I love adding farts to projects. In fact, I have over 200 fart .wav files stored on my hard drive to accommodate most situations. Ian is drinking sake now, he's getting unhinged as a character and it only helps move this story along. 

Ian: Man, that theme song. Still catchy! I think Paul and I miscommunicated a little here. My idea was that I was getting interrupted by that pesky staff and Paul played it as me being unable to get to the serious topic due to raging flatulence. Either, really, would account, for the reliance on rice wine and the despondence. I honestly might have refilled the bottle with water at this point.  HOLY SHIT Shit shit shit. 

Episode 12: Your host imbibes during the last few moments of Lobster Lobby. A flatulent faux pas interrupts the show. Your host addresses the issues facing young lobsters.

This is another good episode which debuts another great gimmick of Ian dancing. It's a running gag that follows the show through all the 3 seasons. The phone interactions really tie the producer (me) and Ian's tumultuous relationship that also sticks for all 3 seasons.

Ian: Man, I wanted to see more of enthusiastic Ian, where that was going. I wonder if we still have all the raw footage somewhere and what we didn't use. Also, Paul graciously yeilded to my request that we use Japanese Noh theater music when I drink rice wine from a bowl. It puts me in mind that we did have phone conversations when discussing production touches on the raw lobsters. I AM SO PROFESSIONAL ON THE PHONE!!!

Episode 9: Back by court demand! Your host encounters a Lobster Finagle and the leaders of the nation interfere with the show! This episode is FILLED with lobster sobriety!

In early 2015, my life was finally trending upward. After a tumultuous divorce, legal trouble, death (not mine), and what could be considered a mental breakdown from 2012-14 I was doing ... OK.?

In early 2014, I met the love of my life and I invested myself into being a better human and quality father. There was - and forever will be - lingering battles with mania and depression but there were very few things to complain about. At this point, I feel that broke-even in life. I crawled out of that dark valley of oppression, mental abuse, and apathy. I was finally ready to be a better person instead of just merely surviving.

I decided to do things for myself again. I was finally in an environment in which I wasn't made to feel gutturally guilty about investing time into my happiness. One of those things was to try and perform.

I joined nameless! comedy in early 2016. I performed improv at Blurrie-Con, Tatsu-Con, and a SOLD OUT show at Lucy-Fest. Not bad for my first year performing on stage! When they went on summer hiatus, I was itching to perform again. I realized how much I loved making people react to things I do.


It was one my most fun projects ever. The owners of The Spire, Angelo and Ylsa not only gave me the flexibility to do some of my Kaufman-esque stunts during the show but they became some of my dearest friends afterward.

This may be my favorite episode from Season 1. The uncharacteristic yelling of an almost animalistic nature accentuates the true vision of the unpredicatble nature of the show. Is the host crazy or the whole situation he is in is crazy? Blurring those lines is exactly the narrative I wanted to tell.

Episode 7: Lobster Lobby is back! or is it? We read your letters! Can you spell LOBSTER? Win prizes! Your host is interrupted and the show may never be the same. 

Episode 5: Lobster Lobby is out of money! Your host discusses finances with Paul. The original plans for Lobster Lobby are revealed. Some news delivered for the loyal viewers and some farts!

(Love this episode! This show - that constantly breaks the fourth wall - is developing the dynamic of Paul and You Host arguing over the creative direction of the show. This becomes another theme of the entire series. Ian is starting to get drunk at this point and it only fuels the show further. Lobster Lobbington is also the character that famed musician Andrew WK mentions in Season 3)

There are a couple different approaches Paul took with the Soulja Boy accompaniment but I like this version best where the song would start over everytime I took a drink (play along at home!) In seasons 2 and 3, we developed a lot more ideas and the episodes got a lot longer. The episodes in season 1 remain, to me, very charming like a series of one-liners. It's like, here's this weird thing and if you don't like it, here's another weird thing. I think there were two or three separate marathon nights of filming the raw footage and I think it was as stream of consciousness in performance as it looks in the edited version. A lot of the times, we didn't discuss what we wanted episodes to look like and I wouldn't see any of Pail's contributions until the finished product. At the time, I would bristle a little bit because, believe it or not, i had a vision for the final appearance of the show. What exists now is a lot of fun and a perfect combination of divergently weird styles. I like rewatching an episode and catching an edit or a nonsequitur that's super subtle. Today's example: "It's my son's birthday." "That's great, that's a tender age." Gaps in logic, assumptions and unexplained wordplay. For me, that's a prime example of my sense of humor. I think Lob Lob hits home on a lot of cylinders.


Episode 4: Why is the world in love with Lobsters? Your host interviews a man on the street. We read YOUR letters and lots of drinking!

It was five years ago that we giddily conceived the idea for Lobster Lobby. Why? Who knows... This was initially supposed to be a one episode segment but has grown into its own cottage industry with views from as far away as Canada! It's always been an outlet for us to test the limits of our nonlinear, nonsequitur sense of comedy. These early episodes, cobbled together from long stream of consciousness takes, laid the ground work for more structured bits and tons of running gags. Sometimes, there are repeated gags or half-formed jokes, but it's still near and dear. Love that pipe!

Episode 2: We discuss the invention and capabilities of the lobster.

Lobster Lobby Season 1 was filmed in Chicago, IL entirely in Ian's apartment closet. Our original idea was to do a long intro song, have 30 seconds of footage and a long credit scene. It turned into what you see below. Ian sent Paul hours of footage recorded on an old digital camera and Paul edited into the show that has been a staple of this site for years.

Episode 1: We give you an introduction into the world of lobsters on our 53rd episode to celebrate the year of the lobster. We take your calls and delve back into the archives to remember some of the lobster's we've covered over the passed nth years. Also, we do our Lobster Lobby segment!