The Digression Sessions - Ep. 183 - Connor Graham Interviews The Boys (@ConnorG2110 @JoshKuderna @MikeMoranWould)

Episode Date: March 22, 2016

Hola Digheads! We kind of put our thing down and reverse it this week, as Josh and Mike become the interviewees. Writer Connor Graham is our guest interviewer!  Connor is writing a piece for the Baltimore Fish Bowl on Baltimore podcasters and interviewed Josh and Mike as a part of it. And since Josh and Mike couldn't record a proper episode this week, we decided to release the raw audio from the interview. We'll let you know when Connor's article is up! In the meantime, check out Connor's blog here - https://connorgrahamsite.wordpress.com/ Follow your boys, Mike & Josh, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Josh - @JoshKuderna on Twitter and @JoshKuderna on Instagram Mike - @MikeMoranWould on Twitter The Pod - @DigSeshPod on Twitter The Pod's Facebook page - Dig Sesh on Facebook For live stand up and improv dates, check out - DigressionSessions.com/Calendar Thanks for listening, all! Do us a favor and rate and review us on iTunes & Stitcher plz!  

hey everybody i'm josh kaderna and i'm mike moran and you're listening to the digression sessions podcast a baltimore-based comedy talk show hosted by two young, handsome stand-up comedians slash improvisers. Join us every week as we journey through the world of comedy and the bizarreness of existence. As we interview local and non-local comedians, writers, musicians, and anyone else we find creative and interesting. Yes. Who's the guest this week mike moran and josh kaderna are the guests this week kind of sort of uh hi everybody josh kaderna here doing this intro solo um uh thank you to everybody who discovered the podcast last week for the first time and checked it out for the uh Arnold episode, which was still

surreal and very cool. And we thank you for listening and thank you to Tom Arnold for doing it. Of course, he could not have been nicer. I know there was some drama regarding his shows and who he performed with, but I can't speak to that. But from our perspective, Tom could not have been nicer, could not have been cooler so uh thanks again to him for doing it and thanks to any new listeners we picked up um this week the episode is a little bit different in that um uh mike moran and i uh we were going to do just an episode of just him and i kind of catching up but a fella named connor graham, a writer, and used to work for WYPR, an NPR affiliate here in Baltimore. He's doing a piece for the Baltimore Fish Bowl, which is a website you can check out.

And he was going to do it on podcasting in Baltimore. And he wanted to interview us, which was very flattering and cool. So he came over to the Dig Sesh HQ, a.k HQ, aka my basement, and just asked us a bunch of questions. And he was super nice, could not have been cooler as well. And he asked if we could record the conversation. I said, yeah, I'll just use my recorder. And I didn't use the microphones because we were just kind of having a group chat. So I just kind of put it in the middle of the table. So it kind of picks up some of the ambient noise, but you can definitely still hear what's going on. So like I said, so Mike and I didn't have time to do an episode. And then I had this audio leftover from the interview that

Connor did with us. So I figured, fuck it, why not release that as an episode? So hopefully that'll be enjoyable. But it's funny because it's not the best audio quality it's sort of similar to the greg baron episode we did which uh i encourage everybody to check out but uh so yeah we just kind of had a recorder in between the three of us as we talked and uh connor was great it was a really good interview and we kind of got to go over how we got started and kind of the ins and outs of podcasting. And I think it'll be interesting for people to hear. So the funny aspect of it is, though, he asked us about what it takes to be a good podcaster and any advice we have. And I said, make sure your sound quality is good.

Make sure you don't eat while podcasting and keep it timely in that. Make sure you release episodes the same time every week. And with this episode, I'm breaking all three because the audio quality is fine. It's definitely listenable, but it's not the top tier that we normally have. And since I didn't think this was going to be released, I eat a bagel, parts of a bagel at some point. And also, you can hear my heat system, my HVAC system kick on at one point in the interview. But I think it's definitely listenable. And I wanted to get something up this week because just to keep the momentum rolling. And uh, and yeah, Connor did a great job. So it was really cool. So, uh, we'll let you know when it's up and, uh, you guys can read

that article and, uh, yeah, I hope you enjoy it. It was, it was good. It was a good time. So, um, let's see here. So let me promote a couple of live dates for, uh, me and my, my good pal, Mike Moran. We're doing a bunch of stand-up coming up. On the 23rd, you can see Moran at the Crossroads Tavern in Glen Burnie. I believe that's at 8 o'clock. On the 25th of March, he'll be at the Performance Arts Center here in Baltimore doing a show there, 8 o'clock. That's free. We'll both be doing a show on the 29th in Towson

at a venue called Bread and Circuses. It's going to start at 10 p.m. 10 p.m. and that'll be a good show. Let's see. And then for me, Josh Coderna, this week, if you're listening Tuesday, I will be at the Songbird Cafe in Adams Morgan in D.C. at 8 o'clock, kind of working on some new stuff. I'll be hosting the show in the front room of Arlington Draft House on Thursday, March 24th. The 31st, I'll be at Kisslings in Canton, Baltimore, headlining that show. That'll be a lot of fun. On the 2nd of April, Mike Moran will be doing the Wake Up Show, which I host with my good buddy Alex Broslowski of ChuckleStorm fame. We do a

daytime talk show the first Saturday of every month. And it's a lot of fun. So it's at a cafe. It's free. It starts at one o'clock. So you can sleep in and come check out a show. We do interviews and we have guests and comedians and music. It's really good. It's one of my favorite shows to do. And so come out to that. It's free. Get a cup of coffee and wake up and music. It's really good. It's one of my favorite shows to do. And so come out to that. It's free. Get a cup of coffee and wake up with us. And then one big show I want to promote. It's a little ways out, but I really want to see a bunch of people there. It is April 24th. That's a Sunday. And I will be opening for Kurt Bronneler, hilarious Kurt Bronneler at the Creative Alliance here in Baltimore in the Patterson Park area. So yeah, it's just a two-man show, and I get to open for Kurt, and I'm very excited about that.

And hopefully he'll do the podcast and keep you guys informed about that. So that's all our dates. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram. I'm on there at Josh Koderna on both platforms. Mike Moran is on Twitter. He is at Mike Moran Wood. The podcast is at Dig Sesh Pod. You can check out all our episodes on iTunes and Stitcher, digressionsessions.com. Check out the rest of our network, Thunder Grunt. And what else?

What else to promote here? Oh, yeah. Give us a rate and review us if you want on iTunes. And it helps us go up in the ratings. And it helps us go up in the ratings and makes us look like an official podcast if we're up on them charts and whatnot. So that's nice. And, yeah, we have a Facebook page for the podcast. Say hi. We love hearing from people.

And, yeah, man. So that's it. So now let's cut to uh my basement and uh our conversation with connor and uh yeah we'll talk to you guys soon we love you bye podcasting scene if there is one because i mean the thing about podcasting is I guess it doesn't really lend itself to a scene. Right. You know what I mean? Or, like, what do you guys, how did you get into doing this?

Mostly for the groupies, right? Podcast groupies? I mean, the groupies and the money, to be honest. I'll be honest. It is nice being financially secure now. I mean, I am an artist, but, yeah. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I enjoy the millions of dollars that we've spent on the podcast.

So you don't receive, even being under the umbrella of Thunder Grunt, you guys don't get? No, we're trying to work out advertising. We just advertised on the Tom Arnold episode for a friend that's doing a Kickstarter. And he was like, I'll send you posters and t-shirts.

And I was like, payment enough. So that was cool. Like, if we can get anything out of it, we'll don't tell. Yeah. And then, yeah, we had the band Third Grade Friends. We had the guitar player on, and he brought us CDs and t-shirts. So we're getting close to making money. We're getting stuff.

Also we haven't really reached out. I thought about maybe asking Jack Jones, the owner of Sugar, if we could do a little partnership and say if somebody mentions Degression Sessions when they buy a sex toy they get like 10% off or something. Which they're probably already

doing anyway. I'm going to use this while I'm listening to digressions. Would you like the Moran or the Kedarn? Both shaped like microphones. Yeah, both shaped like microphones. Oh my god, that's actually not a bad idea. We have microphone shaped buildings.

I think we're recording this. How did you guys get, I mean, did you, have you seen any sort of, like, does this have any sort of effect on your performances? Like when you go. Our sexual performance? Yeah. No, it is stand up. Like, do you guys have, have you noticed bigger crowds or?

They're not related to like this, to stand up per se like there's definitely people you'll run into they're like oh i listen to the podcast and like every now and then they'll be they'll somebody will be like yeah i heard your podcast and i heard the dates and i'm here yeah but it's not like you know we get like fucking it's not overwhelming right no yeah no i'm still amazed when anybody's like oh i listen to the podcast i'm like really yeah i mean because we can see the numbers i know people are listening but it's still just bizarre anybody's like, oh, I listen to the podcast. I'm like, really? I mean, because we can see the numbers. I know people are listening. But it's still just bizarre to me

that anybody listens to the dick jokes we make in my basement. We have guaranteed downloads in England every episode. Really? So yeah, so our dick jokes... Have they ever reached out? Yeah, yeah.

I was going to try to send one of the kids a t-shirt. A Jolgo microphone. Yeah. But the shipping on those thingsshirt. A Jolio microphone. Yeah. But the shipping on those things, especially yours, it's massive. It is. But, yeah, there was some, I had to fill out a bunch of stuff to send it internationally,

and I was like, ugh. I told him, he's like, it's fine, dude. I was like, okay. Well, you guys are, I mean, when I listen to this, I feel like I'm listening to something of the same caliber as like nerdist you know what i mean because it's like it it does seem like it's like i'll give you an example when i was going through and listening to some of the other shows one of the ones i listened to was one where you guys talked about you shit your pants. Oh, yeah. And, like, talked about it for almost 40 minutes. Yeah.

Like, it was just like, like, this could have been disastrous. You know what I mean? But it's like, like, you would go off on tangents, but, like, just enough so that they weren't, like, like, you know how, like,

some people, like, when you do something that makes somebody laugh and then they just keep trying to, they keep trying to do it. Trying to strike gold. Yeah, right.

If you enjoy Josh's shitting his pants story, you'll enjoy my shitting my pants at the Hopkins meeting story of several years ago. Well into sobriety, mind you.

That was the thing, too, is that you had always kind of held it against me that I never shit my pants and now I'm jealous that you stole my thunder and you're like that's my thing I shit my pants like two years ago what the fuck man I shit my pants before it was cool

and listening to Animal Collective on one of our early episodes, I explained how I took a dump on the floor of the Hopkins meeting. Didn't you have to take your pants off too and leave pantsless? No, I had to

leave pantsless. Didn't you have a pentagram of feces on your forehead? It wasn't far off from either of those misinformed facts. But I did not have underwear on and I was wearing tan shorts. And I had to leave the bathroom stall and go to the sink pantsless and pray that no one would come in as people were streaming into the meeting. And then I had to just kind of run for dear life out of the meeting.

I had to go into the meeting room and grab my stuff, too. And be like, I'm sick. I'm sick. And just kind of like... Because that's a place where people are super concerned about your well-being, too. Right. Exactly. And you're automatically going to get attention called to you.

Just like, Mike, why are you leaving? Yeah. I definitely didn't shoot my pants. I'm addicted to heroin now. I didn't shoot my pants. That's what I said. It's embarrassing.

It was very, very visible and what's the visible word for? Aroma? Aroma. Aromatic. Aromatic. Yeah.

This was digressions session's number... Well, two. Fair enough. No, it's the very first... I believe our guest was Shin Tisdale on that one. In our first season one. That episode gets some downloads still. Yeah.

Because of her porn activities. This goes to show you, man. Yeah. We gotta leak a Dig Sesh sex tape. Yeah, I think so. I'm looking at you. I'll do it. Well, that was one of the first questions I had. Who's gonna do a sex tape?

Can we see you in a sex tape? One of the first questions I had was if you guys are paid, and you said that you're not, but I mean, so do you, one of the things about podcasts is, you know, with performers, I guess so much of the thrill of doing it is having an audience react to what you're doing. Do you get that sort of reaction from people? Like, do people send you messages about the podcast or do

oh yeah that's always fun especially if it's something you forget that you said somebody's like dude i had to pull over i was laughing so hard you're like i don't even remember that because like i used to when i used to edit the podcast i would listen to like every second of it and like even if there was a cough and a little bit of a pause i'd be like oh we gotta edit that out edit that out now i'm just like fucking it's all in there right unless it's like something super egregious or something like that it's just all in there um but no like mostly now it's just an excuse for you and i to hang out pretty much and it's great so we just try to make each other laugh and then if other people listen to it great yeah it really has become therapeutic for me. Yeah. After all these years.

Yeah. That's been a fucking while. I think it's four. Yeah. I think the end of this summer will be five years. Wow. Yeah. It is kind of like, you know, it is kind of a good, like, kind of, I don't know, just

talking about yourself and your problems with a friend. Yeah. You know, like, it just, it's just helpful. It's a nice constant to have too. It's like, I know we're going to get together, have coffee, and get our shit out, whatever it is. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, was there like a jumping off point?

Because I remember in the Patton Oswalt episode, you had mentioned that that sort of just happened. Yeah. You couldn't have planned that, really. No, no. But since then, you've had a lot of really recognizable names. He opened the door for sure. I mean, because once you say, like, you know, you offer, like, hey, would you want to do my podcast?

Patton Oswalt did it. And they're like, all right, if he did it, I can do it. Yeah. And that we're mobile, so we can take this wherever. So if, you know, if you tell somebody, like, hey, we can come to your hotel. You don't have to leave. You don't have to do whatever. They're like, yeah, fine.

Come to me and fucking I'll knock it out. So, like, the Tom Arnold thing wouldn't have happened if you don't have to do whatever they're like yeah fine come come to me and fucking i'll knock it out so yeah like the tom arnold thing wouldn't happen if we didn't go to him yeah there's no no way well i don't think that i mean has there been a single like kind of celebrity one that hasn't been mobile yeah no it has to be yeah it's either in like a green room of a club or a hotel right pretty much so there has none of them have come to the basement no that's a tough sell that's a tough tough sell I think like I don't know you but you're

coming to my basement yeah exactly we're not gonna kill you right yeah that's what Brian Husky remember when we went to interview him

he's like you guys aren't gonna like kill me right I don't know kill us us no kill us yeah so

no it's been great being able to like go to them. So, and then Patton and Matt Walsh. And it seems like every guest we get, like, it just keeps kind of fomenting, like, we're able to get other people. So, that's nice. It's not going to be long before we have people that are dead. Like, that's how good we're getting.

Right, right. We have George Washington. Right. I'm into that. Carver. Right. They have a seance before the recording. Yeah, the Ouija board going.

So how did you, well, first of all, I mean, do you guys listen to podcasts really? Like are you into it? No, love, love. I'm totally addicted. I can't like go from my car to the house. I can't go from my bedroom to the bathroom or go in the kitchen and make something to eat without either music or podcast. Yeah, I listen to it when I'm at the grocery store.

Dude, remember how much waiting in line used to be the worst thing ever? Going to the DMV? Now this is just anything else. It's not so bad. I kind of look forward to waiting in a waiting room or something something now not just like podcasts but just the internet in general just like having it on your phone oh yeah like these are just all the podcasts that like it's just a

ton yeah so i just subscribe to everything and then there's some that like i don't subscribe to but listen now and again but yeah i work in a cubicle so if i couldn't listen to podcast i'd be dead it's just it passes the time i love it like the fucking the access that we have to comedians now is insane like can you imagine if like richard pryor or george carlin had a podcast like each week bill right bill burr does an hour by himself like and he's like one of the best comedians working probably gonna be one of the best comedians ever and every week you have access to his thoughts for an hour yeah for free yeah exactly yeah and that's one of the things that i think is so interesting about all the stand-ups who do podcasts because it's such a it seems like i think markon, for example, he sort of is conflicted with it because I think he can tell when he's doing a show and the audience is podcast listeners.

You know what I mean? Not people who have been in the comedy scene and going to clubs. He's just sort of like, I can tell this is, this is a WTF crowd. And I wonder, I mean, like,

do you sort of just see it as all part of the same thing? Or, I mean, do you, do you separate this at all from your, your comedy? Or, I mean, does,

or is it all, what do you mean? Like, as far as who, who were like communicating, right. Do you think this is, is this for a different audience or is it always what do you mean like as far as who we're like communicating to right do you think this is is this for a different

audience or is this just it's probably something I should have thought about in the past but I don't think I have because it is

it is weird like a lot of our listeners I think are local comedians or people like in the comedy world in the improv world yeah and like

some people like yeah there's stuff in LA there's New York but definitely like our biggest listenership is dc virginia maryland for sure um yeah no it's like bellow comics and then it's friends and stuff too and co-workers and family it's always weird when family listens and stuff so that's my greatest there's a lot out there yeah yeah i remember my ex-girlfriend she was like yeah my dad uh said he's really liked the podcast he listens it's like tell him don't

all right just gonna yeah because i just don't want to see him be like oh so you shake your pants huh i really don't like i don't think we've i do we hold back on anything like i don't think there's not really unless it's like personal like i don't know like've, do we hold back on anything? Like, I don't think there's. Not really. Unless it's, like, personal, like, I don't know, like, other people's shit. But as far as, like, our stuff, like, no. I think I've laid out, like, every insecurity I've had, every embarrassing experience. Yeah. And it feels good. Yeah, it really does.

It kind of takes the power away from it, too. It totally does. Once you say it into a microphone. And I think it is easier too to not, like if you were to do that in a stand-up set, it'd be a lot more nerve-wracking

because people are right there. Yeah. But when we do it here, it's just us. And it's us actually talking. Like in a stand-up capacity, it's kind of like here's me joke,

here's me self-deprecating or whatever. But like with us, we're just actually talking about it. Yeah. Just kind of trying to be funny here and there. Right is really you know i mean like i think you and i have probably both learned the power of honesty and just being absolutely this is the shit i've

done right i'm just getting it out there you know like i'm not proud of it necessarily but uh yeah not letting it fester either yeah it's funny because it sort of blurs the line between because I can't remember which stand up said this but it was he was saying you know how whenever you have a funny friend somebody says to them you should do stand up and I say

no you really shouldn't because I thought that was interesting what you were saying how the stuff you guys talk about even though it's funny it's not stand upup it's you know what i mean it's like the stuff that you guys say like on the like conversation podcast or yeah it's entertaining to listen to but it wouldn't be the same thing as on the right right it should be i think like probably early on and i i at least would try to be like you know making jokes like uh you know or try to be doing a bit or whatever.

And then I think I learned at some point it's just more entertaining for us to just talk about ourselves or whatever. Yeah. Yeah, same way that something you say on the podcast may not translate to stand-up. It works vice versa, too. Sure, yeah. Like, hey, Mike, so I was at the grocery store the other day. Which one? Not important. Mike, what I'm getting at?

Don't slow me down here. You haven't noticed. Men and women are wildly different, huh? Just like, how so? Like, okay, don't ruin my day. Mike, make some noise if you're having a good time. How we feeling out there? What do you mean?

I don't know. We're in your basement. It's really funny. So do you guys, I always wonder this when I see people who are really active creatively. Like, why do you stay in Baltimore? Do you think that there's... I mean, is there a pretty good comedy scene here, or

do you think that, like, is that part of the thing? Like, you just want to build it here? There's a little bit of that. It's kind of like, we're already here, right? So might as well... There's laziness, and then DC is really good. Like, the stand-up scene down there has been great.

Like, there are open mics there, like, multiple nights a week, every night of the week, which is insane. So you have access to more stage time. And then here we get enough people coming through that we can interview, but then there's also cool people like Future Islands and DDM and Y-Oak and people like that that we've had on the podcast. But I don't know, man. New York, L.A., it's all, it's really scary to me.

Because we have friends that go to New York to do stand-up, and everyone's already there. And, like, they come back with this 10,000-yard stare. Like, you'll see them at, like, Thanksgiving or whatever. They'll come back for a weekend. They're like, hey, how's New York? Like, it's hard. Yeah.

Yeah, hard. You know, like, they've been to, like, NAMM, and they've seen the shit. Right. And they're like, I, how's New York? It's hard. They've been to NAMM and they've seen the shit. I'll just kind of chill. They're getting two minutes of stage time in front of eight comedians at an open mic. Even our friend Stav, Stavros Halkias, he's killing it. He's in with big comedians

and they bring him on the road. He told our friend Umar, he's like, it sucks, man. I'm not having fun. It's really hard. I don't know, man. I'm going to be 30 this year and i'm like fuck i don't know like it's just why dude you're like shooting up the stand-up ladder it's not really like shooting up i mean it's good but it's just like shooting up it's just like shooting up yeah i i pass out i feel a little i can't poop and uh no no, it's hard, man. I think about it, like, taking that risk, but then also, I don't know, kind of just caught in that middle of, like, we get stage time when we want.

There's enough, like, cool shit happening where I'm kind of satisfied. But then there is that temptation of, like, that carrot of, like, well, what about the next thing, you know? Well, I mean, do you guys have anxiety about that about if this actually became your job you know if if for example you know what if digression sessions was picked up by some some bigger like an earwolf or something like yeah where like you know they charge like however many thousands for a for a a advertisement, you know what I mean? Like, so you guys would get part of that, but do you, is doing stand-up on the weekends and at nights kind of satisfying enough for you guys, or, like, is it? Man, I would love to get paid, I mean, for me, like, that's the idea of making it is

getting paid enough to, like, just live just live like get paid enough through your art stand up whatever it is podcast and then be able to like pay your bills would be great that i mean that's what i would love that but yeah if this became like a job i'd clock in oh yeah yeah of course i'm sure it's like anything like it's the dream and then you get there and then it's like not as like after a week the excitement wears off yeah yeah but it's still like i don't know i mean that's already kind of happened with like everything i'm doing that i've always wanted to do in life but it still is like way better than being like like having you know like going to school for something i don't want to go for and thinking like yeah you know someday i should do something creative. Yeah. It's just so much better than that. Well, that's funny you would say that because I think it was on Nerdist, actually, where J.J. Abrams was on.

And he said something about how every step he took, it never felt different because it happens so gradually that he wasn't like, holy shit, I'm directing Star Wars. You know what I mean? He was just saying that it all happened in such a way. There's way more pressure once you get to that point. Yeah, like, yeah, what's next? Right, right. There's always somebody above you.

It's just never going to... I mean, I just try to be grateful for the fact that I'm doing this. When I look at it, I'm like, all right, I could die tomorrow, just try to be grateful for what the fact that i'm doing this like yeah you know it's it really when i look at it i'm like all right i could die tomorrow and like i'd be pretty happy with things in fact i probably will die tomorrow so i'm glad we got this no like i'm totally like when i look back at where i was like five or six years ago when i was like this is insane but i hate my life so much right now that i'm gonna make this mad leap into like attempting to get into comedy and shit. What were you doing that you hated so much? I kind of just well the main thing was I just went through a

really bad depression and I I just all of a sudden I was in my late 20s and hadn't done any of the stuff I wanted to do when I was you know like I got sober when I was 21 and I thought I would be able to do all the stuff I wanted to do when I was, like I got sober when I was 21, and I thought I would be able to do all the stuff I loved then. Perfect time, by the way. I was 22. Oh, yeah? Nice. Instead, I just put it all off and kind of did what my parents wanted,

did what the girlfriend wanted, and then I was like, holy fuck, I'm like 27, and this is not where I want to be at all, you know, like, um, and so, and I just went through a really bad depression. The girlfriend left me, had to move back in with my mom for a while. And, uh, I was in like, I was thinking about it too much. Like there's no fucking way I'm going to be able to do this now, you know, like, but I knew I wouldn't be happy unless I immersed myself in the creative world to some degree. So I just kind of like just threw myself at the wall to see if anything would stick and like so when I look back on that I'm like holy fuck this has been a really

good five or six years yeah and you drive uber I do now you do that okay cuz I do yes and I don't mind you know like what I said like Josh could totally fucking like make it like in a few years I think you could probably get paid enough to live off of it. Fingers crossed. But like I don't, I don't, I don't know if I want, want that or if it wants me to like, I don't know. When I start thinking like that and start like comparing myself to others, that's when

I get kind of miserable. So I really just try to like, I don't mind driving Uber during the day. That's my attitude. It's's why I don't mind driving uber during the day that's my attitude it's like I don't mind having a coffee shop job I'm happy with everything I'm doing living the dreams if I start like thinking like I should be here there this person's doing better than me then that's when I get ungrateful you know yeah and then that's also not gonna get you anywhere either right like yeah but it's so easy to do because you can be like oh I got this gig and then somebody else on facebook's like but i got this gig fuck you but you know it's

not like they're taking anything away from you it's not like they're like it's either mike or louis ck so yeah and that's i don't know i think that's been a common theme of the podcast too as we've got further and further into stand-up is that there's always another rung on the ladder there's always more mountain to climb and like you just need to be happy with where you're at because it's just always like like the first time that really hit me is when i graduated college and they're like so grad school i'm like i just went to school for literally like 18 years yeah they're like so more school I was like no and that's how it is with stand up

it's like okay I did some open mics it was cool it's like why how come I'm not doing this gig blah blah and then you get

that gig and you're like well how come I'm not doing 15 minutes and why am I only doing 5 and so it's like

and then if you have that shitty attitude your set's gonna suck people aren't gonna want to be around you and so like you kind of have to

keep that shit in check for sure yeah definitely definitely it's uh yeah it's it's stand up could be so brutal I want to be around you. And so, like, you kind of have to keep that shit in check for sure. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Yeah. It's, stand-up can be so brutal but also so good at the same time in that sense where you're like, the fuck, I suck, I hate this. And then you have one good set, you're like, you know what?

I could be on SNL. Yeah. It is crazy how it's just like you never know, like, five minutes before you go on stage, am I going to feel like a god later tonight, or am I going to feel like the biggest piece of shit in the world? Yeah, man. But, you know, it's just all about staying grateful. I mean, for me, like, I know my brain will find, you know,

if there's two bad things going on out of 150 good things, my brain's going to concentrate on the two bad things, you know? If, like, 100 people show up to my birthday party birthday party i'm gonna obsess over the three people that didn't so it's like i i gotta like i have to like train myself to like you know just stay grateful for focus on the positive yeah exactly and what about what about with your job i mean does that's not something that you feel like sucks at your soul? It can, but honestly,

I'm definitely in that gilded cage, man. Like, when I first started my government job, like, I was just happy

to just have a job because I graduated in December of 2008 as soon as the economy was going down. So they're like, good luck. And they're like,

you know. They're like, but you have a great major, right? I was like, luck and they're like you know they're like but you have a great major right i was like history they're like you're fucked so uh so i graduated and then social security did a um they did a job fair and they're like oh we need writers and it's like i just wrote a 35 page paper they're like okay and so i got to interview there and i was working at paper moon with mike uh and then yeah so that's that's where we met and um but yeah then i i got that job and they were like like okay so yeah we'll have you like three years blah blah by the third year you'll make seventy two thousand dollars is that okay and i was like it's not great but i i can make that work so then and then like

and then you meet these people that just seem like kind of just flat you know like the types of people it's like so what's the plan

for the weekend you're gonna take the money and you're like you just want to kill yourself but and then they have plaques on their walls

that say like to 30 years of excellence and then your heart just hurts you're like oh 30 years but like as you stay there

you're like benefits pretty good money good and now I've just started. You're like, oh, 30 years. But, like, as you stay there, you're like, benefits, pretty good, money, good. And now I've just started working from home two days a week. Oh, wow. So they're very flexible in that sense. So I'm like, I can definitely see how, like, you get stuck. You know what I mean? It's not bad, and I'm not complaining. So that's another thing, too.

It's like, I'm making decent money, so would I move to L.A. and then, like, fucking live on a bed of pizza boxes you know would i be okay with that my kingdom for a bed of pizza boxes um so but no but they're very flexible and they know that i do comedy like when we did the pat noswalt episode like i basically was just like i gotta go i was like peace and then my my boss she was like okay remember us little people like they get it so they're they're cool so and i don't like abuse it or anything about like i gotta go right now

every day and is you do you work anywhere besides driving uber because i mean that you basically make your own schedule right yeah I have been doing it full time but I don't think it's going to be sustainable because it puts so many miles on your car so quickly. I really like it though. I cannot go back to having a boss now.

There's just no way. So all this about Uber drivers getting fucked, you don't agree with it, do you think? Have you heard about that in the news? Getting fucked by the company? Yeah, yeah. Well, we certainly don't really make much compared to the upfront costs, especially just the miles on your car.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it can be relatively lucrative for somebody with my skill skill set which is zero outside of dick jokes and God I told myself I'd never use that cliche of like I do dick jokes it's like a stand up cliche thing I'm definitely putting that

Mike dick jokes will be dead tomorrow probably that's your final quote. He said he wanted this on his tombstone. You guys are just laughing. Mr. Dick joke himself. Mike Moran.

Yeah, it's definitely not really very much money, at least not around here. Once you factor in all the shit you have to do with your car and everything. Yeah, the upkeep. Yeah, and just like, and the risk for, I feel like an accident's inevitable at some point. Yeah, and then Uber kind of absolves themselves, right? They're like, you're not an employee, you're like a contract or something. I mean, I'm totally cool with all that stuff.

I love the hands-off. I love just not having anybody over my shoulder. Yeah. But it's just not... As a full-time thing, it just doesn't really work. Yeah. It's a lot of fucking driving. Yeah, and then it's your car. It's not like it's your cab that you're like, oh, who gives a fuck?

And then you go home to your car. Right. Yeah, but you can get a coffee shop gig or something. I feel like that would be good for you, though. Yeah, I wouldn't do that. Really? I mean, all the free coffee you get. I think I just can't work with other humans.

I think I'd do everything better alone. You are really nailing this job right there. Yeah. I'm sort of in the same position where I'm now that i'm not at the radio station anymore trying to find which way you know like whether or not i should just take a restaurant job or something and try to yeah continue writing on the side or whether or not i can actually like piece together stuff yeah it's gonna be tough to like try to be like all right so am i gonna put all my eggs in this basket exactly i don't know what the fuck's gonna happen, right?

I honestly find it so much easier to not even think about the money stuff It's a day job and then just be like I'm gonna make this the best writing piece I can or the best stand-up show that I can yeah, I mean, I don't know for me personally. It's like What's eight hours of driving around you, like it's not that hard. you know looking for work and I've been you know I got this this story that I'm doing I've also been like blogging and I sort of like there are just days where like if I don't have a good idea mm-hmm I sort of just get really down on myself is that something that you guys I can't remember the last time I felt bad about my creative ideas or anything anything in general, right? Yeah.

I think I've honestly never heard any other creative person. Yeah. You should get help, dude. You're probably the first one. You are fucked, man. I don't know. I know I just met you, but you are fucked. And you said you had a history major, right?

Whoa! Jesus Christ. English, actually. Oh, even worse. Yeah, right. Oh, my God. What's your minor in? Philosophy. You are fucked.

Yeah, I know. Oh, man. No, I'd say I probably feel like that most of the time. But I think I learned that early on, that it's like not, you know. For me personally, it's about showing I'm like a little bit a day type of guy. Like, you know, a little bit of perspiration a day and then the inspiration will come to you occasionally you know

you always just gotta have a notepad when the inspiration comes yeah no it definitely happens like I try to be creative that's why I have all this music shit too cause like I don't want to get too burnt out on stand up but I need to fill that hole that's like I'm good at something i'm doing

brought to you by sugar yeah right uh yeah exactly you need to fill that hole sugar of baltimore um so yeah so i try to do stuff and then or if you're writing and you're like this sucks i suck i've always sucked i don't know how i've gotten this far with sucking so bad and uh and then you know then it just kind of passes. And then you ask me to stop talking. Yeah. Yeah, and then it just kind of passes. But, like, Friday I had a show in D.C. and I was super tired.

And I came home and I napped before that. And I could have just, like, napped the whole night. Like, I felt like shit. And then woke up and I went. And then I actually had a fun show. But, like, while you're lying in bed you're like i could i could just stay here until like i don't know two days from now yeah exactly exactly so i definitely have those periods of where i need to like hibernate a little bit sure

like rebuild and get the creative juices going again somehow but yeah we go through that all the time of talking about like what's the balance of just watching the simpsons and eating pizza versus like being creative it's like because even when we're sick we both have the same thing like we don't want to lay around and feel too lazy and then like you just make yourself worse by being like no i could do stuff it's like just take a fucking day and do nothing i think watching the simpsons is creative yeah Yeah, it's true. It probably is. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good point.

I have, I just don't think, I mean, like, all the other cartoons, like, I think South Park is funny. But, like, it's just, compared to The Simpsons, like, The Simpsons is just not only the funniest of the cartoons, but it also has the most redeeming qualities. Where at the end of the episode, there's something cute that happens. Yeah, like a mix of heart and then also extreme sarcasm. One of my favorite things is to follow an Instagram account of The Simpsons. Just because just a picture picture it just reminds you of the episode like that shows you

how good the episode is like just a still frame you're like I love this this is so fucking good and like yeah seeing those throughout the day

was so good they had the for St. Paddy's Day they had the one of Bart where he got drunk where he's looking at the camera he's like

what are you looking at it's so good then they photoshopped one remember when Todd said he doesn't want Where he's looking at the camera, he's like, what are you looking at? It's so good. Then they photoshopped one. Remember when Todd said he doesn't want any damn vegetables? Oh, yeah. They made a, they photoshopped that to make it look like it was, what's Milhouse's dad's name? Mr. Van Halen. Yeah, Kurt.

They made it look like his tape and it was Todd and said I don't want any damn vegetables nice go ahead and laugh I already did I don't want any damn vegetables oh god I love that so good

so good it's definitely a balance, man. Like, because with stand-up, too, I mean, you definitely get better as you do it, but you still have shitty sets, especially when you're trying new stuff that, like, you don't know. You're like, I'm just kind of rambling up here, and, yeah, it's weird. Yeah, it's not only that, but it's, like, sometimes, I don't know. For me, I can do, if I'm trying new stuff, or even if it's not only that, but it's like sometimes, I don't know, for me, I can do, if I'm trying new stuff or even if it's not new stuff that I'm just not sure of, like which audience to do it to or like which room,

like, and it fails miserably. If I'm in the right mode, I can still like be okay with that and like have fun with it, you know? Yeah. But there's something about, I don't know.

It's weird. Just like some, some nights it's just like, this sucks. Like, I just, I don't want to be up here. Like, this feels horrible. Even if it like goes kind of well, it's like. Just like some nights it's just like, this sucks. Like, I just, I don't want to be up here. Like, this feels horrible.

Even if it, like, goes kind of well, it's like, I was just reciting lines. Like, it's like. Yeah. But it definitely gets less and less as I do it, you know. Yeah, for sure. Well, and when you guys, I have this question because, I mean, you guys are podcast listeners, so you're familiar with Radiotopia. No.

Well, Radiotopia is the thing 99% invisible. Have you heard of that one? No. Okay. No, sorry. It's okay. But Radiotopia and Gimlet are like two of the big podcasting, sort of like Thunder Grunt.

Oh, okay, like network. Yeah, networking things. Okay, got okay like network yeah okay gotcha gotcha the guys who started those are both former npr employees okay and like they it just sort of came out of like this sense of frustration that you know they couldn't do the type of radio they wanted on npr so i was wondering i mean was there any sort of, like, frustration or anything that made you want to start doing the podcast? Or did it just feel like the right thing to do? Or what was it? It's not like we were, like, you know, we were getting all these offers from radio stations

and we were like, look, they're trying to censor us. I love Topeka, but I'm not going to move there. Fuck that. All right? I don't care. No, it just came out of, like, we were both, like, like to make each other laugh, and then we both talked about podcasts all the time. And I had all this musical equipment, so I was like, well, we could fucking record a podcast.

We should do one. Yeah, that was it. So, yeah, it used to be a much bigger setup with more mics, like two mixing boards. It did several sound men. Reels, rewinding constantly. They had a boom mic going on the entire time. Director.

Right. The whole thing. A bunch of just blinking different color lights on giant computers on the walls. Why is that blue light on? What is that even mean? We had Geordi with his visor thing on in the corner working on stuff.

Yeah. It was a good setup. Due to budget cuts, we had to... Studio time. Unions. Studio time in a 1960s bat cave is not as cheap as you would think. But I mean, that's...

I mean, it's funny how you... You're talking about how minimal this is, but it doesn't come across that way when you listen to it. I mean, it sounds like... It's all Josh. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like good... Yeah.

Good audio quality, at least. Quality family radio. sounds like good yeah good quality audio quality at least i mean people will not forgive bad quality audio like for whatever reason it's like if you're watching the tv you you'll forgive bad video before you forgive bad audio yeah i think just because it is so many people listen with their earbuds in too and it's like right there on their brain so it's like, hey asshole don't eat, don't be chewing gum. You know what I mean? And then like at least just make it

sound good if it's going to be this close to my brain. Like I don't care if it's boring as shit but let it sound good. And we both use a blow dryer to get the saliva out of our mouth. That's good. Well yeah, no, Josh is the tech guy, and he basically does all of it

and allows me to do the fun parts. Yeah, no, it's just, yeah, I heard about these, and I just looked at what, like I found out what Marin uses on the road. Like these mics are just, these are like your standard kind of stand-up mics. Sure, SM58. I heard the Zoom is great.

And then there's a program called Levelator that I run everything through, and it kind of brings the levels up. And then I'll put it in GarageBand and just chop it up. So, I mean, your overhead then was a few hundred bucks? Yeah, what was it? These mics, I think these mics were like a hundred what were the like 80 to 100 bucks or something like that and i think this was like 200 bucks so um and then you just use software on your computer yeah yeah use garage band and then levelator is a free

program it's great and uh then we pay for uh hosting services which hosts the podcast, which gives you an RSS feed, which lets you disseminate it to iTunes and all that shit. Then that's either $30 or $40 a month, depending on how much bandwidth we use. Then we just split that. Then in between all the money and pussy that comes in, I think we're in the black.

Yeah, definitely. So you guys have to pay Thundergrunt. you guys have to pay the underground. Between the money and the pussy, we're in the black. Yeah, you guys have to pay the underground. No,

the underground's more, it's more of like kind of a collective, like we all just kind of like promote each other and I don't know, like other people were doing podcasts

and we all kind of like podcasts so it made sense to bring everybody together under one umbrella so, you know, if somebody listens

to Hobo Radio, maybe one of us will be a guest on there or vice versa and check each other's stuff out everybody together under one umbrella. So, you know, if somebody listens to Hobo Radio, maybe one of us will be a guest on there, vice versa, and check each other's stuff out and all that stuff. So cool. And so what kind of advice would you give to people who are podcast listeners, people who would like to start? Kind of like what you said, make sure it sounds good. I think that's really important. and then something that we don't do but be regular with your schedule

like I think that's what helped like Marin and all those people they're like every Monday and Thursday there's an episode but

you know we just get busy with shit and sometimes our schedules don't line up and we just don't put one out but people people seem to be forgiving about that

so and we're like compared to like a lot of local podcasts, I think we're pretty regular. Mm-hmm. But Josh works his ass off on it anyway, so.

Yeah, so yeah, I'll post it, put it on our website, put it on Thunder Grunt and stuff. And you know, it's not like it's hard work, but it is still just like

you have to do a little bit of HTML coding and that stuff. Sure, sure. I'm checking my email is hard work. Yeah. I don't know how.

But Mike, no, Mike will do like the write-ups and stuff like that, like little synopsis work. Yeah. I don't know how. But Mike, no, Mike will do like the write-ups and stuff like that, like little synopsis of the episodes. So that's always helpful. And yeah. Yeah, I would just say

like sound quality, make sure that's good. And then iTunes, like I know some people don't use iTunes, but if you want your podcast to be heard, that seems like to be

the main spot to have it on there. And yeah. Yeah, keep it regular, good quality, and make sure it's on enough places where people can listen to it. I know a lot of people listen on SoundCloud now, which is weird to me, but I don't want to pay for more services. You could have just been talking about shit.

You said keep it regular, make sure it's on. Yeah, exactly, exactly. SoundCloud. I mean, keep it regular, make sure it's on. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. SoundCloud. I mean, that's basically what a fart is. Yes. Wow. SoundCloud.

Wow. Man, if Spotify wants to go after SoundCloud, that's a big deal. That's good. That's good, yeah. And quality of jokes like that is another. Yeah, he won't say he's a dick joke guy. He's a fart joke guy. I am. Fart.

Yeah, exactly. I hope to be a dick joke guy. Yeah, keep fart joke guy. I am. Fart and dick jokes. Exactly. I don't have to be a dick joke guy. Yeah, keep it regular. Keep it firm, but not too firm. And you're good. And wife. Yeah.

Always wife. Always wife. So is there anything else you guys think is important to know about this? Or, I mean... What, about our podcast? Yeah, about the podcast. Or, you know, just... I...

Like... Podcasts in general. yeah i mean i just i love podcasts like like what you're saying about those the npr guys like it's just completely unfettered and like way different than any other interview you hear like there's like so i'm sitting down with blah blah and we're talking about their latest project and you never really get to know the person that's why podcasts are so cool because you actually get to, like, after an hour, you're like, oh, I feel like I know this person or at least have a better perspective versus, like, them on a talk show where they're like, let me tell you about this mishap I had with a boat. And you're like, oh, Tom Cruise seems cool. You know?

But, yeah, I don't know. I just love podcasts, man. I love how honest it can be and like i think with our podcast too i am proud of the fact that we we are a comedy podcast like that's the umbrella we're under but we never shy away from serious stuff either and like we try to walk that line like whatever it is like what if it's something like completely silly like talking about like shitting my pants or mike shitting his pants versus shitting each other's pants who's shitting my pants that's what we have a whole vaudeville bit where it's our favorite segment on the show yeah it's time for your favorite segment who's shitting my pants

and uh but yeah we'll talk about shit like that and then like talk about like our parents divorce or something like that and you know anything you know funny stuff like that light-hearted yeah exactly our our depression like our depression sessions episode the last one was yeah it was like i got a message from a friend he's like dude i didn't even know that stuff about you and you know like a couple people were like, yeah, I forgot that I even knew you guys and just felt like I was listening to, like, a podcast, like, beyond you being my friend. One of my family members totally, like, kind of intervened on me at a show. To make sure you're okay?

Yeah. Yeah. Well. I felt pretty bad. It's interesting you would bring that up because I think some people might people who are into like serious sort of interview shows might listen to podcasts and just say what is this besides pushing a button and recording something right and recording a conversation but yeah it sounds like I mean it doesn't even I, it's a lot of people,

it's, I think it's proven that people like that. Yeah. So, I mean, you think that there's value in just pressing record and rather than having to, I mean, you guys, do you guys do any sort of like preparation for? A little research. A little bit. Yeah. Like if it's a guest, like we'll try to find out what they're working on now.

And, but some of that like yeah you don't want to go into it completely blind and be like so like with Tom Arnold who are you if Tom Arnold

were like so Roseanne was cool huh that would be like a mess so yeah but I think that's the fun part

about the podcast too is like the discovery within the podcast because you told me about that story about Peter Criss and you're like check it out.

So I wanted to be familiar, but I didn't want to know it either because I wanted him to tell it. So that's always kind of a fun part about hearing stuff firsthand versus doing all the research. But some people, you definitely have to kind of keep it going. And we really, like, I mean, one of the things that I love about our podcast, and I think other people do too, is we don't just do the who, what where when kind of questions linear conversations it's

more like you know we try to get a little deeper like we try to just let it go where it goes but like still just like get to know the person as a person not just like what projects they're working on or like you know so where would uh, where'd you start from? Yeah. Who were your inspirations? Right. I mean, sometimes it leans that way, but, like, we just kind of, you know, it's just more about having a conversation with the person. Right, right.

No, I think, uh, I mean, it is as simple as saying, like, you're just hitting record, but there's something really cool about that at the same time, without having too much, like, produced element of it. Like, you know, if you can listen to just a converse. I think that was the cool thing about the Patton Oswalt episode, you know, if we could toot our own horn. But, like, just to be in a coffee shop with Patton Oswalt is fucking cool.

Yeah. It has a cool element to it versus, like, oh, he's in a studio and everything's prepared and we were taking breaks and stuff like that like my battery literally ran out yeah yeah yeah we're like passing microphones yeah and it's shit it's shit like that where you would be like oh this is so embarrassing but it kind of makes it more engaging that way like we have a more honest element to it so for that's how i'll pass off our shortcomings. We're punk rock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Put like an orchestra and like a keyboard player and stuff on it. Right.

Do a bunch of power ballads and shit. Yeah, exactly. We're raw, dude. Well, thank you guys so much for sitting down. Sure, man. Thank you. This was a good... I have another couple people I'm talking to tonight Have you ever listened to Her Head in a Box It's another Baltimore podcast

I don't know much about these ladies At all but They do It's like a weekly podcast Where they talk about Women in movies Cool What is it Her Head in a Podcast No Her Head in a Box where they talk about women in movies. Cool. Sounds awesome.

Yeah, yeah. What is it? Her head in a podcast? No, her head in a box. In a box. Yeah. And it's, so yeah, I'm like listening, I'm going to talk to them.

I mean, there's just a few things that I'm really interested in finding out because as I started getting a list together of people who do podcasts I became really like shocked that I didn't, there aren't

any podcasts in Baltimore with black hosts. There are. There are? Okay. And that's one of the things I wanted to ask. I think that has kind of become like a stereotype of podcasts in general though, is that there's not a lot of I wanted to ask. I think that has kind of become like a stereotype of podcasts in general, though, is that there's not a lot of black people. Yeah.

There's, what is it called? Ronald James is on it. I think it's called Schmovie. Hold on, let me look real quick. He's a local stand-up here in Baltimore. Okay, Schmovie. Let me take a look here. It might be like Schmovie Movie or something

like that. Hold on. My internet is working very slow. He's also on Thundergrunt, isn't he? Yes, that is on Thundergrunt. The name, the Schmovie thing sounds familiar. That's a Baltimore-based

thing too? Good. I wanted to find out more stuff about that, because, like you said, Mike, I know that that's become something that I've heard about. Yeah, people kind of joke about it. Yeah, that it's a very white thing. Yeah. And it's just in a city like Baltimore,

you would think that there would be way more, but so far it's been all white people. Yeah. Yeah, sure. Yeah, we try to have on some African-American guests. I mean, not too many. We don't want too much. We have some of them.

We take down the whites on the least side every now and then. Well, yeah, as Patton Oswalt writes, it's a white power podcast. That's us, you know? What is Ronald's podcast called? But yeah, you'll find it. It's on Thundergrunt. Yeah.

Cool. For some reason, it's not coming up for me. But yeah, I know he is one of the co-hosts. I think there's three total. I'm trying to think of another. Does Valance Michael have one? I don't think so yeah yeah i think that's about it gotcha gotcha yeah that really is kind of strange yeah yeah i mean and i it's i guess it's that's not necessarily i mean podcasts are such a thing that you do it yourself that you can't really say that

it's like somebody you know people being racist but it's just i think it's it's interesting to me that it's like maybe podcasts are just a very white thing you know like it's just something that you know what improv is kind of a white thing like Like, stand-up definitely isn't. Weirdly, improv, like, kind of is, yeah. Is that right? Yeah, movie schmovie is what it is. Movie schmovie, okay, cool. I'll get in touch with that.

Yeah, they have 156 episodes. They've been in the game a minute. Wow, movie schmovie. Cool. And another thing I just thought about I should ask you about is the live. Do you guys still do live shows, digression sessions? When we can. It's something that we haven't, like, focused on too much because, I mean, just logistically, like, we'll have to, like, set it up. Like, the last one I had to bring all, like, the recording equipment and all that stuff. It's fun, but it's an interesting dynamic too

because if people aren't too familiar with your podcast, you can't really let like the quieter moments breathe. So I think that the stand-up and improviser and performers in us like want to get a laugh all the time. So it's just a different beast where it's like somebody could be telling a great story and then like

the audience is quiet and you're like I don't know if they're quiet because they hate this or like bored out of their mind or they could really enjoy or there's like a fire or something

yeah right there's a man being stabbed to death outside right yeah right yeah

so no I like them they're fun yeah they're fun but like yeah like you said you just never know

how they're gonna go you don't know if there's gonna be half the people are at the bar making noise. Yeah. Gotcha. It's just kind of, you know. Yeah, it's a different piece. It's usually like a fun event, but it's kind of just like, you know, it's just kind of awkward sometimes.

Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, thank you guys so much. If I have any follow-up questions, I'll send you an email or something. Yeah, please do yeah what's it what's your email actually and I'll send you this I might have to put it on Google Drive you wanna that's fine we're a button oh yeah good but I'll take a button it's a it's a Connor cool It's Connor. Cool. Cool.

So yeah, I'll try to send you this tonight or tomorrow. That's fine. Yeah, I really appreciate that. Dick Russian Sessions, coming to an end. Thank you. We'll be right back. Oh yeah, oh yeah