WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1554 - Stavros Halkias

Episode Date: July 8, 2024

Stavros Halkias titled his Netflix special Fat Rascal in part because he doesn’t know any other reality than a life with addictive food issues. Marc is no stranger to addiction or food-based trauma, so he can relate. But both Stavros and Marc can also still get really excited talking about Greek food and their love of diners. Stavros explains the food connection with his heritage, the formative moments of his life in Baltimore’s Greektown, and how he shares an unpleasant connection with Marc’s past in Astoria, Queens. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Sarah Milroy, Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinberg. If you love Impressionism, you'll love what we have on view this summer at the Gallery. River of Dreams, Impressionism on the St. Lawrence, features more than 150 sublime works by some of Quebec's most beloved artists. Join us for a journey down the St. Lawrence and see how Impressionism flourished in this country a century ago. Buy your tickets today at mcmichael.com, home to the art of Canada. Be honest.

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Zensurance. Mind your business. All right, let's do this. How are you? What the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck Canadians? How's it going? Where we at? I'm mark Maron. This is my podcast. Welcome to it. I'm uh, I'm obviously you can tell I'm in Vancouver I was back in LA for a bit now I'm up here for a bit and I'll be back there for a bit just gonna be the way it's gonna be and I know On some level it may seem I've been a little ungrateful or a bit whiny or maybe a bit Complainy in terms of me kind of reckoning or wrapping my head around the job of acting.

But there's been some breakthroughs people. And I know, I know so many of you are so invested in, you know, how I handle my life or reconcile the choices I make with actually doing what those choices entail, and there's just, there's been some movement. There's been a bit of movement up here in Canada all of a sudden, and it's good. And I think that talking it out with you and talking it out with other actors

and talking to myself and to Kit, that I start to understand my tone a little more and sometimes move away or get distracted from a general sense of gratitude that on some level, I am not the luckiest man in the world, but I've definitely landed in a good place. And there was some part of me that thinks, dude, you better shut up.

You better shut the fuck up. But then what would I have to say? It's completely contradictory to saying things, which is how I make my living. But there are some things I should shut up about. Look, today on the show, we have Stavros Halkeis, who is a very funny guy who I didn't know. And I just liked he's a, he's a comedian. Obviously. Um, he hosts the podcast, Stavvy's world.

He has a recent Netflix special out and I don't know what it is. Like I started, like I, I'll tell you exactly what it was. His reason the new specialist called fat rascal. I'll tell you exactly what it was. The new special is called Fat Rascal. And a while back on TikTok, I did sort of a mock crowd work bit that made fun of crowd work comedians in general who may or may not be able to actually do the job of a comic

but we live in an era where publicity is actually the content. Publicity is actually the thing you're working on. That is what, that's 50% of your job, it seems for some comics, and that's just the way it is. That what do you do? I'm a comedian, but mostly I'm in publicity for myself. Fine. But I made a little mock thing, then somebody commented that it seemed like something Stavros would do, and then I started to go down a little bit of a Stavros rabbit hole, and I realized I liked the guy, and I thought he was funny,

and I thought he was an authentic guy, and then I watched his special, and I still enjoyed him. I liked him, and I thought like, I'd like to sit down and talk to this guy. I don't know his whole story, I didn't know it going in, I know more now, I didn't know the world of comics he comes from, from really a bit, but I'm finding that I'm a bit out of the loop in general

because I'm old. I'm two or three generations away from these guys and gals. And I can't keep up. But lately, I've been, because the show has been moving, yeah, we've done a lot of episodes, and we've been going since 2009. And a lot of the people I talked to then were just in their 20s, young comics. So there's several generations that I haven't really talked to.

So I've been trying to sort of get on board or, you know, feel the pulse of the world or watch some new stuff. And I found some people and it's just seems to be happening. I do like talking to comics. I just don't know a lot of them. So Stavros was of that generation, and I got a couple other ones coming up that are just new comics.

And it's good for me to watch, get out there, and sort of see what's funny, who gets me going. And this guy's one of them, and we had a lovely chat. Before I forget, I'll be in Tucson, Arizona at the Rialto Theater on Friday, September 30th. I'm in Phoenix at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday, September 21st. You can go to WTFpod.com for all the dates.

Some of them might have to be moved, but don't freak out. If anything is ever rescheduled, I will make it a point to redo it. It's just life gets a little complicated and large and things come out of the woodwork that I have to do and that's just the way it is, the way it works, the show business I'm in. So I'm up here in Vancouver talking about breakthroughs and I'm trying to track the things that led up

to wherever my head's at now because all of a sudden my brain is on fire. I'm generating a lot of thoughts and things and writing things down. I know that I'm in sort of a creative zone if all of a sudden I have a lot of pieces of paper, folded up script pages that I'm using as blank papers. You know, never anything organized, never a notebook,

never the notes saying on my phone, none of that. It's just scribbling. I'm always very hyper aware that I need a pen constantly, even if I don't use it. Always have a pen, fucked up a few shirts. That's the downside of having a pen. Is that the old man didn't close it, didn't pull in the point.

And look, now look what you did, you ruined another shirt. But nonetheless, last week or so, last few days really, a lot of fucking generating's going on, a lot of things are happening in my head and it's exciting when it happens because you can't, I can't always make it happen. And something has shifted in my attitude about what, what's going on, you know, in my life and about acting and about the work I'm doing, because I'm doing a lot of jobs. I do the podcast, I do the standup, I do the, the, this job acting, but I don't know, something gave way, something about Canada Canada something about what I love about being up here

in the past and why I've always found it a tremendous relief the weight of the menace and psychic fucking malignancy of America is not here and I always recognized it and felt it in a in a way and I've talked about it with you There is just a load off. But that was only coming up here for a few days, but now that I'm spending real time here, and I've kind of pushed myself out into the world, even though I'm alone, being alone for a weekend

or a day or whatever in a strange town to do a road gig where you can just sort of go out and get something to eat, see a new thing, go to a museum or something, you know, that kind of comes and goes, because you just go home. But to really dig in and, you know, push myself out into the world here, it's starting to kind of get comfortable. I don't love being alone for long periods of time.

You know, it's hard to motivate to just go out and do stuff when you're alone. I find that that you know, usually as I've spoken about before what happens is I'll I'll end up at a Whole Foods or a supermarket or buying this and that and or I'll end up you know chasing uh nicotine pouches, you know food and nicotine. That's the driving forces right now but it's all in the process of waiting for, for something to catch my brain and, and, and run with it. And that's sort of happening. And what happened with the acting recently, because I've talked about how long

you have to wait to do your bit is I think I've finally shifted my perception about spending time alone about what the process of putting a TV show or a movie together is my part what the process of putting a TV show or a movie together is, my part in the process, and also trying to use that time a bit. And it just happened out of necessity. So I didn't get myself all worked up into some kind of resentful state of this or that, of sort of like, uh, lack of gratitude or just, you know, aggravation in terms of waiting. And a couple of things happened that, you know, made me realize it. It was sort of a unfolding of things.

You know, I was home for a few days and I wasn't supposed to be on set last week. So I wanted to stay a couple more days in LA because I wasn't working. And then there was just this process of like, they wouldn't release me because the weather's erratic up here through conversations. It was like, well, look, we can't release you

in under 24 hours. So I just learned how to deal with that. But the real revelation was really just that, look, you know, I'm being paid to do this job. This is what the job is. This is like the context of it. You know, deal with it. It's not some imposition, it's an opportunity.

Okay, so that was, I should have known that, and that was kind of piece one. And then like when I do come back up here, I came back up on Thursday to do one scene on Friday. And it was, you know, towards the end of the shoot day, you know, my pick up time was like 3.30, four, in the afternoon, I drove out to the set, and it was really just me exiting the RV in a situation.

It was really just a shot of me exiting the RV that is a big part of the show. And there's a situation around that. And it seemed like on the page that there was nothing really there other than they need this shot because I gotta walk out, it's part of the story. But within the scene, which was literally probably

12 seconds, 15 seconds of screen time, you know, I impulsively but deliberately made some choices of action. And this is really talking about, you're talking about 15 seconds and you know, my job is to act this thing and to be in this character and to do what this character does. And then there's party that thinks like, oh it's like 15 seconds. I mean, what is there to do? And I made some decisions about that 15 seconds and they were impulsive, but, but, but choices to, to sort of land this

non-speaking 15 second moment of exiting a vehicle. And it was a good choice. Well, I don't want to spoil for anybody. It's not some big major thing that you'll notice, but I noticed it because there was business there. There was business that was in character and it was subtle, but it was it was what was needed to land that little piece of this show. And all of a sudden I realized, oh that's that's it. That's how you got to look at this. You got to look at it as bits on some level. Each of these scenes are their own little moments or minutes that have an arc and that have a landing place.

And your job is to figure out how to put that together within the character you're doing and to sort of land it. And you can feel that. And I realized, well, that's it then. And I kind of knew it, but I know it more now that the job, even I guess whatever job you're doing, even if it's a small job, there's that moment where there's the arc of process.

And then all of a sudden there's that moment where you land the fucking thing, even if it's 10 seconds. You know what I mean? So that was kind of good because it shifted my disposition around even small bits and pieces to be like, well dude, think of it as a bit, make the bit work. And that was a big breakthrough. I don't know if you give a shit,

but that was a big breakthrough. Having a good work-life balance is something we all want, but it's easier said than done. One a good work life balance is something we all want, but it's easier said than done. One way you can get there is by getting rid of some of those extra tasks that take up time during your week. We did that years ago when we started using stamps.com to take care of everything related to mailing and shipping.

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Sign up with the promo code WTF for a free special offer that includes a four week trial plus free postage and a free digital scale. No long-term commitments or contracts. Just go to stamps.com, click the microphone at the top of the page and enter code WTF. Okay, so what happens? There's this place, Stanley Park down here.

It's a huge park and there's a walk around it. Like just a walk, it's like a six mile walk, couple hours, two, two and a half hours. And I just head out with the AirPods and listening to Bikini Kill because I want to wrap my brain around Bikini Kill for reasons that are obvious. And you know, and I'm just thinking and my brain just sort of, it just opens up, it unwinds.

I have these moments where I'm thinking about the script I'm working on with Lipsight, you know, based on his book, I'm thinking about the standup, I'm thinking about the acting choices, I'm thinking about the guests I'm going to talk to, all this stuff, and everything is just sort of, brain is wide open. And I have a moment where I'm turning a corner on the trail and I see these giant, you know, container ships. And I have this weird kind of existential moment

where I realized I really don't understand much of anything. And that was brought on by the fact that like, how do those things even float? It seems heavy. Look, that's an answerable question. I'm sure it's got something to do with design and, and the amount of air ratio against the water. Like there are answers to that, but I'm like, I really don't know. It seems like a miracle. And for some reason that was humbling. And I just finished a hike and I'm just like jamming. My brain has got all these different things in it,

all these different topics. And I'm like, well, I'm going to this club tonight on Saturday, this comedy underground. Maybe I'll just put out a little story on Instagram to see how many people I really see those in Vancouver and just get a few fans down there. So we, you know, it sold out. They had about 50 people down there and there's a big show

and I went out in the middle for about 15, 20, but I was working new shit in a way that is not always, you know, it's, it's hard to do in, in, uh, in, uh, just a regular comedy club. You need a workout space. I usually do that kind of stuff at dynasty typewriter. Uh, you know, just find the free, the free zone where I can like kind of move through stuff. And I did a lot of that and I realized like, well, you know, just find the free, the free zone where I can like kind of move through stuff. And I did a lot of that and I realized like, well, this is, these audiences are great. Here's the

fucking thing about Canada and my observation about Canadians or just what I'm experiencing is that they're, they're, you know, decency still exists here, culturally, in Canada. Yeah, for a lot of reasons, and I can try to explore it or speculate, but the people here, because of the tone of the culture, are just, they're decent people, and they're polite people, and I'm not saying everybody, and there's certainly their problems,

but there is sort of an openness and a lack of aggressive entitlement and self-servingness and need to disrupt or be a fucking dick shamelessly, it's not up here. Those are all sort of byproducts of the cultural condition of America and it just isn't here. So there was a moment where, you know, I can make judgments about people by their appearance in terms of like, oh, that guy looks like he's gonna be difficult, but I'm always wrong up here. And there was just a space up here where it's,

they're engaged, this was my experience, and it's possible to sort of push through ideas and without the weight of the constant garbage that is particles of the air, like rikey and orgone. There's just this unspecific thing in the fucking air in the states that just doesn't hear, it just isn't here. There's just something about it. And I just, I felt like, well, this is it, man. You know, you weren't

romanticizing, you know, this idea of Canada. This is culturally more, I don't know if it's advanced, but more just down-to-earth and decent and tolerant. And it was just like a major breakthrough. It's very exciting. So here are the beats. I'm grateful for my job. I have found a way to experience focus and joy within what I'm doing in my role

and my appreciation for what really is my experience of Canada in terms of the people and the possibilities exploded. And along those, all those lines, my brain was jamming for the last three days. And I probably got about a good 20 minutes of ideas to kind of fuck around with on stage. So if you're invested in my process or my progress, that's where we're at. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Squarespace has been one of our trusted sponsors for years.

But they also support the show in another big way by powering our website, WTFpod.com. And you can do the same with Squarespace, whether you're just starting out or refreshing what you already have. Squarespace makes it easy to set yourself up with a beautiful website and get all the tools that will help you engage with your audience. They have a completely new design system called Squarespace Blueprint and that's where you'll get started. Build your online presence from the ground up with layout and style options that make your site look great. Then get to work on all the added features like a video library with Squarespace video editing tools.

You can set up checkout options to make buying things on your site quick and painless. And use Squarespace AI to help write descriptions on any of your pages. Go to squarespace.com slash WTF for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use the offer code WTF to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain that's squarespace.com slash WTF offer code WTF get started today all right here we go Stavros Halkeis great guy funny guy real, authentic guy. His podcast, Stavi's World, is available on all podcast platforms and he has a members-only feed on Patreon.

His Netflix special is called Fat Rascal and this is him and I hanging out. I'm Sarah Milroy, director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinberg. If you love Impressionism, you'll love what we have on view this summer at the Gallery. River of Dreams, Impressionism on the St. Lawrence, features more than 150 sublime works by some of Quebec's most beloved artists. Join us for a journey down the St. Lawrence and see how Impressionism flourished in this country a century ago. Join us for a journey down the St. Lawrence and see how Impressionism flourished in this country a century ago.

Buy your tickets today at mcmichael.com, home to the art of Canada. Picture this, you're at a picnic with pals and bam, you suddenly feel unwell. But going to the clinic, not the ideal weekend plan. Well, those days are over. Maples Virtual Care has got your back, with 24-7 access to licensed doctors and nurse practitioners within minutes.

Need a diagnosis or prescription? Sorted right from your phone, right in time for your next picnic. Download the Maple three years and I'll do it anyway. Anyway it comes, but not cigarettes anymore. And like, look, I know about what drugs and addiction are, right? So I got these and I put one in I'm like oh these are great They got a nice pace to them. Yeah Yes, right, I'll probably do like four or five a day Yeah, yeah, and the next thing you know I'm stockpiling them because you can't get flavors here anymore, so I go to town

I'm bringing flavors on and then here's how you know you're a fucking drug addict is you start finding the used ones? Just around like you know under a pillow Yeah, I'm the ground. Yeah. Well. You know it's like what how are these getting? Yeah, it's it's some version of just empty bottles around the house. I understand I fully understand I mean, I am a straight food addict. That's my main thing and I know fucking love it I know the like easy slide Really where it's like oh well I can get yeah bacon. Yeah, this chicken. You know what I mean? It's where it's like, oh, well I can get bacon, all this chicken, you know what I mean?

It's like, it's fine, I have the calories, I'm putting it in my fitness tracker app, you know? And then it's like, and then it just slowly, slowly goes and you're up to two pints of Ben and Jerry's a day and you're getting whole sandwiches of side dishes. The mental gymnastics it takes to do like, hey, I'm gonna actually get tenders instead of fries, because they're both fried, so that cancels out.

And white chicken breast, that's healthy. And then you don't think about a sauce, it's fucked up. I'm trying to get my shit, it's so hard to just, I'm trying to get on the rails with my eating right now. I get the addiction thing, I truly do. Well, oddly, and I don't know if you're gonna believe me, but I have massive fucking food issues. I can see that. You know, just mentally.

Yeah. But I go the other way, I'm more like, I'll go into total restriction and just crazy control freak shit. Yeah. But I used to do the two know the two pints my mother was like had eating disorder So I was brought up with it right like when most kids were you know learning how to read you know books I was you know calorie counting I learned how to do yeah really yeah No, she you know she had yeah, she you know I was that kid and my mom would be like, where's the husky section? Interesting. So, were you a fat kid or no?

Just a little chubby. Just a little chubby. But when you have an anorexic mother, like any bit of fat. We had a kid growing up like that where it was like they would like, it was fucked up where I think his mom was fat. Yeah, that's what my mom was and then got.

Got super skinny and then, well, she married some guy who was just an abusive abusive fucking horrible piece of shit Yeah, and that was that spurred her on to lose weight and right I was like, oh, this is how you treat people now And so it was like I was fat as shit. It was great cuz I would go to their house Yeah, and her like weird, you know, yeah mom like these kids we'd be eating like Oreos Yeah, her their mom would come in and they'd be like fuck They'd start getting like scared dude. They would not be like what the fuck's the big deal and they it was awesome because they did I I don't know. I had some perverse because my mom was the bad I mean my mom we have addiction issues in our side of the fan and her side of the family from drinking

Yeah, and I don't think she put it together She thought as long as you aren't drinking you're fine, right? So I think she has food issues and I think I definitely got those and my dad has his own stuff. But my mom was just a super, like a caricature of Eastern European loving mother. Snacks, treats, bakes. My friends would come over and she'd bake shit.

Oh, constantly. So she never, I never had any, I had the opposite of body issues. For my family, so. My mom used to hide, my dad, who's a fucking nut, he was allowed to eat cookies and ring dings or whatever. Yeah, oh, interesting. So she would hide them. My mom was like, there's a story that my cousin tells

where he was out visiting us in Albuquerque where I grew up, and there was a party the night before and there was half a chocolate cake left. And the next day he wanted to go have a slice of the chocolate cake and my mother was just like shoving it into the garbage disposal. Like she would just eat and throw things away. Well I get that too because there's no,

I know the feeling of throwing it away isn't doing anything. Like I'm so weird with food, I can't throw anything. It to smell pretty bad because I like I try to cook, you know for myself and cook healthy but but here's the thing about the The addiction part with the ice cream because I used to do it like and like for me with dairy It's like it becomes about my heart now I'm totally vegan. Yeah, which is which I used to do a bit about this which I it's I used to say It's an ideological eating disorder. Yeah, oh wow, completely. Which I used to do a bit about this, which I used to say it's an ideological eating disorder. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Right, so, you know, but Ben and Jerry sing, I would do that, I would plow through a pint or two pints, but that feeling you get, because you know. Yeah. Like that whole fucking, I did a bit on it years ago, where you know, you do the thing where I'm like, I'm just gonna have a little bit and put it away. Of course, come on.

But then you come back and then. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then at some point you just got to like just enjoy it you fuck Yeah, yeah, yeah, and that feeling of keep going totally Halfway in you don't even want anymore, but it's like what I'm gonna get up and put it away Yeah, but at that point it because and then you trick yourself that you're like well. I don't want it I'm just don't want to put it back and so so that gets you through, that lets you push through to the next level. So then you're like, oh yeah, four spoonfuls in, I'm back in baby. I just needed that little boost to fucking get me through.

So, but like how, where are you with it now? I'm just, I am just, I am tracking my eating just because I feel like I need to get kind of what do you use to do that? My fitness pal. Oh, yeah, I was using that yeah. I love doing that yeah I used to do fucking Weight Watchers back in the old dude. I was a Weight Watchers kid I had it with some numbers which is the numbers the numbers the best system I don't even know what the fuck they're doing over there now. Yeah, I just like the math of it It's like an equation. It's fun of control

Yeah, and then you figure out you know how many no-point foods you can eat Yeah, and then you just fucking eat and like you know raise you on great. Yeah, yeah shit like that I remember I had I was like the fat little mascot of cuz I was a boy Yes, my mom and that was like my mom was just trying to cuz my I never got it for my mom But you know the world right you're gonna get body image issues from the world, even if it isn't from getting it home. So when did you start with the fat? Oh, dude, there's never been, you know,

there's never, I don't know any other reality. I don't know, I mean, I do think the, I trace it back to, I went to public school in Baltimore and my mom would give me milk money in a very classic way, but what she didn't realize is that there was, you could just, people were giving away milk. I went to public school in Baltimore, and my mom would give me milk money in a very classic way. But what she didn't realize is that there was, you could just, people were giving away milk. Nobody fucking wanted milk.

So there was a table that gave away milk, and there was an old Greek lady that was just selling unregulated pastries. That was her job, she sold the children. They just let her in, she's not an educator, no credentials. Street pastries? Yeah, just out of her fucking dirty tins

from like the 40s probably. This woman was ancient in the 90s, right? So, and she's just selling little brownies that she made and that's how she's making ends meet. It's kind of crazy that the school system just let this woman who was not affiliated with, not a teacher. And this is a public school?

Public school. And I would take my 25 cents and get a brownie every day. Yeah. And I never told my mom, because the milk was free, I could finesse my way into a milk. But she wouldn't have, would she have had a problem with it?

I think she just wouldn't have given me, she would have been like, it's for milk. No quarter. It was, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, she would have taken it back. Yeah. And it was more just like, well you don't need that kind of thing.

She wouldn't, you know, she wouldn't. But it was like, and then I just that's probably I'm talking first grade. Yeah, and I got on a cupcake or brownie a day fucking street You know you found the brownie and that's the big I mean I was always a husky kid and there Yeah, and then it was just like you know and then I was you know I just and then I just been on the road so long, and it's completely fucked my life up. Can be bad out there.

Yeah, no, no, I mean it's great. For food, I mean. I mean, like, cause like you can't, like now I'm doing the vegan thing, it's like, it's impossible, because all these vegan places are like vegan junk food, so they're trying to make hamburgers and fried shit. But like, even if you try to eat healthy on the road,

if you don't go to that whole food salad bar and just fucking manage it, everything's just soaked. I don't even know how it happens. But you eat anything at a restaurant. It's like they inject calories. You don't even know why. Oil, butter, the thing I like about tracking calories right now is because

it just reminds me what a portion is Oh, yeah, like I cooked it I cooked a ribeye and I was so pumped that been good for weeks I was like, let me grill a little steak And I measured it out and I fucking started crying because it was like a third of the steak and I have my whole evening I'm like, let's go like a bone in boneless Nice big cut, you know, dry-aged, the good shit. And I fucking, and I was like, I measure out my potato,

and I'm like, this is great. Now let me just get, I'm sure it's not gonna be as big as I like. It was one third of the steak that I would usually eat. And to be fair, every time I would eat a steak like that, I'm in pain for, you know what I mean? It's like you're sweating. But you ate it all, right?

I actually did, I'm good now, I mean, you know. Yeah? Right now, I'm in the zone. What'd you ate it all right. I actually did I I'm I'm good now I mean you know yeah right now. I do with the rest of the cooked steak It went in the fridge, and I sliced it up and I sandwich a little sandwich the next day a little open face We have a little avocado in healthy oils Pure fat yeah, yeah It's also very easy cuz I got fat as hell to just as long as you're not bigger than now This yeah, this is it. I mean you're seeing this is the top right?

I mean, I'm down 20 pounds to what I was great a month a couple months ago Yeah, but that was the thing where I was like Jesus fucking and when you're so in the zone with I Just had like I just got successful in a way. I'd never expected to yeah And it was like I my health and everything else in my life stopped mattering and I was like, let's see I guess let's push it. I guess I can just be Like I got the money. I truly could not believe I was doing theater Like it was the first like I did it to her last year and I was like I was confused the first like four months I was like every time I'm like why are we doing these like I'm

asking my like my agent like why are you doing why am I not in the club? Yeah but you're on stage going are you sure you're in the right place? Dude and my fans are dirtbags and they're in these chandeliers I'm a piece of shit yeah we don't belong there and it was like I just couldn't believe anything that was happening for so long so I was like I guess I'll keep doing this and you know as soon as you get any success, you're like, well I can't stop or, no way.

This is my window. Yeah, exactly. Well I mean, you gotta think about it like that, I think. You know, and I. I think unfortunately you do. And so I guess my hope is, and so I just got, I just let into all my fucking, all my vices, I just let them ride,

because I needed to get through that. Like what'd you do, like what else? You know, I mean. Did you buy a car? Eating, what car eating was that you buy a car. I didn't buy no no I mean just like on while travel food food. I'm just getting nicer play. You know I'm staying in nice hotel Why first you know flying first? Yeah? Well it started as a luxury and then it became like I'm not You know put me in fucking I'll kill myself If I like I'm not just for me for the guy next to me. Like there's no worse, sometimes I, you know, certain weird cities you gotta fly southwest and there's no funnier feeling than it's a full flight.

I'm in the back, I got an aisle, and the guy, the people that just, you watch them realize their fate. When they see the empty seat next to me, then you see them fucking panic and look around, they look behind them and you know, you can't go. People see and they just start sitting down and they're like, fuck, it's me and him the whole time. And I don't wanna be, you know, if I could, people talk about like fat people should buy two seats.

I would love to buy two seats. Yeah. There's no, you can't just go like two seats, please. Yeah. You know, that's not a fucking option on any website. Do you have to ask for the special seatbelt thing? I don't. I do a move where I just wear a loose sweater over top. Yeah.

Leave enough plausible deniability that it's buckled. They don't want to bring it up. I don't want to bring it up. You know, I'm nice to them. I strike up a rapport with them. I'm not a dick, so then if, like, if push comes to shove, and I've even seen them, like, and here's what I've learned, the nice thing, you can't make it obvious. So if it's swinging on the side, you gotta tuck it in. You gotta tuck it under your butt, you know what I mean? You gotta use your flaps to hold it in place

so that the stewardess can't see it. She knows it's not buckled. She's a wear-how- fat you are, she knows the length of their seatbelt, so I try and like, you know, I'm like, what is the seatbelt really gonna do? I'm jammed in here pretty good. If somebody doesn't need it, it's me, you know? Oh, it's brutal asking for that.

Or when one, you get a real new stickler that really wants to, that really wants to. I'm sorry sir, but we have to. Come on, what are we doing? Yeah, yeah, they gotta walk down, now you're in the know back of the plant you gotta walk down the aisle with the strap The strap is brutal. I just got to get out of the strap zone That's the first I have such my health goals have gone from like be ripped to like do not need extra Material to fasten your airplane seatbelt

It's that it's I want wanna be able to go to Thailand with that, say I wanna go to Thailand with everybody, assuming I'm a sex criminal, because you can't be a fat guy in a Hawaiian that says he wants to go to Thailand. It looks, the beaches look nice. I hear it's beautiful. Yeah, so anyway, it's like very manageable,

small stuff I'm trying to get to. But like in this, like, well, I mean, you're the generator, like, there's part of me coming into this interview because like, well, I mean, you're the genera, like there's part of me coming into this interview because like what got me involved with watching your shit was, cause you're, I can't keep up. Sure. You're probably two generations behind me.

I mean, how old are you? I'm 35. Yeah, so like, you know, I like to know who's what and what's going on. But like, there was a time where I knew everybody. You know, I knew the old guys that were before me, and I knew my guys, and then all of a sudden it's like, I gotta surrender the fact that I'm an old fuck,

and I'm a little out of the loop. I mean, we're doing an audio podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, it's crazy. Like, I was like, oh, fucking no camera, nice. Great. Don't even have to worry about shit. But I do need you to wear the seatbelt extended.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm strapped in here tight. Great. Don't even have to worry about that. But I do need you to wear the seatbelt extended. Yeah. I'm strapped in here tight. But like, oh, so I had done some, it wasn't even with any sort of bitterness. But because I don't do a lot of TikTok, I have a guy doing it, putting the old clips up.

But like, you know, it was like, all you hear about these crowd work videos, right? So I just did one. I did a crowd work video to sort of like, you know, end all, it was like, it was just an idea, a satire, where I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do pure crowd work, I'm gonna break it down to what it is.

And I just like, I ask, you know, I ask someone in the front row, what's your name? He says his name, I go, that's fucking stupid. And then I'm like. Yeah, that's what it is. See a guy with a shirt, say the shirt's too small, you're gay. You know, the classics.

But it was just that, you know, like there was no nuance to it. Of course, of course. So I put that up and it got a lot of fucking hits for me. And then someone just sort of like Stavros, it's like Stavros, and I'm like, who the fuck is, what is this guy? I kinda knew who you were.

Sure, sure, sure. But they were literally saying like, you know, he does this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it was not like what you do, but then so I watched your special, the newest one's very funny. Thanks man, appreciate it. And I like your disposition,

and I'm like, I'm gonna talk to this guy and figure out what the fuck has happened. Maybe you can help the old man. Well I don't know either is the thing. Like this is all a complete mistake. But let's go back. So you grew up where? I grew up in Baltimore.

Baltimore? Like how close to DC? About an hour. I mean I was in Baltimore city. So Southeast Baltimore. And it was, and I, you know. I have no idea about that city. The last time I talked about Baltimore in any real way

was David Simon and that's a deep conversation. Of course, of course. That's a very nuanced and multi-leveled, you know, he is the wire. For sure, I mean, season two of The Wire is where I grew up for that. Which season was that? That's the Greeks, right?

Oh, okay. So I grew up in Greectown in Baltimore. So is that like one of the big Greek populations? Because I lived in Astoria for years. Yeah, you know, it's funny. I think I sublet the apartment, I think you had like there was eight sub leases and at the top was you Does that sound familiar? Yeah, I was on 37th 37th. That's the fucking one dude. I got bedbugs in your old apartment Yeah, I mean I had that bugs in that apartment

Been around that long. Well, how? Who'd you sublease from Leo? I think my friends were subleasing from Leo and I was renting a room for a month. This is crazy! From them. This is ten years ago, nine years ago. That's crazy! Was Carlos still the landlord? I don't know. I never made contact with him. No, it must have been after because I had it for years. Yeah.

And I loved that place. I mean, when I got that place, it was a two-bed two bedroom with a fucking kitchen. Yeah. In that little bedroom. And then there's the big bedroom. The little bedroom. Yeah. Yeah. That's where, you know, uh, yeah, I went through, well, what happened was I'll give you the whole history of that fucking apartment. Yeah. Cause I, so I got it from a guy who was a writer and I got on the lease. The guy Carlos used to be the landlord. He was a Dominican dentist. Oh, I think we had a Greek guy. No, there's a Greek guy, but here's what happened. So we had this Dominican dentist. He was a Dominican dentist. Oh, I think we had a Greek guy. No, there's a Greek guy, but here's what happened. So we had this Dominican dentist. He was funny because Jody Lennon, did you know her? She lives downstairs, Chicago. She's still there. She was in Exit 57, improv sketch person. But she said he came, Carlos came into her apartment

because her oven wasn't working. And he said, it was a mouth, if it was a mouth, I could fix it. Poetic. Yeah. And so he was a Dominican dentist who, you know, he didn't go back to school in the States to get re... Gotcha. So we had a little, like, worked out too much. Sure.

So I sublisted to a musician for a while. I kept hold of it, cause I actually ended up needing it. So I had it from like fucking 95 until Leo came in. And I let him live there. And then apparently Carlos sold the building and he came up to Leo and said, are you Mark? And Leo's like, Mark's out of town. He's like, well no, you're the guy now.

Like that was it. Like there was no negotiating. I live in Astoria too, so I sublet at least. And I've actually been in the same apartment. I, since I left your place, I've been in the same apartment for nine years now. So I love Astoria. I love it. And that's how those landlords work.

I signed one lease one year, haven't even spoken about it since. It's that kind of handshake agreement. Is it rent control? Rent stabilized? It is because I have a landlord who doesn't give a fuck. Yeah mine was stabilized Wasn't rent control, but they can only raise it incrementally. They couldn't raise it. You know just never raised it. It's insane It's fucking great. He's never he doesn't fix anything Greek guys. No, I think he's Indian. Oh, yeah Yeah, well that if it was a Greek guy, he would lower the rent every year for me Greek people fucking love Greek people, man

It's awesome. They'll hook you up. Well, I mean, that apartment was crazy because I know they redid it and they cleaned it up. Dude, when I was in that apartment. That's crazy you had fucking bed bugs. Well, that's the story. I didn't have them for years.

And then I subleased it to this German photographer woman who was my roommate briefly, but that went the wrong way. Yeah. But she ended up staying there. Wow. And then she got, that's when they started, but that was during the bed bug craze. This crowd bitch.

Yeah. No, she didn't, it wasn't her fault, but like what happens is it's like, if they're in the fucking building, like I went nuts. I sealed everything, put everything in plastic, sealed up the fucking mattress, like I went nuts. I sealed everything, put everything in plastic, sealed up the fucking mattress. It makes you crazy. Ruined my...

Literally for five years, I would wake up with like itching, something that wasn't there. Did you see them ever? I never saw them. That's the fucking thing. So I actually met people that lost their minds thinking they had them. Yeah, that's what happened to me. I've thrown away beds when I was broke. I just fucking threw them away because I was like, I I got him and then I got metal bed for a while

I just got I was like metal because they can't get on fucking metal and get on wood I'm watching the mattress with the ceiling Had the rabbit but the thing is I never got one fucking bite. They like women more than men They fucked me up. Oh, they did that. I remember because the my friends who I was subleasing to comics We had moved kind of together. they had moved ahead of me, and they were just, they were doing better, last comic standing, something on the Tonight Show. So I was like, oh, they know what the fuck they're doing.

Meanwhile, they were just getting fucked up, not doing shit, they were just kind of riding the wave. But those things don't mean anything, ultimately. But when you're an open mic-er, you're like, oh, they're fine, they know what the fuck they're doing. They made $600. Yeah, they got fake. They know what the fuck they're doing. They make $600. Yeah. They got to fly themselves to LA to bomb in front of Roseanne.

But I remember, and I was like, and we would just be, you know, we're just doing open mics, getting fucked at the creek, drinking Tall Boys. And I'm like, man, these mosquitoes at the creek backyard are fucking me up I'm like this is crazy cuz they've gotten all over me. Yeah, and I'm like guy. Yeah, I'm like I'm like guys Are they fucking you up? They're like no not really and I even floated then I was like do you guys think we have bedbugs? They're like no no way. Yeah, and then after I had moved Thank God I had one two week other

So like bridge sublease right where they were like hey, man We lifted the mattresses and they said they was fucking crawling like it was Atrocious with bed bugs and that my old place at your old place it had gotten fucking bad and and I had to fumigate Everything and this is again. I just moved in New York I have no I'm living the place I was planning to live in yeah Was a three-bedroom where I still am now now, three bedroom that we turned into a four bedroom because I just took the corner of the living room for $500 a month.

Like I had convinced my friends. We put a fake wall up actually, pretty bougie. Yeah, it cost me another $700. But I moved there with like three grand in the bank and I had to fumigate all my shit, 750 bucks. It fucking destroyed, I was like, like this is it I'm ruined financially. Yeah, I got a shitty writing job Yeah, right soon after but it was like that those bed bugs the same bed bugs that tormented you Yeah, fucked me up my first year in New York. They were the bane of my existence

I mean cuz if they don't do the whole fucking building No, they did it they did they went apartment by apartment. It was just I remember I had some guy come over some East Asian guy and With the fumigator and he was wheezing like and he was complaining how they couldn't use DDT anymore He said that's what kills them this stuff I Thought he was gonna die in my fucking apartment. That's a man who loves the game. He loves exterminating. Yeah, yeah, but he's been doing it so long he remembers DDT.

Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Now he's hobbled. It's like doctors in healthcare systems that can't treat people the way they want to because they're restricted. This guy's like, it's not like it used to be. Let's get this red tape out of the way. I bet you if I gave him a few bucks, he'd go down in the truck, get the DDT. So Baltimore, Greeks, is it as big a Greek community as Historia?

It's not as big as Historia. In fact, when I was growing up, they would take us, my Greek school, like my church, that community, we would take field trips to New York, and we would go to the Met and see, like, the Greek statues, and then they would take us to Astoria. Yeah. They would, like, fuck New York, fuck Central Park. Yeah. You don't need to go to Broadway. It's like, we'll go see some Greek statues,

and then you'll go to Astoria and see the fucking gyro. Yeah. It's fucking ridiculous. And try to understand how these people made those. Yeah. I used to do a joke about that. How did they get from creating the arthenon to like do you want cheese yeah yeah we've been we've been coasting on the marbles for a while yeah you know okay

who else got those much you go to like Keckley DS yeah there a lot this Greek seafood man is the fucking best it's awesome oh man I go to the one with I go there a lot. There's Greek seafood man is the fucking best. It's awesome. Oh, man I go to the one with I go to New York while I'm a vegan now Which is this the one great loss the kekwadis octopus is the fucking best Greek octopus Yeah, and then just the the the beets with the garlic sure. Yeah, the fucking best line the word That's what that yeah You know, it's the best thing in the world is a Galak-Taboriko. Oh, Galak-Taboriko, dude. Oh my God! You're speaking my language here.

Literally, you're literally speaking my language, but my mom was a Greek waitress at a Greek restaurant and so so much of my formative child, another addiction where the addiction started. Well, Galak-Taboriko in itself. Cream, it's cream, honey, and filo. It's butter. Yeah, and like in a little, isn't semolina flour in the custard a little semolina. Oh my god When I first had that dessert, I was like what is it's fucking incredible? Yeah?

Yeah, it's the best cuz like I'm like a rice pudding guy like I like dine a rice pudding It's the best parts of rice rice pudding. Yeah in a field with it. Oh shit. It's so good Yeah, it's big. You parents, they were first generation? First generation, they came here in the 80s. They came here a couple years before I was born. Really? Why? Do you know?

I mean, my mom's parents had emigrated here. They'd gotten to America in the 70s maybe, where my mom was, and my mom had moved with them, and then moved back as soon as she could, because they moved when she was like 18. Horrible time to have to move. Like as soon as you're about to be an adult, you have to just start a new city or a new country.

And so she moved back and I think it was just this thing of like, well we'll go visit your family, we'll work for a year, bring money back and it was one of those, they also wanted to have kids and I'm a in vitro kid, I'm an IVF test tube baby, and this is the 80s, right, so that technology straight up didn't exist in Greece at the time. So I think it was like a combination of just kind of-

But it was your dad's cum? It was my mom's pussy, actually. Yeah, yeah. To put it in scientific terms, my dad's not A-okay. And so they just had to fucking stay and figure it out. Yeah. Are you the only kid? I have two brothers after me.

All in vitro? All in vitro. Oh, it really worked. It worked, bro, yeah. And so we, they just kind of stuck around, but it was never a plan. So we don't have any of that American dream shit. My father resents America. What does he was he do he's a carpenter yeah yeah yeah was he build tables he'll build tables yeah he's good he's an incredible he's incredibly talented at carpentry not the best businessman kind

of sure kind of vibe yeah but yeah my mom repaired rugs and was a waitress and you know worked at a dental lab did and and now just kind of no restaurant is that Racist we didn't my dad built it was that's the thing no restaurant But we're the second it's not racist because the whole Greectown economy was built around restaurants So my dad is a carpenter who mostly made booths booths and fucking bars And you know all this kind of shit and like chairs and my mom worked at a was a waitress at Icarus in Baltimore for years. What do you what do you what do you know about that? Why why restaurants because like you know on the East Coast they run the best restaurants like you could go to diners

Which don't exist anywhere else. Yeah, because in these coast people eat at them So this turnover like you know that you get the fresh fish the fresh fish, but they know how to run a restaurant. Where does that come from? I do think, I did a little research into this. I was kinda into, I wanted to do research about my neighborhood growing up when I was younger, when I thought I went to school for media, polys, political science history, all that kind of stuff.

And so I was trying to figure that out, and I think it's just a matter of, it was like the quickest way you could just become. Established? Yeah, it was like, you could just start a business. You know what I mean, like Greek people, I don't know where that started, I don't know why in Greece, if they,

I don't know where that heritage comes from, but when Greeks got here, they started doing service industry stuff because there was no barriers to entry. You don't have to work at somebody's laundromat. You can just open your own, you know what I mean? You work for a little bit. Right, so they'd start working a little bit

at a restaurant and they're like, exactly, I can do this. And yeah, exactly. And there are a ton of restaurants in Greece that it's not about the high turnover. So I'm sure it was just a simple, they just went to the stuff that they could be small business owners from the jump.

And so- It's so wild because it's not an easy racket restaurant. Yeah, it's really not. They just went to the stuff that they could be small business owners from the jump. And so. It's so wild because it's not an easy racket restaurant. Yeah, it's really not. And like the diner thing, like they're almost all Greek and you know, you can't, the reason that shit exists on the East Coast is because people go there. You gotta have the turnover.

Yeah. You know, you gotta have the traffic or else the fish is gonna go bad. Yeah, well I mean. So they gotta be good restaurants. The diner, I mean I do think diners It's tough to find a good one anymore, and I think it's mostly breakfast stuff I don't I won't even I'm not getting fucking fish at a diner

No, I'm not getting you know I'm not with the same place. I get like you know eggs and Like I grew I overcame that because I think diners were only for that But then you know you spend enough time in Astoria like right there that like across the street was the Moreno Brothers fish right right right so like I knew unlike anywhere else that you know that fish would come in that day right like in like bluefish who the fuck eats bluefish you do in Astoria because when bluefish when bluefish is fresh it's kind of oily but it it's great. But you don't get it anywhere else, because it's like pigeon fish.

No one gives a fuck. So I always felt that this shit was moving because of the old people, but maybe your generation, like the old people are gone. Yeah, yeah, I would never eat, and I'm a diner guy, but I would not eat. Dinner? I would not eat a, yeah, I'm not going to the fourth

and fifth pages of the diner menu. Huh staying up top Yeah, I'm going I'm going back like that's breakfast. That is again. That's more fat shit than anything Yeah, that's when you're just like yeah feel alive. Yeah, like getting getting like a you know Crab cake from a diner or getting like getting like a rib eye getting a steak I will get a steak but like I'll get fish in Astoria getting like a ribeye, getting a steak from a diner. I won't get a steak, but like I'll get fish in Astoria. Interesting. Just because I just feel like the fish comes in right there.

It's coming in off Long Island. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, yeah. Just get all the Atlantic fish. I don't know, maybe, I was eating fucking mackerel. I didn't give a shit. I was cooking it at home. I'll eat a little mackerel, but.

Do you ever go to that Greek supermarket down there? Titane. Yeah, yeah, I love that place. Nine, is it like 100 fetus? Yeah, it's incredible. Like, what the fuck is that? I do feel at home there, I love. And that is really why we,

when I first moved to New York, my best friend growing up, she had moved like a little bit before. She wanted to be, you know, New York, she wanted to work in fashion, all this kind of stuff. And the only place we knew was Astoria, and she moved there, and then I just moved in with her, and we got a place together, and now I've just kind of been there. And it does feel at home.

I mean, there is something to, you know, hearing. It's not as Greek as it was, but there's an elderly Greek couple arguing, reminds me of my grandparents. You know what I mean? Well, I think they owned a lot of the real estate. I think, yeah, in terms of living, not unlike any immigrant group, they eventually move out into the islands. Yeah. Yeah, because like over in Queens like from block to block. You're like, what is this? Yeah, I never thought that it could possibly get hip. Did it get hip or did it? It'll never get it won't right even though it's kind of almost

It was threatening to and then it's long Island City kind of went a little bit... Well, LIC fucking stinks. There's nothing there. It's corporate, it's like, you know... It's honestly a lot of rich, like rich Koreans live. Oh yeah? Like you get right into... Yeah. Like...

The new high rises over there? The new high rises. Because there's like four blocks of old buildings there, and that's it. Yeah, it's all new high rises. I have a buddy who moved to LIC, and it's literally, he's the only non-Asian person. And they don't like him. And he'll catch, and it is like very Asian to the point where you wanna talk about like your,

the fat standards. They're kinda like your mother's where it's like, he's caught a pudgy guy, a pudgy Chinese guy, eating in the stairwell so that his wife won't catch him. He's caught him six times. To the point where my buddy's like, I feel like if we started kissing, it wouldn't be weird. I've caught him in a forbidden situation so many times.

That it's like, there's something, electricity in the air. But it's like, and my buddy's straight, they're both ostensibly straight but even he's like I'm feeling something and then he caught him in the gym once and it's like eating eating while my buddy went to go get a workout and it's so this poor guy but that's what LIC I think is what we go. Well there's that vulnerability of being caught you know in that moment where it's sort of

like hey I'm out here there's no limits anymore. No and if it happens once that's kind of like, hey, I'm out here. There's no limits anymore. And look, it happens once. That's kind of weird. Yeah. It happens twice. You're like, huh. Five times, it's like, is he wanting to get called by him?

Does he know when my buddy's coming? Of course. The shame is part of it. Yeah, shame is so powerful. You could ride that anywhere. Oh, yeah. They're hand in hand. You're riding that speed ball of shame and satisfaction. Yeah.

So you got older siblings? I'm the oldest. Oh, you're the oldest? Yeah. And so how do you get into the comedy racket? I just, you know, it's very... After college, you finished college? I didn't actually, I, so...

Got an incomplete? I started, yeah, so I have all my credits except my language credits, and I'm fluent in Greek. And I got to basically the point, I only went to college because my mom wanted me to, basically. I got a scholarship to a local UMBC. What were you studying?

I was studying history, political science, media, I got a public affairs scholarship. At a high school? At a high school, UMBC. What were you studying? I was studying history, political science, media. I got a public affairs scholarship. At a high school? At a high school, yeah. And I was kind of a history dork, and I was interested in, growing up in Baltimore City, I was like, I wanna do, I wanna change things.

Sure. And then I'm like, I'd rather just talk about how little my dick is at a wing restaurant. That's how I'd like to spend my 20s, actually. Smaller than the wings? Yeah, well, I guess it depends. What size wings and what state my penis is in. So typically no, I just kind of, I started doing open mics in college, and I was like,

this is the best thing, I love doing this, this rocks. I knew I wanted to do, it was so clear, this was the only thing I've ever liked. Who the guys, any of the guys that you were with keep going? In the open mics? In the open mics, the guys, I mean, there was a ton of people that were pretty funny. I mean, I met Wardell when he was like 16. So I actually drove here with him when he, I was like 20 or whatever. Wardell?

Yeah, Brandon Wardell. Yeah. So he was like this little, this child that had like 15 nice minutes and you know, and we were boys, still to this day we're boys, you know. The guys, a lot of people I came up with, I mean, Jamel Johnson is still out here, he's hilarious, but it was like a lot, the people kind of right in front of us, there was a, you know, I had just missed like Rory Scovel, Aparna Nancherla, Hampton. The guys I knew came out of there.

Two of them moved to San Francisco at the same time I did back in 92. Blaine Capac, Patton Oswald. Yeah, I knew those guys and it was cool. I was like, oh, those guys. And they used to mythologize this one guy from Baltimore that I don't know how much, how long the myth lasted, but some guy named Mark Voice.

I don't know Mark. I missed him. We have our but some guy named Mark Voice. I don't know Mark. I missed him. I missed him, yeah. We have our own guy. Lost, lost in history. Yeah, lost the time, yeah. We've got our guy, was he like kind of a? Yeah, on the edge.

Actually funny or not funny? I heard he was funny, I think he passed away. Oh, that's a bummer. But like he got out of the racket, but he was one of those, there's always that guy, yeah, that guy's a genius. Oh, so we have a lot of like ironic, Oh, no. Like out of their minds, don, that guy's a genius. Oh, so we have a lot of ironic, out of their minds, don't know what's going on. Baltimore was great for that.

I miss that part of comedy. I think that's something the phone ruined, was people snapping for real, and mentally ill people that couldn't manage it. They were always around. It was their only outlet. They couldn't manage it. Right. They were always around. Right, right. You know, like- It was their only outlet. Yeah. They couldn't post about, you know, their chakras.

Yeah. They couldn't go live and tell you about the kind of- how alkaline water is killing you. But also, like, the fact that people record now, Right. like, has changed the standards of comedy, and also no one's willing to lose their fucking mind anymore. Yeah, yeah.

Because someone's gonna get it. Right, right, right. And then you're gonna be known for that. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I do like that it was such an outlet and I like that there's zero barrier to entry. I like that literally any bum off the street could do it and it was great.

If you could figure it out, all you gotta do is be funny and you're not getting paid at that level. So you gotta get through three to five minutes. Yeah, it was awesome. It was the best and you would not getting paid at that level. So you gotta get through three to five minutes. Yeah, it was awesome. It was the best and you would get the most insane people. I'm going to DC this week. Oh nice.

Saturday night at the Warner Theater. Great, that's awesome. Yeah, I did alright. I've done better there, but I'll take it. You'll do it, you got a couple days. Yeah, I mean, you know, you get to a point, like you're doing theaters now where you're like, I only saw 1,300. Yeah.

It's like, see, it's like 1,800. I know. It's the sentences that have come out of my mouth where it was like, my goal, like everything feels like I'm playing with house money now. Yeah, yeah. Because I just wanted to headline C and B rooms across America.

Yeah. Like, I started Magoobie's Joke House. I wanted to play every Magoobie's Joke House in every city in America. I wanted to creak out a living at $70,000 before taxes. Like that was to me what, I had no idea of podcasting. I mean, honestly, your podcast, when I was starting, I listened to it.

I actually used to listen to The Sound of Young America, Jesse Korn and the... I remember those guys were like, these guys. He kinda told me to get these mics. That's what I was, I remember that, and he almost like said, you should go check out our friend Mark Maron's podcast.

Like I was literally listening to some other podcasts. The first one he did was like you and Patton on like a computer, I feel like. Right. Like it was like, and so I was, but I had no, and I liked your podcast as a like whoa This is a cool insight into comedy what comedy was like when you're open especially when you're starting and you just can't get enough of comedy it was yeah timing wise

Perfect and then eventually I just stopped listening to any comedy podcast cuz like I don't want to be I got into the like I don't Want anyone to influence me right? You want to be pure exactly your Exactly. Pure for my pussy eating jokes. Yeah. You know, it is funny how serious I take it. And I look at my own act and I'm like, I'm trying to write. I'm like, I gotta write serious stuff. And then everything is like,

the topic is like a serious thing that it inevitably just gets to, to get my dick sucked. Yeah. And I'm like, that's the only way my stupid brain works. But that was like, you know, when I was coming up, there was definitely a line, you know, in terms of club comedy, like if you were blue or not blue. And I was never a mainstream comic in that way. Like I was always dirty.

But there was some sort of established idea, if you were of a certain comic, that you were going to close dirty. Right, yeah. It was like the Hicks thing you know yeah parachute on a dick joke island or whatever that's always how I feel like I still to this day and I might on the next special try and just as a as a challenge to my I say that now I have you know seven minutes of an hour written baby and I'm like I could maybe go clean six of the seven minutes are dirty I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about we have to go clean

But you wonder like you can I switch something up could I just does it all have to end with your dick And I think unfortunately it does Unfortunately mark I've done the math I've looked at all the charts and it does seem like it will and But like I've been trying to like think about the evolution because you know I get sort of like And then, but like, I've been trying to like think about the evolution because, you know, I get sort of like, uh, looked at as some, whether it's political or, or liberal or whatever it is, but like, I've always been pretty dirty. Like there's not in, in, in a lot of the, in a lot of the specials, there's always a bit in there. Sure.

That, you know, and I used to close pretty dirty and, you know, my heroes are all pretty dirty. Totally. And then you, I guess you just kind of like, as you grow up and you see who heroes are all pretty dirty. Totally. And then you I guess you just kind of like as you grow up and you see who your audience is. Right. Because I started doing so many other things I realized like you know I'm 60. Do I how dirty do I need to be? Yeah. At 60. Yeah. When I have middle-aged people in the room. Right. Right. Like I mean they get it but there comes a point. They're not being prude you're just like all right man. Yeah right. fine, you get pussy.

Yeah, you're so lucky you. You're 60, you're 60, and your dick still works. We're all happy. Do you have anything intelligent to say? Right, right, right. And the thing is, I don't know that I ever will. Even when I'm 60, I'm just trying to have a good time. That is the hard thing, is that I do think,

I've been having a lot of these thoughts, because it's the first time I've ever slowed down, and just, I've taken a little, this year I'm taking some time off, so I was like, let me just catch my breath. No comedy, or just club comedy? No, just take, no, no big tour, I'll do some, I'm doing some spots, and I'm actually enjoying that again,

because it's like the energy of someone killing pressure killing. Yeah, you want to do good Yeah, I want to that's where when someone's killing ahead of me. I just want to I just I'm gonna like I'm gonna fucking tank it I never look at that as sort of like alright Yeah, I get that too where you just sort of like they like them too much and I don't get it I sometimes will yeah that'll if I'm having a bad time on the road, and you know, that's a classic, like if I'm feeling sick and I'm like, I just need things to go right, and then the guy in front of you is just killing and shouting,

and just like, you know what I mean? Like, perhaps, you know he's doing great at his act outs, and like, I'm like, come on, man, stop. I got the sniffles, brother. Can't you just close it? Well, those feature acts, it's karma for me because I think I was a pretty aggressive feature, but I didn't feature for long.

I kind of went because I started in Boston doing half hour opening gigs. So I was headlining fairly quickly, but I was a feature that would, and I've had features before where they're gonna close with the they're just gonna build Up to the it's gonna be they're all in I mean I did that too and I know Headliners hated yeah, it's like they were either loved me because they were like are you talking about your dick for ten minutes?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, some guys like trying to you know sitting there with a button-down shirt. I Know the best though though. I gotta give credit I the for the one the I mean Bobby Kelly and Tom Papa were the best to me You're not gonna out filth Bobby Kelly, but that's the thing Tom Love like and no he loved it and he was like and I open for him I was 20 the first time I over was like 24. Yeah, like in a little car. I was like, alright I'm over to Tom Papa. I gotta wear a cardigan over my graphic t-shirt Yeah, and and with my pussy jokes, I'm like, he's gonna hate me, whatever.

He loved it, his fans loved it. One lady, because I've been for Tom, both of them for years, and one lady complained once and Tom told her to go fuck herself, it was awesome. He's the man, I mean, Papa's the king. Oh yeah, it's great. Well, that's funny because we're talking about this very thing and I did that,

I know Bobby Kelly for years and I know what Bobby Kelly is. And we're doing the comics come home thing. And it's a big lineup, it's Pescatelli, and Pete Davidson's there, Lenny Clark, a couple people I didn't know, Edelman for some reason, because he comes from there. He's from Boston.

Yeah, yeah, and then, so Leary's reading the lineup to me, I'm like, when am I going on? He's going through all these rooms all these names, and then he goes all right Then it's gonna be a Bobby Kelly then you and then burr and I'm like what the why do I get it? That's rude in an arena He talks like that he sounds like Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm not the guy that really do this,

so I'm walking up to Kelly and I'm like, what are you gonna do with him? And I'm like, I know what he's gonna do. And I thought I was coming full circle, this will be great, it's gonna be fun, it's 10 minutes, I can't lose Bobby Kelly than you. And I do this bit on stage, like I talk about this story on stage.

No, Bobby crushes. But it's also like a symphony of filth Yeah, and like and I don't care. I love what he does course, but I got to go be thoughtful No, which is whatever the fuck I do for yeah Yeah, yeah, but I did all right because I'm a pro and I didn't let it crush me Yeah, but I did know going in that like this isn't gonna be the victory. No, this is survival This is like let's just get through this exactly. Let me be be able to look everyone in the eye for the rest of the night. That's exactly right. That's all I need. That's exactly right. Because I fucking went up to Burr and

I'm like, why do I gotta follow Kelly? Why don't you follow Kelly? Because I don't wanna follow Kelly. Oh my God. Fucking damn it. How am I the buffer? Put you before Bobby. That makes so much sense. Why not? Bobby's from the, it's like crazy. They're both from there, but you know, Burr, you can follow, Bobby can follow, Burr can follow anybody. They can both follow, but I get it, yeah. Oh God, the closing bit,

it was just like, it was more than I ever imagined. Cause when I was told I was gonna follow him, I'm like, oh my God, this is like, I know exactly what's gonna happen. But boy, it was at a level that I couldn't even, Oh yeah. I mean, you know. I mean, yeah, I get it, I know.

I mean, I remember, cause that's, I'm like, you know, I'm coming out of Baltimore and Bobby took me on the road and, you know, I would like be, I like doing both alt and club stuff, I was kind of doing both. But to Bobby, I'm like, you know, the altist, you know, I'm a communist, I'm like the most left, you know, and he's like, you know, and I'm, you know, soft, all this stuff. And I'm like, yeah, I'm pretty good. I'm like the most left. Yeah, you know, and he's like, you know, and I'm you know soft all this stuff

Yeah, and I'm like, yeah, I'm pretty good. I can do and to just watch Bobby in a club Yeah, especially in Boston. Yeah, there's there are times where I'm just like, oh, I'm not doing the same thing Yeah, I'm not doing like I'm not even close and you know, you're 25. So you think you're better than you Yeah, yeah, yeah So it was so great to just be on the road with him, because I'm like, oh, it reminded me, I'm like, my best set I've ever had, for three minutes, I've reached like Bobby at cruising speed. So it was like, it was great to just have to...

See a real killer. And Papa too, it was just like, it was good to see these guys rushing, in totally different ways, and they both, we would learn so much from both of them. Cause it's like. Well, that's like, those are the opposite ends of the craft spectrum.

Yeah. Cause you know, Papa is so meticulous in his timing and his structure. And every bit has like a thesis. Yeah, yeah. And he's got bam, bam, bam, bam. And then a conclude, I mean, literally watching. And Bobby's just like, ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga ga a bed bug ridden apartment right around then. And so yeah, I don't graduate.

They let me walk because if you have less than eight credits, they assume you're gonna finish in summer school. And I just wanted my mom to get the picture of me in the gown. So I still, University of Maryland, Baltimore, I have every credit except my language credits. And that one you could breeze through if you told them. I could take a test.

I could go take a test whenever. But I think it's funny not to have you, to almost get it when I get it. It was haunting to me. I was undergrad for five years and I had an incomplete and I was like, oh my God. It still gets to you? Well, I mean, I finished it.

But I mean, yeah, I finished it. Oh wow. No, I like not finishing it. Makes me feel, I have a weird sense of superiority where it's like, I don't give a fuck. I could do it right now. I'm not going to. I did life without it.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, look at me. I lied when I needed to get day job. You said I graduated nobody why not you shown the picture Here's me shaking hands with the Chancellor would a non-graduate have access to this you have a diploma And yeah, and so I moved I move move when I'm, yeah, when I'm 25, 26 to New York. So what's going on there? So you're doing like, because like, by the time I left New York, whatever alt scene that I was involved in was the original one, but then it became very established. Like I've never set foot in the creek in the cave. Oh, wow.

Yeah. It was, it wasn't there. It was, I kind of caught it at the tail end, probably. The alt thing? Of the, of that scene, because that was like, it was it wasn't there it was I kind of caught it at the tail end of the all thing of the of The same because that was like my sing like I'm Eugene Merman still had the the what was it called? He did but there was a room they used to do It doesn't matter. Yeah, I didn't I mean I think I caught the tail end of a lot of that stuff Yeah, it was it was a strange. It was kind of weird

I mean, you know, I did most of my, I would play the alt rooms in New York, but it was just like, it wasn't really an alt scene, it was just like, you had clubs and then it was literally everything else. It was just Brooklyn and just anywhere. But something morphed at some point. Like it's weird because alt seemed to fragment into just these rooms, but like the guys,

like look I know Big Jay and I know Kurt and they were kind of the ones behind me and I love those guys. But then at some point it became a little more tribal. Like there was the Skankfest guys and then there were the women with the bangs doing, the more quiet or thoughtful people. So, right, so, you know, it definitely broke up somehow.

Yeah, I mean, I guess, I guess that's true. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I think you're overthinking it, because I always thought of it as, like, I moved at a time where everybody was kind of finding their footing, and the other thing is, a lot of those people all started at the same time,

a lot of them are still friends, like, I do, I mean, I like, I'll go to all those rooms. And I still, I like doing that. I like that it's not, maybe it's a little tribal, but I like that there's different types of rooms you can go to where different shit's working. There was like, not an agenda, like when I was looking, you know, when I looked at you up,

like you know, and I'm associated with politics on some level, but I didn't even know what the fuck the dirtbag left was until today. Well that's, I mean, so when I moved, after like a year or two, me and my buddies, Nick Mullen and Adam Friedland, we started Come Town, our podcast,

and that's the first thing that popped. I think I know Nick Mullen. Nick's hilarious, super funny guy. Oh he's a funny guy, yeah, yeah, yeah. Super funny, really like, he's a funny guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Super funny. Really, really like, and we had an, I mean, that show was, we got successful, again, by

accident. My whole career has felt like something that's been accidental. So when you get in, so you're doing these rooms in New York and podcasting is just a thing just starting? It was literally, here's how I felt about it. So it's come down to audio? It was audio. We were like, you know, video, I know nothing.

And honestly, my thoughts were, I was like, podcasting's over. I was like, Marin, comedy, bang bang, this American life, that was it, it's done. And Mullen was fucking right, and he was like, let's just do it. I thought for sure we would do like seven episodes. Every comic was doing that at the time.

They would do 10 episodes. They'd see nine people listen and they'd quit. Exactly, exactly. And then we just, I think the reason we even associated with The Dirtbag Left at all is because Nick was roommates with a couple people that were in Chappo Trap House. And so, I mean, and you know, I happen to have, I'm not really super political in my act or even,

but if something comes up I'll talk I don't I won't shy away from right about it. I just I My comedy is a lot more just like Interperson it's so I'm so personally driven that if you pay attention you could probably see what my yeah That's all well. That's me, too I know I can't talk from anywhere from my but my own point of view right and so you know the whole political thing Is very funny because I think just by having friends who are pre-aligned or political,

that it's like we just got kinda, we were just friends with them, and same thing, I have friends who are, that's their thing is being political, Twitch streaming, political stuff like that, but yeah. And so it's funny that our show ever got aligned with any politics, because if you listen to the show, the whole point is just like

The dumbest having fun with your friends and it's like middle school and talk about sex say not even sex Yeah, it's dumber than that. Yeah, I mean we talked about sex too, but it would be like it's just shitting on each other Sure, you know stream of consciousness bits saying, you know, it's kind of what you're saying about being 60 and being dirty I kind of felt like well well, in our 20s, being the come town guys was awesome, but it's like, we're gonna be 40 and being the come town guys. So we're all doing our own shit now.

They got the Adam Friedland show, which is really funny, and I did my own podcast that's a little more, it's advice, it's advice plus interview stuff. Still do it? I still do, I still do Stoppies World, yeah. And it's video though? Video, yeah. You made the jump.

I made the jump, brother. Yeah. Yeah. Because it really was just, I wanted to make something that I could just do. My issue with podcasting was that, well, when you're doing it with two other guys and everything is sort of like your dynamic, you can't really pre-record shit, you know what I mean? And I wanted to go on the road, we all wanted to kind of do our own shit. And so it was like, we're doing five episodes in two days, but it's like the same guys talking about the same shit. So you do it at a time and you do call-in?

I do a bunch at a time. I have a guest, I have a friend. If you're ever in New York, you want to do the show, we'd love to have you. And then we just, and then people call in with their voicemails. So we reply to there. And then we do a Patreon episode where they call in directly.

And that's really fun to be able to just talk to people. That's interesting though what you said about where you are personally politically and then what you do on stage. Because for me, that's always been the mix that you gotta pull off. Is that you're gonna, for me, you don't seem to wanna do it, which is fine,

but I have politics, how they run through me and what my interpretation is, but I be careful, I'm always sort of like, I always wanna ground it in the fact that I'm an imperfect person with problems. But I do think about this. Totally, totally. Yeah, and I do think about this. Totally, totally. Yeah, and I do think, on some level, I guess, I also like to think of it holistically of like,

that is still a passion of mine, and I still think inequality in this country is incredibly out of control. And the stuff I went to school for, public policy, and I mostly was focusing on welfare policy, but I just know that I spent I If I was really serious about those things I would have fucking gone to you know studied more gotten a job I had like a thankless civil exactly

I mean I was a tutor in Baltimore City for a couple years I was open mic-ing and when I quit I was like I have to quit because I'm not I'm not pouring my whole being into this. Yeah, and also, like, when you have ego, or you want to, you know, be recognized Totally, totally. For what you're doing. Yeah.

I mean, that's a pretty thankless world. Like, I got pretty obsessed with social workers, and like, no one ever talks about them. And they're kind of holding things together barely. It's crazy. You know, it's an amazing- You should literally triple what they make. And teachers too. It's crazy. You know, it's an amazing. Triple, you should literally triple what they make. And teachers too.

Yeah, absolutely. And so I guess the way I look at it is I poured myself into getting good at stand-up. And I do think there will be kind of a later, like I'm even kind of thinking about I got a place in Baltimore. My family still lives there. So I'm spending a little more time there this year, just kind of hanging out with them,

reconnecting with stuff. and I was like, you know, I wanna do some charity work in Baltimore. I mean, the reason I do comedy is because I had a teacher in like second and third grade who was like, he was doing community theater, they would put on these great things, he let me host a talent show when I'm in third grade. So I'm up there like riffing,

it's like one of my positive memories, so it's like I wanna go back and like help, you know, help out that way. But I do think that's, to me right now, it's a little separate from my output. You know, it's not, I don't think I can communicate the ideas that I'm passionate about in a way that's also funny.

Because I am very staunchly on the like, I'm a last-per-minute guy, I'm a like, and that's maybe why I wanna do maybe a a little acting or write something do a show because you can be a little more Interested you could eat more complex ideas that way where I think stand up. I love it It's my favorite thing what your audience is and in like, you know lately it's sort of you know I mean because you are you do build when you get an audience you have manifested it So you're looking at a reflection of some kind.

And then you have to decide, like, is this who I am? That guy? Right. Right. But oddly, despite my lifelong attempt to self-sabotage myself, I've got these grown-up, smart, kind of decent people at my shows and lately I've been like, are you sure?

Like there's part of me that's sort of like, let me show you who I really am. Let's get into it. Yeah, but I always have. And they're still there. And I think that not unlike anything else, people hear what they wanna hear, they make judgments about, you know what I mean?

But it all depends on how you tip it. But I think that being honest and being base or being filthy is as much part of the human condition as anything else. And the relief that you can get out of people and yourself by sort of sharing those things. It's genuine humanity. Yeah, that's true, that's absolutely true.

And it's the thing everybody does get, whether you wanna say it or somebody. Farts are funny. Yeah, farts, yeah, absolutely. Sex, all this stuff, all that, that's why these things just do hit the hardest when it comes to stand up. And now, unfortunately, despite no one's best effort,

information technology has really successfully broken almost everyone's brain. Yeah, absolutely. It's fucked. It's super fucked. And our brains aren't meant to manage what we get out of that thing. No.

And it's kind of crazy. So you can have this experience with these people, but they go home and you don't know what they're doing. Yeah, that's, you don't know what they're doing. And you're right, we kind of obsess over, you know, your act, what you're gonna do, whatever, but it's like, this is one, most people, even die-hard fans will see you, what, four times in their life?

Right. Die-hard. That's right. They don't know what you're doing with the other, yeah. Yeah, and it's like, who knows what, and then you said it too, where it's like, They don't know what you're doing with the other. Yeah. And it's like who knows what, and then you said it too where it's like you don't know what they're taking out of.

The thing you might want to put out, they don't even give a fuck about it. There's just something they like about, something intrinsic about you that they just like. They want to hear you talk when it comes down to it. Right. No, but it's interesting to me though because this is the other component

that I'm starting to realize, is that there's still some part of you that wants to write a show. I mean, like it seems to me, here's my premise. Is that movies may be more than shows. It seems to be you're of a generation where I start to realize like,

look, I don't have a YouTube presence. So like when I do a special, I wanna be paid by a network or a platform. I want them to give me the money, and then I don't need to know how many people watch it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. But like, because I know because I have no presence, if I did a special I put on YouTube,

I'd be sitting there every day, I'm like, how could only 100 people watch this? So I'm in denial and that's fine. Sure. But it seems to me that there's there's all these you know Everyone's building their own show business. Yeah, what mainstream show business is or what it was when I was coming up You know you go pitch you get a show you do this or that well people don't give a fuck yeah anymore I guess that's true. I guess what I meant was like Something narrative that's not stand up.

But not necessarily. No, I was just asking in terms of like, how do you see show business? Well, how I see show business is that, yeah, I think the self, that's exactly how I view it. My YouTube channel, I view it as like my own network. That's what I'm building, right?

And I like that I have control over it. I mean, I am a little worried because YouTube was supposed to be this oh, it's free from all these network restrictions whatever But now they're getting every tech for every huge tech company You know they there start set to censor a little more and they have things a little cleaner because they make their money off Advertising so inevitably we will have to make an exodus from YouTube as well Yeah, it's not that's not, that's not where, that's not where we are now. Yeah.

At the end of the day, it is about having the ability to, having your own fans so that, even let's say you put something out with a network, you put something out, you know, in theaters or whatever, basically show business is one gigantic bringer, and that's it. There's no pretense that it's not. There's no, yeah, there's no way to, and maybe you could... As an entrepreneur, it's gigantic bringer, and that's it. There's no pretense that it's not,

there's no, yeah, there's no way to, and maybe you could. As an entrepreneur, it's a bringer. If it's old school show business, it's just a numbers game. And now they've had to adapt to sort of giving people opportunities who already have a following,

just to meet their bottom line. They don't give a fuck, they might not even know you, but they look at the numbers and they're like, what do you want to do? And it becomes a thing of like, every relationship is like, you just have to be getting something out of it where you have to build up, you're never gonna, the way I look at it is you're never gonna develop through a network, you're never gonna get

your opportunities there. Anymore. You have to create that yourself. And then it becomes a pure, it is pure business where it's like, can we do something here? I was a little nervous when I put a special out on Netflix because you don't know anything about a huge, I had never done anything with a network.

Was that the new one? The new one, right? What's it called again? Fat Rascal on Netflix right now. Because I had done, my whole career was the internet. I did whatever the fuck I wanted. But it's Netflix, it's the biggest streamer, and I want more people to see my shit.

It did great, did really well. I was really happy with it, they were happy with it. And they didn't restrict me at all. They restricted me probably less than YouTube would have. And they were great to work with. And it was like, not that I didn't expect it, but it's like, you just expect the man you're like fuck sure you know fuck you you know you well You're in suits right, and I think that is but my point is is that in terms of something doing well

It's all relative their fucking algorithm right so you're you could get lost or you could not and you don't even know so you know Really sure sure and and yeah, that is true. I mean, but I just think that putting something, it just goes to, are you getting something with a lot of viewership, or are you getting money? You just have to make it worth your while one way or another. But there's no, and then you have to always have the ability to walk away and be like,

I'll just fucking do it myself. And that's also why, I mean, when we stopped Come Town, part of me was like, I don't really wanna do a podcast. But with just a couple months, I was like, it's so important to just have your own fans, forever. And a podcast is the best way to just kinda keep them weekly, giving them something, getting to interact with them. You're not crazy with the content.

I mean, do you feel like you're overwhelmed in terms of what you have to feed? Yeah, I mean, a little bit. I mean, I don't, the overhead is high. I have buddies that I've, you know, I mean, it's cool because I've gotten to hire my friends. But, you know, we have to put out a lot of fucking shit. And it is like you're running a network

and you're not making that much money off it. Everything goes to touring. So it's like a Jenga tower of like, everything has to just support the touring business. Which is where the money is. So they know where you are and when you're gonna be there, and they stay in their face. Yeah, and then if I wanted to put something out, right?

Let's say I do wanna write that show, and either I go with a network because maybe they just give us a bigger budget that I can afford or have access to like really... Different type of ad support. Yeah, whatever, whatever it is. That way or fuck it and we just make our own thing, then at the end of the day, if I go directly to those people, I know they exist, I know someone's going to be interested.

And then in breaking even is not terrible. Not terrible, especially if you're making money on the road. Right. Right? Like that's really, that's, it's kind of what musicians have been up against since Napster, basically. Where it's like, yeah, everything is your fucking touring business. Right. And I happen to like touring, I mean I like to do it in a way that's healthy for me, and I'm figuring that out right now. Yeah, you can do it.

But I do like it. Yeah. in a way that's healthy for me, and I'm figuring that out right now. But I do like it. And so, and there is something to going back to like, not to sound corny about phones and shit, but it's like, there still just is nothing like live performance, and there is nothing like every show having its own energy, and own connection to people, and to just, and that is, at the end of the day,

the more I've taken a couple months and thought about it, it's like, I still just love stand-up comedy. I just do. In a club, in a club the most. The best, yeah. Yeah, I just did two sets of Dry Heat Comedy Club in Albuquerque, because I grew up there. That's awesome.

And there's like 50 people, and I just dropped in. But the weird thing is, is that because of, and you probably, you work within this because you seem to record a lot of club sets, is that when you do a show, if I go do an hour, like say tomorrow in Montclair, New Jersey, wherever, Thursday, and something happens, like I love it and it's great and it makes it worthwhile

and it's what I set out to do, but you walk off going like, nah, no one, it's gone. No clip, yeah. It's gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's beautiful. See, I also philosophically have been thinking about this a lot,

because I also recognize, like, doing clips was an accident. It was just, I put out my own YouTube special, and I didn't have much, I had a small YouTube presence, but nothing crazy, and I had been trying to get a Comedy Central half hour, so I recorded every set to watch it, and so I just had all these random moments that normally I'd be like are gone, and I never set out to be a crowd-war clip guy,

but I just had a year's worth of them. But were they, were there crowd-war clip guys when you did that, or were you kind of, did you set a certain standard? I think it was kind of, I think it was kind of starting, but it was like, I was like, and I was, don't get me wrong, I was like a material, you know, I was precious about my material, and so I was like, fuck it, I'll put out some stuff.

And within a couple days, I was out of material to put out, because I was like, well, the rest of it's gotta go in the fucking hour. That's why you don't burn it. So I was like, all right, let's just do this. And so it was kind of accidental, but I do think there is, and it's helped me tremendously. And I view these clips as like an advertisement.

I don't see them as my comedy. I see them as like, it's either this or some bullshit. It'll make people wanna see you. Yeah, exactly. But I think there is a toll you pay in putting enough of that out there. Because that's also, that does affect the live show. Because if people had no idea.

Oh, they just want that the whole time? Well, it's not even just that. That, it's not that big a deal. That's not as big a deal as people think because usually it's one dickhead who really wants to be a part of it. And you could just destroy him. And it's fun for you and everybody else.

And they actually hate it. Do it to a point where they're not having a good time. That one guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's the sacrificial lamb. But I just think there's, from a performance aspect, you are giving away a lot of yourself and a lot of what is special about you as a performer.

But at the same time, because they are so ethereal, and because I do like getting into it with the crowd, because I like, I hope that my crowd work isn't like the like, hey, nice shirt, you fucking bitch. You know, like it's a little, I actually like to ask questions and get into it. Oh yeah, no, if it happens organically, it's great, because you don't know where it's gonna go.

It keeps you on your feet, and you might actually discover something. Something really, but that's the thing is like, now I'm at this point where I'm trying to write this hour, and I'm like, wait, is that that a clip or should I build on that? Like I am having those problems to the point where I think I'm just not gonna put out a lot of stuff Well, that's what I write on stage. Yeah, I have to have the things have to evolve And you know, they keep adding to themselves. Yeah, absolutely and I don't do the clip

So so I imagine that would be a big problem for me is sort of like that bit so much better now Yeah, that's like a whole bit and I feel bad for comics who are because look I at least was lucky in that I was overdue. I think to put something out I had never put out anything but a five-minute thing before I did my first special and I've been doing comedy for I think 11 or 12 years by the time it came out So, you know, I think I was at least formed to a certain degree I do feel bad for a lot of because I remember moments that I thought when I was a younger Yeah, younger were fucking hilarious. Yeah that if I put them out

I would be fucking mortified and I see kids do I know I see them doing that now You're putting up open mic sets, and they feel like they should so I do feel bad And maybe this is just you know maybe this is just me being old because everybody just does get old Yeah, and maybe this is just, you know, maybe this is just me being old, because everybody just does get old. And maybe this is just the way shit is gonna go, I don't know. But I do feel like you should kind of toil in obscurity for a while and not do shit and bomb and maybe have magic moments,

but A, they're not as good as you think they are, but let them exist in your head as like something to push you forward to really get to it. Because, you know, I just do think you do just pay a toll. You're giving, there's no way putting out that much stuff doesn't affect quality in some way. You know, maybe if you work hard enough, you can overcome it, but even I'm starting to feel it now

after it's been a couple years, and if I were to look at the number of minutes that I've put out, it's just too many minutes. It's too many fucking minutes. It's like I've done two hour specials plus a five, 10 minute clips, every 10 minute long clips every week, plus the short clips. It's like, it's probably over like five hours, six hours. Yeah, yeah. Just too much output. I'm not that good. I'm not that talented.

And so, I'm thinking about that going forward and what I wanna do, but hey man, at the end of the day, fucking Clips got me, you know. Rain theaters. Yeah, I'm in the theater, I bought a fucking, got my mom a new dishwasher, we're looking good, you know? All right. Things are going good.

It was great talking to you, man. Great talking to you, man, Great talking to you, man. Thanks for having me. Yep. There you go. Love that guy. You can get his podcast, Davi's World, wherever you get your podcast and at Patreon for exclusive members only content.

Hang out for a minute, folks. features more than 150 sublime works by some of Quebec's most beloved artists. Join us for a journey down the Saint Lawrence and see how Impressionism flourished in this country a century ago. Buy your tickets today at mcmichael.com, home to the art of Canada. Tim Horton's Camp Day is Wednesday, July 17th. When you buy a hotter iced coffee, 100% of proceeds help change the lives of youth in need. See you at Tim's July 17th. When you buy a hotter iced coffee, 100% of proceeds help change the lives of youth in need. See you at Tim's July 17th. And don't forget to upsize your coffee for a bigger donation at participating restaurants in Canada. People, this show is sponsored by BetterHelp. You know, I'm a guy who all his life and to this moment has you know

compared myself to other people as a means to beat the hell out of myself to use it as a bat and Resentment is a tricky thing because it serves no purpose other than to make you miserable and judge yourself Constantly now through a lot of different avenues I've done a lot of work on that and I can identify it and I can separate it from my my better self But it took work and here's the thing therapy helped out I've worked on negative comparisons in therapy and I talked about what it really means when I'm resenting other people's success It's something we all do and it's something we can all get help with if you're thinking of starting therapy Give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online designed to be convenient and flexible and it works with your schedule

Stop comparing and start focusing with BetterHelp visit betterhelp.com slash WTF today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp help.com slash WTF. Don't compare and despair. Folks, it was five years ago on July 7th, 2019. We posted an amazing conversation with David Lee Roth. It's episode 1034 and you can get it right now in all podcast feeds. My first singing teacher had two numbers on his forearm.

One was his camp number and the other was his orchestra number. And as a punk kid, I once asked him in front of the class, I said, so what happens if you don't sing good? And he was very explicit. He said, if you didn't sing good, you went up the chimneys. I think of that every single time I sing, every single time I get ready to sing,

every time my inner child goes, fuck it, you don't need to, don't worry about it, you'll sing fine. I remember that. And I remember, I think it was Ricky Weiss or whatever, Jesus, we were 13, 12 years old, saying to him, no, I remember him saying to me more than once, Mr. Roth, if you can't find it within yourself, to sing on behalf of those who went up the chimneys with a song in their hearts Sing so you don't go up the chimneys Really? Oh, yeah, and that's where that fire for run with the devil. How long are we gonna dance?

We're gonna dance the night away. Hey, how about these words? Let's jump. Okay, they're all verbs Think about that. All right, we're gonna run with the devil. Are we talking about love? No, we ain't talking about love. And by the way, do you jog? No, I run. Who do you run with? That's David Lee Roth on episode 1034 to get all WTF episodes ad-free Sign up for WTF plus just go to the link in the episode description or go to WTF pod calm and click on WTF plus just go to the link in the episode description or go to WTF pod.com and click on WTF plus once again today's episode is sponsored by better help online therapy How often do you compare yourself to others?

It's easy to envy friends lives on social media But comparison is the thief of joy and in reality nobody has it all together Online therapy can help you focus on what you want, not what others have, because your best life is better than the idea of someone else's. Stop comparing and start living with better help. Learn more at betterhelp.com. That's better H-E-L-P dot com. And just a reminder before we go, this podcast is hosted by a cast.

Here's some old guitar. I'm gonna be a good boy. I'm gonna be a man, I'm gonna be a man Boomer lives and Monkey and La Fonda and the cat angels are coming down they're coming down they're coming down