Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade - Punkie Johnson

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Messing with Lorne, working at the Comedy Store, and leaving SNL with Punkie Johnson. 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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Our guest today is Punky Johnson, who was a cast member for four years on Saturday Night Live and just left the show. And so she's gonna tell us all about her experience on Saturday Night Live and other things. The good and the bad and the in between. We, you know, I don't think we've had someone off the show that we talked to him so quickly. We've talked to people a while after or years after.

Most people have been on it in the past, but we're just hosted. We had Nate Bregazzi just hosted the week before. Yeah. So, you know, it's still fresh in her brain and she's pretty cool about it. I mean, you know, it's obviously a roller coaster there. We know, but she's got a lot of energy. She's got a lot. She's pretty hilarious to talk to you about it.

She's very funny. She says so many funny things without really trying. Just in the way she describes the environment, how she interacts with Lorne Michaels is really funny. And her whole presence is just extremely entertaining. So I would listen to this one if I were you. And it is interesting. She's hot off the show and we get like a first blink feeling

from a cast member what it's like. It's funny, she's like, Dana, can you imagine? I see Lauren in the hall, I go, hey, wait up, I gotta tell you something about Reetha. And I'm like, what are you doing? How could you ever confront Lauren about anything? And she goes, no, I do it in a funny way. He knows, I'm like straight up, I just don't want bullshit.

Yeah, she had kind of an interesting relationship with Lorne, it's really funny the way she describes it. It wasn't what I had. Because we were just kind of afraid of him, we didn't really know him. He wasn't Lorne Michaels then, or at least he was Lorne Michaels, but now it's like he's, well, he is her godfather,

I think that's what she refers to him as. He was a locked door, and that's what it was to me, like you walk by his office. Is Lorne in there? Yeah, why? Nothing, keep walking. What do you there? Yeah. Why? Nothing. Keep walking. What do you want?

Don't break stride. Don't pick stride. Don't dart your eyes over. There's no meeting. Don't meet, Ander. Get the fuck out and get down to your office. You're doing circles. What are you doing?

Get out of here. Get out of here. I'm looking at the host board. Who's the host next week? Not you. No, get out. Get out of here. Hey, Marcy. Yeah. Hey, Marcy.

Yeah, hey, Marcy. Marcy. I'm just kidding, Marcy. All right. Well, here's Punky. I think you're going to have a nice time listening. Enjoy. Punky.

We've already started, but Punky, I'll just tell you this, but this could be a bit that I'll sell today and after. But this is the same sinking feeling I get with Zoom is when everyone's waiting and I can't get on is when I leave a parking garage and I put the fucking ticket in and then arm doesn't go up and everyone behind me, I'm like, what's going on? And then you, and it pushes it back out and I go, I did it. And then it was like, what the fuck are you doing? I did my job. I did my part. I did what I was supposed and everyone's like, what the fuck are you doing? Yeah, I did my job.

I did my part. I did what I was supposed to do, I pressed the button. Yeah, and then- But the thing still didn't go up. Exactly, and I'm trapped, everyone's mad, and there's a mob behind me. I know, you try to tell them, I'm not going anywhere. I literally can't move.

I go like this. Like I can't try to make signals. You gotta press the call. You gotta press the call button and wait for somebody who wait for this spirit to come and help you. Because nobody, nobody's actually really behind that damn button. By the way, low urgency when you press that button. They're like, hello?

It's the wizard of Oz. I'm doing this from home and you're like, well, that doesn't help me. I need you to walk out here. Let me ask you two a question. When you're parking your car in a parking garage. Yes. This is not like the way, I like to let the podcast just breathe on itself.

Yeah, it's sort of just. Are you, you go to the roof, you say fuck it. There's a couple of tight ones, there's people everywhere. I just go, get me straight to the fucking top of the garage. Wow. But you guys are down there one and two, trying to squeeze in, people honking. I made that up. But are you a topper or are you trying to fit in like?

You know what? It depends on how new or how old my car is. Oh, interesting. Well, didn't Lauren buy you a car? Lauren buys everyone a car. No, no, I think you're telling me. I'm gonna text that motherfucker and be like, hey, I heard some shit about you.

Where's my car? Lauren buys us a car at every beginning of each week. It's a Dodge Dart, 1968, it's vintage. Chevy had it before you. No, we didn't get a car, punky. The type of car you have is important. I think he replaced it with cell phones. We got new, I got a brand new cell phone every year,

brand new iPad. What? And I got a brand new computer, I think, last year. Ooh, I got a brand new desk last year, painted my office last year. Wow! That's bullshit. Okay, we didn't, we got a yellow pad, a legal pad.

We got a number three pencil The number twos are more expensive. We had a number three fucking pencil 1980. Where's there 70? 50 years ago. That's a great. That's a great Lauren impression. He's so he's so chill I'm either chill or I'm not chill. Um Right, but regardless like he stays in that lane. So you don't know what level of chill or not chill he's on because he gonna stay talking like that the whole time. Here's him mad.

He goes, David, why do you think that didn't work at all? I go, oh, the bed I just did? Yeah. Where do you think you went wrong? I'm like, I don't like this question because I know you're mad, but he won't, he doesn't act mad, doesn't act anything. Oh, he's very, very chill.

Did he ever say to you, are you still with the show? Because I thought that, I just wondered, you know, you're walking down the hallway, still with the show. He used to say, I would just imagine him getting into the elevator by himself and just cracking up, just laughing. Just making someone feel bad.

I don't know how Lauren would laugh really hard though. He's funny. I used to mess with him a lot. I used to mess with him a lot because he loves that. I was one of the people who just wasn't afraid to interact with him because everybody act like, oh, when he comes, everybody gets crazy. He's the principal or something. Absolutely. when he comes, everybody gets crazy. Like he's the principal or something. Absolutely. And I did a bit and it bombed. I mean, I bombed so hard. It was so embarrassing.

And he comes, I'm sitting in a chair and I'm just looking like, damn it, I bombed. And he's walking up the hallway and he's just looking at me with that Lauren look. And I said, you know, I forgot what I said something but I know it was trash, I know it's cut. I was like, don't come walking down the hallway with that shit and he busts his out laughs. I think he would appreciate, he doesn't like you to kiss his ass.

I think he definitely likes a little bit of pushback. And I'm terrified, I'm a people pleaser and I'm passive aggressive. But once in a while I would ding Lauren and I was shocked myself, but he didn't seem to be bothered, you know? Yeah. It's like, I think I told him something one day and everything is such a blur to me. So not everything is like quote, quote, quote, but one day we were just sitting there and we were just having a good time and I looked at Lauren and I was like, how you doing? He's like, I think I drove him crazy to the point where he just started ignoring me.

He was like, I don't have time for this shit today. I don't have time for your games. I don't have time for your super little quotes today. He's just like, get out of my face. Cause I would mess with him. I will call him Mr. Michaels. He's like, don't call me that. My name is Lord.

Then I started writing him letters and stuff. And I'd be like, hey Godfather, you know, I just want you to know I love you. Were they delivered? I mean, how were they delivered? Yeah, I would give him letters and stuff and I'd be like, hey Godfather, you know, I love you. Were they delivered? How were they delivered? Yeah, I would give it to him. Oh, you'd hand it to him. I would give him stuff like through his assistance

and stuff like for his birthdays and Christmases and Valentine's day and stuff like that. And I would get him really unique gifts. Like, I know he owned goats, so I got him a goat daddy shirt. Cause he's a goat daddy. Oh yeah, he's got goats up in New Hampshire or wherever he is. I keep him at 88.

Right. One day I asked him for a present for his birthday. I said, hey, can you buy me a goat for your birthday? Oh boy. And I'll come visit it from time to time. He just, he just, he just shake his head. He just like funky is on another level. I don't know what's wrong with this girl.

You know, you ever catch new people calling him Lauren? They think his name's like a woman's name, like Lauren. So if you'll go, Hey Lauren, I'm always like, I don't correct them though. I want, yeah, Lauren. It's Lauren. Does it, did you say it feels fuzzy now? I mean, you just got off the show and you did four years and you were hilarious on the show

because I've been watching a lot of your clips. You killed hard on that show. I'm pretty sure, you know, like, you know how it is, David. Every week is a new week. Like you gotta act like the week previous didn't happen at all. So the previous week has to become a blur if you want to try to be any type of way successful the next week. So only good as your last show. Yeah.

Yeah. But also like I'm happy you said that. Thank you. But I, SNL was just, you know, I've never grew up in sketch. I've never like went to a sketch school and I sketch school and I didn't really feel like I fit. I didn't feel like that was my zone. You know what I'm saying? I just think sometimes that show is for a different type of person.

I'm crazy, I'm more like out the box and just I'm all over the place, but that is a structure. That's a structure. Like when I got to that job, I was just chilling, you know, minding my business and you know, I came from stand-up. So I was just thought everybody else came from stand-up. I started having conversations with people

and everybody was like, oh yeah, we went to school for this. I'm like, yeah, I went to school. I went to school for this. To be here, they were like, oh yeah, we went to school for this. We were both stand-ups too, Punky. We were just standups as well, but the Groundlings people like Phil Hartman and stuff, they came in with sketches that were-

They're buffed. That were done. I mean, they were just ready to go write on SNL. So that was kind of cool for them. Yeah. That's a hard job, man. I could write you a 32, 33 page pilot faster than I can write you a 10 page sketch.

You can write a 32 page sketch, I did. My first sketch was like 17 pages, and they go, Lauren's like, what the fuck is this? I'm like, no one talks to me. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm sure you had like a Heidi Gardner, like there's people I think that have training in sketch. It's very good. She's already polished. So they come in with no surprises really.

I think someone was saying it was Heidi. And then we had our own Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks, the people that came. So you could tell someone who was better than the comics right off the top, you know? And then you had to learn, write a sketch, learn how to kind of act. It's not even like regular acting, sketch acting. It's a different muscle. Can I just point out one thing that it was, it's just a great sketch. The couples counselor with Jake Gleason Hall, you know,

Oh God. And you got to play two, you know, the skits were two different flavors and you're going back and forth and you're just hitting it so crisply. I don't care how funny the lines are you still have to just hit them. So I don't know if that was who you how that came about but there's an example of a stand-up being used properly in a sketch and being a sketch player. Yeah it was a

whew. Boy that's a job for you. I mean, you have fun and you have your ups and downs. Whenever I was given opportunity, I did the best that I could over there. You know what I'm saying? So, and it's about- A lot of miles to feed. It's a lot of miles to feed over there.

It's a lot. It was like, what I think, like 22 of us. And then you add the PD guys. Cause David, when you was there, it was like 11 or 12 of you guys, right? When I was there, it was more than Dana. And then yours is probably more. But 11 or 12, I was there with six, you know.

Six. Six cast members. And then we had Kevin Nealon and Dennis Miller as feature or Dennis did update primarily. So that was Kevin, but yeah, it was just Victoria Jackson, Jan Hooks, Nora Dunn, those were the three major. And then it works. Everyone has a lot to do.

Well, you get on the show a lot and then you get used to doing it. But when you came in, like, can you walk in there? Who came in with you? That was their first year. Who was in my class? Yeah. I think four years ago. So, Andrew Desmukes, who was a writer

and he got bumped to Cass. And then Lauren Holtz, she came in with me. I forgot, I think she's from Carolina or something or whatever. but yeah, she came in with me as well. Was Marcelo? Marcelo came in, I think, two years after. Yeah, his class was Marcelo, Devin, Michael, Molly. And then the year before that, I think it was James and Sarah that came in. And Molly just stepped away also. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay.

Yeah, that's a lot of people. It's a thing. It's a big decision, you know what I'm saying? And I feel like with me and SNL, I feel like it was going to mutual things. Because I can tell you right now, by February, last season, I was like, nope, I'm done. Just by that. I was just like, I'm not going to make it. What was fueling that? I mean, what were you feeling when you felt like-

You know what? It was like the season before that, I questioned it. I talked to my team. I was like, look, I don't really know if I belong at this job, so maybe I should step away. And it was just like, but I told them super, super late. Like right after I found out I got to get to go back and it was like, well, we don't,

well, Punky, you need a plan. You can't just quit your job. So I was like, all right, all right, let's go back. Okay, let's go back to work. And I had a tremendous first half of the season. You know, my, I had a writer and I think I got like three or four sketches on first half.

Usually I only get maybe two or three on their entire season. I'm like, oh man, I'm killing it. This is my season. But then my writer left. Oh my God, when Ben Silver left, I went down, I spiraled because he's gone. Everybody has their groups. You can invade them if you want, but everybody's already had their familiarity.

You can invade them. I couldn't break those walls down. I had special moments after that. But after that, I'm like, if I don't have Ben, then I'm pretty much like- What happened to him? Why did he take off? He got married and his wife moved to Los Angeles. And for the most part, he just wanted to be with his wife. I was like, Ben, no.

He did? Wait a minute, you wanna be with your wife? He wanted to be, I was so mad. That's not a good showbiz answer. But how did you write with him? Did he sit with you and then you're riffing and then he'd go piece it together and you'd punch it up kind of thing or did he hand it to you because he knew your voice?

So I am the type of person, I'm goofy. I know how to just play around with stuff. I'm really, really not to say I'm a writer because I can write, but my brain works very differently from everybody else's. And I can feel that all the time. I feel like my IQ is all over the place. And I feel like sometimes people don't get me when I am delivering information. So Ben, he just knew how to speak funky.

So if I was telling him something, he knew how to put it in SNL format for me. And if I try to put it in SNL format... That's the hard part. That's the hard part. Yes. He knew how to take all of the scribble scratch that I was delivering out of my mouth and turn it into some real understandable words.

You know, Punky, like Dana knows this, if you're in a Monday meeting and you pitch an idea and you say, uh, and you've got a weird idea, oh, a caveman that's afraid of caves. And then after the meeting and you're not even thinking of writing it because you don't really know how to write it. And you're just like treading water. And some good writer walks up and said, Hey, I like that idea. Do you want to write it? And you're like, thank you, Jesus. Someone that knows how to write a sketch is going to help me.

They go, I see how that could be funny. And then that's a gift. And if that guy leaves, like you're saying, because I see there's factions. I'm guessing it's like high school. These guys write with these people, these cast members mostly write. Sometimes someone will write a full cast that you get in and you have something to do. But it's not like, you know, the old days you'd be like, I cast members mostly write. Sometimes someone will write a full cast that you get in and you have something to do, but it's not like, you know, the old days you'd be like, I have a funny

character, sometimes it's very selfish. Like let's say, uh, Sprockets. Mike is going to write a sketch that's basically Mike Myers scoring and everyone just is in it. That that's one way to do a sketch and those work on SNL. everyone just is in it. That's one way to do a sketch and those work on SNL and then there's conceptual cast sketches where the idea is just bigger but everyone's playing into the idea. So everyone's kind of scoring but just the idea of the sketch is funny. Right. So there's both of those but it's hard to

get those ones where just you score and you need those now and then. Yeah. To survive you know. Well you know, so like soon as soon as everything happened or whatever, like the Newsbrook or whatever. And I, well, of course we knew way before the Newsbrook, but I text Lauren because I, every pitch, I be saying some wild shit in them pitches. Can you give us an example? I'll be wild as fuck. Yeah, I'm going to give you an example. I text Lauren and I was like, look, you know I love you.

I appreciate everything. You know, it's only four men in this business who really believed in me and really made a way for me. And Lauren is one of them. And I was like, but you know, I'm sorry to tell you, pitch gonna be boring as fuck without me. Because you never know what the fuck I'm gonna say. You know, I be saying some crazy shit, you know?

I think it's nice, punk. You have a direct line to Lorne. Dana, that just struck me as we had to wait outside his office. There's no way to just talk to Lorne. So the fact that you have access to a number is nice. You's no way to just talk to Lauren. So the fact that there was only landlines back there. You'd have to call him up. You know, operator gave me a line on four, four, seven, five feet, five. Yeah.

Oh, is that Lauren? No, he's not here. Yeah. So he's just my guy. I, he just, he's just always been like super supportive and just like, you know, the one, the one reason why I really really like him is because everybody kind of Hip toe around there. Nobody really wants to tell you what's really going on and I've been like I don't have time for this bullshit Somebody to tell me what's up Lauren is gonna tell you what's up a sad mean? He not play no games

He gonna tell you how he feel. He gonna tell you why your shit was trash He gonna tell you how he feel. He gonna tell you why your shit was trash. He gonna tell you what you could do to fix it. So it's just like, he was just always just honest about everything. How did they find you? I'm just curious what they first, the show. That same thing.

I was wondering, I was like, what the fuck? Because you know. Was it Comedy Central special or what was it? What got you their attention? You know, just being in this, you know, I'm from New Orleans. I always knew I wanted to do comedy. SNL was not on the vision board because I'm just like, everybody told me my whole life you'll never be on network TV. So I was just like, okay, well, I'm never going to be on network TV.

I had some nice friends. Nice friends. So SNL was just there for for me. Everyone. Yeah. So I never thought that that was possible. So one day I'm just riding in the car. I had just left my wife or whatever and I'm just driving. I'm like, my life is over. And I'm driving across the country.

And as soon as I'm just like going crazy, my phone rang and it's my manager. And he was like, hey, you ever thought about being on SNL? I was like, what? He was like, yeah. Oh. You know, do you want to audition? I was like, what? He was like, yeah. You know, do you want to audition? I was like, what? He was like, yeah. I was like, okay, I'll do it.

And I was just like, they never gonna hide my crazy ghetto ass. So I just gave them, and I gave them crazy, just goofy ghetto shit. And then they hit me up with the recall. I mean, with the call back. and I was like, they like this. They was like, yeah. I was like, okay.

You can send the same shit or you can revamp it. I was like, nah, I'm gonna revamp it. I was like, give me nine. So the first time I sent six characters, next time I added six characters to it, and then I put a clip of my stand up at the end. Cause I'm like, hey, look, if I'm gonna be in this competition, I'm going to come for real.

So. Everything, yeah. Throw it all up. Throw it all up there. And then when I, once you get in there, you start seeing familiar faces like, oh, we did Just For Laughs together. I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, I don't really know anything

about Hollywood business. So when I'm at Just For Laughs, I don't even think SNL was in there watching, but they had like, you know, they got people from SNL, scouts and everything. Word gets around, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I think, you know, I think maybe from that, it was buzzing from that too. You know, Dana, when we did Lights Out, I used to go to the comedy store a lot when Adam Eget, you know, Adam Eget was there and he would kind of run the place. And then I think he told me about Punky and then I saw Punky there.

I'd see you in the hallways and then I think you came on Lights Out a few times. Yeah, that was fun. Lights Out was super fun. Yeah. Yeah. We did that twice. And so, yeah, I got it. You know, Punky, I wish we had clips now because those clips would float around.

Just an exchange between me and you on there would have gone out as a clip. You know, that was, that was like two years early for that. But so Punky was already getting the word out and those things all help. You know, you're on their panel with other comics. They say they're with you. Adam's talking about you. I'm talking about, and then you just never know whose ears are open to that. And you just get momentum and then somehow it gets to Lauren.

It's great. I love that. Yeah. You, you, look, you telling me, listen, ever since word got out, you know, that I'm not going back to the show. My own and opportunities have not stopped. Like it's, it's, it's crazy. I'm like, wait, what's going on? What's going on? They like, well, people know you off the show now. So people like, what's up? She won't do this audition. She won't do this cameo.

She won't look, she won't- You can work on something else. Yeah. Right. And it's, it's, you know, it's a little bit, it's, it's, it's going to be very different, but I'm excited. I'm super excited. I'm working on a movie that Lauren is also helping me do.

Good. I'm putting together my special that Lauren's also helping me do. So my relationship with the, with the show is still strong. We just, we just, mutually we just understood that it wasn't my zone. And this is not like leaving the show in the early nineties. This is, there's so many outlets for you to do your work. Like streaming shows, doing special, whatever.

So it's, it's, uh, you've shown on the show that you can stand and deliver. Like you're, if they give you a chance and you're out there, you're scoring, you're killing with Colin or whatever you're doing. So you've got the credibility. So now, yeah, I could see that your phone's gonna be ringing a lot. It's just-

Well, I'm happy y'all ain't see the sketches that bombed. They got something called the dress rehearsal. Let's look at a clip. I put it, Punky Johnson, SNL, and they do- Worst sketches. No, it's all great sketches. Oh my God. But that's-

Wow, horrible. I had like two sketches that went, that I just, oh God. You know, I'm dyslexic. First of all, let's get it out there. I'm dyslexic, okay? So you put a dyslexic person out of all, let's get it out there. I'm dyslexic, okay? So you put a dyslexic person out here on Lexi, where they gotta read stuff

that's about 10 to 15 feet away from them, okay? Yeah, it's sometimes as far. Yeah, you're like, wait, what? And then sometimes it being brown. I'm like, I can't see brown. Y'all better give me a fucking yellow or orange. Yeah, give me something jumps off. Fuck, that's so funny.

Farley taught me how to squint. He goes, all you have to do is lean into the cards and squint as hard as you can. I go, I don't think that looks good on camera. And then you go back and watch it, you're like, oh, I guess that does look normal, but it doesn't feel normal. So when you're out there-

It feels nuts. Yeah, I was just like, there were times where I had to like, like one of my sketches that bombed so bad. I did the lady who had like the seven part series on TikTok about how her man. Right. I forgot her. Reese the Teezy. Right. And while I was doing Reese the Teezy, I had to be like driving, looking, pressing buttons, fixing the mirror, reading the cards. I'm like, I am totally dying. I was like, can I ring a bell or something to get out of this sketch?

Can I pull the eject button? Get the next sketch ready. Get the next thing ready. I'm going to get out early. Oh, that's so true. You've got too much business going on and you're trying to peek at the card. Was it supposed to look like a TikTok you're saying? So you're trying to, the camera's like the, you holding the camera.

And when you look at that, you're really, you're supposed to be looking almost into the camera, but you have to look at the cards. Yes. So it's a bit of a cheat already. Yes. It was, I could not, I could not get that sketch together to save my life. You're like, I'm gonna crash this fake car. Can we see that anywhere?

It's out there somewhere. I might can pull it up. It'll be funny. It'll be funny. It's one thing, nobody ever had to come tell me my sketch was cut. I knew when my sketch was cut. I'll take Dennis up there and I'll be like,

I know that shit cut. You ain't gotta tell me. And he'll be like, well, thank you for telling me, punky. Thank you, I don't have to let you down. Nah, bitch, I know. Yeah, fuck. Horrible. I know what I'm, one thing about me,

I know when I'm trash, okay? And I'm not about to even sit down and wish for the slightest redemption. I mean, I'm like, I'm not even gonna have the opportunity to fix that, so let me just tell y'all, I know that it was trash and we good. So they go to the commercial and you quietly get up, you get a smattering of applause and then no one high fives you.

Crew guys look away. You walk that long road back to the walk of shame. No one makes eye contact. No one makes eye contact. Hey, what's up? That, now that is a walk of shame. Do not walk by the monitor where Lauren watches that video village. Everyone's like, oof.

Yeah. But I'm, you know me, I'm just like, I'm sure I got to look, I'll go walk it through talking shit to everybody. You'll go, even if you want it on, I'm cutting it. It's too much work. I'm cutting it. It seemed like you had a personality that could navigate the nightmare that SNL can be. I mean, you seem resilient just hearing you like, I'm trash, we're good. Yeah, because it's just like, you know, it's a thing of like, look, you know, I feel like if I

got this job maybe 10 years ago, I would have been better because I would have had the momentum, I would have had the energy, I would have had the stamina. But getting that job at, I think what I was like 36 or something, it's like, you just be like, all that shit just roll off your back. You'd be like, I don't care about none of that shit. I don't care. Just give me my sketch, let me go. You know what I'm saying? But if I'd about to start that job at 26, I would have been bouncing off the walls in that moment. I'm trying to make friends with everybody. I'm talking

to everybody, hitting it off. I'm in everybody's office. What's going on? What you guys are doing? You got some treats? Give me some snacks. And that just mooching and shit. But I was just too old for that. Shit. Funky, do you ever do a sketch? I was the opposite. I'd do a sketch. It would bomb a read through and I'd be back there going, waiting to find out what made it, going, maybe they think it's like a fixer upper, you know? They can get in there, and if they put every single writer on it,

I think we can get it going. They're like, yeah, we can do that with every sketch, but we like the ones that are already kind of done. Well, the thing is, like sometimes you would have that feeling too, because there'd be some sketches that are at that table and they'll pick them anyway and fix them. So why wouldn't you think maybe this time it could be you? Of course, maybe.

I'll tell you. I see you fix that sketch while you can't fix mine. I'll tell them. Yeah, exactly. Fuck, I got a nugget of an idea in mind too. It didn't expand the way we thought. It didn't grow. But you guys could fix it. You're smart.

That's why talk shows, you know, fake talk shows worked. Go ahead, Puck. Yeah. Yeah. No, I was, I was, I didn't mean to talk over you. Oh, not at all. I'm just saying that home base of fake talk show or, you know, stuff where you're looking right at the audience as a standup, you know, being obviously on update is just right out there and a restaurant sketch in the corner underneath the bleachers, it's got to really be great to land. Update was probably the best for me, but also the hardest because I honestly could not see them damn cards. I couldn't see them. That's it. Yeah. Oh my God. You know, so, you know. How did you manage it?

Oh my God. You know, so, you know. How did you manage them? Well, then also what I was is, I'm a standup comedian. So when I do comedy on stage, I'm talking to the whole crowd. I'll go here, I'll go to the side, to the middle, to the other side. So when I was doing, whenever I would do update,

I would communicate with the crowd instead of looking at the cards. Yeah. And so I would look at the card, look at the crowd, go back to the card. And they like, punky, you have to just keep reading the cards. But my, my muscle was, would, would always be standup comedy when I went into the chair, my muscle would kick in. Yeah.

So I just, you know, I'm not a deal, like four or five updates. Right now, when you're talking, you have an energy and a realness that isn't exactly the same when you stay on cards for anyone. So I see why you do that because you're in front of a crowd like, this is where I know what to do and the crowds with me. Because it's like a sprint Dana, as you know, you do update. If you don't get out of the blocks and those first jokes don't work, it's a long update where if they don't buy your bit right away, it's very hard to get them

to buy it toward the end. You're like, fuck, I want the first joke to get a laugh. They get the concept and now I'm just going to roll. But man, when you're working up there, it is tough. You're like, fuck, am I bombing an update? You're looking over going, it's not going to make it. Oh, sick. I did update where I played Michael Che's ex-girlfriend who came back.

Yeah. Basically, like the premise was like, you know, Michael Che's ex-girlfriend, you get me, you sweep me off my feet, you pull me out of my apartment, you give me this lavish life and then you're there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have to run that by Che before, sorry, go ahead, keep going. No, no, no. I didn't run it. We run everything by the writer, our writing boss, like the head writer.

They're like, do you think Che will be all right with this? I'm like, I don't know, just write in the seat. Okay, fine, I'll write in the seat. But it got picked, but at dress. At dress, I just, the first line off the top, I don't know what happened. But I said the whole first line wrong, and man, the whole first line.

Oh no. Exactly what I'm talking about. And then you go, just give me one more take, and I got this, and they're like, nope, we're off and running. And then you're digging out, me one more take. And I got this. And they're like, nope, we're off and running. And then you're digging out, man. Just digging out. Yeah, digging out of a hole.

Doing the dance. I mean, but the audience, if they feel it's kind of authentic, there's a line where, when I was watching you perform up there and Michael J is such a great, and Colin, they're both great straight people to their guests. And they're seeing the fun. I mean, you're on a roll, it's a standup.

They're just feeling it. And that's when it's electric. That's what you want. That it feels alive. It doesn't feel, it feels alive in the room. Saturday night. I'm gonna always remember my first update. It was like, you know,

SNL is one of those things where, you know, your sketch can die a thousand ways, period. Like, there's so many different ways it can die. So brutal, yeah. It could start dying on a Monday night, like damn, we ain't even in through the week. My fucking sketch dead already. Before it read through, it's dying. It could die a thousand ways, right?

So I had this sketch that I was doing, I was writing a song, and then they hit me up at three o'clock, three o'clock in the morning, my first year towards the end of the season. Punky, you can't do that sketch, or you can't write that song because Chris is writing a song. I'm like, it's three in the morning. It's three in the morning. This is all I have. Oh man. Who's Chris?

Which Chris? Which Chris? Chris Pratt? Chris Reed. Chris Reed. Okay. He was the lyricist, you know? And so Chris hit me up, he was like,

yo, shit, sometimes you can write something cool at three in the morning and don't even know it. Because I was panicking. It's my first year, it's a COVID year. We can't really communicate with each other because we have these COVID rules and these guidelines. So I was just on my own, just stranded on this island. So I sat down, looked in the news. I saw that Paul Pierce got in trouble for having strippers.

He's an ESPN analyst. Yes. I was like, I'm gonna write about that. But then the woman, you know, my girl who I'm messing with, I'm on the phone with her and she was like, I was like, I'm gonna just write about this Paul Pierce thing. She was like, why don't you just be one of the strippers? I was like, yeah, I'm going to write from the strip of POV. So she helped me get that whole thing out. And I wrote it in about an hour and I sent up a wish and a prayer and it made it all

the way to the show. That was my first character, Pineapple Penelope Pierce. Yes. Pineapple Penelope Pierce? Yeah. It crushed. Oh, Peter's And it- Pineapple Penelope Pierce? Yeah. It crushed. Oh, Peter's.

It crushed. I love it. That was one, that was my favorite. I had been trying to bring her back to do something. I had a vision of, you know, pineapple coming down on a strip pole or whatever, but- Yeah, yeah, yeah. It died a thousand ways. It's the pineapple show, you know, it's a, give her a cable access show.

Give her a talk show. Talk show. Cable, cable, late, late cable show. You know what, I might have to do that. Everybody loves pineapple. Well, the name's perfect. It's funny because just a tweak like that, writing about it versus playing it, and you're like, oh, and then you come alive and go oh now I think of ten more jokes I know how to do this right and you get a funny look you get a wig you get a you know whatever you want

to dress like you want you can do whatever you want and then it all comes then when you get pushed out an update they almost start laughing already yeah oh it's so stupid I have this this, uh, I, I envisioned it. Have you, have you guys seen players club with ice cube and Bernie Mack and who else in that shit? Um, Jamie Foxx. I don't think so. It's a movie, right?

Or, or it's a very ethnic movie. Okay. It's about, it's a movie about strippers you know and some of the strippers was just stripping and being gangsters and then they had another stripper who was in school and just stripping just strictly for the money but the one that was the gangster that's who I resembled so she had this big tall hair like white do and some some two pieces that came down and the back of it was super, super long and these long nails and the boobies out.

So I was like, I just showed SNL that and it was like, yeah, we can do it. Oh, they go to town on that. Yeah. You give them like 24 hours. They're like, got it. That's why I see why they win all the awards, you know? Yeah, they're fucking great at that. They're like in hair, like they like- They like challenges too. They want something different and weird. They get bored.

They're like, you go, I have this super weird idea. They're like, yes, because they want to see if they can pull it off. It was insane. I remember when Maya was there and you know, this is for the first election or whatever I mean not the first but four years ago when all of stuff was going on yeah and and Kamala Harris she was playing Kamala and then

between read between dress and live Kamala did something on TV she maybe she did like a speech or something. Oh, wow. And she had on a different outfit. And so they saw that and within like, I don't know, man, within like what, an hour between shows, 45 minutes? They changed Maya's entire fit to match what they had directly seen on television. Wow.

I'm like, I was just like, what is going on in this building? The departments are so crack and so aggressive and so they're like the veterans, you know, what do you want? And the crew too, between sketches, the way they move stuff and you go, they've got 10 seconds, but they always landed. It really is extraordinary. SNL is just, it gets you like this. There is no second chance.

During the commercials, the action, when you're in an audience, you get to watch everyone screaming going, go, go, go this way. And they're pushing stuff around and they're like 30 seconds and Cass isn't even there yet and crowds looking around like, where's the, who's in this? And the host comes running out and they jump in, they go 10 seconds. Then you're like, where are the cards? What color am I green?

Did you ever come too late to a sketch, Punky, like you spaced or did you ever hurt yourself? Or I mean, Rob Schneider once did not come into the scene. And it was the cold opening, I'm out there by myself doing Woody Allen and he's not there because he's supposed to do Sunyi and I'm just by myself improvising, you know, just spaced out. Everyone thought it was part of it. They're like, yeah, you're like, when does the movie start? You're just talking to yourself. Sunyi's not even here and I, you know,

I feel nauseous because, you know, that kind of thing. And then just wait, wait, wait. And there he comes. But the shenanigans of Saturday Night Live. I don't know if I have a came to a set late, but I know that I've wrecked a live performance. I like not, I remember I got on, you know, you know how those, the big sketches where the entire cast is in it. Yeah. And I'm pretty sure y'all don't know what that feels like because you've never had to do,

perform with 23 people. Was it really 23? That blows my mind. If I'm not mistaken, it's 23. If I'm not mistaken. I mean, I could be one number off. All right, but still. But I remember I had to do my part in this big long PTA sketch or something. And then I had to hurry up and run to be ready for the next sketch. And as I'm running, I'm on live TV, the whole top of my head brushes against the

next set cameras while the person was reading. So if you watch it closely, the top of my head is covering half the television. Oh no, that's the stuff Lauren does not like. I was just like, oh, God. Carol Burnett. It'd be better if there was like not a head in the sketch. We could actually see the performer. That would be like a really, really good thing. We know, Lauren. Sorry, Lauren. Ooh. Sorry, Lauren, sorry.

Mm-mm-mm. Punky. You did just for this ramp up for a second, so how long were you doing standup before you got on SNL? Let me see, got on SNL in 2020, I would say about nine years. Okay.

I started, I think June 2011. That was the first time I got on stage at the Comedy Store. Did you work at the Comedy Store before you got took to stage or is that just sort of a rumor? I did. So what happened was, so look, LA is different. Okay, I don't know what would be going on out there in Los Angeles, but every single job interview is like a casting call.

I had no idea. So as I'm looking for jobs in Los Angeles, every time I went there, it's 50 to 60 people, 70 people in line with briefcases and headshots. And I'm like, is this a joke? What the fuck? Yeah, they just like all. To be a bartender, is this a joke? What the fuck? A briefcase? Yeah, they just like all in it.

To be a bartender, you have a headshot. They're all in a briefcase, one headshot in it. It was insane. I'm like, I don't have no headshots. I ain't got no other shit, I got me. But everybody would be dressed like this for a job interview. I'm like, y'all dressed like that for a job interview?

You know, cause me, if I'm going to a job interview, I'm coming casket shop. I got on a suit, my hair is done, my eyes are glossy, like I'm looking good, okay? So when I go sit into the interview, you know, first me and a guy bonded because he was gay and I was gay, so that took off real good. Some chatter. And then me being from New Orleans, he was like, oh, you like, we never had anybody from New Orleans come here.

Then he asked me what my favorite food was and I say, ham hocks. He was like, what's a ham hock? Now we're getting into food and everything talking about it. Yeah. Outside interview and I end up getting a job at the comedy store. He asked me if I did comedy and I was like, I would like to try comedy, but I would like to also not tell anybody and I want to watch it for

a while and kind of just start understanding the politics of it. And he was like, okay. But then maybe six months later after I got the job, that's when I started showing interest in comedy. So everybody in the building was like, nah, you only want to do it because you see it. They didn't know what was in my heart. So I had to work extra hard to prove to them that I really came to do comedy and

I'm not just trying to do it because I'm in the environment now. So I had, I basically just shot myself an ass. Well, what was your job at the store? What was your job? Oh, I was a waitress for maybe like, uh, maybe about two years. And then I became bartender. And then. You know, it's funny. I did a set last became bartender. Mm-hmm. And then- You know what's funny?

I did a set last night in there. I love it. Yeah, it's fun in there. You go through that kitchen, you know, the whole drill. So you're in the main room. You start doing spots there again. Well, yeah, I can go back now, but it's super, super different. Like Jeff is not there anymore, which I feel that presence is not there.

It sucks. Richie's gone now. And I think Richie was the last phone that had been there over 20 years. Yeah, Adam's gone. Oh my God, Adam. But at least Adam is in Austin. And the four guys who I told you really love me, Adam is one of them. Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, Adam's talking about you. I hit him up this morning talking about you. That's my com- I got a comedy father, I got a comedy king, a comedy zaddy and a comedy lord. Which one is that?

Adam, Lauren. Adam's my comedy daddy. Ahamed Weinberg is my comedy zaddy. Ethan Stern is my comedy king. Dave Beckie is my comedy lord. And Lorne Michaels is my comedy godfather. So I got five, I forgot one of them. Look at this funky looking guy. Yeah, that was a good day right there. That's a picture of showing from lights out with me.

I think Dennis Miller and Joe Coy, we were on the same show, right? Yeah, that was a fun one. That was a great one. We gotta bring that back. That was a really fun show That was a great one. We got to bring that back. That was a really fun show to be a guest on because it was just small. No, it really was. Yeah. What is your ideal performing? Like, what do you love the most? Small club, big club? You like work with a lot of

comics? I mean, what's your like, like you're probably doing standup right now? Are you doing gigs or are you just chilling? Yeah, I'm doing stand-up right now. You know what? It varies to me. Like right now, like sometimes right now I just don't feel like it, you know, and I hate that feeling because I always feel like doing stand-up. But I'm just like in this space that I'm trying to get out of, which I don't even know what that space is. I'm trying to figure that out so I can get out of it. But if I'm doing comedy, I honestly like the intimate settings, low roof, low ceiling.

Yeah. With a bath so like, I've done some big places though. Like when I open up for Colin or when I open up for Michael Che, you know, they got these, they have these huge venues. And those are pretty fun too. Those are pretty fun. But I would prefer like nice, you know, like a cellar in the basement. Yeah.

Just like that nice- Comedy cellar, yes. That's kind of what it was made for, you know. Yeah, yeah. 200 seaters, 300 seaters, low ceiling. And then that's where we all used to start up. I'm just gonna ask you about, I mean, a lot of times standups don't feel like doing standup for a while.

And it's sort of good to just get away from it. And then usually the ideas will come pouring in all of a sudden, but are you just a little bit, I mean, what's your state of mind right now? Because you just announced you're leaving the home and but you're busy or you just feel tired? Do you feel energized or how are you? Yeah, like I'm just, you know, my summer went from not being busy to being busy. And I was

like, wait, how did this happen? See, this is what I got to start keeping my mouth closed. See, because I keep forgetting that my team, they some goons, okay? So I'm sitting up there, I got nothing on my calendar for the summer. I think I had like three dates to go to like Vermont, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you know, I call my comedy king. I'm like, I was like, my camera did not pull up for the summer. He was like, call you right back. Next thing I know is Chicago, Virginia, once. I didn't want it to get built up this much. It's like you got a little residency at the union. You got to figure that out. Now you got to go here. You got to go there. Now you got this gala in this day. And I'm like, when am I going to sleep?

So he books them and then tells you you're taking them or does he run them by you first? Well, so then he hits up my touring agent and my touring agent just, just, just, you know, and then I, I defer to him for everything. I'm like, what you think about this? What you think about that? He was like, if you want to do it, we're doing it, period. Cause I defer to him for everything because yeah, I just, he just said, I don't feel like he ever steered me wrong. He always give me the best advice. He always hit me up on the side and be, and give me like the pros and the cons of doing the job and then be like, look, it's all on you, but this, you know, that's how we feel about it.

Do you travel with an opener? Do you have someone come with you that you want? I do have somebody to open for me, which is great, because we have mad fun. Look, I'm trying to get HBO somebody, cause I started doing a docu series about three years ago About just what it's like being on a roll because I would watch these comedians and they would do their stand-up special like

And and and everything is just they do their special in this one hour and then at the end of it They do like this 15 minute documentary of meet the family and this way I grew up in abcd and I just like man. That's this is documentary of meet the family and this way I grew up in ABCD and Just like man that's this is is that that's your boring man, you know what I'm saying? I'm just so I wanted to show people what is really like on the road because nobody really want to show what it's really like Everybody wants to all the ups. So I've got a series going you see the ups you see the downs you see the fights you see the The back and forth with the crowd, if the crowd do stuff. You know, one time we was on the road

and heard one of our friends took his life. Man, that was a disaster of a night for us. And we show all of that, just to show people what is really going on. Yeah, and travel, just travel. Car doesn't show up, plane does not take off on time. Oh yeah, and I mean, it's so stupid, because me and my friend Dicey,

we have such this crazy dynamic. It's just like, we are totally yin and yang. She's so straight, I'm so gay, she's so... Everything about her just gets on my nerves, but we're best friends. So you actually have footage of this show. You just need to complete it kind of? Look, we think it's, we kind of want to base it, we kind of want it to be like, you know,

this is the life of a comedian. So where we go to a place, we do what the tourists do, we eat what the tourists eat, and then we perform. And that's kind of like the through lineup. That's good. Oh, that's interesting. I like it. It's got a little more through line up. That's good. Oh, that's interesting. I like it. It's got a little more shape to it. That's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's super stupid. I mean, it's so funny.

And I'm naked the whole time. Is that the name? Stupid, stupid. Super stupid. He gonna name it. It's just because it's super stupid. You know, there's something you said that it's just been in the back of my head a little bit.

I have no idea why, but a while back during this podcast, you said strictly for the money. It just sort of hit me as sort of poetic. Or not. And I don't know if that's the name of a show or a show. Strictly for the money just hits me. I don't know.

Just sounds kind of- I like that name. When doing a special, how do you come up with the name of your special? Like, do you, because I'm struggling. I have about 15 names for my special right now. Yeah. And I don't know what I'm- The funny part is it's fun to think of them

and then afterwards no one really cares. But it's fun to think of naming it and you go, what if it's this, what if it's this? Something to do. I know it's hard. Here's my- And people are like, what was your last special? Like, I don't know. Let's all think of one. Here's my, I'll do the first one.

Punkie. Okay. Punkie gets, I'll do the first one. Punky. Okay. Punky gets loose or punky on the loose. Yeah, definitely. Listen, this special, like the first 20 minutes, it's tough. It's very, the whole 20 minutes, it's controversial. Oh, okay.

Take that, Chappelle. That'd be a tough one. It's controversial. Like, I'm really like, you know, I'm saying some. Take that, Chappelle. That'd be a tough one. It's controversial. Like, I'm really like, you know, I'm saying some things on that, but it comes full circle, you know, like, it starts like really irate and just like, look, this has to be. Really irate? Oh, yeah. I'm coming.

I start crazy. I start insane. I don't build up to insane. I like it. You got to get them at the beginning. That's a good time to do it. I start insane. I like it. You gotta get them at the beginning. That's a good time to do it. I start insane. And the crazy thing is,

my biggest supporters in this comedy business is old white men. You never know your fans. They are old, they are white, and they are men. Two right here. And they love my black ass. It is crazy how many people, black people don't come to my shows, gay people don't come to my shows,

gay people don't come to my shows, all white men and they bring their wives and their wives come up and they be like, Henry just had to see his punky. I be like, so do Henry, no punky. What you mean his punky? What the fuck? That's fantastic.

As part of that club, I'm a fan, so I get it. Right here. It's insane. They just, they love me. And I'll be like, it could surprise you, the people. It surprises me when I'm on the road, cause they're like, what do you want to do, especially? I'm like, I think Arizona.

They're like, why Arizona? I'm like, cause I always get the people in Arizona just always show up and it'd be my old white men all the time. David stomping grounds. That's, that's me also from Arizona. So it shows we only have, we start with old people. I started there. I'm old.

Uh, well, Punky, what else do you want to ask her, Dana? I think she did a great job. It's great talking to you, Punky. It's great to hear all this stuff. I think this gives people an insight of how you felt about your time on SNL. If, if Lauren is listening to this, would you like to say anything to Lauren? He's always listening. What do I want to say to Lauren?

Um, you owe me your car since I heard about that. Yeah, true. He owes me a laptop or whatever. Yeah, you owe David a laptop. Yeah, Lauren knows how I feel. I love him. I think I might've gotten into some trouble. I don't know what happened. I said at a show that I wasn't going back to SNL and like the world went insane. And I didn't understand what was happening. I was like, what the fuck is wrong?

Like my phone is ringing off the hook in the morning, internet tags and all kinds of articles that reporters wanna talk. And I was like, what is happening? And they was like, you have to confirm. You have to confirm right now. We have to know what's going on. I'm like, going on about what?

Just like with SNL. They want drama. They want drama. They want it to be- Leaving isn't good enough. They want trouble. They tried to make it look like I was saying like some wild shit,

but I was just sharing experiences in a funny, like really goofy type of way. And it just went insane. So I was just like, the first thing I was thinking about was Lauren, because he's never done anything to hurt me or trash my reputation. So the first thing I was thinking about was him

because I was like, I don't ever want to piss him off. I'm never going to piss off the people that showed me mad love, you know? But it blew over. That was like my first, I guess, public thing or whatever. Yeah, it's weird to be quoted in ways you go, I didn't mean that and I didn't say it that way and they cut and they paste and then they wanna,

but you know, it's an emotionally violent place for everybody. So then there's a drama to Saturday Night Live just because the very nature of live and what it is. So everyone knows that, you know, but now we have a better idea of your adventure there doing this podcast. But, um,

if you, if you were that's an L, I just want to wish all my people good luck. Y'all have a wonderful 50th season. I know Lauren going to put together some mad ass lineups. I know that she's going to be bomb. I'm going to be tuning in and I'm going to be at as many after parties as I can on somebody table shaking my ass. All right. That's a good summary. I don't know what else to say after that.

Good job, Punky. I'll see you around. Nice to meet you, Punky. Absolutely, guys. Thank y'all for having me, man. Y'all have a wonderful, what is today, Tuesday? Yeah. Yeah, happy Tuesday, guys.

Get a, eat a taco. Yeah, thank you. You too. All right, y'all. I'll see you around campus. Yeah, thank you. You too. All right, y'all. I'll see you around campus. This has been a presentation of Odyssey. Please follow, 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.