The Digression Sessions - Ep. 201 - Adam Ferrara & Jen Murphy! (@AdamFerrara & @JenMurphyComedy)

Episode Date: October 10, 2016

Hola Digheads, Josh here. This week, I interview comedians Adam Ferrara and Jen Murphy in the green room of Magooby's Joke House. We recap the weekend and Adam's interesting writing process.   You may know Adam from his roles on Rescue Me, Nurse Jackie, and hosting Top Gear USA. He's hilarious as well. Jen is also very funny.    Follow the podcast, Josh Kuderna, and Mike Finazzo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Josh - @JoshKuderna on Twitter and @JoshKuderna on Instagram Mike Finazzo - @TheeMikeFinazzo on Twitter The Pod - @DigSeshPod on Twitter The Pod's Facebook page - Dig Sesh on Facebook Thanks for listening, all! Do the pod a favor and rate and review the pod on iTunes & Stitcher plz!

Hello, this is Nigel from the Tony Cornagia Show, and you're listening to the Digression Session. Did I say that right? Do I get paid now? Can I leave? Yes, yes, it's the Digression Session. Just as Nigel said, how are you everybody? Welcome to the show.

I am Josh Kuderna, your host. How are you? Thank you for tuning in. Thank you to Nigel for doing our new intro. I hope you guys listen to the Tony Kornheiser show. It's a great podcast and Nigel is an integral part of that. And it was really cool of him to do that little bumper, that little intro there. On this week's show, it is Jen Murphy and Adam Ferrara. They are the guests. I was working with them over the weekend at Magoobies out in Timonium, Maryland. And on Saturday night in between shows, right before the last show, we did a podcast in the green room.

So that's why this one is a little short. We were doing the podcast and then I hear on the PA that the second show is starting, so I had to rush out there because I was opening. So that would have been poor form to continue podcasting. But it was a great talk for the amount that it lasted, and I appreciate Adam and Jen doing it. You can follow Adam on Twitter. He is at Adam Ferrara. Jen is at adam ferrara jen is at jen murphy comedy and uh

you may know adam from rescue me where he played chief needles nelson he was on nurse jackie for a bit and uh most recently was the host of top gear usa and uh he could not have been cooler such a nice guy him and jen were both really really cool but uh adam was very uh very nice and it was great to watch him work as a as a young comedian watching a guy that's been doing it for literally decades i was really impressive to see him mix it up every set and uh the material he was working on and we go over this on the podcast but the way he shapes his set is he looks at it like architecture like he's building a house and it's like, oh, I just write one word for my shitty bits on a piece of paper. So yeah,

it was really cool, inspiring stuff. And if those guys are coming to your town, make sure you check them out. I will actually be back at Magoobies on the 20th with my co-host of this program, who could not be present, but my main man, Mike Fonazzo, and I will be back at Magoobies on October 20th, opening for Gilbert Godfrey. So if you want to come out to that, you should. And then I will be there on the 21st and the 22nd, hosting for Rodman, the winner of Last Comic Standing.

So check that shit out. Yeah, and follow us on Twitter as well, and Twitter and Instagram. I'm at Josh Coderna. Mike Fonazzo's on Twitter. He is at TheMikeFonazzo. The podcast is at DigSeshPod. Say hi on our Facebook page.

Rate and review and subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher and all that. DigressionSessions.com is a thing, too, if you're nasty. And that's it for the promotion. Again, thanks to Jen and Adam for doing the podcast. And let's go to the green room, shall we? You curious how it's working? Adam's watching the levels. Are you recording? Yeah. So? Adam's watching the levels. Is it already recording?

Yeah. So we're just rolling right into it. So I'm sitting in the Magoobies green room in between shows, Adam Ferrara and Jen Murphy. We got one more show to go. Yes, we do. And the show's been great, man. It's been awesome to watch you work, sir. Thank you, brother.

You've been doing a great job holding it all down for us. No problem. Same with you, Jen. Thank you. It's been great job holding it all down for us oh no problem same with you jen thank you great um i'm not cream in the oreo that's it that's how i bring you on stage and now the cream in your oreo everybody jen murphy they're like what uh um but uh but but yeah so me and you jen have been talking about like watching adam like mix it up and stuff as far as like your set goes and you showed me like have been talking about watching Adam mix it up and stuff as far as your set goes. And you showed me an outline of how you see your set before you went on, which I've never seen before.

Oh, really? I didn't get to see that. Well, it's a podcast. They can't see it either. Yeah. But we could describe it. Like a written out? Yeah.

No. It's like architecture. Like a graph? Basically, he's got a Y-axis. Yeah, it's pretty much a flying buttress. It's more like... There we go. That's pretty much what it is.

We were just talking before. Is this what you do during the day? Yeah, it's sad. Door, turn, door. Yeah, we're literally looking at just a notepad, but Adam, for his set, he has doors written in there. He has doors that he's going through. It's a big Jim Morrison bit I do at the end.

I got nothing. That's my favorite. Yeah, I got nothing. Yeah, I got nothing. Because it's all bullshit. It's just a question of the rhythm. It's knowing your environment, pretty much. It's knowing what you've got to deal with.

Because, look, I've got to close this show, which means I bring it home, so I've got to get them to trust me in the first minute. Once I've got them to trust me in the first minute so once i got them to trust me i can take them anywhere i want so then i want to do the written stuff but i want to keep the energy up and i know the check spot's coming so i got to be able to carry the check spot um i also got to look at like thursday night you get in yeah figure out what's going to work with your opening i'd like to do something local about the area i'm in so i'll do a bit i'll i'll improv something whatever's going on five minutes yeah about the area I'm in. So I'll do a bit. I'll improv something for about five minutes about the town or something I picked up that's of interest to them. It just shows respect to the, you're here. You've taken the time.

You're a guest in their house and everything. And then I'll do some material and then I'll go into the audience to mix everything up to keep them, not off balance, but to keep them, they don't know what's coming next. It's not like, and some of my bits are longer and some are like, I gotta, there's a chunk

that's like 13 minutes long. If I start that, I can go 13 minutes of just solid material just for that one piece or I can come in and out of it and there's pieces

that slide in and out. Right. And talking to the audience, it makes it different for them. It makes it a new and fresh experience for them because there's new characters in the show. Yeah. So when I say a door it's like i know i'm going

to go and i'm going to talk to someone in the audience i'll be there for four or five minutes depending on what i find i'll take that information and that sits up in the ether and when i need something i'll reach up and grab it but it makes it different for everything and if i'll put one audience member here one audience member there so when I walk back and forth on the stage to keep it moving, especially during the check spot, if there's movement, it brings their eye up. Yeah.

And then it also allows you to know that it sets a visual tone for them because they know he's going to move around. It also helps you. It's a trick too. It helps you with the waitresses because if the waitress is up in the front row, she's pulling focus.

So I'll walk to the other side to pull focus that way, and they're already conditioned to know that that's what's going to happen. Gotcha. So it's a little sleight of hand. How long did it take you doing comedy before you figured out these little tricks?

Like, I'm just picturing you just writing a set list, and then you accidentally draw a door, and you're like, wait a minute, this is how I'm going to do it. Have you done it since the beginning, or is it something you discovered after like 15 years or something? You know, when we do this,

after a while, you figure out how it works and what you want to first you got to figure out who you are, then you got to figure out how you're going to deliver everything. And it's like once we, as we write, things take on a life of their own from in your head, from when it comes out. And oh, that's what the joke

is about. And then you put it together. So in answer to your question, how long did it take me? I don't really know. I just started doing it. And I think we all have these all of us have the instincts we just don't know that they're there yeah so we're faced with a uh a situation like that i think and and was did you read steve martin's book yes yeah so he knew i think i think he articulated that in his book like he didn't know that he had those instincts until he was faced with the situations and and how to do it and like i said this is just what works for me right you know like if you see those

little green things those are jokes i know end in applause breaks so i always from from doing like the tonight show and doing those sets i always would put the applause break and i would build from the back i would put the best joke second to last when you're doing a tonight show set because your last joke you're going to say goodnight and the band kicks in so you're not going to put your best joke last because you're blowing a pause break.

Oh really? Yeah so I put my best joke second to last and I would build backwards and then I would whatever that joke was about that would be the theme for the set

because I like to do something that's connected just not like you know dogs are funny my wife did you ever notice you know i don't want to keep jumping up and down right you know you want to be all about the same thing a little bit of a theme in there and you're gonna you need a laugh in the first 10 seconds yeah when you're on tv so you'll get that laugh and then build that set up to the applause break

right uh and then the last joke will either be a tag you actually get a free a free tag uh when you do that because you know the band's going to kick in as soon as you say goodnight. Gotcha. So whatever you want to say in that moment,

there's going to be a reaction. It's not just going to hang out there. And that usually ties up whatever the theme of the, whatever the theme of the show is. That's so smart, man. Yeah. Like, did somebody tell you that?

No, when I did my first special, my first special was for Comedy Central. It was called Lounge Lizards. And I knew I had to work around commercial television, commercial breaks. Gotcha. So I got the template of it's, you know, six minutes commercial. So I looked at it like, okay, I'm going to put the applause break here because I want to end going into commercial with an applause break and come back from commercial talking about a whole new subject. I didn't want to split a bit.

Yeah. And I didn't want to leave it up to the editors. Yeah, they don't do well on that. Because I don't trust them. You know? No, nothing he's kind of saying. I've seen a few people

where I know their jokes and they cut it off right before and I'm like, they cut the punchline. Yeah. What are you doing? Why would you do that? Yeah.

You know, it's like the last supper. It's like, oh, we only need half the table. You know? It's like, but when you do stuff, like when we create our stuff, there's art and commerce, you know, and if you really want to be an artist, go rent a loft and be

misunderstood. You know, you've got to, we've got to be able to produce our art and protect it as long as we can. Once we put it out there, our power is gone. Yeah. So you have to take whatever breaks you can and take advantage of, know the fucking system and then figure out how to work around it. Like I knew that they wanted, there was only going to be 22 minutes and they wanted more

because they wanted to edit it. So I gave them 23 and I cursed in the last fucking minute. Nice. So you can't use that. Yeah. So there's no options to cut. You can't do it. Wow.

That's really smart. And that was your first special? Like you already knew that? Yeah, that was Lounge Lizards. Because i feel like that's like most people do a special then they see it chopped up in that situation where you're like no why did you do that but you already knew well i saw my friends like you said you see people you know that are on tv and you're like what the fuck i was shocked yeah and i'm just like oh my god they cut your they cut your bit so you have to you have to also be well it's like it's not really but it's, Dangerfield said, stealing one of my jokes is like hitting my kids, you know, because they're like our kids. So I protect them, like, to do the best you can is, you know, but sometimes you got to send the kids off to school and you can't be with them.

Yeah. But, you know, you can teach them and try to protect the integrity of what you want to say as best as you can. So that's what that's about. Yeah. Right. And in answer to your question about moving stuff around and the way I see my set is that's the way I can, I organize it in my head. Because my stand-up is making sense of the emotional chaos.

Okay. Right. It's like I want to understand. That's your therapy. Well, because the audience, I mean, we all know that if it's not true and honest, they're not going to laugh. They don't know why. They feel it. They're not going to find're not gonna find it no i've done that i've tried to give a line

that one of my friends told me which i think is funny and they don't and i it's like they can sense that it's not your own or something yeah it's weird so that's why once once i figured that out and i had i had my own lie detector for lack of a better word and i figured out what kind of comic i wanted to be which is pretty you know confessional kind of talk about my life and it's pretty much

a study of the human condition taking what look my bullshit's going to be here I might as well try and make some money off of it

so that's what I like to write about do you know what you're doing before you go on stage every night I haven't like I drew that thing because you've been doing

stuff different stuff every show I've never seen a headliner do that yeah it's I don't know specifically. To answer your question, yes and no. Like, I know what I'm going to start with.

I know what I want to attempt to accomplish. But I approach every set like this is a living, breathing thing. And it's just to be in this moment with them. And to be in it with them. It'll let you know what it wants. The space between you and the audience and those two energies meet and it might go in a different direction

like we just finished a show tonight I had no idea Billy the bus driver was going to be here yeah that was the person in the audience her name was Billy

she was a retired bus driver so we dined out on that for a while we were like when you asked her what she did we were like please not another

real estate agent we had real estate people three shows in a row too many real estate people three shows in a row out of them but do you kind of like does it make a difference

does the audience make a difference to you like do you ever feel like oh this is a 40 or like 40s married crowd like does it change what material you do

it doesn't it not so much the audience but where I am like if I'm in like this area that I do a preacher bit where I actually do this

but I think I did it last night yeah the whole like gospel brunch thing yeah that was great the gospel preacher but where I actually do this but I think I did it last night yeah the whole like gospel brunch thing yeah that was great the gospel but I can't do that everywhere

when you said is there a house of loot no yeah they don't the gospel brunch bit but there's but they know what it is they know what it is

it's still a great bit yeah it didn't matter I can't do that in the northeast it doesn't it doesn't hit as hard it hits hard

it hits hard here and it hits hard in the south and where there is the the gospel choir and stuff and yeah so and i don't do it that often but you know when i uh well like i said i just happened to be there and it was in that i drew i drew it out of the uh the little the little places in my mind where that sat you know dusted that off and then like you know we've been talking about you going uh on stage with ideas and see where where they go and how they evolve and how they are in that one under live fire you see how they perform under live fire yeah you know because we can only do so much i mean for

me anyway i don't know your guys process but i've always admired comics uh that can write read a story in the paper and write 10 monologue jokes and write you know just quick one line yeah i that's not my thing i gotta it's gotta talk it out i you talk it out and i'm very much it's it's very uh dianisean reactionary you know as opposed to the apollonia where you plan it out left and right you know so so there's a little bit of both in what i do um were you always that? Like, where were you writing stuff? Lazy? No, I don't think that's lazy. I mean, you drew, I mean, basically.

Nobody would call you lazy. No. I don't know if I was. You envision it as a house, which is such a cool way to think about it. Well, my father was in construction. I used to watch him drawing, and I used to watch. And I never really, I wasn't consciously where I was absorbing this, but it was like when you look at the structural pieces. Music has it, too. Symphonic pieces like When you look at the structural pieces Music has it too

Symphonic pieces have Yes The reiteration at the end of it And And Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here Doon doon doon doon

Those notes Like Gilmore popped out of the guitar That's pretty much the structural piece Right Of that whole friggin album Right You know so if you find something That resonates and talks

And you find those structural pieces you can you put those there and then you have license to play because you know yeah it's like a hammock i know i can experiment and put the new bits i want to work on between this bit because i know this is a big laugh and that bit and put it in the first 20 minutes because there's no set list there's no that's the sweet spot of the set got so it's just setting the conditions to give the audience because of the set. So it's just setting the conditions to give the audience, because where the audience is hot and where you're at the peak of your powers.

Because you know a set ebbs and flows energetically. And if you can play those moments and know the environment, it's like Sun Tzu, the art of war. Know the terrain. If you know what you're going into,

you don't beat yourself up. We're like, oh, they left me. They went away. Yeah, they went away. They got to pee after this after this they just saw jen of course it ain't you you know you don't take you don't take it it took me a while to figure out that a statement of fact is not a personal shortcoming sure right right because we kick the shit out of ourselves yeah absolutely especially you know i mean i me, and our line of work is the approval. Right. And sometimes you'll beat the hell out of yourself.

Like, no, that's the natural way the set is built. Oh, if there's like a couple minutes where it's like, oh, I wasn't killing for two minutes. I remember I did my first album. I knew that there was your first 20 minutes is a sweet spot. And I had two shots at it at the Ice House, my first CD. So I did the first 20 minutes. Then the late show, I took the end of the act and I did it backwards.

I did the rest of the 20 minutes. Oh, interesting. I switched the set around because I knew I had the audience hot the whole way through. I didn't know enough where I could edit it. Just eat it up. I just did it that way. Right, right. Andrew, I think, has a question.

Oh, no. I apologize. He's not going to make it. Thank you. I actually work with Mike. I just saw him. We had lunch together. Oh, really? Yeah, I apologize. He's not going to make it. Thank you. I actually work with Mike. I just saw him. We had lunch together. Oh, really?

Yeah, I work at SSA. He works there as well. Yeah. Yeah, he's a good guy. Is he a comic? Mm-hmm. Oh. Yeah.

Where is I going with that? Yeah, so I guess. Yeah, so in building, knowing what we have to do and the environment and right the parameters of what you work in yeah it's a little bit of sleight of hand because yeah i'm not gonna i'm not gonna waste some i'm not gonna try a new thing when i don't have their their their attention or i don't have them focused and so what what you're doing now you were telling me that you already have an hour ready to go it's sort of there's thematically it's about your dad and yeah him dying and stuff so now you're just kind of yeah there's a big release in doing that you know i wrote it it took me it took me a couple of years to just to approach it emotionally approach it right um i'm sorry when when did

he pass my dad died uh 2010 okay um and i was still a couple of factors one one was i was still dealing with the the process you know yeah it's gonna take some time and i was working i was uh i was on i was on nurse jackie at the time um so i going to take some time And I was working I was on Nurse Jackie at the time So I wasn't doing a lot of stand up Because I was doing Top Gear as well So I was doing two shows And I wasn't touring But I was still processing and writing it out

And my stuff starts out here It starts with big ideas And then it boils off And you have to boil it off It's like going out You buy some cocaine And you got to boil it off and make crack Absolutely You throw it in and you got to boil it off and make crack.

Absolutely. You throw it in the microwave. Yeah, that's it. Cocaine. Yeah. So you got to find out exactly what it is. So once I finished it, I'm like, okay, that's good. And I was hanging on to it a lot longer than I should have. The material or just the-

Yeah, the presentation of doing the show. It was an hour and it was... It wasn't all funny. I took them down and... Yeah, I mean, it's a serious subject. It was funny, but it was also... It was built in and there's emotional... There's a lot of tension release that I put in there.

And I was proud of it, but it's not... Once you build these things and once we do these things, you know, they take on a life of their own. So when it wants to be heard, it will be. So I got it to the point I want it. That's great. So I'm like, okay. And I'm trying not to do any of the material from it and create more.

And this is a creative tool I use where I know I want this. I know I want that. Building the structure. I build the monkey bars. So I have room to swing in the middle of it. Yeah. You know, so I know that I'm going to get them back here and so it's...

That's awesome. To take advantage of a live audience and still do the service of giving them a good show because it's not just about you. You know, you just can't,

well, I'm working on new shit. I don't care. Yeah. You know, the audience doesn't care. Some comics tell me, oh,

it's all about you. I'm like, no, it's not. No. I do not take that approach. No, these guys,

like these people that came to see us tonight you know they saw me here last is their night they got a babysitter they got their friends one of their friends saw me this guy's funny so they vouch for you and you want you know it's a whole environment and after the show they want to see you they want it's a whole different thing you can't be up there like what else what else yeah you can't it's a disservice to them and then you have to be you know it's their moment when they meet you after the show as well it's like yeah you know i don't go out i told you i was gonna be here they advertised i asked you to come yeah why am i pissed off you're here i'm the one that started this shit right uh i think it

takes so much balls to be able to have the confidence to like bring the audience to a serious moment and then back up when I worked with you in Seattle two years ago you did that oh I think it was fresher your dad dying

yeah I probably I don't know if it was the I love you story or a different one but you actually like brought a tear I think you got a tear in your eye

and everybody did oh I did my father dying speech yeah and I was like that's so good because not many comedians would be like

I'm gonna make it you know I'm gonna bring it no thanks you would be like, I'm going to bring it. Oh, thanks. You know what I mean? Because then you've got to bring it right back up to the laughter. It was really good. That's awesome. I've seen a little hint of that because you do a bit about him saying, I love you for the first time.

That little bit came from the play. Yeah, that's what I was going to ask you. That little thing came from that connective tissue. It's a really sweet story, so that's why I'm excited to see the rest of it, too. But that's the sweet, the sadness, and it's funny, but you've got to have all of it. Right. I think there's something to the way we build

and just the environment we have and building it in a comedy club, to be aware of that, because you can bring them down, but you can't keep them there that long. Yeah. Like a minute or two. Are we going to be down here long?

Don't keep them. And the thing about you got to hook them because one person makes a cough or a laugh it breaks the whole thing. So you got to know when it's like when you're racing a car there's your butt dino. Your ass will tell you how fast

you're going if you're going too fast. there's your butt dino. Your ass will tell you how fast you're going if you're going too fast. Gotcha. It's the same thing here. So you got to... And I don't think I could have done that if it wasn't done in a comedy club. I take it back. It would be a different... You have more license to do it in a play or a theater.

If it was like a one-man show kind of thing versus a comedy hour. We have booze and drunks and Late Show Friday. You get your spidey sense tingles real quick and real fast. Yeah, because they're not going to tolerate that too long. So it's just enough to know that now it's a little bit different from joke timing, but it's still a timing. Was that a conscious decision not to go sort of the one-man show kind of route or like more serious? No, it was, was again you cut from

the cloth you're given i mean we have we have the comedy club so i'm like all right this is where i'm gonna this is my life i'm gonna figure it out here this is where it's gonna happen yeah so i mean i've done you know plays before i've never done anything i've written in a theater setting you know i've done i've played performing art centers and stuff but still they're coming to yeah it's it's kind of breaking the the contract with them because they're coming to see something different and when i would was working on the play and they saw the whole play and like you said they cried in seattle and stuff they were like i didn't you know they my dad and they tell their story so it's a different experience for them but it is kind of

like a one-man show when you're up there on stage yeah it is it's just uh but it's telling about your life you're not yeah you're talking about your life but it's still it's supposed to be more the emotional i mean a very comedic one man yeah right yeah but it's the're telling about your life You're not Yeah you're talking about your life But it's still It's supposed to be more The emotional tone I mean a very comedic one man show Yeah Right But it's the emotional tone Is all laughter

And they don't make it You know Do you love it When people hire you For dramatic roles Yeah it's fun It's nice to be able To do that

And to Every time I do it Dennis Leary gave me My first dramatic monologue Really Oh yeah Yeah that was the first time I ever saw you It was Rescue Me Which is one of my favorite shows monologue really oh yeah that was the first time I ever saw you as Rescue Me

which is one of my favorite shows in the world I loved that show he wrote the monologue he gave it to me and I was terrified I gotta do this I did it

and I came home and he called up the next on the way home and he left a message on my voicemail and he goes hey asshole he goes

I gave you the ball you knocked it out of the park you fuck and the fact that you're a comic it just really it just really was nice and I came downstairs

and my wife looked at my face and she went oh who said something nice to you because I can't process that so it was it was really it was really nice

that another comic gave me that opportunity yeah I took it very seriously that's great when I do drama and stuff that's really it's it so that's great when i do drama and stuff that's really uh it's uh it's it's it's very satisfying and pleasing i like the comedic ball busting too

when he calls you you fuck but you know it's coming from a place oh yeah it's like oh thanks yeah you fuck you filthy whore which means like i love you yeah because i love you uh-huh well i have that with my wife i tell my wife i go what a pain in the ass that means i love you and i'm gonna do this but you're a pain in the yeah and i love you so much i'm gonna tolerate that yeah that's uh yeah it's really sweet too the stuff about your wife too and i like uh uh how you give her a nod because she's on the dvd you're selling oh yeah like she's hotter than any model yeah she's well she is i ain't lying don't think i don't know i'm batting over my head. Right. You know, the pain in the ass is getting up early in the morning and crushing the pill in the coffee.

You love only me today, right? I like how much people laugh when you say you love someone so much you want to hit them with a shovel. Yeah. I've never been married, so I'm like, well, the fact that everyone laughs at that makes it a big laugh. Yeah. Oh, trust me.

It's coming for you, honey. No one here gets out alive. But you like it. Oh, I me. It's coming for you, honey. No one here gets out alive. But you like it. Oh, I love it. It's the defining. My wife, all this works for her. It's like when it all clicks. I wouldn't be doing half the stuff I'm doing if it wasn't for the support

you know oh really like supporting you in the way of like no you can do this go ahead well it's just

that the it gives you I actually I don't want to quote the act but that's when I really know what's going on in my life

when I can when I can figure it out but there's a line in my act or it was in the play like my job as a husband is to provide and protect and ladies

that's not meant to marginalize you I think you perfectly take care of yourselves no I like the old school mentality but that's you know that's

what when that defines oh this is it this is this is my why am I doing this like you know when we're on the road

like what the fuck am I doing and you look down and you go I'm gonna make her life better so then it becomes clear that's what I'm doing does she ever go on the road with you she used to quite a bit yeah but now we got the dogs and the house and the life and you look down you go i'm gonna make her life so then it becomes clear that's what i'm doing she used to quite a bit yeah but now we got the the dogs and the house and the

life and you know so she's uh you know she doesn't come out that much anymore still it's it's great man i can tell you like you actually like really love her because when you first got in you're like can somebody take me to the grocery store me and my my wife's got me eating this stuff it's like so what do you need to get you You're like, I don't know, yogurt? You don't even cheat when you're on the road? Well, it's like, I feel better. It would probably screw up your system if you did. Yeah, please.

You know, it's like it's, you know. I mean, I was a pack a day and a fifth of bourbon before I met her. God. And I hear it's bad for you. Really? The science is in on that? A little bit. Everyone on Rescue Me was so gross.

Oh, yeah. No, we weren't. on Rescue Me was sober. Oh, yeah. No, we weren't. We were still drinking then. Oh, was it? Oh, really? I like that everyone was already sober on Rescue Me. No, we were still. I was like, I think he's recruiting his A friends that are already comedians and actors and stuff.

Oh. No, we were still. Beginning of it, we were drinking on the job we were drinking. Wow. Yeah, that was. My bad. I was still smoking during Rescue Me. Because Dennis's trailer was the barracks During Rescue Me Because Dennis's Dennis's trailer

Was the barracks We all hung out In Dennis's trailer And we were all smoking And smoke billowing out It looked like we elected a pope Just smoke Yeah that's close quarters too

Yeah Jesus Was Rescue Me Nurse Jackie Top Gear Which is your favorite experience They're all different Right

Yeah totally Rescue Me was fun Because it was my pals And it was Is that like the dream gig Nurse Jackie, Top Gear, which is your favorite experience? They're all different. Right. Yeah, totally different. Rescue Me was fun because it was my pals. Yeah. Is that like the dream gig of actually doing really good material, and then you're around people you love and respect, too? Yeah. I mean, the core creative team from Rescue Me came from a cop show we did called The Job two years before that, and and that was really fun that was

that was a great experience we all met um and then dennis brought me in to do um rescue me um and that was great too because you get to do so much as an actor you get to do comedy you get to do drama you get to be with your friends and then we did the rescue me comedy tour we went on the road and we were never all together it was me denn, Dennis, Lenny Clark, Kenny Rogerson, and the band. Right. Dennis' band. And we were together in a different, we were together as comics, you know, because we were together as actors.

And as comics, it was great because we never were together. You know, those guys were from Boston. I was from New York. So just to be on the road as comics and watching everybody work and evolve the stuff and writing stuff. It's so fun. Yeah. And just being around writing stuff. Yeah, watching Lenny Clark was so fun. Yeah. And just being around that guy.

Yeah. Yeah. So that was great. So it was very, very concentrated fun. Well, that was so emotional after 9-11. Yeah. I lived in New York during 9-11,

so I think I got into it even more. I would just like, I would be sobbing at a lot of the scenes in that show. Yeah. It was just so good. Well, it was, the timing was, you know, that was, because before, I would be sobbing at a lot of the scenes in that show. Yeah. It was just so good. Well, it was the timing was, you know,

that was, because before, if you remember, I was in New York. He captured like so much of it. I was in New York when 9-11, when it happened.

I was living on 5th Avenue and 9th Street. Yeah, like I believed that he was a firefighter on 9-11. I was like, all right,

Dennis, I don't know. Dennis, you do it all. There was that uncertainty where you didn't know what to do. No, it was so well done. All the actors in that show were amazing. Dennis, you do it all. There was that uncertainty. You're doing too well. You didn't know what to do. No, I was so well done. All the actors in that show were amazing.

So that was fun to do. And Nurse Jackie was fun. Nurse Jackie, you got to be emotional. Yeah. Yeah, I got to be. I got to be the romantic lead, baby. The guy that every girl dumps because he's so sweet and cute. Why can't I meet a nice guy?

Yeah, okay. I shouldn't say every girl, every drug addict. But that was a great experience. Edie Falco is just extraordinary. Yeah, she's amazing. And it's just, you got to get good quick. Were you intimidated at all because she's so intense? Those blue eyes, I think, would just make me like.

Yeah, there's a lot of energy coming at you. Well, I will tell you the story. When I met her, the whole, I read the three scenes. Did you test read? Yeah, I did. When I tested, I just got a call. Fly, they want you to read with Edie on Monday. And they called me on Friday.

Whoa. And I just got home. I was shooting Top Gear and I got home. And I was on the road for a while. So I called my wife. Did you even know you were up for the role? No. Oh, wow.

I just landed at the airport and I called my wife. And I said, honey, listen. I've been on the road for like two weeks. We I called my wife. Did you even know you were up for the role? No. Oh, wow. I just landed at the airport and I called my wife and I said, honey, listen, I've been on the role for like two weeks we were shooting Top Gear. And I said, I'm coming home, pants-free weekend. Me, you, the dog, no pants. Pants-free? Whatever happens, happens. Let the chips fall where they may. That's great. So I walked in, I got home, I went, drop

them! Right? The phone rings, I go in the kitchen, she goes upstairs, it's my manager, Fly to New York. They want you to, I answered the phone like this because I saw his number. I went, no. That's how I answered.

He goes, get on a plane. He goes, they want you to Rewaditi Falco on Monday for this part. I walk upstairs. My wife sees my face. She's like, what? I said, they want me to fly to New York

and Rewaditi Falco Monday. She's like, put your pants on. Yeah. She goes,, put your pants on. She goes, you better fucking get this. And I went in and I read on a Monday and we shot the scene. We shot on a Wednesday. I went to work. Holy shit.

So, yeah. That's less than a week. Then you're on Nurse Jackie. But they had you in mind for the role. It wasn't like you just got submitted, right? I don't know. I'm sure they were looking at a bunch of people. You just don't start on Monday. So I'm sure the timing

of everything was right. Yeah. And I just, she was great. I mean, she was just, like you said, that intensity is like, and you got to come,

you got to bring your A game. Right. And it was nice because I was only supposed to do a couple episodes and they kept me there for two years. Whoa.

They asked, do you want it? So I didn't sleep a lot because we're doing top gear at the same time oh my god dude that's why when you said you know why it took so for the show it's like there was the emotional part of having to write about it to have perspective on it to make it funny about my dad passing and just the actual time to do it to grind it out and figure out what it is figure out what it is and where i want and what i wanted to say and how i want to. Was Top Gear filming in LA?

Well, we did a bunch of stuff on the West Coast, but it shot all over the place because it was a... We had to keep an eye on... We were in Germany, Iceland, Cuba, all over the Rubicon Trail we shot.

We were in Florida. You go all over the place. We're in Louisiana and we'll shoot an episode here. So it was a lot of traveling for about two years. Good God. Yeah, so it's got to be pretty tough to do stand-up in between all that yeah and and to have with any kind of consistency

right right and especially about something so emotional and so big too yeah you want to tackle something like that too and to see how it fits into the art form you know because it's like you know what we do as it's not really specific rules but if it's funny it's funny but you also have to balance the like i think in seattle i had the balance kind of right of i'll make you cry here and then i'll bring you back you know yeah i'm not gonna leave you there yeah but i gotta get you to trust me so you'll go there with me and then i gotta yank you out quick enough and then i gotta leave you i gotta leave you happy enough and satisfied enough and then fulfilled enough at the end gotta leave you happy enough and satisfied enough and then fulfilled enough at the end so you gotta that i'm sure there's another drawing in a notebook

somewhere of the emotional seattle graph yeah the the emotional rhythm of everything uh-huh but it's just a way to communicate to yourself because the audience is the final step in the art process you know there's and the communication you have with, there's no pure communication between you and the art. You know, we sit down to write. That's what we want to say and then it, that's the moment

where that's the most pure and then when the audience is added to it, it becomes something different and the thought is something else. So the steps of how, from inception to creation

are a bunch of different different steps yeah but watch it watching you work though it's been really great and to hear the sort of behind the the scenes process and then see your notebook like i've never seen anybody that works like that i know we were talking last night we're like when you watch certain comics like you yeah like there's that moment where you're like this is inspiring inspiring. And then you have this next moment. It's like, yeah, I'm just going to quit. Yeah. There's a drop off. It's like, man, I'm going to go home and write.

And then you're like, I'm going to go home and kill myself. Yeah, I have both. I'm like, I guess I'll just quit. You guys are sweet. I had that with Carlin. Oh, my God. I opened for George Carlin. Oh, really?

I was at the Comedy Magic Club. Oh, man. And I had the weekend. I was headlining the weekend. And my manager calls me up and said, listen, they're bumping you at the Comedy Magic Club. And I had the weekend. I was headlining the weekend. And my manager calls me up and said, listen, they're bumping you at the Mike Lacey. We're bumping you at Comedy Magic Club. And I went, what?

And right away the ego kicks in. He goes, no, but they said you can open if you want. What? What sword swallow do they think I'm going to open for? And they said, who the hell is bumping me? And I went, George Carlin. Does he need a ride? Can I pick him?

What can I do? Is he hungry? Does he like tuna? What's it? I got some sandwiches. So he was working on his special, and he wanted to come in. And I said, hell yes, I will open for him. Damn.

So the emcee went up. And you can't talk to him before the show. He's in the green room. You've been to comedy magic clubs. You know it's like a little theater. Yeah. So he's in the green room. You don't talk to him.

The MC goes up. I did my half hour. I walk off into the wings, and there's a little man standing there with a silver beard, and I see these two eyes. Oh, you hadn't even met him before you met him? I never met him before, no. And he looked at me, and he went, you're funny. And I went, and you're Colin.

Oh. He shook his hand, and he's from Morningside Heights. They used to call it White Harlem, and I the area so I was we just started talking about that and he quoted jokes he was watch my set that Dick Clark joke is funny when did you write that and I'm like talking to him

about this and we're just bullshitting and he missed his intro they started clapping and he goes oh shit is that me I go I think it is George and he went out

to the set and then he you know we're allowed to go back to the green room we take pictures with you We took pictures with you We took pictures with my wife And my face was just It's fucking George Carlin

Yeah And I remember going home My wife was with me We go back to the hotel And I go She goes I said George Carlin Watch my whole set

Yeah And she goes yeah And you're killed I go yeah George Carlin Watch my whole set Oh my god And then I went Fuck George Carlin

Watch my whole set I can't do any of this material Tomorrow night So I had to do a whole other set the next night. Jesus Christ. That's an amazing story. Speaking of sets, they're going to start the show, so I need to run out there. Already?

Yeah. But thank you guys so much for doing this. Adam, this has been great. Jen, this has been great. Thank you so much. And yeah, we'll be back. Dick Russian Sessions, coming to an end. Thank you. Oh yeah, oh yeah