Play it Again, Lou | Lou Brockman

Lou Brockman is best known for his piano improvisation in the La Jolla Comedy Store. Walter and Lou share stories about bumping elbows with Hollywood stars like Robin Williams and partying in the mansions of the Hollywood Hills. Lou shares about his unconventional wedding, his mindset that made him a master of his craft, and last but not least his one of a kind stories hanging with the stars over the decades as a performing pianist in Hollywood. 

(Originally aired 6Jan23)

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:01):
March and Ash presents, Hilariously lunt, with Walter Ford from the
hottest up and coming comedians to legends of the Game
and vault with some of the world's finest cannabis brands.
This is hilariously blunt with Walter Ford.

S2 (00:20):
Welcome back to the hilariously Blunt podcast. It's your host,
Walter Ford. And, you know, at this podcast, we get
hilarious comedians and people in the comedy world and just
all some dope minds and individuals on this podcast. And
we get high and talk about weed and talk about
comedy and life. This this week, though, I got a

(00:43):
legend Legend at the Comedy Store, a legend in the
music world, a legend on earth in general. And I'll
make some noise for Lou Brockman in the bill and
your little Brockman.

S3 (00:57):
I was looking to see who you're talking about at
that build up. Now, I got a lot of people
got expectations, and that's what they do.

S2 (01:08):
I set out to loom and thank you for coming,
by the way.

S4 (01:10):
Oh, hey, you're welcome. It's great to see you here. Yeah.
You know, outside of the Comedy Store, you know this black.

S2 (01:16):
I know, right?

S3 (01:17):
As we.

S2 (01:19):
You know, including me, said I'm the only thing lacking
a bit.

S4 (01:22):
I want to say this. This is busy. Sure is
a theme song. I see a.

S3 (01:25):
Red door and I.

S4 (01:27):
Want to paint it black.

S3 (01:30):
No color anymore.

S2 (01:33):
I heard you like black, too.

S4 (01:34):
Now know because, you know. But she was smart. She
put the focus of the club by making everything black.
She put the focus of the club to the stage.
So there's really not much, you know, things. You know,
you got even. Even now, it's kind of a replica.
You got the the neon that's happening while they're sitting
and getting ready for the show. And the show comes on,
the neon goes off and the focus becomes the stage.

(01:57):
You know, she was the first person to do that.

S2 (02:00):
She I was going to just say that. Excuse me,
I'm in, by the way, and I just got off work.
I'm hungry. But she was the first person to put
comedians as the headliners, correct?

S4 (02:10):
Exactly. Well, you know, you got to remember, comedy originated
as far as, you know, performance of anything in America
as vaudeville. Vaudeville was a variety show. When you went
in to see a vaudeville show, there were jugglers. There were,
you know, magicians. They you know, everything. You know, In fact,
what happened was they you got to them on a

(02:31):
stage and they had to get different types of acts going.
Maybe you got a little combo, but no, you needed
a big band. So the comedian became the person that
went out front in the in front of the curtains
and talked to the mother resetting the stage.

S2 (02:45):
Okay. So it was more like a hosting. Yeah.

S4 (02:48):
Yeah, but that but that.

S3 (02:49):
I mean, you're a comedian.

S2 (02:50):
You. Yeah.

S4 (02:50):
I mean, somebody comes out and does a juggling act
in the Navy. A couple musicians behind the next acts
is going to be a singer, and they need a
couple more. So the curtains were closed. The comedian come out. Go. Hey,
how'd you like that? We got this guy thing by Marvel. Yeah.
Tell a few jokes, and then somebody would light him.
Or however they did it back then. And then he
know the wrap it up.

S2 (03:10):
I was going to say in a Rudy Ray Moore movie,
the one that Eddie Murphy did, that kind of show,
that kind of how how he started. And it was
it was literally Black Veil. And he was like, I'm
trying to do these jokes. And they like, you can
never do it, never happened. He was real raunchy, too.

S4 (03:24):
But yeah.

S2 (03:24):
Exactly. But it was it was like you said, it.

S4 (03:26):
Was the mentality back then and it was just fine.
That's it came from that time. But, you know, I mean,
Lenny Bruce was just a guy between the acts, but he.

S3 (03:36):
Was so good. You give it his three right there. Yeah.

S4 (03:39):
But he was so great that he excelled beyond it.
But again, that was the initial role of comedians. Nobody
actually came to see a comic actors. You saw dancers
and singers and a whole musical band. But like you said,
but each time they had to change the stage, the
curtain would close. That's why you always see the comedian
coming out front and for the curtain, the old days.

S2 (04:01):
Okay, Lou, So before you give an all these gyms,
let's talk about you real quick.

S4 (04:06):
Yeah.

S2 (04:08):
Lou Brockman, where you from, Lou? Where do you from?

S4 (04:11):
Well, I'm originally from Buffalo, New York. I didn't.

S2 (04:13):
Know that you Were you from East.

S4 (04:15):
Coast? Yeah, but I moved out when I was eight
because my dad got a job out here in General Dynamics. Okay,
So we actually took it. It was kind of fun.
We all packed up. I had two older brothers, an
older sister and a younger brother, and so we all
packed up in this old Pontiac, 56 Pontiac, and we
went across the country. It was kind of fun. My
mom made a seven day trip. We never drove. At night.

(04:36):
We had three squares a day. It was kind of
like a vacation.

S2 (04:39):
And and this was in the sixties, the 1959. This
was okay right before the sixties. Okay. This right before
free love, right?

S3 (04:46):
Yeah.

S2 (04:46):
No. Was that right? Is that the right decade? I'm sorry. Yeah.

S4 (04:49):
Yeah. Free love came later in the thing.

S3 (04:51):
Yeah, cause I know. Yeah. You had to pay for it. No. Well.

S2 (05:01):
It was love, but it had that receipt on the
end of it.

S3 (05:04):
Yes. The resident is kind of like.

S4 (05:06):
A credit card, you know. Basically, you know, because payable
at some point, there's always something penalty. You know.

S3 (05:12):
They're coming to realize.

S4 (05:14):
I catch that from her.

S3 (05:19):
I know I'm doing okay.

S4 (05:21):
Said, you know, I had no idea she'd be a psycho.

S2 (05:27):
Yeah. And back then. Yeah, back then it was different, too.
I was funny because I be talking about how, like,
you could. Have a family and then you can move.
You could drive ten miles away and have a whole
different family. Back in the day, like.

S4 (05:41):
They were born for a lot of.

S3 (05:43):
Time. Yeah, I know, right?

S4 (05:45):
You know, you always hear these stories about some guy.
There's a salesman somewhere, and he's got a wife in
Tennessee and another wife in Texas.

S3 (05:51):
In Washington? Yeah.

S2 (05:54):
That's funny. Is it? Okay, so you're East Coast and
you move to West Coast.

S4 (05:57):
Yeah, exactly. And so. So, you know, so I was
raised up pretty much in San Diego.

S3 (06:01):
Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Okay. Yeah.

S4 (06:03):
And, you know, outside of a few little deviations, I.

S2 (06:06):
Of course.

S4 (06:07):
San Diego.

S2 (06:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No.

S4 (06:10):
Hey, I didn't want to leave Buffalo as eight years old,
but when I got here, I never want to leave California.

S3 (06:15):
In.

S4 (06:15):
1959. Then, by the way, the last time, the only
time I went back to Buffalo, it was in 2019
when Vicki was performing there.

S2 (06:27):
Vicky. Okay. Do you want to let everybody know who
Vicky is, by the way?

S4 (06:30):
Relax. My wife, you know, she's an America's Got Talent.
Back in 2018, she's a finalist.

S3 (06:35):
Oh, you better say that. You know why?

S2 (06:37):
You better say that. Shout out to Miss Nikki, by
the way. Proud. Yeah. Shout out to Miss Nikki, by
the way. And it's funny because, like, before that. When
I first got here, I moved in like 16, 16, 17,
kind of when I was like doing it all the time.
And I was here all the time and and she
would give me all really good advice. And I was
hurting at the time, like I'm sleeping outside or sleeping

(06:59):
on a trolley. And it's like, Yeah, baby.

S3 (07:02):
I got to do and do this. And they go, Love, Yeah.
My I well, you know the.

S4 (07:07):
Vicki spreads love. She's yeah you know that's the thing
and you know and you know she started late in
life for her, you know as a comedian but things
she was so I mean things took off.

S2 (07:18):
Yeah. Yeah. So what you you're not a comedian. People
don't know that. By the way. Lou is the only,
if I can be mistaken, but little the only person
on the wall of the Comedy Store. That's not a comedian.

S4 (07:30):
That is correct. Because no piano player.

S2 (07:32):
Yes. Yes. So you're up and you're currently a piano player.

S4 (07:35):
Yeah, I still technically there. I mean, I'm hardly ever
there because I travel with Vicky.

S3 (07:39):
Yeah, but Joe is there now, though. You're still here?

S4 (07:42):
Yeah, I packed, you know, like next week I'll be
in Vegas with her. Yeah.

S2 (07:46):
Yeah. You travel. You're traveling on piano player? Definitely. Right. But.
But you still there, man? Like, is, is you just real.

S4 (07:53):
Passion different dynamics because you're playing background for people that
are coming into the club to sit down and and
have a drink and stuff before the show. Exactly. They
don't know what is expect. Now. This is an old
tradition and originally most people never saying, you know, just
like if you go to L.A. to this day, most
of them are just playing background piano and that's what.

(08:15):
But I always saying, so I just thought I'd just
do it that way. So when I go Vicki, I
do it. I bring a portable keyboard and I set
it up and, and I play before the shows. Yeah.
So it's fun, you know, just because, you know, when
you're a performer, just like comedy, if you're a true performer,
you're driven to do it. It's like you have to

(08:36):
do it. It's how you feel. Good. I mean, I
don't know about you, but I could be dog tired
as anything, and I'll sit on that piano, I'll start
playing and I forget that I'm tired, I'm having a
good time and everything's flowing and boom, boom, boom. And
and that's, I guess, just the magic of playing and,
you know, or performing. And, you know, comedy is unique
in the fact that it's just you and a microphone

(08:58):
unless you're a prop comedian. I mean, you know me,
I've got music. So they've already established before that even,
you know, at the Comedy Store, I purposely don't talk
to the audience because I just really yeah I only
the only when I introduce people, I've tried it the
other way. It's kind of okay. But I just I
just felt that that because of my role, because what

(09:18):
happens is.

S3 (09:19):
I.

S4 (09:20):
Take walk into a room. This is if you notice,
I'm playing very mellow at first.

S2 (09:24):
Yeah, No.

S3 (09:25):
I know. Yeah.

S4 (09:26):
Yeah, exactly. Or if the crowd gets too loud, I
place lower music and softer music and just backgrounds. So
I just doodle. I call doodling, just improvising, little little
riffs and then that can listen to the whole crowd
coming down and volume.

S2 (09:43):
That's so dope because that is the thing that's so
dope now.

S4 (09:46):
But it's if you're not paying attention to an audience,
you're not doing your job no matter who you are.

S2 (09:53):
Exactly. Exactly. Especially in.

S4 (09:55):
Entertainment adjustments. You know, it's different in a play because
you have set lines and you are going to do
the lines just that way. The comedian, you could decide
what jokes you want to do next, maybe because of
what you got from the last joke.

S2 (10:08):
And sometimes you don't even do the joke you wanted
to do you doing a whole different what's coming off
the top of your head, right?

S4 (10:13):
Yeah, Well, that's the beauty of it. I don't play
the same way every time I play, I play the
way I feel, but I feel different.

S2 (10:20):
Yeah, we set it off of air. When did you
start playing at the Comedy Store?

S4 (10:27):
In 1993. August 26th.

S2 (10:30):
Oh, and like you said, I was one.

S3 (10:32):
Years old and, you know.

S2 (10:34):
I was like one. I was.

S3 (10:35):
Almost.

S4 (10:35):
Hey, there's people right now at the Comedy Store that
weren't even around.

S3 (10:39):
And even more out of hell.

S4 (10:43):
Patty.

S3 (10:43):
Where there was, you know. Yeah. How did you get
the job.

S2 (10:48):
Or how did you.

S3 (10:49):
It was it was.

S4 (10:50):
It was actually an ad in the newspaper. I was playing.

S3 (10:53):
It and.

S4 (10:54):
I was playing at this piano bar in San Diego
in Oakland Boulevard called Duke's. And she had just sold
the bar and they were going to turn into a
mexican restaurant. So that game was over. And so at
the same time, I just looked through the, you know,
the newspaper back then. You got to remember, this is,
you know, 1993, there was no Internet. You know, there
was but very.

S3 (11:16):
Sparsely.

S4 (11:16):
Used AOL. You know, the log on was this long.

S3 (11:20):
Bridge over here. Yeah. You know, get off the phone. Yeah, right.

S4 (11:28):
Yeah. I mean, it was you know, it was very archaic.
So I just was looking in the newspaper and I
saw a piano player on the Comedy Store, La Hoya.
I had no idea what the job entailed. I just
called up and they set me up for, you know,
an audition. And so I went down there now. This
is the week. Just the I guess it was I
guess it was like August 21st because I started out 26.

(11:51):
I go down there. I have no idea. In fact,
I'm doing show stuff because, you know, I was used
to playing bars and stuff, right? I did the Ray Charles.
I had the big glasses. I do all this.

S3 (12:01):
Stuff with the fedora, too. Oh, yeah.

S4 (12:04):
Well, I had different bits and stuff, so I do
the whole thing for him and. And he goes, Yeah,
sounds good. I'll let you know. So I take off.
I go back home. Of course. Mind you, there's no
cell phones either. When I get home. This is actually
my first wife and she goes, Hey, the Comedy Store
just called you. So I call back and says, Hey,
this is Saturday. He goes, You want to start Thursday?

S2 (12:26):
Now I am now. Who is the manager at the time?

S4 (12:28):
Fred Burns. He's like, He is. He was a unique guy,
amazing guy to this day. You know, he's he was
just sort of he was a manager with spinal viscera.
So now he's on crutches. He's kind of short because,
you know, and he was one guy.

S2 (12:44):
I assume is a spine.

S4 (12:45):
Yes. Fine disease. Right. And most people don't live that
long with it. But it was so amazing. He comes
he he was he was one of the funniest guys.
He's come up on stage on the crutches and say,
you know, you got to look at the time period.
This is like 90 goes. You probably recognize me from
my latest movie. White Men Can't Jump.

S3 (13:09):
And Burns was a classic. You know, he.

S2 (13:12):
Was a manager and he performed.

S4 (13:13):
Yeah, he was the guru of comedy. And by the way,
if you start to take another comic's jokes, at least
for the best stuff, you didn't get a spot or
he'd call you on it. He'd take you to the
office to go, Hey, what are you doing? Marx joke for,
you know? Yeah, I know, I know. You just changed
a couple words.

S3 (13:32):
Yeah.

S2 (13:33):
So he was on it? Yeah, he was.

S4 (13:35):
He was.

S2 (13:36):
And he was on your ass.

S3 (13:37):
Yeah.

S4 (13:37):
And at one point, he won. The funniest videos was, like, $10,000.
Whatever they used to show us.

S2 (13:43):
Yeah. We like Avi America funding Bob Saget.

S3 (13:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

S4 (13:47):
Right. America's Funniest Videos. He won $10,000 on that show.

S3 (13:51):
That's crazy.

S4 (13:53):
But Fred Bernard was just an amazing comedian. He was
just he was just so edgy, you know, And there and,
you know, well, like he used to do, he says,
you know, is this back you got in 96? You know,
Michael Jackson reminds me of you Mormon, Brigham Young.

S3 (14:10):
Yeah. Hey, I'm from Gary. Where Michael.

S2 (14:13):
Jackson from? But that's funny.

S3 (14:14):
You look very good.

S4 (14:20):
If that was Fred, he was just so edgy. He
was just.

S2 (14:23):
Yeah, he was right on the cusp. Not everybody would
like that, but that's my music.

S4 (14:27):
Oh, yeah. I mean, he was. He was amazing guy.
He was kind of like a guru to everybody, you know?

S2 (14:32):
Okay, so he got you back. He hired you.

S4 (14:34):
Yeah, right. And I just started there. And back then
they had a baby grand piano, so I just put
a keyboard on top of it and and played with that.
You know, it was kind of fun as.

S2 (14:43):
I was the first time.

S3 (14:45):
It was good. I mean, I was I've been performing.

S4 (14:47):
Since the seventies, the mid seventies, so performing is just
performing to me. You know, I played in bands, I
played solo, I played piano bars. So to me, it
was just a gig.

S2 (14:58):
Now, Now, how long have you been performing in?

S4 (15:01):
Well, I started some I started performing probably in the
early seventies in hard rock bands.

S3 (15:07):
And. And you told me you started with drums, right?

S4 (15:09):
Yeah, but I never really performed on drums.

S2 (15:11):
Okay.

S4 (15:12):
I learned drums at 17 and learned some of the basics.
I played guitar, but again, I hardly ever I never
really played I played one or two songs in a
band once in a while and guitar, but keyboards have
always been my instrument.

S2 (15:24):
Yeah, yeah. On the keyboard. What was the first time
you touched those keys in?

S4 (15:28):
When I was 19 years old, You know, I had
written a song, you know, because I had the words
and the melody was there. And my mom, I'd moved
back in to go to college. My mom had this
old upright piano, and I just started playing with it,
figuring out the melody. And that was it. I, I
got addicted to it. Yeah.

S2 (15:48):
You taught yourself at first.

S4 (15:50):
Yeah, it was. It was a mistake. I don't recommend
that you should take lessons because I learned how to
play wrong for about three or four years and I
had to correct it.

S2 (15:58):
My damage.

S4 (16:00):
Yeah, because it's techniques and things that you have to learn,
you know, just trying it yourself, you know, And that's it. Yeah. Yeah. Plus,
you know, becomes more of an ego trip, I think. Oh,
I could learn it myself, but, but now I'm doing
everything wrong. And I got a good piano teacher and he,
he helped me learn how to play. Right. Yeah.

S2 (16:17):
And I love that part too, about the mentorship that's
really important to me. And I want to go before
we get too far back into the Comedy Store. How
did you when it when did you decide you wanted
to be professional at the at music or at piano?

S3 (16:32):
Yeah, right.

S4 (16:33):
Like, like I said it, it's yeah, I'll tell you
the story. So anyways, I just turned 21 and I
was living in my parents going back to college and
a bunch of friends of mine were there says, Hey,
let's go out and get a. Drink. So we were
only a few blocks from the chem club, so we
just walked over there. We got into the Cavern Club
and we're having a couple of beers or whatever. I
guess that's what we were drinking that day. And all

(16:54):
of a sudden there's a piano sitting there in the corner.
So the guy says, Hey, you.

S3 (16:58):
Know, Lou here is on.

S4 (16:59):
His birthday. He plays piano. So I went over to
the piano and I didn't even sing back. I just
played songs. So I just played a bunch of songs.
People started tipping me. The little local drugs in the bar,
you know, these are the old guys or whatever, because
I'm playing, you know, I was playing pop songs. I
even did a couple of country type songs. And so
people so people are just digging it. And so I'm

(17:21):
making all this money. And I decided, I think that's
the time that I need to. I just felt that
I felt like the art was there, you know? Plus,
I had been an improviser even for two years. I
used to just jam with my friends every weekend. They
would come in with guitars. I had a couple of
friends who played guitars and we'd have a set of bongos,
somebody be playing, and we'd just sit there, you know,

(17:44):
with the piano and just play. You play rock and
roll songs.

S2 (17:47):
So you already had to put the time in.

S4 (17:50):
Yeah, Yeah, for the first two years. But I wasn't
dedicated as much as once I decided to do it. Yeah.
And that's like I was telling you earlier, that's when
I decided to treat it like a job. So what
did I do? Every, every day I it because I
still going to school. I didn't do it in a row,
but I practiced a minimum of 6 hours throughout that day.

(18:12):
Crazy before I went to sleep.

S2 (18:13):
Crazy Lou. Nobody doing that in my generation, Lou, that
I'm trying to do.

S4 (18:18):
Because it's work ethics.

S3 (18:19):
I know.

S4 (18:20):
Well, the other thing was, you know, I didn't talk
about it earlier as I read this book on Zen
and Zen talked about how these people went in apprenticeships
and learn skills and how they'd spend years and years
to get good at it. And it kind of inspired
me because that was the other side of the coin.
You know, one of the guys was amazing, was just

(18:40):
was in archery. And so because there's like three or
four different stories and at first he was the mentor,
just he's just about to hold the ball and he'll
spend like almost a year just as a holding and
feeling it like it's almost his hand, then learning to
draw it back without the arrow, then putting the arrow in.
I mean, this is years, but the final test is

(19:01):
that Bow become so much part of your body that
you sit there in a dark room and a hundred
yards away sits a candle. You take the bow sideways
without looking at it and you shoot the flame off
the candle. That's your final test.

S3 (19:14):
See, that's crazy. But I started reading and I thought, Well,
you know, that makes sense.

S4 (19:22):
They're so focused on things that if I focus on this,
I've got a talent for it. I think I can
become good at it and make a living. Do. Yeah.

S2 (19:29):
And you just apply that shit to some piano.

S4 (19:32):
I forgot the part that it was a meager living.

S2 (19:36):
I left that part out.

S3 (19:39):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I didn't know about that part.

S4 (19:42):
Yeah, we always live with that. It. You know, we're
going to be big rock stars, but, you know.

S2 (19:46):
You got to go.

S3 (19:47):
Yeah. I wasn't hiring.

S4 (19:48):
A piano player.

S2 (19:49):
Yeah, they weren't going like that at the beginning Here.

S4 (19:52):
Real quiet for a little ad.

S2 (19:54):
Yeah. Yeah. Before we get too far, we got a
couple a couple of products right here. I'm looking for
a name of Santa Rosa Farms. Shout out to some
of Rosa Farms. We got the Rambler. Oh, this is
our promotional product right here.

S3 (20:10):
Sounds like an old car from the.

S2 (20:12):
Pink runs right here. Paint Roots is the type. It's
a hybrid. I smoke this. And let me tell you,
I was on cloud 11 and a half. Last but
not least, I got some flavors. All flavors. Pink Picasso.

S4 (20:30):
Oh, hey.

S2 (20:31):
Yeah. This by Wonder Bread, by the way. Shout out
to Wonder Bread. I love a modern egg products. This
pink Picasso right here.

S3 (20:38):
For your fire.

S2 (20:42):
Last but not least, I got some blue print. I
don't even know what. P p 97 to blue print,
by the way. I really like bottles. Also, they. We
get you where you need to go and in there.
But at least cushy butch always good because you crunch.
We got the city for sugar free sugar free gummies

(21:03):
feel the power of the punch.

S3 (21:04):
Yeah.

S2 (21:06):
Oh yeah So we go to even though I'm being
I'm starting these when we talk.

S3 (21:09):
About we.

S2 (21:10):
You know, I want you to smoke in here. We
got we got to do it beforehand.

S3 (21:15):
Oh.

S2 (21:16):
But as far as you know.

S4 (21:18):
I was thinking the other day, you should call this
a podcast.

S3 (21:22):
A podcast. I like that because we bought podcasts, our podcasts.

S2 (21:29):
The podcasts right now, the smart as they are. So
Fritz or Friend hired you.

S3 (21:35):
And you got you were there when Ryan came. It
was just, oh yeah, a lot.

S4 (21:38):
There was a lot of managers along the way because
Fred Fred left in 98, I believe. And then, well,
they had this free period where the Comedy Store and
she was having hard times with the rent or whatever.
And so she decided to move this place a Vontaze
up the street and. And she basically fired everybody or

(21:58):
laid them off, whatever you want to call it. I
was the only one that went to a Vontaze and
I was the only one that returned.

S3 (22:05):
Really? Yeah.

S4 (22:06):
I've had I thought the gig was over because I
went to Vontaze and then she bought out and I
still work there a little longer cause they're still trying
to do comedy because she had a partnership with somebody.
And so then out of nowhere, they called me, says, Hey,
you want to come back to the comedy stores, you know?
And I told.

S2 (22:23):
You or whoever.

S3 (22:24):
Well, whoever.

S4 (22:25):
Worked at this guy, Mike Becker, was the guy handling
all that stuff.

S3 (22:28):
Yeah, that's crazy.

S4 (22:30):
And so then I went back in and, you know,
then just kept working, and I.

S2 (22:35):
Real quick, I want to cut you off. Right. So
they were in one.

S4 (22:38):
Year where they moved then and then. Then they moved
back to the Comedy Store again.

S2 (22:43):
Okay. So they moved out, moved somewhere else and moved back.

S4 (22:45):
Yeah. A few months later, they moved back into that building,
you know? And so she got back in there and
and everything just went on from there, you know?

S2 (22:54):
So.

S4 (22:54):
Yeah, it's funny.

S2 (22:56):
Now, would you say who would you say is the
most interesting person you've met since you've been here. Oh,
the craziest. The story that you mentioned.

S4 (23:06):
We don't have enough time to talk about all of them.

S3 (23:10):
Okay.

S2 (23:11):
Top three, most amazing people of life. People.

S4 (23:14):
Know, my. My most amazing story was is I got
to meet Robin Williams. He came there in 2005. He
was the nicest gentleman.

S3 (23:22):
And this is.

S2 (23:23):
Like. This is like, super famous.

S4 (23:25):
Yeah, well, gorgeous. I mean, this is tight. This is 2005.
It's not like, you know, way back when this guy
is the most famous guy. And Vicki just happened to
be performing that night. And there was this girl, Kelly
Kirsten's kind of gone off to writing. She doesn't like
do stand up, but she's written for a bunch of shows.

S2 (23:42):
Before you keep going. I just want people to understand
when you said Vicki had a show that night and
then you said that she blew up in 18. Yeah.
5 to 18. Yeah. Work it. I just want people
to realize.

S3 (23:54):
Yeah, Yeah, she started.

S2 (23:55):
Things don't come overnight.

S4 (23:58):
No, she started in 98, I think is when Mitzi
made her period regular. She talks about that. In fact,
she says, you know, she was sitting at the bar.
She never give her sets. You know, she's a new kid.
You know, we you know, we don't know of anybody.
So the but anyways, Miss, you saw her in her
leopard outfit and says go off and perform. And so

(24:18):
she said I went up and did whatever three, 5 minutes,
whatever she gave her. And when she got off stage
she goes, come over here, she goes, You're a paid regular.

S3 (24:27):
Now get out of here. Know what I'm doing?

S4 (24:30):
And and she didn't know what a paid regular was.
And so she went over out, out in the lobby
and she asked Bobby Lee, who was a doorman at
the time, and it says, What is that? He goes, Well,
you can call in L.A. and get spots now. So
she started calling in and they started giving her spots.
It's just, you know, you never know in life, just like,

(24:51):
you know, how she got an 82. This gal, Sharon Houston,
they worked together was some crazy show called Hag Fest
years and years earlier, where Sharon uses Euston as a
producer on the show. Now she's calling a lot of
comedians and finally she calls Vicki. Vicki goes, I don't
want me, I'm too old, blah, blah, blah, blah. They go, Yeah,
they do. And so Sharon kept at it. And finally

(25:13):
Vicki said, okay.

S2 (25:15):
So she was begging me.

S4 (25:17):
Yeah, I thought you'd be perfect for the show. But
they hired these producers to look for Tamla.

S2 (25:21):
No, of course. Yeah, I was. I auditioned. I didn't make.
I made it past the first round, the first round
of auditions, but. Right. Yeah. I wasn't ready. Yeah, I
wasn't ready. I'm ready now, though.

S3 (25:31):
Yeah.

S2 (25:32):
I'm going to do it.

S4 (25:32):
Yeah. So? So, you know, that was, you know, so
it was just, it was funny. And, you know, the
funny thing is, then they want to see her live
because they already picked her, but they wanted to see
her live. So she, she talks about I went to
his hangar in Santa monica and there's basically two producers
and a cameraman. That's it. And so she's they say,

(25:53):
do your 2 minutes. So she does 2 minutes. And then,
of course, she goes by real fast and they go, Oh,
is that all you got? She says, Well, you're a
shitty audience. I left room for laughter. Oh, she goes,
You're the shittiest audience I've ever had.

S3 (26:07):
I love laughter.

S2 (26:10):
They didn't know how to.

S3 (26:10):
Take that through because, you know, they got suits. All
probably is straight. They like to.

S4 (26:14):
Laugh. That was the only time they laugh when you've
ever the pressure. I mean, you're just sitting in front
of these stone faced people.

S2 (26:22):
It was like that when I did it. So of course.

S4 (26:23):
It always is. And the funny thing is normally I
go support her and all that stuff, but I got
hired by Natasha Lodeiro to do her Netflix special to
play piano for it.

S3 (26:34):
Oh shit.

S4 (26:35):
So they flew me to Austin the day before she
did that audition and then I did the two shows
with her on Wednesday night, and then Thursday I flew
back to San Diego.

S2 (26:45):
And came right back getting money and coming right back.

S4 (26:48):
It was fun. I mean, oh, part of the reason
they like me is because I can improvise and they
don't have to worry about copyrights of songs.

S2 (26:56):
Yeah. I mean, you.

S4 (26:57):
Know, because what happened was she does a bit where
she works with an audience member, talks an audience member,
and she wants some sad music. So I played the
sad music. Well, then later she said, What songs did
you place? I just made that stuff up. I have
no idea.

S3 (27:11):
It was a sad and really different the.

S4 (27:13):
Next time I play it.

S3 (27:14):
Yeah.

S4 (27:15):
So I think the light hit in her head. Well, we.
So she took my card and I got a call
from one of the people that was producing the show. And,
and like I said, they flew me out there to
see if the Hilton garden beds don't. It was really fun.

S2 (27:27):
As though as though. Is that one of the biggest. Situations.
I guess you would think your successors got you. Or
one of the biggest payoffs.

S3 (27:36):
It was fun.

S4 (27:37):
I mean, it was fun.

S2 (27:38):
Best experience that.

S3 (27:40):
One.

S4 (27:40):
Of my best one was. And I think it was
it was 1981. I was playing at this place in
the L.A. restaurant that was owned by SeaWorld. The time
was a restaurant. Now it's a research center. But I played.

S3 (27:51):
At that restaurant.

S4 (27:53):
Yeah, but so anyways, the manager recommended me to do
more because I had an oldies van and, you know,
and there was 82 or three, but I never did.
He hires me, he hires me to go to play SeaWorld.
We played Nautilus showplace for shows a day for 20
minutes shows for the whole weekend. And it was so
much fun, you know, And, you know, and the funny

(28:16):
part was when they said 20 minutes, they said, we
don't want 19, we don't want 21 one twenties. We
had a guy in the sound booth giving us like two,
three minute or whatever, 3 minutes, and then we'd wrap
up the song wherever it was. So we were pretty
much right on time.

S2 (28:29):
Fire.

S4 (28:30):
Yeah, it was pretty cool. It was a it was
definitely experience. That was one of the big ones. The
other time we got hired this back in 86 or 87,
we got hired by Disneyland by the because the manager
of the Disneyland Hotel source of the B he hotel
play and and he got the they had a they
had a big thing for the it was a state

(28:50):
fair for the whole week and then they have a
big party at the end and they're doing video hopeless
so what did they do. They hired us to do
it and then then they, they had some dancers and
people are doing routines around our bits too. So so
I so that so I said on a song list
and then they said, well can you put a medley
of these songs together equals 6 minutes. So we worked

(29:12):
it out. Then we got a recorder and recorded it
and we sent them all back. Then it was a
cassette tape. We set off a cassette.

S3 (29:17):
I was gonna ask.

S2 (29:18):
You now listen, somebody have.

S3 (29:19):
Said in the mail.

S4 (29:20):
Oh yeah, exactly. It was a cassette tape. This is,
you know, this is 87. There is a lot of technology.

S3 (29:25):
So we said, Is technology what you mean?

S4 (29:27):
Yeah. So we set it up there. And sure enough, they,
you know, they worked out their steps and then we
went up there and like on a monday night and
we rehearsed with them and did all the things and
did all the shows that you need to do. And then,
you know, we're playing our own sets too. But mainly,
you know, we do. And it was so funny because
they said, Yeah, you need to leave your equipment here

(29:48):
and come back Wednesday and when the guy goes, is
a safe It was a safer than at.

S3 (29:52):
Home Yeah ladies.

S2 (29:55):
Disney money it still being.

S4 (29:57):
Disney ain't going to let anything happen. Get dead You're
going to get it.

S2 (30:01):
Yeah, I was going to say that they buy a
new a brand new one.

S4 (30:03):
But that was one of the big ones, too. And
the but one of the things was we couldn't audio video,
no photos because it was Disney property, but it was fun.
It was really an amazing thing because you when you're
sitting there performing and you're looking at all this, you know,
TVs and video topless, you're watching you.

S2 (30:20):
That's via. Yeah, that's fire.

S4 (30:23):
Yeah. I mean, they did a four camera shoot. We
begged for footage, but they wouldn't give us.

S2 (30:27):
They didn't give you did they. Keep an all that
make even all that copy right.

S4 (30:31):
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's Disney property.

S2 (30:33):
Yeah. They not messing around.

S4 (30:35):
It was fun. I mean it's I've, I've gotten to
do some pretty good things. In fact, I played the L.A.
originally with this gal River Lizard. She is your champagne
lady from Lawrence Welk. One night we get off the stage,
we go up the stairs. Who's sitting at the top
of the stairs?

S3 (30:49):
Bob Hope. Bob Hope. Just telling you to chill it.
He just like, well, well, he.

S4 (30:54):
Knew Roberta Lynch because I used to do USO shows together.

S2 (30:57):
Okay. Oh, yeah. You know, she was a United State.

S4 (31:00):
Pain lady and she worked Vegas and stuff. So. So anyways,
she goes, Hey, Roberta, I saw you read the newspaper.
And we were sitting there because we got that golf
tournament tomorrow. So we, we weren't tired. So we come
to say hi to you. And then they just sat
there and talked was the end the night they talked
stories for about an hour. We just sat around mesmerized
by this guy.

S3 (31:20):
Yeah, man. And he wasn't drinking.

S4 (31:22):
By the way. No, they at the table. They were
all drinking lake, period. Whatever it was time. And they're
sitting there telling stories. He was an amazing guy. Very
nice guy.

S2 (31:32):
That's crazy. So. So you ran across a couple big, big,
big names. You just saying you met Robin Williams, like
Bob Hope, like.

S4 (31:39):
Yeah. And then another time we were rehearsing at the L.A.
restaurant and Dean Martin was doing his Christmas special. Now
we barely talked to me. You took enough time to
shake each of our hands and say, Hey, it's good
to see you. And then he goes, and.

S2 (31:51):
Kevin moved.

S4 (31:52):
To tell me We've got to get back to work. But,
you know, I thought at least.

S3 (31:56):
You took this deal. Yeah. You still came on talk to. Yeah, yeah.

S4 (31:59):
Yeah.

S3 (32:00):
That's as far, you know.

S4 (32:01):
So, you know, you just get those people in the industry.
I got to meet Kate and Chong, you know.

S2 (32:05):
You did? Yeah. Yeah, you did. Tell me about that. Yeah.

S4 (32:07):
Cheech and Chong, the kick off tour there, which made
sense because they had been together 20 some years.

S2 (32:12):
So that kick off tour at the Comedy Store, right?

S4 (32:14):
Yeah. So that was a kick. They did a Wednesday, Thursday,
and then two shows on Friday and two shows on Saturday. But,
you know, I'm sitting there watching because I had to
do music cues for him to. Yeah, for the whole time.
I'm realizing they're working out to see what works and
what doesn't work.

S2 (32:28):
Yeah. And you watching them in real time, do it.

S3 (32:31):
True.

S4 (32:32):
Sometimes they would repeat a joke. Next. Next. You know,
next time they perform all the times, a joke would
just get, you know.

S2 (32:41):
Trash. Get. Yeah. Figure it out. Work. Yeah. Figure it out.
Or removed.

S4 (32:45):
Or. There was one time it was an old joke
of theirs, but I forgot which one did it. But.
Or whatever. Which one forgot to do the setup. But
Tavi child, because they're so programmed. Did the punch.

S3 (32:57):
Line make it? It'll make no sense because you're going
to go set up. Hey, you got it for me.

S4 (33:03):
So use that, you know, just kick it out. That's
what they're there with. The nicest people to. I mean,
just off stage. I mean, they're not snobs and jerks. Yeah.
You know.

S2 (33:14):
Well, is that would you say in your experience in
the business, is it more so people that are snobs
or more so people that are pretty cheap?

S4 (33:21):
I don't really see people I've met a lot, but
there's other ones that. Yeah, yeah.

S3 (33:25):
Of course, of course. That's part of the game.

S4 (33:27):
They're just, you know, they were not very friendly, just,
you know, arrogant about it.

S2 (33:31):
I feel like money to make you more of a
person you already were, you know, I'm saying.

S3 (33:35):
Oh, yeah, it's true. Yeah.

S4 (33:36):
As I always say, you know, bullies don't stop being bullies.
You just grow up and be bosses and managers.

S3 (33:43):
Yeah.

S2 (33:47):
Oh, did I think about that? That's likeable.

S3 (33:50):
Yeah. It's like on the bottom, sort of. That guy
heads the high school. Yeah. He's your very good manager. Yeah.

S2 (33:57):
Now he came, punched you, but he can curse you
out the different He can point harder. They'll.

S4 (34:02):
Yeah.

S2 (34:03):
Slam the door in your ears.

S4 (34:05):
But yeah.

S2 (34:05):
That's funny you say we can't get out of here
before we talk about I mean, we still got time,
but I want to talk about you getting married in
the Comedy Store. I don't think. I've never heard of
no shit like that.

S4 (34:15):
Yeah, there's been a couple of people since then.

S2 (34:17):
But when you say since then, was you the first?
Do you.

S3 (34:20):
Know?

S4 (34:20):
I think in La Hoya I.

S2 (34:22):
Was at least LA and that's why.

S4 (34:24):
They had one.

S2 (34:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've come on.

S4 (34:26):
The whole it was so because he was looking we're
going to get married. She was figuring out what to
do and somehow and I missed. He was still functioning
back then. She showed up for the wedding.

S2 (34:35):
Yeah, of course. Yeah.

S4 (34:35):
Yeah. And so it was really cool. So we asked
her permission. She goes, Yeah.

S2 (34:39):
And which is fire. By the way, I want to
ask you about Mitzi too, but, but she say yeah, so.

S4 (34:45):
So they, you know how they always had those free
passes but they said these black free passes.

S2 (34:49):
I didn't know that.

S4 (34:50):
No they used to years ago.

S2 (34:52):
Is that.

S3 (34:52):
Like, you know.

S4 (34:53):
That that was for promotion. They would just pass them
out to people. I'd have Yeah. I'd keep them on
my desk when I did taxes so I'd give them away.

S2 (34:59):
It was like a season pass or like a free ticket.

S4 (35:02):
Yeah, free. Take it somewhere. Just for the weekdays. Some
were for the weekends.

S2 (35:05):
No, that makes sense.

S4 (35:05):
Well, they're trying to promote. Keep the the bar going. No.

S2 (35:08):
Yeah, of course. No. Yeah, I know. You know, if
he didn't have the name, then he.

S4 (35:11):
Can't fill all the seats. It's better to put some
people in there. Yeah. And then you have a full house.

S2 (35:16):
But some seats. Yeah. No, 100%.

S4 (35:18):
Yeah. And there would, you know. And it was always
subject of the show, it was a special event and
the show was sold out. Well you didn't get the
ticket and it was right there, excluding special event.

S2 (35:27):
I felt like it didn't have the nostalgic feel that
I does now. You know, I'm saying, if that makes sense.
Like now it's a it's a to go there or
to be there or perform there has like a nostalgic feel.
It's like I'm here. So now I'm at this level
of mystique, too. I don't know if I'm using the
right word, but I feel like and they didn't have
that at the time, especially after Mitzi died.

S4 (35:50):
Yeah. I mean, you know, you know, she was amazing.
She was an amazing woman. You know, there ain't no
doubt about it. She ran it her way and there
was no and the history.

S3 (35:59):
But yeah, All right. You got a however, did a
couple of big comedians really fucking mess around.

S4 (36:05):
But she she pulled it off then.

S2 (36:08):
Before we talk about her. So you asked her to
do the, um, the wedding at the.

S4 (36:12):
At the store. So anyways, we, it was a sold
out show and so on the, on the tickets we
printed it, we said one show only. And then I
said let's add two drink minimum.

S3 (36:24):
Yeah. Exactly. How did that.

S4 (36:30):
So our friend Bob Wheeler, he's done a bit of comedy, too,
but he's a friend of ours too. I think he's
still the accountant at the Comedy Store.

S3 (36:40):
And you know, he'll know. That's crazy.

S4 (36:42):
Yeah, but. So he married us. He got one of those,
you know, things.

S2 (36:45):
He got things I was going to say that he got.

S4 (36:48):
I brought a bunch of people that I knew and
a couple of people I hired on the side, a
drummer and a bass player. And I had a full
band and I played with them, but I also had
them play when I was dancing, of course.

S2 (36:58):
Yeah, of course. I was going to say, you work.

S3 (37:00):
It at your wedding, Lou.

S4 (37:02):
Hey, I thought it was great. It's so cool.

S2 (37:04):
You know? That is dope, Angela. I want to do comedy,
and I just.

S4 (37:07):
It was just. It was a great thing. And Vicki's brother, we.
We rented a big old barbecue, and he. And this
is the back cooking of food. We had this. Other
people were catering food and and we had all that
and drinks and all that. Oh, yeah. We brought, we
went and bought tons of champagne and stuff.

S3 (37:25):
Oh yeah. It was a great it was a great event.

S2 (37:28):
So, so was the wedding and a reception all in
the same room.

S3 (37:31):
Oh yeah. Oh, is that the same with the same job? Yeah, exactly.
That's if they're going to drive through in a very
heavy van and pull up car.

S2 (37:44):
You know, that's so that that's a dream come true Lou. Like,
like imagine, like that's so few people can say they did.
That is what I'm saying. Like that's, that's fire is
what I'm saying. And that's inspiring to me. Like with
a younger, younger man like, you know, you get married
in a comedy club.

S4 (38:00):
And, you know, and Vicki's always was one of Mitzi
because she prided herself on finding talent and getting them
to help to develop.

S3 (38:09):
Yeah.

S4 (38:10):
And that was one of her goals, always was the
school comedy. If you Got Talent, I'll make you paid regular.
Now let's see what you can do with it.

S2 (38:17):
Now, tell me tell me about Mitzi more. I know
you just said that obviously. Now, did you see that
a lot? Did you get to witness her build? People
like I'm taking you and I'm a fucking.

S4 (38:27):
Well, yes. You'd make somebody paid regular if they thought
they had a talent and see where it went. You know,
and she's always picked the list until she got sick
or really couldn't pick it. Yeah.

S2 (38:38):
And both.

S4 (38:39):
Wind up in.

S2 (38:40):
L.A., and.

S3 (38:40):
We're.

S4 (38:41):
Not so much De La Hoya.

S2 (38:43):
Okay, That's what I thought.

S3 (38:44):
Yeah, I like.

S4 (38:44):
The best cause that got left to the local.

S2 (38:46):
Guy. Of course. Of course. You know, but. But the weekend. Yeah,
that's the only time was her.

S4 (38:50):
Her baby. You know, she decided who went in and
who whatever. And, you know, it was pretty cool. But she,
like I said, she turned that club around. She turned
the whole concept, the comedy to make it the headliners. Yeah.
Think about there was no comedians being headliners before that.

S2 (39:05):
No, no, not at all. And all the clubs? I'm
pretty sure they either used to work there and it started.
They own clubs. You know, I'm saying like the factory
shut out of the factory. I did a show. We're
doing a show on May 29th if there's going to
be out. Marion. But yeah, I'm pretty sure I could
be wrong. It was a Jamie Masada. I could be wrong.

S4 (39:25):
Yeah, he lived there.

S2 (39:26):
And then he worked there and leave. Oh, I could
be wrong. Like, either it was either one person was there.

S4 (39:32):
He's the one that, you know. You know.

S2 (39:34):
He's one person that left there and did and did
the improv. And then. Did Jamie leave the improv and
do there? I don't know if I know what NHL job.

S4 (39:42):
Together, but yeah, you know, anyway, because remember, the Improv
was in New York originally.

S2 (39:46):
Okay. So I could be I'm wrong. So you're right.

S4 (39:48):
I'm saying it was split up, but.

S2 (39:51):
But what I was getting at was she made the
prototype and all the other people that started clubs.

S3 (39:57):
Off that.

S4 (39:58):
She made. Exactly. She never into comedy into the main event.

S2 (40:02):
Yeah. And she, she was the first one to do
the two drink minimum. From my understanding, she was the
first person.

S4 (40:07):
That.

S2 (40:07):
I was shooting from. I understand at least is what
they say. They say, See the first person do the
two drink minimum. She was the first person to do
the like you said, the lights. The lights was the
main thing. Right. Well, you make it real intimate and
one light on to the performer.

S4 (40:22):
But I mean that comes back from plays. Yeah. So
different if you go into a play and you got
a solo person on stage, what happens? The lights go
and they hit this one verse.

S2 (40:31):
Mhm. Yeah.

S4 (40:32):
You know, I mean that's, that's you know she, she
was smart, she grabbed the different concepts and put it
all together you know.

S2 (40:39):
And did you have any good, uh, I don't know
any memories that you can think of or her in
a good memories or any interesting ones or.

S3 (40:47):
Oh she was just.

S4 (40:49):
You know. Yeah, she was, she was. I always respected her.
Some other people, you know, like anything if you got
a boss are complaining here or there.

S2 (40:57):
Oh yeah, yeah.

S4 (40:58):
Of course that comes with the territory. But, but she
built legends.

S2 (41:01):
She'd be legends.

S4 (41:02):
No, she really did.

S2 (41:03):
In culture she built legends in the culture.

S4 (41:05):
Community to develop. And that's right down to Jim Carrey.
You know, on her 80th birthday, we were at her house.
A huge resort, I think was owned by was Dorothy Malone,
the more famous actress in the thirties and forties. Originally
this big 5000 square foot house, big giant backyard, a
pool and everything.

S2 (41:23):
So it's a mansion?

S4 (41:24):
Yes, it was a mansion. And then. And then. Yes.
And the hills. And then all of a sudden we
just happened to be sitting because she was too ill
to come out. But she was sitting in her inner,
you know, sunroom and here comes and didn't carry her birthday.

S3 (41:39):
Betsy Oh, that's crazy. That's crazy. I mean, one.

S2 (41:43):
Of my idols.

S4 (41:44):
What a nice guy. And he's hung out and stayed there.
You know, outside there's Louie Anderson was Arsenio Hall was there.

S2 (41:51):
You see, I like how you say like his regular
Louie Anderson. Like this is a legend. Arsenio Hall.

S3 (41:57):
Yeah.

S4 (41:58):
That's one thing about me is I've never gotten Google
Light over people when I meet him in those situations.

S2 (42:04):
Yeah, me either.

S4 (42:05):
Hey there, people. I respect him. I definitely still, you know, like,
even like I said, I ended up giving Robin Williams
ride back to LA Valencia Hotel.

S3 (42:14):
We didn't even get to finish that. Yeah, you did.
You did say that you came around back.

S2 (42:17):
So it was a funny.

S4 (42:19):
Everything is just like I'm helping out this gentleman, this guy,
this great comedian I've admired and loved from ever.

S3 (42:25):
Yeah. Here and here we are in the car. In
the car together. And you're driving the car and you
got your life in your head like you're in a movie.
Does it feel real?

S4 (42:38):
Yeah. I mean, is this, you know, it's only a
few blocks, love. Let's see on tell. So I drop
them off the hotel and I so flabbergasted that he
came in. They're philosophical. Thank you, sir. Thank you, God. No,
thank you, sir. It was like he was acknowledging that
I gave him a ride. Yeah. I mean, what do you.

S2 (42:57):
MILIOTI Yeah.

S4 (42:58):
Yeah. DeRozan A great guy. Is that humble? I mean,
there's other stories we got. We got to see his memorial.
Nobody was allowed to audiotape or videotape it at the
family's request, but I heard some stories about his generosity
over and over again. Oh, we helped out Sam. Kansas
City got him an apartment in Malibu, and you know,

(43:20):
he was down and out. I mean, this is the
kind of guy he was, you know. Yeah.

S2 (43:23):
Yeah.

S3 (43:24):
But he was so rich. What did it matter him?
But I always, you know, I didn't.

S4 (43:29):
Really think about it was worse. But I say that
about a lot of people that don't feel that way.

S3 (43:33):
Yeah.

S4 (43:34):
Yes. Hold on to the money and keep it.

S2 (43:36):
And keep more. Yeah. I was just going to say that,
I guess. Did you hit it?

S3 (43:39):
Yeah. Yeah.

S4 (43:39):
But I mean, he was that's, that's one thing I
always admired about him. He just really was a true gentleman. And,
you know, that was, it was Halloween weekend. So Vicky
was dressed as a playmate that. Dear.

S3 (43:52):
Yeah.

S2 (43:53):
I like that you went man.

S4 (43:54):
He's got pictures with them. And anyways, it was so
funny because she goes, Can I take your picture? You go, girl.
That's the first time playmates ever ask to take a
picture of me.

S3 (44:05):
Yeah. That's funny, isn't it? He was the guy.

S2 (44:13):
You were the Dewberry.

S4 (44:15):
Yeah. I mean, so that's what I look at. You know,
it's just experiences in life and stuff and doing things
you get to do. But, you know, and I've told
you this, my philosophy of life is if you're not
having fun, you're doing it wrong.

S2 (44:26):
Yeah, I.

S4 (44:27):
Love it If you're stressed out about things all the time,
maybe you're thinking about too much shit.

S2 (44:31):
Exactly.

S4 (44:33):
Sit down and realize as I look at the people
sitting there in the Ukraine who are lucky not to
get bombed at this moment. You know, I'd say we
are so lucky. We are should be grateful that we
lost a book. His book is Attention Is and all
the stuff we talk about. We are so.

S2 (44:51):
Exactly. Exactly.

S4 (44:52):
And, you know, and that's that's the thing. You know,
we are truly blessed.

S2 (44:58):
I have a good friend who's a comedian. I met
her through a coronavirus. We did a comedy festival and
she is lives in Germany now. Comedy just got to Germany. Five, six,
ten years ago? Well, you know, I'm saying, like, there

(45:19):
just it's been in America for years, Like we've seen
comedians grow, have a joke or, you know, like it's
evolved and they're just getting it. And like, I can't
imagine because because I can I can only see myself
doing this. So I can't imagine growing up somewhere or

(45:39):
living a life or like having an opportunity where I live,
living somewhere where that's not an opportunity, is what I'm saying. Right.

S4 (45:46):
Exactly. A lot of places, you know, don't have opportunities.

S2 (45:48):
Well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But just being in
America like we can. Yeah, we can change. So, you know,
we can change.

S4 (45:56):
America to be free. Yeah. The things that we get
to do, you know.

S2 (46:00):
It's kind of for black folk getting fucked up sometimes,
but it's still at the end of the day, you
still got opportunities.

S4 (46:05):
You know, As bad as you got it, it's still
a lot better than a lot of.

S2 (46:09):
Oh, yeah. I'm not getting bombed. Yeah, that's a thing
they can bomb in different ways.

S4 (46:13):
Got bombed or prisons or slaves or whatever else, you know? Yeah.
Get better.

S2 (46:17):
Yeah. Yeah. So, um, before we get out of here, Lou,
is there anything else? Any other gems you want to tell? Um.
I liked it. Let me ask you what I ask
everybody else. You heard me ask all these comedians. You
go back to your 29 year old self. And tell
yourself anything to be a successful happy. For field as

(46:39):
you are right now. What would you go back and
tell 30 year old Lou, 29 year old Lou?

S4 (46:44):
I don't know.

S3 (46:44):
I get written about a fucking nose because, you know.

S4 (46:50):
I made a commitment to develop a skill to be
a master of something.

S2 (46:55):
Yeah.

S4 (46:55):
And I personally. You know what? I'll be me going out.
I'm a master piano player.

S2 (46:59):
No, you are. No. And I will attest. I will vouch.

S3 (47:03):
If I move out. Yeah.

S4 (47:04):
So that I think.

S2 (47:05):
Your resume vouch, you.

S4 (47:06):
Know, you know, and, you know, let's face it, you know,
as our friend Frank was, oh, he used to say
the best thing about poverty. It's so inexpensive.

S3 (47:21):
That's the fucking truth.

S2 (47:25):
I grew up around a lot of that, so I
know that.

S3 (47:27):
Yeah, that's true.

S4 (47:28):
You know, I look back and. Yeah, I can. I
can because I did electronics. I could have been a
technician and done all these other things, maybe even engineer,
who knows. But I just chose that path. It cried
out to me to do it when everybody said, No,
you shouldn't be doing it. I still did it. You know,
a lot of times people I was performing five nights

(47:48):
a week. No, mind me, I'm only I was leave
the band. I'm still making do parts the eighties when
you make about 30,000 a year and the guys are
making about 20 to 25. So you know, it wasn't
like making a lot of money. But every time.

S2 (48:01):
Five nights a week, though.

S4 (48:03):
So many people would come up to me and go,
So what do you do for your day job?

S2 (48:08):
That's crazy to me. And real quick, before we get
off here, I want to say something to add on
to that. Like, I feel like in comedy, at least
my experience is so weird or like, I feel like
I got a weird. Not an advantage. But like I've
met and you could probably attest to this, I met
a lot of people that have a whole life and
then figure out that that's not what they wanted to
do and then become comedians. You know what I'm saying?

S4 (48:31):
It is.

S2 (48:32):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Same thing. Yeah. What? Anything you do,
you do something. And it's because, like. Like you said, comfortability, stability,
your family, your culture, whatever the fuck something. Something pushes
you to do something that's not within your heart or
your well fulfills you. And then you figure out. Ah,

(48:52):
you become unhappy and then you switch to whatever makes
you happy. Yeah. And I started comedy at 22, right
out of college. And like, I just graduated and. Excuse me,
I was supposed to just graduate last year, and I
was supposed to graduate right at my back. And then
I decided I want to do comedy. And I did
it for a year in Indiana, sold all the shit
I owned, and I moved here.

S4 (49:12):
Because you made a commitment.

S2 (49:13):
Yeah, I moved here three months later. And we're here now.

S4 (49:16):
Yeah. And that's and.

S2 (49:17):
Yeah.

S4 (49:18):
Exactly. And but, you know, at the end of the day,
if you're not happy, if you're in a job that
you hate every day, you're spending a third of your
day every day hating it. And the other third, when
you're awake, hating the fact that you had to go
to work and then trying to make yourself feel good
about it by spending as much money as you made
on it or whatever.

S2 (49:37):
And that's the fucking cycle. You better say that, you know,
that's my biggest fear.

S4 (49:40):
You know, how many people is an entertainer? I see
people come into clothes, spend all this money, fancy going
to places I've worked, clubs where they have dining places
and I'm getting fed and stuff and go, I mean
fancy food. I get drinks if I wanted to. I
don't really drink alcohol. Yeah, but I mean, I got
all these vanities and, you know, these people are spending

(50:01):
a whole shitload of money just to get the same things.

S2 (50:04):
And I'm doing what I wanted to.

S4 (50:05):
Doing is I'm cutting out the.

S3 (50:06):
Middleman. I get all the better days. I don't make squat,
but I've cut out the right to the fucking point
that I walk away with a little bit of a
check at the end and everybody's happy. You all spent
all your.

S2 (50:24):
Money and I got some money.

S3 (50:26):
I got to get out a little bit. As funny
as fuck.

S2 (50:33):
So real as fuck is so real, but no. Yeah. And.
And that's crazy. You say that because I like, feel that.
And that's what I was telling you when you said
you know, you did in 19 oh you started 17
playing instruments and then 19, you know when you got
into the keyboard, the piano and you spent all those

(50:53):
hours working at it. And when I couldn't, I didn't
have nowhere. Like I couldn't go anywhere to go to
sleep where I needed to go because the the train,
when it goes to stop running, I will go to
my house, I'll go to the comedy club and stay
up and just go to the club every night, five,
six days a week for years.

S4 (51:12):
You know how you get good?

S2 (51:13):
Yeah, four years. And I still do it. You know, I'm.
I'm not. I'm not nowhere where Nowhere near where I'm at.

S4 (51:19):
Going back to Vicky, she was doing every they used
to go into bars or coffee shops with just a
little small hand-held PDA and say, Hey, can we just
do a set here?

S2 (51:29):
That's crazy.

S4 (51:30):
Because you know, that's how you get it.

S2 (51:32):
And and you just told me that you all travel
and see the headline Vegas, Your trip look like. Come on. Yeah.

S4 (51:38):
Now, I mean, everything changes as you use headlining and
doing great, but now it's fantastic. I mean, just the
whole level changes. AZT changes your life. Yeah, because it
puts you at a different level.

S2 (51:49):
But she had to be prepared, and that's the difference.

S3 (51:52):
Like, yeah, like.

S4 (51:53):
Yeah, at, at the anybody thinks they can walk on it,
The pressure is the.

S3 (51:58):
You, it's, you got.

S4 (51:59):
To four judges sitting in front of you got a
giant audience, you got video.

S2 (52:03):
Just performing on that level.

S4 (52:05):
Yeah. I mean you, it's like the pressure can't be
worse than that.

S2 (52:10):
And I can attest from firsthand. And like I said,
I was the only person I know that made it
that far.

S4 (52:15):
And yeah.

S2 (52:17):
And.

S4 (52:19):
You know, we went to one of the when it
first happened, it was this funny story. This is like 2018. Yeah.

S2 (52:26):
Yeah. He said, I think it.

S4 (52:27):
Was March 23rd. We go to the Pasadena cause they're
doing the, the auditions for everybody out there. But she's
already been picked, but they want to make it look
like she's there to do the audition.

S2 (52:37):
Oh, because they're recording it. This is the one.

S4 (52:39):
Exactly. Yeah. So. Oh, God, there was. As we're leaving,
there's this guy with a beard and big old beard.
A mustache. It was dressed like Vicki.

S3 (52:48):
Ha ha ha ha ha. I think. Interesting.

S4 (52:56):
I mean, there are so many people, and it's just
like because everybody's a lot of people are delusional. Other
people just think, you know, they're that good.

S3 (53:04):
It was like that when they when they had in
San Diego. It was like.

S2 (53:06):
That I saw I saw some wow, look at people.

S4 (53:09):
And I saw some people very disappointed. Like, what.

S3 (53:11):
Do you mean you didn't like that? Yeah, yeah.

S2 (53:14):
Yeah. She was 20 years in already, and then it came,
so she was ready for the moment.

S4 (53:19):
How do.

S3 (53:20):
You. She was ready for that moment.

S4 (53:21):
2 minutes. It's one of the hardest things. Yeah. How
do you sell yourself in that 2 minutes?

S2 (53:27):
Well, the show is show business. She got the show
business part because Miss Vicki has a brand. You know.
You do too, Lou. You do, too. Your both got
to bring your your your got to I mean, you've
been in a business so long, you have an understanding, right,
of of like branding. And then you got the show
as well, you know. Right. So my bad for cutting
you off is very important.

S4 (53:47):
And she always had her brand anyway. She established it
early on. Yeah. My character.

S2 (53:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

S3 (53:53):
Yeah, yeah.

S4 (53:53):
And then, you know, and then she moved in a trailer. Yeah.
She lived that life.

S3 (53:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

S2 (54:00):
Exactly. Exactly. But her brand is her lifestyle too. But what,
when I'm just, you know, emphasizing is that she, she
put in the work and all the time carrying the
pace right to the places that are, you know.

S4 (54:12):
The is basic you know.

S2 (54:14):
I'll all paid off like.

S4 (54:15):
I say about trailers, you know, we look at the
alternative drywall and what it cracked up.

S3 (54:21):
How did they wrap it up.

S2 (54:24):
Yeah. No, we get out of here you know 100%.
I appreciate your for listening. Thank you. This has been
hilariously blunt. Thank you again, Lou, for everything you've done.
Can I hold the blue one? I know you want it.
Can I? I mean, let's go.

S3 (54:38):
Dolls, are you? If you want.

S2 (54:39):
It. You got it. Thank you for coming through. And
thank everybody for listening. Shout out to Martinez. Shout out
to all the brands that we had today. Thank you again.
You'll be blessed. Stay tuned. Check us out next week. Again,
my name is Walter Ford. We got Lou Brockman here.
Give him a gimmick, a bad Lou.

S3 (54:59):
Hi.

S1 (55:01):
Thank you for listening to Hilariously Blunt with Walter Ford
presented by March and Ash. For more visit us online had
OLAS Media dot com and don't forget to subscribe where
you download your favorite podcasts in case you suffer from
short term memory loss. Let me repeat that for you.
Hilariously blunt with Walter Ford online, you had to own
lost media dot com and after you subscribe puff pass

(55:24):
it along to a friend. Okay, I'll stop.