Kevin Allison – Spinning Platters

SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23

If you’re reading this, there’s a chance you may already know that those of us who contribute to Spinning Platters are known around here as “music nerds.” While I absolutely identify as such, there’s another term that describes me even better: word nerd. I delight not just in clever wordplay but languages in general, etymology… you name it. So when I heard about Zach Sherwin‘s Crossword Show, which promised a night full of crossword puzzles, trivia, comedy, and fun, I knew I couldn’t miss it!

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SF Sketchfest Review: RISK! with Kevin Allison/You’re Whole on 1/31/2014

Real talk everyone: I was only at the Brava Theater to see You’re Whole. While I’m a fan of storytelling in general, and while I’d heard of State alum Kevin Allison’s well regarded podcast, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Even though the big draw for the night was Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter’s pitch-perfect late-night informercial parody, I was delighted by the raw looks into the real lives of some talented comedians.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Kevin Allison of Risk! True Tales Boldy Told

Kevin Allison.credit Dave Dietz.sm — Photo by Dave Dietz

Kevin Allison is probably best known for being the tall, redheaded member of 90’s cult sketch comedy group The State. Since the dissolving of The State, Allison has been doing a podcast called “Risk! True Tales Boldy Told” where people tell stories from outside of socially accepted norms. He will be doing a Storytelling Workshop with Sketchfest at Brava Studio on Friday, January 31st at 3 PM (tickets). He will also be doing a live recording of Risk! at the Brava Theater at 7:30 on the 31st with Dana Gould, Nato Green, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Brendon Walsh telling stories, as well as an opening set by fellow The State alums Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black (tickets). We had a chance to sit and talk with Allison ahead of these performances. Since he is a storyteller, I was only to squeeze in three questions. It’s ok, because I didn’t want him to stop talking! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Kevin Allison of Risk! True Tales Boldy Told”

Sketchfest Review: Risk! Live Podcast at The Eureka Theater, 1/27/12

Comedians live some pretty crazy lives… I guess you need a certain amount on insanity to inspire the occupation of the jester. Kevin Allison’s podcast Risk! True Tales, Boldy Told ranks up there with WTF with Mark Maron as one of the few places where you can hear comedians speak frankly about the life decisions that brought them to where they are now. This installment of Risk! allowed us the opportunity to hear from five comics about some of the stranger things that have happened to them.

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Sketchfest Review: Risk! with Kevin Allison at The Purple Onion, 1/28/11

One of my favorite pastimes is looking up whatever happened to some of my favorite 90’s icons. I mean, almost everyone knows what happened to some of the lesser known folks in 90’s TV programs. Like Six from Blossom is apparently a struggling country singer, and Rayanne from My So Called Life is married to a lord. But, my absolute favorite show from the 90’s was The State. It was simply the only TV program of it’s time that I felt emulated my brain functions. With the program now streaming on Netflix, I was reminded of two of my favorite sketches: the mailman that only delivered tacos and the Jew, the Italian, and the Red-Headed Gay. Hence me feeling the need to learn about Kevin Allison, one of the “forgotten” members of The State. Much to my surprise, he has a genius podcast called Risk!, where famous people talk about embarrassing situations they’ve been in. And it’s pretty awesome to say the least. Even better was getting to see it done live at the legendary Purple Onion as part of Sketchfest this year!

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A Music Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2011

chris hardwick — This is a picture of Chris Hardwick. He's not related to me, but he will be in San Francisco for Sketchfest. I will be hitting him up for birthday money, anyways. Hopefully I can fool him.

To the uninitiated, San Francisco’s Sketchfest is probably the most overwhelming 2 1/2 weeks out of the entire year, in terms of live entertainment booking. Its closest cousin is probably Austin’s SXSW festival, where you have a wide array of up-and-coming talent mixed with veterans, all playing some very intimate spots.

As a person that considers himself to be an expert of sorts on taste, I am going to sift through this year’s line-up, and let you know what you should be going to at this year’s Sketchfest. I will guide you through which Emmy winners or CSI corpses (both of which are well represented by this event), in my humble opinion, is most worthy of your hard earned dollar.

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