WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1569 - Brendon Walsh

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

When the topic of past guests comes up, Marc often mentions Brendon Walsh, a comedian who was on several early WTF episodes as well as Marc’s IFC sitcom. Diving into a full conversation more than a decade since he was last in the garage, Brendon tells Marc about the changes in his life since then, including the break he took from comedy, the tragic death of his podcast co-host, the mistakes he’s come to terms with, and why he currently hosts The World Record podcast with his wife. 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.

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Lock the gate! Alright, let's do this. How are you what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck, Nick? What's happening? I'm Marc Maron. This is my podcast. Welcome to it.

How's it going with you today? What is happening? Well, thanks for asking. I, I'm okay. I'm all right. I'm back up in Canada shooting the last few weeks of the show that I am involved with. A lot of time on the golf course, a lot of the time standing around, acting engaged. Standing around, acting engaged. That is the primary focus of the work these next few weeks. Standing there engaged. It's not easy.

It's not easy for anybody. It's not easy for a lot of people to engage, period. Takes a lot of work doing the big work being engaged. But it's nice up here. It's been nice. It's nice today. It's nice today. It's beautiful out. It was on the golf course just the other day, just yesterday.

It would be if you're listening to this today. Yeah, that's how this works. And, uh, I did want to, um, say something about, uh, my late partner, Lynn Shelton, her birthday was on the 27th. That was Tuesday and My thoughts are with her friends and family and these things come up twice a year There's the the birthday and the day she passed away and yeah I just want to acknowledge that she's certainly in my thoughts a lot and

I'm sure in the thoughts of her friends and family on these days and to anybody who has lost people these are Difficult days there's always markers, but I love you Lynn miss you Yes So look you guys a couple of things Yes. So look, you guys, a couple of things. A couple of things are on my mind. First of all, I'll be in Tucson, Arizona at the Rialto Theater on for all upcoming me shows. All right, heading heading into the show proper here. I am going to talk today to Brendan Walsh. Now, I've known Brendan a long time. I met him way back in Austin. I think maybe he'd been doing comedy not long. He was really just, him and I became kind of more friendly

when we were just starting the podcast. He was on two live shows, episode 77 and episode 383. He was on for a full interview on episode 210. He was also on my show, Marin. He comes up a lot when I talk to guests and he's always, uh, been somebody I thought, why not check in with what Brendan's doing? How's Brendan Walsh doing? Because this is what's happening now. I mean, I've been doing this show a long time and for a long time,

it was sort of a one and done policy with most guests. They come on once, I do the type of interview that's sort of a deep dive and then we kind of don't do it again. We've changed that for a few reasons. I mean some people I like talking to so they come back around. There are certain people that I have a good interaction with and then there are certain people that it's been a long time, and a lot has happened.

It's a very odd thing when I think about my life, maybe you think about your life in these terms, where I don't even know if I'm the same guy, really, in a lot of ways, as the guy that started the podcast, as the guy that started doing comedy in Boston in the late 80s, as the guy that was out of his mind on cocaine in the later 80s, as the guy who went to college even. I think there's a lot of things that happen in life that are kind of amazing, surprising, some bad,

some good. I'm not telling anybody anything they don't know. But it's certainly interesting what you assume would happen, what you wanted to happen, what did happen, what continues to happen, good or bad, and what life has done to people, done to us. How has it chewed us up and spit us out? How has it made us rise above?

How has it, us rise above? There's never any shortage of, oh my fucking God. I didn't think this would happen. But what I'm noticing, because all of a sudden I'm 60, it really feels like that, all of a sudden I'm 60. And I'm not a guy that really registered, like I never thought time was flying by. I never felt like time was, where'd the time go?

I always felt that in any given time, it was just kind of dripping by. And then all of a sudden you get to a certain age and your brain changes and you're like, holy fuck, where did that all go? Who were all those guys I was? What the fuck happened? What happened to that eight year chunk?

How do I know you? What city? What year? What happened? What is your name? I've lived in four cities in my adult life. Five, including my childhood. Six, including my younger childhood.

And I've lived in some of them twice and just the, the back and forth, the different periods of chasing the dream of trying to get something done, of trying to self actualize. I mean, it's, it's almost like a fucking dream, man. But how anybody deals with adversity and how anybody comes out the other end of this, you know, I'm fortunate, I'm grateful. I mean, many of you know the history of me

from doing this show and from my comedy. You know, somehow or another, in the second half here, I have figured out a way to have my own place in the world and I do all right with it. Sometimes I wish it was a way to have my own place in the world and I do all right with it Sometimes I wish it was a bigger place. Sometimes I wish I wasn't any place oddly but but I I'm okay and that wasn't without hardship and without hard work and without Insanity and without close calls, but it is sort of interesting To kind of check in with people.

Cause many of the people I interviewed in the first time and only time that was, it's like 14 years ago now. And you know what happens in 14 years to an adult fucking anything, anything could happen. People come and go, friends come and go, partners come and go, animals come and go, jobs come and go, sanity can go away. I mean, it's kind of nuts, but it is what it is, and it is that way for all people, especially if you're out in the world doing things. If you're not doing anything, it can happen, but fewer things happen Yeah, there's a smaller smaller menu of shit that can go wrong when you're not doing anything It's usually mental and it usually has something to do with lack of exercise

I'm speculating But catching up with Brendan. It's kind of it was kind of. And it happens a lot every time I have a guest on again, especially one that hasn't been on in many years, like Fitzsimmons the other day. At some point, you just kind of look around you and you see your old buddies, guys you've known, maybe since second grade. I got a buddy in Albuquerque I've known since second grade.

And I never forget the Tom Shalhou joke about going to his high school reunion and seeing everybody and just noticing somehow, I don't know how he phrased the joke that their heads seem larger, but he could see the guy he went to high school with inside of the face somewhere. Oh my God.

But more so than anything else, it's nice to see people moving through their life with a certain amount of grace and dignity, despite whatever circumstances or consequences that they've had to deal with, either because of things they did or things that were done to them or just shit that happens. Trying to be appreciative of time passing and realizing it's running out in a nice way. As I said before, I'm trying to get out a little more with my friends and try to think about stuff and see how I'm changing. Some amazing change happened the other night watching the new Adam Sandler special. But before I go into that, here's something I learned about my issues with food, which

are ongoing that they're deep, like like from birth deep. That's true for a lot of people. And that's why Noom takes an approach that balances psychology with biology. When it comes to weight loss, Noom knows that losing weight starts with your brain, but also takes into account your unique biological factors. Setting up a plan that's tailored to your needs with an app that helps you keep your goals within reach. Noom preaches progress, not perfection, so don't worry about depriving yourself

and don't feel shame for having a treat. Your Noom plan will factor it all in. Stay focused on what's important to you with Noom's psychology and biology-based approach. Sign up for your trial today at Noom.com. Oh, this is the other thing I wanted to talk about before I sort of move through other topics, is I think that, I don't have many regrets,

but there are these seemingly old expectations about who I am in the world and relevance and all that, but all that stuff diminishes. And I'm not in any way desperate, and I'm not in any way chasing anything, but there's definitely part of my brain that still thinks it is. And I've got to figure out how to get that fucker to settle the fuck down and accept life the way it is. You know what I'm saying? Do ya? I mean things are like, like, you know,

like my gums. What am I gonna, look, I don't know what, why I'm talking about my gums, but it's just sometimes I get obsessed with my gums. My gums have been receding since I was 15, and apparently I just never know what the fuck it is. I tend to think that I fucked them up with, you know, rushing them too hard or whatever, but it's annoying to me. It's not an unusual thing, gum recession, you know, mouths, you know, they get used a lot

and they're gonna go through a lot, just like the rest of your body. But I'd say that probably gets used more than most things. But I get obsessed with them. And then I realized like the other day, it's like, Oh my God, I got some sort of new Sonic care toothbrush with three speeds on it and a gum setting and a clean setting and a white setting or whatever. And I just like, I don't know what the hell's wrong with me, but I assume like Sonic care, it seems like almost like a medical device.

So I got this thing set on the top setting which is like a power sander And I'm up here going at my fucking teeth and gums with this thing for the last month And I think I just you know I think I just made them raw I knew it felt too like it was too much But I thought good what Sonicare the whole idea is you're not you know you're not going too hard And you just kind of hitting the surface of it, but it's like I couldn't believe I'll wipe my teeth for but I also realized like my gums feel a little raw you know, you're not going too hard and you just kind of hitting the surface of it, but it's like I couldn't believe I wiped my teeth for but I also realized like my gums feel a little raw and uh yeah I don't even know why I'm telling you this it's just it's part of that part of the brain and part of uh marketing I guess I'm like well Sonicare I think it's made by scientists

I mean look at the thing it's got to be made by scientists I'm lucky I have any gums left I went to the dentist the other day, I'm like, what's going on? He's like, nothing, you know, everything's fine. You know, you have this recession because your bite screwed up. And I said, well, I've been using a Sonic carrot on the third speed and it's just like.

He's like, yeah, don't maybe do the first one. I'm like, good call, buddy. But Irrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr And I've talked about before, I talked about recently, whatever I think, I know that Adam Sandler and I had an issue many years ago because I made an example of his fans in a joke. And we had worked this many years ago, I'm sure many of you have heard the story before. Now my assumption was that from that day on, Adam Sandler just was like, fuck that guy. Maybe he is, maybe he's not.

I have seen him several times since then, he's been very nice. He dropped in and did a set on my show, we had a nice conversation, I met his wife, I said nice things about the movie he did with his kid, which were genuine. But he's like that kind of guy, very charming guy, sweet guy, open,

very nice, you like to be around him. And you know, maybe, you know, maybe he's just being nice to me, I don't know, doesn't, the issue is that, I guess the reason I'm prefacing like this, like this, is that whatever I'm about to say right now, does not ever mean that Adam Sandler will ever talk to me on my show. He's never, we've asked many times.

It's completely understandable. I have people like that. So without any reason, and certainly I'm not one to blow smoke too often, but I watched Adam's newest standup special on Netflix, Love You, which was directed by Josh Safdie. And I tell you, it is a rare thing. And I know it from looking at comedy specials my whole life

and from being on many, you get to a point where you're like, well, you can't reinvent the wheel. A special's a special. You can do it with no set. You can do it, you know, in your basement. You can whatever, but it still is what it is. It's just a stand-up, so there's a guy talking to an audience with a mic.

You can do it from a different angle, in a different space, you can do it in a jazz club and not prepare. There's a million ways you can do it. You can do it in a room that seats 80, whatever. But in terms of what it essentially is, I do not think, I do not think there's any way to uniquely do it, to do something new. And Safdie somehow did it with Adam,

and you know, Josh Safdie, the Safdie brothers, but Josh in this particular situation, I mean, he's definitely got a point of view, and there's definitely a thing that he does. Everything is sort of like mildly chaotic and they're profoundly weird. And there is a way that they see movies and they're very distinct and I love them. I love their movies. These guys are sort of original in their auteur-ness,

real point of view and a real style. But I still didn't know, I'd heard that he was gonna direct Adam Special, but I didn't think like, well, what's he gonna do? I mean, he's just gonna fall victim to the form. But he did not! This thing is kind of crazy and kind of beautiful and very engaging and to the point where during the show, his stand up spot,

like I don't know that he knew what was gonna happen. It seems to me that Safdie put him up there and just said, look, you know, you're gonna have to trust me, I'm gonna fuck with you a little bit and you just deal with it, which is a great idea. I hope that's what happened. Obviously, him coming to the club and him seeing fans outside and once he walks in, I mean, obviously he knew the idea of where he was going to do it.

The idea that Willie Tyler and Lester would be on stage when he got there, opening the show. And I don't know where they shot it or what that room was or what they did to it, but it definitely had, it wasn't completely Tim and Eric weird, but it was more kind of like odd people weird. But the bottom line is is that once he gets on stage in this environment, I guarantee you, I wish Josh Safdie would come on. I couldn't get them on either.

But he did an amazing thing, and he did an amazing thing with that specific talent, with Adam, to put him in a situation where he had to react to things that he might not have known were coming. And I don't wanna ruin it for anybody. But there was something about things feeling like they were really

just barely keeping it together. And it was a very intimate show. It just was, it was a special special, which is very rare. You know, unless someone just gets all excited about someone's jokes or ideas, this is a whole package thing. This is as much Joss Safdie as it is Adam Sandler. And that partnership just yielded something truly original and there's no reason for me

to say that because I don't believe I'll ever talk to Adam Sandler on the show. I have doubts I'll ever talk to Josh Safdie on the show but I will recommend you watch that because it's just rare to see something happen with a comedy special and oddly it started not unlike old HBO specials where you do this cold open business where there's a little bit before you actually get on stage it

kind of honors that which you don't see guys doing that much anymore some goofy shit that happens backstage or whatever it is sort of a trope and you don't see it much anymore but but you're never gonna have seen it the way Safdie did it and the whole thing is very fluid. Anyway, I recommend it. I guess that's what I'm doing. I recommend it. It's all very, very new, very surprising, very funny.

There you go, all right? Just recommending. So look, Brendan Walsh is here. His podcast is called the World Record Podcast with Brendan Walsh. You can get it on all podcast platforms. And also I will give a bit of a content warning here that this conversation includes a discussion about suicide.

Okay. All right. This is me talking to Brendan Walsh. Hey folks, it's been a new experience for me up in Vancouver. Brendan Walsh. regularly that would be four whole months I'd be up in Canada which means four months my place is sitting there empty that would be a good scenario to host it on Airbnb and make some extra cash so think about a situation that you've got coming up or you won't be at your place we all have vacations or extended stays somewhere else while you're away your home could be an Airbnb but it doesn't have to be your whole home.

A guest house works, even a spare bedroom. If you're like me and you like showing off where you live, now's your chance to do it and make some extra cash at the same time. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host. Alright? Alright. Flash host all right all right This is just one man show still dude. It's the same as it's ever been. Yeah, that's the way you got to do it I you know and I was just talking to my producer. We were churning out some bonus content. Yeah, and I Asked him when was the when did you do your full WTF? 2011 I I feel like I got blown out again. It well just relax

Well, here's with my podcast. It's always like how's that? It's good. It's only coming hey hey man yeah yeah sure okay sure I'm riding I'm riding the I'm riding the levels over here yeah I'm always what obsessed with the sound like I need to like the sound sounds different like we have an engineer guy and I'm like why do I sound why does that mic sound different than this my yeah Yeah. And I'm just, it's always like. Me too, me too. And my producer's like, dude, don't worry about it. I've got a thing that'll do a thing. And I'm like, all right.

Yeah, well, you handle it. It compresses it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. You don't? I, uh, I don't know. He sends me things. How long you been doing this?

The podcast? The new one, three, I mean, it's two, episode two, third. Holy shit. What's it called world record podcast? What's the angle? Just goofiness You know we make calls oh you do yeah, yeah, and it's just kind of silly you know like bits and I don't want the I Feel like the comedians talking about comedy has been done enough. No offense. But yeah, just, I, you know, I had the Bone Zone

was the first one that started in 2011, I think. Yeah. And it's just silly, goofy bits. Yeah. And phone calls. I do my current one with my domestic partner, who's not a comedian. She's very funny, though. Yeah.

I had Richard Bane was the kind of the original host, and he killed himself a few episodes in. What? And you took up the podcast? He was doing it with you? I was starting the new podcast. Okay. Is this, are we recording already?

Yeah. Yeah, it had just started. I had, I started, I did the Bone Zone with Randy for seven years. Randy. Lidkey. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What's that guy doing? I don't know. Okay, um and

Red-haired guy right? Yeah. Yeah, I think he's on my TV show Maybe yeah, you had me on your show. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah, you're welcome Not a lot of people have thrown me the bones that I thought I would get throughout my career If you call it always been a fan It was one of those things where you know Cuz you know I've got to go up to Vancouver and do it a show and real show business And we're trying to like we were making a list like well Who can we who are guys that you want to talk to again because we started having guests again

I'm like and I was brought you up. I'm like, what's that guy doing? Cuz like I check I'd see things you were tweeting occasionally and you had a thing going with Todd Barry I knew you had podcasts, but well, there's a couple of things that, uh, you know, made me a lifelong fan of, uh, Brendan Walsh. Oh, nice. Yeah. But wait, so let's get back to this guy killing himself. Richard Bane. Funny, uh, real funny comic.

He was on The Bone Zone a lot. So The Bone Zone ended, and, um, which I still recommend as, like, it really is maybe the funniest podcast that's ever been out there. Yeah. It's just, you know, the chemistry and the silliness. I mean, just as like pure comedy, it's, it's great.

Yeah. And that ended right when I had a kid and I lost, you know, my two TV jobs. And you were writing, right? No, I had these sweet gigs. and I lost, you know, my two TV jobs. And... Where you were writing, right? No, I had these sweet gigs I had. I was on that True TV's World's Dumbest. Okay, yeah. You know, the, uh, that was a great,

that was such a great gig. I just, I saw Chelsea Peretti this weekend. Yeah. And, uh, she got, you know, hooked me up with that. She was doing that. Yeah. And it's non-union, you know, non-union. Yeah.

And it was a great, it was great. They would send you a DVD of clips. You'd watch them and then go in and rattle off jokes that you wrote on a green screen. Yeah. And by the end of it... In town? Yeah, in, like, on Kohanga.

It's interesting how that plays in. It's like, where is it? Sure, yeah, I'll go by. It's interesting how that plays in. It's like, where is it? Sure, yeah, I'll go by. Yeah, that sounds good. Oh, it's... I do these, uh, the voice for the snake and the bad guys. I know, I got a six-year-old.

Oh, yeah. And they're like, they're doing another one. I'm like, eight minutes away. I just go over to DreamWorks. Isn't that the best? I mean, that's so inside Hollywood baseball, but, uh... It's a good job. I mean, I don't know, is it, like, of like how demonized were becoming it's like, you know

Anybody who has a job especially someone who's an independent contractor of any kind You know part of the thing that plays into decision-making is yeah money, but it's also like where is it? Oh god, if you had to drive over to the Sony lot every day in Culver City or whatever that area is Where the Fox lot is where that's like pico That's it. That's a motor and but it's like it's not near any highway exit. Yes, it's like 53 minutes Whether you take side streets 53 minutes on the 10. Well now we're getting real nuts This is now no no no now people can still resent us It's like oh are you complaining about making money in show business

and you have to drive an hour. Hour each way. Oh, well that makes it different. Yeah. Well, especially when you're on the lowest rung. Sure. Like I remember when Comedy Central was in Santa Monica. I remember they had their offices there

with Spike TV and stuff. And I've always lived on this side of town. And there would be meetings scheduled and it'd be like 11 a.m. I'm like, great, that's perfect. That's perfect. 11 to two. But then you get the emails, hey, they're pushing it back to three.

Cause you know, it's like everybody else is better than me. So they're gonna get the sweet spots. And then by the time it's like my meeting's at four. And I'm, it's, this is now, I have to leave my house at two. I'm not gonna be home till eight o'clock. Or seven. Eight or seven or eight. I've never talked to anybody that has the same idea about that. Like, you know, it was a big step in my life where, you know, if I had to go to a meeting on the West Side,

and I'm like, I'm not doing it at four, and I'm not doing it at 10. So, and I don't care if I do it. So figure it out. Because I always felt the same way. You got me at four, it's like, who was it? 11, 12, one. John Oliver.

But somebody. Jack Black. Probably. Eric Andre. I mean, just, you know, name anybody and they're above me. But. Jack Black. Probably. Eric Andre. I mean, just, you know, name anybody and they're above me. But we don't. But that's not true. Tony Hingecliff's opener.

Which one? I don't know. Yeah, the full cast of Kill Tony. Yeah. That wasn't even the back when they were in Santa Monica. I don't think they were. Yeah, but I'm the same way. I'm sort of like, I just,

it began to feel fundamentally disrespectful to have a meeting at four o'clock booked from the West Side. Yeah, I mean, but, well, and then COVID happened, and it proved that, like, nobody had to be driving across town. Skype was around back then. But also, they're not necessarily meeting with other people.

Like, who the hell knows what they do? I don't know what anybody does. No, I mean, they have clowns in to entertain them for a few minutes and indulge their fantasies of making it in show business. And then they sit and talk, and then they have a meeting about a thing, and that's the day. Well, I think they have like a budget they have to spend

on lunches and... And yeah, just kind of, you know, justify their existence. And, you know, it's just like set up meetings with every clown in town. Yeah, every solicited clown. Yeah. So what about this guy, Bane? So Richard Bane, yeah.

So yeah, like this long-winded. I'm sorry. But yeah, did the Bone Zone, super funny thing. That ended kind of abruptly. Right when Patreon, all that, like, it was, I was like, all right, I guess we're not, yeah, okay, great. Now, now that we can finally monetize this thing, we have like a loyal fan base.

The other guy doesn't want to do it anymore. And all right. And so then I, you know, tried to figure out what I wanted to do next. I did a thing with Nick Thune called, Do You Know Who Jason Segal Is? That came from the Bone Zone where there was, because you know, we would

make calls on the Bone Zone and was talking to Nick, I don't know, we were talking about celebrity or something and I brought up Jason Segal and Nick Thune's like, well, everybody knows who he is. I was like, I bet if we call 20 people right now, randomly around the country, nobody's gonna know who he is

by name. And so we did and we called around. And this is not an indictment on Jason Segel's popularity, it's also a name that just sounds like a name. And we called, yeah, like 20 places and like two people were like, the actor? And I was like, see?

And then I thought, that's a funny idea for a podcast where you just call each state, call a few places and say, hey, do you know who Jason Siegel is? Right. And then just talk to the, like, most people will be like, oh, you know, that name sounds familiar. Sure. Did he work here?

Yeah. Is he coming? Yeah. So I did that with Nick Thune, and that was just going to be a limited, we were just going to do all 50 states. So like 50, 52 episodes or whatever. That was always, that's like been an ongoing joke of mine

is all 52 states because I, one of my first, one of my first gigs was in Tulsa, Oklahoma at that Tulsa Comedy Club. Yeah. And you know, just the audience, I didn't, it was like, I was like, I have nothing in common with these people. You know, I did not want to get killed

and I was very green. I had enough like diarrhea jokes and poop jokes that I could get by. Yeah, to get you through, yeah. And I had, uh, I started a debate in the audience one night, because I had a joke about Florida or something. And I was like, out of all 50 states,

Florida and I go, oh, wait, 50 states, is it 50 or 52? Oh yeah, 52, right? Alaska and Hawaii are 52. And then someone in the audience is like, no, it's 50. And then someone else is like, no, he's right, Alaska and Hawaii. And it started a little debate in the audience in 52-1, as the 52ers shot down.

Which is wrong. I know, I know. So either way, the- I did a joke that I said 52 states, and Mike Sweeney corrected me. It was like, there's 50. It's just so stupid, because it's one of those basic civics lessons

that everyone should fucking know. And I felt dumb, because you think you're a smart person, it's like 52 states. Did you, but you were joking though, right? No, no, I was just saying 52. Oh, okay. And it was years ago, but like, and then I felt forever stupid,

but we'll never forget now. Yeah, well, that'll stick with you. Yeah, sure. There's another bit that I always do that flies over people's heads is, I always say, you know, when people tell me I'm dumb or whatever, I go, no, I'm actually really smart. I have like a 72 IQ.

Yeah. Which is borderline dumb. Yeah. Borderline like medically dumb. Whatever the proper term is for that. But people don't, nobody knows. They're like, oh. They're like, oh, okay, I don't know what that means.

You know? Yeah. But anyway, so the, did the thing with Thune, and that kind of fizzled out before we got to, we made it to about 40 states. And then was like, oh, I want to do another podcast, and I want to do, having a a get or having a co-host is kind of adds the, um, probability of chaos

and somebody screwing you over and leaving. So I kind of wanted to keep it loose, but I like having somebody to play around with. And so Richard was, um, he's super funny comic from Portland and he had come on the Bone Zone a bunch. And so he was, it was, you know, the podcast is World Record podcast with Brendan Walsh. But I kind of was like, I'm gonna have not like

a solid co-host, but a revi, whatever. And Richard, but Richard was kind of like gonna be my ad hoc co-host or whatever. And yeah, and then actually Memorial Day's coming up. He killed himself like the night before Memorial Day. That's horrible. Did you see that coming?

It wasn't the most shocking email or text that I got. I mean, he would talk about it. Um... No, I mean... I don't know. I mean, when you're in this world, it's like, don't we all kind of, or at least that... At least go through a phase of that. Like, maybe I'll just fucking hung up on my phone.

Oh, no, I'm pretty regular suicide rumination guy. Yeah. So... It's comforting. You don't expect it. You don't expect it, but I wasn't floored by the I mean, I was very upset right and Do you have a family? No, not a single guy. Uh-huh That's so funny. It's a positive. Well, that's good I mean as a guy with kids now, I you know that that is one of the first because I can't you know, the thought of

Ruining their lives deal with that is- You have two? Two, I have a boy and a girl. So you just kept going on your own with the ghost of Richard. Amanda was, yeah, and the only text or a tweet that, you know, because there were people tweeting like, you know, oh man, he was great and stuff.

And I remember I went on a really long walk after I got the You know after I found out Do a lot of people cry on the podcast? Yeah. Yeah, I figured you got 15 episode. I'm not gonna do that Just cry we need have had a good cry. It could be good. Yeah get somebody to fucking stay tuned in right? They're skipping over this one already No, they're not guys. This is people like the episodes with people they don't know middle act They like those better the episode before was Tom Cruise. Yeah, yeah failed middle I follow Barack Obama with Rich Voss right yeah, okay still still better than a Brendan Walsh get no that's not but uh

But yeah, the only so you're walking that I did I was walking it was a friend of Walsh's. No, that's not true. But, uh, but yeah, the only tweet that I did, I was walking, it was like kind of scrolling through it. Yeah. And I just tweeted to him, I guess you really didn't want to record the podcast tomorrow. Like a lot of people really do a lot of shh, come up with a lot of crazy excuses

to get out of doing a fucking podcast, but you really took the cake on this one. How did that go over? I don't know. I mean, who knows? Yeah. I, I, I wasn't, I wasn't counting my faves. Oh, good. You know, it was, uh, it really, it really bummed

me out, uh, and still does, you know, like I think about, it's funny, we did a, oh, whatever. I don't want to go, but they, we recorded one over when COVID started. Yeah. And I was, um, my, Amanda and the kids went to Big Bear or so I had the place to myself. Yeah. I was like, I'm just going to call a bunch of

people and do this in the place. Yeah. Recorded over zoom and, um, and I have a lot of very, the initial call is just us kind of shooting the shit. Like I have these secretly recorded phone calls. Have you and Richard? Yeah. a lot of very, the initial call is just us kind of shooting the shit. Like I have these secretly recorded phone calls. Of you and Richard?

Yeah, just the one when we were doing the podcast. Like there's like an hour of us shooting the breeze before we did the episode. I actually found, there's one with Drew Carey too, where we, I'm like, ooh, this is, you almost feel dirty. Like I found it on this old recorder. I was going, I used it for something for the first time. Yeah. You almost feel like, ooh, I was like, I'm like a spy.

It was secretly, I mean, that wasn't the intent. It was just like, just start recording, make sure it works. Sure. And then because you're friends with the guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You have the thing. But it's nice, though, right, to hear him?

It's nice. Yeah. Yeah. I guess so. It's, you know,, to hear him? It's nice. Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. It's, you know, it's a bummer. He was one, like, I have a pretty small social... I don't know. I don't have, like, a thing, like a clique. I feel like we're similar. Like, you know, there's...

I've told people in the, you know, I might have even said on a podcast, but it's like you have like, if you made a Venn diagram of like the Rogan crew and like the Ackerman crew, the only place it overlaps is like they both think Brendan Walsh is an asshole. Well, I mean, I used to do a joke. I said, you know, all you need are two friends, really, in life. You need the main guy and the guy you go to when you drain the main guy Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you're tired. I'll call the other guy. Yeah, take the day off Yeah, mine was like, you know going to concerts and stuff. Neil Mahoney was the other Oh another guy

And they both both during kovat those guys both died. Do you think it had something to do with kovat the isolation? Yeah, if I didn't have a little, one little kid when it started and two when it ended, uh, I, like, I was thinking if I was back in my one bedroom apartment when I was living by myself, if I, it would have been a, uh, it probably would have been a trip to the liquor store bogeys every day. Yep. And there would have been a bottle of James liquor store Bogies every day. Yeah. There would have been a bottle of Jameson drank every day. Oh my god.

Probably. Yeah. Because even with the kids, and I'm lucky during COVID, like we weren't, you know, I have a small place for four people. And luckily, Amanda's, she grew up in Burbank. So her mom was, so during COVID there still was like, I'm gonna go to my mom's house with the kids.

And, you know, we weren't that wound up of like fucking wearing hazmat suits and not going near family. And so I would have time to still kind of get work done at the place and have the place to myself. But also have people. Well, have people, well'll have, you know, people to where the wife and kids can get out.

Um, but there were days where, you know, I would just kind of be like, uh, okay, what am I doing? It's 11 a.m., I did, you know, the email thing, and I did this and that, and I look at the little kind of drink cart, and I'm like, I could have a glass of, like, what? Why can't you? I can have a glass of whiskey at 11 in the morning. Who's stopping you at this point? Like, everything, like, nobody.

So I even did, like, I wasn't, like, you know, boozing up crazy during COVID, but that kind of, like, you're not gonna have a meeting. Nothing's gonna pop up that you need to be. So I think that, you know, and I think, I don't know exactly what did kneel in, but it was drinking related. And I think that it was just, you know, you get...

Isolation. Isolation and yeah, just kind of like, no monitoring system. And I think when you're drinking kind of that much, there's a certain kind of like, you don't let everybody know that you're on your second bottle of Bullet that day. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the alcoholic thing, especially when, I mean,

well that's like even the whole nature of the program is like it's all based on one alcoholic talking to another one. Like if you have an alcoholic brain or a certain type of mental disposition and you're not engaging with any sort of reflection of you through other people, and it's just your brain reflecting on itself,

it's a hopeless situation. Can't fucking win. It's the worst. Like if I didn't have the podcast, I don't know who I'd be. If I didn't talk to people, I don't know like I don't know who I'd be Yeah, I didn't talk to people even if I even if it's only once like, you know, just to have the engagement Yeah I mean, I think someone told me the other day that they think the reason why people are snapping like you see all these

Karen's or you know people snapping on planes is because they no longer know how to operate Mm-hmm among people anymore and it's directly related to COVID. And I never thought about that. All these people that had patterns in their lives and they were taken away from them for three years and they haven't re-assimilated. I mean, I noticed that once I got back to- And Trump didn't help with the doubling down on garbage.

Oh yeah, I think Trump helped out a lot actually. Oh yeah. Well, I think he did a lot actually. Oh yeah. Well I think he did a good job. Oh sure. Overall really. Really gave everyone a voice. Can't wait to see his second term.

Oh boy. Can't wait to see what he does next. Yeah well I mean you know it might be better not to be too famous. Yeah. Yeah because if he doesn't like you I don't know what he's gonna put into place. Oh I'm gonna stay I've been staying on his good side. Oh, yeah Every day. How's everything going in court? Yeah, do you treat to him still? No, I don't I I really I don't pay attention to anything No, no, that's good. I don't reading right?

It's free, but you know what? It's all it's also like, you know that Northern Lights shit that's been going on. Yeah Yeah, I'm like, oh found out. You missed it? Yeah, I'm like, oh wait, I didn't know. Like I see a tweet, like I really, I go on Instagram and Twitter to just kind of promote the podcast or if a stupid joke comes into my head, just do that. But I really limit the, you get sucked in,

you get sucked into a certain point where you start scrolling. Sure, yeah. But I don't, I'm like. Just being emotionally jerked around by your phone. Yeah, the fucking like, people, I have friends who send me, you know, like messed up Instagram.

Sure. They follow whatever, faces of death, fucking accounts and shit. And it used to be, I guess I got out of that cycle where, you know, you wake up in the morning, first thing you do is turn your phone off, you're not disturbed, see the emails and stuff. News.

Look at Instagram and it would be like, I've been awake for three minutes. Yeah. And I just saw a fucking forklift fall on a guy and kill him. Like, you shouldn't see that right away. You shouldn't see that ever. Yeah.

But it's happened from, I remember when the internet was first starting and a guy sending me this fucking picture. I, what was it called? Like rotten.com or there was one of those sites of like fucking motorcycle accident, whatever, just horrible shit. And he sent me, uh, I mean, it was a good lesson early on in the internet, like 98 or whatever I was working, it was because there's a guy I worked with at the Zack Scott Theater in Austin

when I was building sets. Yeah. No, it was, I don't, either way, it was before the internet was the internet. Yeah. And we're still just kinda new to email and stuff and we all figured out like, well there's an unlimited fucking bottomless pit of pornography now.

Yeah, and garbage. And just complete morbidity fascination. Yeah, well, a guy sent me a picture of a guy who had tried to, it was like a weightlifter thing and he squatted too much weight and his fucking asshole got blown, like his colon shot out of his ass or something. And I like, and it's one of those things

where you're looking at the picture like, what the fuck am I looking at? And then those things where you're looking at the picture like what? The fuck am I looking at and then you realize you're like ah ah I can't now that's I can't Yeah, I was a good thing on for a good lesson because you know like two girls one cups been an ongoing You know everybody knows what that is or whatever yeah, I've never seen it Yeah, because I'm like I know I get the gist. I don't think I saw it either I don't want to I got up to the point. I saw kind of the

Where I got enough into her I said, that's enough. I don't want I don't need I have that in my head And I don't want the rest of you I totally believe that you know what you can do to your brain upon waking is more than your brain's ever supposed to tolerate in a lifetime. You can do it because you're emotionally connected to the phone in a deep way. So if you just blow your brain out with catastrophe, tragedy, apocalyptic politics, anything,

like you've overwhelmed your, we weren't designed for that. And now we just adapt to it. And it's fucking horrendous. And I try to get, I try not to do it. I only look at news and I'll scroll a bit, but my algorithm is mostly cat rescue and food. That's good. Yeah, so like, I feel like I'm okay with that.

But I was thinking about before you came over, like what are the books you brought? So I, and this is why I wasn't late. I was Hollywood late. I wasn't 15 minutes early. You were right on time, yeah. Uh, and I was like, oh shit, I wanted to bring Marc a gift. And, um, and I was like, I wanted to bring a book.

I have a bunch of old National Lampoon magazines. I wanted to bring you a couple of those from like the 80s. But I think I moved them into my garage. They weren't in my office where I thought. But this book, well, I have two copies of this. I'm sure you've read this. Brave New World, sure, yeah. You probably have that already, right?

Somewhere, yeah. If you want it, I have two. But this, have you ever read this? Jack Handy, The Stench of Honolulu, no. Okay, funniest book I've ever read in my life. Seriously? I appreciate your gifts. You gave me that spiritualized record once that oh I did bring you a gift last time Well, it was years ago. I must have known like 2011

Yeah, you might have sent it to me because you were so into them and they would become like a big, you know They're in my rotation. That's good to hear like that. Yeah, you brought me spiritualized Ladies and gentlemen floating through space. Yeah, that's the spiritualized, ladies and gentlemen. Floating through space. Yeah. That's the one, that was the one. That was the album in Austin that, you know, I had a roommate who had an amazing record collection and turned me on to a lot of stuff

that really sticks around in the heavy rotation. Yeah, yeah, they're great. So what I was thinking about before you came over was that, like I still think about the conversation we had walking over that bridge in Vancouver. Yeah, I remember that. I mean, I remember the time, I don't remember the conversation really.

Well, it was like, you know, right when, you know, the sort of Rogan tribe was cohearing at the beginning, it felt like, of the podcast, right? And you had, and I remember I was fascinated with it, you had just said, fuck this. And I'd never heard anyone talk about about it before and I'm like what happened Yeah, and you were just sort of like I don't work for anybody. Yeah, what was that? I

Don't you know, I mean I opened for Joe for a little bit. Yeah, and I don't you know, and I don't have I'm not hedging my bets or anything, but I don't Joe's always been super nice to me. Yeah, and I don't, Joe's always been super nice to me, and I don't have any ill will towards any of those guys' success or that whole thing. But it is a thing that, and maybe it's me just talking myself out of, like, that I could be in a much different position financially if I rode that wave and played the game. Right.

You know, I opened for him biggest shows I've ever done in my life, I think. Yeah. Like even back then he, I think we did a 3000 seat place at the, and the, you would go with him to, he has such a great setup. He, you know, hosts the UFC on Saturday. Right. So he would book a gig on Friday night, do like a 2,000 seat theater.

Yeah. So you go to that with him, then you sit ringside for the fight on Saturday, which going into that too, I was like, I don't want to see that guy's beating the shit out of each other. Like, not... Um, and the first fight I went to was like, because I watched UFC when it first started,

when there was like really no rules. Like you would have like a 300 pound guy versus a 160 pound guy. Yeah. One was just like a bouncer and one was a karate master. Right. You could like kick them in the back of the head. Like there was no rules.

Right. And I, you know, I liked it or whatever. It was like a side, a freak show. Um, but yeah, when, would go to the shows, the first, I liked it or whatever. It was like a side show, a freak show. Um, but yeah, I went, would go to the shows. The first fight I went to, you are in the third row or whatever. Yeah. And this guy got punched in the, you heard his

nose break, like you heard the distinctive sound of a nose break. And I was like, Oh boy. Yeah. I've since gotten into it. Like it's ruined boxing for me. Right. Cause it's, the action is great.

Yeah. Um, but, so I did some shows with Rogan and yeah, just didn't feel like I fit in with like, you know, it was like me and him and Red Band and Diaz and never really felt like Diaz liked me. I, but I also, I don't, I'm sure you were similar. I don't think anybody likes me. So it's really a problem.

Yeah. I mean, I'm not trying to bait you into, you know, shitting on Rogan. I'm not shitting on anybody. I fucked, I fucked it up. I was meeting the Red Band one night at the improv. Okay. And. Oh, that was what it was.

Yeah. Yeah. And that, that severed the whole, you know, because they're very, I don't know. I don't know, I can't speculate on their code of creed, you know, manifesto or whatever. But I did something really mean to Red Band. And I was, you know, it was, I was on the road with him a lot. I felt like, I don't know if I,

I don't wanna get into the details, but it was, I got, you know, I was, I had had some drinks. I basically, I was gonna do not premium blend, but the half hour Comedy Central thing. And I had booked a show at the small, at the side room, the lab, at the improv. Yeah, yeah. To run the half hour.

Right. And I had done it like, I don't know, it was like casually, maybe at the bar when I was hanging out there. The improv was kind of the, that was my club. That's where I went. Yeah. That's where I did most of my sets. I was never a comedy star guy.

Never really liked The Laugh Factory. I felt like that was a bad road gig all the time. Yeah, no, I'd never go there, yeah. And, um, so maybe like, I, you know, the guy who was running it, I just was like, oh yeah, let's do that or whatever. Never put it in my calendar. Never, I just forgot. Yeah.

And then I think the day before the guy's like, so you're doing that. You, you have the lab tomorrow, right? And I'm like, oh shit, I didn't even fucking promote it. I didn't tweet it. I didn't even fucking promote. I didn't tweet it I didn't do anything. Yeah, nobody's gonna be there Yeah, so I frantically did a couple tweets or whatever and I don't eight people showed up I'm like, well, I'm not gonna try and run my half hour or whatever eight for eight P Like it's just not gonna work. So I just wound up, you know

You know have a whiskey. I mean by the end there might have been 25 sure. I mean, by the end, there might've been 25. I mean, it's a small space, but yeah, I just kind of had a fun, silly set. I remember John Doerr was there. I don't know if I dragged him in on the beer or something. Oh, look at how he's doing. She's great.

I think he's got a kid now too, according to- Is he in Canada or is he here? I think he's in Canada. Yeah. Either way, just was like, well, this was a fucking waste of time. You know, had a few drinks, and was just kind of goofing around,

keeping everybody entertained for however long I had to. I don't think I had any openers, because I didn't fucking, I forgot about, I forgot I did, I forgot I booked it. And then was at the bar after the show, and yeah, and Red Band came in and said that, he had a rough show at the Ontario Rob or something. Yeah.

And he's, yeah, he was like, the crowd sucked. And I was like, I didn't suck, you suck. That's the problem. And it was mean. It was mean. But you felt bad about it. I felt bad about it. that he really got like he really got upset and I was The thing is is that if you're contrite because I'm the same kind of guy

You know you get in these moments of honesty where you it's half a joke, but it's too hard Yeah, you know like you know what I mean like you want it to be you kind of half wanted to land as a joke But you know that there's an honesty to it. That's why I'm no good at roasts. I don't know how to insult people unless I mean it. Here's the problem with these roasts, I think, is that, and I'm not a roast historian, but I feel like back in the olden days, it was like, the deus was all people who really knew,

who really know and love the guy. There were no random comics just from out there who just came up and, oh, I wrote a bunch of jokes about shit that was in the tabloids about you. And they are mean, because tonight was the first night I met you. Or whatever, but I do, like, if it is, you know, people who obviously know and love each other,

then it's funny. But I just think the honesty and insult, because I've had to, like, my whole life had to curb that. Well, I wasn't really joking with Redband. That was the thing. It wasn't a good-natured jab. Yeah, yeah. It was a, uh, I'm kind of sick of you right now. Right.

Because he was on the road with us opening and stuff, and I felt like this guy got, you know, he didn't earn this spot or whatever. I don't know what it was. What bugged me, I didn't really care about that. I mean, I feel like maybe the only thing I'm protected, I was protective of is like, hey, I put in the time with this shit and I'm here because of, you know,

certain things that have happened. This kind of organically happened. You're this guy's buddy who he's like well you want to try stand up go open for me at the 2000 seat thing Yeah, and you get a pass because everybody there knows is familiar with you from the podcast right? But my point is is that? There was a sense like you know what I see now is that there what's ultimately happened is there's sort of a What I see now is that what's ultimately happened is there's sort of a tribalization of the comedy landscape. Definitely. And there's this new show business

and old show businesses kind of scrambling to adapt and appropriate what they can. But I just thought what was interesting about it was more what you were saying about what are we willing to do to get an audience? And is that audience really ours? I mean, I think the idea of realizing that, you know, I'm only gonna be part of this caravan.

Until he decides it. So I, you know, and maybe it's justifying my actions, which I did regret and I've apologized and I feel like we're okay. But also it's like, yeah, I said shit that you can't take back. Yeah, right. And, uh, yeah, it was mean and it was shitty.

And I don't know where it came. I know where it came from was I, you know, just, I don't know. No, I know where it comes from. I mean, it's like, there's this idea that when you, back in the day, there was a way to do this. Yeah. And anytime, you know, people would cut corners or you. But it's not my place to do it. And, you know, obviously the drinking had some...

Sure. If I hadn't had, you know... Sure. If everything leading up to that confrontation hadn't happened, it wouldn't have happened. Because I was mad at, you know, that's something that I've learned over the years is that all of my bullshit, negative talking, talking shit or whatever,

it's like, you know, I mean it's just, it's common knowledge. You're talking about yourself. This is all shit that you fucking don't like about yourself. But I think what impressed on me, what it impressed on me was that, you know, whether it was alcohol or just your own insecurity, you know, the wherewithal to know that,

you know, you didn't know what your future would hold, but you didn't want to be sucked up into somebody else's caravan. Well, I didn't want somebody to have the power to pull the plug on it. Oh, yeah. Because I feel like- To be sent out. Let's say this misstep or whatever you want to call it with Red Bandit happened two years later. Yeah.

And I, I, I was in that group kind of, and I did go from making 1500 bucks a week to $15,000 a week at the clubs and, and, uh, and then I had some, something happened between me and one of his main guys, then I feel like he would have, that would something happened between me and one of his main guys. Yeah. Then, I feel like he would have, that would have had a bigger, like, he'd be like, that guy Brendan's a fucking asshole, that was a mistake,

don't go see him anymore. Right. And then that, not, I don't know if that's what, but... No, I get that theory, yeah. And that's kind of how I felt after the fact was like, and probably even going into it was like I don't because I had the taste of that with Stan Hope yeah where and you know, I mean that But you're more in line with Stan more in line with Stan Hope. Yeah, and

Yeah, but also it did come to a point like when I was moving out here Yeah, but also it did come to a point, like when I was moving out here... From Austin? From Austin. And I stopped at Doug's, because I just drove my car to move out here. And that's kind of a good stopping point,

and went and hung out with Doug to watch the Super Bowl. And I wound up sticking around and helping a guy build his fun house. I used to be a carpenter, so. I was opening for Doug a lot. And when we went on my way out here, I was like, I'm gonna, you know, he had a tour coming up and I'm like, I'm gonna tell him I'm not, I don't wanna do it. Because I knew a handful of comics who did,

road comics who moved out here and continued to just be on the road all the time. So all they did was triple the rent. And you just move out here and like, oh, you know this guy or that guy? No, I've never heard of him. And because they're still on the road 30, 40 weeks a year. And so I'm like, I'm gonna tell Doug.

And it was the most amicable, it was funny. It was like almost, you know, Three's Company. We're sitting at his kitchen table and, you know, having beer or whatever, smoking cigarettes and, and, uh, I was like, oh, you know, yeah, I want to talk to you about the upcoming tour. And he's like, well, you know, I want to talk

to you about it too, actually. Uh, I was talking to Hannigan, his manager, and he's like, you know, we're just going to use local guys. He thinks it's better to just not, it's like taking an opener, it's better. And I was like, oh, I was gonna tell you, I don't wanna do it, so this is great.

This is the best breakup I've ever had, cheers. Let's. Yeah, but I relate to you, that's the thing, is like there's still something about me, like I never did that. I went from, you know, opener to headliner pretty quick. I didn't feature much, you know, when I started,

you know, because I was, I did my training in Boston, and we were doing two-man shows, half hour, you know, so I was a pretty strong feature when I started working. Yeah. But I could never, I never wanted to open, because like, you know, I learned something at the Comedy Store, you know, with Kennison, where, you know, he would have this crew of guys.

But you're never gonna get out from under that. Well, that's another cautionary tale. It's like, yeah, you have these guys that, like, once Kennison died, they're back to the B rooms and whatever. It's like, you just, you gotta be on the road all the time and you're not... Yeah, that was my biggest fear when I started the podcast, but I couldn't unfuck it in my brain

There's too much pride and too much insecurity to think that that would necessarily be an opportunity and look it doesn't always work that way I mean Barghetti used to open for me. Mm-hmm You know what I mean, and that was like some weird match made in where I just loved the guy Yeah, but you know, he's the biggest name in comedy. So it doesn't always go that way, but there was some fucking point of pride with me where I'm like, you know, I wanna build my own thing. Yeah.

And it just fucking worked out that the podcast clicked, I had good cosmic timing, I don't know if it would have happened otherwise, I don't even know what I would ultimately draw in B rooms It worked out for you. Yeah, it's uh, and that's you know as somebody who's a new AARP member How old are you trying to get new faces? I just turned 50 I'm fucking 60. But what but like in looking back on it. Do you regret it? You know, I don't I feel like I'm 10 years behind

on everything. I started late, you know, I started when I was like 30 instead of 20, like, you know. I still remember being in that front fucking room at Cap City talking to you, and I'm like, this guy's, he's pretty full of the beans. Yeah, we talked about it on that, in 2000. That's why I listened to it.

I was like, I gotta listen to this, cause I don't wanna, number one, that would be terrible if I came in with the same, if we had the same fucking conversation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So long ago. Um, it's, yeah, because we didn't, you mentioned the, you know, walking over the bridge

and getting Chinese food at the Vancouver thing. Yeah. And we haven't hung out a bunch, but the times that we have, I stay stuck, I mean, I have, like I don't remember everything, like you said, I don't remember what we talked about, but I do have a very distinct kind of, you know, image of you and I, of your face,

talking to me in the back of the big room or. Serious conversations. Just shooting the shit, yeah. And yeah, and yeah. But you think you're 10 years behind? Well, I think with the, you know, when you look at the like, just kind of, it took me a while to figure things out. It took me a while to figure out, you know,

go to an open mic if you wanna do stand up or whatever. Like I didn't know, you know, I wasn't Albert Brooks. I didn't grow up next door to Carl Reiner, like I never had anybody tell me, you know, like when I was 13 and somebody said, what do you wanna do? I wanna be on Saturday Night Live. The only advice I had was, well, that's impossible. Like there was nobody, it's like,

well, you can join the groundlings and do this, and they're like, it's not on another planet. There's ways to do it. There's the ways to try to get, to try to do it. So yeah, I just, you know, kind of had the, I just figured things out on my own while, you know, also goofing around, like just wanted to live life like I was cutting school.

You know, Jet, that was the best feeling was when I was in high school, when I discovered that you can cut school and just go and have an adventure every day instead of sitting in algebra class. You're like, this is what I want. This is what I want. And then after high school, after squeaking out of there, having a job and getting fired from that

and realizing, I don't want that either. And I don't wanna, I don't know, I want it to have a certain amount of freedom. It's just like working for people. Yeah. I mean, like, literally, like, you know, I was one of those guys where, you know, club owners. Like, I'm still pretty, you know, weird about it. Yeah.

Even though, like, I'm doing mostly small theaters, but like, you know, I just, I'm at a point where I just, I'm not gonna tolerate disrespect from a club owner. It's like, and they were the gatekeepers. It was crazy, dude. Getting yelled at by a guy as an adult is really hard for me, like, you know, and that's, because that was my whole kind,

I feel like that's, that was my whole childhood. Somebody's just always yelling at me for doing something that I'm just doing, you know, where I'm like, what? I don't know, it's just, I was goofing around. What is that? I wasn't hurting anybody. I'm trying to be, I'm trying to make myself laugh.

Yeah. What the fuck? I would make a Dave laugh. Yeah. That's all I'm doing. Why is there a nun physically assaulting me over this? And yeah. So then getting into comedy where I'm like, well,

everybody's going to be a rockin' party guy. And then realizing like, what the fuck? Still guys yelling at me. I thought like sending everybody's gonna be a fucking party guy and and then realizing like what the fuck so guys yelling at me I thought like sending them goofy headshots when they asked me to send headshots and I fucking drew You know a cock going into my mouth on my head shot Yeah, sent to him hang up at the club right like what the fuck is this shit? I'm like I that's not funny to you that I drew a cock going into my mouth on my head shot that for you to hang Up and what's wrong with you? No, I'm gonna get yelled at on the phone for a half hour. Okay, sorry

I thought I got in the comedy business. There were a lot of like I do see a lot of signs from the universe and There were a lot of ignored signs when I was starting stand-up comedy where I'm like I should have fucking got stopped right there That I should have fucking packed my bags and called everybody and said I'm done with this This is not the right path for what I want when I was crying literally in the fucking hotel at the Comedy Cave in The fuck is that one of the coldest places in the world? It's a Calgary. Yeah, okay. Yeah in February yeah like freezing fuck you couldn't leave. There was a Chinese buffet across the

parking lot. You could bundle up enough before your eyeballs froze open to get to the Chinese buffet to eat and then run back to the Travelodge where the club was in the Travelodge. Right. And it was a Tuesday through Sunday week. And I think that was also- Although I've done that gig. You've done that, huh? In the hotel. It's called the Comedy Kid.

It's like in the ballroom of the hotel. It's like just a little- It's what I call the ballroom. Right, but it's been around for years. Yeah, yeah. I think it moved locations once. I mean, this is, yeah, this also was, this is all connected to when I did my half hour thing too.

Cause I think- Why were you crying? Because it was around Christmas time. So the crowds were dismal. And then the only night, it was, again, it was me. I'm like, okay, I have this half hour that I'm gonna do for Comedy Central. Let's fucking run all this stuff and start having fun with it.

Just be like Lucy, like, you know, like let's be Jordan shooting free throws for a month before we play the big game or whatever. And you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, death, Thursday, death. And I think it was the Thursday night show, there's a big Christmas party of oil rig guys. Yeah. And I walk into the club, they're already shit faced.

There's 50 of them. Yeah. It's like, it's half the crowd. And one of the guys is on the stage talking to them. I go, look at me, hey, I'm fucking, yeah. And I go up to the, you know, they're already should be kicked out before the show starts. And I go to the guy, say know, they're already should be kicked out before the show starts. And I go to the guy, say, what's going on with this?

This is, what are you gonna do about this before the show starts? I don't wanna do that. And he's like, well, it's the whole fucking crowd. I'm not gonna do anything about it. I'm like, so I gotta go do that. Take the hit. I gotta fight with a table full of guys

who could beat me up, so I gotta, I'm not gonna fuckin' tear into them that much, not that I'm like a destroying heckler guy, but. Right. Yeah, so it was like, you know, I didn't even get into, what? He pushed you over the edge. Well, it was, you know, it was one of those shows

where I'm like, let me, I'll open with my closer to maybe get them the fucking... Sure. Maybe that'll end, didn't even get to finish the sentence and was like, this is fuck. All right, what do you guys wanna talk about? Yeah.

Yeah, I guess I am a faggot or whatever. Yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, fought my way through it. Nobody had fun. I guess some of those guys had fun, you know, because they were just yelling. They got to do whatever they wanted for an hour. Yeah.

And, um, went back to my hotel room and realized I wasn't even halfway done the week and started crying and was like, what am I doing? What is this? What the fuck am I doing? Why am I here? Yeah. And what am I going to get out of this?

And what the fuck am I even like? I don't even like my act anyway. Like, I don't like anything about myself. And I cried. I fucking cried and looked out the window and it's in the room they gave you in the Travelodge was the room that was like the window was blocked by the air conditioner, the HVAC unit

on top of the other roof. I'm like, oh, this is, that's why this is the comedian's room because everybody they give it to opens the window and goes, you have another, I don't want the fucking giant HVAC thing right out. I don't want to view and hearing that. Yeah. And right there, I'm like, I don't, yeah, why?

I mean, hindsight, I don't have regrets. Of course I have, you know, I don't yeah why I mean hindsight I don't have regrets of course I have you know of course there's things I should have done differently Yeah, but yeah in hindsight. I'm like if that wasn't a fucking sign like all these so many things where it's like if that was not a sign from a higher power like Knock it off. You're on the wrong. You got on the wrong fucking train you went to You're on the wrong, you got on the wrong fucking train. You went to Grand Central station and you got on the wrong fucking train. This is taking you further and further away from where you want to be. To Calgary.

It's take it. Yeah. Yeah. And you're not, it's going to take so long to figure out, to get back on it. And I feel like now I've figured out the train. Like, I'm like, okay. Now that I've, now that I've figured out the train, like I'm like, okay, now that I've exhausted everybody in LA.

Yeah. And, and that's, maybe that's another thing, you know, where I do have a knack for self-defeating. But it's like, yeah, I just had a thing and where, you know, I've had development deals, like I've, I've managed to just kind of stumble through Hollywood for the past 15 years. Yeah. It's like, I don't need a lot to get by.

I get enough, you know, like at midnight thing, had a gig doing stuff for them, had the true TV thing, get these random uncredited writing jobs for like, you know, prank shows or whatever. And, and, um... Yeah, and then just had to develop a Fox thing, you know, that imploded for, you know, whatever. These things never work out.

Do you do stand-up? Well, I'm getting back into it. Like, that's the other kind of like, all right, here's your, okay, now you got, you can't, living in my car is not an option anymore because I got three other people. Yeah. The car's not big enough.

Sure. And now it's like, so what's the, yeah, it's like, okay, well, let's dust off the old, you know, other way that I never really made enough money. Well, you gave me a ride from the airport, didn't you? I think- Oh, that was in your show. Oh, okay.

That was my character. I know I'm a great actor, so that's probably why. I might have from Austin, Austin, that was part of it. No, I think it was the show. But I didn't open for you, but that's, yeah, that was in the show. Yeah, I think that was the show. I did your show.

What, so how's it feel to do, to focus on standup again? Well, I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm, well, I, I, that was one thing during COVID that I, that gave a lot of people time to reflect on, like, what the fuck am I doing? And, and also, yeah, with all the signs from God of like, you know, crying and Calgary and, and other things where I'm like, oh yeah, why didn't I just say fuck you and walk away then? What the fuck? And you just get caught up in it where that's what you do and it's like, I'm going to the improv three nights a week

or four, whatever, you're doing those, you know, all shows around town, 10 minute sets. And every time driving to one of those shows, I'm like, fuck. Yeah. I'm gonna fucking, what the fuck? Yeah. I'm gonna fucking do this.

See, you didn't like it. Well, the 10 minute thing is like, I don't, like, I would never, I didn't, I don't know. I feel like it was always like, I, you know, just kind of when I got there would be like, what's, uh, what's 10 minutes that I can fuck around with? Sure.

You know, already shit that I'm already tired of. Like I didn't use it as like, uh, all right, I got 10 minutes. I'm following. Okay. Rob Schneider dropped in and just did 30 and now I got to go up. Nobody knows who I am and I'm going to try out like whatever these random thoughts, which is what I should have been doing, but instead I'm like, I'll do the fucking, you know, voicemail bit, the fucking, you know, the Microsoft joke.

But what's it like now? Now I have, I start at my own monthly show that is me, it's in a great way, I have, I started my own monthly show. Yeah. That is me, it's in a great room at the High Low Bar, Afternoon Delight. It's a show that I started right before COVID because that's one thing that I guess I realized

before COVID, like during COVID I realized like, wait, yeah, I don't think that I, this isn't exactly what I wanted. Like I wanted to do, like when I started, I was't think that I this is the this isn't exactly what I wanted Like I wanted to do like when I started I was doing more kind of Andy Kaufman II type like really goofball Yeah the crowd and Then just kind of was like, you know, Chris Fairbanks like I if you want to get on the road, you know

You can't be doing you can't dress like powder from the movie powder and pee your pants on stage. They're not gonna book you for that. What do I do? Right, you're funny, right? Ten minutes of poop jokes. All right. How's he doing? He's good. He quit drinking too.

I feel like it's something you age out of. I know you stuck, you jumped in with the AA thing. Early on, yeah. But I think if you stuck it out, man, you would've gotten tired of it anyway too, you know? I don't know if you miss it at all. I don't. Yeah, it's not something you really miss once you, you know.

I don't miss it, but I do know there's like a lot of weed around, you know? I don't do it, that's too much for me. Yeah, no, I don't do anything, but like, you know, that one was, you know, if I ever think of anything, it's sort of like, will I ever get to the age where I'm done with everything and I can just smoke a little weed?

Yeah, I mean, yeah. And do whatever I want? Do whatever you want, yeah. So what do you do at the High Low? So I started a show where it's like, where I do live crank calls on stage. Okay. So the setup of the show is like,

you know, have like two or three comedians come on. Like I open the show with, and now it's two, the current show. When I first started it, I'd have like three comics, each do like a seven, 10 minute set, and then sits down with me and we make phone calls together. Right. And so now it's the same thing at the

high-low, but I, I'll do 15 minutes upfront of, and it's people that it's a, it's a great little room there. I don't know if you're, you've probably never been in there. Holds like 50 people. It's fucking, it's, it's perfect. Yeah.

And, um, everybody's there. They know, you know, they know who I am. So there's not that you don't have to like win them over initially. So I can, I do feel comfortable in like looking just kind of like, all right, I got these ideas. Let's see if we, how we can make them funny. Yeah.

So that's what I'm doing. And I'm not, you know, I don't, I guess I should start replying to the improv emails. I still get them. I don't, I mean, I feel like so many new people over COVID too. Like, I feel like COVID was a good kind of like, all right, we can get rid of a lot of these guys that were on the calendar.

Right. Because now we're starting fresh and there's all these new guys and, and, um. But you haven't responded yet? I'll, I'll respond here and there. Um, I haven't gotten to the point, like I, I'm in. I, I'm like, I, I'm, I'll respond here and there. Um, I haven't gotten to the point, like I, I'm, I'm in, I, I'm like, I, I'm, I'm into it. I'm, I, I do like, that was another thing

with, with COVID I'm like, I can't fucking do any of these jokes again. Yeah. Like this is a whole, I'm a different guy. Yeah. In this whole, like now that I got to like, take a breather for the first time in 10, 15, year, however long I was doing it

Yeah, I want to do something different and I like the calls like I went on the road with Stan Hope a little bit right after Covert he called me and said he still do stand-up and I was like, you know, that's a good question I've been thinking about that myself. Yeah, and I was like can I do I've been doing this thing like where I want to call people on stage and and it's not jerky boys Like yeah, hey fuck face. I'm gonna come in and piss on your wife I've been doing this thing where I wanna call people on stage and it's not jerky boys like, hey, fuck face, I'm gonna come in and piss on your wife. And you know, I'm not, it's they turn into, I don't know how to describe it.

I mean, crank calls are the easiest way, but it's just kinda like getting to know people. Like, you know, you call them with a surreal kinda situation of like, hey, I was using your elevator at the building and what's up with the pay elevator? Like, the idea of, of like, Hey, I was using your elevator at the building and what's up with the pay elevator? Like the idea of, cause like, you know, when you're a hotel, you have to use your key card.

Oh yeah. And the idea I was kind of like, Oh, it'd be funny if you had to swipe your debit card and it charged you more for the higher you went up. Right. Right. And so like, yeah, I'll call an elevator company and be like, I just want to know.

Cause I work on the 50th floor and if I go out for lunch, like sometimes I have to leave and come back and it costs me like eight bucks for the day and ladies like, I just want to know. Cause I work on the 50th floor and if I go out for lunch, like sometimes I have to leave and come back and it costs me like eight bucks for the day and ladies like, I don't know what your weight would pay. Oh, let me look into that. And, and then you kind of just start talking to them and it's an entertaining, like nobody's

pissed every now and then you get a guy, you get somebody wound up, which is fun. Like I have like a voice changer thing where I sound like a mouse or whatever. And I called like a limo, like a party bus rent company. And it was like, hey, how much for a party bus for, you know, Saturday night, it's my birthday or whatever. How many people?

Zero people, 11 mice. 11, well, how many people, 11 mice? What kind of bus do you want or whatever? 11 people, 11 mice. 11, well how many people, 11 mice? What kind of bus do you want or whatever? I just, whatever, for a mouse, you know. For how many hours? I'm like, you know, I don't know, maybe a half hour, time moves faster for mice

because our lifespan's shorter, and he's like, what do you mean mouse? What are you talking about, mouse? You are mouse? Yeah. And so yeah, that's like the closest thing. And they're fun, so. That's fun.

Yeah, so I told Doug, I was like, you know, I've been thinking about that, because that's one thing that even going into when I first started standup, I didn't realize, I was like, wait, you guys, did you do the same? Because I would see guys going up, and I'm like, he's doing the same fucking shit I seen him do before. Like, what? That's the way this works.

You go... Well, sometimes. You build and act, yeah. I, yeah, I never... Not for you. Well, I'm just like, I like the looseness of it, but then the train that I got on, to stick with that analogy,

was like, yeah, your first act in Tulsa where everybody thinks there's 52 states, Alaska and Hawaii. And I'm like, oh, I gotta stay, I don't wanna get beat up after the show. So I'll just do this and whatever. Hey, it's 600 bucks, better than loading fucking trucks. And that's a good song.

And so, yeah, when Doug called me, I was like, cause I like the freedom. I like the, I feel like I've never been myself on stage fully. Like obviously I have my, the way I am, but you know, launching into rehearsed material is not myself and, and I never put the work in that you really should when you're doing it.

Cause yeah, the, you know, boozing and banging, like whatever, it was like, hey, fun, this is great. You know, I don't, I can skate by on, you know. Yeah, but now you're just taking a little different approach. Well, you know, I mean, the not boozing is definitely frees up a lot of time. How are the kids doing? Great.

Yeah, they're really- What's your partner do? Teacher, but she's, I dragged her into co-host the podcast because she's funny. She was like, we would do like these fake kind of calls with her where she'd play like the CDC or something. This was like, kind of started the podcast right at the beginning, like when COVID was, a few weeks before it all got serious.

Yeah. And so we would just do, she would, she's great to be on the other end of a call. And I just kind of was like, you know, just come, you're the co-host for now. Because it's like, and also thinking of like, checking out Fox's, there was a lot of the, I'm like, I don't wanna just be too white guy.

Like, I don't know, you're a chick, so that makes this seem a little more diverse than something. And now we're kind of locked into it. I mean, she could still, she's gotta wind up with a full-time teaching thing at some point. Like the kids are still young and my son's three, so he's starting preschool soon. And so she's, there's going to be a time when she can't co-host all the time. And I'm getting more

comfortable with doing it myself. But yeah, with the Doug thing, yeah, I was like, hey, can I make calls on stage or whatever? You know Doug, just kind of do whatever the fuck you want., I was like, hey, can I make calls on stage or whatever? You know Doug, he's just kind of, do whatever the fuck you want. And I'm like, this is great, this is gonna be a good, because Doug's crowds are great. They have a, you know, there'll be a portion of the people who kind of are familiar with who I am from, just from him.

And I'm like, this is great, this is gonna be, and San Francisco's the best, he was like, I'm doing some shows in San Francisco, then Phoenix, and I'm like, this is great cobs To to see whether or not I still want to do this I'm gonna get to go to cobs my favorite in San Francisco. They've always been my favorite like yeah up That's just great that new cop is hard though. It's big but yeah They they don't know how new is the well the well, when I lived there, it was in the cannery

and it was an intimate room. But this is the one that's been there for 20 years. Or whatever. I like being, I think I'm better. I need that little bit of like, you know, you don't know what's gonna happen. And I feel like that I'm good, you know? Like it's proves that, you know, I'm like funny.

And that's another thing. I've never been good at like mailing lists and none of the business side of show business. I'm just like, I thought I'd come out here and you'd get some kind of manager. Somebody else would just be like, do this. You get in the gym and do this and get your haircut. And you know, like.

No, it's all on us. And like, are you writing on anything or you just do any no I think that's yeah I think that's finally I think I had to exhaust all the chances at easy money out here for I had a development thing at Fox I mean I you know I worked on crank anchors when they brought that back thought that would be like okay this could be a five year thing. Maybe, you know, real residual checks. And, um, you know, that didn't, it didn't really work out. Uh, and, uh, yeah, I just had a thing at Fox,

an animated show idea that we sold. And, and yeah, it didn't, didn't pan out. And now I feel like, um, yeah, I feel't didn't pan out and now I feel like Yeah, I feel like that kind of stuff you're back in vaudeville buddy back in vaudeville where I should have stayed in the Place and no you can't do that, but I'm glad it's I'm glad it's fun, and I'm glad that you know you're doing it Yeah, and I feel like it's it's better. It's gonna be You know they talk about people finding their voice and stuff, I'm like, okay, yeah, I think, oh, okay. You can do it.

Where you're grounded, you're not drinking, you got a family, you're a more whole person, it's good. Yeah, and I can do more goofy stuff and yeah, and I'll start going on the road with you, which will help. Oh yeah, we gotta plan that out. Yeah. I gotta go get my cat in a cage.

It was good talking to you buddy. You too man, I blew it again. No you didn't. I'll see you in 2035 I guess. Alright, thanks for the book. There you go, catching up with my old pal Brendan. His podcast is called the world record podcast. Hang out for a minute, folks.

I used to say, I just feel stuck, but then I discovered lifelong learning. It gave me the skills to move up, gain an edge and prepare for what's next. The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, lifelong learning to stay forever unstuck. In the upcoming season of Only Murders in the Building, our trio's investigation leads them all the way to Los Angeles, where a Hollywood studio is readying a film about the Only Murders podcast. Amidst all the glitz and glamour, there is still an underlying mystery to be solved. It's who tried to kill Charles.

Only Murders in the Building stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Joining the star-studded ensemble this season are Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, Jane Lynch, and Meryl Streep. Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building is now streaming only on Disney+. recent episodes posted this week exclusively for subscribers. You can hear me talk about all sorts of things that didn't make it into the episodes, including my favorite albums. My parents had records when I was a very little kid. There was a box of cassettes that they had that they didn't play anymore. They didn't have a cassette player.

And in that box, the ones that fucking blew my mind, Bobby Gentry's owed to Billy Joe credence, Clearwater Cos Cosmos Factory, and Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin. Those were in the wiring. Those, those beveled some neural pathways. And in the vinyl area, Beatles Let It Be, Melanie's, uh, I got a brand new pair of roller skates record. Um, Chuck Berry, the London Sessions. yeah, yeah, my Dingaling. That's right. And also Janice Joplin's Pearl. That was big, because I was a kid.

I wasn't even 10. And I saw that cover of Janice just laying there all pretty on that Shays Lounge, all dressed up. And I asked my mom, who's this? Maybe my dad. And they said she died of heroin. And then I just identified her as heroin. And it was sad because if you turn that record over,

I'm like, those four look more like heroin. That band, but whatever. To get bonus episodes twice a week, as well as every episode of WTF Add Free, go to the link in the episode description or go to WTF pod.com and click on WTF plus. And a reminder before we go, this podcast is hosted by a cast. Here's a classic riff by me. So I'm gonna be a good boy. Boomer lives! Monkey and Lafonda, cat angels everywhere, they're in the room, they're in the fucking

room man.