Lady Shakes

Alexis Novak. Yoga Teacher. Cat Rescuer. Former Denver Nuggets Cheerleader. Listen to this extra long episode of Lady Shakes to hear what it’s all about. Manos makes an appearance. The pit orchestra from CATS the musical is live and in studio. Snack recommendations. A plea to the US Women’s National Soccer Team. This episode has it all, plus life lessons via cat analogies. #fullyloaded #catfancy #thelifeyouchoose

Jess Rona: improvisor, actress, singer, songwriter, dog groomer, power forward, and now, guest on Lady Shakes. She will sing for you. She will talk about her pretend uncle, Tibor, who learned to paint alongside Pablo Picasso YES THAT PABLO PICASSO. But most of all, she will make history as the only guest to ever make a milkshake for Claire. Was it poisoned? Find out now by listening to this episode of Lady Shakes.

This episode of Lady Shakes, with renowned Los Angeles-based Nashville-transplants-musical comedy duo Erin McGown and MeLissa Luna, was recorded MONTHS ago, just before the period of time referred to in the biz as ‘Second Winter Podcast Hibernation’ (SWPH). Let’s get back to business with talk of trombones, granddaughters, spaghetti, summer camp, basketball, the Illuminati (spoiler alert), and BOYS BOYS BOYS. Special thanks to Erin & MeLissa for doing this Lady Shake and for their patience during the Second Winter Podcast Hibernation.  

Back from a winter hiatus, Claire warms up the ol’ Vitamix for a talk with TV writer & creator of the blog Girls On Girls On Film, Laura Kittrell. A regular Encyclopedia Brown but only about film & TV, Laura wows all with her recollection of facts only about this subject matter. She loves when women dress like young Lauren Bacall. If you want to know more facts about her, listen to this new episode of Lady Shakes* just in time for the new year!     *Features a friendship Mad Lib.

In this alterna-Bechdel test, insanely talented TONY AWARD WINNER Marissa Jaret Winokur and 2004 BAY LEAGUE MVP Claire dish about John Waters’ mustache, Matthew Morrison’s sweet potatoes, and Nick Jonas’s lips. Also, stories about Dancing With The Stars, Ellen’s eyes, Queen Latifah’s mugs, coating your singing throat with potato chips, and being open/feeling blessed/making money. What a gosh darn treat!

Housemates Brianna Baker, Mo Welch, and Punam Patel invite us into their home for a special Halloween edition of Lady Shakes. As we sip Blended Finger Shakes out of wine glasses, a door slowly creaks open. Then… physically scary stories, metaphysically scary stories, emotionally scary stories, and the terrors that come from simply being a #woman. What a treat! Or… a TRICK????!! No. It’s a treat. HAPPY HALLOWEEN and #yesallwomen.  

The founders of EveryoneIsGay.com and The Parents Project and authors of new book 'This Is A Book For Parents of Gay Kids' sit down with Claire and talk about so many things including how this book happened, when to read your horoscope, and some reinventions of old turns-o-phrase. If you're like America, then you just can't get enough of these dairy-free ladies!

As Emily Brundige and fellow Santa Monica High School Viking, Claire, talk about Emily’s animated webseries, ‘Pubertina’, they are blasted with a dose of the past and take a trip down the memory lane of Puberty Street USA. Also some talk of grandmas, scoliosis, lice checks, cats who look like Hitler/Walt Disney, Pippi Longstocking, and table hamsters.

Claire sits down with singer/songwriter/lady Julia Nunes to unravel the mysteries behind how music is made. Turns out it’s a lot like life, if ‘big breaks’ and ‘chords’ are the same thing and they pile up and pile up until they become a ‘career’ or a ‘song’ because isn’t that all life is, is a song that is sung over a bunch of years while meanwhile we eat some snacks and meet new people? Also find mention of Disney cult classic ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and a fun story about an umbrella.

Improvisor, Comedian, Writer, Dog Mother & Sweet Soul Holly Laurent shares childhood stories of trembling in the presence of the idea of God, how she found comedy, and what it was like to leave a city of pizza such as Chicago and set sail for a land of palm trees such as Los Angeles. Claire could have listened for hours, but this is all you get… for now.     

American film & television actor/writer/shrimp-eater Jessica St. Clair talks about her haunted past: a movie that may or may not be 'Selena', the perils of breast milk, and Lennon vs. Eugene O'Neill's Pedal Pushers. Most of all, she and Claire demonstrate the crossing of boundaries that occurs between a master and commander. Find out what this means and so much more! Plus the soft soothing breath of a miniature rescue schnauzer!  

  Amy York Rubin -Little Horribles- has never seen John Edwards shirtless and if she had she definitely wouldn’t give him a high-five. Listen to find out why not as well as the secrets to a meaningful life from the points of view of: Amy’s grandfather, Amy’s grandmother, Amy’s father, Amy’s mother, Amy’s sister, Dave Chappelle, George Eggman, Kathy the cashier at Albertson’s, a psychic in India, a psychic at a sample sale, Claire’s mom, and that one fortune cookie that one time.       

Despite her sensitive teeth and aversion to cold indulgences, Dannielle drinks a Mango Sorbet Spritzer as she tells tales of her growth as a human being. From Chicago improv to award-winning blog Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber and now world-helping organization EveryoneIsGay.com and companion book This Is A Book For Parents Of Gay Kids, DOR and Claire learn that all it really takes to be yourself is a good male body role model and a healthy balance of LOLs.   

  Mo takes Claire on a tour of America, from Laramie to Denver to Chicago and LA. Mo drinks a chocolate milkshake even though she is lactose intolerant. Claire reveals that she once kissed her sister’s mouth while dressed as her dad.