November 3, 2025 • 50 mins
Morgan Gallo breaks down her 3-year sprint from writing-room newbie to Denver studio owner with 100K+ followers. We get into filming every set, turning trauma into bits, branding like a social pro, and building community that levels you up. If you’re a 0–5 year comic, this is your blueprint.
Join our Patreon: http://patreon.com/hotbreathpod
Top Takeaways:
- Film every set; post the best 30–60 seconds—weekly, no excuses.
- Consistency beats “algorithm hacks”—show up more than you optimize.
- Look bookable early: simple website, dates listed, headshots, clean captions
- Treat social like your résumé
- Don’t chase going viral; build a library for people to discover
- After a bomb, write three lessons and move on to next show
- Join or build community (writing room/new-material show) to level up faster.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to Hot Breath.
I am your host, comedian Joel Byers.
And as you know, our missionhere is to cultivate the next generation
of self made comics.
And our guest today is a bigpart of that mission.
During the pandemic, westarted this amazing online community
of comics all over the world.
She was in there consistentlywinning our joke writing contests.
(00:22):
And now she has since movedfrom starting in Florida to now in
Denver, where she owns her ownstudio, produces her own content.
She's on the road.
She is what we're talkingabout when we say self made comic.
I'm so grateful.
I'm not going to cry.
But this is, this is likeshe's in hot breath.
(00:42):
And now she's developed andblossomed into her own self made
comedian, which is what HotBreath is all about.
So please welcome Morgan Galloto the show.
Wow.
I wish everyone introduced melike that.
That was such a, like, big bro moment.
It was just cool because,like, I remember seeing you in the
community and you were alwayswriting and you were just super funny
and then you really developedin the Florida scene very quickly.
(01:06):
So just to see where you arenow, it was just cool to see like,
you and hot breath, like kindof incubating and then you.
Yeah, then you.
Which is the whole goal ofwhat hot breath is.
So you're like a livingsuccess of that.
Thanks.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, I feel like success is astrong word, but I levels to this.
Yeah, yeah, you're doing cool things.
Thanks, man.
Yeah, that's so crazy.
(01:27):
I. I started doing hot breath,like in like the summer of 2020,
because I remember that waswhen I started doing stand up.
And then I think I listened tothe podcast first and then I might
have found the writing groupbecause I was like, so desperate
to just learn anything that Ijust was like, all right.
(01:48):
And I started doing thatwriting group, like, at work.
Like, I would close my officedoor and I would just pretend like
I was working on something,but I'd actually be writing one liners
just like a weirdo.
Yeah, that was a very fun timeof, of my life.
Oh, well, I'm glad you canlook back and think it was positive.
That's good.
Yeah, of course, of course.
(02:08):
And now you've like, you'velike popped.
What?
What happened?
Do you think so?
I don't know.
These followers now, like, what?
What?
It's a lot of creepy men.
You know, It's a lot of creepy.
A lot of dudes that just wantto take me on a date or lick my toes
or something.
They'll send you messagessaying, I want to lick your toes.
Yeah, I have, I have a series.
I do a very unofficial seriescalled what's in my DMs?
(02:30):
And I've done it like fivetimes now.
And I. I basically.
I do it when I'm on the roadand I'm bored and I just look through
all my dms and I justscreenshot the weirdest ones and
I just read them out loud andit's turned into, like, something
that, like, people are like,oh, yeah, that Boston guy, the Boston
Booty Sniffer, because hemessages me consistently.
So it's like, is that a real person?
Yeah, Boston Booty Sniffer.
(02:51):
Yeah.
He.
He always proposes a way.
He's like, if you ever come toBoston, I just want to let you know
that if you're in the area, Iwill gladly pay you to sniff your
booty hole.
And I'm like, this is.
It's not real.
But the.
But the guy is serious.
Like, I'm like, this person isjust trying to be stupid.
But I'm also like, this is.
What if I go to Boston andsomeone, like, comes up to me and
(03:13):
is like, hey, it's me.
I don't know.
There's the Boston Stranglerand now the Boston.
Yeah, the Boston Booty Sniffer.
Dude.
He's all up in the dms.
Yeah.
Is that your weirdest one?
What?
No.
I've gotten all kinds of weird stuff.
I.
It's just a lot of, like, youknow, guys who just want to be creepy
(03:35):
to girls.
I don't think it has anythingto do with me being a comedian.
You know, it's just that they.
They see that I post a lot ofvideos and so they see I'm active
and so they.
They just DM me like, youknow, I want to take you on a date,
or I think that you're reallypretty, or they comment on a very
specific body part.
Like, it's just.
It is what it is, man.
It's part of.
(03:55):
It's part of the grind.
Ladies, if you want to be astand up comedian, be prepared to
be lust constantly.
I can't even imagine.
You know, I. I get.
I get roasted Michael Cera people.
Oh, yeah.
You know, fix it, Felix.
But no one.
No one wants to sniff my booty hole.
You know, that's.
I feel weird saying that.
(04:15):
Yeah, exactly.
I mean.
Yeah.
Think about how weird it is toread it.
Yeah, it's an interesting lifeI have, but comedy's cool.
Comedy school.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Other than that.
Yeah, Other Than that.
What?
How did you.
It was weird because it's justlike all of a sudden I looked at
your account one day and youhad like over a hundred thousand
followers.
And I was like, oh, really?
(04:36):
What happened?
Yeah, I never, I guess I was,I'll check in periodically, you know,
but I just checked in one time.
Yeah, I know.
It's not like you're lookingat someone's following all the time.
I'm not sliding your DMs or anything.
Yeah, yeah, I, I think I just,I've been like working really consistently
on my social media because I,when I started comedy, I was already
(04:58):
working in marketing.
I have a degree in pr.
Oh.
And so my whole like kind ofpost college adventures were working
as a social media manager forseveral different companies.
And by the time I startedstand up, I had been doing that for
a while.
So I kind of understood whatit meant to like gain a social following
(05:19):
because I was managingaccounts that had, you know, tens
of thousands of followersbecause it was, you know, a college,
a hotel, whatever.
And so I just kind of like sawthe value in posting a lot of stand
up and I started.
Well, what I started doing wasI saved a bunch of money.
I bought a camera.
(05:41):
I bought a camera, I bought atripod, I bought a microphone and
I started just taking it toevery show and filming everything,
even if it was terrible, andthen trying to find the best, you
know, 30 second, 60 secondclip and just started posting.
And I didn't really, like, Ididn't really have a strategy.
I just thought, well, I'm acomedian, I do this.
People see my jokes.
(06:02):
I'm not burning materialbecause it's not like I'm, I'm like,
you know, a year, two yearsin, like, no one cares if they see
this joke online and then theysee it at what, a showcase at a Marina
bar.
Like.
And so yeah, I just startedposting and things kind of started
to like, gain traction.
I had a few videos that wentviral and then that just kept happening.
(06:24):
So I kind of, I don't know,sometimes I just feel like I got
lucky, you know what I mean?
Because so many comedians postall the time and I feel like in the
green room, we're alwaystalking about, what, what's your
social media strategy?
Oh, I Post at 2pm on Tuesdaysand Thursdays and I use these hashtags
or I don't use hashtags.
And I think it's justconsistently consistency over anything
(06:44):
else.
Yeah, that's what I'm askingnow is how do I.
How do I blow up?
I don't know.
I. I mean, I really don't.
I don't know, dude.
I, I.
Tell me your secret.
Right?
I just, I've tried so manydifferent things, and for me, it
was never about, like, tryingto blow up.
I just wanted to createsomething online that looked legitimate
(07:05):
so that if people wanted tobook me, they were like, oh, this
girl's serious.
Like, I had a few mentors inFlorida that were like, hey, why
don't you have a website?
You know, why don't you postyour dates that you're going and
doing these showcases?
Even though it wasn't like,you know, even now it's like, I'm
not, you know, this big headliner.
I'm not, like, touring.
I'm, like, opening for people,and I love it.
(07:26):
So it was more just like, whydon't you just tell people what you're
doing?
Because you're at a point nowwhere there's no stakes in it.
Like, you're not trying tosell tickets, so just, like, have
fun with it.
And I just started doing that,and it made me look more legit the
more that I did.
I had a website that I had alink tree.
I started doing posters for myself.
I started doing clips all the time.
I got more headshots done.
(07:47):
So it kind of just made melook a little bit more like a real
comedian, I guess.
Oh, yeah.
And I guess having.
I guess if we post somethingand feel like, oh, this is the one
that goes viral, it's almostlike we need.
It helps to have the intentionof just creating something for the
fun of it and not trying toget something out of it beyond just
enjoying the creation of it.
(08:08):
Yeah, Because I feel like whenI post, I was like, this better be
it, or this is the one.
And then, yeah, and I deleted.
I feel like that more now thanbefore when I didn't have any followers
at all.
Like, I feel more like that now.
I'm like, shit.
Now I have to, like,consistently get views, you know,
or else someone's going to belike, well, she's, she's not, she's
(08:29):
canceled.
Like, she's not doing well anymore.
So, I don't know.
It's weird.
I think social media takes alittle bit of the fun out of comedy
sometimes, but I recognize theimportance of it in the industry
now.
So it's like this balance of just.
Trying to do it well.
What did you learn working insocial media?
Like, what is the.
What are the skills of social media?
You know, like, you Seem tohave helped other brands build.
(08:51):
So we're all our own brands now.
Like, there's specific things,I think, just being true to what
yourself is or what the brand is.
Like, for example, I worked ata. I worked at a private college
for three years, and that'swhere I started.
Stand up in St. Augustine.
And I just, like, really, whenI was on the accounts, I just always
(09:13):
was thinking, like, what doesthis college?
Or what does the voice of thiscollege sound like?
What does it look like?
What are the colors?
You know, what kind of voicedoes it have on stories versus what's
the voice on regular posts or captions?
And you just kind of have todo that as a social media manager.
I mean, the best examples ofit are, like, the Wendy's Twitter
(09:35):
account, right?
Like, the person that runs itor the people that run it, like,
they know what Wendy's sounds like.
They know exactly what ittalks like, they know exactly what
it has to say, what kind ofvocab it has, and they lean into
it, and it makes it hilariousbecause it's consistently funny.
It's consistently, like, snarky.
So I think, for me, I justkind of started, like, thinking about
(09:57):
who do I want to be as a comedian?
And then went from there.
And it constantly evolves.
You know, I'm only three yearsin, so I don't really know who I
am.
I don't know what my voice is still.
So at first I was like, oh,I'm pink and purple, and my whole
profile is pink and purple highlights.
And I use these hashtags.
And now I'm like, I care lessabout that, and I care more about,
(10:17):
like, what does the video look like?
Is the video good quality?
If it's not 4k, I don't use it.
I use the same font for all my captions.
I pretty much use the samehashtags for all my videos.
Like, but it evolved there.
I. I tried different things atdifferent times.
So, yeah, interest.
Three years.
(10:37):
I didn't realize it was.
But I guess three and a half.
But you.
And a half.
So you started literally Julyof 2020.
That's incredible.
So you started in Hot Breath.
That was your first.
I. I should have looked back.
I should have walked on memorylane before this, because I know
we've had a lot ofinteraction, especially during the
pandemic.
I should have gone back andlook because I'm sure there was a
(10:58):
lot going on there.
I basically, like, thepandemic happened.
I got sent home to work from home.
I FaceTimed with a friend andI made him laugh a bunch.
And he was like, you shouldtry stand up comedy.
And I looked up stand upcomedy classes in Jacksonville, Florida,
and, And I found one.
(11:18):
I went, I learned how to writea joke, and then I started, like,
just googling anything and everything.
And I bought, like, the, theStand up comedy Bible.
I bought, like, how to Kill inComedy by Steve North.
I listened to your podcast,and then I think it was the podcast
notes that led me to theFacebook group to then led me that
(11:40):
to do, like, the word of the Day.
And then I would do zoomsessions with people in there.
I, I started listening toBreaking Down Bits with Drew Jordan
and, like, I just started,like, kind of diving in.
And then, yeah, it wasprobably like this, the fall of 2020,
where I was, like, really,like, doing word of the day every
(12:00):
day.
I was, like, in the bathroomchecking the live stream.
Like, I was in it, dude, I wasin it.
Let's go.
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah.
Over.
I did over 400 days of live.
Streaming and, yeah, that was crazy.
And had a breakdown and.
Yeah, I didn't blame you.
That was so much.
And there was a point when I cried.
Yeah, there was a point whereit was like, okay, the pandemic is,
(12:23):
like, not over, but it's likethings are happening again.
Yeah.
So it's like, okay, maybe wecan get.
Ease up on the live streamingand, like, go out and actually do
an open mic.
I don't know.
That would be cool.
You seem to have reallyexcelled in the Florida scene.
Very quickly, like, you seemto be booking cool, cool shows.
I remember seeing.
Thanks.
Yeah.
(12:43):
Very quickly there.
What do you attribute to that?
Just dms.
Yeah.
People wanting to book yourfeet for the show.
I mean, it's hard.
I have a, I always have a hardtime answering that question because,
like, I want to say it wasjust because I worked hard and you're
funny.
Thank you.
I, I, I hope so.
But, like, always were.
Yeah, it is, it is trickybecause I think a lot of the time,
(13:06):
you know, there is, there is alittle bit of, like, being a female
comic and being one of a few,because I noticed in Florida that
there weren't nearly as manyfemale comics as there are, like,
in Atlanta or Denver or SanDiego or literally anywhere else.
Like, and I, I think it'sbecause Florida is a very tough state
(13:31):
to do comedy in for anyone.
And so especially for women,when we're kind of faced with this,
like, weird energy of, like,all right, I'm constantly in front
of older people I'm in frontof a lot of white people.
I'm in front of a lot ofconservative people.
How do I navigate this withoutthem immediately being like, oh,
there's a woman on stage.
(13:52):
I'm not into this.
Or, oh, she's a woman.
She's going to talk about herperiod, or whatever?
So I just pushed through the.
And I just kind of was like,whatever, I don't really care.
Like, I'm just gonna do myjokes and if you don't like me, then
don't book me.
And I asked a lot of questions.
I went to shows that I wasn'tbooked on just to, like, hang out
with the headliner and belike, hey, like, how'd you write
(14:14):
that joke?
And stuff like that?
And then I got lucky that afew, like, local headliners kind
of took me under their wingand started just being like, if you
want to do a guest spot on myshow, do this or submit to this person.
And I started realizing I waslike, oh, I gotta get myself on tape
so that I can submit to someone.
So I filmed like, a fiveminute set on my cell phone and then
(14:37):
started submitting that.
And then that got me into myfirst festival, weirdly enough.
And then I did the festival,and then the.
The tape that I got at thefestival was even better, and I started
using that to submit.
So it all kind of, like, builtupon itself.
And I was also just insane.
And I was willing to drivefour hours to do five minutes, which
a lot of people are notwilling to do.
(14:59):
And I completely understand.
Um, but I was just so.
I was just so into it that Iwas like, nothing is gonna stop me.
I drove to Miami and back inone night just to, like, do a spot,
because I was.
I just wanted to do it.
So I think people realizedthat I was willing to do it.
So they're like, all right,come do it.
You were just, like,persistent with it.
And that really paid offbecause Miami, that's.
(15:21):
That's the whole length of thestate, right?
Yeah, it was like a five hour drive.
And I just.
I mean, I don't know, I just.
Would I do it now?
Probably not, right?
But, like, I just wanted sobadly to get funnier and to be seen
and to show people that Icould do it.
So it was worth it to me.
So what made you take the leapto Denver now, which is a great scene.
(15:43):
What a great question, Joel.
So thank you.
I've done a few of these in my day.
I grew up in Colorado, and Iwent to school there, and Everything.
And my parents retired to Florida.
So I got a job out of college.
I hated it.
And I went, I followed them toFlorida, got a job, started working
at the college, and thenstarted comedy.
(16:03):
So then after maybe like twoyears of doing comedy, I was like,
okay, I'm living in this smalltown right below Jacksonville.
I feel like I've exhaustedwhat I can do here.
It seems like there's a lot ofopportunity in Orlando and Tampa,
kind of more central Florida.
So I had the brilliant of ideaof moving to Orlando, Florida, which
(16:25):
no one else thinks is abrilliant idea, I'll say that, that.
And I moved there and Iimmediately hated it.
And not because.
Not because the scene wasn't great.
It's just Orlando is thearmpit of the state.
It is truly the dumpster fireof Florida.
And people from Orlando know that.
Like, they.
It's not a hot take, believe me.
(16:45):
And I met my boyfriend who wasliving in Denver, because I actually
was lucky enough that aFlorida comic took me to Denver to
open for him.
And.
And I was like, hell yeah.
I haven't been home since Istarted stand up.
This is going to be really cool.
And weirdly enough, myboyfriend was photographing one of
the shows I was on.
So we met.
It was really cool.
(17:06):
He and I started talking, likeover DMS or whatever.
And then I moved to Orlandoand he came down to visit me and
we like started dating longdistance, which was so hard.
But I kept going back toDenver to like see him and do comedy.
And I was like, wow, I miss home.
And Denver has a great comedy scene.
I had no idea there was comedyin Denver.
(17:26):
And I was in Orlando justunhappy for like 8 months.
And I was traveling a lotoutside of Florida just so I didn't
have to be home.
So I was like, all right, youknow what, I'm just gonna move to
Denver and I'm gonna jump into the scene there.
And I knew a lot of peoplealready because I'd been going back
and forth and so I moved thereand then it was the best decision
(17:48):
I've ever made because I. Ilove Colorado.
I love the people there.
The scene is, in my opinion,like one of the best scenes in the
country.
Definitely.
And definitely a step up interms of like stage time.
So, yeah, I just was like,this is a no brainer.
I'm going to go home.
And you just so happen tostart a studio.
(18:08):
Like, you're very pro.
It seems like a big theme isyou're very proactive every step
of the way.
Like you're gonna put yourmind to something, and you're gonna
do it.
Yeah, that's called adhd.
That was called ambition.
We can.
I have ADHD so severely thatI'm like, I'm gonna start a studio,
but then, like, tomorrow I'malso gonna, like, start a podcast,
and then the next day, I'mgonna fucking go to a festival in
(18:30):
Rhode Island.
And then, you know what I mean?
I just can't stop working.
My boyfriend owned dude idk.
That was his media companybefore he met me.
And then he's a photographer,videographer, producer.
He's worked at comedy clubs before.
He produces for comedy clubs.
He produces for comedians.
Like, he's all.
All around.
(18:51):
Been in the industry longerthan I have, and so when we started
dating, I was very interestedin, like, helping him and kind of
being a part of it, becausethat's also my background.
So when I moved to Denver, wehad been tinkering with the idea
of getting a workspace, and itwas just a workspace.
It was like, what if we got aplace where we didn't have to work
from home and we could justmake it, like, our workplace so that
(19:14):
we can separate, like, thepersonal life from the work?
And then because we're bothkind of workaholics, we were like,
let's make it a studio.
Yeah, let's fudgeing, dopodcasts and live shows and sketches
and paint the wall.
I don't know.
And so we opened, we got a studio.
We were very lucky.
We got a cool studio, and wegot, you know, all this stuff made.
(19:37):
There's a bunch of artwork onthe walls from comedians, from other
people.
We have a huge neon sign thatsays dude idk.
We have, like, curtains everywhere.
Like, it's.
We have photo paper hangingfrom the wall.
It's really become, like, acreative, collaborative space.
And I have to give a lot ofcredit to Nick because he's the one
with the vision.
I'm just kind of like theperson that's like, well, maybe what
(19:59):
if we do this?
Or.
You know what I mean?
So.
But he's, like, the bigpicture guy.
So, yeah, we opened thestudio, and we just started slowly
with a few podcasts, and thenwe started producing live shows.
And now we have, like, don'ttell in there.
We have the gateway show.
We have a few comedians thatdo their own, like, personal shows
in there.
(20:19):
Some people come just toheadline and rent out the space for
their own.
Like, they're just renting itout for themselves.
And it's become really Fun for us.
It's kind of nice to have acreative outlet that's not my own
stand up, you know?
Yeah.
Something else to scratch that itch.
Yeah, yeah.
And a great networking place too.
Oh, God.
Coming into that.
(20:40):
Yeah, yeah.
That.
That's a really big part ofthe reason why I love it is being
able to have, like, bigcomedians come in.
And like, during High PlainsComedy Festival, we had a lot of
comedians in town that wantedto record an episode of their podcast.
So we had all fantasyeverything in there.
We had Sam Talent's podcast in there.
We had a bunch of people whowere just like, hey, we just want
(21:02):
to film like a random episodeinterviewing each other.
And they just did that.
So it's been really cool tomeet people and they're like, oh,
yeah, Morgan, you're part ofdude idk.
And, oh, you do stand up.
Cool.
So.
Wow.
Yeah.
In three years.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's weird because I don'tthink that that's like.
Like I feel like that's anappropriate amount of time.
(21:25):
Part of me is like, I'm likelate in the game.
Like, I gotta get it together.
Yeah.
I think.
I think that is such a newschool mentality of that sense of
urgency, like.
But I just interviewed AdamMueller, New York comic, and he's
self produced two comedyspecials in seven years of doing
comedy, which for like anolder comedian, that's like unheard
of.
It's like, right.
(21:46):
Mean, it's like at least 10years before you do anything.
Yeah, yeah.
But the new way is literallyyou, like, you have an idea and you
run with it.
Yeah.
Don't hold back.
It's kind of.
It's kind of interestingbecause I have talked to a lot of
like, what I call, like, OGcomics, you know, people that have
been doing it 10, 15, 20years, and obviously the landscape
has changed drastically.
(22:07):
But it's interesting to hearthem be like, yeah, it's frustrating
because they feel like now there's.
The game has changed in a waywhere it's not.
It doesn't favor the peoplewho have been putting in the time
and work.
It just favors people who arelike, they have that virality.
They have that, like, stuffthat can go viral really quickly.
(22:30):
And.
And I get it.
I mean, comedy clubs andnetworks and platforms, they're looking
for what they can make moneyoff of.
Of course.
So if someone has a millionfollowers, but they only have five
minutes of stand up, they'relike, yeah, we'll book you at the
improv.
If you can sell it out, youKnow what I mean?
But it is, it is interestingbecause I see both ends of it.
Like, I, I.
(22:52):
When I was in Florida and evennow, like, I valued the road so much
because I was like, I justwant to get better at stand up.
But then when I was home, Ireally valued social media because
I was like, this is also avery important part of the new way
to do it.
So it's kind of.
Yeah, it's kind of toughbecause for me, I'm like, I'm 28
(23:13):
and I feel like I wish Istarted comedy when I was 18 because
I'd be so much better now.
I'd already be 10 years in.
Like, I started when I was 24and I feel like that was old in a
weird way.
Which is weird though, becausein Florida a lot of people were really
young and now that I'm inDenver, a lot of people are in their
30s and I'm actually the young one.
(23:34):
So it's.
I don't know, it's weird.
It's very weird.
And you're probably looking atme like, shut the fuck up, you toddler.
What?
No, definitely not.
I mean, I started senior yearof college, so that would be like
20, 22, I guess so a few yearsbefore you did.
But you know, I've been doingit 14 years now as of two days ago,
so.
Oh, congrats.
(23:55):
Yeah, it is a weird thing oflike 14.
I mean, I'm grateful, but itis like, all right, what are you
doing?
Like, I've.
Cuz I. I feel like that is theold comedian way of just like grind
on stage, staged.
Which stage time you have toget on stage, you have to do all
that.
But there's that old schoolmentality of like grinding on stage
ground on the road.
(24:16):
Yeah.
Sleeping comedy condos withlike three other people and like
all this survive on Cliff bars.
Yo, I did that for a whole week.
I know you did.
Yeah.
Yeah, I ate nothing but Clifbars for a week.
God.
Dude.
For the road.
Yeah.
So bad.
It was very bad.
Yeah.
And they were expired becauseI was.
My job, always expired.
Have you ever eaten a Clif barthat wasn't expired?
(24:38):
But my job right in that, inthat time was I was refilling minibars
at a hotel and my job was totake out the expired stuff and refill
it with not.
So I was just pocketing allthe expired stuff.
So I had a lunch bag or agrocery bag full of just expired
bars just for a week.
Amazing.
That was amazing.
But that's like that's likethe shit you do to be a comedian,
(25:01):
like, a lot.
Isn't it funny how peoplethink that?
It's like, so glamorous.
Like, my friends think that Iget paid, like, handsomely to, like,
host at a random club orwhatever, and I'm like, no, like,
I actually paid to be here.
Like, I actually spent moneyto come to Kansas City.
Right.
Or whatever, and do this gig.
And I got chicken tenders in return.
(25:23):
So.
Yeah.
And sometimes the club islike, we'll give you 50 off food.
And I was like, oh, thanks.
Yeah.
Paying me 50 and I get half off.
I know, right?
It's like.
It's like, all right, I'lljust go fish out of the trash can
outside and stuff instead.
So that's why the Internet isthe wave, you know, and building
all of the leverage.
When you do go on the road,you are selling tickets.
You do set your own terms.
(25:43):
So that's where I'm at rightnow is like, I've been doing it 14
years.
I've developed as a comedian.
And now what?
Now how do I actually make this?
Like, I mean, it's my fulltime job, but, you know, I would
like to make it to where mywife is like, oh, cool.
I don't have to work if Idon't want.
Yeah.
Or I can do whatever, youknow, so.
Not saying if she wants towork, go for it.
(26:05):
Yeah.
I'm just saying giving Joel'snot trying to get canceled.
No, no, no, no.
Women shouldn't work.
Empowerment women.
I love you.
You know, I grew up with four sisters.
I was basically raised by cats.
So there you go.
I love women.
I'm all about it.
So that was a joke that didn't hit.
Okay.
It's okay.
I got hits on stage.
I'm running bits now.
(26:26):
I'm running bits now.
No, it doesn't.
I haven't done on stage, butit was a thought.
All right, I'm quitting comedy.
I'm going to go back to.
I think that's a funny joke.
Bars, the Raised by cats.
Yeah.
You could talk about what kindof cats each sitter was.
We have an orange cat.
Oh, yeah.
Like a brindle cat.
A black cat.
And maybe how they raised me,like, now I use a litter box or what
(26:48):
if I were raised by cats?
What would that look like?
Exactly.
Hairball.
Yeah.
That's why I have this haircut.
This is why you should jointhe Hot Breath writing room.
In case you haven't already.
Yes, this was an ad sponsoredby Morgan Gallo.
Yes, oh, and patreon.com hotbreath pod.
Oh, hell.
Do you.
That's awesome.
We just launched that, so I want.
(27:10):
To get a Patreon.
I just don't know what I woulddo on there.
Yeah, we.
I've just had so many peoplereach out with gratitude about how
helpful the show has been and,like, just hours and hours and hours
of free comedy.
I will say it is a lot of workfor, like, you're doing God's work.
You know what I mean?
So that's why the Patreon exists.
I don't know if you'llremember this, but there was a time
when Spotify wrapped firststarted coming out.
(27:32):
There was a time that I got.
That was Hot Breath was mynumber one podcast.
And I had listened to eighthours in one day of the podcast.
I was a psychotic person.
I don't even know what I wasdoing that day.
Like, I might have been roadtripping or something because I listened
(27:53):
to eight hours of the podcastin one day.
Thank you.
I love hearing that.
Yeah.
I was so, like, desperate forany information.
No, inspired.
You mean you were so inspiredby the show?
Not desperate.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, I do love hearing that.
When people are like, oh, I'veI heard one and then listened to
like 50 episodes, it's likepeople just dive into it.
(28:14):
Yeah.
Well, it also helped me, like,learn more about who the comedians
are, because when you firststart comedy, I feel like a lot of
people are just like, oh, Ijust, like, love Dave Chappelle.
Or I just, like, love whoBernie Mac was.
You know what I mean?
And it's like, there are somany lesser known comedians that
deserve that same accolade,but you don't, like, you just don't
(28:37):
know because you.
You see the Netflix, you know,specials, you think of, you know,
the.
The famous people from the 90s.
Like, you may not know, like,people who are actually kind of hitting
right now or about to hit or whatever.
Yeah, it's cool.
Like, and there's.
Because I've been doing it solong that I've caught, like, Mark
Norman example.
Yeah, I interviewed him veryearly on.
Yeah.
And you've had him on a few episodes.
(28:58):
Had him on three times now.
So it's been cool to kind oftrack his career.
Dusty Slay, the same you.
This is the first.
And then we're gonna get to see.
The Girl from Here moment.
For me, I was telling myboyfriend this morning, like, that
it's very funny to like, betalking with you on this podcast
after being so, like, obsessedwith it for a while, you know what
(29:23):
I mean?
It's cool.
Wow.
Yeah.
Pinching myself.
Yeah.
It's just, this is just a love fest.
I know, right?
Well, riddle me this, socialmedia expert.
If how could the show.
There's an engaged audience,like the community is super engaged.
I mean, every time I go to afestival, people are coming up to
me and all that.
(29:43):
So like the people that findit, love it.
How, how would you start touse social media to really start
to build the following, youknow, and start to build that online
clout, I guess.
Or just stroke my ego and belike, I want the numbers that show.
The people, you know, I mean,I guess, I guess I would have to
(30:03):
see like kind of what you'reputting out now because, I mean,
I think, I think thateverything is, everything is kind
of subjective on social media.
Like there's no one clear cut answer.
But I do think consistency islike the biggest key, unfortunately.
So already being consistent islike a good thing to have.
(30:25):
And then just like really,really letting people know that this
is like something to learn from.
Because I guess.
And you would be able toanswer this more than I would like.
Your audience really is peoplewho want to get into comedy.
The core.
Like it's, I mean, I likeveteran comedians, listen to it,
I'll hear from them.
But I think the core audienceare aspiring comedians or like zero.
(30:50):
Just starting to like five years.
That's probably like the heartand soul.
Yeah, yeah.
All ranges will listen.
But yeah, that's the heart of it.
Yeah, yeah.
Because I think, I thinkthat's like, that would be a great
way to kind of segment whatyou're doing.
Because when you have like thereally big comedians like Mark Norman
does it like Shane Torres,like when you have people on and
(31:11):
you're kind of like, what'syour biggest advice?
And they're like, write everyday, don't drink as much, you know,
whatever.
Take care of yourself.
Like it's, it's almost likeyou want them to be like, you want
them to be able to say like,hey, talk to someone who's like fucking
five years in.
Not, don't talk to someonewho's about to start comedy.
What would you say to the fiveyear comedian who just bombed an
(31:34):
audition they had, who's beenon the road, who's lost their voice,
who's tired of their material.
What specific thing do youhave to say to that person?
And then clip that up becauseI need to watch that.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, gotcha.
Yeah.
Well, what, what would you sayto the person who's thinking about
getting on stage and hasn'ttaken the leap yet.
Well, I.
(31:56):
It's a good question because Itook a comedy class and although
it was helpful, it also burneddown in flames.
And because the guy was a jackass.
Yeah, he got ran out of town.
That's why I tell anyone who'staking a class, just, they can be
very helpful.
Just make sure that it's beingtaught by someone that is, like,
(32:19):
a good.
Worth learning from.
Yeah, we have.
We have online classes andworkshops as well if y' all want
to just learn from Hot Breath.
I think because for me, like,I wasn't able to just go to an open
mic and start talking like,I'm a research gal.
I really have to feel like Ihave a background before I do something
because it just.
The anxiety would just eataway at me.
So I would say, like, do.
(32:40):
Do some research on, like,what it.
What it is to do an open mic.
Look at, like, how to craft afive minute set or even just how
to write a joke.
Because what I did first,before I did anything, was I just
wrote like a stream ofconsciousness of, like, I think what
had happened that day.
And I was like, maybe I'lljust talk about this.
(33:01):
And then I took a comedy classand I was like, no, I'm not gonna
do that.
And then I started doing thewriting room and I realized, oh,
no, like, each joke is its ownlittle journey that you have to take
and, like, figure out what isthe setup, what is the punchline,
what is it?
A double entendre is a misdirect.
Is it a power of three?
Or even if it's just a funny.
(33:22):
Whatever it is, and you haveto like, individually work on each
one until they're solid enough.
So I would say if you'rethinking about getting on stage,
definitely, like, do a littlebit of research.
Go to a writer's room or evenjust go to an open mic and just don't
sign up and just kind of askaround, like, hey, how did you get
into this?
And everyone's gonna have adifferent story.
(33:44):
A lot of dudes are just belike, I just got up here because
my friends told me I was funny.
And they're gonna be halfdrunk and they're gonna be annoying.
But I would say, like, justgive yourself a little bit of time
to feel confident enough.
Don't just like, go in gunsblazing because you're probably gonna
bomb and you're gonna not behappy about it.
And that's okay.
(34:05):
It's okay, to bomb.
We all bomb.
But the first time, you wantto know, at least you tried before
you bombed.
Yeah, yeah.
What is your worst bomb so far?
Oh, my God.
Take a sip of water.
I have.
Yeah, I know.
So I have a joke about it, butI. I won't tell the joke that it's
just a story about how when Iwas still living in Orlando, I got
(34:29):
hired to perform at, like, amusic festival or like a.
It was like.
It was weird.
It was like a music festival.
It was like a women's surf competition.
It was this thing.
And it was in Jacksonvillewhere I started comedy.
And it was cool because, like,I was recommended by the Orlando
Improv, which at the time Iwas working at.
And it was like a big dealbecause it was female oriented event
(34:51):
and they wanted a female comedian.
So they're like, oh, Morgan Gallo.
But I didn't know until the.
I talked to the guy that Iwould be opening for Smash Mouth.
And I think Smash Mouth is.
They have cool music.
That lead singer was a douchebag.
But, like, there I was like,oh, this is gonna be so cool.
And I, like, told my dad about it.
(35:12):
Like, I was like, this isgonna be sick.
And it turned out to be thatthey wanted me to do comedy, like,
in between the bands.
And it was at an outdoor.
It was at a huge amphitheater,like, at night with like 6,000 people.
How long you been doing comedy?
I had been doing comedy twoyears at that point.
(35:34):
And so I had 10 minutes.
Like, I was like, I can do it.
But I guess I. I knew thatlive music and comedy didn't go well
together.
Like, I knew that.
But I had also been doing alot of open mics that were all arts
open mics.
And I was like, oh, I knowwhat it's like to go after a guitar
player.
Like, I'm gonna kill it.
But the audience, the peoplethat come to watch Smash Mouth are
(35:58):
not the same people that cometo watch female comedy.
And so I went on stage and the.
The producer, like, didn'ttell me this until I was about to
go on stage.
They.
They were sound checking allthe instruments while I was doing
my set.
And he didn't.
He, like, he didn't tell methat that was gonna happen.
And so I'm on stage and I'mlike, kind of just ripping through
(36:20):
material because people are.
You know, it's anamphitheater, so they're, like, talking,
they're getting drinks.
Like, they're.
They're packing in to seeSmash Mouth.
They've been waiting threehours to see Smash Mouth.
And so anyway, I'm on stage,I'm bombing.
There's, like, drums in thebackground going on.
There's, like, a bass playerplayer trying to tune the fucking
(36:41):
bass.
And I got heckled really bad.
There were a lot of men whowere saying shit like, women aren't
funny.
Take your top off.
Oh.
Like, the types of hecklesthat, like, as a woman are, like,
the worst case scenario.
Like, no one is respecting youat all.
No one's laughing.
No one.
People are looking at me like,I am insane for being up there.
(37:04):
And I'm realizing, yes, I aminsane for doing this.
And so, yeah, I. I ran offstage and I got booed by 6, 000 people.
Oh, my.
And I, like, locked myself ina utility closet.
And I was.
I've never cried that hard inmy life.
Like.
Like, you know that, likehyperventilating where you can't.
(37:24):
You can't even, like, be consoled.
And I was, like, shaking.
And it was.
And it was so bad.
And the worst part of it,which I don't tell on stage, but
the worst part of it was,like, after that had happened, I
didn't get paid for a week.
And so I emailed the producerand I was like, hey, like, thanks
so much for having me.
Like, I was just trying to be polite.
(37:44):
And I was like, I'd love toget the money or whatever, right?
And he gave me the money.
And he was like, here you go.
And then he wrote this novel,and he was like, to be frank, I'm
very disappointed in your performance.
It was so disrespectful howyou started talking badly about the
venue when your set went south.
And what he means by metalking about the venue was I started
(38:07):
bombing, and I was like, youguys love how they booked a female
comic for this amphitheater,and clearly none of you give a shit.
Like, I started doing thatcomic thing, right?
Where I was like, obviously,this is a bad show, right?
And so he was upset that I wasacknowledging that.
And he also was like, I didn'tappreciate how raunchy you were.
(38:27):
Which was weird because whenhe booked me, I asked him if he wanted
me to be clean, and he said,no, we've seen all your material
online.
You're fine.
And all the material I did onstage was material I had done online.
And so he sent me that.
He, like, ripped me apart inthis email.
So I replied.
And I was like, since we'rebeing frank, you put me in a terrible
(38:48):
position.
Like, you did not do anythingto give me respect on that stage.
You were sound checking.
You didn't give me anydirection on what I was supposed
to do.
You.
You bogged on my material whenyou told me it was fine.
And I, I basically told him,like, please do not put another comedian
in this position.
If you do keep doing thisfestival, do not book a comedian
(39:08):
because you are making it sodifficult for us when we deserve
to have a good time.
And then I just had to getyelled at by men.
So it was.
It was really bad.
And it took me so long to getover it that I. I only wrote about
it and started talking aboutit on stage like two months ago.
And that was a year and a half ago.
(39:29):
Are you, Are you.
It doesn't sound like you areover it.
It sounds.
I think, I think I'm over itin the way that, like, I realize
how funny it is.
And when I tell the story,like, I have fun telling it because
I recognize how insane of agig that was.
But I do, I do sometimes kindof get like, irked by producers that
book comedians and they don'thave any knowledge of what it takes
(39:52):
to create a good comedy environment.
And then they get mad at thecomedian for not doing their job
when it's like, no, but youdidn't set the stage.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
It's like, it's like telling aZamboni driver to go out and Zamboni
the beach.
Like, it's.
It doesn't make any sense.
And he's going to just fuck uphis machine.
Like, that's such a dumb comparison.
(40:14):
I'm so.
That is the perfect comparison.
You know what I mean?
It's so.
I can't do comedy with a bunchof, like, drunk smash mouth fans
that are like.
I mean, outdoors is anightmare if it's.
If it's not set up for comedy.
Outdoors is a nightmare in general.
Like, comedy has very fewparameters for it to go well.
Yeah.
And that.
Yeah.
Drunk Smash Mouth fans.
Yeah.
(40:34):
Did you have to go back up inbetween bands or anything like that?
No, it was just.
It was that one right beforeSmash, it was like all the bands
had gone on.
Oh, the last band got off,they were like, all right, we're
gonna have someone beforeSmash Mouth comes on.
And I, like, made fun of that too.
I was like, you guys are justhere to see the Shrek soundtrack.
Like, you're not here to seethis comic.
(40:54):
And I, When I tell you I ranout of that venue after, I, like,
I I like, got out of theutility closet, mascara running down
my face.
I didn't even get to see Smash Mouth.
I didn't even get to sing All Star.
And so I ran out of the venueand like, called my boyfriend and
cried the whole way home to him.
I was.
(41:15):
It was horrible.
Yeah.
That's one of the best.
I always ask the guests onhere their worst bombs.
That's one of the best, really.
Oh, my God.
The worst part is like, I kindof like Smash Mouth.
Like, I kind of like theirmusic in a very weird way.
And every time I hear it, Ithink about that.
(41:35):
And now I laugh.
But for a while I like, couldnot listen to it.
I like.
And every time I tell thatstory, I love when the sound guy
is smart.
And after I tell that story,he plays all star.
Like, I think that's so funny.
I'm just picturing you cryingin the utility closet with All Star
playing.
Like, I was gonna be an all star.
Yeah.
Cause it's like, comedy is sofunny with, like, it'll set you up
(41:58):
with this high and then justaround the corner.
A lot of times comedy willjust be like, not yet.
And they're just like, yeah, low.
Like there's something tocancel it out.
Yeah.
Not to say to expect it, butI've had so many experiences of like,
I do a seven o' clock show,everything kills.
Oh, God, the nine o' clock show.
I do the exact same show.
Crickets.
Yeah, you're high from that show.
(42:19):
And then there's that low after.
It's just part of that roller coaster.
I'm still.
One of the things that I thinkI still makes me a three year comedian
is my inability to calm downafter I bomb.
I still get very emotional andI still get very angry with myself
and I get really embarrassed.
(42:39):
And so I.
A lot of the time, like, if Ibomb and I'm on a showcase, I'll
just like leave the venue andI'll just Irish, goodbye, everyone.
And I want to get better atthat because no one cares.
Like, comedians genuinelydon't give a.
They're just like, yeah, dude,I bombed yesterday too.
Like, but I get so embarrassedbecause I have this idea that I have
(43:00):
to do well.
Especially because I'll behonest, like, having a lot of followers,
I think makes me nervousbecause people who haven't met me
yet, they see that I havefollowers and they're like, oh, she
must be great.
And then if I bomb, I'm like,oh God, that was really disappointing.
And I would like to get betterat that.
So I think that's somethingthat comes with time.
(43:20):
Yeah, it took me years to getbetter at bouncing back from bombs
and things like that.
It.
I mean, I would.
If my opening joke didn't workearly on, I would bail on the set
and I'd be like, oh, I guessthis whole thing's gonna suck.
And I would turn around andstart rubbing the walls and, yeah,
I would roll around the floor.
I did weird stuff when jokesweren't working and just completely
(43:42):
bail.
And then afterwards, I wouldbe depressed for, like, a long time
just after a bomb, like.
And then over time, you justrealize, focus on what you can control.
Get back on stage.
Just do your best on that show.
It's just getting back on thehorse really helps to bounce back.
But it.
Yeah, I took me years toreally overcome just feeling bad
about bombing and that.
(44:03):
Lingering.
Yeah, I'll have to catchmyself now.
I mean, I had a killer showlast weekend, and then last night,
the show went well.
People came up afterwards andare like, that was amazing.
Thank you for coming and allof that.
Like, the show was great, butyou can feel a difference when you're
not in the zone or you're notjust humming.
And I was like, oh, thatshould have been better.
(44:24):
And then I had to just remindmyself it went.
It was fine.
Yeah, not every show is goingto be a grand slam.
You made money.
People were happy.
Just be grateful for what isand not worrying about what isn't
or what you could change andjust focus on.
Continue to move forward.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We all go through that atevery level.
Yeah.
There's so many, like, peoplethat still bomb, that are amazing
(44:45):
and, like, sell out arenasand, like.
Yeah, like, that's, like, partof it.
Yeah.
I used to think that it was sobad to bomb because what if someone
saw me bomb?
And then later on theInternet, they were like, I saw Morgan
Gallo live and she actually sucked.
And then I was like, oh, myGod, like, what if people online
start talking about me?
And then, like, people don'tcome to my shows because they think
(45:07):
I bombed.
And then I was like, no onedoes that.
No.
First of all.
And second of all, people whoactually watch comedy consistently
understand that that's part of it.
And they, like seeingcomedians not do well because it
humanizes them.
Yep.
Like, we have a new materialshow that we do at the studio.
These three Denver comedianswho run it, and it's called Old Dogs
(45:27):
New Jokes because they bookcomedians who are working, and they're
like, hey, since you'reworking so much.
Instead of doing an open mic,come and do an actual show.
But we book it as a newmaterial show so the audience knows
what they're in for.
And sometimes people do reallywell with new jokes and sometimes
they bomb.
But that's like part of thefun of it is they get to be like,
all right, well, I tried.
(45:48):
You guys didn't like it.
Thanks for the feedback.
So I need to get out there.
I haven't been to Denver yet.
Fun.
Yeah, I gotta get out there.
Yeah, Denver.
Denver has a lot of greatclubs and a lot of great comic run
venues that are so awesome andjust like, really keen on making
a good comedy environmentbecause so many people there are
(46:08):
working really hard and are onthe road and are either opening for
big people or are their ownnationally touring headliners.
And it's a great, like,through city.
Like, there's a lot of peoplefrom LA that come through there.
Portland, New York, even justkind of the Midwest area.
People come through there alot on their way down.
Like, it's just a cool scene.
Oh, well, yeah.
(46:29):
Maybe make something happenthis year.
Perhaps make a trip out there.
Cool.
Well, I mean, is there, Isthere anything else you want the
world to know or any.
Anything.
I think we're landing theplane here.
I mean, the bombing storyreally just.
I know it's.
Where do you go from there?
I love, I love it.
I love just the arc of the.
Of us was three years in andyou have over a hundred thousand
(46:49):
followers.
You have this studio in Denverand it's so amazing.
And then the.
By the end of the interview,it's, I bombed opening for Smash
Mouth.
I've cried harder than I ever.
That's how you.
That's how you know you.
You're doing well.
Is when you get asked to do aninsane gig, you say yes out of your
own hubris, and then yourealize, oh, that was a bad ide.
(47:11):
No, I would just say, like, tothe, to the people listening, if
I could talk to myself threeyears ago and I was listening to
this type of episode, I wouldjust say, like, take a breath and
just like, know that this is amarathon and that you might be in
mile one right now, you mightbe in mile 14, you might be in mile
three.
And your pace now does notdetermine where you end up at the
(47:34):
finish line.
Like, if you need a break,take a break.
If you need to grind for a fewmonths, grind for a few months.
If you need to go a completelydifferent detour and then come back
to the race path.
Like, that's okay.
Because no one is, like,measuring your success.
Like, no one's looking at youand being like, all right, they're
five years in.
(47:54):
They've gone this far.
They have these things.
Like, comparison is the thiefof joy.
So even though it's very hardnot to compare yourself, especially
when you see people who are.
You've started out with them,and now they're getting bigger than
you are.
Or maybe you're getting biggerthan they are.
Like, there's room for all of us.
There's so many comedy clubs.
There's so many festivals.
There's so many opportunities.
(48:16):
There is truly room for everysingle one of us, and it doesn't
need to be, like, a competition.
Preach, preach, preach.
Well, where.
Where could people follow you?
And check out dude, idk.
Dude, idk.
Yeah, dude, dude1dk on Instagram.
That's us.
And then dude, idk creative.com.
(48:38):
we have all of our shows andstuff on there.
And then I'm just.
Morgan Gallo, comedy on prettymuch everything.
And, yeah, I have my website.
I have my dates up.
Yeah, I don't know when thisis coming out, so I don't really
have any dates to push, Iguess, but I'm.
I'm around.
I'm doing it.
Yeah, I have.
I'm driving in my Toyota allacross the place, and I'm hoping
(49:02):
to start doing another podcastor another show or something soon.
Or.
If you're a weirdo, subscribeto my only fans.
Oh, snap.
Oh, is there weird stuff goingon in there?
No, I just said if you're a weirdo.
Yeah, the people.
You're not a weirdo, Weirdo.
No, no.
What are you doing in there?
I just have, honestly, like,boudoir photos.
(49:24):
I don't do any videos.
I don't talk to people.
I don't have nudity.
I was.
I was hoping you were like,I'm just posting crowd work clips
and people are subscribing.
No, I'm, like, fully in it, dude.
I'm, like, fully doing, like,in lingerie.
Doing crowd work clips.
That's your own thing.
I should do that.
I should do that.
Honestly.
No, it's just if you.
If you want to see me in alight that you don't see me on Instagram,
it's on there.
(49:45):
You know, it's.
To me, I think it's finebecause it's like, they're just,
like, cute photos.
A lot of people are like, whathappens if you get famous and these
photos get leaked?
And I'm like, oh, no, a reallyhot photo of me is on the Internet.
That's what sucks.
Like, you can't see anything.
It's like I'm wearing a bikini.
You see that at the beach forfree, so might as well pay $10.
(50:06):
Well, there you go.
Yeah, give her $10.
And while you're at it, gojoin our Patreon as well and keep
supporting this.
Yeah, Joel wears boxers on the Patreon.
Yeah, he does crowd work inhis box sometimes.
Compression shorts if you're lucky.
Not a bad idea, Tommy John.
Let's get a deal going.
But thanks for being on HotBreath, Morgan.
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate.
Dude.
Yeah, of course.
(50:26):
So subscribe to our YouTubechannel as well while you're at it
and go.
To the writing room.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Our Facebook group, the ComedyWriting Room, we do a daily joke
writing contest in there, andpeople are asking questions in there.
So it's a great onlinecommunity for comics to connect and
get better together.
All linked in the description.
Cool.
Bye, y'.
All.
Bye, Hot Breath.
Welcome back to Hot Breath.
I am your host, comedian Joel Byers.
And as you know, our missionhere is to cultivate the next generation
of self made comics.
And our guest today is a bigpart of that mission.
During the pandemic, westarted this amazing online community
of comics all over the world.
She was in there consistentlywinning our joke writing contests.
(00:22):
And now she has since movedfrom starting in Florida to now in
Denver, where she owns her ownstudio, produces her own content.
She's on the road.
She is what we're talkingabout when we say self made comic.
I'm so grateful.
I'm not going to cry.
But this is, this is likeshe's in hot breath.
(00:42):
And now she's developed andblossomed into her own self made
comedian, which is what HotBreath is all about.
So please welcome Morgan Galloto the show.
Wow.
I wish everyone introduced melike that.
That was such a, like, big bro moment.
It was just cool because,like, I remember seeing you in the
community and you were alwayswriting and you were just super funny
and then you really developedin the Florida scene very quickly.
(01:06):
So just to see where you arenow, it was just cool to see like,
you and hot breath, like kindof incubating and then you.
Yeah, then you.
Which is the whole goal ofwhat hot breath is.
So you're like a livingsuccess of that.
Thanks.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, I feel like success is astrong word, but I levels to this.
Yeah, yeah, you're doing cool things.
Thanks, man.
Yeah, that's so crazy.
(01:27):
I. I started doing hot breath,like in like the summer of 2020,
because I remember that waswhen I started doing stand up.
And then I think I listened tothe podcast first and then I might
have found the writing groupbecause I was like, so desperate
to just learn anything that Ijust was like, all right.
(01:48):
And I started doing thatwriting group, like, at work.
Like, I would close my officedoor and I would just pretend like
I was working on something,but I'd actually be writing one liners
just like a weirdo.
Yeah, that was a very fun timeof, of my life.
Oh, well, I'm glad you canlook back and think it was positive.
That's good.
Yeah, of course, of course.
(02:08):
And now you've like, you'velike popped.
What?
What happened?
Do you think so?
I don't know.
These followers now, like, what?
What?
It's a lot of creepy men.
You know, It's a lot of creepy.
A lot of dudes that just wantto take me on a date or lick my toes
or something.
They'll send you messagessaying, I want to lick your toes.
Yeah, I have, I have a series.
I do a very unofficial seriescalled what's in my DMs?
(02:30):
And I've done it like fivetimes now.
And I. I basically.
I do it when I'm on the roadand I'm bored and I just look through
all my dms and I justscreenshot the weirdest ones and
I just read them out loud andit's turned into, like, something
that, like, people are like,oh, yeah, that Boston guy, the Boston
Booty Sniffer, because hemessages me consistently.
So it's like, is that a real person?
Yeah, Boston Booty Sniffer.
(02:51):
Yeah.
He.
He always proposes a way.
He's like, if you ever come toBoston, I just want to let you know
that if you're in the area, Iwill gladly pay you to sniff your
booty hole.
And I'm like, this is.
It's not real.
But the.
But the guy is serious.
Like, I'm like, this person isjust trying to be stupid.
But I'm also like, this is.
What if I go to Boston andsomeone, like, comes up to me and
(03:13):
is like, hey, it's me.
I don't know.
There's the Boston Stranglerand now the Boston.
Yeah, the Boston Booty Sniffer.
Dude.
He's all up in the dms.
Yeah.
Is that your weirdest one?
What?
No.
I've gotten all kinds of weird stuff.
I.
It's just a lot of, like, youknow, guys who just want to be creepy
(03:35):
to girls.
I don't think it has anythingto do with me being a comedian.
You know, it's just that they.
They see that I post a lot ofvideos and so they see I'm active
and so they.
They just DM me like, youknow, I want to take you on a date,
or I think that you're reallypretty, or they comment on a very
specific body part.
Like, it's just.
It is what it is, man.
It's part of.
(03:55):
It's part of the grind.
Ladies, if you want to be astand up comedian, be prepared to
be lust constantly.
I can't even imagine.
You know, I. I get.
I get roasted Michael Cera people.
Oh, yeah.
You know, fix it, Felix.
But no one.
No one wants to sniff my booty hole.
You know, that's.
I feel weird saying that.
(04:15):
Yeah, exactly.
I mean.
Yeah.
Think about how weird it is toread it.
Yeah, it's an interesting lifeI have, but comedy's cool.
Comedy school.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Other than that.
Yeah, Other Than that.
What?
How did you.
It was weird because it's justlike all of a sudden I looked at
your account one day and youhad like over a hundred thousand
followers.
And I was like, oh, really?
(04:36):
What happened?
Yeah, I never, I guess I was,I'll check in periodically, you know,
but I just checked in one time.
Yeah, I know.
It's not like you're lookingat someone's following all the time.
I'm not sliding your DMs or anything.
Yeah, yeah, I, I think I just,I've been like working really consistently
on my social media because I,when I started comedy, I was already
(04:58):
working in marketing.
I have a degree in pr.
Oh.
And so my whole like kind ofpost college adventures were working
as a social media manager forseveral different companies.
And by the time I startedstand up, I had been doing that for
a while.
So I kind of understood whatit meant to like gain a social following
(05:19):
because I was managingaccounts that had, you know, tens
of thousands of followersbecause it was, you know, a college,
a hotel, whatever.
And so I just kind of like sawthe value in posting a lot of stand
up and I started.
Well, what I started doing wasI saved a bunch of money.
I bought a camera.
(05:41):
I bought a camera, I bought atripod, I bought a microphone and
I started just taking it toevery show and filming everything,
even if it was terrible, andthen trying to find the best, you
know, 30 second, 60 secondclip and just started posting.
And I didn't really, like, Ididn't really have a strategy.
I just thought, well, I'm acomedian, I do this.
People see my jokes.
(06:02):
I'm not burning materialbecause it's not like I'm, I'm like,
you know, a year, two yearsin, like, no one cares if they see
this joke online and then theysee it at what, a showcase at a Marina
bar.
Like.
And so yeah, I just startedposting and things kind of started
to like, gain traction.
I had a few videos that wentviral and then that just kept happening.
(06:24):
So I kind of, I don't know,sometimes I just feel like I got
lucky, you know what I mean?
Because so many comedians postall the time and I feel like in the
green room, we're alwaystalking about, what, what's your
social media strategy?
Oh, I Post at 2pm on Tuesdaysand Thursdays and I use these hashtags
or I don't use hashtags.
And I think it's justconsistently consistency over anything
(06:44):
else.
Yeah, that's what I'm askingnow is how do I.
How do I blow up?
I don't know.
I. I mean, I really don't.
I don't know, dude.
I, I.
Tell me your secret.
Right?
I just, I've tried so manydifferent things, and for me, it
was never about, like, tryingto blow up.
I just wanted to createsomething online that looked legitimate
(07:05):
so that if people wanted tobook me, they were like, oh, this
girl's serious.
Like, I had a few mentors inFlorida that were like, hey, why
don't you have a website?
You know, why don't you postyour dates that you're going and
doing these showcases?
Even though it wasn't like,you know, even now it's like, I'm
not, you know, this big headliner.
I'm not, like, touring.
I'm, like, opening for people,and I love it.
(07:26):
So it was more just like, whydon't you just tell people what you're
doing?
Because you're at a point nowwhere there's no stakes in it.
Like, you're not trying tosell tickets, so just, like, have
fun with it.
And I just started doing that,and it made me look more legit the
more that I did.
I had a website that I had alink tree.
I started doing posters for myself.
I started doing clips all the time.
I got more headshots done.
(07:47):
So it kind of just made melook a little bit more like a real
comedian, I guess.
Oh, yeah.
And I guess having.
I guess if we post somethingand feel like, oh, this is the one
that goes viral, it's almostlike we need.
It helps to have the intentionof just creating something for the
fun of it and not trying toget something out of it beyond just
enjoying the creation of it.
(08:08):
Yeah, Because I feel like whenI post, I was like, this better be
it, or this is the one.
And then, yeah, and I deleted.
I feel like that more now thanbefore when I didn't have any followers
at all.
Like, I feel more like that now.
I'm like, shit.
Now I have to, like,consistently get views, you know,
or else someone's going to belike, well, she's, she's not, she's
(08:29):
canceled.
Like, she's not doing well anymore.
So, I don't know.
It's weird.
I think social media takes alittle bit of the fun out of comedy
sometimes, but I recognize theimportance of it in the industry
now.
So it's like this balance of just.
Trying to do it well.
What did you learn working insocial media?
Like, what is the.
What are the skills of social media?
You know, like, you Seem tohave helped other brands build.
(08:51):
So we're all our own brands now.
Like, there's specific things,I think, just being true to what
yourself is or what the brand is.
Like, for example, I worked ata. I worked at a private college
for three years, and that'swhere I started.
Stand up in St. Augustine.
And I just, like, really, whenI was on the accounts, I just always
(09:13):
was thinking, like, what doesthis college?
Or what does the voice of thiscollege sound like?
What does it look like?
What are the colors?
You know, what kind of voicedoes it have on stories versus what's
the voice on regular posts or captions?
And you just kind of have todo that as a social media manager.
I mean, the best examples ofit are, like, the Wendy's Twitter
(09:35):
account, right?
Like, the person that runs itor the people that run it, like,
they know what Wendy's sounds like.
They know exactly what ittalks like, they know exactly what
it has to say, what kind ofvocab it has, and they lean into
it, and it makes it hilariousbecause it's consistently funny.
It's consistently, like, snarky.
So I think, for me, I justkind of started, like, thinking about
(09:57):
who do I want to be as a comedian?
And then went from there.
And it constantly evolves.
You know, I'm only three yearsin, so I don't really know who I
am.
I don't know what my voice is still.
So at first I was like, oh,I'm pink and purple, and my whole
profile is pink and purple highlights.
And I use these hashtags.
And now I'm like, I care lessabout that, and I care more about,
(10:17):
like, what does the video look like?
Is the video good quality?
If it's not 4k, I don't use it.
I use the same font for all my captions.
I pretty much use the samehashtags for all my videos.
Like, but it evolved there.
I. I tried different things atdifferent times.
So, yeah, interest.
Three years.
(10:37):
I didn't realize it was.
But I guess three and a half.
But you.
And a half.
So you started literally Julyof 2020.
That's incredible.
So you started in Hot Breath.
That was your first.
I. I should have looked back.
I should have walked on memorylane before this, because I know
we've had a lot ofinteraction, especially during the
pandemic.
I should have gone back andlook because I'm sure there was a
(10:58):
lot going on there.
I basically, like, thepandemic happened.
I got sent home to work from home.
I FaceTimed with a friend andI made him laugh a bunch.
And he was like, you shouldtry stand up comedy.
And I looked up stand upcomedy classes in Jacksonville, Florida,
and, And I found one.
(11:18):
I went, I learned how to writea joke, and then I started, like,
just googling anything and everything.
And I bought, like, the, theStand up comedy Bible.
I bought, like, how to Kill inComedy by Steve North.
I listened to your podcast,and then I think it was the podcast
notes that led me to theFacebook group to then led me that
(11:40):
to do, like, the word of the Day.
And then I would do zoomsessions with people in there.
I, I started listening toBreaking Down Bits with Drew Jordan
and, like, I just started,like, kind of diving in.
And then, yeah, it wasprobably like this, the fall of 2020,
where I was, like, really,like, doing word of the day every
(12:00):
day.
I was, like, in the bathroomchecking the live stream.
Like, I was in it, dude, I wasin it.
Let's go.
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah.
Over.
I did over 400 days of live.
Streaming and, yeah, that was crazy.
And had a breakdown and.
Yeah, I didn't blame you.
That was so much.
And there was a point when I cried.
Yeah, there was a point whereit was like, okay, the pandemic is,
(12:23):
like, not over, but it's likethings are happening again.
Yeah.
So it's like, okay, maybe wecan get.
Ease up on the live streamingand, like, go out and actually do
an open mic.
I don't know.
That would be cool.
You seem to have reallyexcelled in the Florida scene.
Very quickly, like, you seemto be booking cool, cool shows.
I remember seeing.
Thanks.
Yeah.
(12:43):
Very quickly there.
What do you attribute to that?
Just dms.
Yeah.
People wanting to book yourfeet for the show.
I mean, it's hard.
I have a, I always have a hardtime answering that question because,
like, I want to say it wasjust because I worked hard and you're
funny.
Thank you.
I, I, I hope so.
But, like, always were.
Yeah, it is, it is trickybecause I think a lot of the time,
(13:06):
you know, there is, there is alittle bit of, like, being a female
comic and being one of a few,because I noticed in Florida that
there weren't nearly as manyfemale comics as there are, like,
in Atlanta or Denver or SanDiego or literally anywhere else.
Like, and I, I think it'sbecause Florida is a very tough state
(13:31):
to do comedy in for anyone.
And so especially for women,when we're kind of faced with this,
like, weird energy of, like,all right, I'm constantly in front
of older people I'm in frontof a lot of white people.
I'm in front of a lot ofconservative people.
How do I navigate this withoutthem immediately being like, oh,
there's a woman on stage.
(13:52):
I'm not into this.
Or, oh, she's a woman.
She's going to talk about herperiod, or whatever?
So I just pushed through the.
And I just kind of was like,whatever, I don't really care.
Like, I'm just gonna do myjokes and if you don't like me, then
don't book me.
And I asked a lot of questions.
I went to shows that I wasn'tbooked on just to, like, hang out
with the headliner and belike, hey, like, how'd you write
(14:14):
that joke?
And stuff like that?
And then I got lucky that afew, like, local headliners kind
of took me under their wingand started just being like, if you
want to do a guest spot on myshow, do this or submit to this person.
And I started realizing I waslike, oh, I gotta get myself on tape
so that I can submit to someone.
So I filmed like, a fiveminute set on my cell phone and then
(14:37):
started submitting that.
And then that got me into myfirst festival, weirdly enough.
And then I did the festival,and then the.
The tape that I got at thefestival was even better, and I started
using that to submit.
So it all kind of, like, builtupon itself.
And I was also just insane.
And I was willing to drivefour hours to do five minutes, which
a lot of people are notwilling to do.
(14:59):
And I completely understand.
Um, but I was just so.
I was just so into it that Iwas like, nothing is gonna stop me.
I drove to Miami and back inone night just to, like, do a spot,
because I was.
I just wanted to do it.
So I think people realizedthat I was willing to do it.
So they're like, all right,come do it.
You were just, like,persistent with it.
And that really paid offbecause Miami, that's.
(15:21):
That's the whole length of thestate, right?
Yeah, it was like a five hour drive.
And I just.
I mean, I don't know, I just.
Would I do it now?
Probably not, right?
But, like, I just wanted sobadly to get funnier and to be seen
and to show people that Icould do it.
So it was worth it to me.
So what made you take the leapto Denver now, which is a great scene.
(15:43):
What a great question, Joel.
So thank you.
I've done a few of these in my day.
I grew up in Colorado, and Iwent to school there, and Everything.
And my parents retired to Florida.
So I got a job out of college.
I hated it.
And I went, I followed them toFlorida, got a job, started working
at the college, and thenstarted comedy.
(16:03):
So then after maybe like twoyears of doing comedy, I was like,
okay, I'm living in this smalltown right below Jacksonville.
I feel like I've exhaustedwhat I can do here.
It seems like there's a lot ofopportunity in Orlando and Tampa,
kind of more central Florida.
So I had the brilliant of ideaof moving to Orlando, Florida, which
(16:25):
no one else thinks is abrilliant idea, I'll say that, that.
And I moved there and Iimmediately hated it.
And not because.
Not because the scene wasn't great.
It's just Orlando is thearmpit of the state.
It is truly the dumpster fireof Florida.
And people from Orlando know that.
Like, they.
It's not a hot take, believe me.
(16:45):
And I met my boyfriend who wasliving in Denver, because I actually
was lucky enough that aFlorida comic took me to Denver to
open for him.
And.
And I was like, hell yeah.
I haven't been home since Istarted stand up.
This is going to be really cool.
And weirdly enough, myboyfriend was photographing one of
the shows I was on.
So we met.
It was really cool.
(17:06):
He and I started talking, likeover DMS or whatever.
And then I moved to Orlandoand he came down to visit me and
we like started dating longdistance, which was so hard.
But I kept going back toDenver to like see him and do comedy.
And I was like, wow, I miss home.
And Denver has a great comedy scene.
I had no idea there was comedyin Denver.
(17:26):
And I was in Orlando justunhappy for like 8 months.
And I was traveling a lotoutside of Florida just so I didn't
have to be home.
So I was like, all right, youknow what, I'm just gonna move to
Denver and I'm gonna jump into the scene there.
And I knew a lot of peoplealready because I'd been going back
and forth and so I moved thereand then it was the best decision
(17:48):
I've ever made because I. Ilove Colorado.
I love the people there.
The scene is, in my opinion,like one of the best scenes in the
country.
Definitely.
And definitely a step up interms of like stage time.
So, yeah, I just was like,this is a no brainer.
I'm going to go home.
And you just so happen tostart a studio.
(18:08):
Like, you're very pro.
It seems like a big theme isyou're very proactive every step
of the way.
Like you're gonna put yourmind to something, and you're gonna
do it.
Yeah, that's called adhd.
That was called ambition.
We can.
I have ADHD so severely thatI'm like, I'm gonna start a studio,
but then, like, tomorrow I'malso gonna, like, start a podcast,
and then the next day, I'mgonna fucking go to a festival in
(18:30):
Rhode Island.
And then, you know what I mean?
I just can't stop working.
My boyfriend owned dude idk.
That was his media companybefore he met me.
And then he's a photographer,videographer, producer.
He's worked at comedy clubs before.
He produces for comedy clubs.
He produces for comedians.
Like, he's all.
All around.
(18:51):
Been in the industry longerthan I have, and so when we started
dating, I was very interestedin, like, helping him and kind of
being a part of it, becausethat's also my background.
So when I moved to Denver, wehad been tinkering with the idea
of getting a workspace, and itwas just a workspace.
It was like, what if we got aplace where we didn't have to work
from home and we could justmake it, like, our workplace so that
(19:14):
we can separate, like, thepersonal life from the work?
And then because we're bothkind of workaholics, we were like,
let's make it a studio.
Yeah, let's fudgeing, dopodcasts and live shows and sketches
and paint the wall.
I don't know.
And so we opened, we got a studio.
We were very lucky.
We got a cool studio, and wegot, you know, all this stuff made.
(19:37):
There's a bunch of artwork onthe walls from comedians, from other
people.
We have a huge neon sign thatsays dude idk.
We have, like, curtains everywhere.
Like, it's.
We have photo paper hangingfrom the wall.
It's really become, like, acreative, collaborative space.
And I have to give a lot ofcredit to Nick because he's the one
with the vision.
I'm just kind of like theperson that's like, well, maybe what
(19:59):
if we do this?
Or.
You know what I mean?
So.
But he's, like, the bigpicture guy.
So, yeah, we opened thestudio, and we just started slowly
with a few podcasts, and thenwe started producing live shows.
And now we have, like, don'ttell in there.
We have the gateway show.
We have a few comedians thatdo their own, like, personal shows
in there.
(20:19):
Some people come just toheadline and rent out the space for
their own.
Like, they're just renting itout for themselves.
And it's become really Fun for us.
It's kind of nice to have acreative outlet that's not my own
stand up, you know?
Yeah.
Something else to scratch that itch.
Yeah, yeah.
And a great networking place too.
Oh, God.
Coming into that.
(20:40):
Yeah, yeah.
That.
That's a really big part ofthe reason why I love it is being
able to have, like, bigcomedians come in.
And like, during High PlainsComedy Festival, we had a lot of
comedians in town that wantedto record an episode of their podcast.
So we had all fantasyeverything in there.
We had Sam Talent's podcast in there.
We had a bunch of people whowere just like, hey, we just want
(21:02):
to film like a random episodeinterviewing each other.
And they just did that.
So it's been really cool tomeet people and they're like, oh,
yeah, Morgan, you're part ofdude idk.
And, oh, you do stand up.
Cool.
So.
Wow.
Yeah.
In three years.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's weird because I don'tthink that that's like.
Like I feel like that's anappropriate amount of time.
(21:25):
Part of me is like, I'm likelate in the game.
Like, I gotta get it together.
Yeah.
I think.
I think that is such a newschool mentality of that sense of
urgency, like.
But I just interviewed AdamMueller, New York comic, and he's
self produced two comedyspecials in seven years of doing
comedy, which for like anolder comedian, that's like unheard
of.
It's like, right.
(21:46):
Mean, it's like at least 10years before you do anything.
Yeah, yeah.
But the new way is literallyyou, like, you have an idea and you
run with it.
Yeah.
Don't hold back.
It's kind of.
It's kind of interestingbecause I have talked to a lot of
like, what I call, like, OGcomics, you know, people that have
been doing it 10, 15, 20years, and obviously the landscape
has changed drastically.
(22:07):
But it's interesting to hearthem be like, yeah, it's frustrating
because they feel like now there's.
The game has changed in a waywhere it's not.
It doesn't favor the peoplewho have been putting in the time
and work.
It just favors people who arelike, they have that virality.
They have that, like, stuffthat can go viral really quickly.
(22:30):
And.
And I get it.
I mean, comedy clubs andnetworks and platforms, they're looking
for what they can make moneyoff of.
Of course.
So if someone has a millionfollowers, but they only have five
minutes of stand up, they'relike, yeah, we'll book you at the
improv.
If you can sell it out, youKnow what I mean?
But it is, it is interestingbecause I see both ends of it.
Like, I, I.
(22:52):
When I was in Florida and evennow, like, I valued the road so much
because I was like, I justwant to get better at stand up.
But then when I was home, Ireally valued social media because
I was like, this is also avery important part of the new way
to do it.
So it's kind of.
Yeah, it's kind of toughbecause for me, I'm like, I'm 28
(23:13):
and I feel like I wish Istarted comedy when I was 18 because
I'd be so much better now.
I'd already be 10 years in.
Like, I started when I was 24and I feel like that was old in a
weird way.
Which is weird though, becausein Florida a lot of people were really
young and now that I'm inDenver, a lot of people are in their
30s and I'm actually the young one.
(23:34):
So it's.
I don't know, it's weird.
It's very weird.
And you're probably looking atme like, shut the fuck up, you toddler.
What?
No, definitely not.
I mean, I started senior yearof college, so that would be like
20, 22, I guess so a few yearsbefore you did.
But you know, I've been doingit 14 years now as of two days ago,
so.
Oh, congrats.
(23:55):
Yeah, it is a weird thing oflike 14.
I mean, I'm grateful, but itis like, all right, what are you
doing?
Like, I've.
Cuz I. I feel like that is theold comedian way of just like grind
on stage, staged.
Which stage time you have toget on stage, you have to do all
that.
But there's that old schoolmentality of like grinding on stage
ground on the road.
(24:16):
Yeah.
Sleeping comedy condos withlike three other people and like
all this survive on Cliff bars.
Yo, I did that for a whole week.
I know you did.
Yeah.
Yeah, I ate nothing but Clifbars for a week.
God.
Dude.
For the road.
Yeah.
So bad.
It was very bad.
Yeah.
And they were expired becauseI was.
My job, always expired.
Have you ever eaten a Clif barthat wasn't expired?
(24:38):
But my job right in that, inthat time was I was refilling minibars
at a hotel and my job was totake out the expired stuff and refill
it with not.
So I was just pocketing allthe expired stuff.
So I had a lunch bag or agrocery bag full of just expired
bars just for a week.
Amazing.
That was amazing.
But that's like that's likethe shit you do to be a comedian,
(25:01):
like, a lot.
Isn't it funny how peoplethink that?
It's like, so glamorous.
Like, my friends think that Iget paid, like, handsomely to, like,
host at a random club orwhatever, and I'm like, no, like,
I actually paid to be here.
Like, I actually spent moneyto come to Kansas City.
Right.
Or whatever, and do this gig.
And I got chicken tenders in return.
(25:23):
So.
Yeah.
And sometimes the club islike, we'll give you 50 off food.
And I was like, oh, thanks.
Yeah.
Paying me 50 and I get half off.
I know, right?
It's like.
It's like, all right, I'lljust go fish out of the trash can
outside and stuff instead.
So that's why the Internet isthe wave, you know, and building
all of the leverage.
When you do go on the road,you are selling tickets.
You do set your own terms.
(25:43):
So that's where I'm at rightnow is like, I've been doing it 14
years.
I've developed as a comedian.
And now what?
Now how do I actually make this?
Like, I mean, it's my fulltime job, but, you know, I would
like to make it to where mywife is like, oh, cool.
I don't have to work if Idon't want.
Yeah.
Or I can do whatever, youknow, so.
Not saying if she wants towork, go for it.
(26:05):
Yeah.
I'm just saying giving Joel'snot trying to get canceled.
No, no, no, no.
Women shouldn't work.
Empowerment women.
I love you.
You know, I grew up with four sisters.
I was basically raised by cats.
So there you go.
I love women.
I'm all about it.
So that was a joke that didn't hit.
Okay.
It's okay.
I got hits on stage.
I'm running bits now.
(26:26):
I'm running bits now.
No, it doesn't.
I haven't done on stage, butit was a thought.
All right, I'm quitting comedy.
I'm going to go back to.
I think that's a funny joke.
Bars, the Raised by cats.
Yeah.
You could talk about what kindof cats each sitter was.
We have an orange cat.
Oh, yeah.
Like a brindle cat.
A black cat.
And maybe how they raised me,like, now I use a litter box or what
(26:48):
if I were raised by cats?
What would that look like?
Exactly.
Hairball.
Yeah.
That's why I have this haircut.
This is why you should jointhe Hot Breath writing room.
In case you haven't already.
Yes, this was an ad sponsoredby Morgan Gallo.
Yes, oh, and patreon.com hotbreath pod.
Oh, hell.
Do you.
That's awesome.
We just launched that, so I want.
(27:10):
To get a Patreon.
I just don't know what I woulddo on there.
Yeah, we.
I've just had so many peoplereach out with gratitude about how
helpful the show has been and,like, just hours and hours and hours
of free comedy.
I will say it is a lot of workfor, like, you're doing God's work.
You know what I mean?
So that's why the Patreon exists.
I don't know if you'llremember this, but there was a time
when Spotify wrapped firststarted coming out.
(27:32):
There was a time that I got.
That was Hot Breath was mynumber one podcast.
And I had listened to eighthours in one day of the podcast.
I was a psychotic person.
I don't even know what I wasdoing that day.
Like, I might have been roadtripping or something because I listened
(27:53):
to eight hours of the podcastin one day.
Thank you.
I love hearing that.
Yeah.
I was so, like, desperate forany information.
No, inspired.
You mean you were so inspiredby the show?
Not desperate.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, I do love hearing that.
When people are like, oh, I'veI heard one and then listened to
like 50 episodes, it's likepeople just dive into it.
(28:14):
Yeah.
Well, it also helped me, like,learn more about who the comedians
are, because when you firststart comedy, I feel like a lot of
people are just like, oh, Ijust, like, love Dave Chappelle.
Or I just, like, love whoBernie Mac was.
You know what I mean?
And it's like, there are somany lesser known comedians that
deserve that same accolade,but you don't, like, you just don't
(28:37):
know because you.
You see the Netflix, you know,specials, you think of, you know,
the.
The famous people from the 90s.
Like, you may not know, like,people who are actually kind of hitting
right now or about to hit or whatever.
Yeah, it's cool.
Like, and there's.
Because I've been doing it solong that I've caught, like, Mark
Norman example.
Yeah, I interviewed him veryearly on.
Yeah.
And you've had him on a few episodes.
(28:58):
Had him on three times now.
So it's been cool to kind oftrack his career.
Dusty Slay, the same you.
This is the first.
And then we're gonna get to see.
The Girl from Here moment.
For me, I was telling myboyfriend this morning, like, that
it's very funny to like, betalking with you on this podcast
after being so, like, obsessedwith it for a while, you know what
(29:23):
I mean?
It's cool.
Wow.
Yeah.
Pinching myself.
Yeah.
It's just, this is just a love fest.
I know, right?
Well, riddle me this, socialmedia expert.
If how could the show.
There's an engaged audience,like the community is super engaged.
I mean, every time I go to afestival, people are coming up to
me and all that.
(29:43):
So like the people that findit, love it.
How, how would you start touse social media to really start
to build the following, youknow, and start to build that online
clout, I guess.
Or just stroke my ego and belike, I want the numbers that show.
The people, you know, I mean,I guess, I guess I would have to
(30:03):
see like kind of what you'reputting out now because, I mean,
I think, I think thateverything is, everything is kind
of subjective on social media.
Like there's no one clear cut answer.
But I do think consistency islike the biggest key, unfortunately.
So already being consistent islike a good thing to have.
(30:25):
And then just like really,really letting people know that this
is like something to learn from.
Because I guess.
And you would be able toanswer this more than I would like.
Your audience really is peoplewho want to get into comedy.
The core.
Like it's, I mean, I likeveteran comedians, listen to it,
I'll hear from them.
But I think the core audienceare aspiring comedians or like zero.
(30:50):
Just starting to like five years.
That's probably like the heartand soul.
Yeah, yeah.
All ranges will listen.
But yeah, that's the heart of it.
Yeah, yeah.
Because I think, I thinkthat's like, that would be a great
way to kind of segment whatyou're doing.
Because when you have like thereally big comedians like Mark Norman
does it like Shane Torres,like when you have people on and
(31:11):
you're kind of like, what'syour biggest advice?
And they're like, write everyday, don't drink as much, you know,
whatever.
Take care of yourself.
Like it's, it's almost likeyou want them to be like, you want
them to be able to say like,hey, talk to someone who's like fucking
five years in.
Not, don't talk to someonewho's about to start comedy.
What would you say to the fiveyear comedian who just bombed an
(31:34):
audition they had, who's beenon the road, who's lost their voice,
who's tired of their material.
What specific thing do youhave to say to that person?
And then clip that up becauseI need to watch that.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, gotcha.
Yeah.
Well, what, what would you sayto the person who's thinking about
getting on stage and hasn'ttaken the leap yet.
Well, I.
(31:56):
It's a good question because Itook a comedy class and although
it was helpful, it also burneddown in flames.
And because the guy was a jackass.
Yeah, he got ran out of town.
That's why I tell anyone who'staking a class, just, they can be
very helpful.
Just make sure that it's beingtaught by someone that is, like,
(32:19):
a good.
Worth learning from.
Yeah, we have.
We have online classes andworkshops as well if y' all want
to just learn from Hot Breath.
I think because for me, like,I wasn't able to just go to an open
mic and start talking like,I'm a research gal.
I really have to feel like Ihave a background before I do something
because it just.
The anxiety would just eataway at me.
So I would say, like, do.
(32:40):
Do some research on, like,what it.
What it is to do an open mic.
Look at, like, how to craft afive minute set or even just how
to write a joke.
Because what I did first,before I did anything, was I just
wrote like a stream ofconsciousness of, like, I think what
had happened that day.
And I was like, maybe I'lljust talk about this.
(33:01):
And then I took a comedy classand I was like, no, I'm not gonna
do that.
And then I started doing thewriting room and I realized, oh,
no, like, each joke is its ownlittle journey that you have to take
and, like, figure out what isthe setup, what is the punchline,
what is it?
A double entendre is a misdirect.
Is it a power of three?
Or even if it's just a funny.
(33:22):
Whatever it is, and you haveto like, individually work on each
one until they're solid enough.
So I would say if you'rethinking about getting on stage,
definitely, like, do a littlebit of research.
Go to a writer's room or evenjust go to an open mic and just don't
sign up and just kind of askaround, like, hey, how did you get
into this?
And everyone's gonna have adifferent story.
(33:44):
A lot of dudes are just belike, I just got up here because
my friends told me I was funny.
And they're gonna be halfdrunk and they're gonna be annoying.
But I would say, like, justgive yourself a little bit of time
to feel confident enough.
Don't just like, go in gunsblazing because you're probably gonna
bomb and you're gonna not behappy about it.
And that's okay.
(34:05):
It's okay, to bomb.
We all bomb.
But the first time, you wantto know, at least you tried before
you bombed.
Yeah, yeah.
What is your worst bomb so far?
Oh, my God.
Take a sip of water.
I have.
Yeah, I know.
So I have a joke about it, butI. I won't tell the joke that it's
just a story about how when Iwas still living in Orlando, I got
(34:29):
hired to perform at, like, amusic festival or like a.
It was like.
It was weird.
It was like a music festival.
It was like a women's surf competition.
It was this thing.
And it was in Jacksonvillewhere I started comedy.
And it was cool because, like,I was recommended by the Orlando
Improv, which at the time Iwas working at.
And it was like a big dealbecause it was female oriented event
(34:51):
and they wanted a female comedian.
So they're like, oh, Morgan Gallo.
But I didn't know until the.
I talked to the guy that Iwould be opening for Smash Mouth.
And I think Smash Mouth is.
They have cool music.
That lead singer was a douchebag.
But, like, there I was like,oh, this is gonna be so cool.
And I, like, told my dad about it.
(35:12):
Like, I was like, this isgonna be sick.
And it turned out to be thatthey wanted me to do comedy, like,
in between the bands.
And it was at an outdoor.
It was at a huge amphitheater,like, at night with like 6,000 people.
How long you been doing comedy?
I had been doing comedy twoyears at that point.
(35:34):
And so I had 10 minutes.
Like, I was like, I can do it.
But I guess I. I knew thatlive music and comedy didn't go well
together.
Like, I knew that.
But I had also been doing alot of open mics that were all arts
open mics.
And I was like, oh, I knowwhat it's like to go after a guitar
player.
Like, I'm gonna kill it.
But the audience, the peoplethat come to watch Smash Mouth are
(35:58):
not the same people that cometo watch female comedy.
And so I went on stage and the.
The producer, like, didn'ttell me this until I was about to
go on stage.
They.
They were sound checking allthe instruments while I was doing
my set.
And he didn't.
He, like, he didn't tell methat that was gonna happen.
And so I'm on stage and I'mlike, kind of just ripping through
(36:20):
material because people are.
You know, it's anamphitheater, so they're, like, talking,
they're getting drinks.
Like, they're.
They're packing in to seeSmash Mouth.
They've been waiting threehours to see Smash Mouth.
And so anyway, I'm on stage,I'm bombing.
There's, like, drums in thebackground going on.
There's, like, a bass playerplayer trying to tune the fucking
(36:41):
bass.
And I got heckled really bad.
There were a lot of men whowere saying shit like, women aren't
funny.
Take your top off.
Oh.
Like, the types of hecklesthat, like, as a woman are, like,
the worst case scenario.
Like, no one is respecting youat all.
No one's laughing.
No one.
People are looking at me like,I am insane for being up there.
(37:04):
And I'm realizing, yes, I aminsane for doing this.
And so, yeah, I. I ran offstage and I got booed by 6, 000 people.
Oh, my.
And I, like, locked myself ina utility closet.
And I was.
I've never cried that hard inmy life.
Like.
Like, you know that, likehyperventilating where you can't.
(37:24):
You can't even, like, be consoled.
And I was, like, shaking.
And it was.
And it was so bad.
And the worst part of it,which I don't tell on stage, but
the worst part of it was,like, after that had happened, I
didn't get paid for a week.
And so I emailed the producerand I was like, hey, like, thanks
so much for having me.
Like, I was just trying to be polite.
(37:44):
And I was like, I'd love toget the money or whatever, right?
And he gave me the money.
And he was like, here you go.
And then he wrote this novel,and he was like, to be frank, I'm
very disappointed in your performance.
It was so disrespectful howyou started talking badly about the
venue when your set went south.
And what he means by metalking about the venue was I started
(38:07):
bombing, and I was like, youguys love how they booked a female
comic for this amphitheater,and clearly none of you give a shit.
Like, I started doing thatcomic thing, right?
Where I was like, obviously,this is a bad show, right?
And so he was upset that I wasacknowledging that.
And he also was like, I didn'tappreciate how raunchy you were.
(38:27):
Which was weird because whenhe booked me, I asked him if he wanted
me to be clean, and he said,no, we've seen all your material
online.
You're fine.
And all the material I did onstage was material I had done online.
And so he sent me that.
He, like, ripped me apart inthis email.
So I replied.
And I was like, since we'rebeing frank, you put me in a terrible
(38:48):
position.
Like, you did not do anythingto give me respect on that stage.
You were sound checking.
You didn't give me anydirection on what I was supposed
to do.
You.
You bogged on my material whenyou told me it was fine.
And I, I basically told him,like, please do not put another comedian
in this position.
If you do keep doing thisfestival, do not book a comedian
(39:08):
because you are making it sodifficult for us when we deserve
to have a good time.
And then I just had to getyelled at by men.
So it was.
It was really bad.
And it took me so long to getover it that I. I only wrote about
it and started talking aboutit on stage like two months ago.
And that was a year and a half ago.
(39:29):
Are you, Are you.
It doesn't sound like you areover it.
It sounds.
I think, I think I'm over itin the way that, like, I realize
how funny it is.
And when I tell the story,like, I have fun telling it because
I recognize how insane of agig that was.
But I do, I do sometimes kindof get like, irked by producers that
book comedians and they don'thave any knowledge of what it takes
(39:52):
to create a good comedy environment.
And then they get mad at thecomedian for not doing their job
when it's like, no, but youdidn't set the stage.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
It's like, it's like telling aZamboni driver to go out and Zamboni
the beach.
Like, it's.
It doesn't make any sense.
And he's going to just fuck uphis machine.
Like, that's such a dumb comparison.
(40:14):
I'm so.
That is the perfect comparison.
You know what I mean?
It's so.
I can't do comedy with a bunchof, like, drunk smash mouth fans
that are like.
I mean, outdoors is anightmare if it's.
If it's not set up for comedy.
Outdoors is a nightmare in general.
Like, comedy has very fewparameters for it to go well.
Yeah.
And that.
Yeah.
Drunk Smash Mouth fans.
Yeah.
(40:34):
Did you have to go back up inbetween bands or anything like that?
No, it was just.
It was that one right beforeSmash, it was like all the bands
had gone on.
Oh, the last band got off,they were like, all right, we're
gonna have someone beforeSmash Mouth comes on.
And I, like, made fun of that too.
I was like, you guys are justhere to see the Shrek soundtrack.
Like, you're not here to seethis comic.
(40:54):
And I, When I tell you I ranout of that venue after, I, like,
I I like, got out of theutility closet, mascara running down
my face.
I didn't even get to see Smash Mouth.
I didn't even get to sing All Star.
And so I ran out of the venueand like, called my boyfriend and
cried the whole way home to him.
I was.
(41:15):
It was horrible.
Yeah.
That's one of the best.
I always ask the guests onhere their worst bombs.
That's one of the best, really.
Oh, my God.
The worst part is like, I kindof like Smash Mouth.
Like, I kind of like theirmusic in a very weird way.
And every time I hear it, Ithink about that.
(41:35):
And now I laugh.
But for a while I like, couldnot listen to it.
I like.
And every time I tell thatstory, I love when the sound guy
is smart.
And after I tell that story,he plays all star.
Like, I think that's so funny.
I'm just picturing you cryingin the utility closet with All Star
playing.
Like, I was gonna be an all star.
Yeah.
Cause it's like, comedy is sofunny with, like, it'll set you up
(41:58):
with this high and then justaround the corner.
A lot of times comedy willjust be like, not yet.
And they're just like, yeah, low.
Like there's something tocancel it out.
Yeah.
Not to say to expect it, butI've had so many experiences of like,
I do a seven o' clock show,everything kills.
Oh, God, the nine o' clock show.
I do the exact same show.
Crickets.
Yeah, you're high from that show.
(42:19):
And then there's that low after.
It's just part of that roller coaster.
I'm still.
One of the things that I thinkI still makes me a three year comedian
is my inability to calm downafter I bomb.
I still get very emotional andI still get very angry with myself
and I get really embarrassed.
(42:39):
And so I.
A lot of the time, like, if Ibomb and I'm on a showcase, I'll
just like leave the venue andI'll just Irish, goodbye, everyone.
And I want to get better atthat because no one cares.
Like, comedians genuinelydon't give a.
They're just like, yeah, dude,I bombed yesterday too.
Like, but I get so embarrassedbecause I have this idea that I have
(43:00):
to do well.
Especially because I'll behonest, like, having a lot of followers,
I think makes me nervousbecause people who haven't met me
yet, they see that I havefollowers and they're like, oh, she
must be great.
And then if I bomb, I'm like,oh God, that was really disappointing.
And I would like to get betterat that.
So I think that's somethingthat comes with time.
(43:20):
Yeah, it took me years to getbetter at bouncing back from bombs
and things like that.
It.
I mean, I would.
If my opening joke didn't workearly on, I would bail on the set
and I'd be like, oh, I guessthis whole thing's gonna suck.
And I would turn around andstart rubbing the walls and, yeah,
I would roll around the floor.
I did weird stuff when jokesweren't working and just completely
(43:42):
bail.
And then afterwards, I wouldbe depressed for, like, a long time
just after a bomb, like.
And then over time, you justrealize, focus on what you can control.
Get back on stage.
Just do your best on that show.
It's just getting back on thehorse really helps to bounce back.
But it.
Yeah, I took me years toreally overcome just feeling bad
about bombing and that.
(44:03):
Lingering.
Yeah, I'll have to catchmyself now.
I mean, I had a killer showlast weekend, and then last night,
the show went well.
People came up afterwards andare like, that was amazing.
Thank you for coming and allof that.
Like, the show was great, butyou can feel a difference when you're
not in the zone or you're notjust humming.
And I was like, oh, thatshould have been better.
(44:24):
And then I had to just remindmyself it went.
It was fine.
Yeah, not every show is goingto be a grand slam.
You made money.
People were happy.
Just be grateful for what isand not worrying about what isn't
or what you could change andjust focus on.
Continue to move forward.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We all go through that atevery level.
Yeah.
There's so many, like, peoplethat still bomb, that are amazing
(44:45):
and, like, sell out arenasand, like.
Yeah, like, that's, like, partof it.
Yeah.
I used to think that it was sobad to bomb because what if someone
saw me bomb?
And then later on theInternet, they were like, I saw Morgan
Gallo live and she actually sucked.
And then I was like, oh, myGod, like, what if people online
start talking about me?
And then, like, people don'tcome to my shows because they think
(45:07):
I bombed.
And then I was like, no onedoes that.
No.
First of all.
And second of all, people whoactually watch comedy consistently
understand that that's part of it.
And they, like seeingcomedians not do well because it
humanizes them.
Yep.
Like, we have a new materialshow that we do at the studio.
These three Denver comedianswho run it, and it's called Old Dogs
(45:27):
New Jokes because they bookcomedians who are working, and they're
like, hey, since you'reworking so much.
Instead of doing an open mic,come and do an actual show.
But we book it as a newmaterial show so the audience knows
what they're in for.
And sometimes people do reallywell with new jokes and sometimes
they bomb.
But that's like part of thefun of it is they get to be like,
all right, well, I tried.
(45:48):
You guys didn't like it.
Thanks for the feedback.
So I need to get out there.
I haven't been to Denver yet.
Fun.
Yeah, I gotta get out there.
Yeah, Denver.
Denver has a lot of greatclubs and a lot of great comic run
venues that are so awesome andjust like, really keen on making
a good comedy environmentbecause so many people there are
(46:08):
working really hard and are onthe road and are either opening for
big people or are their ownnationally touring headliners.
And it's a great, like,through city.
Like, there's a lot of peoplefrom LA that come through there.
Portland, New York, even justkind of the Midwest area.
People come through there alot on their way down.
Like, it's just a cool scene.
Oh, well, yeah.
(46:29):
Maybe make something happenthis year.
Perhaps make a trip out there.
Cool.
Well, I mean, is there, Isthere anything else you want the
world to know or any.
Anything.
I think we're landing theplane here.
I mean, the bombing storyreally just.
I know it's.
Where do you go from there?
I love, I love it.
I love just the arc of the.
Of us was three years in andyou have over a hundred thousand
(46:49):
followers.
You have this studio in Denverand it's so amazing.
And then the.
By the end of the interview,it's, I bombed opening for Smash
Mouth.
I've cried harder than I ever.
That's how you.
That's how you know you.
You're doing well.
Is when you get asked to do aninsane gig, you say yes out of your
own hubris, and then yourealize, oh, that was a bad ide.
(47:11):
No, I would just say, like, tothe, to the people listening, if
I could talk to myself threeyears ago and I was listening to
this type of episode, I wouldjust say, like, take a breath and
just like, know that this is amarathon and that you might be in
mile one right now, you mightbe in mile 14, you might be in mile
three.
And your pace now does notdetermine where you end up at the
(47:34):
finish line.
Like, if you need a break,take a break.
If you need to grind for a fewmonths, grind for a few months.
If you need to go a completelydifferent detour and then come back
to the race path.
Like, that's okay.
Because no one is, like,measuring your success.
Like, no one's looking at youand being like, all right, they're
five years in.
(47:54):
They've gone this far.
They have these things.
Like, comparison is the thiefof joy.
So even though it's very hardnot to compare yourself, especially
when you see people who are.
You've started out with them,and now they're getting bigger than
you are.
Or maybe you're getting biggerthan they are.
Like, there's room for all of us.
There's so many comedy clubs.
There's so many festivals.
There's so many opportunities.
(48:16):
There is truly room for everysingle one of us, and it doesn't
need to be, like, a competition.
Preach, preach, preach.
Well, where.
Where could people follow you?
And check out dude, idk.
Dude, idk.
Yeah, dude, dude1dk on Instagram.
That's us.
And then dude, idk creative.com.
(48:38):
we have all of our shows andstuff on there.
And then I'm just.
Morgan Gallo, comedy on prettymuch everything.
And, yeah, I have my website.
I have my dates up.
Yeah, I don't know when thisis coming out, so I don't really
have any dates to push, Iguess, but I'm.
I'm around.
I'm doing it.
Yeah, I have.
I'm driving in my Toyota allacross the place, and I'm hoping
(49:02):
to start doing another podcastor another show or something soon.
Or.
If you're a weirdo, subscribeto my only fans.
Oh, snap.
Oh, is there weird stuff goingon in there?
No, I just said if you're a weirdo.
Yeah, the people.
You're not a weirdo, Weirdo.
No, no.
What are you doing in there?
I just have, honestly, like,boudoir photos.
(49:24):
I don't do any videos.
I don't talk to people.
I don't have nudity.
I was.
I was hoping you were like,I'm just posting crowd work clips
and people are subscribing.
No, I'm, like, fully in it, dude.
I'm, like, fully doing, like,in lingerie.
Doing crowd work clips.
That's your own thing.
I should do that.
I should do that.
Honestly.
No, it's just if you.
If you want to see me in alight that you don't see me on Instagram,
it's on there.
(49:45):
You know, it's.
To me, I think it's finebecause it's like, they're just,
like, cute photos.
A lot of people are like, whathappens if you get famous and these
photos get leaked?
And I'm like, oh, no, a reallyhot photo of me is on the Internet.
That's what sucks.
Like, you can't see anything.
It's like I'm wearing a bikini.
You see that at the beach forfree, so might as well pay $10.
(50:06):
Well, there you go.
Yeah, give her $10.
And while you're at it, gojoin our Patreon as well and keep
supporting this.
Yeah, Joel wears boxers on the Patreon.
Yeah, he does crowd work inhis box sometimes.
Compression shorts if you're lucky.
Not a bad idea, Tommy John.
Let's get a deal going.
But thanks for being on HotBreath, Morgan.
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate.
Dude.
Yeah, of course.
(50:26):
So subscribe to our YouTubechannel as well while you're at it
and go.
To the writing room.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Our Facebook group, the ComedyWriting Room, we do a daily joke
writing contest in there, andpeople are asking questions in there.
So it's a great onlinecommunity for comics to connect and
get better together.
All linked in the description.
Cool.
Bye, y'.
All.
Bye, Hot Breath.
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