Joe Frank
You ever been in a situation where you find out about something, a TV show, a band, it can be anything, and you know immediately that this is going to be one of your new favorite things? And then you find out that it's been around forever, and you're just now finding out about it? You know, like the first time you discovered Aquateen Hunger Force. Or sex.
This happened to me just this past weekend. Grabbing a beer with some friends after seeing Kung Fu Hustle (which is hilarious- go see it), one of the guys says, "hey, it's Sunday night, we should go listen to Joe Frank."
"Who's that?"
"He's good. He tells stories."
When is the last time you listened to "stories" on the radio? I remember listening to Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" as a kid, and Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" later during my college years, and loving them. I was just hypnotized by the power of those men's voices to simultaneously delight and soothe the nerves. Stuff that would have seemed quaint in the worst possible way if seen on television was somehow completely enthralling when beamed out over the radio.
Joe Frank is even better. And he's been doing this for the better part of 20 years, so maybe I'm the only one that hadn't heard of this guy already. His voice has the power to capture your attention, and, like good music, or nitrous oxide, to just sweep you along for the ride. His comedy is so deadpan that you don't even realize that you're laughing until you're surprised and delighted at the sound of your own laughter. Seriously, check him out. His show airs on Sunday nights at 9pm on 94.1 FM. If you visit his website you can hear some of the archived shows for free after registering. I heard part of The OJ Chronicles this morning, and I highly recommend it. His interview with OJ Simpson's "manservant" shortly following the murders is classic. The conversation just keeps getting more and more bizarre until Joe delivers the final line. So simple. So strange. So perfect.
posted by Jess @ 2:43 PM
4 Comments:
check out last week's Joe Frank episode...it's a trip:
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/archives.php?id=35
jessica, i'm always surprised and delighted by the sound of your laughter.
no aquateen all this week. boooo!
thank god we've burned the first three seasons onto dvd. we need our fix. gentlemen! behold!
Hi Jess,
Glad to hear you discoverd Joe Frank! There's a Joe Frank discussion list you may be interested in checking out:
http://www.armory.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/joe-frank-list
Sometimes real good Joe Frank info. (as well as his "actors" pass through there.
I fell into Joe about 1995. Since then I have collected every show. And every once in a while I go back and listen to them like they were new.
Have fun getting to know his work. Its worth the trip.
Bob Lee
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