WHO TO WATCH/LISTEN: SHITSHOOTERS

Atkinson (left), Carter (right)

On May 14th, a meeting of comedic minds occurred in a small apartment in downtown Ottawa.  Dave Atkinson and Matt Carter, the hosts of Shitshooters Podcast, invited the exceptionally funny John Hastings as their guest.  The three men sat down to "shoot the shit", and tape their conversation for the Podcast.  So thus began JH5's first foray into the world of Podcasts.

Hastings

The taping began with the three men discussing how hard it is to pick up women, no wait, sorry, "chicks" at the Pump, a local hangout for comedians.  The conversation then moved to the difference between courting a woman and trolling for "pussy".  Anyone who is familiar with this blog will understand that my first thoughts were WTF??  Then I thought, "hey, this is a good chance to get into the heads of how young men, nay, young comedians think", thus I listened on.  Glad that I did, because these were three men trying to out funny each other, and sure, there were times it went a bit "boys will be boys" for this reviewer, there were some exceptionally funny bits, thoughtful comments, and great discussions on the field of comedy.

Atkinson

Dave Atkinson began his podcast with an unnamed roommate years before he started comedy.  The point of the podcast was to have no point.  It was an experiment to have some fun, sit and talk to interesting people.  Once comedy started, the roommate was out and comedian Matt Carter was in.  They have not looked back since.


Shitshooters has a growing audience, and they have guests ranging from out of town professionals, local pro/ams, and the odd nobody who is a lot of fun!  These "nobodies" may be future "somebodies" and the boys are smart to have a range of guests, it makes it a bit more interesting.

Carter

During the taping each person had headphones so they can hear themselves, and they tape while they are sitting and talking.  Atkinson and Carter guide the conversation, but in this case Hastings took charge immediately, clearly enjoying the attention on himself.  He deserves it, he has paid his dues and was 2010's winner of the Just for Laugh's Home Grown Comedy Competition.  He is a clever bloke, with enough charm to bypass some of his more questionable statements!


The gentlemen took a break, aka intermission, and got right back at it.  At the return of the break, they acknowledge that Atkinson is one of the comedians for a show JH5 is producing on June 11th.  They then turn this shameless self promotion to a game of hilarious proportions.  You really have to hear the podcast to get what we are talking about.  This really is the point people, in order to appreciate these podcasts, one has to listen to them.  Our writings will not do them justice; they really have to stand on their own.  The hosts are great, and one gets the impression that it is the guests who make or break the show.


The show wraps up, and the next steps are for Atkinson, the brainchild behind Shitshooters, to take the material and edit it to make a smooth podcast.  It is now up for your listening pleasure at:  http://shitshooters.libsyn.com/.


The world is changing, and comedy is changing right along with it. We recommend that you give them a listen. More importantly for JH5, we recommend once you listen to these young men, you find out when they are performing and get out and support live comedy!  JH5 will support any forum that promotes good comedy, and have been told that the episodes vary based on guest, so in the end if Hastings is not your ball of wax (i guarantee you he is more than worth the money on stage) you can check out many other episodes on their site.


Go.  Listen.  Now.

jenn h.

JH5