August 27, 2026 • 11 mins
Our full interview with comedian Dusty Slay
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dusty Slate, thank you so much. I know it's getting
up early. Are you out in California right now?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
No, I live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Okay, so good. All right, so at least it's not
like before the sun rises type of phone calls.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Oh, no, no. Good. In fact, I was up a
bit earlier because I have three small children.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Wow, three. That's got to keep you busy. What's that
like hitting the road? As, you know, working like you do,
the kids are at home, I'm assuming, not on the
road with you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, well, it's where I get sleep on the road,
which is an interesting switch.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yes, it's like, oh, darn, I have to hit the road.
I'm actually going to get like a full seven, eight hours.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, it's nice. I try not to brag about it
too much when I'm home. But, yeah, it is nice
to go on the road and get some sleep.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh, I'm absolutely, yeah. Well, thank you so much again.
We've got your one-hour Netflix special, Wet Heat, which is
available for streaming right now. You're going to be joining
us here. I cannot wait for you to hit the
Southern Theater on September 11th. I'm assuming you have made
your way through Columbus a good handful of times.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Last year, I had a theater show booked, sold-out show booked,
and then the theater closed down. So this is my return.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Love it. What's the last thing you remember the last
time you were in Columbus? Do you remember visiting a
certain spot you loved or something in the area?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, I did the Funny Bone the last time, which
is the club I've done for many years. I love
that club.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Love the Funny Bone.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
The shows were hot. And I went. to what I
think was some kind of German town area of Columbus.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
German Village.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Oh, yeah. Well, I walked around there, and I loved
that place. I had never been. All the times I've
been to Columbus, I had never been. I walked around.
I think we ate there. I don't remember any of
the names of the places, but it was great. I
loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
You've been doing this for a while. What have you
seen change as you've been on the road and stuff?
Do you think that your comedy has changed, or are
you kind of... Just who you always have been.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, I think both. I mean, I think I am
who I've always been, but I think comedy, it does change.
I mean, I got an album on Spotify called Making
Fudge that I put out in 2014. And you can
listen to that. you wouldn't almost wouldn't even know that me.
And I didn't, I didn't like make some purposeful change.
(02:29):
I was like, you know, I just am doing comedy
all the time and just your things change. Uh, but
you know, you know, the world is different since 2014, uh, But,
you know, for the most part, I think my comedy
is the same. I get I guess I get more
confident on stage. Now I finally have people coming to
see me rather than back in the day when it
(02:51):
was just a random group of people that received some
free tickets. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And they're like, they go, who is that? So now,
you know, I do I'm doing theaters as opposed to,
you know, I did the Funny Bone in Columbus during
COVID when they were They had dividers up. Yeah, yeah.
They were doing 25%, 50% capacity. And, I mean, those
are great shows. I love that. But, you know, we've
(03:18):
gone through a lot in all this time. I've been
a full-time comic since 2014. And, you know, the world
has changed. But once you get inside the comedy room
and people sit down in their seats, it's all the same.
We're all just laughing. Right, yeah. I love it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
One thing, I didn't know that comedians performed here, and
I saw actually you're the youngest comedian to ever do it.
You performed comedy on the Grand Ole Opry stage. What
was that like?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, you know, I've done it, I bet I've done
it like 40 times now. I love the Opry. Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I know, man.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
They weren't doing a lot of comics. Comics like Henry
Cho and Gary Mule Deer were doing the Opry for
so long as comics. They're the newest comedy members. I
think when they chose me to do it, they picked me,
they saw me at a show, asked me what I
liked to do it. And it went so well with
(04:17):
me that it did kind of introduce a new era
of comedy at the Opry. Now they're having more and
more comics all the time. But I love it. I mean,
you know, a lot of times I go out there
and it's all, you know, it looks like cotton tops
out there. I mean, it's all people with white hair.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Singing in the audience. Yeah, the Grand Ole Opry's got
a little bit of an older demographic in general.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Grand Ole. Yeah. Yeah. So I walk out there and
I got, you know, long hair. And I feel like
for the first two minutes, the audience is like, oh,
look at this guy. But I get it going. And
every time, every time by the end, they're into it.
They're loving it. And I think it's great. And also
(05:03):
broadcast on the radio. It's on Sirius XM when they're...
And then also on an AM channel.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And it's just fun that it's... You're doing this classic thing.
To think that Hank Williams Sr. and every country singer
ever has done that is pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
I've been doing stand-up for about 30 years off and on.
Nothing to your level, obviously. But I've had the opportunity
to perform at some great comedy clubs around the country.
And I've opened up for people in some theaters. And
obviously the goal of any comedian, if you're out there,
becoming a feature, becoming a headliner, now playing theaters. You've
got comedians now performing at football stadiums. Do you see
(05:43):
a major difference between now doing theater shows as opposed
to the comedy clubs or even back in the day
when you started, if you were doing bar gigs and
things like that?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Well, there's a major difference in doing a bar gig
versus a theater. Yeah. It all depends on just the setting, right?
I mean, it's like, if you're doing a bar and
it's packed and everybody's there to listen to you and
they're laughing and it can, I mean, that's all you need.
(06:17):
But it's just like a theater, like, basically guarantees that's
going to be what's happening.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Oh, because I'm sure you've done some, yeah, I'm sure
you've done some shows, some of those bar gigs where
they're still playing pool or there might even be a
band in the next room and you're trying to talk
over the band. I mean... You know, some of those gigs,
they're not necessarily there to watch comedy. You just happen
to be performing.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yes. I've said before that the worst sound when you
take the stage is the sound that the pool table
makes when somebody pushes in their quarters and the balls
start to roll out.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Because you go, oh, you're about to start a fresh game, huh? Great.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
My whole set is going to be clank, clank, clank.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Oh, man. But I'm also... I've also tried to do
a show one time at a bowling alley. Now, I've
done some bowling alley gigs where the room's separated enough
to where it's not a big deal, but one time
I tried to do a show, and it was a
very nice room. But you could hear every time the
balls hit the pins. And I go, well, this is
(07:19):
not going to work. We can't do, you know. But
it was a very nice room. They had a great setup.
But they needed a thicker wall.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, you can't. That's just, you're constantly sitting there breaking pins.
That's just not going to work whatsoever. September 11th at
the Southern Theater. Dusty Slay is returning to Columbus and
very much looking forward to this show, man. This is
a Friday night show. No reason not to set up
a great date night and head on out. You can
still get your tickets now if you want to jump online. And, man, Dusty,
(07:50):
can't wait to see it. I'm going to be coming
to the show. So I'm very much looking forward to this.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, thank you. I appreciate it. And, you know, I
would say, you know, for people listening, get tickets now.
Somebody messaged me and said they had a group of
four and they could not find four seats together. So
get some tickets now. I got a book coming out
November 5th called We're Having a Good Time. I appreciate it.
And yeah, let's get together. I'd like to meet you
at the show.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Absolutely. I would love for that, man. I'll definitely come in.
And you know, if for some reason your opener or
feature drops out, I'm here for you. I'm your backup,
so you just let me know. He's very funny. He's
very funny, Dusty. I'm serious. The Neighborhood Guide Tour is
coming to town September 11th at the Southern Theater. Get
(08:36):
your tickets now. Dusty Slade. And head on back. Jump online.
You've got all kinds of specials all over the place
on Netflix and such that people can still check out.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, I got two on YouTube, Working Man, and then
I got one with a weird title about trailer parks,
but it's very funny. And let's talk about it. Message
me on Instagram or something. Let's talk about, you know,
maybe getting you on the show.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Hey, absolutely. I will 100% do that. I will send
you a message, man. Real quick before you go, speaking
of trailer parks, how do you feel about someone worth $ 8. 5 billion,
the owner of an NFL team, picking up a hooker
in Ohio in a trailer park? For $ 140?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I mean, that seems wild. I don't know. I mean,
I don't know where you get hookers, but I would
think with $ 8 billion or whatever, you could find a
better spot.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I would think so.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You know what? Maybe he's just got a thing, you know,
I guess. And maybe he's like, you know, trying to
lift somebody up. He goes, hey, the classy ones, they're
making a lot of money. But I'm trying to....
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I'm here to help the little people. I'm trying to
lift them up.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Maybe it's a charitable thing. I'm not familiar with the story,
but maybe it's a charitable thing, you know?
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yeah, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers was just
caught the other day.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Day.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, 9.30 in the morning. He was trying to pick
up a hooker in a trailer park here just outside
of Columbus, Ohio, not far from the border there.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
You know, funny comic Ralph Barbosa, he has a joke
where he says people always say they want to save
a stripper. They're always like, oh, I want to save her.
And he's like, She don't want to be saved. Why
don't you save the girl working at Kroger?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
That's the one that wants to be saved.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yes. Absolutely. Maybe that's this guy. This guy's like, you
know what? The girl in Vegas, she's loving this. Yes.
Was she even a hooker if he got caught? Was
she just a girl hanging out at 930?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No, you know what it was, actually? It was a
sting operation. He jumped online and actually went to a
website that is famous for offering hookers and things like that,
but it turns out it was the police and it
was a full-blown sting operation. So he got bamboozled.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Wow, I don't have $ 8 million, but I got to
think you could find somebody to vet it. Yes. With
that much money.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You think you could have a beautiful girl delivered to
your home? You're a courier, so it's not even your
name on the website. Pay someone to sign up and
bring them to you.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, why not just on Tinder? Hey, I own the 49ers. Right. Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Everybody's swiping on you.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Even the guys. Yeah. Hey, Dusty, thank you so much.
Cannot wait. September 11th at Southern Theater. The Neighborhood Guide
Tour coming to town. Check out Wet Heat on Netflix.
A couple specials on YouTube. Book coming out in November.
Cannot wait to see you, man. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Have a great one.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
You too.
Dusty Slate, thank you so much. I know it's getting
up early. Are you out in California right now?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
No, I live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Okay, so good. All right, so at least it's not
like before the sun rises type of phone calls.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Oh, no, no. Good. In fact, I was up a
bit earlier because I have three small children.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Wow, three. That's got to keep you busy. What's that
like hitting the road? As, you know, working like you do,
the kids are at home, I'm assuming, not on the
road with you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, well, it's where I get sleep on the road,
which is an interesting switch.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yes, it's like, oh, darn, I have to hit the road.
I'm actually going to get like a full seven, eight hours.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, it's nice. I try not to brag about it
too much when I'm home. But, yeah, it is nice
to go on the road and get some sleep.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Oh, I'm absolutely, yeah. Well, thank you so much again.
We've got your one-hour Netflix special, Wet Heat, which is
available for streaming right now. You're going to be joining
us here. I cannot wait for you to hit the
Southern Theater on September 11th. I'm assuming you have made
your way through Columbus a good handful of times.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Last year, I had a theater show booked, sold-out show booked,
and then the theater closed down. So this is my return.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Love it. What's the last thing you remember the last
time you were in Columbus? Do you remember visiting a
certain spot you loved or something in the area?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, I did the Funny Bone the last time, which
is the club I've done for many years. I love
that club.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Love the Funny Bone.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
The shows were hot. And I went. to what I
think was some kind of German town area of Columbus.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
German Village.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Oh, yeah. Well, I walked around there, and I loved
that place. I had never been. All the times I've
been to Columbus, I had never been. I walked around.
I think we ate there. I don't remember any of
the names of the places, but it was great. I
loved it.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
You've been doing this for a while. What have you
seen change as you've been on the road and stuff?
Do you think that your comedy has changed, or are
you kind of... Just who you always have been.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, I think both. I mean, I think I am
who I've always been, but I think comedy, it does change.
I mean, I got an album on Spotify called Making
Fudge that I put out in 2014. And you can
listen to that. you wouldn't almost wouldn't even know that me.
And I didn't, I didn't like make some purposeful change.
(02:29):
I was like, you know, I just am doing comedy
all the time and just your things change. Uh, but
you know, you know, the world is different since 2014, uh, But,
you know, for the most part, I think my comedy
is the same. I get I guess I get more
confident on stage. Now I finally have people coming to
see me rather than back in the day when it
(02:51):
was just a random group of people that received some
free tickets. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And they're like, they go, who is that? So now,
you know, I do I'm doing theaters as opposed to,
you know, I did the Funny Bone in Columbus during
COVID when they were They had dividers up. Yeah, yeah.
They were doing 25%, 50% capacity. And, I mean, those
are great shows. I love that. But, you know, we've
(03:18):
gone through a lot in all this time. I've been
a full-time comic since 2014. And, you know, the world
has changed. But once you get inside the comedy room
and people sit down in their seats, it's all the same.
We're all just laughing. Right, yeah. I love it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
One thing, I didn't know that comedians performed here, and
I saw actually you're the youngest comedian to ever do it.
You performed comedy on the Grand Ole Opry stage. What
was that like?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, you know, I've done it, I bet I've done
it like 40 times now. I love the Opry. Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I know, man.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
They weren't doing a lot of comics. Comics like Henry
Cho and Gary Mule Deer were doing the Opry for
so long as comics. They're the newest comedy members. I
think when they chose me to do it, they picked me,
they saw me at a show, asked me what I
liked to do it. And it went so well with
(04:17):
me that it did kind of introduce a new era
of comedy at the Opry. Now they're having more and
more comics all the time. But I love it. I mean,
you know, a lot of times I go out there
and it's all, you know, it looks like cotton tops
out there. I mean, it's all people with white hair.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Singing in the audience. Yeah, the Grand Ole Opry's got
a little bit of an older demographic in general.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Grand Ole. Yeah. Yeah. So I walk out there and
I got, you know, long hair. And I feel like
for the first two minutes, the audience is like, oh,
look at this guy. But I get it going. And
every time, every time by the end, they're into it.
They're loving it. And I think it's great. And also
(05:03):
broadcast on the radio. It's on Sirius XM when they're...
And then also on an AM channel.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And it's just fun that it's... You're doing this classic thing.
To think that Hank Williams Sr. and every country singer
ever has done that is pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
I've been doing stand-up for about 30 years off and on.
Nothing to your level, obviously. But I've had the opportunity
to perform at some great comedy clubs around the country.
And I've opened up for people in some theaters. And
obviously the goal of any comedian, if you're out there,
becoming a feature, becoming a headliner, now playing theaters. You've
got comedians now performing at football stadiums. Do you see
(05:43):
a major difference between now doing theater shows as opposed
to the comedy clubs or even back in the day
when you started, if you were doing bar gigs and
things like that?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Well, there's a major difference in doing a bar gig
versus a theater. Yeah. It all depends on just the setting, right?
I mean, it's like, if you're doing a bar and
it's packed and everybody's there to listen to you and
they're laughing and it can, I mean, that's all you need.
(06:17):
But it's just like a theater, like, basically guarantees that's
going to be what's happening.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Oh, because I'm sure you've done some, yeah, I'm sure
you've done some shows, some of those bar gigs where
they're still playing pool or there might even be a
band in the next room and you're trying to talk
over the band. I mean... You know, some of those gigs,
they're not necessarily there to watch comedy. You just happen
to be performing.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yes. I've said before that the worst sound when you
take the stage is the sound that the pool table
makes when somebody pushes in their quarters and the balls
start to roll out.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Because you go, oh, you're about to start a fresh game, huh? Great.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
My whole set is going to be clank, clank, clank.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Oh, man. But I'm also... I've also tried to do
a show one time at a bowling alley. Now, I've
done some bowling alley gigs where the room's separated enough
to where it's not a big deal, but one time
I tried to do a show, and it was a
very nice room. But you could hear every time the
balls hit the pins. And I go, well, this is
(07:19):
not going to work. We can't do, you know. But
it was a very nice room. They had a great setup.
But they needed a thicker wall.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, you can't. That's just, you're constantly sitting there breaking pins.
That's just not going to work whatsoever. September 11th at
the Southern Theater. Dusty Slay is returning to Columbus and
very much looking forward to this show, man. This is
a Friday night show. No reason not to set up
a great date night and head on out. You can
still get your tickets now if you want to jump online. And, man, Dusty,
(07:50):
can't wait to see it. I'm going to be coming
to the show. So I'm very much looking forward to this.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, thank you. I appreciate it. And, you know, I
would say, you know, for people listening, get tickets now.
Somebody messaged me and said they had a group of
four and they could not find four seats together. So
get some tickets now. I got a book coming out
November 5th called We're Having a Good Time. I appreciate it.
And yeah, let's get together. I'd like to meet you
at the show.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Absolutely. I would love for that, man. I'll definitely come in.
And you know, if for some reason your opener or
feature drops out, I'm here for you. I'm your backup,
so you just let me know. He's very funny. He's
very funny, Dusty. I'm serious. The Neighborhood Guide Tour is
coming to town September 11th at the Southern Theater. Get
(08:36):
your tickets now. Dusty Slade. And head on back. Jump online.
You've got all kinds of specials all over the place
on Netflix and such that people can still check out.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, I got two on YouTube, Working Man, and then
I got one with a weird title about trailer parks,
but it's very funny. And let's talk about it. Message
me on Instagram or something. Let's talk about, you know,
maybe getting you on the show.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Hey, absolutely. I will 100% do that. I will send
you a message, man. Real quick before you go, speaking
of trailer parks, how do you feel about someone worth $ 8. 5 billion,
the owner of an NFL team, picking up a hooker
in Ohio in a trailer park? For $ 140?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I mean, that seems wild. I don't know. I mean,
I don't know where you get hookers, but I would
think with $ 8 billion or whatever, you could find a
better spot.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I would think so.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You know what? Maybe he's just got a thing, you know,
I guess. And maybe he's like, you know, trying to
lift somebody up. He goes, hey, the classy ones, they're
making a lot of money. But I'm trying to....
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I'm here to help the little people. I'm trying to
lift them up.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Maybe it's a charitable thing. I'm not familiar with the story,
but maybe it's a charitable thing, you know?
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yeah, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers was just
caught the other day.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Day.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, 9.30 in the morning. He was trying to pick
up a hooker in a trailer park here just outside
of Columbus, Ohio, not far from the border there.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
You know, funny comic Ralph Barbosa, he has a joke
where he says people always say they want to save
a stripper. They're always like, oh, I want to save her.
And he's like, She don't want to be saved. Why
don't you save the girl working at Kroger?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
That's the one that wants to be saved.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yes. Absolutely. Maybe that's this guy. This guy's like, you
know what? The girl in Vegas, she's loving this. Yes.
Was she even a hooker if he got caught? Was
she just a girl hanging out at 930?
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No, you know what it was, actually? It was a
sting operation. He jumped online and actually went to a
website that is famous for offering hookers and things like that,
but it turns out it was the police and it
was a full-blown sting operation. So he got bamboozled.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Wow, I don't have $ 8 million, but I got to
think you could find somebody to vet it. Yes. With
that much money.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You think you could have a beautiful girl delivered to
your home? You're a courier, so it's not even your
name on the website. Pay someone to sign up and
bring them to you.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, why not just on Tinder? Hey, I own the 49ers. Right. Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Everybody's swiping on you.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Even the guys. Yeah. Hey, Dusty, thank you so much.
Cannot wait. September 11th at Southern Theater. The Neighborhood Guide
Tour coming to town. Check out Wet Heat on Netflix.
A couple specials on YouTube. Book coming out in November.
Cannot wait to see you, man. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Have a great one.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
You too.
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