SmartLess - "Tig Notaro"

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

Ladies and gents, it’s our pal Tig Notaro. Party bits, dabbling for decades, a lesbian flying a helicopter, and a dream come true. Pop on your eagle jacket and hop in your Zamboni; it’s an all-new SmartLess. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.

Hey guys, welcome to the show today. Hope you're feeling really good. I got a hat on. You guys don't. Are you jealous of my hat? I've got a microphone though. I'm ready to go with a microphone and a couple of headphones here. Let's see.

That just leaves me and all I got is a really bad attitude. Oh no, and a bad speech thing. We're doing audio. Welcome to Smarter! Smarter! Oh boy. Smart. Less.

Smart. Less. Smart. Less. You know, Sean, you look like, uh, you know, you look a little bit more blonde today. I know I got you do a rinse this morning. No, I got a haircut yesterday and I didn't color it. I got a color.

It's a little too dry. I saw Sean yesterday happened to be at CVS and he was buying, he bought three things of sun in. And he sprayed a bunch of sun in. It is a little lighter than normal and I don't like it. So I'm going to color it a little bit. Now is skevo going to get it? Sorry, go ahead, you go ahead. Sorry, yeah, because I, hang on a sec, Will,

this is important. What kind of color? I know, I want to get to skevo though. Skevo, the greatest name in all of hairdressing. Yeah. Sean, what is the color that one tries to target usually? Is there a name for it? A name for it. There's no name.

Is it burnt sienna? No, it's like number five and number two or whatever they have, yeah. Oh, you blend, it's a blend. It's a blend, but I know you don't like when I color my hair, but I like it. Well, I like what you like, but I just want to make sure you know

that I need no color to love you any more than I do. Well that's true, but. I'm at max. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm still reeling. I can't believe you blend five and two. Yeah.

Honestly, I think the coloring world is gonna be, I'm gonna have to call Eli, our buddy Eli Thomas, Skeva, we should have a conference of all the hair guys we know. We'll get McMillan in there. Old sweet, sweet Chris. Chris McMillan. And we'll bring them all in.

Is Skevo short for anything? No, he is a shorter fellow, but no, his full name is Skevo. Do you call him anything for short? What would be short for Skevo? for anything? No, he is a shorter fellow, but no, his full name is Skevo. Do you call him anything for short? What would be short for Skevo? Hey, Skev. Oh, sometimes you drop the O, huh? Like if you're in a row.

Yeah. If you're running a bunch of errands. What's his last name? Because usually the last name's more spicy than the first. I'm going to tell you right now, we can cut out this pause while I look it up. Please be Miller. His last name is Zambillas.

Zamboni. Zambillas. Would you say that you guys are tight? Super tight. Hey, Will, by the way, I played golf the other day with the guy whose grandmother, I believe I'm getting this right semi, right Invented the Zamboni. Oh, oh, I've played I've played golf with that guy, too

Yeah, and it happened down here in like Paramount, California Surprisingly not in Canada. Yeah, and Tracy the Zamboni is the machine the little the sweet little car Or truck or minivan that you drive over the ice rinks to make it smooth and shiny. Cleans the ice, uses hot water and thing and then drags and smooths it out. It's the one thing for hockey that's heard it in terms of viewing because they have the ice between periods and therefore the intermissions are so long.

It's been detrimental. It's 20 minutes and it's detrimental. There is no alternative. Why don't they get two out there? They do. They generally do. Pro games, they do, yeah. Maybe they need three.

They might need three. I don't know. I was, you know, Michelle Pfeiffer. Oh wait, Sean's got something on this. Well, Michelle Pfeiffer's character's name in Grease 2 was Stephanie Zinoni. I always thought it was Zamboni. So listen.

Sorry, do you want to go down, do you have a list of stuff you misheard over the years? Okay, dudes, every once in a while, we get to have a guest on that is also our friend. Today is one of those days. I love every moment I spend with this woman and always wish for more. She's funny, but never on.

She's kind and warm, but never one of those smiley creeps. She's done movies, television, radio, podcasts, written and bestseller. She's been nominated for Emmys and Grammys. She's got two kids, one wife. She started in Mississippi and now she's right here. Say good morning to the great Tig Notaro. Tig!

Oh, Tig! Tig! Tig Notaro. There, Tig. Tig. Tig Notaro. There she is. Oh. I love that I was described to a T and Sean's still like, who could this possibly be? Yeah, I had to zip through it.

This doesn't even sound remotely familiar. I knew, and I knew, and I didn't say anything because I didn't want my disappointment to come through the microphone so early. How dare you? And not even disappointment, outrage. Now, hey Tig. Tig, your hair is growing out, it looks good.

Oh, I just started today, I'm surprised you noticed. No way has it grown out. Yeah, you really pushed hard for that. You pushed it out. I just started growing it out today. I woke up and I was like, you know what, I'm going to grow my hair out. And I can't believe you noticed.

Day one, please do one of those things where you take a snapshot every day for 365 and then put it together as a video and set it to a really sad song. Okay. Hey Tig, speaking of sad songs, both your parents still with us? All three are dead.

Three? Three. Well I had a stepfather that raised me. Okay. And in fact, not only is he dead, but... He's not coming back. He's not coming back. He is not, he has no way back to town.

Couple of years ago when he died, and we were having his funeral in Mississippi, it was an outdoor burial. And we were talking to the priest was saying, how do you want to do this? It's more casual outside. I said, well, I was going to say something. And my brother said, well, I'll go first.

I'll just say something really quick. And he walks up and he fell into a grave. No. No. No. What? Yes he did. What, is that true? Is it?

It is very true. And my entire family is sitting there and you see everyone just go, oh shit, oh my God. And my brother, and there's like this tarp over the hole and you just see my brother slowly, like it caught him a little bit, but he's slowly going down and yeah. I mean that would be overwritten in a comedy.

I know, it's too much and we're trying to help him out. Had he had a few? Had he had a few? No, no, it was no. He's just blind. No, the place messed up. They were supposed to put plywood over it and you see the people from the...

I love that the lawsuit says, the place messed up. We're suing you because you messed up. That's the legal terminology. We messed up, we messed up. What was the effort like getting him out? Was it tough to get him out? Well, we were like, oh my gosh, trying to help him out.

He's like, no, no, no, I'm okay. And he's pulling himself out like the night of the living dead, like with his dirty suit, just grabbing dirt and grass, trying to pull himself out of the hole. Like he was not going to let anybody pull him out. Have you ever had a nightmare with that? Has that imagery ever come back to you, like sort of? No, that was like a dream come true. That was a nightmare.

That was like, oh my God, I couldn't believe my stepfather did not get to see that happen. Right. You couldn't believe your luck that you got to witness it too. Well, and immediately I thought, oh my God, this must happen all the time. And then I was like, wait, this can't happen all the time. In Mississippi is the end of that sentence. In Mississippi is the end of that sentence. all the time. And then I was like, wait, this can't happen all the time. It's falling to graves.

In Mississippi is the end of that sentence. And people ask, they're like, oh, how come, what's it with all of these stories from the South and Mississippi? And I'm like, I have no idea, but I truly just show up, look around and head home with stories like that. I really. What about, is that, did you,

was Army of the Dead about zombies? You did an Army of the Dead. Ooh, good transition. Army of the Dead, I did do Army of the Dead, yeah. In fact, I did it on green screen. Right, because famously, you replaced a fella on that, right? And so you had to shoot everything on green screen Right, because famously you replaced a fella on that, right? And so you had to shoot everything on green screen and then they superimposed you into a film

that was already shot, correct? Yeah, easy enough. Were there zombies in it? There were, there were zombies. So were you like, ah, ah, but nothing was there? Oh. Sean, you saw the movie, I guess. Clearly read for it, did not get it, I've done some green screen acting.

I've done some green screen acting. Yeah. Yeah, I had to, I flew the escape, like the helicopter to... Get in! Yeah. I've got to take off. And I had to, that's not my typical, you know,

acting role where I'm yelling things and fighting things and had to do it all on green screen. And just literally like three feet away is craft service. Just three feet away. Yeah, through every scene you see me grabbing a donut and it's all on camera. But you weren't a zombie yourself. You didn't have to get into any zombie makeup, did you? No, I was just, I think a lesbian.

Those zombies aren't flying helicopters. It's just a lesbian flying a helicopter. That's what you said? Yeah. I think that's what I am and everything. No take. Now what about in Star Trek? I'm a lesbian in space.

There's lesbians in space? There are now. There are? Yeah. Now, do you have to wear any alien makeup in Star Trek? No, no. In fact, they barely put any makeup on me, I think because they really wanna

know that I'm a lesbian. What if they just put jobs of lipstick and like really make me that? Big eyelashes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or you're just sexually active. I have massive cleavage too. No, truly? No. No, no. My tits are in a dumpster.

In Hollywood. Isn't that the title of your new special? Yeah. All right, hey Tig, let's go back to the very beginning. All right, so we're in Mississippi. All right, we're in Mississippi. Everyone's alive. Everybody's alive, everybody's happy. It's a we're in Mississippi. Everyone's alive. Everybody's alive. Everybody's

happy. Good way to start. Now, but you did start as a rock band manager type of promoter. I'll help you get on stage and from city to city type of person. Yes. Yes. Yes, that's true. Dude, have you ever spoken English before? What the fuck is going on? I'm such a journalist. But, you know, I do love that about our show. Every once in a while, as I said in the intro, we get a friend on here, and I end up learning so much more about them

than I've ever learned in our personal lives. And why do you think that is? Because you don't take time to ask. I don't ask questions. I was going to sidebar for a second. You don't ask questions about other people, right? Hey, Wayne, keep it quiet. So, Wayne.

You know what I mean? So, but what about this? So you managed bands? Well, I really love music. And I play a little guitar, a little drums. Drums, yeah, I read that, I read that. And you're a lesbian, you said, just to bring back. And I'm a lesbian, so.

Oh, just a little bit, sorry, I got confused. And these are drums with sticks, not the hand drums. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's, see, I'm still dabbling as a lesbian, so I'm playing actual drums. Once you cross over, then you start doing drum circles. and so I'm playing actual drums. Once you cross over, then you start doing drum circles. I've been dabbling for decades, not sold on it.

I was too shy to perform. I tried and it was nerve wracking. My first girlfriend played in in a band and so I just started booking the band and working in music. And the music. How long was that you did that? I don't know, maybe three years. And are we driving around in a van? Are we, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Wow. Like we went on tour in a van, you mean like that? Yeah. Like we were touring, yeah, we were in a van. One time we actually rented a friend of ours, Bronco, and while we were on tour, the hood flew up and like bent in half.

And we couldn't see anything. We couldn't see anything. My God, that's my worst nightmare. I literally thought about that just the other day. I was watching, I could have sworn the hood was vibrating a little bit. I thought, what if this thing flies up there? It's like a Blanchett V. Chase one.

What the hood of the, like an SUV type of thing? A Bronco. Yeah, but it was like an old Bronco. And so if the top goes off, why can't you see? Because there's still a windshield. Because you're- The hood. The hood, the hood, sorry, sorry. I thought you meant the roof of the car.

Are you catching every third word? I'm actually about every fourth word. So now, but Tic. What kind of music was the band or the bands that you did? You know, I mean, folk rock. Yeah, of course, of course. Hey, so, but now, but you decided to help this band out because you wanted to have a seat that was less exposed to the spotlight.

But then while you're doing this, you said, well, hang on a second. Maybe I actually want to be upfront. I want to do stand up now where there's nothing between you and the audience. Yes. Well, I moved my very good friends that I grew up with that are still very close to me. We moved from Denver. We were living in Denver at the time.

And we moved from Denver to LA and they moved there to pursue TV and film. And I was newly out of a relationship and I was like out of a relationship, and I was like, well, I guess I'll just go with you. And so I went, and then when I got there, I saw in the LA Weekly all of the different opportunities to do stand-up, which had been my top secret dream.

How about that? Even though you were shy. Even though I was shy. And so I spent the first two weeks going to every open mic I could possibly go to and then I how nerve-wracking I'm getting nervous. Just thinking about it. What was that first? Don't worry. It all works out. Okay, I end up on smartless. Yeah Now wait, would you would you would you just like climb into a bottom of a bottle before you got up there? Like how did you get over this initial stage fright and get up there and start doing it?

Well somebody had canceled at the show that I was watching and I asked the person, which is so, I should dig this footage up. I have footage of myself talking into a flashlight in a mirror, working out material in my studio apartment. I didn't have footage of myself talking into a flashlight in a mirror, working out material in my studio apartment. Amazing. For those two weeks. Amazing. And so I was practicing in the mirror with my flashlight.

All you had to do is flip it on, you could tell ghost stories right after. Exactly. And so I had all of this stuff worked out over those two weeks that I had been living in LA, and then I asked the person, I was like, hey, can I go on stage? And she was like, sure, and so I did.

And when I say it went well, if you showed me the footage now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would be horrifying. Really? Really? But Tig, what was the first thing you said? Okay, the very first thing is a true story. My friend who I rented the Bronco from. Yeah, who's mad at you because of the.

Returned it without a hood, yeah. We moved beyond that, we got the car fixed and remained friends. So my friend, his name was Ro. Hey Ro. Well he passed away sadly. Oh, sorry. Everyone's dead.

Anyway, Ro called me and told me our mutual friend Johnny was gonna be in Denver. Can we say hi to Johnny? Johnny's still with us? I don't know where Johnny is. Say hi to Johnny. Hi Johnny. Hey Johnny.

Johnny. So he told me that our mutual friend was gonna be in town when I was living in Denver. He said Johnny's band is gonna be there. You should go see him. And he hooked me up with the road manager for me to get tickets to Johnny's show. This is some backstory.

Yeah, yeah, I'm enjoying it. I'll say, I'll say. And, oh, there's more. Okay. And so, I called Johnny's road manager. What was the number? This is where the story kicks in. Okay.

So I called the road manager, and I said, Johnny's friend, could I get tickets to the show? And he said, yes. And then at the end of the conversation, he says, now I don't feel comfortable calling you this, but I guess I'll see you tonight, pig. And I said, oh, I said,

I actually don't feel comfortable calling you, or with you calling me pig either. I said, my name is actually Tig. And he said, yeah, that's what I said, Pig. And I said, no, it's Tig with a T. And he said, Tit? And then I just said, yeah, that's right, it's Pig Tit. I'll see you tonight.

So anyway, that was my first story. No way. That must have killed. Now, your name Tig was given to you by your brother when you were two years old. Yeah. See, guys, I know how to research shit. Yeah.

Well, it's more fun to just ask her how she got it and then she tells us that rather, you know what I mean? Oh, fuck. Wait. Fuck you. We can do it. Are we still rolling? We do it a few different ways and then just see which.

Let's just pick one. Why are you sweating, baby? What is going on? Okay. He loves me. He's nervous. So, but your real name, I think, is one of the best names in the history of names. I've known you for 75,000 years, I don't even know your real name. We can say it, it's on Wikipedia.

I don't even know if you'd pronounce it correctly. I know what you think it is. Oh, well then, that's a good hint. Well, let's hear that. Let's hear what he thinks it is. Can I guess the correct pronunciation? Yes. Matilfte. That's correct.

Matilfte. No, it's Matil. Oh. Matil. Well then what happens to the D? M-A-T-H-I-L-L-E. Is it French? M-A-T-H-I-L-D-E, but it's pronounced Matil.

Matil, so you don't suggest, the D-E is, no, there's no use of that. That's French Creole, yes? I think it's just French. French. My mother was Matil, my grandmother was Matil, my grandmother went by Teal, my mother went by Suzy, and I go by Tig.

Wow. And then why did your young brother come up with Tig? He was older than me. He couldn't pronounce Tig, or he couldn't pronounce Matil, and somehow he came up with Tig, and so. And his name is Rod. Renault. Renault.

Is R-E-N-A-U-L-T, Renault? R-E-N-A-U-D. A-U-D, Renault. Renault. Wait, who was French-A-U-D. A-U-D, Renault, Renault. Wait, who was French? Do people speak French? My mother. Is Renault still with us?

Yes, he's the one that fell in the grave and left. Oh, he's the one that went, Renault, let's just shout out to Renault, sava, Renault. Yeah, Renault. One cigarette. One baguette. And we will be right back.

And now, back to the show. Wait, I wanna know, like, back to the standup, and that was a really funny story. Did you know, because when I did- Thank you. You're welcome. Oh, Jesus. Was there-

If I take it, come on. You don't do that. We'll stay out of this, okay? Oh, God. Was there, come on. You don't do that. We'll stay out of this, okay? Oh God. Was there, did you know, cause when I first did it I was terrible. This is where we take a break, sorry. You did stand up?

Hang on, this is Tig, we always do this where we take a break. Sean, and why don't you just tell, our audience knows, but tell Tig what your first joke was. Let's go ahead. Well, I think. It's not pig tit, is it?

It's a callback, you know. My first joke was, well, I'll do two, because one's not even, one was they say ballet is one of the most difficult things you could do, so just don't do it. That was the first one. And then the second one was- Wait, I'm sorry, that was the joke?

There was a joke. Yeah. Wait, say it again, that was the joke? There was a joke. Yeah. Wait, I thought, say it again? You're with it, you're on it, you're right on it. They say doing ballet is one of the most difficult things you could do, so I say just don't do it. And then the second one was... What was the second part of your speech?

Appropriate joke, appropriate response. And then the second one was really bad. There's not even a joke. Wait a second. It got worse. I can't. Go ahead with the second one, Sean. Because I didn't know how to.

Now you've got the audience. Guys, he's on a roll, let him go. And then what? He had the audience with that first one, and you finished off. I didn't know how to write a joke. What was your closer? My closer?

My closer was something like, hey, isn't it funny when you see people outside in public call their pet for the first time? Like, you know, hey Spot, hey whatever. But like, what if it's like, hey Mustard, come here. Hey Ketchup. And it was, there's not even a joke. It's just bad.

But at 22 years old, I'm like, this is gonna kill. And it was, I mean, I don't even know what the joke is. It's honestly it's mystifying Yeah, that's somebody would just have that not just have the balls to get up and do it We know how scary that is. I'm not a stand-up neither Yeah, but then be that bad but to go but to go up and and think think right that you just talk would be an Appropriate thing to say in front of open with that as a comedy, just to say out loud as a thought. And to relay that in front of someone who would... Take, you had the number one selling comedy album in the world in 2013.

Yeah, number one. Even without Sean writing my material. Jake, is there a way... Is there any way you could make Sean's, either of Sean's, and I'm gonna use the term joke loosely, would you ever be able to make that work on stage? Do you think that that's? Change the name of the animal from mustard or ketchup

to something that would be a little bit funnier to hear yelled across a park. Or just construct a joke about it, which was my question, which was I was getting at, which was like, when you got up, because you're a very great storyteller, and a lot of your comedy comes from things that have happened to you in life.

Thank you. You're welcome. Fuckin' hell. Honest to fucking God, David. How did you learn how to craft the rhythm of a joke or a story, because I got, the point of me telling you how bad I was, I got up and thought I could just talk.

And were you that way when you first started, or did you know how to write? Well, I thought, and I realized, I must be like everybody else, that you go watch stand-up and you think, oh my God, I can do this. Everybody that does stand-up thinks, oh my God. And you know, I get calls from people that are like,

oh, my friend at work is so funny, he's moving to LA, can you meet with him? It's like, yeah, everybody in the office is hilarious, everybody watching standup thinks they can do it. And it just was, you know, I took the leap like everybody else and I think my first one did go well and then I signed up for a competition the second time I did stand up,

and I bombed so hard. And the only thing I heard in the audience, aside from silence, was my friend Derek choking to death laughing at me. And then I ran off stage, and we drove back from Orange County back to LA. But it's just been a process of, you know, of, I mean, I thought I could do it.

I have been doing it. And, you know, I started out doing kind of deadpan one-liners and then they kind of got longer. And I experimented. Will, I'm talking. No, I was going to tell you something, I know. We always interrupt. This is our hallmark of our show is interrupting our guests.

So then once I was finally, no, go ahead, Will. Well, I just wanted to say what I was kind of agreeing, I wanted to say that it's not surprising and kind of going off what Sean said, it's not surprising because you have one of those, you are the type of person, and I don't know you that well, but we've known each other over the years a little bit and gotten to know each other a little bit more.

You are a very funny person. And it's not true for all standups. And you're not just a standup, but you are a very naturally funny person. You don't have a choice in it. I will say that. Like, I don't think that- Thank you.

Thank you. Fuck, no, sorry, Sean gets that one. And you are a very naturally, so I think that it does come, I'm not surprised that the first time you went up, that you were able to sort of connect with the audience because you're a very naturally funny person. I will say that. That's what I wanted to say.

Well, I appreciate that. Well, and certainly after I thought I had gotten my bearings in stand-up, I thought, well, I've got this, and I booked my first gig on the road, and it was like in this comedy club in a strip mall, and I had only done shows in Los Angeles in like kind of hip rooms and whatever. And then now I'm like in the middle of nowhere strip mall and I was staying with friends

and they let me use their car. But the venue actually will put you up at a condo and they have a car for comedians. And I was like, oh, I don't need the car, but thanks. And this club was called Wits End in Denver. Oh, that's good. And I bombed, this is my first road gig, I bombed the entire weekend.

And then I hear before the second show on Friday or Saturday, I hear the owner saying, where is our emergency fill-in comedian? And I was thinking, oh no, what happened to Nancy? Because I was thinking something must have happened. I was mortified. I thought she died. And he was like,

has anyone heard from the emergency filling comedian? And I'm like, what the hell? And then he walks up to me and gives me my check and fires me. And it was so mortifying. Again, my first gig on the road, it's the holiday season. I walk out the front door and I'm like, oh no, I forgot my friends were coming that night.

So my friends are in line to get into the show and they're like, woo, we're so excited. And I was like, I said, oh, I was just fired. My comedy was so bad, it caused an emergency. And so they're bringing in a fill-in comedian. Like they couldn't even stomach me for the rest, like that last night. So they said, let's all go meet at the Mercury Cafe. I'm like, okay, I go to get my friend's car and I drive off, hit an ice patch,

spin out of control like in a cartoon. I'm in the car and I drive off, hit an ice patch, spin out of control like in a cartoon. I'm still in the parking lot of Witsen. And then the car stops and I'm of course pointed in the wrong direction. I'm mortified. I thought for sure it was going to be wrapped around a pole. And then I start laughing when I realize I lived through it because I immediately thought, what if I had used their car?

Their car was a station wagon from the 70s that had clowns painted on it that said, follow me to Wits End Comedy Club. And if I had died in that moment, wrapped around a light bulb. After being fired. After being fired. Fuck.

Fired, so anyway, it's been a long road, but I'm almost 30 years in. Yeah, how did you stick with it with that kind of a start? Why didn't you say, yeah, fuck this, I'm going to start a different career? You know, I feel like standup is like if you're in an abusive relationship and you keep thinking, it was good once.

I can get that feeling back, you know, because the first time I did standup, it was, I do think it went well enough. And then the second time I did not win the $100 in the competition I signed up for. Did you ever think about sending the charts from your number one comedy spot and sending it to the dude in Denver?

Well, he also died. Oh my God. Black Widow. Wow. Let's take it away from the pig. Out of the path of the pig. Yeah, yeah. I mean, what?

Well, how about, do you think that your talent, your skill, your angle on all of this has progressively been arcing up? Like, has it continued to get better and better and better and better? My attitude? No, no, doing standup in your experience with it and like, are you, do you,

My question is your attitude, yeah. Do you find that you're getting, is standup a thing that can be, I find that I'm getting hopefully a little bit better each year I continue on doing it over the hell I'm doing. Oh really? And do you, I think, over the hell I'm doing. Oh really? I think, I hope. Golfing, he's talking about golfing.

Let's be clear, yeah it's golf. Is that something that you're still enjoying? Are you still ascendant in your life? Well you know, I finished my last tour and put out my standup special and my last tour really kind of ran me into the ground. And I'm working in Toronto right now. So this painting behind me is not mine.

That's not, I was gonna ask you about that. Listener, it's just a shot of basically Jesus' home. It's up there in the clouds somewhere. That's right. Go ahead. It's a nice hotel painting. But I've been working on new material when I have nights off here, and that's felt good. But I've had this building need and interest

in doing a one-person show. But isn't that what you do? No, I want it to be a little more of a theme. Like a two act, three act structure. Like on Broadway. Yeah, yeah, sure. But like a more like, I love you, you're perfect, now change, like one of those ones that used to pass

down sevens avenue. Yeah, do a little singing, dancing. Well, my Big Fat Greek reclining was a one woman show that turned into a movie because it was her story. So you mean something like that? Like a Spaulding Gray type of thing? Something, something like that. Or like a talk radio.

Are we gonna keep going with? Yeah, keep guessing. More examples. So, I'll have a copy sent to you today. So then it is, so then there's a theme to it and it's a little bit more scripted or fully scripted. Well, I mean, my standup is scripted, but I do interact with the audience, right?

If an idea comes to me while I'm doing a show, I'll just go with that and just kind of explore it, because I don't sit down and write my comedy. I write on stage in front of a live audience. So I do it fully, you know, without a net type writing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you do, I know you're up there in Toronto working, when you have free nights or whatever,

do you still go and perform out like at clubs in Toronto? Are you doing that all the time? That's what I'm doing is there's a comedy club, yeah, out here in Toronto? Are you doing that all the time? That's what I'm doing. Is there's a comedy club out here in Toronto, Comedy Bar, and I've been doing shows, I don't know, two or three nights a week. Wow. You get a Comedy Bar car?

They send you a car that says Comedy Bar? Follow me too. It says Zamboni. Comedy Bar? Just for a call back. Now you dabbled in, you do the acting as well, and then you dabbled in directing with Stephanie, your wife, right?

And we directed Sean Hayes. Yeah, good luck with that. Oh boy. Talk a little bit about that. Go ahead, stage is yours. We did, we made this decision last minute to hire him. We couldn't get anyone else in the role. I was the emergency actor.

Who's the emergency actor? Nancy. The emergency else in the role. I was the emergency actor. The emergency fill-in actor. I was Nancy, yeah. That was super fun. I laughed so hard those two days. It was really fun. Is this a project we should plug? Yes, it's called MIOK, starring Dakota Johnson.

It was out a couple years ago, right? It came out this year. So thanks for being on top of that, promoting my hard work. You've been such a good friend. So what kind of part did Sean? Don't forget, he doesn't ask any questions, he has no idea, and he's not curious about your life.

Yeah. Go ahead, Jason. No, I want to say something about the stand-up thing, though, because you know what always blows my mind? You want to change the subject from your casting? No, he has more bits that he used to do. Let's hear him. You know what blows my mind is when people get up there

and they can just, how can you just talk? How do you have so much material that you don't, because I'm used to memorizing a script, right? And so, but there's nothing, and I know you've written it all, but just to like, if somebody says a topic, you can have the perfectly constructed joke about that thing.

And you have it all at the bank of your head. But it's not all perfectly constructed. It's that I just try to leave my mind open outside of what I've already written or thought about. And then if something crosses my mind open outside of what I've already written or thought about. And then if something crosses my mind or somebody in the audience says something, I allow myself to go with that.

Whatever that is, yeah. Yeah. I got it. And explore and find what's funny about that. And now that you've had all of this tremendous success over the years, do people come up to you all the time and say, hey, I'm such a fan, can you just do, can you say that funny thing or like,

do they try to prompt you to perform for them? I would say the most common thing I get is that, no, no, people don't do that, but I did this like 15 minute bit about running into the pop star, Taylor Dane, I did this story years ago and I did it on This American Life. I ran into her so many times

and the first time I ran into her, I genuinely said, excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, I just have to tell you I love your voice. And she was rude to me and she said, yeah, I don't do that anymore. And then turned and kept talking to somebody. And then I kept running into her and every time I saw her, I was like, oh my God, I'm going to go up and say the exact same thing

I said to her at that party. And just for my sister, Taylor was a big 80s pop star. Just in case people don't know who Taylor is. Was your sister born after the 80s? The fuck are in case people don't know who Taylor Day was. Was your sister born after the 80s? The fuck are you doing? No, that was mine too, by the way. Was it really?

You didn't know who Taylor Day was? You don't know Taylor Day? Tell it to my heart. Tell it to my heart. Love will lead me back. Anyway, so you see her a bunch of times. So I see her out to dinner, I see her at cafes, I see her everywhere, and I just walk up

and I interrupted her every time and would say, hi, excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you. I just have to tell you, I love your voice. I love your voice. Yeah, every time. And it became this. Who the fuck are you? It became this experiment that I was doing.

Cause I was like. Did she know it was you every time at the show? No, no, she never registered. Never did. No way. Yeah, and. Did she die? But anyway. Never did. No way! Yeah, and, but anyway. Did she die? It's really funny.

Huh? Did she die? No, she's alive, and then we actually became friendly because of this, because word got out that, you know, I was doing this story, and then whatever. And I did this on This American Life. They did the story, and then invited Taylor Dane to that performance.

And so I met her there. No way. But anyway, people come up to me all the time and say, excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you, I love your voice. I love your voice. That's amazing. Wait, Tig, Tig, that's so good.

I love that you did that. First of all, I love your commitment. That's amazing. Wait, Tig, that's so good. I love that you did that. First of all, I love your commitment to shit like that. You've told me umpteen stories of things that you do and one of my favorite, please tell us about some of the things you'll do at parties. Because these are my favorite. Party bits, sure. Party bits.

Actually, you know a bit that I did on radio, morning radio when I first started doing standup, I'd have to go at six in the morning to some Fargo or something to do to promote my show. And I would always ask the radio host to please talk, as soon as I come on the show, please talk about how gorgeous I am. And just go on and on.

Like Howard Stern and certain people, just like you are beautiful. I mean, look at you. Because I thought, oh, maybe then I'll get people to the show, but also it really made me laugh to think of people showing up to see, this is years ago, and just seeing a disheveled, monotone lesbian on stage, you know, talking

about my cats. You're like, I didn't know I was going to an Indigo Girls concert. Hey, wait a second, but talk about the party bits. Oh, party bits. The fucking, oh God, I'm so jealous. I feel like you really liked this one, but my friend Henry Phillips, who is one of the funniest comedians, please look him up and watch everything he does.

He's so funny. Hi, Henry. And he has a couple of movies out, Punching Henry, Punching the Clown. I'm in one of the movies, but anyway, he and I do so many bits together. He's so good. And I used to live in Venice in California,

and he was like, hey, I'm at a party near your house. He was like, I don't know any of these people. He was like, you got to come do some bits with me. And I was like, yeah, sure, I'll head over. I love the mischief of it. So I go meet him, and we're just loose at this party doing all these different bits that are truly for our own amusement,

which is what I do things for. And if people catch on or they enjoy it too, that's fine, but I love looking foolish. So I go in, I don't know anybody at this party except Henry. I go into the kitchen, there's like five people standing around, you know, leaning against the kitchen counter, having a drink, chatting. And it's a Saturday night, maybe 9.30,

and I lean in and I just tap the wall and I go, hey guys, I'm going to be going to bed in like 10 minutes. I have no idea if the owner of the house is in there. I have no idea if the host is in the kitchen. I don't know who those people are. And then I go find Henry and I'm dying laughing. And I was like, oh my God, I just told five people in the kitchen I was going to bed in 10 minutes.

And he's like, oh my God. He said, there's like 200 people in the kitchen I was going to bed in 10 minutes. And he's like, oh my God, he said, there's like 200 people in the backyard. You have to go out on the deck and announce that. So I was like, no problem. And this is years ago, before I was like on TV regularly and whatever. And I walk out on the back deck, everyone's holding their solo cups and whatever.

And I'm like, hey, everybody, just so you know, I'm going to be going to bed in like 10 minutes. And to me, I'm like, you know, it, I am, for all you know, I could be going home and going to bed in 10 minutes. That doesn't mean I own the house They're bad not yours. There's something about that that I've just always loved. I think it's the funny It's so that it's so funny funny. It reminds me. I used to always want to do this

But I never had the guts I wanted to drive around like Beverly Hills Bel Air like in a fancy car and pull up to gardeners as they're about to start on these big fucking estates and just go, roll my window down and go, I just spoke to the Mrs. She said you guys can take the day off fully paid and just start relieving gardening crews around Beverly Hills and Bel Air. And they're like, look at each other like, fully paid. Yeah, you got, she's, the Mrs. said, go ahead.

She had a long night. You guys don't turn that shit on. Get out of here. I remember one time you texted me to, you said, I'm about to drive by your house. I want you to stand outside and look on your phone, but don't look at me as I drive by. And so I was like, okay, I'll do it.

And I stood by and I couldn't look up and you drove by and you said, hey Sean, hey Sean, and I didn't look up. That was the bit. That was the bit. I had a beat buried in my phone. I didn't quite understand it, but it made me laugh. You don't understand it? It was like performance art.

Yeah. God, that is so good. You know, you'd like this, my buddy, Pete Serifinowitz and all these English guys, they did this bit once. They'd go to a restaurant in London and they all learned beforehand. I like this, my buddy, Pete Sarifinowitz, and all these English guys, they did this bit once. They'd go to a restaurant in London, and they all learned beforehand.

They got together, they conspired, and they learned, and they sang, it was somebody's birthday. So they sang happy birthday, and then everybody at the table, like eight of them, launched into a second verse that they had written. So they start singing a second verse to happy birthday, and everybody in the restaurant starts looking at each other like, hey, what is this? verse that they had written. So they start singing a second verse to Happy Birthday and everybody in the restaurant starts looking at each other

like, hey, what is this? As if they've never done their second verse. That is so funny. How fucking funny is that? Oh my God. That's great. I am so jealous. I know.

We'll be right back. All right, back to the show. Tate, what about the kids? You now have with your wife Stephanie, you have two little, the cutest boys ever. And they- Yes, Max and Finn, they're doing well. They are seven, eight.

They are eight. They will be eight and a half this month. And huge into golf these days. Truly? They are so into golf. It is so. Come on. They're into baseball, basketball, they're on swim team. But yes, Sean, they have a sense of humor.

Funny, funny. My son Max, I think that, well I tell everyone he's bone dry and we don't know where he got that. And, but. Sure, sure. Who was it, was there a bone dry comedian that really kind of defined your comedic sensibility? Like was it like Steven Wright or somebody like that?

I was really into Steven Wright. And I also really loved Paula Poundstone. I thought she was so great at writing jokes, telling stories, and also interacting with the audience. I felt like she could do everything and still feel that way. But yeah, my kids, they're like little, a friend of ours described them as like little Midwestern uncles. Because they're just, they have like a certain maturity

about them and my son Max, one of my favorite things that he said when he was four, Stephanie and I were sitting on the couch with Max, Finn, her dad and our three cats. And Max got up when he was four, just got off the couch and he said, I'm getting the hell out of here. All these damn cats. I walked out of the room.

I was like, I like your style, kid. No way. That is so funny. Yeah, they're the best. Never dogs for you? No, I've had dogs. I've had a couple of dogs in my life, but we call our house Kitty City.

Yeah, and do you like that the cats just sort of, they take care of themselves, and they don't bother you, you don't bother them? Yes, I like that in a person. Yeah, a dog needs shit, right? A cat needs nothing. I mean, but I do love an excited dog that's just about to have a stroke.

They're so excited to see you. They get the zoomies. Yeah. Now Stephanie, you really make Stephanie laugh too, which is great. You guys laugh a lot. Yeah, I love Stephanie. Stephanie really makes me laugh a lot.

Yeah, and she's really funny too. She's super funny. She's so funny and she's in love with Will. I'm in love with Jason and we don't know where Sean fits into this equation. Sean was with the kiddies. I love Stephanie. Yeah.

I love Stephanie. Yeah. I love Stephanie. Is there a meet cute there you want to share with us? Yeah. We met on the movie, Lake Bell's movie called In A World. The Great Lake Bell. Yeah, and I was deathly ill.

I didn't know I had three deadly diseases at one time. And then I collapsed, went away and dealt with. Wait, was this the cancer? It was cancer, pneumonia, and this intestinal disease called C. diff. I had it all three at once. Christ. So I go away, and I was in a relationship.

Stephanie had never dated a woman. We really enjoyed each other on set, but I wasn't thinking I was into her romantically, and she wasn't thinking that about me. So I collapse, I go away. Six months later, I resurface in the world, and the movie's going to Sundance. And we exchanged numbers and I told her,

I said, you know, I'm not the biggest texter. And I told her about this girl that texted me incessantly after coffee and that she texted that night, she said, sweet dreams, the girl I had gone out with. And not that I thought Stephanie was into me, but I was just giving her the example that I'm not great at this. And that night Stephanie texted me sweet dreams.

And I was like, oh, that is hilarious. And then we start texting and it's kind of building and I'm thinking, oh, I'm really into her. And she had invited me, I was writing my book at the time, she invited me to come meet her and her friends at La Puebel in Los Angeles. And I thought, oh my God, it's 11 o'clock, I haven't showered, I'm wearing this big wool,

Canadian wool sweater with an eagle on my back, I can't go meet her. And then I thought, oh, well, she's not even into me, so who cares what I look like. And it happened to be Valentine's Day. And so she's sitting at this table. Happened to be. But truly, she wasn't into women.

And so she's at this table with friends. I walk into the bar, she is wearing a dark blue she's at this table with friends. so I can take a picture of you. We go to hug each other and we start making out immediately when we touch each other. And then, so we end up making out that night and then she writes me a five million page email the next day, I get it, that's telling me how much she loves hanging out with me,

how funny she thinks I am, she's not gay, but that she wants to be friend, like goes, I can't tell you how long this email was. I'm reading this going, ah, because I realized I do like her, you know? But I thought, I can't chase her because she's not into it. So I wrote back, okay, Dyke. And, okay, dyke. And that's the only thing I wrote.

And then she said when she got that response, she just thought, okay, I like this person. And so now. Yeah, that's great. And then so, I mean, at the, you know, however you're comfortable relaying this, if there's any further in the story you're willing to go, how does that, do you guys just start seeing each other

for a while, because you want to respect her sexuality, but you want to continue seeing her, but you also don't want to work on flipping her, or how does that go? What happens? Well so. It's a good question. I just don't like how do you protect your own heart?

And like you know. I go to work on flipping her. I put on my hard hat. I didn't know that she had, that OK, I didn't know OK Dyke made the impression that it did, I just thought I need to be lighthearted, let this go and just see her as a friend down the road. But I knew it was gonna take me a beat.

So I told her, I said, I get it, you know, like when we talked again, I said, I just need some space and then I'll be able to see you as a friend and everything's fine. And so I went to Montreal and was doing shows there and she reached out to me like a few weeks later and she said, I'd like to see you when you get home. And I said to my friend who was there with me

and I was like, why does she want it? What? And he was like, cause she likes you. And I was like, no, no, no, I know, but she told me she doesn't want it. He was like, what do you think? She And I was like, no, no, no, I know, but she told me she doesn't want, he was like, what do you think? She's like, oh, I want to see you again so I can tell you for sure I don't like you.

And I was like, I don't know, maybe. And then she came over. You had multiple friends that were females that weren't gay, right? You had multiple friends that were females that weren't gay, so you were thinking, maybe this is just another one of those perhaps. Yeah, I just didn't know what to think.

But I got back to LA and she came over and she's just a very, she's a very confident, comfortable person and she's very straightforward. And it's what I realized I'm so into about her. And so she sat down on my couch and she just turned to me and said I realized that I want to be with you and I was like oh what do you mean? And she said like I want to be with you. I don't want to I'm not saying I want to see how it goes or check things out I want to be with you. And I was like, what?

I was so, I was so. Did you still have the eagle jacket on or? I did. You still hadn't showered. You still hadn't showered. We took our eagle jackets off and we got down to it. And it was just pure, it wasn't about declaring as a label or anything,

I was just like, all I know is I just really wanna be with you, whatever that is, it is. And yeah, that's great. Yeah, and we make each other laugh a lot. I love that, I love her so much. And I love you so much. And I remember one time you were doing your live show and you wanted me as a guest and it was at the.

Largo. Largo, at Largo. And so we had such a good time and we laughed really hard. And then the next day, literally the next day. Next morning. I go, yeah, the next morning I go to Le Pan, this restaurant on Larchmont and you walk in and we both have the exact same outfit on that we had

that we were on stage in. No, wow. We both slept in those clothes and then woke up thinking, well, it's early. It's, I just want an egg. I want a couple eggs and I'm going to go home and shower and change. You're across the city.

No one from the show is going to be there. Yeah. Do you remember that? Except we live close to each other and dress alike. Yeah, exactly. Oh, and you know what I have to say? Also, Stephanie directed my latest standup special. Oh no way.

And was nominated for NEMI, and so was the editor, and so was everyone else, except me. I was the problem. Oh no. Oh really? Oh no. Now wait, what is the name of that one? Is that one Hello Again?

That is Hello Again, yeah. Very, very nice. Very nice. Are you in Toronto doing standup or movie? Standup. Show. I'm doing a show, yeah. I'm doing Star Trek.

I know what she's doing because I have asked her. I'm doing Star Trek with Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti. Yeah. Oh great. Wow, do they have to wear the alien makeup? Paul, yes. Holly, no. Are they lesbians in space too? I have to ask.

Just for full... It's called Starfleet Academy, lesbians in space. That's the new series. We don't know, I don't know Holly, but we love Paul Giamatti. He's just a gem. He's a gem, gem, gem. Yeah, he is. Yeah, and Holly's great too.

I'm sure. Obviously a real talent. And then I'm thrown in the mix. Don't you dare. Don't you dare. Don't you dare. Take Notaro as a gem. But I do have, I mean, close to lesbians.

Well, it's across the spectrum, but my podcast, Handsome, is right here on planet Earth. It's like my fourth podcast. I don't know if you know, I've been podcasting for a long time, you guys. And how are you loving it? Are you loving it? You're still loving it.

I really enjoy podcasting. Oh my gosh, yeah. I was so baffled by it in the early days. I think I started in like, I don't know, 2006 or something. I have no idea. But I do enjoy it. It's such a different way to be comedic and tell stories. Yeah, and you can do it inside the comfort

of an air-conditioned room. In the comfort of an air-conditioned or heated furnished apartment in Toronto. Yeah, yeah. Up there with the Jesus painting behind you. Do you want, I'll text her real quick, guaranteed she's available. Do you want to have lunch with my mom today?

I would love to. Would you? She's close. She's a character, she's a lot of fun. She'll keep you on your toes. I'll hook up the lunch. Okay, I'm gonna hook it up. Take hurry home and get back to our Sunday rhythm, please.

Yeah, we miss you. We miss you. I have missed you dearly. We would love to see you. When does this come out? Today, it's on right now. You gotta tell your family. Yeah.

I'm gonna tell all my dead parents. But hurry home so we can hang out again. There's a better chance of them listening than if Sean's dad listening. But at that point. Yeah. Wait, how can I naturally mention, cause I wanted to naturally mention something

and I didn't naturally mention it. You're doing it. I have a documentary that just got accepted to Sundance. You ready for this? Fantastic. And weren't you working on a documentary for a while? Yeah, I was gonna get to that, Will. I've got a bunch of questions here.

Jason, you didn't even know about it. Thank you for asking, Will. Yes, I have been working on a documentary. And I had called their incredible filmmakers. They did the Pamela documentary and the Dr. Ruth documentary, Serena Williams, all this. But I was like, I can't sell you on this person. You have to do a deep dive, not even that deep on Andrea Gibson. And they called me three days later,

and they were like, we're in, and they got on a plane, flew to Boulder, Colorado, and started filming. When does it come out? Well, it's gonna be at Sundance. Sundance, okay. It's in January, right? It's in January.

But Andrea is a brilliant poet, just a brilliant poet, mind-blowing. Yeah, what's it called, the documentary? I believe right now it's Come See Me in the Good Light. You keep shifting, the title's kind of shifting a little bit as we get closer to finish. Well, I mean, that's the last I've heard, is that's the working title,

is Come See Me in the Good Light, but it's a phenomenal documentary about a phenomenal person. Sorry, mention Andrea's full name again for the... Andrea Gibson. Andrea Gibson. Andrea Gibson. Written eight books. Oh, amazing. Wow. Incredible book. I'll check her out online.

Amazing. These guys will love the books. Yeah, you have the Zara Nadeo version in those pictures. These love the books. Yeah, does there an audio version in those pictures? Now, are you going to go to Sundance? Okay, good. I'm going to go to Sundance and yeah, going to Sundance. Well, good luck with it. Congratulations on that.

Finish strong there in Toronto and get your ass back home here. Send our love to Stephanie, who we also miss. And all of my love to your families. And I'll see you at Sunday Fun Day, anytime I'm home. Very soon. Wonderful. Very soon.

All right, love you. Thank you for doing this. Enjoy the rest of your day and stay warm up there. Well, truly, thanks for having me. Of course. Love you all dearly. Thank you for doing this. Enjoy the rest of your day and stay warm up there. Well, truly, thanks for having me. Of course. Love you all dearly. Love you too. Love you too.

Love you, honey. That was awesome. Bye. Bye. Guys, that was Tig Notaro. Yeah. That was Tig Notaro. Okay, Tig Notaro, spelled T-I-G.

Yep. That was such a funny story about her name, good cord. About the pig teat. You know, pigs do have teets. And you can get, did you know you can get milk from a pig? That there's pig milk? That there's certain countries they drink pig milk? Oh God, I'll try it.

Did you know that? Will, did you know that? No, I don't know what you're talking about, man. Pig milk. Okay. Pig milk. Okay. And people drink pig milk, they put it in cream, yeah.

You knew that though. You put it in cereal? I'll put it in cereal. I didn't know it, no. I actually drink pig milk, they put it in cream. You knew that though. You put it in cereal? I'll put it in cereal. I didn't know it, no. I actually, I feel worse for now. It's not true, I was hoping you would say, yeah, of course I fucking knew that. You fucking.

How great is Tic? Tic, we've known for, I've known Tic for a long, long, long, long time. She's always been so funny and so unique, like there's nobody like her. No. Yeah, and I just love, because I usually end up sitting next to her at Sunday.

And I just, I love, I just drink it all up. I love her. I love every minute with her. Yeah. So Willie, I say you call your mom and- I might do it. I would have lunch with your mother in a heartbeat if I was in trouble.

Oh my God, I would too. I would love, when is she gonna come down here? I wanna talk to her. You know what else I'd like to do? I'd like to go to your childhood home. I'd like to see your bedroom, which I bet is still pretty much intact. Yeah, sure. No, no, no, no, no.

I've moved a few times since, yeah. What would we see on your boyhood wall when you were growing up in the house there? Were there like posters of hockey players? Like you know, 12, 13, 14? Okay, well these are very, so like 11, from the time I was like six to 11, I had a map of the world.

This is true, huge map of the world. And then underneath on the sort of the legend underneath, it had all the countries and it just had, listen, just basic info about every country. Capital, the size, it's sort of square mileage, population, et cetera, for every country in the world. So I had that. Wow.

And then when I was a teenager, I ended up having like, I went to boarding school, as you know, for a few years, and then I came back and I had a Smiths poster on my wall. Yeah, sure. I had a big, the world won't listen in, an Morrissey poster. Yeah, the best. Were you kind of like a mod?

Did you ever wear like eyeliner? No, no, no, no, but I wore like tapered, like green sort of Dickies type pants. I wore a lot of that. And I wore... Doc Martens? Doc Martens brogues. What are brogues?

Like shoes, right? Like wingtips sort of like, you know what I mean? I got it. Like ducky from Pretty in Pink. Yeah, but I never, but yeah, but like, but never, I wasn't a mod in that sense. But I, yeah, but... You kept it tasteful, sure.

Yeah, of course. You keep it timeless, but I, yeah. You kept it tasteful, sure. Yeah, of course. You keep it timeless, that's the key. Oh, sorry. Okay, 12 or 13. Did you have posters of yourself on your wall? Because you were in like Tiger Beat and 16 and all that shit. All the different hairstyles, because there's different sweater in each one, you know.

Yeah, yeah. God, I wish it revealed that Sean had a post review in his room, it would be the best thing. That would be the greatest reveal. I had a lot. I think we said this when Rashida was on the show. I had a life-size poster of Quincy Jones on my wall. Did you really?

Oh, wow. That my dad just put up there for me, and I just never took it down. That weird. You never took it down? Yeah. All I had was Michael Jackson posters everywhere. Did you really? When I was a kid, and my favorite one was probably

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