US magazine Heeb, covering arts, culture and politics, appealing to the young, urban and influential, has published the second installment of the Heeb Hundred: a roundup of 100 people you need to know about. The list includes bloggers and newspaper publishers, comic artists and novelists, chefs and fashion designers, and while they’ve already got stellar resumes, Heeb believes that the best is yet to come from each of them.
Here are the top 10 American comic artists chosen by Heeb Hundred for 2007 (arranged in alphabetical order):
Adira Amram
It’s safe to say that Adira Amram is unique in her passion for leotards. The daughter of noted composer David Amram, the 26-year-old grew up surrounded by music and now performs her own songs during frequent comedy club appearances and solo shows, clad in spandex. Once described as “Biz Markie meets Madonna,” the musician/comedian/actress is clearly hard to define. In addition to taking to the stage armed with an electric keyboard and some jokes, Amram has performed Off-Off Broadway, appeared on The Sopranos and done time as a talking head for VH1’s Best Week Ever. She’s currently working on a CD tentatively titled Hot Jams for Teens Volume 3.
Josh Fadem
Josh Fadem has starred in a music video for British band The Go! Team, appeared as a wheelchair-bound Harry Potter look alike in the cult hit show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and does a mean impression of a young Werner Herzog. So it’s not surprising that the resume of this 27-year-old Tulsa native looks less like that of a struggling indie standup and more like that of a rising comic star. Appearing next year in the film Made in Romania (a quasi-satire of epic filmmaking starring Elizabeth Hurley) Fadem can always be found hosting his weekly variety show at L.A.’s W.C. Fields Lounge, “Josh Fadem’s Acid Reflux Hour”.
Judah Friedlander
Judah Friedlander has shown so much acting range and in such a short time. He’s played a retard in Curb Your Enthusiasm, a nerd in 30 Rock and a retarded nerd in American Splendor. But the Maryland native known for his trucker hats and bushy muttonchops will also be appearing in the upcoming films Cabin Fever 2 and Starship Dave… in which he will presumably take on the roles of a nerd or retard. Or both.
Brett Gelman
Brett Gelman is a writer, comic and actor, but first and foremost he’s a hip hop enthusiast. A New Yorker since 1999, Gelman’s been one-half of the group Mr. A$$ and is currently one-fourth of sketch comedy group The Brighter Side, with best friends Jon Daly, Curtis Gwinn and John Gemberling. The Chicago native’s love for music has also led him to write and perform a musical called 1,000 Cats and perform with the satirical hip hop duo Cracked Out.
Seth Herzog
Seth Herzog is the NYC’s only comic that integrates a Wonder Woman dance number into his act. Replete with a primary-colored unitard, Lynda Carter’s number one fan prances and gyrates on stage like a younger Jim Carrey on PCP. This summer he was featured in David Wain’s The Ten and on Wednesdays, the 36-year-old runs a sketch comedy show with Michael Showalter at The Slipper Room on the Lower East Side.
Joe Mande
Don’t let Joe Mande’s sweet, smiling baby face mislead you—he’s mesmerized by mircopenises and his greatest sexual fantasy is to ejaculate a dragon (although if the opportunity were to present itself, he’d exchange the ability to have sex for the ability to dunk a basketball). The 24-year-old Emerson grad and native of St. Paul, Minnesota, co-hosts Totally J/K!, a popular weekly comedy show in New York’s East Village, and appears regularly on the NYC comedy circuit (when he’s not making videos demystifying bathroom body language or rapping quietly to himself in private).
Morgan Murphy
If Pippi Longstocking were impregnated by standup Steven Wright, the end result would likely be Morgan Murphy. The 25-year-old Oregonian maintains her fire red ’fro as well as a sardonically stoned on-stage persona. For those who don’t frequent West Coast comedy clubs, catch one of her gigs on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she often dishes on her aspiring career in animal porn.
Jay Oakerson
He may blame his Jewish heritage for dashing any ninja aspirations, but Big Jay Oakerson is doing just fine in his second choice career. The 30-year-old standup from Philly was named 2006 Cringe Humor Up & Coming Comedian Of The Year and has already made the rounds at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Showtime’s Whiteboyz in The Hood. Now a New Yorker, Oakerson can be seen educating crowds on why size really matters.
Jenny Slate
Jenny Slate is as beautiful as she is comfortable making jokes about blowing cocaine out her ass. Along with her comedy and nonsexual life-partner Gabe Liedman, the charming Columbia alum hosts “At Night With Gabe & Jenny,” a standup show in the East Village, and has a comedy series percolating at the TV website Super Deluxe. Originally from Milton, Massachusetts, the 25-year-old phenom currently lives in Brooklyn and has no discernible sense of shame or fear.
Rob Tannenbaum
Guitar? Check. Indie rock blazer? Check. Rock-tinged comedy about the trials and tribulations of Judaism? Check. That’s what you get when you go to see Rob Tannenbaum and his group Good for the Jews. With fellow comedian David Fagin at his side, Good for the Jews are influenced by everyone from Mel Brooks to Lou Reed, and of course Krusty the Clown. An eclectic mix of music and comedy, Rob Tannenbaum’s career hasn’t been confined to just this song and dance. As music editor at Blender magazine and a writer for Playboy, Tannenbaum’s wit and snarkiness has entertained in print as well as on stage.
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Artists Bio's by Rebecca Wiener , Brian Abrams , Edit Zimerman
Website: http://www.heebmagazine.com/
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