Senses Working Overtime with David Cross - Zach Zucker

Episode Date: April 25, 2024

Catch all new episodes every Thursday. Watch video episodes here.Guest: Zach ZuckerSubscribe 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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I'll take this one. I also got my, uh, I got my, uh. I'll take this one. I also got my uh, phone out. I got a live disc in there. You got a water? Yeah, I got a water. Okay. What is that? Oh, yeah. I haven't seen you in a while.

I know. Well, since you took off with, who were the people that drove you to, from the last gig? Who was that? Was it Airbnb people or people you? It was, do you know a manager? Do you know Carly Hugendike? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

It was her parents. Oh right, she told me that. Had you met them before? Never. Wow, that's great. Never, I just kind of, I booked all the stuff too late, obviously. And was well, I got in touch with you pretty short notice. No, but I also could I had a few months, you know.

Oh, is it that? OK, I think so. And that is on you. It was definitely on me. And then Rick, Rick definitely saved me a lot of times with some of those late night bookings. And he he charmed his way into those hotels and got me like a really favorable rates that I just he's great, man. The tour managers had basically three.

I had there were a couple like one off fill in, but mostly it was this you know, me, two of them, Doug and Graham and then Rick, who was one of the fill-ins in the Midwest and he was great. And they all have great stories. He loves to tell a story. Yeah. Well, you want him to tell a story, they're great. Like the fucking Axl Rose.

Did he tell you any of the Axl Rose stories? Was that the stuff about the guy who stole his whole fortune? Was he telling us, who was he telling us that they like stole his whole fortune and he met this guy like 30 years later and he was gonna like, he said, if I ever saw this guy again, I'd kick his ass. And then like, he went through this whole,

maybe we were driving. Wait, I don't remember this. It was maybe the Santa Fe story. Or when we were going to Santa Fe from, or Albuquerque from Santa, Santa Fe. Yeah. Oh, after the gig? Yeah, it wasn't it like like somebody they like stole all the money

from this guy and they'd like get their cattle. Maybe it was Axl Rose. Uh, like, I don't remember. I know the I know the the Axl Rose stories he told all had to do with and there are multiple ones, but they all had to do with like outlandish rock and roll millionaire behavior. It was all stuff like I, you know, charter of helicopters to get my jacket from Brazil. I'm not going on stage or whatever it is.

It was a huge like European festival. And they're like, there's no way we can physically do this. There's not a world where that would happen. Yeah, I loved him. He was awesome. There's no way we can physically do this. There's not a world where that would happen. Yeah, I loved him. He was awesome. He sends me, like, I think he also, maybe every three months will send me, like, whatever holiday it is, be like,

hey, happy holidays, Zach. I hope you're going well. I hope it's going well. I'm like, man, I appreciate you. Yeah, he's a good guy. They were all great. Yeah, they were all interesting, very different from each other,

but all good tour managers in their specific ways. And I'm always giving them, not shit, but always reminding them that, come on, I'm a standup. There's no sound check. You don't have to do shit. There's no stories. There's no, yeah, I don't I'm not, you know, I don't have outlandish you know, behavior or demands or anything like that. It's like, okay, we got a

second bottle of wine somewhere in the bar. We can have a drink. Yeah, it's pretty, pretty simple. So, you know, those guys are like, on vacation. paid vacation. Yeah, it's easy. It's a nice one. I want to say it's easy, because there's I'm sure, tons of stuff that they deal with that I never even find out that we don't know about. But it's got to be way easier than the logistics of three, four, five people in a band and getting them in the hotels and making sure everybody's happy and getting to the venue and the sound check and dealing with technical things that a standup doesn't have to deal with.

Yeah. So, there's no light show. And also I tell every tour manager, if there's anything wrong with the lights, if they're not satisfactory or something's fucked up, I'll deal with it on stage. It becomes part of the set. I'll just don't worry about it.

Yeah, it's like, hey, this you actually don't need to do this. I'll just make this part of my job. I don't it doesn't matter. You know, it made me think of. Do you remember that the other group that was in? I think it was also New Mexico, the Suicide Boys, that the like, oh, wait. Yeah. Yeah. Those two. Those like too cool.

They're like they're like hip. like, I mean, to be honest, I don't know anything about them. I know them as like a band that's on a bunch of festival lineups and it's like. Right, I didn't know anything about them. Did we meet them? Or did you? The elevator's like, dude.

Oh, right, right, right. I don't know. Then we looked him up. Yeah, I think he was like, he also, he clocked you, I think, from Alvin and the Chipmunks as well, out of all things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fully tatted up, he said he had like two girls with him.

He's like, yo, man. That's right. Love your stuff. That's right. And then we tatted up, you said you had like two girls with him. He's like, yeah man, love your stuff. That's right. And then we looked him up, suicide boys. And I don't remember, what is their, their hook is that they threaten to commit suicide every single night, every show.

If the crowd's not loving it. If the crowd's not loving it. They're one step away. Their Rick has to rig up all of their different ways they can kill themselves. Yeah, they've got like 20. I looked, I went on their site. Guillotine?

Jesus, that seems so involved. Get in there really, you know. Come on, y'all, I need you with me. I can't hear you. You don't sound pumped enough. Don't do it, don't kill yourself, we love you. I think you should start doing something like that. If they aren't laughing, you just start threatening ways.

Yeah, bring out a gun. Guys. Yeah. Well, depending on where you are, people might just think that's, you know, you're just kind of like showing some love to the culture of the state that you're in. That is true. A salute. Yeah.

A salute with a gun. Good to see you guys. You know, but actually use it as a, you know, like the army salute. I've started as Tucker, when I'm in America, I carry a fake pistol, like a prop gun, and for a while it, like the army salute. I've started as Tucker when I'm in America, I carry a fake pistol, like a prop gun, and for a while it was always the black one. That's fucking dangerous.

That's what I realized, you know, now it's an orange, it's an orange cowboy one that clicks, but I had one that was black with an orange tip, and I would just, you know, if people wouldn't laugh, I would kind of show it for one second, it was like a save, but I got the vibe after the second time I did it that people weren't fully sure, which upset me because they were like,

I was like, come on guys, you think I'm gonna really bring a gun in here, but then I... Why not? They don't know you. This is America and people bring guns. Like they get really, really, really, really, really upset. It's the thing they get the angriest about.

Some individuals, they don't get angry about, you know, whatever grand injustice or whatever, but they get angry about, you know, whatever, grand injustice or whatever, but they get angry if they can't bring their gun into an Arby's that's at a hospital. No, of course not. The Arby's in the hospital is a gun-free zone and they can't, that's not in my America. They can't handle it. No. It was always fascinating watching my European comedy partners come over here and seeing like, I went home to Chicago, it's where I grew up.

And we'd go to like, we went to a bulls game in the United center and there was like, you know, no guns and they have like the stickers in there. They just like couldn't believe that you had to tell people that. Yeah. And that if that wasn't there, people would just be walking in, people probably still are coming in with guns.

Oh, it's the number, whenever I go to Europe, it's the literally the number one thing of all the things that are brought up is just the how incredulous people are. Like, you know, and they know that it's a minority of people. They kind of forget that sense, but that it's, they have, you know, outsized power. And that, you know, I don't go into the full details, because they

start falling asleep. But I was like, Well, that's the electoral electoral college for you. And that's what gerrymandering gets you. And you know, when 19% of the population gets 52% of the say, you know, there you go. There it is. Yeah, the gun thing is the gun. And I'd say healthcare runs a close second, but it's not that close.

It's mostly about guns. Yeah, I'd say guns first, healthcare's up there, possibly as well, just the size of cups and portions. They're like seeing like a double, they're like, you guys drink triple X soda? I get that less than, but it's, yeah, that's definitely something people bring up, but, and I guess there's the unspoken,

and this dovetails with healthcare, the unspoken problem with obesity, and the food deserts, they don't even, I don't even know they have that concept really. I don't think so. But the only thing to eat is pie, fructose, corn syrup, processed foods and why are the kids so fat? Get off your ass and that's why I want to roll back child labor laws.

Get them working at 12, right? Work off some of that dough. Yeah, get them in there, but then when they get there, They sit in there eating, you know, flaming Cheetos and whatnot. But if they're working. On my dime, on my dime. My comedy partner Vigo, when he went to, I think he was like eight when he went to America

for the first time, him and his dad went to Orlando. And he said this. Oh, that's okay. If you're gonna dive right in. Yeah, eight when he went to America for the first time. Him and his dad went to Orlando and he said, Oh, that's OK. He's going to if you're going to dive right in. Like he went to. Yeah, he went to Orlando because he loved Shaquille O'Neal and he wanted to go to Disneyland. So he were Disney World. He went to Disney World. He saw a basketball game and his dad's called.

So Vigo's name is Vigo Venn, which translates to friendless friend in Norwegian. And his dad's Bjorn Venn, which is bear friend. His dad also was an air guitar. Bear like the animal or bear like naked? Good question, bear like the animal. But I imagine that he was naked as well. But then, but then he- So your naked friend.

My naked friend's dad, he also was an air, a finger air guitar champion in his town. They have like, you know, competitions like this. Shredding stuff? Just, but just nothing, just like miming it. Yeah, yeah. But shredding hard and picking his songs and just going to, but he won, I think he's won a few times.

And what do you get for winning that? I think you get like an Invisible medal, or a Missile trophy, I have no idea. How big is it? It's kind of up to you, you know, it's one of those like, choose your own Avengers, it could be this big, could be this big. That's a big medal.

Yeah, and imagine being a tour manager for that and trying to fly around all those rooms everywhere. Trying to have to check the invisible metal and explaining to people. Get some frequencies I'm not really loving right here. I don't know if this is gonna come through in the oversized luggage area, where you get your golf clubs and your snowboards

and whatever. Skis. But so the guy I'm traveling with, I'm working for has a fairly large invisible metal that I wanna make sure is, you know. Yeah, and it's in a protected case. Yeah, I want some big. It's not gonna fit in the overhead. No, no, not at all.

Nor under the seat. We're gonna have to actually tape it to the top of the plane if that's cool with you guys. But he was so excited to be in America and so happy. He just loved seeing, especially in Orlando, how big people were, that Vigo told me that he was making- You could say fat. Yeah, he said how fat everybody was.

Yeah, you don't have to. And he was like, he's like, oh, look at that, it's a really fat guy over there. And he'd tell Vigo to go stand next to people and pretend to take his photos so he could record everyone. And when they went home, and like parents were divorced and you know, his mom like was really excited to see all this. And he said when they showed all the footage, it was like barely any footage

of Vigo enjoying America and mostly Bjorn just laughing, filming fat people in Florida. It is something I there. There are certain. Airports I've been to. Where it's like a fat museum, It's just like, like, I'll go to certain airports, mostly, I'd say the Midwest and the South. And you're just, you're concerned. Like so many emotions. Yeah. Man. I remember, oh, God, I shot a movie in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is one of the most depressing places I've ever been. It's brutal.

Have you been there? No, what part of the Shreveport, I believe is Northwest, I believe. Don't quote me on that, they shot a bunch of stuff there over a span of several years. And I know so many people that have shot there and have the same experience. I mean, it's like boarded up like recession constant. And their biggest kind of moneymaker is gambling. Like they have the casino boat, the river boats that are docked and they have some rule

and they've gotten around the loophole of like as long as it's on the water, but they're just docked. So you basically, it's just a casino on the water and you just walk from the sidewalk, you know, 10 feet to a little boardwalk and then get on the boat and you can and and it's you know, it's like akin to just a city that is you know, with the with high unemployment and and just a bunch of people hanging out doing scratchers, scratch off tickets.

Like imagine just take the kind of, cause it's joyless, you go in there, it's bleak and depressing. And people are just gambling as if it's their job. They're kind of reluctant. They're not having fun. No, no, not very good at it either, I assume. I mean, can you be good at gambling?

You can think you could be good at it. Well, perhaps that's the problem. But I mean, you can have certain skill with, you know, certain card games and stuff. But I mean, blackjack. Scratch is not so much. Blackjack, there's a couple obvious things you don't want to do.

And, but outside of that, I mean you know, it's just you play the odds and You still might not I mean the house Always the house wins. There's a reason why the establishment is the if the establishments were losing then they wouldn't set these things up Trump's the only one who actually had a money losing. I mean, that's astounding when you think of it. Yeah, it's kind of- How do you fuck up a casino?

Something that's rigged against everybody else. And he's obviously used to, you know, kind of indigent people giving them their last money. So it's like, boy, you fucked that up? This was made for you. Yeah. But yeah, Sh, you fucked that up. This was made for you. Yeah. But yes, should we put whatever? Oh, yes. So I was there and there were a handful of decent in that kind of Southern style diners

and places to get food, but it was, everything's just chicken fried steak and everything's covered with gravy and it was delicious. But I mean, it's just really, yeah, well, literally will kill you. And and I was there with Zach Galifianakis, who was who's shooting something else. We went to this kind of well-known diner, Greasy Spoon was great food, but went there probably four or five times. I was there for four months, but yeah, they'll do it. And there was a couple that was next to us. We were just at a little too top.

And next to us was a couple I'm going to guess. It's tough to say in Shreveport, some you'd guess 80 but oh, they're actually 54, you know, but the guy goes to get up and he under his breath, but I can hear him, he's right next to me. He puts his hands on either side of his chair. This is just a stand. This is just a stand up after eating. And he's like, he goes to himself, but I can hear it. He goes, oh, this is gonna hurt.

And he makes this, oh, and it wasn't because he's got like bone on bone. No, no, no surgeries. You know, it's like he's. Founded a half of gravy just. Yeah, I guess it's we had a, you know, probably seven gallons of gravy in the last week. So it wasn't even about the meal. It was not about I'm telling you, because he was just.

He's like, oh, it's going to hurt standing, man. Who invented that shit? I can't know. We didn't say, OK, I was going to say that. That was I didn't know. That's me. We're thinking, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,. It's kind of the reverse. He was the original Kaepernick before, before Colin liberals came in and took his stance. So let me tell her buddy, I'm talking with Zach Zucker and not Jack Tucker, your alter ego, clown school. You were a clown and you have a very popular act.

You've done Edinburgh how many times? If I go this year, this will be my eighth year. Eighth year, Jesus. But I'm feeling it, you know. my eighth year. Eighth year? Yeah. Jesus. But I'm feeling it, you know. Good Lord. Like that man in Louisiana. I don't know how many people to do this.

Yeah, for those who don't know, the Fringe Festival, it's a whole month, right? It is. It's a month and you work your ass off. And it's like, you know, I mean, the work starts as well. The prep for it starts while you're there for the next year. And like, you know, I have in two days a deadline to start registering shows. And I'm just like, do I, do I want to do this anymore?

It is a young man's game that that festival is tough. And it ages you. I remember when I was in one venue, which is basically a converted, you know, like sewer, an underground sewer, basically, I watched the rust on an electrical box get darker and darker every year. And I'm like, oh, I'm just breathing that in for 12 hours,

13 hours a day for 30 days in a row. Well, that's the Scottish way. Yeah, oh yeah. That's part of the, that's the Scottish promise. Some of them, one of them said though, hey, but you know, at least any of the lung cells or brain cells you kill, those are the weak ones. They weren't gonna last anyways,

was something that somebody legitimately told me there. Good, smart logic. Smart, yeah, it works. Get rid of those guys. Cut the, separate the wheat from the chaff, right? What's a good, what's a breath with bad lung cells? Yeah. You know?

You give a chance for the new, young, upcoming lung cells to come in there. Come in there and do their business. They're sharp, they're doing great on social media. Yeah, that's, I mean, eight times. Holy moly, that's tough. And that is, it is a... It's a slog. It's tough. I mean, it's, and there's no break.

There's no time off. No. I mean, you're doing shows. You have to promote your own shows. You have to paper the, you know, get out there. Um, it's, it's so much fun if you're a, uh, you know, if you're a. Uh, uh, a punter, you know, comes, you know, you're going to see the shows. It's just great, but I imagine I haven't done it. I've been there and seen shows. I haven't been there for a full month, but it's really fun.

It's a fun thing to work around. And it's very late hours, as you might imagine, and lots of drinking, but there's no time off. It's a month of, and that adds up. It does. We were saying last year, as we were kind of looking around again, being like, all right, I've been doing this.

I'm 30. I've been doing this since I was 22 years old. Like, I feel like, you know, besides the pandemic year, I've done every year in a row. And, you know, what's the benefit of hemorrhaging all this money and all of your faith into the Scottish, basically the Scottish people. But also it's like a lot of a lot of it's a London audience. You know, it's mostly people from London coming up to watch shows.

Yeah, I mean, it's it's very well known and well respected. And it's a big party, you know, it's unlike any other kind of arts festival that I've ever seen or participated in or have gone to. You know, it's it's and there's, I think, a respect that people have for the that process. It's not easy. You can tell it's not easy. No, no. We were saying last year, I think it's like,

it's really just the most, it's like the least most complicated way to hang out with all your friends from all over the world. In a way where it's like, oh, I get to see all these people that I love and running into everybody, even the eight to 12 random people

you'll see every day on your walks to the venues or walks to get food. And in Enbrows and a big city at all. It's pretty- It's a beautiful city. It's tough to eat there. You don't get many non-brown fried foods. So that's also another tough.

I've never experienced as many. It's like 18 Iowa state fairs put together with the shit that they fry. All the stuff that you see at a state fair, I'm imagining originated in Scotland. Where it's like they fry candy bars, fry pizza. Yeah, fried pizza, it's the Mars bars. Did you go to the pizza place with the DJ?

It's like a shitty, it's on a corner. Oh, it's the best. Is it Pizza Express? No, it wasn't a chain. It was like- Cause they also have, sometimes they'll just be blasting music in there. Is it Pizza Express? No, it wasn't a chain. It was like- Sometimes they'll just be blasting music in there. With the actual DJ? Yeah.

This was like more of a chippy, you know? It was just like kind of nothing. It was not big. It probably had, I don't know, six to eight tables maybe. And then, you know, all the bright fluorescent lights and they're making fish and chips and, you know, the stuff that they get in deep fried hot dogs and deep fried hot dog sausages.

But they had deep fried pizza and they also in a corner, and maybe it was just cause of the festival, I don't know. They had a fucking DJ. Was it, what time of night did you go? Or what time of day? Oh, midnight. Yeah, so that'll do it.

Yeah, it's those late night, those guys like this. But there's no party. There's no party to be had. There's just no. But they're crazy, they're crazy people and they love to have a good time. Is it my type of party? Not always.

You know, when I'm there outside of the festival, you remember like, oh yeah, I am just in like a wet leaking cave with like really disgusting floors. I love the Scottish people so much and I also struggle so hard to understand them. So I'm like in a bar like really trying to read lips, but I can't read lips, can't quite get the accents. There's a lot of like, yeah. Oh, I, I, especially when they're drunk. I did a, I did a show in Glasgow.

I mean, I've done a bunch, but the one on the last tour and I was doing those after show meet and greet things. And there was a woman with the thickest Glasswegian accent and she was drunk. And I don't know a fucking word you're saying. Not at all. I don't know. A drunk Glaswegian is the hardest thing

and also having been there with you on this most recent tour for those meet and greets, if you're going in there alone and facing 40 to 50 to 60 Glaswegians. Oh no, I had Sean Patton. Okay. And Sean is the best. I mean, he was great and he really dug it.

He had fun and he was like a really good buffer. And he very quickly, I've never done that before and I probably won't again, but it's just exhausting. I mean, he'd done a fucking hour and a half and then you got another hour of chit chatting. Just chatting, being kind, and knowing that like, hey, I'm tired, and you know, even with the leg that we did it.

And drinking, you know? And it's super nice people. I mean, there was always, literally always, every show there was at least one, if not two to three, kind of maybe on the spectrum, like kind of odd people or inappropriate or just, you know, there's always somebody with an attitude of like, hey, I mean, these guys think they're fans.

They're not really fans. I'm the real fan, you know, that kind of thing. I loved watching that. I really loved to watch that. I'm not like there's these fucking idiots, you know. They're like, I like these guys. They're nice. They're nicer than you are. They're like, I like these guys. They're nice. They're nicer than you are.

They're not doing this to me about you. I had a guy in, oh, I'd have to ask Sean. I think it was Asheville. Yeah, I think it was Asheville, North Carolina at the meet and greet who, and I thought he was joking at first, right? He said he was starting to do standup and then he said he had a joke about,

oh, Jesus, I had this bit where I talked about, we don't know anything about Jesus between the time, the day after he was born until he was like 30. And I do 30 seconds on Jesus as a 14 year old. Right. Nothing major. It's just, it's a little, you know, sidebar in the bigger bit. And he's like, you know, my bit is better than that and then yours and I'll give you. And he's saying it to me without like smiling or anything like this kind of, and he's sort of cornered me at this table and there's 50 people to meet who want to hang out

or want to take a picture, whatever. And I'm like, oh yeah, and it took me a good 30 seconds ago, oh wait, you're not doing a bit. You really, this is for real. And I'm like, uh-huh, okay. And he's like, yeah, I'll I'll give it to you What did he want for an exchange? I'll give it to you if He didn't want money but he wanted this This service or to do for real and then I was like, well, why don't you tell me the joke and I'll decide Whether I want to give you the service for this And he told me and it was that it was like a pun decide whether I want to give you the service for this.

And he told me and it was, it was like a pun. It was like a long setup for a pun. And I was like, yeah, no, I'm going to stick with mine. Thank you so much. And all right, I'm telling you, it's better to get a big laugh. What the fuck? How much did you pay? It's kind of awesome though to come up to pay to see your show, pay the extra meet and greet fee.

And then Big Dog, the guy that you, I guess, you know, look up to, enjoy, are excited to see him. That's hot. No, no, no, no, you're wrong here. I mean, yeah, so I got some notes. Yeah, yeah, oh, I got some notes. And these notes are exclusive notes.

They're behind a paywall. I want you to come and do cameos at my house. This is like a New your times level of notes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was, I still have, there was one guy that gave you at the, well, the first Santa Clarita. Was that Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz. There was one guy who gave you a hoodie

and it was this kind of color as well. It was like a light blue hoodie. Kind of cool. Oh yeah. I still wear that all the time. It's one of my favorites. Yeah, that was a good one. It's a really good one. Well, he gave me, I would have worn it, but he gave me like an XL. And I was like perfect.

I'm in my hip hop era right now. It's literally the same color as this and it has the popsicles on it. Yeah, I totally would have worn it, but yeah, I'm not an X large. It made it with me to, maybe with me out here for my two months. It's part of my New York wardrobe.

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Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to rocketmoney.com slash senses. That's rocketmoney.com slash senses. Rocketmoney.com slash senses. What do you, I want to let people know that, I want to urge them to see your show, but it's not Zach Zucker, it's Jack Tucker. It is.

And Jack Tucker is a, that's another thing, like imagining you doing that thing with that energy for an hour? It's every night. We're built as 70 minutes. In Edinburgh, I was doing 90 because I was really basking in it. And so far I've been doing 75, 80. And that's why even my voice is a little... I was on like two days, two days full vocal rest, just like trying to keep it in there.

But it's a... I don't... In the words of one reviewer, an unhinged tour de force, which I will take. And it's just, this is the pace. And I think it's kind of, my buddy Tom Walker labeled it as like, it's the perfect encapsulation for all of my worst habits to make me look like a genius.

Well, it's really high energy, not in a not in a not in a annoying way, but your character is sweaty, working, like literally sweaty, kind of sticky punny comic who is is trying to be high energy. And it's like in the same world, but wildly different as like Neil Hamburger's piss take on a type of comic. So you're doing a type of comic. And but it's like Neil Hamburger on speed and meth, you know, like because you're just, and you're up there and you are sweating and you've got it's really fun. I really the first time I saw you,

I think either you were doing a set of my show or I was doing a set on stamp town or something. Yeah, I can't. I think I think maybe first did you do stamp town at asylum? And then I went and came and did. Oh, OK, maybe I did some shows with you. Yeah. It's really fun. Like sound effects and all kinds of crazy shit. And there's a little bit of Todd Glass in there. Someone, as I've started posting more videos online,

I've been starting to get, I usually get like cracked out Tim Robinson, some Todd Glass. People are always like, yo, what types of drugs does this guy on? And like the joke is I have a heart condition. I can't do and never have done any uppers. Yeah.

Yeah. But I can't, so like I'm just, I think I just like, I get so excited and if it starts working, I'll just keep rolling and then, you know, eventually you just, you know, we kind of call it like a force of nature character that like you just, no matter what's happening, you can't stop it.

It's really fun. I really enjoyed it. And, and you also, just by, you know, sheer luck and happenstance, you happen to be in London. I did a one-off like a year and a half ago, whatever it was, and at the Empire Theater in Hackney and big, beautiful old theater. And, and you killed it. And big, beautiful, old theater. And you killed it.

I mean, that's why I was thinking, oh, I'll have Zach open up, but you can't do for 12 minutes, you can't do. Well, the thing is, is I wanted to, and if I had one of my technicians with me, I would have brought it, because this, and I thank you for this. Besides the three days that we did together,

the day before that, my comedy partner Vigo, who won Britain's Got Talent this last year, we did the San Antonio Spurs halftime show. So that was actually, that was actually the biggest crowd ever, but besides that, the four biggest crowds I've ever played to have been with You, the Empire, and then these three shows in the US. And for me, Tucker was built for that.

The Zach Zucker experience, I'm much more of like, I play with the crowd, I'm more of, it's that same thing, but it's more flirty and in the room. And I think on like one and a half of the gigs we did, I think I had that. And then I think that last one, the Tucson one, I'm like, they were not feeling me that night. They were not feeling you.

Yeah, no. Wasn't there an issue with a woman who had a medical condition? That was the second night where I was, that was the best that it went. We were in Albuquerque, I think. Albuquerque or Santa Fe, I forget where we flew and drove, but it was one thing like this.

But I was in the crowd, I was feeling good, I was riffing off the mayor because we saw the mayor at the airport, his face on there, and people were loving it. And I went into the crowd and I started, I think I made a joke like, you know, I have prepared so much material for you guys, but nobody prepared any jokes for me.

And I think that kind of sucks. I love to laugh. And so like, you know, I would go to a classic, like one guy was like, what do you call it? I'm like, all right, thank you. You know, this type of stuff. And then a woman stood up in the middle and it was right around Halloween.

And she opened with like, so I have terminal cancer, and this is probably gonna be the last show that I see. And I went, oh no. And this was like at the end of what was like, I was feeling invincible. There was like four or five really good moments, and then. Captain Bring Down over here.

Jesus Christ, can you wait a little bit, lady? But she, I was like in my heart, I was like, no, don't worry, I got this. I've been in worse situations, no problem. Not me personally, but I can deal with this. And she was in a costume as well, and she was in the middle, and how the venue was laid out was like,

there was the top half that couldn't really see the bottom bit, which is also something I was learning in the moment. I was like, I shouldn't go in the parts of the balcony, can't see you doing physical stuff that they need to see. And she started telling this joke, and as she was telling it, she would kind of break and just be like, thank you for this opportunity,

I'm a little nervous. And then somebody gave her shit, right? A guy from the top heckled her and said, hey, shut the fuck up, I didn't come here to see some fucking person talk about their story, we want some comedy. Oh, God. And I could not believe it.

And in my mind, I'm like, all right, this is a big opportunity for me. You know, this is my second time opening for you. I don't want to ruin this. But also, this guy is insane. No, you handled it well, and it's an extremely difficult thing to. Oh.

Couldn't believe it. I mean, you just have to abandon stand up and any pretense of it and just go Dude, because then also the crowds ready to turn too, but I'm like you told me before you're like hey I don't care what you do as long as you get them in a good mood I'm like me every way too close to the Sun that night I was I was flipping amongst the stars that happens and then what they didn't know I don't think you ever Anticipated somebody going I have terminal terminal cancer and I'm gonna die soon and this is probably the last show I'm gonna see.

Anyway, here's a joke about some frogs on a button. Yeah, and honestly, the joke wasn't terrible. It was the best of the crowd, but everyone, there was already so much riding on that punchline that I was like, as soon as she said it, we were like, you know, clapping. Hey, let's move on.

And what you didn't know, what I, like what they didn't know, and which was the funniest part for me was backstage because the elevation was high. We had the oxygen tanks. I was thinking of coming on stage that at first you're like no no no I want to

do a little joke with it. So as soon as I left you came on stage wheeling an oxygen tank and doing it and any other time an epic bit about about this as well after this woman's just told us about how she's about to die. Yeah. Yeah Get ready for this lady. Here we go everybody, but I didn't know I wasn't No, you know where I was backstage. It was just a beautiful moment. I just I had come out once the you know once there was like

Oh shit something's going on in the audience and Zach's in there. What's what's you know? once there was like, oh shit, something's going on in the audience and Zach's in there, what's, you know, do I need to go handle this or what's happening? So I wasn't aware of what had happened. And I saw that it finished up well. And then I was like, all right, now I'll do my hilarious oxygen tank bit for the Terminalia lady. That was my I think that's my favorite moment the entire thing that and then

There's a moment when we were in you but you must have told me about it Or how did I find out about the I think I told you in the meet-and-greet? And then the crowd too, like they were all, you know, I felt like that gave, again, all the meet and greet people were super lovely in those three nights. They always were, yeah. And they were like, they were trying to, they were hopping in on it as if it was also a bit to like riff on this thing that happened,

but also no one, like no one also obviously had the words to describe what had gone on or like any way to really alleviate any of it, they're all like, yeah, that happened. Yeah. That really happened. And then to find out, you're just like, it really flavors the whole like, damn, that guy's fucking,

I don't know if that's appropriate. Yeah. Yeah. It seems very insensitive. It was funny, but I was like- Thinking that you're watching from the side, but she was loving it. I watched her from the crowd. She was cracking up the entire time.

Good, good. Yeah. I mean, you said as much, but yeah, that's, you know, everyone's, God, there's a great story. Who was it? Jimmy Pineapple was one of the Houston outlaw comics back in the eighties. God, who was it? Who... There were two things that happened. One was a guy was doing a standup.

He was again in Houston at the... I think it was called the Laugh Stop, I can't remember. It was the big place in Houston and legends came out of there. Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison and a lot of guys. And the guy was like, in the middle, he'd been doing it for like seven, eight minutes in the middle of his thing. And he yells at this lady in the front. He's like, lady, would you, the show's up here. Okay, can you fucking pay attention? I and she's like, I'm blind. And there's that one.

And then there was somebody like accidentally broke somebody's arm or didn't believe. I don't have the whole story, so it's it's pointless to bring it up. Sorry. Let's move on. You know what? I'll forgive you for this. I think we're even I think we're even after the Tucson show. I was actually also- The Tucson show was not good.

No, no, no. That was, and it was one of those things where- I felt bad. I was over at the wings. And I know the feeling very well, everyone does. Every comic knows the feeling of, I'm gonna get out and laugh. I gotta, you know, and the time is stretching

and like, oh dude, and I'm over there hoping you can see me going like, just bring it in. It's all right, bring it in. It's over. It's over. Come back to the door. And let me throw you life. I felt like I was like in the Ringling Brothers circus

and you're like, hey, hey, hey, it's good. You can come back. But it was, yeah, they just, you never know. Sometimes they're with it, sometimes they're not. I think my act, it's like, even if I'm dying out there, like I actually have a good one to tell you recently about Tucker, but like, there's usually a few people who are like, hey, I get what you were doing

or what maybe how this normally goes and they can see that and they like that. And so to them, it's like the funniest thing in the world to see this guy. Oh, to watch people bomb is a treat sometimes. People used to love to watch me bomb, you know? And I've done a lot. But I just wanted to clarify for people.

So we're talking to Zach Zucker. He does his alter ego is Jack Tucker. So if you see Jack Tucker, that's the show you need to see. Please, that'd be great. Yeah, it's fun. Anyway, continue, I just wanna- No, no worries. Everybody know that's-

I think I built that character off bombing because obviously with clown, in clown school, it's like so much of it is embracing the failure. And I think when people aren't clued into that, and it's up to me, and also, you know, I've been lucky that I've been playing a lot of like hometown crowds whether it's at my own show StamTown or it's at the Fringe or People Know Us or any of these cities that I've been before you know. I think I had set up as my opener hopefully to kind of like trip them up to get a laugh

right away to show that I was aware I think in every show I was like alright has anyone ever seen me before? Hoping that no one would say anything and then you know you get, you get a few people in the crowd going, no, no, I haven't. It's like, yeah, I know that, you know, I know. So I was I've been coming in from coming in hot from doing, you know, Tucker off his high from the NBA halftime show and then coming in here doing that type of material, but just as myself and, you know, there's no, there's no sound effects, there's no costume, there's nothing else.

And so people start to feel bad for you, which is, again, now a hilarious pathetic thing to talk about. It's only the one show that was, I mean the other two were fine, but it was that one show. I'll take two out of three. Take two out of three.

You know, it was the, yeah, that one where, if you were a major league baseball player, you'd want, you're batting 666, sure. I'm on the ups. That's good. You know, two out of three ground balls, not so much, but two out of three hits, I'll take that. But then recently I did Tucker at the Comedy Store

because we're trying to film this late night set that I pray will hopefully happen, but so far we've not gotten the footage for it. But basically I was, so in this costume now and as the costume has gone on, like I'm in a suit and it's wet and my tie's busted and one of my shoes is duct taped to my feet and I lost my other shoes,

so now I have my toes purposely sticking out of these McDonald's Christmas socks I bought in France a few years ago. And so, you know, I look, you know, my shirt. Is France where you go to get your McDonald's Christmas socks? It is. Really? Because some people would go to like, my shirt. Is France where you go to get your McDonald's Christmas socks? It is. Really?

Because some people would go to like TJ Maxx. Okay, so you go to France. I call the way to France. Yeah, I like to keep my fashion fashionable, you know. They have the sold as their sales twice a year. And I want to get those two Euro socks. All right. Yeah.

Actually, I looked for more McDonald's socks and I couldn't find the ones that I like. And there are other ones. I'm just like. Did you go to DSW or? You know, I thought about it and it's just not a less no, um, I tried Burger King didn't have what I wanted there Yeah, and have the type of it just didn't kill her places that would have socks like a Nordstrom Well, they'd have they have fancy McDonald's like DSW or pay less or isn't there a place called like happy socks, too

I think that's like a socks there's ecstatic socks. There's Pleasantly surprised socks. I don't know if there's a happy socks. There's Oh Gosh, yeah. Yeah, I Think I know the one you're talking about which one. Well, I was just waiting for you to say it you say it first. Ooh Well, I was just waiting for you to say it. You say it first. Ooh, jovial socks. No, that's ridiculous.

No, it's not. What a terrible name. I know, it's not my choice. Jovial socks? Yeah, it's awful. It's a charity-based organization. Oh, okay. Oh, fuck it.

All right. Oxfam is an Oxfam thing. It's an Oxfam sister, but they're American sister. But basically, I did the comedy store a few weeks ago, and I was dressed as Tucker, and also my shirt's tucked into my underwear, and I'm wet, I'm soaking wet. And I don't know anyone there,

and I don't really consider myself much of a comic. Like I say I'm a performer, it feels cringe, but also I've... It is a little poncy, a little pretentious. Exactly, but I'm not a comedian. No, no, no, no, no, no. Please, if I can interrupt, I'm not a comedian. I am a performer.

More of a trickster. Thank you, continue. Yeah, a trickster, an entertainer, a laugh man. But I was, I don't know anyone there and I've only been there three times and the booker there, Emily, is so lovely and she's seen StamTown and she keeps giving me all these opportunities and similar to with yours I was like, you know what if it's my own show and I bomb fine

But somebody else's is putting their reputation on the line right now and I I want to do well So at the top of my act, I have a bunch of apples in my pockets and you know He's from New York City So I like kind of tap him and I throw him up and I always smash the apple. So obviously to prep it. With the mic? With the microphone, yes. As if you're batting. Exactly.

I'm painting a picture for the people who can't. Exactly. Yeah, you're not doing a Gallagher thing. No, no, and then also I'm thinking, like my apple hit rate's pretty good, by the way. I think I'm batting 666. Yeah. As I do, in order to get the explosion effect of the apple that I want, a man's got

to soften his apples, you know? So I'm usually bashing them. So big. Yeah, if you will. And I'm bashing them. I will. I definitely will. Okay.

Well then, please take the space. Perfect. And so I'm bashing them. And I usually, you know, smash them against a wall or a concrete surface, something that really gets it mushy but not too mushy. But where the green room was, if I was doing it in the green room,

it would have disrupted the main room show and the belly room show where I was. And so I'm gonna be respectful. I noticed that there was an area out the back that said comedians could go and hang. So I'm in character and I walk down there and I start bashing my apples against the wall.

I turn around about 30 seconds later and five security guards show up and escort me out of the venue because they thought I was a homeless guy that snuck in there. And there was apparently going off in the group chat was people like, hey, there's like a guy with no shoes soaking wet bashing apples against the wall saying he's doing a 10 minute spot in the belly room. And they, they wouldn't believe me. And I was like trying to get them to talk. And I was like, look, I have a fake chicken. I've got pockets full of condoms. Why would I be doing that? If this wasn't a joke, realizing that that sounds even crazier. And eventually they had to bring the Booker back down. They're like, yeah, this guy's

like headlighting the first set. And then the security guard was like, well, why didn't you tell us that? I'm like, I I did but you guys literally dragged me out of here You weren't letting me speak you guys were looking for a fight and apparently a homeless guy had snuck in Five days earlier and taking a shower in the venue. So I think it was poor timing for me, but it was a very good for him Yeah, that's what I'm saying If you can make it through there and get in there take a shower take your shower Oh you all you want to do is take a shower? Please, more.

He's not asking for a five minute sec. Yeah, that'd be worse. I know. It'd be more offensive. I would have loved to have seen it though. Can I make a recommendation? Next time you find yourself in that situation, you're not allowed to, or not allowed,

but you know that smashing your apple on the the wall would disrupt something on the other side of that wall. Can I recommend the floor? Yeah. Yeah, the floor might be a better. I think I just. Than walking outside the venue. I guess I just thought if I'm on the floor, then I'm really like, here's a man in a wetsuit hitting the venue. I guess I just thought if I'm on the floor then I'm really like here's a man in a wetsuit hitting the floor but if I'm up it's kind of like oh hey I can

kind of see you guys it's like doing like those basketball dribble drills against the wall except it's not a basketball. I don't think that's a valid. No not so much you know as I was saying it I felt myself yeah I felt the work I felt the ground I should have been bashing on fallout from underneath me and then of course I went and did the set and after having all of this happen, after having to come in early as well in tech and be like, can we do this? And we were trying to film this

because my team was like, can we? You didn't pass. I bombed so hard, so hard, like 35 seconds in, no one's laughed. And I know if I don't. It's a huge, I mean, the Jack Tucker thing is, I mean, a huge roll of the Jack Tucker thing is I mean a huge roll the dice They're gonna there's no in between no you're gonna love it

Or you're gonna not have any patience for it And it's in it sucks when it doesn't go well because then you're like because I did that that happened So I did two sets that night in between the first and second set I was like I just want to go home and like Emily was like no, please stay like you could do this I'm like, oh Man, it's like sucks. I thought I was over please stay like you could do this. I'm like, oh, man, it's like sucks. I thought I was over getting these like you can do it talks. Yeah. And I'm thankful that I have it.

But I'm like, man, we just like sold out a show to three or five. You know, I said eight nights in London sold out the Soviet theater. Everyone's loving it. Like come here to a room full of people who I don't know, who already are looking at me like, well, this fucking what's also a tourist. It's all, you know, it's all tourists coming in, you know, going to the there for a lot of people, the height of culture is going to look at the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the dirty Spider-Man on Hollywood Boulevard. Filthy Superman, dirty Spider-Man.

Yucky Captain America, the whole gang. What's that stainane, Batman? Yeah, they're all out there. Tweaking SpongeBob. I mean, it's, I, it's, it's a, I had the same feeling when I was living in LA, but I just, every time I go there, I, the appeal is so,

I mean, the, there's not even the semblance of an appeal of walking down these like urine covered, it's just a name. It's a dirty name. There it is, it's Michael Jackson's star. And I would guarantee you that upwards of 70% of the people you've never even heard of. No. And people are taking pictures.

They love the wax museum. They buy a little Oscar, right? Little plastic Oscar and they sit at the end and they pose with it. Where did you come from? And this is what you're doing. I know. I don't, I really like, it's, where did you come from? And this is what you're doing. I know. I don't, I really like, it's just, hey, be Arthur's star.

You gotta take a picture. I flew off the plane. Best dad Oscar. From Wichita. And oh boy, I don't, I just don't get the appeal. It's so funny, cause then I remember then, like for me, I have like five fake Oscars for the Tucker show that that are just increasing in size and as we also have a fake Walk of Fame star that you know obviously the names like it's like

scrunched at the end because it we couldn't fit all the letters in right overshot of it first classic like when you make a poster in elementary school but yeah I don't I don't understand the appeal of it and we've started we usually do shows out there on Hollywood Boulevard at this place called the Bourbon Room I don't know if you've the appeal of it and we've started we usually do shows out there on Hollywood Boulevard at this place Called the bourbon room. I don't know if you've played there before It's a cool spot. It's Hollywood and Ivar But it's like yeah, it used to be a Eva Longoria's club called Beiso I think is what it used to be. I know yeah that little it's like almost an alley like a small tiny side street

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, and that is you know, you just see lunatics walking in and out and like people just walk in and out all the time, just start shouting at people and then, you know, there's people pissing on the streets. Like it's... Oh, it's... I mean, there are... It's intense.

Increasingly growing sections of LA that are just some of the most depressing. I mean, it's really bad. Yeah, it's hard. Really, really, really, really bad. Especially when it's really hot and there's so much asphalt and the heat just comes back up. And in Los Angeles, the heat stings. I mean, it's a dirty, it's dirty not in the sense of trash.

I mean, it has that too, but it's like dirty in the sense that there's a lot of dirt in the air and dust. And also the smog too. It's smog, yeah. Meaning there's, it's, you know, all the leaves are kind of covered in kind of a brownish thing. And you just see the dirt and sense it and feel it.

And then, you know, to be chronically homeless, mentally ill, and not have a place to, you know, take a shower or whatever. And these communities grow, you know, and not have a place to take a shower or whatever. And these communities grow, you know, they have their tents and I was just there. I was there a couple of days ago and just walking, where was I walking on?

I walked from, oh, I was staying on Hollywood and Vine and I was walking to the Headgum Studios, which is Silver Lake, where Silver Lake starts getting closer to Echo Park and just walking down Hollywood into Sunset Boulevard. And it's just, I mean, there's human shit everywhere. And I'm sorry about that. I just, I couldn't hold it. Yeah, I mean you got a you got to go But thanks for you know flying in to do that leaving. Hey look, you know you want me to open for you And I did yeah, I mean the the contractually it wants the shows over you're done. You don't I've still been going

Yeah, no, I know I know David crosses opener. I wanted to talk to you about that Do you can I leave it on the website? Zach Sucker, six feet, David Cross's opener. I wanted to talk to you about that. Can I leave it on the website? I prefer you not. It's on the top of my cast.com resume. That's one of my favorite things when you see comics, like up and coming comics, and it's such a red flag when you see their,

you know, CV on the back of the, you know, they have their headshot and then their resume and stuff. And then it's has appeared with, can mean anything. It doesn't mean not opened for, has appeared with. Mine says is best friends with. Has appeared, okay. Been in the same room. Facility as. Have been in the comedy store with legends such as George Carlin.

Yeah, been stood underneath a photo of Steve Harvey. With an Oscar. Yeah. Yeah, I love, someone the other day showed me, because I teach clown workshops. I think I love, someone the other day showed me, because I teach clown workshops, I think I'm a good teacher. I'd say my teaching batting average is all right, but someone put it on their resume,

and I was like, you don't wanna do that. Get that off there, that's not gonna help you. Yeah. It's weird. What do you teach them when you teach? What is a class like? There's two ways to answer that. One is like, what is the room like and what is then what the curriculum is. And I guess what I teach is kind of just like a, I teach two types mainly.

One's like a basic intro to clown that also is a bit of performance dynamics with just some. I say this from a complete state of ignorance. I don't know what clown school, what you would learn or how, so what is that thing? Yeah, well, to me, the main things I learned at the clown school I went to,

among all the plethora of things that I've learned there, was how to be entertaining, how to deal with failure, and hopefully how to create and find your pocket as a comedian. And no, like my teacher, Philippe would say, if they're laughing, you're clowns around your body. And then just like trying to zone in on this, which is a very-

Put that on a t-shirt, please. Yeah, but if you are laughing, your clown is there. And he's like, if not, he is gone. And I was like, oh, thank you, two years. Now wait, how do you teach somebody to be entertaining? I think you teach them what is unique to them. It's like what you have, only you have, and therefore a cookie cutter method

would not work for everybody. However, it's more of an approach, I think. If you approach it from this place of pleasure, like if you're excited and your eyes are full of joy and wily-eyed and you're just happy to be there, we're at least seeing like, oh, there's something going on here. If you're being sensitive and taking in the crowd and listening to what they are receptive

to and then kind of letting them guide you, that's another one where you can kind of get bashed around like a pinball. There's this- But you could be a sad clown. You could be. It wouldn't necessarily- Some people- There could be a little kind of masochism to it.

You could be a clown, a masochistic clown, sad, you know. People love to see me fail. You know, that was my takeaway for my two years at clown school was like the three times I was funny, which were all by accident, was when I didn't know what was going on and everyone was laughing at me. And you know, it was brutal.

Is there a language barrier? Well, the school's English second, he's French, his wife's Japanese, it's all English second language. What the fuck? Yeah. Can you believe this? Shit is crazy. Dude, it, ugh. There's 75 people from like 45 different countries. The age range is like 18 to 65.

I was the youngest when I was there, I was 20 the year that I went. And then the next year my comedy partner ended up being the youngest who was was there. I was 20 the year that I went. And then the next year, my comedy partner ended up being the youngest who was 18, so I was pissed off at him. But I love the idea of somebody 65 years old going fuck it, I've always wanted to be a clown, I'm gonna go to France, I'm gonna, honey you watch the kids, I know they're in their 40s,

but still, you watch the kids and I'm gonna, honey, you watch the kids. I know they're in their 40s, but still. Still take care of them. You watch the kids and I'm gonna go to France and I'm gonna learn how to be a clown, God damn it. It rocked, it rocked. It was always so cool to see those types of people coming because then everyone, like, you know, you basically find out how you're ridiculous.

And then he would also separate, like, some people were actors. It's mostly physical stuff. In a way, it's a theater, it's an acting theater curriculum taught by a French clown whose name's Philippe Goliath. He's to me, and I hate to say this to you, I'm so sorry, the funniest guy I've ever met in my life.

But first of the worst, second's the best, don't worry. Okay, great. And then he basically would say, like actors aren't clowns, clowns can't be actors because clowns are too stupid to be able to get it right. But they're miraculous. That seems very, I mean, I would imagine the clown community would cancel him

for something like that. It seems very dismissive. He was much more in a binary than maybe I am. Racist, kinda. Which, I mean, I'm considering clowns a race. He would. A race of humans. Which we appreciate and honestly are not represented enough. He would love that and if he would laugh,

he would say, maybe a little racist, but it's funny. Well then maybe I'm funnier than he is. How about that? I made the clown, the funniest clown laugh. No, no. But yeah, his whole, I think you would love his approach and like it's really, everything's just a game. Everything's a game and the way he teaches his segments, like the school's broken down into three 10 week sessions.

And again, I don't want to speak on his behalf. He would probably hate that, but this is my- That's a long, so that's a- Two years if you want, it would be October through June. And now unfortunately he's a bit older so he doesn't teach the second year anymore. But it would basically, you know, the first four weeks is this program called Le Jeu where you're just, it's about playing the game

and just getting into this like childlike state of play and just having fun, kind of unlearning. Second is Greek tragedy and neutral mask. And that's about, you know, how's my body on stage? Am I looking down? Am I rocking? Am I looking all over the place and just showing the power of like, you know, how's my body on stage? Am I looking down? Am I rocking? Am I looking all over the place and just showing the power of like you can make people laugh with just your eyes

instead of having to go like this. And also how big it looks on stage. And then also to go for it. Then there's like melodrama and it's like no one's, no one's doing melodrama anymore. It's not about being good at melodrama, but either you throw yourself into this and you act beautifully.

Or you throw yourself into this and you're an idiot or you throw yourself into this and you're an idiot and everyone's laughing so hard at like how serious you take this. And ideally you take these principles with you where it's like if you're looking at this cup and this cup becomes the most important thing in the world and you're like looking up at the heavens and you look at the cup and you know, this type of stuff.

And so it'd be giving it stakes like that to then take to a clown number. And so we do things like characters, like Sacha Baron Cohen studied there, Helena Bonham Carter studied there, I think Zach Zucker studied there, some really cool, funny. Really?

Yeah, yeah, some really cool, funny people. That's an amazing list, but I don't know the last guy you mentioned? He was, he appeared with David Cross in Tucson, I believe, on a plane with him once. Has appeared with, okay. Yeah, he's appeared with him. Well then that doesn't mean a whole lot. I think David was in seat 11C and Zach was in 28F. Oh, on a plane with him once. Has appeared with. Yeah, he's appeared with him. Well then that doesn't mean a whole lot.

He was, I think David was in seat 11C and Zach was in 28F. Oh, on the plane. They were appearing on the same plane together. Oh, that sounds great. I have seen some of David Cross's plane work and, I always, I recommend Comfort Plus. Really?

Yeah. I thought his plane work was plane work. I sure hope so. I thought that was like one of his classic plane jokes. That's not very funny. That was what the guy at the meet and greet told me to tell you. Yeah. But what do I have to give up now if I want to use it? Oh, I want I want to credit.

I want I want to credit in the next special. I should have had him open up. You know what? I should have just I was not in the right frame of mind. I was so tired and and and and then you get tired of, you know what, I should have just come on up. I was not in the right frame of mind. I was so tired. And then you get tired of, you're also on and being a bubbly host. Cause I would do those meet and greets. And I mean, I can't tell you how many times,

many, many, many, many times, either the theater manager or somebody would either start to line people up or just presume it, whether it be like, all right, everybody,, all right, everybody form a line. You have, uh, uh, 30 seconds. We're going to take a picture and then move on them. And I was like, no, no, no, no, that's not what we're doing. And, uh, and then eventually you had the tour manager just tell her buddy ahead of time, like, here's, here's how it's going to work.

I got a bottle of tequila. I come out, we pour shots. We do shots and we hang out till everyone's had their picture and, you know, or I sign what they want me to sign. And it's so many times before I had to say that, it was like people were like, wow, nobody ever does this. And then they tell me stories like,

and I would goad them like who, who, who was bad? Who was a dick? Yeah, yeah, tell me tell me I need to know I know and Yeah, you know not I wouldn't say people were the stories are heard were not like being assholes But they were it was just like perfunctory like whatever yeah paid your money. Here's a picture move on Yeah, pop out of here. Oh alright phony.

That was my phone being a little bit of a smart ass. Okay, so Zach, before I close out the show, I ask everyone a question from my daughter. And- No way. Yeah, everyone has to answer a question from my daughter. That's so sweet. And okay, so. Oh, this is a good one for you.

This is for you, Zach Zucker. Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you for having me. And this is a question from my now seven year old daughter. Can you die if somebody tickles you so much? I imagine so. Yeah. Not too much, but so much. Yeah. So much. I feel like it could. If it's so much, it means it's constantly still.

It's constantly happening. Could you die from it? I could see. I could see the tickling relating. Okay, I feel like the tickling could get you to a place of medical discomfort and therefore you could perish from that. I don't think I would die from the tick, like from the actual act of tickling, but the tickling could maybe send me into some sort of shock potentially.

Now again, I didn't go to college and I'm not a doctor and I think you're learning that in real time right now. But. I thought you did go to college and you are a doctor. Yes. I thought you were a podiatrist. Yeah, I, well. Okay, well this changes everything.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, if we can, if we could take back the interview, I'd really like to try it again. Yeah, that's. OK, well, this changes everything. Yeah, if we can if we could take back the interview, I'd really like to try it again. Yeah, that's not going to happen. It would have been a bummer, though. It would be kind of nice if you called me Doc. Well, that's stolen. Valor, that's stolen.

Dr. Valor. Well, we don't know. Dr. Valor was he was my father. He was a different guy. I think you could. I think I've been so could. I feel like I've been so uncomfortable. I feel like, could you maybe get like a spasm and then that could trip up like a. I mean, I don't wanna, you know,

it's your question, your answer. I don't wanna. I'm open to collaborate. Okay. I mean, you could be tickled so much that you tried to get away and then stumbled backward over a balcony railing. Let's say you're on the 23rd floor of, you know.

Michael Jordan's floor. So boom, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Or you could be, you could not like the tickling and then you realized, oh my god I haven't laughed. I mean when was the last time I really laughed? I have such my life is so... and then you kill yourself. Yeah, right there. Because you realize how empty your life is and what have you become and the wasted opportunities you had. Mm-hmm. And so I guess there's

you know, but that's not my answer. It's your... No And so I guess there's, you know, but it's not my answer, it's your. No, but I'm happy to hear you go off in that direction because that's where I was thinking. It feels like the tickling would be the inciting incident for what would then lead to some- A heart failure or something. Yeah, a heart failure.

Or make you go like, enough, and you hit some, like you maybe flail and hit a wall. You hit the nuclear button. What if you're tickling the guy, the general who's, yeah, yeah, and then you hit the nuclear button. You tickle Trump and he hits it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I feel like you could die from being tickled so much.

Okay, there you go. Yeah. There you go Marlo, there's your answer. Zach Tucker, thank you for coming on the show. Thank you David. Thanks for your time. And if you see Jack Tucker performing, I urge you, please go see it. It's a lot of fun. Sense is Working Overtime 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 Druchen 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 going to do that. Thanks for listening. That was a Headgum podcast. Hey, guys, just announced a big show Thanks for listening. I've got all kinds of really cool special guests. I know we got Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman, Sean Patton, Fred Armisen, many, many, many more.

Go to officialdavidcross.com. That'll have all the information for that. And the pre-sale, it just went out and the pre-sale code is funfun. I believe it's all caps. Fun fun. David Cross and SuperPals, August 8th, Central Park. Come down.