For four years now Evan and Jesse, the hosts of CJSW’s ‘Am I Right??’, have been quietly doing their thing. Interviewing comedians both local and hugely famous. If you haven’t given the show a listen it’s a mix of legitimate interviews and a stream of improvised riffs. I recently sat in on their show to discuss their recent Canadian Comedy Award nomination for ‘Best Radio Program’ and what they think their chances are.

You guys are up for a Canadian Comedy Award for the show? Is this the first time? Were you pleasantly surprised, shocked, both?

Evan: Having sat on the jury for last year’s awards, I thought we were better than most of the submissions, we had a shot to be nominated. It was still a surprise though, there’s good stuff out there, not our competitors though.

Who are your competition and what are some blatant lies you can tell about them?

Jesse: Nothing on the CBC is funny.
Evan: The Debaters, is just repurposed Air Farce Sketches.
Jesse: This is That, is just Luba Goy in a series of masks.
Evan: Seriously Funny with Darren Rose is the other one.

Why is George Strombolopolous a sworn enemy of the show?

Jesse: Its just a bit. He had Steve Martin on once and we started Tweeting about it, cause Twitter’s not real, it’s for jokes. Then one day he direct messaged Evan.
Evan: Then one day someone on Twitter asked us “where does the war stand?” We cranked it up and then George phoned me to see what my problem was.

So George is the Matt Damon to your Jimmy Kimmel?

Jesse: Now he is a colleague.

Biggest interview to date?

Jesse: Tim Heidecker. He was the great white whale of the show.
Evan: Tim was great cause he came in and went straight into a Tim bit. One that people really appreciate, comedy nerds, we had Tom Sharpling on from WFMU in the states.

Do you think the rise of comedy podcasts has helped your cause?

Jesse: I think its hurting shows more. Our insistence on having local comedians on more, gives us a little more variety which comedy podcasts don’t have. There’s a lot of cross-pollination in podcasts.
Evan: We’re better than podcasts. We’re over the air. We’re beamed through a tower into peoples homes. Its better that way. Also, I honestly think we’re doing something different.
Jesse: We’re just two guys. We talk to really funny people and it’s for everyone.
Evan: I think its awesome to think that two dips from Calgary are doing stuff with Calgary people and we’re competing with these people who are proffesionals.

Thanks for having me guys and good luck.

‘Am I Right??’ airs Wednesday’s at 11 p.m. on CJSW, 90.9 FM, streaming online and you can download past episodes on iTunes (or RSS them for non-Apple people). The voting for the Canadian Comedy Awards closes July 29th. Help out the little guys.