7 Responses

1. John says:

   July 28, 2008 at 7:39 pm

   Problem here is that this is not the National Lampoon that we all know and remember and revere. This is a company that bought the name in the 90’s when the original company went under. The new caretakers of the name have no respect for what it stands for and have run it into the ground on cheap direct to DVD films like “Natlamp’s Strip Poker” which was basically just tits and poker footage with Kato Kalin and a metal cover band. The new aim is to just exploit the name for whatever bucks it can get them. The new owners, in fact, are the people who got rich doing “Dorf on Golf” and have nothing at all to do with the legendary magazine. So I would not be at all surprised that the name would go on some questionable projects. In fact, pimping the name for questionable projects is the current Natlamp’s ENTIRE BUSINESS PLAN.

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2. Brian McKim & Traci Skene says:

   July 28, 2008 at 11:57 pm

   John:We’re well aware of the NatLamp business model… which is what makes the collapse of this club so odd– We figure the folks who are exploiting the name to promote the club have paid good dollars for the privelege. So… if they’re laying out jack to use the name (and the brand equity that comes with it), how come they didn’t take care to recover the investment in the NatLamp name?

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3. John says:

   July 29, 2008 at 12:12 am

   It’s a good question. Maybe D and B were ultimately the real money people behind buying the name, and ultimately maybe they could absorb the loss? Not sure. I doubt NatLamp cared much what happenned to the whole thing after they cashed the name use check. I also imagine that, if it’s similar to what D and B did with the Comedy Zone name in other locations, they put zero local promotion dollars into it and basically used the old “open the door” strategy to put people in the seats, counting that the people who were already there for Skee-Ball would fill the club.

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4. Dick Holder says:

   July 29, 2008 at 12:28 am

   The Philly site info is already off the NatLamp CH website.

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5. Badgerick Calais says:

   July 29, 2008 at 7:39 pm

   Take one look at that website, which was some kind of hideous tiled background and a bunch of crappy animated gifs, and then ask yourself, was there ever any question that this thing would tank? These guys are dinosaurs. And they are the types of people who have driven stand-up comedy into the ground over the past two decades. We don’t want them in this city. It’s time for the new generation to make comedy fun again. When everyone got all up in arms to tell that Phillymag blogger to shove it, it was kind of misdirected. Everyone was just trying to defend comedy, but just ended up defending these crooks and D&B’s. The open letter that they put out should’ve been everyone’s first clue.

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6. Gloryrose says:

   July 31, 2008 at 6:36 pm

   Sounds like the way my music career went in the end..I would load about ten tons of equipment and arrive at the club that had no clue , when I was lucky I hadn’t unloaded my equp before being told to go home…clubs being bought up left and right I think to laundry money no desire to please public.And so it goes right?Am now doing promo so please go seeStand-Up Comedy in New York City Nick Griffen at the Gotham Stand-Up ComedyJuly 31/Aug1st/2/3< HREF="http://www.nickgriffin.net" REL="nofollow">Nick Grifin<>..Seems like most people today don’t want to go see anything period except movies.Sheeee no spell ck forgive please

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7. John Paul Dougherty III says:

   August 1, 2008 at 3:53 am

   Hold on now folks, there is still a Philly ‘button’ on the Nat Lamp Comedy House website and a new announcement about NLCH reviewing their optins in Philly. Let’s wait and see what happens, we don’t know the whole story, although the comedians who were booked for opening night should be paid of course, and I bet they will be. And, if you know the history of Nat Lamp magazine, problems with starting-up are not new at all, just part of the process. Let’s give NLCH a chance! Thanks! John Dougherty

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