March 5, 2024 • 10 mins
Drew Lynch auditioned for season 10 of America's Got Talent in 2015. After the live audition, Howie Mandel hit the golden buzzer to send him straight to the quarterfinals! Lynch also battles a stuttering problem, which came on at the age of 21. He addresses that and more in today's Bonus Block
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey, have you got comedian DrewLynch with us. Drew is at Rhythm
City Casino March eighth. Tickets stillavailable for that show. We've got the
NFL up on the station website.Welcome Drew, Thanks Mark. I'm so
happy to be coming to the casino. I just I guess I just happened
to be scheduled to perform there aswell. That just worked out. Oh
(00:20):
I was uncanning. Yeah, trytry not to blow the entire paycheck they
give you for the performance. Whatare you talking about? So you're on
season ten of America's Got Talent backin twenty fifteen being a comedian. What
was it like to have Howie Mandelhit that golden buzzer send you right to
the quarterfinals? Yeah? I thinkit was. I mean it was awesome
(00:45):
because I had been a big fanof the show even as a as a
kid, and he'd been around doingit for, you know, for since
it's since its beginning. So it'skind of like he's such a well respected
but also just a well respected comedian, and the fact that he advocated for
me so heavily on the show andstill does to this day, is really
(01:11):
just a big deal. So veryblessed for it. And what's kind of
cool about People may not know thisabout you, but you've had a stuttering
problem since you were a kid,right, I had an injury when I
was twenty years old, well morethan a kid then, so it did.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, butI mean I've had the same I've
(01:33):
had the same body since the thirdgrade, so it at this time.
Well here's here's what's cool about that. Though you made that part of your
show early on, but as I'mtalking to you now, I would never
know. Yeah, I appreciate that, Mark. I you know, really
the people who have you know,kind of followed me since since even before
(01:55):
the show, but also since theshow. I mean, you know,
this is something that happened to mein twenty eleven, and so you know,
my my my wife, and thepeople who have just kind of followed
the progress and the trajectory of thatinjury. You know, it's it's been
really amazing. But I mean,I just I can't even tell you how
(02:20):
how much of a free thing thatwas at the time, because stand up
was never something that I wanted todo. It wasn't anything that I wanted
to pursue. It was just kindof a last resort of still being able
to perform and expressed what had goneon and be able to make self deprecating
jokes about the situation for a momentthat was actually very therapeutic for me at
(02:42):
the time. So, you know, it's it's definitely been a journey.
Well to say what, I waswatching some of that some of your material
on YouTube and who was really reallyfunny stuff. Shouldn't have to do that,
But nobody should have subjected to mymaterial. No, seriously, I
had to do it, so Iknow what to ask you. Here are
the interview. No, but seriously, though, watching your material, like
(03:06):
this guy is not just funny,but he's you know, you've heard the
expression turning lemons into lemonade. Hereyou you take this thing that happened to
you and the way you addressed it, it was great. Thank you.
Yeah. I mean, I thinkI think it's always best to just try
and address everything head on. Imean, if you try to, if
(03:28):
you try to avoid it, andit really is like stuttering, I mean
that, and that like when youtake the time to just understand that you
are having some trouble by being candidand being open about it, really has
been kind of like the thing that'sto open the floodgates to having more fluency
(03:49):
in my speech overall is just knowingthat I'm not I have I have some
level of transparency whenever I'm talking tosomebody to be able to be like,
you know what, if I makea mistake on any level, I can,
I hopefully they'll grant me the patienceand grace to have me work through
(04:10):
it. And the fact that I'vebeen able to do that in person on
stage, it's just, uh,you know, it's it's it's been immense
as helping me along with the progress. So on season ten of America's Got
Talent, you came in second placeto a ventriloquist? Is that then?
I don't even know that it's PaulZurden? Is his name? Is he
(04:31):
anybody? I definitely, I meanI've heard he's real. I definitely think
he's real. That would suck ifI just lost to nobody. Like listen,
nobody was good enough this season towin. So we have a second
place. You're all loser, everylast one of you. We have second
(04:53):
and third and fourth place loser.Now Paul's I mean, he was,
He's definitely a nice guy. I'mwhen I when I was with him on
the during the taping of the show, he is, h he's a British
ventriloquist. I think so, Ithink he might. He might live out
there. So you know, nowI'm gonna go. I'm determined to go
(05:15):
to win Britain's got talent because Ijust think it's I think it's all backwards
there you go be vindicated. Wewon't be vindicated as a nation until I
do that. Well, you knowa lot of people don't know remember that.
You're probably too young to remember StarSearch. Uh yeah, I remember
it as like I've seen the clipsof it. But yeah, I was
so people like Christina Aguilera uh didn'tmake the cut on shows like Star Search.
(05:40):
And look how big she was inthe nineties in early two thousands.
She's my favorite ventriloquist. Yeah,no, it is. It is true.
I mean people say, like,you know, winning isn't really everything
with those shows, and and andI'll grant them that, because you know,
at the time, it was definitelysomething that I you know, you
get, you get not just caughtup in the moment in that like oh,
(06:01):
you're like you want to win noteven for for just Ego's sake,
but you get I wanted to winbecause I first of all, when I
first did the show, I didn'teven think I was going to advance at
all, you know, I justit wasn't until I finally got to the
end that I really realized. Iwas like, I could actually use this
to help validate my injury happening andhelp being like, oh okay, at
(06:24):
all, I can make sense ofit all and it would be a healing
thing for me. And you know, it made me realize, you know
that there are some contracts that thatthat that come with being tied to winning
first place, and there's some levelof control, some that you kind of
forfeit when you come in first.So you know, it really is a
blessing in disguise when you get tosay, like, all right, I
(06:45):
still get to travel and tour around. I don't have any sort of I
don't have any I have full creativejurisdiction, and and and and I think
that show did an excellent job oftelling people's stories while also letting them showcase
them your talent. So basically,coming in second place isn't bad unless your
name is justin Guarini that it sucks. Hey, so the show's coming up
(07:09):
March eighth, a Rhythm City Casino. Tickets still available. Tell me about
the dog vlog. Oh yeah,well so it's actually kind of it's kind
of kind of a cool thing that, uh, that I used to do
where my dog Stella, my whatdo you say? What do you say?
When my late dog Stella, sheshe passed away two years ago,
(07:30):
but we used to we used todo a show together, which you know,
it's actually interesting in its relationship toAmerica's Got Talent because I think a
lot of people think that you knowthat I grew most of my audience from
that show, but I actually grewmost of my audience after the show.
So the show did a great jobabout being like, you know, here's
you know, here's the here's likehere's some exposure, and we're happy to
(07:54):
showcase you on our on our onour platform. But after the fact,
it really becomes up to the artistto try and you know, sustain what
level of uh career you want totry to maintain. And for me that
was with with my dog Stella,who I think a lot of people,
a lot of people knew, andthe style of the show was just basically
I would sit, uh, Iwould sit in an office chair and my
(08:18):
dog Stella would sit right next tome in an office chair and we would
I would kind of blog and thenshe would have captions that popped up above
her head because she had just shehad like the perfect like resting sort of
right face that was just you know. So in that way, that was
kind of how we got our starton, you know, doing stuff with
the Internet. And I really connectedwith people in the in the in the
(08:41):
Viishla community, in the in thein the content creator community, and that
was kind of the start in thelaunch pad for building our online audience.
So what what all do you coveron the show for for for Dog Love
or for the live show, forthe live show at Rhythm City Casino.
What what all? Because one thingI noticed watching what I saw of your
material, not a lot of reallyblue stuff. It looked like you could
(09:05):
take anybody to the show. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's I've definitely
gotten I've definitely gotten older. Andso I'm I'm not by any means squeaky
clean, I but you know,uh so it but yeah, it's it's
been something that I think has beenreally cool because my I've really just grown
up since doing the more general,more more kind of middle of the road
(09:31):
material like I did on the showand on Network TV, and then every
show that I do, when Iwhen when, when it's a live setting
is always I always try to makesure that it's unique to every single place
that I'm visiting. I always talkabout where it is that we are.
I'm always talking about something that's currentin my life. You know, I've
been I've been married. Now,I talk about my struggles with stuttering and
(09:54):
the fact that my wife has ADHDand she won't stop moving and that triggers
me and think cares her said nightthere. I don't know how we're married.
I love her, she's she's Idon't know. I like her,
I love her a lot. Butshe and I, you know, we've
been married for for for a littlemore than a year, and it's just
really just talking about the evolution ofUH, what's come to be for for
(10:16):
now and my my, my,how candid I've had to be about,
you know, my my, my, the journey with my speech and UH
and and you know what where kindof where we came from and where we
are well I can't wait to seethe show. March eighth, Rhythm of
City Casino, Drew Lynch, thanksfor joining us. Thanks Mark, appreciate it.
Hey, have you got comedian DrewLynch with us. Drew is at Rhythm
City Casino March eighth. Tickets stillavailable for that show. We've got the
NFL up on the station website.Welcome Drew, Thanks Mark. I'm so
happy to be coming to the casino. I just I guess I just happened
to be scheduled to perform there aswell. That just worked out. Oh
(00:20):
I was uncanning. Yeah, trytry not to blow the entire paycheck they
give you for the performance. Whatare you talking about? So you're on
season ten of America's Got Talent backin twenty fifteen being a comedian. What
was it like to have Howie Mandelhit that golden buzzer send you right to
the quarterfinals? Yeah? I thinkit was. I mean it was awesome
(00:45):
because I had been a big fanof the show even as a as a
kid, and he'd been around doingit for, you know, for since
it's since its beginning. So it'skind of like he's such a well respected
but also just a well respected comedian, and the fact that he advocated for
me so heavily on the show andstill does to this day, is really
(01:11):
just a big deal. So veryblessed for it. And what's kind of
cool about People may not know thisabout you, but you've had a stuttering
problem since you were a kid,right, I had an injury when I
was twenty years old, well morethan a kid then, so it did.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, butI mean I've had the same I've
(01:33):
had the same body since the thirdgrade, so it at this time.
Well here's here's what's cool about that. Though you made that part of your
show early on, but as I'mtalking to you now, I would never
know. Yeah, I appreciate that, Mark. I you know, really
the people who have you know,kind of followed me since since even before
(01:55):
the show, but also since theshow. I mean, you know,
this is something that happened to mein twenty eleven, and so you know,
my my my wife, and thepeople who have just kind of followed
the progress and the trajectory of thatinjury. You know, it's it's been
really amazing. But I mean,I just I can't even tell you how
(02:20):
how much of a free thing thatwas at the time, because stand up
was never something that I wanted todo. It wasn't anything that I wanted
to pursue. It was just kindof a last resort of still being able
to perform and expressed what had goneon and be able to make self deprecating
jokes about the situation for a momentthat was actually very therapeutic for me at
(02:42):
the time. So, you know, it's it's definitely been a journey.
Well to say what, I waswatching some of that some of your material
on YouTube and who was really reallyfunny stuff. Shouldn't have to do that,
But nobody should have subjected to mymaterial. No, seriously, I
had to do it, so Iknow what to ask you. Here are
the interview. No, but seriously, though, watching your material, like
(03:06):
this guy is not just funny,but he's you know, you've heard the
expression turning lemons into lemonade. Hereyou you take this thing that happened to
you and the way you addressed it, it was great. Thank you.
Yeah. I mean, I thinkI think it's always best to just try
and address everything head on. Imean, if you try to, if
(03:28):
you try to avoid it, andit really is like stuttering, I mean
that, and that like when youtake the time to just understand that you
are having some trouble by being candidand being open about it, really has
been kind of like the thing that'sto open the floodgates to having more fluency
(03:49):
in my speech overall is just knowingthat I'm not I have I have some
level of transparency whenever I'm talking tosomebody to be able to be like,
you know what, if I makea mistake on any level, I can,
I hopefully they'll grant me the patienceand grace to have me work through
(04:10):
it. And the fact that I'vebeen able to do that in person on
stage, it's just, uh,you know, it's it's it's been immense
as helping me along with the progress. So on season ten of America's Got
Talent, you came in second placeto a ventriloquist? Is that then?
I don't even know that it's PaulZurden? Is his name? Is he
(04:31):
anybody? I definitely, I meanI've heard he's real. I definitely think
he's real. That would suck ifI just lost to nobody. Like listen,
nobody was good enough this season towin. So we have a second
place. You're all loser, everylast one of you. We have second
(04:53):
and third and fourth place loser.Now Paul's I mean, he was,
He's definitely a nice guy. I'mwhen I when I was with him on
the during the taping of the show, he is, h he's a British
ventriloquist. I think so, Ithink he might. He might live out
there. So you know, nowI'm gonna go. I'm determined to go
(05:15):
to win Britain's got talent because Ijust think it's I think it's all backwards
there you go be vindicated. Wewon't be vindicated as a nation until I
do that. Well, you knowa lot of people don't know remember that.
You're probably too young to remember StarSearch. Uh yeah, I remember
it as like I've seen the clipsof it. But yeah, I was
so people like Christina Aguilera uh didn'tmake the cut on shows like Star Search.
(05:40):
And look how big she was inthe nineties in early two thousands.
She's my favorite ventriloquist. Yeah,no, it is. It is true.
I mean people say, like,you know, winning isn't really everything
with those shows, and and andI'll grant them that, because you know,
at the time, it was definitelysomething that I you know, you
get, you get not just caughtup in the moment in that like oh,
(06:01):
you're like you want to win noteven for for just Ego's sake,
but you get I wanted to winbecause I first of all, when I
first did the show, I didn'teven think I was going to advance at
all, you know, I justit wasn't until I finally got to the
end that I really realized. Iwas like, I could actually use this
to help validate my injury happening andhelp being like, oh okay, at
(06:24):
all, I can make sense ofit all and it would be a healing
thing for me. And you know, it made me realize, you know
that there are some contracts that thatthat that come with being tied to winning
first place, and there's some levelof control, some that you kind of
forfeit when you come in first.So you know, it really is a
blessing in disguise when you get tosay, like, all right, I
(06:45):
still get to travel and tour around. I don't have any sort of I
don't have any I have full creativejurisdiction, and and and and I think
that show did an excellent job oftelling people's stories while also letting them showcase
them your talent. So basically,coming in second place isn't bad unless your
name is justin Guarini that it sucks. Hey, so the show's coming up
(07:09):
March eighth, a Rhythm City Casino. Tickets still available. Tell me about
the dog vlog. Oh yeah,well so it's actually kind of it's kind
of kind of a cool thing that, uh, that I used to do
where my dog Stella, my whatdo you say? What do you say?
When my late dog Stella, sheshe passed away two years ago,
(07:30):
but we used to we used todo a show together, which you know,
it's actually interesting in its relationship toAmerica's Got Talent because I think a
lot of people think that you knowthat I grew most of my audience from
that show, but I actually grewmost of my audience after the show.
So the show did a great jobabout being like, you know, here's
you know, here's the here's likehere's some exposure, and we're happy to
(07:54):
showcase you on our on our onour platform. But after the fact,
it really becomes up to the artistto try and you know, sustain what
level of uh career you want totry to maintain. And for me that
was with with my dog Stella,who I think a lot of people,
a lot of people knew, andthe style of the show was just basically
I would sit, uh, Iwould sit in an office chair and my
(08:18):
dog Stella would sit right next tome in an office chair and we would
I would kind of blog and thenshe would have captions that popped up above
her head because she had just shehad like the perfect like resting sort of
right face that was just you know. So in that way, that was
kind of how we got our starton, you know, doing stuff with
the Internet. And I really connectedwith people in the in the in the
(08:41):
Viishla community, in the in thein the content creator community, and that
was kind of the start in thelaunch pad for building our online audience.
So what what all do you coveron the show for for for Dog Love
or for the live show, forthe live show at Rhythm City Casino.
What what all? Because one thingI noticed watching what I saw of your
material, not a lot of reallyblue stuff. It looked like you could
(09:05):
take anybody to the show. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's I've definitely
gotten I've definitely gotten older. Andso I'm I'm not by any means squeaky
clean, I but you know,uh so it but yeah, it's it's
been something that I think has beenreally cool because my I've really just grown
up since doing the more general,more more kind of middle of the road
(09:31):
material like I did on the showand on Network TV, and then every
show that I do, when Iwhen when, when it's a live setting
is always I always try to makesure that it's unique to every single place
that I'm visiting. I always talkabout where it is that we are.
I'm always talking about something that's currentin my life. You know, I've
been I've been married. Now,I talk about my struggles with stuttering and
(09:54):
the fact that my wife has ADHDand she won't stop moving and that triggers
me and think cares her said nightthere. I don't know how we're married.
I love her, she's she's Idon't know. I like her,
I love her a lot. Butshe and I, you know, we've
been married for for for a littlemore than a year, and it's just
really just talking about the evolution ofUH, what's come to be for for
(10:16):
now and my my, my,how candid I've had to be about,
you know, my my, my, the journey with my speech and UH
and and you know what where kindof where we came from and where we
are well I can't wait to seethe show. March eighth, Rhythm of
City Casino, Drew Lynch, thanksfor joining us. Thanks Mark, appreciate it.
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