WDEK Podcast Ep. 73: Jeremy O. Harris, Nore Davis & Bianca Espinal - 8/27/2019

It's the end of summer 2019 and beach time for Christian. Shonali & Christian's friendship is unique.  Their Episode 73 guests include playwright Jeremy O. Harris, comedian Nore Davis and musician Bianca Espinal aka BIA.E. This is an extra special double edition show.   Christian and Shonali are so excited to have playwright Jeremy O.

It's the end of summer 2019 and beach time for Christian. Shonali & Christian's friendship is unique.  Their Episode 73 guests include playwright Jeremy O. Harris, comedian Nore Davis and musician Bianca Espinal aka BIA.E. This is an extra special double edition show.  

Christian and Shonali are so excited to have playwright Jeremy O. Harris join them just as his hit play Slave Play makes its way to Broadway! Their in depth conversation (00:07:56 - 01:08:20) includes topics such as Harris' Color Purple book report in the 6th grade, his mom, Club Monaco, his Rihanna interview, the relationship of fashion to theater, Aleshea Harris, black erasure, colonialism, white attention, being considered a "polarizing figure", academic probation, The 1619 Project, art criticism and his appreciation of Mr. Show.  Jeremy O. Harris will be the youngest black man to ever be on Broadway and is having a big party on the first night of previews for Slave Play on September 10th.  His Broadway premiere is on October 6th.  Get your tickets now.   

Comedian Nore Davis grew up in Yonkers, NY and quit college to do stand up. (at 1:08:40-1:36:08)  He grew up with a police officer dad and a controlling mom. Nore's upcoming comedy tv special is called "Too Woke" and he explains the many burdens which come with being "too woke."  We discuss toxic masculinity, respect for the stand-up Gods, job security and being on late night tv on Conan twice. Christian asks about Nore's use of the N word.  Nore has already released an Amazon comedy special called "You Guys are Dope" and his upcoming Comedy Central 1/2 Hour Special "Too Woke" comes out on November 8 at 11:30 PM. Check it out.  He has a regular show at Union Hall with his girlfriend comedian Nash Rose called Stellar Underground. 

Get It Off Your Chest (at 1:36:33) is BAAACKKKK with audience member and former WDEK guest JJ Sasnowski joining Christian & Shonali onstage.  Their problems range from cologne, road rage and unwritten NYC rules.  

WDEK's last guest of the evening is musician Bianca Espinal (01:44:45) aka BIA.E (Be Infinite Anywhere Everywhere.)  Bianca is Dominican and grew up in Harlem. She started busking on the subway platform with her father at 17 years old.  She also auditioned American Idol and The Voice where Pharrell gave her the best advice. She received the semi-final position in Tengo Talento Mucho Talento, a Hispanic International televised show. Atlhough her sultry voice is unique to herself, you can hear Espinal's many influences like Lianne La Havas, Amy Winehouse, and Dusty Springfield when she sings.  She sings two of her original songs Anytime (at 2:03:21) and Time (at 2:07:00).  Look for B.I.A.E on IG to find out about her upcoming shows. 

Enjoy! Thank you all!  See you next month! Follow us on all social media @wdekpodcast

Direct download: WDEK_Ep._73_-8272019_-__Final_.mp3

WDEK Podcast Ep. 51: Colin Buckingham, Selena Coppock & M. Lamar - March 27, 2017

Returning from Hawaii to a blizzard has Shonali feeling down.  Leave it to Christian to come up with a story about his jacket to cheer her up.

The Get Out of A Funk episode starts out with special guest actor & performer Colin Buckingham.  Shonali is impressed with Colin’s stage combat skills which he has had to use in real life. Do you know what a “half nelson” is?  If you want to fight a drunk person “take out their knees.”  Colin has a achondroplasia which is a form of dwarfism. We discuss labels, entitlement, empathy and privilege.  In addition to acting professionally on film and tv, Colin has recently joined the cast of Sleep No More.  He is also in a new tv show which he can’t tell us anything about.  Look for him in Black Magic for White Boys at Tribeca Film Festival pilot series.

Our second guest is comedian, writer, actress Selena Coppock.  Selena has a popular twitter feed @NYTvows which makes fun of what she calls the “wedding industrial complex."  She has written a book and she is currently on a television show called Red Oaks on Amazon, but she is yet to release a comedy album.  Well that is until now!  Selena has plans is tape her first live comedy album very soon.  Make sure you are there!

Our last guest is musician & artist M. Lamar.  Lamar opens with a performance of "They Took You From Me” from his latest releast “Funeral Doom Spiritual.”  Originally from Alabama, Lamar has lived as a musician in New York City for the past 10 years.  He is a fan of metal music and classical music and has coined himself “Negro gothic devil worshipping free black man in the blues tradition.”   Find out why and what his mom thinks about that. Lamar comments on how current moments speak to so many other moments of the past, be it police brutality today or being on a slave ship.   Lamar recently performed at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.  The New York Times wrote about it.  Check it out. Christian and Shonali are proud to announce their very first all day We Don’t Even Know Variety Fest to happen Sunday April 23 at DCTV, 87 Lafayette Street. Make plans now to join us and our amazing lineup! 

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

Episode 13 - Reno Villacis - March 29, 2013 →

Happy Spring everyone! Here at WDEK Headquarters we are eagerly awaiting the warm weather which brings sunlight, vacations, drinking, working out, the beach, wearing short shorts, speedos, and mini skirts. To help us look good and laugh hard for the spring is our special guest Renaud "Reno" Villacis, Shonali's physical trainer and comic relief in the gym. Shonali got a new haircut and is wearing her high waisted jeans. Christian is wearing a headband. Justin is going to his godmother's for Easter. Christian coins the term "life fans." WDEK is blowing up on FB with new "likes" from all over the country. The current North Korean dictator looks like a lonelier version of his dad. Team America is hilarious. Reno will not date a woman that litters. Listen carefully to Reno's eating and exercise tips. Reno's favorite girl is his dog Chloe. Guess which one of us wears Speedos? Reno has a tattoo on his neck and he regrets it. If you want to check out some of Reno's work outs on his youtube channel at RockReno1. Reno will not return to Ecuador. Reno met a special woman via a smoothie. Boney M's Rasputin has 26 million views.

Episode 9 - Terri Girvin - December 12, 2012 →

Happy Holidays! We are smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We have already attended enough holiday parties and dinners so that we are going to detox before Christmas even arrives. Okay, that's not true, but we wish we had the willpower to do that. In preparation for a special holiday party, Shonali blow dried her hair way too straight for comfort. Christian worked in LA and was given some Man-Up cream. We use the word "girth" a lot in the WDEK studios but this time we've added the words "man boobs" to our repertoire. Our special guest this episode is the multitalented Terri Girvin (comedienne, actress, writer, bartender). Terri and Christian became friends while working at a non-profit organization as performers who created and performed for children in hospitals and care facilities across New York. The work is intense and inspiring. Terri took two years off from her artistic life and enjoyed living a life with more ease. She is now back to performing and created and starred in her own one-woman show called Last Call with over 700 sound cues. Being a good bartender is being a good multi-tasker. Find out how to get good service from a bartender. Waving money in front of a bartender is never a good idea. Learn what word Christian refuses to hear from a bartender even if that bartender offers him a free shot of Jameson. The phrase "will turn from Urkel to Mr. T" were used in this episode. Yeah, guess who said that?

Episode 9: Terri Girvin - December 12, 2012