Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade - Joel McHale

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Community (Chevy Chase), hate for cue cards, and playing D1 football with Joel McHale. 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

I went down the memory lane on an Airbnb I occupied once and it was, I'll just say it, awesome. It's clean, it was tidy, it was beautiful, it was private, great big kitchen, right next to a forest. What's not to like? David? You checked that box saying I'd like to be near a forest. That's a good thing. A lot of people like Airbnb because you can do that. You can say, hey, I want a place with a pickleball court, you know, and they can find one. You can be in town, you can be in the suburbs, you can be in the country.

I mean, you can have a pool, you can not have a pool. I mean, the benefits of Airbnb are just the flexibility of it and the locations and privacy, compared to hotels. Listen, hotels are fine and that's great, but sometimes I think if you get into an Airbnb and you see the convenience and all the things, you don't have to walk by people in the hallway and nod,

get on the elevator and talk about the weather. So you realize that it might really be more tailored for you and it turns into the perfect accommodation. Whether you're with family, friends, whatever, you're on your own. You know, consider Airbnb for your next adventure. I don't think you'll regret the switch. This winter, take a trip to Tampa on Porter Airlines.

Enjoy the warm Tampa Bay temperatures and warm Porter hospitality on your way there. All Porter Fairs include beer, wine, and snacks, and free fast-streaming Wi-Fi on planes with no middle seats. And your Tampa Bay vacation includes good times, relaxation, and great Gulf Coast weather. Visit flyporter.com and actually enjoy economy. Okay, so we've got Joel McHale. Joel McHale, nice chat with Joel. Joel McHale, I did a pilot once

a little while back and Joel McHale was in it with Ken Yong, who are really good friends, like best friends. I just think for best friends forever. I know Ken Joel, sure. We all know Joel, we all know Ken Joel's a great stand-up. We see him at the Comedy Store. We talk about Community, this show Community, he did forever.

He did, we talk, of course, we ask about Chevy Chase because that ties into us a little bit. And good stories, Guys got good stories. Um, and he also likes international scouts. Do you know that Dana? Cause where I get my land cruiser done, he buys up a lot of scouts and they're all old ones and very cool ones. And he was one of the first, he did a show where you, um, make fun of videos. Oh, talk soup. And, uh, talk soup. Oh, Talk Soup? And Talk Soup.

Yeah, that's great. And what's kind of interesting, without giving you away, I'll talk about, he had a little bit of dyslexia and he was reading Teleprompters and the struggle and the challenge of that. But that show is huge and went on for years. And he now has a new show. Animal Control. And it's, I think it's just started its third season, and I just read a really nice thing about it in the paper.

So Animal Control, you know him for sure when you see him, and we had a nice chat. So let's listen up. Enough about us. Very exciting. That beard is rocking, man. Look at his fucking cool hair too. I hate this guy already. Look at all the transplants, guys.

This can be yours, literally. No it cannot. That's too good. You got to have some donors if you're going to go. No, that is fucking Trini Lopez, early Tom Jones. Who are your hair donors, Charo? When the Russian Olympic doping thing hit, I was able to reap the benefits

because they had all this extra tranquilizer sitting around guys, but Parsa Bohiby, he's in Sherman Oaks, he's a wizard. This is my great grandfather. That's what have been me. He's showing a picture This is my great grandfather. That's what have been me. He's showing a picture of a goddamn cue ball. Oh really, a cue ball? Might as well be George Costanza.

And you're like, well, who has the greatest hair in Hollywood? I think it was, what did Rob Lowe say? Rob Lowe said Richard Gere, I think, in the history of Hollywood. It's Joel McHale. I think it's Jeff Bridges. Yeah. I mean, if Keanu's. Can I make my face redder?

That's just the Cheetos wearing off. Everyone says on the YouTube comments, Hey Spade, rough night. I'm like, no, this is just it guys. They're like, geez, what a disaster. What's Northern European? You get a little rosacea. I don't think I'm red, Heather. Am I in real life? My fucking dad was kind of red, but he was such a goddamn drunk. Yeah, but you're still, you speak at this age.

Like if you still, if we all went back to our high school reunions, just an impromptu high school reunion, we'd all be like, oh, we're doing great. Yeah, yeah, you're right. Me and my buddies from high school don't look so fucking tragic. So we see, by the way, when I was,

and back in Arizona, Sir Joel, and they, these two old dudes walked up to us and I'm like, oh, look at these broken down motherfuckers. And they go, Hey, we were here under you guys in high school at Saguaro. I'm like, shut the fuck up. Wait, we're all around the same? Oh my God. Well, they also were sitting in the Arizona sun, right? They were baiting.

Everyone lays out every day. Yeah. no sunscreen. That's for girly men. I talked to a guy at an event in the recent past, about 20 minutes, and had no idea who he was. He's in show business, but he quietly, quietly put on 50. And he became, I don't know why it's always quiet, but it was unrecognizable. And then someone told me later and you, you kids out there can guess who it was, but it

was not Joel or Ken, his best friend, Ken Yong. Who was it? Let me guess. No, I like, let's do it. No, I can't because it would be mean to the person. I saw a guy that loudly put on 60 pounds. I think Martin Sheen got over it in a second. No, it was not Martin Sheen.

It wasn't Ken Jeong. He's on, he was born on Ozempic. That guy's fit. He can still high jump over six feet. Yeah, you guys know who Nathan Fillion is? Very extremely handsome man from Edmonton. And he continues to look great. But he like when starting around like late 30s 40s, he did put on 50 pounds easily, quite a little great. Really? And then he

lost it all. I don't know how he did it, but he lost it all. And everyone's like, you look great. And he literally was like, if you just carry an extra 50 for a decade, then, and you lose it, then you get this new blank check to look great. Because everyone's like, hey, and I was like, oh, you could just hang in there for that 10 years. That guy pulls wool, even when he's 50 plus over. No, you come in a boozed up alcoholic at the 40th anniversary. And then for the 50th, you just go clean for a decade. Yeah.

And you got all the- Nate Bragazzi says, he just tells people, even when he's kind of fat, he goes, I just tell people I lost 300 pounds and they go, holy shit, you look great. Good, good. Nate Bragazzi's not fat. But he says to that to people. So they go, holy shit, you look great. Napragotsy's not fat. But he says to that to people. So they go, oh wow, well now this is pretty good for you. He's like, mm-hmm.

I saw Def Leppard play, yes. Yeah, so did we. Thank you. This is Ted, they opened for Kiss at the forum. Opened for? I know, I felt know I felt like, that's a story. That's a pick them.

We got to interview Joe Elliott for an hour. What a kick in the pants that guy. What are you saying? What was the story? Someone was like, well, definitely be there on this comeback because one of them had cancer and you get up there and then you start watching them. I was like, which one has cancer?

And there was like all the three of them were bloated and bad hair. They're all just like, and then the guy with cancer just skinny and short hair, just like full of energy. They're like, he's doing great now. And I was like, oh, wow. That really shows you. I think it's, it's sad when there's like a quartet of singers or whatever. And then they eventually one by one pass away.

I was in Vegas once and they, ladies and gentlemen, the platter and was like such a bring down. It's funny. I saw, I saw. That's an old joke. Wait, would Mac when it was down to Stevie Nicks, uh, two guys from Los Lobos in a contest.

And the name is? And... The Beach Boy. It's Josie, Josie Ann. And some friends. I remember in Seattle, this is it, it said, Step and Wolf, no original members. And I thought, what, what happened?

What's going on? What is the point? Well, then it's a, uh, what do you call it? A tribute band. It's that point, right? It's really just a cover band, which is kind of good. I saw Led Zepp again, or one of these, you know, and the cover bands where. I didn't even, well, I didn't think it was really the Led Zeppelin, but I said,

okay, at least I'll just go here. The Led Zeppelin, but I said, okay, at least I'll just go hear the Led Zeppelin song, second one of cover band, right? And they were like, here's one that no one knows. I don't even think Robert Plant remembers. I'm like, no, no, no, guys, here's the deal. I wanna know every motherfuck, and then they weren't doing hits,

they go, we're not here to do the Zeppelin hits. I go, okay, and I think you don't understand what's going on. I paid $3 and what I want. $3 at the Vaseline Room in Reno or something? What are you? I think it was at Sharky's that played Sharky's. I like a tribute band that's like,

we're not playing the hits. Yeah. What is your only job guys? And you're not playing to a crowd. We're going to play a new song. Wow. It was a Canyon Club, Joel. Do you know what Canyon Club is in the valley? Oh, yes. Oh, God. Not a great gig. Actually, I played Canyon Club. So I can't.

I played it. That's why I'm saying I didn't. I saw Foreigner there. I bet it was great. It was actually three in her, because one guy didn't show up. My friend- Oh, because the joke's so bad, you go like this. Oh no, my friend Boyd saw Rick Springfield there,

and he said Rick Springfield walked out and said, fuck you, I'm 75, and then just went right into Jessie's girl. Yeah, Jesus. That's the best opening ever. Let me do a quick Dennis Miller. This is 20 seconds per this topic. Playing at Casino in San Bernardino.

And you know, in the casinos, they're all in the bar for the longest time. Then they come in. So we came out like two months before we go on. It's thousand seats, not one person sitting there and Dennis goes, Christ, thanks, Carvey, did we just turn into three dog night over here? So I just want to share that with you all because I knew he would chuck that. You actually taught me a day and years ago you were like, yeah, you ever go to those gigs where you haven't done stand up in a while and then you just go into your

act and you're barely holding onto the roller coaster as it's gone. And I was like, Oh, that thank, I'm so glad you said that. Someone else has done it. The more famous you get the, your standup gets shitty for a while. Like probably when you're full time on community, you're doing less, less reps, less, and then your price is going up and up. Right? Yeah.

So they get a lot of that. It's a lot of talk about greatest hits. Yeah. You know, we, we know the old days, Joel, where you're not that old, but when Dana was headlining. You could still get carded if you do a little agreeshift night there. I was out there with some guys that were just doing the same 45, not even an hour, just the same 45 on the dot.

Then I'd see them a year later, same 45, three years later. Cause they just had mailing lists and stuff. There was no TikTok or YouTube or not that many specials at all, right? There's only a couple of age-based specials. Do you ever get like, well, as you said, like the bands come out, they play all their hits and that's what everyone wants to hear.

And I'm like, yeah, but I don't think comics can do that. I know, I do a mixture usually, because some people go, oh, you didn't do the one joke of yours I like. Yeah. I am very close to doing a one-man show where I do quick change, Church Lady, Homs, you know, Garth. Oh yeah, you kill it. I do that, Ed Sullivan, the person goes behind the

partition panel and then comes out as a totally new character in like one second. You've, well, you, you're, you've reached the, well, you both have reached that legend status, so you can- Yeah, bring me in there. Thank you. But you should then like do three characters

that everybody knows and then throw in a character that you'd be like, and this one was from SNL's 1986 special and then just be a character that you've never done before. Deep cuts. And it's like this got to read through and that was it. Dana, get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with

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about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Hey, I'm Ben Stiller. I'm Adam Scott. And we make a TV show called Severance. Severance is back for season two on Apple TV+. Before the premiere, Ben and I are going to be binging season one and putting out daily

recaps. Beginning January 7th, we'll be dropping an episode featuring amazing special guests from the cast and crew. After that, we're going to keep going as we recap every episode of season two. The Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam. Listen and follow now on Apple Podcasts, the Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts. He's got that animal control thing in the back. Animal control shows don't get third seasons anymore. Well, this is a fucking hit in 2024, a third season.

I always say, well, it's weird. We've done 30 total episodes, which, you know, in the old days. New world. Yeah. In the old days, that's one season. Yeah. So, hey, divide up the pie however you like. That's great.

Let's call it five, six seasons. When we did Rules of Engagement, staying at the end, it was always 22 episodes. And the way we whined about it was, because you can always find a way to grouse in the set is first season of rules engagement. We did 22 and we, we debuted huge. And then there was a fucking strike and we came back and we never got the momentum, our fault, I guess, but there was only 13 pickups.

And you're like 13. And your whole year is over because you can't do anything. You can't book anything else. You can't get a new show and you just wait. And on May they go, we might bring you back. And if we do, it'll be for me is like 13. We do less if we could. And I'm like, God dang.

The second we got to a hundred episodes, they fired us that day. They're like, that's all we need by. Joel, who are you following? Who's the show preceding you? What is this magic? Who am I following? Oh, I thought you meant like in my political life. The Proud Boys.

No. Yeah. You had me. I was like, they have a show. They have a great TikTok. Who are you on? What night are you on and what time coming up? We're on, I think we're on, what night are you on and what time coming up?

We're on, I think we're on, we're day, it's January 2nd, as hangovers are just being cured. A perfect day. Yeah, I think that's a Thursday after Hell's Kitchen, or Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay, who's always writing Skoll. And then Dennis Leary has a new comedy that is on after us. I know all about it.

Really? Yeah. Their parent, what is his show? Cause what was it? I'll tell you, damn. It's called- It's called- What's the one? It's called, nope, I'm getting there. Really great.

That not gave me- I'm telling you, Going Dutch. Going Dutch, yes. It's about an army base in Europe that is only for supplies. And so they're like the great distributor to all the bases. So they have, there's no action at all. And Danny Pooty is in it from community. That's what it says, yeah.

And so the family is slowly coming back. So yeah, we're very lucky because Fox is hung in, you hear all these stuff, but they hung in there with the show and not compared to community, but like on community, but we were always on the bubble. And Fox, they liked the show, they're like, we're hanging in there. And now it's slowly built up on Hulu and they've taken their time.

So they did the thing that old comedies used to do where they would take care of it and nurture it and water it. And so it's gotten better and it's really enjoyable. It's nice they do what they say because not all these networks, they can tell you it's great until the day they chop your head off and you go, oh.

But that's, it's just a biz. But I think they add in Hulu. There's some reason you're doing well. You know, they calculate everything together, some metrics, something means it's working. AI, analyze. It's interesting that the, I mean, not to get, but they like how Netflix, like Friends and The Office,

those are, and Suits of all, you know, like, they're all, but they like how Netflix, like Friends and The Office, those are, and Suits of all, you know, like they're all, and same thing with Community. We didn't become a hit until after Streamers came out and they're, they were, and these shows have a hundred or 150 episodes and people see them like comfort food. And you were NBC and how many episodes? We were NBC, we many episodes? We are NBC.

We were canceled after our fourth season and then brought back on Yahoo screen. What's that? What's that? It was a short live streaming service that Yahoo. That's a calculator. Yeah, that it was, it went from the biggest. Your calculator app.

Biggest website to, yeah, to a, to weather and to just a little weather app after. But they literally blamed us for the downfall of Yahoo Screen, which I'm like, I brought down a streamer. And then that was it after six seasons. So we did like 130. So you had 130 to sell. It kind of, I don't know the word cult, but it has legs.

I mean, because I don't think anything kind of like community. It was unique, you know? Yeah. Just its vibe and the way it was written and the people in it. So it's kind of cool that it lives on and- Yeah, Dan Harmon is a freaking true genius.

I think David, you probably know him. I would say- I know him. I know him a little bit. I know him. I would say maybe you've known him. I know him a little bit. I know him. I did a thing with him for, I think National Geographic Channel where I played JFK or something. Can't remember if it was shot all over at that studio.

Sounds awesome. He's very, very smart. Joel, are these Chevy stories, we had them on the show, is it more rumor or was he a bit of a pickle? And I put it this way too, I wanna think, how did you think about Chevy during the show and now how do you think about Chevy now?

Oh, well, you know, I've never answered any questions about him, so this is- I like it. Well, this is SNL related, so it's a little- I can start with my theory, cause we had him on and I kind of figured him out right before we came on. And then it kind of made sense to me

that he has an impulse to say the thing you're not supposed to say, even if it goes territory that you cannot even comprehend he's going there, but he has an impulse to say, to do that. So right before he came on our show, he was at David's house. Um, I just sort of went with it and he would do all this shock stuff. And I just started finding it so funny because I saw what he was doing.

You know, if you're not ready, but if you don't get defensive, it's like a swing and a miss. Yeah. Just laughs, you know? We, yeah, all that, I would agree with everything on that plane. Okay. And then-

But you've worked with them a lot more than I have. Well, like at six in the morning, as we're all stumbling in there, trying, hoping to make our 15 hour day, he, I guess this is a separate thing, but he didn't want to be there for that long. Like it was those hours and those that work was, it was too much for the man. He didn't want to be there. And so we would have to find a way to shoot him out. And I'm not, Chevy, if you're listening or watching, I don't think you would disagree with any of this.

And he had, he was, yeah, the man had a lot going on all the time and he would, he could definitely like be disruptive and he definitely didn't like it when some people were funnier and he kind of loses mind a little bit. And then, you know, he was fired from the show famously. And yeah, like we, everyone was like, ah, I feel, yeah, like he's, everything like when he was good, it was magic and he's so good.

And we watched those first few seasons, he's so funny. But, you know, the guy, the guy was his own self sabotage or all the time and would be. Yeah, he would always be disruptive and all that stuff. So I think in doses like you're saying, like if he's throwing out, he he also has he also always had to find, if things were going well, he would find a way to slow that down.

Right. He would throw some wrench in. And, yeah. So I, yeah, I mean, the guy, you know, his reputation precedes him. And I haven't spoke to him since the show ended, but I did play him in a movie. And I guess I called him to tell him that,

but yeah, I'm sure he's- I sure love that. Yeah, there's that weird- That's weird. You played Chevy in a movie after community. Yeah, very strange. Just someone who does a lot of arms workouts. So yeah, he was always the

focus of attention whenever he was in the room. All those picadillos or ticks, whatever you want to call them, we've worked with people in show business where it can be cute and funny, but then if it's actually part of a job, it's a completely different idea. Forget Chevy, just if anybody is actively just being difficult. Well, if you don't love coming to work, that's hard. If you get nervous at work, you're going, someone's coming in today and it's going to be tough. These days are so hard anyway, and no one believes it.

But if you're in it and you know you're up at six and leaving at 8.30 at night, you're like, we have no life, just get your lines memorized. Yeah, single camera, half hour, I mean, that's a workload. And we shot those shows like they were movies. They weren't shot in a documentary style, saying none of it was that loose, it was all cinematic. And we shot those like paintball things

and all those kind of epic looking things for half hour. And we knew Chevy had obviously dealt with things like that before because he was a gigantic movie star all through the 80s. But yeah, and then there'll be other times when we physically push each other around. So that also happened and- Well, I don't know.

I mean, I wouldn't wanna try to fight you. I mean, I think you're probably- That's what I thought. Don't, you don't wanna- One of the strongest guys in Hollywood. I don't know. Don't, yeah, it was all, when we look back at it, I'm like, what?

That was just mayhem as we were trying to, you know, get this shit made. Just do a cute show. Yeah. And and then then I have that thing of like people like, oh, there's that thing because during the time it was pre it was it was during the time when you didn't say anything, where it was like, just keep doing what you're doing because it's working and we didn't wanna rock the boat. And so that, so we kinda,

I remember multiple people above us going, yeah, he's all ours. And the show was working. So I, yeah, it was, it was, it was- You don't want them to say, let's get rid of the show. We feel the stress is coming over the- I was like, I don't know what, I don't know.

If I talk to him again, I'm sure he'll be like, fuck you, so I'm like, all right, right. But he'd probably say that anyway, even if he was in love. He might surprise you, I don't know. But yeah, that's, we've all, I've had experiences like that, Mickey Rooney. But anyway, it doesn't really matter. Mickey Rooney, but uh, God rest his soul. But yeah, he was uh, putting it in, in, in, in the Mickey Rooney sort of analogy. I love any podcast that

mentions Mickey Rooney. Go ahead. He's so happy right now that his name got mentioned. Mickey Rooney, number one star in the world, right? Legitimately. Yeah. Chevy, Time Magazine, funniest man in America, and then movie after movie after movie. Tall, great looking, Goldie Hawn said it. When I saw him, I was like, this is a formidable person. He comes in and at some point, he's gotta feel like I'm on a sitcom or I'm on whatever.

And it just, and everyone's getting laughs around them. And usually they would write that out. They would just be like, I'm the guy that scores and then here's the movie around me. Everyone can be okay. And so there's something to that. I remember George Siegel. I would think that with George Siegel when I was on just shoot me because he's so great and one time he goes, you little fuck.

I used to work with Elizabeth Taylor. I go, I know dude, we would laugh about it because, uh, and he would yell it to the audience, he'd point to me and go, I used to work with Elizabeth Taylor. Now I work with this fucking asshole. But we, we had a great time. But don't you think that like you. He was happy about it. He was happy.

Right. Is that they didn't realize that when everybody's funny, that makes everything funny and that makes the whole thing better and rarely, like, I don't know, I'm trying to think of some, I don't know, some example of some super funny show. Eight is enough, let's say.

No, where they go, oh, everyone was funny on that show except for that one guy. It's like, no, no, Um, where they go, Oh, everyone was funny on that show. Except for that one guy is like, no, no, no. The whole, because everyone was scoring, everyone's straight man for this man. Everyone's valuable. And George said, you know, we had all done. Just shoot me. Wasn't a magnanimous hit, but it stayed on for seven years.

We would all, I think what happened, we all had had downtime where it wasn't working for a little bit. So we all were like, Hey, we're all lucky to be here. So it was a lot less fighting. I can't remember any because we thought we know what it's like when it doesn't work. It's not all given. You know, if you're on friends and it's your first show, you get, and you're a superstar worldwide star, you can't even imagine what if I did a show that didn't work.

You can't imagine what it's like to just get pilots canceled. So when you had ups and downs and something works, you go, Oh, we are lucky this let's do not mess this up. Yeah. That's probably what you're doing. But it sounds like there was nobody on just shoot me that was disruptive. Right. I'm saying is that you had that

and so you don't want to mess the show up. You're probably not telling everybody like, hey, we got to get rid of this. What can we do? Because they might say, this whole show is a problem. Let's just get rid of it. And you're like, no, I like it. I want to be here.

Do you think that when Chevy came through with Community, like how much has changed now with live streaming shows? Cause you'll just see full blown movie stars, except Tom Cruise, who's one of my favorites, doing a live streaming series. And there's no, it's completely accepted. It's not like, oh, what happened to his movie career? No, everyone watching live.

Yeah. I mean, that's also why like when Snoop and Jamie Foxx and Dwayne Johnson and Ellen all did game shows and then blew away the, oh, you don't have to, there's not a tie, you know, like you're in that lane now. It's just all the lanes blurred. And then, and then also then the streamers had all the money and like squid games or squid game. If you like, no one cares.

They're like, oh, it's just great. We don't, and I was like, if you told an executive five years ago that foreign language murder game show drama and Kevin Costner would be the biggest things on TV. They'd be like Kevin Costner and a Western. I don't think so. That's not gonna be a hit that Westerns are dead.

It's all science fiction. Oh, and people are not going to read subtitles. Forget it. And then the biggest thing on the planet. That's part of the fun is that no one knows. Can't figure out showbiz. That's part of the, it's part of the crazy lottery. It like, you go, I could make it overnight.

You just don't know. It could be in a show. There's 5 billion bits of digital information to watch. Little, little, little, little, little. Right now, globally between YouTube and then all the rest. So it's 5 billion. So I'm just saying it's different. That's my point.

My thesis is that show business has changed. You can do commercials. You can talk about your brand and being in the marketplace with your brand. Everyone can do commercials. everyone could do anything. Yeah, really anything. Anyone can do mass singers. Huge hit.

Who would have thought? Yeah. Which you've been on. Yes. Well, yeah, Ken caught, you know, once again, like those guys caught lightning in a bottle. And if you, which I, when I was first on that show, I was like, I don't really understand what the rules are. Are we guessing who they are?

Or are we telling you, are they good at singing? Is it, which one is it? And they were like, absolutely. And I was like, oh. Are we saying good costume? What are we saying? By the way, I like the guesses. It's like, is it Lady Gaga?

Is it Adele? I think it's President Obama. And then they're like, nope, it's Corey, is it Lady Gaga? Is it Adele? I think it's President Obama. And then they're like, nope, it's Corey Feldman. And they're like, oh, I knew it. Oh, it's a kid from eight is enough. That's when, yeah, well, they- Twice. They had, yeah, but no, it was from,

they always throw out those, you know, they throw out those crazy guesses. Big names. And then I would like it just one time to be like, oh, it is Prince Harry. Holy shit. They got him. And Meghan Markle, they play like a horse character

and she's the front and he's the back. And they pop out. That would be great. That would be really good for ratings. But as my mom would say, they should do that. They should do that. Ken is so like, he's that, he's like the secret weapon on that show

where he's so fricking funny on it. And like without, I mean, everyone's really great. And like, and Robin, like Robin Thicke's, his great, they had to throw, his, his ear is so good that they have to throw static at him and Nicole Schurzinger, or he'll, they'll, they could just listen to a person's voice and they will point out some obscure singer from like, Oh, that guy's from Northern Italy. He's a big pop star in Austria and he can, both he and Nicole could decipher that.

And so they had to throw, anyway, but and then Ken would just say the funniest thing. When I talked to Robin backstage, he said, I can tell you can't sing just by talking to you. Cause I hear your voice. I was like, wow. You want a fun fact David Spade? Yeah.

Bruce Lee went to the University of Washington, my alma mater. Where you did. Oh my God. Don't make me. Really? Yeah. Research. Bruce Lee, was he nice?

I watched Enter the Dragon last week. Oh, did you really? Yeah. Do you have any classes with him? No, he was much older than me. How dare you? Oh, I would any. Yeah.

But when everybody says like, Oh, you went to Harvard, which yeah, like how many presidents? And I was like, nobody has a better. Yeah. I was like Bruce Lee, name somebody better. Get somebody cooler. Uh, I'm going to jump around here. You, you were once quoted as saying, which is a great beginning. Now, when we talk about SNL, sometimes in the show, you, you say, uh, I think

you say, because you're the only one that wouldn't love the cue cards. I love the cue cards. Oh, no bad. I would, uh, the, the anxiety that I'm feeling right now. Of hearing about it. I don't know how, like, I think, well, I was talking to, who's a hater, Bill Hader about, like, I was like, I don't know how you do it, man. He goes, oh, I'm super dyslexic.

And if they change a single word, I flip out. And Stefan, you know, like, obviously that was improvised, which was pretty incredible. But no, you got, like, obviously, that was improvised, which was pretty incredible. But no, you got like, I still to this when I see, like, when I see like, people doing the weekend update, or those things that I've gotten so much better at it because of the soup for so many years, but that live audience with cue cards flying with multiple people, I would be like, Oh, boy, here we go.

Well, there are a lot of cuts between dress and air and you don't get a chance. You're just going to see it on the card and pretend you're not reading the card. It'll be on the cards and you're like, this is not good preparation. And you just go from here to here. So it is crazy. But just for a second, as it leads into this discussion, how many years did you do the soup? Cause that's another part of your resume.

Oh yeah, 12 years. Soup's great. And did that break some, that also was kind of fresh. Did it ever not do well? I always thought talk soup and the soup would always, you could always just. Oh yeah. It did not well.

Really? I always thought I loved it. I thought everyone liked that one. I thought it was extremely entertaining no matter whenever you clip through and you saw it, cause it's pop culture and quips and. Yeah, no, we had a good time, but that I think then in 2015,

E was at that point, not the most well-organized network on the planet. This is now almost 10 years ago, At that point, not the most well-organized network on the planet. This is now almost 10 years ago, but they signed me to a new two-year contract in August and then canceled the show in late October. And that was great. And they didn't realize my contract was guaranteed.

No joke. No joke. I'm not kidding around here. Oh no, and they had to pay your rent? They should have just done it. But it was that time when the waterfall of streaming was just budding into linear television and no one know, television viewing was falling off. Streaming was coming on slowly, but surely. And they didn't know.

They were like, what's the problem? Maybe it's the show's fault. And that was the day you would always blip. And that that kind of brought it into the barn. Also, they all we they had moved our night and and increase the number of repeats and they were always telling us Oh, no, no, or so many people want it. There's even more people watching it now and then they canceled like I

was like, why? Why? I was like, you're don't try to make me feel better. Just tell me what's going on. And that Yeah, so that that would have was on for 12 fricking years and I couldn't believe it. And I, that was one of those cases where I was like, well, this is what happens. You get a television show and it, you know, it's on, it works. This is how it works, right?

And then, you know. What's so hard? Nobody gets 12 years. Nobody gets 12 years. Does that exist out there? Is that on Hulu or Netflix? It was the suit. No, because all those clips were news clips.

So we just, you could use them for free for one week and then you had to pay for them all. And so there's, I was told some, like there's a couple of people that saved, you know, like 400 episodes. I was like, I don't know what those people are, but I haven't seen them. It is weird to go back and look at it. My kids look at me and go, what is, what is, what are you doing?

Is that you? I'm like, yeah, your dad used to do before he had hair. And, uh, did you stick with the crew laughing and not an audience? We would have, we put out folding chairs for about 20 people because we wanted it to be, we wanted to keep it low. And then they, at one point he wanted to do it daily. And I was like, we shouldn't do that. Cause what if it doesn't work?

And then it was going to become more of a talk show. And I was like, keep it. Let's keep it to just clip way. It is slightly dirty jokes. Yeah. And yeah. And then they were like, then Daniel Tosh came on and he was such a monster hit.

And the E was always like, at one point, there was the president who ended up canceling the show, she had this big meeting with me and she and she was like, Have you thought about putting clips on from the internet? And then she and I go, like we do every week for the last five years. And she was like, Oh, you do. Okay. Thank good. All right.

End of meeting. And I was like, she's not even watching the show. She doesn't. Wow. That's a perfect executive. Yeah. Don't read. You should be like the show.

Don't listen. Just have an opinion. Is doing your show. You're like, yeah, we're trying to be like the new show. That's really our show. Yeah. You're like, yeah, we're trying to be like the new show that's really our show. Yeah, they're all very blurry. I mean, it's a format that works and you guys do it, toss it,

then they just go, oh, we'll watch the new one, new version and he's funny. Rob Dierdrich has been doing it on MTV for forever. Yeah, for sure, same thing. So let me ask you, I'm just curious, you were reading a teleprompter, right? I was, but. But, okay.

So it was for the crew, the first year, nobody watched. And because we were on at 10 o'clock on Fridays, it was a desert. And this is, you kids listening or watching this, there was a time when you could only tune in for your show and you missed it if that didn't. Yeah. And we began to beat like a rerun of Sex and the City

and they were over the moon. And this show was so cheap at that point that they kept us on. But it would take me, for 22 minutes of jokes and clips put together, it would take me four and a half hours to finally kind of do it. Oh, horrible. Oh, there was a crew guy that quit.

He was just like, I can't, this guy can't read. And that's how we talk. We should be in and out in real time. I love a crew guy. This kid can't read. What's happening? A fucking wall. Of course, guy. This kid can't read. What's happening? Fuck you all. Of course, we hire somebody who can't read, to read.

And so that, with that lowered, my anxiety lowered as I got better at it. And then I began to not care. And we would do the show live. And I was, I would advertise that I had dyslexia and I'd be like, I don't know what's gonna happen. I can't really read, but we're doing it live. And so that, I mean, of course the best therapy

for my dyslexia was doing a live show on television. So it was an odd, but anyway, but that's, yeah. So to this day, like I'm not the greatest reader, but I'm so much more relaxed at it. And, and I just kind of go, you're, it's just going to be a thing and that's how it is. And it's not going to, it's your, you'll just have to, you know, these are, it all worked out. Thank God. But yeah, when you guys just even, I know know these are it all worked out thank god but uh yeah when you guys just even i know going back to it but when like reading like if i were to see a cue card with like to see all the like to see two jokes on a card at once and be like here comes that one here

comes that one and i know what's coming so that means I'm ready to talk to whatever. That I would be like, I would need, yeah. It's a bit much. I did it recently on SNL and it was a lot. There's a lot of notes in your head. You've got guests and moving and introducing and landing jokes. And yeah, a lot of times there's three jokes and one paragraph, and they're not like delineated. It's just, but I do think what's great is like,

I have two older brothers that are, had dyslexia, but it wasn't diagnosed back then. No, you just, they just called you an idiot. You're dumb. Yeah, they were in the red book or the yellow book rather than the blue or green, whatever it, you know, and kind of felt sorry for them, but it was just nothing to do with their intellect at all.

So it's great that they can go, no, no, this is how your brain works, doesn't mean you're not Einstein. Yeah, I don't, I don't know. And then the pressure of, oh, so this is a lot, you're on the most popular live show of all time. You auditioned to get on this thing,

and then it's like, here's, we'll see how you do. If you score in this next 15 seconds, you'll probably get another season or you're just completely off the show. And I bet, that's like the NFL. Yeah. That's right. I mean, to this day, like there are cast members, I'm like, I can't,

yeah, I mean, you know, you know, but like cast members that got fired, I was like, what? But they're school, so yeah, it's a long, you know, you've been all over this for a long, many times. There's all kinds of reasons why things happen and some of it is just whimsy and luck and then people can last two or three years and then something, I don't know how it all really goes down.

I was on Kevin Nealon's podcast. Hey, hiking? Who was he, starting just second? Anyway, I was trying to do a little Kevin Nealon. Hey, Joe, what are you doing today? Hiking with Kevin. Let's give him a plug. Hiking with Kevin. He's, yeah, you know, he you, but he was saying that right before,

cause he had that character, Mr. Subliminal. Yeah, Mr. Subliminal. Yeah, it was like the first time he was doing it and he was just about to, and Lauren got behind him. Like, it's counting down from the commercial and Lauren just goes, are you sure this is what you want? And I was like, what? And he had a revolver in his hand. I feel like on top of everything else,

the creator of the show just kind of fucks with you a little bit. And you have to laugh and go, was he serious? Part of his sense of humor, I mean, his running catchphrase, you walk past in the hallway, still worth the show, you know, he just likes to break the tension and between dress and air, he still gives a speech to everyone and kind of we're going on the air show and it wasn't a really good dress.

And it's like, it'd be like really, like really good if the show was like funny rather than not funny. We have a two week break and you're going to meet a lot of your relatives and all the remembers this show. I'll go. But then it makes me laugh. Yeah. Or you say we had a two week break, you're back and it shows. You took too much time off.

We got to get back. You're like, great. Thanks coach. Yeah. Anyway, let's do a great show. Get them. Well, he's the, I don't know. I mean, you Anyway, let's do a great show. Get him. Well, he's the, I don't know. I mean, you're, you were an athlete and stuff.

You had, you could have a coach who was, you should have that all the time. So I went to state school. And then ones who just in a rare blue moon would give you a compliment or give you a little nudge. And it meant a lot more, you know? Oh yeah. No joke. Yes.

and it meant a lot more. Oh yeah, no joke, yes. So what was the sport you were best at? I know you played football and you also... Well, I walked on to the University of Washington football team. So I was way out of my league. Talk about being, could not have been worse, but they kept me on, cause I was really good at skit night, and they loved me on skit night.

So I became like a mascot, but they, that was the most terrifying I'd ever been a part of, but at the same time, most fun. But if I had to pick, I was really, I was a good basketball player. And yeah, I was a pitcher in my freshman year of high school and I quit that, but I guess.

Triple threat. Oh no, yeah, I played darts. I mean, I played every, I like to blame my ADHD, but I just wanted to chase a ball or throw something as that's all I wanted to do as a child. But right now, like now, all I do is play tennis. Uh, um, I remember playing freshman year of football in high school and the coach was like, see those guys playing tennis, they're all training to be old men. And it was like, and we can play football and everyone's like, yeah. And now I'm like, Hey, probably should have stuck with tennis. Been a little bit better, but I, uh, if I don't exercise, I get, yeah, that's my

wife, I get very agitated and it's, I think it's my best form of therapy, that and red wine. So yeah, no, I now have this relationship with the University of Washington where they, it's been because of it, like being in Hollywood, Dave, not because of like being in Hollywood, they've not because of the records I set, I get to kind of do team events sometimes. Now I'm still friends with a lot of the players,

but from the old guys. So I now I'm like, I can't believe my good fortune. Like they, they were, they didn't kill me. But that our coach, Don James, who was not a yeller in any way, he would be, he was always quiet. And he, even in practice, he kind of stood in this booth and directed things like a conductor very quietly.

And when he would say something like that was, he would be literally just go, that was good. I'd be like, coach James, that was good. And, but yeah, we are also, yeah. So he was, continues to be one of the most legendary coaches of all college football. And yeah, I can't, and then when I saw him years later, I was like, hey coach.

And he was like, oh, hey. And I was like, you remember? And cause it's the walk-on programs at these colleges were, we were cannon fodder to make the, to make the scholarship players, you know, look better. Yes. That basically keep them, keep them in shape. That's my long winded. We got a clip.

Explanation. I love hearing about that. I was tracking, you know, distance running in high school and we'd do intervals. You sprint a lap around the track, rest for a minute, sprint a lap and, but the eighth one, which was the last one, the coach would always say, gentlemen, blood, gut and hair.

And we never knew what the hair part, you know, we just thought blood and guts, but blood, gut and hair. Did your hair fall out? Did you feel stressed? No, I don't know what it meant to this day. I'm asking and you guys don't know. So clearly, still haven't figured it out. Lauren Lansbury was his name. He was a brilliant coach, trained the shit out of us. I remember Blair Witch project when they just found the teeth in the hair and that was more terrifying than finding a hand. Yeah.

I think that's a good connection. Yeah. It worked. I mean, we just got scared when we heard that, but anyway. Dan, anything left for Joel? He's doing a great job. Wait, David, did you play sports? Joel, listen, I'm not on trial here.

No, I was a skateboarder. I did play baseball. I did play all of them, baseball, basketball and football until it got too rough. Like I think I was good enough in baseball until sophomore year in high school. I got cut and never went back. Football, I tried out sophomore year, got annihilated and the coach treated me like I was Lucas

and said, maybe this isn't for you. And then, uh, basketball. Yeah. year got annihilated and the coach treated me like I was Lucas and said, maybe this isn't for you. And then, uh, basketball. Yeah. You could figure that one out. It was fun to play like intramural stuff. And then I, it wasn't bad. It just, at a certain point, you're not going to do anything.

I was probably as good as Brawny. Uh, wait, I root for Brawny. No, take the other side. Anybody who root for Brawny. Come on, man. Take the other side. Anybody who can do that. Wait, who's Brawny? LeBron's kid. LeBron James' son.

I see. Yes. I refer. David, did you see that? It came out like five years ago. They studied skateboarders and about how it teaches independence because you're teaching yourself something a lot of the time. And it's not really a teams, but you're, it teaches true independence and, uh, and, um,

to, to be out on your own and to be aware of your surroundings. And well, it's a good game to do on your own. Like when I, you just get your skateboard in Arizona, I'd skate around. You don't need to find a football game. You don't need to find someone to play basketball with. You just go, hey, I'm going to go skate. And then you go to a pool or somewhere and there's other dirt balls there and you just skate around.

So it's kind of fun. And my parents are gone in the day. So I would just skate and try to get better. But I did really like it. There was definitely a skater mentality, a bunch of dudes that were doing that. And, uh, some were burnouts and stuff, but we weren't going to be in the football teams, there's different factions, you know, and I was a skater, but, uh, I'm

glad you brought that up because it's good on the quads. That's the reason I have good quads. That's why I don't show them a lot because people go fucking nuts. You're still maintaining them then, somehow. If we ever do this again, we're going to have to talk about truck restoration, David. Oh yeah, that's right. Dana, we have a mutual truck restorer, Brian Corsetti, who... You're into... I'm into Land Cruisers, and you're into Scouts?

Well, Scout, I have Land Cruisers as well. Oh, you're fucking rich motherfucker. Yeah. So. Thank you. Truck specific or SUVs. Scouts look cool, dude. I have an international Scout and a 1970 Land Cruiser and a 1990 Land Cruiser.

Cool. All the way. I like all. All look cool. I'm looking at seventies trucks now. And that's all my Instagram feed. That's me too. Come on.

Are you guys going to get a Tesla truck? I mean, come on man. Come on, man. Oh no, they're so cool looking. They don't look like they're from that video game. Dig dug at all. You're going to get a dig dug truck. I love, uh, I, I hope, I think they're working out the bugs though. I'm not ready for a Tesla

truck. Plus I'm too puny. They're fucking magnanimous. I saw one the other day, I walked by it. It's like a tank. Well, the Lank, go ahead. Yeah, Lank was just big. I would valet in one of those and just, they'd say name on them for the car and I'd say, I'm Batman and go right into Koi. You're not going to get in the Beverly center with that. It doesn't seem like it's a Batman vehicle.

It's pretty cool. I've seen them blacked out. I would worry the valet would accidentally impale himself on one of the corners and sue you because they're like, what happened? I bled out from. I know they come with Bacteen, thank God. Psh.

Bacteen. Bacteen is back God. Bacteen. Bacteen is back. All right, thanks Joel. The Elmwick Bandwagon. Thank you for having me. You're a good dude. And I held back on saying how giddy I was

to talk to you guys, because you're my heroes. So that's it. Okay, I'm leaving. We worked on things. We've seen you around. So just kind of fuck. You have no idea how excited I was to do this. And my wife was like, well, that's a good one.

And I was like, wait, it's not like the other ones are bad. And she was like, oh, that's. Yeah, they are. She said, please say hi. That's nice. And she's never married. Say hello and thanks buddy. I'll see you around.

Thanks Joel. Animal Control everybody. This has been a presentation of Odyssey. Please follow, subscribe. I'll leave a like or review. All this, subscribe, leave a like, a review. All this stuff, smash that button, whatever it is. Wherever you get your podcasts. Fly on the Wall is executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Jenna Weiss Berman of Odyssey, and Heather Santoro.

The show's lead producer is Greg Holtzman.