Howard Stern Interviews My Damn Channel's Rob Barnett - 420

I just left Howard Stern's studio after an hour-long, on-air interview with the King.

About 2 weeks ago, Collette McLafferty set up an interview on Dr. Blogstein's Radio Happy Hour on Blog Talk Radio. Their interview was supposed to be about My Damn Channel, but they opened with a question about my old life in a thankless job at CBS Radio working to try to figure out how to replace the irreplaceable Howard Stern.

Howard 100 News ran with the story on Sirius on April Fool's Day. Gary Dell'Abate connected to invite me to come in to meet Howard this morning, 420, to tell the untold, true story.

I'd gotten advice from some of my best friends - and from some of Howard's friends about how to handle the situation. Much of it obvious. Tell the truth. Don't weasal. And the hardest advice - don't be long-winded.

Somehow, the minute I walked in LIVE - the mass nerves disappeared and Howard was totally amazing for over an hour.

We talked about the impossible situation he created by quitting radio in 2004 for satellite. I told him that the only person that came out perfectly smelling like a rose...was Howard.

We talked about Jon Stewart, Matt & Trey from South Park, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Chris Rock, David Lee Roth, Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel, Free FM, Harry Shearer, You Suck at Photoshop, and My Damn Channel. He couldn't have been cooler.

Today's show will loop all day on Sirius.

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JIMMY KIMMEL: VIDEO GOD

In the badass business called "show," the toughest gig is probably 4 hours of live radio every day of the week. You can put live comedy right up alongside radio. The men and women with the balls to lead either of those two lunatic lives deserve gold medals.

Only a few amazing souls make it to another death-defying gig, as host of their own late night show. 

More than enough has been written and said about Leno and Conan. There's never enough said about Jimmy Kimmel. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live is the best late night show on television. He consistently proves it all night - every night. Whenever Jimmy attacks the art form of video shorts, he blows us away.

Please njoy nshare this latest masterpiece:

"IMPREGN8ED" by Tray-Mo featuring Lil' Jim.

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RAMP (Radio and Music Pros) ON MY DAMN CHANNEL

RAMP (Radio and Music Pros) LAUNCHES NOW

I had two tours of duty in radio and one tour of duty in the record business in the daze before working at MTV/VH1 and launching My Damn Channel.

There's never a doubt that the music you first heard through the radio played as much a part of creating who you are as the food you ate. In some fashion, you are what you hear.

But radio and the music business has been taking it on the chin for years. Layoffs have been brutal. When the legendary industry trade Radio & Records was shut down after 36 years, more of our friends hit the beach. It was time to put some of the bitching and moaning aside (not all of it) and launch RAMP.

Kevin Carter, Keith Berman & Steve Resnik are the artists formerly known as Street Talk Daily. Their unique brand of accurate reporting - laced with snark and laffs - covers every hot story inside radio and music.

Weekday mornings - before the crack of dawn - RAMP delivers an e-mail blast with news breaking now. If you're a Radio and Music Pro, sign up for a free subscription now at RAMP@MyDamnChannel.com.

RAMP is ad supported by our friends in the music business dedicating to getting new sounds into the ears of radioheads who bring new music to humankind.

The RAMP website is an extra shot in the arm to give My Damn Channel fans access to music videos and to videos made by the best air talent in radio. Videos will promote and link back to bands and radio stations. Find the kitty now at www.MyDamnChannel.com/RAMP

Senior Editor Kevin Carter, his "Evil Minion" Keith Berman, Sales Pro Steve Resnik, and scantilly-clad operators are standing by to take your submissions: RAMP@MyDamnChannel.com.

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MY DAMN CHANNEL FLAUNTS "NEW FALL SEASON"

 

Those 3 tired words are decades old but Hollywood hopes they help you fall in love with new shows.

We put quotes around our "new fall season" - knowing we can't fool you into love - but hoping it feels just a little funnier that way.

In two years, we’ve birthed 25 channels of music and comedy…working with artists we love. We think you’ve taught us how to get talent and new series worthy of your evil eye.

Help us buy another bag of chips for lunch! Share the full press release. Share these links to our New Series:

 

Spärhusen

Easy To Assemble: Co-Worker of The Year

Knight Shift

RAMP (Radio And Music Pros)

Harry Shearer: Greed and Fear

Don Was: The Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music (Season 3)

Stella Live in Boston

Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer

Animation Block (Season 2)

Grace Crashers Presented by Southern Comfort

 

New Stars:

 

Illeana Douglas

Keanu Reeves

Ask A Ninja 

Sir Paul McCartney

Rob Mailhouse

Sir Sean Connery

Todd Spahr

Sir Richard Branson

Wallace Langham

Ryan Hunter

Taige Jensen

Sir Ben Kingsley

Jeff Goldblum

Stephen Hawking

Brad O’Farrell

Justine Bateman

Tom Arnold

Sir Elton John

Kevin Carter

Keith Berman

Steve Resnik

Prince William

The Queen

Ed Begley Jr.

Craig Bierko

Kevin Pollak

Sidney Poitier

Jane Lynch

Cheri Oteri

Ricki Lake

Tim Meadows

Dave Ahdoot

Daryl Sabara

Eric Lange

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LABOR DAY

Brad O'Farrell gave our almost official mascot the Labor Day treatment. Njoy. He's linked to one of our happiest videos of all-time.

New unemployment stats are the worst in 26 years. If you're like any of the dreamchasers at My Damn Channel, it's a fair bet you're no stranger to losing a gig in TV, radio, music, or the arts & little sciences.

"Go Your Own Way" may be a lame, overplayed, 70's sing-along...but it's also fine solution for what to do after getting tossed out of a gig.

We're raising a glass to everyone with the brains and the backbone to embrace a new way to get your work seen by an audience large enough to actually make you money.

One last-ever reference to Fleetwood Mac...

We got some sad news over the weekend, that one of our best co-cons at My Damn Channel is moving on. Vivian Kyinn provides much of the mystical glue that holds this house together. She wrote and co-produced a film called White Wall which got her to Cannes and now she's decided to get after her movie-making passions full-time. BIG THANKS & BIG LOVE to one of the better humans we know.

Warren Chao posted the replacement gig based in our LA office this weekend. Economic insanity created hundreds of candidates in hours. If you're read "The Night Feed" and know the best human for this gig - email: Jobs@MyDamnChannel.com

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MY DAMN CHANNEL IS "TWO"

 

Two years ago, on 7/31/07, we declared independence from everything old. We launched our new show business battleship on a mission to deliver the best original video series to your fingertips n’ eyeballs. We set sail for a new world free from the ridiculous, red-tape creating ways of radio, TV, & film.

 

In two years, we’ve built a new studio to produce the entertainment – a network to showcase the goods – and a syndication business to help it all fly far and fast.

 

We knew if we avoided idiotic start-up mistakes, we’d have a shot at building a creative and financial win. The past two years have been about building our brand, signing talent, co-creating hit series, finding a mass audience, and finally making real revenues from multiple streams.

 

Our advertisers keep fueling this fun because they know that we’re one of the new companies who can deliver three essential must-haves for new media messaging to make sense for brands:

 

1)    highest-quality, star-driven entertainment

2)    customized distribution to any digital platform

3)    guaranteed traffic

 

As we start our next trip 'round the sun thanks go to our ARTISTS. The musicians, comedians, filmmakers, actors and revolutionaries who believed in us when we were schmucks with a PowerPoint now have a safe haven to produce and distribute video directly to fans. Most of our first famous friends are all still here. And thanks go to the newest members of the My Damn Channel line-up for signing on to put us to work on their behalf. We’re getting ready to announce a handful of mind-blowing deals with more stars from da movies and da teleevision.

 

Special thanks to every one of you who watch and share My Damn Channel videos. The minute we start screwing up, you stop watching, and it’s game over. Thanks for teaching us how to serve at your pleasure.

 

If you’ve worked inside our small, determined crew, please accept a personal thank you for putting in the brains, sweat and passion to prove this all works. Warren and I are forever mindful of what you’ve brought to this picnic.
 

Warren Chao is the Co-Founder & COO of My Damn Channel turning ideas into action. I’ve never seen anyone combine so many skills to make up the super-human-management sensation that Warren embodies. The man is awesomely inspiring and the essential ingredient inside this thing.

 

We share our My Damn Channel birthday with Mark Cuban, J.K. Rowling, and a visionary named Marc Averitt. Marc is our Board Director, and the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Okapi Venture Capital. We pay tribute to the man who first believed in our vision. And we mark our two-year milestone honoring every investor who helped put technology to work for our content creators, our audiences, distribution partners, and advertisers.

 

We’re about to make an announcement about new investment, new revenue deals, new series from our current stars and a few jaw-droppers if tonight’s midnight emails are to be believed.

 

Our next new pilot may be live within hours of this post…

 

Thanks for being here.

 

Rob Barnett

Rob@MyDamnChannel.com 

 

 

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TO PRAISE WBCN

Famous deaths surround us these past few weeks. The nature of heat and fame create imagined personal connections to a legendary news oracle, to a Pop King, or a Pin-up angel. But this time, it's personal.

The death of WBCN is a painful loss felt deeply by everyone of us directly influenced by its greatness. 

Every music fan whose ears and taste were shaped by the artists, songs and albums heard on 104.1 lost a friend.

Don't believe everything you hear from Spinal Tap. Boston IS a college town. If you've ever called this city "home," you owe respect and appreciation for the fun, the spirit and the sounds that BCN put into Boston.

My first college internship was at BCN. I remember the intense electric feeling as my heart beat way too fast on the first night inside that studio. That internship was the first step onto a path chasing dreams. I'll always be grateful.

If you're a fellow mourner, do you accept all the nice nice talk about change being inevitable, or can you imagine a new kind of radio powerful enough to make hearts beat way too fast?

Seth Godin once said that one of the problems with radio in the modern age is that it should no longer be called "radio."

What would we call it?

How could we forge a new model for "radio" with the honesty, passion, brains and balls to a co-create a business too powerfully protected by its fans and artists to be stopped?

Where would you launch such a thing?

Just asking. 

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FREE COUNTRY, FREE MUSIC

Happy 4th!

The method to our madness at My Damn Channel has always been simple. We put independent artists we love & trust in charge of their own channels to bring you free comedy & music.

Don Was conjured up mighty free magic with the release of "Stand by Me," a new version of the Ben E. King classic - made for the people of Iran - by Iranian superstar Andy, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, John Shanks, Don Was & friends. 

"Stand by Me" is only one week old today and we're closing in on the first million views worldwide! THANK YOU for sharing this song and video and free mp3 and for moving it across continents and into Iran.

Here's the first, in-depth interview with Don about how this all came about by Nicole Sandler.  (giving me trouble on IE - fine on Safari?! - must need more beer)

Nicole has one of the most impressive careers in radio. She's broadcast on some of the best music radio stations across the country. A true music fan with fine taste. You can find Nicole talking music, politics and more on Air America and we also recommend her blog at RadioOrNot.com.

Nicole spoke with Don Was about putting together the "Stand by Me" project - about Was (Not Was) - and about creating, producing and curating the Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music here on My Damn Channel.

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"PILOT SEASON" IS COMING

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MY DAMN CHANNEL SET TO PREMIERE “PILOT SEASON,”
ANOTHER TOTALLY FAKE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HOLLYWOOD

30-Episode Series stars David Cross, Andy Dick,
Isla Fisher, Sam Seder and Sarah Silverman

Launching Monday, April 20, 2009

 

  

NEW YORK, April 2, 2009 - My Damn Channel (www.MyDamnChannel.com), the award-winning entertainment studio and new media platform, today announced the premiere of “Pilot Season,” a 30-episode mockumentary created by Sam Seder and Charles Fisher.  Seder stars in the series along with an extraordinary cast including Sarah Silverman, Isla Fisher, David Cross and Andy Dick.  In this series, a documentary crew follows the lives of several desperate actors, agents and studio execs during Hollywood’s annual, intensely competitive television industry feeding frenzy known as Pilot Season. 

A sneak peek of the series can be viewed at http://www.mydamnchannel.com/pilotseason.  The first two episodes will premiere Monday, April 20, 2009. New episodes will premiere every Monday.

 

“Pilot Season” first aired on the now defunct Trio cable channel in 2004 to critical acclaim and was called “one of fall’s best series” by the Los Angeles Times. 

 

“Pilot Season is a perfect fit for MyDamnChannel.com.  We created ‘Pilot Season’ by letting really talented comedians do what they do best, with no interference from suits (or those who wear them), and that’s MyDamnChannel’s modus operandi,” said Sam Seder.  “I’m proud of ‘Pilot Season’ not just because it’s funny and features an amazing cast, but also because we had a chance to make a mini-series as a sequel to a movie four people had seen...It speaks to the wonderful phenomenon of failing upwards -- a hallmark of Hollywood, which ‘Pilot Season’ explores in detail.”

 

“The response to the sneak peek on our site has been giddy,” said My Damn Channel Founder/CEO Rob Barnett.  “Fans are blown away by the A-list cast. Sam and Charlie created an infectious series that’s about to damage productivity for millions of Americans every Monday.”

 

About My Damn Channel

My Damn Channel is an entertainment studio and new media platform created to empower comedians, musicians and filmmakers to co-produce, distribute and monetize original, episodic video. Artists create content for the My Damn Channel website and for syndication on the most heavily-trafficked online communities and social networks. The network has aired some of the most successful professionally-produced comedy series on the web, including You Suck at Photoshop, Wainy Days, Horrible People, and videos by Harry Shearer.  My Damn Channel has won 7 accolades from the 2008 Webby Awards, garnered worldwide media coverage, secured major national advertisers, earned 50,000 subscribers on You Tube, racked up a bazillion views on My Damn Channel and in syndication and blah, blah, blah…Are you still reading?  Stop now and start exploring: www.MyDamnChannel.com. 

About The Creators

Sam Seder is a writer, director and comedian whose credits include the feature length comedies “Who’s the Caboose?,” which spawned “Pilot Season” and “A Bad Situationist,” shot in the summer of 2001 and made controversial when it’s subject matter too closely mirrored the attacks of 9-11.  Seder’s directing credits also include Comedy Central’s “I’m with Busey” and Studios USA’s “Beat Cops,” which he also co-wrote and co-starred in. Seder’s writing and acting credits include over a dozen broadcast Network Pilots.

Seder has hosted various political talk shows on the Air America Radio network, appeared on CNN, MSNBC and CNBC as a pundit and co-authored Fubar: “America's Right Wing Nightmare” with Stephen Sherrill. Currently, Seder co-hosts “BreakRoomLive” with Marc Maron everyday at 3pm ET. Sam spends most of his time Twittering about having to plead with his 3 year old to wipe her butt.

 

Charles Fisher is the co-writer and executive producer of the television series “Pilot Season” and “Beat Cops”, as well as the feature film “Who’s the Caboose?” Charles holds two law degrees—a J.D. and an LL.M. in media and entertainment law—and is a member of the state bars of both California and Massachusetts.  He also earned a master’s degree with honors from the University of Michigan graduate film program. 

 

TO REQUEST REVIEW COPIES, INTERVIEWS WITH THE CAST OR CREATOR OF PILOT SEASON, INTERVIEWS WITH THE CEO OF MY DAMN CHANNEL, PHOTOS FROM THE SERIES, VIDEO CLIPS OR FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

Marnie Black

(917) 828-7308

marnieblack@yahoo.com

 

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ADAM CAROLLA'S "LAST" SHOW!?

Adam Carolla was good enough to take a phone call of thanks on his last CBS radio show Friday.

The excerpt below starts with his memorable sermon on CHANGE and segues into our phone call with lasted a mystical 3:33 and includes Adam's unexpected endorsement of My Damn Channel:

http://www.971freefm.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3517715

This just in over the weekend: Brothers Carolla, Kimmel & Dixon have a brand new TV show just announced: "ACE IN THE HOLE."

ONE DAY on the unemployment line. The man's an unstoppable force o' nature.

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