The Commercial Break - TCB Infomercial: Sal Vulcano

Episode Date: September 30, 2025

The Commercial Break Podcast | EP#838 Sal Vulcano What happens when Bryan sat down with Impractical Jokers’ own Sal Vulcano? An instant TCB Infomercial Classic, of course. They talk about his rise from Staten Island improv to TV superstardom, the patience (and punishment) it takes to film a single episode, and why he’s still the humblest guy in the room—despite being internationally famous. Plus: stand-up stories, behind-the-scenes laughs, and a whole lot of fun with one of comedy’s most reluctant prank kings. Find EVERYTHING Sal Vulcano Click Here! Tix, Videos, Specials, Events and More.... Watch EP #838 with Sal Vulcano on ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠! Text us or leave us a voicemail: [phone]TCB FOLLOW US: Instagram:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tcbpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tcbpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CREDITS: Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bryan Green⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Krissy Hoadley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer: Bryan Green Producer: Astrid B. Green Voice Over: Rachel McGrath TCBits | TCB Tunes: Written, Performed and Edited by Bryan Green To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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If you're hungry, deli brings the heat. Heat. Cartagena's got sun and the sea to cool off. So does Martinique. Mmm, and that French cuisine? Book it. Yes, chef. Wait, what about Lyon?

Choose from our world of destinations if you can. Air Canada. Nice travels. What does your shirt say short girls? Short girls. God only lets things grow until they're perfect. Some of us didn't take as long as others. Short girls.

That's a very nice way of making yourself feel better about it. How short are you? You don't seem that short? Well, my jeans are... I didn't ask for the backstory. You could have just went 311 Wait

You Alright Because when I asked I told you This is how it started And we'll finish it You went Well my jeans

I don't know What's going to come Next right now Your jeans Are actually capri Your jeans are capri Your jeans are Capri pants

So that's A Capri Band Is usually supposed to Show up Like a whole ass calf What are you really? Yeah.

You really are five foot? All right. I like to say five one, but... You like to say five one, but you're honest the first time. Yeah. Anyone here shorter than five feet? I didn't mean to do that to you. I was trying to help you up.

See? That person's four ten. But man, it was silent in here. I mean, you could have heard a small person drop. this episode of the commercial break in the bottom of my heart i cannot believe what i do i can't believe it i can't believe i i i don't know how i i i i truly to this day think all the time that i all i ever wanted to be was a comic and and and that's what i what supports my life i i i swear to you i think about it all the time i can't believe i got a show on television that stayed on i can't believe i i do stand up as a professional comedian like i i i just can't believe it but um

You know, it just was about exactly, it was a lot of luck, a lot of hard work, a lot of rejection. And then at some point, you create an opportunity, an opportunity meets preparedness, meets luck. It's a lot going in there that's out of your control. The next episode of the commercial break starts now. Oh, yeah, cats and kittens. Welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green, and I'm by myself. on this DCV infomercial Tuesday with Salvo Cano.

I'm super excited about this way. 12-time, Impractical Joker, Salvo Cano, here with us today. I'll tell you all about everything he's got coming up. But first, a little explanation as to why I might be by myself. Well, those of you who pay any attention to the commercial break whatsoever will know that over five years of the commercial break every time around this time each year, Chrissy takes off for an extended vacation

and what her and her husband refer to as Memfo. Memfo is a big music festival and of course Memphis. Memfofest.com for tickets. I think they're still available. I believe that Memfo Fest is just an excuse for Chrissy and Jeff to avoid her responsibilities here at the commercial break

and party with their friends. But, you know, far be it for me. If I could, I would. That's all I got to say. Widespread panic for two nights, an extended and stacked lineup will be playing and tickets available, MempoFest.com. So go ahead, join her. If you see her, say hello, tell her we miss her here in the studio. And it's likely I won't even hear from her until she gets back. But that is not

relevant today. Here is what is relevant today. Sal Volcano. We've been trying to get this together with Sal for a long time, so I could not pass up the opportunity to interview him. I will miss Chrissy dearly, but we will get through this. together. Sal is not only an impractical joker. That's probably where most people know him from. But he is making noise out there because after many years of being a stand-up comedian, he is finally seeing his comeuppance. He's playing in Chicago Theater. He's playing, I think

it's the Beacon Theater in New York. Let me check that out. He's here in Atlanta at the Symphony Hall and he's many other places. You can go to Salvokaneo.com. Yep, he's playing the Symphony Hall. And then where is he in New York? Let's see. He's at the Beacon Theater. Oh my gosh. Unbelievable. These comedians, these like really good stand-up comedians are selling out these incredibly large houses and playing to huge crowds. And I love it. I love it for the art of comedy. I love it for us because we need them now more than ever. We desperately need comedy in our lives. So Sal will be at the Beacon Theater. That is on December 27th. Go treat yourself

after the holidays. If you're up there, go see, sell. I'll put links in the show notes to the tickets. A couple of weeks later, he's playing here in Atlanta, but then he's got many other dates on the books, all available at his website. He's also got his, you can go check out his YouTube special, Terrified. You can watch it ad free also, if you'd really like to support him. And then, Impractical Jokers is now on season number 12. I think it's like a split season. I believe if they did one part of the season earlier this year. I think that's already out and wrapped. And then now they've got the second half of the season coming out.

Will season 13 appear? Will TBS pick them up for another season? All these questions and more to be answered when I get him here. I will tell you, though, that after nine seasons at MTV, Catfish, the television show, which I got obsessed with for like six months. I watched all the rerun. For six months. Here's how it happened.

I turned on MTV one day just to have on here in the background in the studio, and Catfish was playing. Now, I'm familiar with the show. I know exactly how it goes. Some asshole out there is catfishing some other person, and Neve and Max, the two hosts of the show, at least originally, the two hosts of the show, help them get to the bottom of who exactly is catfishing them. Usually the story goes like this.

I met him in a Discord server, and then now we've been dating for 12 years. he sent me one picture. His iPhone never seems to work so we've never FaceTime. And I loaned him $16,000. But he promised he'd come meet me and he hasn't shown up yet. That's usually how the story goes. It's almost like carbon copy, cut and paste on every single episode. But it's always fascinating to see how they get to the bottom of who this is.

And then when the eventual confrontation happens between the two people, I would say that 90% of the time, it is not the person. Like, you know, it's the profile picture was a catfish, their backstory was a cat, everything about them was a lie. But then there's the 10% of time when it does happen, so happen that the iPhone camera was broken and they really needed the money. And they just couldn't afford the plane ticket to meet their loved one in person. But after nine seasons, that has now been canceled. And here's why it's interesting to me, because as I mentioned, when I turned on MTV one day and I saw the episode of Catfish, I then saw another episode of catfish and then another episode of catfish and then a fourth episode of catfish. They were playing back to back to back to back episodes of catfish every

weekday for six months that I was watching it. And so I kind of got obsessed. It would be here on the studio and Chrissy would come in. I'd be watching another episode of catfish and we'd get all involved in who or we'd take bets on whether or not it was an actual catfish and no more. I've been over it for a while, but I just read it in whatever. whatever, Entertainment Weekly or Entertainment Weekly. I don't think Entertainment Weekly is from a magazine for six years. Anyway, Salvocano.com. I will put links in the show notes.

When he gets here, I want everyone to remain calm. Don't freak yourself out. I do like Sal. I do like Impractical Jokers. I am very excited about this one. We'll be missing our co-host here dearly, but I think we'll figure it out. All right.

So, since Chrissy's not here to ask the question I ask you, the listener, what do you say we take a break? And then when we get back from that break, through the magic of tele-podcasting, I will have Sal right here in the studio on that television screen that you can't see, but you can check out at YouTube.com slash the commercial break. And we'll ask Sal all the questions you've ever wanted to know. How did he get here? What is he doing next?

Will Catfish, in fact, I mean, will Practical Jokers in fact have a 13th season? We'll ask all the questions. we'll get to the bottom of it right after this break. What do you say? Okay, we'll be back. Hey, it's Rachel, your new voice of God here on TCB. And just like you, I'm wondering just how much longer this podcast can continue. Let's all rejoice that another episode has made it to your ears,

and I'll rejoice that my check is in the mail. Speaking of mail, get your free TCB sticker in the mail by going to TCB Podcast.com and visiting the contact us page. You can also find the entire commercial break library. Audio and video, just in case you want to look at Chrissy, at TCBpodcast.com. Want your voice to be on an episode of the show? Leave us a message at 212-4333-3-3-TCB. That's 212-433-3822.

Tell us how much you love us, and we'll be sure to let the world know on a future episode. Or you can make fun of us. That'd be fine, too. We might not air that, but maybe. Oh, and if you're shy, that's okay. Just send a text. We'll respond. Now I'm going to go check the mailbox for payment while you check out our sponsors.

And then we'll return to this episode of the commercial break. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot trackside. So being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Pre-sale tickets for future events subject to availability and varied by race. Turns and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.com. Hi, I'm Nancy Cartwright.

You may know me better as the voice of Bart Simpson. On Simpsons Declassified, we're diving into the mysteries that keep the Simpsons forever young. Have you ever wondered how the Simpsons regularly predicts future events? Who better to ask than the show's creators, performers, and writers? The celebrity guests. Be sure to follow and listen to Simpsons Declassified wherever you get your podcasts. During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of

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biweekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com and Sal is here with us now, Sal, there's so much going on in the world.

you join us at a very fraught time here in the country and around the universe. I don't know what to say. Let's get right into it. I'm just going to ask you the hard questions. First, Corey Feldman, no longer a part of Dancing with the Stars. How are you holding up? I was hoping. I knew it'd be quick.

What week did he go? Two. We were hoping to get past one. It's funny, I don't know if you know that I like actually like, Corey Feldman's like, you know, I've gone to see him in concert it. And he's like,

and I've been following his, his career, you know, like for a long time. Yeah. So God bless him. God love him. And, you know, I was hoping that we would all like, kind of like get those votes in for him and get him further along the line. But honestly, week two, I almost did Dancing with the Stars or I, I think they might have asked me or I was going to, I knew someone there that said like, hey, you can be honest if you,

you know, if you want, let me know. And I was like, yeah i i i just can't it's i don't know man it's too much i think i think i'd bring you to a whole new audience but i i imagine and i don't know i mean you know your career better than i do but i would imagine your reach is pretty big already and i'm not sure that dancing with the stars i can see why you might say eh maybe not but cori the challenge seems good but i just i just i just i tip my hat to anyone i mean good for him i don't know if i'd be on it if i make it too i don't know i have i I have rhythm, but I also lack stamina.

Yeah, me too. That's my thing. I can dance for the first five seconds at a wedding, but then once I start sweating, I just don't know. My body breaks down. I'm not that kind of guy. I jump around for the first chorus. My wife is Venezuelan. So when we go to a party, I always have to keep my eyes like on a, I keep my head on a swivel

because there's all these beautiful men that know how to shake their asses. And I'm Irish. I don't have an ass. So I can't shake it, let alone have it. But I was hoping that Corey, like, do you remember that one year at American Idol when we all voted for that guy, Sanjay, you know, vote for Sanjay? Because he's like the worst singer ever. But Howard Stern got everybody all riled up and, you know, everyone was voting for Sanjay.

I was hoping we'd get, as a country, we would come together. He did. Yeah, um, divisive is. Corey Thelman brought us all together, got in. Do you, I follow Corey's career because I, it defies gravity it really does it defies gravity it's like how in the world has corey continued to captivate audiences and it's no knock on the guy like any way you can do it and i always wonder to myself probably like me i'm hoping like you too do does cori is cori in on the joke or are we just

is he like laughing at us or we laughing at him or we all laughing together i'm not really sure i don't On it, I think that at some point he became self-aware because of, you know, online. I think that he understands that there is probably a contingent of people that maybe watch to hate, hate on. Yeah. To poke. Yeah. So for me, it's like, all right, okay, growing up, it's like you got, I don't need to name all the movies, but you got so many great movies, right? Yeah.

You got lost boys and goonies and license to drive, I believe. And smart by me. Yeah. And there's so many great ones. And then you got, you know, entering that Michael Jackson phase. And then it was, you know, he's always been like, I, I, when he first started coming out with his music and the angels and everything, I watched it. And I was like, this is, this is something. Yes.

It's, it's, it's, it's entertaining and inspired. I agree with you. When he did that morning show shit. More intense and purposes, he's a very, if we're just being honest and then not a knock on the guy, God bless, but he's a very average, you know, like, you know, but the confidence is a 10 out of 10. 10 out of 10. And the motivation is a 10 out of 10.

And I mean, if you got those two things, I'm on board. So I've gone to see him live. Is it just amazing? his one of his managers is L you remember DeBarge I don't know how yeah no I'm we're same age yeah I do I remember yeah well his son is one of his agents or managers and I'm at the show and I want some friends and you know you you go to be like I want to see the spectacle in person and and it and it lives up to the hype and and and then he was like he came to me I guess the I I don't want to not remember his name correct but debarge's son's something debarge i'm so sorry barge junior yeah and he said oh he would love to meet you i was like unreal so i went upstairs after the show ended i was with like 10 people they all had to wait downstairs for me because you know i went up and i waited up there for like i would say a good 20 to 30 minutes just sitting in a seat i thought i was going to go up to say hi shake his hand or whatever

And so finally he comes out And it was his birthday So they gave him a cake And he sang happy birthday And he blew out the candles And then He was introduced to me And no clue who I was at all

And the way it was Cray would love to meet you Yeah, Corey wants to meet you, big fan Come on up, yeah I kind of I just said Hey, I'm a big fan He's like, oh, thanks no idea of anything I took a photo with him and I got out of there so my god that is one of the

better stories told listen I have become a he slowly turned me I watched like everybody else did there was like a guy who put a video together on YouTube and it was like Corey like Corey always has some issue with a microphone with the audio at every single show and he put this long cut together of all you know the time he cracked his tooth and you know this guy he starts restarting the songs all the time I love it. I love it. It was performance art. I was like, this guy must be trolling everybody.

And now we're all captivated. Then he's with Fred Durs. He had a fucking picture with Eddie Vedder the other day. Eddie fucking Vedder from Pearl Jam. I couldn't believe it. That's unreal. That's unreal. That's crazy. That is crazy.

But let me ask you something because I'm curious. So I've been a fan of Jokers for a long time. Obviously, millions of people have watched this show. It's extraordinarily popular. you guys started can you walk down the street this is my question can you walk down the street without being noticed um at all probably if i go on public i'm i'm going to be noticed yeah yeah yeah yeah is that a bothersome part of fame for you or is that like this is this comes with the territory and i'm just great well it depends on the circumstance and the day you know

it's a little bold obviously it's not you know the most ideal thing in the world to not be able to go anywhere and not be recognized or approached or people want something from you. Yeah. It is part of it. And I, you know, you learn to embrace it. It's really lovely. Most of the people I meet are very complimentary and I understand that like they're very enthusiastic and everything.

And then, you know, I've had moments in my life pre and post being in the public where I saw someone I really liked and I questioned whether I should approach them. And then if when I either I wouldn't or if I did, some of them were really nice and some of them, you know, I probably got them at the wrong time. And I never really want to leave a sour taste in anyone's mouth. I always think, too, of, like, my parents approaching someone. And, like, I try to, like, depending on the age, any kid is fine, but, like, depending on the adult, I was like, well, if my parents approach someone, how would I want that, like, celebrity or public to act toward them? So I try to keep that. Yeah. But, you know, then there's people that

are just, like, you give them a picture or even a video or even a minute or two, five into your time and then they want more or like they're maybe at a function where they're intoxicated or they just don't really understand just natural by own etiquette to be polite or to hold on a second to this there's those people that kind of like they're the minority and those people can kind to be a bummer sometimes but for the most part it is what it is I'm fine especially if I'm out on my own if I'm with my family I like kind of like to keep people at a distance a little bit sure But no, but of course, I mean, if anything, I'm just very grateful for everyone, so. But, you know, I can imagine, like, I don't, I don't know that.

I've been noticed, you know, this show does, it's not, doesn't have, we're not on TV. But there's people who have noticed me. And it's been very nice. Like, it's been nothing scary or, you know, it's like, hey, are you that guy from that podcast kind of thing? But I don't have the kind of notoriety that you do. My curiosity also runs into whether or not that affects the show that you film. Like, does it ever get to a point where it's like, uh,

We just can't do this because we can't find any stooges that don't know who we are, like in the practical, in the practical sense of filming impractical joker. For sure. Yeah. Well, that's why we film in New York City in the surrounding area, densely populated. On the street, you're going to get, you're going to have to account for it in our scheduling, you know, like you're going to account for it. And when we usually do like things like focus groups or things in office spaces or stuff like

speeches or things like that we have a whole like vetting process that we created a way ahead of time like people that are coming like say just say for a focus group for example we'll send them questionnaires that's like a hundred questions and in there is like what stations do you watch on television what are some of your favorite shows if they watch true tv at all and even don't name our show or tbs we don't we don't call them in yeah and once we get those people like what types of shows you all that kind of stuff then once we get them in-house we we have questions again like a second round of questions and then before they enter a room they'll walk down a hallway to get to that room we take them one by one and one of us will be standing in that hallway

and then if they have a reaction to us in that moment they never make it to the to the thing this is the whole fucking thing it's a whole thing because we have to it doesn't work if it's you know we go through painstaking efforts it is so funny like you know online over the years you see like you know every once in a while like people being like oh the whole show is staged the whole show is fake which I find so funny because it's it would be imminently harder to stage the whole thing like it's like I think that would be an impossible task yeah at this point we're in season 12 we've been filming for 14 years and thousands of people have been on the show and spoken about their experience I just always find it funny where people just want to be like I don't even to say how that would work

but also it's not funny if they know of course it's not and if they're in on the joke then then I think people first of all What's the point here? I mean, the whole and the whole point of the show. So it's like and also it's like you can't you tell that these are real people. It's like, so I always try to find that amusing but we have to go through a lot of effort to make

sure because one person can ruin a whole bit. Like if I'm sitting in a room with 20 people and someone goes, oh, you're from the, that wipes 20 people out and sets us back hours. Hours and hours. And has that happened? Have you had an occasion where someone goes, I think I recognize you from something? Yeah.

Yeah, it happens. We have like our equivalent of secret service agents standing around, and they neutralize those people right away. I have to imagine there's some kind of security for some of this stuff. Well, we got one security guy. That's because we needed it for insurance where he's the best. But I think if shit goes down, we're probably in some of it. You're the security guy.

Yeah, yeah. We're not really trying to get anybody angry. It's more like feeding. and my favorite space to be in is bewilderment and confusion. When I'm dealing with someone and they're like not sure what the hell's going on, like that's when I evoke that, that's when I always find it plays the funniest. I think it's a very interesting set of skills that you have.

You guys are like the Liam Neesons, right? And here's what I mean. Like improv comedy is a whole thing in and of itself. And that's where you're born, right, is improv comedy. But taking that out into the, the world and playing with an energy like that in the circumstances that becomes so absurd that it's like the other person almost has to believe it's almost like it's too weird it must be true and then you keep playing with it and keep playing with it until it breaks and that is a

really interesting skill set that you're doing with a fucking complete stranger like not someone not another improv guy that you've been doing this with for three years on stage right and i think it's very unique. I believe that's why it captures the attention of so many fans is because we realize at some, like somewhere in our heads, just how really crazy it must be to be standing there in a grocery store, you know, trying to convince someone that fruit is a UFO or something like that. It's just really weird. Let me write that down. Fruit is a UFO. I just got this from outer space. But I have noticed about you, Sal, that for the last two years, you know, you're on, you're showing up on Theo, you have really made, and all these different podcasts and you're out there doing your

own shows, is this, are you scratching an itch that you've always had? And does that, is that really exciting? I mean, obviously, you've been very successful at it. I'm sure a lot of that is piggybacking off of the notoriety that you have on, on Joker's. But it seems like you've really kind of broken out and had your own thing now. Oh, yeah. So, you know, when I started out in 99, I was doing improv and sketch comedy and a little bit of stand-up. And then I, you know, I got some writing gigs with television and whatnot. And anyway, we got this show, you know, 12 years later. It was a lot of failure and stuff.

But I was always in entertainment, always a writer, always a performer. And then in about 2012, once we were on the air for about a year, I was like, all right, well, I mean, I only always. always wanted to be a stand-up. So I'm going to just really get back into that with every spare second I have right now. And I started touring with the guys, and I started touring, you know, by myself. And, you know, stand-up is a grind. So, like, luckily I live in New York, but, like, when I first was, like, really, like, the first, like, maybe, like, five, six, seven years. I was probably, you know, performing three to four nights a week, probably three to six times a night.

and that is that is that is it that's what it is comedy is a journey man's gig it really is yeah a hour to tour with and stuff and and you know then I did you know then I started going on the road doing the clubs and everything and then after a handful of years and stuff then I finally started touring and moving up to theaters and stuff and then I finally you know put out a special last year called Terrified and now I have a touring on a whole new hour and getting ready to film my my second special so a lot of people because I didn't have a special out because I just didn't have the time to do it. And I also want to wait until it's ready.

A lot of people in this day and age are really churning stuff out, trying to keep up with each other, which is tough because, like, special should be special and it should be, it should be material that really has been tried and true, worked on and evolved and things like that. And so you never want to rush a special, but it's a, we're in our age now. It's like a revolution for comedy where people are able to really shoot their own special for a moderate price get it up online for free for everyone to see and you know you don't need these gatekeepers anymore and stuff and and with that has brought like basically like it's like the gold rush of you know back in the day it really is yeah you're right about that you know you kind of strike a

balance between keeping up with everyone but also doing it the right way um and then a lot of people that know me from jokers they didn't even know it was a comedian they just think like i'm trying something new for the first time when they saw that but what they don't know is like i i start started comedy 20 years ago, and I've been doing it, you know, like on the regular at least for the last, you know, almost 10 years. So, yeah, man. And then then there's people that just know me from podcasting because I have a bunch of podcasts and stuff. So it's really a fun thing. I can't, I couldn't be more lucky because I get to check all these different boxes, comedy, creative outlet boxes. You know, stand-up is way different than the show. And I still

do some sketch and I, in the podcasting and stuff. So all those comics, too, have been my friends for the longest time ever. And it's pretty cool to see all of those guys exploding in the last handful of years as well. It's like it's just a crazy thing, you know, like they used to tell me that when I got some luck and I got on TV and I got a little popular, a little bit behind me that like, oh my God. And like now it's like I get to, I'm also watching them now like all my, like, it's just

crazy. If you keep at it and keep yourself in certain circles and keep diligent, I see it paying off for dozens of my friends now. So it's like, it's just a really cool, cool thing. We almost exclusively interview stand-up comedians with the occasional musician or actor or actress that comes in the store. And the reason why is, first of all, I'm, you know, I am kind of in awe. I love the art of comedy. I love, I'm not, I'm not good at stand-up comedy myself. That's why I have a microphone here. It takes a lot less courage to be on a microphone. But I love, I think there's kind of a nobility to comedy almost.

And I think it's needed now more than it ever is. And you're right, there is like a gold rush going on with comedians. And there's, you seem to kind of be plugged into this circle of comedians who are all seeing their moment right now. And that's because those comedians have no gatekeepers. They can turn on. They can go right to their community.

They can go right to their niche. And the truth is, no matter what kind of comedy you do, what kind of jokes you're telling, if you're at all even a little bit good, you'll find people. They'll come in the door. And that gives you an opportunity to do that.

There's a lot of, like, influencer types or just online, you know, shooting jokes and stuff like that. But that stand-up comedy is a different story altogether. And you point out, you've been doing this for a long time. All overnight story, any overnight story does not happen overnight. The success does not happen overnight. It takes a long time to do this. You guys, you guys were like, am I, how did the guys get together for impractical jokers? So I met these guys.

we're all the same age and I met them when I was 13 we all went to high school together so I met them as a freshman in high school It's crazy And we were you know I had a small school here in Staten Island

where I went to school And all boys High School There was only like maybe 300 people Per class so the whole school You know Wasn't that big And we all knew each other

And then we did improv In high school And then with a lot of people And then after college We all went separate ways and stuff. We weren't like a click in high school or anything, but we were friendly and kept in touch. And when we came back from college, respectively, we're all doing, still doing improv and acting and stand-up and stuff.

And so we're like, let's try and do it together. And that's when we started in 99 as the tenderloins comedy true. That's the best name that'senderloat. And then it's 2010, 11 years later, we got our first break, really. Okay, so true or false. You guys went to Catholic high school just like I did. Did you go to Catholic grade school, too? Yeah. Yeah, I went to Catholic school. And I went to St. John's University for colleagues.

Dude, you are glutton for punishment. I'm basically an honorary priest, I think. Yes, you are. Did you ever seriously considered the priest? Did you ever get recruited by anybody to try and go to the priesthood? I was never Baltimore. I'm not particularly religious to tell you the truth. No, I'm not at all. You know, my parents are kind of, but like, you know, I just, you know, I just, no, not even close. you know i was born and raised in chicago and so when you were part of the diocese if you were like a paying member of the diocese right paying member of the dice if you put your money in the basket every week then tuition was afforded to you for your children a certain portion of and then we went to came to atlanta same thing so i've always said that i'm a reformed catholic i don't go anymore but exactly all the sudden when the kids got out of school my parents stopped going to i think they went for the free yeah yeah did you have nuns did you guys have nuns yeah we had nuns priests we had them all no shit yeah we had a couple of nuns but it wasn't the teachers weren't only nuns but no i had a second grade

teacher miss mrs rachel was a nuns and then you know we had we had to go to mass when we're in school and you know we had religion class and a lot of stuff but it wasn't like only nuns or anything but yeah it wasn't weird like the high school that i or the grade school that i went to so we had regular, you know, layman teachers, but then we had nuns that were working in the school in sub-capacity, right? One was a nurse, and then one was the librarian, and then occasionally they would be a teacher or two, there were none. But the convent was attached to the school. There was like a door, like at the end of the hallway, it was a door to the, to the convent. Yeah. And so it was just like this weird, mysterious place that we always were trying to get us

to the convent. We wanted to know what went on back there, but the nuns, they were in their 80s. You know, I mean, they were. Yeah, same. We, ours was like a block away in grammar school. But in high school, same thing. It was the brother's residence was just down a hall past these doors where they all like hung out and lived and stuff. Yeah.

Our nuns were always smoking cigarettes and I'm pretty sure drinking. I think some of the first like smell of booze that I remember was one of the nuns. Oh, yeah. They're hitting that blood of Jesus Christ hard. So do you, are you still in? enjoying the the the kind of the road i mean i ask this of almost every comedian and there's sometimes i get a surprising i love it i love being out there i love doing it but most comedians say hey listen it's part of the gig right it's part of the gig and i do it for the hour or two that

i get on stage that's why i'm there um how do you feel about the road how do you feel about the journeyman part of comedy i mean i don't know you don't you're not out there you know six nights a week but how are you feeling about it yeah you know i i do about between 65 and 80 cities a year. That's still crazy. Yeah. And I, same thing. I mean,

there's nothing better than being on stage. And every second before that, it sucks. I don't, I don't like to fly. So I don't like. And I don't like being away from, you know, my family, you know, so it's tough to leave them. But, you know, this is what success in this field is.

for it and stuff, but, um, you know, I think about it because it got, you know, there is really no retiring, um, like there's no, you just kind of stop or people just stop coming to see you. So, uh, but the reason we do this is because we love it. Why should say the reason I do it because I love it. So I always wonder what that balance is going to be. Yeah, I guess at some point, you know, you just stay local. I can perform in the city every night if I wanted to, you know, so, um, But right now, just, you know, making the most of the opportunity and trying to grow my audience, you know, get to that next level.

The guys and I have reached arena level, which is unreal. And I'm in pretty decent-sized theaters now, but the goal, of course, is to always, like, my main goal is just become a better comic all the time. I'd be proud of the stuff that I put out, you know, even more than the last stuff. But with that, it'd be really nice, you know, to grow the audience. to play the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Yeah, like fly in like Nate Bargazzi. Yeah, he's a good buddy of mine, actually. Yeah, he's, he is so good.

Like, and my wife turned me on to him. And I, because I was like, oh, Nate, and then his new special, like, it was kind of slow and plotting at first. And I was like, but by the end of the special, I was in fucking stitches. I was like, this guy is a tactician. He is a master at his craft. He knows how to use his body and his voice. even in a room as big as in a as a as a as a football stadium right which which is a we all saw that we all saw that Nate from a long time ago well you he's Nate was is every there's no comedian they're all the

comics we like we tip everyone tips their captain Nate because he's just he's just so great he's just like you said he's a technician and he's he's just he has his such a distinct voice that he's mastered and stuff and he's just funny just when he talks he's funny he's funny you know like it's just yeah yeah it's um he's someone i've watched he's the biggest comic in the world right now two of my but Shane between Shane gillis and Nate to are like they're like two of the hottest comics in the entire world it's just wild it is wild and both of them have I've toured like I both I've done shows with both of them I believe because we all do that with each other we'll jump on each other show with the feature for each other and it's like um yeah

I've performed with them and then watch them just skyrocket yeah but you're no slouch yourself You're playing the Beacon Theater. You're at the Chicago Theater, right? And you're here at the Symphony Hall, which is like when you can sell out the Fox, which maybe you can't sell out the, you know, whatever it is, State Farm Arena, right? So that's still, that's not a small place to play. And so it must feel, there must be some, I know you want to play the stadiums, right? I hear you.

You always got to be grinding. Yeah, no, I mean, look, I just mean that as a matter of a measurement. Of course. Yeah, yeah. We're talking ideal space for comedy. It's actually not arenas. No, I know. It's like, it's really hard.

It's not the best place to see a show at all, but arenas is the best for my mortgage. It's best for your lady. It's best for my lady. Only the best for my lady. The comedy is going to be shit, but my woman is happy. That's all I care about. Yeah. No, but like anything that has the word symphony in it, I'm like, let me in there.

I'll class this place down right away. But yeah, so Atlanta, Symphony Hall. And, yeah, and like you mentioned Chicago. Theater, November 14th, Beacon Theater, New York City, December 27. Those things are like, I don't want to, like, get ahead of myself. Like, I still am like dumbfounded. I get to play these types of spaces. Like, I, I, you know, I really, I'm telling that, I, it never gets sold. It's, it's never lost on me. I mean, I don't know who it would be lost on, but it's, it's, it's, I take inventory every day, you know, very, very, very happy. Is it like, could you have ever

imagine. I mean, no one can ever imagine, right? But is there this like dream in your head sometime when you're, you know, 14, 15 dicking around with the guys? Like, is there's this dream that maybe this could be something. Maybe we could do it. Like, I remember playing air guitar in my room to Soundgarden, you know, to 50,000 pretend people. But that's so very rarely happens to anyone. Everyone does it. Everyone dreams like that. But it never, it very rarely becomes a reality. And that's because a little bit of luck and a lot of talent, and some motivation, get you where you need to go. Was there like, did you guys talk about this when you were young?

Like, were there moments where you're like, what if we could do this? You know, I always wanted to be a comedian. I never thought it was anything that was attainable or feasible because, you know, you don't really understand what it takes or what goes into it. And so when I was younger, I went to college and then got a regular job. And, you know, I started doing, like I said, sketching. improv and stuff like that and a little bit of stand-up. But it was always because I love it.

It was fun. And, you know, you have no clue ever. The expectation, it's just so hard that you try not to have expectations. And I know you say this and I know I'm going to reinforce what you said. But for me, it's really true. Like, I cannot believe. And at the bottom of my heart, I cannot believe what I do. I can't believe it.

I can't believe I, I don't know how I, I, I truly, to this day, I think all the time that I, all I ever wanted to be was a comic and, and that's what I am. And that's what supports my life. I, I swear to you, I think about it all the time. I can't believe I got a show on television that stayed on. I can't believe I, I do stand up as a professional comedian. Like, I, I just can't believe it. But, you know, it just was about exactly, it was a lot of luck, a lot of hard work, a lot of

of rejection. And then at some point, you create an opportunity, an opportunity meets preparedness, meets luck. It's a lot going in there that's out of your control. And that's why there's tons of comics that are amazing comics that people don't know. It's just not played. It's a game of chance as just as much as anything. But you got grinding me ready for when it hits you and then hopefully you can make the most opportunity. That happened to me. And I'm, I'm more lucky than anything. You know what I mean? So I just there is a, there is luck, you know, there is luck. in success always. And there is a lot of failure in success too. And so what people see, what they don't see, you know, what they see on stage or on Instagram or, you know, on the

television show or you walking down the street or driving a nice car or whatever, what they don't see is the millions of paper cuts that you got along the way. And that really then defines how you move forward. I think part of the reason why, if I may, why you are well-liked and why people kind of gravitate towards you because there feels to me at least to be a certain authenticity to you and to your comedy and to the way you move even on the television show it's you know you guys are being goofballs obviously and you're having fun with it but there's some authenticity there's some there's we like we know the real sound we're friends with him he could be our buddy and he seems real to us and i think that also is part of success is your humility you're recognizing

that it takes a lot of success but a lot of luck also and then also the most the what you just said which is i take stock every day like i i'm aware of how lucky i am you you got the dream i mean you did it you did it you got the dream but you're also working fucking hard yeah yeah it's a lot is a lot of sacrifice uh to to try to operate as a professional in any field i think is like um you know you you have to you dedicate everything to it so i i do that i done that but the good thing is i love it so it's like you know but thank you for for the kind words because it's that's very sweet of you and uh i appreciate i love you sal i love you if i saw you on the street i would have inappropriate boundaries

14 years on doing the television show this should not go without saying either this is also a compliment to what's going on you in the day and age of one and two seasons of television shows even when they're fucking fantastic you guys have continued to be on the air how long do you see this going on are you guys going to do this as long as you possibly can or is there like in i mean Obviously, you're not going to break any news here, but is there some point where you go, hey, like, you know, I don't know. Maybe season 36 is not in the car. Yeah, you know, we just wrap three weeks ago. We just wrap season 12. Okay. The show's airing on TBS now for the last few seasons, which is a much bigger network than true.

Yeah. And as such, it's found a new audience and it's getting better ratings than it ever has. It's crazy. They still play the reruns on True, but, you know, we're not. signed after this season they had the first half of it and they saved the last 10 episodes they'll put them on like January. We're waiting to see what we'll have

to negotiate for another season or more and see what happens. We always said that if we're having fun and we all want to be there still that we'll still do it if they'll have us. And until now we are. We are having a lot of fun.

We go to great lengths to make the show different each season and to push it and to evolve it and to do different things for our sake, for the viewer's sake. And, um, and, you know, we have a team of people that we went with for a very long time now. That's like family that we employ, that we love. And I mean, that's another thing. I'm so blessed. I go to work.

I love, love the people I work with. It's more than the guys. It's this whole, it's like 60s people. You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, and, you know, I've been with you since the beginning. A lot of you've been a lot of them. A lot of them are the director of the show right now.

named Casey Jost, he started as a PA. He started as a production assistant, then he moved to a writer, then he moved to a senior writer, head writer, and then to the director of the show. So a lot of the guys from the show are my friends from home that have no experience whatsoever

in television or comedy that I knew were capable smart and could do it. Some of my friends on the show with the camera guys, DP and stuff, they were filmmakers that I met in my neighborhood that did stuff with us for free before we ever got anywhere.

And now they've been with me for 14 years, you know, like so, you know, so that's a dream. And, you know, it is tough because the show is tough. It takes a lot to make. And we, we have a hand in everything from the writing of it to the producing of it to the editing of it. And so it used to take us almost 10 months to do 26 episodes and five specials of season. And that's really a lot because then we get about two months down only and then we go right back.

And we did that for the first. first like nine, since, until COVID. That's crazy. That's an insane schedule. Since then we backed it up a bit. We only do 18 episodes now and I get,

I will get now six months down, um, contractually. Yeah. Because I just want to do some other creative things. And I also have, you know, family and stuff.

So, um, yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Uh, you know, I'm, I hear you. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, listen, you, also there's, there probably is some, even though people want it probably to go on forever. There's got to be some understanding that, hey, guys, there's only so much running room we can get out of this, right? We have to take it to where it's going to go. But I guarantee you, should TBS and you not come to some contractual agreement,

there's some streamer out there who would probably find a way. There's an audience. There's a streamer out there that would do it. Listen, here's to hoping many more seasons of investical jokes, but here's to understanding that at some point, right, you might have to go scratch another itch. And some of the guys, you know, some of the guys have. So we'll we'll see what happens but for you personally tell me about what's next up you and i were discussing before you have a new talk show coming on to youtube tell us about this yeah exciting yes and the day in the day of the podcast um i've had two podcasts that are on hiatus right now called hey babe and taste buds i did those for like three years just took a break because there's like a lot going on but yeah

um this is a show called minouche that is my own um and it's basically um um a very tongue-in-cheek, like absurd talk show. It sounds right up my alley, dude. Right up my alley. So tell us a little bit of, like, break it down for us. Give us an example of what. Yeah, minutia being just short from minutia. Sure.

And the idea is like really big guests, really small talk. And it's kind of like not a typical interview show. Like the questions are absolutely mundane in the most ridiculous way. But then we also do like act outs and games. And it goes in and out from real conversation to sketch comedy. But we don't pull that out. so it is this like really weird ride of like just like kind of mix of different types of you know comedic styles and absurdist talk show in the flavor of like between two ferns eric andre that kind of stuff

yeah it's not as crazy as eric andre and not as uh outwardly um you know meat like i would call it mean but like it's mean spirited as yeah yeah but yes it's in the vein of that it's a lot of like a a variety show almost kind of a fun and um yeah it's the first one i'm doing i've had three podcasts that were all great but uh always with a partner this is the first one i just figured i want to like give a little bit of my own specific sensibility um and have a little bit of a hook to it and maybe do something that you know um also that was manageable the way i'm shooting this is i'm shooting it in 10 episodes at a clip and then i'm releasing those 10 episodes as a season so it's not going to be weekly it's going to be as a season so at the end of uh the

fall will be the first season. And I got some great guests coming on and stuff. It's going to be a lot of fun. My goal is like you're going to see these guests, hopefully, in a, in a, in a, in a, in a conversation or a way that you really haven't seen them before. Tell me, can you, can you name any of the guests or do you want to wait? I could, I can name, I mean, you know, some people I'm still waiting for, like, they're going to come on, but like, they haven't been on.

Okay, got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So I'm still like, you know, checking all those boxes, but, but no, but we have some crazy crazy you know I have a rule here and that is it doesn't matter if they're booked it doesn't matter if it happens in an hour it doesn't matter if they're supposed to be on a 15 minutes we don't say it until it's in the can because you know like I know shit always happens and the one time you get all excited about someone coming on your show they had to reschedule till next year right so

we have very unique from very huge musicians to alist actors to very niche artists and comics and just a real like long time great character actors and we have a lot of different kinds of people famous hip hop artists like so it's going to be a lot of a lot of fun yeah i'm really excited for this this is great are you filming this in a studio somewhere in new york like do you guys film it in a studio in new york yeah i come out in studio in brooklyn actually oh that's fantastic and do you intend to go back to taste buds or a chris or you guys you guys yeah we we we we went on an it hiatus, but like we love doing the show. And we definitely like, you know, it just said we all, we all had a lot of good fortune and had a lot of work on our plates. And I don't like to do anything

half ass, you know, and I don't like to, you know, like I like to put in the effort that these projects require. Yeah. And I think they do too. And, and when we felt like we were kind of like running on empty a little bit and just kind of meeting and getting it done, that's not why I'm doing it. It's not the space I want to be in. So we all thought, all right, let's take a break. Let's give focus to these other things that have been fortunately come our way. And then we'll, we'll definitely come back when we can. Yeah, we will circle back on it. Listen, I know this because we do four days a week. And I love my best friend, right? But at some point, sometimes you start to feel a little, you know, a little strung out, right? And that's natural, you know, the key to

a successful podcast is that when you say you're going to be there show up and fresh content, you know, drives the it just drives the whole thing if you're just doing a bunch of reruns it's not going to happen but the other thing is is if you're not feeling it then it's not going to be good and it's not going to matter whether it's fresh content because the audience is going to go they're just phoning this in i'm not i'm not going to do it you don't want to do that you know i'd rather do like a few things as good as i possibly can than a lot of things just like okay you know obviously so i think you're having a lot of success my friend salvo cana is here at the commercial break uh with us today but he is going to be releasing, Manus. When is the, do you have a release date? I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.

No, but I think it's going to be late fall. Late fall. Okay. Yeah, it'll be on YouTube and then everywhere you get the podcasts, yeah. Okay, so I'll put some links in the show notes for everybody. He is also on tour, always adding dates. I'm going to put some links in those show notes. He's got some big dates coming up, one in Chicago, one in New York. If you're here in Atlanta, he'll be here in January. Of course, there's the new special also, I mean, the new ish special. Has that done very well? Yeah. So, I released it first on YouTube and we got about two and a half million views in the first year and then HBO optioned it and so now it's streaming on HBO Max and yeah it did it did really

well I was really proud of it I really put a lot of work into that thing yeah it's very funny I watched it are you are you really afraid of of flying yes yeah yeah yeah it's one of those I don't know how you I don't know how you're a comic that's the three things I don't really like is I don't like flying, I don't like taking photos, and I don't like shaking hands. It's the three most things I have to do ever since I began. I'm with you on the photos and I'm with you on the shaking hands, dude. I'll give a pound. I'll even give a hug.

I just don't like the handshake. No, I don't either. I don't even know where that started or who started it, but it feels like just a recipe for more pandemics. I'm not a total germaphobe. No, no, I'm not. I'm not. Something about this.

If I shake even five, but sometimes it's like 20, 30 hands in a day, like I'm just getting sick all the time. So it's like it's less about me being a crazy germful, but more about just me being smart. Because people don't really understand that I'm not just like not shake, like one person's hand. I'm trying to not shake 50 hands a day. That's right. So if you notice that Sal's got makeup on the backside of his hand, because all the bruising from the handshake, just throwing them up there. All right. We'll let that one sit in the air. Sal, thank you very much for showing up here today with me. I hope that you come back. Maybe we'll come see you when you're here in January. I'll hook that up. Please, if you're free, just let me know. Let my... I will do that.

No, yeah. They'll get you all set up. You're the best. I'll do that. And hopefully we get to pound each other's knuckles when we see each other. Yeah, sure. Or maybe a hug. Sal, all the links in the show notes. Thank you, Sal. much for showing up. Southwokane, everybody. Let me do something Brian has never done. Be brief.

Follow us on Instagram at the commercial break. Text or call us. 212-4333-3-T-CB. That's 212-433-3822. Visit our website, TCBPodcast.com for all the audio, video,

and your free sticker. Then watch all the videos at YouTube.com slash the commercial break. And finally, share the show. It's the best gift you could give a few aging podcasters. See, Brian, that really wasn't that difficult now, was it? You're welcome.

Well, I do have to say, I quite enjoyed that conversation with Sal. They say, don't meet your heroes, but sometimes when you do, it ends up being a pleasant surprise. And that was one of them. Sal Volcano, 12-time. Will he be a 13-time, impractical joker? I guess we all have to hold our breath and wait to find out. I think there's a good chance that's coming back. One more season. Come on, boys. I know you got it.

You know what surprised me? What surprised me is how much energy and effort goes into doing just one, just one of the segments of Inpractical Jokers. It sounds like it takes a crew a lot of time. And then one Yahoo can just ruin it all. One person that knows them, one recognition of one of the Impractical Jokers can take it. all down. So I can understand why they have to be so careful, but I had no idea behind the scenes

how much work they go through just to get it done. I can understand why it might be a little bit of an exhausting venture to record, you know, 16, 17, 18 episodes per season. But anyway, you heard him. The back half of the season is coming up in January. And then we'll wait for news out of TBS to see if we get a 13th. He's going to be at the Beacon Theater on December 27th here in Atlanta on January 10th and many places in between. I'll put links in the show notes so you can go and buy tickets yourself. Let's all go support Sal. Also, check out his terrified special.

I'll put a link in the show notes to that too. And then, you know, he's been on a bunch of podcasts. He's had a bunch of podcasts. He said it on the episode. He said it here on the interview. If you go to his website, pretty much everything he's ever done is on that. website. It's like a library of Salvocano. So just look in the show notes below and hit that link. Okay. Okay. All right, Memfest.com. Go say hi to Chrissy. See widespread panic for two nights.

If that's your flavor, you're really going to enjoy this. A widespread panic show is like a class reunion. That's what I have always said. That's what I will always say. If you know, you know, I-K-Y-N-K-D-Y, but don't think that it's just about widespread panic. Oh, no. There are literally 30 or 40 other artists that are playing over the course of the weekend. So if you're in the Memphis area, go. Try and find Chrissy. I dare you. Try and find Chrissy and try and get her to stand still for five minutes.

TCBFodcast.com is the website 212-333-TCB. Text us, questions, comments, concerns, content, ideas, at the commercial break on Instagram and YouTube.com slash the commercial break. for all the episodes on video the same day they air here on audio, including this one. Okay, I love you. Best to you. And until next time, I will say, I do say, and I must say.

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