#54 - Something's Bruhn - (Lonnie Bruhn) - #NotAboutUpod

Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome toanother fantastic episode of Not
About You starring myself, JamalHarrington.
And of course, usually with me is Romeo Nash and Marianne
Riley, who will most likely be joining us later on.
But without further ado, it is my really, really great pleasure

(00:24):
of having our guest on today. Very, very funny comic out of
the great state of Oregon. I've had the pleasure of working
with them a handful of times. Ladies and gentlemen, we have
Lonnie Bruin. And Lonnie, how's it going?
It's going good, man. It's going good.
It's good to be here. I I appreciate you inviting me
into your living room. Oh, man, yeah.

(00:47):
Well, first of all, it's a it's a pleasure having you on the
show. It's you've you've been a comic
for 35 years. Yeah, next Wednesday will be my
35th year anniversary. 35 years.I started in in 19.
Well, I started in I don't countthe first year that I started.

(01:10):
I started in 1989 and I don't I didn't start counting my
professional career until I I went on tour and I went in 1990,
I think it was May, I went on tour.
I had a chance to go up to Canada, to British Columbia and

(01:32):
actually Victoria. There's a, there's a Booker back
then named Stu Scott and he was,he was a shit bag, but but he I
had a chance to work with go up there and do that tour in in
1990. And I went up with, I don't know

(01:54):
if you remember a like legendarycomedian named Bob Hanson.
The the old, the old pro Bob Hanson.
Here's a Bill dude, kind of a Jackie Gleason type.
OK, I'm not not quite familiar with him.
Yeah, and he he was also, I mean, he was also, well, I

(02:15):
wouldn't say he was a terrible man, but he was, he definitely
had old fashioned thinking, you know, and that's that's the
kindest way I can say it. And, but I went up there and we
did shows and, you know, and he would, he would, he would do a
lot of like old time, like vaudeville stuff.

(02:37):
He'd like wear, you know, a tux.And, you know, he was like, you
got to wear tux. And he always had like advice
and like, he didn't want you to be dirty, you know, And so he's
like, you know, you don't say the F word up there.
But then he'd go up and do like racist and sexist jokes for like
40 minutes, you know, So it, it was, it was strange, but, and,

(03:01):
and he told me when he, like, that's kind of how his voice
was, you know, I'm not good at impressions or anything, but,
but that's how you'd be like I'mold pro Bob Hanson.
And, and he was just a big old Jackie Gleason guy.
And, and he told me, told me if,if that, if I was on stage and
I, and I said the F word, you know, he'd come up there and,

(03:22):
and strangle me. And so I was really nervous.
And so when I I did the show, I accidentally swore and.
Is he more of a was he more of alike a mentor type comedian?
No, no, not, not, not at all. I mean, I mean, he was in the

(03:43):
sense he taught me stuff. I mean, like I did swear.
Like I, I didn't mean to. I did the joke and then said
fuck. And then I, and then I looked
out in the audience and I was like, fuck.
I didn't mean to say fuck, you know, like, and then I'm looking
right. And he never came up.
He never came up or did anything, but then later he just

(04:03):
said, no, I mean, of course I'm not going to come up there.
But you know, it was just to remind you that, that, that you
don't that when you rely on it, that's the kind of stuff that
happened. So it was a it was a weird
lesson. But what was really strange
about the tour was Greyhound went on strike in the US in in

(04:23):
that month. And so when I got up there and
did all my stuff and finished, Iwas ready to head back home.
I was only 17 at this time, or 18.
I was 18 and I got stuck up there because they went on
strike and there was no way for me to get back across the

(04:44):
border. So I had to, I had to like call
him up and, and it, it was kind of his fault.
I was late. If I would have gotten into
Vancouver at a certain time and got into Greyhound, I would have
gotten across the border. But he took us on a on a fishing
charter trip and he got me back late.
And so I got screwed. And then I asked him like, you

(05:05):
know, you got to give me a hotelbecause I didn't have, I was, I
had no place to stay up there. And so he got me a room.
Then he's like, you know, you can pay me back later.
And I said, oh, I, I promise, you know, yeah, I was like, I
promise I'll pay you back. And and and then I just never
went more. Never again.
You know, it was so my first real tour, it was like a week

(05:29):
long tour that was, I got stuck up in Canada at 18.
It was like my first time ever really on my own on a trip.
And so I, I started counting my,my career on that day, you know.
What like that was, that was when you felt like you were a
professional doing professional stuff, going through the, the,

(05:52):
the little, you know, I guess the, the, the, the weirdness of
being on tour. I mean, everybody has a, you
know, we have our little tour stories.
I mean, I've slept, I've slept in my car on tours because I,
I'm one of those guys that I am not a big hope.

(06:13):
I shouldn't say I'm not a big hotel person.
I'm now these days now I usuallyget my own room and I know what
hotels I'd rather stay at. I do a lot of research on hotels
because it's just, I am especially when you're booking
hotels for somebody else, it it,it's a headache because I'm

(06:34):
going to make sure that, you know, they're staying in a good
hotel that's a safe neighborhoodand everything is good.
So I will have like this hotel directory where I am or I have
like my Google Maps and I'm like, OK, here's the venue,
here's the airport. Do you look at that hotel?
In between do you do you, do youlike put little footnotes and

(06:57):
stuff? So like if you get a room and
then it and it doesn't work out well, you put notes like oh,
that, you know, or they have this or they have that.
So I usually, I mean, I so lately, well, I should say years
ago I would if I went to back toa town, I never stayed in the
hotel twice, especially if it's like a Days Inn or you know,

(07:23):
something like low a low end hotel.
Nowadays, if I go to a place like Durham, NC or Grand Rapids,
MI, I know the hotel I want to stay at because I had great
experiences there. Now I have like, you know, like

(07:43):
the the Hilton app where it's like every Hilton I've ever been
to has always been a great experience.
And I'm, you know, they're not even sponsoring this podcast,
but. I do give up.
But I'm not ashamed to give them, you know, their flowers,
Hilton and the Sheridan. I've never had where it stays.
So if I ever So whenever I'm booking a room, whether it's for

(08:06):
myself, whether it's for or evenother comedians that are on the
road with me, there's so many things that I look for in in the
state. But sometimes it's like, I mean,
it'll be I'm looking at a place that I've never been to before
and it's like, gosh, I hope the neighborhood is good, you know
what I mean? And you never know unless you
get there, you know, and, and I could say that every hotel room

(08:30):
that I've ever been to, that I've ever booked for the most
part has been on the up and up good neighborhood.
I've. Only had a couple of sketchy
rooms where I was like, OK, thisis, you know, you know.
I was actually telling the story.
I was talking about hotel rooms with a, with a friend of mine

(08:52):
and me and Justin went to Milwaukee and we, you know, we
shared a room which, you know, we have no issue doing.
But what we realized was when we, when we, we got into our

(09:12):
room and I'm always looking around the room.
I mean, it was a, it was a Quality Inn.
And I booked it And I thought, oh, it's not too far from
downtown and it's not that inexpensive.
But our front door did not lock.And I was like, oh, this is
where we die. Like, I hear nothing but great

(09:35):
things about Milwaukee. But I'm like, oh, this is where
somebody breaks in, steals all of our stuff.
We wake up and we're trying to, we're like sitting there trying
to fix the door like okay, how do we, how do we lock the door?
How do we make sure? That.
And, and, and I'm like, well, I'm a light sleeper.
Justin, maybe not so much, but I'm a very light sleeper.

(09:56):
I'm like, I could hear something.
I'm up immediately, but it's like if I wake up and all I have
is, you know, my Dick in my handand somebody has like, you know,
a gun or something. It's like guns usually win you.
Know what I'm saying? I did a show one time.
It was like this was like central Canada again, Canadian

(10:16):
story. It was like the early days of my
career That's I just, all I did was war work, you know, like it
was you're on the front lines. And I think that's where I got
my chops was like, I mean, Canada was tough, man.
But I remember doing this show in like a like a coal mine town
and the bar, like a lot of bars up in Canada in the Midwest.

(10:36):
And in that like Alberta area, they, they have like the, you
have your rooms and they're likeupstairs and then there's like a
bar downstairs. It's, it's like an old D&D
Tavern. You know where you go in and you
put your coins down, then you get your room.
We went up there. My, our room, it didn't even

(10:56):
have a door knob. It didn't have a, it's not that
it just didn't have a fucking lock, you know, it literally
didn't have a door knob. And so I remember asking because
I was leaving the next morning to head back to the States and I
asked the the bartender. I was like, listen, who was also
the, the hotel clerk, you know, she's like both, you know,

(11:18):
'cause you get, you get your keys and stuff at the bar.
And, and I remember asking her like, can I get a wake up call
for like 5:30 in the morning? And she's like, I don't want to
have to call you at 5:30 in the morning.
I don't even get out of here until like 2:30.
I don't want to do that. Like, and I go, I would, I was
taken way back, you know, I'm like, again, you know, I was

(11:39):
really young, like 19 and I'm like, I, I was like, I didn't
know that that it was manual like that.
You know, I didn't know that there was like that I was
intruding on her on her sleep schedule and you know, I mean,
and I so I was taken back and I'm like, hey, you know, I don't
want you to do that either. You know, just how about, you

(12:04):
know, how about how about 6? And she goes fine, I'll call you
at 6:00. So I get a call in the morning
and I answer the phone. I'm like hello, you know, And
then she's like hello and. She was This is your fault and
we. Both were just waking up
dreading the fact, but that was.That you guys had to have that
interaction, that early morning interaction.

(12:25):
Yeah, I mean, I just felt bad. I woke her up.
I was like, thanks for waking me, Mom, you know, that's all
you can say. And something like that.
It was really strange. So yeah.
Yeah, you know what? It's and and nowadays I'm still
surprised that people actually request those because I have a
cell phone with an alarm clock on.
It Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

(12:46):
So. I'm like, I don't even, I don't
even like the only thing that I usually request at a hotel is
late check out. Because if my flight's at 5:00
and I got to check out at noon, I'm like, what am I going to do
for the, you know, at least three hours after I check out?

(13:07):
You know, all I'm thinking aboutis like, I don't want to go
home, but at the same time, I dowant to drink before I do that.
You know, just like I'm always like, what bar can I hang out
at? For. 3 1/2 hours before going to
the airport and not buy an expensive beer.
So I'm always like planning thatin my head.
So I always I'm like, hey, can Irequest a late check out?

(13:28):
And most of the time, most hotels, they don't care.
Yeah, late check out whatever we're going into that those
rooms at 3:00. So if you could be at if you get
your last out of there by 1:00, which I'm like, yeah, if.
You can clean up your burger by like 1130.
You're good, man. I mean, you're going to be fine,
you know? But yeah, yeah, I find that.

(13:49):
I find you get nowadays with hotels and, and what have you,
you, there's a lot of you get a lot of leeway, you know, you do,
you do get a lot of leeway. And it's just like, I mean, I
just back in the day, I used to be like, I, I can't fucking
stand booking hotel rooms and I'm very cautious and just very
weary and I'm like, I hope I'm like.
I hope the sheets are clean. I hope, I hope I have the sheets

(14:11):
clean and all that. And I and I get.
Like really weird nowadays. It's just like, here's where I'm
staying. I'm good.
Yeah. You know so, but yeah.
Yeah, there. I mean, I guess like back then,
you know, we didn't even have like the we didn't have cell
phones. Like, I mean, we don't mean you

(14:32):
when you, when I would go on theroad and drive, well, you know,
where where I was going, I had apaper map, you know, like it
was, I mean, this was between like 90 and and like 96.
You know, I don't remember when the first cool cell phones came

(14:52):
out, but but I definitely I, youknow, definitely didn't have
anything any, you know, we didn't have technology.
You you listen to AM radio at night.
I was a big fan of Art Bell. You know, that got me through a
lot of drives in the middle of the night.
But yeah, it was, it was like, you know, everything was analog,

(15:14):
including the maps, you know. So.
Yeah, right. I think we have our my our Co
host in the I think so. Yeah, Marianne, we.
Had a a a phone call that we hadto take.
Oh, sorry for for our no, no. I this, this is, this is

(15:35):
actually the first time I, the, the camera's actually showing
you guys. I just wanted to make sure that
I'm, you know, I'm like, oh, is this the, the one to speak in
the dead air? And then it's like, oh, they're
there but not there, you know? Yes, we are.
How are you are? You asking me or?
Oh, I'm sorry. Let me let me address.

(15:56):
Hi Lonnie, long time no see. Yeah, it's going.
Yes. Hi Lonnie, I'm Romeo.
Her. Her significant other.
Her husband. We're married, No.
We are. We're.
Married. We're not just.
I can say that out loud now, yeah.
Lonnie, Lonnie is very aware of who you guys are.

(16:18):
I knew you guys were coming in later, so I always announce you
guys even though like, Oh yeah, these guys will come in later
and what have you. But yes, we're all the gang is
all here. Yeah.
And, and we were actually discussing like hotels and
Lonnie's early, you know, gigs. He, he loves Canada so much.

(16:39):
I'm surprised he doesn't live there, but being that he lives
in Oregon that that's close enough and I'm.
Not both, Lonnie. I love Canada.
Yeah. You know if things.
Are from Canada. If things keep getting worse,
you know, maybe, maybe we'll become part of Canada.
Might not have. A choice, yeah.

(16:59):
I mean, I would be OK with that,you know, So, yeah.
But yeah, I, I would like to go back to Canada now.
Not for comedy. I don't think I've ever really
liked comedy in Canada, but I, Ilove Canada.
I definitely, I think the comedyup there, at least, you know,
when I did it back then, it was,it was, it was tough.

(17:21):
It was, it was Hard Knocks, man.It was a.
It was what I've always heard. About Canada is that the comedy
up there Is it's brutal during comedy in Canada?
Yeah, it's, it's, it's training rounds, you know, I mean, I
think that's where I was telling, I was telling that, you
know, explain that earlier that like, I feel like that's where I
got my, my chops, you know, because I mean, I definitely

(17:44):
learned the the taste of bombingin Canada, you know?
Do you? Think it'd be different now?
I mean, how long? How long have you been doing
comedy? 35 years.
Yeah, it'll be 35 next Wednesday.
Yeah. Wow, wow.
Not well, you know, not to the day, but that's when I'm

(18:06):
celebrating it, you know. But this, it was somewhere
around, actually around I think around the 15th, so.
Wow, you were young when you started though.
Yeah, 17 when I started, but again, I was, I was explaining
that I don't, I don't count that.
I counted it when I, when I wenton my first tour and that was up

(18:27):
in, that was up in Canada where I got stuck up there because
the, the greyhound strikes were going on in the 90s.
Then then I came back and after that my career really went
professional in 91. I won the Portland lap off in
91. I was the youngest to do it at
19. And then that just, you know,

(18:49):
gave me the ability to work, youknow, with a lot of the bookers
in the Northwest and the Midwest.
And, and that's, that's when I, I took off, but I, I never
wanted to count my time doing comedy in, in the open mic
scene. I wanted it to count when I

(19:12):
started making actual money. And so that's, that's, that's
how I do the benchmark on that one.
Oh wow. I should subtract 4 1/2 years
then from how? Long you've been doing.
It. But Bonnie, didn't you do
recently like here a couple years ago?

(19:32):
Didn't you do a USO tour? I that was probably like 6 years
ago. It was before COVID, long
before. COVID.
Oh wow. OK.
Yeah, yeah. And, and it was, yeah, it was
DOJ went to Japan and went to the mainland.
And that was weird because my first shows were at at Camp Fuji

(19:58):
and I just assumed. Because we're Americans, I just
assumed that that Camp Fuji was just a military base on the
mainland and they called it thatbecause it's, you know, the
mountain is in Japan. You know, like I didn't think
that it was going to be near themountain or anything like that.
I had hopes, but I just, I really just thought it was going

(20:21):
to be a military base somewhere in Japan and they would call it
Mount Fuj Camp Fuji because it was, it was on the same
continent, you know, or the sameisland.
And, and so when I woke up in the morning after we got there,
it's like a four hour drive fromthe airport, woke up and, and

(20:41):
walked outside and it was like the mountain was like 1520 miles
away, like right there. And you can see it as clear as
day. And that was really cool be able
to see that. And then the the next stop that
we had was in Okinawa and we, I think I was there like a week
and 1/2. It was great.

(21:01):
I'd love to go back. It was, it was really wonderful.
I'd like to go anywhere outside of the country.
So that wouldn't really matter to me, you know?
Yeah. Have you ever tried like cruise
ships? I know.
So Romeo and I have been doing alot of cruising and it's
interesting because of all the different comics that I've seen
and. We've seen them on cruise ships

(21:27):
all the time. Yeah, I it's just, I was going
to kind of say, you know, it's some of them I kind of look at
as like, how long have you been doing this because.
Jobs. None.
And some so I just like. Have you tried that?
You know, you know my ACT, there's no fucking way I can do

(21:49):
it. You know, may I know?
I mean, that's, you know, I could probably do like a
swingers, you know, or somethinglike that.
But you know, I and you know, I could, you know, I can clean it
up. I mean, it's funny, you know,
everybody knows me as being a very uncensored comedian.
But you know, when I did the Seattle lap on, you know, I

(22:10):
actually took first place on theTV clean night.
You know, I I know how to play the rules.
I just don't like to, you know? So.
And it's not that I don't want to.
It's not that I don't. It's, it's not that I I
consciously think to myself, oh,I want to.
I just want to do this material.No, I just don't want.
I don't want any blockades. I don't, I don't want anything

(22:34):
in my way of just wanting to write or talk about what I want
to talk about. And because I'm a storyteller, I
don't, I don't want to, to try to navigate around rules and,
and life is uncensored. So like I, that's how I see it.
Like, why can't my ACT be? And so I don't I don't look at

(22:56):
it like, you know, it's a challenge and you know, you
know, like, you know, fuck the man or, you know, it's nothing
like that. I just want to perform in a
setting that I can have a very natural connection with the
audience in a way that that I don't have producers or other
comics or anyone getting in the way of how I want to relate to

(23:17):
the audience. We already they have those
challenges to begin with. So don't, don't, don't put that
stuff in in in the middle. I still think you would do
really good though because they do have two different levels of
shows. They have the clean shows and
then they have the adult only shows.
And. A lot of the comics will do both
and it's it's or there's some that just say no.

(23:39):
I'll do the adult only shows. Oh.
They can just choose the adult only.
Oh yeah. Yeah, they do have ones that are
adult only and. That'd be it for that.
They make it very, very abundantly clear if you are
under 18 or if you are easily offended, this is time you need
to leave right now and the half hour show and I'm telling you

(24:01):
it's a packed house every singletime that their club in there is
packed every single time that's.Pretty cool, yeah.
It's amazing. And I've seen some different
kind of comics on there. I've seen comics that have tried
to do both. I've seen a Drybar comic try and
did who did find in the in the the all ages show then at the

(24:22):
adult only show throw in some fucks and shit just for no
reason like. Why that's so funny?
That's so funny because what they're basically doing is kind
of like what dirty comedians do.And it's just.
When they're trying to clean it up.
Or they're cleaning it up, you know, they're like, oh, I need
to put up. I need to put fuck here because
it'll make sense. And it's like, no, you sound

(24:43):
like my dad. You don't know how to swear, you
know, Like they're like, you will.
You are you gotta fuck her. You don't fuck, you know, And
it's like, what is he doing? He's snapping.
You know and. Then I've I've seen like dirty
comics do a clean show that all they did was riff off the crowd.
They didn't tell a single damn joke.
Oh. Really.

(25:04):
Wow, yeah, they didn't tell a single joke and they were awful.
I just. You know, I would just talk.
I was going to do that to be like, you know, my jokes aren't
going to be funny, but I won't offend you, you know?
But, and The thing is though, you, I mean, but it was, it's
really amazing. And what really shocks me is
just that because we've been on five different cruises and all

(25:26):
through the same and like all within a year, but every cruise
ship has a comedy room, a comedyclub and on on the, on the
Carnival cruise ship anyways. And usually about 20 minutes
before the show starts, there's a line out the door.
Nice. Try and it's so it.

(25:47):
It's so encouraging to me to seethat huge turn out in those
crowds of the comedy clubs and they love the comedy, they
absolutely love it so. Well, I'll, I'll tell you, you
know, I mean, there are some really good, there are some good
cruise comics that that go beyond like that cruise comic

(26:08):
that like deserve sort of a label to cruise comics, right.
But like his example, Troy Thurgill and if you, you know,
you guys have been on 4 now I'm,I'm actually surprised if you
haven't seen him because he's been, you know, still working
the cruise ships for, I mean, very long time.

(26:31):
I'll keep an eye out for him because our last cruise was, our
last cruise was 23 days. And so we had three different
sets of comics. They started out in Seattle,
then they swapped out in Honolulu, then they swamped out
in Fiji. Or I'm sorry, not Fiji.
Luke Adelphia. No, not.

(26:53):
They changed that to we had a new group come in in Tahiti, it
took us to Australia. So I mean.
Yeah. Yeah, so.
Troy Third Gill was 1. You know, I don't know if Dwight
is touring anymore, but Dwight Slade was really heavy.
And that thing sounds familiar. On the on the scene.
Well, yeah, Dwight Slade, another Portland comic, but

(27:15):
started in Austin. He he actually started with Bill
Hicks. They were, they were best
friends. That's how he's in the
documentary, actually. So, but he was doing a lot of
stuff, but there seems to be a whole new sort of crew that's
coming in and doing the cruise ships now.
And, you know, I mean, I'm, I'm thinking about what cruise ships

(27:39):
were like or, you know, as I imagine them back in the day.
You know, a lot's changed since then.
So yeah, a lot has changed. A lot has changed.
And that's one of the things like we've talked to people
who've been on cruise ships for they've been cruising for like
the last 20-30 years and they talk about how different things
are. And it is.

(28:00):
So it's becoming a lot more relaxed.
But I think that it's true in comedy at all.
And I I want to tell a story because I want to tell a story
about Lonnie real quick. Actually, I got a couple stories
I want to tell about Lonnie. I gotta go way back, but I gotta
here's. What?
I'm a little nervous. Now, here's one of the things I
have to say about Lonnie. First of all, and This is why I

(28:20):
think that you would do great ona cruise ship.
I want to tell you it was a showthat you did at Great City
Comedy Club in Tacoma. And Lonnie is literally the only
comic I've ever watched perform.They got a 5 minute standing
ovation afterwards. Like Lonnie was just about in

(28:41):
tears how how much the crab loved him.
They wouldn't stop cheering him on like and they literally so.
He is literally the only comic I've ever worked with that I've
seen get a standing ovation likethat.
Like the stand is real special to me, man, And I mean my
audience, I mean, I love them. So it's what it's weird, like

(29:02):
when I have those moments, man, they they really they that it
chokes me up because man, like. Oh yeah?
Well, we have that all. Of us if.
You have that connection. It's just, I mean, there's
nothing that I can even say to describe that.
And, and I've had some really special moments on the stage.

(29:22):
And so, you know, I try to, I try to keep them in the, in the
library of, of my, you know, best, best of and yeah, man, but
you know, part of it, it's not just, you know, everything's got
to come and come together and, and, you know, Grit City, it was

(29:44):
done. It was done right.
Like he knows how to put a show together, right.
And, you know, so I mean, a lot of the, a lot of this hard work
is done with a good producer and, and you know, like another
great producer. Like I haven't really had any
bad shows working for Morgan Preston.

(30:07):
Like, you know, he doesn't book him like he used to and what
not. But I mean, he could always put
a a really good show together. And he knew, he knew the
components that it took to make a show successful.
He knew that if you weren't going to do that, then that's
not where he wanted to have the show.
And that that takes more. I think that takes more guts

(30:29):
than anything. It's like to be able to say to
somebody, no, I know you guys were wanting a show and I know
that we could do the budget, have everything go right and
then we'll go, but can you do these things?
And they're like, no, we got to have pool.
We got to have darts, we got to have this, we got to have.
That. And then for a producer to go,
well, then we can't have a show,Yeah.
And you have to be able to turn down the shitty scenario.

(30:55):
And so, you know, part of part of any successful show really
comes down to how they bring them in and sit them and, and,
and, and get them ready for the show.
You know, it's funny. It's it's funny that you
mentioned Morgan, because one ofI will one of my top five best

(31:18):
sets I've ever done actually wasa show that I opened for you,
Lonnie in Sandpoint ID. Man, that was such a great room.
And the, the, the, the, the thing about, and I'm not going
to lie, I was very intimidated because I remember, first of

(31:38):
all, I didn't even drive my own car there.
If I remember correctly, Morgan was like, yeah, I'm going to
drive. And I don't even know why I gave
him the, I mean, I was like, fine, but they felt more
comfortable driving than than me.
I got, I don't know, I guess they've heard about my car
accidents. Oh, you're a horrible driver.

(31:59):
You're a horrible love you, but you're.
A horrible driver. Yeah, there's, it must be that.
So it was like, and in my job, Iwas driving A at the time it was
a Honda Civic 2000 and I think it was like AI think it was like
a 2000. It was like an early model
Civic, but it it was a 5 1/2 hour drive and it was Justin

(32:26):
Hennigan. Hennigan.
Was on this. I don't remember Hennigan.
No, because the. Stacks so like I was a little
nervous because normally Morgan wouldn't put together such a a a
heavy hitting list and I had to headline it still and so.

(32:47):
Well, it was a lot of people, man.
Here's the thing though. I didn't even know Justin was
going to was was going to be there.
I was told that he was coming for the ride.
And then Morgan pulled me aside and said, hey, I know I told you
that you were going to feature, but we're going to put Justin on
the show and he's going to go upbefore you.

(33:08):
I remember that like a little side panel conversation, like
you pulled, everybody's like, OK, we're going to change it up
a little bit. But I mean, you know which, you
know, I could, I could see that because look, you might want to
say, oh, I'm just coming along for the ride.
But when you get in a room and you can start to feel the vibe,
you know, you're not going to turn.
And that room was sold out like you could.

(33:29):
I mean, it was fucking packed, Imean.
Yeah, it was it. It was.
I mean to the gills. And it was.
But it was, it was just like when we got there, like right
when we got to our hotel and thethe front desk guy gave me a
cheesecake and I'm like. What is this?
For you know what I'm saying, like and then the owner of the

(33:51):
the bar was there or the managerwith the silver haired fox, you
know, she was there and we had aconversation before that, but I
remember, you know, Morgan pulling me to side where the
pool tables were actually. And and then Justin comes in and
he's like, hey, how do you? And he was asking me like, how

(34:11):
do you want me to, you know, like, what do you want me to do?
As far as I was like, OK, leave.And I remember telling him I was
like, leave me with nothing. And Justin was like, OK.
And I mean, if you remember his set, yeah, like toward the end
of his set, he did just that. And that was.

(34:35):
And I'm sitting by the pool tables shitting even more bricks
because I'm like, now I got to follow that.
Not only that, I got a feature for you and you were driving in
from from Portland on your own. So it wasn't like you were with
us and we all. No, in fact, I got there like I
was running. I barely, I got there.

(34:55):
I was running late. I pulled up like the show was
already getting ready to go on. I mean, it was, but they, they
held, he held it because I was about 45 minutes late because.
It was November and it was snowing.
You know, yeah, yeah, I mean, itwas it that it was like that

(35:18):
last leg was really a lot longerthan I thought it was.
And so, yeah, I was sweating bullets by the time I got there.
And I just remember coming rightin and, and having to be ready
to, to, to go up. But I mean, here's the thing
everyone did, everyone killed man every.
I mean, no one had a bad set that night.

(35:39):
No one. It was by far I owe it and I
that was all the jokes were for me.
All the jokes but one worked. But it was just like from the
moment I got on stage and there was a black girl sitting next to
this white dude and the first thing that came out of my mouth,
I pointed to her and I said no relation.

(36:01):
And. Everybody clapped and I was
like, oh, this is going to be such a great.
I was like. Yeah, and that.
Was you said you're that you were intimidated like I mean, I
mean you were established already, I mean.
Yeah. But I have never went like I've

(36:23):
never went behind. I've never went up after Justin
before in any capacity. Have you have?
You been out in the road like that?
Have you been like? Have you been I?
We've done that. Yeah, yeah, I I got plenty of
them, but it was just one of those things where it's like we
got, I mean, we got a bunch of heavy hitters of the car and
then there's me. Like who the fuck am I?

(36:44):
Like I kind of felt like I was there for the black quota of the
line up, you know what I'm saying?
And because when we get to when we get to the hotel, the hotel
guy's like, oh, which one of youis Jamal?
And I'm like guess. Who The Who you know?
And he was like, OK, I, I imagine it would be you guy

(37:07):
who's never left Sandpoint ID. But it was just, it was such a
great experience, a great everything he.
Probably got all this bare trackname, you know, I mean, there's
probably not a lot of Romney or something, you know, like this.
You know, but and then it was really like my, I mean, I've
seen you perform at Grid City, but then it gave me the

(37:27):
opportunity to watch you perform.
And I remember you growing up onstage and it took you like 1/2
an hour to do so and. You're like.
You're like rearranging furniture on stage.
Oh yeah, yeah. And here's the thing, I
purposely do that. So here, here like first of all,
it's going to be a bitch for me to get on stage anyway,
especially these days. Like you know, with getting up

(37:50):
in age and what not. I'll I'll be 54 tomorrow.
And you're still young. That's that's that's not even
old, but of all and happy birthday.
But you're thank you. I appreciate it.
But it is old when you're crippled, because when you're
already looking old, when you'renot old and you have a Walker
and you're not old and then you're 54 and you're starting to

(38:12):
get old. It's, it's a little complicated,
you know, but. As I'm looking at as I'm looking
at your face right now. Now, first of all, you don't.
I mean, you look able bodied. First of all, you look great.
But if you were to have a heart attack right now, we'd be like,
damn, he was 54. That's kind of.
Fucking young. You know what I'm?
Saying it's like. The one thing I can say is like,

(38:33):
you know, I mean, I think I've aged pretty well and a lot of
people will make fun of me aboutthat.
And I'm like, look, I just, I, Idon't think I've aged because I
walk slow. I've just moved through life
slower than other people is really what it, you know, I've
just been scooting along and smiling along the way.
So but but yeah, I, I think that, you know, going and going

(38:57):
up on stage when it's a bitch like that, I, that's how I reset
the room. So no matter who's up before me,
that moment where I'm doing thatlittle housekeeping, you know,
moving the chair, putting my beer in my drink holder and I
kind of set it in there in a certain way that you can, you
can hear it and it's awkward, you know, and, and then people

(39:18):
are like, that's a thing on the side of his Walker.
That's cool. And I, and I keep it, you know,
I don't really say much because I, I'm literally trying to sort
of set this, this situation where I'm getting ready to work,
You know, I'm, I'm stepping on stage.
This is my, my little area, thismy workstations and and that's

(39:38):
sort of the line. I'm like, give me a second while
I get all this ready. I'll even talk sort of off to
the mic. You know, I don't, I don't
actually talk into the mic at that moment and in it.
And I let sort of everybody soakit in and then, you know, I hit
a couple of just typical lines that that I know that's how I,

(39:58):
you know, want to start. And it just really resets the
entire mood and then. Then once I've got that done, I
really, I love to congratulate all the communions that were up
before me because I want the whole show to go good and I want
the audience to remember the people that really set the room

(40:20):
up. And because I'm not one of the,
I'm not a comic that wants my openers to to suck.
I want my openers to fucking make me nervous.
You know, that's why I had Joe Fondo as my opener forever is
because when I was, you know, mentoring him, I, I wanted a

(40:45):
comedian that would kill it and make me nervous.
And, you know, and towards the end, he was a tough act to
follow. And I, I love that.
So, but that's because I want the whole show to go good.
So I like to congratulate everybody.
And by the time we get all done with all that, the audience is,
is forgotten and, and, and, and sort of eased into who I am.

(41:09):
And then I can sort of go into, and then I can start my first
story. And that just always, it's
always a very successful formula.
And, and so I, I just once, onceI get that, you know, 5 minutes
in, I, I feel normal again. You know, I'm nervous all the

(41:30):
way up until then. But then, you know, then, then
we're, we're ready to go. And so, yeah, I I do that.
I, I 100% agree with you on I'm always like, whenever I see a
lineup, whether I know the people or not, I always try to
have it, you know, like, OK, I have to do well, but at the same

(41:51):
time I'm in the, I'm in the, I'min the audience, I'm watching
the comics. I want them to do well because I
want to be on a good show. Yeah, you want to, you don't
want that vibe of bad, you know when things are going bad, like
I don't know, I don't want that jive right before I go on stage
like that's. Yeah.
Yeah. Like there's always going to be
like 1 comic that may not do super well, but I don't want,

(42:14):
but sometimes I can be advised where it's like, Oh my God, none
of that stuff didn't work for them.
How's it going to work for me? And then the next comic phones
it in and it's, it starts becoming a chain reaction.
And by the time it gets to the feature or headliner, it's like,
Jesus Christ, now I got to do more work and getting this
audience up to where we need it to be.

(42:37):
You know, because here's what I here's what I've always hated.
Stacked lineup. You're on it or I'm on it and a
comic, an audience model comes up to me and they're like, Oh my
God, it's such a great show. You were the best on it.
And I'm like, every time I hear that I cringe.
I know they mean well when they say that.

(42:59):
And it's like, I always want to do my best.
But if everybody on the lineup had that same, you know, like
let's go crush it vibe, you know, we're we're all in this
together as far as acts go, thenthe show would be great.
I never want somebody to come into me and be like, Oh, you are
the funniest. Because when I hear that, I'm
like, oh, well, you Take Me Out of that.

(43:21):
You Take Me Out of that equation.
This show was terrible or the show was not as good?
And it's awkward. It's, it's like if, if you know,
it'd be like somebody coming up and saying, Hey, I, I'm going to
fuck your wife in front of you, you know, and I'm really going

(43:43):
to enjoy it and that's going to be some good.
She your wife has a great pussy and you don't deserve it.
You know, that's what that that's what I have.
All the women out of all the women in this room right now,
I'd rather fuck your wife. Yeah.
Your wife's golden pussy is so much better than anything you
can bring to the table. I don't even know how she even

(44:04):
messed with your Dick, you know?And then and then and you're
like, I'll just stand in the corner and hang myself.
That'll be great. You know, so it's, it's weird.
It's like you don't know where to go in that moment.
It's like, yeah, no, I know, I know she really deserves better.
You know, it's, you know, it's so.
Yeah, I, I can't, I, you know, I'm 100% with you on that one.

(44:24):
Like don't, don't make us, you know, don't put us up against
each other. We already don't like one
another, you know. Yeah, thank you.
Thank you. Oh my God, thank you.
Yeah, you ain't lying about that.
Yeah, there's already animosity.You don't need to add more, you
know. I think that what they're really
trying to say is, is that I mean, they think of it as a
compliment, but what they're really saying is, is that they

(44:47):
resonated with whatever your your story was more than.
And I think that Lonnie, I mean,I know that you, you are
definitely one of those acts that is really hard to to follow
and to like because you you are like very genuine.
That's one of the things I got. I was telling my husband.

(45:08):
So I had when Jamal, I found outearlier today that you were
going to be on the show and I had to tell.
You guys, he calls you at noon and says OK, I'm going to have
this guy and or. In all honesty, Marianne would
ask me, do we have a guest on sometimes?
That way it would be better for her and Romeo to prepare.

(45:31):
So he doesn't tell us. Yeah, most of the time it's like
a surprise. And I find out when we get on.
Yeah. So she she messages me and she's
like, do we have a guest? And the only reason why I told
her that it was I said yes, Lonnie Bruin.
And the reason why I told her that because I was walking down

(45:52):
the street and it's cold here. And I figured if there's any
follow up questions I want them answered now.
So. So she was like.
Oh cool. Wow.
You know, and I'm like, I don't know what that means.
I hope that's a good wow. I hope you guys get along.
So I was like, yeah. I made him nervous.
Well, and then so then so Jamal,I got to tell you this story.

(46:15):
I yeah, and Brett and Chaney, who we're great friends with
Romeo and Brett have a great bromance.
We, we love Brett and Chaney andjust the most salt to the earth
people in the world. And so I was telling him about
the show that we did in forks like a lifetime.
And we, we drove down Brett and Chaney and I drove to Portland

(46:38):
to pick up Don Frost and Lonnie in the freaking like the, the
minivan from hell. And.
Oh yeah, the Grid City van. Yeah, no, it wasn't the Grid
City van. It was, it was a different, it
was a rental van. But Brett was driving and and
Shanny's always goes on and on about how bad of a driver Brett

(46:58):
is. And I'm like, you're crazy.
I'm like, Brett doesn't compare to Jamal or my dad or Romeo, I
mean. Driver.
And yeah, you, you, you're a bad.
So oh. My so yeah, you're a bad driver.
So yeah, you scared me and you scared everybody else too.
But anyways, so Don gets in the back seat and he he like triple

(47:22):
buckles in the back seat. Yeah, yeah, that was the start
of our show. But we.
Still, he's still very close with them too.
Like he's still like, I mean, you know, they they I think they
see one another a couple of times a year, you know, they
have like a yeah, but yeah, it goes way back.
Yeah, definitely. And I, and I didn't know, I

(47:43):
mean, Don was like, do you want to do this show?
And and I had and he was like, it's in Forks.
And I'm like, where's that? And so I didn't know anyone.
I just got into a band with somestrangers and took off into the
forest. You know it was.
Exactly. Like this is.
Back before twilight, so nobody had ever heard forks before.

(48:04):
No, no. It was a It was a benefit show
for Relay for Life, and it was. A good show too.
Oh my God, the town. The whole town came out.
It was really weird. Not just the whole town came
out, they one of the towns, but owned a bunch of cabins in the
woods, literally cabins in the wood and they donated cabins for
us to stay in and. They treated like royalty.

(48:29):
Yeah, we'd go to do the show andit was in like a VFW hall or
something and it there was like 200 and 5300 people in the
audience in town came out. And afterwards there was a bar
in town that we all went out to this bar to go hang out and they
were buying us drinks. Like, no, I don't think anybody

(48:50):
paid for any drinks. They were all buying us drinks
and shit. Well, there was a bad There was
a Bachelorette party in town. There was.
A there was a we had a buffet orsome sort of dinner too.
Like there was. Oh God.
Yeah, they, that was the Brett'sfamily.
They had just gone out and went crabbing that morning and caught
a bunch of bread crab and they had this whole huge buffet, like

(49:11):
all the food you could possibly eat and then some in front of
us. And they?
All of their a bunch of their people came out too.
And so we go to this bar and it was packed and none of us had to
pay for a drink. Well, I go over and there's a
Bachelorette party and they had these penis straws and I had to

(49:32):
go steal a penis straw. And I was drinking out of this
penis straw at at the bar and Lonnie's sitting at the bar and
I had to go use the bathroom. And so I come up to Lonnie and I
take my my pint glass with a penis straw in it and I slap it
in front of him and I go Lonnie guard my straw.
I have to go to the bathroom. And Lonnie.

(49:53):
Looks at me and he goes. Do you really think somebody's
going to try and steal your cockstraw?
I stole it from somebody else. Hell yeah, they're going to
steal it. Yeah, I mean, but see, you know,
that's The thing is that you steal Cox cross.
That doesn't mean everybody does.
You know, you were just, you were defending because you were

(50:16):
thinking you were going to find someone just like you there.
And not everybody steals Cox cross.
You know, sometimes, sometimes we just want people to have
their own cock straws and it's fine.
It's like welcome to Forks garden cock straws.
Yeah, there's a lot of cock straws and forks.
I don't know if you know that ornot.

(50:38):
It's a commodity. Yeah, I think so.
And I, I, I went to, it took me because the place was so packed.
It took me like 20 minutes to goget to the bathroom and make my
way back to Lonnie, and Lonnie'sgot his arm wrapped around my
drink. Oh yeah, I treat it like my own
cock. You know, I was trying to take
care of. My big old redneck Cowboys

(50:59):
standing around him and Lonnie looks at me and he goes do you
know how much shit I had to go through to save Pierre cock
strong? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I didn't. I and I was like, I literally
had my arm around him. Like nobody's getting the cock
strolling, you know, the Cowboyswere like, no one's no one's
grabbing for it, dude. Don't worry about it, man.

(51:19):
Don't worry. They Yeah, they gave me shit
though, I'll tell you that. They because I think it was
like, I think it was like purpleor pink, you know it.
Was. Purple I it was yeah, it would
look like a dog cock. You know how terrible that is?
You know, yeah, don't take my dog cock straw, you know, like,
oh God, yeah, this is my lipstick.

(51:41):
You know, you said I could say anything, so there it.
Is I did. And then afterwards we, we went
to, to go stay in our cabins andDon and Lonnie had the cabin
right next to mine, right. And I had the cabin that had the

(52:02):
stuffed tiger in it. There was like a shelf way up in
the corner that had this. They'd had a, a stuffed cougar,
a real cougar that was up there.And I was told specifically the
reason they put me in that room was because they told me
specifically that the year before when they did the the
show out there, the comic that had stayed in that room had
taken the stuffed cougar off that counter up off that shelf

(52:23):
and put it in the middle of the bed.
And so when aid service came in the next day, they freaked out
because they opened the door andhere's a cougar standing on the
bed. And so I was having kind of a
conversation with the cougar. And then I I went to bed the
next morning we or we went to goget up and I hear Lonnie talking
about can you see my noodles through my shirt and they were

(52:46):
and him and Don were laughing and talking and then.
I don't even know what that means.
I'm a little scared. I'm a little we.
Go leave. And they're like, you know,
we're so impressed with these cabins.
They're they're so well insulated.
You we couldn't hear you at all.And I said that's because I was
by myself. I said I went through the walls
and I said, what the hell is a noodle anyway?
That within three years shirt and you said you're like I said,

(53:09):
nipples. Can you see that?
Oh. Yeah, I mean, Don and I were
very immature when, I mean, thisis that's why we're best
friends, man. Because like if we get together,
like especially at a show, like if we're at a show and I and
we're in the back and we're in and we're supposed to be quiet.
And Don can't be quiet, No at all.

(53:31):
He has a very hard time being quiet.
And I know that. Like, I know if I make Don
laugh, everyone in the room is going to fucking hear it, you
know, So we'll be saying something and then I'll lean in
and whisper and, and say something to Don.
And then Don has this fucking cackle laugh like he and, and it
will, it will slice the room, man.

(53:54):
And I would always get him in trouble every time because you'd
be in the back. And then I would say something
really fucking stupid that that just kills him.
And then the whole and then the whole room is looking at us.
And then I just step away, you know, I'm like, I don't know
this guy. So yeah.
So yeah, it forks was great then.

(54:17):
But then you and I worked in oneother show after a year, kind of
years later. And where was that you put it
together? Oh my God.
OK, so, oh, we're going to talk about that one too.
I definitely agree, Lonnie. You agreed that we would.
We would never talk about that show ever again.

(54:39):
That was 1. Of those shows that was so
fucking horrible bad that you literally felt like you left the
room with your panties in a bound paper bag.
It was so fucking bad. It was like I still taste the
shit sandwich to this day when Ithink about that show.
That was that was the last time I worked together, so I just
I'm. I I know I I like sure we

(55:01):
couldn't talk about the good funtime we got to bring up the shit
show that was like I. Still had fun, I don't know what
you're talking about. Oh, it was.
Yeah, it was still it. Was because something goes
shitty doesn't mean it's not, you know it was.
So. Funny you want to do the good
and the bad on this one. Oh my God, it was one of those
shows, Jamal, that it literally you had to stand on stage.

(55:22):
You know, this is what Mark makes the difference between an
amateur and a professional. A professional stands on stage
and eats that shit sandwich for half an hour and does their
fucking time. And that's and, and you just
look at the audience and you're like, this is So what little
audience was there? You're like, yes, this is very

(55:44):
fucking painful. What was weird about that show?
Like because I don't even remember the town I can.
Go. Back where?
Where was it? Omak.
Omak OK, I'll have to look that on the map now, because I just
remember feeling it. I felt so lonely there, like in

(56:04):
the day like it you know it would I wouldn't say that it was
like a ghost town vibe. I would just, I would say like
that you knew people were there,but they but nobody wanted to
admit it. It's the best way.

(56:25):
Wow. You.
Know. I did learn a lot from that.
I did learn a lot from that painful experience and I would
absolutely do things so completely and totally
different. One, I wouldn't ever do 1 that
far out if I, if I hadn't like had a lot more communication

(56:47):
with the room and a lot more like at least trying to go scout
it out. I mean, I would do things so
much different than how I did that show.
But it's one of those, I think that, you know, they call it
those growth experiences where you and where everything goes
wrong and you learn a whole lot.But we did get paid and we we
got paid well. We got pretty well and they

(57:08):
treated us well. They didn't.
They were not. They.
I mean, they, they felt bad like, and it is what it is,
right? I mean, but I mean, I didn't
feel they, they, some places, you know, they won't do that.
No, they, they, they respected what we were doing.
They felt like they didn't do their job and they wish they

(57:30):
could have, you know, made it better.
But I mean, and at no time did Ifeel like.
They were. You know, shitting on us or
anything like that. So that.
That part was cool is we we wentaway from that, you know, and
happy that we were they let us leave and but but it was it, you

(57:52):
know, our rapport with the with the owners and how it all went
down that that went really well.And you know, I have to give it.
Not every room will do that where they use their ass and
they still pay you. And you know, they probably, you
know, I've never done another comedy show there again, but but

(58:13):
they did they they paid us. And I thought that was, that was
pretty cool because I think if Iremember right, like I think we
were both a little concerned that we weren't going to get
paid. Oh yeah, we were scared, tailed
the. Nice.
Thing it was like a 5 hour driveto get out there too, like a
four hour oh. No, I mean, it was a lot like.
It was a long after. We were.

(58:33):
We were in the car for a long fucking time.
A long fucking time. And they did put, they did put
us up in our hotel rooms. They gave us 2 rooms, which was
really cool and they fed us and gave us a couple drinks and then
and paid us and that part was really good.
I mean, this is, you know, there's that, you know,
sometimes you can't always guarantee that when you're doing

(59:02):
a show, you can always guaranteethat the people that, especially
when it's so far away, you can'tgo there and and.
Satellite back and forth for, you know, two months and you
have to you know, that's why like, you know, it's like
anything like communication is everything.
If you don't have consistent communication throughout the

(59:25):
entire process, then then there's going to be some some
disconnects. And the minute you feel that
there's a disconnect, then, you know, I think it's our
responsibility to like, I think comics, you know, want to hope
for the best. But when you can feel like

(59:47):
there's a disconnect, you know, that gut instinct, you got to go
with it. You got to you got to believe
it. And you that's when you actually
got to go, OK, look, there's a disconnect and we need to talk
about it because I'm 4 1/2 five hours away and we can't have one
if you want this thing to go successful.
And, and so I think if more comics, when they're booking

(01:00:12):
stuff weren't afraid to like talk about the elephant in the
room, then you know. There'd be a better chance of
putting together shows where theelephant isn't the only thing in
the room, you know? Yeah, exactly.
And it is about like, seriously,like you said, I think that a

(01:00:35):
lot of people, one of the thingsI've been doing this for a long
time and the biggest mistake I ever made of doing this was
failing to see to not to see it,but treat it as a business.
That's the biggest thing. And when you're, when you're
dealing with this as a business,you're a salesperson, excuse me,

(01:00:56):
you're a salesperson and you're selling not just yourself, but
when you're promoting it, you'realso selling the entire room,
the experience and all that other stuff.
And you have to communicate a lot with.
And, and I think that that's very commendable that if if that
somebody like Morgan Preston would say, you know what?
No, you're not willing to do this.
And we can't, we can't have this.
It's not because I get that barswant to, you know, and I and I

(01:01:19):
think I've seen that like I I worked with family.
Yeah, we. We worked, my God.
And they? Weren't willing.
To do that. The shittiest thing about being
a Booker is that you're, you know, comics are fucking
assholes and, and, and bar owners are assholes and
audiences are assholes, you know, and everybody wants what

(01:01:40):
everybody wants it to be perfect.
The audience wants it one way, the, the owners want it one way,
the comics want it one way. And, and so a Booker is just
basically a dance monkey trying to run around making everybody
happy and, and no one wants to compromise, you know, And so it,

(01:02:02):
it, it's, I think that's why I like, I ended up getting out of
the booking because, you know, initially it was like, I just
want, I know what a show needs to do to, to make it work.
And I want to bring in the people I love so they can have
good shows, because there's nothing like going out and doing

(01:02:24):
shows for people that know you and put together the show that
that, you know, it's a comic. It's like, it's a, it's a sweet
gig. And but you know, you're not
going to always get that. And that's why like some of the
sweetest gigs are just one, you know, they're just like a

(01:02:47):
satellite night out of anywhere.I'll, I'll give you an example.
Walla Walla with not Walla WallaYakima with Jonas Barnes.
Like I can't think of the name of the room.
Bob. 'S place, Bob's place or Bill's
place? Yeah, Bill's place, I mean.

(01:03:08):
Great room. One of the best rooms that I've,
you know, ever performed in consistently.
And I and it's funny because like the last time, this was
right before COVID, Jonas has booked me.
This is when I'm, you know, I'm,I'm actually doing an hour and a
half show now at this point, youknow where, where I started

(01:03:30):
telling people like, look, I want to, I've got a lot to say
and just have somebody go up anddo like 15 minutes in front of
me and then bring me up and, andlet me, let me tell my stories.
And so I started getting booked to do both the, the half hour
and the hour. And Jonas and, and, and Morgan

(01:03:52):
were the first to do, to do justthat.
They they, you know, they both, they were like, yeah, you know,
we know you can do it. And so I would go and do these,
you know, one person shows, but they, you know, you'd put like a
guy up and do like 10 or 15 minutes.
And in the last time that I did that room, he told me this later

(01:04:13):
that he had he had posted something on Facebook.
He goes, Lonnie's been up there for two hours and 15 minutes and
they still don't want him to getoff the stage.
And, and I didn't, I didn't evenknow that.
Like he told me that later. And in that I just thought, I
mean, that's how that's how goodthey were.
And, and, and it wasn't one of those things where it was, you

(01:04:36):
know, getting tired and they wanted like, they just wanted to
keep hearing more stories. And eventually I was like, look,
it's, you know, well, I got to, I got to say goodbye to you
guys, you know, but by far one of the coolest rooms out there.
And again, it's just this one magical night once a month or

(01:04:59):
however it was done. And, and they treated the comics
like, like stars, you know, we had our own little private thing
off to the side of the like we, we stayed at the at their place
adjacent to the bar and the, thefridge was filled with drinks

(01:05:22):
and, you know, just. Me Morgan Parson was the first
one to do that show and I rated that refrigerator.
Like. I rated that refrigerator like
alcoholic going back on relapse.I was like, what?
My like they had like grapefruitbeer.
I was cracking shit open. You know, like when you go down

(01:05:44):
like you're a parent, you go downstairs and you see your kid
eating ice cream at like 2:00 inthe morning.
That was me with like empty bottles around me and, and, and
Morgan was like, you're not going to drink all of that, are
you? I'm like I just want to make a
dent. There's so much.
Stuff. And then and then they bought us
breakfast in the morning. Yeah, I mean they just they

(01:06:05):
made. And.
Yeah. They they, they brought us
breakfast and the, the, the owner, Bill asked us, Hey, how
did you sleep? And I was so fucking hungover.
I'm like, I, I think I drank toomuch last night, he said.
Oh, you hit the old refrigerator, huh?
And then some. Oh my God, yeah.

(01:06:26):
There's nothing worse than leaving Yakima hungover, you
know, I mean, it's because, because again, it's, it's, it's
kind of like that one town that we were just talking about.
There's a lot of light, like there's a lot of sun and there's
not a lot of clouds, but there'sstill just, you know, a lot of
void. There's still a lot of

(01:06:47):
emptiness, you know, so you're leaving and you're like, God,
it's so beautiful and yet still empty.
You know, it's stripper with pretty eyes.
You know it's. Like I, I remember Morgan was
driving because I was too hungover to drive and Morgan
values his life. So he he's driving my car and

(01:07:08):
I'm looking and, and Yakima was like in a valley.
So I'm like looking up at that. I'm like, wow, there's houses up
there. And he was like kind of looking
up. He's like, oh, for a moment
there I thought you were so fucked up that, you know, I'm
like, no, there's literally houses like on ridges and shit.
I'm like, how did they build that up there?
And I'm, I'm yeah. Like the way that that town is

(01:07:31):
set up, I mean, it's, it's, you know, it's a nice little quaint
little town, you know? Yeah, you know, I.
Mean it it I don't know if I'd want a mansion on the hill in
Yakima, but I mean, you know, toeach their.
Own but people yeah, people haveit you know, they live that life
you know so. Now, so was that when we did our

(01:08:00):
show in in Sandpoint, was that the only time like had we worked
together ever before that? I mean I.
I think we've done Grid City once.
And it did. You used to do radio.
No. Cal, who am I thinking of?
Then? For some reason I thought you,

(01:08:21):
you, you did you that you were on radio for a while.
But OK, I digress. You're thinking about rigs.
No, not, not no, Eric. His his friend I.
Didn't know Rick did. Rick did radio.
Yeah, he and and Eric Bumquist, they both did radio and I did

(01:08:47):
radio, but. I, I did radio, but I didn't
have my own show. But I, I went on, I was on
Marconi, which was like hugely, like he was extremely big
afternoon show. He, he actually got syndicated
up in Seattle for a while after he got fired from down in

(01:09:09):
Portland. He got fired because it was kind
of a national news story. He it's when they did the joke
about the beheading, you know, and that was back in the day
when you could get in trouble for the things you say, you
know, not, not anymore, but. Quiet, Piggy, Quiet.

(01:09:32):
Yeah, Yeah. Quiet, Piggy.
Exactly, Yeah. You don't get trouble for shit
like that anymore. No, no, I can't.
I mean, I to hear a president say quiet Piggy, what I mean,
that's just outstanding. You know that I I just cannot
believe that's the ultimate universe that we live in.
Yes. Yes, like I feel I feel like,

(01:09:57):
like we skipped into this new universe and we all got jet
lagged, you know, because the time when you're like I, I'm not
used to the time zone, you know,of what is happening in this
situation. But I, I mean to, to live in a,
in a, in a, in a, in a world where the president of the
United States can say quiet piggy, you know, is just.

(01:10:22):
I. I mean, it just nothing.
No, no, you know, and my, my take on it was like, yeah, I
mean, everyone's going to look like a piggy if you like to fuck
13 year olds, you know, that kind of, you know, mentality
that we we live in that, that this is all just sort of OK now.
And I just it's, it's not good on the mental health.

(01:10:44):
I don't, you know, it's hard to navigate it from a comic
standpoint because we really want to talk about it.
But then people want to say it'spolitical and it's like, not
really. Like this is this is not, you
know, it's not about politics when it gets to, you know, a
weird level like that. And, and, and I guess the, the,

(01:11:06):
I think the problem that affectsme the most as a comedian
because like, I love to be on stage.
I love to be laughing. I want to, I want to unite with
my audience and want us to enjoy.
Like, yes, I rant about the things that, you know, are weird
and, and like I, you know, my life is strange.
So I've had just so many crazy shit happen to me in my life,

(01:11:30):
but I don't look at it as a, a negative thing.
And so I, I try to take it at anangle of like, it's absurdly
hilarious that that could even happen.
And, and So what I'm having a hard time with in this, in this

(01:11:54):
era, in this, you know, alternate universe is that I
don't do well with cruelty. Like that's just, we live in a
time where everybody is just OK with being mean and.
Coliseum. It feels like like he's a
gladiator in the. Coliseum and everybody's

(01:12:16):
cheering him on. The more grotesque, disgusting
things that he does, the more they love it and.
And it just it but it. But it's gone beyond him.
Like, I mean, yeah. I think people have to
acknowledge that like, this isn't really, yes, Trump sort
of, you know, instigated, you know, he really is sort of the

(01:12:40):
devil's prodigy because, like, he he goes in and he starts
something and then he sneaks out, you know, he's like, hey,
and then and he lets the the chaos happen.
He's he pushed the snowball downthe hill.
Yeah, but it's just getting. Bigger and bigger.
Now he's standing back and watching.
Everybody gets sucked up in it and he's a Prince of chaos.

(01:13:01):
And. So it it just.
But we have to stop, like we have to stop putting it all on
him. When, when, when everybody from
both sides really like everyone's just OK with being
cruel now. And, and we can't get out of it.
Even myself, like I just finally, you know, when I see

(01:13:22):
shit that just like I can't believe that person said that,
then then I'm then I'm cruel. And that's just not, that's not,
it's not fun. And, and, and then it's just
really it's it's why I took the the you know, the three-year I
said that and just, you know, I had several bad things happen
and, and, and, you know, first time in my life really deciding

(01:13:47):
that that I I needed to like step away from the stage to to
address a bunch of fucking shit that that I was having a hard
time with. And and I yeah, I mean it just
really, it's a weird time to do comedy.

(01:14:08):
It's it. It's.
What, what's funny about it is that this is the, I never
thought in my life that there'd ever be a time where I would
live in an era again, where I could potentially go to jail for
the things that I said. I always thought like, God, that
would have been great to be in that time of George Carlin and
Lenny Bruce and, and, and I'm like, but there's no way that's

(01:14:31):
ever going to happen again, right?
And now, now we're, I mean, see,I thought about that.
And I'm like. There.
Is you could do it. It's just here's the thing, the
thing that Carlin, Lenny Bruce and all those guys and let's
just say all those are a very small group of people is I just
recently watched George Carlin and let me tell you something.

(01:14:54):
He had guts and a lot of no, he had guts.
He told it how he saw it. And you know, it was like, hey,
stop. He would stop thinking.
Start thinking. For yourself.
Stop being sheep and start thinking for yourself.

(01:15:14):
I started. Subliminally making jokes about
our time, but I won't without even using names like I did a
black room the other day and like I was trying to think of
another joke and I it was one ofthose smoking joke shows, you
know, you smoking. And I was like, oh, look at this
audience. This looks like it looks like

(01:15:38):
the rejects from Trump's candidate from his cabinet.
You know, no black people is in his cabinet.
And I was like, hey, look in thebright side.
Bush had, you know, Colin Powell, he had Condoleezza Rice.
At least there was a mixture of that in his in his cabinet.

(01:15:58):
He had a sense of humor, you know.
Well, that's because. He wasn't that bright, but
nonetheless. But I mean, I mean, he was a, he
was a good old boy. And what he wasn't what he
wasn't like you like, I mean. Bush never did, never did the
things I know current president is doing like he like, but no.

(01:16:19):
I mean. Mary Ann, you sent me the clip
and I looked at it just today and I was like, I had to watch
it twice because I was like. There's no way.
He said. What I thought he said.
And I watched it twice and I waslike, wow.
And then and then here's the fucked up thing about the clip
that you sent me, Mary Ann. There are people who are

(01:16:40):
actually celebrating this. And I'm like, why?
Like, why would you what, what, what is what, Why would you
celebrate? Now, anybody who celebrates that
or celebrates the numerous shit he has said that says more about
that person than it says about we already.

(01:17:02):
The thing is, these are the samepeople that are like don't trust
the media. I'm like, well, the media has
him on video doing this, so what's not to trust?
Actually, actually saw. Somebody.
When? It first.
Came out. I saw it on somebody's post and
a response that they had from one of their their people was

(01:17:26):
well, if this was really true, it wouldn't have been on a
still, it would have been there would have been video.
So I don't believe he said that and and then I thought I don't
it's Bible problem. The weird thing about?
It is that there's. This is like the.
Third time in a month that I heard something and I'm like.
OK, that's got. To be AI and then it's and then

(01:17:49):
it's not, you know, and. I'm like.
Whoa man, it's not AI, you know.Tada.
You know, I mean, it's like really wild and and that's just,
you know, I mean, AI is like, I can't, I can't pull that off,
you know, like that's, that's not a bad AI.

(01:18:10):
You know, AI is like no dude, that's that's big shit.
You. Know it's it's like I don't know
I don't know what robots doing that shit, but I don't like
their imagination, you know so here I think.
Here's the difference between what's happening.
Now and why we can't be the George Carlin or the Lenny Bruce

(01:18:32):
of our time in this moment or the Richard Pryor.
It's because like George Carlin at that time could go up and
talk about that. And the.
Audience could hear that he's like be an individual, be
different, speak for yourself, think for yourself and people

(01:18:53):
would be like fuck yeah. And he did it a way that he was
educating everybody on on how how do to look at the situation
from a different perspective. And learn.
From it and you can't do that inthis era because no one wants to
be educated and so good. That's a good point when when

(01:19:18):
they go up to. Talk about it if I go up.
And try to educate the room on on my perspective then I I am a
part of the problem at that. Point I'm.
I I'm there, there's a reason why they're burning books.
There's a reason why they're trying to pull the shit out of

(01:19:38):
schools. They don't want to learn.
They it's like they've done thatand they don't, they don't like
that route and they're and so ifI'm trying to educate them, I'm
belittling them and, and they take offense to that and, and so
George Carlin, I I think. Would be.

(01:20:01):
A target at this point, if he was in this in, in this moment.
So it's it's it's funny, so I remember.
I was doing a phone call with this theater in Galveston, TX
that I wanted to book and very nice theater, like 1000 Seat
Theater in Galveston, TX. And I was, I was like, wanted to

(01:20:23):
do it. And the lady that I spoke to was
like this elderly lady who was basically like she was the
coordinator and she told me stories about comics who had
went through there, like Sinbad and what have you.
And then we talked about George Carlin.
And I said, oh, George Carlin, that's my number, but he's like,
he's on my top five list. And she was like, oh, really?

(01:20:45):
And I was like, yeah, George Carlin is so funny, like.
The way that and. You know, I was like I was like
gushing over over Carlin and shetold me that Carlin has done
that room 3 times. The first time he did it with
his usual act. He sold it out but by the time
the show ended it was 3/4 empty.Wow.

(01:21:09):
She said they booked him again. A.
Few years later. And he only sold half the room.
Mind you, Texas, very conservative.
Yeah. Yeah, and.
Then the third time it was. Half full did the show.

(01:21:30):
By the time the show was over itwas like 1/4.
It was 1/4 full like people. So he just they ended up not
booking him anymore and he just ended up stopped going to at
least Galveston, TX. But it was.
So nowadays, today's, I think what most comics are doing is

(01:21:51):
they're either fully ignoring the situation because hey, we
got brands to protect, or they're just like really going
gung ho over it and they don't care.
Like, hey, if you're a MAGA here, I mean, I don't know if
you guys see Travis Simmons post, but this guy is like, you
know, on the front lines every day with a new meme, with a new,

(01:22:16):
you know, and it's just like, you know, so I, I, I do, we do,
I, I don't feel that none of this stuff should be everything
should be made fun of #1 especially this particular
administration. You know, like I said, I, I'm
not a political comic, so I don't really go deep into the
whole thing. But it's just like, you know, if

(01:22:38):
I'm, if I'm in Alabama, I'm going to be very weary on the
social commentary I talked about.
But but when I do do it, it's like, hey, I'm going to make
sure that the stuff that I joke about you, you're not going to
have much of A leg to stand on. And if you do defend or bitch

(01:23:01):
about this joke that I made, again, it says more about you.
Oh, he never touched those kids.Oh, he's not on the list or
whatever. Or.
I'm like, well. How long does it take to redact
the list? You know what I'm saying?
How long does it take to redact the list that doesn't exist?
That's on POM, that's supposedlyon Pam Bondi's death.
There was a list. There's not a list.
I'm just like, I'm, I'm kind of whole over the whole listing.

(01:23:22):
I don't even. I don't even.
Give a shit. About the list anymore, At this
point I don't care. You know, for me there's like.
Two sides of of me. So I'm very politically engaged
on, on social media because I, it's hard for me to ignore a

(01:23:47):
stupidity. It's it's hard for me to, I
can't, I can't wrap my head around people that, that, that
cannot see what we all see. So that really like bugs the
fuck out of me. Now, will I take that on stage?
No, I, I do, you know, I, I rattle a lot of cages on, on my

(01:24:08):
social media and I'm sure that anybody goes and sees my social
media that thinks like, oh, well, that's what his Act's
gonna be like. That's not what my ACT is like.
I don't, I'm not a political I'mnot Bill Maher.
I don't, I don't I don't know how to make political humor
funny except, you know, I mean in I mean, I think some of the

(01:24:30):
stuff I say on social media is funny, but that's not funny on
stage. It's different.
It's written. It's it's not it.
So like, and, and I just, you know, you have to be, you know,
if, if you're going to be a political comedian, you have to
really nail it, right. Jon Stewart nails it, right.

(01:24:53):
There are people that can nail it.
And if you, it's like, I guess, you know, that rule applies to
anything. Like if you don't know how to to
own the material that you're doing and you just have asset,
it's going to be, it's gonna be rough night.
And, and so I don't write political material that I can

(01:25:18):
bring on stage because I, I don't know how to write that
kind of stuff without sounding pissed.
And I don't want to sound pissedon stage because I think there's
a way to to dance between a rantand enjoying it and, and, and
giving a sense to the audience that you're not taking it too

(01:25:39):
seriously. And then there's, you know,
like, oh, that guy really feels that way.
And I don't know, like when I'm on stage, I don't want to
wrestle with that. And and.
Ruin the show. And and then also there needs to
be a place for people to fuckingget away from it.
Yeah, exactly. And so.

(01:26:02):
I feel like if there's one. Place that we can all unite and
fucking not, you know, drench ourselves in that, in that in in
the feelings that we have over this moment.
It's it's got to be comedy because that's, you know, that's
what we're, you know, that's what we're magical at.

(01:26:24):
So I want to bring the audience together in that moment.
And look, you know, if you go toa KKK meeting, you know, and
you're in my audience, I don't, I don't know that and I don't
want to know, you know, I just want to make you, you know, I
don't, I don't need to know the details of your life.
And, and I don't want to get into a situation where if I

(01:26:45):
bring certain things up that I'mgoing to find out who you are
because, you know, even I know this sounds weird, but like even
the guy who goes to the KKK meeting needs a fucking laugh.
You know, there's a reason why he goes to the meeting.
He's he's pissed, you know, it'ssomething something didn't go
right in his life. He's fucking angry, you know so.

(01:27:06):
You know, maybe. If he had a few more jokes, he
wouldn't fucking go to the meeting anymore.
I don't know, you know, like I'mjust, you know, I'm not room for
the guy. I'm just saying, hey, dude,
there's other places you can go that people get together and
they don't wear hoods and piss and fucking swear and, and, and
want to kill people, you know, and you know, I mean, there's
look, you're, you're an accomplishment.

(01:27:27):
Tonight, nobody's. Wearing a hood, nobody's angry,
you know, and company brings us together.
It bridges a lot of different diversity, so it.
It's it's, you know, I think that's an important.
And it makes people cranky. Like you go, you pay $20, see my
show. I'd rather tell you about the
time that I tried to suck my ownDick than to tell you how I feel

(01:27:48):
about the administration today, you know?
You know, that's just, that's just how it is, you know, and
you know. I'm I won't.
Go into the details of the story.
I will say it's easy for someoneif they can push down on my
back. That's all I'm saying, you know,
but the, I think that that's important to, to bring out in

(01:28:09):
the audience and I, and, and I want that like I want us to
fucking laugh. I want us to have a good time.
I want to tell you about my crazy stories.
I want to tell you about the time that I tried to Jack off in
the state of Wyoming, you know, while I was driving down the
road. I want to, I want to talk about
anything that that that we all sort of can still relate to and

(01:28:32):
put all of that shit off to the side and, and take a fucking,
you know, a moment to, to remember that like, you know, we
don't have to. Live.
Hard just because, you know, we like to drench ourselves and all
that shit. And so for me, when I'm doing a

(01:28:55):
comedy, that's like. That's the.
The number one thing, but then. There's still a part of me.
Look, 'cause I made it a rule, like I don't put a lot of rules
on my show for other comics or anything, but I'm like no
politics, you know? And, and with that said, like I

(01:29:16):
am going to break the rule on myshow because I have to do 1
political joke. Because if you are going to do a
political joke, I think it should be funny.
And I, and I don't know how I'm going to fucking squeeze it in
there. Because I I.
Promised that I wouldn't do any political stuff, but I, I have
this, this sort of this concept of like, there's a, like a

(01:29:39):
quote, like a professor said that if more, if more presidents
had to pass a, a civics exam, that, that we would have a
better government today. And, and then my joke is that
Trump was like, oh, I can pass acivic exam.

(01:30:00):
And then his team was like, no, no, it it's it's not cervix.
It's a Civics. Exam it's different.
And it's a fucking, it's like. Probably the most like I.
Think it's like. The most brilliant thing I've
written in like like 40 years and I love it.

(01:30:23):
I've got to, I've got to fit in there somehow.
And I think that even even, you know, people that aren't with
me, they're going to they're going to get it because I think
we're all getting tired. You know, we're we're at that.
We're at that point where it's. Kind of.
Everybody's, you know, getting pretty tired of the bullshit.

(01:30:43):
I think, you know, it's more than just being tired.
I don't know about you, but like.
Just that absolute fear in your gut about what's coming next and
the especially for people. Who?
Like where are we gonna go with our medical?
Where are we? People who don't make a billion
dollars, you know, we should alllook at how much we have in

(01:31:06):
common on this is that we are losing medical we're losing the
being able to afford to even people with.
High incomes are having a hard. Time struggling to make ends
meet anymore because of how expensive everything's become
and I just I guess I just keep going are we being punked?

(01:31:29):
I mean like seriously, what the fuck how the fuck is this
person? How do people support this
person? And I, I just shake my head and
I go I can't fucking believe this like literally are people
this fucking stupid? And they are.
Well, the fact of the matter is we haven't even hit.
Year 1 I know we have not hit. Year 1 he.

(01:31:53):
Still got 3. More fucking years beyond this
now. The scary part is this.
Man has. The nuclear code he's got, he's
got the keys. To the football.
Whatever you want to call it, the nuclear codes.
And he's a narcissist and he hates everyone and.

(01:32:17):
And I'm. Quite sure he's very petty and
I'm quite sure before he leaves he'll try to blow us all up
before he if I can't have it, nobody can fuck it.
And he has that. And wait, Romeo.
So my question is, what's the? What's the What's the negative
part of him? What's the what's the downside

(01:32:40):
of? The What's the downside of
Trump? I'm I'm still waiting for the
downside. Of Trump here.
What what's going on here buddy?Here's what I'm I'm looking at
so. And I and I posted about this so
I. Quit smoking 10 years ago.
I quit drinking four years ago and I have my bottle.
It's a Dan Aykroyd Skull vodka. My, it's my apocalypse vodka.

(01:33:06):
Like you know how they have the Doomsday clock?
Well, I have the apocalypse vodka.
I need to go get some cigarettesto go throw next to it.
It doesn't matter if they're still as fuck when I quit last
year, I quit for. 70 days I had to have a bottle I had to have.
Something that was partially. Open when?

(01:33:29):
Whenever I've ever tried to quitdrinking, I've always had to
have enough to know that I couldgo to it if I need it because it
it like it freaks me out to think that I don't have the
option. I need option to turn it down
which is but that's you know that's why I keep backing it in

(01:33:50):
the house and they keep trying to ask me if.
I'm if I have because of becauseI was on pain pills for over 20
years and one of my pain management.
Counselors who called me and. Said and asked me these
questions like. Do you have any cravings for,

(01:34:14):
for, for, for for opioids or stuff like that?
And I'm like, no, not really. And he goes, well, if you had it
in your home, do you think you would take it?
I said, I got a bottle right here, you know, and I, and I was
actually pulling up and say, look, I got a bottle, dude.
I said I don't take, but it's here.
You know, there's something about like, it's scary.

(01:34:37):
To think I. Don't have that option and I
also I don't want to be told I can't.
I want the decision, I want the.It's your choice.
So like, that's where it comes. From is it like I?
I need control. Of the situation and, and I and
I and I feel better because at that point, you know, it's my
own will that is in, in making the decision for me.

(01:35:00):
I think that's a better way for a lot of people who are
alcoholic. Or have substance abuse of some
type. They if they actually have some
in their house that they can actually say, no, I'm not going
to do it to do that. Because it's when everybody's
like, oh, no, we're going to have an intervention.
You need to stop. We're going to make you stop.
We're going to send you to a class.

(01:35:22):
We're going to make you stay into your sober and you're going
to stop. And it's like, dude, all I keep
fucking thinking about it now iswas Luke, when your
motherfucking ass leave, I'm going to fucking do it, you
know? But but your way, if you have it
there and you can say, look, I see it there, but I don't
fucking want it. Yeah, I'm saying, you know,

(01:35:44):
you're basically saying no to itevery.
Day exactly that's empowering, like there's something
empowering about that, right. You know, I'm I you know, I
don't know if anyone ever did anintervention with you.
I know my family never did an intervention with me and I've
tried to you know, hint, you know, you know, like, hey, have
you thought about maybe, you know, do you like me?

(01:36:06):
You know, SO did something like this.
With my child, with my daughter when she was a little girl and
she turned 13 and I went up to visit her for Christmas and I

(01:36:29):
went up and I. Said OK, you can open a
Christmas. Present on Christmas Eve, I
said. Now you got a big present, a
little present, I said. I'll tell you what, I'm going to
let you open your little presentfirst.
And she goes, OK, So she opens it up and she goes, Dad, what's?
This, I said it's. A drug test and she goes and I

(01:36:54):
was like Merry Christmas, she goes, she goes out, but I don't
do drugs. I said I know.
I said, but the way this is going to work, I want you to set
this drug test on the kitchen counter or in front of the TV or
about a front door so that you leave for school.

(01:37:16):
You see that drug test every? Time you leave the house and you
know. That it's waiting on your ass
when you get home that way that way, any of.
Your peer. Peer pressure.
Oh, you should try it. You should try it.
You should try it. Nobody will know.
Nobody will find out. The fuck they won't.
I got a drug test sitting on my house.

(01:37:37):
In my house. Right now waiting on me.
Now that decision is now yours. Yeah, no.
Hey my my. Son, he's got type 1 diabetes.
So there's a couple of things, like part of the new material
that I'm doing. It's kind of because I've, I've

(01:37:58):
had a, a bad shriek of, of like the last four years have been
terrible. Like I don't know if you've
noticed my background. I, I, I wrestled with whether or
not I was going to use a filter and I put the filter on and I
was like. You know, and I was.
Like, no, no, no. So I'm, I'm staying with a
friend until I I get my housing And so whatever you see behind

(01:38:23):
me, like I'm, I'm basically in astorage unit.
So and I, and I, I wrestled withthat, but like this is how I get
through things. I have to like whatever I'm
ashamed of or struggle with, I have to, you know, I just have
to address it. And then if I address it and
talk about it and I bring it on stage and, and just really allow

(01:38:49):
it to allow it, it gives me an opportunity to, to put the ghost
to bed. And, and so, but a lot of things
like that, like with my son, he was diagnosed with the type 1
diabetes. He's also diagnosed with
borderline personality disorder.And that was, you know, a

(01:39:11):
really, really tough time in, inour life.
We, we've got through it and it was successful, you know, story
like it, it, it ends well. Well, it, it ends well enough.
Like, but I remember like when he first got type 1 diabetes,
you know, and I'm disabled. So my whole thing is that, you

(01:39:31):
know, you just, you got to, you got to embrace what you have
and, and, and, and you know, not, don't take it personal
because God doesn't like this family, right?
And, and so he came to me and hewas like, you know, I, you know,
I'm sad. I've got type 1 diabetes and,

(01:39:51):
and, and, you know, I can't havethe food anymore.
And I would like I, you know, I understand where you're coming
from, man. But like, you know.
I I can't walk with food and youcan't eat it when you get there.
So that's just how this works, you know?
And you know, you just have to understand that.
And that God doesn't like. This family and, and then and

(01:40:14):
I'm like, you got to come up with some positive.
You got to come up with some positive that you can think
about that, you know, we'll, we'll sort of flip the script.
And that's when I realized it. Like knowing that my son has
type 1 diabetes, I play a fun little game called I've hidden
your insulin somewhere in your room.
OK, you have 2 1/2 hours to clean it and find it or you'll

(01:40:36):
die. And I do it.
And the voice from the guy from Saw.
So you should take this shit seriously.
And you know, but we really did.I did joke with.
Him on that, you know that was a.
Like, yes, it's a bit that I do on stage.
It's a story, but you know, thatreally happened, you know, and I
really did have a really serioussex talk with him that that I do

(01:40:59):
in my ACT. It's very similar where I just
lay it out, you know, and, and so like you just, you got it.
You got, you know, parenting is a weird thing and and grief is a
weird thing, like dealing with with dark shit.
And you know, I've never, you know, I've never struggled so

(01:41:21):
much in my life, so. That's kind of the.
Era that that we're living in right now I mean I you know and
it gets you know it's personal like it it it's it hits you
personal and then you got to yougot to try to find a way to tune
it in a way that the audience you're not you know it's not a

(01:41:43):
confession, but it is but at thesame time there's this other
side to it that you can show youknow how how you view it in a in
a in a not so dark way but yeah yeah, and but I mean that's I.
Mean. This is what we're we're living

(01:42:04):
in, man. I mean, look, I, I've never,
I've never met you before, but you're wearing like a marvel,
you know, age. Shirt.
Which is tell like you. It's like you have to look down
once in a while. Just remind yourself that, you
know, I am a superhero today, you know, like I, you have to

(01:42:25):
be, you know, so like. Little small.
Shit like that, you know, that me I, you know, I know that at
any time if it gets too bad, I've got a whole bag of
mushrooms I can take, you know, so I almost.
Took them tonight. I was like, you know what, I
don't know if I'm ready for thisinterview tonight.

(01:42:46):
And I almost took some trim, butI was like, maybe not, maybe
maybe be a little more professional that Lonnie, you
know, but I almost did. And oh, that would have been
wicked. Maybe the next, maybe the next
time. You know, that's funny because
Romeo and I actually. Have we have a?
Plan a contingency plan. Well, we have.

(01:43:07):
Our plan where we we have when we turn 8580.
Five, we might, we might do it where he's 85 and.
I'm 84. You know, we haven't quite
decided yet, but we're going to do all the drugs.
Like neither one of us do drugs,Neither one of us do drugs.
I've tried marijuana, he has a healthcare, but neither one of

(01:43:31):
us have ever driven drugs. And so we decided that.
And since I quit smoking, I, I, I'm 1 of this like don't tell me
what to do. And even if it's myself, you
know, I can't even tell myself what to do.
Right. Yeah, again, keep the bottle
around right. Exactly.
And. So if I told myself, you know,

(01:43:51):
you have to quit. Smoking.
Fuck you. Who do you think you are?
You know? Then it only becomes this weird,
like fight in the mirror with myself.
And so I decided how to get overthat.
It's just that once I've been a non-smoker for longer.
Than I was a smoker because I was.
A smoker for 31 years, and I didthe math.
This work at the 85, I can startsmoking cigarettes again.

(01:44:17):
And then my thing was, well, hell, while I'm at it, I might
as well start doing drugs. And so when Romeo and I got
together, I told him my plan andhe's like, hell yeah, I'm in.
Because, you know, we got to do.But we decided that we're going
to start out with the psychedelics and we're going to
make our kids babysit us while they while we do them so and

(01:44:39):
probably score them for us. Yeah, the.
So the kids, you know, like I got that phone call from one of
them. You have a lot of hope in your
kids, you know. I know that they'll do it
'cause. I got the phone call once from
my. Son, he's like, I was just about
to get on stage and I got a calllike mom, come get me.
I'm tripping balls on shrooms. And so I figure it's, you know,
turnabout's fair play. He's got to babysit me.

(01:45:02):
Well, we trip balls on shrooms and and they of course they
will. I mean, if my parents.
Told me, look, we want you to watch us while we do shrooms.
I'd be like, oh, OK, you. But first of all, I think that
that our kids are probably enjoying that like, Oh yeah.
Cameras, they'd be watching everything we're doing.

(01:45:23):
No, but. But they've got, you know, like
as much as I would want. To like fuck with him, you, you
got to be a good guy. You can't just, you know, you
can't, you can't, you know, if you love your parents, you can't
be like. Now that you're in crooms.
Oh, let me show you what light was like, you know, and then,
you know, let's let's rewind thechildhood, you know.
No, because that will traumatizeMama and and he doesn't she

(01:45:47):
doesn't need that you know, so we have you know, and and if I
don't feel that my sons. Are capable of handling that
responsibility then by the time I'm 85 then or his daughter if
we don't feel that our kids children are responsible enough
to handle it then it's going to go follow that task will fall to
our oldest grandson. Yeah, and you know, and then

(01:46:10):
from God. God, kids.
From there, you know, you just keep going.
We've. Got we've bonded we we're real
tight so. You know, we'll know how.
How long have you guys been married?
Six years. OK, because you made it.
Sound like you just got married.Like we'll, we'll be married.
We've been together. What?

(01:46:31):
What's the day the AT? Sorry anniversary.
Our anniversary was last week. Damn it, the anniversary.
What were you guys about your anniversary?
But we forget our. Anniversary.
We met. We met November. 13th, yeah.
Doing comedy Doing. That could have been my.
Anniversary date? I don't know, you know.

(01:46:52):
It was around, it was between the 11th and the 15th, so you
know, right. And so that's kind of for us
too. So we picked the 13th and.
Oh, we know that. We know what exactly what day it
was. And Romeo you.
You you do comedy too then. Yes, yes, actually, yeah, I met.
Him, it was him. That's that's how we met.

(01:47:12):
It was my. My third time on.
Stage when I met Mary Ann. And.
I got into it on on. I got into it.
My boss I've been doing I was a casino dealer for years and my
boss is my boss's fiance. He would throw these shows.

(01:47:34):
Joseph Rogers and out. Out in.
Bremerton area. I don't, I don't know who, I
don't know who he is, but so he would always.
Throw his Yeah, he's a producer out there, so.
He was always putting his shellstogether and his wife was like,
Romeo, she goes, Oh my God, you are so freaking hilarious.
You need to go out and do go outto come out to cookies and do
some comedy. I'm like, Nah, I ain't going out

(01:47:56):
there and doing no comedy. And so she's like, Oh my God,
you're so funny. You just got to go where you got
to go. But she kept begging.
I said, OK, fine, I'll come out there and take a look at it.
So I go and I show up one night and she's like, Oh my God, you
can you got to get on stage. I'm like, I'm not getting on
stage. Like, can you look?
She's like Oh my God, you're so freaking please please.
Please, you got to get on stage.I'm like, all right, fine.

(01:48:18):
I said. If I want to get on stage, I
said, I mean, let me just have aquick.
I just need one shot of, you know, let me have a shot of a
drink, you know, have a drink. Right quick had a.
Drink, get up on stage, then my bed, get off the stage.
Everybody's flapping everything.And.
I went to leave and come to findout it was a contest and I got

(01:48:40):
second place and I'm like, what?And they were like, you got
second place. I'm like, it was a contest.
Like, yeah, you got. 2nd place Imean.
You got to come back. I'm like, what the fuck?
You mean I got to come back? So I was at this point I'm like,
Oh my God, shit. I got to come back.
So came back You you played cards, right?
I mean, you, you dealt right. Yeah.
I. Was a deal.
I mean, you were already up on the House, man.

(01:49:02):
Exactly. Exactly.
So I was already used to Oh, andsomebody.
Came out of his mouth. Oh my God.
One of those insult ones. Oh yeah, I would talk about.
You and tell I. Would talk about you and take.
Your money and laugh at you. I'll take all your cash and
thanks for playing. Goodbye.
You know what I'm waving. Out of me it's it's weird, like,

(01:49:23):
you know a lot of. You know, old timer comics, you
know, would have been in the business a long time.
They they don't, you know, a lotof them don't like being around
open mics and they don't want tobe around new comics.
I fucking I've always loved being around new and up and
coming comics because like like to to feel the energy.

(01:49:48):
And the and the thirst. That comes with new comedians.
It just really like, again, it comes down to like why?
Why? I like comedians to be good.
They go up before me. I I want, I want.
I don't ever want to lose the creative spark that got me into

(01:50:10):
this business in the 1st. Place the reason why.
I always wanted to do comedy. I never want that to go away.
And look, I mean, like there's areason why I've been doing this
35 years. I knew I wanted to be a comic
when I was nine years old. I, my first comedian that I saw

(01:50:30):
was Richard Pryor. And Richard, it was the Richard
Pryor that he did with. It was his first.
It was the first time that comedy had ever been produced on
film as a special one hour event, right.
So this was with Patti LaBelle. This was the first show that was

(01:50:51):
ever recorded. And Patti LaBelle didn't get to
be on the the recording because of timing and whatnot.
It the way it worked out. They needed to get Richard Pryor
up there. But that film and I, I went and
researched this because like I, this was like a couple of years
ago. I wanted to, I wanted to

(01:51:12):
remember kind of how it all started and I wanted to remember
exactly how old I was. Not 9, I was 8 and my this was
back when beta. Was a thing.
And so my uncle would record like he would do, he would
pirate movies on to beta. And then we would go, we'd all

(01:51:34):
go to my grandma's house and watch movie and stuff.
So he was like, come on over, we'll watch Richard Pryor.
And and so my parents and we allwent and, and we watched it and
everybody's laughing. And I'm not laughing and but
I'm. Watching.
And I think my parents thought, well, he's 8, he's not going to

(01:51:54):
know anything. He's not going to.
And because I wasn't laughing, you know, it seemed like I
didn't get anything. But I, I, the reason I wasn't
laughing is because I was, I wasastonished.
Like it was literary magic. I was watching someone on stage

(01:52:17):
talking about their problems in their life in a way that that
they could get out of their head.
And out of, out of. Their soul and and into the
ether and I just thought it was the most magical.
Brilliant. Shit and I'm like, in, in my

(01:52:38):
head, I'm like this, I could make a living with this, you
know, and, and at 8, it blew me the fuck away.
And so I walked away with that. And, and from that day forward,
I, I started, I would listen to George Carlin.
They had the George Carlin records and I would, and then I

(01:52:58):
would go, I would, I would stealhis material.
I'd go out on my big wheel 'cause I, even though like I
was, you know, you know, definitely old enough to ride a
bike because I was disabled. I just, you know, hadn't learned
how to ride a bike yet. So riding around a big wheel,
telling George Carlin bits to like high school students and
literally like one of the bits that I would do was, you know,

(01:53:22):
you don't take a shit, you leave1.
And I think that's where I, you know, aside from my mom, like my
mom side of the family had a great sense of humor.
So I got my sensing work from that side.
But I think because I was doing,I was repeating these jokes for
a long time up until like the, you know, the 6th grade, I was

(01:53:45):
kind of just going around repeating all of this material.
I got a sense of timing. Like I knew I knew how to tell a
joke at that point. And it just sort of, you know,
programmed into my head. And then by like the 6th grade,
I had friends and stuff that would, you know, they were like,
you're probably going to be a comedian someday.

(01:54:07):
And I said, I'm, I'm definitely going to, I'll either be a
comedian or I'll be a psychiatrist.
It's going to be 1 or the other,you know.
And at 17, I I went and and did comedy for the first time.
It was a open mic downtown at a back of a pizza parlor.
The only reason why I did the show is because at an art again

(01:54:29):
with my late brother who told me, you know, you got to be 18.
What he said you got to be 18 or21 to go do a show.
And I and I said, I think it's 18.
And he's like, I'm pretty sure it's 21.
And so I called down and was like, Hey, you know, I'm
thinking about starting comedy. And I talked to the producer of

(01:54:50):
the show and it's like, do you have to be 18 or or 21?
He's like, you can actually comedown next week if you want to.
And so I went down there. I promised myself I'd go and and
watch. And I watched.
Everybody and I watched all these really good, talented
comedians at that time, Susan Rice and Dwight Slade and and

(01:55:16):
you know, David Walker, I don't you.
Know. Cats, you don't, you don't know.
But and, and I, and so I was like, OK, you know, I watched it
and, and I, I said, OK, I'm going to come down next.
Week and do it. I promised myself I'd go down
and do it. I got into a big fight with my
family and they kicked me out like the night that I had to go

(01:55:39):
down the next week to do it. And my friend's dad took me to
the show because, which was weird because he'd never done
anything like that before. So like, I got taken down there
and I was like, I was crying allnight because I was homeless and
didn't know where I was going to, you know, stay that night.

(01:55:59):
And but I was determined. I was like, man, you know, put
it all behind me. I got to go up and do it and
then. You know, just.
Right before the show, I was freaking out.
I'm like, Nope, I don't think I can do it.
I went to run away and because I'm slow, that didn't work out.
And they were like, they were like, you're up next and I'm
like, fuck, you know. And I went up there and I I ate

(01:56:23):
shit on a level. First of all, I had like like I
had, I look like Corey Haim. So I had AI had a a mullet, like
a frosted fucking mullet and a leather jacket.
And not just any leather jacket,a leather jacket with fringes
like, you know, and, and A, and a in a Ritchie Sambora cowboy

(01:56:45):
hat. Like I went into a Plaid pantry
one time and they said you're here for cigarettes.
And I'm like, no, I just want toget in Mountain Dew, you know,
like, and, and so I, I look. Like a fucking idiot.
You know, but and, and, and I went up, I and I had the, I had
the hat on, I had the leather Jack, I had it all on.

(01:57:06):
You know, I learned my first lesson that night because as I
was having this terrible fuckingset, there was a guy in the back
that says, take your fucking hatoff.
We can't see your eyes. And I, I learned that night you
can't fucking cover your eyes. And I get to the end of the
goddamn set, 3 minutes of just shit and, and pain.

(01:57:28):
It was like a, it was like a kidney stone, you know, and, and
I, and I get done and I go look,I, this was fucking terrible.
And, and, and I, I just, I, I don't know how I'm going to get
good at this, but I'm going to keep coming back until I get it

(01:57:49):
right. And then three months later, I
ditched the notebook and went onstage for the first time without
the notebook. And I had the 1st real good set
where people were like chanting my name because these these back
then, like people still had hope.
So even though the open mic sucked, it still keep going

(01:58:10):
because you never knew who was going to break out and and
learn. And so there was a lot of people
that would go to the show to watch the progression of a
comic, either learning to get itor, or dropping out because they
never would get it. And that was the night that I
sort of, you know, got it because I went up without the

(01:58:33):
notebook and that that changed everything.
Because the timing was. There the connection was there
the, you know, the important parts and and then 35 years
later, man, that's see that's where I'm at I can.
Relate to that a lot. Because I never use a notebook.

(01:58:55):
I I've never used a notebook andlike I said that next I went up
there and they told me that I won second place and I had to
come back. So I go back the next time I'm
like, OK, so I get up there and I thought I did.
I thought I did a, a pretty solid, pretty good set, right?

(01:59:16):
And I didn't even place right. So I'm pissed, I'm pissed at
this point. I'm like fuck this.
I'm never doing comedy. Give fuck this place.
You're already disappointed in contest.
That's awesome, the three guys. The three guys who beat me.
The three guys who beat me, PaulGoodman was one of them.
And all three of them came up tome and said, dude, you were

(01:59:37):
fucking hilarious. Do not let this this discourage
you. I'm like, dude, I didn't even
fucking place. They go, dude, they said, they
said who did you bring with you?I'm like, nobody said, do you
know how this works? We all brought our own entourage
and they all voted for us. And I'm like, oh, they said,

(01:59:57):
dude, you were way better than all of us.
And all three of them came up tome and said this.
And I'm like, for real. I'm like, dude, you were fucking
hilarious and all that and all that.
People started coming up to me and I was like, well, we had to
vote for our friend, but you were fucking hilarious, dude.
I'm like, I'm like, OK. Cool, thank.
You then the next. Week I met Mary Ann I never took

(02:00:18):
any like when I I did AI. Like, this was probably about
six or seven years ago. I, I'd done another contest that
I hadn't, you know, I hadn't done the contest in a long time.
And I, I, you know, they just asked me if I wanted to be in
it. I was going to come down and
work on stuff anyway. I never brought anyone like in,
in all of the contests I ever did.

(02:00:38):
Like, I didn't ask people to come.
I actually don't like it's weird, like I don't want to feel
like people are laughing where they're not supposed to be or
because they're not supposed to be.
It it actually makes me, I, my timing gets off on that and
because it, I don't know it justlike I know when something's

(02:01:00):
fake, you know, and so I so I instantly like and another thing
I don't do. A lot of comics.
They want to look in the mirror and and see their reflections
and and expressions and all that.
I, I always want to look out from my eyes to what I see.
Like I never, I never rehearsed my act in front of the mirror.

(02:01:23):
I rehearsed my act like I am going to be on stage looking,
you know, for me and out. I don't want to know.
I don't want to micromanage my facial expressions or the way
that I answer things. And I, and I don't, I don't want
audience members to be laughing because they know the joke's
funny and like that, you know, Ican't, like I, I can't sell it

(02:01:50):
because I know everybody's just doing it to, to fill the timing,
you know, like we'll laugh here because that's where we're
supposed to. That's terrible.
And so I never brought anybody along with me to any of those
contests. And that one contest I did like
6 years ago, I ended up winning it.

(02:02:12):
I don't, I don't really know howbecause they all brought people,
but I just play sort of every night, you know, in the top
five, anywhere between two, sometimes like one or two,
sometimes a little lower. But and then, yeah, the points
added up and I ended up winning because I just do better under

(02:02:33):
the worst circumstances, you know, and, you know, and then it
feels, you know, a little more genuine.
So, yeah, that's just a, it's a brutal contest.
The business is the beast man. And you guys are?
Still doing. Comedy, right?
Yeah. Yep.
OK. Good man.

(02:02:56):
Yeah, I mean. I I have to, I have no life, so
I have to. I'm married to this.
Now I have no choice every time I think about.
Quitting. Like, really?
Quitting legitimately the phone rings and I'm like oh God OK
like every time I go they. Hold me back.
In you're becoming a really goodproducer, though.

(02:03:19):
Do you ever see? Yourself transitioning out of
comedy to producing or you know,just taking a prominent low.
Actually, I would rather do morecomedy and less producing.
No, I believe God is with you. It's it's.
But I think. What I've decided that I'm going
to do is because I'm not going to lie, producing is a headache.

(02:03:43):
It's a fun headache. I like doing it, but it's just
like I, I, I find that when I produce a certain way,
especially when it comes to awaygames or out of town shows, when
I have the crew around me that I'm so used to working with,
it's that easy. It's very difficult when I book

(02:04:06):
somebody who I don't, you know, like how they always say you
really to get to really know your significant other or that
girl you're just now dating, go on a trip with them.
You know, sometimes I've learnedthe hard way.
Oh, this per you know, so it's just like there's certain people
that I know that I could be like, Hey, you want to do this
show in this state and I know that we're going to have a good

(02:04:29):
time and it's not going to be weird.
But usually when it's like with a complete strange, not a
complete stranger, but somebody that I know, but we're not
familiar with our, I guess our like, you know, whatever, we're
in the same. Room or what have you.
It's very weird, it's very different, and it becomes more

(02:04:51):
arduous. So if I'm just like, hey guys,
you're going to headline at thisplace, I'm going to open for
you. This, that, whatever, here's all
the information. It's that it's that much easier.
I don't have to worry. I mean, I do the promoting,
producing, the booking and all that and that's the fun part.
But there's been times where I'mlike, shit, this person is

(02:05:13):
bitching because he's got a 45 minute layover in Denver and
it's like, really, bro, you justhad a great show and you're
crying about this. So it's like, I find that again,
you know, us some, you know, some comedians are very fickle
over small matters. And it's like, and it takes it

(02:05:36):
just takes the fun out of it. But I figured the way to combat
that is if I'm just like, you know what, let's focus on our
circles career. Let's just focus on.
Our collective. Careers and then we just, you
know, yeah, I I'd rather do thatthan be like, hey, you know, got

(02:06:00):
1000 seater this, that, whatever.
And and nobody knows that person.
So it's just like, but then again, nobody knows me.
Who the fuck am I? But it's but I actually hustle
very hard. So I could, you know, the last
handful of shows that I've done out of out of New York State for
that matter, have been very successful because we've really

(02:06:24):
put in a lot of a lot of the work into promoting and getting
the word out. And and so that's the fun part.
Really interesting. Is like, OK, you know, the
Northwest. Is is a is a a tough like, like
the the show competition? It's not that it's, it's, it's

(02:06:49):
not that that the shows are. Are competitive necessarily.
It's that that it's over saturated and so you really got
to step out and and shine if youwant to show the work in the
Northwest. And it's, it feels like you took
that with you to the East Coast because I've, I've done shows in
the East Coast and it's lunacy. Out there.

(02:07:12):
Like the most like clothes that are produced, it's it's always
attached to some sort of benefitor something where the money is
supposed to go towards some sortof cause or anything.
So that the comics won't necessarily make any money
because they're they're a part of, of a of A45 comic lineup
where where it's a benefit kind of thing.

(02:07:34):
And and the shows are just like,I mean, horrendous, horrendously
bad, right. And and some of them are OK, but
still like they're, I mean, it'sthey're different than the show.
Even a bad show in the Northwestnever felt like a bad show on
the East Coast. And so, and the thing about, I

(02:07:55):
mean, it's funny, Silas. Linenstein.
Said this, he was like, the reason why a lot of the shows in
Pacific Northwest work out is because there's not much to do
out there as opposed to like here in New York.
There's a bunch of things you can do here like I don't like.
I've decided that I'm no longer going to produce like weekend

(02:08:16):
shows in Manhattan or even in the five boroughs, like, like
it's very saturated. And why?
Why would I? It's you're competing with
everything. It's very stressful.
And it it it's no longer. Fun.
However, I would much rather go to like, you know, like I, I,

(02:08:36):
you know, our, the show that we did in Grand Rapids, which we
still talk about, go to Grand Rapids on a Saturday and nobody
knows me at all. I don't have a friend in Grand
Rapids. And then I leave with like 20
new Facebook friends and, you know, a packed facility.
It's it's that's that means a lot more to me because people

(02:08:58):
came out, people are happy that somebody from the, you know,
Northeast came out in January toin January.
Might you in Michigan, where thesnow is 3 times taller than me
and they still come out, you know, and, and support.
I like that. That's the fun part, because

(02:09:20):
again, they're very, very happy that.
You know, and they. Have comedy clubs in Grand
Rapids, but for people that wantto come out and see me instead
of whoever's in town, that's allor, or see my production for
that matter. I don't it's not all about me,
but it's it, it really, it makesme look forward to the next
show. So I and I love travelling.

(02:09:42):
So I always mix travelling with,you know, doing shows and it's
just again, you know the guy, mybuddy Jonathan who comes on the
road with me is like, hey, when are we going to do like a big
city? Because we do a lot of suburban
towns, you know, you know, so it's just like, but he likes it
because he, he's starting to understand like, oh, I see why

(02:10:05):
you chose this place. There's no competition here.
You know, it's just us. Where the where the where the we
are the stars? They're going to treat us.
Like stars, they're going to take care of us and the next
time we come through with a different line up, a different
comic, they're going to come andthey're going to bring more

(02:10:25):
people because they had fun the last time they saw a Jamco
comedy series logo on a flyer orwhatever online or what have
you. So right now, what we're in the
process of doing, of what we've been doing is just building
audiences everywhere we go, making friends, building
audiences and not being shitty comedians, you know, respecting

(02:10:48):
people, cities, right? Let me let me ask you something
and and. You know, I guess this will sort
of prop into. Like a.
A more serious tone because we, we talked, you know, right
before going, you know, on the podcast, you know, that, that
I'm, you know, doing I'm returning to stage after like,

(02:11:10):
you know, 2 1/2 almost three years of, of not being on on the
stage. I've seen a lot from off stage
that I don't like in in comedic politics.
And I'll and I'll, I'm going to give you an example that's sort
of, you know, a touchy subject for for the comics that went

(02:11:34):
over to to Saudi Arabia. They were they were shit on.
And and there's a part of me like I it's tough because I I
wrestle with this one. There's a part of me that's
like, yeah, that's you know, it's selling out or what not,
but but a lot of people shit on on Bill Burr and that, you know,

(02:11:57):
Bill Burr went there and and so when you learn some of the
headliners that went, it's like,why did why did they go and,
and, and look, I mean back. In the.
Me too movement era. I, I was accused of, of me too
movement and, and, and, and it, it destroyed me.

(02:12:23):
It, I mean, it didn't destroy like it, it destroyed me
personally because it was wrong.I, I held on to, to a photo that
that proved my innocence the whole time.
And but I mean, all these peoplethat, that have known me for

(02:12:43):
like decades, that know how likeI'm, you know, I don't bullshit
people. And you may not like what like
you may not like how I approach a situation or you know, that I,
that I, you know, I'm a straightshooter in in certain areas, you

(02:13:04):
know, but I'm, I'm always honest.
And when that happened, it no one asked me, you know?
No, no. One came to me and said.
Hey, you know, did you do this? And I mean, they just went.

(02:13:26):
From. Respecting this this consistent
version of who I've always been to a person that they just
automatically accused me of statutory.
Not. Statutory but just do sexual

(02:13:48):
assault and, and it just I mean,I, I, I that's when I dropped
out. That's when I, I, I took the
break and you know, I, I did a video, there's a video on, on.
My YouTube. That I go through it and I, I, I
finally acknowledge it after like years of not acknowledge

(02:14:10):
it. And that's not, I wanted to
acknowledge it. I had a therapy that told me
that I shouldn't. And it, that I mean, that 'cause
I just, I wanted to hit it and Ididn't.
And, but, you know, I showed thepicture to show that like,
that's not how things went down.But it really affected me
because like, I mean. I you know.

(02:14:32):
I don't bullshit people. I don't lie.
And I mean, yeah, I mean, I havea controversial act and and you
know, like I have a, you know, off stage, you know, I'm a wild,
there's a lot of wild stories. And and so, like, I'm really
sensitive to people getting criticism from other comedians

(02:14:58):
about the way they do art or theway they handle their life or
the way they should handle theirlife.
And so, you know, I struggled with the fact that people were
really upset that that people went to Saudi Arabia.
But then there's a side of me that thinks like, OK, imagine

(02:15:18):
you are really just sort of eclipsing.
The. Opportunities that are.
Available to you for the first. Time and you get handed the the
the opportunity to go to anotherfucking country that you've
never been to, to experience something you've never
experienced, to make people laugh.

(02:15:39):
You didn't think you would ever get an opportunity to entertain
and then somehow other comics would shit on them for taking?
What would be in? Any other world, a no brainer,
you know, and then just making it about how desperate they were

(02:16:04):
to do it. And I understand the politics
behind it because of of where you're going.
But not everybody in that audience, not everybody in that
festival. Was.
A part of the regime of Saudi Arabia.
And as a comic, I mean, if you tell me I have an opportunity to

(02:16:24):
go and experience something I'venever seen before, I'm going to
do it like I'm I'm going to, I'mgoing to do it.
And I just don't understand thatin a world where it's already
tough more the the competition and the business and the way
things are across the board now are nowhere close to the way

(02:16:47):
things used to be. And and and yet I mean.
We're eating each other. Up on the sidelines and I just
think it's bad. For comedy.
It's bad for mental health. And I just, you know, I, I
wanted to, I wanted. To get your take on that, I

(02:17:12):
agree. With you.
Because here's. Here's what I'm going to say and
and. Lonnie, you and I are close to
the same age, I just turned 56. When you start getting towards.
The short end. Of the that lifespan you start
looking at life a little bit different and one of those
things that I know that when they when they have interviewed

(02:17:36):
people in their 80s and they askthem, you know, what do you
regret? Every one of them regrets the
things that they didn't do. Nobody talks about regretting
the things that you do. You, you can think about it, you
know, like the fuck ups you've done and the mistakes you've
made as a growing opportunity. But when you look back at your

(02:17:56):
life and you go, I had an opportunity but I didn't do it.
That's what you regret. Why would you know?
How do you know? That what your experience there
it Comedy bridges the gap. It's that one common universal
thing. We all laugh at different

(02:18:17):
things, but comedy in and of itself is what brings us
together. It's that that universal thing.
You know, one of the things likewhen people come up to you after
the show and tell you, you were my favorite, I really enjoyed
you. When you make people laugh, you
bring them into your world, you're into your life and they
feel close to you because of that.

(02:18:39):
How do you think something like that would be where it's never
been done, where they go to Saudi Arabia and you pick these
comedians, they go and they makepeople laugh.
You leave all the bullshit at the door and go do your ACT.
Don't do something political. You go to and and you try and
bridge that gap so that maybe that audience that you're
talking to you, maybe there's one or two people that will take

(02:19:02):
something back that you sparked something in them and they take
it back to somebody that somedaymay come into power.
And because of something you said could help shift that the
shift the way that they think about us just because of being
able to make them. Laugh.
I mean comedy. Can be immensely.

(02:19:25):
Transcending, we are the. Philosophers of our time, yeah.
We. Yes, we are doing you.
Know a shtick, but we are also messengers we we are the only
ones that really. We look through.

(02:19:51):
The fabrics. Of.
Reality, the fabrics of, of human connection.
I mean, we're communicators, that's what we are, right?
So we look through the fabrics of, of, of struggle and.
In everyday. Life, grief and and also
happiness and and we also pull back above it all and and look.

(02:20:20):
At it from a from a. A larger aperture and, and, and
so we're able to see the bigger picture too.
So whether we are going macro orwe're pulling back, it's our job
to sort of breakdown what's wrong.
And, and you know, I, I do it inthe form of story because I, I

(02:20:44):
want, I want everybody to know that like you're no different.
Like I, you know, my life is, isnot, you know, I, I, I want
people to know that, that the, the struggles that we have are,
are common. And then there's.
Like two ways to look. At it and the way I want to look

(02:21:05):
at it is fucking hilarious. And so I, I just, you know, and
if you go and get that experience, it changes them, but
it, it changes us. I mean, we don't, we cannot get
better at being comedians if we're not faced with new

(02:21:26):
experiences at every turn. Like, you do not grow as a
comedian if you do not harvest new experiences and if you just
sit in your shit, if you just stay in your club or your home
open mic. And you, you know, this comics

(02:21:49):
are like, oh, let's sit. Down and do some writing.
You don't have any experiences, you haven't you haven't done you
haven't gone out and like AI started young.
So like, what was weird is it like I didn't really have a lot
in common with the audiences because I was just talking about
weird shit as being a kid, you know, it wasn't until, you know,
shit got real and I was able to to really open up and start

(02:22:12):
talking about what life was really like.
But I mean, if you, if all you do is just hover in your town is
a, is a big fish in a small tank, you get no growth, you get
no new experiences. And and it's, you know, so many

(02:22:32):
comics want to write. They're like, I think the
audience will think this is funny.
The audience doesn't know what the fuck is funny.
The audience who you know, I. This sounds terrible, but I.
Don't give a fuck. About the audience on that, on
that point, it it because they came for me to to let them know

(02:22:53):
what's funny. They, they, they, they.
Came to the show for. Me to to deliver what they don't
know. It's funny and you can't you
know, that's not how we write you, you write.
I I always start with like, if Idon't think if I write something
and I think it's funny and that's kind of how I did my

(02:23:16):
truth hurts act is that I I did,I did my own podcast and I was
really just I, I don't know how many listeners I had, but I was
basically learning how to, to tobe comfortable in silence and
and have dramatic pause so that that I can hold the tension and

(02:23:36):
tell the story in a way that that made people whose tension
is uncomfortable. It's like you go to a funeral
and if grandpa farts, everyone'sgoing to laugh because they're
just. On the edge of fucking tears.
To begin with that fucking that that little morsel of tension is

(02:23:56):
so tight that that what makes itbreak is is the fucking
grandpa's fart. And so when I'm when I was doing
the podcast by myself while I was.
I was learning that tension. That let that uncomfortable
silence that you sort of need tohold the audience attention and

(02:24:20):
then and then hit. But it, it, you know, it doesn't
come from sitting around going, Oh, I, you know, I think, I
think I got a weird concept of peanut about peanuts and, you
know, and it just, you know, youhave to write about, you got to

(02:24:40):
write about life. And so I just, I don't
understand the cannibalism and comedy that that wants to
distract from the most importantcreative part of writing
material for the. Stage.
And that's experience and growth.
And I just don't, I just don't dig on people.

(02:25:03):
Shitting. On people that want to
experience something because youlearn whether you get a new bit
out of it or not. I mean, everyone walks away from
that experience changed. Absolutely, absolutely.
I think, I think. I think also the problem.
I mean, I've read a lot of what comics had thought about the

(02:25:27):
whole situation. I mean, me personally, Bill Burr
is one of my favorite comedians.And I mean, who are we to turn
down a gig? You know, almost no matter who
the, you know, they're like, well, Saudi Arabia's they're the
enemy. I'm like, well, they're paying
me X amount of dollars to go there and perform.

(02:25:51):
And even if you they're like, well, there's a lot of rules.
Well, OK, there's a lot of ruleshere in America.
Whenever I'm booked on a show, they'll say, hey, it's a clean
show. You can't Chris can do this.
There's, there's rules for the most part and anything that we
do and, and I always say this, especially when it comes to like
athletes, far be it from me to tell a grown ass man or woman

(02:26:15):
how to make their money, you know what I'm saying?
Like, like, you know, and, and again, why did they go there
anyway? It's they got, a lot of them got
paid a handsome amount of money.Some of them didn't get paid the
same amount that of course Dave Chappelle got.
Some of them got what? Maybe 100100K or whatever.
And you know what? Yeah, sign me up.

(02:26:36):
You know what I'm saying? Sign me up.
Some people went there and they only made probably, you know, 5.
1000 or 8000 or something like that.
But if you think about it like your comic, you haven't really
gone on anything like that. You were, you were, they flew
you there. They like everything was taken
care of. So whatever you, whatever you
left you, I mean, you know, and,and, and on top of that, and

(02:26:58):
that's the same, you know, it's like.
You know, if they don't want youto make fun of their politics,
they don't want you to make fun of their way of Life.
OK. OK.
Challenge accepted. You know, yeah.
I've got a lot to say about my own life.
I don't need to talk about yours.
You. Know you know.
Isn't that what your whole show is about?
It's not about you. You know, so that's that is that

(02:27:22):
is the prime rule right there islike, you know what I don't have
to talk about. I don't have to talk about you.
I can, I can, I'm really good atbeing selfish.
I can, I can come on. But also, I hope you're talking
about me, you know, can we also agree, like, oh, wow, hey, Saudi
Arabia? Thank you for recognizing that
America. It's funny, you know what I'm

(02:27:42):
saying? Like, yeah, yeah.
Can we can we take comfort that at least another country in
spite of whatever political headbutting that we do?
Hey, you know what they they know Dave Chappelle, they know
Bill Burr, they know all these amazing comedians that went
there. Like, I'm not going to fall, you
know. And again, a lot of people that
bitched and moaned about it. It's like, OK, why?

(02:28:06):
You know, like what, what, what,what are you hoping to gain?
Because now when they come back and they're they hear that you
sat there and you're like, how dare you go to Saudi Arabia?
It's like, OK, now you're not even like happy that they, you
know, are success, are now globally successful or what have
you. I would love to have, I would

(02:28:27):
have, I would love to, you know,have done.
And on top of that, I mean, they're doing the same thing
with golf. I mean, they're they're taking
over golf. There's it's the same argument
with golf. Why are you going over there and
playing golf instead of staying here in America?
Again, you know it comes down tothis too.
Like on a bigger, on a bigger. Picture Outside of comedy,

(02:28:50):
what's happening is that Americais no longer the It's no longer.
The. It's not it's, it's no longer
the Starship. That it used to be.
You know, and so at the front runner, any part there, there's
a lot of I mean the. Rest of the.

(02:29:11):
I mean, one of the, the things that that Trump really is all
about is, you know, America first.
You know, even though it's not, it's, but I mean, it's actually
it's, it's, it's him. It's it's him.
A bunch of other. Things.
Than American. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's it's him. Illegal aliens, getting rid of

(02:29:31):
them, and. Ice and Argentinian meat, then
America. Yeah, yeah.
And when it gets done to like when?
When when Americans are we're we're waiting in line behind
Argentinian stake. That's I mean, that's that

(02:29:52):
state. But the isolation is, is not
good. But the instead of the, instead
of the rest of the world going, you know, we're, we'll just wait
until you get back to the way you used to be.
They're like, you know what, maybe it's time we move on, you
know, and so these things are that's what we're seeing.
We're we're seeing other countries taking some of the

(02:30:18):
branding that we've been good. At and going.
You know what? Maybe maybe it'll be good, maybe
it'll be good for this place. And so I mean, I just, I just
know that like, yeah, if I got the.
Backlash. That a lot of comedians got.
I would. I still would have done it.

(02:30:38):
To me, it would have been worth it to go experience something.
I'd, I'd rather have come back to America and have everybody be
like, yeah, you sold out. And I'm like, I mean, not
really. I mean, all I did was, you know,
I, I got, I, I have $8000 more than I did before.
Yeah, exactly. And and and.

(02:31:00):
And it boils down. To that whole thing, have you
ever been? Booked on a show.
And then a comic shittier than you was like, how did you how
did you get booked on that? It's like you just answered your
own question. I'm funnier than you, you know
what I'm saying? It's like it it becomes one of
those things, you know, like Marc Maron was one of those guys
who was kind of, you know, and Ilike Marc Maron, but I kind of

(02:31:23):
felt like you don't like, you know, you're Marc Maron in in my
mind. I'm like, you're better than.
That you. Know what I'm saying?
Like you're, you're, you're a better person than that.
And then a lot of people kind of, you know, and then people
even ask me about it, like, hey,what do you think?
I'm like, hey, you know what? If they asked me, I'd go who has
the bigger paycheck? Who had, you know, pay me.

(02:31:45):
You know, that's all. That's all we're trying to do is
we're trying to get paid to makepeople laugh, it sounds.
Yeah. And let's be realistic.
It's like, Oh yeah, no, I was gonna.
I, you know, I thought about going, but, you know, I then I
realized I really had to stand on this.
This was an important thing. I really had to to to stand firm

(02:32:07):
on this, so instead I took a a gig in Fife.
You know, but but but but but. Here's the thing though as.
As we all know, this job is hard.
Yeah, it's fucking hard. So it's just like.
Don't fucking. Tell me what shows I could do,
What shows I shouldn't do. Don't criticize me.

(02:32:29):
I mean, I know what shows that Iwould like to be on, which was I
don't want to go on because of poor production or, you know,
this, that, whatever. But it's like, you know, don't
condemn me because let me tell you, I mean, you know, some of
these people didn't even get asked.
So they didn't even have a chance to.
Say no, you know what I'm saying?
So, but don't don't don't very Saudi Arabian of them.

(02:32:52):
You know, like they're like you're going you.
Know don't don't condemn somebody because.
And, and most of these guys probably made, I mean, Bill Burr
doesn't need the money, but he probably was like, hey, I got to
go to Saudi Arabia and I got to get some sun, you know what I'm
saying? He was.
Really he was. Actually.
Really. Quite adamant about the fact he

(02:33:15):
was going to get to his song, you know?
And here's the thing though, here's here's what you don't
hear a lot. Some of the.
Comedians. Some have actually donated money
to charity, some donated money to the 'cause you know what I'm
saying? A lot of people would announce
it because it's like, you know, you don't, why would you tap
yourself on the shoulders about that?
But it's just like there was some, that it was reported that

(02:33:36):
some comics donated it. There was 1 comic.
Christos Stefano was like, he didn't want to do it, but his
girlfriend convinced him to do it because of the money.
So he, he changed his mind and he did it, you know what I'm
saying? There's a lot of factors.
We don't know a lot of these people's lives, you know what
I'm saying? So we have no idea what led up
to that. You know, like, right.
Now I'm living, like I said, like I'm temporarily dishoused

(02:34:00):
and staying in a, in a, in a storage.
I mean, it's not actually a storage unit, but, but I mean,
you know, it, it, it feels like it, but the, the point is like,
you know, I'm, am I going to turn that down on principle?
No, man, like no, I'm not I'm not going to turn down on
principle. And even if I really, well, I

(02:34:20):
would, there's no way that if I had an opportunity to go to
Saudi Arabia that I wouldn't take it, you know, and, and I,
you know, let's say I'm, I am performing in front of the
Prince or what? I mean if if I can somehow have
you. Know A.

(02:34:42):
A. A subtle.
Message in that. Not because I'm not trying to
change their fucking country. I'm not trying to, you know.
You know, start a revolution. But but like I said, planting
that. Seed you.
Never know how it's going to grow.

(02:35:03):
Yeah, I mean because many of thepeople.
Have no idea. They know that you know, the
comedians, a lot of them were stars.
There are some big headliners and still a lot of unknowns.
But. What they don't know is really
actually what American life is like.
I mean, it's it's perceived a different way all the time.

(02:35:26):
There there is a narrative in inMiddle Eastern countries that
that that don't paint the picture.
And only a comedian can paint the picture of what it's really
like to be an American every single day, man.
I mean, say what you want, but try to describe to a Saudi

(02:35:47):
Arabian, you know, Marvel age, you know, I mean that that
shirt's not going to make sense to them until you describe it
and paint it away. It's like, yeah, I wear it
because of this or that, you know, and and then they're like,
I mean, if American Americans, not American politicians, but

(02:36:11):
Americans are just a lot more complex than than what people
think. And we?
Also don't represent our fuckingadministration and we rarely
ever have, you know, this is about the only time in American
history where you have the majority of the population

(02:36:32):
going. Yes, I, I want to, I want to be
like that, but most of the time we're we've been ashamed of
being grouped into a situation where we look that shallow and
and that ignorant, You know, I mean, I, I love the fact that we

(02:36:54):
are patriotic enough to. Respect the flag.
But I don't want to be a stripe in in in the colors of the flag.
Like that's just not in most Americans just have they're more
in depth than that. And comedians can go up there
and go, yeah, you I know what you think about me.

(02:37:15):
But then also I do this and I'm like, that's weird.
I didn't know how fucking scary that you know.
And yeah, and I'm sure that Bill, Bill Burr and and and I
can't think of his name right now, but you had mentioned.

(02:37:37):
Him earlier. How about Dave?
Chappelle Yeah, thanks. I couldn't.
I couldn't get his name. So you know.
They're gonna, they're gonna be the best at it.
But I just, I just, I just feel like the the industry
cannibalism needs to stop because I mean, it's comedy is
harder than it's ever been in the vendor party.

(02:38:00):
And I mean, it's not like the 80s or the. 90s.
It's not like Seattle in the mid90s or the, or the, you know,
early 2000s. It's all, it's all different
now. And, and I just, I, I think
that, you know, I'd like to see,you know, us work.

(02:38:21):
More Together. As a, as a community, the way it
used to be. I mean, that's one of the things
that we loved about like Portland had a really hardcore
community that was supportive nomatter how things went down.
And Seattle was even more than that.
There was a time when I thought Seattle comics were pretentious,

(02:38:44):
you know, little cunts. And, but I, I was wrong.
Like I when I went up and. Did.
The contest, I learned. That that.
Seattle. Comedians are.
Are are are true to their community?
More than anything, it's like. It, it was family up there, you

(02:39:05):
know, and, and if you were, if you all of a sudden became a
part of the family, you were, nomatter if you were even the
crazy uncle, you'd still be a part of the family.
And, and I just thought, man, that's what Portland.
Used to be like. And I was mad at myself for
thinking that, that Seattle and Tacoma used to be like that.

(02:39:28):
And it's like they were never like that.
I always thought like Seattle comics, hated Portland.
Comics no. No, it was just a that was just
a a bullshit. Narrative.
But you had to earn your peep. You know, you didn't get to go
up to Seattle and just step on stage and be a a bad ass.
You know, you had to you had to earn respect and and then, but

(02:39:53):
once you had it, man, like family's family and I just and
it's still like that, not as much as before, but but like I'm
I'm impressed that. That Seattle still remains core
to its beliefs in Portland is islong.
Like it's just not the same anymore.

(02:40:14):
The court, the Portland scene isjust toxic and it's unfortunate.
Yeah, it's I've. And that's that's something that
I've noticed. When I've gone there and I'm
going there in February and it'slike, it's just like the
toxicity, it's so bad. Like every time I go on to the
Portland page or whatever, there's always some new beef
going on and I'm just like, really like, come on, guys,

(02:40:37):
you're Portland, man. You're Portland.
Stop. You know, stop.
Come together. You know, for, you know, form a
union. I don't care.
Just. Yeah.
Well, like, like Seattle. Austin's another.
Like there was a time when it when it worked.
Because we weren't. We weren't eating each other up,
right? How, how like the, the reason

(02:40:59):
why Portland is falling off the map is because, because of this
toxicity, because of this, this extreme levels of drama that
don't need to be there, that's affecting the art, that's
affecting, you know, like I, I would go out to the old mics I'd
be working on. Like you asked me, you know,

(02:41:22):
because I've got my big show coming up and you, you asked me
if I've been, if I've been workshopping.
It around. Town no, I because I don't want
I don't want to I don't want to return to that that level of
toxicity that I ended up leavingthe scene from and that's

(02:41:45):
unfortunate because, like I said, I love up and coming
comics. I love the hunger that new
comics have and I would love to be I don't open my working and
my new material and trying out new stuff and supporting other
comics that have, you know, and,and brewing them on.
But I can't do that if if there's all of that and then,

(02:42:09):
you know, there's this perceivedhistory about me that that's
bullshit. That wasn't at all what I was
about and. And so.
No one's going to go into a community like that.
And, and I mean it's hard enoughto want to go and step.

(02:42:31):
On stage to. Begin with but then to be
scared, and not that I'm scared because I don't give a fuck what
people think about me, but it still goes home with you man.
Like, it's still, yeah, but there's there's a certain amount
of animosity there that you feel.
That and when you have that directed at you, like what are

(02:42:52):
you doing here? You don't belong here type
stuff. And it's just that it, it makes
it very, very uncomfortable and it makes it, you know, it makes
it so much harder to do what youcan't really focus on what
you're there to do, you know, and I, I mean.
I I. Definitely can go.
On stage and do a show that I can be ashamed of, right, You

(02:43:17):
know? I don't want.
To I don't want to feel ashamed before I even.
Get on stage, yeah? Exactly and and so.
Yeah. It's, it's, it's been a hard
process and, and the reason why I kind of brought this all up is
because I'm really taking this all in my, my show on next

(02:43:39):
Wednesday, like that's, that's going to be the anniversary,
right? And.
I haven't been on. Stage in like 2 1/2, almost
three years. No, no, I, I corrected that
earlier. It's been, it's been 2 years and
that's that's the longest hiatusI've ever.
Had in. Comedy and you know, I'm, yes,

(02:44:05):
I'm, I'm nervous about going on stage.
I'm, I'm, you know, you know, and I, I don't mind feeling
scared like that's, that's good,you know, just just remember,
just remember your training. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, once I get up there. It's going to be fine, but I
mean, I feel it. But there's so there's so many

(02:44:26):
emotions around like this. Moment. 35 years later, this is
where I'm at and, and, and the things I'm going to talk about.
I'm going to talk about my homelessness.
I'm going to talk about losing my brother.
I'm going to talk about losing my dad.

(02:44:48):
I'm going to like talk about really things that I've
struggled with. I'm going to talk about being
discriminated against, my disability from this insane
fucking landlord that I had a few months ago.
And so there's a lot of like newstories and you know, I'm going

(02:45:12):
to talk about the fear of death,like I'm, you know, I'm, you
know, 54 and like, you know, I'mscared, like, I don't, you know,
I haven't lived the most healthiest life.
And, you know, it's, it's getting harder to be getting
older and, and being disabled. So like these things are like,

(02:45:32):
you know, there and then, and then there's just 35 years of
memories, good and bad. So I mean, it's a, it's a
interesting moment. For me, on stage, that's.
Why I called it silver? Lining because.

(02:45:53):
Like titles are. Important to me like my.
Last DVD was Truth Hurts and andso this one is is.
Important to me because. Like despite all of those things
that I just mentioned that are tough, like there's really funny
moments in that. And I'll, I'll give you an

(02:46:15):
example. My dad's funeral.
He, my dad worked his entire fucking life.
I mean he. Was like one of the few.
People that still had like a pension, he had $3000 a month
pension when he retired and you just don't have that anymore,
right. But when he when he passed like

(02:46:39):
he couldn't even we couldn't even afford a coffin that was
like worthy of all the things that he.
Did. For the family over all the
years and you know, like, not everything my dad did was great.
Like my dad was a weird dude, you know, like when I was
little, when I was young, like in the 6th, 7th, 8th grade, kind

(02:47:03):
of my dad would come downstairs and we were getting ready to go
bike ride easily. You going to go out and see some
girls and show your little pinky.
You're going to you're going to get a little hard on get your
little pink. He was weird.
He was awkward. So not everything was like
awesome, but my dad, you know, kicked ass at at giving us a
middle class life. Like like I felt safe at home.

(02:47:28):
You know, it's so I don't regretany of that.
And but but my dad, so he's likein it, in this coffin.
And I'm, I'm in the front row and I noticed that the coffin
like it's just like a kind of almost like a balsa would.
But what I noticed was that there was a gap.
So the coffin had like a, a it shut, but I could look through

(02:47:55):
the coffin. I could look through and there
was a crack and you could see onthe and it was a big crack.
It was like about an inch to an inch and a half of light that
was cutting through the coffin from the window that was behind
it. And I was in my head.
I was like, this is, this is what my dad gets.

(02:48:16):
Like, I can see light from the window cutting through the
coffin. Like at any moment.
I was waiting for my dad to like, stick his head up through
the crack with his eyes and justlike, you know, and, and I just
thought that was such a sad state of like, that's like, it's

(02:48:39):
just like wearing the same pair of jeans for 20 years, you know,
like it was just, and I remembertalking to my sister about it
afterwards. I was like, did you notice
sunlight cutting through Dad's, you know, and, and as dark as
that is, like it was so fucking funny to me.
Like I, I, I had to really stop my because I did a eulogy and I,

(02:49:04):
I wanted to bring it up so fucking bad.
I wanted, I wanted to be like, hey, did you notice the sunlight
shining? Through my dad.
'S coffin like I wanted, I stillwanted to remind.
I go everybody look, I think I can see my dad's hair, you know,
like it was it was so surreal tome.
But but yeah, so it's one of those moments where it's like as

(02:49:28):
I find myself like just a week out from doing this show, you
know, it's going to be a mix of a lot of.
Emotions, man. Special, I'm really looking.
Forward to it, but it's. It's going to be it's going to
be happy. Well, I where's your show that
we. Have Oregon.

(02:49:49):
City. It's at.
Wichita Bar and Grill on on the 26th, the day before
Thanksgiving. And that's when we've always
done. This.
This show. And so yeah, it'll, it'll be on
on Wednesday the 26th at WichitaBar and Grill in Oregon City.

(02:50:13):
Doors open at 7:00 and show starts at 830.
People can buy tickets now online on Eventbrite or like
links at my Facebook and, and, and stuff.
And, and so the tickets are on sale right now.
They'll be $20.00 at the door. They're preserved seats are 15

(02:50:38):
in, in advance and or general seating 10.
And so now is the time to, to doit.
But yeah, next, next Wednesday is, is is when I hit that stage
again, right? And.
Thanksgiving Eve. Huh.
Yep, Thanksgiving Eve and we'll be, you know.

(02:50:58):
So, you know, like I. Mean that's the thing people
don't like their families. This is a.
Great time. For everyone to come out and see
this show and here's the thing, like if you know my ACT right
and you don't like your family, bring them with you.
I love that. I love that.

(02:51:18):
That's a that what a great what a.
Great advertising selling point.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You'll you'll heal with animosity.
So. That's awesome.
Well, with that. Well, with that being said.
We are. Going to do our favorite segment
before we're closing out the show and it is what we've been

(02:51:42):
binge watching. So Lonnie, what we do is usually
we talk about the show that we have binge watching any kind of
recommendations or what have you.
I think Mary Ann, you guys should go first because.
I'm pretty. Sure you guys are excited about
what you guys have been binge watching.
Oh yeah? Well, we finally gang came
around to the second. Season of Land man Land man came

(02:52:07):
out, we watched, we loved and we'll watch it again before the.
Next. Episode they only came out with
one episode per week right now yeah OK yeah they're dealing it
out slow but. It's OK, I mean.
We'll watch the whole first season again.

(02:52:28):
We watched the whole first season 3 times.
We've watched the second season's first episode once.
We will be watching it again probably tomorrow because
tonight we're going to bed. But we've also watched the Tulsa

(02:52:49):
King. We've on season 3.
We've got we're caught up on theTulsa King, which last episode
was pretty good. We won't talk about that, but
it's pretty good. If you haven't checked out the
Tulsa King, you haven't checked out Land Man checking both out.
I want to talk about. Go ahead.
Sorry. Were you done?

(02:53:09):
No, go ahead. OK, I wanted to talk about so
we. Went to the movies.
And we caught a movie and I did not really want to go see it.
And we went to go see The Running Man.
The Running Man. Now see, that's what I.
Said that's what. I was like, yeah, because have
you seen? Jamal.

(02:53:29):
Have you seen the original with Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Yes, I have. A bunch of times.
And do you like it? I do like it actually, Richard.
Daughter, I believe, directed it.
So, Richard, and and here's whatI'm going to say.
That's exactly the. Same reason I didn't want to go
see it, because I had expectations that they were
going to fuck it up like they doall the remakes.

(02:53:52):
Here's what I'm going to say. That's just something we talked
about last week. Here's what I'm going to say
Dare. I say I liked it.
Better. It was better.
Than the first one. Because hold on.
So much. Of the whole movie was
completely. Different.

(02:54:14):
They did not take the same script and I think the only
thing they kept was maybe a couple of names, but everything
about it was completely different.
So it was such a good movie. I really liked how they did it
and the the other characters that they brought into it and

(02:54:37):
yeah, it was good. It was really good.
It was a really good. Yeah, it was good.
I I I wasn't. Expecting a lot of out of.
The Running Man, I was shocked. I liked it a lot.
I did. I I want to see it again.
I will. Yes, I will.
Definitely. I'm going to watch.
It several more. Times and So what the only thing
I. Caught.
I caught it and I'm quite sure. A lot of people who go see this

(02:54:59):
movie will not catch it if you're not looking.
But the only thing, the only reference to the first running
man that they had in the whole movie.
Well, it was a nod. It was, it was, it was a shout
out is what it was. Well.
The whole movie was they showed the money and when they showed
the money, it had Arnold Schwarzenegger on the money, his

(02:55:22):
face from the first round. And I'm like.
And I was like, whoa. And I saw and I was like, babe,
I said Arnold Schwarzenegger wason the money.
And she was like, what? And then they showed the money
again and she's like, Oh my God.He is.
On the money and I was like thatwas that was it was kind of cool
that way that must have really been my thought I was going to
have to pay homage to that yes and and.

(02:55:44):
And that was. Like that was one of those.
Things that they absolutely paidhomage to it, but they like Ben
Richards was the name they you you know that character name was
the same. But other than that, like, yeah,
the whole was friends of it. Like just the whole everything
that. They laid out.
Was was entirely different and it's so interesting because when

(02:56:05):
he'd never seen the first one. So when we came home the next
day, we watched the the original.
And yeah, it was. It was.
It was the first. One was good, but.
The newer, the newest one was better, the newer one was was
better. It was really good.
They took it. I really liked the correction
they took it and. I think that they were able to

(02:56:27):
take it into, you know, and I thought it was interesting that
they said the year is 2017. And of course we're laughing
about that, you know, because, you know, nine years in the
past. But when you take a look.
At the new one I. Think that they were able to
really incorporate so much more of today's technology into the

(02:56:48):
storyline that it made it feel even more realistic and that you
could see it and and they didn'ttake somebody I I don't want to
talk about I don't want to give any kind of spoilers about right
right. I don't think yeah, yeah, it was
great movie it. Was it was worth the money?
Was absolutely it was worth the money and I'd watch it again.

(02:57:09):
And if you've. Never seen and I think that I.
Think that this is. Very key to a lot of people, you
don't have to see the first one to see this one or you're not
going to be because they're, yeah, you've seen the first one
and then you see this one. Because.
There's they, they each. Are standalone movies, Yeah,
they're totally standalone movies.
And the only thing that. That I can point out is the

(02:57:31):
money because like I said, it doesn't ruin anything.
It doesn't ruin anything, but you might miss it if you don't
look for it. And when they show the money,
you'll see on a Schwarzenegger face on him when I'm like, I'm
like, holy shit, that's all Schwarzenegger and and it's and
he's and he's just just like he wasn't the first one.
So I thought that that was pretty cool, so.

(02:57:53):
Yeah, I was. I was impressed.
So Jamal, what have you been binge watching?
I have been binge watching. Rescue me.
I'm revisiting that. Rescue me.
I've been binge watching Workaholics, the show that used
to be on Comedy Central. Like I love that show, man.

(02:58:14):
That show was like crazy funny. I've also been binge watching,
man, I've been watching a lot ofSouth Park and let me tell you
something, man, my life is enriched, OK?
I've my life is I feel like I feel I've watched I think since

(02:58:36):
the last time we spoke. I think I was on season 3.
I'm on season 10. Jesus, I'm sorry, season 11.
I'm. On Season 11.
Wow, I've been I mean I've been watching bad South Park yo, so
and I and I and mind you, there's still another 18 seasons

(02:58:59):
to go 17 seasons ago. So that's crazy.
So I've been, I mean the. Definition of.
Binge watching is exactly what I've been doing to that show and
a show that I've been kind of like also.
Well, I'm also watching. I just finished season 2 of
Lethal Weapon and I want to, I want to say this, I actually

(02:59:22):
thought I was going to hate thisshow when it first came out.
And I like even I want like season 1, episode 3 of season 3,
the final season with Sean William Scott.
And I'm not going to lie, he's actually pretty good in this.
I thought it was going to be complete ass and terrible and

(02:59:42):
American Thai ish in this move in this television show.
Actually good in this show. Like.
Real. I'm like, and I'm watching this
and I'm like, why doesn't he actin more?
Serious. Roles because he's got the
chops. I think he does.

(03:00:03):
I don't think he's like super typecasted as like this, you
know, dork or whatever. He doesn't.
Have to do comedies? But he's actually pretty good in
this in this season of Lethal Weapon, and I'm pretty sure all
15 episodes that I'm going to watch are going to be good.
And when? The Lethal Weapon series, Yeah.

(03:00:25):
Yeah, they I think it was. A little bit after the.
Pandemic. They had this show come out and
it only lasted three seasons because, of course, the original
rigs. Clay Crawford had got kicked off
the show and it kind of just changed it complete dynamic of
it. But nonetheless, I'm watching

(03:00:49):
season 3 and I'm like, he's not that he's not bad.
He's he's a really he's really good in this.
So I'm hoping I'm I'm kind of hoping that this show catapults
him into like more serious stuffbecause I I could really see him
in serious roles instead of likethese goofy comedy that daddy
does because he doesn't have to,you know, typecast himself.

(03:01:11):
But nonetheless, I highly recommend lethal weapon,
especially in season 3, being that now they have to try to get
that stench of play Crawford outand then bring in Sean William
Scott to kind of take over. You know, David Wains as his
partner. But it's a really good show.
I I do recommend it. And as far as movies go, I did

(03:01:37):
watch a horror movie last night.Just because.
And I'm like, it's called House of Wax and it had Paris Hilton
in it. And I will say this.
If you have. An hour.
And 52 minutes to waste. Don't waste it on this movie.
It's very do something else. Masturbate like I would.

(03:02:00):
Rather, you know, I I should have jerked off an.
Hour and. 52 minutes, that wouldhave been time well spent.
That's actually not called jerking off at that point.
That's called edging. You know that's different.
You know, like so I mean, I meanyou're just saying, you're just

(03:02:20):
saying. Hey, you could add to something.
Different Actually, I, I take that back.
I I know, I said an hour and 52 minutes.
It was more like a full 2 hours because there is a dead scene
that Paris Hilton is in that I rewind a bunch of times and I
was like, yeah. And I'm not going to lie, I.
Jerked off to that like. That was like, that's sad.

(03:02:42):
I mean, I'm like. I'm disappointed.
In you like I don't I don't knowhow you get off.
It should have been two. It should have been two hours
and 10 minutes of me jerking off, but it.
Was like, I had things to do later on that night, like, you
know, write a joke. You end the the like the one
thing you're telling people. Never to watch is the worst

(03:03:03):
thing ever. You end you end with like you
should Jack off instead and. Then if you.
Insist on watching this. You should that part after after
her death scene you could. Just turn the movie.
Off because you got to watch your hand, you know, and.

(03:03:24):
You know, but you know, and I'm like.
Oh, let me, let me, let me take a look at it.
Let me you know. And I was like writing and I'm
watching this movie and I'm justlike, it's not scary.
There's a weak ass storyline. I'm like, I hope you make I hope
they make a sequel to this movieso they could lose more money.
It it it's it's, it was so bad and I've had it on my list for a
long time. My friends, like you should

(03:03:45):
watch House of Wax. It's pretty incredible.
And I'm like, no, there's there's nothing.
I'm like whenever people give mehorror movies to watch and they
swear up and down it's great andI watch it and it's shitty.
You're no longer allowed to recommend movies ever.
You should you. As a matter of fact, the fact I
don't even let you talk. To me.
You should take comfort in that,but you should never don't don't

(03:04:09):
recommend movies to me. I lose faith in your judgment.
Yeah. Because then it's one of those
things like, hey, when we. Go out and have.
You know, go pick a restaurant to go eat at.
I'm not going to trust your judgement because I'm going to
be like, hey, remember House of Wax?
This is why you're no longer House of Wax.
Just. Ruined it for me my.

(03:04:30):
Niece came and she watched some of the some of it and she was
like, is this a scary movie? I'm like, no.
I mean, I give people 33 opportunities.
You can, you know if you. Recommend 3 movies and not one
of them is like is wow as you said it was then then I I can't

(03:04:53):
I can't faithfully go forward. With any of your.
Recommendations. I I I I I I I wouldn't trust
them with condom. Recommendations I'm at now it's
like no, I'm I'm done. You're no longer not to make
decisions in my life anymore. Yeah, well I would recommend
them condoms so they didn't fucking.

(03:05:13):
Make anything worse, right? Exactly.
Yeah, they're like I got a. Condom recommendation?
I'm like I've got. One for you and what have you
been binge watching live? OK.
So. I don't binge watch a lot so you
know. What I binge watch is YouTube.
I fucking I, you know, I, you know, that 30 day trial that you

(03:05:37):
can do for premium, you know, soyou don't see the ads.
And then I was like, I'll do that.
You know, it'll be 30 days free ads and I won't have any ads or
anything and, and get a little break.
And then I was like, I will never not have premium ever
again. And so like of all the like
subscriptions that you can have YouTube premium, like not having

(03:06:00):
the fucking ads is it was great.And so I just binge watch a lot
of stuff and, and, and so I'll throw out a couple of things in,
in a in a few minutes, but I didbecause like, I'm staying with
friends. Until I get my new.
Place and they've they've been really like the environment here

(03:06:21):
has been really positive and like they're just like I this is
the first time that I've really gotten to like heal in a in a
long time and so we they binge watch a lot of shit and so one
of the ones that they. Was.
Tulsa and I had wanted to see that because I'm a huge fan of

(03:06:44):
of his writing and his directing.
I'm I'm writing a a script rightnow and and so his first script
that I've ever like worked on. So it's like a completely new
wheelhouse. And I just I think Sylvester
Stallone is so unappreciated. Like it is his brilliance.

(03:07:09):
Like he really, he really knows how to write a movie and he
knows how to write a serial likeand so and you know, I like the
new look, you know that he's gotand, and you know, there was a
time when like, you know, a really good Family Guy and him
and his daughters are really close.

(03:07:30):
There's just, you know, he's a really interesting story and and
it did not disappoint. It's a really good fucking
series. It there's a little cheesiness
to it. It's like there's a little bit
of, you know, I feel like there's like a little bit of

(03:07:54):
sort of making fun of the genre and I and you.
Can just feel that in the. Writing, there's just a little
bit of ridiculousness once in a while, but I just, I, I love it.
And here's the thing, man, like,because I love horror.

(03:08:15):
I love horror movies. I love horror and I never really
got into remember the horror series that came out like right
before ship went South American Horror Story.
It I mean it scared the. Fuck out of me.
I mean, it was more disturbing. Than you know, so it was good in

(03:08:37):
that sense, but I have to there has to be some sort of
redeeming. Quality.
To the characters, and if all the characters are just the
shittiest human beings in existence, I can't, I can't get
you know, and so I can I can appreciate like you got to give
me a couple of people that are just.
Aren't fucking. Terrible, right?

(03:08:59):
And the thing I like about Tulsais that, yeah, they're all kind
of bad, but they're not, they'renot horrible.
Like they're they don't want to be bad.
Even even even Dwight does not want to be bad.
Like he he wants to be a better version of himself.
And I just, I did that. I it's a good message.

(03:09:20):
And there's like, there's a message of integrity that's
important in that. And, and I just, I like the, I
like his, his family, like his little group, like they're,
yeah, you know, couple more idiots and whatnot.
But they, they all like, there'slike a genuine wholesomeness to

(03:09:46):
it that I can appreciate, even though they're fucking mobsters,
you know, And I, I, I really like that.
So I it's. Weird like I don't.
Think a lot of people probably noticed that undertone, but I I
think he's wanted great lengths to be like, hey, this is a thing
this is a monster show and one but like there's still some some

(03:10:09):
fundamental messaging there thatI like that that you know, you
don't normally see in movies like that or series like that
where you're like, oh shit, you know, I mean where you as bad as
it gets like it's it's it's justnot it's not just evil.

(03:10:31):
And so I think, I really, I think that's where the
characters. You don't.
You don't feel guilty for rooting for the characters.
No, no, not, not, not at all, man.
And. Yeah, I mean, they're, they're
up to no good, but but they're, you know, they're better than
most of what we see today, you know, and there I said, like

(03:10:54):
there's a wholesomeness. To this.
Series that that that I'm like, I kind of like the messaging.
So I really dig that. That was surprisingly,
surprisingly good horror movies.You were mentioning that you

(03:11:15):
don't like Jamal, that you don'tlike being recommended anything.
You might have seen it, but whatabout Jackson is fundamentally
one of the best fucked up horrormovies that I've seen in a long.
Time so if you've. Never seen what about Jackson?

(03:11:37):
I highly recommend it. Don't do scary movies.
One thing we don't do? Scary movies.
Don't do I don't do scary movies.
Yeah, don't, don't, don't worry.Lonnie, you have my attention.
As you were saying, what about and it was a recommendation.
From. Jonas Barnes.

(03:11:57):
Enough said. I'm.
Telling you right now like it's one of the best I've.
Seen in a. Really long time look and he'll
tell you if it's like this is this kind of horror movie and
this is this kind of horror movie he'll let you know like
don't get in don't invest it in some of them because some of his
horror movies will tell you right out unless you enjoy what

(03:12:19):
I enjoy, you're wasting your time.
You know, it's my dad you mentioned, Jonas, because
there's only two people on this planet that I.
Would trust when it comes to horror movies.
Oh yeah, like I love like it's my best friend's wife.
And Jonas. Barnes and I've seen Terra Fire
1 and I'm going to see two and three.

(03:12:41):
Somewhere. Down the line once I get the
first one out, I I I recommendedone of the that movie to one of
my Co workers. He saw it the next day.
He was like bro what the fuck that I just saw.
It's, it's fucking. I was like, I was like, it's
everything I told. You it was right.
He was like. It looked like a student horror
film. And he?
Was describing to one of my other coworkers of like some of

(03:13:05):
the scenes and they were like, and you watch that.
I'm like hey, I've watched it too and I'm supposed to be the
stain one. No I I I highly recommend.
It's called. What about Jackson?
And it's, I'm actually writing. I mean, it's gonna be.
Yeah, write it. Down, I'm telling you.
Watch it tonight. Man.
Like it, it starts out. Like it it just, it starts out

(03:13:30):
it literally. Starts out and you're like.
What the fuck is happening like?And it, it's not your typical
horror like it's not. And I, I man, I, you know, I'm a
big, big proponent of not fucking up some.
So I can't tell you anything about it.
I'm just telling. No, I I am going to definitely

(03:13:51):
look into the the the. Definitely weekend watching kind
of thing you're. Just going to, you're going to.
It's going to start and you're like, well, what?
And then all of a sudden just going to go South immediately.
So what about Jackson? And then also I we watched Black
Phone 2 this weekend and it, it,it did not disappoint.

(03:14:13):
It didn't. It really it was, it was damn
good, man, like. I you know for a.
Sequel it was damn good, kind ofhad some and I don't know if
this was with the with black phone.
The like the the original it it it, it has some Nightmare on Elm

(03:14:34):
Street vibe to it like that the the plots, but but it's like.
What I think nightmare. On Elm Street would have wanted
to be, you know, like, I mean, in its time nightmare.
We just watched it a couple weeks ago.
And I mean, it doesn't hold up as, as it, you know, as it once

(03:14:56):
did, but that there was a time when that was the shit.
And so it definitely has a A Nightmare on Elm Street vibe to
it. But I, I like, I like the, the
director is good. Like it's, it's got a good plot.
I the characters are good. So that, that was, that was

(03:15:16):
pretty awesome. And then, you know, so here
here's well, I'm gonna die. I'm going to divert a little bit
to two things. And we're going to I'm going to
tell you things that I think youguys should listen to on on
YouTube. And I'm going to start with with
something that it's one of my all time favorite movies since

(03:15:40):
I've watched it. Like it's, it's really weird.
But my in my oldest son, the onewith borderline, he was the one
that that recommended to me because, you know, we, you know,
once we got through all our shit, like we were watching
music and movies and, and you know, we have a lot of the same,
we're very much alike. But he he still like you thought

(03:16:04):
that I was going to like this. It's a YouTube movie that is
free and it's a it's a. Independent.
Production is what it is and so they decided to do this movie
and it's called shit. Let me think Texas let.

(03:16:37):
Me think about. I don't want.
To. I just have the name too.
Hold on, I'm not, it's not, it'snot chainsaw.
Massacre is it? No, no it's not.
It's not a horror movie, it's a comedy.
Oh, it's, I got to, I got to look it up.

(03:17:02):
Damn, that's. Going to bug me if I don't.
Besides, just fucking had it. Texas.
OK, I'll think about it. I'll, I'll go back to that

(03:17:25):
because. I you have I I want to
recommend. This to all of you guys, like
it's really important that I I remember this.
It's so it's like a, it's like amockumentary.
And it's done with. Like a A3 person crew like if
that and he goes off into the wilderness of Canada because

(03:17:49):
he's a he's a survivalist Texas,something will survive that.
Texas, Montana will survive. I think that's it.
I think that. I think that's what it's called.

(03:18:10):
Let me I'm. Gonna.
I'll search that, said Texas. Montana will.
Montana. You said Texas.
Montana will survive. Yeah, Texas, Montana will
survive. I think that's.
The name of it? It's about a survivalist like

(03:18:35):
ATV Survivalist. And he, his show gets cancelled
because he's kind of proven thathe's a fraud.
And so he, he doubled down, saysit's Tex Montana.
Yeah, Tex. Montana will survive.
OK. Tex, Montana.
Will survive. Yeah, OK.

(03:18:56):
And it's an independent movie. On.
YouTube. That you can watch.
For free and when it when he told me about it, he's like.
You know you'll think. It's funny and I'm like, I don't
know about that because we're we're jaded, you know, so we're
going to go into and go. I don't.
And so the first few minutes you're going to, you're not
going to like it. Like you're going to go, this is

(03:19:18):
this is not going to go well. And then it just it, there's a
moment where it just flips right.
And it just and then from that point on, it's just magnificent.
I've seen it like 20 times. Like it's there with like cable
guy. Cable Guy is one of my favorite
movies. It's underrated.

(03:19:40):
People think that, you know, it's.
Not it's like it's not. Supposed to be funny, You know
it it's, it's dark and there's some dark humor to it.
Anyway, so Tex Montana will survive.
And. And, you know, it's just guy, he
double s down and he goes to thethe wild wilderness of Canada to
prove that he is a survivalist. And and they're just just it's.

(03:20:05):
Like 1. Moment stacked on another like
it's right up there with the movie Happiness, which is
another one of my. Like all time favorite.
Movies like brilliantly like it's just one awkward moment
stacked upon another. But this guy, this actor, you
know, there's AI think there wasa lot of.

(03:20:26):
Improv. And but I mean, he just nails
it. And.
He's fucking hilarious and and you will be like it.
It is my belief that you guys will be in tears.
If you see this. Like there are moments that just
just, you know, redefine milking, you know?

(03:20:50):
He just, he does. Such a great job of you know.
And such a small crew, I. Think maybe a $500 budget, if
that you know, like and the and just the monologue, just
everything like it's just it's happening.
I've seen it so many times. I, I, you know, anytime I tell

(03:21:14):
like you've got. To watch it.
I want to watch it with them. So I highly recommend that for
you and all the listeners. And then the other thing that I
wanted to bring up was in, in, in YouTube.
Like I, I go to bed at night andI, I love horror, like I said.
So I, I'm weird about this, but I, I listen to.

(03:21:41):
I want to listen to like. Audio stories and there's like a
whole genre of YouTube creators that are really awesome
narrators that narrate stories and I fall asleep to them.
They're horror stories, but and some of them, you know, can be
really fucking creepy, but some I mean, but they're just really

(03:22:04):
good. It's really good writing and an
amazing narrative narrative fromlike unknown narrators and and
their voices and and just like you'd think like, oh, like
you're insane. You mean to tell me you?
Listen to Like Horror. Movies to fall asleep to.

(03:22:24):
Yeah, yes, I do. Yes, I do, you know.
And so I wanted to name a coupleof these because I think they're
really fucking good. And I, I, you know, they've got
a good following, but I, I thinkthe more that we can, you know,
the more I can, I can toot theirhorn.

(03:22:44):
So the tape library is is one ofthem and he doesn't.
He doesn't do. Really narrative stories as he
does, but he also breaks it down.
He does like documentary. So he'll, he'll talk about like
a, a haunting or something and then and tell the story and then

(03:23:05):
go into the second part where hesort of breaks down the, the
truth of it or, you know, the perceived truth.
So the tape. Library is really good, then
let's read is really good like. His stories aren't.

(03:23:28):
Like full on. I mean, some of them are really,
I mean, it's not like typical horrors.
Some of them are just like, you know, bad hitchhiker experiences
or hold on a second, stories about forest Rangers that had

(03:23:48):
shit go down. Sorry, my throat.
God, Jesus. So but he's got like a really
comforting voice and he's just he's really he's really good
narrative a narrator. So that so let's read the tape

(03:24:11):
libraries. Mr. Creepypasta is really good.
I like the name Mr. Creepypasta.Yeah, yeah.
It's he's he's. Wow.
And he's. He's really, I mean, I think
he's like one of the best narrators of all of them.
He better be With a name like that, there's.

(03:24:32):
A lot of emotion into it. So I mean there.
There's one other one. And that I really like.
I like the guy. 'S voice.
He's got kind of like a gravely voice.
It's like I want him to be my granddad or something but I I
can't find that one then so. So I.

(03:24:52):
I would say the Tape Libraries is worth listening to.
Mr. Creepypasta and and and let's read.
And 100%. Text Montana will survive, all

(03:25:14):
right, and your and your show isnext week.
On on Thanksgiving eve in Oregonand Oregon City.
In Oregon City. All right.
Show starts at 8:30 and I and I just want to say something.
To all of you. Guys and especially tomorrow

(03:25:35):
like I, I was really shocked that that you asked me to be.
On the on the podcast. Like I did not.
I wasn't expecting that because you.
Said that you know when. When we met that you, you felt
nervous and whatnot. I've always had an amazing

(03:25:58):
amount of respect in what you'vebeen doing in the industry.
You are carving out a niche for yourself and for other comedians
that. Are are.
Like you're putting together really fantastic shows you you
up and moved to New York and andand took up like a a a big risk

(03:26:23):
and you you're your growth both in your show and your production
and and just your eye on good comedy.
I I have I've really. Been following you.
There's been a few other comics up in the Seattle area that that

(03:26:44):
I follow that that you know, that I.
Just have an immense. Amount of respect in and and
you're you're at the top of the list on that one man.
So when you when you asked me, you know, I wanted to be on your
podcast. I, I was, I, I just, it was it.

(03:27:10):
It was such a. Special like.
It felt really good, man, because like I said, man, I've
been through a lot of the last few years and it was, it was
nice to to be brought into something, you know, that I.
Get to, you know, get back. And, and, you know, engage again

(03:27:31):
in the industry. And so I just, I just want to
say from the bottom of my heart,man, I, I appreciate you giving
me the opportunity to come back on the show, especially before a
big event, you know, and just, you know, talk shop with you
guys. And so I, I, I just want you to
know, man, like respect goes twoways and and you're doing good

(03:27:53):
stuff. Well, I appreciate that and we.
Appreciate you being on the. Show man, I think yes, we did.
Very much so. You were very You've
enlightened. Us, I'm sure you've.
Enlightened a lot of our listeners and you know, we we'd
like to give people a platform to be able to, you know, do
things like this. So thank you for being on the
show. And while I'm thanking you, I'd

(03:28:15):
like to thank our listeners and for for listening as well.
And you know, the support that they've given us as far as
listening to a lot of the episodes.
And that has been our show, ladies and gentlemen.
So Lonnie, I really appreciate you being on here.
And again, thank you for the nice words.
I never get tired of hearing that.

(03:28:35):
And the reason why we and I called 50 other comedians before
I got to you. Sorry it took me so long.
I'm just trying to put together a show.
I'm, I'm giving you. I'm giving you.
A hard time. Bro but.
But no, I, I, I, I really wantedyou on because, you know, again,
I respect you as well. And you know, I'm, the timing is

(03:28:57):
perfect because you get to promote your, your show.
You've been doing this for 35 years.
I really want your show to do very well.
So people, we, you know, you've definitely promoted it on this
show. Remember Thanksgiving Eve,
Wednesday, which is the the 26th, right?
Yeah, the 26th at Oregon City. What's the name of the the I'm

(03:29:18):
sorry you said the venue a bunchof times.
Look Wichita Bar and Grill. Wichita Bar and.
Wichita Bar and Grill. Oregon.
City, like he said, if you don'tlike your family, bring them to
the show, guarantee you they're going to hate you even more.
And as Marianna always say, makegood decisions.

(03:29:40):
Choices, damn it. Make good.
Choices make good choices. And as I as I.
Say, if you had an issue with ustalking about piggies and
whatnot, just remember it's not about you and take care

(03:30:02):
everybody and be safe out there.We may not be.
Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.
We'll see you on the other side.Elise, uh.

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#54 - Something's Bruhn - (Lonnie Bruhn)

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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;}#54 - Something's Bruhn - (Lonnie Bruhn)