Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade - Dave Attell

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

Norm's funeral, old porn, and stand-up history with Dave Attell. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Gambling problem, call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Dave Attell, who I had not met before, so it was fun to spend some time talking to him. I think he's a brilliant comic. I think his latest special, Hot Cross Buns, is something I'd highly recommend. He's an incredible joke writer. And, you know, just getting to know how self-deprecating he is about himself and how humble

he is about himself. We tried to kind of prop him up a little bit, but he's super smart and funny, David. Yeah, we give him actual awards he's won and things he's done and he doesn't disregard them. But yeah, I've always heard positive about Attell. We overlapped a little bit on Signing Live because he was a writer. He came in to write, I think, around Sarah Silverman Year and Jay Moore, he said. But got into that grind. He's a comedian guy. He's always been someone that really loves that more than being a performer.

As far as sitcoms or whatever, that wasn't his lofty goal. Loved old comics like Mitch Hedberg, Bill Hicks. So, uh, he talks about that. He talks about how long a special would be, uh, how to name a special. We got into a lot of, a lot of interesting things and a very, very nice guy. Yes, he's a, as far as standups, and if you talk to standups, they'll always mention Attell, cause Dave Chappelle, two days,

but they'll always mention Attell is one of the greats. And I think he truly is, he's so unassuming about it and vulnerable actually. But yeah, Comedy Central kind of was a big part of his career. That's very interesting and his time on SNL and the way he thinks going forward in his career. So I would just keep driving if you're driving or if you're shopping or if you're gardening, just keep doing what you're doing and press play. Yeah, I'd say if you're in the supermarket listening to your earphones,

pull the card over in the produce section and just listen. Don't get unfocused by cantaloupes or anything. Just stop. Yeah, if you're squeezing some French bread and going, is this stale? Right at that moment, press play. Squeezing French bread and going, I just broke my finger. This one's too hard.

When did this get into the store? Okay, here is Atel. Hey, can you hear me? Even worse, I can see you. At least recognize my presence. Guys, hello fellas. Thanks for having me. I recognize my presence guys. Hello fellas.

Thanks for having me. You know, Dana, I just saw Mr. Attell, we'll talk about his special in a minute, but I just saw him at Kill Tony. You know, he's the wrong guy to do it with. He's too funny. I, they should have thrown me some sucker, you know. Yeah.

What happened there? Cause people told me that you just didn't talk. Who me? What was with Spade at Kill Tony? That's what I got from my people. Not even a welcome to the show. Just jump right in. Oh, for you?

There's no welcome here. We get right to the gossip. Kind of like it's like, it's always going like eternal. I get it. We'll do a 20 minute interview. We'll, we'll just talk again. Oh yeah. We enter, we, we do an intro after you leave.

So it's like coming up. Our guests coming up. So yeah, as we used to call it as first, I get it. How do you not have a podcast or you don't want, I don't have a podcast. That's why I'm excited. You guys look a little jaded, but it was fun doing Phil Tony with Dave. I'm always been a fan of Dave and, uh, to say the, to say, uh, I'm just going to say it, I think he classed up the show.

You know, he put a fresh paint on it. I thought it was really great that he was a part of it. Yeah. We definitely had fun. I had fun with it. It was, uh, the, the, the hard part me was, first of all, if I didn't talk a lot, that's not really my thing is to rip into people and tell them crush their dreams. They're here to do one minute of standup.

It's kind of, it's a definitely funny process. Kill Tony, Brian, his buddy get out there. There's a band behind him, if you don't know. And then the most of Austin comes up to try to get on stage. It's literally most of the town and they all have a minute to do their shit. And then Tony interviews them and then we chirp in with our bullshit. But they know what they're doing. It's very smooth running operation. Let me ask you guys, because I've only seen it once and there was this Robin Williams, a young guy who was actually kind of great.

Oh, this is cool. What is the core reason it's so successful besides the reality show aspect? Because I saw one where two guys went at each other, like really trying to dominate each other to comedians. And it was like sort of a turf war. So is that part of the magic of it? It's fun to see people truly angry and kind of humiliated sometimes and also get laughs. It's a train wreck and I think everybody loves to watch it. You know, I think everybody loves to

watch the drama of it. Yeah. I think Dave is right. I mean, like it is the biggest thing. I mean, like you can't even like, you know, uh, God help you if you need an operation that night, cause I don't think you're going to be able to get one. I mean, everybody's there. The ambulance drivers are all there trying to get everybody. It's like the town shuts down. Like everybody it's kill Tony night. That's what we do.

Yeah. So what happened is I sat there and. It's Kill Tony night. That's what we do. Yeah. So what happened is I sat there and Attelle is, uh, perfect for the situation because he just can say anything funny about anything and Kill Tony runs the show. So I sit there as a class act and wait for my time to jump in. I wait till I've got a little bit of a joke, but I was happy with it.

I thought it was fun. I wasn't super comfortable because I had a fucking F5 tornado in front of me blowing a fan in my face. I don't know why there was a arc. Why do they always put you near air conditioning? I don't know and I'm such a pussy. It's unbelievable. There's a word not gotten out yet.

I'm like, so I put on my shades honestly, because it was so blowing so hard in my face. So this is a new move. Put your shades on. Then I put my hat on, then I put my coat on and Attelle was starting to get worried like what's next? So then we watched, but he smokes and Tony smokes, which smoking doesn't really bother me as much because I grew up, my mom smoked and every girl I knew smoked. And so I don't care. Uh, it was really the coldness. And then, uh, I thought it was fun. Like people would do a minute. I think that's part of the appeal, Dana. They do a minute and it's either fucking dead silence.

And one guy said, how long have you been doing comedy? And he goes, 13 years. I go, I would have taken the under on that because he fucking, I thought it was one day. And, uh, I'm like, oh, so, you know, that's, I would have taken the under on that because he fucking, I thought it was one day. And I'm like, oh, so, you know, that's the only meanness I can do to them. Everyone thinks I'm a real mean. Does everybody pad the audience?

It seems like you get your college buddies drunk and then you go do your minute, right? Is there a lot of that going on? I would. None of these people have friends. They're all low-calls. And David's right. Insults. It was emotionally cold in there. It was really, there was no love in the room.

And I think he was the ringmaster. He enjoys this kind of like pulling the strings and he gets into their like real lives and everything like that. And I think we're of a different generation where it's like, you're supposed to be supportive to the new comics. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go, hey, you know what? It's a process.

You keep doing it, you're gonna get better. But Tony, of course, tough love. No, none of that. He goes right up. And I think at the end of the day, people get it. You know, like, this is kind of like, it's kind of like reverse support, you know, in a way. Definitely.

Definitely something like that. Yeah. Did you ever, did you ever do anything like that in San Francisco? There was a standup comedy competition, but you went through rounds. It's a big deal. I was in it in college in 77. Did you have any of that out where you were starting? There was always weird, you know, like, um, like, I guess it was always sponsored by somebody, you know, something like that where it's like, you know, but I don't think it was anything like that scene.

And I always, you know, since this is really kind of like our first real meeting is that I always wanted to ask you about like that San Francisco back in the day, because, you know, I knew Slate and I knew a lot of the big names that came out of San Francisco and like how important it was to like comedy and especially stand-up and then it kind of like you know by the time I got there you know it was already like I guess it wasn't as wild as it was back then but really like you know I always heard all the stories about Robin coming down and even to the punchline, the original punchline, and then Cobbs, that's really the scene I knew, but you knew like the purple onion,

what was the onion playing? Ooh, onion, a little tiny room. What was it called though, the purple onion or something? Yeah, the purple onion, yeah. Yeah, okay, cool, yeah, I never played there. And Cobbs moved, did you ever play Cobbs before it moved? Yes, I did. There was a fire, a mysterious fire. Yeah. Yeah. Right. That was Larry Bubbles Brown, I think was the arson on that one. Yeah. Another hero of comedy, Larry Bubbles, who every time I

play Cobbs, I make sure he's on the show because I love him. He's great. He's one of my best friends. He's an amazing human and extraordinarily funny, but such a, he makes comedians funnier because he legitimately will, if you say something he thinks is funny, he'll laugh at it and then repeat it and keep laughing. And it's really sincere because we used to have this running gig. We would show up, you know, you drive to the gig. And it's like a little theater and the guy goes, Hey, are you with the show? And it's like, we are the fucking show motherfucker. And then I said, you Jack them up against the wall, say, listen, squirt. So to Larry Bubbles Brown, listen, squirt was the funniest thing. And he kept squirt and it went go for 10 years.

But yeah, it was, uh, Slayton was amazing, really hard to follow. Uh, Michael Pritchard, Robin was always around blowing the roof off. You're about to go on at the little club and Robin's going to do a set. It'd be like three hours. Yeah. It was quite as quite a scene. I don't know if Boston was sort of the, we had Bobcat version Bobcat came through and then Paula Poundstone from Boston, and they blew up in San Francisco. Yeah, San Francisco was definitely the place where people, I think, figured it out. And credit to you, Dana,

I think you're one of the few guys that Larry Bubbles will get on a plane for. The guy hates to fly. I mean, look, he kind of looks like a dust bowl guy, you know, like back of a, back of a floppy, you know, with his like piano or something tied up there. He's not a flyer. So he's like somebody it took one day to know him in 20 years to believe it. But I'm not a great flyer, but I've never walked a flight. You know, there's times it's been thunderstorms and all that.

I don't enjoy it. But so I'm meeting Larry, San Francisco, SFO, and he's there and we're about to board. And Larry goes, I think I gotta walk the flight. So immediately I was like, that's okay. We'll do it next time. I wasn't gonna shit on, we'll do it next time. You just, it doesn't matter.

We're playing Vegas. And then I said, well, you know, maybe you, if you wanted, he doesn't drink at all drinks diet Coke, but he had, I guess one drink and he got on a plane and then he's like, you know, he never, he does it. He only ever drank after that. It was like, this is great. This is the way you do it, you know? So that helped him for that flight.

But Larry makes up for it with his incredible knowledge of everyone's birthday. He can tell you the day of your birthday, which is like a- That looks good on the resume. Ex-manipality, I don't know if that impresses the ladies, but hey, what's your birthday? And then I'll say, that was a Wednesday, or hell no.

And his classic line, I went to the doctor and I said, what's that lump on my testicle? He said, that is your testicle, you idiot. Or something like that. That's his dick. And then he does a, no, but you can say to him, Tuesday, 1968, or yeah. No, March 31st, 1968, it was a Tuesday.

And I was like, what? And you look it up. Yeah, he's great. He's a one of a kind. So I'm just curious. I don't know. I I'm always curious. When did you know?

When when did let's put it this way. When did people not want to follow you? Yeah. Let's just put it that way. When did people not wanna follow you? Yeah. Let's just put it that way. When like, I don't want any part of that fucking middle act. When was it like you have to close? How many years in? You know, like the New York scene, it was very,

back in the 90s, I guess, it was really, there was a lot of really hardcore acts here at that point. But I wouldn't put it against Boston, because I think Boston was definitely like another level of like, wow, these guys can blow, blow it, you know, blow it out. But I, I was late night comic, that's where they put me. And I kind of like embraced it instead of like going like, you know, I'm going to move up or anything that I felt like at the end of the show, like it was harder, but it was also freer at to some degree where like, you know, if you get out of them, it was really like, it was really, it was kind of like the pond had already been fished out, but whatever it was like a huge whale, you know, so I was like,

this is really good for me. But that was really them putting me there. And then I got better at it and better at it. And then when I would move up in the show, and it really has helped me on the road too, which is following people and all that kind of stuff. I felt like I was stronger. I was a stronger act. And usually that means just more bad habits.

I knew what to do and how to work the crowd and everything. But in terms of like, um, you know, I would say sometime in the nineties, you know, when I became a headliner, I actually really, you know, this is an SNL kind of thing here. Um, I'm kind of like what you would, you would call the, um, the, uh, you know, the guy who, uh, didn't really, you know, I know that SNL is an experience that's different for everybody, but for me, it was like something I did when I really wanted to do stand-up. Agents and managers said this would be great, and I auditioned and weren't like me, and I was a writer, I wasn't a performer.

I really wanted to learn how to do it, but I didn't really have that mindset yet. I really wanted to be a stand-up. I wanted to be Bill Hicks or Sam Kinison, but that's where I met Dave, who was really kind to me the whole way through. And I was also a fan of his before I had been a part of it. I really liked his stand-up. I liked the way he did things. And to be honest, I was like, it told me more about show business than it did about comedy. Cause I saw how things work there in terms of like, you know, there's a host and then if you get something on, you get to sit closer to Warren at the party.

And then, you know, it's like this kind of like levels and circles of like influence there. But I got to meet Mike Myers and you know, the late Rachel Hartman and no Sandler who always another guy, very cool to me. And I got to meet a Myers and the late Rachel Hartman and Sandler who always another guy, very cool to me. I got to meet a lot of people who I've gone on to great success and I was glad to know them, but it was never my thing. But I think for you guys, that's really where things gel, where you got to take all the stuff that you would learn and put it in an ensemble, I know, like, uh, and put it in an ensemble, you know, I guess format, which, you know, I'm, I'm impressed by that to this day, I really impressed how people can take stuff and turn it into something, a sketch or a movie or something like that.

So, well, in a reverse way, it's like I was, uh, my standup was pretty goofy. It is now when I look at jokesmiths or brilliant writing and people who can really take a topic like you do in this latest special, Hot Cross Bonds. It's like a magic trick to me. Like, okay, there's the introduction and then you're turning it and it's like, oh wow, that's the best turn.

That's the best payoff to that setup. And you're doing it over and over again. And for me, I was up there doing shop and broccoli and voices. I'm just doing trying to do sketches in clubs with hecklers and blenders. So when I finally got to do sketch, it was OK. That fit me. But you and that Dave, David are just great writers of material, just real material. Well, I can't tell you how many, especially girls I know would always bring up that chopping up the broccoli thing to me. They'd be like, how can you got a joke like that? I'm like, I don't got anything.

I agree. I think it's ridiculous. I can do that. No one's going to joke like that. You really hit a nerve with these women. They love that bit. So don't throw it out. Since there is no joke other than a guy who's horrible and is utterly committed to how bad he is. That's on David's album called. You're being humbled out because you are kind of in, I guess you could say the Mount Olympus of comedy. I mean, like, you know, people really,

Mount Olympus. Too busy being successful to actually like do the kind of road that we do now, you know, like road is like a really, it's never been better for everybody. I mean, like, look at these amphitheaters and these things. I mean, it used to be like in the 70s, 80s,

like you saw, you know, like Martin or Dice or somebody like that doing that. But not everybody could do it now. There's like at least 20, 30 people who are selling out these mega venues. So, you know, that's not my thing, but I think it's really good for comedy. You know, I love where you shot the special and the way it felt at cobs, the way it was lit and the tightness of the audience and stuff. I thought it really popped.

Specials sometimes lay there. I've been in a few myself and they don't quite happen. I think you were kind of saying, you guys are really great tonight. I don't know if you were just celebrating a moment, but it seemed like that taping of you and doing that set was a 10 from what I could gather. Which is a rarity.

Really connected, but, or was it just, did you feel extra good? Cause they don't always go that well, right? The tapings. Yeah, no, that's true. Cause you know, the first time we had a lot of technical problems and the director of the special, Scott Gallag, he's a really good friend of mine.

He's done my road work one. And like I met him doing the, you know, he was the director of the porn awards, the AVN awards and all. So I've known him for decades now. And like the one thing that he can't ever pay someone to do is be passionate. This guy's so passionate. Like we do, we edit it for so long. Like we were just trying to put all of these different things that I had done together

in like a cohesive thing. And the crowd of course was better than me. My crowds really good. I'm not just saying that every comic I bring on the road, they're like, wow, your crowd gets it. They are really good. They're older, they're like couples who are like, basically like, this is our night out.

Aficionados, they like, they know what they like. Young, judgmental group that you see kind of today now like dripping into these clubs. And they really kind of like understand sarcasm and like it's a joke and it's not like I'm not preaching or anything so they're up for anything and the crowd that you saw that tonight especially the second crowd was it blew me away because I'm in my head like we all know for specials like I got to do this and then this and I don't want to mess it up like I did on the first show meanwhile I should just roll with them the whole way through

would have been a whole different special but still like you're right mess it up like I did on the first show. Meanwhile, I should have just rolled with them the whole way through. It would have been a whole different special, but still like, you're right, the energy was like, I was very lucky that night, you know? I was really lucky. I did like that a little. I don't remember if I've seen it before, but there was a camera on the side of the stage you don't see, and then you would kind of look to it

like it was a friend or something, a person, you know? And I thought that was kind of nice. It wasn't a friend to the nose. I mean, look at it. I really didn't capture my best side there. But yeah, no, I love that. I am used to like, you know, the cat, whatever it is I'm trying to work it into the show.

I think we all agree, like those are the most memorable moments. Like Dave's really good at that. Like I've seen him like, you know, something happens in the room where there's somebody in the room and he'll like, you know, like be able to like, like tailor a joke to them or like use it as part of a riff or something like that. I love that stuff. I think that's what makes stand up better than, you know, pretty much juggling. I mean,

you never see that in juggling, you know? Well, Dana, what I do that's interesting, if I can talk about and what is the name of day? Hot Cross Buns is a good name because you know, here's Dana's name is, uh, Blenders and Hecklers. That's a good name actually. Hecklers and Blenders. Like that. That's what you're thinking for your name of your special.

That's what I'm thinking for the next Dana one. Mine? Oh, okay. All right. Hecklers and Blenders because you said when I was doing it, I was just doing all Hecklers and Blenders. Yeah. Blenders and Heckers, because you said when I was doing it, I was just doing all hack packers and blenders. And I was starting out.

Yeah. Yeah, blenders and hacklers is better, yeah. I like that. The other thing that I loved about respect, I'll just say it, the 35 minute thing or 37 minutes, it's like, I think that we've adapted to sending people stuff and just this short attention span thing, it felt like the perfect length to me. I'm not just saying it's like, that was just great. Because then there's no low, everyone knows if you do an hour, you can only kind

of go to 40 and then they're too tired or whatever, and you got to fight through the trench and then you got to peak again. Um, so 35, it's just like bam, bam, bam, you know, playing the recorder boom. And it was like, ah. So you get to fight for that? I mean, yeah. No. I mean, I think the cool thing about Netflix is that they'll let it be any length at this

point. Like the idea, like you said, is like, it's all about attention span, but it has to be 40 minutes. And I told this to David that it has to be 40 minutes to get in their algorithm to get into like their different kind of like, I guess, so 40 minutes is what it had to be. We had it at 35 and a half or something. And then they told us this is the week of, and once again, Scott, my director said, Whoa, we're going to do it. So we put more stuff in. And actually the last thing we put in, which is me playing the recorder, which we thought was a throwaway became the talk of the special. So like, how often does that happen? Like, it was like, wow, you know, like, whatever, I really lucked out on that one.

But yeah, I would say 40 minutes for me personally, as a viewer and fan of comedy, like I just watched, you know, I've watched a lot of my friends specials, like I just watched Jimmy Carr special, really, really cool. Very awesome. Like with the line, I mean, the guy, his is the classic hour and like it works for him. You know, it's a, it's a great show for me. My jokes are so small, like three a minute, like that's usually what it is. Two to three a minute.

It's like, I'm, I'm like on fumes by like 30. I'm really like, Oh, okay. Uh, you know, I'd rather go shorter too. I think Theo's was a little, was maybe 45, 50. I, I envy that. I would say the same thing. You don't need it because also then it's going to go out, then it's going to get chopped up and then everyone wants to see different bits and no one remembers

the whole hour and no one remembers. They, they, there's a handful they repeat, you don't know which ones. And then an hour so long. And I'm sure the algorithm says people last about 20. You feel like you want to front load your best shit now because not everyone's waiting for that big closer. 16 is average last time I checked. Oh, is that it?

Best compliment I got, and I'm not really a web guy, but we had to track it for the whole special is one guy said, I watched it to the end and I'm going to watch it again. Usually people watch 15 minutes and they immediately start judging like, Hey, this sucked or whatever I trying to do, you know, but like all the way to the end, that's a rarity, you know? Okay, I got another name for your special, Dana. Algo Nation. I was going to call it the other Oppenheimer. No? I'm going to call yours White Sweater Man. This isn't a sweater, but it's nice. Oh, okay. It's a golf pullover, but I'm appreciate it. It was going to come off earlier and we had June gloom, uh, in April, but it's all gloomy and then it's supposed to burn off.

Sorry if I lose you with this, uh, weather lingo, Dave, but, uh, it burns off because in LA we have May gray, stay close. Then we have June Gloom, then what you don't know is July Fry, and what Dana doesn't know is Foggist. Foggist! So good. Covers everything, yeah. In Southern California, maybe at the beach.

Yeah. I think it just rhymes. Okay, give me September. I'm not there yet. September rain? No. Yeah. I thought this was that Simon and just rhymes. Okay, give me September. No, I'm not there yet. September rain, no.

I thought this was that Simon and Garfunkel tune, but you know, not every podcast can handle the weather. Usually people are like, you know, they're gonna watch it later. You guys, I like how you dig in. You really believe they're gonna watch this weather. It's great. They're gonna watch it because it's nice out.

The main thing about podcasting, which you both know, is that everyone, uh, it's consuming this entertainment right now is doing something else actively. They are gardening. They are walking somewhere. They're at the gym. So it's lo-fi and they're driving predominantly they're driving. So they're not even, they space out. But they, they, they say they want to hear us legitimately talking. So part of it being not always funny and just being real or kind of boring is actually good.

Dave, do you remember, was Sarah Silverman at your SNL when you were there? Yeah, it was me, Sarah and Jay Moore were the new people. Then there was a couple other ones too. I didn't, I really, I should have learned all the cast, but no, those were great. And at Norm's memorial, who you were very funny, and let's face it, Kevin Neal and Crush that, he was, that guy is like gifted. He's such a gifted guy. He's brilliant, but someone has to do a bit about comedians

going to funerals and no one talks about the guy. It's always about who crushed. But Neelan. It's always who got like, no matter how sad you are, did he kill? But Neelan always kills in that kind of, he's got that, his style. He's a great comic too. He's another guy I was a fan of before I met him. And the, what you would call itit at Norm's funeral, who Norm was the new guy that year too, and he went on to great success there. He was really cool to me. Like I brought him out to the clubs

when before he got so busy and everything. But for me, Jay and I, we shared a room, we shared an office then. And we were both kind of like, you know, for Jay, especially like who I thought had all the skillset, like he could do characters, he could do voices, all that stuff. He was a good looking guy, you know, he's a good looking guy and everything like that. Very funny. You know, I saw the, you know, like how hard it is, the new guy there for me, I kind of already accepted my fate, but for

him, like I was like, yeah, I can't, you know, like you've got a future on something, you know, but I guess Farley was like another one that like, I got to, you know, meet him the late grade and like, uh, no one ever liked him, you know, like, uh, to this day, I've never met anybody that kind of comedic power, you know, do you know what I'm saying? Like that, that like inner, like, like a battery, like I just say, inner, like, just like constantly funny. So, um, you know, there was definitely a lot of great experiences and the most of the names we just talked about

went on to great success, you know, Sarah, and of course, Norm, you know, still one of the best comics. I think his comedy is underrated, you know, and Jim Dione, who we was talking to at the thing, another guy, like amazing guy, we were talking about like just how like, you know, just Norm, like the master of timing, you know, I mean, like his comedy was that good. So as far as his peers, there's no way he's underrated. I don't know if the public at large, but yeah, that's what I mean. Like, yeah, we,

you know, we all know, like, yeah, the norm was also a singularity, like Farley, God rest her soul, but Norm's timing was so unique, the way he would jump. Yeah, the problem with OJ is like he kills people, you know, I don't know, it's just kind of, you know, besides the killing part, he's a great guy. Anyway, Norm is also just... Well, Dave, at the funeral, which whatever it was, it was a funeral, which, uh, whatever it was, it was a funeral, memorial, whatever, but you know, with all these standups there, people will speak in quotes and it's really going to be a mixture of sad. And there's no way no one's not doing jokes, even though it's horrible. The hard part for me was going up and you're getting a little misty

and here comes a dolly shot. I was like, are we filming this? You know what I mean? You're rarely speaking from your heart and they're like, are we filming this? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're rarely speaking from your heart and they're like, can we go again? Wow. So, so it was, you remember that it was filmed and then we stayed after. And. And Kona was great on that too. Kona was always. Oh yeah.

Kona was fucking funny. I fell on the way to the stage and then I told the guy on the side, I go, hey, this step right here is higher than the steps. I fell on the way to the stage and then I told the guy on the side, I go, Hey, this step right here is higher than the steps. And I wiped down. He goes, he's a crew guy goes, Oh yeah. It's always been like that. And everybody fucking falls.

I go, well, maybe look into that. I don't know. You know, you're going to get sued every single day of your life. So I fell of course. And then afterwards is that's when we't know. You know, you're going to get sued every single day of your life. So I fell of course. And then afterwards is that's when we stayed after and then we. Can I stop you for a second? Yeah, please. Homage to Dick Van Dyke.

That's what I saw. I saw a guy do a classic Van Dyke. Yes, you saw it right. Classic ACL tear. I think that's what I'm talking about. I do because I separated this shoulder doing the Dick Van Dyke stunt at SNL playing Dan Quayle, a da da da da da, on Friday to pre-tape on little tiny carpet with no stunt quarter. Grade three separated shoulder, still hurts.

Wow. It still hurts, continue. Well, let's get into it. What's the healthcare like? I never stayed long enough to get on their program. Is it good? Oh, it's good. Oh, It still hurts. Continue. Let's get into it. What's the healthcare like? I never stayed long enough to get on their program. Is it good? Oh, it's good. Oh, it's good. So do you- Lauren goes, you're fine.

So you're okay. You're a standup coming up and stuff. And then from what I read, you got on Letterman first and then they showed that to Lauren and Lauren saw it. So what was Letterman like to go on? I was going to be live with Jay and Sarah at a club? I think it was standing in New York and then everybody became a performer and I became a writer. And back then it was like, if you're ugly, you're a writer. So I was like, okay, I'm ugly. They threw me into the, into the writer thing and I'm up against these Harvard guys. And I was like, these guys really like, they're almost like, um, almost like, I guess bill Robocop, you know, like guys really like, they're almost like, um, almost like, I guess bill's

Robocop, you know, like they're really, they're really good at it. And like Dave Mandel and there was a couple other guys who were like, just like, wow, it kind of blew your way how young and good they were at this. And uh, you know, to be honest, like when you're used to writing for your own voice and then you write something for somebody else and it's good, given that up, man, it's really hard. It's good. Given that up, man, it's really hard. It's a couple of times where I'm like, I got nothing, but I'm going to use it for my, or, you know, that kind of thing.

Job, you know, did you, did you, did they, did you get on update at all? Like, oh, you didn't, didn't you? No, no, no, no. You didn't get it. I don't think I was, I don't think it was as loose as it is now where like, if you feel like you got something good, you could try it. But to be honest, my writing experience there was what it was.

The guys who really I think got me, he were like John Stewart, I wrote on both of his shows before The Daily Show and I was character on The Daily Show. To this day, I'd say John was really the guy who got me and it was great being a part of that show. But at the end of the day, I think, you guys probably know it ebbs and flows over there.

It's kind of like an animal has to keep moving. And the people that are parts of it, like they have years that are stronger than others. But the other two people on this podcast, they're definitely made this, this, uh, thing that kids grew up watching and they, uh, all want to be a part of it. I mean, like to this day, like there's kids out there right now. That's their goal.

And, um, um, you know, I know this is something you say at the end of the podcast and we're probably not there yet, but I was like, no, it's over. Like it, We're probably not there yet, but I was like, no, it's over. Like it, to like, to finish the thought, it was just like, you know, um, uh, there was a, there was a point there where I was really depressed and I was like, you know, um, I guess it's, it's, it's not for me, but like, uh, Bill Hicks died. I think that was like a big deal. Like he died and I was kind of the only guy there

who seemed to be really upset about it. And I was like, what? I mean, this guy, Bill, and like nobody really kind of got it. You know, and I was like, well, I'm not really like connected. Like I'm not connected to them. Like I am to like the comedy world. So I kind of knew after that, that was like, that's what it is. Just a little insert there. So I don't know. Did you ever play Spellbinders? I think it was

in Houston. Anyway, probably. Yeah. Anyway, I just went down there a couple of times early 80s, way before us in Elinor. And then my opener was Bill Hicks. He was really young and he had a big sport coat. You come out and he, he obviously was great. Immediately. It was like, damn, this is my opener, but like 10 minutes in, he would take a beer out of his jacket. He would put a cold beer. It's like, I go, it's a long way to go.

The whole time we are game was I go, I'm going to do the dice and the cockpit joke. So I was just as my opener. He loved that I was trying to intentionally alienate the audience. I came here on Mexicana airlines and the, the pilot had dice in the cockpit. You know, but did you know Bill or work with him twice, three times. And like, he gave me a great compliment. One time he gave me a tag on a joke and I was like smiling for like two days

after that, but, uh, I didn't know him probably the way you did. But I will say one thing is that like, you know, a lot of people consider him like the grandfather of alt comedy or woke comedy. But the fact your story says it right there. He's playing a club, a dive club in Houston. Yeah. And like the guy could hold his own against anyone. He played through the South. He played through everywhere, anywhere you could go. And he did this all like when he was like 17, 18, 19, 20 years old. And then he was like, you know what?

There's more to this. And that opened his world. And like, you know, he became a deep thinker and he always was like a well-read dude. And so like talented. I mean, like, I remember one time we were at the original improv in New York and he was hanging out with some of us afterwards.

And he's like, Hey, is that a guitar? And he immediately picked it up. And it was like Stevie Ray Vaughn came in the room. Like, it was that good, you know? But like, the guy was always like searching and like trying to push it. And like, when you see him on Letterman, I think you're not really getting the whole like feel of Bill Hicks. I mean, you got to see him live.

And, you know, to this day, his last play at Caroline's, I didn't go that night. I really wish I did, but that was right before he basically said, I'm too sick to perform and I'm going back home and I'm going to have to do that. And, you know, that was kind of the end of it. So I kind of missed out on like, you know, something that would never ever happen. You know, like it was like, whatever it was, it was dumb of me not to go that night. So anyway, but how cool was it when it was open for you? Like... Well, he wasn't Bill Hicks then, you know?

Yeah. He was just... Hey, I'm in. Did he change his name? I don't know. Did you, Dana, could you tell he had something there? Yes. And I liked him immediately.

I could tell he was incredibly bright. And, but we were just playing this little goofy club and, and, um, he had something right, right, right off the bat. And then I saw one, I guess he had a special or something. I saw him a few years later and yeah, he took it to this whole other idea. Uh, Mort Saul meets Sam Cannon. So I don't know. He went very, stepped outside the lines of a standup, but remained really funny,

which is sort of the hat trick, you know? When you were, when you were doing comedy, like in the, um, in the eighties, especially how much influence was like the show Seinfeld on you? Cause it seems like everybody was like, you do this till you get to sitcom and then you never have to do it again. Right? I'm sure that came at you guys that way the whole time. I was in that chase in the sitcom dream at the improv where Tim Allen got picked up and

then Roseanne and it was both of those were huge shows, home improvement. And they're basically looking, they were in the audience a lot because it wasn't about killing which I didn't get. It was just what persona can we write a show around? And I didn't get that at all. I was sweaty trying to fucking get laughs, but you were always, I always thought you were so, uh, I just always like started, I really dug what you were doing. All right. I remember at the 10 p.m. improv, I think you and I, I walked in at the end,

Dan Muir, who we both know, like he's like, Hey, he's playing over there. You want to come to him? Like, yeah, I want to check it out. And we watched him from the balcony and it was just like, so funny. Just the way you will, you know, like you basically had them. So, you know, you got to play with them a bit. So I love that. David doesn't, and I've been guilty this many times of pushing and David never seems to push. And so it's very calm to watch just his brain working, you know, it's not like he's dancing for his dollar. There's money.

I get, I get the complaints I get sometimes in the road are like, it didn't look like you were even trying. I'm like, this is all the fucking the whole idea. Like it's all thought out. And you just go, you're just like, and I go, I still talk for a straight fucking hour. Like it's hard to do, like have a setup punch line, have this all weave into each other, but if it looks casual, that's a good idea, you don't need yada, da da, da da. You know, also I was going to tell you, I didn't, um, uh, Bill Hicks and Mitch

Hedberg, I didn't really appreciate or get to know after or get to know their work until it was too late. So I was never really, I remember they said Bill Hicks might have been on Conan when I was at SNL. I don't even know if I knew who he was. I just heard that and said, oh that guy I'd heard of a little bit. But later on even now you see on TikTok or Instagram you can see clips and that's kind of nice because there's so many things I just didn't know, especially Mitch Hedberg I see on there a lot, but these guys are great guys that just floated around and then it's just too early. Well, Mitch, especially, I mean, this is like something I do know is that people always say all these young comics, they sound like you,

like me, that's definitely the same. And I go, if you want to know the one guy who's been jacked most, it's Mitch Hedberg. So many generations of comics who now have grown up, I guess, watching him and just his voice, his cadence and his style. I mean, I've seen it a million different ways. And I used to, in the beginning, be really angry. That's Hedberg, you're doing Hedberg up there. That's what the guy's doing. And now I get it, it's just like, they don't really get that it's Hedberg, you're doing Hedberg up there, you know, that's what the guy's doing. And that now I get it. It's just like,

they don't really get that it's Hedberg anymore. They just like know that it's funny. I think, you know, I don't know, I'm trying to be generous to them, but I mean, that's really one of those things where it's like Hedberg had a big impact on, um, on the generation of comedy. You know, I'm just putting this together a little bit, Theo von and Hedberg, just not, not that he's ripping them off, but both have a quirky, well, Mitch did have this quirky timing

and I don't know, was he from the South or any kind of accent, but he just had a really weird way of speaking and he was from many, um, Wisconsin, I guess, Minneapolis and, uh, he moved South and, um, his joke was was like he was driving and he had something wrong with the front end alignment and he ended up there like he was trying to get his access and the car was pulling to the right. Yeah something like that so that's how he got there and like he worked in kitchens he was just basically kind of like a kind of like a stoner kitchen guy and that's where he started doing comedy but he definitely had that kind of like a stoner kitchen guy and that's where he started doing comedy but he definitely

had that kind of like southern like you know that kind of charm and uh Theo also is like you know because he I always think Philip him was like Cajun you know like he has that cool like there's just something there. Yeah it's cool. By the way I just want to you you know that you're kind of a touchstone for standup, right? Like Attell, Attell, it's constant. For me, coming back from SNL and playing some clubs and playing with Larry, other people, you're constantly mentioned and referred to.

You know that, right? I just want to, because I always assume that everybody, it's hard to know how people perceive you, but I'm just saying anecdotally, just, oh yeah, but Attelle was there and Attelle, it just, I don't know. It's just, I hope it's nice to hear. It's a good rep to have out there. Yeah. If you'd be less excited about my success.

No, it just kind of angers me quietly, but I just, I thought this wasn't gonna be all about you and it's sort of turning that way. I mean, we can talk about the weather again. I mean, Oh my God, there's some monsoonal moisture I didn't mention earlier. David's a great, great standup. Now back to the Goat. Listen. I was also of that generation of like, a lot of them passed too quickly. Edberg, Geraldo, Greg Geraldo, who was another great line guy. Patrice.

So I was of that kind of group, you know, like of that, of that, you know, that time in comedy. But I would say that the reason why people talk about me is because I'm out there, you know, like I really, you know, have been doing the club so long now. I mean, honestly, I don't even know like what the exit strategy is anymore. It's like, I don't think you have to have it. Dan, that's a good thing. It is to your point. You'll see someone and we're going to talk about insomniac in a second, but you'll see someone at different times throughout their career. So then the latest thing, I don't pay attention to everyone all the time, was this special. And I go, oh, maybe that's his

best special. We're certainly haven't lost a step or anything. So why would you ever stop? You know, I mean, I don't think there's been any slippage. I don't know. Do you ever feel, I mean, this is like a good crew to ask is like, when I was first starting out, I felt like my, my writing and my performing were low. And then like, as I would keep going, like the writing would get better, but the performing were low. And then as I would keep going, the writing would get better, but the performing still sucked.

Then the performing for a year was better than the writing. And then it became this and that. So now I feel like they're both kind of equal. Like I kind of know what I'm doing and I can write a joke and I'm able to turn whatever I want into a joke eventually. I mean, we all know we fight that battle every day, but I'm like, this is a good spot to be in. I'm glad like, you know, I'm able to do it and the crowd still getting it.

But like, am I relevant? Am I any of the things that are important in today's comedy world? No. So I'm also going like, you know, hey, I'm not doing it for everybody. I'm doing it for my crowd and I'm doing it for, you know, what I want to do. But at the end of the day, you got to entertain, right? So like, what point are you just kind of like, here comes that old hack, you know, what I want to do. But at the end of the day, you got to entertain, right? So like, what point are you just kind of like, here comes that old hack, you know, like, now you see my, what is relevant today? Like, is it the topics, the style? I mean, it seemed like, I don't know. You tell me. I don't know. It seems like your, your topics were all of today. Well, that was also a post pandemic special, which the two things that Netflix asked me,

and I asked them questions, because I go, is name of special important? That's why I like it was funny that you guys were bringing up these names. And I'm like, no, because I don't want to call it hot cross buns. I wanted to call it, you know, I want to call it something else.

And they said, oh, that's not that good. And then they said, don't, don't what I go, what turns people off? You have all this data now. And they said, over jokes and political jokes, people don't want to hear any of that. So I'm like, I'm, I'm, I'm sad. I don't have any of that stuff. And then I realized I got like a COVID joke, political joke in the first five minutes, even other well hidden jokes. Yeah. Well, I like your little turn on a little political thing and you go, I'm, I'm a,

I'm a Biden, Hunter, Hunter Biden, you know, but it's the way you tell it. One of my reps favorite jokes. He's always telling me about it. I love it. Yeah, no, that's a good one, you know, but then it was like, that's a political joke. What do we do? Blah, blah, blah. Oh, shut it down. We kept it in. Yeah. So, you know,

Algo killer, Algo killer. Yeah. So, you know, relevant killer, algo killer. Yeah. So, you know, relevant in terms of like, you know, am I going to preach to the people? I was never that guy. I was really kind of a, you know, a line guy, a joke guy. I'm like, it's all about the jokes for me. Well, Dave, I think it's the same thing where it's like, even though you think it's a throwaway joke, some people like give it a life all its own and you're like, you're taking it too far. It's not that, you know? Well, Dana, you know, he was just saying a good point

when we started, it was like sitcom and all that. There's a point, Nate Bragazzi, Theo right now, where you could start as a standup and it's actually less money to go into movies and TV. So they're making so much or they're just on the road that you don't have to do anything other than be a standup and, and, and you just keep working. And Dave's been doing it a while and he keeps making money and if it keeps working and he's got a crowd, he's got a good rep and that works.

I mean, it's hard to keep it going for a while, but these guys do great. So you could say, I don't want to stop and do a sitcom. It's I'm going to lose money or I'm going to, that's so weird. Cause it's less of that in the world and less comedy movies out there in the world and more standup gets bigger and bigger. So both Nate Bergazzi and Bert Christner kind of intimated to us that they felt like we were really in show business. Cause they hadn't had a movie or a TV show.

We're like, wait a minute, you're the master of your own fate and you're making more than a sitcom star. Well, you picked up two great names because Nate and Bert, both into the spectrum, super funny guys. And both of them went through that process of developing, all that kind of stuff.

At the end of the day, they're doing exactly what they should do. Their crowd loves it. And also really good dudes. They're great to the other comics. Oh, yeah. Man's right. So they're doing everything right. But they also went through that endless loop of development.

And I think it would be great, like cleansing. If like everybody, all the pitches that were ever pitched to you, like you could like basically whisper it on a rose and drop it in a well. Like, you know, and I'm a father taking care of six, and I run a laundry and just throw that, you know, like in the well, like that's done. That'll never be used again. You know? Yeah.

So ask, ask him about this. Cause I'm going to ask him about something else. I got mine is about your porn show. Oh, the porn show. Oh, the porn show. Oh, great. Dave's on porn. And did you, who are those favorite porn stars?

But go ahead, say something first. Those were the 70s iconic age of porn, you know, like, and you know, I knew them from the ADN award. Like I had like started doing it then with, you know, and we basically wanted the tribute to them because we got like, I'm like the only idiot who bought the rights to use these films because everybody would be like,

why would you buy these rights? They're all like the mafia or something like that. So I bought the rights to these legendary films and they're very dramatic and they're like acting and there's like car chases and all these weird things that you would never see on OnlyFans right now. So these guys and ladies, they kind of built, you know built the Renaissance of porn, you know what I'm saying? So it was fun to have them watch their things and then we bring out the younger, the adult stars,

and they would also weigh in on it. And then there were comics that went on like Rogan, Bill Burr, so many great names that were on this thing. Amy Schumer, you know, just like all the people I knew and like having them, like kind of throw, we throw them like, just like looking at it, uh, Marin, all these different people. And you would have been great at it, dude. You, I don't think you're a porn guy. I like to just watch stuff and comment on it.

That's funny. Well, there you go. VH1 style. Yeah, we could do Tracy Lords. Remember her? Tracy Lords, of course. Yes. I could do Tracy Lourdes. Remember her? Tracy Lourdes, of course. Yes. I mean, there was so many, so many names and, uh, that was for Showtime.

And, uh, I guess this was before, um, you know, uh, uh, what was their big show over there? Yeah. No, it was, uh, I'm trying to think. I'm not putting it in my head. It was the, uh, uh, Christie Canyon had a sitcom over there for, well, what happened was it's like me and, um, my other guy who's a great guy, Jeremy, uh, he's the editor and he was also the director that we,

we like threw everything we had into it because we believed in it. You know, we covered all the dirty stuff with like interesting graphics and like, uh, at the end of the day, I lost money doing a TV show. It was like one of those, like you think the fail, like it was just like, I don't know. I was just a star of a TV show. I'm a hundred grand in the hole. How did that happen? I got the rights to seek his catalog.

It was like one of those things. So I'm just curious about insomnia because, um, that I made money on that I lost the kidney. So there you go. You lost a kidney. No, no, it was a lot of drinking, but I really drank on the show and it was a travel show and you know, uh, the people who helped me make that also just awesome people being like out all hours of the night for days and days at a time.

And, uh, that was my idea. That was like, what happens after the show? You go out. And I also wanted to do late night jobs. So, you know, everything that we kind of did on that show became its own entity on other shows. And people like, do you feel that, you know, you, it's like, I don't care. I don't care who's doing it, whatever. When I did it, I did it the best I could. This was before cell phones. It would never work now with all of the technology. Well, you're the first one. That's good. And to be honest, like, you know, I think Anthony Bourdain did the ultimate travel show. Like the guy found what it's really about. Food is universal. And I always felt like, you know, this guy, people always like, hey, he's doing a

trial. I was like, there's nothing like that show. That guy really, you know, he found the thing or that was his thing that like, I mean, you can't, you can't top what he did. So I'm just one of many travel shows of the, of the, of the time. So, well, well that's Jeff, I belittle every, yeah. You're like, this is shitty. That was horrible. And then that happened. I don't know. I'm not really,

I think it was ahead of his time to put a comic in those situations, improvising and being real, authentic. Well, let's talk about Comedy Central because that was like, I think, the heyday of Comedy Central. The Chappelle show was killing us. To this day, I'd say probably the top, if not the top five, the top three of great sketch shows. Definitely. I mean, him and Neil, what they put together there. I mean, amazing. And then my show was there.

I felt like we were utility show, you know, like we were like, they would always go like, okay, we need you to do this and this and this. I'm like, but it's snowing there. It's like, well, you got to do it, you know, cause it was an outdoor show most of the time. So it wasn't always the spring break. So it was really tough on us.

The weather was sorry guys, also running a Bitcoin factory here. So anyway, yeah. So that was what that was. That was like the serious travel show. And I would do road after that, but here's the thing you guys will love this. And I'm sorry if I'm babbling because I get asked about the show all the time, but the real, real deal is that a lot of the people who watched it were in high school who couldn't go out yet.

So I was always like, well, if this show is such a hit, how come the club isn't full? Or how come this tour is not making money? And it turned out they weren't old enough yet to go to see a live show. So years later, they all caught up with me and then some. But back then, I was like, I me and then some, but back then I was like, you know, I don't get it, man.

I mean, where is everybody? Everybody's talking about it. I'm drinking with everybody. Like what's going on here? And then it turned out that just weren't ready to like go to clubs yet. So that was it. So comedy central, you had reddits now. Road, Road Work.

These are my specials. Your specials, The Ugly American. That's why I did that for John Stewart. That was my character. Daily Show. And now of course that one is The Ugly American. I assume everybody considers us all ugly at this point. But back then it was a lot of fun

because you could be inappropriate, put John down. He always had a great sense of humor. So. And then you and Jeff Ross are a cool pair. Bumble, yeah. Bumping mics. That was another one. That was another thing.

And we wanted to get Dave on that for sure. Which like we did the three, we did three episodes in New York at the Village Underground. And to be fair, you know, bumping mics, that's Jeff's idea. We just started doing it for fun at the end of the shows. He would come into town, he'd be on stage, I'd bring him on stage, we'd go at each other. And like, you know, he's the roast master, we all know that. So you know, it was great keeping up with Jeff, and then like

learning like how to work together. It's really difficult, as you know, like to have another voice on stage and how to like, you know, back, back and forth. We got really good at it. We toured a bit on it. And the shows that we did, people still to this day come up and talk about that. So I would say Jeff is fearless. Everything I wanted to cut out of the thing he kept in and people loved it. So he was right and he was wrong. And, you know, I guess at the end of the day, I'm a coward because I'm like, Oh, we're going to get, we're going to get, we're going to get blow back on this. And then he's like, what are you nuts? I mean, come on, let's keep it in there.

So I always give up the Jeff. Like, uh, you know, I guess he could see through the trees, whereas I was like, you know, we're heading in rock. So, yeah, I think you did it one night and brought me up and I sat there on the side of the mic with you guys. Is that possible? I think so. Yeah. Do you remember where it was? Was it in New York or LA? you did it one night and brought me up and I sat there on the side of the mic with you guys. Is that possible? I think so. Yeah. Do you remember where it was? Was it in New York or LA?

No, is it possible? No, not Largo. I think it was somewhere where- We've never done it at Largo. We've never done it there. Yeah. That was a trick and you passed. No, maybe it was the comedy store. We've never done it there. Maybe it was. Yeah, it probably was the comedy store. So, you know, but yeah, both of you would be awesome because let's face it, the crowd is not just a fan of us, but of comedy. So they were like, right, they just, they were great. And it's good if you're on the side because you guys talk and get and carry it.

And then I just chirp in. Yeah, I remember now it was, it was, we had a lot of really great, uh, it was all because of Jeff because Jeff knows everybody. So we had the late great Bob Sackett, Gilbert, who were both really good friends with he did it. And then we had Bob Sackett and Gilbert together, which was like kind of a con versus Godzilla moment. It was like our awesome, these two go at it, you know, of course.

And, um, uh, what was the was the other Bruce Willis was on it. I mean, like he had some really big names that came by and that was all because of Jeff, you know, So far, nothing is because of you in this whole, in your whole career. Yeah. I like to think I'm just kind of like the, uh, I'm the ring around the bathtub. That's all I. Can I just ask you, uh do you like what you're, you're going to tour all the time? Are you out now or what do you, how often are you going out and do you have

a new half hour? Yeah. What do you do with that? We talked about it at the Tony. It's like, he's already judged. Because you need about a hundred great jokes, right? No, it's so tough to do a special. You need a hundred jokes to do jokes. I do chopped broccoli for 19 minutes.

That's boom. I repeat one phrase over and over again, but guys like you or Larry Bubbles Brown, it's like really good jokes every 15 seconds, 20 seconds. Hard to get a half hour. I got about 15 minutes of okay, and then probably 30 of like, hey, I'm trying up here. But yeah, I gave up, forgive the term, I shot my load on the last one.

And I hadn't been in this situation in about four or five years where you got nothing. And I talked to the young comics like Sam or El Marco and these guys turn hours like now every like 15 months. They're like turning hours. And I'm like, and they also get it like, you know, yeah, when you got nothing and then you're going back out there,

like you really like, you know, it's really a sad, like, you know, it's like God's love, where is it? You know, like you're really there alone. So- Or you tip the crowd and say, hey, work in my new hour, warning. Have you ever gone up with notes then, like with a notepad so they kind of know,

hey, I'm just, that's what I do. Like, I don't know what's happening next, but I feel bad for the audience when I'm not. I like where you do that because I think a lot of the crowd go like, Oh, I'm getting to see the process. Yeah, they do. You're like, wow, I really kind of would like a more finished thing, you know, because yeah, yeah, but you guys are getting this stuff that, you know,

but it's a good trick. It's a trick because they laugh hard. You're like, is this anything polished? Joe, I just go, you're going to hate this bit. And then I'm going to tell it to you again and point out where, why and where you're going to hate it. So that always helps the bit. Cause they go, yeah, that's true.

Those are going to hate it. Yeah. That's not too bad. But the, the, the thing that I like is when, um, you know, I'll, uh, uh, you know, do the jokes that didn't make it, you know, and those are, that's the people like, why didn't that always get to better laugh? They're like, do the jokes that didn't make it, you know, and those are, that's the people like, why didn't that get in there? Yeah, always gets a better laugh. They're like, that's not that bad. So what's the most, uh, money you've made in one single calendar year? What?

Oh, you take cute questions from the audience. No, I'm gonna, I was asking you, I'm all, I'm, I'm really into celebrity net worth and stuff, but you don't have to answer that. The thing is, I'm making millions more than I actually am. But I'm on tour because my mom has round the clock care, she has dementia, which is very expensive. And we wanted her to have another disease, which is less expensive. Good job, Dana. That's what she's going with. This is real. This is real stuff. Yeah. So part of it is like, I'll never quit. I'm is real stuff. So part of it is like, you know, I'll never quit. You know, I'm a rogue.

The other part of me is I got these bills and I got a more. I can't quit. So that's part of it. And like, you know, the other thing is I really wouldn't know what to do myself if I wasn't out there. But I would say that, you know, as long as I'm still, you know, everything gets harder. But the actual show, like the flights, the hotels, all the food, all that kind of stuff, you know, everything gets harder but the actual show, like the flights, the hotels,

all the food, all that kind of stuff, you know, for us, that's our lives. But it really does kind of grind down on you. But the shows for me, like, it's like, yeah, there's good ones and bad ones, but like, as long as I'm coming up with one new thing, then you're like, okay, I guess I'm still able to do this. So, you know. Yep. That is fun. Getting ideas is one of the fun things left in life. If you get a good idea. Oh, it's a positive coming out of old Dave. It's a good code to crack. If you can still go come up with a bit and just go, oh, fuck, oh, this is cool.

Oh, and then it works. You're like, that gives you a little juice. Everybody says that. Everybody, Bob Newhart would say that. You do your same old set. You try one joke out or bit. and if it works, you're just kind of like, oh, that was a great night. That's fun.

I got a new toy. You can still do it. Yeah. Yeah. But I go back to Chris Rock for what you were saying. It's a job. Like, Lorne Michaels, what do you think of Lorne Michaels? I think he gave me a job.

And so the fact is you're still in demand and people want to pay you money to go do your thing. So why stop? Well, are you enjoying it now that like, you know, you could just go out and, you know, like, I guess basically do whatever you feel like doing, you know, there's really no pressure now, like that you're able to just go out there and like enjoy it, You know, so many, so many years, it's either about like, you know, I got to do this because it might lead to this, all that kind of stuff. Like for you guys, especially like just go out and have fun with it. Right. Yeah. It's just some days I wake up, I just want to get on Southwest today.

It's enjoyable. Yeah. I don't travel that much, but yeah. In the early days it's painful to even think about the amount of stage fright I had and the amount of fear. Oh yeah. I was terrified for years. Yeah. I mean, during college days and Rob Williams was there in the beginning and then he went and got more committed, but he was always coming back and it was so powerful and so explosive. It was just sort of like, oh shit. Hard to compete with. I got it. Unfollowable, would you say? Like at his heyday?

Like there's no way anything can follow him, right? No, because he always thought, he apologized to me once, like he took something from me. I go, I try to take your whole act. I mean, he came up with, others did it, talk about influence. He came up with this conceit of a Shakespearean actor that has no act and they just pushed him out on stage.

And then he learned how to do that, but that spontaneity, oh, and jump in the audience. At the time, I remember Gary Shanley thinking, why am I even trying? Why am I doing this? We're in the same business. Tornado, but it did make you work harder. You're like, okay, that's the level of killing.

Cause in those days you just wanted to just kill. And so Robin did sort of make you go, okay, I got, I got to get better. So that was the good side of it. But it seems like every laugh was a home run with him, or at least that's what, you know, you see when you look at those old tapes, just like it was just crush, crush, crush, like Jim Carrey, another guy like brush, brush, brush. There had to be in the beginning, especially times where people were just kind of like he was ahead of the crowd.

They didn't get them right. Like immediately, did they or did they? Sometimes Robin would come into the Holy City Zoo, the 60 seater in San Francisco in the late 70s. And, you know, I do two hours. And in those days, he was kind of drinking and stuff. And sometimes people would start to walk out after it, just because he was just out there, but I think his rhythm, wherever his voice came from, he's from

Detroit and Marin County, but this sort of like, this voice was, and right now there's a man going, hello. And after a while you're just seduced by it. I was on stage doing improv and once, and he's going, right now there's a man going, the man going, whoa. And he didn't have a line. He still got a line. Yeah, yeah.

But his physical, Sounds like a joke. The voice was so, and then he wouldn't really use the mic was also another thing. He'd stand away from the mic. Oh, hello. Ha ha ha. And this sense of like,

he didn't know what was gonna happen. And so it was a nice one of those shooting stars. Yeah. Well, that's another thing. It's like, you know, it took me a while to get comfortable. It took me another while to like figure out what I'm doing. But there are people who are just gifted who like immediately, boom, they got it. That's who they are. And then they run towards it. You know, so like this just like I mean, a, definitely a deep bench of guys who, and

women are just that good at it. You know? I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I, well, you should watch your own special. Cause yeah, Dave's one of the best. Uh, that special I would, I happily recommend it to our listeners. Just go on Netflix.

It means a lot coming from you guys, you know? And um, I hope this podcast is successful. I mean, eventually you'll get those stands that other podcasts have for the microphones instead of this morning radio kind of feel that you have. Fucking motherfuckers. I mean, our parent company is in bankruptcy, so we, we, we're, we're on a budget. I'm at a holiday inn. Yeah.

That's a set. All right. Dave, thank you for coming out, buddy. Hey, let's make a plan. If I'm ever that way, you guys, please come on one of my shows, and I'd love to be a part of whatever you guys are doing. I'd love to see you in person, Dave. Lovely. Thank you, Dana.

David. Pleasure. Hot Cross Buns, Netflix. This has been a presentation of all the c these files of scribe all evil like a review all the stuff smash that button whatever it is where the podcast final executive crews by the economy of state

general ways for the policy charlie fine in a brilstein entertainment and heather sent or this shows the producers greg holtsman