Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Need, By Conan O'Brien

Episode Date: November 24, 2022

Conan chats with Edom from Ethiopia about crafting scented candles and perfumes and what Conan would choose as his signature scent. Wanna get a chance to talk to Conan? Submit here: TeamCoco.com/CallConan

Konan O'Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Konan? Visit teamcoco.com slash call Konan. Okay, let's get started. Hi, Adom. Meet Konan and Sona. Hi. Hi, Adom.

Hi, Konan. Hi, Sona. Hi, Matt. Hi. Adom, it's very nice to meet you. And where are you right now? Where are you calling us from? I'm calling from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Oh, the capital of Ethiopia. Yes. Wow, that's incredible. I've never been to Ethiopia. You should come. Your English seems perfect. Have you spent any time in the United States? Yes.

I went to college in Upstate New York. Oh, you're kidding. Where'd you go to college? I grew up here. I went to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Very good. Okay. And then you, so you grew up in Ethiopia.

You did some college in the United States. And then you moved back. And what are you up to these days? I have a business with my friend. We make fragrances and scented candles and stuff like that. Wow. How did you learn to do this? I mean, don't you need to know a lot to make fragrances?

Yes. I'm very smart. I'm sure you are. But I'm wondering, did you have to study anything in particular? Do you have to study chemistry or do you have to? Yeah, I studied biochemistry. So it helps a little bit, but I mean, I had to like learn a lot of it on my own too. I imagine.

Yeah. It's a lot of trial and error where you try and make a scent and it can go terribly wrong, I bet, right? Oh, yeah. Well, some of the ingredients for perfumes, like they don't really smell that good. So yeah, if you use a lot of something, then yeah, it can be terrible. Let me ask you a professional opinion. As you know, in the United States and across the world, sometimes celebrities have their

own scent that they market. Do you think I could have, could there be a Conan scent? A perfume? Just take it easy. Could there or should there? Listen, I think we're rushing this a little bit. Sorry. First, let's begin.

Adam, do you think that I'm the kind of person who could have a scent out on the market? I mean, why not? Yeah. No. Okay. You could have a scent. Maybe like pumpkin spice. I love it.

It doesn't matter where I talk to someone in the world. This is someone in Ethiopia who's dissing me and doing it very well. No, no, it's very, it's very funny. Everyone here around me loves you now because you treated me the way I should be treated. And yeah, pumpkin spice, I'm not sure that's going to be, I want something manly. Sexy. Sexy, something that the women are going to go, do you remind me of Conan O'Brien in that sexy way?

Pumpkin vise. For naughty evenings, it's pumpkin vise. Wow. So you making scents, candles, do you make perfumes? Do you make scents for men or is it all mostly for women? We make both. We make for men and for women. But I mean, we make a lot more for women than men.

Is there a favorite way that men like to smell that you've noticed? Is there a certain fragrance that they gravitate towards? I think people in general like anything familiar. So like if they smell a scent and it reminds them of like another perfume they've liked or something, they usually gravitate towards. I don't know if people know so much. I would like, because I believe, I want my scent to be something that's familiar to me. So that would be frying ham.

I want it to smell. That's sexy. Like frying ham, because that's what I grew up smelling. And it's a very, it reminds me of a fascinating time in my life. Hey, I got news for you buddy. That's what you smell like. Hey, mission accomplished. It's very hard.

It's basically just bacon grease. That's all it is. So Adom, do you have a shop? Is this all done over the internet, these sales? How do you sell your products? We started online, but now we have a shop. Where is your shop? Is it in the capital?

Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty close to where I live. Okay. It's in a mall. Okay. Do you visit the shop every day in the mall? I try to.

Yeah. But it's a new mall. So like there's very little foot traffic right now. So we're hoping for like a good turnout in the next coming months. I'm confident. Maybe I could get over to Ethiopia and do some kind of personal appearance. How would that go over Adom? If you said Conan O'Brien will be appearing at the mall in Addis, Ethiopia.

Would there be much excitement or would there be no excitement? I think so. I mean, I think so. I know a few people know you here. Wow. Are you people or nobody? I mean, I don't know if I know. It's going to be bio-media.

You know, I'm worried about just based on that alone. I'm just worried about people's safety and security. I mean, people know how many like. Okay. Again, you're getting way ahead of things here. I mean, I just worry that with a few people, you could get as many of seven or eight people might show up. Yeah.

And then what if pushing and shoving starts? There's no way to control a crowd like that. Oh, yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know about, you know, like what people are into these days. I mean, you know what? Clearly neither do I.

Neither do I. But who cares? I've got you. I've got you. And that's what's important. Yes, you do. But this is very cool. So you do that.

You manufacture scented candles and you sell these different perfumes. Are there other things that you do, you know, using your skills? I mean, now we're trying to, like all our products are natural. We're trying to move to like natural soaps and lip glosses and things like that. So around the same area. That's a big, that's a big movement. Yes. People don't want to put anything artificial on their bodies.

They want it all to be natural. I prefer artificial, anything artificial. Why is that exactly? I just, I just trust in exotic chemicals. I've always been that way. They've never done us wrong. I don't think they have. I mean, I'd like to see more information on DDT, various pesticides that were banned

in the 60s by some kooky hippies. I actually freshen up every morning with a little DDT on the return. Guess what? I've had no insects underneath my arms. We did it. Yeah, we did it. Before there was a lot. And you're also, you're writing, aren't you writing something?

I'm told that you are writing something on the internet. What are you writing? I'm trying to. Oh, so I write blogs. So I work for this other company that has like luxury homes across the U.S. So I write blogs for them, like recommending people on like places to go to when they're staying at the homes. Wait.

And I haven't been to any of the places. Wait a minute. You're saying that you're sitting there in Ethiopia and you are writing. You are telling people, oh my God, you're going to love this house. It's a split level modern and it's in Park City, Utah. And oh my God, the views. And I loved it here and you've never been there. Yeah.

I recommend them restaurants and pet friendly activities. So you just Google, you Google everything. That's incredible. That's awesome. Listen, I have to say, Adom, I really admire your, I mean, first of all. Chicanery. Yeah. Yes.

I like your scamming. No, but I think it's actually, you've got so many things going at the same time, which is impressive. What else are you working on? Do you do, it sounds like, I bet you you're a good writer. If you can, if you can write those blogs, do you use, do you try any other kinds of writing? Yeah, I try. I'm trying to write fiction.

I think you already are in those blocks. Yeah. So far, you are one of the better fiction writers. You might be the most fiction, most prolific fiction writer I've ever met. Every day you describe luxurious places where you've had a blast and brought your pet dog, even though none of this is true. Absolute bullshit. Yeah.

So what kind of, what kind of, if you are to write a novel, do you think it would, you'd spend a lot of time describing the homes where the character lives. And the smells. The smells, the beautiful homes and the places nearby that serve a vegan burger and are rabbit friendly. And then you spend very little time on the carrot post, right? Yep. I mean, you've given me an inspiration. I think that's going to be like, yeah, it's going to help me write my next novel.

That's great. Do you come back to the United States often or not? No, I haven't been back since I've been back. But I plan to go next year because my sister is going to graduate. And is she going to Hamilton as well? No. She finished her undergrad. She's doing urban planning at Rutgers.

Wow. Very impressive. That's very cool. Did you enjoy your time? Did you have a good experience going to college in the States? I did. Yeah. I met a lot of great people from like all over the world.

Yeah. Made lifelong friends. So yeah, I had a good time. Well, that's, I have a daughter in college. She's a freshman and I told her, it's the people you meet and the friendships you make that are going to stick with you more than what you learn. Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, I can't even remember a lot of the classes I took. Really? I keep in touch with a lot of them. You've got to remember a little bit of it. I mean, it's important. And I remember, yeah.

I remember the basics, but. It's funny when you talk to a doctor and he's like, I don't remember anything. Yeah. From medical school. I mean, it was one in one ear out the other. Anyway, we're going to put you under now. And I'm an ear doctor. And I'm going to go through your eye and into your brain and just wing it.

So what's your day like when you wake up in the morning? Do you go, do you start working on, on sense right away? Or do you go to the mall right away? I'm just curious a day in the life in. No, I wish I would go right away. I just, I wake up, I go to the gym sometimes. I listen to you guys a lot. Well, I'm at the gym and I smile, like laugh like an idiot.

Is it like running on the treadmill? That's the universal sign that someone's either in distress or listening to our podcast. And then yeah, I go to the mall a few times a week. And then I work from home. So I'm like, you know, on my computer most of the day. I play with my dog a little bit. Are you dog friendly? Yes, I am.

Good. I'm looking you up on Google right now. And yes, it says Adome is dog friendly. What's your dog's name? Uh, Bucci. Bucci. Does that mean anything or? Yeah, I mean small dog.

I guess I had that coming. Your dog's name is small dog. Hey, small dog, come here. That's fantastic. I got, yeah, when I was like, I was supposed to name, when I got him and I wanted to name him, I just like started overthinking about like what's the best fit for the dog. And then I was like, you know what, let's just stick with the generic name. Is it possible you underthought it?

I know, that's what I was going to say. No, no, no, no. But I was thinking the same, I was thinking the same thing, which is there's overthinking and then there's, I'm going to call my dog dog. I want to call my next dog, bad dog. Hey, bad dog, come here, bad dog. And he'll just constantly think. And then when he does something right, you go, good dog, bad dog.

Good dog, bad dog. And then he'll just eventually just run away. I don't blame him. He'll be renamed by someone else. Wow. Okay. So, and family, do you have family that lives around you nearby? Yes.

Yeah, I live with my mom. You live with your mom. So just me, yeah, me, my mom and my dog. Okay. That's her name, mom. Yeah. That's what I call her. Her first name is my and her last name is mom.

My bad. And does she know what you're doing right now? Does she know that you're calling into our podcast or, or no? She does. She does know. Because what time is it there now? It's midnight. Midnight.

Okay. Is she asleep right now? She is. Yes. Wake her up. Go wake her up. Say, say Conan's on, Conan's on the phone. I got to zoom with Conan.

And he's got Gordly and Suna with him too. Would she know what you were talking about? Who? Yeah, exactly. That's okay. Trust me. Hey, I'm feeling pretty good about, you know, the seven people that are going to create a stampede when I visit them all in Addis, Ethiopia.

It's just going to run. It's not going to. It's a stampede the other way. Okay. Okay. All right. That's not nice. Do you have a question for Conan?

I do, but I think he answered it. I was going to say, I was going to ask him what he smells like. Oh, I don't know. You know, I mean, in serious, I joked about frying ham, but I don't know that I have. I mean, you could answer that, Sona. Yeah. I don't think I have an odor. If you don't have an odor, sometimes you smell like freshly applied sunscreen.

But there may be a reason for that. If you know what though, it's not a bad smell. You don't have a bad smell. You're a, you know, nicest thing anyone said to me in a while. You know, you don't have a bad smell. I think I don't like putting on scents, but I do have to put on sunscreens because, you know, my people are from Ireland and I live down by the Mexican border and nobody needs an explanation.

We understand. No, no, I think you really need to understand why I may be sun sensitive. And I think you really do have to hear this because you only got a biochem degree from a great school. Yeah. I don't know. I, yeah. And I so, so sometimes I probably do smell like that.

Yeah. No, but also I, I mean, what I'm trying to say is it's, it's not unpleasant to be around you. You know what I mean? What about my behavior? That's different. That's different. We're talking about smells.

You're right. You're not unpleasant to be around. Do you have any behavior perfumes you can recommend? Yeah. So any perfume I would wear or, or, or scents that would make me behave myself a little more behave yourself? No. I mean, I don't know.

Sandalwood might calm me. You know, something like that. I like cedar. I like the smell of cedar. Yeah. Handsome scents. I like, there are certain scents like that. Like if I wish I smelled like an old cedar closet, you know, that had a little bit of

sandalwood in there and maybe some, just a touch of vanilla. Oh, interesting. Just a little hint of vanilla. Can you work on this for me? That's nice. Hey, Dom, I will, I will contract you to make my scent and then we will market it. I'll do that. We will, we will market it in the mall in Ethiopia in the capital and I, and we will

say, uh, smell like Conan O'Brien and then just watch the people come running. Yeah. The people come running. Would you do one of those sexy, perfect ads and stuff that are in like black and white and what's the name? Yeah. Hey, Dom, you could, uh, you could direct it. You could direct a video with me where it's black and white and a dove is released.

And then I turn to camera and say, well, we can't use Coco because that's been used. What's the name of it? It's not just Coco. Yeah. Coco is a pretty famous one. How about old cedar closet? Cob. Cob.

Old cedar. Cob? How about cedar cob? Cedar cob. Cedar cob. No. Oh, just, no. I'm sorry that.

Okay. I'm, I'm not budding in. This is your, your, your smell. We got to figure out what my sense name is. Hmm. Cob. No, it's not. Cob.

Desperation. Oh, let's go with pumpkin rice. Neat. Neat. Yeah. Neat. Neat by Conan O'Brien. Neat by Conan O'Brien.

Oh, God. You should smell need. It's need. And then doves are released. Are there some good areas around at us that we could shoot this? Yeah. A lot of areas. Yeah.

Okay. All right. Well, yeah. It's a lot of like, there are a lot of mountains you can visit. Run through the mountains. Yeah. Yeah. And I think.

Release the doves. Yeah. All right. And then we're going to try and sell it. Easy. And let's do it. I'll have, I'll get my best people on this, which means, well, I don't, I just have people. I don't have best people.

You're looking at your best people. This is it. Yeah. And wow. I guess that's Eduardo. All right. Well, anyway, he'll drop the legal contracts. Need.

Hey, Dome, it was really nice talking to you. This was, this was really. It was so nice to meet you guys. Yeah. It's really nice to meet you. And you guys are like my friends that like, you don't know your name. Guess what? Now we know you.

We really are friends. What's your fragrance company? Yeah. It's called Lucy Fragrances. Lucy Fragrances. Give it a plug. Yeah. Yeah.

Lucy Fragrances. Yeah. Is there anything else we can do to plug this, this, this brand? That's it. You can go on Instagram at Lucy Fragrances. At Lucy Fragrances. Okay. Well, A Dom, that's very cool.

Yeah. And I'm not going to take any of your suggestions for a luxury home. No. No offense. No. Sorry. I just, um, you. I love my time there.

I'm good at research. Yeah. They're all research. Um, all right. Well, so cool talking to you, A Dom. It was so nice talking to you. Yes. I hope our paths cross down the road.

That would be really fun. Yes. A remote in Ethiopia. Hey, I'm sold. I love that. All right. You take care. Thank you.

Bye-bye. Smell you later. All right. Conan O'Brien needs a fan with Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Sessian and Matt Gorely. Produced by me, Matt Gorely. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Joanna Soloteroff and Jeff Ross at Team Coco and Colin Anderson at Earwolf. Music by Jimmy Vivino.

Supervising producer, Aaron Blair, associate talent producer, Jennifer Samples, associate producers, Sean Doherty and Lisa Berm. Engineering by Will Beckton. Please rate, review and subscribe to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever fine podcasts are downloaded. This has been a Team Coco production in association with Stitcher.