Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Episode 247 - Dave Attell

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

Tom and Dave break bread Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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spend some time with the great Dave Attell. Man, oh man, this really, really means a lot because when I first started in New York City as a young wannabe comic, Dave was already the guy. He was Dave Attal, he'd just walk into any club and he just had more jokes during a week than anybody would have. And I say that, excuse me, and I say that during the week because he would literally have, have this most brilliant stuff on a Monday and then on Tuesday

he would have gotten rid of all of them and moved on to the next stuff. He was just so lightning fast and so prolific and so intimidating as a young comic. I actually at one point had to stop watching him because I had to get my own act together

and there was a period in New York where everybody just thought well I've got to try and be as good as that. and that was impossible and it was so unique and it was he's such a distinct voice that the only way for me personally to grow was to avoid Dave Patel for a while because he was so powerful and it really does mean a lot to me that all these years later we get to sit down in new york city and have a conversation he's uh he doesn't love uh long conversations i would say right might He doesn't love him. I think he likes to keep moving. His brain is very active. He wants to, he wants to bob and weave. But we got a really nice amount of time out of Dave Attell, which is a very unusual thing. Even when we run out, running to each other at the clubs outside, he'll be good for a bit. And then he'll just kind of wrap you up and be like on to the next, onto the next thing. And so it's really like, it's almost like if you can.

see an artist from afar and be like, wow, that, that, is he just like you? No, he's not. Davidel is not like anyone else in the world. And that's what makes him a great comic. And I really, and he's also a very caring individual. And I just love him to death. And I think you're going to love this conversation with the great Davidel. Also, go to tompapa.com.

and I have all my dates for my new Grateful Bread Tour are out there. We're going everywhere. I saw the list the other day. It is a long list. And that's only through like May. So we're going everywhere. So go to tompapa.com and pick up all of that. And thank you all for watching home free and making it really one of my best specials to date on the Netflix's. All right, enough of that. Now enjoy my conversation with the great Dave Attell.

It's time for breaking bread. With Papa, Hey, don't you know. Hey, it's how we go. Hey, it's time for breaking bread with Papa. Hey, don't you know. Hey, it's also a show. Hey.

Good to see you, Dave. Hello, I was just fishing at next. Use a flippity phone. Yeah. You always flip phone? Oh, I don't know where to start. I think it's the way to go. Full circle.

Come right back to the flip. Did you go to the smartphone at every? I have one of those as well. You have two phones? Yes. Geez, you're big time. When you're running multiple cyber accounts plus a comedy career, you have to give people a way to get in touch.

That's why this is great to disconnect. Just you, me, and I believe the barking of a dog. Of a very, very sad dog. Yeah, always. Really sad. Just chains inside. I have no idea what's going on in there. This is a lot of yelping and scratching.

Do you ever have pets, Dave? Yeah, I have. Is this a therapy session? Yes. I've had dogs. We've had fish, a turtle. Who is your favorite? I would say that, you know, fish, first of all, you got to really love it.

It's a lot of cleanup. You know, you got to really want it. But I would say the dogs are the way to go. Right. But we never could really like, you know what I'm saying? Like, we always had a problem with a dog and, you know, oh, it's just so sad. That was my problem. father would get impatient.

We wouldn't train the dog. And then the dog would do something like eat a sofa cushion. And then my father would give away the dog. Oh, really? Yes. So we would never do that. We would just live with the dog and like adjust our lives around that dog. Uh-huh.

But yeah, like, you know, you know the whole dog, dogs can eat chocolate? Yeah. Well, I remember our dog who would just grab stuff off the table ate this giant Hershey's kiss that I got from my mom. I was like maybe 12 or something like that. Oh. and ate the whole thing and then just out of every hole, just like fluids coming out of the dog. It was very, it was traumatic.

And we were like, it's like, oh, she's done. No, no, there's another round coming, you know. Oh, geez. So that was. I bought you these two chocolate almond croissons from Vesuvio Bakery. No way. It's the holidays. That's fantastic.

I hope you enjoy them. Oh, well, thank you. That's very nice. You know, I'm on a strict, don't eat during a podcast. podcast. Here's to us. Here's to us. It's so good to see you,

you've always been, I am one of the ranks. I'm a fan, Tom. Of one of my heroes. Well, that's really nice to you to say. I've been phoning in in the last few years, but you have me completely right now. So what goes on here?

Breaking bread. Is that really what we're talking about? It's really just what we're doing. Yeah. Sitting two friends. spending some time with each other. Nice. Yeah.

Well, how do you eat at home normally? Who cooks for you? These are really kind of in-depth things for like a right off the bat. I mean, don't we have a camera angle to adjust again and again and again? What do I eat at home? I think, you know, you're a married man. I'm, of course, a bachelor. So I eat whenever I feel like it and I don't like to eat before I go on, whether it's on the road or at home.

So I eat around three in the morning because I go on very late. Right. So it's really weird to have soup at 3 a.m. It's kind of like a Valley Forge kind of thing, just sad, alone. You don't have to fake laugh. We can always. On the windows is eating. Yeah, it's very sad.

It's very sad. You've always, but you've always been a. I've always been a soup. Oh, I think you've always been roll on soup for a while. You've always been a, a lone wolf, a lone wolf. A lone wolf. A lone wolf. A lone wolf.

night, man. I've never heard of a Dave Attell girlfriend. Yeah. I've never heard of a... The lady in my life is my mother who has dementia. And I knew that would silence you. No one knows what to say. But, you know, I do love in the papers now they have all the warning signs of dementia

and that you might have it. And guess what one of them is? Forgetfulness. Oh, really? Wow. Yeah, I'd known. Was a guy wearing a lab coat when he came up with that one? really you can't remember anything oh wow how long as you had dementia uh you it starts

it builds and it starts way way earlier than you know so yeah like repeating of stories and all that kind of stuff that's like kind of the beginning of it forgetfulness of course right and then uh you know like just like weird thing like you know oh you know i parked the wrong way i can't remember where I part, you know, that kind of stuff. That's all like the beginning of it. And we're all like in that same boat. But as of now, I really, you know, I have no, I have no idea like, you know, me and my sister are pretty much the primary care people.

And it's like, every day is an adventure. You know, you never know what's going to happen, what you're going to get. And then there is like, you know, just the sadness of losing someone you love because really is they're not there anymore, you know, so. I know, I had a, I don't want to bring everyone down this, this early in the podcast. That's right. It's just me. And I'm not down about it.

Okay. Well, you're not excited about it, are you? No, but it really... Some of us want to forget. I mean, I could say there's a lot of things I would like, you know what? I really don't care. I, you know. Right. Wipe all of this out. Yeah, just get rid of it.

My grandfather had a stroke when I was a teenager. No way. And he was like, he was the funny one in my family. Like he was like really the storyteller, the guy. And I went to visit him right after. And he lived for probably, I don't know, six more years, but seeing him initially, in the hospital. Like it was just all done.

Yeah. Oh, that was heartbreaking. Just that that was his superpower. And it was just, he was there, but he wasn't there. It was,

it was tough. Yeah, I say this pretty much whenever I get a chance. Anybody who's dealing with this, there's a lot of, a lot of people, like I'm pretty lucky,

you know, I make a decent living so I can afford around the clock care. And, you know, it's a lot of work. The people we have working

are more family now than they are workers or employees. They're really like a part of us. So we're very lucky to have them. And anybody who's out there dealing with this, I really feel free because like not only, not only is it something that I didn't hear about it in the campaigns or anything like that,

but we did see it on a debate and that it's a real thing and it really is a life-changing thing. And a lot of people, you know, like they have their career, their dream, they have to put that on hold to go take care of a parent, you know, whether it is dementia or something else. And like, you know, that's kind of the world we live in.

And I always give it up to those people who like step up because there's also kids who like, you know what, hey, I got my life. You know, I'm just going to move on. And like, you know, that's, I guess you could say, like, you know, a choice, but it's also like for the rest of us, you know, how can you not? Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

And you got kids. So eventually, you know, you're lucky. You got that boom. Yeah, I know. And watching Cynthia, watching my wife deal with her mom, it's so tricky. Oh, boy. How to get the care and what's the right place to be. Oh, and so much work.

It's so much work. And if to get into Medicaid, you have to make sure, you have to prove that they have no money. Yeah, exactly. To spend down everything that they've ever made. Yeah. So then they'll take care of you.

Oh, dude. It's a sick system. It's a real labyrinth of like, you know, issues to get any kind of relief. Yeah. But the thing that people don't know about you, David Tell, which I've observed my entire comedy career,

was that you're a very, very kind, thoughtful person. And you truly are. You've always been so generous and giving. And it was, I think about you that way all the time. Well, that's really nice. It's really true. I like to think of myself more as a kind of person of interest, if you will,

you know, a dark presence. But yeah, no, I used to work at a comedy club when I first started. I worked at the improv. And I know what it is to, like, be at a club night after night, especially if you're a comic and you're also a waiter or you're a comic and you're a door guy or security and like how you just want to get on stage. And, you know, so I feel like, you know, like whenever I go to a club, I always bring stuff in, you know, like some candy, buy pizza, whatever that is.

Yeah. It's like a little, you know, like just thanks. Yeah, exactly. I'd say that like the club world, what are you thinking right now? We're in the middle of this. Would you say we're in the middle towards the end or like the last moments of a comedy boom? What do you think? Oh, about the comedy boom?

Yeah, let's talk about that. This is kind of more of a, you know, business thing here. Right. I would say, I don't know. I'm usually wrong about all of these trends and things. whatever I say normally isn't true. Part of me feels like I'm watching so many really great comics. All of a sudden selling tickets really hard on social media.

Yeah. Makes me thinks that maybe it's slowing down a hair. Oh, is that? I didn't know that. I'm not really on the web like that. But then, yeah, you can't get Instagram on your flip phone. No. Not on any apps or anything.

But yeah. Right. So you're seeing them sell tickets on on different apps? They seem to be pushing, making videos and like, hey, come see me. My tour is coming up and where they hadn't, where they just put them on sale and they sold like a couple years ago. So that's making me think maybe there's a little bit of a thing.

But also, but the other side of it is there's so many, every comedian has their own following that doesn't really cross-pollinate with other comics. And it's like if, I think that that can keep going. I guess so. I guess you're right that there is definitely like these little,

like worlds of comedy and that there's very few of them that kind of cross over or whatever like um i think in a lot of i i think the cool of what um what i've been seeing is that uh you know there are a lot more comics you know and there is definitely a lot more money out there and uh you know i i i remember you know how like you know the whole idea of like hey this guy sold out madison square garden how that that was the thing. Now you'd have to sell it for about two weeks straight, which comics can do. I mean, like,

I'm sure Bill Burke could do it easily. Yeah. Just straight ahead, great shows, not a ticket left. Two weeks at Madison Square. Crazy. So even these,

these, like, colossal venues have now been tamed by just the comedy world, like Chappelle and just these amazing, amazing, like, touring legends that are out there right now.

And the other thing is that there's a lot of content. And like I think that's part of like my, my own like, wow, I can't. Didn't this guy just do a special? He's got a new special. How is that possible? I'm still working on, you know, like I did a special last year. I mean, well, I guess I did a special this year early in the year. And I got maybe 30 minutes of new material now.

Right. You have a special out. Yeah. So how are you feeling about touring after this? Yeah. I have about 30 minutes of new stuff. Yeah. I filmed it.

And then I throw in some crowd work and throw in some. be a couple gems from the archives. Yeah. But it takes me a while to develop new stuff. It's, uh, you know what I mean? I totally know what you're talking. There's the thing about, well, I can, I got to an hour. You hear people say, but I've got a new hour.

And it's almost like they're just talking about time. Yeah. Being on stage for an hour. But do you have really good material to fill that out? That is so true to him. Because like, like, I feel like every time I get one to work to stop. And it's like, it's like a weird kind of like, like, almost like a, like a phone company like once plugged in two are plugged out like that kind of a weird game that I'm playing with

myself well I feel I've always felt that you have a high um I a uh what's the right phrase you you have a there's only you have a very high bar for jokes to get into the act and stay in the act I've watched you have jokes so that I would think wow that's a killer and then all of a sudden it's gone and it didn't make the lineup where other comics I think would just hang on to it forever I feel like It's almost like a, like a, if you want to talk about like joke tweaking, which is where like it works. And now you're like, I'm going to make it better or I don't like how that is. I just need to fix that. Well, you tweak it and tweak it, it's all that doesn't work at all.

Yeah. Which is pretty much, I could say, if we, if we could do that, it's like, that would be a two hour special of jokes that I've ruined. Yeah. So, but I feel for you, man, because like once you get out on the road and like we're talking about like, you know, you're out there and you're like, oh, man. Like, you know, I hope this crowd gets it because like I really got nothing else in, you know, I got that much ammo on me. Well, how did you feel after yours came out? Did you feel like I can't do any of it? I got some great reaction on it.

And it really was cool to get, you know, like I have trouble like, it's not like I have trouble letting go to the joke. I just always feel like they're not done or like that's not good. So to actually get him on tape and the guy who was my director, Scott Gallick, is a real comedy fan. And he really kind of held my hand. And he went above and beyond. to like edit and make sure that like we got the best version of whatever we had you know i i self-produced it and yeah you know he's really good at working i guess whatever i i have going so how how in what way was he the most helpful like well first of all it's a hybrid special it's it's shorter i wanted

it shorter i felt like an hour is like too much now i saw our earthquake special and i was like he did a half you know yeah so i was very cool to bring him back you know to like today's audience to see how awesome he is. And, you know, he did a half and it left me wanting to see more. And I was like, yeah, the half hour is really the new hour in terms of attention span. And like, who knows? I've been saying that for a year now, probably a half hour is too long, you know. Yeah.

But you can see that in any special. I'm sorry, it doesn't matter how good it is. The half hour mark in a special, you'll see the comic himself go like, ah, you know, it's like that, oh, like the marathon, like, you know, I'm not, I don't have the runners high yet, but I'm exhausted. You know, like, yeah. So, I mean, I don't know if you love time, like when you, do you love doing time? Because some guys love it, like you can't get them down.

I know. They're up there and up there. They'll do two hours. No, I've never been that creature for sure. I got to sell that merch. I can do 30 on stage in about two hours of merch. Right. I'm a meet and greet.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's interesting when I've been back out since the special came out. if I am going to dip into the special at all, I'd take from the second half. Oh. Because just to your point, I don't think a lot of people have seen that stuff.

I've been in that situation too. You're thinking like, oh, no, everybody knows my, and it's like, none of them know it. No. They're bringing up credits from 20 years ago. They have no idea what I just did. Yeah, it's like, but here's an interesting thing. But I think that's because we're like professionals.

Like we're trying to be the right person. Like, you know, you're bringing new stuff out there all time, you know. I know, but here's something interesting because I could watch you do classic jokes every single night. If we were working here at the cellar and you were doing the same joke, like, you could do like an older joke. I would be into it. I love watching my friends old stuff. Like I don't get tired of these jokes. Okay.

Why do you think that the public does? Well, I think it's also, I kind of like, I guess, you know, I'm not like, there's only a few rules to live by and that's one of them. is that like, you know, you have to turn material. And that was another thing that I wanted to bring up about like this boom is that, you know, people turning content like that have never, it never worked that way in comedy. Not that I'm coming to you from like the 50s or whatever, like, you know, when I toured with Martin and Lewis, you know, but it was like you had your act and you did it. Like, you know, Don Rickles who, you know, like really like like, like Don Rickles like a icon.

Nobody, nobody could touch the guy in terms of like just pure funny. And like, you know, his ability. to move and roll with a crowd, you know, that was developed not at a comedy club, but like at a strip club or at a nightclub. He played every club but a comedy club because they weren't around then. But like even his act towards the end,

you know, he had like a beginning, middle and end, he had a band. He had the things that he did. And like Joan Rivers, who was not like that, she was constantly producing new content material

and all that kind of. Like, she's more of a modern day comic than those legends, you know? Yeah. So I would say that there's a lot of guys who never did specials, you know, and here are people doing multiple specials.

I know. You know, like, like, I mean, there's people now that have done more specials than George Carlin, and he really was the guy who, like, set the standard of like, you know, I do one every year or whatever that was for HBO, every year and a half, two year. Yeah. So, I mean, I never, I can't do that.

Yeah. Well, I don't think a lot of people can is kind of the, is the way I feel. Yeah. Like, I mean, there's, you're good, but you're not so great that you can knock out something every single year. But I'm always like, I don't think anyone is. I'm like, who is it coming? Is it coming from the person or is it coming from the audience going, we, you know, we want

more. Well, I don't know. That I was, I was signing. Not my audience. I know that. They're like, we have enough. No, you know, I, when, during your special, which you did at Cobbs. Yeah.

In San Francisco, uh, I, that's one of the things I really loved about your special. That crowd was so your crowd. They're so good. They were so motivated. They just, it was. just classic great, great club, club audience.

It was such a... San Francisco's going Portland, Oregon, I think, like have that kind of mystique to them well earned of just like a really cool down, like just like great down for it. Yeah,

yeah, like I have pockets around the country that like kind of, but nobody touches them. Like, yeah, Portland like I did just 10 shows up there, 10 shows at Helium. It's a small venue.

It's not like I'm playing like, great club. But I was just like, even the Monday late show was better than some Friday early shows I've done in other towns. Right. That shows you how good the audience is there. Yeah. It's Monday. It's late. You know, like, people have stuff to do. Maybe they don't. Maybe they didn't do. But still like they were there for it. Yeah. I mean, but that's a testament to you too. Is it you, you draw. This is not about me. Yes, it is. You draw out really people who really appreciate and are hip to really good. comedy is. I love when like, uh, uh,

audience person is a fan of comedy, not just the person they go to see. Like when you said earlier that, everyone has the little thing. Like, I always ask them what comments do you like? What have you seen lately? Did you go see any of the shows? Yeah. I kind of like, like, want to find out like they're, you know, like the world, you know, that they live in. And they're telling me like, I went to go see this guy at the theater and like, yeah, this podcast. Usually people bring a podcast more than they do anything else.

But yeah, like, so who do you, see live and like you know if they say like Doug stand up who's my favorite comic uh it's like oh i get it right away you know like right i think that there's definitely a difference between people who you know like enjoy it in one i guess medium you can do the podcast world but also take the next step and come out and see it live and get it there as well yeah and i could totally see it's not for everybody but that's like really what we do so yeah yeah and i'd say that's the really way best way to experience it. They do.

Back to the thing about whether or not the, they're just doing it for themselves and putting out new stuff all the time where the audience wants it. It's insane that like just on the heels of a special, I'll have people comment like, when are you going to come out with a new one? Yeah. Yeah.

Oh my God. It's insane. Doesn't it make you feel like you're like, it sounds like you're in a mental hospital somehow. Yeah. Just walking around and round and round. It's like you put all that work. to it and then you promoted it like yeah that's another thing people don't get like the endless

promotion of stuff yeah you know and then like then for somebody to go like you know somehow you know I was the eye of the hurricane nothing bad happened to me yeah I didn't hear anything what's up with the drones in new jersey that's a really good question you know what I've been semi following that story uh-huh because there's so many other things out there yeah they're out there I believe where where where what town are they over they're over Oakland they're over by down by the shore. They're flying all over the place and no... How about over the stress factory?

Now, that would be, that would be something. It's Vinnie Brand. That would be really awesome. I would not be surprised if Vinny would have his own drone. Well, I know there's no parking, so they would have to over the whole time. But yeah, I don't know. There's a lot of things happening out there, you know? Yeah.

I mean, I can't tell you time. Why drones, why New Jersey? I went to the dentist before this. That's how much work I put into a podcast. You said that you didn't sleep and then you said... Yeah, no, I had to get it very early for the dentist. So that just screwed up you're going to bed? Yeah, no, I figured I'd stay up for the dentist.

And then, you know what? Get out some cards, whatever I got to do for the holidays. And then come visit my old buddy Tom. Oh, nice. But I wanted this whole thing of like, I go to the dentist every podcast. Because I want to have the best... I want to make sure everything... is good. What they do to you? Do they hurt you? No, no, no. Well, you know, receding gums, of course.

Yeah. That is really, you know, I don't know what to tell you. Do they do all that? Six, five, six, five, five, five. Oh, yeah, they do that. The pits and whatnot. And I did have two root canals this year. Don't tell the government. What time do you go to bed or that you stayed up for the dentist? No, I didn't go to bed. No, I know. What time do you normally go to bed? Like I would... Six, nine in the morning when I don't have to travel. For real?

I would say the travel now really particularly... Travel dictates all, pretty much all aspects of my life at this point. If I have to go travel, like at it's early, I'll just stay up. I won't sleep on the plane, but I will hopefully sleep when I get there if I get there early enough. And, you know... You go to bed at six o'clock in the morning? Six, nine sometimes. Really?

Yeah. No drugs. That's nothing. That's... And they're like, why don't you take a malaton and I'm like, that's like fighting a tiger with a spoon. We'd like to thank the good people at Quince for sponsoring today's program. If you spend a lot of time cooking at home, it's time to elevate your game. When your cookware actually feels good to use and is thoughtfully made and looks beautiful on your counter, it just makes the whole experience better.

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slash Papa, P-A-P-A, for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash Papa. But you're always doing late spots and you're the only one. I know. Because a lot of guys that we came up with,

it's like if it's a 9 o'clock, spot, they're like, it's a little late. Yeah, well, you know what? I've done some early shows and it was kind of like going back to high school, like, where have you been for the last 20 years? It's like, oh, I forgot. You're a normal person. You go on at 9 p.m.

Yeah. Right. Exactly. Back in the end there, you know, it's like, like I'm coming out of Guantanamo, basically. Yeah, but I always love the late spots. I used to get so much out of them. It was always fun. It was like a brawl. It was a knife.

Now it's nothing like that. And I don't get much new material out of it. And like the new guys that I see there, you know, like sometimes, sometimes it's better than the earlier shows. Sometimes it's not. But, you know, to be, to be honest, like New York and L.A., I used to get a lot more, you know, like, I think there was like, there was a cooler hang. And also, like, I would be able to get more material out of like not being in the, on the road road. But now I feel like you get it all on the road. Oh, really?

That's where I'm like, you know, moving stuff around and like, writing, you know. I just think that a lot of these crowds are to. and a lot of them, you know, there are some super fans that come down. But like, you know, what can I tell you? I don't know. I feel like there is a bit of a tightness in the metro, in the metro cities, you know. Yeah, I remember you saying that early on, like, you always, you, you always bristled at the, when we got close to the holidays, because it changed the dynamic of what was

coming to see. This is before it was so huge. Yeah, right. And now it's the holidays all the time. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, it's like, I'm the first guy to beat up on a crowd, you know, and like, I'm like, you know, like, hey, what's up with you people? And like, that is the wrong way to go.

Yeah. That's just the wrong way to go. It doesn't shake them loose. Like, coach, it just shuts them down. But, you know, at this point, like, but I always feel bad after every, like, I'm like, why did I say that? I can say, nah, I think, yeah. I'm up until nine in the morning. So when you.

Well, I'd like to throw it back at you. Wait, hold on. I feel like you get into bed at a. reasonable hour. I do. You do. And you own a robe. I see you take you have a robe. I do have a robe. And then you're wearing your pajamas. You're in the bed. Yeah. Like I'm, I'm on a, uh, normally like in L.A. I'll go to the comedy store. Yeah. I'll come home after doing a spot there. And then I'll, uh, I'll be in bed around 11. Wow. And then up at like, like seven, seven 30. Yeah, I like early too. And then, uh, yeah, But you're not in bed yet.

No, but I like doing stuff early, like getting it done. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I go do the radio show. Oh, right. I get 10. And, yeah, so, but my kids kind of set that schedule. You know, like I had a family. So they kind of like, set that.

So you have to get up at since that's, what are these kids like farmers? Yeah, they'd have to go out to the to the field. You didn't grow up in L.A. though, right? No, I grew up in New Jersey. Yeah, so that must have been weird, like, once you, like, like, moved out there and stayed out there. Mm-hmm. kids don't even know about living anywhere else.

Well, no, they lived here for a long time. We were back and forth for a long time. They went to PS 41 over here. They did like it here. They did like it here. One of them really liked it. It's so bad. They were like this.

We made our kids into bad like 80s comics where they just walk around all the time going, the difference between New York and L.A. And the one really likes it. And like she's still living here. Oh, that's good. And then the other one is just like, oh, New York. Yeah. At a certain point, we were trying to figure out where we should live.

And she's like, I just want to go back to California where I can hula hoop. It's like in a studio apartment. She couldn't even. Yeah, I guess that's like, but every time I've been out there, you know, since everybody's all married up and like, yeah. It's very suburban. Like I'll drive to someone's house to do a podcast and it's a very nice house. Yeah. But it's like, you know, like it's you, the guy you're podcasting with and they're made.

And it's like, the maid is. is cleaning. And I'm like, when's her podcast? I would love to hear her side of these podcasts. Every day there's another person in here. Talking about comedy. Bitching and moaning about here. It's hard being in a band.

It's really sucks being an artist. It's very suburban. When I come here, I've been here for just the week doing a bunch of shows and it's so much more. I never would have survived as a young comic out there. Never. Just like with the driving.

Yeah. That would have killed me. Driving to these sets, all the, you know. In New York, you can always jump on to one. How do you feel New York? Where's New York at right now? You're always... Oh, I think we're in like a, you know, I would say we're in a spiral, you know, like,

you know, like we're heading. It's almost too expensive for anybody to really... You know how they say it's too expensive for New York to live in New York? No, it actually you can live here. You just can't enjoy it. Like anything that you'd want to do is like beyond your means. Like a restaurant or something like that. You're like, hey, I mean, I like to take all my buddies out and blah, blah.

It's like, no, you just can't do that, you know. Thousands of dollars. I'm not like a big, like, you know, I got to go to Broadway three times a month, you know, that kind of guy. But like, I feel for the people who really are here for the culture. Right. I'm here. My job is here. My family, my mother.

Yeah. But like if you were here, like, I moved here because, you know, MoMA and like, I have to get to Whitney and like, you know, there's a new La Boem. I feel for you because that's like really pricey. It's like, be better to be into heroin than it is Broadway. It's cheaper. And that's my two cents.

I remember during the pandemic, right after the pandemic, I was, you kind of, we were outside and I was going to walk back to the hotel. And you, uh, you were like,

just so you know, it's, it's not what this, the city is not what it was when you were here last. It's, uh, you got to keep your wits about you. around on the streets right now.

It's really kind of upsetting to see all these people out there just struggling and nobody's helping them. They're just wandering the streets dangerous to themselves and to other people. Do you feel like that's gotten any better? Yeah. You know, we need more talking about it. Yeah. I really don't know.

I really don't know what the answer is. Yeah. I also really don't know. Like, you know, when they started closing things and they would say it's because of pandemic. It was really because of crime that like, you know, like you can't get into an ATM after 10 o'clock. You couldn't, you know, do this because of this and that. And they're like, pandemic and this and getting people. It was all about crime. And I was like, yeah, well, that's a different New York than I was used to because like in the 80s and everybody was bringing up to 80s

in the 70s. There are areas like where like I lived in the Lower East side. So of course I'm going to see a guy shooting smack. Right. He's wearing a raincoat and nothing. You know, like I was going to see that. But now it's like, yeah, you live on the Upper West Side. You're going to see that. Yeah. You see a guy screaming and doing all that kind of stuff. So there's a big problem. I don't think anybody really knows the answer for it. But whatever we're doing right now is not working. Yeah. It'll ebb and flow where like people will forget about it. But the good news is this. Just last week there was, no, I guess I don't know when this comes out, but they had a big subway outage where like the power went out. People were trapped in the subway for two hours, okay?

and the fire first responders had to walk them out through like a tunnel whatever all that kind of I think so no one died no one um you know attacked each other no nothing happened it was like almost it seemed like it was like a squid game event like with turning the lights off and the tracks don't move one of you will get to Brooklyn the rest I'm sorry it's a little hope yeah but everybody kept their cool so you know we still got that I was in Bushwick the other night doing a show for the band Guster and I'd never been to Bush I was always a Manhattan creature

Yeah, I lived in Brooklyn for a while I missed the whole Brooklyn Renaissance because my kids were growing up at that time Yeah, I'm like embarrassed to tell you this But like when I lived out in Brooklyn It was not cool, it was like You lived in Brooklyn because you can't afford to live in Manhattan

Right And I was constantly running to do open mics Go back, go to my day job All back and forward, back and like, you know I was like, you know, if I only knew If I only knew that Brooklyn was rich. I could be rich. So go ahead.

I'm sorry. So what's your thoughts on Brooklyn? I don't know. I really don't know it. It's like I totally missed the whole Renaissance of Brooklyn, the shows in Brooklyn, the Bell House of Brooklyn. But I feel like you were the same way. I feel like you were always a club.

I know that was more of the old scene, I guess. And I don't think you're allowed to even call it that anymore. It was just a different scene of comedy. But yeah, no, I never really, there was really no way to play when I was living in Brooklyn, but like it did become a bigger thing, I guess, in the 90s. When you were first starting to break through in the clubs here, who were the, who are the, who are the, who are the, who is like the senior class at the club? Well, I always say that Alan Havy and, and, um, Con Quinn were the guys that, like, I really

did look up to them a lot. And, like, I was just talking to Susie Esmond and, uh, Judy, Judy Gold at the Gilbert Godfrey Memorial for, um, the New York Comedy Festival. And like, you know, Susie and Judy A were two of the people I met like when I was really like a couple months into comedy. They were always super cool. And there was a bunch of people like, you know, that like a lot of them moved to LA, a lot of them. I don't, I really don't know what, what they're up to. But, you know, I assume if you live in L.A., then you're like living, you know, I'm a writer. I'm waiting to hear or like, I'm doing this. I'm doing this. You know,

maybe they're doing nothing. But either way, I wish them the best. But like the big, big names, like Ray Romano, of course, was like, you know, he was a, he was a great comic. He was touring, you know, that kind of stuff. So, like, you know, we'd hear, you know, like, you know, hearing, you know, it was not, it was way before everyone was Raymond. So, like, you know, it's just a comic to enjoy and to want to be like. Yeah. Good at it.

Yeah. And it was definitely people who stood apart. But then I also missed the other wave of, of the 80s people because, you know, I got to meet Richard Jenny and a lot of the 80s comics. But most of them had moved to L.A. by the time I started in New York. Oh, yeah. it was really kind of like this little like wasteland of comedy you know like right everybody was

waiting for their Seinfeld you know sitcom and uh i felt like you know like i just want to do this stand-up thing and like you know a lot of them were like kind of bitter bitter and tired of of like the stand-up world right were you ever tempted for the the people come to you and try and get you to write for them or like yeah yeah i i i would always get the kind of like um do you want to write um you know like uh jokes like ghost write or like and I had some writing jobs. It was never my thing. Like I really couldn't give this up.

And it really, it really is like when you think about it like, you know, like like like nobody wants to coach if they can still play. You know, like that. So right. It's kind of like that,

you know. Yeah. I really feel that, uh, in today's world of comedy, you know, like with, uh,

we're talking about like who you look up to and what kind of stuff. It's like, yeah. I wish there was so much comedy to look at when I was like starting. Because it really was like, records and the records I listened to as a kid. And then like all these A&E improvs and all that kind of stuff.

So there was some like ability to like look at, you know, but it was still like we judged ourselves and we hoped to become somebody who could get on a letterman or in Leno or something like that. So that was very powerful in our world. Yeah. You know, one day,

man, I'd love to get, you know, like that seven minute chance. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's amazing how now that really, you know, it doesn't have any of the power that it did. Not only to make a career, but just to also like make yourself feel whole of like, well,

at least I did that, you know, I did that. Yeah. I don't care. I could die tomorrow, but I was on, you know,

that. You know, it's funny, though, it's, you know, you talk about, there was more like comics you could look up to and stuff. I find a lot of young comics,

not all of them, but a lot of them who were like kind of making their way, have very little knowledge of the comics, who came before them. Really? It's almost like it's a, it's like looking at a different kind of craft or something. Like they're not really, they don't know the names of all the great people that came before them.

I don't, I can see that. And it's like, you know, I can see that just for the fact of like, you know, they're busy. You know, like they got a lot going on and there's a lot more to see. But my niece just like, my niece is an actual works on a late night talk show. And, you know, she just got out of college and like, you know, she's making. her way and that. And I was like, you know, she sent me, do you like this guy? And I'm like, I couldn't even like open the email. I'm like, which guy you're talking about this? Like five. She's sending me a YouTube thing. And she's like that guy, the first guy. So I got to go listen to it.

But yeah, no, I don't think I know anybody. And maybe that's, you know, maybe part of it is just because like, I go on late and I don't see everybody. But yeah. When I do see a new person and like I like, I like what they're doing. And we all do like, oh, they kind of remind me of this person. There's definitely some new ideas out there for sure. Right. But there's also a lot of like never saw that guy so you don't really know you're doing his thing. I think that's happening as well. We do a thing on this program called an uncomfortable moment. Do you want to look at, I said you're going to sign me for an insurance. And we have our Cracker Jack staff go through the archives and look up stuff.

you know you're known as the preeminent joke writer and a lot of integrity and very people people really look up to you I don't know if this is recent or this is like more towards the beginning but can you explain this photo I don't know if I'm more embarrassed about the shirt which is not culturally appropriate but I wish I had that skill I mean if we can really talk about ventriloquism, because I got to see Otto and George. Oh, you did. When I was younger. And I'm telling you, that was like, you know, that was like, man, this guy was just

wrestling with words up there. So I really, I don't know who to apologize for that image. I will say one thing. I stand by what I did that night. And that was probably the last time you saw two men of the same persuasion on the same stage there, two lovers. Would you ever do those NACA? I wish I had all those skills.

I wish I could. Hypotism. Yeah. Vantriloquism. Bautilism. All of the isms would be great to have. I did one of those NACA conventions where you performed to try and get college gigs, you know? And I bombed.

I just bombed. I thought I was like, oh, it's the crowd. But then that guy, who was the comedian used to do John Madden? Oh, Frank. Grand Caliando. He crushed. Oh my God. Destroyed. And I was up there with like my beginning jokes and it was just I bombed. It was like in Indianapolis. And then they made you stand in the booth afterwards. Oh, wow. You really did. And try and make eye contact with people like college kids and like hoping that they'll come and give you a slip to go to the school.

Nobody's looking at me. Everyone's avoiding me. And then finally one girl goes, oh my God. And she comes running over. I'm like, oh, thank God I get one gig out of this. And she went to the ventriloquist puppet next to me and goes, will you come to my school? And he's like, oh, maybe I can. I was like, oh, God. How great is it to give those kids all that power? Oh, my God, 17, 18 years old. Yeah, I'd like to see what she's doing right now.

I bet she's in heart surgery. Oh, it was horrible. I called my father. I was like, I think I've made a horrible mistake. This is not a good career. know what to say. Like, becoming a comic and then becoming a comic making a living, that was always, man. Yeah.

Wow. Really bad. Where was your first, like, paid road gig? I really don't, you know, I should remember that. I'd have to think about it. Yeah. But I think, uh, I did so many open mics for free. That's when people, if someone's, let's say, someone said to me, do you ever feel like you're

making too much money? I'm like, I pretty much for eight years didn't make any money. Yeah. You know, like, I feel like that, like, it kind of balances out towards the end. But I was like, you know, all those open mics, because I think now they kind of pay everybody a little something, you know, really depends. But I'm like, man, that was really, that was really like, I'm trying to think of the professional sport. It would be like, I guess archery, you know, like I was making the money of a pretty good archer outside of the medieval world. Yeah.

So, you know, I don't know what to say. Mine was at Toppers. Oh, yeah. Mine probably was out like a Pips. Yeah. Or something like that. Yeah. Toppers out in Brooklyn.

And Angel Salazar was opening for Angel Salazar. I was opening for Angel Salazar. Oh, recently passed. I know. Rest in peace. And again, this is one of those where I thought I should quit. I did my little set. They were not having it.

It was just sweating and bombing. And they didn't have a green room. They had a furnace room with a chair in it. That's where you would sit, remember? And I was like, wow, I really suck. And I just went in there. I'm like, this crowd.

I mean, this crowd's terrible. And then they announced Angel Salazar, and he came out with his boom box. Yeah. And he just destroyed, just ripped the roof off the place. Yeah. I was like, this, I'm like, I should quit. That's what a real comic is. Yeah.

I've had that a million times. You know, a good buddy of ours, Greg Dorado. Yes. Who, like, you know, was another guy who like, you know, I could say like he could smell hack a mile away, you know, that kind of thing. Because I remember, like, just like, you know, we would talk jokes. So he's like, that's hack, that, you know. Yeah.

But it was like, you know, I've seen him sometimes like in situations like where he would like turn it on just to kind of spite the crowd. Yeah. That didn't happen in later years when the, yeah. Yeah. When the substance took over. But like he would be like playing it up for them. Then he'd just smack them down. But yeah, those rooms were like, you know, I don't know.

Yeah. I guess it was good to do those rooms. Like I don't know. equivalent now in these times would be yeah probably road stuff queen's rooms are now kind of like you go in there it's like a mindfulness wellness experience oh really it's all about your feeling yeah i know it's almost too supportive yeah it's like back that it was better to have no feeling yeah and everybody hate you remember doing prom shows at carolines at like two in the morning yep and they would just be throwing shit at you it was just like i really miss carolines it really like

yeah i know felt like you know the world will change, but that place will be like kind of the center. Yeah. I know. I walked by the other day and it was just like, oh, it's gone. What were you walking around up before? What was I up there for? Oh, I was going to... You're on a radio somewhere? Is that what it is? Yeah, it was after

radio, actually. It was after radio on Jim Kerr. And then I went to go down to this perfume place. My daughter told me to go get something to my wife. Too much and info. This is what happens to me, by the way, at every meet and greet. Someone asked me a question and I answered sincerely.

And you could just see, like, they were a fan of yours and Howard. Then they just glaze over. They're walking away from you. That was the best part of that town. That part of town was like, Caroline's was there. But then like, there was so much to talk about. You know, you had like Broadway right there. And then it's like all the crime.

And then I'm like, hey, hey guys, you know, what's going on over? It's a barro. You know, like you got a lot of riffs. You could do like just like, Everybody saw it because they were waiting online. Yeah, waiting to come in during the holidays. It would take you years to get to the club. Yeah.

Man, that was some good times there. It was a good time. I mean, like, you know, what's the other legendary club here? Comics, true. Oh, the one we're above. The comedy seller. Oh, the comedy seller. Like this block, you know, it's kind of like, it's kind of like a, you know, a train

set of sadness. You know, it's kind of like, sure, the stores change a little bit, but it never has the pizzazz of the Midtown. Yeah. You know, during the shed years, you know, they have all the, they're all down now. Yeah. You saw the streets. Yeah, the outdoors.

Like we've been lifted out of this bizarre world of the shedding. Yeah. So I was like, yeah, man, you know, like, you know, this is how it should be. And like, of course, it got super cold. We're like, it would be kind of cool to have, you know, some kind of shelter. But, you know, I'm like, that's like, there's really not much to tell. Like, I always try and talk about moons, you know, one of the greatest fly. awful.

You don't get it. No, it's not the same. It is kind of crazy, though, that like one block could be, like now this Dylan movie's coming out, you know, and it's all like this area. Oh, they're going to be more tourists coming now. That guy's a good Dylan, I think. Yeah, Timothy Chalamee. Yeah.

I haven't seen him yet. Does he actually sing the songs? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, what's Dylan going to say anyhow? And who will understand it? I know. Talk about a guy who never stops touring.

It's that guy. know wow dude i know never i mean don't don't you feel like you're just going to go forever don't you feel like god i hope i don't have to but i'm sure i would like to but i don't know there's got to some some that's such a weird statement dave i don't think i hope i don't have to but i like to yeah you know i'm saying like you know it's not like can you call in a favor i got to get on a cruise if i need that money yeah but like if you're like hey i like doing it you know then yeah why not why not stop you know Yeah, exactly. Why not stop?

Right. Just keep on. Just keep going. Keep going until they tell you, till they boo you off the stage. Do you still love the road? I like the, I think everybody says the same thing now. It's like the road's great. It's the travel that sucks. And the travel really does suck. And like, you know, the first thing I ask is like, is that a connecting flight? You know, can I leave in the morning?

You know, that can. Yeah. So, like, that's just the world that I have to deal with. but I'm sure a lot of guys, you know, like it, I think there's a lot of misconception on, like, show business travel, like private jets and tour buses and stuff like that. That's a very 1% of a 1% of doing that. The rest of us are just pretty much out there. You know what I'm saying?

Driving, getting a rental car, driving another two hours. You know, and then it's like, I'm sick of flying, so you start driving, then you realize, like, that's another nightmare. And then you go back, you know, so it's like, yeah, it is what it is. That's why I was like, hey, you got a podcast so you don't go on the road. for a while. Is that cool? No, I'm constantly on the road. I'm constantly on the road and squeeze a podcast.

No, it's nonstop. I was just, my worry about the road now. Last week, I went to York, Pennsylvania, so I flew into Philly and then got a rental car, and everything was delayed. And then the two-hour drive to the theater was like through farmlands and the scary two-lane highways with trucks coming at you.

And I was like, doing the driving. And I'm doing the driving. And I'm like, I can't do this anymore. I can't do this. You got to get a guy with you who can drive. Yeah. Yeah. Someone young who's got some skills and some eyes.

I usually bring headliners on the road with me. If I, you know, unfortunately like, you know, they're also headlining. So, but if I can't kid,

if I, I would also, when I do shows, I bring on locals to do guest spots so that they can get in front of a good crowd, you know? Oh, but the majority of the time is like,

yeah, I'm too old to drive, you know, so. Somebody can, you know, help me out there, then then I'm like, okay, I can do a lot more gigs, you know? Yeah. But yeah, that is crushing when you're like driving all. Terrifying.

Terrify. No lights. Yeah. And it was like the Skulkel highway. And when I got to the gig, everyone said, oh, they call that the shore kill. Because everybody gets run over by trucks. Like, holy shit, I can't do this anymore. That's, and then you brought it up on stage and they don't want to talk about it or they did?

No, they did. They were like, yeah, they were like, hey, when the town gets defensive about their own problems. So what if our water catches fire? Who the F or you? Tell us. Yeah.

Do you still like the clubs more than like a small theater kind of vibe? I don't play enough theaters. I think I was telling Ryan Reese and I, we were both, he's a very funny guy. And like he talked about a guy who commits. Like boom.

Like you like, you know, he does a warm up for TV. That's the hardest of the horror. Yeah. So he's like, rock solid but i was like you know i don't think my pacing is working in like a bigger venue and like every little joke is littler every like you know i don't have all that stagecraft of being like a theater act you know like learn how to you know pause and wait and all those different things but

you know when i look at the comics who really are like great in a theater you know it's not all high energy a lot of it is just bringing people in and like keeping them there but then like the reactions that you get are way different like sometimes it's just like, you know, like, oh. And like they laugh at it because they think that's a joke, but it's not. It's just something to break up the monotony of talking. So I feel like in a club, you got to earn every laugh.

In a theater, you got to kind of set it all up for the wave of laugh. You know, it's like, I'm not that good. You like the pacing of a club better. I mean, I definitely should have done more theaters, I think, just to get the like, you know, like, just to figure out how to do them better. But I would say there's nothing better than the energy of a club. Yeah.

So, yeah. I mean, even with all the, everything that goes on, the check spots, the drinks and all that kind of stuff. Yeah.

It's still like, to me, feels more, more right than a theater of where everyone's just sitting and look. Right. And sometimes you'll luck out and get people sitting and looking in a club, which everybody immediately is like, what's wrong with them?

In a theater, you're like, hey, I'm doing great. They're looking and looking at me. Right. Yeah. You're looking and looking.

Yeah. Do you record your sets? I do. You do. I just to listen to, like, every day I would force myself to listen. I hate listening to myself. I think it's really like self-hate to like listen to yourself like that. It's rough.

But now, like if I can get like one or two a week, I feel like I've accomplished something. Yeah, that's good. Longer and longer you wait on a set, like then it becomes like a surprise how bad it was. I know. You're still doing that joke when you thought like I'd be way past it. Yeah. Like, that's the sad of listening to your own tape. Recording to recording and a.

club is always a surprise to me when I gain up the confidence to listen to it is how much other noise is going on when you're on stage. You think it's just other people and glasses and just like, oh, I'm a small portion of this recording right now. Yeah. I like when you can hear whispers and then get off and it's like, you were great. Oh, I love that last show. I love the last one I listened to.

Yeah. But I was going to tell you like, did you ever like, because I see the younger comics now, they record themselves with the GoPro. And I'm like, so you're really watching yourself every night like that? Like you're watching. Yeah. I'm like, I have so many bad habits and I hate like, you know, I like self-hatred, my ugly look.

Yeah. So I'm like, man, if they had that like when I was starting out, I would have, I definitely would have like off myself. I'm like, wow. Oh, God. That's terrible. You remember there used to be a guy who made tapes for you? Yeah.

Like you'd make VHS so that you could send them out to get club work and all. Yeah. Everybody had to have. You get a box of tapes. Yeah, you get a box of tapes. supposed to give them the club owners. They would let you know. So I remember, like, looking at one and I was like, oh, my God.

I remember, like, being drunk or something like that. I ripped the tape out of the thing. It was so hard to do. Like, I didn't even have the strength to rip a VHS tape. This is how far back we go. You came to the club ones, and you were handing out old porn on VHS. Yeah. And I took a bunch of them, and I was like, oh, this is exciting.

And then I went home and Cynthia did exactly what you said, pulled the things out. She did. She destroyed all the VHS tapes. You know what I did wrong is that I should have taken those old VHSs and repurpose them into shoes. Think about it right now. Kids are wearing everything out there. Why not porn?

You're stepping in, you know? Yeah. I'm stepping in it. I can see like the basketball player. I'm stepping in it, you know. I mean, honestly. You had a good porn show. Yeah, I did.

Yeah. I had a porn show on Showtime. That was another one where it's like, great idea. And the guy who helped me do that was Jeremy. And I'm not giving out anybody's real last names here, but he's really like the best editor, the best comedy fan. It just helped me in my computer. He's such a good guy. And like, you know, we both, we both put a lot of work into that.

I put a lot of my own money. It was good. But it was fun to do. Yeah. And it was also like, there's something about the vintage that is still kind of classic. But, you know, as we get, you know, like the world we live in now, it's like, you know, who's going to dig in on. when there's so much only fans out there. There's so much other stuff going on.

I would say, you know, everything, everything I always feel like it's about execution, how you, like every idea is doable. It's how you execute it and how your follow through is. And I'd say my follow through is pretty good. But the execution of it was like the network wasn't really behind it. They never really promoted it. And they really didn't, to be honest,

they just wanted to get like any big name I could get to be on the show to be on the network. And I'm like, I totally get it now. But at the point, at that point, I was like, well, why didn't you like just tell me that from the beginning so that, like, I could have asked more like, you know, like, you know, sports celebrities or somebody else who would be cool. It's like, yeah, hammering the comics. Like, come on. We're going to make fun of porn. It's going to be. Yeah. So, you know, it was a lot of work. I always give it up for these people who like, I'm a producer, writer, director. Yeah. It's like, that's a lot of, you know, it's a lot of coffee. It's just funny. I was getting. It's a lot of. It's just funny. I was

getting coffee this morning and heard these two people in a meeting. Oh, yeah. And it was the same. It was the producer. And they're like, we've got this great idea. It's going to be a podcast and it's going to evolve into a this. And then it's going to be, and then we're going to release books off of it. And then we're going to make that into a cable show all with the long game of maybe doing a short film about it.

And just them pitching was sounded to me so exhausting. Who were they doing that? Just a little coffee shop and Soho. And I'm like, just the, everything you just said is, I don't want to do any of it. You know what I mean? Yes. Well, I would have immediately jumped in there and said, like, you know, I'm going into a textual property lawyer or something like that. Try and crypto scam them out of there.

Yeah. Everything you said is on the mark. But, you know, there's a way to kind of light speed this idea. You got to know the talk, talk. Right. Yeah. I was never good at that. But I would say that, you know, there's not a confidence problem out there, you know, like,

like people really seem to believe in themselves and I can see the cockiness out there in terms of like both audience and um comic yeah a lot of people really dig in on what they do and I know there's nothing worse there's nothing more like uh mind blowing to me is when you see someone get up there and they'll just go for like go for like six minutes without even trying to get to a joke there you know what I mean it's like the panic in my chest stuff like where are the jokes how are you still standing up there with out sweats Yeah, in the old school, uh, tri-state area, you know, with a, with a club manager had power. Yeah. Back in the day that they'd be like, you know, you got two laughs, you know, right, two laughs.

All right. I can get more laughs, you know, doing, you know, they would always say how better they are than you anyhow, but they were like, I can get more laughs, you know, like doing a this and that. Yeah. I'm like, today, like, the club woman would never say that's considered hate speech. Right. Hey, I kind of get what you're doing. You know, looking away like, oh, my God.

I know. I remember Danny from Rascals? Remember the guy from Rascals in New Jersey? The suits and the thing. Yeah. He was just starting out. He's like, don't put your water on the stool before you say hello to them. You'll lose them.

You got to make sure you say hello and then put the thing on there. I was like, oh, okay. All right. Like they were that into your shit. Let me tell you, kid, how it's going to work. Oh, yeah. way they have this sage advice. Yeah, yeah.

And they would be, they would, they would, they would tell you like, you know, you know, like, you know, back then when dice was so big, you know, especially this area, you know, he's a god. Yeah. So, you know, they would, they would be like quoting his stuff while I was, you know, like pretty much to themselves, like just keep them going. Right. You know, it's like the fumes of like a great comic while I was slowly. Yeah.

Petering out. You know. Yeah. It all, it all, whatever. Like, who knows? I mean, was it worth it? Was it not? Who knows?

I mean, we're here right now. It was worth it. And it's still worth it. And you're still great. It really is like. I don't care how I am. It is. I know you don't care, but I care.

And it truly, truly, when I first showed up, there was no, there was nothing more intimidating to watch than you on stage. Oh, no, there wasn't. And you were so, you were so incredibly good and contagious. and it was intimidating. Well, and we can, at all these years,

after all these years that we can actually sit and chat, it means a lot to me. I don't know what you're doing, but that dog, that dog stopped barking. You are a dog whisper and a confidence man.

Well, Tom, I don't know what you're doing for the holidays, but I assume you'll be with family and whatnot. Yes. And, you know,

it's great seeing you, I always say it, like, all the guys who move west, you're like, always wondering what they're up to. But like, it's great to know that like now that we're, I guess you could say locked together. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, I'm up at nine. You're up at six. Boom. Are we thinking it? I can give you a quick morning. Hey, hey, buddy. You got your juice?

Remember to take your vitamin B. Well, I don't know what you're doing, but I'm hearing the dog scratching again. Yeah. He's getting a little friskey. He's got a little jumbly. Well, thank you for having me. Well, thank you so much, Dave. you are the best.

Oh, Tom, back at you. And you're always an inspiration. And to the super comedy fans out there, I was just breaking bread with Tom Papa. How about that now? Thanks for listening. Thank you, Dave. Check out my site.

Aren't you going to plug any? Yeah, what do you got? Just go to davidtel.com. I'm putting up new dates all the time. 2025. I will be out there. Hope to see you live at a show. Yes.

Go see David Tell. We got it. Mike.