The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan - Carrot Top | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

Billy Corgan chats with Carrot Top about the evolution of his unique brand of comedy, tracing the path from a shy kid fascinated by joke structure to a veteran headliner with nearly two decades on the Las Vegas stage. Carrot Top describes the early challenges of being dismissed by club owners and even his own father, as well as the thrill and pressure of eventually selling out theaters and perfecting an act that combines classic stand-up with show-stopping visual flair. Their conversation explores the delicate balance between chasing approval, embracing creative freedom, and finding genuine joy in making people laugh, while also reflecting on the comedic influences that shaped Carrot Top’s persona—most notably the legendary Gallagher—and how that mentorship evolved into a mutual respect marked by occasional tension. Watch The Magnificent Others on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BillyCorganTMO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Well, you do have a unique seat in that you see America as it probably really is. You get that cross-section every night. Even Louisiana. Even Louisiana comes. I said, show and tell with liquor. That's what I am. You go to a comic club and I got to show you. That's part of the show.

Yeah, kind of. You're naked, you're jacked, and there's just a carrot. Just a carrot. Top this. It's the name of it's special. Hey, you go, top this. I spent about two hours this morning sort of. deep diving into your life.

Oh. It was intense at like 6.30 a.m. I'm in your world. Yeah, we had a show. Yeah, we had a show us. How'd your show go? Great crowd last night. It was like one of those just,

we call it road show, which is weird, we could run on the road, but when you ever have a road show, they were always just, they had just more like, on, like a vibe. True fans and meeting great,

a whole bunch of, you know, just, and I had my brother, my cousin there. It was about four or five comedians because they're in town for that comedy festival. So, you know, it's fun work in front of your peers. Yeah, yeah. I tell Matt if I, it's the worst thing in the world when you have to do a show in front of, like, other comics, you know.

Because all you think about the whole time is they're judging me. Yeah. Actually, I have a bit in there about being judged by comedians. I swear to God. That's good. The other night when we were playing somewhere, Josh Freeze, the great drummer who's recently been playing with Foo Fighters, was on the side of the stage. and Jimmy Chamberlain

about the third song kind of goes in a little bit of a drum solo and I looked at Jack the bass player and I was like, here we go because there's a great drummer on the side of the stage so you're going to get A-level Yeah, literally. Geez, yeah, nothing worse, right?

So when you're working in front of other comedians you must get that heightened sense to like... You do, yeah, or any other performer. Does that throw you off? I don't know if it's now, I'm an old bastard but I try to get into... You're an old bachelor?

Yeah, I am. I'm older than he is. But I've gotten better calm down and performing at any level of who's out there. When Queen came or Rodster Elton John, whoever comes to show, you're like, oh, man, if you ever think it, you kind of, I don't know. It's just so you just, I just do my show. Don't think about who's out there. And then it usually works out for the best. But isn't it funny, like, obviously I'm not doing bits, but, you know, you do something, like, for my case to be something on the guitar.

You're thinking, I bet Rod Stewart thought that was good. Yeah, yeah. You do that weird? No, I do, last night I had a bunch of comics in the room, and I did, I mean, I did a really, it was a couple really good stand-up jokes. It wasn't a prop. One was a good prop, it was a brand new, you know, P. Diddy joke. And it finally just leveled.

But, and there was just one in particular of like a stand-up joke. And I could hear them, you know, comics always, ah, it's how comics laugh, right? They don't laugh. They just go, ah, that's how comics. They don't really laugh. No. Is it a recognition kind of? No, yeah, yeah. Any comic is, they always go, eh, and then that means they liked it,

and that means they're probably going to steal it from me. No, most comics don't like, if you do, like Jay Leno or Bill, or anybody, you do a thing to. Now, Bill Maher will laugh because he's stone. He's out of his mind, he's a guy. So he's a good audience. He'll laugh at him. But, you know, Howie would be like, eh, you know, they just, you know, Jay Leno, I'd say something like, hey, you know, you're triggering your memory because I once got in a fight with Jerry Seinfeld, little professional wrestling.

Oh, no. I was at a private dinner. It was Gwyneth Paltrow, Jerry Seinfeld, and some other people. And, you know, it's just one of those New York dinners where you're just next to somebody who isn't necessarily interested in you, but they know you're famous.

And, of course, I know who Jerry Seinfeld is. So at some point, somebody brought up my interest in professional wrestling. And he goes, eh, why end a professional wrestling? And we got in this argument at the table over it. And I basically best... Punched him. Well, no, I.

I mean, I'm not a wallflower, and, you know, I have some level of verbal acumen, and I basically kind of, for lack of better word, I ran circles around him because he thought his take on wrestling was very, like, you know, the typical American version. Right. And I gave a very historical kind of rendering of the whole thing. So fast forward, I'm at the Indy 500. I got the pit pass. I'm all important. I'm walking. And here comes Jerry Seinfeld.

And he looks and he goes, ah, guys like you back here, huh? You know what I mean? Yeah. So maybe that trigger that triggers, eh. Yeah. Yeah, usually they just laugh. That comic says, eh, but that's, it's in the back of the room at a comedy club. You just hear, ah, because that's comics laughing.

Because people, I'd say to me like, that was funny. I said, no, or you say, oh, that's funny. I'm like, no, that's how I laugh. That's funny. So full disclosure. But I laugh. I just watched George Kron on the plane. And I was laughing out loud.

When I was Jesus, I mean, it was just a, it was a great bit. You wouldn't know how many stupid people there are. the planet. I mean, stupid people. And it just goes on, you can sit there and you start talking to the guy and you're like, this guy's stupid. It's how he does it. It's just brilliant. And then there's people that are full of shit. And he does that whole

he looks into it for a minute. And all of a sudden you just go, this guy's foolish. And it's just a brilliant bit. It's just brilliant. So he got a laugh. Yeah, he got a laugh. Yeah, I didn't go, eh. I was going to ask you this later, but I'm going to ask you it now. So, to your point is,

I've known a few professional comedians in my life. And, you know, I like to think I'm a little funny, but... You are funny. Well, thank you. professionally endorsed. But the thing is, is when you make a joke around a professional comedian, they tend not to laugh. Yes, it's true. Well, right. Because I made one joke to you the other day, and you went like, no, it's probably thinking when you did it. I said, I'm thinking. Like it's a good bit. Yeah. I usually, honestly, I'm not a joke. I think comics never really enjoy anything. They just, they observe and then they write it down as soon as they can write down. Well, there is that rep that most comedians are miserable for

and they use comedy as some way to interface with the world. I'm not asking you. No, but I mean, I don't see you that way. Oh, I'm not though, but there are a lot of friends in mind that are miserable people. They are and there was funny to say Seinfeld. There was a thing just literally last night on him and Jim Gaffing were on a little panel thing and he was talking exactly about that. He said, my kids ask me all the time, does anything make you happy? Because he's just, you know, at Seinfeld, and he's with his kids, and he said, it was in the car, and the couple didn't work. He's just cranky.

He wants to go, do you really like your job? And so, yeah, I don't know. I've never had that issue. When Robin Williams passed away, everyone in the world reached out to me, like everyone. To get your comment? Well, to not only get my, you know, did I know him? But they wanted to know, are all comedians sad and miserable people?

Oh, because of the way he took his life. And I said, no, everyone's different. And he was also battling some health issues. So it wasn't, he had a lot of things going on. I had met him, and he was very, very sweet and very funny and very everything. But, no, not every comic is a miserable, you know. People say, probably about, you know, musicians too. Are they ever going to be?

You know, they've been on stage. They're not nice off stage. I don't know. This is a persona with every kind of people. Well, if there's a common, if there's a commonality with musicians is that they're sociopaths. So I don't know. Is there a common psychological trait to.

They're probably, the comics. Yeah, absolutely. there's some psychological thing. Is there a word for it? We're just f*** nuts. But, you know, it's like, but you're right. Comics are always just thinking a bit, no matter what is happening in a comics day

from lunch to end to whatever, he's thinking of a bit. And that's true for any comic. So I thought to start here, in personal life, do you prefer to be called Scott or Caratop? I like Queen Latifah, but it's been taken.

Why do I feel you've used that bit before? Was it too good? It was too good. It was too quick. It was too quick. It was too crisp. I love Scott. You know, and now that I, you know, I've been Scott my whole life, but I remember, you know, before the internet and all that.

You know, like Scott, then I got, you know, I put Scott Thompson. And there was a Scott Thompson kids of the hall, Scott Thompson. And I said, well, I knew him, but I said, also I can't be Scott Thompson. That's not a show been. So I came, hey, you know, just Caratop came out of the, so I... You could have done the thing where they added an initial? Like Scott L. Thompson? Scott C. I mean, Scott Christopher Thompson, I could have.

But for some reason, I was thinking like a brand and a thing. I didn't want to be, I wanted to be something like, I always thought the Rolling Stones tongue and the Grateful Dead Steely. I wanted to be like, literally like a brand. And I thought, Carats... I don't know if I did it. And one of my favorite things ever happened with being as a brand and what you call it, I, uh, I was. I was on an airplane and when you boarded the middle. So when I came up to sit down, the guy in front of me was already sitting.

And there was this, all I saw was this big thing of hair and a ball cap. And for, I don't know, it was just an hour flight. I literally kept saying, that looks like Stephen Wright. Just the back of his head. You know, I didn't know what. That looks like Stephen Wright. And we land and it bong and he gets up and he looks right out and I go, Jesus Christ. I said, I thought that was you from, I can even know what you look at from the back of your head.

And he just kind of, you know, he's beyond one of my favorite people as far as comic. He was funny. He's still good. And I just said, oh, my God. And he goes, hey, how are you? And he's just like that in real life. And it's not a character. So he said, hey, you have a show here?

And I said, yeah. He says, yeah, I have a show here too. And I said, want to grab a cup of coffee or a drink or a bite to eat? And he said, I'd love that. Where are you playing him at the MGM Grand? And he said, you're under, is it? I said, Scott Thompson, he goes, yeah, I said, but I'm under an alias. And he said, you are an alias.

It's brilliant. He said, what do, I just call your room? And I said, yeah, but I'm under an alias. And he says, you are an alias. And I said, fuck, I am an alias. And he was quick. He didn't rehearse that. He says, he's brilliant.

Brilliant mind. But that's because the internet would they put out Scott Thompson and I'm like, oh, people are going to go look up Scott Thompson. So I just checked under. The old joke was I'd check on. or Yusinawan would bother me. No one called me. That's the old joke.

Okay. Here's where we get theoretical. Okay. I guarantee you no one's ever taking you down this particular path. Shut. Here we go. Well, you're a comedian. You can joke your way out of whatever I ask you see.

All right. Are you familiar with the, you know, in the world of symbols and avatars and mythological characters? Are you aware of the harlequin character or the Perot character? A harlequin, yeah. Yeah. To me, it took me a hot second because we just met recently, but I think that's your archetype. And I think that's where people don't understand, let's call it the real brilliance of your comedy.

People tend to go to the easy part. So when they sort of throw out, oh, he's a prop comedian, which to me sounds like a weird slur. I don't know enough about comedy, but I feel like you're way more than that guy. Well, I am, and I appreciate it. But what's funny is I've never been offended really about when someone says it's a prop comic until, if they do not or describe it that particular way like you're saying so

we had a comics I told you last night I made some comics at the show and it was the first thing out of this guy's mouth is like holy shit you don't even do like I do props

you saw the show but I do it about 40 minutes out of the hour and something maybe more than that now just stand up pure standup I don't grab a prop for over 40 minutes and I just do like standup

and stories and he was blown away he says I've never seen you that sight of you and anyone that Sorry. But I think part of that is when I saw you a lot on TV, you know, when you were on TV a lot, well, you had three minutes.

That's exactly right. So it was a lot of like... I would beg them to let me do a story. And they said, no, you're Karatop. You got to do the stuff. So when I saw you the other night in Vegas, I didn't know you had this other year because I'd never seen it. Right, right. So I was like, holy.

Yeah, there is a whole other side. This guy's funny. Because to me, bits are bits. Sure. It's like there's a cleverness to it. In music, we call it gags. You know, like, you know, I'm the guy who does this gag or whatever. And I'm not saying Eddie Bentham.

I'm saying, you know, people have gags. Right, sure. People like in free market capitalist societies, they look for an advantage. I'm the guy who, you know, I stand on my head and play the guitar. Right, right, right, exactly. So in my innocence, I thought that was your thing. Right. You were that guy.

like Gallagher was one of your heroes and we'll talk about him in a second but you know I saw enough of them on PBS or whatever they were to show him I knew he was more than the guy who just crashed a watermelon you knew he was a funny guy I've been trying really really hard now that I'm in the stage of my career to put out something

whether it be a documentary style or even doing these shows like these podcasts is to show the other side because I literally have a note here that you should do a documentary yeah we're talking about it And like seriously talking about it. Absolutely. I want to be in your documentary.

You will be. I'm making this. Maybe I can even like write a theme song or something. Yeah. How about that? How's your singing voice? Unbelievable. Auto tune.

We'll just, we'll get that. I can do like country, you know. I'll sing country songs. Be like, damn, you're pretty good singer. I'm like, yeah, because I'm just doing the dope V's voice and do the thing. But I don't have a voice to know. But every comic can sing to a degree, right? Okay.

Like, you have to sing to a degree, right? Every comic could do, like, a, which brings me, I should, I should, I should tell you, I can tell you something about musical like Gene Simmons. So I met Gene many years ago, and I believe I was at the porn convention. I was a presenter. You didn't want to be there, but. I didn't. And I really didn't.

And it said, you know, best, best, you know. How do I know it's called the Avians? Yes, right. Because you creep, too. So it's, so aviens, I go up there. I'm literally presenting. Sorry. The joke is still land.

You know who I bring. And who I bring up is the, is, um, I did cocaine. Oh, I did cocaine on a plane was the, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, the, uh, the, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, that's a big hit. I did cocaine on a plane, you know, the guy weighs 80 pounds. I, I do, I, I'm like, oh my God, I bring him up. And then they like, bah, they do the song. They bring me up and I, I, I, I, I do my bit.

And I literally, I literally, I said, said, you know, best, best anal, Susan and the family is like, oh my God, we're so proud. Am I, our daughter? And I was like, this is like real, right? And seriously. And I'm like, God, we're so proud of her daughter. She's got best anal. I'm making kind of a joke about it.

And then Gene Simmons comes by and he's like, he says, you know, they were filming his show. And he says, you're very funny. I like, because I, I don't know. And I said, do you have a show tonight? And I said, yeah. And he says, do you mind if I come? And I said, no. How many you want to come?

He's like, I have my, look at my crew, and I said, well, I don't, we're not going to be able to get the whole crew. Couldn't they film? And I said, well, I don't know. I asked my people, I said, Gene Simmons wants to film the show. And I had a whole kiss bit in the show, which he didn't even was aware of. And it was like all the kissheads on these spring heads, and it would get, it was a great bit. And so he comes, and he just becomes best friends. It becomes backstage.

We're having the best time in the world. And he says, you, you were like, you know, brilliant. And I said, oh, well, you know. He says, no, I never would guess. Like, you're actually, you know, your show was, and I said, what do you do besides comedy to make money? And I'm thinking to himself, like, he knows, no, I do this for like a living, like this is my full-time job.

So I said, you know, I do like weekends at subway and something. He goes, no, no, I know. Like, I have a residency. Like, this is what I do. I don't do another job. And he said, no, I mean, like, to make money. Like, do you have any of your fingers in it? like me, like I have I am Indy.

And I said, yeah. You know the money symbol. I own that. I said, oh, my God. Well, I don't have that. I don't have any of that. He says, see, you need to give something that you can make money when you're not doing this. So he's talking into branding.

Right. And he says, well, he loved the fact that I was, he says, you, you were brilliant. Your brand. It's a carrotop. It's the, you have a logo. And it's, you are a brand. So I just said to him, well, I make money, not a lot of money. But I said when I made up the, I made a jingle.

and I made a lot of money that kind of for a couple of years but I still get checks for it, but it was just a dumb thing it was a contest and it was for a deodorant and my buddy and I he has a guitar and a piano and it was true, it was in Florida and they were asking for people to come up with a

like a jingle like a Barry Manolo did for bandages or something, right? So we came up by Menon and he's like what? I said, yeah, we just sent it in and we won the thing. It was like by Menon. And that And they paid me for, I don't know, for, still get checks or whatever.

He said, how the hell did you come up with that? And I said, I don't know. It's just like, you come up with the song. We just, they had the brand, and we just said, buy men. And he's like, that's unbelievable. And I said, and then one of the thing I did was with certs. They had something they were trying to, and I'm a marketing major, so they were trying to come up with the way to rebrand certs.

And I said, why don't they come up with some stupid thing like now with Retson? and he said you're with me right and I said no I can't do James say you he sat in that very chair you're with me yes and I said yes and he goes okay

but the Baimannan I said no the whole thing's I had him for 25 minutes thinking that I came up with by men and searched the wretz and and I mean 20 minutes he was literally like you are brilliant how did you come up with that thing I'm not being facetious. Well, what's the point of that story? Because I had him just, he would

fuck me so much that I just had him like, I'm going to get him back, and I'm going to think that I'm this brilliant guy that came up with by men, and he wanted to, like, be like a business partner with me. What's that story say about you, I guess? Oh, because I'm just being a d-I- was just, you know, my crew's back, like, well, you do? I might just play

along with it, you know. And I'm not normal with that kind of guy, but he's just that kind of, he put salt in my drink, but I'm not looking and just think it's hilarious, you know. He is a child. Back to my point. Yes. You as Harlequin. Yes.

The illumination in my mind was, here's a person who's very funny, but isn't caustic. I think your comedy, and you even say during your show, that's why people have a good time. Am I paraphrasing that right? No. I just want to make people laugh, but you're not trying to hurt anybody's feeling.

Absolutely. I try to send that message to all the whole to show. You say some things in your show that are sort of positive. Like, hey, let's just... Yeah, and it's all. about love and it's all it really is I mean the and I pick on like including myself more than anyone else in the show which is funny when people watch the show they see the self-deprecation part of it which is every comic you know sure that's what makes you funny you know last night

the comic came back he said I love the star search bit and I see said that was so funny I thought you'd want it and I said well why would I play it if I want it it it wouldn't be funny in the show if I said hey now watch me when I win star search and they're like what's the punchline to it you know what's funny is I lost but but but But I guess where the harlequin thing kicked in is your self-image the way you dress. I'm not saying it's conscious or unconscious, but I'm saying you've sort of turned yourself into a harlequin. And I think where it's hard for us to understand in American culture is it's sort of an out, not outmoded character, but it's not a character that's readily present in our culture. Does that land on an intellectual level?

Yeah, sure. See, this is where you go. No, it's playful. It's fun. It's artsy. Yeah. And it's unique in a sense that, like, it fits my whole act. Like, my act, I go back to my first show, my shirt, first show on television.

I was already that. I had my crazy hair and rainbows and everything. And it was like, 1985. And, you know, people were like, wow, you, like, I've always, I've always stayed the same. But the show's changed and evolved, and I've changed and evolved, you know, to a degree. The reason, the reason I'm after this is because. part of the reason I want to do a show like this is I really want to understand what makes people tick because I like the connection between, let's call it, a critical self-awareness,

even if it's intuitive leading to success. And then even when there isn't success, how that character sort of navigates. And in your case, I think it's really interesting because I feel like in trying to do research to interview you, And the lazy version would be to do the greatest hits like people do with me. But I found there wasn't a lot of information about, let's call it, your inner life. And I'm not saying that you want to talk about it at a great length. But I think it's fascinating that someone who's been as successful as you have been, and as successful, as long as you've been successful, which is really impressive.

There's not a lot of information about sort of your inner world. Is that purposeful or you think people just don't get it? A little bit of both. interesting. Yeah, I don't really do, I don't, I just started doing a lot more in my show, as you saw just a couple nights ago, where this kind of a retrospective part of my family and my, my career. And I go back to, you know, being in how I got into comedy and how people inspired me certain comedians. So that's a recent kind of addition? Yeah, because I started becoming a little bit more comfortable on stage, just telling a story. I was always Caratop and it had to be, like you was saying, watching me on the Tonight Show or any other show. show, they would say, no, no, no, no, just the props. I said, well, I have this really fun story about, you know, a plane or whatever, and they would say, that's not what people, they tune in to see you with all the gags.

So it would take other things like this, or, you know, I remember doing like the Charlie Rose Show, one of those kind of things where you just sat at a desk and people were just blown away, like a Larry King kind of style show where they would say, well, I never seen Caratop talk, you know. They just see you in this crazy stage. you know, with all the gadgets, but it was fun to show behind the scenes.

Is it one of those, because I get this on the other side, which is like people who are into rock stars really don't want to know that the rock star is a nerd. Right, right. They want to stick with the image. Right, right, yeah.

Is it because most people really aren't that interested in a comics inner life? I don't know. Or, or has there been a party that's been reluctant to share your inner life? Again, going back to, it wasn't reluctancies as much as it was just not being comfortable

and to share it. But I do a lot of things in the show now there are just quick one-liner reference that people are kind of like, huh? Like I'm kind of a mystery to people. I don't have a, I've never been in trouble. We are, you know, the night's young, but, you know, I've never had anything like, you know,

it's just, who is, you know, someone's the good name for the documentary? Like, who the fuck really is Caratop? Because no one knows me. Well, let me add my, my piece of kindling to that. fire. I always found you interesting, but to me, because it's a generational thing, you being 59, me being 57, you're always kind of there, but kind of over there. You know, I'm in music and, you know, I'm sure you are. It's like you get very focused in your world. Sure. And so before I

walked through the door the other night to see you play at the Luxor, I had one version of you, right and it wasn't good or bad it was i mean i've had the show so obviously it's positive yeah but that version of you is so small to the version that i saw on stage hopefully in a good way no i was i was i have one version too and i don't like the version i have yeah no i appreciate that because i think honestly and i and i and i only because i get it from people that come to the show is that's the number one thing people always say when they come to the show or i or they write done the thing or they come or write me letters. They, one, they had more fun.

And they say it to you, which, you know, it's funny. But, you know, I never liked you. But I love the show. Oh, my God. I'm a huge fan. My wife didn't want to come, but for luckily, I drug her and, oh, my God, tell him. Oh, my God, was it better. I don't know why I've never liked you. And then they come and they see the show and they're like, this is nothing

what I thought it would be. So it's a compliment, but it's like, how do you get that out to people that are haters that may, you just have to keep doing it. I'm not trying to be like, not hate her, but you know, me, like, aren't, don't quite get what the whole thing. Even the comics that were friends of mine last night were like, yeah, Scott, you have like, you have a really, that's a really good thing. You're, like, that's really polished and it's stand-up was like, it's real stand-up. I'm like, well, I'm a real stand-up, like, but they don't think that. Well, working backwards, I saw someone who's a master of his craft.

So that blows me away because I just know how hard that is, you know, the 10,000 hours bit. It takes a lot of, like, if you remember, when I, when I. I came back, I was asking you about your pacing. Yes, yes. Because I saw you turn, you come out real hot, and I saw you turn the pacing down, just like I would play a slow song in the middle of a set. And you were like, oh yeah, totally conscious.

I was like, okay, so I'm not crazy. I saw this man. I saw you working, it's hard to explain. I'm not saying you're puppeting yourself, but it requires a level of mastery to control what people see and your back, you're kind of pulling the levels. Sure, sure. But the other thing I thought, and it was shocking to me,

was, not only did I have an overly small impression, and I don't mean small that I saw you as diminished. I mean, the version that I think of you now versus the version I walk through the door is like this to this, right? Not a little bit bigger? Yeah, a little bit. But I also thought it was fascinating that here's this man in plain sight, you know, 18 years at the Luxor.

And yet the American public doesn't really understand how good you are at your job. And I thought that's really weird. I think it says more about our culture than it says about you. But on some level, you must have contributed to it. Yeah, the people that know, no, no, they know. That's why they come back. They're like, you know, this guy's good. People that, you know, I sometimes just reasonably said, you know,

all the people that have been my fans. And the first timers, it's a lot of first timers. And it's awesome that we get newcomers that, like, what is this carrot top thing? You know, because it's just been around for so long. be going to, all right, let me, fuck, we're here. Do you feel, do you feel, because I certainly have a bit of this, and do you feel like in your quest to seek recognition early that you, maybe you presented a hyper-realized version of yourself

that created an impression that wasn't false, but it wasn't as wide or as true as you are now? Do you think you contributed to that? Yeah. Is that just pure ambition, or was it born in some level of insecurity? Probably a little bit of both. Definitely, definitely insecurity. Is it, if I'm not this guy, they won't love me?

Or, yeah, to a degree, there's all that. I mean, that's what's weird about it. There's so many emotions and things that go through over-processing it, too. Like, of course, there's, you know, the insecurities. I mean, you're a comic, you're insecure. I don't know, I'm as much as rock bands. I'm not in a rock band, but there's all those things you're thinking about, even all the way through the career,

forget the first time you're on. even last night. Yeah, and you want to, you want it to be the best they have ever seen because if they have seen the show, it's great. Like, before people, they meet and greet before. You know, we saw you 12 times, and man, it's the best show, you know, it's the best show. You want to make sure it's, you know, and they leave the property, and they're like, man, that, we, he's still got it kind of thing.

Or, you know what I mean? You know, like, oh, he's not as good as it used to be. You know, my opening act, just a week ago was coming to the show, and he got, I guess pulled over for speeding behind the stadium and this cop pulled him over and he said, you know why I pulled him? He said, no, he said, no, he said, he's speeding.

Where are you heading to? He said, I'm going to the Luxor. I have to go work. He says, what do you do? The luxar. He says, I opened for Karatop. And he said, the cop, didn't he miss a beat? He goes, Caratop. Jesus Christ, he's getting old, didn't he?

And I'm like, see, don't, and Rob, don't tell me that because now, see, now that's all I'm thinking about for the last week now. Yeah. Is that everyone looks at me, that's why I put it the show in it's true. But a lot of it is real.

Like it's, it's, I just had an interview. I mean, it was just right after, like, not even like Joe Rogan. I don't think Joe Rogan said, are you, when are you going to retire? So it was like just maybe a year ago or nine months ago, to the day. Mary Lou Renner, Mary Lou would know this. Yeah, exactly. Mary Lou Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry Henry would know exactly the date. She would.

She'd know exactly. just someone said in the interview, so how long you think you're going to keep doing this? And I said, oh, you got me for another hour as long as you goes, no, no, I mean like your career, how long do you think you're going to go?

I'm like, well, fuck you. Like, you know, retire him. He's like, do I look that bad? And he's like, no, I'm like, why would you ask me that? Like, you only ask people, you don't ask young people when they get in the business.

So how long are you to be it? And it's my first year, my first album. So how long? But they probably ask them that, though. I've seen interviews with Queen. where they asked Freddie Mercury, like, well, how long, you know, they got one song out, and they're like, well, how long you think, you know, you're going to take this? He's like, well, I hope God did God. I hope it got like seven more albums. Yeah, I hope it's, you know, I hope so. Yeah, yeah.

But it just all of a sudden, that's kind of what they're asking me. Like, so, you know, how long you think you can have this thing going? I'm like, well, I don't know. I mean, I'm going to go until they won't let me go or I'll go until I feel like I should go. You know, when I feel like I should go, I'll go. I think the best is yet to come for you. I feel that too. I've never had more fun and confidence in my career and my stage presence and personal and what I like to open up to the crowd with too. I mean, I say things now that people are like, holy shit. And they don't know how to take it, you know? They do take it, but they're like, I think this guy's like being real with us.

And I try to let them know. It's like a couple times in the show, I reference to the crowd that, you know, I try to keep everything in the show real because it's more fun to tell a story that's real. most comics, you know, of course I embellish some of them, but they're usually stuff that's happened that makes it, like the interview guy, winning and retire, just makes it fun, the lady in the plane, you know, it's like, you know, I don't know who you are, I feel so bad, you know. It's just, that's what makes it fun, you know, and I don't think there's been a more fun time in my career than where I'm at as far as writing and creating, you know. Am I right in assuming that you're the product of a happy home? Is that accurate or not? My home now is very happy when I grew up. My mom-dad split when I was like 13, so it was kind of a rough start. Of course, both my mom, beyond loving and just, you know, she still is the sweetest woman in the world. She lives in Vegas.

She's a stripper, but she's doing great. It's an old joke that. It's like a wooden pole. She's got splinters when she comes up. So that's old the bars. But, no, my dad was, you know, worked as a scientist at NASA. He was, he wasn't the warmest guy, you should say. I do that in the show.

I even talk about that in the show where I said, my dad didn't, my dad never hugged us. He never even, you know, barely shook our hand. He was like a dude, you know. And I'm this crazy eccentric, you know, that's why I'm the black sheep of the family. Maybe a slightly different question. Yeah. Maybe this is more what I'm after. Supportive.

To a degree. I mean, like, what I think. Okay. So where didn't it work? Where didn't the support work? They didn't get you. They didn't understand you. No, they, I think they got me.

I mean, I was definitely different. You know, my brother was... Where they used to use was precocious. Well, I was actually really quiet, shy kid. I was very, literally. So did you feel unseen? No, not really unseen. No, I just...

Testing my... Yeah, no, I like that. No, I was just very quiet, never got in trouble, but I was the class clown. If that makes any sense. I was always the one that would tell a joke, but not to disrupt the class. It would just be after the school where I'd walk up a teacher.

And they'd say, you're funny. But I wasn't like blurting out things. It was just, you're funny. So even when I was 12, 13, we'd have a bonfire on the beach. And these cops came out. And it was like 12, 13 of us. And the cop says, you guys can't have a fire in the beach. And I said, wherever do you want to take us?

Where should we take it? We're right next to water and sand. What's the safest place to have a fire? And it just was funny. And my friends were like, you're witty, you're funny, you're observational. And so I had that kind of thing in me. And that's why I started really watching a lot of stand-up and a lot of Gallagher and Carlin. And it was observational stuff that made me laugh.

Any comic that would do something that you go on. I guess what I'm after to just jump to the chase. But family was family. I think letting them know that I wanted to be into comedy, my mom was okay with it. My dad was completely not. I mean, it says, right. Like in the show, and he says, it's not going to f***ing happened. You know, it's the classic cycle analysis thing of, like, behind every clown, I'm using the word liberally.

There's a sort of sorrow or, you know, have you ever heard that? I'm sure you might say it. Sure, no, no. And I'm not, by the way, I don't see you as a sad person. No, but as a young, I mean, there's always, I mean, you're good because you pull it out. So if you break it down, yes, I was a. really skinny, red-headed, freckled kid that lived on a beach. And everyone else was, you know, blonde hair, tan surfers,

and I'm like this red-headed, freckly skinny kid. Can I tell you a funny thing? Yes, please. Finally, please tell me something funny. So I was dating someone who was Australian. And, you know, Australians have this thing where they shorten words. Do you know that? No, but I'm doing Trump.

I'm doing you doing Trump. Shorting the words. I keep my words real. They don't do little short words. I do long. I made words. No one had words. And they were talking about a friend of theirs who was a redhead.

Yeah. And they referred to this person as a ranga. Ah, that's great. And I go, what's a ranga? Arangutan. Yeah, orangutan. That's like, wow. That's stiff.

That's stiff, right? And, of course, there's the famous South Park episode about Redheads. Yes, and gingers and soul is this. So is it born of being of this lot? Even the other day I saw on social media, you posted this thing. You were wearing a shirt like Redheads you did. A club Redhead or something. Someone gave it to me.

I need to find more of them or something. Yeah, I need more. I need more members. Someone gave me the shirt, and I thought was cute, Club Redhead. Yeah, there's, you know, I, you're running out of redhead, so there's no redhead club. And there's just like four or five people that are miserable hanging around. But yeah, going back to your credit, that does. So I guess in a sense, it starts out you're not really a sad clown, but that's how you get, I got into comedy and got

into being self-deprecated because the minute someone would pick on me, I would already pick on me and said they had no, and that's great. I read this book by, I think it was Carrie Fisher's first book that was very successful. And she talked about, after being in Star Wars and being obviously famous and obviously the daughter of famous parents, she put on a bunch of weight. In the book, she explains that

she would do this thing when she would walk into a room and people would, you know, invariably look at her, oh, it's Carrie Fisher. She'd say, I know I'm fat. And I thought that was so, I got it. Like, I instantly got it because I've done that as an artist. So I was trying to understand, like... That's interesting.

Right? Because... She's saying it, before she knows they're all saying it. Yeah. And it made her feel probably, well, probably hurts her to have to say that. Yeah. I mean, you know, I was just saying that last night, literally,

with these comics, I was talking about, you know, sometimes sometimes, but not as much of the but of the joke, and your character, character, and my friends are like, you know, anyone that's never seen your show is the one that probably, and I said, well, it's true. I mean, you know, people that have seen the show, number one, and comics that know me that have done, the show is what got me, you know, through things like Carlin's and Gary Shanlings and people

that, like, friends of mine, Bill Maher, I mean, he's a friend of mine that thinks I'm funny. George Carlin said, you're funny. That's, that would be, I lived with that instead of, you know, some guy saying I wasn't funny and suck. I'm like, you know, George Carlin said I was great, you know, Mel Brooks said I'm great. So it didn't matter that this guy in Nebraska on his computer is making. Is it a feeling of, but it's still a sadness of what I'm saying. So when she walks in the room and says, huh, yeah, yes, I'm. fat. It's kind of like, she probably doesn't want to be fat and she's sad that she has to say that. And that's where the pain comes in and that's where, you know.

But that's where the harlequin thing is interesting. Yes, indeed. Because it's a tragic comic character. It's not a tragic comic. It's converting in an alchemical way pain or displacement. Or I use sometimes the idea of a feeling of otherness. Like why am I different? Right. Like recently I did a post about, I have a birthmark, I don't know if you didn't know, this goes all the way up my arm. I saw your post. Oh, thank you. So the thing went viral, blew my mind. Because I saw a young woman who was a model and she has a birth mark on her face. And I commented on that and somehow it got picked up and you're in People magazine. It's like one of those weird American moments. Right. But what I was really speaking about was like, why am I at 57 still weirded out about having a birth mark? It's such a superficial thing. It obviously doesn't affect my ability to play. guitar. And why am I still in some sort of weird psychic pain about something that doesn't have anything to do with me? It's just, I was just born that way. And obviously, our physical being

and our sort of, let's call it our born personality, these inherited traits, it's what we do with them that makes us interesting, you're different. And I think you found a particular alchemy, which is really unique. And that's why, repeating again, I had one version of you up until the other night and then you just blew the doors off of every perception I had of you and I realized that this is this far more vast being in there. It would be weird to say if I have the same feeling about you or since the time I met you. I appreciate that. I'm getting it. Well, I appreciate that even if it's not true. No, no, I'm being stupid. I'm saying that's right because I have this thing you know where you're here and now you're here. You're still here and here. I didn't change you.

Just feed the comic. I thought of you like this and now I think of you like this. Thank you. Oh, sorry. I love that you talk about Gallagher on the show, and we don't have to go too deep into it because it's really, people should see your show to really get the substance of it.

But I thought it was really beautiful how you found this person that it was like, it was like maybe a North Star for you? You want to just touch on that? Well, I'll say it's crazy. I was a young, I was 13, 14 years old, and this guy lived next door to me that was managing all these bands

like Atlanta Rhythm Section and da-da-da-da. I saw them once. Yeah, me too. Did you? Yeah, when I was 13, he put me in a security t-shirts in security. Seriously, isn't that great? We saw it literally at the same.

It was when they were super huge. Yeah, yeah. It was a Daytona Beach, and I was, he said, you're going to do secure. I'm like 13, I weighed eight pounds. And anyway. Jack then? No, yeah, no. And, no.

I'm still not, I mean, I'm all right. I think you're pretty job. I'm okay for a comic, I guess, I say. But anyway, so he, then one day he just says, I'm doing this comedian too. And I said, I was right in my just trying to study comedians on the Tonight Show and whatnot.

And he said, this guy named Gallagher. I said, do you want to come to his show? So I went to a show. You never heard of him before. Never heard of him. Went to a show. My dad and I went, that's all true. And we went to it. And I met him.

And that whole thing is kind of, I shook his hand. And the whole thing was, he says, I said, I want to be a comedian. He says, all right, well, come. You bring some jokes. Come back next time I see him. Bring some jokes. So I went back and I saw him. He says, is he only jokes?

And I said, I wrote a couple for you. And he says, you wrote me a joke? And I said, yeah. And I tell him the joke. And he's like, did you write that yourself? And he says, yeah, he says, that's great. And I kind of, you know, 13, I was saying, I write for Gallagher, but I was telling my friends. Like, I, you know, I wrote a couple of jokes for this guy, you know.

So then I kind of kept going, kept going. And there was an open mic night night at my college. And he was playing in Fort Laudette. And I went now when he was blown up, he was playing like, you know, 6,000. in that formative period, you know, 13, going into late teens, are you watching every community, you can watch it? Are you breaking them down? Yeah, like an athlete breaks down tape? Absolutely. Were you even videotaping them? I have been, all VHTEPs. My mom got me, all the Brooks brothers and everything from George Carlin to Bill Cosby to every comic

that she could get a tape of. And I'd watch them. and study them, literally study the timing and all that. And so then I went and saw Gallagher again when he was blowing at like 7,000 seat thing. Holy cow. I went backstage and he said, I said, I'm doing, you know, I'm thinking about doing this thing at school.

And he was like, oh, whatever. At this point, does he know you a little bit kind of thing? Yeah, and more. And I said, you know, I'm trying to come up with a couple things. I'm, it's an open mic night. And he was like, what's some of your stuff? And I tell him. He's like, no, it's all right. It's pretty good. And then I'll say, I'm on the Tonight Show.

And I call Gary, that's the guy who's manager, I said, called Gary. They were living in Hawaii. Oh, this is years later. Yeah. And I'm like, you know, I've been doing comedy there for a while. And I was telling them, hey, I'm doing comedy in Gallagher. He's like, you know, I saw him out.

He's like, oh, man, you're doing, like clubs and it's gone. Oh, so this is later. Good for you. The timeline, yeah. Right. So then I said, I'm on the Tonight Show. And he's like, like, what? And they watched and Gary's like, what the, that was, dude, that was insane.

Like, it was in Gallagel. loved it. He was like, that, you just great. And so we just became, I guess, I'd say pretty good friends. I mean, I would see him and I'd call him and ask him his things and opinions. And then one day he just

he got mad at me and said that I, you know, he thought kind of, our acts were a little too similar. Uh-oh. And I was like, really bummed because that's the number one thing that every, well, especially when I started, was to do your original stuff because you didn't

if you did anything remotely to stealing someone you're done especially going on the tonight show right people was like what are you doing this job so it had to be your own stuff and that's why my all my stuff was so I mean it was stolen signs was my whole first tonight show was like hey neighborhood

crime watch sign you know how good is their crime watchers then I'm watching their signs I mean it was like no one's doing that you know I had the bank too but the did you feel so you felt his accusation well totally and then It was interesting. We did finally make up before his death. He came back to my show like nine nights in a row. Literally.

Wow. And I'm terrified. Why do you think that's? Well, I don't know. He said, he's all right. I mean, he sat right there, I mean, he sat right there by the curtain and watched every night. And my manager, your buddy's back. And I'm like, oh, my God. And I was just blown away that, you know, my mentor is right there watching me. That's intense. So intense. And I had a show that was like Noah, like last line.

It was just, it was a show that was just, I'm on and I'm like, I'm in that, you know, you're just dancing up there and everything's killing. And I come off and he's like, that was the worst show I've ever seen you do. That was horrible. And I was like, oh my God, I thought he was kidding because it was the best show I've ever done. And he just told me, kind of critique me and said, you know, just get it, you got to change everything, change everything that you're doing just completely, it started a new act. And I remember just thinking, okay, thanks, Gall.

And then you remember. reminded me of, oh, I'm sorry, to finish your story. No, no, and then he, when he passed away, this is creepy, I think. I had, in the making of this prop, five, six years maybe, it was, because some people back in the day would say, you know, I saw your show and I said, oh, you hit that watermelon, when you ruined my husband's jacket, and I was like, they think I'm Gallagher? Like the, like, and I used to say, like, I, you know, he was, anyway, people would just because of whatever.

So enough people would say that. So when I'm in the front row, this guy's like, hey, when you hit the watermelon, give us a warning, right? And so I was like, I said, yeah, I think you're at the wrong show, right? And I'm like, I said, I don't have the watermel. Until the end, you know that. You've seen the show. And they're like, yeah.

And I'm like, and I've, you know, I hit cantaloupes now just because I want to make it different. And I just thought. Or on brand with the coloring. Yes. Exactly. Same age left. Yes, yes. And so I just

I came up with this prop that was impossible to make. It was going to be a watermelon and I was going to hit it and it was going to explode and it had like it was like a NASA. Like my dad would have to make this thing and my dad did make a couple of my props when he was alive because they had to be involved engineering. But anyway

I finally get it done. It weighs like 5,000 pounds. It can barely get it into the theater. It's just over-engineered This is a watermelon gag? Yeah. It's over-engineered to the point where it's just, it's almost silly. It's a bomb. It's just this whole thing, literally.

And I have to hit this, this mallet weighs as much as, it's a 125-pound mallet made of a tree and a whole thing. And I have to hit it right on the mark. And what I do, it just, it looks, it's amazing. And I did it for a tribute to him. Right. But not he wasn't dead yet. Okay. I'm doing this as, I have this whole story about him and I, da-da-da.

And then I say at the end, I don't know I'm going to do it. I come out, it's a joke to put the bell, and I hit it. And the crowd's like goes nuts, right? Because it's like homage, and it was the word I'm using for. Homage. Amage. So I did it one night. And that was like, that was incredible.

I mean, that ending was really phenomenal. And I woke up the next morning and he passed away. One night after doing that. And literally, my phone's blown up. Gallagher died, Gallagher died. So I was like, oh, and then my manager's like, well, there goes the bit. And I'm like, well, no, now it is a tribute to him. But it was weird because I wanted him to see it. Did you keep doing the bit? Oh, I did it. I do it now. I want, I just because it's a variant of that. Right, right. I wanted him to see it. But I didn't know, like, because you said it was this elaborate.

No, I wanted him to see it, though. And I, and I, the joke I would say that that night, I said, can't wait, Gallagher is he's going to either, he's going to hug me or he's going to sue. me and then he didn't get a chance to see it but I was I really wanted him to see that because it was a spectacular tribute to him it took years in the making couple things come to mind one is there's this Buddhist parable which is if you see a Buddha on the road split him in half with an axe you know you know you know no I have a lot of Buddhists in my house well so you have some buddistic thing in there I mean I have a lot of Buddhist around I have a lot of weird stuff around house. I haven't been to your house yet. That's right. You haven't.

That's the key word. But the idea is that at some point the student needs to destroy the teacher. Oh, I see what you're saying. Analogy there. In my case, my teacher was my father. And I had this thing happen where

I was going to see this therapist in the 90s and one day I sit down in the chair. And she goes, well, you've done it. done what she goes you've destroyed your father my fame and my hegemonic domination at the moment had basically squished my father like a bug into the ground and you know part of that was the way he treated me up until I was successful but then you know it changed the nature of our relationship after because and I think that's kind of what you're hinting at you know in essence

he gave you the inspiration, but at some point he rebelled that the student was outpacing the master. But that's life. That is beyond a super-duper analogy, and it also would reflect my father, as you just said, your father. That is exactly what happened with my father when he rejected me to do, that I wanted to go into this business. you know he was like no you know you can't say no but he was completely not let's say for it much and I just did I went on my own and I you know I did it on my own I never I never came back but that's that's painful right because absolutely because you want them to be supportive and behind you and you know my

and this is I used to do it in the show my dad's like you're gonna get a comment no I when I had done comedy I said dad you know I just did I did this show and I and I just He said, I was trying to drive home. He says, how'd you buy a truck? And I said, well, I have literally three jobs when I was trying to do college and three jobs and do these little comedy shows on like at a club or a bar, like strip car. Anywhere they would have a coffee shop, they'd have them. And usually they would pay me with like a walkman.

That's how long ago this was, right? That was the gift. You get a walkman. And that was, I had like piles of walkmen. I would win these goddamn contests every week. and here's your walkman. And then I came a joke. I'd say, can you run with a walkman?

So I said, and my dad, I said, dad, I finally got paid. And my dad was like, what are you talking about? For what? I said, comedy. They paid me like $150 for a weekend. Yeah. And my dad was like, to do comedy? And I said, yeah.

He says, you're not funny. But he wasn't being mean about it. He just said, literally said, no, but he said how my dad would say, well, that's, but you're not funny. like, no, I know. And I wasn't funny around my father. And I wasn't funny around. I was one of these, once he came to the show, I wish he had him on tape. He would, he was, he was, he was, he had no clue. No clue. He had no idea who I was. No clue. I had the same experience. I don't want to talk about. No, but that's, but that's, but that's, but that's, so we know we have a lot,

we have a lot of similar erities in, honestly. Yeah. We're both Pisces. So we feel, we feel pretty deep. And you're two years younger than me. So, yeah. We're in the same. We have that same. There's a lot going on with us. I haven't. I hate that I have to say I'm older than somebody. I'm always the oldest. I'm always the oldest one.

We're forever young. Forever young. Forever young. I actually sang that to Bozo on a TV show. You really? I swear to God. That's good. Thank you for sharing that because that's what I mean.

It's like I think it's so fascinating that someone that has shared so much of themselves, you know, there's not a lot on your story. I mean, you touch on it in the show. There isn't. That's why we really want the documentary to be kind of, it will be really the first time, you know, naked. I'm not going to be naked, but I mean showing myself behind the curtain,

whatever, just like. I got it. You're naked, you're jacked, and there's just a carrot. Just a carrot. Top this, that's the name of the table. special right there. Hey, you go top this. We just thought of it. I just want to traves through this a little bit because I think this stuff is kind of fascinating.

You show in your show the star search moment where you lose. You got Ed McMahon, you know, there you are. John Caratob gets three and a quarter star. Yeah. It's a hard show. You had to do math. Right? Now they just say, who won? Contestant two wins. Now back then, two and a quarter star is three and a third. I'm like, The fuck is a quarter more than the third?

I didn't know. I guess what I'm after is when, let's call it, that was the cultural zeitgeist for a comedian at the time. Like you entered the jet stream of like, here you are. Was that your kind of first announcement on national TV? No, it wasn't Star Search. It wasn't the first one. It was just such a big broad prime time show.

I think I was on Comic Strip Live first, and then Sunday Comics was a prime show. And then that's why we were talking about it was last night. going home about Star Search and some of the other ones that they have, a lot of comics that run there were already established comics that were on, you know, Star Search. They were already doing theaters and club. It was a bit of a work, as we would say, in rest of it. Yeah.

And I was the, you know, I, you know, I was that, I was, then the heat that, you did that time. And people are like, you know, you want to be on Star Search. And I was like, you know, I grew up with that. So I was like, well, yeah. And they're like, well, you're going to win it. I mean, everyone doesn't want to do it now because you're going to do it. And I'm like, how am I, you're going to win it? Like, everyone was saying it.

Like, every comic was basically saying, well, Karen Topps on it, so there it goes that. And then I lose in the first round. The guy you lost to would... Bob Zaney. He's very funny comics. Oh, so it was a comic comic thing? Yep. Yeah, comics versus comics.

And then, yeah, Star Search. I don't remember enough about the show, I remember. It was just, it was comic or band versus band. The only person I remember Sam Harris. Remember he was the hyperbolic singer? Yes. That's a sort of foggy memory. Walk me, because it's different now, but in the 90s, what was the trajectory for the rising up through the ranks as a professional comic?

Was it a lot of ground war, live shows, and then you get your national TV shots and... I have, mine... Because you end up in the, also in the MTV Jet Street, too. I say, mine's interesting because I started out and then I was, you know, just clubs doing any... And then I would do, I mean, literally, like strip clubs, anything, they would have comedy. And then I started finally doing professional clubs. And there was a lot of clubs that wouldn't book me because I was Carrotov. Like they just, they wouldn't, the punchline in Atlanta, the biggest club you could possibly play.

Everyone played that from Seinfeld to Foxwood, the name, you name. But I was already, you know. They would say, we don't want to book him? No, they would, I know the guy right at the time, Ron Denonzi. He invited me to his Christmas party, but he wouldn't book me. Because. He liked me. He says, you're, I love, man, Scott, I love you.

But I can't book you. No, I don't, I don't, I don't, yeah, I don't, I can't book your, and I said, why? And every comic would be like, you got a book, he's, and, and I finally just like, okay, it was just like, whatever, so. What would he say specifically? They just doesn't do, he just doesn't book for a variety. I said, you picked amazing Jonathan, what the fuck he's a variety? What would you book me?

Is that what they call it variety? Well, that's how they're specific, yeah, right. They would say variety, with a magic guitar act or whatever. They'd say variety. In an ice with me, they'd say, f***ing, prop acts. But they just, so I would play the other club in Atlanta, and we would, we would, yeah, we'd sell the club out, kill, da-da-da-da-da. And I was, every year Ron, can I play the punchline? And he said, no, no, no.

I said, okay, I'm playing there. I'm doing, it'll be good for you, and my name, I'll help, you know, all my friends are playing there. And then one night, it was the Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta. It was like a Wednesday night. And we sold out like, I don't know what it was. That's a big huge. It's a huge. $4.45.

Yeah. I played it. Yes. And for a dumb, stupid comic, I... That's big. It was huge. And the band, widespread panic. I mean, we were selling out as a rock band, so that gives you a sense.

No, I know. As I'm saying, for me, it was unbelievable. And it's in Atlanta. And I'm like, you know, what do I do? I said, I don't do. I'll call Ron and just say, come see my show. Like, don't be a about not him booking me. and he didn't come.

But it was fun to call him, say, I'm at the Fox Theater on a Wednesday, you know, I got some seats. Well, at that point, that's wanted to admit he's wrong. Right. But we had the widespread ban, the band there. I was just, it was like, man, this is, but then I, sorry, I'm going way off.

So I do that, then I go to the clubs, and NACA, there was a thing called NACA, National Association of College activities, and I went to the regionals and I did really good. I mean, I was like, I was killing it. Then they had the national one in Dallas. And I got accepted to do the national which was national. I mean, every college, every college was there, and I went up.

So you're playing every college? Well, no, I was going to play colleges? Yeah, bookers, yes. Okay. The national colleges. So this is where they all go to decide where they're going to book. Right. Who they buy and book. And so I'd already done the regionals and had all these schools. But then now I'm here and I've got, you know, Auburn, Notre Dame, you know, every, every college, UCLA, and I, and I destroy.

I don't know. I just the perfect spot. I had a 20-minute set. And it was just, I got lucky. I was unkilled, and I beat Harry Chapin's record of number of bookings in the day. And so I remember it was a big deal. And my, and that's really what changed for me because I had all these. So it was more ground game.

It was good. Yeah, it was all ground game. College, and I mean two a day. Cafeteria in the morning, arena at night. Cafeteria in the morning, arena at night. Wow. Homecoming, Stadium in University of Florida. stadium and in Tallahatahad stadium right and it's like I wasn't they booked me for but I'm saying I you know I was play I play cafeteria and then I'm playing a stadium in the same day yeah and so and I'm finally making yeah oh yes yes cafeteria comedy yeah I mean so it's some similarities to it but um like what what gag what gag yeah well that's what actually right it is actually with intimacy with what I would do with what I would do with what I would do with what I would do with what I would do with what I'm now it was

The stadium was crazy, crazy hard, but I did great. But that's where I would have this ground, I'd have all this like, almost like a word of mouth, like Caratop. It's kind of just like Caratops of a thing. And then I would do, I started getting on TV. So I would have everything from MTV to Regis and Kathy Lee to The Tonight Show, Arsenio Hall, you name, whatever show it was. But I'm doing colleges and then I'm doing TV. So kids are saying, oh, we saw it. this Carrotop guy at our school and they're like oh I saw him his grandmother I saw him on

Regis so I had this and then I had a show on the cartoon network so it was like literally eight to 80 was my audience any given day and then I got AT&T commercials and that was like stupid big I mean it was like it didn't and it didn't do anything except make me like famous in public yeah public because he would say oh my god the phone guy they wouldn't even know I'm okay comedian. They just know the phone guy. Yeah, you're that guy. They would even say, what are you doing? I'm the rat in Memphis. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the rat in the cage. That's what I get. You're the rat in the cage guy.

So that's what happens. So boom, boom, and then finally, and then we got Vegas and then now it's, so it's been, it's just been this incredible journey the whole way. But up the ranks was, you know, I did my time. I definitely did all the club work. And your father's passed away. I'm not crazy by the right. At what point

in that journey did he pass away? So at what did he get to see you? He definitely saw the, the, all the, the, the, the, height. Was he surprised? Was he supportive? Very supportive. He called, he'd come up. He'd come around the other side and be like, oh God, you are funny. Yes, absolutely. Did he get it? Did he eventually kind of get the Oh, absolutely. And he, he, he, did he start pitching bits? No, I would call him and say, my dad was funny, though. It was funny in a different way, dryway, but he, I would call him and say, I need you to make this prop. Could you

make this prop? And it was a, you know, a hat for me, it was a hat with these NASCAR that went around your head. I said, so you wear it. this if you can't go to the race, you feel like you're at the race at home. And he made it, and it was brilliantly made and done. And so he was very involved at the end and was, he got into, my dad's, it doesn't even know, I don't know, social media. He's like, there's some kind of thing called Facebook or something. And I got a page on there, and he called himself Pop Top.

So he was very proud of me. And Pop Top was hilarious. And the people would, you know, text him on the thing and say, you know, I saw your son at so-and-so. My dad would, you know, they would defend me to. These people were saying rotten stuff about you. I'm like, Dad, I told you not to get a Facebook page. You know? They're saying you're gay, that you do drugs.

I'm like, Dad, just don't get rid of the page. People are going to say anything. They're going to say rotten, but why are they saying these horrible things? I'm like, you know, when he actually said to me, do you do drugs? I said, no. Dad, first of all, I go to the gym every day. I run every day. He doesn't mean you can't do drugs.

I'm like, you'd have to be a pretty good athlete to go to the gym and run every day and still do blow. So, no, I don't do drugs, dad. People are saying all these things. I said, yeah. It's show business, man, right? When they start talking shit on you, you've made it. Kind of. That's the truth to that.

Kind of. I said this thing the other day where people kind of, they do this weird thing where they talk about the point at which they thought you reached the highest point of accomplishment. And then they compare you to where they think you are now. Oh, no. As if you're living in the shadow of your own accomplishment. Oh, no.

That's horrible. Well, I mean, but... As I said, we were doing like a VIP. I saw you your show that night. You're jamming. No, but it's not just saying to say it. Like, I just saw it. Thank you.

So you're still, your shadows is, is, there's no shadow of you. Yeah. Well, what I like to say is, even if people are right, because I'm always willing to accept that people are right. Like, I don't need to fight them. If they think you're a shell of who you used to be, that's... Right. I don't have time and energy to get into argument.

I kind of don't care. Right. But what I like to tell those people is like, at least there's something to compare something to. I actually made something for you to argue about. That's funny. That's a good way to put it. I know you flashed the number the other day when I saw you. And probably by the time this air is you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000.

Somewhere near. We're getting near. Lots of people. That's cumulative Vegas shows. It's cumulative, I think, on my career. I think we have, it's not just like it. So you're almost the 10,000 shows? No, it's not, it's somewhere closer not to, we put that up one night because it was, it was, it was, the reason we did that, and I'm close to, but not 10,000 yet.

We did, it was, it was community of my entire career, and then we looked up, it was like, my man was like, it's like, you know, I said, well, the reason we did that because there was someone that just did that, and we did it as a joke. Okay. And then we kept it in the show. Okay. So it was some guy that said, oh. So it's not a real number. No, it's, but it's, there is a real number, but it's not 10,000 is probably, you know. 12 hundred.

No, not 12 on it. It's probably closer to like eight something, but it's still a lot of shows. But I do that, and then when we have an inside joke with the crew every night, of course, naturally, because the number is the same number every night for a year. So it hasn't changed. I came to show a year ago. Now I feel abused by the joke. I was still not 10. I was so proud for you.

I was like, oh, that's a lot. Yeah, yeah. But it's a lot. And then the joke is, four of those were good, but still 10,000. You know, it's a good laugh. I found in trying to research you, there's not. a lot of critical review of your work, which is kind of weird, I think. Really?

At least I didn't find it. Well, I have one that's funny because people are afraid to write about me. They just don't... Okay. Explain that. Okay. It might have changed now a little bit more, especially since I've been, you know, I always say, you know, I've been around so long now. I've been invited to the barbecue kind of thing, okay? Your family, you can go to the barbecue.

When I played, I was just starting to get a little heat. I had played the Wiltern theater out here in Los Angeles. And it was a big deal for, you know, the Willtern. It was like... It was 2400 people. Yeah, it was a big deal, I remember. It was like, it was L.A., and we had like... Cool Decoville.

Yeah. And we had some celebrities there. We had people that, you know... Can you remember who was there? Jenna Elfman was one of them. God, there's a whole bunch of them. I remember more now, but I remember... Well, it was like real celebrities came to my show.

And I was on MTV a lot. I had a lot of TV stuff. So they were like, oh, I'm doing it. This guy writes from the LA Times a column about it, and I have it framed in my house. Because? Because it was brilliantly written in this sense. Is it brilliantly mean or brilliantly stupid or brilliant?

No. Praiseworthy. No. It went on how horrible that it should have been. Okay. I can't even just, I'll send it to you. It's just, and it's a nice, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-all-the-a-da. And I got so much from all my colleagues for saying I'm going to go to the caretops to see it.

And you know what? Everyone's going to hate me for saying this, but he killed it. And I had a great time. And it's just, I highlighted that part. Just stop there. Because I've had this, too. Why is he? But back then it bothered me more than it would be today.

But set aside yourself for a second, because I want to explore this because we live in this, weird world where we have to sort of process this information that most people doesn't have to, don't have to process. Why is a writer performatively posturing for who? Right, right. Is he worried about what his critic friends are going to think at the Formosa? Yes. Right? What is that?

That is exactly what it is. What is that? That's why I don't know, but that's what he ended it. Yeah, no, and people will say, even this, this. time and where I'm at now, people will sometimes say that. They just can't believe that it's a good share. The qualifier or the asterisk. Yeah.

Yeah. And it's just, and it's weird because you don't, it's not that you, you deserve the asterisk or did anything to get the asterisk. It's just like you just did the work, you know what I mean? Well, I think there's something interesting about that. If you don't mind me indulge you. Please. Number one, I was in, I had this experience recently where a guy interviewed me

and he was a former writer for pitchwork, which is the infamously snarky music website. From Chicago. He told me this at the beginning, kind of saying, I used to work for pitchfork, but I'm out of that, and I'm from Chicago.

Basically, you know, he didn't say he was a huge fan, but he indicated before we started the interview that he thought positively of my work. Had a great interview. It was great. I thought it was great interview. Half the article,

I can't remember where it was, but it was somewhere big. It was like, you know, like a magazine. type of thing. And it was, you know, the publicist thought it would be a good look for me as, you know, repairing my reputation, which is forever damaged or whatever. And the guy spent half the frickin article apologizing for thinking highly of me.

And I thought this is so strange. Like, what are we doing here? I almost rather he just tried to slit my throat. So let's explore that because I think this gets to the heart of our conversation. And you know what? Caratops, he's such a nice guy. I get that a lot too. I'm like, well, why not?

You don't mean? They, they, they, before you, keep your thought, though, because my cousin was up at a show us tonight, and she, she reminded me of this, and it's just perfect for this right now.

My friend, and I don't want to throw him under the bus because he has a dear friend of mine, but it's the funny, if he was sitting right here, he'd say, I did do that. So my cousin Patty gets, Drew Carey's book.

She loves Drew Carey in Cleveland. She's in Cleveland. She said, I'm going to go get my book signed at a book signing from Drew Carey. So she gets her time in line, And she puts the book down in front of Drew Carey. Now I've known Drew Carrey for a thousand years. We're actually really good friends.

And she says, oh, you saw my book? And he says, yeah, I read her son's book. She goes, oh, my cousin's. And he looks up, he goes, Scott, is your cousin? And she goes, yeah. Do you think he's funny? She said, he said, he is, Scott is the nicest guy I've ever met in my life. And he goes, but do you think he's funny?

He said, I said he was. Now, he might have been just being funny, but she's never, he was. But it was like, that's just an example of like, you know, he didn't say you were funny. I'm like, he's because he's a comic. He's fucking with me. But of course, we've been friends and he knows. We know both love each other's work. But I've had similar things where they do that.

They write, like that one I framed. He could not, he could not for the life and just say, holy shit. It was just everything about the show that I did. And then he said, I can't believe I want to get so much for saying this, but he killed it. I love Carrot Top show. Masterpiece. Yeah. I'm taking my show back over here.

Now it's my turn. Okay. I think it's this weird thing. It's a cultural war thing. And in a cultural war, there has to be winners and there has to be losers. So, because they can't praise them all, right? Because there would be no heat. Right.

In wrestling, there has to be baby faces and heels. So invariably certain people in our culture, they turn us heel or they make us the clown. or they make us the clown to be kicked because it somehow either fosters or illuminates the thing they want illuminated. Does that resonate with you at all? So what I always think, and I'm not trying to put this thought on you,

but I always think is like, why do I have to die for rock and roll? I mean, I love rock and roll. Right. I mean, I love it. It's my whole life is rock and roll. I mean, I gave my life to rock and roll, literally. I mean, most of my life has been spent on the road in a studio.

And of course, there's always a person, well, you got paid and no. Bro, they ain't no amount of money that can pay for 18 years at the luxer. Yeah, I don't know. But I never did. And that sounds weird, but I don't think you, just by knowing you briefly now, I don't think you got in to make money. You liked rock. I wanted to meet chicks.

Right. You want to meet chicks, but you want to meet, you want to make music. But of course, it comes with that, you're going to get paid. But it comes from a place of passion, obviously. Absolutely. But I mean, all the way down. It's you break it down George Carlin tapes. All the way back then, I was like, I'm famously known for not even getting my check at clubs back then.

I would get up, pack up my, have a drink, find girls dance with them, and leave the next day. And like, you didn't pick up your check. I'm like, oh, yeah. And I'm not just being cocked. I didn't think about, you know, I, and I never, you know, I never got paid back when I then, so when I started getting paid. And, of course, then it was like, okay, I'm getting paid, but it's never been money. What the, what I still do this? If you want to, if you want to play the game of the thought, what sin have you committed on comedy that they feel the need to sort of throw you as a pyre?

Well, I don't think, I think now it's gotten, it's, it's gone, it went from, I've done everything wrong to. Okay, so what did you do wrong? What sin did you commit? Well, no, well, I think what I, well, well, too funny. Well, yeah, you're funny and you, yeah, you draw crowds and you sell merchandise, they hate everything. But they don't like that you're on, you know,

they would ask Jay Leno, literally. I was on a plane with Jay when he said, give me comments, come after me, how come they don't put you in the phone? How come Karen Thompson's always on the phone? And I said, oh, I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry you have to endure this from it. Because he would, he would go to comedy clubs

and they all say, how come Caratop's on me? not weak. And he said, do you know what Jay would say to him? Because he brings the goods. And I said, oh, that's nice. He goes, no, you do. You show up and you do your thing and the thing and the screen. And I did the work. I sold tickets. I sold tickets, mother right. I keep the viewer. They always say you keep the viewers. It's a whole big bullshit thing on television. You know, I go on at 1201 and one leaves the station. But when I would go on, if that was on, they would wait. Oh, and they're looking at those numbers.

So, you know what I mean? The Nielsen. So it was, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, Nelson. That's why I get the ratings. But that's just all those little variables, but what did I actually do wrong? That's what makes, that's the whole funny part. I used to kind of do a story when I started doing all the retrospective stuff in the show, I would say. When I started out doing comedy, I couldn't do, they wouldn't let me do strobelites, they wouldn't let me have foggers, they wouldn't have music. And I had it all on a foot pedal like you have in your, yeah. So I made a strobelight, a smoke machine, and a windblower. And then there was a sound bite.

And there was only one soundbite at the time. It was a Michael Jackson thing. And I'd have it on a loop. And I would hit the blower with this foot. And I would hit the sound effect with this foot. And I would do this Michael Jackson thing. This is, you know, 35 years ago. And the comedy club owners were like, they loved it.

But other comics would see it. And like, what is this? Yeah. I'm like, it's the crowd loved it. And like, but why? You know, I go to the, I go to. Did they think you cheat? Okay.

No, well, they think that, yeah, they think either cheated or it's not, it's not pure, a purist, you know. What's pure, okay, because I don't understand the comedy. What's pure comedy? A purist is, would be. You and a might be some pathos. Absolutely. It's, it's, it's, it's, of course I do, but they don't see them. And they see in the show now, but that's why people see me now, though, I, you are, you are a purist.

The comics that's night. We're like, you did 45 minutes of stand-up. And I'm like, yeah. You gotta show that. I'm like, they will see it eventually. I'm not worried about it. I just would like people to see it. But that's what a period.

So when I hit the scene, I was everything but that, you know. A comic has stroblites and lasers and music and now I have a video wall. Like, what is that? I'm like, that's called staying with the times. It's upgrading your show to modern day people want to look and see and hear shit. I said that way back 40 years ago when I started. Makes sense. I said, show and tell.

liquor. That's what I am. You go to a comedy club and I got sponsored by the show. I got to show. Yeah. Kind of or no? No, they used to give me a lot of the free product. I never got money from them, but they gave me, they gave me booze. I would be remiss to not ask you about performing in

Vegas. I think you told me you do six shows a week for three weeks and then you take a week off. Yeah. How do you not go completely insane being in Vegas for extended years? Well, because I live in a normal life there. You know, I have a house and I just go in the back door and go home. I don't go party. I don't go to the strip.

I have my little backstage with you. That's my big, do the show, have a drink, chat with some folks, and then head home. And next morning, wake up, go to lunch, go to the gym, go to the show. So you like living in that climate? Yeah, it's a normal neighborhood. Just normal, you know, it's just a normal. People who are always shocked.

You live in Vegas? I'm like, yeah. They have like an Albertson. They have an Albertsonzer, yes. Yeah. Well, what do you, in your free time, because you obviously have a lot of free time. Maybe you don't, but. And when I'm working during the day, it's not really too.

Like I can tell you what I'm doing in a given day. Well, it goes by pretty, like I said, pretty fast. I'll wake up. When do you normally wake up? I wake up. Well, it depends. You see nine. I don't go to bed that late.

So I get up at nine. I water all my own flowers. I'd blow my yard, leaves and everything. I'd kind of make the place look good. And then I go to lunch. And then I go to the gym. and then I usually go grab a little coffee somewhere and kind of just get my head together for the...

Start to zero in on the night. Yeah, because it's already, you know, by 4 o'clock, you already got to go and do soundcheck and a thing and a meet, like you do. I actually do, believe it for a comic, I actually do sound check because, you know, you just got to get warmed up and you got to, and we always play rock and roll and that's in the show.

So you're getting in the zone starts when on the day? Usually, right, you know, that's what's weird about our business is you're always in that. It's like, I don't know of anyone or I don't, well, I'd do a few. They'd just do whatever. And then they go, oh, I got to go. And they walk in right when the shows, and they go on stage.

I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, that was the famous thing on Jackie Gleason. Didn't rehearse. Yeah. See, yeah. Larry King told this amazing story where, because he was friends with Gleason during the honeymooners time. And he's literally on the side stage where Jackie would walk through the door. And Jackie's just chatting. I'm like, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And then he hears it, it's his cue and be like, I'll be right back, walks through the door, goes out and kills. Has it rehearsed with the cast at all, walks back through the, walks back through the or close the door and picks up the conversation. Jesus. And you believe it with the conversation. Yeah, Glees and Jackie. I wish I was that guy. Or maybe you wish you were that.

Of course, although I don't mind being the other guy. No, no, it's fun. But I like, I get excited to go into work and I get excited to, you know, I would say, like, you were an actual rock star, but when I, you know, I always said, my friend's like, dude, you know, it was time to be a rock star. And we go out there and there's music and there's strobe lights and there's fog and there's this, and you're just in that element. It's like, and that's why I picked that to,

going way back a minute ago about what rules that I break. I broke all the fucking good ones, man, because I love having all those bells and whistles on stage. That's what makes me happy, and that's what makes the crowd, like, going to a stand-up comedy show and there's smoke and there's strobe lights and there's the confetti shit.

It's like you're at a rock concert. And there's rock and roll blaring the whole night. The whole show, you've seen, It's all music. And it's just bam, bam. And that's, you know, you come off, you're exhausted. But it's rock and roll. I know, I watch you on the side.

I'm like, now that's fucking roll. We just kind of try to, you know, we try to be it as much as we can. It's a different thing to scream at the top of your lungs for an hour and a half. Yeah, I watched it. It's amazing. It's more. I don't want to say what you do isn't primal, but it's more base primal. Yeah.

You know, you've got to come from the gut. Yeah. You've got to, like, go so out. your comfort zone. There's nothing normal about screaming. You know what I mean? This is kind of weird. And on cue, with no, you know, no provocation.

Yeah. You know, no fight or flight. It's just like, okay, here. I do want to ask you before we end here, I'm like anything that's American institution, Vegas as an institution is sort of fascinating because it's, and I think you do a great job in the show sort of poking fun at let's call it the bull's that is

Vegas I mean everybody knows but you live it right on some level sure and I like one of my favorite jokes that you told was like and tell me if I did it wrong but Circus Circus so bad they named it twice like I love Circus Circus I went there the other day by myself in fact before I came to see you playing I was there by myself like playing the sad games

oh that's great I'm just ended all that weird that's good no I love that last time it was there like I went a couple years ago with my kids. You know, there's that one movie where they filmed in circus James Bond or something. And they have like clowns

and now it's just like totally sad people with the barrel for 30 minutes on the legs. They don't even like switch acts. You're like, oh my God, this is so out there. Right.

But yeah, it's fun and that's what's great about it. Like you said, people are always like, oh my God, like one, comics, like we have a luxury of doing that kind of as we pick on, like I pick on the

Luxor and people like, they let you do that? I'm like, well, they know I'm, I mean, I'm, they do it in a fun way. I don't say that. I always, I make a joke, I love this hotel. This is my favorite hotel right here at the, the, uh, the Luxor. Like, it's just, like, it's just, like, my hand for the answer. I mean, it's just a joke, but I have, I have had people, um, I had, we had a president of the hotel, um, Felix Rapporteur, who's a genius, uh, uh, went on to Foxwood's, but everywhere he was just one of the best presidents of a hotel, knew how to do it, man, right? with entertainment.

He would come to the show all the time. One night he comes to the show, and I had this dumb joke. They had just built New York, New York. And I think he was, anyway, the joke was, I said, if you go to New York, New York, I said, you gotta go to New York,

and you just leave here and you go through the Excalibur to get to New York. It's like going through Jersey to get to New York. And it's just a dumb joke, right? But it's funny, because you have to go here through Jersey to get to New York, New York, and we play that song, ooh, that smell.

Killed. I mean, it would kill. And now he comes back out of the show. He's like, no, he's never would ever, never, ever. He's not even allowed to tell me they can't. They don't, they don't own my show. I own my own my own show. I just rent the space from the Luxor, in a sense. That's how I get it. But they're not allowed to say what I can do content-wise.

And I try to respectfully not do things that I think would be wrong. So, you know, Circus, Circus is a bad they named me twice. Not that's a sh**le. We're saying three times. That's a shit at all. You know, they're like that. Just fun. Yeah.

I'm Belajio, you know, it's a dump. I call it a dump, it's beautiful. Of course, they know it's a joke. So anyway, he comes back, he's like, he's heaven to, he says, oh man, man, I got to, I got to ask you something. I said, oh, what do you want? He says, we're getting a lot of people that are upset about. And it's only one little thing. I was, what, what are they upset about?

He says, that joke you do about going through the Excalibur? I'm like, oh, going to, like, going through Jersey to get to New York? He goes, yeah, I go, you want to take it out? I'll take it out. He says, it's just a lot of the employees here, when they come to the show, they get their feelings hurt because you're, you know, calling their hotel a piece of shit. And I'm like, and then my, like, I said, yeah, but if you listen to the joke, Felix, at the end, when I say it's a piece of shit, I said, it's a nice piece of shit. And I really did. That was the joke how it ended.

I go, it's a piece of shit. It's a nice piece of shit. And he said, you do say that. I said, yeah, I'll take it out. So that's the one thing in my entire life that someone asked me to take out, and I took it out respectfully because I thought, you know, it's not a deal breaker. It's one stupid joke. Does the darkness of Vegas get to you at all?

It's a dark place. I mean, it's obviously a great place because it creates an atmosphere where someone like you can reach for these type of stars. We always say even, you know, as beloved as I, But everyone says it. We always say, only in Vegas. We see something. Sure.

Or experience something to show. Only in Vegas. We had people had to be thrown out of the show the other night because the guy was just beyond obnoxious and it's like he was sitting

right in the front with his five guys. And I wasn't even on yet. They were just already causing a problem so they had to throw it. The guy took his big $87 drink that he must have just bought and threw it up on the stage and disgust and anger.

Those props are expensive. But I'm like, and, you know, they're on the radios, you know, on home we're holding a show. Some guy's been throwing, oh, fuck, he just threw a drink on the stage. I'm like, what? Who does that? Like, no one does that. I've never seen that, ever.

Okay. And it's just like we all, we just sit back and railway and said, only in Vegas, man. Like, you don't see people behave like this. Well, you do have a unique seat in that you see America as it probably really is. You get that cross-section every night. We get everybody, everybody from the different countries come. I mean, even Louisiana.

Even Louisiana comes. Has it made you cynical to see America up close? I mean, everyone has a little cynic in them. I mean, that's what drives the machine, right, is all that. A little bit of my dad's in me. I'm a little sinister, a little myself, a little cynic. But, yeah, not too much. He just kind of just goes.

It doesn't seem to affect you, but I was wondering. Yeah, it not really does. Yeah, I'm consciousness of it, for sure. But, you know, I've been very blessed. You know, we've been there, Jesus, almost 30 years. And we just, going back to, you know, again, they just had an election. That's the thing I do in my show. Hey, we won third.

So we won first place. And it's like, you can't, you can't put up there that I won first place because it's not funny. Did you win first place? Yeah. So I make me get third because it's only funny if I get them. Oh, so that's a bit. Yeah. But I got, no.

But yes. So I got first place in the weekly, which is more of a – the hipster man, you know, the weekly magazine in Vegas. It's all the hipsters. Trust me. I know all about the hipster world. And then so we got, wow, we got first place. Then we got third place in the USA Today, which is a general poll, right? That's a broad, you know.

Sure. So then we just won, like, two days ago, the paper. Okay. So this like, so first, third, first when I'm like, so the bit in the show is I just leave it a third because it's not funny if I win, you know what I mean? You have to say, hey, we got third. Yeah, yeah, you know. But people in Vegas have been very nice to me and the support that's unbelievable. Okay.

My last bit here. Yeah. Got to hope I make it through it. I had this impression the other night. And it does kind of dovetail with my thought about you as Harlequin. I thought, and it was a weird impression, because again, I'm having this kind of moment where I'm watching. I'm thinking, wow, this guy's really got chops like everywhere, left and right. I found myself laughing about bits you were doing between the bits.

Like you do your bits, and then there's like little bits. More people, and I mean this, and I don't even know what the hell everyone says that to me. And I swear, yeah, I'm now trying to even be conscious of what the hell people are talking. They say, and the mumbling stuff. I said, I don't even know I'm mumbling. They say, yeah, you do the bit, and then you do this thing. And I'm like, but what is the thing? So can you remember what the, was there in particular?

It's like little, it's almost like you're talking to yourself. All right, okay. But I don't conscious of it. You like you did the puffy baby oil joke. You want to explain the bit or you want to skip that? Yeah, I know, it's fine. It's a backpack for P. Ditty. It's a big oversized baby oil backpack.

And then, you know, as you're putting it down. Oh, then you go too soon? Oh, right. Yeah, there's little things that I kind of mumbled. But I found myself the next day laughing about the bits between the bits. Yeah. Well, a lot of people say so. I'm going to make sure I keep doing that.

Your Trump is something else. It's fabulous. It's great. Yeah, no, it's stupid because it started out. Just I was, I can't. I know you're going to do it. No, right, I couldn't do it. Right?

And now I just, and when you're sitting, that's the best way. When you're sitting like this is the perfect tie because it's telling me when he's sitting like this, right? And it's just, it's just become, it's one of those things. It's not even picking on him. If you saw the show, I don't even pick on him. I just do... You pick a topic. You just say, just say, just pick it.

And just say something random. You mean, right now? Yeah, right now. Any, any... Dick Cheney. I made Dick Cheney. There was never Dick Cheney before me. There was never,

Dick Cheney never existed. It's when you just say anything. Wasn't I the person that told you? No, they bottle of water. And people drank out of hoses. I made bottle water. I'm the first administration to make bottle water. I mean, it's just so dumb.

And I'm not even making fun of him. I'm just making fun of the character. But you know Dick Cheney. Cheney doesn't have a heartbeat. Yes, you tell me this. Yeah, you did. You got to do it. Yeah, he doesn't have a heart.

Dick Cheney doesn't have a heart. He doesn't have a heart. He doesn't even have a heartbeat. I mean, he has no heart. Okay. My last little riff here is I piled psychologically on top of your... I should have done my hair for this thing. There you go.

Oh, damn it. But I had this interesting revelation during it. And again, I'm sort of sitting there, like, dealing with the three-dimensional version, what you actually do as opposed to my poor latent impression. And I thought, this guy would make a great Shakespearean actor.

Did you ever really, I know you've done some movies and stuff, but you're probably doing you, but I mean, did you ever think about acting actors? Yes, I have definitely thought. I know I love it. Great actor. I don't know what it is. I just, and by the way, when I say great actor, I was like, this guy should be a Shakespearean actor.

Oh, I don't know about that. Well, I'm dead serious. You've got like weird skill sets I didn't know you had Well I think everyone I think a lot of people I do especially Because I do what I do

It's so dumb and over the top stupid But then I always want to be that serious guy Like I want to I've always wanted to be in a movie where I didn't I could just be cool Remember when Jerry Lewis did was a king comedy? Yeah king comedy Like I think you got that I think you should look at that

I'm pushing you No, but I did, I did, I've done a couple things where people were like, that's pretty good. Like, I'm not, I would say, you know, I'm not a trained actor, but I think every comic can kind of, to a degree, act a little bit. But I've always wanted to have that. I did one movie that's not come out yet where I played, again, I'm like, I don't want it to be like the Joker because it looked like, you know, I'm trying to be, you know, me with blood all over me as arreimatically, I'm walking Phoenix. I made sure they knew I'm like this clown, but I don't want to be, I don't want to rip off that. I get you.

So they said, okay, you're going to be this like crazy dude. And I am like literally just like a drug dealer. Is this a big budget or small budget? But I get to play, you know, I get killed. I covered in blood. The guys, you know, but I'm acting like a real actor. It was so much fun at the end of the day. And they were like, that was great.

And I said, you know, it's great. It was just, I got a chance to not be care atop. Like, it was like, it was like just being Scott. It was cool, you know. I had. Well, I can only encourage you in that, because I saw it somewhere in one of your mumbly bits. I was this close to being in a movie with Nicholas, Nick Cage's dear friend of my lives in Vegas. And he said, I know Nick from, oh, yeah.

Yeah. Okay, yeah. And he says, we'd hang out all the time. He says, he's like, he'd be a good actor, right? So, you know, bra. You know, amen. man, you'd be good actor. So I'm like, yeah, I'd read lines with him sometimes.

But he's like, no, man, you're good. I got this movie, man. It was great. And we never did it, but I got to play exactly what I just described. I'm this drug dealer, and I'm just, I can pick whatever. I don't have to be me at all. I can be shaved head. I can be, whatever.

They wanted me to have a little bit of muscle because I'm like this crazy strung out drug addict. But the script was just like, Oh my God, I want to do this, man. But it might come one day that kind of role, that kind of movie. Because it would be fun to jump into it. I get it. That's all I can say.

And I would highly recommend anybody go see you for your playing. Because I laugh for 90 minutes straight, and I can't think of the last time I laughed like that. The only other person who's made me laugh as much as you was Dice. Yeah, Dice. A, Dice is good. I love Dice. Dice is one of those guys you think would hate me, right? Just because, right?

I don't know personally. Well, no, I'm just saying like, or at least maybe I'm thinking this too strongly. Because back then when everyone were just out to get me, I did this Gene Simmons roast. They're out there's that guns and roses sound. They're out to get me. They're out to get me, yeah, indeed. I'm on this. There's the start of your documentary.

Yeah. If the license is a team. Yeah, yeah. They're out to get me. I like that. I had a TV show called Toys in the attic, and I asked Stephen Toller of that. He's like, yeah, man, I never came to tuition. But the roast is, because you're from Dice.

And they, they put me, I'm on the dais. This is Dice's roast? No. I don't know. He's there. But you're doing a roast? No, I'm on the dais roasting, Gene Simmons. And it was everybody.

I mean, it was, you know, how they are, all the celebrities and da-da-da. And I think Danny Partridge, what, was was was was under there now i've now i've been friends in forever he has radio show and he's actually he's a really cool dude oh danie van de jucci so he's there and i'm and whatever and i everyone's with me because that's how you do it on a roast right if i get up i'm like you know jesus christ it's not you're not roasting me we're roasting jean simmons what the take it easy right everybody was just going on on on and i said and you and dan you of all people danie by i said look this is what you would look like if you took care of yourself he was

He was all just, he was in rehab at the time and he just all fucked up and fat and ball. And I said, because he was making fun of me. So it's my turn. I'm like, and by the way, you know. But so why does I do that? I mean, and they said, we have a special guest. Uh-oh. And the back of the door, not even on the behind the dais, the door is open.

He comes through the crowd, this, cigarette, the whole nine yards. And I'm like, oh, God. I'm going to get murdered. Murdered. And he comes up. And he goes, look. He's funny. Well, absolutely.

He's funny at a like a crazy level. Oh, no. He looks up and he goes, what the f***? What the f***? Literally, that's a good impression. The f*** is this? Where is there a celebrity? Right?

And all of a sudden he looks right at me and he goes, and Caratop, right? And I'm like, here goes. Is the only celebrity in this dais. This. Literally, I'm talking about a love fest. I'm like, well. I love you, Oh, he was just like,

this man has a show in Vegas for 30 years. You got nothing. This guy's worth $80 million. I'm going to get a ton. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Great. And now we're best, best friends. I mean, we call it until the time.

He was like, hey, you got to do this gig. I got this guy in Florida. And I'm like, I can't do it, Dice. I got to, you know, I got to bring on my time. I have a tea house in Chicago called Matt of Sous, which is where this is from. Nice. But I'm trying to beg Dice through friends to come do the T-House. He'll do it.

But he won't. No, he won't do it. He won't. He said no. No. He only works with one guy in Chicago, who I actually know. But he's more on the south side of the city. He flies in, does the gig splits.

Yeah, that's, I knew that part. And I was like he could do two nights. He won't do it. I'll let you beg him. I'm going to have a talk with him. I'm going to say, I just, I just finished the podcast with Billy. You just, don't do his team. I got married to my longtime partner last year.

and at one point I flirted out paying Dice to do the wedding. And everyone, like, you could see them with the wheels turning. You know what I mean? Like, imagine you're married. Everyone's there families, and then you give Dice the mic. You're good. Right? It's like people's palms start sweating.

Yeah, just be, oh, God, I agree with them. How great would that be? So we'll let Dice have a work. Anyway, thank you for doing this. Absolutely. Thanks for being. I hope it wasn't too psychobablish. No, actually, this is one of the,

I'm not making this up. This is one of the only podcasts that I learned something. Thank you, brother. You were so great. Thank you. Thank you.