelsea Peretti (13 episodes)
* Adam Scott (13 episodes)
* David Wain (13 episodes)
*Madeline Walter (13 episodes)
*Jon Hamm (12 episodes)
* Thomas Lennon (12 episodes)
* Sarah Silverman (12 episodes)
* Nick Thune (12 episodes)
* Kristian Bruun (11 episodes)
*Casey Feigh (11 episodes)
* Todd Glass (11 episodes)
* Tig Notaro (11 episodes)
* Andy Samberg (11 episodes)
* Betsy Sodaro (11 episodes)
*Erin Whitehead (11 episodes)
* Nick Wiger (11 episodes)
* Jacob Wysocki (11 episodes)
* Tim Heidecker (10 episodes)
*Erin Keif (10 episodes)
* Taran Killam (10 episodes)
*Natasha Leggero (10 episodes)
* Kumail Nanjiani (10 episodes)
* Claudia O'Doherty (10 episodes)
*Zac Oyama (10 episodes)
* Jeremy Rowley (10 episodes)
*Dave Theune (10 episodes)
* Matt Walsh (10 episodes)
* Brian Huskey (9 episodes)
*Tim Kalpakis (9 episodes)
* Griffin Newman (9 episodes)
*Zach Reino (9 episodes)
* Casey Wilson (9 episodes)
* Eugene Cordero (8 episodes)
* David Cross (8 episodes)
*James Mannion (8 episodes)
* Tatiana Maslany (8 episodes)
* Adam Pally (8 episodes)
* Mookie Blaiklock (7 episodes)
* D'Arcy Carden (7 episodes)
* Cameron Esposito (7 episodes)
*Greg Hess (7 episodes)
* John Hodgman (7 episodes)
* Howard Kremer (7 episodes)
*Jerry Minor (7 episodes)
*Pamela Murphy (7 episodes)
*Holly Prazoff (7 episodes)
* Martin Starr (7 episodes)
* Kulap Vilaysack (7 episodes)
*Suzi Barrett (6 episodes)
* Matt Braunger (6 episodes)
*Christine Bullen (6 episodes)
*Michael Cassady (6 episodes)
* Sean Clements (6 episodes)
*Jefferson Dutton (6 episodes)
*Devin Field (6 episodes)
* Mitra Jouhari (6 episodes)
*Riki Lindhome (6 episodes)
*Charlie McCrackin (6 episodes)
*Allan McLeod (6 episodes)
* John Mulaney (6 episodes)
*Jacquis Neal (6 episodes)
*Kevin Nealon (6 episodes)
*Hannah Pilkes (6 episodes)
* Jack Quaid (6 episodes)
* Jonah Ray (6 episodes)
* Alison Rich (6 episodes)
* Katie Rich (6 episodes)
* Rory Scovel (6 episodes)
*Max Silvestri (6 episodes)
* Edgar Wright (6 episodes)
*Ronnie Adrian (5 episodes)
* Dan Ahdoot (5 episodes)
*Caroline Anderson (5 episodes)
*Ike Barinholtz (5 episodes)
* Todd Barry (5 episodes)
* River Butcher (5 episodes)
* Adam Cayton-Holland (5 episodes)
* Rob Corddry (5 episodes)
* Hayes Davenport (5 episodes)
* Colin Hanks (5 episodes)
* Langston Kerman (5 episodes)
*Holly Laurent (5 episodes)
* Mike Mitchell (5 episodes)
* Haley Joel Osment (5 episodes)
* Natalie Palamides (5 episodes)
* Connor Ratliff (5 episodes)
* The Sklar Brothers (5 episodes)
*Mary Sohn (5 episodes)
* Brendon Walsh (5 episodes)
*Ele Woods (5 episodes)
* Stephanie Allynne (4 episodes)
* Maria Bamford (4 episodes)
* Michael Ian Black (4 episodes)
* Flula Borg (4 episodes)
* Heather Anne Campbell (4 episodes)
*Jerrod Carmichael (4 episodes)
*Jocelyn DeBoer (4 episodes)
* Adam DeVine (4 episodes)
*Sean Dickerson (4 episodes)
*Dave Ferguson (4 episodes)
*Alex Fernie (4 episodes)
* Nathan Fielder (4 episodes)
*Fran Gillespie (4 episodes)
* Chris Hardwick (4 episodes)
* Erinn Hayes (4 episodes)
* Moshe Kasher (4 episodes)
*Jon Mackey (4 episodes)
* Dan Mangan (4 episodes)
*Aimee Mann (4 episodes)
* Ken Marino (4 episodes)
*Edgar Momplaisir (4 episodes)
* Mike O'Brien (4 episodes)
*Eddie Pepitone (4 episodes)
*Amy Phillips (4 episodes)
* Mary Lynn Rajskub (4 episodes)
* Andrea Savage (4 episodes)
* Danielle Schneider (4 episodes)
* Rekha Shankar (4 episodes)
*Dhruv Uday Singh (4 episodes)
* Monika Smith (4 episodes)
* Nick Swardson (4 episodes)
*Lamar Woods (4 episodes)
* Aziz Ansari (3 episodes)
* Anthony Atamanuik (3 episodes)
* Kate Berlant (3 episodes)
* Mike Birbiglia (3 episodes)
* The Birthday Boys (3 episodes)
* Kyle Bornheimer (3 episodes)
* Jordan Black (3 episodes)
*Molly Bretthauer (3 episodes)
*Nick Ciarelli (3 episodes)
*Jackie Clarke (3 episodes)
* Hannah Einbinder (3 episodes)
*Brad Evans (3 episodes)
* Chris Gethard (3 episodes)
* Anthony Jeselnik (3 episodes)
* James Austin Johnson (3 episodes)
*Alana Johnston (3 episodes)
* Myq Kaplan (3 episodes)
* Kyle Kinane (3 episodes)
*Ted Leo (3 episodes)
*Amanda Lund (3 episodes)
* Manchester Orchestra (3 episodes)
* Mandell Maughan (3 episodes)
*Kate Micucci (3 episodes)
* Eugene Mirman (3 episodes)
*Ify Nwadiwe (3 episodes)
* Nicole Parker (3 episodes)
* Amy Poehler (3 episodes)
* June Diane Raphael (3 episodes)
*Eliza Skinner (3 episodes)
* Jenny Slate (3 episodes)
* Chris Tallman (3 episodes)
* Gregg Turkington (3 episodes)
* Brent Weinbach (3 episodes)
* Dan Wilson (3 episodes)

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Reception

"Often strange, consistently hilarious, always unpredictable." – ''Entertainment Weekly''

"One of the 10 Best Comedy Podcasts Of The Moment...never strays far from a laugh." – ''Rolling Stone''

'' GQ'' has praised the show, calling it in 2010 "one of the preeminent places to hear not only the stalwarts of stand-up... but also lesser known comics, like Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti, and Brett Gelman."

'' The A.V. Club'' says "The guests are routinely top-notch, the show has a de facto company of ace improvisers enlivening each episode, and Scott Aukerman is a gleefully indulgent host", also saying "For comedy fans, ''Comedy Bang Bang'' is essential listening." It frequently appears in the ''Podmass'' column, highlighting the best podcasts of each week, and the website named ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' the best podcast of 2013.

"It's perhaps the easiest show to single out as a juggernaut; the podcast is ten years in with over 600 episodes, a testament to creator Scott Aukerman's unparalleled collaboration prowess." — ''Vulture''

The show won in the Comedy category at the 2015 and 2017 Academy of Podcasters Awards.

See also

*''Comedy Death-Ray''

Footnotes

* The "Closing Up the Plugbag" closing theme (the Ken Marino, Steve Agee & Casey Wilson version used from 2012 to 2015) featured a growing number of ending tags by Adam Pally, Brendon Small and Paul F. Tompkins.
* Since 2016, Ben Schwartz and sometimes Horatio Sanz have recorded a new "Closing Up the Plugbag" theme during the first episode each year. That theme (or a remix created by a listener) is then used for the rest of the year. It has occasionally included audio contributions from Jason Mantzoukas, expressing his disdain for the closing theme as it occurs.

References

External links

*
Earwolf page

{{Podcast platform links

Comedy podcasts
Audio podcasts
Earwolf
2009 podcast debuts
Podcasts adapted into television shows
American podcasts
Earwolf podcasts