The Kristian Harloff Show - Stand Up Comedy Stories, Comebacks and Val Kilmer | The Big Thing

Episode Date: July 9, 2021

On episode 11, Kristian is joined by Kate Mulligan. We go down a road where The Big Thing for today is stand up comedy; stories from Kate and Kristian's past in the world of comedy. Kristian talks about his days at The Comedy Store and how he and Kate met. We also dive into the new movie about Val Kilmer debuting on Amazon Prime.  Follow on Twitter Kristian Harloff https://bit.ly/31PePMD Kate Mulligan https://bit.ly/3owBneT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Sunshine and Rainbows with me, Perry Lewis. It's nice to have you all back on this show. It is Friday's show. It is the big thing. It's me, Christian Harloff, and I am joined by my partner in crime. That's great. Charged up like the lithium battery.

It's going to ruin. There is. And I'm going to find another rapper out there. I'm going to play that in just a bit. But Kate Mulligan is here, ladies and gentlemen. you for joining us on the episode of the big thing it's just kate and i here today we're going to be goofing around we're going to be having a good time and we're thank you for joining us thank you for joining we sure we sure do tgif tg i well yes tgif as i was going to go as tgit tgit tgit

thank god i have tities that's what tgit well until not too long ago so did i down to 202 yo it was 213 i i'm i got to tell you guys there was the other day christian We were running, I don't know if I could say we were running some bits, but we were running some bits the other day. And at some point like, excuse, sorry, guys. Harry, you know what? Before you hold that story because we haven't done this in quite a while. Such a long time. So Kate's got some serious problems right now.

It's a lifter. It's a lifter. So go ahead. What you say? No, but you were like doing bits. And I was like, uh-oh. Uh-oh, tricep. You would just have like a line.

It's that fucking supernatural game. I know, it's fucking. You guys, we're going to talk about Oculus every day, every time. I actually want to talk about stand-up comedy today. Good. That's what I think we should talk about today. I think that's this way we should. We'll have a few different things that we can touch upon anything else.

But this is going to be about stand-up and other things. Stories that we've had, things. Maybe we do throw some bits. But if you did hear, by the way, I can't tell you who the guy is. I don't know. You guys probably know by the idea. He's probably like a really big famous YouTuber. I have no idea.

But what I will say is House Heisenberg, who was like the famous, he would, put these stereos in and have people talking about the flirt and flouse. And so he... I blow your mind when I'm spitting flimbingly. Charged up like a lithium battle. Yeah. Multi-syllabics when I'm killing shit. Find another rap.

A badder half is this. Uh-huh. Hey, yo, I'm in the house. Kind of like the house. Flirts and flirts. Hey, yo, I'm here for y'all trying to pronounce words. The balances of surge. I know what we bounce.

Surge. We are trying to pronounce words. The balance is a surge. So good. So good. One more time for the kids in the back. We found, sir. We're out.

We're trying to get, I'm trying to get, I'm trying to. He said rep in Berlin. I want to try to give. I don't know what they did, but I want to give him so long. I blow your mind when I'm spitting my magic. Charge death like a lythia. Like a lythia battery. Yeah.

Multi-syllivics. Find another rap. Find another rap. Find another. Is this? Uh, hey yo. I'm in the house. Hey, yo.

I'm in the house. I'm in the house. That's out like the house. Kind of out like the loudie. Hey, yo, I'm here for y'all trying to promote for yours. The balances of surge. I don't know what we've bounced. Everywhere that there's been a little bit of mine is such magic.

That's a great one. That might be my favorite one because it's because the guy can flow. Because the guy's legit. He's a really good. I don't know. He called himself DJ, DJ trap. Is that what he said? I don't know.

This is that old bit of mine. I'm like, who's singing this? He'll tell us. I'll try to hear you again. I blow your mind when I'm spitting flim magically. Charged up like a. lithium battery. Yeah,

multisyllabics when I'm killing shit. Find another rapper out the half as real as this. Hey yo, I'm in the house. Kind of like the homies at flirting flouse. Yeah. Hey, yo, I'm here for y'all trying to pronounce words.

The bounces of surge. Y'all know what we bounce, sir. Greetings from DJ Trap. Reping Berlin. I don't know. DJ trap. I don't know. Might just be a pal.

You and I are, can we say, not hip? So the kids will probably tell us. us who that is. Like that's actually the most famous YouTuber ever. That's literally the most famous YouTuber they're ever. They're going to tell us who he is.

But either way, he was really, really good. I hope more people ask him to do the flirt and flouse stuff. Oh my God. Because that would be great. So you were saying that basically he does the stream lab names that are given? Not the stream. So he put a super chat in. And the super chat just sits the flirt and flouse. So this dude just sees the super chats. It sees like

names and he goes through it. And he And he's doing his... Oh, that's... So DJ traps probably also. I'm like, this guy's DJ, but it's probably a stupid chap. It's probably just another name. Yeah, yeah, it's probably another super chat.

But either way. But you know what I'm impressed with him by? How did he know that the flirt and flouse was a homie? Was a dude? Yeah, because he didn't... So flirt and flouse could have been anything. The flirt and flouse could have been a club. It sounds like a dance.

It sounds like a dance. It could have been like a food. Right? But he said, like the homies, he's a flirt and flower. My guess is that my guess, my hope, my dream. is that he's like, yeah, fuck yeah, I know who's a flirt and flouse. He's the homie.

So, and then he went through and did us a flirt and flouse. I said it to Brett. Brett was like, where did you find this? I was like, House Heisenberg strikes again. Because Brett, for those people who don't know, Brett's a big, is a flirt and floss fan. Massive fan. Massive fan.

The FCL champion of the world is a flirt and floss. Yeah. So I almost want that to be like, I want him to walk out to that on his next event. Are you kidding me? Yeah. So hip kids, tell us who that is. What were you talking about before? You said, you know, I cut you off.

Your arms. And then we're doing the, doing the workouts, doing the Oculus. I've been doing that. But I was like, yeah, we should just talk about comedy because we're both. Kate and I are going to be doing more, more comedy. And the possibilities are endless now because look at this. Look at this. I cannot tell you how excited I am.

The Shmode Un Spectacular is coming back. I don't think I realized it's still hung in the balance for as long as it did. I really thought it was. Yes. I really thought that it was like, I don't know, like it just got announced. Just got announced last night that. In my head, I was like, of course it's happening. I don't think I realized like how tenuous this was.

So the tickets are on sale. It is December 4th, downtown Los Angeles, the Globe Theater. If you were at the free-for-all in 2019, that was like your first thing that you came to check out. So if you were there, that is where it is. It's a great theater. The elite tickets are always. sold out. VIP is almost gone.

General admission will, is still available at the moment. Then we also have, the Schmodeown Expo's back. We have the Schmodeown Expo. And what that is for those people who didn't, you were there for that too last year, or two years ago.

But you were just to hang out. I write off. Yeah, I write off last year. Yeah, because you weren't even a manager yet at that point. So you came there just to hang out. No, I was at. You were just part of SCN. You just joined ESN.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So. Wow. I was so irrelevant. No, I think you got a lot of love when you showed up. I did, but like that's funny. I don't remember the time before I was a manager.

Nobody does. It is the expo. It's essentially like a, it's part of, if you can get a ticket for general admission plus the expo and what will happen is it'll grant you access to the, a lot of the competitors and personalities and managers will have a table that have their own merch. You can take pictures with them. You can just hang out and show up.

before the event starts. And it was, and it was actually, Saul was there before he was a competitor. And he competed because Ben Goddard runs like a game where you can compete in a Shmodeon match. So there's all these games and things that were doing it again for 2021. And those are going fast. So I wouldn't sit on it. It's going to be a massive party. It's going to be a lot of fun.

It's going to be some big special guests. I got off a phone call this morning working on somebody really, really big for this thing. And I'll be. Michael Jordan. My inner child will come out if I get this particular person. Okay, now I know what type of person this is. Because it's going to be, it will really add to the atmosphere. But even if I don't get that particular person,

there are things that we're working on. This is going to be the biggest event. So you either got He-Man? He-Man will be there. Well, I mean, we kind of have He-Man with Kevin Smith. I mean, truly. He's doing. Truly.

So much, so much that we're doing that I'm excited for. The other reason with the announcement that live events are coming back, and I hope to have some more announcements within the next week, if not maybe even today. There's more stuff coming, a lot of stuff coming. And with that, the shows that Mark usually does, and we do shows on Saturday, usually on Friday, will be some stand-up shows.

And I told him, last October, I started working on stuff. You know that. We've been working together on a lot of stuff. But I've been working on some stuff, and I want to start doing those shows on Fridays also. Oh, that's going to be so. I told my friends, like, in New York when we go, when we go back to New York, like, they're going to come out and see, we'll have, like, a full on party.

It's, I have to say, like, I've sort of loved, Mark's very generous about that sort of thing, where he'll just be like, like, I don't know, he's been hustling this whole time. You and I stopped to have kids, you know what I mean? But he's like, get on my show. Like, I just, and it's just so fun because, like, it was like you were the leader of us back in the day like i feel like you were the one that was like established as a stand-up at the time and we were like writing your coattails like i was like can i get onto a white boy comedy show you know like i know frank will book them but i don't know it's just

so fun that we're all going to be doing it again i mean i mean yes and i want to almost even do like an sien type thing too so it doesn't have to just fall on mark shoulders where we could do shows where we i mean my my goal next next year next season everything's a season but next year would be to get a place, a venue in LA that we can do some, and even if it's the seats like 100 people to do some, to do some shows out there, and then we can do some other shows like we're on the road in general, and maybe we do one on like a Thursday,

Mark does the Friday, and then a couple people can pop on or whatever it might be, because at one point, I was going to, when I didn't know what we were going to be able to do for live events, my idea was maybe to do like a big S-E-N comedy show, like the roulette. in Brooklyn.

Oh. Then I'm pretty confident that we're going to be doing a shmow down there. Yeah. So we're sticking to it. But like I, you and I were kind of running things off each other. And it's just like I told, I was, I watched Rocky Balboa lately. Yeah. Right recently. And I told Ellis that.

But have you ever seen that one? No. So how many of them have you seen? I was just supposed to say, don't ask me which ones I've seen. Yeah. How many of them do you think you've seen? I know how many I've seen. Okay.

Tell me. Creed. Zero. You've never even seen a creator of Creed too. You would love. I love greed. Yeah, you're like, you would love greed because Michael B. Jordan's in. Yeah.

But it's also a great movie. It's also a great movie. You're not wrong. Yeah, I actually don't know. Are we still friends? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, of course.

I've seen the stairs scene. But I actually, that's stupid. You probably sell that in a spoof. Yeah, probably. I'm actually not, I don't get upset with people when there's like, I haven't seen it. I get jealous. Oh. Because my, my wife's best friend was here with her husband for July 4th, and he just hasn't seen.

anything, right? He hasn't seen anything, and he says it, and he wears it with a bat, and he said, it was really funny, because I started to ask him, he's like, yeah, brought us some actors, he's like, I don't know who that is, and I was like, this, this, he goes, stop trying. He goes, I haven't seen it. And so, but I was, like,

jealous because I'm like, there's so much that you could stumble upon that you haven't seen that you, wow, look at Winston with like, this is a fun example, not a bad example, fun example, the Fast and Furious, movies, right? Yes. Fast and Furious Five is fantastic.

It is just a lot of fun. And he's, he's watching them for the first time. He's like, Fast Five is great, man. He's tweeting out about it. It's like a six-year-old movie, seven-year-old movie,

but to him, it's like the first time watching. Steph is watching The Sopranos for the first time. I know. I got to tell you after our conversation the other day, I'm about to start watching it. I just finished. People like, here we go with the Sopranos.

You're probably going to get the Sopranos every episode of the big thing because I just finished season one last night. You did. Yeah, I'm, every night, asked my wife. How many episodes are in a cable season? Well, it was 13? It depends, but that, that's, season one was 13 episodes.

Okay. And yeah, I finished it, like, quick. Like, really quick. And it's, that show you would love for sure. But, I'm back to Rocky. Like, I'm jealous that you haven't seen it. I can still. Yeah, you can still, you can go back and watch.

I think you would love the first one. Okay. second one's pretty pretty great i go back and forth which one i like more but i like it for different reasons too i can always switch depending on how i watch them one two and three depending on how they're they're they're great for different reasons like notoriously garbage right five five okay and and i think and some people some people most people agree even sloan said the five's not good but the problem with five is so if you're going to summarize it the first movie he's just Dude who had potential, he decided to, he became like a collector for like mobsters.

And he's, and he, but he's a good guy. He just, when he's not the smartest guy in the world, but he just, he had potential to be a good fighter, but he's fighting bombs. And, you know, getting himself into trouble. And he's got nothing going on in his life. And, and he gets a shot because Paul Kree, who's the Muhammad Ali undefeated champion of the world, he's supposed to fight this dude on like Thanksgiving or in the area but the guy gets hurt or something happens he can't so they've got nobody to fight and he's so Paul's like what if I just do like a like a goof

and like make like a show out of it and I'll pick some local fighter and I'll give him a shot of the title on the independence and let's let's let's do it and then they're going through it and he's like what about this guy he's like the Italian stallion that sounds he's like he's like he's like he never heard him he's yeah who nobody has it's like he's like he's like And he's like, this is, he's an Italian. It sounds, Apollo Creed versus the Italian stallion. He says, it sounds like a damn monster movie.

Yes, yes. And then, but his, but his manager goes, oh, no, no, no, he's a South Paul left. You know, he's like, I don't want you mess it with those South Paul. He's like, I'll drop him in three. Right. And then, you know, and Rocky, Rocky gets, first he doesn't want to do it. He gets the shot. And so, and within this, he meets Adrian, who is basically the opposite of him, who

is very shy, kind of, is introverted, and it doesn't, and they have this great scene, which if you go, who plays Adrian? Talia Shire. Okay. So when you hear the, when you hear the making of this movie, which is fascinating, a hundred times over, but the scene in the, in the scripts was that they go to this ice ring and it's packed, and he's got, and they have this conversation. Well, they didn't have the money for packed.

They didn't have the money for extras. Oh, my God. So they said, well, what do we write it in that Rocky kind of walks in and gives the guy who's clean in the ice some money? And then the two of them are just in it together. It plays so much better. Oh, my God. I love that.

And they have a conversation where he's like, he said that he doesn't have, what does he say? He doesn't have much of a brain, so you better find a way to use your body. This is what his dad told him, right, when he was younger. And Adrian laughs. She's like, well, my mom told me the opposite. You don't have much of a body, so make sure you use your brain. And they just, it's like that.

That summarizes them, like, completely. And, like, just the lead up to it. And then, you know, you get to one, two is, two is, I'm so much so I want you to see it. I don't want to go and all details to you, but like two and then three, those three movies. Is Adrian a through line? I don't want to tell you. Okay. I don't tell you.

And then Rocky Four, which is Ellis's favorite, but it is a music video. I mean, it is an hour and 26. six minutes. He does love music. It is legit a music video. Like so much so that James Brown comes out and sings coming to America before Apollo Creed fights and one of the thing. And he sings a whole song.

There's another part of it where he's having, Rocky's doing like a flashback. It's a full-on song with flash with just with just flashbacks from the previous movies. And it's fantastic. But it's, did montage come from Rocky? No, they're all over the place. But he used, but in.

In the fourth movie, it's like he was paid to do montages, right? Like, they're all over the place. Wait, and who plays Creed? Who plays Apollo Creed? That would be Carl Weathers, who from... No shit. Yeah, from Menloorian. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wow. And it's prime. Oh, my God, yeah. I love talking to you about Rocky that you know nothing about it. It is, it is as if, like, this is what I was put on this earth to do. Yeah, just to teach people about Rocky about Rocky. So any, but Rocky Balboa to kind of, Because you were saying you watched that the other night.

Yes, because Rocky, Rocky in generally, the journey that he's got all the way through, it's Rocky 5. They try to put him back. He's already tasted a lot of success by the time he gets to Rocky 5, right? And in Rocky 5, he loses his money. He loses a lot of stuff. And he goes back to the neighborhood. But they put him back as if not, like, as if the success didn't happen. Ah, weird.

People treat him the same that they did it before he won these things. 100% wouldn't be. It just wouldn't be. And it always felt like, and then I would have been forgiving of all of it. But the problem is he doesn't even fight in the ring in the fifth one. He fights in the street. Oh. Yeah.

And it's not, I'm glad that that's all that happened because Stallone was going to kill him in this movie. He was going to kill Rocky. And he talked about this. I remember like on Arsenio Hall one time. He was going to kill him. And it's like, thank God that to happen. I don't know what was going on with him at the time he wrote this. but like he admits it.

He's like, it wasn't good. Rocky Bobboe, I talked to. Sorry. Stallone writes these? Wrote and directed a lot of them. He wrote, so the first movie was John Aveltson.

Okay. Who directed, also directed, uh, karate kid. Oh, see. Now we're talking about my movies. Okay. So John Avelson directed that. Rocky 2 was Stallone,

written and directed by it. Rocky 3 was Stallone. Wow. I think Rocky 4 was Stollong. Rocky 5. I want to tell you five was Avudson again. I don't know if that's true, but I feel like it was. That's...

I think he went back to basics. I feel like he went back to basics and he... And that's what he did. But let's see. I'm pretty sure, but I love that you asking questions about Ron. Can I tell you? It reminds me of two, like, I was late to everything. I was super late to Breaking Bad.

I was... I mean, it's almost like I sort of need to have every... I need to have the series closed out so I can... It was. Ableton directed five. I think because they wanted to go back to Roots. and try to get it, but it's funny because Rocky 6, which is Rocky Balboa. Rocky Balboa.

That goes back to roots. That goes back to roots because he's, it's not that for me, because tons of athletes lose their money. Tons of stars, movie stars, lose their money. Refrigerator Perry. And you have to do other jobs and everything. Like Rocky winds up, yeah, Rocky winds up like opening a restaurant, right? Yeah.

That makes sense. Yes. And what also makes sense, he wants. he walks in to go greet his son who's, do you watch, what's that show that Sadie loves? Oh, the, uh, it's, this is us.

Do you watch her? Oh, that show's garbage. Don't tell her that. She'll bite your head off. She loves it. So, but anyway, Milo Ventimiga. Oh, I know him. Okay.

He plays Rocky son in this movie. Okay. So he goes to see, and, and his son is like, you know, doesn't want him, like, living in, he feels like he's living in his dad's shadows and wants to make his name for his own, and his boss is a dick. He works in.

He's not a fighter. He goes to work in a suit. He's a great actor. You don't think so? No, I said he's a great actor. So Rocky walks in to go greet him. But this time, people are coming up to a champ, what's up, champ, you know, and they're taking pictures with him. And that's what would happen.

That's what would happen. And even the Dick Boss is like, oh, you never introduced me or he pops and takes a picture with him and all that. Yes, yes. But the overall premise of Rocky Bell-boe is that he still. he still feels like there's something going on in there. Like, because from Rocky 5, he hasn't been able to fight. But at this point, he's like almost, he's like 55, almost 60 years old. And yeah, and they're like, what are you talking about?

There's like this computer generated fight with the guy who's the champion now and Rocky, young Rocky and young Rocky wins the fight. And they're like, and so the promoters are like, what do we do like an exhibition? We put Rocky in it because Rocky had just gotten cleared for licensing to fight again. And his son's like, what are you doing? He's like, what are you doing? And that's where that line comes from. He was just like, you know, it's not about how hard you get hit,

but it's about it's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Yeah. It's like that's how winning is done. And it's a great speech. But there's something that to play into all of this, what I tease with Ellis and even said to my wife the other day, there's a scene with him and Pauly.

And it's when he starts realizing that he wants to fight again. And he tells Paulie, he goes, he's like, you know, because Pauley says, you know, about the match, She's like, wait, you don't feel like you've peaked yet? And he goes, yeah, peaked. He goes, yeah, peaked. He's just some stuff in the basement. He said, what basement?

Yeah, basement. And, like, I feel like there's still stuff in the basement for stand-up, you know? And I can. I love that. Yeah. At first, of course, my brand, I was like, he had to poop? No, he had some stuff in the basement. He had some stuff in the basement.

There's some stuff in the basement. I've been quoting that. I've got some stuff in the basement. I love that. And it's like, you know, not, and it's the same thing. It's like, I don't, like, when, I was younger, like every other disillusion performer no matter what. And not all disillusion, but the first thing I'm thinking of is, oh, to sell out arenas,

I want to do this, I want to be in front of thousands and thousands of people. I just want to do it. Yep. I don't give a shit if there's 40 people in the crowd. And it's probably why it's probably going to be the most fun that I've had doing stand-up ever. Right. Is because I don't, my goal is not to try to sell out anywhere. I just want to do it and try stuff out and do something because I had some fun.

like I'm having fun writing. Yep. Again. Yep. And I haven't done that in a while. So like what I was encouraging is when you and I were working on it, like I had that one bit that you're like, well, that one definitely seems like you've been working on it for a while. Yes.

And like that that's the kind of stuff that I want to do. Oh yeah. No, that one, I mean, because we had talked to, we had done this months back. We had done like a couple online sessions together. But this was like that bit was totally fleshed out. I felt like. Working on it for a bit. I mean, I worked for a while.

Like even when. When I started, I remember when I first, when the basement started, we go. He had to poop. Yeah, to poop. But it was, I had pooped in the basement. But when I, when that happened, it was my birthday last year, I just took the day off from work. I shut the curtains. I remember me saying this.

Yeah. I got stoned. Yeah. I watched a whole bunch of like old DVDs and tapes and stuff. You sent me. And I just. And I put myself through torture because it was very hard to watch some of the old stuff. But the reason I was doing it was like, is there still some stuff inside of those old ones that can be remastered?

Because that was the thing I always made sure I did when I was younger was I always did jokes that were evergreen. Yeah. Or at least could change to be evergreen, not too topical because if you lose some topical stuff. Yeah, because yeah, then it's. then you're yeah then you have to rebuild a set constantly I mean I think that I still obviously mean there's a lot of new stuff I didn't like when I was I didn't have two kids the last time I was really doing stand-up so there's a lot there's nothing funny about having kids

I'll never forget that one thing though and I regret and I still haven't written anything about it I was maybe a month out of working for writing for WWE and I was back doing stand-up and I was talking about the stories it was in the back of there's a place in Santa Monica and it was like a little theater house I don't know if you ever did this place and it was like you'd have to go like down the stairs in order to do it

it was right in like the heart of Santa Monica right by the water right by the pier and it was near those like the restaurants and it was like off the side it wasn't P.O. It wasn't Prince of Wales No not Prince of Wales there was I'm thinking of it wasn't Santa Monica but it was like a pier

it was Santa Monica it wasn't it wasn't on the pier You know where those restaurants are Like where like the CPK is And where the Houston's used to be And all this It was right over there And it was like and you go And Mark Franco used to run it

And you go down this alley And then to the left And then you would go downstairs And then towards the back And it was there for a while And I don't remember I don't know if it's still there I have no idea

But I did the show a bunch of times I remember the first time I ever did it I went up and I did this And it was first time I did it It worked wonders Because it was all improv Second time I tried to do the same thing, and it didn't work. I went up there going, and my accent was very thick at the time.

And I was like, I know you guys know where I'm from. And I want to talk about it. Growing up in Alaska was tough and, you know, building this. And so I came out to me afterwards, and I did this whole thing for like 10 minutes. And they're like, dude, it's great. Did it again. Bombed. Because it was trying to rework it.

But it was also when I was a lot younger that I did. didn't understand, well, what worked about the first time to the second one? I said, well, second time, I'm done. And I didn't do it ever again. Which was today, that's not what I would do. Yes. But I was in the back at that same place, different set. And it was a bunch of us.

And Ari Shafir and I were sitting in the back. And Ari, we're talking about wrestling. Right in there, he goes, he goes, yeah, you shouldn't do that on stage. It's like, everybody talks about working at the WWE. And I go, really? He's like, no. Why aren't you talking about this? because it's all you should be talking about.

Why aren't you talking about this? And I was like, yeah, I should be writing, man? He's like, yes. Why aren't you talking about this? And I never listened to him, and I never did it. Because the Alaska thing was probably 99, 2000. Yeah. I didn't really start hanging out on no Ari until after it became a regular comedy store.

So that must have been like 2002, 2003, right after the wrestling. So I wasn't too fresh out of it, actually, now that I think about it. I must have been like a year or two years later because I didn't know, I didn't really start to know Ari. Ari was really, or it was really kind to me when I was at the comedy store. It's funny. I feel like I dabbled in and out with Ari at different shows,

but I never could tell, I knew he was wildly funny. He was. And I knew he was like wildly inappropriate funny too. But I couldn't tell, yeah. And I just couldn't tell, like, hearing that like he microdosed Bert without Bert knowing. It's like stuff like that that I'm like,

Is this guy a loose cannon? Yes. He's done a lot of stuff like that. Him and Bobby Lee got into crazy amount of fights, and I don't know how much they're out there. Remember when he, like, rubbed shit or human shit or dog shit on, like, Bobby's, like, doorknob, and they got into, like, fist fights. And I think they've talked about this many times over.

But, like, they got into, like, major fist fights at the comedy store. I used to see that stuff all the time. But he was great, he was very, he was very great. He was great to me because I think I told you why he was, the reason why he told me, I think that he warmed up to me is that when I got, he was not a regular at the comedy store when I got there. He was an employee. He was on stage hosting like the,

not just the open mics, but he, I mean, he was not an open mic, but he was hosting the open mic. And he would also host the OR shows and he would got employee spots. And he was already becoming, like everybody knew who Rory was.

And he was saying that there was like certain, it's the way there probably is now at the comedy store, certain pockets of people, you know, that are there. The clicks, right? And I like, you know, Ari and, and Steve Simone and Renazisi and all those guys. Like they were, so when I got there,

I showcasing, I don't know how it's done now, but showcasing was very different. And what showcasing is at the comedy store was that you would go and you would do whatever time. It's okay, you got three minutes. Like Duncan Truzzle was the guy who was running the showcases and he would then get. Three minutes?

We got three minutes. And then if they liked you, you then got eight. And then I think you got, I think it was three. seven and like 10 i think those were the what do you do in three minutes christian you you you do you do what showcases you right so the way that i got and the way that i got through and i know you've got your thing but i want to talk positive about my friend brett ernst because like oh yeah yeah so so brett brett was um brett ernst and i by the way i have no right to not like the

dude it just he he was very funny i have no right to like him you don't know i don't know him i I remember him not being nice to me during, like, when I would do shows with him, but also, like, I was like a really insecure, like, looking for approval of, like, the big doll. He was like, him and Delia showed up a couple times to room five, and I was like. Right, right. Well, Brett and I would do shows together. I have no right to not like that guy. Okay. Fair.

And that's just what comedians and people do anyway. So it's fine. But, but Brett Ernst and I, who's on Cobra Guy, he plays cousin Louis. And so he and I would do shows. So we did Dublin's together. we did like Luna Park. We did tons of shows together, right? And so I remember Brett coming up to me.

I don't remember what show it was. And he goes, he said, listen, I got, I have a few people. I have, I have, each regular has recommendations of people that we can put in front of Mitsy. I want to put you in front of her. He came up to me. Dude. Yeah. So like, and I, and I, that's massive.

Massive. Brett, I've talked about, I should talk about it more. but like Brett, Brett's the reason I'm, only reason I'm, I was able, I mean, obviously having to work,

but, but, you delivered when you got where you needed to be. That's the only reason I got in that, yes. Get, be able to get on that stage because Brett, Brett had gotten passed as a regular,

got me in there and then said, you know, go, go do your thing, you know, and he said, he told me, you know, three minutes into this and Mitzie'll come in. But Mitzie at that point,

you know, I mean, she passed three, four years ago, whatever it might have been, but she was, she was getting old back in two, 2002, you know, but she was still, she was, she was coming in, she'd watch, but she wasn't in all the time.

So the comedian, there was like tons of comedians that were on that showcase. And they're like, oh, Mitzie's going to be here, Mitz's going to be here. And then you soon realize, soon realize that Mitzie's not always going to be there. Right. You might not be there at all. Right. But what was great about that back in the day was, I think it was Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the showcases. Sunday, Monday, and you had, as an up-and-coming comedian, if you're on that list,

until she came in, you can work out at the comedy store, whether it's three minutes, seven minutes, or ten. I'll never forget this the day that I died. I remember we were working out doing these things, and I quickly went from three, I think, to like six or seven. I can't remember, I got pretty quick, and it was because I think that whatever it might have happened, I don't know if she saw the three or whatever happened,

but either way, I got pumped up to the second one. And I remember being in the back. I can't remember the guy's name. I don't remember who he was. I can remember what he looks like. And he's like, yeah, I'm not. coming back tomorrow i probably you just you know when i when i find out she's going to be here i'm coming i'll come up and i go he's like why would i be here if i don't need to be i'm like you have an

opportunity to go up at the comedy store three nights a week you don't have to find bringer shows you have to find what are you doing what are you doing and remember ari as i got because i started showcasing in like late july i got passed in late november oh my god i was working out there from July to November. I had no problem. Other people get so frustrated, she's not coming in, she's not watching you,

and I remember... That's wild. So I remember the first time she saw me, and she said, guide, I want you to do some more time. We do this, make sure you, you know, when you're doing,

you got a lot of energy, just slow down a little. It's so funny, everybody's impression of her is the exact same. Yeah, it's because it's how she talks. No, I know. It's what I'm saying.

Like, it's so funny. I've never met her, never saw her, but I feel like I do. It's one of my defining moments, where, and I had the set in November, and I was at that point at the 10, whatever it was, and I remember, there was like, yeah, she's going to be here tonight.

And so she, and I just had a really good set, and I felt it. And I was like, it was in the, it was in the moment, I was in the rhythm. I was, there was a great crowd, fun crowd, and I was playing with the crowd. Afterwards, she gets the wave, and Duncan's like, Duncan's like, come over, come over, come over. So Duncan's sitting next to her over the booth, and she's saying, come here you're very funny we really like you to be part of the club like i like what you're i like what you're doing and you're you're you're you're you've got you've definitely moved and improved and you're and you're um it's very funny and in my head i'm going okay does that mean that i'm in because i've heard

that she's telling people you want she wants you to be part of the club and she wants you this but then they she decides the next day that yeah you know what i changed my mind because that happened that happened often where she's just like yeah no i i i may maybe that I was thinking as someone else, right? So I'm like, okay, so. So I remember working at this management company, Bohemia was,

I think they still, I think they're a management company still, but they think they do music. My friend Susan runs it. But anyway, I was at the desk, and Duncan calls me. And he's like, congrats, dude, you're in.

And I just, like, ran down the hallway. I jumped in, but it was like such a, it was just the thing because the comedy store was a place where when I got there in like late 99, showed up to the comedy store and the door was open like the door's wide open nobody's in there

and I walked up on the OR stage and I stood on the OR stage when I first got to L.A. And I'm looking around and I'm like, Carlin's been on this stage. Robin Williams, prior like Chris Rock and I'm looking around and I'm just like I'm going to be here. And I remember going to the comedy store very soon after that. And I'll never forget the two comedians that I saw a bunch of comedians at night, but the two that I saw that I remember that night, Mike Young and his director now and Bobby Lee. Those are the two comedians I saw.

And there was nobody in there from 99 until like 2004. That place was not the place it is today. I know. It's really, yeah. It was the stinky gym and everyone. It was, but it was to me the best club. Still is. But it was the best club because if you could hit the OR,

the original room, front of 20 people and they'll make you work for it. Yeah. And you know that you, what you worked on, like, you can get easy laughs at other places. And it's still, it's legit, but the comedy show was just something else. I always, um, I always loved the improv too. I loved going on with the energy of the improv. I love the energy of the improv.

I hated that it was called the improv. Yeah, because it is not, yeah, it's not. I mean, I'm sure people improvise, but it's a stand-up show you. I know, but it's, but I love, I always loved the improv, and I only ever did the belly room at the and it was actually my first show ever was the belly room with the belly room with the belly room. Belly was still a great place I mean it was a there's a lot I used to love love the belly room because that was another that was the beauty of that that club you could always find somewhere

if you were if you knew the if you knew the the system and where to go and the like if you were there your work you could get up right you can get up at either though oh like I remember when I was doing stand-up all the day time seven days a week like I didn't have a shortage of places to get up because I could get up at the comedy star I could go to it and what is what is being a regular look like like you get booked or you can just show up or what's the no um and and again I don't know how much it's changed from when I got because like Mark's a regular now there Mark's yeah he's yeah yeah yeah yeah but yes he's he's a regular so if your name's on the wall you're you're

you're regular that's what happens so once you use is your name on the wall yeah it is so yeah that was one of the it was If you go to the back of the, when you go in the back room, or when you go, like, you know how when you go to the front? Yes. They have the whole thing. But then as you go to the around the side of the parking lot, when you go, that's really how you could make the entrance to the OR,

and then the main room, and then up the stairs, right? To the left, Rick Ingram, Ari, James Painter, and myself, we were all there that day when the guy was there and we were like, we all wanted our names together. So we watched him do it. I was there. Are you still friends with Ari at all? Yeah, I mean, like,

Like, I texted with Ari, right before he did his trip, he went, he went like, he's used to doing his crazy, in the middle of nowhere. And like, I don't think he was, I don't think he was, but he was somewhere. And I had reached out to him about doing something. And he's like, yeah, he's, I've been on his show a handful of times and he's done stuff with us. But, but, yeah, and he used to do the room five shows. He used to come in to do the room five shows. Every time I see him, we've always been, we've always been pretty tight. And, you know, I still see Renazzi, see Simone and I.

talk for sure that was the class that was my class and ingram i talked to all the time yeah so simone's great dude that's i don't think i realized i was like oh yeah you got passed but i didn't know that meant your name's on the fucking wall it's pretty awesome and like you getting your star on the walk of like comedy for for comedy yeah it does i mean it was it was one of my it was one an accomplishment that i that i always i think it's like my twitter i think it's my i still have it as a twitter thing listen honestly if i ever saw that i probably was like oh that's Someone made him a mock up of one. No, no, it's, it's, it's, it's the actual one.

I think it's all on there. Yeah, it's there. Holy shit. You know, I'll see if I can. But also, at some point, they're going to run out of wall space. You would think, but I mean, like, you know, it's not like, or it's, it's not, not everybody gets their name with this. This is a, it's kind of a blurry picture, so I'll, I'll show people who are looking at it, but it's,

where's Mark's name? His is around the, no, his is in that general area. His isn't that generally right here. This is... My God. That's... That's from... That's a comedy story.

I'll do that. That's amazing. Here, here you go. This is like... Perfect. Do that for today. But before we... We'll do some more comedy stories.

We want to talk to Kate about when she started and how she kind of got into some stuff too. But I also wanted to let all you guys know, by the way. I know that you have been listening to us and we've been telling you guys about... ExpressVPN being a lot of people who have been very excited about it, and you should be, because not a lot of people look at the fine print that appears when you start browsing in incognito mode, and you really should because it says that your activity might still be visible to,

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That is expressvpn.com slash seen to learn more. But yeah, so I'm glad you got some shade on your dad in there. Hey, it's Brett. That's great. How you doing, Brett? You're good? Perfect. That's not you either. What the hell is going on over here?

I can be, oh. Perfect. You know, he's just not good at technology. I'm glad. What do I just hit the button? All right. Yeah, I hit the button. I don't want him.

But yeah, so, you know, it's going, it's being able to go back in a stand-up and doing that again. And I think that I want to go back, even telling my wife that I want to go back to the comedy store it's not like i want to go up tomorrow and jump on stage like my as you and i were working on stuff the other day um i have to i want to prep stuff first i just want to it's like again a quote from rocky where he's telling mick and i think it's rocky too is i just want to be around yeah just want to be around yes i also feel like um yeah there's still some stuff in the basement but we got to clear off the stairs to the basement you know like i just feel like that i i got to work it out a a little bit more. What I will say about doing stand-up now, like, so I got back into it right

when you were having me on Collider, which was, you know, I was doing a charity for my kids' school. And we booked Flappers in Burbank, you know, Flavors comedy. And, and I was like, I'm going to host the shit. I'm going to, I'm going to do a set up top. And I got back on, because the stakes are so low, and I don't mean the stakes are so low because I'm doing it a preschool fundraiser. I'm saying, like, because Ellis was there. Jamie Kaler was there. Like this woman, Atsko, I forget her last name already. Sanabayul.

She's there. She landed her triple axon. Fantastic. It was amazing. But like I wanted to still come off. I didn't want to embarrass myself. But I mean the stakes are low that like what you were talking about. When I'm 26 and doing stand-up, I still think that it's going to be my career.

And your next agent's going to be in the crowd. I remember you having Joel Silver's people there at some point. Joel Silver's people then put me in touch with the Wayne's brothers. I don't know if you remember this. Like it was it was like Joel's people got me in touch with it. And like they pitched one of my jokes to Damon and he liked it. And then I went in and had a meeting with one of those guys. Anyway, I remember just thinking like it's going to.

And like I got into that meeting and I didn't fucking land it, Christian. I just like ran my whatever it was like the cockiness that just I didn't I didn't execute. I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit. It's like that's why I want to do it. That's what the problem is this. Here's, here's the, it's, here are the, the things that you had back then to the things that you don't, right? Right.

Back then in the 20s, like, you, you have that, you had that in the insecurities of the, and of the who's going to be there, what's going to happen. Oh my God. Did they like me? All of that. All of that. All of that. The ability to do all of it. Yes.

Right. Like, that's, that's the, that's what I'd like to trade. I'd like to trade the ability to do and not being exhausted. Yes. Right. Right. Because knowing that I have to go to the commis or then you've got to be up, do all this stuff. Yes.

Yes. That's the other thing that you got, but you've got to do it if you want to do it. But as far as what you're talking about, yeah, when I went back on stage for that New York show, were you there for that? No, I was, you were, you were, we were in New York when I got up. Oh, right. I didn't have a great show. I didn't, but you.

I recovered. You recovered. But I was way in my head. You were in your head and I could tell. And that's why, and you know, I don't bullshit you. No, I know. You were very clear with me. But not in a mean way.

No, I walked over to you afterwards. You said, you didn't bomb and I'll tell you why. Yeah, yeah. You said, because you recovered. But if I ever see you looking at a fucking, looking at a fucking set list on the stage again, I'll murder you. Something like that.

I mean, but not for the one bit. Not for the one bit. No. No. No, no. Because that's part of it. But it was, yeah, I was looking at.

Because I lost my place. It's different doing it in a coffee shop. Or if it's in like a small place and you're just kind of staring at it. A lot of comedians do that. but it's like in a set when there's 100 people there and they got the tickets for it to, and you know that you have time, you're not just walking up to try bits.

That's kind of what I meant. No, no, no, but I completely, because here's the thing. I should have my set so perfect inside and out and that also I should feel confident enough to improvise. I didn't have either of those things at play, and I can tell you 100%. I have never, the way the Shmodeon community

cheered for me when my name got called to go up on that stage. Never had that before. Never. Right. And I'm telling you, it like, like something switched to me. I was like, I got to earn it. Like the stakes got high. It's funny.

You see that because it became more of a cushion for me. Oh. Because I was like, I got to be good. Maybe this is just the difference between my weird brain. But I'm like, I got to earn it. They're expecting something of me. I get that. I get that because it's a, but I think because I knew that I wanted to try a couple

things. And to say that there was no nerves there is not true because there were a couple things that I wanted to. I was going to use some of the older bits, try to move in. But I started to come up with things that day that I want to. And the good news is the walk from like the hotel to the, it was like 40 minutes. I walked with like Dagnino and my buddy John. And we walked and I'm just like kind of throwing at them. John, my John? John Pinto? I don't know which one. Alpecia John? No. Different. No, that's John Seferries. Okay. So, so no, John Pinto is, is. I call it. I call Alapia John my John.

It's still your job. 100%. But John Pinto is the guy, like one of my childhood friends who, so was that race. But Pinto was the one who we were at the wedding and he was all hammered and he was the Irish guy. He was like, Patty, come on, Paddy. He was doing the dances, John. But we were, John Pinto for some reason had to stop and get a soft serve ice cream on the way there. And he regretted it immediately afterwards because that's not what I should have done.

But anyway, I was throwing stuff on him and Dagnino. And I called Ken because I had an opening that I wanted to try. And I was like, what do you think about this opening? He's like, this is good. And I did it. And it landed. It landed. It was, it was, but it was things that I threw in.

But I also threw in some things. Because of what you just said, I knew that it was a Shmowdown audience. Yes. So I knew I could do some references to, like, goofed. There was a thing I got goofed on with a Galaxy's Edge. And I threw like that in there. And I knew that they would respond to that. Yes.

Like if it was some random audience at the comedy stream, really, what the fuck are you talking about? You yelled that about the theme part? What do you mean? Right. And when, I did, when I did it on stage, the audience, and they then knew I was taking shot to myself, and they were on board with it. And we went all the way through.

And it was, I only did like seven to eight minutes, but I probably could have done 15 to 20. But it was, it was getting that. I think that's what woke me up because I didn't do it, but I didn't do it yet at the show that you were at. Yeah. And I don't know what that decision, why I made that decision, but I didn't. Well, there's also, I mean, it's, it's, there wasn't. Wasn't a production team, I mean, you were running the live shows. Oh, and we did an S-E-N-L-L-L-L-E-N-Live with Matt Sarah right before.

And I just feel like you were really having to be in charge of so much then. Right, because we announced the skybound stuff and all that. That's probably right. And I only was doing the post interviews the next day for that show. Right. And only the main event. Yes, and only the main event. Right.

Yes. Because Phoenix did the, great. Yes, exactly. She was great. She was great. So, yeah, man. So that was kind of that, that I think jump started me into getting into the headspace. And I think then getting to October with the middle of pandemic sitting down and and then starting to write.

But there's a lot of stuff that needs a lot of work. There's a lot of stuff that I'm not confident. There's other stuff that I think will land. But I want to try it. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do the three or four times going up a week like I used to be able to do. I think that easing into it and trying. I talked to Mark about smaller shows. Like I want to try to do a show in front of 20, 30 people.

It's funny. My buddy actually is one of the owners of the West Side Comedy, which is in Venice. Yeah. And they do improv, but they also do stand-up. And they get like Neil Brennan is like a front. Like they've got like good people going up. But I'm like, I also feel like probably I could just talk to Chris and be like, hey, can you throw some spots our way for some night, you know?

I'm not. Yeah. And I wouldn't, I don't think I'd start promoting shows in L.A. that we're on. We just start popping into a few but then start promoting a few once we get like the sets type. Once you're like me,

if I get my name on the, I'm not going. So what I'm saying is if I had been you and my name's on the comedy store wall, I come back from like the stupor of children and I probably am like, hey, guys, that's me. You put me up again?

Like, can you just walk in and get on? You can't just like point to your name on the wall. No, because there's tons of people that are on that wall. But going back to what you asked earlier, how it worked once you were an irregular in 2003 to 2007 when I was active, right? So you would put your name in for avails. Okay.

And you would say, hey, and then like I said, I would, I manipulated the system, though. I normally what would happen is either you, you auditioned, you got in, you became a regular, you put in for your spots, you get your spots when you do. Or you're an employee, you work and you get your employee spots, you showcase, you get in. I did something that nobody did. I became a regular and then I became an employee and started working there. Because I then got spots as a regular and I also got employee spots. Which they probably would not let you do nowadays.

That's a hustle. Plus it also meant that I was the world's worst comedy store worker of all time. Because I knew, well, they're going to fire me. I'm still going to be regular. Right. And was it the best attitude to have? No. But I still, and that's where I hung out.

You ran the phones? What did you do that? No, I was in the back with English. and we worked together and we basically would just get stoned and and work and walk around and they they're like they said we want you to change the awning of the comedy store the thing that yeah and the ladder it was like you remember that that faces of death well that's basically someone should be recording people doing that ladder because someone's eventually going to die doing it and i looked at it and i went no i looked and dean was the guy who was the manager and i said i'm afraid of heights and he goes

what? Yeah, I'm afraid of heights. I can't do. He's like, you're not going to do the only? I go, yeah, I'm scared of the heights. I can't, I can't do it. He's like, are you kidding? I go, I'm scared of heights.

He goes, all right, I'll get someone else to do it. And he's like, are you scared of heights? He's like, you're a fucking asshole, you know? You're like, you're regular. And I go, I'm scared of heights, right? So, and then Ingram and I would be working in the back. And Ingram would always tell this story. I got to, I'm going to try to call Ingram right now.

I'm going to try to call him and tell him, have him tell them. the story of when I used to see if I can get him I'm gonna tell him he's huge these days he's the best I'm gonna call him see if he's gonna pick up do the online call him calling Rick Ingram who you guys don't know

ingram is one of the funniest motherfuckers like ever I'm gonna try him I gotta see if I get him because he he tells it the best of how when he and I used to work the door I'm picking up he's got two kids now he does I was wondering how many other he goes he goes up all the time so he finds

away, but I also think he's been... Oh, man. Hey, Rick, it's Christian. I'm actually doing a show at the moment, but we're telling stories about working the door together, you and I. And I was going to tell it, but you tell it better than I do.

So I'm going to wait for like five or ten minutes, and hopefully you get this. And I would love for you to tell it because it's the best. All right, but... Anyway, so I'll wait and I'll see if he, calls me back before the show's over and I'll let him tell it. If not, I'll tell it.

But, like, work in there and I would get the spots and I would get both of the spots. And I would just call in for the abails and I would get a bailes and some, but I remember, and this I've definitely told, Skippy Simon was in. Remember Skippy? Skippy came in and he did the, he did the, the Schmo's comedy show. Yeah. He did the Whippets on stage. Do you remember that?

No. He did Whippets on stage. Skippy Simon. He used to do it. Whippets on stage all the time. The name sounds for me. used to drive like the blue van. But Skippy was another guy.

He was a comedy store like Staple. I drove with him and James Painter, the La Jollaia Comedy Store. I'm just saying, Sheldon. I was just thinking about the Comic-Con story. Oh, you're thinking a different story. No, I know.

That's not a picture of you said, Skippy. A different one, yeah. But so we, but no, Skippy, Skippy was another guy. Like, he was there doing, he would do the shows. he was one of the kind of the staples of but

I remember him telling me I had just got in a spot at the OR and it was a good it was a good spot I think it was like 945 or 10 o'clock and at that point the OAR didn't start until 9 so it was a great spot and I go I'm up next because Eddie Griffin just got on stage

oh my God and he says and they talk about this in the comedy store doc by the way about because I started watching that I love that doc you'll see it but you'll you'll definitely see this part of the the part of the show, not me per se, but the Eddie Griffin part. And Andy Griffin gets up and Miyagi's was a place. I don't think he even exists anymore on sunset.

The sushi place, right? It was across the street from Dublin's. And Miyagi's had a comedy night. And it was, it was great. It was a lot of fun. And so Skippy's up, excuse me go, I'm going to Miyagi's. I'm going to get a spot. I can get a spots over there.

And I go, dude, I can't. I got, I'm going up next. He goes, Eddie Griffin's up. He goes, you ain't getting up. And he's, you're not getting up now. he'll be up there for like two and a half hours. And I said, two and a half hours, I'm like, no. He's like, trust me, dude.

Trust me. So we go, I go with Skippy because Skippy was a comedy store guy. And he was, he was not a regular time, but he was another one. Like I said, he was part of that pocket with Ari and everybody else too. And again, very kind to me. And we walk up to Miyagi, he does get me a spot. We have good sets. And he's like, and he goes, let's get some food.

And I go, I got a set. He was like, trust me. So we have food. You drink. We have talking to people. I walk back. Eddie Griffin's still on stage. We've gone for like two hours.

Evil. He's still up there for even longer. Oh, this feels like a dream where I, like, you know those dreams? Like their nightmares where you're like, I'm supposed to be at this thing. I can't get there. I can't get there. That sounds like to me like you were probably the whole time like, I got to get back to this. I don't even remember Kate if I even got up that night.

I'm not even lying. I don't even remember. But they talk about Eddie Griffin going up for two us. He talks about it. He talks about how he used to, he just to say, fuck all the other people that were going up. He's like he'd earned his spot and everybody else can go fuck themselves. Something along those. And no one ever gave him a light.

Yeah. Did he listen to it? No. Like you get the light at like minute 10. It was different back then, man. Like they and even the management now is like super legit. Yeah. That's running like the bookers and everything.

Like that's why the comedy, like Adam kind of turned that place around to. He's not there anymore. But like he turned it around. And the way that they changed it in general. But when I was when I was there, it was not. It was a very different person who was running it. And they would just, if you were on TV or you're in movies, then that trumped everything. That's wild.

It was crazy. So that happened all of the time. And as a guy who just got past there, you know, you're like, oh. And so then you'd find your spots at the, but you'd learn how to maneuver. And then you would do spots in the belly room. And then I started getting some main room spots. And then I would go, but it was, you'd have to fight, you'd fight for your spots. And I make sure, but what I would do, though, is you're supposed to call.

in for your spots what I would do is because I was also working there I would drive to the comedy store and I would wait for the guy to get there who took the avails I would just give it to them to them directly directly and that would help you know so like I just I maneuvered it and then stupid ass me I went up you know my my ex-girlfriend moves into town I focused more on that and when when she wasn't here was all about it was all about just stand-up that was my girlfriend my girlfriend was stand-up and then she got here and it became oh yeah I balanced both and I didn't and I took way too much time off of stand-up and thought it was... I'm trying to remember like when I met you in 2007?

I think we met earlier than that. I think we met in 2006 because... I moved here in 2006. Did you ever meet my boyfriend in 2006? I think you met him once. The one that you were telling me about the... Yeah, the one... You know what I'm referring to you.

Yeah. He came to one of the shows. I know he came to one of the shows, but I mean, I know that I do remember that you had emailed us. Yes. Together. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Did you...

I found that recently. I feel like you sent it to me, maybe? So I sent it to me. But either way. I don't know if that's still his email address. Either way. I gotta believe it's just Oscar winner at AOL.com now. Well, but either way.

But I bet you in 2007 though, like when we're doing the Room 5 shows, like were you still doing Comedy Store at the same time? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, shit. Yeah. So in 2007, I didn't really, I, when I say 2007, as far as, I don't think I stopped Comedy Store until like 2008.

Okay. I think that's really when I stopped because 2006, 2007 was when I was hardcore. I was seven nights a week. I was some two nights, two shows a night, sometimes three, you know, like I, when Franco was running in room five, well, he wasn't, see, at the height, Franco. That was just Thursday nights, if I remember. Franco had was running, he had Thursday nights, he had Sunday nights, and then he had, and then I think he got like a Wednesday.

He got like, he had like three nights at one point. and at the height of when he was running all his stuff, right? And at the same time, and I was on all those shows. And to his credit, Mark Franco, what he did, I thought that was very smart at that point was a lot of these bringer shows, for people who bringer shows are you would, essentially to new comics or other people coming in,

they would say, okay, look, you can do a spot here tonight, but you've got to guarantee that you're going to get five people to buy tickets and come see you, right? Or something like that. And if you, the more people you brought, the better spot that you get. At my point in my career, because I started doing shows with Frank or early to where he knew me when I was doing those types of things. But by that point, I was a regular at the comedy store and all that.

He called me in 2004 when I wasn't doing stand-up comedy. And it was when I took that break when it was, and he goes, I was working at like Alcon Entertainment. I was fucking miserable. I was just sitting behind a desk, like not doing anything. I would go home. I would smoke pot and I would play like Knights of a Republic. which was probably the best part of my day. I was going to say, like, honestly, this sounds like an ideal day.

But I wasn't doing anything. And my job, it was like, it was, there was no chance to move up. There was none of that. There was nothing. It was, it was, I don't know what I was doing. And he called me. He's like, why aren't you going up anymore? And I go, man, yeah, I just don't, I don't know.

I don't have. He's like, dude, you're funny. Should be going up? He's like, I will put you in all of my shows. You don't have to bring anybody. He's just come to my shows. Just do my shows. And I said, I said, yeah, you know, I'll, um, thank you.

you for the offer. And then I know what it was, but I guess similar to this, the difference was this was a year in between, as opposed to like 13 years in between. But I woke up and I said, yeah, let's do it. I started doing his shows of the improv and he did room five on Thursdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays, I think it was. And then he did the improv on Sundays thing. I think either way. So I started doing notes and then he started giving me spots and what he did was he started putting together regulars inside of his troop and mixing it. Yes. With bringers. With bringers.

With bringers. Yeah. So he would then, so then if you came to a show. Santini was a regular Christian Harloff. Lu Santini. Andrew Santino became one too. Santino didn't come until after you. Until after me because he and I worked together.

We were friends. And I was like, you got to do this thing. Little did I know. I did know because he was so funny at work, but I didn't know he was going to be like he was going to be an asteroid. But that's who came through those shows, really. You, Santino, Eliza Slessinger. Yes. Right.

Like Tom Connoley. Jamie Kaler and he would Delia was there a couple times. That was that was mine. You brought him? Yeah, I brought Delia. He didn't do Franco shows.

But he, but anyway, so Franco would then take these bringers and they would then do, they would have them and he pieced them out, but then he put one of his regulars and he pieced the show out. And at the same time, I would do a spot. I know when I would do my spot there,

eight o'clock, 8.45, and then I would run over to the comedy store or then I'd go to the improv. And like that's how I kept like I was firing off. And then at the same time in 2007, well, in 2004, begin 2005 until I was still working at Joe Silvers also. So that's when I knew it was like the Silver Days. Yeah. So I was working there and then I was silver days. This was.

And it was that was my job. But I would be working like if I had a relationship because my ex-girlfriend was gone at that point from like 2005 on. If I had a relationship, there's no chance or especially if I had kids. Yes. Between working there, I would work, and that was, and it paid for shit. Joe Silver's company paid for shit.

And I was there from the end of 2004 until 2007, and it was every day, eight in the morning until, I don't know, seven at night, and then go right to the clubs. Yeah. I, yeah.

What was it? Nah, something, Naseef? What was his name? Navid. Navid. Yeah.

Oh, Navid was, was he the Silver Days? Oh, yeah, that's right. Because that's what I was going to say. But also like, do you remember Brendan T. Gleason? Yes. I saw him not too long ago. He's a daddy now, but like Nick Hoff.

Remember all those guys? They were like the next generation of that. And Jody Miller is still a comic. Not only is she still a comic, Jody Miller did something very well. It was that she used to teach stand-up comedy classes. She still might, I don't know.

But she transitioned into comedy store like regular. she's like she I mean her and Eliza are real tight too and she's yes the best friends I think she's more of a comedy store person than I ever was yeah she's very much and at the time she wasn't like I was I was the comedy store person inside of that group and now she's like she she's on like the promo she's and I want a comedy store tweets out stuff but that's I just want to be around it because when I went back when Mitsy passed and going there and seeing like Jim Carrey's walking around and you go but it's like you see the different classes and I went right away I just gravitated towards my

class, you know, and I'm hanging out there with Simone and Ari and Rizisi and Ernst and just looking all these, like, it's just, I, right away, and I ran into Sebastian and I started talking to Sebastian, because Sebastian, I mean, there's somebody, we don't really have enough time about it. Sebastian's here on a poster with you. He is, yeah, I don't know if I can't even pan over there. It's you, Ernst and Sebastian. Where is it?

There it is. There it is. Oh, it's over there. It's right under Ellis's. Yeah, see if I can zoom in over there. Can't even do that. Yeah, it's like you have to clear that up. Look at.

You can see. Ish. Ish. There you go. Yeah, there it is. Right under Ellis. Everybody see Ellis with his big open mouth? That's Sebastian.

And Christians on that. And Brett Ernst. So. That's a Subboba casino. So Boba. Well, Brett Ernst, Brett Ernst booked that. And he got me that gig too.

Brett, Brett, it hooked me up with a lot of stuff kind of coming up with. The three of you could be brothers. Well, the way we all looked. We looked like we're like, like extras in the Sopranos.

Yeah, you really do. So much to talk about, really. And, I mean, we've been going on for a bit, but we haven't really, um, we haven't grazed the surface. We haven't graze the surface. How much time are you have? I got a babysitter.

We can go, we can for another time. Yeah, but like, you're the boss, boss. Well, I mean, but I still, like, when you, when you started doing, how did you even get involved with that crew that, the, the, the, the Franco crew? I, I don't remember. You don't remember, yeah, because. I do not remember.

Yeah, because I don't remember. I mean, I remember, I told you my first, my first show. Basically, it came from Chicago. I'd done, like, the improv thing in Chicago. And it's funny because Mitsy, Mitsy? Missy, sure? Misty, Mitsy, yeah. Mitsy.

It's a different club. Yeah, different club. Misty sure will suck you dick tonight. Misty sure will. Sure will. Misty sure will. Yeah, that was a club I started at, actually. No.

But when I was like at Improv Olympic, there's the woman that runs Improv Olympic in Chicago. her name Sharna, and she just had this, like, wanted Sharna to catch her show. I was just at the classes there, but she would walk through, and, like, there would be two dogs off leash that would just follow her. Like, there's something about, like,

the women running comedy, and she had started that theater with Del Close, but he had passed already, but it's just like there's something about, like, that energy of, like, like, she's here. Yeah, she's here, she's here. And, like, it would just be like,

I'd be there on a Saturday doing, like, while I was still in college. I would just take the, into the city on weekends. And I was like, I'm going to take classes here. And like, you just want to be, like, having a funny moment on stage, even in the class while she's walking through to get to go run the bills or whatever. Yeah.

It's just, that made me think of it. So I did, like, the Chicago scene. I went through the Second City Conservatory. I loved improv. I was like, it's what I did in college. It was like, it was like my, it was really my skill. I no longer have that skill by far. And I remember coming out to L.A.

And I was like, I was sort of a snob. You don't think you have the improv skill? I don't think I I don't think I could get on a stage and hang with like like Lauren Lapkes. I don't know if you know she was she was in the movie with David Spade the wrong missy she anyway Yeah, she's she's somebody who I knew in high school yeah and like like when she was in high school I was older than her But but just like watching her in high school I was like this girl's really got it and I just get you saw what happened to me in that in your head yeah but so I don't I don't I disagree with you that you don't have the skill I think it's just but it's the same thing it's the same thing thing like if I go back what I was just telling you about like 2006 2007 like the the way that I was putting together thoughts and energy like yes I would have to go up a few times to get that back

like I definitely felt it like it was still there in New York but like I would have and I'm still you know I I still have I think that today I would craft jokes better and be able to do things better than I did because I don't know I think you definitely still have that but go ahead Well, no, I was just going to say, I, thank you for saying that. But I also do feel like, I don't know, I just feel like it's a little part of me. It's just like, I got out to L.A. And I was like, I did this. I did the, I'm not doing improv out here.

Improves in Chicago. I was like such a snob about it. Like 90% of people that go from S&L come from like groundlings and UCB here. So it's like totally unfounded. But I think I just thought I was better than it. And so I was like, you know what's scarier? Stand up. I wonder if I can do stand up.

And I remember. the Chicago. Here. Oh, here you did it. It wasn't until I got here. Where was your first show? Belly Room. Oh, was the Bell Room.

And I don't remember how I got it. I don't, and I worked. You don't remember how you got the show? I have no idea. And I have no idea how I fell in with white boy. So, um, no idea. So Franco, I mean, I would assume that they just introduced you because you, so very similar.

Then I started doing TK show a lot too. But that's, they were partners at one point. And they had to find out. I was not. Yeah. So the thing was what I was telling you guys before was with the bringer shows. Like Kate, there were people that inside of those shows that would do those shows regularly that you would start to see. I remember having these conversations with what Chip Dornel and Mark Franco.

And we'd be like, oh, so they have the possibility of being someone that we just keep putting on the shows even if they, and they would never tell the people this because they didn't want them to get complacent. But they'd be like, even if they don't bring a lot of people who goes your shit, put them up and you still, you're going to get the injury. Kate was one of those people. And like, you know, they never tell me I didn't need to bring people. Exactly. Because why would you? Yeah, no, why would you? If you can get people out there, great.

But the thing was they would keep put, because to them it's a benefit more, she's funny. And you're getting some people to come see her. Yes. And she brings people, plus she's funny. So you find yourself getting way more spots with Franco. I felt like he would put me up every Thursday if I. Yeah.

And so, and that was because he put together those lineups very well, where you would then have that regular lineup, where people who are coming in to see those new people that he's bringing in, even if they wind up bombing, those friends stick around for the two hours, and then they wind up seeing all the regulars and they want to come back because they had a good time. And that was a very smart way to do it, as opposed to because I've been to bringer shows where it's just one bomb after a next bomb, and it's like you might get somebody in there that can, but it's like it's miserable.

Those shows, I just remember that those shows were the most fun. And this was still before like Uber. So like I wouldn't even drink really. I would like maybe have a beer max, but I was always driving myself. to and from. I was broke as a joke. I was like a PA at Lake Shore at the time, like, had just broken up with that guy. Like, I was just like, but it was just the most fun. It was, you go upstairs from a restaurant. There's like people like actually eating a legit. We shot, reshot grasping restaurants. Exactly. And I just remember being like, this is like the,

just like I think about like, once cricket starts coming around. All right. That's the name of a human. Without cricket coming around, I don't meet my way. That's exactly right. Without cricket, that's right. Yeah. So, but yeah, I just remember, like, being like, oh, God, like, Tom Connelly, like, seeing him at spectacular. Right. Yeah. Free for all.

It was spectacular. It was spectacular a couple years ago. Like, sitting next to him, I was like, oh, my God. And, like, this was before we almost lost him. Right, right. I mean, thank God. Yeah. We did it.

But he just, like, that was like a whole era. Get lost in a park. It was a zoo. It was weird. It was, we lost him. Yeah. When I say we almost lost him, it was. In the zoo.

We actually were purposefully at the zoo with a bunch of animals. I still hit back and bring the Yeager. It's like, remember the, they had the, they had that waitress, or not the waitress, the bartender, Jody. The other Jody. It was two Jodys. Because there was Jody Miller. And there was Jody Miller and then there was other Joddy.

And but they still, it was community. So the other Jody Jody shots. Yes. Remember Jody shots? Jody shots. They were Jody shots and they were like, give me five Jody shots before everybody goes up. And the Jody shots. And then they had that little room in the back and it was like, it became a club.

That's where I met Roddy Piper. Roddy Piper came in for that one too. That was, we ran the Schmo's show from Room 5 also, but like that place doesn't even exist anymore, I think. It doesn't. I think that I think it's shut down. Do you know it's so funny, nothing in L.A. exists to me anymore because I stay in my neighborhood now.

Well, plus COVID got everything shut down. No, I know. But that restaurant was good too. It was a Malfi. Yeah, because Adam Carolla owned part of it. Oh, did? I never knew that. Yeah, because Acme was next door.

Right. And he was part of Acme. And little did I know I was missing Brett every night. that Brett Sheridan, my future bestie, was next door performing at Acme every night during that time. Yes. And that, because do you know how that whole story came about? No.

So Andrew Freed, my buddy Andrew Freed, who just... Passed away. No, he did not. No, he did not. But reminds me, by the way, before I get... There is a movie out that everybody should be checking out. I wanted to talk about it. And it's the Val Kilmer movie.

Oh. So Val Kilmer put together all this video footage of himself from when he was... was super young up until recently. And he has stuff from when he was in the doors, when he was in Top Gun, when he was in Lionheart, you know. Like B-roll? Video camera. There's a shot.

I've seen this movie. And it is, it just debuted at the festivals. And it's going to be on Amazon. I think at the end of the month, everybody should watch this movie. It's fantastic. I love that it's heartwarming. It's crazy. Do you know what happened to Valcomer?

No. He's the throat cancer. So he can't even talk. Oh, Jesus. He can't even talk. But I think he's, I think he's healed now as far as the cancer itself goes. But like he, but he can't talk. And it's so, but he has all this footage, got all this video.

And he, the stuff I'm watching, like, you forget that everybody tapes everything now. Your phone, everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a scene where he was, he was in a play and he had the lead. But then he got bumped one down because they gave, Sean Penn came in. this is like 1983 right so Sean Penn comes in so he gets bumped and then he gets the second bill but then Kevin Bacon But he's like I didn't care you know these guys were movie stars her too and he has a camera and he goes into the dressing room you see Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon and Kevin's like what is that is that a video camera he's like oh that's cool Val right and he's and you just see all this you see when he got Batman you see like it's the movie is great and it is heartbreaking it is fascinating and he's and

And it's, it's, if you're, wherever a fan of Val Kilmer, or even in general, just to be, even if you're an enemy of Val Kilmer's, it sounds like you. I'm telling you, this is, this is a fascinating film. I loved this movie. You should, you should check it out. It's going to be on really soon. But anyway, jumping back into. Wait, so wait, your friend, Andrew Friede, work on this or something?

Produced it, yeah. Produced it. No shit. So, one of the producers, yeah. Wow. So, anyway, so Andrew and I have been friends for over 22 years. and we at the time, this is early, this is probably two years into her friendship.

And we decided we wanted to start doing, like, I had taken a couple classes at Acme. Okay. Comedy Club, which for people out there, Acme Comedy Club is the, it was like the, if you couldn't get into Groundlings, you went to Acme. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's really how it worked. But they had a lot of very, very talented people. And then, to be fair, there were some people who didn't want to do Groundlings and they wanted to do Acme. Right, right. So I would. And Acme also offered more things,

like Groundlings for the most part was just improv, but I feel like Acme did like sketch comedy classes and stand-up class. I mean, I feel like you could take a- Well, I don't know about stand-up. Maybe they change that down the line. But like, but they, I was in, I was, I took some classes and everything to. It was buried as all, yeah. Yeah.

And I mean, I realized quickly that, I mean, I took, I was there for a little bit, but I realized quickly that stand-up was more for me. Yeah, you realize quickly that not everybody can roll with the animal punches that you want to throw. That's right. So, so tell me about the zebra. Tell me about the, tell me about the flying. rhinoceros. So well,

the thing is. I love doing that to Brett. It's so funny. But anyway, so Brett, Brett, I met through stand-up comedy at Luna Park.

And then we, Andrew Freed and I wanted to start our own, like, sketch group. So we're like, what if we take some of these people that we met from Acme,

do some auditions, get some people, and start it. And we have one of the teachers at Acme come direct our thing. And I forget the name of the troop that we created. And we created a troop.

And I said, I want to get Brett. And it's funny because Travis and a couple of people are like, we don't know, he seems too shy. He doesn't seem like he's, I go, this guy's funny, dude. This guy's. This was like, and this is when I, I'd only known Brett for like a year. I go, this guy's funny.

I was like, let's, and they almost said no to him a few times. And then it turns out, like he gets into that troop, says, I say, stand-ups for me, I'm done with this shit and I'm done. And as far as Acme goes and Brett sticks with Acme, it becomes like the big Acme guy. And he stayed there. And I remember Travis calling me, he's like, thank you for bringing me, Brett. The guy's just really, really. Just so, yeah, but I love, I love his neuroses.

I do love that he's sort of shy and nervous. I told you, if he had it, he had the confidence, we'd be doing this from his mansion, right? I know. It's like, if he, if he just believed himself just a little more. There is going to be a Robin Williams biopic at some point that Brett would be perfect for. He would be second build. He would be the standing, Jamie Costa.

Oh, right. But Brett looks like him, I mean. So there's Jamie Costa. Oh, he does. Oh, well, there you go. Well, Jamie Costa. All right, so he will be the stand. But Brett, Brett has a lot of Robin Williams.

I just mean, like, there's something about his, like, little twinkle eyes that are just like Robbillows. When we, when we, I'm going to show, I'm going to show you. Well, actually, you know what? I don't think he's got any more of those videos up anymore. But, uh, no, I know Jamie Costa is like the. It's crazy. He transforms. Yeah.

I don't think I've ever seen him do it, but I've heard. Oh, really? I don't think I've seen him do. I've got to show you. But he's, between him and Josh Robert Thompson, it's like, why does anyone else bother? We got to get Josh in here. We should do a show with Josh. But anyway, listen, I want to thank everybody.

This was just kind of a throwback episode. This is the types of things that you're going to see or listen to on the big thing where today, the big thing was comedy. Today, the big thing was talking stand-up comedy. That's what we wanted to do. That's why we wanted to do this particular show for the end is Friday. Mark Ellis and I will be back on Monday to talk. please go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever podcasts are found. Please do that.

This is how we're able to keep doing this show. S-E-N-Live is on 10 to 12 p.m. You can still interact with the crew. You can watch them live. You can put in the Shmobot. You can do the interruptions, do the impressions, all of that. And it is actually crucial to help the growth of the network. But for this show, podcast, even if you're listening to the show,

you drop a comment, all that. That is very helpful, but it is so much more helpful. If you download all the episodes, do all that. It's how we're able to get great sponsors like ExpressVPN and everybody involved. So please do that. I know that I'm commenting back to people and letting you know. I know that some people think they go, well, you know, I commented. That's enough.

It really isn't. Please go to the podcast and follow it, download the episodes, listen to them. And hopefully the listen is pretty good on the podcast, I believe it is. But anyway, Kate, it's always a pleasure to hang out with you. What a pleasure. It was nice. I know you've already done the outro basically, but I have to say one thing, which is you were talking about how Mark Franco sort of was like plucked you out of obscurity.

And I feel like you've done that for me times a billion. I feel like you kept saying to me, you got to come to my show in Burbank. You're in Burbank. For Collider Live. Yeah. For Collider Live. You're like, I don't know about movies. You're like, you don't have to.

Right. And then at some point I was like, where is it? You're like, it's this address. And I was like, I'll be there. You're right there. It was just like, it was just because, like, we had run into each other, like, once when you, like, when I, like, I... Well, you were writing for Shmows Now. You were right.

So, Kate was writing articles when we did Shmowsnow.com, and they were very funny, but she's like, I just, I can't watch these movies. There's too much, there's too much time that is, and as I get it, plus, you weren't on camera. So it wasn't, right, it wasn't, you weren't able to do that. And I remember then when I had the opportunity, I was like, yeah, you'd be good on that. This, this show is what you were built for, though, this. This, well, this is, I remember just coming in. Dickie, first day, you had me on Collider Live, just, like, talking. And I was like, I didn't know a lot, but I had a lot of fun.

And that's all it was. It was just, like, sitting and talking with people so fun. And I feel like that that then, I don't know, you've just, I feel like you've really plucked me out of the obscurity that I was sort of. Just a kick in the end. Yeah, it was destined to be in. But you, I feel like I've always been such a champion of me. And I thank you for that. Thank you so much.

I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I don't like you. All right. So, guys, thank you so very much for joining us here today. Hi. We are excited.

that you're excited. Thank you for all the wonderful things you've said about the show. We'll see you on the flip side. Boofballs. Big thing. Thank you. A, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. He got a big thing.

Boom, bum, boom, boom. Here's an old bit of Christians. It's so hard to fuck everything that moves every night of the week. That's not true. You're going to get me divorced. Back in the day.