MaxFunCon

Scroll to May 7th-9th for the tentative schedule for MaxFunCon 2010!

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

The dress code for our Saturday evening party at MaxFunCon is "Country Estate." Please dress as you would for drinks at your country home. Plus fours (as seen on Bertie Wooster, above) are not suggested, however tweed is generally strongly encouraged. Corduroy, the same. Neckties are strongly suggested for gentlemen.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Elephant Larry is a five-man sketch group based in NYC that has been performing to sold-out audiences, winning comedy awards, and gaining critical acclaim for the past six years. Their brand of humor focuses on fast-paced, high-concept writing, with refreshingly energetic performances. They'll be leading a seminar and performing during our Friday night sketch showcase.

They are: Geoff Haggerty, Stefan Lawrence, Chris Principe, Jeff Solomon, and Alexander Zalben.

Their sketches have been seen online millions of times and have been featured on YouTube, CollegeHumor, MySpace, Heavy, Jib Jab, iFilm, Funny or Die, iTunes, Daily Motion, Crackle, and many more.

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

Clifford & Kidd are a sketch comedy duo from Los Angeles.

"Clifford & Kidd are two ladies, Carrie Clifford and Amy Kidd, who make you want to spaz out with your best friend, but only if you both are actually talented and funny." -The San Francisco Chronicle

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Al Madrigal will be performing as part of our standup comedy night.

Jury Award Winner for Best Stand-Up Comedian at the 2004 HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, Al Madrigal is a comic to watch. Called "Dynamic" by The New York Times, Al has turned a flair for storytelling into a standing as one of the Nation's fasting rising stand-up comedians. His unique spontaneous and fast paced lyrical style has already landed him several starring roles in network television shows and earned him numerous appearances on Comedy Central including his own Comedy Central Presents Special, an animated bit on the show Shorties Watching Shorties, Premium Blend, and recently Cheech Marin and Friends Live from The South Beach Comedy Festival. Al has also appeared as a regular sketch performer on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Other standup credits include; Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Friday on NBC, Party at The Palms with Jenny McCarthy, Latino Laugh Festival the Show on SiTv, and Comedy Minutos on HBO Latino. Recently Al was on tour with Dave Chappelle, performing with him at the 1st annual HBO Comedy Festival held in Las Vegas.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Andrew WK is a musician and performer who's dedicated his life to the pursuit of fun. It's a tremendous honor to welcome him to MaxFunCon 2010. Andrew is part owner of the New York nightclub Santos Party Haus, the founder of Skyscraper Music Maker records, and the host of Cartoon Network's Destroy Build Destroy.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Marc Maron will perform as part of MaxFunCon's standup comedy show.

For over fifteen years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio and television. A legend in the stand-up community, he has appeared on HBO, Conan, Letterman, his two Comedy Central Presents specials and almost every show that allows comics to perform. His book based on his solo show, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, is out of print and overpriced by vendors who think it might have some collectors value’. His three CDs, “Not Sold Out’, ‘Tickets Still Available’ and ‘Final Engagement’ are comedy cult classics.

This year, Marc headlined an episode of John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up Show and was ranked #7 in Comedy Central’s annual Stand-Up Showdown. His podcast “WTF with Marc Maron” skyrocketed to #1 on the iTunes comedy charts and was ranked #3 Best Podcast of 2009 by iTunes Rewind. He also premiered ‘Scorching the Earth,” a one-man show based on his two divorces and anger problem described as “captivating... refreshing in its candor, and relatable” (Time Out NY). He is currently developing WTF for Comedy Central.

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”

-Louis CK

"I've known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he's passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny. And if that's not a delicious recipe for a night of painfully hilarious comedy... Oh, and he's a Jew!!!"

-David Cross

Labels: Entertainment 2010

John Hodgman will be offering the benediction at MaxFunCon 2010

John Hodgman is a contributing writer for publications including The New York Times Magazine. He wrote an advice column for McSweeney's for over a year entitled "Ask a Former Professional Literary Agent," and currently curates and hosts the Little Gray Book Lectures—a monthly series that has been broadcast on This American Life. He now appears regularly on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. He lives in New York City with his wife and children on the Upper West Side.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Comic singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton returns in 2010 for his second MaxFunCon.

Jonathan Coulton is the Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science magazine and the musical director for John Hodgman's Little Gray Book Lectures. He recently accompanied Hodgman on his book tour, singing songs about hobos and furry lobsters, all while wearing a funny hat. His songs about vengeful nerds, ennui-afflicted clowns, self-loathing giant squids, and devotees of a certain Swedish prefab furniture store are insanely clever without ever being too clever for their own good. They repeatedly lure you into laughing before suddenly breaking your heart. And the sick part is, you keep coming back. Coulton's is the voice of every spooky elementary school kid who could never quite keep his shirt tucked in or shoes tied; every lovelorn mason and mad scientist; every one of us who has ever sat despairingly on the floor, surrounded by parts of an Ikea endtable, weeping over our allen wrenches.

In 2005-2006 he recorded and published a new song every week as a free podcast called Thing a Week. This rate of output wouldn't be so astonishing if the songs weren't so constently well-written and produced. A few of these songs have become full-fledged internet smashes: his folky cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back," a visual ode to Creative Commons called "Flickr," and of course "Code Monkey," the anthem of software designers everywhere. The office zombie song "Re: Your Brains" made the Dr. Demento Funny 25 countdown for 2006. But it's the less obvious ones that sneak up on you and punch you right in the chest - the song about George Plimpton that makes you want to get out there and do something that really matters, or the song about an office crush that you're certain was written about you and that girl you keep meaning to ask out on a date.

A fully independent musician with the heart of a geek, Coulton has a pioneering (and so far, surprisingly successful) plan to make a living as a niche artist. He's passionate about Creative Commons, and releases all his music under a CC license that allows for file sharing and copying, as well as non-commercial derivative works. And his community of fans has rallied around him to generate airplay on hundreds of podcasts, create a library of music videos, and even set up gigs through Eventful.com.

All songs from the Thing a Week project are now available on CD, either individually or in a charmingly packaged box set - an entire year's worth of songs from a bold experiment in independent musicianship and internet superstardom.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

Jimmy Pardo will be returning for his second appearance at MaxFunCon.

Jimmy Pardo is a stand-up comic. In fact, he is considered a comic's comic. In addition to having a half hour special on Comedy Central, his stand-up television credits include The Tonight show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show, and countless others. Seriously. Countless others.

Maybe you've enjoyed his on-camera work while he was host of "National Lampoon's Funny Money", "Movies At Our House" or "The Surreal Life". He has also appeared on the sitcoms "That 70's Show", "Becker", a few others and countless pilots. Seriously. Countless.

Not to ignore his love of the footlights, he starred in his critically acclaimed one man show "Attention Must Be Paid" and "Jimmy Pardo's Dance Party". He is also a favorite on the syndicated "The Bob & Tom Radio Show".

You can currently catch him performing across the country, hosting his podcast "NEVER NOT FUNNY" and hosting his monthly show at The UCB Theatre in LA, "RUNNING YOUR TRAP WITH JIMMY PARDO"

How Jimmy is not yet a household name is considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the World by the comedy community.

Labels: Entertainment 2010

Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny returns in 2010 for its second MaxFunCon.

"Never Not Funny" is a party conversation with one of the funniest men on the planet: comedian and TV personality Jimmy Pardo ("The Tonight Show," "That '70s Show," "The Surreal Life"). Every week, he sits down with producer Matt Belknap and a guest from the world of comedy to shoot the breeze, share stories and laugh at life. The free-flowing discussion can lead anywhere, but whether Jimmy's talking about growing up in the '70s and '80s, his unbridled love of classic rock or facing the trials of modern life, it's bound to strike a chord with listeners of all ages, and it's guaranteed to make you laugh. Never Not Funny has twice been awarded "Best of iTunes" by the iTunes staff, and was the recipient of the Rooftop Comedy Award for Best Comedy Podcast.

Labels: Entertainment 2010