Bubble Boys: The Death Of Tesla

The idea for this episode came about when Tisher and I were researching 1943, come to find out Tesla died January of that year. We had referenced Tesla in the finale of season 1 and really wanted to have Bill back to reprise his role as Gustus so it seemed like a natural pairing. This episode also takes a little inspiration from David Bowie's Tesla in The Prestige.


Sven and Henry visit Henry’s uncle Gustus in hopes of receiving residuals from their voice changing gum. This leads to a cross country confrontation with the most mysterious scientist of the century: Nikola Tesla!

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Bill Arnett as Gustus Mossmouth
Griffen Eckstein as Nikola Tesla and Hitchhiker
and Tim Joyce as Sgt. Mertz

Bubble Boys: Rosie The Riveter

Bubble Boys Season II is underway. Our old-time-radio style show is back and this time set during WWII. This season features some stellar performances from some amazing improvisers. New episodes every Wednesday. Listen here or subscribe on iTunes.


Season 2 begins with our heroes donning dresses and infiltrating the most secretive of American sects: the women’s workforce.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven/Selene Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry/Helen Mossmouth
Annie Donley as Mitzie Slaughter
Allison Ringhand as Norma Titan
Lily Sullivan as Ronnie Winkle
and Tim Joyce as Ron Skelton

Season 2 Intro

Tisher, Tim, and I have been working hard over the past couple months on our improvised comedy radio serial and we're finally ready to start releasing episodes. Bubble Boys Season 2 promises more idiocy, lunacy, and idolatry than the original. New episodes each week with an array of amazing guests. Listen to the intro below and look for episode one next week.

Photo Shoot

Today Tisher and I got dressed up and went out to Montrose beach and Marty was kind enough to take some pictures for the forthcoming season of Bubble Boys. It was freezing but surprisingly beautiful. Snow whipped with sand and everything frozen.

I imagine the pictures will turn out well, how evocative they will be of 1943 and WWII remains to be seen- Tisher and I in dress cloths being buffeted by the wind. But with some imagination, standing there coatless on the iced-over beach head, you can get a glimpse of what that fear might have been like, what determination it might have required. Bubble Boys is a comedy show and we've tried to exaggerate, lampoon, and absurdize 40's tropes and premises. We've endeavored both consciously and subconsciously to be respectful or at least walk the line around outright mockery.

Season 2 will be much more crass, bizarre, edgy, goofy, and dark than season 1 but hopefully not offensive. A teaser will be released January 29th.

The Numbers For 2013

For the first time since 1999 I went 365 days without a drink.

I made 1 major purchase, a Honda VTX motorcycle.

I went on 1 vacation to Richmond, VA.

I saw 88 movies in the theater.

I went through 1 breakup.

Deep Schwa had 51 shows.

Prime had 46 shows.

The Night Shift had 23 shows.

Rick had 9 shows and was cut.

The Hague was formed and had 18 shows.

I created 1 character: Pastor Dirk Deadman.

I did 2 auditions.

I got 1 callback.

I read around 40 books, my favorite of which was The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

We rebooted Groh Show and released 4 episodes.

Tisher, Tim and I released 10 episodes of Bubble Boys comprising Season 1.

We recorded 6 episodes of Bubble Boys Season 2, yet to be released.

I made two collages.

Beanpole and I collaborated on 1 project.

I played 2 games of chess, both I lost.

I went to 1 concert.

I went to 0 plays.

I went to 0 weddings.

I went to 0 funerals

I fell in love, once.

Once Begun, Half Done

We had Carmen and Devin in the studio tonight to record our Gypsy episode for this season of Bubble Boys. It went great, they brought it like we knew they would. Carmen went on an impassioned rant speculating about sharing coffee and tea in Hell with the devil and all the world leaders of the 40's. Devin told Tisher and I's fortune with an incredibly grueling description of Tisher and other fallen soldiers ghosts chewing me to death with insubstantial baby ghost teeth. Really great stuff which I can't wait to edit.

This episode marks the fifth in the can. We're at the half way point in the season and on schedule for our January release. We've got the rest of the season written and cast. There's a lot more work to be done, with plans to create a lot more original music and to script in totality a USO show. It sometimes feels like putting together a particularly difficult puzzle. But it's gratifying, extremely so. I am very eager to finish things up and start putting season 2 out into the universe.

Lean On Me

We recorded season 2, episode 2 of Bubble Boys tonight. Bill was back to reprise his role as Uncle Gustus and we had Griffen in to play a 20th century scientific icon. I've been sick this past week and a bit worn out. While recording I could tell it effected my performance, my reaction time and my facility with dialogue. I was kind of beating myself up during and after it for not being able to deliver. After reflecting though I realized the session went great. Bill, the consummate professional, was on from the moment he got in the studio, and Griffen who I don't know that well, he was originally Tisher's casting inspiration, was wonderful. I didn't contribute a ton but what I did was funny and moved the episode along and Tisher was in good form throughout, having Bill in the studio, his favorite teacher, got his mode going.

At this point I can get a much better sense of what we can get out of an episode during editing. So any uncomfortable or long pauses where we(mostly me for this one) take a moment to come up with the next line can get cut out. The final product is going to have a steady flow even if the session came in fits and starts.

It's a great feeling to be working on a project I love and to know that even if I have an off night I can rely on Tisher and Tim and our guests. It's a collaborative project, we all contribute, we all share the creative responsibility and from time to time some people are going to shoulder more of it, and thats OK. The integrity and the end product are still going to be great even if I had a poopy week. That's reassuring.

Season 2

Tonight we recorded the first episode of Season two of Tisher, Tim, and I's radio serial Bubble Boys. This season will take place ten years after the first season in 1943. It felt great to get back in the studio with Tim and Tisher and we hit the ground running. I'm really excited for this season because we figured out a lot of stuff the first time around. We know how to edit, we know our characters, we know how to get what we want out of takes and how they can be chopped up to get what we want. Now we can streamline, focus on the ideas, the story, and the characters. We have a lot of great guests for this season and some exciting episodes planned.

It was a great feeling to get back in Tim's studio. It feels right and comfortable and once we got going things just started to roll. I've been chomping at the bit to get started on season 2 and now that we have I think we are all on the same page, excited and inspired.

We had Allison, Annie, and Lily on for our first episode and to date was the most we've laughed while recording. It may be a little more work during the editing process but it's always worth cracking each other up.

The summer has been great but I didn't have a project to work on. I'm the type of guy that has to have something to work on or work towards. To feel like I'm moving forward, producing content. It's a great relief and a great joy to get back to work on a passion project with a best friend.

We'll be releasing season 2, ten episodes in ten weeks, in a couple months.

Bubble Boys: Finale

Our season 1 finale ends with a bang. We have Tisher and I's beloved teacher Bill Arnett and my good friend Ted Tremper as our guests as well as some surprise cameos. When we started writing the series we knew we wanted to end in San Francisco but didn't really know what we would do once we got there. This episode came together pretty organically with a lot of surprises and a lot of energy. And we ended almost right where we began.

Tisher, Tim, and I thank you for traveling with the Bubble Boys on their bumbling cross country adventure. It's been a great pleasure to work on this and I'm grateful to all who helped and any and all who listened.


Sven and Henry seek out Henry's uncle in San Francisco in the hopes of perfecting their gum and ending their journey. Little do they know what lies in wait for them in Fog City.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Bill Arnett as Gustus Mossmouth
and Ted Tremper as Lamont Meringue
with Gary Richardson as Chauncey Winge
Sarah Shockey as Ms. Prettybook
and Tim Joyce as Errol Burrows

Editing

Tisher, Tim, and I edited the season 1 finale of Bubble Boys tonight. The most surprising thing about the project has been how interesting and fun editing has been. When we first started I thought editing would be laborious and during the first couple episodes it took us a long time to decide on what takes to use and how to put them together. As time past we all became much better about choosing takes, cutting in jokes we wanted to save, and making each episode flow.

I've always loved putting together Legos and puzzles as well as making collages. Fitting things together to make something else maybe something greater than its parts. Editing is evokes that same feeling but even more so because instead of using uniform blocks or someone else's art to make something we are using are own.

One of my favorite books is Zeroville by Steve Erickson, the main character in it is a film editor. I didn't understand when reading out how editing could be just as vital to a project as the acting or directing and just as satisfying. Now after our process I realize how crucial it is. How a joke here or a joke there, how this take as opposed to that take can influence the feel and flow of an episode.

I think the three of us have gotten substantially better about putting episodes together which makes me very excited about our second season, the editing will be much easier and theortically more streamlined.

Editing is a process I've come to take great pleasure in and I hope to do more of it in the future maybe branching out into videos. Although I'd have to get a camera first and a bunch of software I don't know how to use.

Bubble Boys: Twin Trains To Cairo

Twin Trains To Cairo is the fictitious movie Tisher and I created for our "movie premiere" episode. The movie reminds me a bit of this historical fiction series I was really into in high school by Elizabeth Peters. This episode was especially fun for me because it was centered around the movie biz and Tisher and I got to play different characters that were just as much the focus of the episode as Sven and Henry. Julia and Ariel were a joy to have in the studio, songs were sung and innuendos were made in plenty.

We have one more episode to go and we're taking a week off before releasing the season 1 finale, so listen, enjoy, and let your mind wander.


The Bubble Boys get a peek inside the glitz and glam of Hollywood.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg, Zed Virtue, and Bradley Dingaling
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and Patrick Dingaling
Ariel Dumas as Joanna Vonkraminschlamer and Ethel Gerkin
and Julia Weiss as Faye Sparrow and Timmy
With excerpts from original songs "Kittens" and "The Moon & Me"

Bubble Boys: The Gubernatorial Race

Episode 8 and we're that much closer to the season finale. This episode takes a little from O' Brother Where Art Thou?, my father's political career, and also from the real life dynamic of our guests Gary and John. As the season has progressed I feel like Tisher, Tim, and I have hit our stride on recording and editing, there's a lot more confidence in our own performances as well as what we want from an episode. I love this one and I hope you do too!


Sven and Henry throw their hats into the political ring with disastrous effect.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and FDR
John Reynolds as Doug Znacks and Poll Worker #2
Gary Richardson as Chauncey Winge and Poll Worker#1
and Tim Joyce as Newsman

Bubble Boys: Carnival

Episode 7 is full of manic-energy and owes the tiniest bit of inspiration to the HBO show Carnivale. Having Danny and Craig in the studio together, two of the highest energy people I know, was quite a treat and a little bit of a trial. There was a lot of yelling and some pretty strange stuff. It was a real pleasure having Craig on the show because he's been my mentor and friend for a long time now. It gave me a little extra juice. There are some great lines in here and some really weird situations. Three more till the end of season 1!


The Bubble Boys hawk their gum on a carnival midway and witness the tribulations of a clown.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Danny Groh as Charlie The Clown and Townspeople
and Craig Uhlir as Mr. Enus and Townspeople

Bubble Boys: The Minor League

A new episode and a poster from my beloved Beanpole. Tisher and I wanted to do an episode with Jamison and Joey and figured, for them, there wasn't a better concept than their shared obsession: baseball. There's a ton of goofball names and old timey baseball terms in this one.


Sven and Henry become good luck charms for a baseball team's manager but run afoul of the star players.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and Skip
Joey Romaine as Miller Kraft and Color Commentator
and Jamison Webb as Lou "Turkey" Wagner and Play-By-Play Announcer

Bubble Boys: Moonshiners

Episode 5 and we're half way through the season! We recorded this episode in almost one continuous take sitting on the floor in a circle in Tim's studio telling stories, shooting the shit, and making each other laugh. It reminded me a lot of summer camp and bonfires and starry nights. I suggest listening to this episode shortly before you go to bed or walking outside at night. I'm proud of all the episodes we've put out but I think this one is something special.


Sven and Henry sit around the campfire and spin yarns with some unexpected friends. Join them won't you?

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Bill Boehler as Jackknife
Mike Brunlieb as Turtleneck
and Scott Nelson as River Drew
With excerpts from original songs "Two Thieves" and "Sea"

Bubble Boys: Chain Gang

Episode 4 with Blair Beeken takes a little inspiration from Cool Hand Luke and David Lynch. There's some weird stuff in this one: infantalism, filicide and more.


The Bubble Boys are put to work on a chain gang and remind their boss about the importance of family.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg and 193568
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and 193567
and Blair Beeken as Boss Bev

Bubble Boys: Police Corruption

Episode 3 brings Jeff Murdoch into the Bubble Boys fold as both the police chief and his nagging wife. Jeff perfects a saying that has needed work for centuries "does a tree really be a tree if no one's there to admire it?" This episode is fast, fun, and oh so dumb.


Sven and Henry get arrested for vagrancy and glimpse the dark underbelly of small-town justice.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg and Cop #2
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and Cop #1
and Jeff Murdoch as Chief Keith Cliff and Mrs. Cliff

Bubble Boys: Schoolmarm

This episode takes some inspiration from Back to the Future Part III. A new episode will come out each Wednesday. Please listen and give us some feedback either here, on Facebook, our podcast page, or on iTunes.


Henry's heartstrings are tugged for the first time in his life. Sven sees disaster on the horizon.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg and Tommy
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and Timmy
Sarah Shockey as Ms. Prettybook and Christine
and Tim Joyce as Paul

Bubble Boys: The Grift

The time has finally come. Tisher, Tim and I are proud to present episode 1 of our comedy radio serial Bubble Boys. You can subscribe(and rate us please) on iTunes here.


Sven and Henry stop to fill their bellies and get pulled into a revenge plot.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth
Scott Nelson as Silky Smooth "The Snake"
Mike Brunlieb as Carl Shovelback
and Thomas Kelly as Clay Cashgrabber

Bubble Boys

Tisher and I, along with our producer Tim, launched our radio show today: Bubble Boys. It's an old timey radio serial set in 1933. Tisher and I play two bumbling inventors who are on the run from the law. We are traveling cross country and each episode is a stop on our journey. We got some great people to work on it and I'm very excited to start releasing episodes. This has really been a passion project for me. Like us on Facebook and give our teaser intro a listen below.