Episode 1 - Rosebud Baker (324 Photos) - Mindy's Comedy Archives

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
[gentle music] All right, Rosebud,thanks for coming in
today.
Hell yeah.
All right.
You know I always will.
We got two boxes to get through.
Okay.
And here's number one.
Oh my God.
[laughs]
Look at that. That looks like, um,some sort of
wedding invitation.
Yeah.
Like a slutty wedding invite. Just-

(00:22):
[laughs]
I'm taking pictures of you.
I'm taking pictures of everything.
A woman likes to roam.
A woman likes to everything.
Oh my God.
Did you know that that'swhen you enter the archives?
No.

(00:43):
I didn't either.
Uh, oh my God.
I've been sitting on that.It has been so hard not to text you.
This was, like, the comedy Met Gala.What was this called? It was at The Creek.
It was The Creek Awards, and it's-
The Creek Awards. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it was The Creek Awards,and then also I put out the
New Year in Comedy would come out inconnection with The Creek

(01:03):
Awards,and we did this crazy stuff out front.
Yeah.
And so yeah, putthat down for the viewers.
Oh my God. This is crazy.
Oh my God, look at Blair.
Right?
Oh my God.
This is wild.
Yeah. So-
I remember this so well. Like, I,I remember

(01:25):
it being, like, a huge deal.
By the way, this dress is a dressthat I wore for my high school
graduation.
[laughs]
And I remember holding ontothat dress because it was the,
had that cost over $300.
Oh, wow.
And I kept that dress...
Well,obviously since high school graduate, it,

(01:45):
I don't even know when this was.What year was that?
Yeah, so September 6th,
2015.
September 6th, 2015.
Yeah.
So Obama was still in office whenthat photo was taken.
Yeah.
That is

(02:07):
wild.
Yeah. It's interesting to me that thisis your first photo,
and,
uh, that The Creek Awards, thisis either the last
one-
Mm-hmm
... or next to the last one.I think it's the last one.
Yeah. I think it was.I think I remember it being the last one,
remember that because itwas such a big deal to me

(02:29):
to, like,
be invited, which i- well, nobodywas really
invited. It was like you could just go.
Yeah.
But I was [laughs] but to me, I
was, I was still such a baby comic
at this point,and I remember feeling like the fact

(02:49):
was going
felt like an invite even though Iwas crashing.
Yeah.
You know? Like, it was... I was still-
But we were so glad to have you there
... it was just like... I mean, itwas just this state of
delusion where you could turn--you could take anything that was
neutral and make it, like,
and make it, like,a story for yourself

(03:12):
Yeah.
You know, like that first time you get,uh, a spot at the Knitting
Factory. You're like, "Well, this is it."
I mean, next it's a sitcom, right? The,it's...
Anyway.
Oh my God.
And I did not remember this either.
This is you at-
This is at the Bell House
... this is at Littlefield.

(03:33):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Th- l- exactly.Sorry.
It's the Women in Comedy photo shoot-
Mm-hmm
... in 2016.
Mm-hmm.
And Maryanne Ways helped putthat together.
Yep.
Uh, and yeah, this is the one thatwas in The New York Times.
Uh, so, like, the Times was therethat day.
Yeah.
Uh, but yeah,I'm embarrassed of how we did this.

(03:56):
Wait, this photo was in The Times?
No.
Oh, okay.
That, that one is, though.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Uh, we had you guys sign up and [laughs]
like, with numbers sothat we could caption you.
Right.
Um, and then-
Yeah. I remember picking out that, um,that
veil because I, I had been in a

(04:17):
relationship at that point for about fouryears, and there was still no ring,
and I remember picking out the veil.
[laughs]
Whoa.
To be... [laughs]
Oh my God. Yeah, so
the delusion persisted. Um, but yeah,I remember that
very well. I remember that very well.And we were, like, dancing at, like...

(04:41):
I think we were, like... I was, like,trying to twerk at, like, noon at
that. I remember that.
[laughs] Yeah,and we're thinking of doing it again this
'cause it,it would be the 10-year anniversary.
But what you're holding in your handsis one of the, uh,
problems,which is we had so many people come, and

(05:01):
we were so gratefulthat we had such a turnout, and it was
so wonderful 'cause we did this 'cause wewanted you all to meet each
other.
Right.
The point of the shootwas bringing you all together-
Yeah
... because at that time,the geography of New York
comedy had already changed to the pointthat I would

(05:21):
have someone in here on a Tuesday who'dbeen doing comedy for
five years and had never met the personwho was in here on
Thursday,also had been doing comedy for five years.
Right.
And that used to not be possible.
Yeah.
But by the time we get to this date,so many
of you
y- it's not even that you hadn't met,you weren't aware of each

(05:45):
other.
Of each other. Yeah.
And so we were so ecstatic that
there were that many of you.
Yeah.
Uh,
I have no idea
who is back here.
Yeah.
I have no idea where you are in, inthat print.
I have no idea where you are
I found myself.

(06:06):
You did?
Yeah, immediately.Found myself right there.
[laughs]
It's just the power of narcissism.
Yeah.
Um, wow. Oh my God. [laughs]
So that is one frame
from... I, the other thing we did that day

(06:26):
that I don't think anyone ever downloadedor looked at is it's a
huge composite image.
Yeah.
And it's where you can see all of yourfaces better.
Um-
Oh yeah, you went, like, around the room.I remember that.
I remember you going, like, around...What were we in, like a circle
Yeah, yeah. And it worked.It actually came out so cool,

(06:46):
but because you had to click through toview it-
Yeah
... you can still goand find this photo today.
Um, but you have to look at itand scroll in
your, uh, internet browser.
My God.
Yeah. Yeah, show the c-
That's incredible
... show the kids. Yeah.
Wow. Oh, I remember this very well.

(07:10):
Very, very well.
[laughs]
Oh my gosh, and Mateo.
Mateo was Joan.
Yep.
Mateo was Joan Crawford and I was Amy,
which is crazy because literally two yearsafter this I started
opening for her.
Really?
Yeah.
Um, but I remember I was Amy Schumer for,um, Stick or

(07:31):
Treat. It was my first Stick or Treat,
and
it was a, it was kind of a cop-out 'cause,like,
you don't really have to do an impressionof Amy.
Like, you can just dress like herand not... You know what I mean?
Yeah.
It's not like she has, like, an accentor anything.
She just tells jokes, and I,I remember just going up and, like,

(07:52):
telling jokes. Just telling Amy's jokes.
Yeah.
It was like, uh, I was like, I don't-I'm not
an impressionist, and this show is, like,
such a great show because you just get todress up in a
costume-
Yeah
... you know, as, like, your heroes.
But I didn't have any sort of impressionfor it, and I remember being like really,

(08:15):
really nervous about that.
I was like, "I guess I bring like, um,like a bottle of wine on stage?"
And like, I don't know. Like,
anyway,
I mean, I did get the costume pretty good.
Yeah, you did.
So now we're getting into performancephotos.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know,I have always thought of performance

(08:38):
as, like, this is kind of showingthat you showed up to work that
day.
Yeah.
You know?I'm always trying to make them artful.
Yeah.
But I am always...
I,I don't really think anyone uses them
online,but I still think they're important.
I think they're really useful for, like,tour photos,

(08:59):
but I see what you mean. Like,it's almost like,
I think they're more useful for, like,actors almost.
I don't know.
Yeah.
But it is, I,I really enjoy looking at them because it
it really reminds you of, like,what you went there for.
Like, what it felt like to be there.
You know, the Hang is its own world.

(09:22):
You know? It's so social. You're,you're with other people.
You're with your friends.You're shooting the shit.
But when you're on stage,it's such a solo sport.
Yeah.
I mean, it really, it- it's just you,so...
And I love this photo 'cause it's like
you can tell that I was like,
I was either s- uh, starting or ending.

(09:46):
I'm imagining. I think Iwas probably ending the set.
Yeah, I think you're about to walk off.
Yeah, but like,
I look so, like, pleased with myself.
Yeah.
Oh my God.
This dress
is so, like, 2016.
It's wild.

(10:08):
Oh, this is another Stick or Treat.
So that's what I was trying to figure out.
I was like, are there photos missing,
or
what happened that you don't appear in thearchives again
until the next Stick or Treat?
But what I think is, I think that this was

(10:28):
maybe a taping for See So,
and it was done, like,in the middle of the year.
Yes.
Because the next Stick or... So those-
That's why I was nervous.
That's why I was nervous.
Okay.
I remember 'cause I was like,"I'm not doing anything that's not, like,
like, gonna stand out." I was worriedthat I wasn't doing anything that

(10:49):
stand out, and it was, like, a taping.
For me,it was like the first taping I'd ever
Oh.
I think it was the first taping I'd everdone.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Okay, I need to putthat down in the archives.
Um,
so yeah, that was in June of 2016,
and the next photo is from,

(11:12):
let's see, 10/29/2016.
So they were both in the same year.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.So there must have been two Stick
year.
Yeah.
And I've literally blocked that out.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They did the taping for See So.
Yeah.
[laughs] Which is no longer-

(11:32):
No longer
... with us,and then we did one just for us,
and I was, uh, Maria Bamford.
[laughs] Oh, yeah.
I forgot.
Yeah.
Very Maria Bamford.
Oh.
Yeah.So these are interesting to me because
at a venue called Faulkner.

(11:53):
Uh-huh.
And it was for a show, uh, put on by Lucas
Kaiser.
This is from December of 2016,
and I love these photos just because theyshow you
showing upIn a room that sat,
oh my goodness,
20 people-

(12:13):
Yeah
... tops-
Yeah
... in that room.
And they're not-
Sparsely. By, by the way, sparsely.
I don't think that it was, like, sold out-
No
... or anything. It was, like,maybe 12 people in the audience.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think this is the last timethat we have you in a
room that small.
I remember this photo.I remember this photo really

(12:36):
well. Um,
I really loved it because I looked sotired.
And, but that, it wasn't, like,in a bad way.
It was like, I remember I got--
I had this day job that, itwas like my first day job
that gave me health insurance and, like,it was like a,

(12:57):
I wrote articles.
Um, and so it was, like,a writing job to me, and
I felt like a writer
and, um, and I would go to my writing job,and then I would
rush home, and I would walk my dogs,and then I would go do spots, and I
was exhausted. And
I mean, hilarious that thatwas exhausting to me now,

(13:21):
but it was a lot. And I remember, um,
feeling like,
like, "Oh my God, I'm, like,being responsible, and I'm still, like,
and doing comedy and feeling like..."
You know, that, like, pink cloudthat I was on when I first
started, like, started to wane,and it started to feel like,

(13:41):
"Okay, this is tough. Like, this is work.
I'm really working, and, um,
I don't know if any of it's gonna payoff." And I
felt
a little, like, Iwas unhappy in my personal life, my
relationship, and it was just, like,a tough time,
um,where I felt like I had been putting in

(14:04):
work in all these different areas of mylife, and all of it was kind of, like,
leading to, like, where? You know?
Um-
I have a question.
Yeah.
Would you say youwere three to five years in comedy at
I started comedy in [scoffs] yeah,
2013.

(14:24):
And
so yeah, I was, like, three years in,which is hilarious, and I'm like, "Where
are the results?" [laughs]
But no, so this area-
Yeah
... this three to five years in-
Mm-hmm
...is my area of most concern because this
lose people.
Mm-hmm.
This is where your friends who have dayjobs,

(14:46):
your friends who aren't comedians, thisis where they go away.
Yeah.
This is where it happens. Your first year,they'll still come to a show.
They'll come to a bringer show.
Yeah.
You start getting three years in,you're going to those shows alone.
Yeah.
And none of your friends are showing up.
Yeah.
And also, three to five years iswhen you have to start

(15:08):
thinking about your finances-
Yeah
... and a day joband whether you're gonna jump or not.
Right.
And so
that is why I am still out at
shows.
Yeah.
Because three to five years in,you probably can't
afford to come in and do photos,but you a- need

(15:30):
them the most-
Yeah
... at three to five years.
I mean, all of these photoswere all photos that you took of me for
at shows or at events, you know. Like,I mean, I, I guess
the Creek Awards was a show.
Women in Comedy wasn't a show, but itwas like a, it was a thing, you know?
Yeah.
It was a comedy thing.
But that, uh, that is, again,that's part of the reason why we did it.

(15:51):
Yeah.
You know? Um, but yeah,I think three to five years in
is such a,
um,
it is such a do or die time.
Yeah.
And the amount of supportthat you need there,
I think that's the most important time.
Yeah.
Because once you get to a place whereyou're six or seven years in,

(16:13):
and you have a manager,and you have maybe people to help you on
the back end, you're kinda rolling along.
Yeah.
Three to five years,there's still no results.
Right.
And you've sacrificed so much.
Oh my God, yeah.I remember just being like,
"Oh my God, I
totally devoted my life to somethingthat's absolutely unpro-

(16:35):
like, not profitable, and I don't know if
I'm funny. Like,I feel like maybe I could be, but I
don't know if I'm funny. I'm, like,trying to be funny at this
day job that I have, but they, like,won't let me"
[laughs] like. So it was just, like,this-- And you can, like, see it
in my face, and I remember, like,really liking that photo, not from,

(16:58):
like, a,"What a great promo photo I can use," but,
what a snapshot of, like, where I was at.
It was, it's, like, such an honest photo.
Um, so I really liked that.
I don't remember this at all. Oh my God.
Yeah?
Wait, this-
Yeah. [laughs] Okay.
Is this when I was Jim Gaffigan?

(17:18):
Yeah.
This is Jim Gaffigan from Stick or Treat.
Yeah.
Okay, hold on. This is wild. First of all,I'm-- I
obviously really committed to thecharacter
here.
[laughs]
And that is kind of, like,
my resting face.
Yeah.
So

(17:39):
yeah.
Then this was my favorite, Robert Dean.
Robert Dean is Mork.
Yeah.
Oh my God. It's wild.
So many Stick photos.
Mm-hmm.
So many Stick or Treat photos.
Do you think youwere past At The Cellar yet here?
No.
Okay.
I know for a fact that I wasn't,'cause when was this, 20- 2017?

(18:00):
Yeah. Stick, uh, 2017.
2017, wow, yeah.
So that's the thing.You're not in the archives from
December of 2016
untilYeah, October of
2017. Had you started touring?

(18:21):
No.
No, I hadn't. Um,
I remember that time being spent a lot atNew York Comedy
Club.
Okay.
Yeah,'cause I got passed at New York Comedy
like around 2016.
Okay.
And I remember being there almost everynight-
Okay
... from like 2016 through to like 2018,

(18:45):
which was when I first auditioned for
JFL-
Okay
... I think.
And I was working that day job. So Iwas working this day job in Flatiron,
and I was--
And New York Comedy Club was as close--It was the closest venue to
Flatiron. Bleh. So I think Iwas probably just there.
I wasn't doing as many shows like out at,in Brooklyn or at

(19:09):
bars or like in different venues. I, Iwas really just like
hitting this one club over and overand over again.
So that is a personal theory that I have-
Mm-hmm
...and I'm very curious what's gonna happen
people. I always think it's usu- not
always. It's usually a good thing-

(19:29):
Mm-hmm
...when you don't see someone for a stretch
Yeah
... because it means they're in a clubor they're on tour or
they booked a TV show.
Right.
And then you see them reappear again.
Yeah.
It's usually something has changed.
Yeah.
So that's like your first kinda large gap,and it's
interesting to me, um,that it's 'cause you're at a

(19:51):
club and-
Yeah
...you don't need a bar show in the same way
Yeah. I think that's what happened.
Um-
Yeah
... this I don't remember at all.
Yeah. This is--
Yeah, I think--
I wanna say this is also the stay, the
same Stick or Treat.

(20:11):
I remember that's Katie Hannigan, right?
Yeah.
Wow.
So yeah, this is also Stick or Treat.
I remember Katie Hannigan calling thoseher Medicaid glasses.
Oh my God.
I remember that because,'cause now it's like become part of my
It's like when I see glasses likethat I call them Medicaid glasses
because of Katie.

(20:32):
Oh my God.
So yeah,we have some performance photos of you
as Jim.
I really committed to this.
Yeah.
Oof. [laughs]
I was really committed.
Um, oh my God.
Yeah. So this is first studio photos
here.

(20:52):
Yeah.
And it makes sensethat you would've needed to come
in. This is, uh-
Right before my Caroline's, uh,what would, what did they call that?
It was a Caroline's-
Oh, God
... breakout. Break,
breakout artist?
Something.
It was like Ca- uh,Caroline's breakout artist, uh...

(21:13):
Oh, fuck. Yeah, so this is November 2017,and
actually only like a week after Stickor Treat.
Yeah, so Caroline's would give
artists an opportunity to,
um, like I mean stand-ups. We--They would give us an
opportunity to headline,and you'd get like two shows in one

(21:33):
night,
and
whenever you got your I think itwas called breakout artist,
you would just be pushing tickets
like as much as-- And this was backwhen like you had to,
um, you had to like write to,
uh,
not New York Times.
Time Out New York.

(21:54):
Time Out New York, yes.You'd have to write to whoever you knew at
York, and you'd have to pitch yourself,
and I was like pitching myself to
whoever I knew that worked at Time Out NewYork 'cause usually whoever was
working the comedy section in Time Out,at Time Out New York was
like comedy adjacent-
Mm
... or was a stand-up. So I remember

(22:17):
reaching out to them, gettingthat listed in-- And I
needed photos. I was like,"I need photos to get this listed and to
promote this, this show,and I need the photos to be like
eye-catching.I need people to look at me
I,I wasn't even concerned with them thinking
I was like, "I, it, I don't care." Iwas like-- I remember coming in and being

(22:39):
like, "Mindy,I just need to look hot." I was like,
I don't care.They'll find out I'm funny once they get
Just make me look hot." And,and you did it.
You really did it. We, we did-- I mean,it's so funny 'cause it's like
I literally look like I'm a Celine Dioncover artist

(22:59):
and-
This is still an all-time pic
... it's still just like an all-time--Yeah, it's such a great photo, and
I-- you've told me that people come inand ask for that background.
Yep,and I think you're the only person who got
that background.
Yes.
[laughs] I think maybe you told me aheadof time you were coming in with
gold-
Yeah
... is what I'm thinking.
Yeah. Yeah.

(23:22):
But you've brought up a couple of thingsthat are pieces of comedy
infrastructure that no longer exist.
So one of them is Seeso-
Uh-huh
... which for a whilewas helpful to what we'll call
the comedy middle class.
Mm-hmm.
It was something that gave you, um, a
little bit of stage time.It gave you experience taping something,

(23:45):
and it gave you a small amount of income.
Yeah.
Right? And that's gone.And then the other thing is I don't know
that people realize how much we lostwhen we lost
comedy advocates at Time Out New York-
Yeah
...'cause they used to be really responsive,
called Joke of the Week.
Yep.

(24:05):
That was so helpful-
Yeah
... to so many comics.
Yeah.
Um-
'Cause you could take that.You'd take a picture of it.
You'd put it on your Instagram, and itwas like it's, it,
it wasn't even about spreading the word tothe world.
It was about spreading the word to other
comics.Like,and that's how you got bigger,
was just like earning the respect of othercomedians.

(24:28):
Yeah.But also people did pick up physical
Time Out New York-
That's true, yeah
... and look at them for something to do.
Yeah.
That and The Village Voiceare both things that helped
get a few butts in seats-
Mm-hmm
... that are now, uh, gone.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I remember this one too,just serving armpit.

(24:50):
[laughs] So the next photo is from
July of 2018.
Oh my God.
This is at The Bell House
and yeah.
Fuck, I, I miss this shirt.
[laughs]
Yeah.
Yeah, you know what this is.You did Las Culturistas.
Yeah. You can-- I, I was

(25:12):
so nervous too because I had been in theclubs so much
that showing up for Las Culturistas feltlike, "Oh
shit," like, "Am I gonna be
okay for this?" You know?You can tell that I wasn't having fun
was worried about fitting in withthat crowd.
Like,

(25:32):
that was my main concern, was fitting in.
It's funny because I've always reallythought of like
the alt scene as like the coolest kids.
[laughs]
And
I never felt like I fully like fit in withthem.
And the club scene,

(25:56):
you know, I, I just,I always worked the club scene.
That was like where I, where I was.But I always really
wanted to be like an alt
comic because I--the thing about alt comedy that I really,
really respect isthat I can watch an alt comic and
I don't know how they're doing whatthey're doing.

(26:18):
Like, I get how a joke is written.
Mm-hmm.
I can see how you did that.
[laughs]
I know like--
I- it's like watching a magicianwhen you know the trick.
But when I watch like an alt comic
that's like killing,
I'm
so in awe and so mesmerized

(26:40):
and I'm,
and just jealous and like,
I'm like,"How did you do that?" Because I know
Right
... for a, for a while. Like I knowthat wasn't funny when it
started.
Yeah.
And I can't think of anything moreembarrassing than bombing with what,
with what is now,with what I'm watching right now, which

(27:02):
Right.
Because it just requires such a level oflike
commitment to, um, the bit and to
yourself.
So I have always just kind of
been really,
uh, nervous around that scene
and you can [laughs] totally tell. I mean,I am not smiling.

(27:24):
I'm-- even a little bit.
Yeah, so speaking of alt, uh, comedy,
the next photo is from Union Hall inAugust of
2018.
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
And that's you and Sam Reddyand some pizza.

(27:44):
Yep.
[laughs]
Yeah. I still have this shirt.I love this shirt.
Um-
I'm wondering what material you would'vebeen working on in 2018.
Uh,do you know when your first like special
My first special came out in 2020.
Okay.
Um, this would've been,

(28:07):
you said August of 2018?
Yep.
When was JFL?
Uh, that's usually, uh,I wanna say it's July.
Yeah, so it would've been right after
I did JFL
and I had got like

(28:27):
my first real like on-camera gig,and it was that
documentary called Inside Jokes.
And, um,
we shot it for Amazon, uh,for Prime Video.
And
they had filmed me from
I guess 2017, like middle of 2017

(28:50):
through the summer of 2018, and filmed my
set and filmed like the auditions and the,
and working on the set-
Yeah
... up until
the, up until finding out if wewere going and,
and then the trip to Montreal.

(29:10):
Yeah, it's a really good documentary.You should absolutely check it out.
Robert Dean also in that.
Robert Dean was in it, yeah,and Simon Gibson who I saw this week in
'cause I was on the road in Portlandand stopped and just did a little
gig, um, at like this improv theater
and Simon was there and he,he [laughs] he, um,

(29:31):
he was like, "Oh no, I, I,I think I locked my keys in my car,"
like runs out and he's like, he's like,"Oh, thank God."
He's like,"I was stupid enough to lock my keys in my
enough to not, uh,lock the car." He's like, "So the
keys were there." [laughs]
He's like, "But luckily Iwas dumb enough to not lock the car at

(29:53):
all."
Um,
yeah.
Oh my God, I remember like so well
just this period of time in, in comedy for
me. I, I, I felt like, okay,
things are starting to pay off.Like things are starting to...

(30:14):
You know, I quit my day job. I got,I got the check from that, um,
uh, Amazon Prime Video thing and I'd
gotten a manager at Montreal
and-I remember feeling like,
"Oh,this is how it's supposed to go." Like,

(30:34):
"Okay,
this is starting to... Now we're cooking.Now we're cooking with gas," you know?
Um,
I just felt so fucking good about myself.
I remember that.
I remember feeling really good about m-you can...
I mean-
Yeah, I feel like you can see it inthat one.
Yeah. Yeah. I was just really, I felt,

(30:56):
um,
confident.
Yeah. So these next onesare from the Bell House.
Uh, it's in-
This is 51st Jokes?
So this is August 26th, 2018, and
it's a show called 50 Lady Bits. Uh,
I believe Sachi put that on, and it's an

(31:16):
all-woman show.
Yeah.
And, uh-
Yeah.
Yeah, so I think by this point-
Sachi's a manager now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh yeah, we're gonna have her on.
Yeah.
I'm so excited.
Good.
But, uh, but
by this point, I don't think you needed

(31:37):
this kind of show,and what's interesting to me,
there, I would say,for the love of the game in these.
Hmm.
And, um,
yeah, I, I,I don't think you needed to be on a
point in your career.
It's funny.I never thought about it like that.
I never have thought about, like,

(31:58):
do I need to
do this? It...
You know, in a sense,I always need to do it.
I always need it, you know? [laughs] Like-
Yeah
... I just,
I like getting on stage. I'm just,
I'm a real, um, stage pig.
I'm the same way.
[laughs]
I'm the same way.Have you ever heard the parable...

(32:20):
I don't remember which, like,fable this is,
the bull and the boy?
Mm-mm.
I'm gonna get this so wrong, but, um,basically this,
this kid,
while he's a kid, the bull is also, like,newborn as well, and every
day he picks up the bull,and as he grows and as the bull grows,
he lifts him up every day. And sowhen he becomes an adult and

(32:43):
adult, he's able to lift up the bull-
Really?
...because he's been doing it this whole
Yeah.
And I think of art is that.
Yeah.
If you're doing it every day andif you're building up your skills,
gonna be able to lift up the bull.
Yeah.
Right? And so I will do a show in a
bowling alley-
Yeah
...because I'm gonna have to think quickly.

(33:05):
I'm gonna have to get portraits in under aminute.
I'm gonna, like,have to find the best sight lines
and it's... You know, I will be fastand very good-
Mm-hmm
... when I'm doing a special.
Right.
Right? So it's all, uh,being able to lift up the
bull.
Yeah.
Right? And I, I think thisis why I get along with comedians.

(33:28):
Yeah. Yeah, it's just this like...It's an impulse. It...
Or a, really a, a compulsion. Is that...That's really another way to say it.
I think that is a compulsion.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's a compulsion.
Yeah. [laughs] I agree.
An addiction, a compulsion,whatever you wanna say.
Yeah.
These are great.
Yeah, these are just some fun...
Uh, again, I would say thisis why I'm still at the shows, uh,

(33:48):
you know,because these probably refreshed your
months.
Mm-hmm.
Probably were able to use it on a thingor two.
Yeah.
Um, and yeah, just cute.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Mindy.
[laughs]
I mean-
And then this is, uh, yeah,you with pizza.
We got two, uh, photos of that.I don't think that's about you and

(34:11):
pizza. I think, uh,it's the only thing served backstage.
Yep, yep.
Yep, I remember this. Everybodywas leaving.
Like, everybody had left, and therewas pizza left over,
and me and Christie and Mariawere all eating pizza,
and you were on your way out the door.
Yeah, and I will say that I...

(34:31):
This era is probably one of the lasttimes.
It was already getting difficult.
People almost won't let me do a photo likethat anymore.
Everybody wants, like,the quote unquote "Mindy after the
show," that single shot,and I wanna give it to them, right?
I want you to have that. I want,I want you to have that photo

(34:53):
able to use for promo and stuff.I want you to have it, but I'm
also a little, I don't know, a s-a soupçon, if you will,
of a historian.
Uh-huh.
And I'm interested in
who was all together at the venue at thesame
time, who was working at the same time-
Yeah
... in the city.
Yeah.
That's interesting to me,but whenever I try to take

(35:15):
basically an establishing shot, you know,like backstage at the Bell
House or something,and I'm trying to get a shot of, like,
backstage-
Yeah
... and they begin to form a line
for the, for the portrait, and I'm like,"I get that.
I get that impulse," but also I d-I just wanna be able to take a few of

(35:37):
those-
Yeah
... at every event, and it's harderand harder to do.
I know. I feel like, um,
it's just gotten to be so
commercialized.
Yeah.
Is, is kind of... I...That's the word that's coming to mind.
Um,
you know, everyoneis approaching it in such a...

(35:59):
Like, you got all these comics thatare working, like, l-
like, comics,
you know?
Yeah, I have had people,
you know, look at me strangelywhen I'm just trying to have a little
conversation with them.
Yeah.
You know? And it's like, "Take the pic.
Take the pic." And I'm like, "I-"
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right.

(36:20):
Jesus.
Just, just asking how you-
That sucks
... how you feel about your set.
That just fucking sucks.
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
So this is-Uh, May
of 2019, we're at Littlefield.
Mm-hmm.
And gonna see an appearance of, I think
Robert Dean is in these.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wow.

(36:40):
Here he is. Hold on.
Uh-
This is Robert right after... I think,was Robert doing his show?
So you're absolutely right. Your memoryis spot on.
This is Robert doing a show
at Littlefield,and you showed up to support.
Yeah.
And we're gonna seethat by you more than once in the
You showed up for that.

(37:00):
Yeah.
And there's Josh.
Yeah, he had asked me to do a, uh,
to do a spot.
And that's the last time I see you beforethe
thing happens.
Before COVID.
And we're gonna cut to-
Wait, what year, what, what date was this?Do you remember?
Yeah, so it's March... I'm sorry, May

(37:23):
2nd, 2019.
Okay.
Wow.
Let's see. I met Andy
in...
Like, Andy and I started dating in, like,November or
October of 2019.
Wow.
So a few months after that.

(37:43):
Um, and then in this next photo,
I had just gotten married.
This was...
I married Andy, and then we... When was
this, 2021 or '20?
That's pretty much the first show
post-lockdown.
And, uh, that was at a parking lot.

(38:05):
Yep.
This is before the vaccine,
so if I do a show, thisis definitely one that's
gonna get blown up pretty big because youcan see in the
audience,
um, everybody's wearing a mask. Thisis June 8th
of 2020.
And it's-
Oh, so it's right before I got mar-I got married in September of 2020.

(38:28):
So this is-
Wow.
Yeah, June 8th, 2020.It's in a parking lot close
to the Creek and the Cave.
In Long Island City.
Yeah, Rebecca put it on.
Wow.
Yeah,and I was grateful she called me for it,
I was so glad to be thereand so glad to see

(38:49):
everybody. I, I didn't cry, but I,I teared up a couple of times-
I did, too
... that day.
I did, too.
Just seeing people again.
Yeah, I remember that.
And I had m-I had missed everyone so much.
Aw.
Yeah, so this is you and Che.
Yeah.
And are you guys working together by thispoint?

(39:09):
Well, Che and I were...I went on the road with Che
for a whole summer in 2019. So
me and Che and Siphowere all on the road together for
the whole summer of 2019.
And the COVID stuff happened,
um,
and I didn't see him for a long time.This was the first maybe...

(39:32):
No, not the first time, but
I hadn't seen him in a little while.I remember I hadn't seen him in a few
Um, what a bad person.
[laughs]
And then this next oneis really interesting to me.
It's not that it's a great photo,but it's you doing comedy
on a rooftop.

(39:54):
Um, this is July 30th of
2020.
And speaking about the compulsion to justkeep going-
Yeah
... this is pretty much it. Like,look at this wide.
So this is at, it's at, uh, Turks Inn.
Uh-huh.
And they had an...They had been doing this show inside.

(40:16):
They've got a gorgeous showroom in there,but this was on a
roof.
Yeah.
And-
Yeah.
Yeah
I barely remember this show.
Like, I barely remember.I kind of remember it,
but
I mean, I remember seeing you,but I don't remember... Was Shane there?
Yeah.
Okay, Shane was there, yeah.Shane Torres was there.

(40:39):
I remember seeing you,and I remember seeing Shane Torres.
But yeah, I don't... I mean, this is,like...
Yeah,I was getting pretty lax with the masks.
I was just putting fucking bandanas on.
Oh my God, this is just, like,
such a time capsule.
Yeah.

(40:59):
And I,
you know, that's kinda why I was out a-at shows even then
is
Jen and I were having to carefully weigh,
like, "Okay, if I get sick and then I miss
jobs, we might lose the studio."
Yeah.
Right?So we were trying to put me in the safest
conditions possible because wewere also trying to hang

(41:23):
on to the studio during COVID,
and so I was going to shows with, like,a medical grade
N95.
Yep, I remember that.
And, and, like,
it's like you don't have time to explainto people, like, "At the end of the day,
I'm doing this for you."
Right.
Right? W- But I,
but I was.
Yeah.
You know, 'cause we

(41:43):
somehow, magically,
we got, I wanna say itwas three book covers
during COVID.
Yeah.
And they were enough to keep the studioopen,
which is bananas.
Yeah.
And then the next photos that you haveis when, you
know,thank goodness we did keep the studio

(42:06):
because you came in.
These are for Whiskey Fist.
Yep. This is May 24th,
2021.
Yep.
And I shot Whiskey Fist in
March of 2020,
and it was coming out

(42:27):
in
June or July of 2021.And this
was,
this photo was inspired by George Carlin.
Yeah.
Um, 'cause I was, like, looking at, like,photos that I really loved,
and there are these photos of, like,George Carlin in his album,
um-

(42:48):
Class Clown
... yeah, Class Clown.
And
I loved those photos.
Yeah.
I really loved this shoot.
I li- I liked this shoot because
it was so different from...
Like, I mean,check out the difference between, like,

(43:09):
just my level of comfort.
Yep.
Between, like, this
and this,
it was like,
just in terms of, like,how hard I felt I had to sell myself,
this was just so much more relaxed.
Yeah.
You know?

(43:30):
Oh my God, my girl.
Yep.
So this is South by Southwest.
Mm-hmm.
And I do like the backdrops fromthat year.
I have different feelings about differentyears on the,
on the backdrops, but.
Me and Blurry.

(43:51):
Yeah, so that would,that's gonna be March of
2022.
That was right after I started working at
SNL.
Okay.
Yep.
This would've been, like,one of my first breaks after SNL.
I think you may have been there for twodays.

(44:12):
Yeah.
'Cause we have some costume changesand stuff,
and I do love those
post-pandemic South By years.
Yeah.
It was just so emotional to see everyone.
Even when we get to 2022,
it's still,
like-
Wow
... such a trip to see everybody.

(44:34):
I love my
choice of pants there. [laughs] Uh,this photo
I used for a while.
Oh, good.
I remember using this photo.
This one right here.
Wow.
Oh yeah, and these were...
I think this was when I was opening for

(44:54):
Sarah Silverman.
At South By?
Yeah. Or no, no, no, Moon Tower.
Oh, no, these are South By. You're still-
Oh, these are South By?
Yeah. I think this may be a different day.
That's cool.I was wearing the merch to the,
to the thing.
[laughs] I was literally wearing a Southby Southwest T-shirt that I bought there.

(45:17):
Yeah, so by then you already had kind of a
lot going on,
and the next time that I see you
is this day,
which is-
Oh my God
... mm-hmm,
taping your special.
Yep.

(45:37):
And this photo, you can barely see you,but this is
you outside the venue before the
taping, and I almost never can get an
establishing wide like that, but I ran.
[laughs]
Yeah.
I ran across traffic.
Yeah.
[laughs]
Look at this. Oh my gosh.

(46:00):
Matteo,
Nick.
God.
So
this is, you shot one part of a stand-up
special while pregnant.
Yes.
And it was so
great.
Uh,

(46:21):
so pregnant.
So pregnant. [laughs]
So yeah, I mean,I think for a book we probably only need
photo
showing that you're pregnant,and I tried to narrow it down.
There's a couple hundred photos fromthat day.
Yeah.
But I'm like, "Dude, I don't know.There's several that I

(46:42):
like,"
and there's some closer up shots of yououtside the
venue that I also like.
I mean, these pictures,outside of just being, like, pictures
of my special are--
They mean so much to me, you know? I mean,I never did, like, a
maternity shoot, you know? I wasn't...

(47:04):
[laughs] I was like, I was trying to,like, work at SNL and, like, get a special
together, and I remember Iwas in the middle of writing my book,
um,
and everything was, like,
changing so rapidly. Like, ev- my lifewas just
changing so rapidly that I
never thought to be like, "Oh, let me get,like,

(47:27):
photos of me pregnant," you know?'Cause I'm like,
the time." But these ones
really, really meant something to me.
Um-
Oh, to me too. I was genuinely... Like,I was nervous.
I mean, I can shoot a special in my sleep,especially a special
at this location.I've done umpteen of them.

(47:50):
Yeah.
But I wanted to nail it so
badly. I wanted to get it right so badly
because it was such a big deal,and because I knew how much you had going
also.
I was so, like...
It was so weird to shoot something
where, like, I felt... Oh my gosh,look at these.

(48:12):
I love these,
and I love that we got a photo together.
Only one. It's the only one.
I know.
I think we have some from, uh,like some phone photos later
on, but yeah, it's the only one on, like,the camera camera.
Oh, and here it is.
Here's the infamous
one half of, uh,

(48:33):
my special cover.
This was the one that we went with, right?
Yeah.
I love that I left the Fitbit on.
[laughs] Just completely forgot Iwas wearing a Fitbit through my whole
special.
So that is box one.

(48:54):
[laughs] All right.
So this is 2015 to 2023.
And-
And this is-
Box two starts with 2023.
How is it not still 2023?That's what I'm wondering.
Yeah.
How is it n- how has it been three years?
I don't know.
Okay.
To me, it was yesterday, for sure.

(49:14):
That's so upsetting. Okay.
All right. This-
This is you backstage at the Bell House.
You hosted a book release party for Jesse.
Jesse.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This is for Jesse. I remember that.
This is November of 2023.

(49:36):
Does it- do you have an exact date?
November 7th.
So that's gonna be the first-
This would be the first timethat I did stand up or did a
show. I wouldn't call it standup, but I,I did a
show after having my baby. It was four

(49:56):
weeks postpartum. And, um,
and I remember it being a big nightbecause it was also the first time
able to wear jeans in, huh, months,
and I was,I was obviously very happy about it.
[laughs]
That was November of 2023.
Yeah.

(50:17):
And then
I went back to work at SNL
for
all of that year
and
was still doing spots here and there.
Um,
but for the most part was, like,going to work and going home

(50:39):
and waking up my daughterand having frozen cherry
parties in the, in the kitchen.
Um,
and then
that season ended,
and it was, I thinkthat season ended in May 2024,
that season ended,and in September of 2024, I

(51:01):
shot the second half of my special,The Motherload,
with
my daughter there.
Um, there's Marelle
doing my makeup.
Yeah. So this is September
19th, 2024.
Mm-hmm.
And some great behind the scenes of youand

(51:23):
Minnow.
I can't. Oh my gosh. She is-
I know
... fucking...
God, she was a cute little squish.
Here's my set list.
Really great outfit.
This is my set list.
I remember buying that, uh,outfit on Instagram before

(51:43):
she was born and being like,"She's wearing this to my special taping,"
'cause it was, like, so, like,Saved by the Bell.
Yeah, these are so backstage. Like-
Yeah
... all of these are so, like,
getting my hair done, getting, um-
Yeah. And I'm glad I did, though,is because-

(52:05):
Yeah
...he does your makeup for the next thing
coming up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And Christina di-did my hair for the next thing.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah.
And then-
Yeah, you just start to learn-you just start to...
I- it's funny 'cause, like,
over time you just, like,develop these relationships with,
like, people that you collaborate with.

(52:26):
And, you know,
there are certain ones that you're like,you just keep going back to. You know?
Like you and me. I, I-
Yeah
... whenever I get something,whenever I have something,
I'm like, "Well,it's gonna be Mindy," 'cause that's,
know? And you just sort of assemble, like,a team of Avengers.
[laughs]

(52:46):
Yeah.
Yeah. Um,
so this was the sh- this was, theseare the live photos
from my, the second half of my special.
Yeah. And, uh, again, there was, like,more than 200 photos to
get through, and so I just kinda pulled-
I know. I love all of them.
Yeah.
It's so hard.

(53:08):
I was just like, if I, you know, if Iwas gonna have to pick one, which,
this was me trying, and I- therewere so many.
Yeah.
I just, I'm kinda-
I mean,I'm not helping you out here at all.
If this was an attempt to, like,narrow things down for the book-
[laughs]
... we're gonna have to go through again

(53:29):
because these are all so good. I mean, I
just... Sorry, I just love all of them.Okay.
Yeah.
I'll put this one down. This is my sister,
my sister Mary Stuart.
Yep.
These photos I love so much 'cause these,I mean, they're
not the live photos, but, like,
these, like, the secondthat the taping was over,

(53:53):
just, like,
loving on your friends and,
like,
it just felt...
Look at Alex. [laughs]
So yeah,we have people from the show popping up to
Sydney,
Chris.

(54:14):
I mean, it's just...
And then walking around the corner after.
So this one to me, um...
Yeah,we're not at the one I'm obsessed with
photo.
Mm-hmm. Crew photo.
Yeah. And, like, these, I'm like, "Okay,they can live on the website, but I don't

(54:36):
know that we have to put them in the book.
Like, I can edit out that."
Yeah.
But then look at everybody together.
Sweetiepie Che showing up.
I know.
You know, he,he really hates people to know it,
dude.
He really is.Sorry for blowing your cover.
You know? Sorry, Che.

(54:57):
Sorry, but you're a sweetiepie,and everybody knows it.
[laughs] Even though I'm
clearly fighting with him.[laughs] I think he
came up and he was like, "Hey, you know,you'll... It's okay.
You'll g- you'll get it next time,"or something like that.
When the reality of this night was that

(55:20):
this special was supposed to be atwo-parter, and it is.
If you watch it on Netflix, it's,it's two specials
edited into one special.It's Rosebud before having the baby
and Rosebud after the baby's been born,right?
So in one she's pregnant, and one--and then another she's not, right?
The second taping

(55:42):
was so great.
It was so wonderful that after
the first-
After the first one
... after the first one,
all of us were like, "How will you edit
that?"
Yeah.
What do you cut-
Yeah
... from this absolutely perfect hourthat we just saw?

(56:05):
Everyone's working for a perfect hour.We just saw one.
We also were here for the other hour.
And, uh, pretty much after the show, uh,like I remember being with you
at The Cellar and just being like,"I have no idea what you will do."
I also f-I remember telling you I have no idea what
No idea.

(56:25):
Because I had this concept,and what ended up happening
was Kelly Lyons, who
is awesome,
I-- She's my editor. She worked at "SNL"
for a number of years.She's edited all of Mulaney's
specials. Um, she's worked with Bill on,uh...

(56:45):
She worked with Bill Burr on, uh, "Drop,Drop Dead Years."
She's incredible, and I knew I wanted a,
I knew I wanted a female editor,and I knew I wanted...
And that was like the most important tome.
Um,
and she was a mother,
and she'd worked at "SNL."
Wow.

(57:06):
So
I knew that she would be able to like takesomething and be like,
"See what you can do here." You know whatI mean?
Like,and not get overly attached to anything
kind of
fly by the seat of her pants.So I told her, I was like, "Look,
the first hour, I'm proud of it.The concept I'm proud

(57:27):
of." I was like, "But
if the concept is getting in the way offunny, and if the
concept is getting in the way of justtelling the story,
fuck the concept." I was like,"Just cut the second hour." You know
what I mean?"And just leave it as like a second hour.
It's fine."

(57:47):
So she...
So then she provided me with two differentcuts.
One was of the firstand the second hours together,
and I-- just following the arc ofthat second hour.
And
the second was just the second hour byitself.
So she gave me two different specials.

(58:07):
She cut two different specials,and she was like,
like, "Well, now,now I've got a real embarrassment of
riches." Now I'm like, "Oh, boohoo,my crown's too heavy." You
know? Like I was like,"This is..." You're...
I was like,"This is almost making it harder because I
And she was like, "Well,then just go with what's more interesting

(58:30):
And I was like, "Well,
the cutting back and forth-"
Yeah
"... to me is more interesting."
Yeah.
You know? And I thought, "Well, whatif people don't get it?
Like do I need to like put,
I don't know,like a thing ahead of it?" Like, "Hey,
Right
"... a year apart from each other."And then I thought, like
you can't really start a comedy specialwith like white text on a screen.

(58:51):
It looks like a true crime documentary.
So I just was like, "The people thatare gonna get it are gonna get it,
and the people that don't get it
don't matter."
Okay.
You know? So that's kind of what I,
well, what I went with. Um,
but yeah, I remember this night.I remember being like, "Wow." Like

(59:12):
ju- I, I ne-I am not one to walk offstage and be like,
but that was the f- first timethat I've walked off and been like,
"Holy shit." Like
everything that could've gone right wentright.
Yeah.
And I
was just like,"What a fucking stroke of luck." [laughs]

(59:32):
Like-
And you are. You'll get offstage,and you'll have a note for yourself.
I've seen you do it. You know, like, "Oh,I should've zigged
when I zagged or whatever."
Yeah, yeah.
And I've always admiredthat 'cause I'm that way about photos,
I'm like, "Yeah, it's great,but I should've or I could've
feel like that's how you get better.

(59:52):
Yeah.
Um, but yeah, that night therewas nothing, even for
the most,
uh-
Cynical
... person. There was just nothing. Itwas great.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was great.
I mean, honestly,I would've shot it on film
That's my only thing.
[laughs]
That, that's my only... And then s-this is the last joke.

(01:00:13):
This is my closing joke
from The Mother Load.
Yeah, so that one I think if Iwere to do a show, there's like
a couple of those where you can see thecrowd,
and I think printed larger it could bereally cool.
Yeah. I really like that.
But I think you look fantastic there.
Yeah.

(01:00:33):
Um, yeah.
Yeah, these are all like...
Yeah, I... And even thisis like it's narrowed down.
Um-
I love this one 'cause it just feels likethe venue.
It just feels so mu- you know,you see that reflection right there.
There's that mirror behind the, the, this,um-
Yeah, it's a great venue.
Yeah.

(01:00:54):
But this next one,if I had to pick only one photo,
like w- I could only do one-
Yeah
... it's this one.
Yeah.
I love it.
Yeah.
It's you, and you, you know you did well.
Yeah.
You know it.
Yeah, I've got real, um,
I, I,

(01:01:15):
I just finished my ballet recital vibes[laughs] you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I t- I love the look on the face,and it's just...
I also really love we know we're in NewYork.
Yep.
Um, we know e- you know, somebody walking
into an art gallery,they know nothing about anything.
Mm-hmm. They know that's in New York.

(01:01:37):
They know it's in New York,and they know something
great has happened. They don't know what.
Yeah.
Um, but I, I just, I love it.
I love it too.
I love it too. I remember just
feeling like
I don't know if I've ever really felt,like, proud of myself, you know?

(01:01:58):
Yeah.
Um,
y- even, like, even having a baby,you're like,
"What the fuck was that?" It wasn't, like,a feeling of like, "I'm so
proud of myself." It was like,"What did I just go
through?"
Yeah.
But this, I was, like,

(01:02:19):
really
proud of myself. I was proud of, like,what I made.
Yeah.
Um,
like I set out to do something,and it took so long to get there.
Like, I was like,
"Okay, I'm gonna sell this special,
and it's gonna take a long time to make,and it's more expensive

(01:02:40):
than it needs to be,but it's what I wanna make,
and this is how I wanna tell the story."
Yeah.
And I was just like...
Yeah, I don't know.
Yeah.
Yeah, I just, I love that moment.And then we just have a
couple.I think I only printed out one of these,
then this is ultimately our kind of

(01:03:03):
preferred cover-
Yeah
... that went out in some places, I think.
Mm-hmm.
And then the next photosare you back at the studio.
Can I just for a second, can I just-
Please.
Like-
Yeah
... that's so crazy.

(01:03:23):
So that to me is the project.
It-
Yeah
... to me, the art is,
is that and being a part of that,
and
I find joy in that as well.
Yeah.
Is, like, look at,
look at everything you've done,and look at how much you've changed.

(01:03:45):
Yeah.
And yeah, it, it... To me, I'm
not interested in one photo.I'm interested
in a decade of photos.
Yeah.
And sometimes I'll have people--And then meanwhile, I'm not mad
but I'll have people say, "Oh,who's someone you really want to photo?"
Uh, you know, like,"Who's a celebrity you really wanna

(01:04:07):
have no interest in that."
Yeah.
I'm interested in working with people whoare interested in working with me, and
if they'd like to collaborate over time,awesome.
Yeah.
But, like, just the idea of, like,I'm gonna go into,
you know,one of those fancy hotel rooms
Uh, why? What does that mean? What,what relationship is there?

(01:04:29):
I, I'm interested in photos that are-
Yeah, what's the value?
Yeah, I'm interested in photos thatare a document of a relationship
over time.
Yeah.
Now I'm interested.This I'm interested in.
I mean, this is a-
Yeah
... this is like a living document,you know?
Yeah.
It's really, um...
I mean, it's just crazy, Mindy.It's crazy.

(01:04:51):
[laughs]
I... Like, opening for him was, like,a huge deal for me.
Oh, yeah.
I remember that being like, "Whoa."And then this to
this.
Like, from this
to this
to that to this, like, is just so
crazy.
It is. You worked through all of this.

(01:05:13):
Mm-hmm.
You were always showing up,always trying to get better-
Oh my God
... and just kinda always pushing.
Damn, I'm gonna fucking tear up.
I've had this theory for quite awhile that you could read the
archives and tell whowas going to be successful,

(01:05:34):
and the way you can tellis the number of times they show up.
Damn,I gotta start leaving my house again.
[laughs]
No, yeah, I mean,
I was obsessed. I,I've always been obsessed with comedy.
Like,

(01:05:55):
you know,
I was lucky enough to have gotten soberbefore I
started.
Yeah.
Um,
but
I mean, fuck, my sister's in these photos,
you know?
Yeah.
She would w- she would go to my open mics.
Like,she would go sit at my open mics and,

(01:06:17):
And I remember being like,"Can you not smile so hard, like,
It's, like, embarrassing."
Yeah.
You could see her?
Yeah, I could see her,and she would be like,
like the whole time, and I'd be like,"You've gotta stop. Like, we're in a...
There's four people here, you know?
Like, this isn't..." [laughs] But yeah,
I took all of the obsessionthat I had with, like, getting drunk

(01:06:40):
and drinking, and I really just,I really threw
it into comedy in a major way.
And, um-Yeah, it turns out when you
have an addictive personality,if you put it into something that's
can, [laughs]
can provide results.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I have a lot of anxiety.

(01:07:01):
Yeah.
And the w- the way that I live with itis I like to
do something towards my work every day.
Mm-hmm.
And so that- that's how I regulate it.
Yeah.
So if I have a day where I've done a photoshoot, well, then I've clearly done
something towards my goal,and I feel really good.
Yeah.
Uh, if I have a day where I've edited,kinda same.

(01:07:23):
Vacation-
Yeah
... I don't like so much.
No.
The anxiety just begins to build,and by the time we get to day
seven-
Oh my God
... I'm like,I've done nothing towards my goals.
Yeah. Day three, I wake up, I go,"Why am I still here?
This isn't where I live."
It's not relaxing to me.
[laughs] Yeah.
Relaxing to me is living in New York City-

(01:07:44):
Yes
... coming to my studio-
Mm-hmm
... doing something cool-
Yep
... with you.
Yeah.
Now I'm relaxed.
Right.
Now I'm good.
Now I feel like myself.
Yeah. And I, I don't knowthat there will ever
come a time when I enjoy a vacation.
Um,
to be determined, I guess, but, uh-
Yeah

(01:08:04):
... yeah. Right now, no.
My idea of a good time is in my studio,thank you so
much.
Oh my God.
Yeah, so these next ones, you came in
for... This is just a fun day. Thisis just us in
studio being us.
Yeah, I think I hadn't taken photos,promo photos since Whiskey

(01:08:27):
Fizz, really.
Yeah, you just needed some promos,but this is a fun, and I'm really
grateful that we had this day.
We ran through a bunch of looks.
Mm-hmm.
Had a good time with it.
Yeah. This had to have been recent, right?
Was that this-
So this is February of 2025.

(01:08:49):
So a year ago,
basically.
Uh, basically, yeah.
Yeah.
And then the next time you're in
is
July 29th of 2025, and that's gonna
be for your book cover.
Right.
But I think part of the reason why we'reso happy

(01:09:09):
with your book
and the cover isthat you had just been in.
We had just been, like,just working through ideas.
Yep.
You know?
Yeah.
Um-
I love this photo.
This is my tour poster,
my current tour,
and I've been using this as well,

(01:09:29):
and this.
And this is my author photo
for my book.
Yeah, so this is July of 2025,
and this is us in studio with the fullteam.
So we had Morel here.
Yep.
We had Daniel on lights-
Mm-hmm
... and helping out.

(01:09:50):
I remember I, I hired a stylist,
and, um, I was like,
"I wanna do..." You know,for my book cover, I hired a stylist.
I was like, "I wanna do, like..." Um,
I sent her a bunch of pictures, uh, of,like, outfits I liked, and about
half of them were just Drew Barrymore inthe '90s.

(01:10:10):
And, um,and so she got me this outfit that
I, I still...I'm wearing these jeans today.
[laughs]
And we took all these other photos.
I remember this was towards the end of theshoot.
We started just playing around,and I love this
photo. Like,I don't know what I'm gonna use this photo

(01:10:31):
I have to find something for it,'cause it's so funny to me.
Yeah.
Um-
I'm going to
...
and then this was
the book cover,
um, for Fully Baked.
And I remember calling Mindyand being like, "Here's the
concept. I wanna be coming out of a cake.
I want the cake to be,

(01:10:53):
like, a real cake,
and,
um...or I want it to look like a real cake,
it, like, on a table,and I come up through the middle." Or,
know. Like, I'm, I don't,I wasn't sure how we were gonna do it,
know that we will find a way to do this."Um,
and you contacted...

(01:11:14):
Sid.
Sid.
Yeah.
Yes, yes, yes.
This, so this is an actual, practical,for real prop,
not Photoshopped.
Yeah.
And it was hilariouswhen they unpacked it.
I was dying laughing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, there's like, there was, like,a big hole in the top,
and I was wearing a halter,
and, uh,

(01:11:35):
and I, I was like, "Well, screw it.Let's just, you know,
coming out through the top of a cake."This is, like, the scariest...
Yeah.
I remember showing this picture to mydaughter when I got home
"No." [laughs]
[laughs]
"I don't like it." But
now she... It's the only photo she ever,like, requests to

(01:11:57):
see. She goes,"Can I see Mama popping out of the cake?"
Aw.
And,and just out of the blue she'll just be
cake?" And, and she'll,she wants to see the videos of it from
day, and she wants to see the photos.She loves it.
She, like, loves this photo. Um,
now I'm starting to realize it's, like,'cause I look like Barbie.

(01:12:18):
Uh-
[laughs]
... but that's, yeah, she, like,loves that photo.
And this one I love 'cause it feels so,like,
I don't know, like Gwen Stefanior something.
Yeah.
Like, that angle in the '90s.
This is, like,a much softer version of it, but there
What do you call that?
I have no idea, but Steve Madden-

(01:12:40):
Steve Madden, yes
... the campaigns with the big headand the little feet.
Yes, yes.
Yeah,it was very influential for a lot of us,
Yeah. Um,
and here's Morel and Christina.Oh my
gosh.
[laughs]
There we go. There's our girl.
So there's phone photos, I think,of both of us around the cake.

(01:13:01):
But yeah, I think Daniel maybe didthat one.
And we have the final
book cover.
Yeah.So is there anything you want people to
book before it comes out? Oris there anything you're-
Yeah
... nervous about?
Yeah. I'm really nervous. Um,
you know, I was--I've been recording the audiobook for a

(01:13:24):
my voice sounds like this,
and there have been parts of the bookthat I
have not been able to read, um, because
I can't stop crying.
And
like when I was writing it,it didn't feel that
emotional. It just felt like

(01:13:44):
just telling the story.
But
reading through it now,
um,there's two chapters in particular
like--
I've been like, "Okay, we have to stop.
I have to go like collect myself,and I'll be right back." You know?
'Cause, uh, yeah, it's funny. There's...

(01:14:05):
But like a lot of my jokes are dark, and
I think the reason why I'm able to tell
jokes about where I can like make light oflike pretty dark
moments in my life is because like
I w- I wouldn't be able to do thatif I hadn't like been to therapy and,
and worked through it myself.Like there was a lot of

(01:14:27):
like processing that went on before I everbring
something to the stage.
Yeah.
So,
you know,nobody's gonna laugh at something
So I have to do a lot of that.
Um, and the book is basically like
it balances the two. Like I,I really allow people

(01:14:50):
in. I, I really feel like it's,
it's so personal,and I'm really nervous about that
because
I don't think that I present as like avery sensitive
person. Um, but
y- I totally am, and

(01:15:12):
like anyone who's like a tough cookie, I'm
100% like a soft
little fucking crybaby on the inside.
So
yeah, I'm just like when I read the book,I'm like, "Oh, fuck.
Like everybody's just gonna fucking knowthis about me now." And there's a
part of me that's like a little sad

(01:15:34):
to give that up.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
Like when you finish a specialand you're like, "That's just theirs
now.That's not even mine anymore." Like
I mean, it is my story, but it's,it's like
it's a little tough, you know?And I don't know
how my family's gonna react. Um,

(01:15:57):
that makes me nervous, but, uh,
you know,you have to be honest in your writing
fucking respect your writing and,
and nobody's gonna get anything out ofyour writing.
So
if you're writing f-to help with the purpose of like
hopefully helping othersand making them feel less alone,

(01:16:18):
uh, you have to be honest.
Mm-hmm.
So
yeah. I, I try to do thatand balance like respect
for, for the people in my lifethat didn't ask to be in the public eye.
Right.
Um, that's a tricky balance.
Yeah.
Um, especially when your storiesare intertwined.
So

(01:16:40):
yeah. It's t- I-- But I'm,
I'm really proud of it. Uh, I think that
it's
gonna be relatable to anybody who's everlike, uh, struggled
to
figure out who the fuck they areand find out like
what their place is in the worldand who's just like a late

(01:17:02):
bloomer.Like I've just been a late bloomer my
life. But yeah, there's, uh, there's some
real integrity in being a late bloomer,I think.
I'm a late bloomer.
Yeah.
And I think my-
A lot of artists are.
Yeah. I'm so incredibly grateful that
everyone else in my--When I got my master's degree,

(01:17:25):
everyone else had either a job or
a solo show to head to. I did not. I
didn't have any of that.
Mm-hmm.
And I was lost in the wilderness for like
five years.
Mm-hmm.
But those five years,
looking back, it's like, oh,it's so important that I did

(01:17:48):
this far-flung thingthat doesn't have anything to do with
Yeah
... because I met so and so.
Yeah.
And, you know,
s-so we're gonna talk to some of the people
five-year period in this project.
Oh, nice.
Um, but yeah, I think that
I,I think there's a lot to taking a little

(01:18:11):
Yeah.
Definitely. Definitely.
Yeah.
And that's-- Those yearsare all covered in this book,
them and being like, "Oh, that's right.
Like I taught yoga to Hasidic Jewish womenfor
like a year and a half." Thatwas like a day job that I had for a
little while.
That's in the book?
Yeah.
I had no idea.
Yeah. I'm like, I f- fucking forgot.Like I-- You know what I mean?

(01:18:33):
Like I taught yoga at
24 Hour Fitness for a while,and everybody called me the angriest yoga
instructor and-
[laughs] See, I think people getthat wrong
about you. You're not angry.
No. No.
You're smart and incisive. Thereis a difference.
I'm a little fed up,
but like if you're paying attention,you should be fed up.

(01:18:57):
[laughs]
Yeah. Yeah. I'm a little tie-tie,that's all.
To quote Mike Cannon.Mike Cannon always says that,
of my vernacular.
Yeah, he's the best.
Yeah.
I haven't seen him in forever.
[laughs] Um,
wow, Mindy. This has been incredible.

(01:19:20):
I can't believe this. Like, I wishthat we had done this before I wrote
the book,but then of course we wouldn't have this.
Yeah.
But yeah, it's, um... Because so much of
the latter half of the bookis just these years of my life.
Yeah.
That like I-- And so much, you're--You think about it, th- this is
like,this is like this much of the shows

(01:19:44):
Yeah.
This is like nothing-
That's the thing
... of the shows that I've done.
You know, you-- I th-I think we've sort of figured out
at New York Comedy Club for a stretch.
You toured for a stretch.
Mm-hmm.
And then you were at the show for astretch.
So you appear kind of periodically,but I think that's
what's interesting about your archives,right?

(01:20:05):
Is that you're awayand you're learning stuff,
again. Um, I, I think it's really-
Yeah
... really cool.
Yeah.
But yeah.
I do love an isolation period. Oh my God.
But yeah. Anyway,it's been wonderful to have you on, and
we're very excited for the book.
Thanks for having me.

(01:20:25):
Yeah.
Do you remember your first joke?
Yes, I do.
So I started comedy in 2013, which is
when every female comic had some premiseabout Disney princesses
and how disappointing theywere as an adult woman.

(01:20:47):
Um, and I was no different.I had this joke about how every Disney
got saved by a man, and how I
wanted to see a Disney movie where theprincess saved herself.
Like I wanted to see a Snow White whereshe wakes up in a
house full of dwarves and she goes, "Oh,fuck.

(01:21:08):
I think I have a drinking problem."[laughs]
A woman likes to roam.
A woman likes everything.

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Episode 1 - Rosebud Baker (324 Photos)

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Episode 1 - Rosebud Baker (324 Photos)