June 30, 2025 • 52 mins
On this episode of Comedy Saved Me, we sit down with the powerhouse storyteller and stand-up veteran Bret Ernst. Known for his razor-sharp wit, heartfelt honesty, and unforgettable tales from the stage and beyond, Bret opens up about the role comedy has played in navigating life’s toughest moments—from a turbulent childhood and family upheaval to the wild ride of show business.
Bret shares hilarious and moving stories about growing up with a single mom, bouncing between Florida and New Jersey, and attending 15 different schools—all while developing the survival skills and comedic chops that would later define his career. He reflects on his Italian-American roots, the chaos of family, and the unique way humor helped him handle adversity, loss, and the unpredictable turns of adulthood.
Listeners will get an inside look at Bret’s creative process, his journey from early gigs to acclaimed specials like Principal’s Office and Uncaged, and his philosophy on finding laughter—even in the darkest times. Whether he’s riffing on childhood mischief, the absurdities of marriage and divorce, or the power of storytelling, Bret’s conversation is as honest as it is hilarious.
Join us for an episode packed with laughter, resilience, and the kind of real talk that proves—sometimes, comedy really can save you.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Comedy Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Well, my first under five was as a waiter and
then I'm not kidding you, I left that job to
go really wait tables. So I would leave, I would
play a waiter on TV and then go and wait
tables in real life.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Lyn Hoffman and welcome to the Comedy Saved Me Podcast,
the podcast where we talk with comedians about their craft,
their inspirations, the power of their comedy, and the way
it helps all of us through challenging times. If you
like this podcast, you might want to check out our
Music Saved Me podcast that I also host, and you
can get that wherever you get your podcasts. Today, we're
(00:42):
so excited to welcome comedian Brett Ernst, one of the
great talents of our generation. And I mean that Brett
shares his journey from the football fields to the comedy
stages and I'm so psyched to have him here today. Brett,
Welcome to Comedy Save Me.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thanks, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It's great to have you now. I want to start
off because interestingly enough, there's so much in your background
and family that I want to get into. But you
were really into football, and I'm curious how did your
background in football influence that transition into comedy. And what
was your first experience like performing stand up? Do you remember?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, yeah, I remember the first time I got up.
But you know, football actually saved my life, man, because
when I was a kid, you know, I was all
over the place, and I mean I still got in trouble,
but I wanted to play ball and that that kept
me kind of focused.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You know that that was the one thing that I
didn't want to lose.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
As far as taking that comedy experience into football experience
into comedy, and yeah, it helped a lot because you know,
when you come from an athletic background, you're okay with
getting your ass kicked, You're okay with losing. I mean,
you don't like it, but you've you've dealt with it.
That's the best way I could say it. And the
most important thing is you know how to be a man.
(02:13):
You know how to compete with your friends. And you know,
in comedy, a lot of people in entertainment feel that
they are competing with other people, which you're not, right,
it's you.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
You're bringing whatever you bring to the table.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I always compare comedy more to golf, where you're just
competing against yourself, you know, trying to outdo your last game.
And you know when when in sports you're friends with
guys that are starting with you, starting in front of
you or behind you, or guys across the line from
you that are trying to kick your ass every practice,
(02:52):
and you know what I'm saying, and you just you
build that camaraderie, and uh, I don't know, it really
helped me into the entertainment business when I went into that.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
How did you end up on stage at a comedy
show open mic?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
I just it's an odd story and it's kind of long,
so I won't bore you with it. But the first
time I met a guy that said he was a comic,
and I was like, oh, well, how do you go
about it? And he said, you have to sign up
for an open mic? And I always thought about it,
you know, and I was always told I should get
(03:30):
into it by my friends. And then I came home
and my mother said, hey, you got a letter from
the Bronx, and I was like, and I opened the
letter and it was an ex teammate of mine, this kid,
jose Cosme I used to cut my hair and he's like, yo,
I was walking by. I was in Times Square and
(03:52):
it had an open mic and you should do comedy
and that kind of I looked at that as a sign,
and then I went down there and signed up for
the open mic and I went on.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I did really well. I didn't bomb until like six
months in.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And how was that first night for you?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I just was laughing. My buddy filmed it.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You did it all?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
How did you ex Oj Simpson joke? That's how far
back it was.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
But all you see is I'm like, yo, I go
to my friend, just cut the camera off and you
just see him do this and then the thumb go up, like,
you know, like he's not cutting at all.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It was great, and.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
It didn't deter you. Obviously you continued on, And.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
No, didn't determine me. I wanted to get right back up.
I didn't like the loss, didn't I didn't like the
l that I took.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
You know, that's pretty. You've got thick skin. You must
have gotten it somewhere. Obviously sports had a lot to
do with that. But you've also had a pretty remarkable career.
I mean, Vince Vaughn's Wild West comedy show, Cobra Kai.
What have been some of your favorite projects since those
early days.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Well, those are the two biggest and my two favorites
for different reasons. Yeah, I enjoyed working. I worked on
Young and the Restless when I first got to LA
for like two years.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
It's hard work doing those shows.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Uh soap, operasier, you know, but a lot. It's steady.
It's steady work.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And the first under five, which you know, under five
lines that I got was as a waiter in a
they I was like, I think I was twenty nine
at the time, but I was in the high school scenes,
you know where there was like a coffee shop where
all the high school kids hung out and I always
worked there. But I was more like a glorified extra.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
You know.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But my first under five was as a waiter.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And then I'm not kidding you, I left that job
to go really wait tables. So I would leave. I
would play a waiter on TV and then go and
wait tables.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
In real life, did people recognize you and say.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Wait a minute, No, not from Young and Rests, they
would have.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
They recognized me from the comedy Store when I would
perform there, because like sometimes I used to work at
the cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey, and it was
pretty pretty popular a lot, like you know, it had
a lot of a lot of traffic, a lot of
people ate there.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It was near the airport on the water, and there's
was a bunch of times, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I remember one time I heard I'm walking towards the
table and they came in because there was a show
called Dublin's. It was every Tuesday in La on the
Sunset Strip. It was one of the biggest shows that
ran for like four years, and everybody would go go
to this stand up show. And I had a really
good set the night before. So that was a Tuesday.
(06:57):
This is a Wednesday lunch. I'm working and I heard
these people coming in talking about the show and then
specifically talking about my bit, and then when they sat down,
I had him. And then it was kind of like, uh,
then you go up to the table and they were like,
we just saw you that awesome dressed in the cheesecake white.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And then you're like yeah, yeah, and then you're like, so,
you know, we have a passion fruit ice teve. You guys, it's.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Got to be like at that moment, maybe he's soul crushing.
But but to them, they're thinking, is he stalking us?
Or you know the part of the act.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I was delivering pizzas man, and uh I was on
and I was doing a set on on a late
show and uh I couldn't get off of work because
the Lakers were winning everything then, and I wanted to
watch it, and my my little brother was going to
record it and TVO had just came out, so my
(08:03):
girl at the time was going to record it. But
I wanted to watch it live at the Pizzeriha, But
I couldn't because we were slammed.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
So I had this ninety seven Ford escort that couldn't
make lefts Man. It would stall out.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So I'm rushing to try and get back in time,
and I'm delivering the pizzas and I'm like, I'm just
not going to make it.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm like, God, I wanted to see it live, you know. Well,
I mean we tape it in the day and they
air it at night. And I'm not kidding you. As
soon as I as the.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Kid opened the door that I was delivering to, I
was walking out on TV and I was standing there
with the pizzas and then but the look on his
face was like Wow, this is cool and how depressing,
like at the same time.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Oh my god. But it just shows that you really
do have to work your ass off to get to
where you want to go. I mean, you can't just
expect it's going to come to you, like, Oh, this
one thing, everyone's gonna knock on my door.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
No.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Stand up is the biggest of that. I mean, you
can't really slip through the cracks.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
You could.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
You could maybe go viral on something and then get
people to buy tickets to your show once. But to
be good at the art of stand up, you got
to put that time in.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
It's so true.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
There's no cutting corners because you can't fake it.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You can't fake it once you get out in front
of you know, the biggest crowds. I've done fifteen thousand
on bert On Chrisier's thing at the t Mobile, and
I've been in front of two people at the o
R at like one in the morning on a Tuesday
at the comedy store.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You're you, whatever your situation is, you just you as you.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You can't fake that. You just can't fake it. They'll
know even if you try to do other people's jokes.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
They'll know.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
No, it's true. And your comedy is known for being
very honest and truthful, and dare I say, edgy, How
how do you balance being relatable with being original in
your material because that changes probably yearly.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Well, everybody's original if you're talking about yourself and your
own journey, you know, and then if that journey might
have similarities. But you know, that's what people kind of
relate to. Truth is as far as like you know,
you just you just try and be as honest as possible.
You can never be fully honest. And I don't mean
(10:34):
with myself.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I meant with some of the stories I tell because
there's other people involved.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right and oh yeah, family, anonymity and stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to go full on. Sure,
but you know there's everything's based in truth?
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Is there? Is there when you say it's based in truth?
Is it first? Is it important? Do you think it's
important to be able to laugh at yourself even if
you're not a comedian?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I mean, it's it's the ultimate not I don't know
if not caring? You know, we can't curse, can we?
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Sure? Yeah? Okay?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
The art there's a book called the Art of not
giving a fuck, which I never read.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I just loved the title.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
And you really can't care, man, you don't, because here's why.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
The and I you.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Know, I'm just referring it to just people you meet
every day or the audience.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
They're full of shit, You're I'm not right.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So you know when when somebody is like, oh yeah,
really you don't have fucked up thoughts?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Right? You know?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
The Japanese say that every everybody has three faces. You know, again,
I'm the I'm the worst at paraphrasing or requoting.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I just get the gist of it. So it may
not even have been the Japanese. They couldn't.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
That's okay for this podcast right now. It was We're
going to give them the credit. What the hell?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
No, the Japanese say that everybody has three faces, right.
They have the one that they show society, the one
that the one's closest to them see. And then there's
the one that they know, the one that they look
in the mirror, that weird one when you do weird
shit when nobody's around, and all those messed up thoughts
you have. That's the face the comic is trying to
(12:27):
show the general public. Now, the problem with the general public,
their perception of how they want to be perceived. That's
why everyone's a everyone's a hypocrite. If they're not honest
with themselves. There may be one thing that bothers them,
but then there's something they do that could bother someone
else that they don't want anybody to know.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
It makes sense, makes total sense.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So the point is you really can't give a fuck
because you don't want I don't want everyone to like me.
You don't want everybody. You want, you want the right
ones to like you. And then and Mitzi Sure used
to teach us that at the comedy store. You know, yeah,
that you build your own your audience will find you
just be honest with yourself.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Being honest, I think and authentic is the most important thing.
I started in radio and I worked with all guys,
so I grew very thick skin. I was like the
sister they all picked on, but I but I was
taught that same thing. You know, half the people aren't
going to like what you have to say, and the
other half are going to love what you have to say,
and you can't let that stop you from what you're doing,
(13:37):
because that's just the way it is.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
The the thing too, is you know back then somebody
wrote one letter and the place freaked out.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Well we could hide things more then, like get us
the tape all the tape machine broke.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Sorry, now you know it's all for you to see, right,
So you put something out and you just can't care.
You know. It's another favorite quote of mine, and it's
something I'll find, like I'll develop something through the process
and then read something that aligns with stuff that I
(14:12):
always thought.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And one of them, it's none of my business what
you think of me.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
That's huge.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's none of my business. If I'm performing, I'm I create.
Like let's just say I create a joke or I
put out a special once I put that out there
in the world. Okay, that was my gift to you.
My gift to you is my dysfunction. Now you do
what you want with that, and it's none of my business.
(14:39):
I can buy you a shirt, it's none of my
business if you don't wear it, if you hate.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
It, if you love it. Either way, it's yours. Now
my integrity.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I don't like being questioned when I'll put a joke
out and then somebody's like, oh, he stole that from
so and so, and it's like, no, dude, I've been
in this game to almost twenty it'll be twenty eight years.
That's my original material that I put on TV in
two thousand and two, you know what I mean, Like
that type of stuff that'll irk me. And when I respond,
(15:09):
I'll respond in a general which I've been accused of
stealing from myself that I.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Would like, yeah, how is that possible.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
They're like, I thought I saw a guy do this,
you know, like it was me.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
It was me, But that that's the only time that
I'll clear something up. But if somebody goes this guy
sucks that, that makes me laugh.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, you know, yeah, that's interesting. When I worked the
first job in television, it was right in the beginning
when Internet was I'm aging us, aren't I?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:50):
And it was like I got out unscathed because the
one thing that the most nasty thing that anyone ever
said to me, and I was in I was like
twenty nine thirty yearsyears old and the ques and the
comment was Linn Hoffmann looks like a she's holding on
to her youth like a fat kid to an ice
cream cone. And that made my mom so mad. I
(16:14):
laughed so hard. I thought that was hilarious compliment that
I thought so But it can't let that bother you.
But it's good advice. The quotes that you gave, whether
you gave the right person who quoted it doesn't really
matter as long as the sentiment's taken. I think it
can really help people. And speaking of which.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I'm not into this empowerment shit either, man, Like, you
know how people need to be If you need to
be empowered, I don't think you're meant to do it.
You know, if you need to be told you're awesome
and encouraged, you're not going to make it. You need
to just understand that, you know. I mean, how do
(16:56):
I say that? How do I say?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well? Why do you do it? Why do you do comedy?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
I don't know. I couldn't tell you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I love it?
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Do you think it may have anything to do with
something that's therapeutic that happens between you and maybe like
the audience.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I don't know. I really don't and I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Well, I mean, you know, there were so many things
in my life that didn't make sense but then made
sense when I stepped on stage.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You know, like like I went to like.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Fifteen different schools and then you know, being the new kid,
it's almost it's weird though, It's like I didn't mind
the awkward and nervousness. I knew what would happen. I'm
going to show up, They'll put me in front of
the class. Some of these weren't the nicest of schools.
So now I'm going to end up throwing hands either
(17:45):
at recess or you know. And you know, then and
then after about two weeks of fighting every other kid,
you'll end up making friends. Yeah, through through sports. You know,
that's how guys bond, you know, teams. Yeah, well, if
you're good at sports as a kid, then you know,
if you're good, you're good with your hands.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
And because guys like to.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
We we're like, let's say you have a friend that's
really fast, right, or that can fight.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
We we build them up, right, Like like.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
If I'm hanging out with a guy that and this kid,
I'm like, yo, I bet you can't beat my friend.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know what I mean, Like we like we like
to associate ourselves with that or women. You guys are
a little opposite you guys.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, no, But you're talking about lifting people up, because
when you get in a team and everybody works together,
that everybody sort of lifts everybody up.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
No, you, you live, you only there's a great You
pat yourself on the back when you fail, and then
you kick yourself in the ass when you succeed. But
what I meant more is if you have to be
constantly told that you're you know, you're awesome, you can
do it, that's just no, you're not.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
You're not meant to you. Just go do it. Go fail,
be okay with failing. Move, move the fuck on. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Talk that that to me in my head, that's how
I talk to myself. Just go get it done. Because
most of the people that are trying to encourage you
as soon as you leave, they're not being honest with you.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
But you you're the only one that can really you know,
you're you.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Know how honest with yourself are But I'm saying, you
know what you can do.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Nobody knows what you could do.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
And when you keep asking other people can I can,
I know then you're not.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Meant to do it. Just go get it done.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
You know, how do you how do you feel about
the role of comedy, UH with respect to healing others.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I think perspective. A perspective is what's healing.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I mean, I know that there's UH studies done on laughter,
how it releases endorphins or whatever. But perspective is really
what I think comedy gives because it goes it goes
in line with the oh my god, what's woe is me? I?
You know, I don't. I'm insecure. This is this, so's everybody.
(20:14):
We're all insecure. And one thing I always tell my
audience at the end when I talk to them, I
always say, everybody in this room is hurting.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
We're all hurting.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
We all love the same, we hurt the same, nobody's
different from the other. And you're all dead in a
hundred years. And this goes in line is why I
suck at dinner parties. But do you sit in the
middle of the table?
Speaker 3 (20:40):
I just you know, comics.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
When we get together, it's it's very interesting and fun conversations.
And then when you're out with regular people that they
it's not as fun and they think that we're all like,
you know, soul the other day, it's far from that.
We're all mentally ill and depressed, but at the same time, like,
I'm I'm optimistic guy. I just I'm just an honest person.
(21:06):
And people hate honesty. They hate it, they hate it
with themselves, right, like getting older? Who cares?
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Right? Right?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
What do you think you're going to be twenty two forever?
You know what I'm saying? Or just worrying all the time?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
To me, it's just do you think you're the only
person in the in the timeline of human existence?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I mean, do you understand how selfish and narcissistic that is?
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And then to think that you're always going to look
the same and that everything's always going to work out
for you, You're fucking delusional. You're a delusional person that don't
accept the way the world works. And that's not on me,
that's on the that's on you. So you know, comics
will give you that perspective that this is great, own it.
Who cares?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Laugh? Move on? You're dead soon or shut up?
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Ye have you ever experienced or witness moments where comedy
helps someone cope with difficult emotion or situation.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah, you'll get emails from people, but it's only people
that have experienced it in a way that get it.
And then you know, every once in a while it's
I'll say this, ninety five percent of the time, if
someone experienced it and they know you're being honest about it,
(22:29):
they'll hit you up and laugh. Ninety five percent of
the people that don't like it think it should be offensive,
like I can't believe you say something like that, You're
not considerate. And then you'll get like a five percent
of people that I went through it to said, look, dude,
I didn't think that was funny. But for most I
would say, again, I'm just throwing out a number. If
(22:53):
I'm doing a joke that you could tell is I've experienced,
because that's my rule of thumb. I only make fun
of my own tragedies, you know what I mean, I'm
not making fun of someone else's because that's where the
authenticity comes in.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Because I'm not a set up punch guy.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
I try to be honest and taking my experiences and
you know, making light in them.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
It's pretty amazing. I would say comedies right up there
with being a therapist. Almost a lot more fun, I'm
guessing than well.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
No, there's two to that too.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I mean, you know, I don't know I've if you know,
when you're taking something that affected you and making light
of it, it's very therapeutic.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
That's the only thing I know, So I don't know
how it would be any other way.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Well, it's so helpful when you go into a show
and you hear somebody I was watching one of your
specials recently where you got into your dad, and it's like,
if there's anyone in the audience thinking to themselves, you know,
my goodness, he went through that growing up with his dad,
and how can I complain about my life for my problems,
(24:08):
you know? And then you're up there making fun and
finding comedy in that. That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
And then everything's relative, right, So like, you know, there's
people that are worse off than me, there are people
that are better off than me. But the when you
learn the technique to deal with everything whatever comes your way. Right, So,
as an artist, if you need constant validation, you're you're
(24:35):
not going to succeed because most a lot of people
just won't be honest with you, and you're you know,
they say, the only person you can trust is yourself
in the process, and the only person you can blame
is yourself, right, like when you assess, because we know
we know ourselves better than anybody. It's that third phase
(24:57):
that we know right, but we also know where are
failures are and what we need to work harder on.
That's why I think as an artist self assessment because
it's especially stand ups, always a work in progress. And
sometimes you'll run a joke or a premise by somebody
and then they'll be like, eugh, that that sounds awful,
(25:17):
But then when you execute it, then they're like, oh, Okay,
I get it because you know where you want to go.
So you know, I always take criticism and compliments the
same way.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
If that makes sense, Yeah, totally. Did you have a well,
you know, if you can take criticism, you're way ahead
of the game in this industry.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Account criticism, uh, critical thinking, honesty, those things are the
only things that you can really go and sometimes you know, look,
because people mistake bad habits for who they are, if
that makes sense. You know, like I'm the king of procrastinator.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Who isn't It's awful?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Like I still have to get my taxes going and
you know, I keep filing extensions which cost me more
money because it's like, oh I don't want to have
to go you know, that type of stuff bothers me
and then but you know you have to buckle down
and get it done.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
But you know, you know your strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
So it's the curse of being creative. I think.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, man, it's I mean, you get two types and
stand up. You have the ocds and the adhds. You
have the people that have anxiety versus the people that
have depression.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
You know, it's just.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I'm laughing, and I know I shouldn't be laughing, but
I totally understand what you're talking about. Did you have
a mentor or a mentor?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, and it was the Comedy Store in general, just
being there at that time period when I was there,
being around comics that you know, I grew up watching,
and then guys that were ahead of me, guys below me.
So you you actually learned by osmosis and that o
R the Original room because the Comedy Store, I have
(27:03):
to explain it has three rooms as the main room,
the original room, in the belly room, and the original
rooms my favorite room in the country.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Main room pays more. But the o R you've we
learned all the.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Comics that I came up with, like you know, some
of my best friends. We you learn different things by
being forced into it, like how to reset a room,
how to follow uh like I you know, you follow
everybody from Chris Rock to Chappelle to Rogan, to BurrH
(27:38):
to Dice. You know you you you, and there's no
MC so they bring you up. So then you got
to learn, just through repetition and failure how to get
the room after they just saw somebody that there were
fans versus somebody they had no idea who they are,
you know what I mean? And totally that type of
stuff you you learn the comedy. So the Comedy Store
(28:01):
itself was probably my biggest mentor that's cool.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I think I think your failures are, like you said,
some of your biggest successes. You just don't know it
at the time, right, and you know if you can
make it through.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And what's funny is, like you when you were in it,
and then when you're past it, you're always going back
to that time period because that's the most fun, even
though it was the most difficult.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
You will be right back with more of the Comedy
Saved Me podcast. Welcome back to the Comedy Saved Me podcast.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
It's so it is. It's very hard if you want
to pursue a career in general, in front of the
camera or on the stage, to have that sense of Okay,
I can do this. It's horrifying if you don't have
some type of maybe somebody came into your life at
one point said, hey, well you just did was funny
(29:02):
and that's all you needed to hear one time to
know that you were on the right track.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Well, it goes back to that validation thing, right.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
So I can't tell you how many times I've been
in conversations with other comics, like at the comedy store,
we hang out in the hallway where till we go
up and nobody even saw the guys set, And then
somebody will get off stage will be like, yo, great set.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
They didn't even watch it. Oh man, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
That's when you learn that nobody really gets you know,
people somehow create this narrative in their head that everybody's
talking about them, everybody cares about nobody cares, nobody's that
invested in you.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
That's why the self reliance thing.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Is really important, and for younger artists to know that
whatever art form they're in, it's all puberty, it's all this.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
We all go through the same thing.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
You know, you're not unique and you're failing, and you're
not unique in your successes.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Everything will come and go. It's the ebbs and flow
of it. When you're in it long enough, you're going
to be up.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Your highs, your your low's way way more than your highs.
But it'll eventually go away, then come back, go away.
That's why if you just focus on what you love
to do and just keep doing it, if you can
still make a career at it, then you know you're
you're lucky.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Those are wise words. That was my next question is
what do you what do you tell young up and
coming artists? And that pretty much.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Yeah, it's all part for the course and what makes
stand up such a unique art form. I mean there's
a few exceptions. Is we've been at every level. When
you're a headliner and there's a kid m seeing or
a person guest setting or middling and there, we've all
been there. We none of us have skipped any steps.
We've all done open mics, we've all done the lotteries,
(30:55):
we've all done the.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Bringer shows, everything.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
So when when we're at at where we're at, and
the person that's new is where they're at.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
What are you going to complain? You can't complain.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
We've we've all done it, we've all we've all been there.
But I'm one of those those types too, where I'm
more into like breaking just because something bad might have
happened to me.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I don't want to project that on someone else.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Right right, I mean you feel you want to, but
it's it's hard personally.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
No, I honestly don't, because you look at it two ways.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
It's like, you know, I remember watching people even a
store one time, and I noticed that when people didn't
hold the door for the next person, the one person
that started holding the door, and then the next person
would hold the door.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
And that's kind of what you want to do.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
You want to break cycles in that type of sense,
because some of it's unnecessary, Like I've I've met comics
without mentioning names that were like, hey, I went through it, so.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Now I'm going to do to someone else.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, Whereas like I don't see the purpose in that
because some of those some of it is just isn't
isn't cool?
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You mean, like hazing the new comic.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Like Bump like, there's been times where, like you know,
especially like in Hollywood and New York, where you have
industry come down to see you for like a showcase
type set, so you set it up at the club.
Then all of a sudden, a major celebrity comes in,
and we use a term called bumping right where you
get bumped. So let's say I have a ten fifteen spot,
(32:37):
and I brought some executives down that wanted to see
my set that might be considering me for either late
night appearance, which doesn't really happen that much anymore, or
people that are developing shows, or even people that might
be like, hey, we might want you to be on
our show, like as an actor, and they're there and
(32:59):
it's called the showcase set, right, and then that person
famous person comes in and says, I want to go
up now, and now they're going to do however long
they're going to do, and the comic that had set
it up, you may not even get up till midnight,
and then that's bad. The industry sometimes doesn't want to
(33:19):
be there that long, So I don't bump anyone.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Even if I can, I won't.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Do it, especially if they're I'll like if I show
up at a show and they're like, hey, can you
come down?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
I'll wait till the end. You know, that type of
stuff I don't like.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
I don't like to do because I've been there and
I didn't like how that how that worked out?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Well, you're also a groundbreaker. Besides being a nice guy,
You're Principal's office special was groundbreaking, I say because it
was the first self distributed am I saying that correctly
online special on YouTube?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
There were guys that like went viral with their specials,
but I was the first to do a YouTube special.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Yeah for free fully produced?
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And what what would inspire the approach? And how did
do you feel it impacted your career?
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And but you know, because you're the first doesn't mean
you did it right. Like you know, take because again,
our community is pretty supportive.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
It's supportive in a way where like guys were.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Like when when I told like Bill, Bill Burr and
ur Is Shafir what I was thinking of doing, and
then they're like, yeah, yeah, you should do that, you
know what I mean. And then when I did it,
I had other guys say how did that work out
for you? Other comics And then I'd be like, look,
it worked out great this way, but I I messed
up this way, and then if I were to do
(34:48):
it again, this is what I would do different. So
when they did it for the first time, I was
given telling them what I did.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Wrong for them to you know, not do wrong. Does
that make sense?
Speaker 1 (34:59):
And then yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
But it became a thing because I had put about
twenty thousand on my own money, and you know, I
had some friends lent me some money too to invest
in it, and in the process of shooting Principal's Office,
I was hoping Netflix would well. Prior to that, I
did a Comedy Central present, so everybody wanted to get
(35:21):
their hour on Comedy Central.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Let me take it back a little, and I had
a top five.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Comedy Central would do this thing where they would air
all the half hours and hours that they produced for
the year, and people would vote on it. Right, they
would call in. This is like two thousand and ten,
twenty eleven, and they would call in and say, this
was our favorite. So there was like a hundred specials
that year and I was in the top five, but
it was only my half hour, so I wanted to
(35:51):
get the hour, and every year after that, I was
on the one yard line, but I would lose it
to check because they would check is like we need
we have enough white dudes. We're gonna do more females,
or we're gonna do this, and they started just checking
boxes and I was getting frustrated with it, so I
(36:11):
was like, screw it, I'll shoot one myself and have
Netflix was licensing at the time, but in the process
of shooting it and editing it, Netflix changed the policy
and said we're not going to license anymore.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
We're going to own it.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
So now I was stuck with this twenty thousand dollars
special because you get for me. I got to the
point to where like, I don't need permission to exist,
Right If I'm putting this work in and these people
are like, no, he doesn't fit this criteria or that criteria,
then I'm like, well then I'm just gonna do it myself.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
And I love that.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
And it just the way it worked out was, you know,
I thought outside the box. I built out a website
that you could watch it, and then I ebbed in
a YouTube player, so whatever views I got, you can
monetize it on YouTube. Then I set it up where
if you wanted to buy it for five dollars, you could.
(37:09):
If you wanted to get a T shirt for twenty
you get the special with it, or just give me
your email. You didn't have to do anything, and I
would tell them that I'd say, you just enjoy it,
but if you wanted to stay in touch.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I'll take your email.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Because it was one of those things where I was
in the nightclub business, where like if I if I
don't get.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
You at the door, I'm going to get you at
the bar.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
So you wanted to get a bunch of, you know,
as much fans as possible. Eventually, if they like it,
they'll go buy a ticket. But truth be told, after
about three hundred thousand views, my average was like twenty
dollars and I ended up making a shit ton of
money from it.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
And but I used the comedy community. I went on
Bill Burr, I went on all the podcasts that were
my friends, and we promoted it because comics have always
been on the forefront of everything from early Hollywood to radio,
to silent films to sitcoms. Dame Cook blew it up
(38:13):
with MySpace, you know, Rogan, Mark Marin, Tom Green, Adam Carolla,
with the podcasting, and then you know, now that's why
you're doing a podcast. Is comics started podcasting. We were
the first.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Yeah, we've always been ahead of because we just love
to create, and we can create funny and.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Well, I know, I actually know why believe it or not?
Why because it's something I say with every time I
talk to a comedian, and I don't try to repeat
myself just to be heard. But it's true. You really
are the foundation of entertainment and the hardest working people
in entertainment. That's why you're so interchangeable. You can act,
(38:58):
you can do drama, you can do comedy, you can write,
you can perform on stage to a live audience or
a camera. But you all work so hard on your
own and you support each other, whereas like, that's comedy
that's so different than acting or music, where you sort
of on your own. You don't have all these other
people trying to lift you up and help you in
(39:20):
the same industry, or at least it doesn't seem that
way as much anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Well, we definitely are the blue collar of the entertainment business.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
And you're right in that fact that like to even
get to a point to where you're even considering doing
something right. You have six, seven, sometimes ten years of
shitty bar gigs, you know, living in a smaller area
moving to a bigger one, keeping your nights so open,
waiting in line, Like we used to wait in line
(39:50):
at the lab factory to do three minutes and we
would get up at five am and you'd have a
friend that would sit there until about five pm until
they came out, and then we would do it in
shifts just to do three minutes to try and get
a paid spot at a club. And we're doing that
until for so many years. So yeah, you're right. We're
(40:12):
always always.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Moving, always and don't ever call in the morning early.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
At least you catch just before we go to bed.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
That's true, because then you're in the morning. How do
you maintain that work life balance? It's so funny. As
a woman, that's always the question. How are you a
mom and work full time and all that? But this
is different. I mean, like we said, you're hard working,
but there's your whole life outside of comedy, and there's
a lot of demands with touring and acting and performing.
(40:46):
What's your secret?
Speaker 2 (40:48):
I don't know, Like, well, I don't act as much.
I mean, I was very fortunate to get on the show.
I just always focus on the traveling and the stand up.
But I you know, I I guess state keep working,
like keep doing new material, like keep take you know,
coming up with stuff, and so each time you're coming
(41:08):
to a city, it's a different routine or try to
be you know.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
And take like new risks.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
Yeah, creatively, you know, and it's usually you know, it's
it's goddess.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
I was who the heck was I talking to about this?
Speaker 2 (41:23):
Where I you deconstruct what where you're at to figure
out the way you got there, but while you're getting there,
you have no idea how you're getting there.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
I think that's called hindsight.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Is that what it is?
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Look, I just simpled it up for you really easy.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Well, it's like you reverse engineer the process.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And like when I was talking about, like you learn
lessons with all right, I'll give you, uh, when you're
at the comedy store, say and you who like Dice
taught me something one night.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
I don't even know if he was teaching me.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
He wanted me to do this bit but then do
a monologue leading up to the bit, and I was like, ugh,
I had never done.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
You want to memorize it too, Just make it up, Oh.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Make it up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
So I was in the main room and I used
to do this roller skating bit about this guy named
Tony that was like thirty when we were ten.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
I don't know if you ever remember.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
There was that old dude at the roller rink, but
he he was like, you gotta tell everybody who's Tony?
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Where is he from?
Speaker 2 (42:35):
And because Dice was one of my idols growing up, I, uh,
I did it. And I went up and just started
talking about this guy. I'd never done it before. And
this was in the main room. And I didn't realize
that at the time because I would watch Dice in
the or he commits. But he was teaching me commitment
(42:57):
by putting me in that situation which I would never
have been in, and you just I just committed to
it because I had no choice and and and the
uncomfortability came to laughter and I and I kind of
I didn't realize it till like eight months later, that
that's what he does sometimes, Like he'll go on stage
and just commit to things.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
He never waivers and commit.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
And I learned commitment from that, and then you learn
how to get a room back. One night, one of
the more famous comics just said good night and he
was supposed to bring me up, so he ran off
stage forgetting to bring me up.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Oh what did you do?
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Then I had to run up while the room was leaving,
And then now you're like, hey, and you have to
get everybody back. You just you learn these different scenarios
and but you don't know you're learning it at the time.
So it's like twenty something years later you go back
and say, this is how I learned to commit, this
is how I learned how to reset, and you know,
(43:59):
but in the process, you don't know what's happening.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Can you share Brett a time that comedy helped you
through a tough situation?
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, the night the day my brother died. I went
on stage that night, and uh, you know I didn't
I just I don't even think.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
I talked about it.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
I just went into do a material and I just
kept getting up because you know, it's it's one of
those things where like you just I just forced myself
to get up that day, and you know that helped.
Speaker 3 (44:37):
That helped a lot.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
It's like, you know, you don't feel like going to
the gym, and you're like, I gotta go. You know,
I just gotta go because that's what you learn from sports.
But you know, working out makes me feel better. I
feel like I accomplished something, like I center my day
around a gym, and then I center my.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Meant health around my stand up.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
I guess because I do have that outlet, and I
can see where it could be difficult for somebody who's
going through something that doesn't have an outlet to be
creative with it, if that makes sense totally.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
And do you see when you've done that for others
when you're on stage, No, because.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
You you can't get the same feeling. I mean, you know,
it's the difference between preparing a meal and somebody eating it.
You know, there's the chefs that are like, hey, I
just discovered this new spice or whatever, this new combination.
The satisfaction is watching people eat it and being wow,
this is the best. This was really good, you know,
(45:46):
But it would be more of trying to give a
one of the best meals possible, or you're the best
meal you can give to someone who hasn't eaten in
a while, and then yeah, so not only are you
feeding them that, but it's something really good for them, because.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Did you know that was going to be a byproduct
of yours?
Speaker 2 (46:11):
What I mean, you don't, You don't know. You still
don't know. You just know that, you know. Some people
will leave you a private message saying, hey, I went
through this, and it's funny too when you're online and people,
uh leave comments about things they don't understand. And then
and then there's the ones that do get it, and
(46:33):
then they hit you up and they're like, yo, this
was my story.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
And then then you know, you kind of have a.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Shared experience with them, and those you try to tie,
you know, try and hit them back and say, yo,
I'm glad that that worked for you. I mean, you know,
but that's not the I I know, it's everything sounds contradictory,
but that's not the goal.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
It's still like there's just there's something pleasing in taking
a thought and then constructing an idea. And then here's
the crazy part. I don't even care if they laugh.
I just want I just want the right people to laugh,
and they will.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
Huh right.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
That's that's an interesting take. I don't think I've ever
heard anyone.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Well, no, there's a lot that way that are okay
with silence.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Yeah, I am horrible with that. By the way, my
husband tells me that for someone who gets paid to talk,
I give a lot of words away for free.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
But looking back on your career, what do you hope
that your legacy in comedy will be?
Speaker 3 (47:36):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Is that a hard question?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Yeah, because you don't know.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
I don't know, you just the only thing I would
want people to say about me is how hard I
work and how much integrity I have.
Speaker 3 (47:51):
And what I do.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Like, you know, I don't want to to sit there
and go I want to have world peace. I don't
you know, you don't know, there's many I want people
to realize that everything will be okay. You know what
I mean, when you leave, everything's gonna be fine. You
have two choices. Just laugh at it and from me.
You know, I'm Catholic. I believe in God. I believe
(48:15):
Jesus was who he was. But I give I always
compliment atheists. I now, I'm like, I don't know how
you guys do it without God, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Like, I give you props, but.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
At the end of the day, we're all gone. I mean,
every every this, I mean, it's just everything goes like that.
And you know that because I was twenty five two
weeks ago and I got to assume I'll be seventy
five in a month.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
And what are you going to do?
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Everybody goes through things, So just laugh at it, because
that takes the.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
Power away from you.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
Know.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
I don't want to say the devil or evil or negative.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (48:58):
No, it's true. It keeps it all at bay.
Speaker 2 (49:03):
Evil knows it can't win. It doesn't want to win.
It just wants to cause chaos and cause sorrow. And
when you get caught up in that and you start
to make decisions based on.
Speaker 3 (49:17):
Desperation, everything will.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Everything always works out, and even if it doesn't, something
else will, because you know, God gives by taking away.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
It takes something away, something else comes in.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
And when you're sad about things or think your tragedies
are unique, then they're not. Everybody goes through something. Some
are way more awful than others, some are way more
harder to laugh at.
Speaker 3 (49:45):
But just know all of us will be dead one day.
Speaker 2 (49:48):
And I'm willing to bet when you're one hundred years
old in bed, your last thoughts aren't going to be God.
I wish that person didn't make fun of me. You know,
you're going to be focusing on ice cream and past
family members, and I wish I had more time.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I missed my mother making Sunday gravy.
Speaker 2 (50:08):
You know, whatever those thoughts are, those are the ones
that you're really going to think about.
Speaker 3 (50:13):
And that's why all this stuff in between. Just just
laugh at it. You got no choice.
Speaker 1 (50:18):
Laugh and look for silver linings. That's that's MyD.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Just like I said, if you know you're going to
be dead one day, why are you letting everything stress
you out? I mean, there's gonna be major events in
your life that you have no control over, but everything else,
you know, That's the beauty of comedy is we're laughing
at life, right. And I remember at the end of
(50:42):
my special, I said that you know when you because
I was, I got divorced. But that when I did
the not Principal, the one after Principles of Domesticated Animal,
it was my least favorite special because I was lying
the whole time. Because I wrote it as a married man,
and I had made jokes about our marriage as kind
(51:05):
of like not a homage or whatever the word is,
but in honor of that.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
And then I think the h is silent whatever.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
That thing's called.
Speaker 1 (51:15):
I've never heard anyone say that, I'm sorry, So I'm
not that broud. You're not even trying to be funny,
and I'm.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Stupid sometimes I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
So I said at the end that you know, whenever
we see romantic movies, it's either when we first met
or when we're getting a divorce. You know, does usually,
but it's all the in between is where comics come in,
and that's the stuff you need to laugh at.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
Yes, sir frett Ernst, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (51:47):
I know it was very wordy, but this is very early.
Speaker 1 (51:49):
For me right now, That's okay. I love wordy
Comedy Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Well, my first under five was as a waiter and
then I'm not kidding you, I left that job to
go really wait tables. So I would leave, I would
play a waiter on TV and then go and wait
tables in real life.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Lyn Hoffman and welcome to the Comedy Saved Me Podcast,
the podcast where we talk with comedians about their craft,
their inspirations, the power of their comedy, and the way
it helps all of us through challenging times. If you
like this podcast, you might want to check out our
Music Saved Me podcast that I also host, and you
can get that wherever you get your podcasts. Today, we're
(00:42):
so excited to welcome comedian Brett Ernst, one of the
great talents of our generation. And I mean that Brett
shares his journey from the football fields to the comedy
stages and I'm so psyched to have him here today. Brett,
Welcome to Comedy Save Me.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thanks, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
It's great to have you now. I want to start
off because interestingly enough, there's so much in your background
and family that I want to get into. But you
were really into football, and I'm curious how did your
background in football influence that transition into comedy. And what
was your first experience like performing stand up? Do you remember?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, yeah, I remember the first time I got up.
But you know, football actually saved my life, man, because
when I was a kid, you know, I was all
over the place, and I mean I still got in trouble,
but I wanted to play ball and that that kept
me kind of focused.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You know that that was the one thing that I
didn't want to lose.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
As far as taking that comedy experience into football experience
into comedy, and yeah, it helped a lot because you know,
when you come from an athletic background, you're okay with
getting your ass kicked, You're okay with losing. I mean,
you don't like it, but you've you've dealt with it.
That's the best way I could say it. And the
most important thing is you know how to be a man.
(02:13):
You know how to compete with your friends. And you know,
in comedy, a lot of people in entertainment feel that
they are competing with other people, which you're not, right,
it's you.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
You're bringing whatever you bring to the table.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I always compare comedy more to golf, where you're just
competing against yourself, you know, trying to outdo your last game.
And you know when when in sports you're friends with
guys that are starting with you, starting in front of
you or behind you, or guys across the line from
you that are trying to kick your ass every practice,
(02:52):
and you know what I'm saying, and you just you
build that camaraderie, and uh, I don't know, it really
helped me into the entertainment business when I went into that.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
How did you end up on stage at a comedy
show open mic?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
I just it's an odd story and it's kind of long,
so I won't bore you with it. But the first
time I met a guy that said he was a comic,
and I was like, oh, well, how do you go
about it? And he said, you have to sign up
for an open mic? And I always thought about it,
you know, and I was always told I should get
(03:30):
into it by my friends. And then I came home
and my mother said, hey, you got a letter from
the Bronx, and I was like, and I opened the
letter and it was an ex teammate of mine, this kid,
jose Cosme I used to cut my hair and he's like, yo,
I was walking by. I was in Times Square and
(03:52):
it had an open mic and you should do comedy
and that kind of I looked at that as a sign,
and then I went down there and signed up for
the open mic and I went on.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I did really well. I didn't bomb until like six
months in.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And how was that first night for you?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I just was laughing. My buddy filmed it.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You did it all?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
How did you ex Oj Simpson joke? That's how far
back it was.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
But all you see is I'm like, yo, I go
to my friend, just cut the camera off and you
just see him do this and then the thumb go up, like,
you know, like he's not cutting at all.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It was great, and.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
It didn't deter you. Obviously you continued on, And.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
No, didn't determine me. I wanted to get right back up.
I didn't like the loss, didn't I didn't like the
l that I took.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
You know, that's pretty. You've got thick skin. You must
have gotten it somewhere. Obviously sports had a lot to
do with that. But you've also had a pretty remarkable career.
I mean, Vince Vaughn's Wild West comedy show, Cobra Kai.
What have been some of your favorite projects since those
early days.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Well, those are the two biggest and my two favorites
for different reasons. Yeah, I enjoyed working. I worked on
Young and the Restless when I first got to LA
for like two years.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
It's hard work doing those shows.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Uh soap, operasier, you know, but a lot. It's steady.
It's steady work.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
And the first under five, which you know, under five
lines that I got was as a waiter in a
they I was like, I think I was twenty nine
at the time, but I was in the high school scenes,
you know where there was like a coffee shop where
all the high school kids hung out and I always
worked there. But I was more like a glorified extra.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
You know.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
But my first under five was as a waiter.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And then I'm not kidding you, I left that job
to go really wait tables. So I would leave. I
would play a waiter on TV and then go and
wait tables.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
In real life, did people recognize you and say.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Wait a minute, No, not from Young and Rests, they
would have.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
They recognized me from the comedy Store when I would
perform there, because like sometimes I used to work at
the cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey, and it was
pretty pretty popular a lot, like you know, it had
a lot of a lot of traffic, a lot of
people ate there.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It was near the airport on the water, and there's
was a bunch of times, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I remember one time I heard I'm walking towards the
table and they came in because there was a show
called Dublin's. It was every Tuesday in La on the
Sunset Strip. It was one of the biggest shows that
ran for like four years, and everybody would go go
to this stand up show. And I had a really
good set the night before. So that was a Tuesday.
(06:57):
This is a Wednesday lunch. I'm working and I heard
these people coming in talking about the show and then
specifically talking about my bit, and then when they sat down,
I had him. And then it was kind of like, uh,
then you go up to the table and they were like,
we just saw you that awesome dressed in the cheesecake white.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And then you're like yeah, yeah, and then you're like, so,
you know, we have a passion fruit ice teve. You guys, it's.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Got to be like at that moment, maybe he's soul crushing.
But but to them, they're thinking, is he stalking us?
Or you know the part of the act.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I was delivering pizzas man, and uh I was on
and I was doing a set on on a late
show and uh I couldn't get off of work because
the Lakers were winning everything then, and I wanted to
watch it, and my my little brother was going to
record it and TVO had just came out, so my
(08:03):
girl at the time was going to record it. But
I wanted to watch it live at the Pizzeriha, But
I couldn't because we were slammed.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
So I had this ninety seven Ford escort that couldn't
make lefts Man. It would stall out.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So I'm rushing to try and get back in time,
and I'm delivering the pizzas and I'm like, I'm just
not going to make it.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
I'm like, God, I wanted to see it live, you know. Well,
I mean we tape it in the day and they
air it at night. And I'm not kidding you. As
soon as I as the.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Kid opened the door that I was delivering to, I
was walking out on TV and I was standing there
with the pizzas and then but the look on his
face was like Wow, this is cool and how depressing,
like at the same time.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Oh my god. But it just shows that you really
do have to work your ass off to get to
where you want to go. I mean, you can't just
expect it's going to come to you, like, Oh, this
one thing, everyone's gonna knock on my door.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
No.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Stand up is the biggest of that. I mean, you
can't really slip through the cracks.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
You could.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
You could maybe go viral on something and then get
people to buy tickets to your show once. But to
be good at the art of stand up, you got
to put that time in.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
It's so true.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
There's no cutting corners because you can't fake it.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You can't fake it once you get out in front
of you know, the biggest crowds. I've done fifteen thousand
on bert On Chrisier's thing at the t Mobile, and
I've been in front of two people at the o
R at like one in the morning on a Tuesday
at the comedy store.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You're you, whatever your situation is, you just you as you.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You can't fake that. You just can't fake it. They'll
know even if you try to do other people's jokes.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
They'll know.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
No, it's true. And your comedy is known for being
very honest and truthful, and dare I say, edgy, How
how do you balance being relatable with being original in
your material because that changes probably yearly.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Well, everybody's original if you're talking about yourself and your
own journey, you know, and then if that journey might
have similarities. But you know, that's what people kind of
relate to. Truth is as far as like you know,
you just you just try and be as honest as possible.
You can never be fully honest. And I don't mean
(10:34):
with myself.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I meant with some of the stories I tell because
there's other people involved.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Right and oh yeah, family, anonymity and stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to go full on. Sure,
but you know there's everything's based in truth?
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Is there? Is there when you say it's based in truth?
Is it first? Is it important? Do you think it's
important to be able to laugh at yourself even if
you're not a comedian?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I mean, it's it's the ultimate not I don't know
if not caring? You know, we can't curse, can we?
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Sure? Yeah? Okay?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
The art there's a book called the Art of not
giving a fuck, which I never read.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I just loved the title.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
And you really can't care, man, you don't, because here's why.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
The and I you.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Know, I'm just referring it to just people you meet
every day or the audience.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
They're full of shit, You're I'm not right.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So you know when when somebody is like, oh yeah,
really you don't have fucked up thoughts?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Right? You know?
Speaker 2 (11:45):
The Japanese say that every everybody has three faces. You know, again,
I'm the I'm the worst at paraphrasing or requoting.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I just get the gist of it. So it may
not even have been the Japanese. They couldn't.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
That's okay for this podcast right now. It was We're
going to give them the credit. What the hell?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
No, the Japanese say that everybody has three faces, right.
They have the one that they show society, the one
that the one's closest to them see. And then there's
the one that they know, the one that they look
in the mirror, that weird one when you do weird
shit when nobody's around, and all those messed up thoughts
you have. That's the face the comic is trying to
(12:27):
show the general public. Now, the problem with the general public,
their perception of how they want to be perceived. That's
why everyone's a everyone's a hypocrite. If they're not honest
with themselves. There may be one thing that bothers them,
but then there's something they do that could bother someone
else that they don't want anybody to know.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
It makes sense, makes total sense.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
So the point is you really can't give a fuck
because you don't want I don't want everyone to like me.
You don't want everybody. You want, you want the right
ones to like you. And then and Mitzi Sure used
to teach us that at the comedy store. You know, yeah,
that you build your own your audience will find you
just be honest with yourself.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Being honest, I think and authentic is the most important thing.
I started in radio and I worked with all guys,
so I grew very thick skin. I was like the
sister they all picked on, but I but I was
taught that same thing. You know, half the people aren't
going to like what you have to say, and the
other half are going to love what you have to say,
and you can't let that stop you from what you're doing,
(13:37):
because that's just the way it is.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
The the thing too, is you know back then somebody
wrote one letter and the place freaked out.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Well we could hide things more then, like get us
the tape all the tape machine broke.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Sorry, now you know it's all for you to see, right,
So you put something out and you just can't care.
You know. It's another favorite quote of mine, and it's
something I'll find, like I'll develop something through the process
and then read something that aligns with stuff that I
(14:12):
always thought.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And one of them, it's none of my business what
you think of me.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
That's huge.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
It's none of my business. If I'm performing, I'm I create.
Like let's just say I create a joke or I
put out a special once I put that out there
in the world. Okay, that was my gift to you.
My gift to you is my dysfunction. Now you do
what you want with that, and it's none of my business.
(14:39):
I can buy you a shirt, it's none of my
business if you don't wear it, if you hate.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
It, if you love it. Either way, it's yours. Now
my integrity.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I don't like being questioned when I'll put a joke
out and then somebody's like, oh, he stole that from
so and so, and it's like, no, dude, I've been
in this game to almost twenty it'll be twenty eight years.
That's my original material that I put on TV in
two thousand and two, you know what I mean, Like
that type of stuff that'll irk me. And when I respond,
(15:09):
I'll respond in a general which I've been accused of
stealing from myself that I.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Would like, yeah, how is that possible.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
They're like, I thought I saw a guy do this,
you know, like it was me.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
It was me, But that that's the only time that
I'll clear something up. But if somebody goes this guy
sucks that, that makes me laugh.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, you know, yeah, that's interesting. When I worked the
first job in television, it was right in the beginning
when Internet was I'm aging us, aren't I?
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:50):
And it was like I got out unscathed because the
one thing that the most nasty thing that anyone ever
said to me, and I was in I was like
twenty nine thirty yearsyears old and the ques and the
comment was Linn Hoffmann looks like a she's holding on
to her youth like a fat kid to an ice
cream cone. And that made my mom so mad. I
(16:14):
laughed so hard. I thought that was hilarious compliment that
I thought so But it can't let that bother you.
But it's good advice. The quotes that you gave, whether
you gave the right person who quoted it doesn't really
matter as long as the sentiment's taken. I think it
can really help people. And speaking of which.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I'm not into this empowerment shit either, man, Like, you
know how people need to be If you need to
be empowered, I don't think you're meant to do it.
You know, if you need to be told you're awesome
and encouraged, you're not going to make it. You need
to just understand that, you know. I mean, how do
(16:56):
I say that? How do I say?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well? Why do you do it? Why do you do comedy?
Speaker 3 (17:01):
I don't know. I couldn't tell you.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I love it?
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Do you think it may have anything to do with
something that's therapeutic that happens between you and maybe like
the audience.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I don't know. I really don't and I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Well, I mean, you know, there were so many things
in my life that didn't make sense but then made
sense when I stepped on stage.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You know, like like I went to like.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Fifteen different schools and then you know, being the new kid,
it's almost it's weird though, It's like I didn't mind
the awkward and nervousness. I knew what would happen. I'm
going to show up, They'll put me in front of
the class. Some of these weren't the nicest of schools.
So now I'm going to end up throwing hands either
(17:45):
at recess or you know. And you know, then and
then after about two weeks of fighting every other kid,
you'll end up making friends. Yeah, through through sports. You know,
that's how guys bond, you know, teams. Yeah, well, if
you're good at sports as a kid, then you know,
if you're good, you're good with your hands.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
And because guys like to.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
We we're like, let's say you have a friend that's
really fast, right, or that can fight.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
We we build them up, right, Like like.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
If I'm hanging out with a guy that and this kid,
I'm like, yo, I bet you can't beat my friend.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know what I mean, Like we like we like
to associate ourselves with that or women. You guys are
a little opposite you guys.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, no, But you're talking about lifting people up, because
when you get in a team and everybody works together,
that everybody sort of lifts everybody up.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
No, you, you live, you only there's a great You
pat yourself on the back when you fail, and then
you kick yourself in the ass when you succeed. But
what I meant more is if you have to be
constantly told that you're you know, you're awesome, you can
do it, that's just no, you're not.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
You're not meant to you. Just go do it. Go fail,
be okay with failing. Move, move the fuck on. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Talk that that to me in my head, that's how
I talk to myself. Just go get it done. Because
most of the people that are trying to encourage you
as soon as you leave, they're not being honest with you.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
But you you're the only one that can really you know,
you're you.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Know how honest with yourself are But I'm saying, you
know what you can do.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Nobody knows what you could do.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
And when you keep asking other people can I can,
I know then you're not.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Meant to do it. Just go get it done.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
You know, how do you how do you feel about
the role of comedy, UH with respect to healing others.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I think perspective. A perspective is what's healing.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I mean, I know that there's UH studies done on laughter,
how it releases endorphins or whatever. But perspective is really
what I think comedy gives because it goes it goes
in line with the oh my god, what's woe is me? I?
You know, I don't. I'm insecure. This is this, so's everybody.
(20:14):
We're all insecure. And one thing I always tell my
audience at the end when I talk to them, I
always say, everybody in this room is hurting.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
We're all hurting.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
We all love the same, we hurt the same, nobody's
different from the other. And you're all dead in a
hundred years. And this goes in line is why I
suck at dinner parties. But do you sit in the
middle of the table?
Speaker 3 (20:40):
I just you know, comics.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
When we get together, it's it's very interesting and fun conversations.
And then when you're out with regular people that they
it's not as fun and they think that we're all like,
you know, soul the other day, it's far from that.
We're all mentally ill and depressed, but at the same time, like,
I'm I'm optimistic guy. I just I'm just an honest person.
(21:06):
And people hate honesty. They hate it, they hate it
with themselves, right, like getting older? Who cares?
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Right? Right?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
What do you think you're going to be twenty two forever?
You know what I'm saying? Or just worrying all the time?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
To me, it's just do you think you're the only
person in the in the timeline of human existence?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I mean, do you understand how selfish and narcissistic that is?
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And then to think that you're always going to look
the same and that everything's always going to work out
for you, You're fucking delusional. You're a delusional person that don't
accept the way the world works. And that's not on me,
that's on the that's on you. So you know, comics
will give you that perspective that this is great, own it.
Who cares?
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Laugh? Move on? You're dead soon or shut up?
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Ye have you ever experienced or witness moments where comedy
helps someone cope with difficult emotion or situation.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah, you'll get emails from people, but it's only people
that have experienced it in a way that get it.
And then you know, every once in a while it's
I'll say this, ninety five percent of the time, if
someone experienced it and they know you're being honest about it,
(22:29):
they'll hit you up and laugh. Ninety five percent of
the people that don't like it think it should be offensive,
like I can't believe you say something like that, You're
not considerate. And then you'll get like a five percent
of people that I went through it to said, look, dude,
I didn't think that was funny. But for most I
would say, again, I'm just throwing out a number. If
(22:53):
I'm doing a joke that you could tell is I've experienced,
because that's my rule of thumb. I only make fun
of my own tragedies, you know what I mean, I'm
not making fun of someone else's because that's where the
authenticity comes in.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Because I'm not a set up punch guy.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
I try to be honest and taking my experiences and
you know, making light in them.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
It's pretty amazing. I would say comedies right up there
with being a therapist. Almost a lot more fun, I'm
guessing than well.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
No, there's two to that too.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I mean, you know, I don't know I've if you know,
when you're taking something that affected you and making light
of it, it's very therapeutic.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
That's the only thing I know, So I don't know
how it would be any other way.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Well, it's so helpful when you go into a show
and you hear somebody I was watching one of your
specials recently where you got into your dad, and it's like,
if there's anyone in the audience thinking to themselves, you know,
my goodness, he went through that growing up with his dad,
and how can I complain about my life for my problems,
(24:08):
you know? And then you're up there making fun and
finding comedy in that. That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
And then everything's relative, right, So like, you know, there's
people that are worse off than me, there are people
that are better off than me. But the when you
learn the technique to deal with everything whatever comes your way. Right, So,
as an artist, if you need constant validation, you're you're
(24:35):
not going to succeed because most a lot of people
just won't be honest with you, and you're you know,
they say, the only person you can trust is yourself
in the process, and the only person you can blame
is yourself, right, like when you assess, because we know
we know ourselves better than anybody. It's that third phase
(24:57):
that we know right, but we also know where are
failures are and what we need to work harder on.
That's why I think as an artist self assessment because
it's especially stand ups, always a work in progress. And
sometimes you'll run a joke or a premise by somebody
and then they'll be like, eugh, that that sounds awful,
(25:17):
But then when you execute it, then they're like, oh, Okay,
I get it because you know where you want to go.
So you know, I always take criticism and compliments the
same way.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
If that makes sense, Yeah, totally. Did you have a well,
you know, if you can take criticism, you're way ahead
of the game in this industry.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Account criticism, uh, critical thinking, honesty, those things are the
only things that you can really go and sometimes you know, look,
because people mistake bad habits for who they are, if
that makes sense. You know, like I'm the king of procrastinator.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Who isn't It's awful?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Like I still have to get my taxes going and
you know, I keep filing extensions which cost me more
money because it's like, oh I don't want to have
to go you know, that type of stuff bothers me
and then but you know you have to buckle down
and get it done.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
But you know, you know your strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
So it's the curse of being creative. I think.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, man, it's I mean, you get two types and
stand up. You have the ocds and the adhds. You
have the people that have anxiety versus the people that
have depression.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
You know, it's just.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I'm laughing, and I know I shouldn't be laughing, but
I totally understand what you're talking about. Did you have
a mentor or a mentor?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, and it was the Comedy Store in general, just
being there at that time period when I was there,
being around comics that you know, I grew up watching,
and then guys that were ahead of me, guys below me.
So you you actually learned by osmosis and that o
R the Original room because the Comedy Store, I have
(27:03):
to explain it has three rooms as the main room,
the original room, in the belly room, and the original
rooms my favorite room in the country.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Main room pays more. But the o R you've we
learned all the.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Comics that I came up with, like you know, some
of my best friends. We you learn different things by
being forced into it, like how to reset a room,
how to follow uh like I you know, you follow
everybody from Chris Rock to Chappelle to Rogan, to BurrH
(27:38):
to Dice. You know you you you, and there's no
MC so they bring you up. So then you got
to learn, just through repetition and failure how to get
the room after they just saw somebody that there were
fans versus somebody they had no idea who they are,
you know what I mean? And totally that type of
stuff you you learn the comedy. So the Comedy Store
(28:01):
itself was probably my biggest mentor that's cool.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I think I think your failures are, like you said,
some of your biggest successes. You just don't know it
at the time, right, and you know if you can
make it through.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And what's funny is, like you when you were in it,
and then when you're past it, you're always going back
to that time period because that's the most fun, even
though it was the most difficult.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
You will be right back with more of the Comedy
Saved Me podcast. Welcome back to the Comedy Saved Me podcast.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
It's so it is. It's very hard if you want
to pursue a career in general, in front of the
camera or on the stage, to have that sense of Okay,
I can do this. It's horrifying if you don't have
some type of maybe somebody came into your life at
one point said, hey, well you just did was funny
(29:02):
and that's all you needed to hear one time to
know that you were on the right track.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Well, it goes back to that validation thing, right.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
So I can't tell you how many times I've been
in conversations with other comics, like at the comedy store,
we hang out in the hallway where till we go
up and nobody even saw the guys set, And then
somebody will get off stage will be like, yo, great set.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
They didn't even watch it. Oh man, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
That's when you learn that nobody really gets you know,
people somehow create this narrative in their head that everybody's
talking about them, everybody cares about nobody cares, nobody's that
invested in you.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
That's why the self reliance thing.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Is really important, and for younger artists to know that
whatever art form they're in, it's all puberty, it's all this.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
We all go through the same thing.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
You know, you're not unique and you're failing, and you're
not unique in your successes.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Everything will come and go. It's the ebbs and flow
of it. When you're in it long enough, you're going
to be up.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Your highs, your your low's way way more than your highs.
But it'll eventually go away, then come back, go away.
That's why if you just focus on what you love
to do and just keep doing it, if you can
still make a career at it, then you know you're
you're lucky.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Those are wise words. That was my next question is
what do you what do you tell young up and
coming artists? And that pretty much.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Yeah, it's all part for the course and what makes
stand up such a unique art form. I mean there's
a few exceptions. Is we've been at every level. When
you're a headliner and there's a kid m seeing or
a person guest setting or middling and there, we've all
been there. We none of us have skipped any steps.
We've all done open mics, we've all done the lotteries,
(30:55):
we've all done the.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Bringer shows, everything.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
So when when we're at at where we're at, and
the person that's new is where they're at.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
What are you going to complain? You can't complain.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
We've we've all done it, we've all we've all been there.
But I'm one of those those types too, where I'm
more into like breaking just because something bad might have
happened to me.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
I don't want to project that on someone else.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Right right, I mean you feel you want to, but
it's it's hard personally.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
No, I honestly don't, because you look at it two ways.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
It's like, you know, I remember watching people even a
store one time, and I noticed that when people didn't
hold the door for the next person, the one person
that started holding the door, and then the next person
would hold the door.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
And that's kind of what you want to do.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
You want to break cycles in that type of sense,
because some of it's unnecessary, Like I've I've met comics
without mentioning names that were like, hey, I went through it, so.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Now I'm going to do to someone else.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, Whereas like I don't see the purpose in that
because some of those some of it is just isn't
isn't cool?
Speaker 1 (32:09):
You mean, like hazing the new comic.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Like Bump like, there's been times where, like you know,
especially like in Hollywood and New York, where you have
industry come down to see you for like a showcase
type set, so you set it up at the club.
Then all of a sudden, a major celebrity comes in,
and we use a term called bumping right where you
get bumped. So let's say I have a ten fifteen spot,
(32:37):
and I brought some executives down that wanted to see
my set that might be considering me for either late
night appearance, which doesn't really happen that much anymore, or
people that are developing shows, or even people that might
be like, hey, we might want you to be on
our show, like as an actor, and they're there and
(32:59):
it's called the showcase set, right, and then that person
famous person comes in and says, I want to go
up now, and now they're going to do however long
they're going to do, and the comic that had set
it up, you may not even get up till midnight,
and then that's bad. The industry sometimes doesn't want to
(33:19):
be there that long, So I don't bump anyone.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Even if I can, I won't.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Do it, especially if they're I'll like if I show
up at a show and they're like, hey, can you
come down?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
I'll wait till the end. You know, that type of
stuff I don't like.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
I don't like to do because I've been there and
I didn't like how that how that worked out?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Well, you're also a groundbreaker. Besides being a nice guy,
You're Principal's office special was groundbreaking, I say because it
was the first self distributed am I saying that correctly
online special on YouTube?
Speaker 2 (33:55):
There were guys that like went viral with their specials,
but I was the first to do a YouTube special.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Yeah for free fully produced?
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
And what what would inspire the approach? And how did
do you feel it impacted your career?
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And but you know, because you're the first doesn't mean
you did it right. Like you know, take because again,
our community is pretty supportive.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
It's supportive in a way where like guys were.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Like when when I told like Bill, Bill Burr and
ur Is Shafir what I was thinking of doing, and
then they're like, yeah, yeah, you should do that, you
know what I mean. And then when I did it,
I had other guys say how did that work out
for you? Other comics And then I'd be like, look,
it worked out great this way, but I I messed
up this way, and then if I were to do
(34:48):
it again, this is what I would do different. So
when they did it for the first time, I was
given telling them what I did.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Wrong for them to you know, not do wrong. Does
that make sense?
Speaker 1 (34:59):
And then yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
But it became a thing because I had put about
twenty thousand on my own money, and you know, I
had some friends lent me some money too to invest
in it, and in the process of shooting Principal's Office,
I was hoping Netflix would well. Prior to that, I
did a Comedy Central present, so everybody wanted to get
(35:21):
their hour on Comedy Central.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Let me take it back a little, and I had
a top five.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Comedy Central would do this thing where they would air
all the half hours and hours that they produced for
the year, and people would vote on it. Right, they
would call in. This is like two thousand and ten,
twenty eleven, and they would call in and say, this
was our favorite. So there was like a hundred specials
that year and I was in the top five, but
it was only my half hour, so I wanted to
(35:51):
get the hour, and every year after that, I was
on the one yard line, but I would lose it
to check because they would check is like we need
we have enough white dudes. We're gonna do more females,
or we're gonna do this, and they started just checking
boxes and I was getting frustrated with it, so I
(36:11):
was like, screw it, I'll shoot one myself and have
Netflix was licensing at the time, but in the process
of shooting it and editing it, Netflix changed the policy
and said we're not going to license anymore.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
We're going to own it.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
So now I was stuck with this twenty thousand dollars
special because you get for me. I got to the
point to where like, I don't need permission to exist,
Right If I'm putting this work in and these people
are like, no, he doesn't fit this criteria or that criteria,
then I'm like, well then I'm just gonna do it myself.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
And I love that.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
And it just the way it worked out was, you know,
I thought outside the box. I built out a website
that you could watch it, and then I ebbed in
a YouTube player, so whatever views I got, you can
monetize it on YouTube. Then I set it up where
if you wanted to buy it for five dollars, you could.
(37:09):
If you wanted to get a T shirt for twenty
you get the special with it, or just give me
your email. You didn't have to do anything, and I
would tell them that I'd say, you just enjoy it,
but if you wanted to stay in touch.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I'll take your email.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Because it was one of those things where I was
in the nightclub business, where like if I if I
don't get.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
You at the door, I'm going to get you at
the bar.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
So you wanted to get a bunch of, you know,
as much fans as possible. Eventually, if they like it,
they'll go buy a ticket. But truth be told, after
about three hundred thousand views, my average was like twenty
dollars and I ended up making a shit ton of
money from it.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
And but I used the comedy community. I went on
Bill Burr, I went on all the podcasts that were
my friends, and we promoted it because comics have always
been on the forefront of everything from early Hollywood to radio,
to silent films to sitcoms. Dame Cook blew it up
(38:13):
with MySpace, you know, Rogan, Mark Marin, Tom Green, Adam Carolla,
with the podcasting, and then you know, now that's why
you're doing a podcast. Is comics started podcasting. We were
the first.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Yeah, we've always been ahead of because we just love
to create, and we can create funny and.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Well, I know, I actually know why believe it or not?
Why because it's something I say with every time I
talk to a comedian, and I don't try to repeat
myself just to be heard. But it's true. You really
are the foundation of entertainment and the hardest working people
in entertainment. That's why you're so interchangeable. You can act,
(38:58):
you can do drama, you can do comedy, you can write,
you can perform on stage to a live audience or
a camera. But you all work so hard on your
own and you support each other, whereas like, that's comedy
that's so different than acting or music, where you sort
of on your own. You don't have all these other
people trying to lift you up and help you in
(39:20):
the same industry, or at least it doesn't seem that
way as much anymore.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Well, we definitely are the blue collar of the entertainment business.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
And you're right in that fact that like to even
get to a point to where you're even considering doing
something right. You have six, seven, sometimes ten years of
shitty bar gigs, you know, living in a smaller area
moving to a bigger one, keeping your nights so open,
waiting in line, Like we used to wait in line
(39:50):
at the lab factory to do three minutes and we
would get up at five am and you'd have a
friend that would sit there until about five pm until
they came out, and then we would do it in
shifts just to do three minutes to try and get
a paid spot at a club. And we're doing that
until for so many years. So yeah, you're right. We're
(40:12):
always always.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
Moving, always and don't ever call in the morning early.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
At least you catch just before we go to bed.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
That's true, because then you're in the morning. How do
you maintain that work life balance? It's so funny. As
a woman, that's always the question. How are you a
mom and work full time and all that? But this
is different. I mean, like we said, you're hard working,
but there's your whole life outside of comedy, and there's
a lot of demands with touring and acting and performing.
(40:46):
What's your secret?
Speaker 2 (40:48):
I don't know, Like, well, I don't act as much.
I mean, I was very fortunate to get on the show.
I just always focus on the traveling and the stand up.
But I you know, I I guess state keep working,
like keep doing new material, like keep take you know,
coming up with stuff, and so each time you're coming
(41:08):
to a city, it's a different routine or try to
be you know.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
And take like new risks.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
Yeah, creatively, you know, and it's usually you know, it's
it's goddess.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
I was who the heck was I talking to about this?
Speaker 2 (41:23):
Where I you deconstruct what where you're at to figure
out the way you got there, but while you're getting there,
you have no idea how you're getting there.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
I think that's called hindsight.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Is that what it is?
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Look, I just simpled it up for you really easy.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
Well, it's like you reverse engineer the process.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And like when I was talking about, like you learn
lessons with all right, I'll give you, uh, when you're
at the comedy store, say and you who like Dice
taught me something one night.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
I don't even know if he was teaching me.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
He wanted me to do this bit but then do
a monologue leading up to the bit, and I was like, ugh,
I had never done.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
You want to memorize it too, Just make it up, Oh.
Speaker 3 (42:18):
Make it up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
So I was in the main room and I used
to do this roller skating bit about this guy named
Tony that was like thirty when we were ten.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
I don't know if you ever remember.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
There was that old dude at the roller rink, but
he he was like, you gotta tell everybody who's Tony?
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Where is he from?
Speaker 2 (42:35):
And because Dice was one of my idols growing up, I, uh,
I did it. And I went up and just started
talking about this guy. I'd never done it before. And
this was in the main room. And I didn't realize
that at the time because I would watch Dice in
the or he commits. But he was teaching me commitment
(42:57):
by putting me in that situation which I would never
have been in, and you just I just committed to
it because I had no choice and and and the
uncomfortability came to laughter and I and I kind of
I didn't realize it till like eight months later, that
that's what he does sometimes, Like he'll go on stage
and just commit to things.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
He never waivers and commit.
Speaker 2 (43:21):
And I learned commitment from that, and then you learn
how to get a room back. One night, one of
the more famous comics just said good night and he
was supposed to bring me up, so he ran off
stage forgetting to bring me up.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Oh what did you do?
Speaker 2 (43:36):
Then I had to run up while the room was leaving,
And then now you're like, hey, and you have to
get everybody back. You just you learn these different scenarios
and but you don't know you're learning it at the time.
So it's like twenty something years later you go back
and say, this is how I learned to commit, this
is how I learned how to reset, and you know,
(43:59):
but in the process, you don't know what's happening.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Can you share Brett a time that comedy helped you
through a tough situation?
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah, the night the day my brother died. I went
on stage that night, and uh, you know I didn't
I just I don't even think.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
I talked about it.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
I just went into do a material and I just
kept getting up because you know, it's it's one of
those things where like you just I just forced myself
to get up that day, and you know that helped.
Speaker 3 (44:37):
That helped a lot.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
It's like, you know, you don't feel like going to
the gym, and you're like, I gotta go. You know,
I just gotta go because that's what you learn from sports.
But you know, working out makes me feel better. I
feel like I accomplished something, like I center my day
around a gym, and then I center my.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
Meant health around my stand up.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
I guess because I do have that outlet, and I
can see where it could be difficult for somebody who's
going through something that doesn't have an outlet to be
creative with it, if that makes sense totally.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
And do you see when you've done that for others
when you're on stage, No, because.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
You you can't get the same feeling. I mean, you know,
it's the difference between preparing a meal and somebody eating it.
You know, there's the chefs that are like, hey, I
just discovered this new spice or whatever, this new combination.
The satisfaction is watching people eat it and being wow,
this is the best. This was really good, you know,
(45:46):
But it would be more of trying to give a
one of the best meals possible, or you're the best
meal you can give to someone who hasn't eaten in
a while, and then yeah, so not only are you
feeding them that, but it's something really good for them, because.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Did you know that was going to be a byproduct
of yours?
Speaker 2 (46:11):
What I mean, you don't, You don't know. You still
don't know. You just know that, you know. Some people
will leave you a private message saying, hey, I went
through this, and it's funny too when you're online and people,
uh leave comments about things they don't understand. And then
and then there's the ones that do get it, and
(46:33):
then they hit you up and they're like, yo, this
was my story.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
And then then you know, you kind of have a.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
Shared experience with them, and those you try to tie,
you know, try and hit them back and say, yo,
I'm glad that that worked for you. I mean, you know,
but that's not the I I know, it's everything sounds contradictory,
but that's not the goal.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (46:54):
It's still like there's just there's something pleasing in taking
a thought and then constructing an idea. And then here's
the crazy part. I don't even care if they laugh.
I just want I just want the right people to laugh,
and they will.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
Huh right.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
That's that's an interesting take. I don't think I've ever
heard anyone.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Well, no, there's a lot that way that are okay
with silence.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Yeah, I am horrible with that. By the way, my
husband tells me that for someone who gets paid to talk,
I give a lot of words away for free.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
But looking back on your career, what do you hope
that your legacy in comedy will be?
Speaker 3 (47:36):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Is that a hard question?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Yeah, because you don't know.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
I don't know, you just the only thing I would
want people to say about me is how hard I
work and how much integrity I have.
Speaker 3 (47:51):
And what I do.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Like, you know, I don't want to to sit there
and go I want to have world peace. I don't
you know, you don't know, there's many I want people
to realize that everything will be okay. You know what
I mean, when you leave, everything's gonna be fine. You
have two choices. Just laugh at it and from me.
You know, I'm Catholic. I believe in God. I believe
(48:15):
Jesus was who he was. But I give I always
compliment atheists. I now, I'm like, I don't know how
you guys do it without God, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Like, I give you props, but.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
At the end of the day, we're all gone. I mean,
every every this, I mean, it's just everything goes like that.
And you know that because I was twenty five two
weeks ago and I got to assume I'll be seventy
five in a month.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
And what are you going to do?
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Everybody goes through things, So just laugh at it, because
that takes the.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
Power away from you.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
Know.
Speaker 3 (48:54):
I don't want to say the devil or evil or negative.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (48:58):
No, it's true. It keeps it all at bay.
Speaker 2 (49:03):
Evil knows it can't win. It doesn't want to win.
It just wants to cause chaos and cause sorrow. And
when you get caught up in that and you start
to make decisions based on.
Speaker 3 (49:17):
Desperation, everything will.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Everything always works out, and even if it doesn't, something
else will, because you know, God gives by taking away.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
It takes something away, something else comes in.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
And when you're sad about things or think your tragedies
are unique, then they're not. Everybody goes through something. Some
are way more awful than others, some are way more
harder to laugh at.
Speaker 3 (49:45):
But just know all of us will be dead one day.
Speaker 2 (49:48):
And I'm willing to bet when you're one hundred years
old in bed, your last thoughts aren't going to be God.
I wish that person didn't make fun of me. You know,
you're going to be focusing on ice cream and past
family members, and I wish I had more time.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I missed my mother making Sunday gravy.
Speaker 2 (50:08):
You know, whatever those thoughts are, those are the ones
that you're really going to think about.
Speaker 3 (50:13):
And that's why all this stuff in between. Just just
laugh at it. You got no choice.
Speaker 1 (50:18):
Laugh and look for silver linings. That's that's MyD.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Just like I said, if you know you're going to
be dead one day, why are you letting everything stress
you out? I mean, there's gonna be major events in
your life that you have no control over, but everything else,
you know, That's the beauty of comedy is we're laughing
at life, right. And I remember at the end of
(50:42):
my special, I said that you know when you because
I was, I got divorced. But that when I did
the not Principal, the one after Principles of Domesticated Animal,
it was my least favorite special because I was lying
the whole time. Because I wrote it as a married man,
and I had made jokes about our marriage as kind
(51:05):
of like not a homage or whatever the word is,
but in honor of that.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
And then I think the h is silent whatever.
Speaker 3 (51:13):
That thing's called.
Speaker 1 (51:15):
I've never heard anyone say that, I'm sorry, So I'm
not that broud. You're not even trying to be funny,
and I'm.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Stupid sometimes I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
So I said at the end that you know, whenever
we see romantic movies, it's either when we first met
or when we're getting a divorce. You know, does usually,
but it's all the in between is where comics come in,
and that's the stuff you need to laugh at.
Speaker 1 (51:43):
Yes, sir frett Ernst, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3 (51:47):
I know it was very wordy, but this is very early.
Speaker 1 (51:49):
For me right now, That's okay. I love wordy
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