David M. Green: Purveyor of fine humour

Month: January 2011

  • Warnie Calls a Brothel on The Magic Factory!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt1-QaDuzww

    Ahoy!

    Above is the first of many Shane Warne soundboard prank calls coming soon to the Internet!

    Antonio Cafasso and I made them for our graveyard shift on SYN 90.7FM last Thursday, which we dubbed “The Magic Factory”.

    As I gradually make my way through the 7 consecutive hours of radio we broadcast to Melbourne and beyond, I’ll eventually assemble a “best-of” podcast for you. Such a podcast will be considerably shorter than 7 hours, I can assure you.

    Overall it was a fantastic experience. We both had a lot of fun. And we had listeners from as far away as Kansas City, Missouri tuning in! I’m looking at YOU Brad Westmar!

    The period from 11:30PM to 3:30AM was probably the best. After that we ran out of pre-recorded stuff, as well as things to talk about, and we just got freaking tired. From memory I think the last couple of hours got a little weird.

    But any who, check out the SYN 90.7FM Page on my website to listen back the sketches. There are a few up there already, and more are on the way.

    Personally, I think David M. Green’s Songs to Have Sex to is my favourite. I truly am a terrible singer.

    Many thanks to Antonio and everyone who listened and texted in. And thanks to Alan Jones and his bite-sized pieces of audio rage for hours of small hour amusement!

    We had a few callers too but the SYN studio phone doesn’t ring and the tiny little red light wasn’t always in our line of sight, so I apologise if we didn’t pick up everytime.

    This has certainly re-lit my spark for audio production. I think a return to the air waves on a more regular basis isn’t too far off.

    And look out for more Warnie prank calls. They’re coming!

    Subscribe to me on YouTube to be the first to know about them.

    Kind regards,
    Radio’s David M. Green
    Jesus, can we get someone in here?

  • Raw Comedy 2011… Eh…

    I guess I did cast a shadow at this afternoon’s Raw Comedy heat at Melbourne’s fabulous Northcote Social Club, but this literal shadow wasn’t what the judges were looking for.

    I was on first, which is always a tough spot. The audience wasn’t really warmed up. And no one was drunk yet. However, I’m not sure whether alcohol would have increased the crowd’s appreciation for my cerebral blend of humour.

    I am not a particularly good “stand-up” comedian.

    I think a lot of my gags would work better if written on a desk calendar…

    I don’t do jokes about where I’m from (who cares?). I don’t play to the room. I don’t swear in my routine. And David M. Green doesn’t go blue, unless it’s “clever”, and even then, I personally find using the scientific words for things funnier than their crude slang equivalents. This doesn’t seem to be a shared love.

    Maybe if I did the opposite of what I just stated above, I’d get more laughs. But, what would be the point?

    I have really high standards, both for my own material, and that of other comedians. So generally I find myself sitting quietly in the audience hearing other comedians play on some old gender/racial/locational stereotypes, thinking, “this has been done”.

    It’s quite heart-breaking. But of course, what do you expect? People are idiots, after all.

    So why do I keep doing this?

    Because comedy is networking. Because people don’t take you seriously as a comedian unless you do stand-up. To show people I can write and perform, fundamental skills that apply to other comedy formats, eg. television, radio, etc.

    And also, so stuff like this happens:

    Triple J’s Dave Callan came up to me after the show and took me up on my offer of free autographed headshots!

    I guess the day wasn’t a complete waste of time.

    So that’s it for me and Raw Comedy. You can only enter 3 times, which I have now done. Certainly my best appearance was last year, when for some reason, everything just worked:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmdTp97X9oA

    But if you want to experience a more DMG-friendly comedy format, tune in to “The Magic Show” on SYN 90.7FM from 8pm, Thursday January 27. I’ll be radio-ing with Antonio Cafasso until 6am!  Ten hours of sketches, prank calls, guests, obscure ’80s new wave music and a few other surprises…

    Now you’re talkin’!

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Did someone say excessively over-produced IDs?

  • Melbourne Motorist

    I am once again behind the wheel!

    After a year in Melbourne relying solely on Melbourne’s ample rail and light rail to travel predominantly to and from the city, I’ve caved in to my old Adelaide ways and purchased my third Toyota Corolla. This one a 2000 Toyota Corolla Ascent.

    Bring on adventures in suburbia!

    Buying a car is no easy task. I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible, so I found a car I liked, called the owner, gave it a test drive and agreed to pay him the advertised price of $7999.

    In hindsight this was possibly a little hasty, as it turns out the maximum I can insure this car for is $6100… Although it did come with custom wheels and a few months of registration (and had only done 67,000km in 10 years). I just hope to God nothing happens to it in the next year, so I can get my money’s worth.

    Let’s get something straight. Cars are horrible investments.

    They cost a fortune to purchase. They cost a fortune to run. And they only go down in value.

    However, they do buy time and convenience. And that’s tricky to put a price on.

    Of course, this has already been one expensive exercise…

    In addition to the cost of the car, comprehensive insurance for 6 months was $524.70 and registration transfer and stamp duty cost another $352.90. Jesus. And the previous owner generously left me no petrol. Is it too much to ask for a quarter of a tank?

    And I’ve already discovered first hand the insanely frustrating bureaucratic machine that is VicRoads…

    I had to go into the Carlton office THREE times before I was able to give them the registration transfer papers and pay the stamp duty. Firstly I went in, with all the correct paperwork (properly filled in, I might add…), and they wouldn’t accept my South Australian driver’s licence as a legitimate form of ID. Not Victorian enough. I needed something with my current address on it.

    So I returned later that day, but the line was too long, and after waiting in the appointment line, so I could make an appointment to come back and wait in line later, I realised I would be late for what turned out to be a fruitless job interview, unless I left immediately.

    The next day I once again trudged into VicRoads, and this time I cleared my whole day, which I suggest you do too if you ever need to go in there.

    Handed over my forms. Forked over $352.90 for no obvious reason. Then the lady there asks me when I want to schedule another appointment to change my South Australian licence over to a Victorian one.

    “Well… do I have to? I’ve still got five years left on my SA licence?”

    She replies, “By law if you have a car registered in Victoria you have to have a Victorian driver’s licence. You have 3 months to change it over.”

    It was an odd feeling at that moment. I actually felt a small wave of sadness sweep over me.

    I would have to give up the last trace of my South Australian identity. Literally, I would have to forfeit the licence that I’d carried in my wallet since 2006:

    I’m not ashamed of where I come from. I do of course prefer my life here in Melbourne to Adelaide. This is more than that. This is about who I am.

    I’m already enrolled to vote in Victoria. I have a Victorian student card and a Victorian transport concession card. But this was the last proof that I had that I was an outsider.

    DO YOU REALISE WHAT THIS MEANS!?!

    David M. Green is now a Victorian. The number plate proves it. And If I ever drive back to SA, I will be treated as such: a “Bloody Victorian”.

    Well, I guess it’s but a small price to pay for the convenience of car ownership.

    It’s increased the range of jobs for which I can apply. It’s meant I’ve been able to spontaneously visit friends in hard-to-reach suburbs like Kew and Mt Waverly. And I’ve already given a friend a lift to the airport. And that’s quite a gesture in Melbourne.

    $8876.60 well spent.

    However… I do really need a job now… Anyone?

    Kind regards,
    David M. Green
    Who’s gonna drive ya home… tonight?