This week on SlapperCast, we talk about favorite Christmas traditions, favorite (and least favorite) Christmas songs. Thanks Greg for the question!

Also: brand new Blaggards coffee mugs are for sale for a limited time at blaggards.com

• Merry Christmas Everybody – Slade
• Nat King Cole – “The Christmas Song” (1961)
• Vince Guaraldi Trio – Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental)
• Art Carney – Twas The Night Before Christmas
• PETER SELLERS & SPIKE MILLIGAN – ‘Unchained Melody’ – 1955
• Traveling Wilburys – Heading For The Light
• My Way – Drummer Steals The Show

After a recent exposure at a gig, we’ve all thankfully tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19. During this show, you hear us discover one gig is cancelled while we firm up another one. Eric shares some fascinating things he learned about the late great Neil Peart during a PASIC roundtable that he moderated last week. Also, we’ve recorded a new Christmas single which will be out SOON!

This week on SlapperCast, we talk about the joy of being able to play live again during the pandemic, even if only a limited capacity. Also, artists we’d like to record/write with (Steve Earle, James McMurtry, etc.)

Thanks to Bob for the question!

Here is Part Two of our conversation with Doug Stanhope. In this segment, Doug spends much of his time essentially interviewing us, which again shows you what a genuine person he is. Can’t wait to have him on the show again.

Part One

Topic list:

• Congratulations to our friends Kelly & Debbie Howe on their 30th anniversary
• Doug asks about our mutual friends in Houston-based band RAT RANCH
• Doug’s history at Chilkoot Charlie’s in Anchorage, Alaska
• The challenges of having too many people in a band
• Paddy: being a comedian is the hardest job in the world
• How old-school casette audiobooks changed Doug’s life on the road in the early days
• The joy of exploring backroads locations while on tour (how Doug found Bisbee, AZ)
• Doug and Paddy compare their (very close) ages
• Doug asks how long Blaggards have been together
• Eric’s frustration with joining the band right before the pandemic kicked in
• Why our former drummer Mike McAloon left the band
• Doug asks what ‘Blaggards’ means
• ‘Plausible deniabilty’ for band names before the internet
• Doug asks what “Behind the Music” dirt Blaggards might have
• Doug asks if any of us are sober or single
• Is music a young man’s sport?
• Doug asks what cover songs we love doing in our own style
• How Blaggards side-step Irish rock clichés
• Doug’s love of Irish Rock (despite his disinterest in music in general)
• What Irish rock band does Paddy dislike the most
• Overplayed bar-band songs
• How cover songs are often better than the originals
• The complicated issue of comedy theft
• How Australian comedian Jim Jeffries blatantly stole a routine from Doug
• Comics have no recourse to copyright infringement
• How joke theives are effectively drummed out of the business
• Doug asks if anyone has ever stolen from Blaggards
• How we came up with our version of “Drunken Sailor”
• How young comics often try impress Doug with similar material
• How language barriers can create conflicts in comedy material

Show Notes

• dougstanhope.com
• Doug Stanhope Podcast (Patreon)
• Doug Stanhope on Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast (May 12, 2014)
• Digging Up Mother – Doug Stanhope
• No Encore for the Donkey (audio book on Audible) – Doug Stanhope
• The Dying of a Last Breed – Doug Stanhope (Amazon Prime Video)