Succotash Shut-In Epi247: Yackin' with Dr. Gonzo

I'm Marc Hershon and welcome to a very auspicious Episode 247 of Succotash Shut-In, the Soundcast Stimulus Package. Because not only does this installment feature my interview with a fixture in the San Francisco comedy scene back in the 1980s, 90s and into the early aughts, John Means, AKA Dr. Gonzo, but this is also the very last episode of Succotash Shut-In, the Soundcast Stimulus Package.

Now, to be clear, we’re not going away. No, my alternating host Tyson Saner and I are staying right here, in this very feed. But this show marks the end of Season 4 of this show. It’s also the last show of our first TEN YEARS in soundcasting! And, although the COVID crisis, the pandemic, or whatever you want to call this crazy last year that most of us have managed to muddle through, is not quite over, things are looking brighter and definitely on the upswing.

Millions of Americans have had at least one if not two of their COVID vaccine shots. I’m in line next Tuesday to get my second Pfizer jab. And some people have gotten the one-shot wonder from J&J. Places are opening up – some a little bit wider and more enthusiastically then called for, perhaps —and there is a feeling of, dare I say, normalcy returning to the world.

With that growing momentum in evidence, we have decided to level set this show and return it to its original title starting next week. With our special 10th Anniversary show dropping next Tuesday, it will be the first show of Season 5 of Succotash, the Comedy Soundcast Soundcast. You shouldn’t have to do anything if you’re a subscriber. You will see the title shift, you’ll see a slightly revamped show graphic, but everything should keep coming to your device just as it is today.

Speaking of Tyson, if you missed his latest drop, Epi246, he featured clips from The Brendan Fraser Podcast, Fascination Street, and The Bill Bert Podcast. It’s not too late to catch it at Apple or Google Podcasts, the Laughable app, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and our very own homesite, SucctashShow.com.

For this show, as I mentioned, Dr. Gonzo, i.e., John Means, is my guest. He created a unique combination of standup and song parodies when he was kicking it back then, and his style of comedy and music made him perfect as an opener for bands. BIG bands. He toured extensively with Huey Lewis & The News, for instance. We get into all that. And, as you’ll hear me fumble around, even after all these years of knowing him, I’m still not sure what to call him. I think I finally settle on “Gonz”, which was and is the most typical thing folks in San Francisco use to refer to him. But he moved back to his native Illinois almost 20 years ago, to his original hometown, Mason City, and that’s where I recently caught up to him on Zoom.

This episode is brought to you by our longtime sponsor, Henderson’s Pants, with a special reprise offer for their Back To S’cool Pants, now that a number of educational institutions are re-opening for on-campus classes…

We spent this last year doing what we could to promote comedy soundcasts, both specifically and in general, and hopefully we were able to help boost sagging listenership of soundcasts that had fallen off because people weren’t commuting to work and working out in gyms or driving great distances.

But now it’s time to take down the Succotash Shut-In sign. As of this episode, we are no longer the Soundcast Stimulus Package. When you next hear this show, we have an intimate yet fun conversation with me, Tyson Saner, our producer Joe Paulino, and our booth announcer, Bill Heywatt, to celebrate our 10-year anniversary of this show and to kick off our 5th Season.

Until then, please continue to socially distance, wear a mask, wash your hands and, if anyone asks if you’ve heard anything good lately, please do us a favor and pass the Succotash!

— Marc Hershon