My Damn Channel is 3 years old today.
Punk was still a baby when this photo was taken. Nixon is looming in the background. He's pointing the finger!
The pic is taken during a time called "college radio" before consultants sucked freedom out of the souls of rock radio madmen and mystical women who turned us onto music completely capable of changing and defining our lives.
I first met Harry Shearer that year. I chased rock dreams through radio, television and film - and called Harry in late 2006, with the idea to start a then-unnamed business which became My Damn Channel. I called Don Was. I called David Wain.
We launched My Damn Channel exactly 3 years ago, on July 31, 2007.
We give artists we love, trust and respect all the tools they need to skip over stone walls of multi-national media empires and create video delivered directly to you.
We've never been stupid enough to think www.MyDamnChannel.com would be the most visited online destination in the world. But we built a home base big and bad enough for every creator to have their own channel and we built a massive distribution network to move video onto every digital platform where we can make a solid business deal to support the work. The good shit ain't free.
We built a business driven by advertising, licensing and the certainty that we can bring you talent and content in special events later this year - worthy of a buck or two from you to support the art. Crazy, right?
Artists like Illeana Douglas prove that companies like IKEA can connect in a whole new way with millions of people watching millions of videos every hour. Illeana birthed a baby called "Easy to Assemble," which Ad Age dubbed "the most-watched sponsored web show."
We survived the world's worst economy and found our way to success because YOU watch and share our videos. THANK YOU.
We have artists that trust us to respect their art. THANK YOU.
We have sponsors and business partners who believe that we can deliver the good shit and guarantee millions of eyes on it all. THANK YOU.
We have backers who put their faith and coin into a vision for a new show business as powerful today as television was in the 50's. YOU GET IT! THANK YOU!
We have a man named Warren Chao, our Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, who knew how to stop us from avoiding most of the mistakes baby companies make to screw it all up. Warren: I've never known a single human being as smart, dedicated and effective inside a company as you. THANK YOU.
Biggest thanks to our families for not killing us when the hill seemed to high to climb!
RESPECT and THANKS to every one of you who have spent a day inside our small, evolving staff of rebels and business partners.
(Keep an eye out for your party invite!)
We start year four today. Documented in "the world's longest press release" here - with all our new channels for your immediate inspection.
One more major announcement is coming out in days to prove that you'll still have My Damn Channel to kick around for years to come.
F Nixon.
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My Damn Channel with tags
My Damn Channel,
Big Fat Brain,
The Landlord,
Harry Shearer,
Don Was,
David Wain,
Wainy Days,
Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music,
Jill Sobule,
San Francisco,
Elizabeth Banks,
Troy Hitch,
Matt Bledsoe,
Funny or Die,
Dick Cheney,
Scooter Libby on 6/29/2010 2:29:48 AM by Rob Barnett
Good things come in 3's.
3 years ago, a small band of true believers were readying the launch of My Damn Channel: 7/31/07.
Here are the inaugural videos from the first 3 artists we signed.
David Wain came in with the world's fastest pitch for Wainy Days: (paraphrasing) "I want to make out with the hottest women in the world and every date goes horribly wrong."
His first episode (a 3-parter) co-stars Elizabeth Banks as Shelly:
David Wain as David Wain, Elizabeth Banks as Shelly.
Harry Shearer was the first hero we signed. He sat in prosthetic makeup for over 4 hours to become Dick Cheney, singing sexy for Scooter Libby:
Harry Shearer as Dick Cheney.
We wanted music to marry comedy in our company from Day One. We turned to another brother and one of the best musicians and producers on the planet, Don Was.
Don's "Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music" is an earful of the best music you can't get anywhere else.
His first My Damn Channel production starred one of the smartest singer/songwriters we know, Jill Sobule:
Don Was, Rob Barnett, Jill Sobule, Warren Chao at the My Damn Channel west coast launch party, 2007.
Here's a rare, bonus video from the archives. Day one back on 7/31/07 also starred Big Fat Brain, the geniuses behind You Suck at Photoshop, and the web designers of all things DAMN. One of our only spoof vids looked 20 years into the FUTURE and poked our pals at Funny or Die, who had launched a few months earlier:
Matt Bledsoe, Troy Hitch
Posted in
Celebrity Autobiography,
Illeana Douglas,
Maria,
My Damn Channel,
Rob Barnett,
Sparhusen,
Wainy Days with tags
BANFF,
Rob Corddry,
David Wain,
jetemple,
Illeana Douglas,
Sparhusen,
Keanu Reeves,
Sad Keanu,
CheerUpKeanu,
Just For Laughs,
pie on 6/16/2010 2:40:26 AM by
Maria
We have been making friends on Twitter, and one of our fans sent us a PIE! @jetemple said we were his 100th follower on Twitter, and we asked if we won something (because, hey, why not, right?) and he sent us a pie, god bless him.
Here is @jetemple getting ready to send us our pie:
Amazing, right? Sigh. Our fans are the best. We love our fans. We've been watching the World Cup together, we've been trying to Cheer Up Keanu Reeves together, we've been watching Celebrity Autobiography together...so, yeah, we're pretty tight with our fans.
We're hoping to hang with some fans at the BANFF conference, where fearless leader/founder/CEO Rob Barnett is on a panel, and Illeana Douglas is receiving an award.
We're hoping to hang with some fans at some of the Celebrity Autobiography LIVE events.
We're hoping to hang with some fans at the Just For Laughs Festival in Chicago, with Wainy Days stars David Wain and Rob Corddry.
Finally, we're hoping to hang with some fans in a luxury box at the New York Mets' Citifield stadium. (Hey, we asked for a pie once, right? Figured it was worth a shot.)
Posted in
Boxee,
Press with tags
Boxee,
Wainy Days,
My Damn Channel,
David Wain,
Megan Mullally,
Nick Offerman,
Zandy Hartig,
Harry Shearer,
Don Was,
Illeana Douglas,
Easy to Assemble,
Horrible People on 6/10/2010 3:00:00 AM by Rob Barnett
Boxee is the best way to get TV shows, movies, videos, music, and photos from the Internet on your TV. We’ve been watching this company grow and we’ve seen people’s heads turn every time their name is mentioned…inna good way. Put simply, this company is hot – with the right ideas to build the future with you in the driver’s seat. Here’s more.
Boxee just gave My Damn Channel access to one million new households. We just gave Boxee every single video we’ve had on My Damn Channel since launch in 2007.
You can now see our original music and comedy in the comfort of your own domestic domicile – on the largest screen of your choice. This is a HUGE win for our fans, artists, and sponsors … even our moms will finally think we’ve all got real jobs.
We’re launching this new chapter of our life by giving Boxee exclusive off-site distribution of the premiere of David Wain’s new “WAINY DAYS.” This is episode 32 from one of the most-watched comedies in the new world - starring David along with Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman & Zandy Hartig.
If we weren’t working so hard to entertain you – we’d be home right now partying our brains out watching Wainy Days, Easy To Assemble, the entire catalog of the Don Was Cavalcade of Recorded Music, all those You Suck at Photoshop and Horrible People episodes and the deadly smart creations by Harry Shearer.
It's all there waiting for you. New stuff we can't even tell you about yet will be there soon, too. Admit it: you want to go there. It's okay. We want you to go to there, too.
THANKS BOXEE!
Posted in
Webby Awards with tags
Webby Awards,
My Damn Channel,
Famous Interactive,
Easy To Assemble,
Illeana Douglas,
Sparhusen,
Wainy Days,
David Wain,
Amanda Peet,
Don Was,
Jon Bon Jovi,
Richie Sambora,
Andy,
Stand by Me,
IKEA on 5/4/2010 3:22:25 AM by Rob Barnett
My Damn Channel was born 7/31/07. We were still in diapers when the Webby Awards first starting loving our artists with 7 nods in 2008.
They honored our family 5 more times in 2009. And this year, 8 new acts of love. We suck at math, but that's a lotta Webby lovin'.
The Webby Awards were just announced today.
THANKS to every human who voted - the judges, the fans...and congrats to every creator in webland for the recognition for your work n' fun that goes into forging the new world.
BIG love and respect to all in our family. Here are links to the My Damn Channel honored class of 2010:
Extra special love to Illeana Douglas and the "Easy To Assemble" team for her nomination for Best Individual Performance...and to David Wain and Amanda Peet and the whole Wainy Days fam for their nomination for Best Individual Episode for "Jill."
New "Wainy Days" and New "Easy To Assemble" episodes are in the works now.
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David Wain,
Streamy Awards with tags
David Wain,
Streamys on 4/15/2010 12:34:37 PM by Virginia Reiff
Auto Tune The News Auto Tuned the Streamys. Complete Genius. See it HERE.
Rob Barnett (My Damn Channel Founder/CEO); Illeana Douglas
The My Damn Channel family of artists took home 4 Streamy Awards Sunday night:
- Illeana Douglas won 2 Streamy Awards for EASY TO ASSEMBLE. Best Ensemble Cast and Best Product Integration for IKEA.
- Jason and Randy Sklar won a Streamy Award for Best Branded Entertainment Web Series for BACK ON TOPPS sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods.
- David Wain won a Streamy Award for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series for WAINY DAYS.
HUGE THANKS to every artist, active fan, and advertiser for saying YES to "the good shit."
Here's the new news:
A 3rd Season of IKEA's EASY TO ASSEMBLE will debut this year on My Damn Channel. Illeana and IKEA will deliver the details in the coming days. This is a tremendous sign of support for everyone who co-creates Branded Entertainment.
David Wain told Grace on the red carpet that more WAINY DAYS is on its way to My Damn Channel. Cameras will roll on episode 32 next weekend!
Posted in
Streamy Awards with tags
Streamy Awards,
My Damn Channel,
Daily Grace,
Red Carpet,
Grace Helbig,
Michelle Vargas,
Virginia Reiff,
David Wain,
Illeana Douglas,
Jason Sklar,
Randy Sklar,
IKEA,
Easy To Assemble,
Wainy Days,
Back on Topps,
Sparhusen,
Rob Mailhouse,
Todd Spahr,
Web Television,
Kodak on 4/11/2010 9:28:30 AM by Rob Barnett
Tonight's the night web television's best are honored by the Streamy Awards.
We hit the red carpet with all the web couture we got.
Grace Helbig, Michelle Vargas, and Virginia Reiff bring you My Damn Channel coverage on our home page and our new www.MyDamnChannel.tumblr.com.
And My Damn Channel goes LIVE for the first time ever. The ceremony starts at 5:30p PST.
Look for David Wain, Illeana Douglas, Jason Sklar, Randy Sklar, Sparhusen, Todd Spahr, Rob Mailhouse, Justine Bateman, Douglas NINJA Sarine, and all our fellow nominees and nerds.
My Damn Channel BIG announcements coming from here at the Streamys too on what's new.
You can now see all 6 episodes of Season 1 of "The Iceman Chronicles" here.
We launched one month ago, and the series just passed over 300,000 total views on My Damn Channel and on our syndication network.
Thanks for the solid start and the feedback. Tell us more: da good, bad, ugly, lovely.
Happy Friday THANKS to Rachel Webber, Ilsa Berg, Gabe Marano and all connected humans at Fox Television Studios and 15 Gigs for a hot first date.
MEGA THANKS to David Fickas, Brice Beckham, Drama 3/4, and the cast and crew for allowing us to join your world.
Shock, awe and appreciation to all who voted for the STREAMY AWARDS nominations. An insane 14 nominations for My Damn Channel series and stars.
The Streamy Awards honor excellence in original web television programming and those who create it. The annual ceremony and its live online broadcast on April 11, 2010 bring together top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping the online entertainment industry.
Respect & Praise to the My Damn Channel Family of Nominees:
Wainy Days
Best Comedy Web Series
David Wain for Best Actor
Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series
Easy to Assemble
Best Comedic Web Series
Best Branded Entertainment Web Series
Best Ensemble Cast
Illeana Douglas for Best Actress
Justine Bateman for Best Actress
Best Product Integration in a Web Series
Sparhusen
Best Original Music in a Web Series
Back On Topps
Best Ensemble Cast
Best Branded Entertainment Web Series
Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series
Chris Hardwick for Best Guest Star