Why I think you should listen to the Dinner Party Sunday at 5pm PST
In a novel turn of events, the Dinner Party Show, which is my favorite sketch comedy show these days, has decided to host a sort of Listener Appreciation Party tomorrow, where instead of interviewing famous guests (they usually have one or two per show) they will be interacting with the viewers, highlighting the activities of their loyal following (no, not THE FOLLOWING, so far Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn haven’t asked us to murder anyone) and answering viewer questions.
The show – which is sketch comedy at it’s best – features a recurring cast of fictional characters, and hilarious make-believe commercials for pretend product sponsors. As a nearly life-long fan of sketch comedy, dating back to childhood (and no doubt I can blame my parents for this) I started watching Saturday Night Live and Monty Python and listening to the Dr. Demento Show on the radio when I was still a preteen in rollerskates and extension braids drooling over Chachi and hanging out at the roller disco (and yes – as you can see – I am Generation X). As a veteran of sketch comedy shows, I have a natural affinity for the type of humor on this show.
They say “Everyone will is served” and they market the show as an equal-opportunity sort of punking where diverse types of people will be mocked, in a display of political incorrectness that is never actually mean-spirited. I would say the show hearkens back to a gentler time before shows like South Park made politically incorrect humor go to the dark side. The Dinner Party Show is funny, but it’s not really harsh. And because it pokes fun at all of us, without really putting anyone on the defensive, it has developed a loyal following of regular listeners.
Justin Simpon’s illustration of the Dinner Party Show characters (above)
And the show’s listeners ARE loyal. Another regular listener, Justin Simpson has regularly illustrated characters from the sketches. He says ‘We’re up to eight finished pieces for my “Dinner Party Show Collection (15 if you include all the drawings from the “Hot Prostitute” video).”‘ His collage of skit characters above includes: Jordan Ampersand and Eric Shaw Quinn [Bottom Right Hand Corner], Buzz Kilton [Top Right Hand Corner], Breck Artery [Right Center], Brock and Bastian [Middle], Twan – Queen of the Stars [Bottom Left Hand Corner], Justin and Jake [Left Center], Actress from “Hot Prostitute” [Left Top Hand Corner]).
But you don’t have to take my word for it… you can find out how funny they are for yourself, by listening to some of the skits on Soundcloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/the-dinner-party-show
I actually would like to recommend one: Find-A-Troll, my personal favorite.
https://soundcloud.com/the-dinner-party-show/find-a-troll-the-1-product-for
And of course, there is ME…
I also want you to tune in because I, as a “regular” interactor over on the DinnerPartyShow Facebook Page here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDinnerPartyShow
And on the Dinner Party Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/DinnerPartyShow
Am not really the star, but am one of the many regular visitors and interactors on their page who will be the topic of this Listener Appreciation Show, and for me that is a really big deal. I spend a lot of time on my blog here, interviewing other horror writers, and trying to highlight things I find important such as Women in Horror Month back in February (where I did an interview series that came to include 24 ladies of horror, here:
https://sumikosaulson.com/women-in-horror-month-2013/
But I often don’t really talk about myself. I hate self promotion. I know I am supposed to do it – goodness knows I have no real staff to speak of, no public relations team except for my mother, and a factor of insecurity that makes me feel like pushing my own products is the douchebaggiest thing on planet Earth. But this at least gives me an excuse to pretend I’m being plugged by someone else.. even if I am the one making all of the graphics. Speaking of plugs and graphics, the Dinner Party Show usually has product tie-ins, so I decided to give away two eBooks for free on Sunday…
I’m not feeling very inventive, so I guess I’ll just steal the Marcia Clark product graphic and hit my Photoshop.. and wah-lah!
In other news….
Happy Easter 🙂
Sumiko Saulson 