The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - South Beach Sessions - Andrew Santino

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

“That to this day, that was like one of the happiest moments of my life…” Andrew Santino has one of the biggest podcasts in America, plays golf on the regular, is friends with Travis Kelce, and threw the first pitch at a Cubs game… he’s kind of living the dream. Not bad for someone who didn’t really have one. Andrew and Dan talk about coming from a family racked by addiction, grinding in Hollywood with nothing to fall back on before finding success in stand up and in his partnership with Bobby Lee. They also dive into his relationship with fame and its trappings, as well as his love of Chicago sports (and why he’s sick and tired of hearing from a particular group of sports fans). Listen and subscribe to "Bad Friends" and "Whiskey Ginger", wherever you get your podcasts and Andrew’s “Freeze Peach Tour” is going all across the U.S. For tickets in your city, visit AndrewSantino.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now's a good time to remember where the story of tequila started. In 1795, the first tequila distillery was opened by the Cuervo family. And 229 years later, Cuervo is still going strong. Family owned from the start, same family, same land. Now's a good time to enjoy Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Go to Cuervo.com to shop tequila or visit a store near you. Cuervo, now's a good time. Trademarks owned by Bekle.

SAB, the CV. Copyright 2024. Proximo. Jersey City, New Jersey. Please drink responsibly. Welcome to South Beach Sessions. We're doing these out west here and this man, a comedian, an actor, he's got two very popular podcasts. What's his name again?

Andrew Santino is with us. Your podcasts have probably altered the way that you were living, I would imagine. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. I'm interested in your biography. I'm interested in how and where your funny came from and the things that made you who you are. But I'm also interested in how your life has changed

over the last five years or so, as you've discovered a medium that a lot of comedians have discovered to really find their true potential. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's been, we were talking a little bit before the show. We started Bad Friends, I started Whiskey Ginger like seven and a half or so years ago, and I started Bad Friends with Bobby Lee in 2020,

which was a really great year for everybody. And it catapulted us in the internet space. I can't walk down the street without someone crossing their eyes and yelling, I'm Bobby Mom at me. That happens daily. It's a blessing and a curse. Blessing when I'm in a good mood, curse when I'm at dinner with my wife. Tough.

Tough to yell in a restaurant. I'm Bobby Mom. That's tough to hear when you're just trying to have sushi. But how did it connect? I understand that you're arriving now at an uncommon kind of fame because this medium that you're in is a particularly intimate one

where I don't know how much the connection is around video, but to invade an intimate space where you're making these people laugh during dark times, they're in your home, the connection space on something like this is intimate, and I'm sure you understand it, I don't mean to explain it to you, but I imagine that the doing of it, chemistry with a friend, performing with a friend

in a format that's that open, I imagine that creatively would be wildly stimulating. It's the most fun I've ever had in my entire career, I've said that like a thousand times on everything I've ever done. I've never done anything as fun as doing a show with Bobby ever. Not to like blow smoke up my own tush,

but I think it's not only the best thing I've ever done creatively and comedically, it's also so culturally relevant that I'm even impressed by it, that I'm like, oh my God, like people really take to this in a way that's like, you know, Martin and Lewis, you know, of a generation where like, that was a cultural duo that people loved.

And I'm starting to realize, I'm like, man, people like us like that, when all it really was for us was, you know, me and one of my best friends, if not my best friend, being immature and just having fun and saying all, you know, all sorts of stuff that, you know, you wanna just goof about, that you talk about with your friends in private,

we just put it on the show. We were like, we don't care. I don't, who cares? None of it is vitriol. None of it has come from a bad place. It's all from love. So it just kind of dismantles any sort of criticism. I mean, we've gotten some for sure, but we just don't care.

I think we just don't care. I don't really care. It's a comedy show. It's all fake. It's all for fun. I don't know if you regard it as the freest you, but as someone who will staunchly defend stand-up comedy at every turn, it must feel somewhere freeing to you to occupy a space

where it looks like third rail stuff and all you are is doing, you're just being yourself, maximum yourself with a friend, talking to a friend the way you would talk to a friend if both of you were also aware, oh, if we turn our eight up to 10 on Ad Lib, we'll just be toddlers running around chasing each other through a playground. Right, yeah, no, we're as free, no, it is. It's as free as we've ever been. I don't think there's any restrictive.

We have episodes that we, there's parts of episodes we don't air because it's probably too much, but we do that to egg each other on to get to another place. You know, we're constructing as we're going. We have formats of the show. We build things out. And then as we're building, you know, we remove a piece and put it somewhere else.

And sometimes, you know, it's a joke that we know we shouldn't say. So we say the joke and we cut it and it gets a laugh internally and it helps the rhythm of the show. It's almost like we're, we say stuff we know is terrible to get the studio laughing. And then it leads us to a better place where we're not, where we're, we never were gonna go unless we went to the first place. Explain your friendship to me.

With Bob, my friendship with Bobby is a peculiar one. We were friends years ago. We met at the comedy store. He saw me when I was, I think when I was auditioning to be a regular. And then we became buddies, but we always like loved each other. We always had a great relationship.

And then I would do his podcast that he had, he still does his other podcast. And I would fill in and people loved our relationship because it was this it's this weird there's a weird magnetic pull that him and I have that we really are so polar opposites but we love each other so much but we have nothing in common on paper. He loves video games and he's fat and I'm in shape and I like sports. I mean, like as a guy, we're two completely different guys. He is way more artistically wild and free.

I'm more buttoned up and, you know, military kids kid type of thing. We're just personality, we're so different. But comedically, for some reason, when you strip all that other crap away, we're the same, we're just two idiot kids that love to make the joke that you're not supposed to make. I think it tied us together.

And then we were doing these, I was doing his podcast a lot, filling in for him. And admittedly, he was doing his podcast a lot, filling in for him and admittedly, you know, he was going through a tough time. I mean, his father passed away. We had to put him in rehab, which was tough. I mean, I put him in rehab three times, which is not fun, but I care for him. So I love him and I'm, you know, I'm always trying to do what's right for him.

But the first time we put him in rehab, I think he had like an epiphany about what he really wanted in life. And that was to create a new show where we go at each other every week and see what bruised of it. So we did it for fun. And by the grace of the universe,

whatever deity you believe in, something blessed us and gave us COVID. And COVID shut down the world and birthed this show. It was like, I mean, literally, it was like made everyone stay at home, watch Bad Friends. Great for you, terrible for most. Terrible for the world. But it birthed a show.

I mean, literally, if it wasn't for that, I don't know if we would have taken off in the same way. We probably would have become a somewhat popular show because we both had an audience, but what we found from it was unbelievable. People stayed at home and then they just, they took to this relationship because it was like, they felt like they could be with their friends

without having to be with their friends. So the parasocial growth we got from that, like you were talking about before, it's monumental. Like people are our family, like our fans are family. You know, when we see them at these live shows, it's like they're your oldest friend in the world because of that parasocial relationship, which we love as long as it's not,

as long as it's not creepy. We've had a couple of creepy, we had a guy, you know, break into a show, break backstage, and we thought he was there for the meet and greet. He was like, no, no, no, this is what I do. I break into the shows to get backstage. I was like, well, don't tell anybody that because now we're going to kick you out of the show.

Like, why would you do that? Now we're absolutely going to have you kicked out and the cops are going to be here. So if it's the creepy line, no, thank you. But everything else, we love it. I think we've been able to, the connection we've made with the fans is something I've never felt before in my entire career. Of all the stuff I've ever done, nothing's felt that real.

It's the greatest. To connect with people when you are helping them through a dark and lonely time with the medicine of laughter is not just getting what you get on standup from the stage that's instantaneous but to be to know that you're doing everywhere and not knowing where it lands how it lands but that you're actually helping somebody who's doing a shitty job for eight hours a day and you help them through 90 minutes of it forgetting that they're in a shitty job

it's the greatest it's different than in my experience I've only done writing and television and and radio but in my experience it's the greatest. It's different than, in my experience, I've only done writing in television and radio, but in my experience, it's the most rewarding entertainment community fulfillment because the relationship is actually real. And they feel like they know you better than most people who watch your act might know you. Oh, big time.

I mean, cause on stage, it's such a different beast. You know, stage presence and that's such a, you know, a lot stage, it's such a different beast. Stage presence and that's such a, a lot of times it's like this hyperbolic version of you or it's a total character. A lot of people play total characters, but for me, stage work, my standup is me just being, me having fun. It's really just me like getting away with it

and having a good time. The show, I get to like really transform into this character and we get to just do whatever we want. And it's the most, it's by far the most rewarding because people then get invested in it, whether or not they believe in whatever's going on that week, they really do get invested in it. Sometimes they take it personal, which is crazy,

but we've somehow managed to navigate that genuinely where even when we're going too far or going into like just a wacky direction, they've stayed with us, which is impressive. I can't, I'm super humbled and grateful for it. I've truly, to this day, man, the Bad Friends family is like the coolest thing I've ever cultivated, ever, ever, ever, ever, it's wild.

What did you learn about both your friendship and addiction going through that experience with him three times, making him go to rehab? It was tough, well, the first time was really the hardest. My, I'm a child of addiction. My dad is an addict who's been sober for a long time now and was in and out of prison when I was a kid. So like my experience with addiction is tough.

I like, I've seen it firsthand. You know, I make light of it from my perspective cause it's the only, you know, it's the way I like to deal with it. But with him, it was really hard because he, you know, I wouldn't say used it against me a little bit, but he kind of, he was weaponizing it in a way at the beginning

of relationship that was like, you know, you have to protect me, otherwise, we'll never be able to do this show. So there was like a tough moment. And he admits it that he was in the throes of addiction. So it was tough. And, you know, when we finally made the decision to really force him to go to rehab

and like get back to where he was and who he was, I think like the anger he had was superseded by, you know, the gratefulness when he came out on the other side. And the other instances have been tough too. I mean, it's hard telling your friend, you gotta go to rehab. That's a shitty thing to do.

It's really hard, but he's handled it really well. And I think- What a loving act though. I mean, yeah, it's hard, but- You have to. It's a hugely loving act because it's easier to not do that. Well, yeah, particularly when you have someone like him, who's like the, he's just, he's my sweet little spring roll.

He's like the, he is just so, he's so edible and lovable and it's hard to get mad at him. It's really hard to get mad at him. And so even when I know he's kind of utilizing addictive personality and addictive qualities to like manipulate me or make me feel bad about stuff or make me feel guilty about treating him a type of way, I really do know that it's because he just,

we all need help in a million different ways. And so that's kind of his call sometimes is when he's really kind of vulnerable, he'll make you feel bad about questioning him. But you have to kind of push through it and tell him, you know, we got to get right. So he's right though now and it's amazing. And when he's never funnier than when he's sober.

And that may sound like cliche or something, but like he is on fire when he's the most clear headed and nothing is in his system, beyond substances, whether it's the anxiety of addiction or the troubles that come from relationships and blah, blah. When he's sober and clear and feels comfortable with himself and really is happy,

the funniest guy, he's the funniest guy I've ever seen in my entire life. Nobody's funnier, nobody's quicker and more cute and sneaky when he's clear. It's remarkable to watch sometimes. Peloton has what you need to keep you on track to your goals no matter what season of life you're in. Friends, we're all different.

We have different schedules, we have different needs. Some of us are injured recovering from stuff. Some of us are young parents, youngish parents. We just don't have the time. We're at different fitness levels. That's why Peloton's perfect for you. You can challenge yourself anywhere with Peloton's all access membership. You can work out where you need to, like at home, on your bike, tread, a row, or you can take your favorite classes to go and take them

at the gym, with the app. No need for a personal trainer, you got Peloton, and Peloton is perfect for mindful moments during the sports season. Your favorite team just lost, you don't know what to do. Hey guess what, take a breather, lay down and take a mindful meditation class on Peloton. Unwind, forget about it. You know what else you can do with Peloton? Ugh, I can't believe we just blew that game, how am I going to sleep? Boom! Peloton has classes for sleeping.

Just put it on and fall asleep. Find your push, find your power, with Peloton at OnePeloton.com. Who's second place for you in terms of someone that you have flawless comedic chemistry with? Because one of the reasons you enjoy this so much is because you know how good it is as you're slicing it up. Like to your ear it sounds like music.

And if you're playing it with an equal, an equal who loves you, an equal you understand, an equal who has the same love of craftsmanship that there's found in comedy, you're doing the thing that's the most fun with the person that's most qualified to do it with you. Yeah, it's tough, I don't know. I think he's my North Star.

That's the best comedic bouncing I've ever had in my entire life. Rick Lassman and I have been friends for a long, long time. We kind of started together. And Rick's improv is so fun. And his comedic bouncing is wonderful. We always have an unbelievably fun time together. But it's just, that's just like,

the difference with like those relationships that I have with other people in comedy is, you know, there's other great comics that I bounce well with. If I, you know, when we perform together, whether it's on a pod or, you know, shows or sketches or whatever. But with Bobby, it is something different.

I don't, I can't even, I wish I could explain it. It sounds so corny, but there's something else. There's a, there's a love that's so real that makes the comedy so fun. Truly, I think that's the secret. Whenever there was a great comedy duo, or a duo of whatever, music or acting or performance, or whatever, when there's a pair,

there's something so deep that's beyond the thing that you're doing, that's what makes it good. It's not even the thing. It's not even the comedy. It's the love or the thing that we have for each other, this like internal crush on one another's souls. It's something about that,

that like brings the thing to be better. It's crazy. When you see a good duo that like, you know, my grandmother, rest in peace, loved ice skating, loved ice skating. And she would talk about the relationships of these skaters and all that stuff. And I wasn't interested in it as a kid. But when I got older and I like understood,

when there was a true deep connection beyond ice for these two people, that's why they were the best. Something was there. And it didn't have to be, it could be platonic. I'm not saying it's romantic, but something else- It clearly is with you and Bobby Lee. It clearly is romantic. That's romantic, yeah. I be, it could be platonic. I'm not saying it's romantic, but something else. It clearly is with you and Bobby Lee. It clearly is romantic. That's romantic, yeah.

I mean, it's obvious. And we've never slept together because we want the show to keep going. I feel like if we do sleep together, everything goes. It would ruin everything. Well, it does, right? The tension, you need the tension in order to carry everything.

You do not dip your pen in the company ink, and so we've been very good about that. Yeah, and so I think we have a thing that I can't describe that I don't have with anybody else. I have really deep connections with other people in a different way, comedically, but not like I do with that kid. You mentioned your father and dealing with all of that

with just humor. There's nothing else that you deal with that with. It's just funny is how it is that the father in and out of prison dealing with addiction seems like it would be shaping someone, could shape them. Yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely a piece of who I am for sure, it's why I am the way I am, but I, you know, without getting therapeutic,

it's like, I have to laugh at it or joke about it or make light of it because time has happened, it's over. It's way in the past, I'm 41 years old. You're an adult. Yeah, I'm too grown now to really lament about it. I know that's kind of maybe that's a therapist would say, that's probably bad, but I don't know, there's no other way to do it.

I'm too grown to, you can't, you know, look backwards all the time. It's a weird thing to have that as a part of my history, but I was never beaten as a kid. I was never abused. So I fared okay, just had a dad in prison. Do you know what I mean? Like life was actually okay.

My mom remarried. I had a great stepdad. It wasn't that bad. So that's why I kind of, I say that I joke about it because it is what it is. I don't know. I can't like sit there and be like, you know, this is why that I'm XYZ

because my dad was in prison. It's like, no, it was a crappy time and you grow out of it. And then you have to utilize it for good, I guess. So then I have to joke about it a little bit. Well, what are the odds though of coming out of section eight housing and that, and then arriving at what you arrived at? Like, have you thought about the mathematical

and probabilities of how unusual your story is? Yeah, well, I do. Well, let me, I'll make some sort of clarification too. I think I had talked in an interview about my mom and I in subsidized housing, which is true, but they make it sound like, you know, for some reason I think people, even listeners now probably like, oh, Section 8, they have

this pretty terrible view in their mind over what that is. Every new building built everywhere has to have Section 8. I used to live right here in West Hollywood. You have to have subsidized housing when you build a new building. So we lived in a nice area of Chicago when I was a kid. But yes, because I had a single mother, we were in subsidized rent because she couldn't afford it. So I never came from, you know, the gutter.

I don't have some incredible like rags to riches. I've got, you know, target to riches. Do you know what I mean? I've got baseline, you know what I mean? Regular Americana. And so I do, it does hit me often that it is kind of crazy that I was blessed enough to have this kind of, I don't know, this career run.

Because yes, I didn't have, you know, there's no nepotism with me, unfortunately. I had no rich uncle out here. I had no, you know, there was no connection to the business. I did this, you know, basically on my own. I moved out here and kept swinging the bat until I finally got a hit, which is, yeah. It doesn't surpass me mentally that that's insane.

It's crazy. Well, take me through the grind. Take me through the struggles of what it looked like to arrive at your career and what the hardest days you look back on that might not have felt like hard days because you were so hell-bent on dreaming about, I'm near the Comedy Store, this is where I can make it happen. I mean, the story goes, I moved out here after I went to Harvard of the West. I went to Arizona State, the greatest institution in the desert. And after I left, I had a lot of friends that were California kids.

And they convinced me to move to California because it was either that or New York. And I was like, I just want to stay in the sun. Like I just, because if I go back East, I was afraid I'd go back to Chicago. And that was just too, too, too scared. I just want to stay in the sun. Like I just, because if I go back East, I was afraid I'd go back to Chicago. And that was just too, too, too scared. I just wanted to drown. It was either, you know, sink or swim. So- You knew that then.

100%. You knew I'm gonna, so, and how long are you giving yourself? Oh, indefinite. This was all I could do. I'm too stupid to do anything. I mean, I couldn't, I don't, I don't even know who would hire me.

Like I had a, you know, journalism degree. I think I minored in English. Like I have to say, I think, cause I don't even remember truly what I ended up with. But you've decided on this as a chase at what age? Like how has all of that happened? When I was a kid, I loved entertainment. I was obsessed.

My friend Sean and I would sit in my mom's basement and watch, you know, Dumb and Dumber and we'd wear out the VHS. We'd rewind the scenes that we liked so much that it would get skippy. I don't know if you remember that. I mean, it would like literally blur because you've just ruined the tape from spinning it back.

I mean, we would do that. I mean, that was like my whole life, was like watching comedy, entertainment, movies. And I'm an 80s baby, so, you know, I was right in the gut of fun, big commercial broad comedy. The, you know, these things were- So you're looking at this childlike discovery. Yeah. Oh my God.

I wanna do that. I wanna do that. And who are the people who you're, like you mentioned Dumb and Dumber, but- Beverly Hills, Eddie Murphy. I mean, that was like one of the greatest. When I saw that, I was like, you can be a goofball and be kind of a caricature

and still act in a movie, that blew my mind. Because he was so swift and smooth and so cool, but so funny, like that, that was kind of like my foray. Beverly Hills Cop was one of my favorite movies. And then I would get into some of the heartfelt stuff, like Big was me and my mom used to watch Big, I love Big. And I was like, this is funny and it's sweet.

And it didn't take itself that serious. That's kind of my tone of comedy. I'm funny, sweet, I'm a little sardonic, I can be sarcastic, but it doesn't take itself that serious. It's all, it's a joke. It's all a big joke. So that kind of world, especially with Jim, everything with Jim stuff, I mean, everything Jim made,

I was obsessed with as a kid. I was just like, that's what I want to do in some capacity. And Eddie and Jim being standups, you know, that's what kind of drew me in. So in high school, you're refining any of this yet, or you're trying to? No, no, no, I had a secret wish. I had a secret wish. So you're funny in class.

I was just a funny, loud idiot. Everyone was like, I always wanted to make light of stuff. I always had to put on a, no, I had a secret wish. So you're funny in class. I was just a funny, loud idiot. Everyone was like, I always wanted to make light of stuff. I always had to poke the bear. I was a terrible student. Teachers loathed me. Students liked me. It was just, I wanted to have fun.

I hated school. I hated school. I wanted to have fun. This was like a waste of time to me. It was like, why can't we have fun? What is all this for? I still agree. Most of the time I'm like, what is all this crap for?

Don't you want to have fun? Shouldn't life be fun? It's gonna be done so fast. So I just wanted to have a good time. So yes, I was a terrible student. I went out to Arizona. Back then there was the Tempe Improv. That was the only, pretty much the only comedy club

in the area. There was a couple, you know, there was the Tempe Improv. That was the only, pretty much the only comedy club in the area. There was a couple, you know, there was like open Mikey stuff, so in college I started to get The Itch. I was like, I think I'm gonna try it. I barely told anybody, because I was scared of the, it's embarrassing. Comedy is embarrassing. I wanna be a standup, really.

It's an embarrassing dream. It's an embarrassing, actor for some reason, people are like, yeah, go to Hollywood, try to make it. Stand-up comedy is such an embarrassing, it's a stain on your shirt. It's like, oh God, that's, yeah, all right. That's a career. It's a stain.

It's stain on your shirt, yeah. It's like, oh, you're gonna walk around like that? Like, oh yeah, it's on a stand-up. It's so stupid. It's a dumb dream. But I loved it, so I kept it quiet. And I only told It's a dumb dream, but I loved it. So I kept it quiet. And I only told a few people that I really wanted to do it.

And one of my best friends who I just saw again, still one of my best buddies, Colin is from the Bay. And he said, I'm moving to Long Beach. Do you wanna come with me? I've got a place we can sleep. I got this guy's lazy boy you can stay on till we can find a spot. Sure. I was like, I'll do it.

So I moved on the 4th of July. You want to talk about cliche? I moved on the 4th of July in a U-Haul while the fireworks are going off. I'm pulling into LA. The American dream. I'm making it baby. Right to a lazy boy couch in Long Beach.

Perfect man, that's the dream. Yeah, with like no money. And also my mom and my stepdad, you know, worked my whole life. My mom justdad, you know, worked my whole life. My mom just retired, you know, a year ago. So we didn't come from a ton of money. Like we weren't poor by any means, but like there wasn't this great safety net.

My parents weren't like, whatever happens, we have, you know, it was never that thing. It was like, you're gonna go do this thing, go do it. Go get a job, go pay rent. Our family's always been that way. It's very supportive, but never, there was no financial net. There was no like, you'll be okay if you fail.

No. So you're on your own and how tough is it and how much doubt is there? Or are you just trying to climb? You just, that stuff, you black out the doubt. It didn't, because I was 22 years old, I couldn't care less. I had no aspirations of like money and riches and fame.

I just wanted to make enough money to do comedy to pay my way. I was like, can I, this is kind of an old thing for comics. We always say, you're rich in comedy and you're like a standup who's made it, is if you can go out to eat and you don't look at how much it costs. If we can go out to the diner,

if we can go to Swinger's and you're not worried about which meal you're gonna get. That was kind of for us back then was like, that guy's doing really good. Like he doesn't care. He doesn't even, that's a $13 pancake and he doesn't care, I mean, that guy's killing it. So in our mind, that was it.

It was like, if you can- So that was success to you. The big our mind, that was it. It was like, if you can- So that was success to you. The big American dream is that you haul the fireworks, lazy boy on Long Beach, and will I one day be able to afford a $13 pancake without noticing that it's $13? Yeah, that's right. I still look today.

I'm still like, this is my wife orders. I'm like, how much is that? $26? All right, well, you're gonna take half home? No, but that was making it, was like, if you didn't care about looking at the prices when we would go out to the diners after the shows, because we all used to go to Swingers.

When, of course, Swingers or Greenblatt's or, you know, the old days, we used to mimic the comics before us that go to Cantor's, you know, we'd go to these old Jewish delis. That's where we'd go after shows. We would all go there and hang out and get food. And if you could afford to not worry about the price of the menu that night,

we're not going to a steak house, I mean, it's a diner. But still, that to me was like, if I can afford rent and food and not worry about how much the food costs when I go to eat at a diner, we're fine. So that truly, I'm not kidding. I just wanted to like, can I get by? Is it, am I not gonna feel, you know, scared every month?

Can I just not be scared every month? So that was the dream. I moved up to Los Angeles. I found a listing on Craigslist with UCLA students, graduates, and I lived in Culver City in a three bed, one bath. Three bed, one bath, beautiful. It's actually a two bed, one bath, but I lived in a partitioned off dining room.

My light was a chandelier from an old dining room, and they just put up a door and a wall. So one wall led to where the front door was, and the other one was the kitchen. Bathroom with strangers. Bathroom with strangers. Bathroom with strangers, yeah. And so I, and you know, that was my life. I worked as a PA.

I got a job at a studio making $400 a week before taxes. All of these people working here now, all of these young kids who are getting paid unbelievable money. We had like, we have people that work for us that I'm like, how much money do we pay you? You're 24 years old? I think I made $300 a week after taxes.

I was like, anyway. And they're like, can I get reimbursement for gas? I'm like, yeah, sure. Whatever you want. What do you have, a Hummer? Yeah, I'll fill it up. Lose $300 to fill up your car? That's my entire paycheck for one week.

I got a job doing that and I was a run around all day and then stand up all night and then rinse, wash and repeat and it was constant. That's all you did. PA all day, gopher, whatever they wanted. Groceries, cleaning up. I went to, you know, go to Beverly Hills and get your boss a tie.

Drive it back by noon or you're fired. You know, it was like that. Go deliver scripts in the Hollywood Hills to movie stars without Google Maps. This is pre, this is Thomas Guide. Do you know the Thomas Guide? You're just getting lost everywhere. Yeah, it's the worst.

I had to flip pages and be like BQ. You're bad at the job. Oh, I hated it. I hated it, I sucked at it, I wasn't, I just was not good at- Anything, you said. Anything, really, yeah. I've only been good at having fun.

Fun is like the only thing I'm good at. Joking and having fun with someone. Yeah, I was so bad at it. It's a good thing to be good at if you're only gonna be good at one thing. I guess, I mean, you know, if it all falls out, I have no, nothing to fall back on. I mean, as a Jimmy John's near the house,

I might get the, they always are hiring, it says. So I might have to do that. But yeah, that was my life. But you were happy? You were happy-ish? Not doubting. No, unbelievably happy. Didn't care. I never had the dream.

I didn't have a, one day I'm gonna be a star. I didn't have that. I never, ever, ever had that. I had a one day I'm gonna be a comedian. One day I can afford pancakes. One day I wanna afford pancakes, yeah. I'm not kidding. To this day, I feel like maybe I'm stupid

that I didn't have a dream. Well, I mean, if you're gonna make it 4th of July in the U-Haul and the fireworks, like you did that. I did, I guess. You noticed the date. Yeah, but I moved on that date only because

my girlfriend had kicked me out of her place. It was just the day she was like, get out. Cause I told her when I'm moving to LA together, she threw a knife at me and I had to leave. I was like, all right, I have to go. I guess I gotta go. It was coincidence I was a fourth. I didn't plan it like that.

It was like, all right, I guess I'm going to LA. So I went to LA and I never had a dream. I'm not kidding. I never had the dream. It doesn't sound like it. I just wanted to go. How long do you spend in that space? Just partition, chandelier, PA?

I lived there, I was still a PA after that. And then I worked a day job. I got a day job at a music industry doing like paper pusher work for them. But I stayed in that place for two years. And then I met a bunch of guys through a kid I grew up with, moved out here. And he went to Columbia and Chicago and he was like,

hey, there's a bunch of these guys are Chicago guys. And they're starting to join this 16 inch, no glove, Chicago style softball league in the Valley. Which, and I was like, yeah, 16 inch, no glove, baby, Chi town, Chicago style. So I was like, oh my God, there'll be much Chicago people. This will be great. And I went up there and I met a bunch of these guys

and they're still, you know, a bunch of them are still my closest friends today. And then I moved in with them and that was how I like kind of started to grow out of the crap. Cause I started to meet more people and those people led me to meet more people. And this guy worked for this manager

and this guy was dating this girl and she had a connection to things so they could get you an audition for a manager. It was that, that's how it started to grow. My circle just started to grow and grow. And then, you know, and then my first gig I ever landed was, I did a show for MSN.

When you bought a PC, we were on the main page, MSN.com. And so I did a show for them that was like a weekly web update show that I just auditioned for and landed somehow some way. And it was like a weekly hosting show. And I was able to quit my day job from that and just do comedy full-time and change my life. That to this day was like one of the happiest moments

of my life. I hung up the phone, I ran down four flights of stairs, and I just ran east on Wilshire for like two miles. Just ran east. I was so excited. I was, it was for Scump. I was running. I just wanted to go. It was like excited. I was, it was Forrest Gump. I was running. I just wanted to go.

It was like all of this was inside of me. I just, it was like exploding out of me. What a great story. It was one of the happiest moments I think I've ever felt in my entire life. I ran East on Wilshire until I just decided to come back. And then I went back to my office and I told my boss at the time who was rad.

I said, I got this job and I'm gonna quit. I can finally do comedy all the time. And they were happy for me. They knew that's what I really wanted. So that was the beginning of like being able to pay my bills and my rent without having a day job, quote unquote, you know, even though it was still a day job.

So your joy is because you've seen the path open. Yeah. Finally. Finally. I mean, that was the most relieving, because you don't know how long you're, you're like, how long will this last? How long do I want to do a day job

and then work comedy at night? And for many people, that's still a reality. I'm blessed that I didn't have to at some point. Many people still work jobs. How long had you been doing it that way? I landed the first job in 2011, I wanna say, or 12. So six or seven years into living here. Struggling here, right?

Yeah, I mean, there's no other way to say it. It's not like, yeah, mommy and daddy didn't, I never had a credit card. I never had that. I was always very jealous of that until later in life that I realized that it was kind of a blessing that my parents were very like, you have to go do everything on your own.

But I did see guys that were able to like go out to like eat or drinks if we go to the bar and they would put down a credit card that I knew wasn't theirs. And I was like, man, I'm so jealous of that. Cause I have $37 until Tuesday, you know? That was always it. I wasn't, it wasn't scary,

but it was, there were nights where I was bummed because I was like, man, what if I have to ask my mom for a hundred dollars? I just didn't want to do it. But I luckily never had to, like, thank God. I don't know why or how it worked out, but I never had to say, hey, can you send me money? But there were nights where I would,

I was up all night sleeping on my mattress on the floor, you know, without a box spring or a bed frame that I was like, am I going to have to beg someone for money or donate plasma or like, how am I going to get a couple more bucks? A shining light was truly when I went down to long back down to Long Beach, my buddy Dan was dating, dating a girl who was working on the Queen Mary, and they needed a halftime comedian, and I slid into that spot,

so I got paid $100 a show. That actually really got me through. So I'd make a couple hundred dollars a weekend being a halftime dinner theater performer, and if it weren't for that job, I'd probably had to have called mom and dad. Oh, wow. That was that close. Oh my God. Yeah.

That was, it was unbelievable timing. It was something, again, something in the universe gave me a gift. That was a absolute drop in my lap gift. Couldn't believe it worked. To this day, it's so strange to me. I was like, how did I end up with that job? So I would drive down to Long Beach every single weekend,

Friday and Saturday nights, and do the show, and then come back and then do comedy all week and then go do it again, just to make enough money to keep going. It was, it literally saved me because I couldn't, you know, I was scared about rent. Rent was 425 back then though. I mean, still, still steep

if you're only making 400 before taxes. That's what I mean, 425 was rent and I was like, man, how do I make rent? So if it weren't for the boat, I probably wouldn't have been able to, if it weren't for that Queen Mary, that beautiful boat lodged in the harbor, I don't know if you've ever been, have you ever been?

No. It's interesting. It's a docked boat that was one of the Queen Mary's. Interesting. It's a hotel now. It's a hotel, it's, you know, I don't wanna talk bad about it. It was fun.

It's a little sketchy, but it's fun. The Emirates NBA Cup is here. You can win big getting in on all the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. There's sure to be rim rattling slams and no look passes that bring the crowd to their feet. Get behind your favorite players and the

Prop bets you can make on DraftKings the home of NBA player props new DraftKings customers bet Just five bucks to get 150 and bonus bets if your bet wins score big with DraftKings sportsbook Every point counts download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code Dan That's code Dan D-A-N for new customers to get 150 and bonus bets if your bet wins when you bet just five bucks Only on DraftKings the crown is yours Gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369 In Connecticut help is available for problem gambling call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org

Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas What are the other places, either professionally or personally, that, and I'm not trying to get you to top that story, but something that felt so exhilarating that you recall it as a happier thing in my life that happened to me that made me want to run for two miles with runners high just so that I could be clear headed about how wonderful all of this feels.

Well, it's interesting. I've had an embarrassment of riches in my life. There are moments that I'm even shocked that I was even a part of. But I hate to say this, but nothing has felt like that. Makes sense. It's kind of crazy. Nothing felt like that,

where working with Pete Farrelly, who is a hero of mine as a kid, you know, like doing a movie with Pete, getting a phone call from Pete Farrelly to do a movie to do Ricky Sennichy with, with CNN F round. I was like, it takes, I will, you know,

sit down while I'm having coffee. And it does hit you, like, you're like, I cannot believe this is my life. I'm so blessed. This is like crazy. I can't believe I'm getting to do these things. So those feel so incredible, but nothing felt like what,

when I got to quit my job felt like. Cause I just, I felt like it, something was giving me a chance. It was like, all right, but now you have to put in the work. I will say for people that are listening that are in you know Young stand-ups are young people that want to act or get into the business It has never ever gotten easier. So I hope they know that it's not like because I got that job. Everything was okay

Because then you had to work that much harder to not only keep that job But to get another job and then once you get that job You better prove that you are worth it again for them to take a risk on you for that one little gig that you did. And then when you do that, you better really have something in the tank for the very next job.

So the pressure was never off. I'm 41 years old, I still feel every job I do is like, you better do the job. I've assumed that wherever there are people making things well, whether it's watching Shanling and Seinfeld talking comedians in cars getting coffee about how hard it was to do, what they were doing that made it look easy. From where I'm standing, I can't tell if you getting some of the things you've wanted over the last five years is all blessing or if you're on a treadmill right now

where you can't totally enjoy it all, because now all the things you've wanted are coming your way, but you gotta be careful how much you say yes to, because you still love stand-up comedy, and you wanna do all the other things as well. But two popular podcasts, sounds like it's hard to, no matter how much you're enjoying it,

to keep it to the standard that you wish for it to be at. Totally, no. There is a piece of me that isn't getting to enjoy it as much as I would like to. That's just honest truth, because it's a lot of stuff. I'm balancing two shows, a standup career, I'm doing a new hour, you know, we've sold an animated show, we're selling another television show

that we're going out with right now that we're already in production with. So yes, I have a lot on my plate and building and building and building. And there's other things I'm doing on the side that I really enjoy a lot. I'm building my next phase of my career next year. I'm building a lot in the golf space.

We're planning on going out with some stuff because I'm a diehard golfer. And I was like, this is really who I am. And there's not a lot of comedy in the golf space. I mean, we'll see what happens with the- Or in the sports space. Yeah, that's- It's been so weird to me to not- It's strange.

I don't get it. Well, it's a hard risk because I don't know if, I'll say this, everybody who likes sports may not like comedy, but everybody who likes comedy probably likes sports. Do you know what I mean? Like it's, you know, I would imagine there's a lot of people that are diehard sports fans that are not really into comedy.

That wouldn't, you know? But I do think everyone who likes comedy, who has that kind of like lust for life, you probably like sports. I just assume, but Peyton Manning's company, Omaha is producing my special next year, which is incredible. And because of that, part of it was

because I wanted to get more into the sports space, sports comedy space. And we're starting this golf, this little golf project that we're working on. And so that's taken up a lot of my time, but it's what I really want to do next. Like, I want to be more into that world because that's also who I am. And I talk about it enough on shows, but I want to do it. Like, I want to actually make another lane that I love

instead of trying to find, you know, you're always trying to find what's the next thing. But this one's like, well, I love that. I should just try that. If it fails, it fails. Who cares? You're addicted to golf, right? It's bad. Yeah, I'm an addict. I'm an addict. I literally went to San Diego yesterday

and drove back last night and then had to work last night. It's bad, I have a sickness. I need to go to see somebody. You're very good as well. I'm okay, yeah. When sports things start happening to you and you look back at the person who, you know, had $37 in the bank account, but you're now,

Travis Kelsey is texting you during games? No, no. No, no, no. No, no, no, we text, he's a buddy, we text, yeah. But, and your dog is named Cubby, so you're doing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley Field. Like, when you're getting some of these sports things

coming your way, surely you're pinching yourself there. The sports fan and the child in you is like, what, how does this happen? The sports thing blows my mind because as a diehard Cubs fan, as a kid, being able to throw on the first pitch was cool. I'm not saying anything bad about it. It's just, you know, a local insurance agent

also gets to do it sometimes. But singing the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley to me is, you know, my father, I sent my dad the email from the Cubs and he was like, oh my God, man, you finally made it. Like of all the stuff that you've done. I mean, yeah. He's like, that's it. To me, that was one of the best moments of my entire life. And to have my family out there for it was like,

that was one of those moments. That's running down Wilshire a little bit. Yeah, that's how many others- And that wasn't a reward of the business. I mean, it was a gift because of my work in the business, but that felt like running on Wilshire. Having my family afterwards, having drinks, being able to take my family to this thing,

have fun with them, have them see me do this thing, that was, yeah, that's monumental. It's cool. You don't have a lot of other sports things like that, right, like pinch me sports things. I don't think so. Because both you and Shane Gillis, if you're a sports fan and you come into some taste making

comedy success, all of a sudden you end up getting surprised a little bit by who wants to meet you. Yes, it is a little strange. It becomes, and pre, you know, this little bump that I've had in my career. I would think Dave helped there too. It did. Yeah, the show, people love the show

and that helped me out a lot, get this kind of bump in my career. And it was also at the same time that Bad Friends was growing, so it was just kind of all these things collided, which is kind of usually how it happens in the business, like a bunch of things just happened to collide. But the world of my friendship of sports,

and I do want to say this, I want to clear this up, because I get- He doesn't text you during games. No, he does not. It's not during games. Not during games. No, but he gets, I get so much crap for cheering on Kansas City, because everyone online is, you're a Bears fan, you're a Bears fan.

And let me say this to your audience. I am a Bear, I'm a diehard Chicago fan for the rest of my life, okay? But you go get yourself to Hall of Fame, Super Bowl champion friends. Go get two of them, and then you tell me you're not gonna root for their team a little bit, okay? Okay? It pisses me off when people

Sell out two of my friends are Hall of Fame current players What are you not gonna root for them? You need to not be friends with them so that you can only root for the Bears That's insane. That's an insane like this is an ideology that I think America still has where they're like, you can't do that, you sell out, you cross it over. Really? Go get two friends that are Hall of Famers that play. The best quarterback I've had is Jay Cutler my entire lifetime. Until now. Until right now. Those painted nails are gonna get us somewhere, baby. Let's go, Caleb. Also, shout out Colkomette, my dog. I love

the Bears. I have some homies. I just, I support my friends. I'm not, I am not a die-hard Chiefs fan. I would never even pretend to be. You are a fan of my homes and of Kelsey. I'm a fan of my buddies. I think they're great. They're so generous to me. They are great. And they let me have fun. So yes, I'm gonna wear a Casey shirt and tip the hat to a couple Hall of Famers my bad my bad America you don't sound defensive at all very much it bothers me man yeah dude a little bit a little bit also they win it's cool it's cool to go to the Super Bowl let the Bears start with his Super Bowls man. You need to block his calls

You need both of them you need to you need to say no. I'm sorry. I'm with Cole Comment now. Sorry. I'm sorry I'm sorry. I can I can no longer I can no longer chat with either you boys how I ran into that whole thing is crazy I met Kelsey years ago at Soho house We were introduced to do a show together. They wanted us to do a sports show together because Travis was getting more into television. And they were like, he really wants to do a thing. And then I told him, I said, I don't know.

I just didn't know if it was right. I felt a little weird about the whole thing. And then afterwards he was like, so we shouldn't do it? I said, I don't think, I don't know, man. I was like, maybe, I don't know. And he was like, well, all right. And then we got a couple of drinks and we just buddied up. And then every time he came to LA, he was like,

do you wanna kick it? And then he won the Super Bowl and he was like, hey, we're gonna go out, you should come. So I was never like, hey, hey, hey. He was very warm and open and we just became friends through that. And then I met Pat through him. He chased you is what you're saying.

He did a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. You want it known publicly. I was his first Taylor Swift. Yeah, I was the first Taylor Swift. He chased me, baby. You played hard to get. I did, yeah. And he did eventually conquer you,

despite your bears' allegiances. Well, he's very handsome, too. That guy is tall and handsome and strong. Rugged man. Yeah, he just, I played it as like, I don't wanna bother the guy, but he was always very generous and invited me to a lot of stuff.

And then I slowly, we just became like friends, friends. It was a business. It was like the business first, and then we just became friends. Then we would just text and talk because he's just a fun, great, super generous, humble dude. Honestly, like to a degree. He brought his mom and dad.

I just played Kansas City and Pat came and his wife, humble dude, honestly. Like to a degree, he brought his mom and dad. I just played Kansas City and Pat came and his wife Brittany came and then Trav and his brother Jason and his wife and they brought mom and dad Kelsey out. And it was awesome. Like those things are just, those are, those feel like running down Wilshire. Making a huge room laugh with those guys they're supporting.

Yeah, that feels like running down Wilshire. It's like, I can't believe, I really can't believe it. Or I just took my dad to watch KC play on Monday Night Football. My dad's never been to a Monday Night game. I mean, we didn't go to a lot of games as kids either. You know, it's expensive and it's a whole thing and we never had season tickets or any of that stuff.

My dad never been to a Monday night game. And I was like, well, this is one to go to. And we're gonna sit in Pat's booth and you're gonna live the life. No, you gotta be a Bears fan. I know, I know. You gotta be an Incontinent. I know, go Bears.

Yeah, go Bears. What are you doing? I love them to death. By the way, none of the Bears invite me out to their suites. You know what I mean? Cold Comet. Yeah, Adunze, where are you at, dude? Hit me up, I'll sit in your box. out to their sweets. You know what I mean? Cold comment? Yeah. A doon say, where are you at, dude?

Hit me up, I'll sit in your box. Did you find yourself or have you found yourself in the middle of the Taylor Swift madness? No. That you haven't caught, you've- I have nothing to do with that. I mean, like I love Travis. She is absolutely wonderful.

You know, I've met her just briefly. I don't know her. I mean, I think she's great she's a very nice person and very sweet and He loves her I you know or whatever the word you want to use they they're they really you know They have a great relationship and do you not want to use the word love because you're afraid the Swifties will aggregate I don't want to get shot at online. Yeah, you don't know if it's love or not. You don't know what love is Whatever whatever whatever word, okay, I think you can call it love.

Whatever it is, I guess love. I don't even, I don't know. Do you know what love is? I actually don't know what it is. Cause I'll say I love you before I'll say it to someone I'm in love with. No, but it sounds like you got it with Bobby Lee. It sounds like you love him.

Like you were pretty clear there. That's different. It's not even love. That's more, that's lust. No, it's more, that's family, that's blood. I would, that is my blood. That is like, you know, you have a brother or do you have brother, sisters or anything like that.

You don't care if they're wrong, they're your blood. You just protect your blood. You're like, that's something deeper. It's deeper than love. It's like, yeah, you just want to, you'd, yeah, yeah, you're there, you're the grounding wire. You know what I mean? I'll, whatever, whatever, whenever. He means the world to me.

So, but no, I never got caught up in the Swifty stuff because I don't have a lot of connection to that. I mean, I've known Travis for a long time. She was extremely nice when I met her and so, so pleasant and sweet. It's an uninteresting question unless you've actually been caught up in it. I have not, unfortunately. Everything after that, yes.

No, but I do find her to be a wonderful person, genuinely. Getting to meet her for real. Somebody worthy of love, if that's what you could call it. If you're willing to go. Very worthy of love. I, on the other hand, I deserve none of it. No love. Just give me like.

I thought it was weird reading about you. You've mentioned your wife a couple of times. It said uncertainty of marriage or identity of wife. And I'm like, why is this such a mystery? Yeah, in the new world, we like to shroud her. We like to keep her hidden away in a closet somewhere. She better not get out. She has not in the business,

has nothing to do with the business, doesn't want to, this is completely uninteresting to her. Doesn't go to premieres, I mean, I don't really go to premieres either anyway. Like I don't go to red carpets, I don't do press stuff like that. I don't like it, I don't care. And she likes to keep it that way. I think the anonymity is nice

because my loss of anonymity is tough. It's tough. Oh, so it's a choice. So the fact that this is a mystery that I'm actually phrasing it that way, that my researchers bring it to me as it's unclear if he's married. No, no, no, I am.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not, I'm not.

I was asking you about love. No, no, no, she chose, yeah, I guess we talked about it together, but it was something that she was very cognizant of that. She saw early on, she didn't love the, the attention is not what she likes. And to be honest, like I don't mind it, but I'm not, and I don't love it.

You know, I don't love it to a degree that's like, I don't eat it up. I like saying hello to fans. I love having fanship. I don't love it to a degree that's like, I don't eat it up. I like saying hello to fans. I love having fanship. I love having a fan base. I'm very appreciative. But I don't think she wants any of that stuff. She doesn't like the idea of being involved

in a world where she's not involved in because she has her career and her love and her passions. And I think that's important and protecting that's important. I think for me, her comfortability changes. So she tells me if she's like, I'd like to go to that. Well, then we go, but she doesn't, a lot of times it's like, I don't want to be photographed.

I don't really don't, you know. I think what's interesting about this to me is when you're not in the business and you're thrown into it by your spouse, it's a little unfair unless you are comfortable with it. But a lot of spouses are like thrown into this, you know, male, female, doesn't matter. A lot of people are like thrust into this.

And I don't know how fair it is unless you take into account their feelings about the business or about being publicly perceived. Because it's something that people do, you don't know how to prepare for it. Like I really hate the phrase, oh, you knew what you were getting into or that's what you get.

I think that's such a crock of shit. It's such a bad line. Like, oh, when people abuse a public person verbally online or whatever, or in the press or whatever, and it's like, well, that's what you get, that's what you asked for. It's like, no one asked for that. What I asked for was you to either like or not like

my content or my entertainment that I'm giving you. That's all I asked for. I don't need the abuse. I don't need the extra crap. Now, people are gonna do it regardless. That's fine, that for. I don't need the abuse. I don't need the extra crap. Now, people are gonna do it regardless. That's fine. That's your stupid choice. But all I ask is, if you like me, come along for the ride.

If you don't, change the channel. I don't need anything else, just like anything. There's a couple of restaurants right up the street here. There's one I don't eat at anymore because I got sick from it. That's it. I'm just not gonna go back. So either come eat with me or leave me alone.

To me, that's the business. It's like, go away. What are you doing? So spending time dealing with all that, I think is what made her cognizantly wanna stick in her career and her life and not involve as much in this. But if she changes and says she wants to have more involvement in this, fine.

As a Fizz member, you can look forward to free data, big savings on plans, and having your unused data roll over to the following month, every month. At Fizz, you always get more for your money. Terms and conditions for our different programs and policies apply, details at fizz.ca. How long have you been married? I ask only because she didn't know

what she was signing up for, correct? That's exactly correct, yeah. She was marrying someone who wasn't this, who didn't have this swirl around him. She thought I was Ron Weasley when we first met. She thought I was an actor for, yeah, I said an actor. She's like, you're on the Harry Potter? We've been married since 2016.

All right, so your life has changed subtly. Since 2016, my God, yeah. Could considerably, I mean, life was good. Life has been, I've been very blessed. I've said it too many times, but it's been good. It's been very, very good. I've had a very fun career, you know? It's a roller coaster.

I've had higher moments than others. You know, you book a sitcom, you feel great, got a couple bucks in your pocket, sitcom goes away. No one's talking about you, nobody gives a shit. You book a sitcom, you feel great, got a couple bucks in your pocket, sitcom goes away, no one's talking about you, nobody gives a shit. You book something else, hey, things are good again. Pretty good, I'm humming along, got a couple good gigs. And you can pull it right back down to earth

when that gets canceled or moved on or, you know. So I've had a lot of these up and downs, but it's always been fun. Like I've never, never once have I felt like, this is it, I'm out of this town. You know, I've just felt like this is the ride that you signed up for. And inevitably, it goes back down.

It comes back up, it goes back down, and you just kind of get used to it and not, you don't invest too much emotionally into that. The peaks are cool, but you know, keep your hands inside the cart. I've got a couple more questions before we get you out of here. I imagined from afar Observationally you tell me whether I have this right or wrong that Dave was a show made by a perfectionist and That curb your enthusiasm is a show made by an imperfectionist

And so I imagine that the process of making those shows, it looked to me that perhaps curb your enthusiasm, the process would be more fun and that Dave might be more fulfilling, but that the process would be really rigorous. You're perceptive if nothing else. It's that to a T. Yeah. Curb was, Curb was comedy camp, summer camp. It was like, you know, it felt like that, like staying up late at night and like talking

when you're supposed to be sleeping. You know what I mean? Like that, like, what are we getting into? Like, what do we, what's going on? And Dave felt like a concentration camp. No, I'm kidding. I can't, it was right there. I had to do it.

It was so funny. It was right there. I had to pick it up. So sorry, cause I went to camp with him. No, Dave was very- It required concentration. It was right there. No, he was just a, Dave was a perfectionist.

He is a perfectionist and Dave, you know, Dave wanted things the way he wanted. It was his name on the box of Wheaties. So inevitably he was, you know, the way he wanted. It was his name on the box of Wheaties. So inevitably he was the master of ceremonies. He wanted it to be a certain way, which is why the show was very good at its good points and perhaps why it lacked in other places because perfectionism kind of leads to imperfect products

because you get so worried about all the things. Well, you created such a high standard after the first year to continue to meet it. And I mean- It's so hard to do. And Dave did a great job. And Jeff Schaeffer, who's our beacon, you know, who's also the beacon over at Curb,

coincidentally, it's hard when you have a lot of people with a lot of great creative ideas to kind of see the same light. And that's no knock on Dave or anybody. The show was really good when it was really good. But truthfully, when it wasn't good, it wasn't that good. I think he really wanted to make something perfect, and that's a hard thing to do.

And so, you know, with Curb, yes, Larry is a free-flowing genius. Now look, I only did one. I don't know what it's like to work with him all the time, but I will say the short little glimmer of fun that I got to have with that guy was one of the best moments of my career. I mean, making Larry laugh, forget about it.

Unbelievable. Two people I've made break or laugh that like made me feel like a child again was Larry David and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I never even got to work with her. I just auditioned 10 times for Veep and they never booked me, by the way, but I made her laugh in the room.

And that's etched into my brain. She was dying laughing and I was like, oh yeah. I mean, those are people who you're making, the people who are hard to make laugh, you're making them laugh. Like people who have known a lot of laughter and the most talented people in this business. By far, both comedic geniuses.

I think Julia's like one of the most brilliant, comedic, and just like talented minds I've ever seen. The way she does serious roles is just as good as the way she does comedy roles. So the exact same to me, she's that good. So making them laugh, it's this, a little bit of this, a little bit of sauce. I will promote what you've got going on. It's the Freeze Peach Tour. It's all over the

United States. It's selling out all over the United States. Also, AndrewSantino.com is where you want to go. The podcasts are Bobby, I'm sorry, Bad Friends with Bobby Lee and Whiskey Ginger. The last question I have for you, the opposite of love, deep, deep hatred. Why is it on site that anytime you see Adam Ray, you will begin fighting with him in the street? That's just good. You know, my beef with Adam Ray, really it goes back a long, long way.

And I can tell you exactly the moment that I started to really get, you know, really ticked off by Adam Ray is we took a car down to Angel Stadium to go watch a baseball game with our good friend, Brad Williams, who I know you know. I'm sure you guys may have served time together. What a grift that guy's got going. Unbelievable.

Me and Adam and I were in the car and Adam handed me a little bit of THC liquid, tincture as it were. And Adam and I like to dabble. And he said, take a little bit. And I said, how much? He said, a drop. I said, the dropper? Yeah, the dropper, the eye dropper. Sure. A drop. I took a whole dropper, the whole entire eyedropper, he meant one little single drop. And I've never felt so uncomfortable in my entire life.

Every room turned into an escape room. I was extremely vulnerable is a good word. And then he made me go see Sully while I was ripped. Like I don't want a plane crash movie before we go to a baseball game. So that's why Adam Ray, I got beef. You get me too baked and you take me to a scary movie before a baseball game.

And I'll fight an Adam Ray anytime I see him. And you know that it's on site, Adam. Step up, step up pal. Okay. People have seen it. Every time you see him, it starts. It's weird that you just fight in public at all times. That's why he's doing that Dr. Filting. He's trying to hide from me.

You can't hide from me, Adam Ray. What else you want me to tell the people? Freeze Peach Tour. The Freeze Peach Tour is going on right now. I've got 20 cities left before Bobby Lee and I go to Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, which is crazy, because we stopped our tour, but we owed these dates, and I said, we I go to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, which is crazy. Cause we stopped our tour, but we owed these dates.

And I said, we got to go down under cause as Dananda fans, they like us. So we got to go Australia, New Zealand, Singapore. And then all through until February, I do about 20 some odd cities to finish up. And then, and then at some point get around to recording the hour for Hulu. It's going to be on Hulu,

which I'm excited about, my first shot at an hour with Hulu. I've seen you say that you didn't love cheeseburger, that you're self-conscious. I don't like anything I've ever done. I mean, I don't really like, it's hard for me to like fall in love with stuff that I've done, because once I do, doing it is the best. And then once you're done with it,

I'm like, get that out of here. I don't know, you know, it's a done. And so- When you doing it is the best. And then once you're done with it, I'm like, get that out of here. I don't know, it's done. And so. When you say it's the best, that's the thing you love the most. Doing it, physically doing it. Stand up, live stand up, there is an, it's unbeatable, unbeatable.

My buddy Dan Soder and I talked about that one time about how when someone says like, no, I liked you on this podcast, or I liked, I saw you live, it was great, but I didn't like the taped or recorded version of whatever you've done. And Soder said, no, I liked you on this podcast, or I liked, I saw you live, it was great, but I didn't like the taped or recorded version of whatever you've done. And Soder said, yeah, because they're getting it right from the source before.

You're drinking out of the tap. How good does it feel sucking out of the hose as a kid when you're sweating from playing backyard ball? That's gonna be way better than the bottle you got at the convenience store. It just is, you're getting it right from the source. So it's a criticism that we'll always get as comedians that do these different mediums now, but I like doing it, but then when it's done,

it's hard for me to see it. I don't like watching me and I don't like any of that stuff. So it's hard for, I don't know, it's always been that way, but I love live. Live is like it. But so hopefully this new special that I've got, maybe this one I'll turn around and really enjoy.

Only 20 dates left here. Freeze Peach Tour if you want to see him live in his natural environment. That's right, where I'm the best. Really enjoyed this. Thank you, sir. Thank you, me too. Now's a good time to remember where the story of tequila started. In 1795, the first tequila distillery was opened by the Cuervo family. And 229 years later, Cuervo is still going strong. Family owned from the start, same family, same land.

Now's a good time to enjoy Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Go to Cuervo.com to shop tequila or visit a store near you. Cuervo, now's a good time to enjoy Cuervo, the tequila that invented tequila. Go to Cuervo.com to shop tequila or visit a store near you. Cuervo, now's a good time. Trademarks owned by Becle, SAB the CV, copyright 2024, Proximo. Jersey City, New Jersey. Please drink responsibly.