Senses Working Overtime with David Cross - Mark Normand

Episode Date: November 14, 2024

Mark Normand (We Might Be Drunk Podcast) joins David to talk about health insurance, open mic nights, and more. Catch all new episodes every Thursday. Watch video episodes here.Guest: Mark NormandSubscribe and Rate Senses Working Overtime on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review to read on a future episode!Follow David on Instagram and Twitter.Follow the show:Instagram: @sensesworkingovertimepodTikTok: @swopodEditor: Kati SkeltonEngineer: Nicole LyonsExecutive Producer: Emma FoleyAdvertise on Senses Working Overtime via Gumball.fm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Shelby van Pelt. Find what piques your imagination. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free visit audible.ca to sign up Mark, nice to meet you. Meet me? What you did to my phone? Shut up. Okay, go ahead. What? You saw that. The hesitation?

No, no. What you wanted to do? Yeah, exactly. You just made an assumption, I think. That's alright. I did. But go ahead and sit there. You sure? Yeah. exactly. You just made an assumption, I think. That's all right.

I did. But go ahead and sit there. Sure? Yeah. Back in the red chair now? That's okay. But is that what you want? Because I know you...

No, no, I wanted these two. Are we able to do that? I will, I switched it back for you this time. Oh, thank you. You're welcome. So yes, you can have the blue chair or the red chair. All right. Feels weird with the seat open between us.

Thank you. So here's what happened is I came in, it had been a while since I'd done a podcast, I was out on the road and I came in and then they had reconfigured the room and, because this was the other day, right? Tony Shalhoub was here and and I I was not happy with it I mean I wasn't shitty or a diva or anything but because of what you just said I like because you, Tony, just sit over there for one second. Okay.

It's too far. It's too far away. It's too far. You gotta sit over there. We're fighting. Yeah. We're fighting. Yes. Well, thanks for coming in. Thanks for having me. Yeah, and nothing to be sorry about. You're literally exactly on time. I don't know that that's ever happened. I'll take it. Can I get a drink from the kitchen?

I'll do it a glass of water. No ice. Why? A, I think it takes up water room and B, it clinks for the audio. It does take up water room, but will eventually be water itself. True, but I think it takes more than it gives. Like on the flight, I always go, Coke Zero, no ice. I want every drop of that zero. And you're from New Orleans.

Oh yeah. I'm using my boy Patton out there on the road. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know that until just recently. He had mentioned that and there's, and I get this a lot too, but there's very, I'm from Atlanta, but there's very, there's nothing New Orleans about you externally. Yeah, yeah. Well, I grew up in the city, you know nothing New Orleans about you externally. Yeah, yeah. Well, I grew up in the city, you know, little liberal blue dot

and you go outside, it's fucking. Oh yeah, yeah, same thing in Georgia. Yeah. You know, yeah. So yeah, I don't know. I don't have a twang, I don't have an accent. I feel you go 10 minutes out and it's hee-haw-haw-haw camo hat, you know, gator hunting.

Yeah. And I, you know, camo hat, gator hunting. And I grew up, went to public school, the whole thing. So yeah, I don't have all the cage in. Everybody's like, where's your alligator? You don't have a shrimp for a pet? I mean, that perception is silly. That's like just ignorance. Yeah, yeah.

It's like New Yorkers. No one's like, forget about it. Yeah, right, exactly, exactly. That guy doesn't exist. Which has always, you don't see it as much anymore. But back when I was teenager in high school and you'd see there would be a pizza place that would open up, New York style pizza or whatever. And there was a comic, Open Mic or did this joke that used to fucking bug the shit out of me about, hey, have you been to the, because it was right down from

the, where the club was, you've been to the New York style pizza place. You go in, they go, here's your fucking pizza. That's not what they do. That's not what they do. They don't do that. Exactly. They get shut down. Yes, they get shut down. You probably lose business. You should, you might want to consider going and checking out what it's like.

There's a restaurant here called Peter Luger's. I don't know if you've been there. Oh yeah, yeah. Steakhouse in Brooklyn. And they're a little cunty. I think that's part of their schtick. As like Durgan, the place in Boston in the Fenyo Hall. Yes.

Durgan Park. Durgan Park. They're no, they're like, it's part of a shtick now. They've been around for what, 200 years and the part of the shtick is they're, you know, don't take any guff waitresses, you know. And there's a place in Atlanta where it's a burger place that this lady,

it's like, you know, almost like a diner car. Just it's a small place, you lady, it's like almost like a diner car, it's a small place window and she's got 97 rules that are written down. You can't swear, you can't do this, no this, no that. And those are all right, I don't mind that. The Peter Lugar thing is just dumb to me. Yeah, I gotta say Atlanta, great comedy town, much like New Orleans, hard to get a pinpoint on Atlanta because it's southern but it's very super progressive black, gay, but very industrious too, but still kind of... When you say industrious too, I don't know if you... Well, they got skyscrapers. Right, I think you wanna be careful... Is that the wrong word? Yeah you want to be careful about saying it's got black people and gay people

and also people who work hard. Well, I don't mean like that. I mean like it's a booming metropolis. I know you don't. That's why I'm clarifying it for the audience so that they don't... You got your honky, you got your camo. You got black people and gay people and it's a city is what you mean. Yes. Oh, wait. so you're married. Yes, sir.

Oh, okay. I just noticed the ring there. How long you been married? Two years-ish. Oh, okay. So brand new. I'm in there. I give it another year.

No, I'm kidding. She's a good egg. I'm a lucky guy. All right. Flip that and send it to her. What was I gonna say? How long were you dating or did you know her before you got married?

Seven years. Oh, that's a long time. I pushed it as long as I could. Yeah, yeah, I understand. It's scary. I was scared to get married. Of course, of course. Once you're in it, it's not so bad. I'm scared of everything.

Like we have a, she's pregnant and I'm terrified of that. Yeah, I mean, you should be. That's, you know, helpful. That's, or healthy. That's normal. It's, I mean, you will do fine in everything, but, I mean, there's you, every, I will tell you this as a father of an almost eight year old. Really?

Yeah. Every cliche is absolutely true. Every cliche is absolutely true. Every single thing that you've heard people either bitch about or be elated about, every one of those fucking things is true. Wow. Yeah. I keep hearing long nights, short years.

There's a better, I think a more succinct one, which is every day is like a year, every year is like a day, and it's very true. Wait a minute, every day is, oh wow, that's good. Yeah, I mean, until they reach a certain age, but the first, I mean, fuck man. My wife was leaving a lot in, was leaving a lot during the 2016 election, 18 election. Is that right? No, 16, whatever it was. Or she was doing stuff for Elizabeth Warren and stuff like that and traveling a lot. And then I would be with my daughter who at the time was three and a half, I guess.

And maybe four, but man, it was like by the end of the weekend, you're just exhausted. It's just me and her and looking forward to it, always looking forward to it. And then just like after, I get the whole having a glass of wine, the wine moms, like after, you know, Sunday night, sure.

after she went to bed, it was like, oh my God, that was fucking nuts. Yeah. That was crazy. Oof, like, yeah, I'm not ready for that. You know, cause they're trying to kill themselves, they're touching outlets, they're putting everything in their mouth.

Oh yeah, yeah, you, it's nonstop, you know, because they're trying to kill themselves, they're touching outlets, they're putting everything in their mouth. Oh yeah, yeah, you, it's non-stop, you know. And you know, it's not, how far along is your wife? Seven months. Okay, you can still abort it. That's true, that's true. You can, you know, I know a guy who knows a guy. That's true, okay. Well, look, give me that number when I leave, because you never know.

Okay. He takes look, give me that number when I leave, because you never know. Okay. He takes a... Venmo? No, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Oh, even better. So I don't know if you're on one of those plans. I am not. I'm 41 years old. I have never had health insurance. That's fucking crazy.

Trying to go the whole life. So you'll live to be 42? Yeah. You gotta get health insurance, dude. I've never needed it. I rarely get sick. Oh please, that is the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard.

I mean, I've had injuries. I've never needed it, so I don't have it. I, you know, I break a toe, I go into the urgent care. Forget breaking a toe, I'm not talking about breaking a toe. First of all, you're 41 and you're a stand up. Your body's going to break down quicker than other people's.

You think? What do you eat? I eat pretty good. When you're on the road, what do you eat? Percocet, Panda Express, Waffle House. No. Percocets and Panda Express. I'm off bread.

That wasn't easy. And I drink one day a week I drink. I used to drink every night. Okay. Well, that's good. That's good. Um. Do drugs. Well, you'll, all right.

Well, those are all good things. And, and you know, uh, you'll, you'll be kind of forced to clean up, uh, more when, when your kid's born. Do you know if it's a boy or girl? Boy. Yeah. Um, gay or straight?

We're waiting on that one. Okay. Um. It's kind of breastfeed. So it's, it's gay, it's going to be miserable. We'll teach it early. Yeah, you should be okay, but you should get health insurance. That's crazy. Really? Yeah. I mean, in the United States? What do I need it for? I mean, if you haven't figured that out, you know what the...

Like hit by a car kind of stuff you're talking about? Sure. Okay. Yeah, or I don't know, but maybe there's a disease that spans the globe and people get it. Aids? Maybe aids. Yeah, that is scary.

New aids. Super aids. Is it new aids? Yeah. Oh, jeez. Yeah. Noon approved. But I mean, you're crazy not to get health insurance.

All right. I haven't needed it. I don't know what to say. That is the dumbest thing you could say. Do you, hopefully you never will need it. Well, what if you pay for it every month and you never even use it? Um, that's a waste of moolah.

Well, it's not a waste if it would be a waste if it, if you lived a very healthy life for the next say 40, 50 years and never needed it. Never gotten in an accident, never was subject to somebody else's on their phone while they're driving in traffic and whatever happens. Or maybe you get Lyme disease. Maybe you get a bite from a tick and not aware of it, and you get Lyme. Maybe you get, I mean, there's a million things. Maybe there's a subgerm somewhere, you stay in a hotel,

you're on the road, you're not even aware of it. You get some mouth from the shower head, I mean, the water from the shower head in your mouth, and who knows what that has, and blah, blah, blah. Whatever. Okay. And then you're so sick. I've had a couple of surgeries. I had a whole major rotator cuff like replacement tendon thing. I had, I can't remember what this

one was called. It's the, it's whatever the golfer's elbow is. Oh yeah. It's this, I can't remember the name of it, but I had to have this all done. And this is the United States. Like if I didn't, also dental insurance too. I have, I mean things that would have cost, I mean multiple tens of thousands of dollars. I mean with this one in particular, I mean, we're talking over six figures for everything, all in the PT and everything. And I have insurance. Really? Okay.

Well, now you're making a good case. But I also have insurance through my unions, SAG-AFTRA and WGA, and have for a while. I mean, I've had WGA since the early 90s. So that's been... And it's been really, really helpful. Yeah, I had a bad, the rotator cuff, I had that too. That is the worst. It hurts to lift your arm.

And I watched a YouTube video on how to cure it and I fixed it. I mean, I don't know what to say. It's good as new, never had one problem with it. Then you didn't really have a issue with it before. But it was bad, I couldn't sleep. Okay. So what did they tell you, how do you fix it? It said hang on a bar for as long as you can, it'll align you. So it wasn't ripped tendons, you didn't have torn tendons.

No, I guess it wasn't tendon. But to do this, it was like, ah! So it was out of alignment. Maybe that was it. Okay, well then yeah, hang on a bar. I hung on a bar and I'm back, baby. Okay, but yeah, I'm talking about a different injury. Like when you see pitchers and they get tummy-junked. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right. Gotcha. Sorry, I feel like I let you down. I'm gonna get health insurance. I mean, you don't have- My parents think I have it, so let's cut that. So wait, so your whole thing about not having insurance is because you save, you know, whatever your premium is a month, you get to save that. What do you spend that money on?

Well, I got a child on the way. No, no, no, before you were pregnant, before you even got married, what would you spend the couple hundred bucks that you didn't spend on healthcare? I could save it. Your health insurance. I can go out to a nice dinner, I could buy a pair of pants.

So is a pair of pants and a nice dinner a month worth, let's say you get, let's say you have a, need an appendectomy, right? Yeah. You know, which a bunch of people do out of the blue. What is that? When your appendix is on the verge of bursting. If it does burst, then it's serious and very toxic. If not, you're just in a lot of pain, but you still have to do it quickly. And then you had to spend, let's say, 20 years worth of monthly dinner

and a pair of pants. And first of all, let me say, that's a lot of pants. You don't need that many pants. That's silly. That's just silly. No, I couldn't think of anything. I looked at the pants. And then how you can feel about it. These are Amazon. That's silly. That's just silly. No, I couldn't think of anything. I looked at the pants. And then how you can feel about it? Yeah, yeah, I hear you. But think, I'm in the, if it was a casino, I'm winning. Yeah. Because I haven't had, had not gone to the hospital. So that's just all, I'm all up. I'm in the black. But this is not a casino.

That's true. So you're not winning. You're just at stasis. You're at a... You're okay. Yeah. Yeah. All right. It's kind of like when you get a parking ticket or whatever and you go, I'm going to fight it. And then you beat the ticket and people go, you won. And you're like, well, what did I win? I went to court. I missed a day of work. I paid zero. He didn't really win anything. Maybe that was a bad example. Man, you were full of bad examples today. I'm not a good example guy. I'll get one out of the end of this.

I'm not a good exampler? All right. That's my Batman villain, the bad exampler. What's his catchphrase? Uh, how about, this is like if I stepped in dog shit and then went to Thanksgiving. The bad example strikes again. That is a bad example of a bad of a bad example. It really is. It's meta almost what you're doing. It's also clunky and what a weird thing to have. That's a weird catchphrase to have to keep saying over and over again. That's true. Yeah.

And what's the, is there a superpower involved or? Ah, I think you confuse Batman because he's like, ah, it's another bad example. I can't tell what the hell this guy's talking about. So I'm a confuser, unlike the Riddler. So you'd be working maybe in conjunction with somebody who actually does something. So you would go in and- Yeah, I guess go in and confuse them for a minute or two. Yeah. Maybe not even a minute, maybe a couple seconds. Yeah, my costume would be scratching my head.

That's your costume? That'd be my symbol on here. Just a guy like... Okay. Because they don't get it. Would you have to keep your identity? I think I should, yeah, as most villains do. You don't really it would you have to keep your identity? Secret I think I should yeah as most villains do You don't really seem like a villain though the bad example. I was just giving a bad example. Oh Wow again, it's come full circle brought it around deep in a hole very nice. Um, do you have a

Anything you want to promote? I don't know when this will come out. Who knows? Really? Are we done already? No, no, no. Oh, no. Just wait. Is it? Are we? Tony's this week and Mark is next week. Do we have any banked? Holy shiza. Yikes. Okay. Well, sorry Mark. You're it. I'm ready. I'm ready. Put it out. I was gonna say, do you have anything you want to promote or whatever? Sure, it. I'm ready, I'm ready, put it out. I was gonna say, do you have anything you want to promote or whatever? Sure, yeah, I'm doing the Ryman in Nashville. Come on out to that and listen to my podcast, Two Days of Stories, and We Might Be Drunk, which David has been on.

We had a fun time, had a couple of brewskis, and yeah, follow me on the interwebs and all that good stuff. All right, what are you doing at the Ryman? I would stand up. It's just like a one-off thing? It's a one show, one hour set, doing it at the Wild West Comedy Fest, whatever that is. Oh, nice.

Yeah, so I love Nashville, so come on out. Why would they call a comedy festival in Nashville the Wild West Comedy Festival? I never even thought about that. It's not even west of this, in the state. No. It's in the east. That's a good point. I guess it's like a cowboy theme, but yeah, you got something there.

Should be the Hockey Talk Fest or something. Yeah. Man, that fucking, what is it, Broadway, right? Yeah. Where all the, holy shit. Bummer. That is, I do like Nashville. You ever go to Dino's? Yeah. Yeah, I the, holy shit. Bummer. That is, I do like Nashville. You ever go to Dino's? Yeah.

Yeah, I love Dino's. Good stuff. Yeah, I like Nashville. I did tell them, I was just there a couple weeks ago and I said, and I've been going there off and on for decades, but I said, speaking as somebody who is from Atlanta and spent a bunch of time in Seattle and lives in Brooklyn and goes to Austin, Texas a lot, listen to what I'm saying. There is a point where you need to stop building. You are going to lose your character. Nashville is very on the cusp of losing its character, which every place I've mentioned. I still love Brooklyn, love Seattle,

love Atlanta, love Austin, but man, they're different in not a good way. Yeah, I completely agree. Nashville is getting a little seamy. But it's just too, it's too, they've got those like, the gulch, right? Which is those mixed use, but also people live there, but then there are these kind of like, oddly corporate, like small chain restaurant bar places. It's like Dumbo here. You ever go to Dumbo? Yes, yes. corporate, like small chain restaurant bar places.

It's like Dumbo here. You ever heard of Dumbo? Yes. Dumbo is like, what? This is like a yuppie playground. You know? It's just fucking, it's, I lost all its charm and character. Yeah, it looks great

because you have the old buildings and the streets and the cobblestone and the Brooklyn Bridge and the distance, but. Oh, exterior wisewise it looks awesome. But yeah, you look in and you're like... It's totally lost a... It's a yoga studio, that's a graphic design firm with a ping pong table. Yeah, it's completely lost its culture.

Anyway, Nashville is, I think, at the tipping point of that. I completely agree. There's a point where it's diminishing returns on all your development and stuff. I think it's like anything in life. It gets too big, it's too popular, and it starts to dilute. Yeah. I don't, well... Look at comedy.

Yeah, it's too big. We used to have all these great comics. There was like eight guys, eight comics, and now it's like, I don't want to say any names. But you know. Are you talking about Theo Vaughn? Are you talking about Matt Reif? I like Theo. I like, he seems nice. Talking about Nashville. Was he a Nashville guy? Yeah, he's a Nashville guy. Funny guy. I mean, he's had. So who then are you talking about? Because I assumed. Wow. I don't want to name names. Well, name them. I named a couple in your... You talking about the Paul Brothers? Are they doing comedy? No, I don't think so.

Oh, they might. They might start. Please don't start doing comedy, those queefs. But, you know, Chris Catan is doing stand-up for some reason, stuff like that, where you're like... Oh, you're talking about like, oh, Tom Brady and John Mayer are gonna all. Stormy Daniels. Stormy Daniels, there you go, sure. That's been around though, where people kind of take their 15 minutes, not necessarily 15 minutes, but you know what I mean, they are known

for this other thing, and they decide, hey, I wanna do standup. Yeah. And. Okay, we got a new sponsor, PrizePix. Okay, so PrizePix is the best way to get action on sports in over 30 states, including California, Florida, Georgia and Texas. And PrizePix is the only real money daily fantasy platform with an injury insurance policy so that your lineup stays in play, even if one of your players gets injured. If your player leaves in the first half and doesn't return, PrizePix keeps your lineup live.

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Okay, cool. Thank God. Yeah, I heard some really bad like- Yeah. And then things he said were like doubling down on stage when people would give him shit, which is a thing that you have to learn as a stand-up. Yeah. when people would give them shit, which is a thing that you have to learn as a stand-up. It takes a long time. And you can't just go up there banking on celebrity

and go, and then when people go, are however they express it, not happy with the thing you said, you better know how to respond to that. And then just for a guy to go, fuck you, I'm a millionaire, whatever, it's like. That's the opposite of comedy. Yes, exactly.

But I'm completely with you, but the problem with standup, what's great about it and what's horrible about it is there's no barrier to entry. You know, you don't have to learn a guitar, you don't have to learn the piano, or even learn the lines. Yes, yeah. You can just go up and start talking, and you're like, I'm holding a guitar, you don't have to learn the piano or even learn their lines. That is, yeah, yeah. You can just go up and start talking and you're like, I'm holding a microphone, I'm at a

comedy club, I'm a comic. Well and then you are and that's kind of cool in a way, but there are a number of people and every scene has it and every decade has had it within their scenes where there are people who go to the open mic nights to perform who just are, I suppose, deluded because they're not doing well. They do pretty much the same seven minute set for years.

I get the adrenaline rush and how cool that thing is because I had it. And the social, there's a social aspect. Some of those guys and women are not part of that. That's true. They're not really hanging out after, they're so bad and they just, and I'm talking every scene and every era has a number of

those people who, like you said, you go sign up, you get the mic, you go up. And they just don't understand that they're not good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not just that, they don't even actually like comedy. You know, you go, hey, you ever heard that Chris Rock bit? And they go, I never watched him. What about Carlin? Who?

And you're like, what are you doing here? Do you have any reverence for- That, that I haven't, I don't know anybody that fits that description. That's out there now. That's happened to me like a week ago. So, and what do you think the reason was that they decided to do standup?

I think for you, what you said, I think it's, hey, I'll get a video of me, I'll get an adrenaline boost, it'll be dopamine, I get to tell people I'm a comic, I get to check off a bucket list thing. Well, I guess I'm talking more about the people who continue to do it year after year. Oh, I see. Like they do it for years and they rarely write any new material. Yes. And quite often it's on the safer side.

So, and they just, I mean, every scene, every era has it. There's a number of people who just, you see them at the open mic nights, you're like, I don't, what are you getting? I know. What are you doing? You're driving in from New Hampshire. Yeah. Why? people don't have, not a lot of people have a thing.

So they're like, this will be my thing. And I'll half ass it. Yeah. I'll never progress, but it's my thing. Yeah. What made you, or I shouldn't say what, but when did you know you had to get out of New Orleans, which doesn't, isn't known for its standup scene?

No way. It still really hasn't, it almost had a moment in the early 2000s, but it never really popped. The clubs open and close. No one cares. People wanna go see music. They wanna get drunk. They wanna dance.

So it never really took off there, but I left after about eight months. Oh wow, that was quick. Yeah, Sean Patton lived here. So I said, all right, that's kinda my lifeline. I'll go meet up with him in New York. And I always wanted to live in New York. So I that was quick. Yeah, Sean Patton lived here, so I said, that's kind of my lifeline, I'll go meet up with him in New York, and I always wanted to live in New York, so I got out quick.

There's a real ceiling, like a Brad Williams height ceiling in New Orleans comedy. Google Brad Williams for the joke. Yes. We would drive to Lafayette, Houston, Atlanta, whatever, Florida. Yeah, it's weird. I don't know why, like I said, people want music, they want to get drunk. But you know, I've been doing New Orleans over the years, way, way back in the day.

I did Howlin' Wolf a couple times. Oh yeah. And I did two tours ago, I did the Joy Theater, and it was not a good show. It was really, it was kind of early too. I remember it was like a seven o'clock show or something weird like that. And I mean, it was like half full maybe,

and the audience was just like, it wasn't a good show. And then a couple months ago, we did Tipitina's. It was Sean, Patton, Shane, Torres, myself. And it was sold out, packed, and it was fucking awesome. Hell yeah. So there's a way to do it there. There's a way to do it. And I think the Howlin' Wolf shows were good, and that was also standing.

It was a music venue where everybody stood instead of sitting down. But man, that Joy Theater show was like, eugh, it was, this sucks. You have to really, what do you call it? Not cultivate. You have to really like manufacture your show. You really have to, what do you call that when you really get in there nitty gritty, oh that's the word I'm looking for. You really gotta, you know what I'm saying? I'm watching your gestures. Sister, what am I talking, she's out to lunch. Alright, what's the word? Well you really

gotta caricature or? No, no that's not that. It starts with a C I think. Okay, we've, okay. Alright, what down to? Curate. curate. Curate. Curate!

I can't believe I got it. You gotta curate your show in New Orleans, because it's so easy to go off the rails and not be good. Like, the Joy Theater is too, that's too general. I'm at a theater. If you like me, come out. I'm sure Sean got in there with a scalpel and was like, hey, let's do this show. Dave's coming.

Here's his link. Here's a clip. You know this guy. You really gotta get in there. In New Orleans. I see, yeah, yeah. do this show, Dave's coming, here's his link, here's a clip, you know this guy, you really gotta get in there. In New Orleans. Or else it'll just go off the rails too. Well, Sean was saying as much too, like, it's just, New Orleans is not a great comedy city.

It's not. For whatever reason, yeah. I wish it was, but it got me out of there. Yeah. Do you go back? Do you have, is your family there and all that? Oh yeah, I go back every year for Thanksgiving or Mardi Gras or whatever, Jazz Fest, I saw the Stones this year, and I have a show at the Orpheum,

which is a big theater downtown, and it's like 30% sold, and I'm like, I'm from there. Yeah, but I mean, also that downtown area isn't, that's not good either. No, it's like Bourbon or Broadway in Nashville. Yeah, and oof, yeah. It's, well Broadway is, in Nashville, feels totally tourist driven.

Like it's nothing, it's Times Square, right? And nobody who's from New York, who lives in New York goes to hang out in Times Square, right? And nobody who's from New York or lives in New York goes to hang out in Times Square. And I doubt anybody who lives in Nashville is like, hey, let's stroll up Broadway and go to the whatever theme 90. The Taylor Swift theme bar. I just, woof. And I happened to be there too on when the Predators were playing and Vanderbilt was playing somebody. And then there was another thing. There was another thing. Oh, the Country Music Academy had some.

Jesus. It was nuts. It was, and I ended up staying like, and thank God, cause I think initially I was gonna stay down there and then I ended up staying like and thank God cuz I think initially We I was gonna stay down there and then I ended up staying somewhere else because the hotel rates were insane You know But man, what a fucking nightmare that sorry Yeah, it's a nightmare. I'm with you on that one. Oh

We lost cross All right, I Had a vet. I had a egg wrap earlier. The egg, it'll get you. Sorry, I should have given you some warning there, but I think I tilted it to the right. If you gave me a warning, I would have said you go out. Don't mind my going out. That's a good point.

I'm not gonna clear Emma out of here. You're the one who needs to go out and fart in your own face. That's true. Sorry, I did direct it to the right a little. No, you didn't. You went this way. I went right leg up. Didn't I? Check the tape. Roll it back. Roll it back. Don't really roll it back. That's fucking disgusting.

Sorry. Well, I figured you're a comedian. You like a good fart joke. No, you don't. But that wasn't a joke. It was just a fart. Well, a fart is a... You're a comedian. You'd like a good fart. A fart is a joke in itself, is it not? My butt made a noise. That's comedy gold. You're gonna be a great dad.

Ah, I can't wait. Oh boy. Does your wife fart? Yeah, of course. Oh, okay. Mine really lets them rip. Yeah, I think everyone's wives fart. It's part of being independent feminist.

Yeah, that was the big bra burning. Was voting and farting? Yeah, I mean, yeah, she's a prolific farter. Oh, good. Good. And we'll, yeah, definitely let him rip. Do you shit with the door open? No.

Okay. No. I do. She likes it. She wants to keep the convo going. I, that's, you know, I think part of it is because I grew up with two sisters and a mom, you know, and I was the only, you know, once my dad left, I was the only boy. And so really have a kind of sense of that privacy.

Also, we didn't have a lot of money, so we're, you know, in a small apartment. So going into the bathroom was like five minutes apiece. I hear that. So there's no, there was some, it was not a good movie. It was like a, it was a movie about some brothers or either they were in foster care or something together in Detroit. It had Andre 3000 and Mark Wahlberg.

Oh yeah, I think it was called Four Brothers. Four Brothers, okay. I believe so. So there's a scene, I didn't see the whole movie. I saw like, I don't know, 25 minutes, it wasn't very good. But there's a scene where one guy's in the bathtub, there's another guy taking a shit, and then they're all, you know, I'm dumb directing where they're like,

why don't you eat a bowl of cereal while you're shitting? You know, one of those things. Oh, yeah. And they're all talking, like one guy's reading the newspaper, and they're all, and like one guy's reading the newspaper and they're all, and like, really? Yeah.

What do you eat? In fucking prison? Yeah. You know. Like and drive. Yeah. Now, did you think you were going to make it when you started comedy? Cause you're very unique.

Uh, I mean, I didn't, I mean, you did come up in a perfect David Cross era. That era was made for you. That whole alternative scene with Bob and Tom, I'm not Bob and Tom, geez. Bob and Dave. Bob and Ray. Yeah, I was going off a radio show from the 90s. Remember Bob and Tom?

I do remember Bob and Tom. Midwest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do remember that. But yeah, I mean, that show, Mr. Show was like, that was the right place, the right time. Yeah, for sure. That's very true. And it was in, you know, luckily, Kismetwise, we were on HBO before HBO was a behemoth when they were trying to become distinctive. Their whole thing was, it's not TV, it's HBO. They said to us early on, we're not interested in SNL, whatever. You have to do, not that we altered anything to do this, but it's why

it worked out, is the deal was we're going to give you $9 to make a show, but there's no notes. There's barely any notes. The whole four seasons, we got less than one handful. I love that. And they were like, just do what you guys do and that's why you're on HBO. And again, HBO has changed dramatically but back then it was great. They're like, yeah, come do it. it was great. They're like, yeah, come do it. And, you know, I was in Boston when that whole scene was coming up and I never would have gotten the skill set that I eventually came to have if I wasn't in Boston because during that comedy boom, and Boston in particular, certainly per capita, more than any other place in America for whatever reason, there were just a million shows at Chinese restaurants and fucking wherever.

Yeah, VFW. Yeah, and they had to fill them out. So I got work that I think in another time, in another place, I would not have gotten the work, you know? Because they just needed somebody, here's 30 bucks, go do 20 minutes, and you know, just don't fuck it up for the guy following you, you know? So I feel like you're very you, and I feel like Boston was kind of this machismo, beer swigging, coke, chewing, macho shit.

Yes, but, so there was definitely that, but then the whole thing of like where, quote unquote, alternative comedy came from was, it was. A response to that? A response to that, and then, you know, there was the, our club was caturizing Star and Cambridge, which is by Harvard Square, which already has its fucking hoity-toity persona to it just because you're on that street.

And the other clubs are, and Boston's got a weird, you've been there. Oh, many times. It's got a real weird, like, short guy kind of complex. And it's like, oh, people are always talking about like, yeah, well, New York's this, but it's not Boston. Like, you know, people in New York think that, like nobody fucking thinks about Boston at all. Not really.

It's not, stop it. Just be you. Be happy with where you are. But yeah, it's got a weird, self-esteem issue, I guess. They're always talking to you about how great it is. And it's very provincial. It's, and that's a knock on it, unfortunately.

But, and Boston, more than other places, is really two very different areas. I mean, there are fucking working class, Jemoke, you know, guys, bro, you know, work in the steel yard type of. Yeah, Irish blue collar. Yeah, yeah, blue collar. And then there's the progressive artsy wellness community, goth hippie punk.

It's real separate. Yeah. And I don't mean separate like they're geographically, it's just they're two very distinct different types of people that all, because it's a smaller city, are all kind of moving amongst themselves. But I think that makes it good for comedy. It was great. It was fucking great. And then as I said, you had your places like Comedy Connection and Nix and what else? Stitches and I'm forgetting some that were downtown.

The Vault. Dick Doherty. Dick Doherty's The Vault. What was the one right near Knicks? Comedy Connection. Yeah. And Sam's. And those had the comics you're talking about, the coked up guys who just did, they were great comics, but they rarely wrote any new stuff. And they looked down on success.

I can remember when Dennis Leary got successful. It was kind of like, it was just that thing of like, oh, he fucking went Hollywood. It was just that thing of like, oh, he fucking went Hollywood. Yeah. And this idea of purity and all this shit. And then Janine Garofalo and Laura Keitlinger and Mark Marin. Mark and Louie had a foot in both of those spaces, but a lot of people didn't, you know?

And then, and that's kind of where I was in that thing. And again, I got completely lucky because I got work when normally, like I wasn't doing well, you know? And normally, you just needed people in there. And I fucking learned a lot and I ate a lot of shit. And I got tough and you know, there's, I can't have a worse audience than some of the audiences I had, you know, in Boston and around there.

Like I've done it. I got it. And, and it's, you know, it wasn't fun at the time, but fuck. I mean, it, it worked out. Yeah, boy did it. I know. So. You got to feel pretty good about that.

I do. And you asked earlier whether I always knew I was going to make it. And I never knew I was going to make it, but I always knew that I wasn't ever going to quit stand up. And the fact that I didn't for many years when I was barely making any money and it was a chore. And you're driving to fucking Rutland, Vermont for $40 and some egg rolls. In there. $40 and some egg rolls. And that, it's fucking 21 degrees and a snow storm and you're in your shitty car. When you're doing that over and over and over

and over again, I never had that, I'm going to make it and da da da da da. it never entered my mind, like, I really need to figure out my options here. No, same. So you just do it, and you either have that innately, I think, or you don't. And there was a romance to it. You know, you got your half in the bag,

you got your buddies in your car, you're swerving out on ice going to some gig, and you drive home at two in the morning, and then you go shovel the ditch in the morning, or whatever it is, and you were young, and it was an adventure. But also, I laughed a lot. Yes.

And also, I don't care that, and maybe this is partly what separated me from some other folks, but the fact that I upset some people at a shitty ski lodge, cocktail bar up in fucking Stowe or something, I don't give a fuck. Yeah. Because you're a stranger. I don't know a fucking thing about you and you didn't like my joke about whatever. I don't care.

Right. But don't you want to kill? I don't care. Right. And... But don't you wanna kill? Yes, I do. And there was a... Bob is always saying,

and I fucking tried to correct him a million times, but he's under the perception that I... I would go on stage trying to Bob. And that's not true. I would try my best. I pride myself on being a professional. but if you suss it out after 30 seconds a minute, two minutes, and you're like, this isn't going to work. And then I will go and push buttons. But I don't ever go out there going,

fuck you assholes. I'm not like Red Fox and that famous story. You have a little Larry David in you. Yeah. That kind of like, this isn't going to work out, let's go nuclear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. But I always, always give it a shot. Always.

And I pride myself in winning them back. We get them, get them capable back. So and I wouldn't be at the place I'm at now if I didn't. That's true. So, yeah. Well, you're a rare, rare breed where you can do the, ugh, you can do the silly stuff,

or you can do the standup, but you can also paint yourself blue. What the fucking? That's me. Well, did you miss bro time or something? What happened? Bro time. Did you not get time or something? What happened? Bro time. Did you not get to watch the football game yesterday?

I don't watch football. Well, that's, all right. Why don't you start watching football and then you could save all your burps and your farts for the game. All right. I didn't know this was tee time over here at the Cross residence. What is this? Downton Abbey?

Huh? Etiquette class? I thought we were just hanging out. She queefed earlier. That's not true. All right. No, that was me. Oh, okay.

Yeah. It was very airy. But sorry, it won't happen again. That's the last expel of my body. Well, I mean, here's the thing. It's not that you farted or that you burped. It's not. It's this. And then I... And then with the... And then I... So there's a way to do both of those things.

I see. Yeah. All right. Are you an only kid? No, no. Older brother. Oh, of course. Well, there you go. There you go. What does that mean?

That means C would have taught you those that... No, he's very dainty. Not dainty, but he's very sophisticated. So I would infer that you realize you're not sophisticated. I guess so. You're coarse. You're common. Common're common, you're... Common, that's good.

You're just... Sewer garbage. You're chud. Chud, I like that. I would say chode if we're being realistic. No, chud. I have a chud. Something underwater, I mean, underground dweller.

Oh, is that a chud? Yeah, there was a horror movie called Chud and it was something, something underground dweller. Oh, kind of like Marta. No. Oh, it's not a, what do you call that? Oh yes. An anagram?

Not an anagram, an acronym. An acronym! Yeah. We got it! An acronym is an allowance creatively, I don't remember. You got this Dave, come on. I'm giving up on my joke. An acronym is a, what's another example of one, like FEMA. Yeah. Okay, got it. But Mardub was just something that somebody put one, like FEMA. Yeah.

Okay. Got it. But, um, Marta was just something that somebody put onto Marta. Yes. They made up their own, um, acronym. Again, that took time. That guy, that racist guy had to sit, probably get pen to paper on that. Yeah.

I mean, and it, it, somebody somewhere was taking credit for it. Never met him. Yeah. Uh, and there's somebody at you know like I came up with that yeah that was me we should do that sketch that'd be a great sketch the racist joke savant who gets no credit man Bob had a really good idea for a sketch we never ended up doing about a, all the hip hop guys were getting there. They would go visit this like old southern racist guy and his porch in Georgia or wherever.

And it was basically he would take their lyrics and he's like, oh niggas ain't shit, but da-da-da, you know, whatever it is. And then they would all sit there and listen and write it down and then he'd go. Oh, that's hilarious. Yeah. That's a great sketch. It was a good idea. That's very Chappelle showy.

Yeah. Pre, pre-Chappelle. Pre, pre. But I like that. Yeah. You gonna bleep that N-word or what? No, because it's the a it's the a h Don't know about I don't know if that flies yeah a h okay. It's your show see it is my show

That worse that's worse than farting I disagree. I don't think when you're in the context of this Idea, I think you can you should be able to communicate it I don't think when you're in the context of this idea, I think you should be able to communicate it as it's intended. Okay. Yeah. All right. I'm not a big proponent of that.

Like if you're literally quoting somebody, then you should quote them, you should say that. And if you have a issue with somebody, you should quote them. You should say that. And if you have an issue with that, you should, then good. You have an issue with it and it makes you feel a certain way. I'm not offended. I just worry about people getting mad at you. Oh, that's fine.

All right. I respect that. It's fine. It's fine. Somebody somewhere is always going to be mad at me. That's true. That's fine. That's true. That's fine. That's true. Mark, I'm gonna have to wrap it up

because I am parked on 17th and 4th. You got the baby in the car, right? And, yep, it's hot out. So I end every episode with a question from my daughter. Ooh. Okay. I never touched her. Okay. All right. All right. Good stuff. Sorry. So this is from my daughter, is a question, and you can answer it in whatever way you see fit. Mark Normand, why do girl dogs squat and pee and why do boy dogs lift their legs to pee?

Oh, I think it's a genitalia or the anatomy, I assume. The men, male dogs have a wiener or a red rocket or a lipstick as we call it in the business and I think they got to get that away from the leg. So they lift the leg up, let it fly and then the squatting, the vaginal urethra can just be close to the earth and hit the grass. Hence the squat. Makes perfect sense. Thank you.

Thank you, Mark. Thanks for coming down. Sense is Working Over Time is a HeadGum podcast created and hosted by me, David Cross. The show is edited by Katie Skelton and engineered by Nicole Lyons with supervising producer Emma Foley. Thanks to Demi Druchin for our show art and Mark Rivers for our theme song. For more podcasts by Headgum, visit Headgum.com or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and maybe we'll read it on a future episode. I'm not gonna do that. Thanks for listening.

That was a hate gum podcast.