The Digression Sessions - Ep. 204 - Stephen Rannazzisi! (@StephenRannazzisi @TheeMikeFinazzo @JoshKuderna)

Episode Date: November 28, 2016

Hola Digheads, this week Josh has gigs in Pennsylvania, so Mike Finazzo takes the podcast reins for a one on one interview with comedian Steve Rannazzisi! Steve and Finazzo talk about Steve's time on Punk'd, his role on The League as Kevin McArthur, his upcoming podcast, and the controversy he got into last year.   Steve's a great guy and hilarious comedian. Check him out, if he's coming to a town near you.    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 Kornage Show, and you're listening to The Digression Sessions. Did I say that right? Do I get paid now? Can I leave? Hey, thank you, Nigel, and thank you, everybody, for tuning in to a new episode of your favorite podcast, The Digression Sessions. This is Mike Finazzo. Yes, just me today. You may be wondering what happened to young Joshua Kodurna. People ask me all the time.

They're like, hey, the podcast, it was Josh and Mike, and then it was Mike and Josh, and now it's just Mike. And what's up with that? And just got a few words for you guys. I'm the captain now. Just like Captain Phillips, I finally took over. So yeah, so that's, I hope you enjoy the new podcast with just me.

This is Digression Sessions 3.0. Yes, this week's episode we have Mr. Steve Ranazzisi, who you may know from The League, and just for being a good stand-up, and yeah, he's really, really funny and a good guy. We had a good chat. I worked with him this weekend at McGooby's Joke House in Timonium, and we had a bunch of good shows. He was a very nice gentleman.

You guys, if you're a fan of comedy, you might know of an incident he had earlier this year that was kind of in the news, and we talk about that a little bit in this podcast. But in spite of what you may have heard or what you may have thought just a really, really genuinely good dude and a funny dude and we talk about the league and we talk about comedy and we talk about how he got his start on MTV he's punked

when he has some good stories to tell about that so I hope you like this episode I was just kidding about Josh Kaderna he could not be here to tell about that. So I hope you like this episode. I was just kidding about Josh Kaderna. He could not be here because he was doing shows in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania because he is too fucking good for us now. No, seriously, we are proud of Josh

because this was the first time he featured in a comedy club. And we're really, really, really proud of Josh because this was the first time he featured in a comedy club. And we're really, really, really proud of him. I remember when he was just coming my balls. And now he's just come. But seriously, Josh is a very, very funny man. Heard he had good shows this weekend as well. If you want to check him out doing more shows, he has some stand-up dates

coming up, such as he will be headlining at the Crown in Baltimore. I believe that show is hosted by the legendary Christopher Hudson. That will be

December 15th at 8pm. Josh will also be at the DC Improv Lounge on January 14th for Comedy Kumite, which is kind of a contest for comedians. It's kind of like the Karate Kid, but without the annoying annoying neurotic ralph macchio um you could also follow josh on twitter uh at josh kaderna you could also follow him on instagram at josh kaderna um if you're interested uh in seeing me do stand up in spite of this horrible piece of shit intro that i just did um i will be doing a little bit of the old stand-up coming up in December as well.

I will be at the Cellar Door on December 4th, headlining. That's a good show in Frederick. I will also be headlining High Tops backstage bar and grill on December 11th. And this just in, i'm very excited to announce that i will be back at mcgooby's joke house uh headlining on december 29th and 30th uh those will be very good shows and um uh buy your tickets in advance because I am a big deal and a lot of people pay a lot of money to see me. So

that 400 seat club will be filled very quickly. Yes, you'll be able to get tickets at the door. Thank you in advance if you come out. If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm at TheMikeFanazzo. Again, in spite of this intro and in spite of my Donald Trump rants on Facebook and Twitter, I still am a comedian. But yeah, if you can make it out to those shows for either me or Josh, that'd be awesome. Say hi. Follow us as a podcast at DigSashPod on Twitter. Like the Facebook page.

Like it. Yes. dig sesh pod on twitter like the facebook page like it yes i do not know why i just turned in to brody stevens i hate myself i understand why people skip the first 15 minutes of mark maron's podcast now but anyway i really hope you like this episode. Let us know what you think. Again, Steve Ranzisi could not be a nicer guy and a good comedian. And I hope that you like this chat. So enjoy your week, folks. I think Josh and I will be back with a new one next week. So we will talk to you then. Love you guys. Check, check. One, two, one, two. You find that easy?

I just bought one because I am about to start a podcast. Yeah. Zoom's great, man. It's super user-friendly. What's your podcast going to be? I did a Burt Kreischer's podcast the other night. It was him, me, and Ari Shavir. We were getting drunk. They were ripping me about not having one.

I was like, I've had ideas. I just don't feel like just jumping into it. I told them all the reasons why I didn't want to do an interview podcast or an alone podcast and then we were kind of spitballing ideas and ari's like what about you know you talk about like a book fair thing and i'm like i don't read books right like i do a podcast if someone wanted to tell me about their favorite book and then we started doing that and then we kind of spitballed that idea around so i'm gonna start by having people come on and tell me just tell me about your favorite book and because i'm never gonna read it that's awesome yeah are you

are you tight with burt uh yeah kind of yeah we're friendly yeah he's a super great dude yeah he's the best he's the reason i got into the dc improv i really i opened for him in baltimore at the baltimore comedy factory he brought me to feature for him there. So there could not be a better dude on this planet. He really is the best. He's so genuinely and uniquely him. Shameless plug. His special, The Machine, is playing on Showtime right now. Yeah, yeah.

Speaking of specials, so your last special was Comedy Central. Where can people find that now? Comedy Central's got that CC Direct thing and also Amazon and iTunes and all the places you buy stuff. Special's great, man. Thank you very much. And that's your second one? Yeah, the second one was Breaking Dead.

Cool. Yeah. Awesome. And when can we expect your podcast? I have two done. So as soon as I get a bunch in there, I'll figure out how to get it off the ground. But I think I'm going to use the first one because that night we just did one. soon as i get like you know a bunch in there great i'll figure out how to get it off the ground but i think i'm gonna use the first because that night we just did one like i interviewed ari told me

about this book that he liked so uh the road and so we kind of just kind of abridgely did one then so i might release that as like the first one and then go from there that's awesome yeah and uh yeah i was uh for podcast listeners i was talking to you uh before the show about this. We're not going to Steve Rand as easy, by the way. But yeah, Mike Stork, who's a great Baltimore comedian, he's pretty friendly with Ari. And his mime was just fucking blown last night, which it's simply and easily

done. When you were telling your bit about smuggling weed, Ed, you're like, my friend Ari. And he's like, my friend Ari told me the same exact thing. Yeah, I say his name on stage. I don me the same exact thing um yeah i say his name on stage i don't say his last name but i say his name because he likes doing that he likes saying people's names on stage and then getting in trouble about it so that's how oh with the special yeah yeah yeah so i i make sure i say his name on stage in case people get pissed for no reason

right on um and so uh i was just curious so you you told me last night you were from New York. Did you start doing comedy there? I did comedy at New York Comedy Club and then the Boston Comedy Club, probably maybe, I don't know, 50, 60 times before I moved to L.A. And, yeah, I was – that's – I mean, I realized I really enjoyed doing it. I wasn't good at it at all, but I knew that this is something I was like, I want to keep doing this.

So then when I moved to Los Angeles, I went right to the comedy store. I knew you can get a job there, which I also needed. I wasn't going to pay much, but I knew you could get a job there. And that was kind of the place that people wanted to go. I don't know why,

because when I got there, it was pretty destitute. But yeah, that's where I went. I feel like I started there. Right, right. Did you start out as a doorman there? Doorman, backdoor guy. And then I worked in the cover booth. And I answered the phones here and there, but not really. I wasn't more of a daytime guy. And then the parking lot too. Right. Because you mentioned that the store was kind of dead like when you first started it's crazy how like that scene has just built up so much since then

the last two three years has been like i've i've never seen i've never seen anything close to this um what do you think that is like what do you think i think well i think it's a couple things i think that podcasts have become so big now such a way to get distinct unique voices to the to the people that would enjoy them um that you know it's been about 10 years so i think that the kids that were 14 15 just listening to podcasts that like you know started listening to bill burr and marin and rogan and those guys and you know and just sort of stuck with them now have expendable cash at 25 years old to be able to go to the comedy store on a wednesday they also have a freedom and a lifestyle that can go on a wednesday or a tuesday and you know and say joe rogan's name and get half price tickets for like 10 bucks or whatever and get in and see Rogan and Burr and Diaz

and all these people that they love from their podcasts all on the same lineup. So because that is so huge now, I think it's, and that and Netflix. I think the Netflix specials and people using that as a tremendous platform. I think those two things, because it started,

the seeds were planted like eight nine years ago and i think now those that millennium right like generation has that extra 20 bucks right you know and that's just the for me it's like growing up a comedy nerd such a big comedy fan it's like to be when i growing up it was comedy central at hbo essentially so it's like i know like carlin did all his hbo specials and they were like the young comedian specials and the first special i loved was like chapelle's uh killing me softly yeah the one in dc yeah yeah and uh but now it's like there's so many outlets for people to do specials that's just giving more

content and like you were saying it's just more stuff for people to follow and you know kind of you can start following comedians like they're like how people follow like indie bands back in the day and stuff which is pretty cool i remember being at the comedy store and in 2002-03 and the employee section which was sunday nights the first half hour the first hour from seven to eight was the employee oh no that was open mic, 7 to 8. And then the employees started around 8. And the employees at that time were myself and Ari Shafir and Duncan Trussell and Steve Simone and Jason Lucas and Rick Ramos and Jim Painter and all these guys that we were very – we all came from different places. Some of us were East Coast guys, but we all kind of came from different backgrounds.

And everyone's style was different. I remember watching Duncan do a puppet for years and years and going, holy shit. Like, I would cry with laughter. But, you know, some people, the whole audience never grasped it at once. And for guys like him and Ari and those guys to, like, just stick with it, continue to be who they were, develop their own thing. And then having, like I said, that podcast medium to go, here's me, you know, and in that big net of where everyone catches their stuff,

try to pick me off. And people, you know, they do and they pass it along and, you know, they will find out how hilarious Duncan is. Yeah, yeah. People like that. But that time, like having that rotation of like all of us going up and having such different, you know, styles and stuff was awesome.

Right. That was my, because I didn't really really i wasn't a tremendous comedy fan as a kid uh but that was sort of my college and my like seeing different styles and unique different approaches awesome yeah and i um i think like the cool thing about podcasting is like it really is like an ongoing conversation with people so you can build up your fan base and i feel like if like ari who you mentioned like he's somebody who really people kind of caught up to him and learned who he is and let his stand-up caught on and i think like because he built up kind of his relationship with an audience like through rogan's podcast or his podcast and now people just want to check it even further with you know his stand-up special he does every year which is awesome that's um you know out there and available for you like so i know

you said you did like the bringer shows in new york and stuff like was comedy like always what you wanted to start doing or was it more acting for you or both i went to college for theater and then when i graduated i knew that i wanted to act as well. I knew I enjoyed doing that. But when I did stand-up, I was like, this is – because I knew I wanted to be on stage every night. I was like – it was either – I knew comedy was fun for me. It was either going to be a troupe or some sort of improv thing or stand-up. So stand-up was like the first thing that I kind of wrote some jokes down

and figured – I don't really know where to go and join yet, but I know that I can go to an open mic and sign myself up and go up there and do it. So that's what I did first. And so when I did it and I sort of was like, oof, I felt weird. But it takes to process it. Right, right. It didn't go as bad as you thought it was or was going to go. So I went back and did it again and again.

And so you had to bring people. And then sometimes I it again and again and so you know you had to bring people and then sometimes i would go to open mics where you didn't have to bring people and those were terrible well you got the reality check it's stand up new york yeah so it was it was a lot of that but i knew that going to la i knew that like i had i was like i want to go to the comedy store get a job doing stand-up and i want to go to the groundlings and figure out how to be funny with a group of people um so that's what i did when i and figure out how to be funny with a group of people. So that's what I did when I got out there. So to me it was like sort of hand-in-hand. I really kind of started

both at the same time, professionally. So with Groundlings, that's probably perfect training for the league. That was great. If I didn't do the Groundlings, I never would have been able to have the confidence to do the league. I enjoy talking to people on stage. I like doing crowd crowd work but the groundings gave me a structure

and a you know and the ability to kind of have some rules and right and figure out how to play within the within the context of the different situations they put you in and you know those people are the quickest funniest people i ever met in my life until I started doing the league. And so it was Melissa McCarthy was there all the time at that time. She was a grounding. And Will Forte was still there. He was a grounding. Like what year was this?

Like around? I'd say it'd be 2003, 4. Wow, wow. Yeah, 2003, 4, 5. So a bunch of people right before they pop. That's awesome. Kristen Wiig. I mean, Bill Hader, he wasn't at the groundlings, I don't think,

but there was that show Punk'd in 2003 that I did, and I think Hader did that as well towards the end of the season that I was on. Were you on the first incarnation of it? No, the second one. Dan Shepard did that first one. Right, right. And then I did that second one. It was like BJ Novak did a couple first one right right and then um we did i did that second one it was like bj novak did a couple right right right i did a couple i think hater did

a couple and whitney cummings did a couple oh that's all so did you um that's it so that's it because i remember punked like the like the first incarnation of it and i remember thinking like dac shepherd was hilarious and yeah and how like so how did that show work in terms like how involved was like ashton kutcher and how like a bunch of a machine was that or was it just you're improvising these crazy bits and it's kind of it's a thing it was very guerrilla um because it was like you didn't know what you were you know it was sort of they had people that they were trying to get and these these scenarios they try to put together real quick and it's hard to like map out and schedule a whole thing when you don't know 100 all the time so it was very you would find out

like the night before right right like hey tomorrow you're gonna do one we're not gonna tell you about like they didn't again like it wasn't ashton he's got a producing partner jason goldberg who was sort of like he was the in charge of like making sure that everything was running correctly and who we were going to get and um so he would just call you back hey you're going to do one more it's a high profile so and so you know not a name yet but like you've got to be at this address at this time right right and you would show up there you'd be like oh this is a doctor's office okay i might be a doctor and he's like okay you're gonna be a doctor's office. Okay, I might be a doctor.

And he's like, okay, you're going to be a doctor today. This is what's going on. Taye Diggs is coming in in an hour. He's going to do a movie in South Africa. He needs to get a physical to go through to get this movie for insurance. But he's deathly afraid of needles. You're going to give him a needle. Okay?

He knows he's got to get a needle. You're going to give him a needle at some point.'s got to get a needle. You're going to give him a needle at some point. But that's it. And then you wear an earwig. So they're feeding you lines. Well, yes. Also direction, because they have all these cameras set up hidden. Gotcha.

So sometimes it's like, hey, if you move to the left or move them to the right a little bit, and we'll have a much better angle at something that's going on. Oh, wow. stuff like that sometimes it would be you know feeding you lines or avenues to go down right right um and ashton was there for i would say like most of the ones i did um and they were always great better when he was there right because people love to see him at the end and come out as the reveal was sort of a real fun experience um which like is silly is like those like some of those practical jokes sounds it's a it's a great acting exercise too like because to me i was like yeah

you don't get a second take you got to do this for real like the outcast one i did that we put a uh like a four hundred thousand dollar my back through the window of a store on melrose with helicopters and all this stuff so it was So there was like a half a million dollars riding on it. And if you just don't do it right, it's just over. That's it. Were there any that went very, very wrong?

Yeah. Alex Rodriguez didn't sign the paperwork. I can imagine he wouldn't be a good sport. He didn't, yeah. You know what? To be honest and to be fair, didn't sign the paperwork yeah i could imagine he wouldn't be a good sport he didn't yeah he uh you know what to be honest and to be fair some of them you look at them but the ones that are funny the ones that like to me like the tay digs one and the tracy morgan one where it's like i'm gonna take your car and however you react to that is what makes this thing funny right but when you're mean to someone that that's a different thing.

And just waiting for them. Because everyone will explode. Right. And that was sort of my angle at the A-Rod one. He was at a restaurant with his wife and his agent, a couple people. And I played a waiter. And this is the time when he was going to be traded from Texas to New York. We didn't even know the Red Sox at the time.

Well, the Red Sox. Yeah. That trade fell through. So that was going to happen. Right. And so I just played this Boston kind of arrogant waiter who was like, we don't really want you up there. We'd rather have Jeter.

Like dropping little things where I just kept poking him and poking him and poking him. And then finally at the end, they were like, you got to keep on. So I left the check and I was like, I told his wife, I said, I know i understand beautiful woman congratulations on all this but if you ever you know i might left my number in there if you ever if it ever goes if you want to get with a real guy and he stood up and came towards me and i was like hey you're unpunked

and uh and that was it and like you know i was, like, thinking about what was said and how he reacted. Right, right. And you could see him, like, he sat down, he continued to have his food, and Ashton was there, and they were kind of talking. And then, like, usually it's like, hey, sign paperwork, and we're out the door. But I could see, like, more talking and more.

And this is, like, 11 o'clock at night in L.A. And, like, he had to call lawyers from MTV in New York at, like, you know, 2.30 in the morning in New York time, and they were had to call lawyers from mtv in new york at like you know 2 30 in the morning in new york time and they were talking to his lawyers and eventually it was like he just didn't want he didn't want they were like we'll cut a version and send it to your hotel and if you don't like it we won't air it right but i don't i think he was very smart about like who's gonna cut this thing like some editor that will then just pass it off to somebody at ESPN. It doesn't, you know,

or whatever it is. And also they're trying to cut it to make something entertaining, not necessarily to make him look like a nice guy. Yes. But I think that even if they were like, we'll just cut it to make it look funny as we can. We just want him to be in it and he'll be okay with it. I think that even in his mind,

because he did say some disparaging things about other players a little bit so i think he kind of remembered i mean like i would say stuff about other players and he would then respond the way other players would like he's not as good as i am right right so you know there's some short stops in new york that probably would have had a little problem with it. Hashtag respect. Yeah, hashtag forever. Yeah, well, that's like, I think punk's such a weird thing, too. Like, do you remember the Zach Braff one? Zach Braff one. It was basically.

Fresh my memory. I don't know if it was your season, but basically it was a kid vandalized his car and spray painted it, and he lost his shit. Was it the kid that played a kid on the show? Yes, yes. Brian Pinkston, I think that kid's name was. That sounds right. and he lost his shit was it the kid that like uh the kid that played a kid on the show yes yes yeah and so in pinkston i think that kid's name that sounds right but um but yeah zach brad just like lost his shit and was about to beat this kid up and it's a one hand it's like it's funny because it's outrageous and it's gritty and real and there were a lot of people that thought he was a dick for that but it's also i can can't blame him. If somebody spray painted my car, I'd probably lose my shit.

It's my problem with Borat and Bruno, the difference between kind of needling someone and kind of waiting for them or saying something and waiting for them to either respond and dig themselves and be the butt of the joke. Right. And then I think it was was it ron paul or ran paul what was that one with ron paul ron paul i think anyone in ron paul's position would have reacted the same way right right i'm leaving this room right and so i you know i didn't have a problem with it like i'm gonna go outside and protest but i'm just like

to me it's not as funny as when you can set someone up and let them hang themselves. Right, right, right. So it's, again, like the Groundlings, though, it sounds like Punk'd was overall a really good experience. It was probably really good training for you for the league at Subways because you're constantly improvising, but you still have to be grounded in reality. Yeah, realistic situations down to earth, yeah. Yeah, Groundlings was unreal because it was just, like I said, it gave me a structure and being able to work with multiple people at the same time.

And then as far as the league, I had done a couple pilots and I did a series for ABC that only did a couple episodes. So I'd only worked within that network structure. So I was very comfortable, not comfortable, couple pilots and and um for and i did a series for abc that only did a couple episodes so i'd only worked within that network structure so i was very comfortable not comfortable as comfortable as you can be but like i understood like the different you're gonna get this number and then if you're on for this number episodes i was kind of fixated on that and then when the league came about you know we didn't we aired the first six episodes and sort of we didn't know if it was

gonna catch on or be popular but fx didn't give a shit so they were just like we aired the first six episodes and sort of we didn't know if it was going to catch on or right popular but fx didn't give a shit so they were just like we think the show's funny right so it was a whole different ball ball game for me and that's why like not only being able to work with those guys but but understanding like i was not going to be we weren't gonna get canceled at a commercial break anymore like i didn't have that i was i had a little more ease about it that show and that's what made it awesome right were there um so do you see in like a weird way like a parallel like life or one of those network sitcoms would have hit you would have been equally like satisfied or were there any of those shows you were hoping would take off because the year i did this show is a terrible a terrible show. It was called Big Day. It was 10 years ago this year, actually.

Had some great people on it. Josh Cook and Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr and won the Tony for Hamilton. And everyone on the show, Stephanie, everyone was awesome. But we were on in this time of year. Our lead-in was like, you're a good man, Charlie Brown. They were like, you lost half your audience. We were like, because they went to bed. They were 10 years old.

Right, right. They went to sleep. It was a family sort of wedding show, single camera. And it was kind of funny. But it was a lot of pressure to do that. And then it went away. The next year, they replaced it with the show Cavemen that Kroll was on. Oh, the Geico thing.

Yeah, that Geico thing. So they were on the same studio so and then they got canceled after 13 episodes and then that summer is when the league came out or start started up and we're just sort of I remember talking to Nick being like we're both coming off of these cancelled ABC shows like it's gonna be the same sort of thing we're just hoping that one of these things sticks and then and then we did sign on for the league right and i remember the abc coming to me being like you did this show is it is it gonna get picked up because

we have this other show that about this family this like modern family that we really want you to read for oh yeah well i'm like this thing's gonna probably go and you know i'm probably in with that and you know it was i had it doesn't offer anything or talked about you know it was like modern family so right right either way they had a formula that works and they were looking for more like yeah they were like we like that family thing that you were a part of right you might be part of this family thing um but i feel still feel like i won right yeah you so when you do the league and because like uh there's so many people in that show that are comedians and did you know a lot of those guys before doing it?

Did you know Kroll before you did the show? I knew Nick a little bit because we had auditioned for similar stuff for about a year. But he hadn't lived in L.A. He only lived in L.A. for maybe a year or two before that. So he was sort of new for the West Coast people. But him and Shear obviously were good bros from UCB. And Manzoukas was a UCB guy. I guess he wasn't on the show early on, right?

He was in the second season. He did that first six-episode run, but they had always envisioned him having a part on the show at some point. And then when they started the second season, we got picked up. They were like, we want him to play Rafi, who was only actually supposed to be in like two or three episodes. So that's why Jason went nuts because he was like, well, I'm going to go crazy

if I'm going to be on two or three episodes. And then they were like, it was so funny that they had to keep him. And now he does guest spots on every comedy series and goes nuts. He's a real, he's truly, like you talked a real yeah he's he's he's he's truly like you talked

before people that make you laugh that have funny bones he's one of those people that yeah i could never keep a straight face he you know was as quick and as smart as he is he never did the same take twice he always had a different version of some sort of crazy rant he'd go on. Is it different acting off someone like him or like Paul Scheer, who are these great comedians or great improv comedians versus like Mark Duplass or Katie Asselton, who's his wife, who are like more... Yeah, they come from like... They improvise in their movies, but they're more gritty.

Yeah, they do their movies improvised. Yeah. So they understand the give and take of the ball and making sure the narrative's getting moved around but you know Nick is a joke machine right right just constantly come joke joke joke our creator Jeff Schaefer also a joke

machine you know coming off of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm where it's just joke is king those guys you can't keep up with those guys so you just everyone sort of finds what they do and figures out you know like i'm gonna this is me and what i do and how i'm gonna do it so mark kind of was like pete is the guy that everybody just sort of is the bro the bud that everyone has that you're like right this guy's always around he does his own thing you know

and for katie and i obviously she's married she's married to mark in real life and i'm married so we had a we we had kids as very similar like weeks apart almost so we had the same we were in the same arguments all the time you know on the show was like we knew what these arguments were about it wasn't foreign to either of us that was something i always wondered about that show because i've been a fan of it since the first season. And I think I told you last night, I'm a huge Duplass Brothers fan, so that was my gateway into that show. And you should be. Yeah, their work's amazing.

They really are great collaborators. So was there ever a version of that show where Mark and Katie were just husband and wife? I think so i think um the creators are who are also a husband and wife team jeff and jackie schaefer who i think they approached mark and katie seeing the movie puffy chair seeing their chemistry to kind of go well you guys would be great for kevin and jenny and i i don't i mean i know mark had kind of talked a little bit about not wanting to do both husband and wife and on screen and off screen especially for tv shows a movie's one thing right a couple months but the tv show you know who knows so they uh you know he's like i'd like to get would it be pete and you know they talked about that

so they realized they needed kevin and that's i came in to read right have you ever seen puffy chair yeah yeah i love that movie great i saw i told you what they spent shooting that movie it's like oh it's i yeah those are the kinds of movies i make now which are the under ten thousand dollar genre but yeah that was a movie like i saw like i actually saw that in the theater and like that was like to me that's like what the graduate was to my parents to where it was like oh wow these people talk like me and yep yeah it's kind of like that was that sweet spot for me and i'm so cool that he's ended up doing so many different his wife too she's an amazing actress she really is and she's hilarious too she's doing um a show on fx again called legion

it's gonna be it's um uh what's his name i'm sorry i'm blanking on uh fargo um creator noah noah cowley oh yeah so he's doing this show legion for fx that's awesome so she's playing so she gets to have superpowers and i'm so jealous oh that's all i did that movie this i just did a movie um called avengers of justice that'll come out next year that i got to have superpowers on so i'm a i got a little satisfied but she gets to have like real superpowers all the time. Yeah. And that's crazy to think that started with a $10,000 movie. I know.

And both of them, it's like he owns independent cinema, and she's become such a legitimate, respected working actress. Yeah, and director too. Oh yeah, her movie, was it Black Rock? That's great.

And The Freebie was great, which that was actually the first movie. We talked about Dax Shepard briefly. I was like, he's a really good actor. I'm sorry to go off on tangents about other people. No, it's fine, yeah. But yeah, and I think that that's a true testament to how good you are, too, and how good she is on that show. I really do buy you as a married couple, even though her husband's also on that show. People get baffled by that.

But yeah, we had great chemistry. We always did, from the time that we did the Cold Read together we uh we got along real well that's awesome yeah um so we're gonna wrap up in just a few minutes because you have another show to do um thank you so much for doing oh yeah you're doing great this weekend thanks man it's been fun watching you and uh it is interesting like uh just because like i know you from the league and it's like to watch your sets it's like wow this guy's like a great club comic like your crowd works awesome and thanks it's uh just fun watching like different sides of people and stuff appreciate it um yeah and if you don't want to answer this like please tell me to shut the fuck up but i did want to ask um obviously you've had some stuff

happen in the last year uh what are you talking about oh oh yes yes the last year did no yes but uh but uh yeah so with the the 9-11 story i'm not gonna ask you about that specifically because if people want to hear it then go to the howard stern interview which is yeah that's what i tell that's what i refer people he's the best interviewer in the world he's gonna do way better than i have i was just curious has that affected like um like the way you look at stand-up now or the way you've like the shows and stuff or the crowds or i it's the way i look at that i feel like i am a little bit uh i don't know i i don't mention it in the show so i don't ever feel like i'm like like leaning on it or have to feel like I have a need to mention it

so it hasn't really changed my approach I always just like I'm gonna be funny and go out there and do what I think is good but I don't you know I'm a little cautious a little more I guess maybe you know a little more uncomfortable

with crowds sometimes when they talk and this and that but i've never had anyone you know really go you know say anything or or interrupt or any of that stuff so it's been it's been great people have been really supportive and i appreciate it so your crowds have been really awesome yeah they've been great they really have so to me i'm like i don't know um there's really i don't know how to deal with it be beyond how i'm dealing with it yeah uh yeah i was have you thought about talking about it on stage or is that um you know i did but to be honest it's like there's a lot there's a tremendous percentage of people who

don't know right i was curious so you know it's like you now have to either figure you want to explain it to people right or you know how do you explain it to people you know there there there might be a time but i feel like right now right uh it's i'm not there yet yeah and i was i was curious about that because i co-host josh caderna it's a comedian it's like obviously that story is huge in our circles because we're comedians and it comes up but it was like i wonder how many people even know about it like in terms of just uh like the people here like this weekend are here to see you because they've either seen you on tv or they want to see a funny comedian it's like i wonder if like that's like story is even something that comes across their radar um i don't know i think the people that come to see me are either don't know or they're cool with it.

Yeah. Because I've had plenty of people come over and be like, hey, I saw your interview on Stern. And I think that's how people sort of acknowledge it. They go, oh, great interview on Stern, which is sort of like their way of being like, you know, we're cool. As they should be. And you don't have to apologize to any of these people.

Yeah. You know, and I don't, but I've never had anyone come to the show and then after give me the business. But I would listen if they did, I guess. Well, I have to say, I've had a few friends,

like I was telling you last night, a friend of mine opened for you at the DC Improv and a few common comedy friends and everybody speaks so highly of you. And this week, I don't give a shit. It's like this weekend you've been hilarious and could have been a nicer guy.

Thanks, man. I really appreciate it. It's great working with you, too. Thanks, man. Do you have anything you want to plug or anything? Yeah, I'm still going on tour, so Twitter at Steve Rannazzisi and Instagram and all that. And then, yeah, I guess we can,

I mean, that has all my dates on it. So just go to that. Awesome, man. Yeah, definitely check it out, Steve. He's a great comedian and check out his movie next year when that comes out. Yeah, Avengers of Justice next year.

Awesome. Thank you so much for doing it, man. Thanks a lot for having me, man. Cool. Thank you, guys. Yeah, we have a little button at the end of episodes. It's,

Digression Sessions coming to an end. Thank you. Oh yeah, oh yeah