wellRED podcast - #85 - Joe Zimmerman: A Great Listening Experience!

Episode Date: September 26, 2018

This week it was great to catch up with our good buddy, the hilarious Joe Zimmerman. Joe is one of our favorite comics and people. He's been featured on The Tonight Show, Conan, Nickelodeon, Last Comic Standing, and his own Comedy Central Half Hour. Joe’s solo album Smiling at Wolves (one of our favorites while traveling) reached number two on the iTunes comedy charts and is played regularly on SiriusXM. (His second, Innocence, is due this summer on Comedy Central Records.)Joe is also the host of A Great Listening Experience.. a fantastic podcast that you should go download right meow!! Check out Joe's Website here!Get tickets to our shows here!smokeyboysgrilling.com for more on our sponsor

And we thank them for sponsoring the show. Well, no, I'll just go ahead. I mean, look, I'm money dumb. Y'all know that. I've been money dumb ever, since ever, my whole life. And the modern world makes it even harder to not be money dumb, in my opinion, because you used to, you, like, had to write down everything you spent or you wouldn't know nothing. But now you got apps and stuff on your phone.

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So cancel your unwanted subscriptions or reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney. dot com slash well read today that's rocket money.com slash well r e d rocketmoney.com slash well read and we thank them for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Chlorinated water is for swimming, not drinking or bathing. Cities add chlorine to hatchetchy water causing dry skin and hair. This is Claire Beverly and I want to tell you about life source water systems. The solution to your water worries. A life source system filters your

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You can find tickets to all of our shows. Subscribe to the newsletter. And check out our merch, buy tickets, yada, yada, yada, yada. You get the DLLRED, Comedy.com, spelled just like the podcast. This portion of the podcast, as always, brought to you by Smokey Boysgrilling.com. Go to Smokey Boysgrilling.com to get all the rubs for all you meats. They got the hog rub, they got the beef rub, the guys are winning barbecue competitions all across the country. We're very proud to have them sponsor.

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Our guest this week is the Insleectuary. insanely funny. Joe Zimmerman. Check out all he's got to offer at Zimmermancom.com. I'll have that link in the episode description on whatever podcast

after you're using. Joe, one of my favorite albums Smiling at Wolves, such great jokes. It's insane. You've got to check that out. He also has a podcast called A Great Listening Experience,

which I also love. And he has a new album coming out very soon called Innocence that will be available. I assume on Zimmermancom and iTunes and all that good stuff please follow him on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, Facebook, whatever it is

Joe is fantastic as you will hear in this interview so let's get to it and love you and uh, skew well well I guess house in Burbank again as we've been up to touch

yeah I still don't really understand why but it's like school well here we are every time I don't know it's not stupid it's just that's like unofficially your thing. That's your, that's our, here's Johnny. Right. You know, here we are.

And speaking of things that are, you know, consistent and hilarious and typical, Corey left all the podcast shit and George. Still only twice. Still only twice. Still only. The second time we've ever recorded with a phone because of that. I don't think the second time was ever happened. Without a doubt, because when it happened that last time, you all commented.

Just get him so worked up, he accidentally stops Joe. this is now this is the first time where it truly was not my fault last time was my fault I was just fucking I put the microphones in there and left that this time was me and Amber have bought a new house and she's been slowly packing all our stuff because I haven't been home and she decided to pack all my podcast stuff her fault I'm not it's not even her fault it's just I didn't it was where my shit is I'm gonna leave it was in my suitcase and then she took it I'm not blaming her because packing up all your stuff support second

grade teacher. I'm not, okay, it is her fault, but I'm not mad at her because of it, if that makes sense. She's exhausted all the time. Yeah. At least some people right now are thinking, slap Joe. Yeah. I was trying to get really so excited he slapped our guest. We are joined. I'm doing this all the time when I get my own.

I, for one, I'm very excited to be joined by this gentleman, Mr. Joe Zimmerman, everybody. Hey. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. I was going to add that in place, right. Wee. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You got applause. Do you have the applause? Yeah, I've been listening to yours a lot. In the past, what's that, what's that guy's name you do it with? Oh, Tom Cowell. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He has a very, I love British shit. Oh, yeah, yeah.

He's a very soothing voice to me. Yeah, a great listening experience, Trey. It's a great listening experience. It is. It is. It really is a great listening experience. Tom made some sound bumps for us. Okay, right on.

Awesome. Joe is a very funny comedian from North Carolina. I started comedy in Charleston. Charlotte, North Carolina, and then moved to Asheville, North Carolina. Yeah. And you went to Davidson, right? Uh-huh. Yeah.

That's it. Are you, did you grow up in North Carolina? Close personal friends with Steph Curry. I thought you were going to say, did you grow up with Steph Curry? Right, yeah, you went to Davidson, yeah. You know, Steph Curry, but he really does kind of, right? You had lunch with him. We had dinner.

Yeah. How about that shit? His first MVP year. Yeah. Championship MVP here we had dinner. That's wild. Are you serious to get back on the Joe train? It sounds like you were the secret.

Yeah, I'm surprised. He had pasta. Oh, that's weird. That's so surprising, yeah. It was post game. It was post. Oh, yeah. He just, they had just played the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn.

And he's like, I got to see Joe. We were like, he's like, yeah, let's go to dinner. I was like, yeah, that's, this sounds right. Totally. What kind of pasta? I want to say it's some sort of seafood linguine type thing. Okay, yeah. That's the lightest one you can get.

That makes that makes sense. I mean, isn't it, isn't it, though? Yeah. What you can't go with? I can't say I remember. I wasn't focused on it. He sounded non-disclosure with the restaurant. I couldn't eat in front of Steph Curry.

Just sitting there smiling across the table. What years were you at Davidson? 2001 to 2005. So I graduated in 2002. I got in Davidson. I didn't give me any money. I wish I would have hung out with you and Steph Curry. I think it would have been worth not having a scholarship.

You got in an O-2? Yeah, I think it was like, yeah, I'm class about it. That's awesome. You played golf, didn't he? I did. I was on the golf team. That's how you paid for it. Yeah.

Where did you go? Yeah, did it work site, golf scholarship, and financial grants. Right. So I remember when we went over there, this is how it's stupid. They should have not let me in based on this alone. This should have been their test. We did the tour, and you guys had a laundry service. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And I was like, this is awesome. I'm coming here, Mom, because I was like such a post. dumb kid. The idea of someone else doing laundry for me forever like continuing that tradition that my mother had started, I was so excited about that. I was like, well, this is the college I want to go. That's one of the big selling points is they do your laundry.

Right. That's really what they go for. That's a big recruiting tool. That is pretty right. Works on me. Every, like the athletes or every kid that goes there? Every kid. Do you think that was just from years of like these kids stink? Fuck it. We're just going to do this.

Take it out of their hands. Yeah. Like I'd rather. Because of how much money they have. Yeah, because usually people with money, you're like, we got so much money, let's help these kids out. I don't tell me of the help the kids I'm talking about. That's just like, yeah, power made. Right. And that is a good thing you should do for a community. You should.

They just don't. Never forget my laundry number, 1384. Yeah. You give them your number on the bag and they package it up, fold it for it. Damn, man. Were there any zany mishaps there? You get a bag of panties or something? What was crazy?

What was crazy to me is I would say about 70% of the students. did their own laundry anyway. And I'm like, what are you guys doing? They're like, well, we don't trust, we don't trust they're going to get it all back to us. We don't trust their water soap system. They're just so picky about the floor. If that number had been 20%?

I'd be like, yeah, I can see that. 70? I felt like, well, I should say the girls. Yeah. I get that, though, because women have to have, like, delicate, like, less jeans, t-shirts, It's like fucking wash them all together, just do it on cold. Who cares?

But like, panties, that's a whole thing. So the girls did their own laundry, and 60% of the student body was women. Oh, what's up? Okay. So what, did you grow up in North Carolina? So I grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia. Oh, all right. Home of WVU.

Yeah, yeah. Home of John Denver's song about West Virginia country roads. Very familiar. Have you seen Logan Lucky? That Redneck Ocean's 11? Steven Soderberg I haven't seen it I mean it's like literally that

Yeah it's the same dude that made the oceans movies Made this movie and it's just oceans movies But rednecks Really? Daniel Craig Channing Tatum And Calo Rinn Yeah Adam Driver Adam Driver

You know the redneck actor Can Adam Driver Channing Tatum is from Alabama That's true Does Adam Driver play a redneck? Yeah Well He's more convincing as a redneck than his

Channing Tatum's brother in my opinion That's 100% true. How about, as the new Darth Vader, which one is you more convincing? I mean, I like Kyle Lowe. Yeah, he likes it. I hate the new Darth Vader. Dude, I'm such a, like, I know this about myself. It's almost like at this point, since they're better than the prequels, they can't do any wrong.

I'm just so bald into Star Wars that I'm excited that we're getting one so I don't give a shit. I'm with Coral. Yeah, I just, I want to see. I mean, I want to say. Dude, I'll watch the prequels right now, too. I don't care. I appreciate that sentiment. get the preicles out of.

I'm just, I don't mean I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna choose to. I'm saying if it was on and I was hot, yeah, I'm gonna watch you today. Today, I'm gonna watch you today.

See how easy is the police? The prequals are maybe for like a seven year old. No, no, they're garbage. I'm saying if I'm stone, I'm at home and when I'm on, I'm like,

yeah, whatever. Yeah, Corey is an eight-year-old, so I can see what be in. But no, I like Kyle Oren. It's just like to me, he,

he's a fucking angsty millennial, and that's who they're making these new Star Wars for. that character and how he does this. Oh, I do like Kylo Ren because he is complicated. He's like... He's realistic. And they make him so that he's bad at being...

They make it so that he's like green and bad at the entire theater. Yeah. And then we get to see his... He's an open mic. We get to see his progression. Just the way we get to see... We got to see Luke Skywalker's progression from from like

grouchy guy to to savant or whatever We can see Donald drivers? Donald driver. What's his name? Adam Driver. Adam Driver was one of Brett Farr's number one receiver's. And I like that there's so many theories about him because he's he's he's conflicted still between the light and the dark.

You know? So I think he could, there's a chance he could at the end be like, convert to the good side. He killed his daddy though. Right. but he was yeah so there's also that theory that's hard I feel like that's hard to come back there's also that theory though that

Han like knowingly gave him a hey you need to do this like the theory is that they kind of had this father son moment where he was like look if you don't do this general grand leader snope is not going to fucking trust you you're not going to be able to get

and I want to die anyways do you think they had a chit chat behind scenes no there was like this the theory is that like he says I know what I have to do and Han's just like, then do it. And the theory is that like, Han's not stupid.

He knew what he meant. And that was him just basically looking at him like, son, if you don't do this, you're going to get killed. And I'm your dad. And I would rather you be alive. And then you can do more good. So he sacrificed his dad.

It's like Jesus in reverse. Yeah, it's like Abraham. Yeah. I'm not saying that happened. I'm telling you that's a running theory. Anyway. He would have been all about it if I had to fucking say it, Joe.

Let me say that way. If he just read this shit on ready to be like, you guys fleeing, this theory they got, God, God, man. he said it's like, right, he goes, you're not

saking the other day. No, yeah. I wouldn't know how Logan. Corey's fat, dumb ass thought of it.

It's a stupid and shit. In Logan Lucky, there's this like emotionally climactic scene with Channing Taito and his daughter that involves her

singing country roads because it takes place in West Virginia. It takes place in West Virginia. And this little girl singing country roads and then everybody

there starts singing along with her, whatever. And, uh, well, their portion doesn't, they have to drive to Charlotte for the race, don't they?

Yeah, but the point is, that song and that scene, like, I don't know, I'd really, really dug it. I did too. I thought it fucking, I thought it fucking rules. I teared up. I did too. I thought it was great. I'm teared up to that room.

You can't tell him why, though. He brought up country roads, and I'm saying, you're not, and you shouldn't because it's a story. Anyway, there's a reason why. You just did a very long version of that S&L. Chris Barley. Anyways, that was awesome. It would have been much shorter without the multiple Adam Draver.

That's true. But also the reason that it hits so hard, you kind of don't want to say because it's a little bit of a spoiler. It's not just like this little girl sings that song and oh, that's rad. Like there's a reason. It's a big moment. Go see it. Logan Lucky. It comes out two years ago.

That was our theme song growing up West Virginia. The substitute music teacher, if the kids were nuts, you know, she would just pull out country road. and we would just like hypnotize. You all just like punch each other. Then that comes on that. You just stop and just starting out. The Nazi years of West Virginia was led by John Denver. Yeah.

It was like our, uh, the man chewing tobacco. We had that. We were just perfectly behaved when that song came on. We sing out. Well, we're not perfectly behaved. In a bar? You hear it in a bar? People kind of like, stop.

We have some rules. We have that with Rocky Top. I bet that's come on a bar. It doesn't calm people down. No. I bet that's come on in a bar and kept people from cheating on their spouses before. Because it, yeah. It invokes loyalty.

Yeah. The irony is West Virginia, if you're from West Virginia, people, you meet people outside. They go, oh, I've been to Rowanoke, and you have to be like, oh, that's Virginia. Virginia, yeah. But I get that that's in the western part of Virginia. That's confusing. You remember Tim Wilson? How long? I'm all back.

Country roads. Country roads. He mentions the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in Virginia. But I always thought that's because he was on his way home. I think he's singing about Virginia, the Western part. The Western part of the state of Virginia. Yeah, I think he might be singing about West Virginia. Is that just like a defeatist thing of people from West Virginia?

We can't even have that. There's no way he means us. He means somebody else. That's hilarious. our fans listen to right now are going from West Virginia you're going yeah like y'all ain't fucking come here yet for some reason we ain't been there we don't know we really really want to go there but we haven't

been there. West Virginia we do have a defeatist self-deprecating culture that will like yeah of course you didn't come visit us and we understand yeah well it's also there's north and South Dakota north and south it's not west and east Virginia you guys are just the shitty

one I know it was they they were trying to decide between West Virginia or Kanawa were the two options when we split off when we seceded. With the North, by the way, we broke off with the... East Tennessee. Well, East Tennessee, almost did that. We ended up fine about it, and then we just didn't join anybody.

However we want to. No, that makes sense. Is Kanawa on Indian? Canawa is the river. Okay. Or the valley. I don't know. Yeah, it's the tribe.

I can see why I shouldn't know as much pretty. It was the tribe there. Yeah, it was the native. Canawa didn't fit the meter in. But, yeah, that would have been annoying if I grew up in Kanawa. Because, you know, that would have been, that would have been butchered with accents. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I live in Canal.

Yeah. Canal, wow. I'm from Canal, wow. So what's it like growing up in West Bag God, Virginia? Oh, dude. It's good. It's a nice, like college towns, so it was a nice mix of university kids. And then, yeah, I guess hellbellies was the term, the endearing term.

Yeah. Because we're over there in the hills. I didn't know this until you said it not too long ago, but that's the only state that all of it's Appalachia, right? Yeah, that's fucking nuts. Yeah, it was, it's not quite the south, but it's definitely not the north. But yeah, I had a nice mix of, you know, university friends and blue-collar-type friends. Were you always into comedy growing up there, or did that come later?

Like, were you like a weird comedy nerd kid growing up there, or did you get into that later on? I definitely got it out later. I mean, I watched, other than watching The Simpsons and Seinfeld and reading the Far Side as a child. Yeah. But I didn't know that I liked comedy. I just enjoyed certain things. When you start playing golf. When I was 16, I became obsessed with golf and thought my dream was, you know, my dream was to be on the PGA tour.

Yeah. You know. Wait, you just started playing in 16 and then went to college. That's why I asked the question is because you played in college. That's crazy. I was like expecting you to say, I don't know, 10 or 11. Well, I started, I started playing when I was 13 and then obsessively playing when I was about 16. So I had a pretty good rapid progression.

But then. Yeah, no shit. At what point did it become clear to you? Yeah. At what point had it become clear to you that the PGA tour? I look at most of Steph Curry basically now that I think about it. You do. Transitively, yeah.

Basketball winner cousins. For sure. And I've eaten pasta with him. You guys have given him credit for being good at basketball, right? He's pretty good. Drew? Yeah. No, he also has given himself credit. We don't really have to. I just want to. Not true.

I just can verify he's very good at basketball. He is. I'm quite with him. I suck. At what point did you realize the PGA tour might not pan out? Freshman year of, so I didn't figure out freshman year. Freshman year of college, I was a starter on the team. I was like, maybe the third or four guy. And I was still having that rapid progression of improvement. And you knew that about yourself. You knew like since I started at 16, I got a big ceiling.

I felt like I still was going to keep growing. And I played the first two tournaments I played. Oh, one was at Chattanooga, East Tennessee State. Yeah, baby. The course there. And another course in the Harrisonburg, Virginia tournament, you know, 21 teams. And I played great in my first two tournaments and ended up, you know, like shooting, you know, 70, 73. and then shooting 70, 68, 73, good scores around par.

And finishing like 20th place and 11th place out of 150 people. And then they show you your rankings nationally. Every single college gallopper, all 1,500 of them. Or actually, there were about 1,800. And I looked at the ranking, and it said, after I had played well twice, it said 874 in the country in college. And so I was like, oh, this is, I've got a bigger climb when I realized. Yeah.

And then by sophomore year, I was like, I had peaked. She plateaued off around it. I didn't keep improving either. What are you shooting? What are you shooting now if you go out? I played two days. I played five times a year and shoot about 80. I shot 79 yesterday.

Six months ago, I shot my first ever 79. There you know. I hadn't played in seven months. You know how it is. You go out there and you're like, oh, this is. they're going to suck or I'm going to be fucking lights out and that's how it was. It's brutal when you suck. But that's you coming down

to a 79. I'm like, oh my fucking Lord. So when did comedy become a thing, like doing it, I mean? Did you thought about it for a while or were you one of those who was like, yeah, I might try that and then you just did? Oh, right after senior year of college, I couldn't keep up with

the reading. You guys know how it is. I was talking about the college part, yeah. I mean, I couldn't keep up with the reading such a big workload or reading and then you know you're playing a sport and uh and then i but i realize i by junior i found out the courses some of the courses were actually 30 percent participation grade which is a lot you know so british romanticism super boring reading i came in couldn't keep up with it but i would read you know one page of the 50 that week that day one page of

the hundred that we're due and I would just chime in jokes and I couldn't believe it but I was crushing in British Romanticism. I get it. It's a good brand. It's hot right now. And so much that at one of the final parties of the year, this fraternity brother who I don't, you know, I didn't really think I was a fraternity type guy. This fraternity brother was like, dude, Joe Zimmerman, you're the reason I wake up at eight

and go to British Romanticism. that's awesome I was like, who me? He's like, dude, you are so funny. And so I was killing it in British romanticism. And then after college, I just was like,

I should do something. I need to do something creative. And that one guy said I was funny. Yeah. That really is often. I'm going to a coffee shop, open mic. So it was a coffee shop in Charlotte?

Okay. S.K. Net Cafe. And internet. an internet cafe. I've heard of this. What year was that? I saw it in Peru once. I did it.

My first open mic, like about one month after I decided to do comedy, I did an SKINet Cafe, which was toward the end of 2005. Right. Yeah.

Okay, so going on 14 years. It's about when I started in there. Been a while now. You've done a lot better thing for your time. Yeah, now he's Steph Curry's favorite comedian. Yeah, yeah. He's John Mullaney's favorite comedian.

after yeah it's true about both those both of those things are absolutely true um yeah i feel like you know when you've been doing comedy maybe seven six seven eight years you're like oh cool that's when you're like i think i might get this when you start telling people you've been doing a 13 years they're like oh that's a while that's a long time that's that's interesting what what was you going to do stab him become a lawyer a and b all that comes from is if you're not sign failed by then they just because in like people's minds it's like Well, there's Seinfeld and a bunch of losers. Yeah, that's how I feel, too.

When somebody asked me how long I've been doing it, I'm like, I'm like, sometimes I feel like if I say 14, people are like, oh, right on you stuck with something, that's amazing. But then I'm like, and just now you have a podcast, awesome. My brother's got one of them. They feel, it sounds so sad to them if you're not gigantic after 13 minutes. But fuck them. And also what Melanie said like it was, cool.

And accurate. That joke's fantastic. That album was fantastic. We used to quote it to each other. Pony Danza, I remember. It was my favorite tag for years. I mean, you know, it still is. It's just there's no tags, Joe, relax.

Oh, well, thank you. Pony Danza, yeah. I appreciate that recorded in Asheville, North Carolina. I think I told you this in person, but it's worth repeating for people listening. I have a friend, a couple. They have a pet snake. And I played them the whole bit about pet snakes in the room with the pet snake. and he thought it was hilarious.

She who didn't want the snake and the snake. The snake thought it was great. She who did not want the snake really in the first place kept laughing, stop herself halfway through, look at her husband Adam, look at the,

of course his fucking named Adam, look at the snake. And then just like a moment, and then she would get right back into your bit, but like she was horrified at the truth you were telling that. Because of the things Joe was saying, she kept having moments of like,

that's going to happen, Why do we have this fucking snacking? This one has been the symbol of evil since the beginning of time. Is that it? Joe, is that? I came up with that idea, premise for that bit because I had heard three different people tell me a story of how they used to sleep with their pet snake. What the fuck, man.

Like they're like, oh, he's my buddy. He would sleep in my bed, snuggle sometimes. Yeah, West Virginia's shit. Three different people told me the story that it kept losing weight. So I don't know if two of them were lying or they all have had the same story. They kept losing weight, kept losing weight. And they took it to the doctor. The doctor was like, I don't know.

Kept losing weight. And then finally the doctor was like, you aren't sleeping with your snake, are you? And they were like, how did you know that? And he was, he's like, because it's losing, it's saving you to try to swallow you. For real? For real. I've heard that. Yeah.

You're like, you just the whole time just sitting there like starbant's like, but it's going to be worth it. This dumb motherfucker here. Just like me. Licking its lips, looking at Corey's gigantic head. Like a metaphor for marriage. Anyway. Yeah, I kept hearing that and then came up with the idea for that bit. So that's on the album you have called Smiling with Wolves.

That's on Smiling at, Smiling with Wolves. Either way. Smiling at Wolves on Spotify. And it's a bit on there about pet snakes. And yeah, the whole album is fantastic. Yeah, that bit in particular is fucking hilarious. You have a new one coming out. New one, October 12th called Innocence.

Right on. Would you record that one? It's got the crow bit on it. I love that. I love that bit. It's great. I think I told you, but, well, Look, you see that picture over there on the Wampanour.

That was the first week of our tour. The Blackbirds, to encompass them all, Ravens, Crows, Jack Dolls, whatever. If it's a bird and it's black, it's kind of our unofficial, like, mascot. I'd say you can say official at this point. You're probably right. Well, we're the ones that make it the thing. Yeah, that's true. I officially declare it as our mascot.

So it says the show. Blackbird's the one song I can play really well on guitar. No shit. Really? I don't. After I recorded the album, I was so mad because I remembered I had a ball. A joke about the Blackbird, the guitar song. And I was like, oh, I could have tied this two together.

Oh, no. Isn't that just the way of guys? I just didn't bring that. I just forgot about that blackbird, but. Where did you record this new one at? Vermont Comedy Club. I love that fucking place. We were just there now for the second time.

That place is great. Nathan and them were fantastic people. Actually, and my first time to do there was the first time I heard about you guys taken off. Right. we had been there were we there right before or were there right after?

Because I sent you a message with the picture of it was like our two posters on the wall or whatever. But when you sent the picture I was just like oh cool, Trey's doing like a Beards of Comedy Tour

right, yeah, yeah. Like his own tour. And then I got to the club and they were like, yeah, they sold it out. They were awesome. I was like, oh shit, awesome. Yeah.

Nathan brought you all up. Yeah, we love that club. love those people that run it and work there. But so you recorded it up there. Fantastic choice on your part. And it comes out October 12th. Yes, sir. October 12th.

Well, I, for one, am very excited about it. Oh, thank you, Trey. Because I've been a big fan since day one, buddy. Me, the first weekend that I ever worked on the main stage in Sidesplitters in Knoxville. So I had been doing it, I don't know, six months or something like that, I think, at the time. you were one of the two headlines. It was co-headliners that weekend, and you were one of the two.

You guys were switching. I don't want to say the dude's name because I'm going to talk about him in a minute. Well, dude, it's like, okay. Welcome to the podcast, Joey Z. Let's talk some shit. Well, since that's already gotten brought up, do you remember that dude? He played Fox News in the condo.

He's one of the most conservative comedians I know. Okay. So in person. Steve McGrew? No. No, no, no. Interpersonally talking to him. Mudflap. Not mudflap.

Not mudflap. Not mudflap. But, like, I wasn't with him in the condo and just, like, talking to him and all his materialists, his jokes weren't about any of that shit. And, like, just talking to him. He's just like, this dude, this, like, kind of. I know this story. Just dorky white dude, kind of. And then the weekend was over, and I added both you guys on Facebook.

And that motherfucker's Facebook is. some of the craziest, most gnarly, insane shit I've ever seen in my life. Were you friends with him on there? Did you see some of this stuff? Like, he'd make his profile picture, like, a crime scene photograph of, like, a teenage kid with his head blown off, wearing an Abercrombie shirt. He'd be like, like, it's footage shit ever seen in my life. Like, shit like that.

Like, fucking wild shit. Yeah, no. He was, he was, like, cooling person. Yeah. And then just nuts on Facebook. Lunatic, man. Yeah. You know what happened to that guy?

Do you got any idea what happened to that guy? I had no clue. I couldn't tell if you were asking like you have it. I know, I know. I don't. I do. I heard that he was bar managing in a beach town. Okay.

I don't know. I don't know if he's still on the road or not. Right. But anyway, that guy said, I thought you were awesome. And also I thought we, you know, hit it off pretty well. Part of that was we were close. in age, but also like going back to what you were talking about earlier, up until that point, everybody I would talk to coming through side splitters that was working there, and this remained

true after that point, too, were, like, the fewest amount of years they had was 12 to 15, like, usually, like the people coming through there, because, you know, a lot of road dogs and stuff, they've been at it for a long time. And you at that point, four or five years or something like that, and you just seem more like, I don't know, my speed, I guess, as a person. And also, you were hilarious. Well, he's also closer to your age. That's part of him.

I think that hilarious. So I was coming up around the same time doing side squatters too. And Trey would, you know, we would be like, man, you know this guy, you know this girl, like whatever, whatever. The only time my answer was no, I'd never heard of them. And he shared, like, you gave me an album, was you or sent me to the album or whatever. And Stuart Huff. Like, those are the only two people.

Like, there was just, like, Tommy. He was like, you know what Tommy Johnny? I was like, yeah, of course I did. But, like, you and Stuart Huff, I was like, no. And he was like, Joe Zimmerman, who the fuck is that? Well, no, I'm just saying like, I'm kidding. I'm telling you, dude, I was, like, obsessed. First time you came to play basketball, I was like a little bit fanboy about it.

And you were like, we were just there to play basketball. And here's this time. I'm like, yeah. And I was like, okay, I'm sorry. I thought it was cool. No, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. At that time, okay, so you were headlining that weekend. You're like about five years in.

You still lived, you lived in Asheville, right? Yeah. But you've done the Beards of Comedy thing. How did that happen? Beards of Comedy, I had been doing a bunch of the rooms like Knoxville, emceeing or featuring and struggling, because it's, you know, a lot of like electric cowboys, all the, oh, yeah, boy.

All the rooms where, you know, I'm sure somebody named Mudflap would probably thrive. Yeah. Although I can't speak to it. I haven't seen Mudflap perform. I'm just going based on his name. No, you're right. Okay. Yeah, no, you're nailing it.

So in rooms where Mudflap would thrive, I'm trying to, I'm trying to also thrive, and it's just not happening. Right. And the book for one mudflap. Yeah. And the crowds are like, yeah. Where's Mudflap? The crowds are like, you know, pass on this.

And the bookers are like, you know, yeah, you didn't do great. Why would we book you again? I'm like, yeah, all right. Yeah, this is a. struggle. This is hard. This is very hard. And so I was like, well, I either got to stop doing comedy because I suck at it or at least try to find my own way. And Beards of Comedy was just a way to do more independent venues. What made you think, what made you think if you're struggling in them rooms was because you were doing well in Asheville, so you knew that there was like a cultural

difference thing happening there? Occasion I would get a crowd of people that felt like more my speed. I, you know, just like a college town crowd. Sure. That wasn't like, you know, wearing get-or-done t-shirts necessarily. And more my speed, and then I would go great.

I'm like, oh, these people I'm connecting with. Okay, so the bearded comedy just felt like a way to do rooms we booked ourselves, like a rock club, instead of a comedy club that had the built-in audience. Yeah, that's when I first heard about you, through Andy Sanford, who was in the Beards of Comedy. And I knew Andy through Karen Mills. Oh, nice.

So I knew Kevin Chattanooga. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I remember seeing where y'all were. We did that bar in Chattanooga. Jay J's. Yeah, right. So that's where I saw you guys there.

And then that was kind of my first introduction into J.J's stand-up scene because I was a comedy catch dude. And I was just, I didn't remember the 90s where Garofalo and Oden Kirk and them had started the alternative thing where you could go to. I need was I want to be a comedian. I got to go to this comedy club. And then I saw places y'all were playing. I was like, you can fucking do that? What? Yeah. I don't have to just go fall a mud flap every time. This is fucking, this is something else. Yeah. So, yeah, that was, that was wild. Y'all were the first time I ever realized, you don't, you can just go to a place.

It's fine. But that, you guys did well with that, right? Yeah. I mean, I remember, I feel like before I actually met and worked with you, like, I knew about it. Yeah. Like, people in the comedy scene, I'd heard y'all talked about, you know, the beard of comedy and all that. I I was aware of it already. So, like, that worked, that worked well for you guys, right? Like, that was, like, a good move on that part. Yeah, it works. Because then I was able to do, when I was, you know,

having done comedy about three or four years, I was able to do beard shows, feature work, normal feature work here and there. And then Johnigan brought me on the road to some nice clubs. This and golf, you just don't need a lot of time, do you? So I was just, I would be able to cobble together a full year of work through those three happiness. And I remember one of the things we talked about when you were in Knoxville, I was like

asking, we were talking about moving and all this, and you still lived in Asheville at the time. And I remember what you were like, because again, you're headlining. I think you're awesome. You're, you know, five years in or whatever at that point. And so I'm like, you know, when are you going? And at the time, you're like, man, the thing about that is it takes like, it takes 10 years to have any traction in New York or L. You know, and like this has been going all right for me now, and that's like, you're hitting the reset button, and I just don't know, man, it's intimidating.

And I was, you know, and I was like, yeah, I'm sure it is. And I'm pretty sure I did, but, but, well, but this might be part, this might be part of it, though. But the fuck Joe's there. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, the story ain't over yet, though. By the time you moved up there, this had all already happened. So I probably did tell you all this. So you said all that, and then I don't remember how much later, but not too much after that, you did move to New York.

and I remember I was on Reddit one day shortly after you've been up there and Maria Banford was doing a ask me anything on Reddit and AMA and somebody asked her like who's one of your, you know, who's some of your favorite young up-and-coming comics or whatever and she said you and I took a screenshot of it and sent that to me. And I remember thinking at the time, it was like, this motherfucker, like he moved up there. It takes you two seconds. That's what I'm saying.

And then, you know, next thing I know, you're touring with Regan. do, you know, Radio City Music Hall and all that. And, like, so how did that play out for you, though, actually doing it, like, that mindset and then going up there? How was it compared to your expectations or? Yeah, I think sure. I think I was intimidating. I was like, I think shortly after I told you that, I was like, well, I'm just, I'm just never going to move to New York unless I just, because I'm never going to be making enough money to just, to just. I kept thinking I was going to get to a point where I could move there and people would be like,

yeah, all right, welcome to New York. Right. But I was just like, oh, no, that's just never going to happen. I need to either, it was basically going to age soon. I was like, I'm turning, I'm going to be 30 soon. I got to just move, even though I've done nothing to make me have heat there. So I just moved. And more and more, it helped them more and more friends were moving from Atlanta up there,

like Andy Sanford had moved up there, Steve Forrest had moved up there, Paul Hooper had moved up there And so I just moved And I was like I guess I'll just be broke there I guess I'll just be broke there Paul Yeah Hope for the best

And fortunately Fortunately After about a year Oh so yeah Fortunately Maria Bamford was asking me to open for her Around that time So in the first year I was able to do enough shows

Really in the first year Nothing happened though And so where I'm I was like, all right, I'm just about to lose all. I'm about to run out of any money that I could possibly have. And so I was just on a, really on the last leg. And somehow just kept sending five-minute tapes to people and somehow booked both John Oliver and the late late show. And then that, and then that immediately, what's the word, ballooned into, snowballed into Regan gigs and a half.

hour and a manager and an agent so that all fortunately for those for just sending out five-minute tapes desperately on my own was really and and really the guy I sent him out to was a guy I'd met at the laughing school festival in Atlanta so it was it was it was through meeting somebody at festivals right grinding on those five-minute tapes that I was able to get some momentum with TV stuff sure New York helped with getting a top five since most of your spots yeah and they want to know they want to know that you're in New York or L.A. Yeah, you're serious about it. They want to know that you're in New York, because if you're not there, they're like,

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where every day's a beautiful day to ride with 24-7 roadside assistance from America's number one motorcycle insurer. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates roadside assistance subject to policy terms and limits and they require comprehensive coverage. He's serious about this. Sure. It came by you in the ass a different way though. So I moved up there and to skip all the back story, the story is someone's like, oh man, that was great. Where do you live? And you go to York. And then they're like, me too or whatever. And then they're like, wait a minute. You must not. How long have you been there? Three years. And they're like, you must suck. I haven't heard of you by now, you know.

Oh, really? Like that I'd expect to, yeah. Caleb was talking about that when he was over here a couple weeks ago. I'm talking about people in, people in L.A. doing that to him. Still or whatever. I get that all the time. That boy. No, I get that all the time.

It's a huge ego knock and huge turnoff to whoever does it, you know? Yeah. They're like, oh, how long have you been in New York? You're like, seven years. They're like, oh. Yeah, and then they just like leave. You just sit there with that. Yeah, I get the opposite.

Whereas people are like, when I'm out here or I knew that. So where part do you, where are you at? I'm just like, Georgia. And they're like, the fuck? Like, what are you talking about? Hello, Atlanta? No. Chickamauga, Civil War Town.

Booming comedy scene. Going up almost every four months. You don't know how good you get having to make the north and the South last that I re-enact with, yeah, exactly. So, yeah, tell us about fucking tour with Brian Regan, man. What is that shit? How horrible do you feel after a show? Me and Cor just watched the night before last.

Right? The night before last, we watched... Walking on the moon. Yeah, again. And just cackled like fucking idiots. That dude is... He's just something else, man. He's unreal funny.

Because, like, he's like... He can make anything funny. Like, I don't know. He's just... He moves funny. Like, literally just walking around the... Like, not, like, doing an act out. Just moving.

He moves funny. During that album, I was like... I click it. I was like, anyone else says that that's not really that good. And then that's true. And then there's,

then he, then he, at the end of it, you're like, oh, that's brilliant at the end. But you'll say so many things. You're like,

that guy has just learned how to speak in this way. Yeah. Like he has comedy is a language to him. It's not just the jokes. It's just he's fucking funny. So what's it? Yeah. What's that like being on the road with him?

Going up in front of that guy, touring with that like what's great. Yeah. No, you're right. Comedy is like a language to him. The, the great news about him.

on top of everything else is that he is constantly like that funny offstage. I guarantee. That's what I'm saying. He's not like on. Right. You just get on the tour of us and he's just like sitting there and he's just like hunched over. Yeah. You know, eating, you know, eating like three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a row.

Got a giant glass of milk. And just like saying, just. telling you some hilarious story. The first week I worked with him, I just had to stop myself from every single thing he said. I just stopped myself from being like,

that would be a great bit. Because I would have said that after everything he said. Because he just speaks only in bits. He speaks in great bits. And I remember I finally said it to him some, I think we're having a drink and taking a long car ride to hang out at Charlie Good at Goodnights.

Yeah, I don't know. after a show. And he was telling a story about the worst gig he ever had where he was like the helper guy to this famous beer dog. And he was like, he was like spot the famous beer dogs. He was like his assistant. And they were paying him money to do that. And the worst gig he ever did going out in the center of a hockey arena.

And the dog came out. Everybody was like cheering because it was like their beard dog. I forget which beer dog. This is in the 80s or whatever. And then they're like, all right. And now the beer dog's assistant or whatever they said. And then he comes out and does five minutes of material. And they're just immediately just loud booze.

Yeah. Loud boos. And the story he told in the car was like 20 minutes long. And everybody was just dying laughing. The random limo driver is like trying to. had to drive off the road. It was that funny? And finally I was like, is that not a bit?

Yeah. And he's like, no, that's just something that happened. I can't tell. I mean, that's just a bad gig. I can't talk about that on stage. And then he did that on, this is not happening. And then he did that on this is not happening.

Thank God. He did that on this is not happening. Oh, good Lord. Yeah. Oh, good Lord. Yeah. And it was so, it was so relieving to Because that needed to be out there.

Heard him one of those offstage bits get on stage. Yeah. But yeah, he's just, he's just so funny offstage that, like, I'm doing Charlotte, the next Thursday through Saturday, I'm doing Charlotte, Raleigh and Louisville with him. And I'm just like, I'm just in a good move. What are you doing in Louisville? What room? Knowing that I, it's that, whatever the main theater is. What's the theater there?

We did the Brown. I don't, I don't know. Yeah, I would imagine. and it's a bigger one than that. I know that. I know it's not the fucking one we did. I'm aware that Regan's, you know, they've built a new one for him. Well, what are there?

He usually does anywhere from, it's usually anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 type venues. Well, the Browns, 1,500, you get it to. What's the biggest, what's the biggest or, I don't know, wildest venue crowd that you've been in front of opening for him? There's definitely 8,000 people at Red Rocks. Yeah. It's what I figured you were going to say. I see one show there. It was great.

Yeah. What the fuck was that like, man? Oh, it was so nice. It's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. And then you go out there and the laughs don't drift away outdoors like you think because of the giant red rock walls. Yeah. And I swear every punchline, every joke I told, it felt like the volume of the laughter was going to like, was like hitting me. It was so much.

much volume of laughter that there's just have 8,000 people laughing that hard. That's insane. And yeah. And so, and, you know, Brian is very self-deprecate and he's like, yeah, I mean, it's so beautiful out there. I could just be have horrible jokes and they'd be like happy to be there. So it's just a great place to perform. They're just like, oh, we're happy.

It's beautiful. And then they're just immediately dying laughing. Yeah. How much time do you do in front of him? Yeah, 20, usually 20. Was it dark by the time you got on stage at Red Rock? I think they had me go down as the sun was setting to time it so that it would be perfectly dark when he went on stage. So you were on stage at Red Rocks at Twilight, just crushing?

Yeah. That's pretty fucking rad, man. And it was, you know, there's been so many moments, after doing so many tough gigs, you know, hell gigs started out. There's been so many moments opening for him where, you know, the owner of comedy works will be standing there after you get off stage and be like oh that was amazing

we're gonna definitely have you and then they actually have you headline their club and like oh this is I didn't know comedy could be nice like this people telling the truth and giving you things yeah yeah weird but I yeah so so yeah and I will say about the South

starting on the South at first I was like oh I'm just I need to be somewhere else because I don't fit into the And now I go back to the South, and I'm like, oh, I love gigs in the South. These people are friendly. They're nice. They're smart.

I was just not as very good at comedy when I was. You also miss your crowd up. When I was one year in. I was going to ask, yeah, I was going to bring it back to that because, like, you know, we get asked about that type of thing a lot. And I mean, yeah, don't get me wrong. We all individually and as a group have done rough-ass shows in the South in front of what, in front of like what people are picturing the crowd.

Mike, like that has absolutely happened, but by and large, it wasn't that experience for me, for the most part. But, you know, I mean, again, I was doing the same type of shit I'm doing now, which is to say at least a hope different type of Southern or redneck humor, but that still had that one element that they could, you know, latch on to, I think. Like, you were, you know, very much doing your own thing. And I could, like, I could see it being a very different experience, especially in those clubs like you were talking about. But I thought when you go back now,

part of it is that the crowds are different. I don't think the people who are in the view were going to go to the Electric Cowboy for comedy. Even if they thought it would be somebody there. Electric Cowboy, not my scene, you know? Yeah, and like my first road gigs were like Paul Hoover would bring me to MC John the City Comedy Zone. Yeah, we've probably all done that.

Yeah, I did Capone. Capones. Okay. Yeah, and that's defunct. And so I'm not, it's not like I'm going back there and emceeing the Johnson City Comedy Zames. Right, right. It's a better crowd now.

No, I still have done. That was in a hotel, right? Yeah, I've done that one. I've done that one in Capons. Holiday. Yeah. I had a similar thing, except I didn't put a, you know,

successful tour with an album attached thing together like you did. Fucking bunderkins, but I, uh, but I did. Yeah. No one's not at that time. Not at, not, not, not. You said, you were doing those rooms. You were like, this isn't, this isn't, this isn't work.

But then you found another way to do it and go into those places where his was calculated you fell ass backwards Yeah, basically I know what you're trying to say I'm not your time I think you're very fucking lucky and don't deserve anything if that's what you're getting at The way it happened at sides did the right thing what you said about I didn't know I just thought I want to do comedy and there's a comedy club there Yeah, so I'll go to that yeah I had the exact same thought probably I had no idea same thing as like comedy club that's how it works yeah and until fucking side splitters fired me and drew basically No, no. Literally.

Same day. Same email. Yeah, they basically fired me. They definitely fired y'all. I meant that was basically the time I figured this out. They very literally fired us. But until that happened, until that happened, I never, I didn't, like, go outside of that at all.

And then because of that, I started doing those, these smaller, like, festivals and, you know, that type of thing. And, like, rooms like J.Js and shit. And I, and I was like, holy. Fuck, this is, this is nut because it was all like still in the South and Southern people, but it was like, you know, the better ones. And they're in there and I was like, oh my God, this is fucking way better. I mean, then I had fun.

And moved to New York and was like, oh, this is brutal. Yeah, I have a new respect for how tough, like, tough rooms in the North are. I'm a huge person. If you get, like, a Jersey crowd. Woo! I'm like, okay, I guess the Southern electric Cowboys actually aren't as bad as some of these Jersey Jersey crowd rooms. There's a bar in Woodside

called Donovan. It was my favorite bar in New York when I lived up there. They had a comedy show every six to eight weeks. And I found that out just by drinking with the bartender and got on the show that way.

It was one of those where like, you see the line up and you're like, huh, I don't know any of these guys. This is me doing to them when I was just complaining about people doing to me earlier, but I was like,

I don't even recognize their names. And then you see them and you're like, huh. And then you see the crowd. And I'm like, You start looking, it's like, what do I got? I get some stuff about my wife. Everybody's married.

I guess that might work, you know? Dude, there's so many comics. So many comics. I just did Comedy Magic Club the other night and ten comments on the lineup. They were all killing. Was Dale Jones there that night? He was just there the other night, too. He was not there.

Okay. But they were all killing, and eight of them I'd never seen or heard both before. Yeah. Well, I was just seeing that and going like, well, what is this room? And it ended up being one of those hard. Oh, yeah. rooms. Yeah, and the comics

you're talking about we're probably like, you know, Joey spaghetti. That's the mud flap of the north. Joey spaghetti. Joey spaghetti. Joe Spaghetti?

Yeah. Joe Spas. Yeah, Joe Spas. He crushes that circuit. Yeah, he does. Wait, so how did you both get fired

from, at the same day? The dumbest fucking thing. Have we told it on here? We probably told it out of him. Yes. And we always end up saying that Bobby Jewel is a piece of shit

and we hope he doesn't give us work in the future. He's the guy who owned it. I still stand by that, but I believe Joe knows. So, yeah, but Mike Capham played the Chattanooga Comedy Club to catch. And he was on his way to Knoxville and Sides Squatters wouldn't book him. So Matt Ward books him, the guy who run. Oh, yeah, Super Cat Matt.

Yeah. So he books him at a bar on a Wednesday before he's going to do a comedy catch on. On Wednesday. Side Squitters was not open that night at all. They had to open like every other Wednesday. This was an off Wednesday. Matt asked me to open for him. It was my anniversary, and I told my wife, I really like mine cap on a lot, and it's a fucking weeknight.

We'll go out of this weekend. No, I just want to do it, and we were going to go out of that weekend anyway. I just remember that because there was all these reasons for me not to do it. Yeah. But I wanted to do it. I wanted to open for Mike. I loved him. Like, we were, like, not allowed.

Oh, you were, oh, so. They never told me that. They never told me that. They never told me that. They never told me that. like immediately. I wasn't allowed to do shit like that. They told me, don't do any amount of word shows on a night.

We're open. Okay. And they weren't open this night. So you worked to size winners and you weren't allowed to do anything else. Yes. That was his story. In town. What they told him.

What they told me was you can do it if we're not open that night. Okay. They weren't open this. Yeah. So I went and I did the show or whatever. Before the show, Trey, I put that I was doing it. Trey shared it. shared his post on Facebook

my post that's it I'm doing the show and I said something like it's my anniversary so you know like that was my angle on the post

this is before he got so good at Facebook and uh yeah he was very bad at it then put a video up what an asshole we got an email

the next day the same email do they send it to us individually but it was copy face it we were both on it no no no we weren't both on it

they sent it to us separately but it was the exact same email and it just said She literally said, I'm tired of putting up with y'all's BS. Wow. Y'all. Like, so even though, like, anyway, the email was, you guys promote these shows,

and you know you're not supposed to do that, which I did not. And you don't really care about this place. And I finally have people who replace you, and I'm tired of putting up with y'all's BS. Y'all are arrogant. Don't come back. You're not welcome here anymore. And we both, I don't know about you, but I had at that point, I had like six months of work booked up there at that point as an MC.

And it just don't come back. In fairness, it was still all bullshit. It wasn't literally just the Mike Kaplan thing. It was, there was weeks for both of us of shit leading up to that with the manager there. But it was all similarly, it was all similarly ridiculous shit. You know what I mean? Like, my favorite was my mom, Jean's night. We were going out after a fucking, no, I have two favorite stories of her.

Mom jeans might have been my fault, actually. The other one wasn't. The mom jeans thing was we were fixing to go out or whatever. And after a thing, and she was going to go. She had this new boyfriend. She was trying to be fun. Bridget, I don't care of her. I don't care of her.

I hope you die. And she was like, is there a dress code or whatever? And I was like, yeah, they let people with mom jeans on in. And literally wouldn't talk to me for a month and a half. Like, she would look at me and go, Mom jeans and didn't run away. I'm like, all right, I insulted you, whatever. The other thing, though, uh, well, did you have a story?

I don't want to tell them. It was mostly just they had all these rules that were like arbitrary and dumb, but they were really uptight about like for the MC specifically, not for anybody else, but for the MC they had all these fucking rules. And like, me and him weren't the best at following those because they were stupid. And like,

they got, they got very, they would, just making this whole area about me. But it's so hard to start off in a city outside of New York or But I just thought that's how comedy worked. I had no idea. The one club just bullies the right.

I had no idea at all at that time how like, I only now understand how much bullshit that all is. We knew people from the comedy catch who have Michael down there. Michael's been the same owner for 25 years. He's way better than him, but he's very like fatherly. He's like, you might want to change your act this way because it's not like, because these rules. It's just more like, I think this would help you more. So I was like, well, that's the best you can do. and this is everybody else.

Yeah. Michael's thing to me was always like, if you're going to, like, if you want to do a show on a night that somewhere else that I'm working, that's fine. If you could just, if I'm not, if I'm open, just don't,

because I was their house, MC, just don't promote it or whatever. Like, if we're doing a special night. Other than that, he's like, I'd be a fucking asshole to tell you that you as a comedian

go do comedy, you know, like somewhere else. He never had that. But I worked the weekend before that Mike Kaplan, Wednesday. I had been at size players that week. and the last show of that weekend.

The very last thing I did was went up there and did a drawing, like a raffle from the comment cards on the table. Everybody feels out the comment cards, hands of them in. Last thing I do is go up there, draw one at random, and that person wins 20 free tickets to an upcoming show or whatever.

And the way, the rule was, you pull one out at random, you read the name, you bring that person on stage, give them the tickets, give it up for the winner, everybody. Everybody claps. They go back to their seat.

Thanks, come back next weekend. We love it. And show's over. So the last show of that weekend, Saturday night late, I went up and did that at the end of the show, pulled the card out, and when I read the name, the person was sitting in the very front of the stage. So she's two feet from me in her chair at the table right there. And I was like, oh, all right, give it up for Tammy, everybody, Tammy. And then I just, and she just, you know, does this, waves behind her.

I hand her the, the, whatever, the thing, the certificate. it. And I was like, all right, thanks guys. See. I walk off and, dude, she, Bridget fucking grabs me before I even get, like, out of the room and was just like, what the fuck was that shit, Trey? And I was like, what are you talking about? She was like, how many times I have to tell you, you know, because I hadn't brought the person up on the stage, which was supposed to be the way he did. And I was like, she was right there. Everybody saw her. And she was like, it's everything with you and Drew, you and Drew, I swear. It's fucking everything you got.

Most of it was him. I just kept getting roped into this shit, clearly. And I told her, and I said, I said, Bridget, give me my fucking check, and I'm leaving. She didn't care for me either, but I didn't live there. And then on that, and then three days later, whatever, on that Wednesday, I shared his Facebook post, and then, ban, we both got fired. You got me fired. It had nothing to do with mom jeans. Me telling her, she didn't have a real job.

Me telling her to kiss my ass. Her telling me to suck her dick. Me telling her to grow one. It had nothing to do with that. You got me fired. But up till that point, though, I just, yeah. I thought that's just what it was. I thought that's what doing stand-up was.

You know what I mean? Like, I thought, that's how a club, that's how it just went, you know. And then that happened. And I had to go out and do other shit. And I realized, like, oh, my God, this is all just so much better. It's so funny being in New York now, the people starting out who do well are almost the opposite of the people who do well starting out at a club. Uh-huh. At, like a side service room.

The people that do well is starting out. Science Photos type club are, you know, making this general audience laugh for the people who do well in New York are like, you know, this weird kid who's, who's, you know, half Moroccan, half Asian, who's telling things, saying things that you can barely understand. Because they're so unique. I wasn't the one when they felt that way about New York. They're so unique and weird. They're so unique and weird. And then industry is like, wow, this is a unique voice. What do you think about that as a comedian?

I mean, what's your take on that? I prefer it to, I prefer it to, you know, promoting every cowboy and magician to headliner, you know, in other places. But it's like, yeah, you live somewhere and then the juggler is immediately promoted to headliner. And you're like, man, I got to I got to figure out how to be as good as his juggler. But if you started in New York, it's like the really weird, bizarre person talking about, talking about... You can say autistic if it's real. I'm trying to think of an example.

Actually, I'll just say somebody who I really like. I'll say somebody who I really like. I just spaced on his name. That's fucking hilarious. It's an unforgettable performance. No, no. Here's somebody who I really like this. I'm not saying anything.

This is somebody who's great. Joseph Perra. Yeah, I was thinking of him. It's hilarious. And he's thriving in New York. But starting out, he's so shy when he talks into the microphone. He's so shy that if he was starting off anywhere else than New York, the bookers would be like, yeah, I mean, he's an open micer. Yeah.

We can't do anything with him. He's not, the audience is just going to. He's just stare at him. And in New York, industry's like, oh, he's hilarious, he's unique. Let's give him opportunities. And he's thriving. He has a show on Adult Swim. And he's got a huge following.

And he posts on Instagram about tomatoes all the time. And he's crushing it in New York. He was going to do that bit about Christmas trees, I think Fallon. No, Seth Myers. He's crushing it in New York. He's like telling you how to buy a Christmas tree. He's super sincere. It's hilarious.

know who that dude is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, right on. He's funny. And killing it. And if one of these bookers, one of these road bookers saw him starting off in, you know, anywhere else, they'd have been like, I mean, he's... What you do with this guy? You need to work on a stage presence. One of my favorite Maria Bampere bits of all time is the one where she talks about when she was first starting out and starting to get heat.

She would get booked to do the road. And she would sell a certain number of tickets. And then they would paper the room. to fill out the rest of them. So half the people there knew who she was and knew what to expect. And the other half were expecting a certain kind of comedy. And then she goes into an act out doing that kind of comedy. And that's why I loved it so much because it just reminded me of every other fucking comedian I ever heard in South.

But that, like, that happens at every level. But don't you think that, like, I mean, there's a middle ground there. I'm not familiar with Joseph Perra, but it sounds like he's awesome. So there's a way to, there's a version of that that's awesome. And that's great. and that would probably play in most places you get to write people in the room but like

I feel like there's a lot of that that happens with people that do really well in New York or L.A. or whatever. Just any real specific scene that I'm like, this shit would never play in... Not just Alabama.

No, anywhere. Yeah, in Minnesota. Industry town. Remember there's real people in Illinois. Yeah, wherever. Like it just wouldn't play and like... But just like comedians, there's good,

mediocre and bad bookers. I think what happens more often is that that person blows up and then they end up going on the road and you come to find out they've only got that 10 minutes that everyone thinks is so quirky and weird

and then they go up there and like oh this guy's great you gotta give them an hour half hour and it's dang got shit and that weirdness really wears off quick. I just think there's still a way and I think you do it man I think you I get the fucking

the weekend that I worked with you at sidespliers all those years ago I remember you fucking doing great I thought, like, in my mind, you absolutely eclips the hell out of that other motherfucker. And like, but, like, you were, like, I'm certain made everybody forget about him. Without a doubt. No, he did. I fully believe that there's a way to be, to be both, like, to do well in, you know, in New York or L.A.

and then also go out on the road in Kansas City into a club and fucking just, and murder. You've met me, haven't you? I don't know if it's because you, as Corey referenced, fell asses. backwards into fame, but I'm saying we're talking about how it's changing. To me, like those people, he's taught. I'm not, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying, I'm just using him as an example of

you can do both. It doesn't have to be one of those two in my opinion. It doesn't have to be the juggler in, uh, in Peoria. And, or it doesn't have to be the super quirky Moroccan kid in Brooklyn. You know what I mean? I'm so glad you said Moroccan. I don't want to see this dude's 10. I do too.

I'm sure. 20. But like, to be fair, I want to say. the juggler. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I'm saying I think you can take,

you can, you know, bait the Moroccan with the Polish man. It's just a, it just, it just messes with your mind because you start off elsewhere. They're looking for people

that make a general audience laugh and they could care less if this person builds a following. And in New York, they could care less about whether they can make a general audience laugh.

Right. And they're just trying to figure out, oh, does this person, could this person get a niche following. And they could care less if they make a general room laugh. So it's like almost opposites of what they're right. The other thing I just realized is the most successful

people from respective places are the opposite oftentimes. Not every time, but like you think of like the Todd Barry, Colin Quinn, of course he ended up getting a show. Big J. O'Kerson. Just years in New York learning how to make people laugh. I mean, he did develop a following eventually,

but like just making people laugh. That's what he got. He wasn't just the dude in New York. And then Southern Mama, who we have lamented on this fucking show. He sucks. He's just a guy who could get a following. You know what I mean? It's just, I don't know.

It's like it's ass backwards somehow. Well, I mean, yeah. I mean, the way to do it is, ideally you're funny and then you figure out a way to get a following. But every now and then, I guess there's, well, there's mostly funny people that don't get a following. Yeah. And then every now and then there's not funny people

that figure out how to get a following. But it's rare. I think it's rare that that happened. But I don't know the thing about Southern Mama. Well, I feel like we probably feel like it's more common than it actually is because we often get lumped in with that because people don't. Because people don't know that we, you know, we're doing comedy for years before all that shit or whatever for the most.

I mean, more and more people do now, but especially early on, people had no idea. So like those people you're talking about, even though it being rare, are the ones that pop and get some big following and now they could sell tickets, but they're not even comedians, but they can sell tickets. So now they got a tour. You know, people didn't know that we weren't just that. Still very down a lot of, yeah. And so I think we probably feel like it's more common than it is. But.

Us, bias, not a chance. But yeah, I mean, what's your, how do you, I mean, you seem to be pretty, uh, like. laid back about that whole thing. I'm level-headed, sure of yourself, mentally healthy. I feel like a lot of comics are like really bothered by that whole deal, which I get. I don't know.

I was on the Brian Regan's tour bus. I didn't have the internet on it. I'm not, I am not bothered at all about it because I have tried. I am, I think that it's harder to get a following than anything else that's out there. Because people make, people, people, people, there's, there's comics that'll,

knock, oh, you know, internet fame. But I have tried Twitter. Yeah. Nothing. I have tried Instagram. You know, I enjoy it, but it's not like I'm developing some massive following. I have tried making funny videos and people are like, lo, lo, lo, you know, but it's got, you know, 700 views. It's so hard to do the internet. it. So I'm like, if you figure that out, then that is a whole different level of an impressive thing that you're doing. And it's the thing that matters the most is to build a following. Okay, that last part for sure. But the thing you said before that, can I be honest with you, at least from my perspective, I didn't figure shit out, man. That shit just like,

that shit just happened. I can't stress enough to you how stupid he is. Look, look, I thought, I don't know. I didn't figure nothing out. I just thought, this is a thing I want to try. I didn't expect shit to happen from it. And I've been surprised by anybody. In your defense, you got lucky, but you've come with it afterwards. Like, once you got lucky, you have been really good.

I don't know 100% agree with that. That he's been good. Yeah. I don't know like that. Swinging a miss, fucker. Really crawled up as a list. No, it hit home for me on Tide Vices podcast when he was talking about how he knew. you had skill because of the way the video was structured or whatever.

And look, that doesn't mean that it was automatically going to go viral. It was definitely luck to a certain extent. But there's skill there. I don't know. I just feel like plenty. Not only, sometimes you see an internet act, quote, unquote, and you see them live and they suck. Sometimes you see an internet act and they build a following for a few videos. And then that falls apart because they suck, you know?

And it took you two years before you ran out a good idea. Well, I think it was skill, Trey. Because I saw you... I think it was skill too. I saw you at the Red Clay Comedy Festival. Killing. I was like, oh, shit. Yeah, that was a great show.

I saw Tray. I was there at Tray's first MC week, and then I'm like, oh, damn, now he's, like, crushing it. And this was before your Facebook successes. And then you had that closer that involved a liberal redneck. Uh-huh. And so you had the bit, and then you... realize that you should do that on the internet.

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what happened. Yeah. So you built a kick. Yeah, so it makes sense that that. And, and you owe, most people would strike out on that character because they probably wouldn't have smart things to say. Sure. About politics.

But you actually know your shit. So you, yeah, so it makes sense. It makes sense that it's a hell. Yeah, so. What do you have to make sense of this? I know. The Indians don't like compliments. No, they don't.

He does, yeah. Absolutely. He's just faking, being humble. Being humble, is it, like, is there, is there? I don't know. I don't know anything about it, Corey. No, you know a lot about words. Not that one.

Humility, never heard of it. So, right. So, this is coming out on, this will be coming out this Wednesday. So, where are you about to be? You got anything to pull up? Yeah, give us some plugs. We talked about the album. I'm reading shows that are already sold out.

Oh, this Wednesday. Yeah. So I do, I'm excited about the album, Innocence October 12th, available everywhere. And then, about the justice system, kind of year in the net, but about. Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of tragedy.

Recorded at the Vermont Comedy Club, y'all's home club. Yes, yeah, where we came up. Vermont. October 12 is my big one, and then my new podcast, a great listening experience I'm excited about. With a great writer and comedian.

Tom Kyle, British man. And I can go ahead and tell you right now, I've personally, well, I think I said this, I've listened to it. I haven't finished the latest one, which was about growing up. Isn't that what it was, or allowing yourself to still be a child? Yeah, you're having fun as an adult. Having fun as an adult is what it's called. So I can attest, I really enjoy this podcast.

And I'd like to say, Joe, I think this has been a great listening experience. This episode is incredible. Check out Joe's stuff. He is phenomenal. Thanks very much, buddy. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. What a pleasure.

All right. We'll see y'all next time. We're hacks. There it was. Thank you all for listening to the well-read show. We'd love to stick around longer, but we got to go. Tune in next week if you got nothing to do. Thank you, God bless you, good night, and skew.