PODCAST · arts
The Sweetness with Dave Maher
by Dave Maher
Conversations about creativity and spirituality with comedians, writers, and other mystically minded folks, hosted by the vulgar male Oprah.
Episodes
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Thomas Kelly + Not-So-News Panel
Thomas Kelly of Sand joins me to talk acting, clowning, CTA theater and the out-of-commission ATM he wants to paint. Plus, the panel discusses the Buzzfeed-and-Upworthy-ization of news in Not-So-News. Skippers: panel starts at 6:45, interview at 45:54!
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Open vs. Closed States: Bryan Duff // Panel: Not-So-Guilty Pleasures // Nobody Want to See You Be Right
Sketch comedian and fellow Off-Off Campus alum Bryan Duff joins Dave to talk about the open and closed creative states, finding a balance of discipline and fun, and Bryan's days playing high school football in rural Illinois. Prior to that, the panelists discuss potentially embarrassing pop…
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"Writing, to Me, Is Thinking": Alex Stone // Not-So-Classic Klasek
Alex Stone is a great stand-up comic who moved to Chicago after starting comedy in Dave's hometown of Cincinnati. Dave and Alex share not just a hometown but a high school, and they talk about Alex's time there (or not there, as it were), starting comedy in Cincinnati and the moments that got him...
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"It's Like Getting Laid": Gabe Liebowitz // Panel: Deal With the Devil
Gabe Liebowitz is Dave's roommate and the songwriter and singer for Dastardly, a really great band! Gabe stops by Dave's room from his own room to share the first song he ever wrote, a Frank Ocean cover, and tons of great music/creativity talk. Plus, the panel discusses the deals they'd actually…
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"I Believe in My Instincts": Aarón Alonso // PATH to the Light & "Sorry, I Just Don't Get It!"
Aarón Alonso is an electric solo comedy performance artist, and he stops by the Sweetness to share the ideas that motivate him. He also talks to Dave about growing up in Juárez, Mexico and the lengths to which he's gone for love. Plus, the Sweetness panelists discuss things they've attempted but...
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What Makes You the Most Happy?: John Reynolds
John Reynolds (Kill All Comedy, Holy Fuck Comedy Hour, Hunkz 'R Us, solo comedy things) stops by the Sweetness to swap high school stories with Dave and talk about happiness. Walt Delaney, Brian McGovern, and Andrew Tisher join Dave to start the show off with a panel about "Effective Missed...
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The War of Stand-Up: Joe Nudelman
Stand-up comic Joe Nudelman stops by the Sweetness to talk with Dave about doing material on sensitive subjects, the influences of George Carlin and Bill Hicks on his approach to comedy, and how The War of Art pertains to the grind of open mics. This week's panel features Annie Donley, Nick…
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Discomfort & The Moment: Mike Klasek
Sketch, improv, and video performer/director Mike Klasek stops by The Sweetness to talk about his group Sovereign, confrontation in comedy, bombing on stage, and being the kind of sensitive dude who can dish it out but can't take it (Dave can relate!). This episode also features the debut of the...
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State of The Sweetness
Carmen Christopher introduces his version of The Sweetness before graciously handing the reins back over to Dave. Dave thanks listeners for a great year, reverse engineers meaning into the podcast's name, and details some changes to the show.
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The Sweetness Live: Dave's "Control" Verse and "Slap a Pizza on It"
Erin McGathy, Nigel Ng, Jo Feldman, Jeff Murdoch, and co-host Annie Donley made the first live Sweetness a great experience. Unfortunately, Dave went too far in his response to Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse by calling out other Chicago podcasts, which caused "#1 fuck bro" Carmen Christopher to...
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Don't Waste Your Time: Mike Glazer / Anatomy of a Twitter Fight
Multi-talented comedy dude Mike Glazer stops by the podcast on the verge of his move to L.A. He talks about his reasons for the move, the importance of staying true to yourself, and the twin motivators of guilt and love in balancing creative pursuits with the demands of a relationship. Plus: Dave...
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Small Town Hero: Brandon Ogborn
Brandon Ogborn (Sports Team, The TomKat Project writer/actor) stops by The Sweetness to talk about failure in the writing process, taking on family responsibilities at a young age, and growing up evangelical Christian in a small Michigan town. Bubba also reminds Dave of a terrible, inherited…
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Is Improv Art or Comedy?: Alex Honnet
After a long, unplanned but much-needed hiatus, The Sweetness is back with a nice long episode of music and chat. Alex Honnet is this week's guest, and he talks to Dave about the past and future vision for the Upstairs Gallery, what millennials want, and whether improv is art or comedy. They…
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Bonus: Annie Donley Stalked the Astros
Annie Donley shares a story from her high school days in this bonus episode.
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Love Is an Action: Annie Donley
Annie Donley stops by to talk about love, life, performance and the delicate act of balancing all three!
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Every Time You Get on Stage: Daniel Strauss, Pt. 2
I talk to Daniel about wrestling and great advice he's gotten, and I give some encouragement and read a poem by Dean Young up top. Check out the new show bio at thisisthesweetness.tumblr.com!
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Every Time You Get on Stage, You Get Better: Daniel Strauss, Part 1
Daniel is one of my best friends, and we talked about his comedic journey through the Second City ranks in this first part of a two-part interview. Lots of bits in these episodes! Get into it...
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Preview: Daniel Strauss' Inner Sanctum
Listen to Episode 22 guest Daniel Strauss talk about the Inner Sanctum of fans who are all his! Then listen to Part 1 of Episode 22 of The Sweetness on Monday. http://thisisthesweetness.tumblr.com/
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Love Your Ideas: Gary Richardson
Gary Richardson is one of my youngest and oldest friends in improv, and I attempt to dissect and possess his confidence in this episode of the podcast. Gary had a lot of cool stuff to say about inspiration, bucking tradition to follow your own inner voice, and the duality of artistry vs....
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Better and Better Choices: Drew Dir
I catch up with my University of Chicago improv buddy Drew Dir and trace his journey from improv comedy with Off-Off Campus to grad school in London for performance studies to dramaturging for Court Theatre to shadow puppetry with Manual Cinema. We delve deep into creativity vs. criticism, our...
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Bonus: Andrew Tisher's "I Don't Think You Can Do the Things You Say You Can Do"
A song by previous-guest-of-the-show Andrew Tisher!
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Navigating the Wilderness: Tyler Smith
I talk to Tyler Smith of Claymore about ambition, doubt, and the gap between starting to pursue a creative career and actually making a living.
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Nick Leveski on Defining a Persona / R.I.P. Jason Molina
I talk to my very good friend Nick Leveski (K.C. Redheart, Flyin' High, Attica) about his journey into comedy, our friendship and past collaborations, and his own relationship with what I view as his comedic persona. Heady stuff! Enjoy.
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PMA with Danny Groh
Danny Groh (Groh Show on iTunes, Selfish Green Men at The Upstairs Gallery, Squall at The Playground Theater, force of nature at Life) stops by The Sweetness to talk about his journey into comedy from the world of business, plus the people and experiences that made him into the force of…
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Total Creative Freedom: Irene Marquette
I know Irene Marquette (Eckstein) from performing together in Maine. She visits The Sweetness to talk about those adventures as well as directing, making opportunities for yourself, and starting over. We went up the mountain!
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Trevor Martin on Staking a Claim
Trevor Martin from the sketch group Oh Theodora and PlanetTown Films talks about jealousy, expectations, and the hard work of making an independent sketch group go in Chicago.
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Live on the Edge, Looking: Eric Eyerman, Part 2
Part 2 of my interview with Eric Eyerman, in which we delve deeper into his year-long meditation and writing sabbatical, how his spirituality impacts his creativity, and the search for happiness (duh, people want it!). Also, come to Total Football True Variety Hour at Upstairs Gallery on…
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Live on the Edge, Looking; Eric Eyerman, Part 1
I talk to my new friend Eric Eyerman (Exquisite Corpse writer and actor, improviser on Black Wax and Den Mother, Be Good Boys director, AND MORE) about his meditation practice and the experiences that led him to it.
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5 Years With Drennen Quinn: Part 2
In the second part of our conversation, Drennen tells me how he got from Atlanta to Chicago, with a short stop-off in Austin for the Jon Glaser story that validated his move. We conclude with a look toward our own improv/comedic futures. Happy holidays from The Sweetness! Spend it with good…
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5 Years With Drennen Quinn: Part 1
Drennen Quinn is my best friend, and, realizing we have been friends for almost five years, we decided to sit down and look back in a chat about music, having a preference for weirdos, and our friendship. This is just the first of a two-part interview, and there are so many great stories Drennen...
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Bonus: The Artist's Way and The Sweetness' Origin
Ryan Heywood and I talked a lot about The Artist's Way in the last episode, and in this bonus clip, I tell him about how an exercise from The Artist's Way led to the genesis of The Sweetness. It's our shortest bonus clip yet! Enjoy.
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Ryan Heywood: "This, or Something Even Better"
Ryan Heywood stops by The Sweetness to talk about starting over creatively after being cut from iO, his transition to the world of acting, and experiencing the universe as a creative entity. He gives many great details about his processes, both creative and spiritual, and we talk A LOT about The...
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Bonus: Masturbation/Genius
Are masturbation and genius related? Probably not, but that doesn't stop the two topics from getting uncomfortably close to each other in a bonus clip from this week's interview with Peyton Brown!
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"A Sort of Lazy Craziness": The Perfectionism of Peyton Brown
In this episode of The Sweetness, I talk to my friend Peyton Brown, an improvisational actor in the multimedia sketch and improv group Claymore, in a conversation that focuses on the expectations, disappointments, and dreams of recognition that go along with wanting to perform for a living. We…
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Bonus: High/Low with Andrew Tisher
It's another bonus clip! In this one, Andrew Tisher recommends a piece of "high" culture (John Banville's The Untouchable) and a piece of "low" culture (the songs of Dave Edmunds). Thanks for making this a great week for The Sweetness, and: copyright, copyright, dibs dibs dibs!
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Bonus: Improv Shit-Talking
In the first of two bonus clips from my interview with Andrew Tisher, he reveals the beginning of our friendship: me talking shit about another improviser. Please enjoy my shame!
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Andrew Tisher: "It's Not the Thoughts, It's the Actions."
Andrew Tisher (Sports Team, Holy Fuck Comedy Hour, Be Good Boys, Selfish Green Men) is one of my oldest Chicago improv friends. He comes on the podcast to talk about his artistic origins and aspirations, the weekly performance art show he does on top of the literal Steppenwolf garage, and the...
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Episode 8 - Conner O'Malley
On the verge of his move to join his girlfriend (Aidy Bryant: SNL, Chicago, Conner's girlfriend) in New York City, Conner O'Malley shared his thoughts on comedy and life in the only town he's called home. This is a great big long exploration of what it's like to perform comedy in Chicago right…
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Episode 7 - Bill Stern
Bill Stern is one of my best friends, and I talk to him about all sorts of personal, crazy shit in this episode. Bill's house burned down this summer, and we spend the first half hour or so just talking about lessons he learned from that experience. And then we keep going! Bill's fascination with...
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Episode 6 - Micah Sterenberg
Micah Sterenberg (DMNK, Meridian) drops by The Sweetness to talk about GOD! Predestination, growing up evangelical, cool Christian summer camp counselors: we cover all that stuff in this episode. There's also a lovely little detour into Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and the tenets of Bokononism…
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Episode 5 - Joe Avella
In between crankily astute editing, I talk to Joe Avella (Master of Inventions director, Teenager of the Year writer, performer, provocateur) about making movies, meeting idols, and how he's decided to model his creative career after a small business. Plus, he gives the most concrete and…
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Episode 4 - Mark Logsdon and Jimmy Pennington
The Sweetness gets its first 2-guest interview with former roommates Mark Logsdon and Jimmy Pennington. Mark (Sears Tower, former K.C. Redheart, lots of Annoyance shows) suggested I get Jimmy (Annoyance, CIC, his solo show "Jimmy of Nazareth") for a roundtable discussion of philosophy, religion,...
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Episode 3: Walt Delaney
Walt Delaney (Upstairs Gallery, Pizza Party, Fiction for the Poor, smiling face!) and I talk about looking left, doing what makes your heart beat faster, and not being able to quit. Walt is not only a great guy, he is a thoughtful dude, and I had a blast talking to him. I want to apologize for…
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Episode 2: Mark Colomb
I spoke with Chicago podcast godfather Mark Colomb (The Poor Choices Show, videos with Conner O'Malley aka coozehound.com) about having the right mindset, balancing humility and confidence, and DOING WORK. Also, of course: podcasting. Enjoy this great conversation, you lil sweeties! Intro: The...
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Episode 1: Karisa Bruin
In this first episode of The Sweetness, I talk to Chicago actress, writer, comedian, and my good friend Karisa Bruin (ButchMAX, Counter-Productive Lover, K.C. REDHEART!) about defining, refining, and forgiving ourselves. Self-betterment! Non-judgment! Reiki treatments! It's all here. Listen,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Conversations about creativity and spirituality with comedians, writers, and other mystically minded folks, hosted by the vulgar male Oprah.
HOSTED BY
Dave Maher
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Sweetness with Dave Maher have?
The Sweetness with Dave Maher currently has 45 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Sweetness with Dave Maher about?
Conversations about creativity and spirituality with comedians, writers, and other mystically minded folks, hosted by the vulgar male Oprah.
How often does The Sweetness with Dave Maher release new episodes?
The Sweetness with Dave Maher has 45 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Sweetness with Dave Maher?
You can listen to The Sweetness with Dave Maher on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Sweetness with Dave Maher?
The Sweetness with Dave Maher is created and hosted by Dave Maher.
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