None of This Matters (with hosts mc chris and Dana Snyder)

The return of the kings! Adult Swim’s mc chris and Master Shake himself (and friend of ASC) Dana Snyder started their own watchalong(?) podcast for ATHF! So far, they are two episodes in and it’s everything you would expect from a Dana Snyder podcast, with “useless” trivia, pop-culture, life lessons and more! Go listen to this award-winning podcast now!!!!

Guild of Calamitous Podcasts: Jackson Publick & Doc Hammer Interview

The show may be over, the episodes + movie all covered, but our resident Venturoo Rilo and his special guest host (and also friend of ASC) Chandra Free have at least 1 more present to give… an exclusive interview with Venture Bros. co-creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer. Expect an hour plus of love and fellowship.

Dancing is Forbidden: And ATHF Exploration Podcast

(Also also friend of ASC) Ronnie is kicking names and taking ass in the ATHF community. Going above and beyond any other previous (or idle) Adult Swim podcast, Ronnie goes hard into ATHF deep dives while also interviewing cast and crew of the show such as (FRIENDS OF ASC) Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro among others. Speaking of interviews, keep your ears peeled for Ronnie’s upcoming interview with comedian David Cross.

the Swimcast???

Lest we forget, the longest running existing podcast and the exclusive companion to Adult Swim Central. 186+ episodes, 17+ years, and tons of factoids, deep dives, interviews, and mindless banter you would expect from Adult Swim superfans. Check out some of our episodes… we also have the full catalogue available for $1 monthly on our Patreon, will be unlocking some of our classic interview episodes to YouTube soon. Also… new episode? Stay tuned!

If there’s any Adult Swim-related podcasts we missed, let us know!

WANT TO CHAT ABOUT PODCASTS, ADULT SWIM & MORE?
– DISCORD – ADULTSWIM.FAN
P.S.: FOLLOW US ON THREADS & BLUESKY!

Day One: The Calm Before The Storm

I arrived in Des Moines just after 1PM, and got myself checked into my hotel. Both the Iowa Events Center (where the convention was being held) and the Hyatt (the hotel were I was staying) were on the Skywalk, a massive trail of indoor walkways that connect most of the building in downtown. Using the Skywalk made the trek back and forth incredibly easy, taking only about eight minutes between both locations.

As is true for a lot of conventions, day one was a bit of lazy day. The exhibit hall didn’t open until 2PM and it wasn’t that crowded as it was still in the middle of the work and school day. It gave me time, however, to pick up my badge and orient myself with the space.

The convention was spread over four floors.

Floor one held a VIP lounge, screening rooms, a manga library and a quiet room for con goers to calm down if they get overstimulated.

Floor two held registration as well as the exhibition hall where vendors and guests set up shop, it also housed a massive gaming area for both table top games and video games with multiple board games free for anyone to use as well as video game tournaments and set ups for a variety of PC and console games.

Floor three held panel rooms as well as a maid café.

And the fourth floor was the location of the main stage, where Q&A’s were held.

I spent most of Friday wandering, though I did get the chance to stop by James Urbaniak’s booth to get my copy of Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart signed as well as to give him a set of Guild of Calamitous Podcasts pins lovingly crafted by Twisted Garden Studios.

I also gave a “Go Team Venture!” to a Pikachu statue.

Day Two: GO TEAM VENTURE!

I arrived at the convention just before 10AM (when doors were set to open) and there was already a pretty decent line. This particular Saturday happened to have quite a lot going on outside of the con, just a few miles away the yearly rivalry game between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University was kicking off, and a certain former president was in attendance. Despite that there was still a great turn out!

James Urbaniak’s Q&A was scheduled for 3PM and as expected the Venturoos were out in full force. It was lovely getting to interact with fellow fans, and there were two excellent Triana and Dr. Venture cosplays, Dr. Venture even had a tiny version of The Bat tagging along.

Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, some topics were off limits or had to be worded carefully, specifically his work in live action film and television but blessedly anything Venture Bros. was completely in the clear.
He talked about getting his start in acting, how performing with an off-off broadway theatre company led to Jackson Publick asking him to do the pilot and about the day he sounded “too happy” as Dr. Venture because he’d just found that he was going to be a father of twins.

We also learned his favorite episode is “Tag Sale, You’re It!”, that one of his favorite quotes is from the season two montage of Hank and Dean’s various deaths (“We had a gas leak that time. The silent killer.”) and just what goes in to creating the voices for Jonas Jr., Phantom Limb and David Bowie.

Unfortunately the midnight screening of The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart was canceled, and I found out after showing up for it, but other than that Saturday was an enjoyable day.

Day Three: Thank You, Dana Snyder, For Wasting My Time.

Sunday. The final day of Animate! Des Moines. I started early once again, getting there just before the exhibit hall opened. It was going to be a short day for me because I had to travel home. I knew that going in. But I did manage to maneuver my schedule around in order to attend “Dana Snyder Wastes an Hour of Your Time”.

I visited Dana at his booth in order to give him his own Guild of Calamitous Podcasts pin and get my action figure of the Alchemist signed. The nice thing about smaller sized conventions is that you get the time to genuinely have a conversation with the talent in attendance, which has always been an incentive for me. Dana was hilarious, and charming as ever.

And his panel was exactly what it said on the tin.

Coming in late Dana proudly stated he’d already wasted nine minutes of our time (off to a good start), what followed was a multi-subject tangent filled discussion including but not limited to: dye jobs, The Poseidon Adventure, different slang terms for kids, weather conspiracies, The Eiger Sanction and the act of stealing menus from restaurants.

A memorable moment was when a man flanked by his two young children read the ‘Senpai Stage’ schedule in the middle of the panel and loudly proclaimed “Dana Snyder Wastes an Hour of Your Time? FUCK THAT!” as he walked away.

The Cosplays

While Animate! Des Moines lacked Adult Swim representation in the cosplay department, there were still some pretty stellar get ups on display and I took more than a few pictures. It was actually pretty hard to narrow it down to just a few highlights for this article. But I did my best.

My favorite, by far, was the really impressive Alf cosplay.

All in all, Animate! Des Moines 2023 ticked all the boxes on my list and was a good time. There were some hiccups that just come with hosting a convention in a new place for the first time but that’s to be expected. And GalaxyCon has already announced that Animate! Des Moines 2024 will be happening next September and I, for one, can’t wait.

You’re probably thinking to yourself… why Missouri? Fun fact, Dana graduated from Webster University in St. Louis in 1996 with a BFA from Webster’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts (Thanks, Wikipedia!) and has returned a number of times, to the Show Me State to perform in a variety of shows. Most notably in 2010 where he portrayed Max Bialystock in the Producers.

Also worth noting, long-time friend of Dana’s, Brooks Braselman (who of Adult Swim note voiced Travis of the Cosmos in ATHF as well as the very legless and drifter-like (but totally legit) “Patrick Swayze” on Squidbillies) is also in the cast as Ira.

So if you’re in the Arrow Rock area this week, why not get tickets and go see Dana and Brooks show off their theater chops and provide some laughter. Check out the full synopsis, ticket info, cast, and more at Laughter on the 23rd Floor (lyceumtheatre.org)

Want more ATHF Fandom? 👀

We’ve got the full DC14 sched available on the site, broken up according to your favorite guests, and also by [as]central/fan organized activities.

Check out the full list here. You can also RSVP on our Facebook for the two Swimcast panels being held. Hope to see you there!

This week’s episode is titled “The New Country of Rock and Roll” and this week’s art is done by none other than Dana Snyder himself.

We recommend you check that out. ALSO: We will be having creator Andy Sipes on this week’s Swimcast for a chat. If you wish us to ask him Q’s, drop them in our mailbox.

The first comes by way of Adam W. For those who don’t listen to The Ken P. D Snydecast… firstly, why not? Secondly, Dana traveled down to Missouri to star as Max Bialystock (the part Nathan Lane made famous on Broadway) in The Producers. Check out some awesome pics from the show:

Click for more pics

Also in Dana Snyder News… our old buddy Liz Ohanesian from the L.A. Weekly posted the following on her blog:

Adult Swim is set to release an original weekly web series from Dana Snyder ( Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies) and Andy Sipes (Minoriteam, Saul of the Molemen, Code Monkeys) this August on AdultSwim.com.

Very little information for the show, which is still untitled, is available at this time, except that it is said to feature “moving songs, sound advice, stories from a 10-year-old child, and general Adult Swim insanity.”

Hopefully the “web series” doesn’t crash and burn like the last time as.com tried doing something the fans all enjoyed. At any rate, check back for more information on this news and much more.

Stars of Aqua Teen
Thursday 4/15/10 House of Blues Dallas, TX
Friday 4/16/10 House of Blues Houston, TX
Saturday 4/17/10 Paramount Theatre Austin, TX
Sunday 4/18/10 House of Blues New Orleans, LA

Fans with spare cash in Texas and Louisiana can now enjoy what others did last year. If you manage to go to any of these shows, be sure to namedrop John and this site. Even if you don’t do that, send John an email with details on the show(s) you attended. He’ll likely delve into it on an episode of that podcast he does.