KCAA: The Scene with Doreen (Tue, 27 May, 2025)

KCAA: The Scene with Doreen on Tue, 27 May, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nineteen thirty two dot Org.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hey, Hey, USA, what's going on? Welcome to the Scene
with Doreen. I'm your host, Doreen Taylor, setting the scene
every week to help you find out what is happening
in music, TV, movie, sports, the arts and everything in between.
We're proud to be syndicated on station's Coast to Coast
and originating right here in the City of Brotherly Love
on Philadelphia's number one talk radio station, Talk eight sixty WWDB.

(00:38):
And today up on the show, we've got a nice
mix of guests.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
We've got comedian JT.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Haversat coming on to talk about his new book, and
before that, we've got our main guest today, Brandon Victor Dixon,
who you've probably seen on Jesus Christ Superstar on NBC
and Fox's Rent Live. Well, he's got a new single
coming out and that's gonna be fun to talk about.
But before we get to all of that, I of
course have to welcome my incredible.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Producer, co pilot everything.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
My second mate, what do you call it, I don't
even know it is, Matt Monarch.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
I'm Matt.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
Hey, Dorian, how you doing doing good?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
My coffee's kicking in now. I feel a little more Wooo,
I'm much more energized now.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
It's amazing how that feels when it does feel down
and then just snap it a finger. It's all of
a sudden like you're in a better.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Mood immediately, and it's like energy.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
It is like my B twelve shot just kicked in
or something like I'm excited now it's you, Matt.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
You're just infectious, Like I see you and I'm like, yay,
it's Matt. No, you know, it's starting to be warmer weather.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
I can feel it. It's kind of playing Mother Nature's
playing with us a little. But I know it's warming
up and it is time for going out and taking
road trips.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, summer.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
I think that that's one of my favorite things to do.
It's probably one of my least favorite things to do
and one of my favorite things to do. And I
know tomorrow, I think Friday, it is National road Trip Day.
Oh yeah, you know, we're kicking off the weekend and style.
So people, you know, maybe listen to the scene with
Gerina in your car. Well you're going on the app,
on the WWDB app, you can listen, but just to
get a shout out. But yeah, you get to go.

(02:08):
I mean when you were a kid, that was big.
When we were kids, did.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
You go on road trips with your family?

Speaker 4 (02:12):
Not as much as a kid, but when when I
was in the Army, when we traveled, when we PCs
from one station or another, a lot of we would drive.
So we've driven from Texas, which is in the middle
of Forehead, Texas, which is in the middle of Texas,
up to Washington.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
So we Washington the state or Washington the state.

Speaker 5 (02:35):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yeah, And we went up California through Oregon. And then
when I retired from the Army, no that Robert retired
from an army.

Speaker 6 (02:43):
No.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Actually, when we left Washington to station at Georgia, we
drove from Washington down to Colorado, up to Chicago, down
to Georgia and then up here to visit my family
because I had a lot of leave in between in
travel days and stuff. But yeah, so that right there,
that was my longest one was how long did that take?

Speaker 6 (03:06):
Well?

Speaker 3 (03:07):
I had like months.

Speaker 4 (03:09):
What's really cool about the Army is they give you
have leave that you could build up, and they give
you travel days depending on how your motive travel and
how long how far it is. So we had so
many travel days and all that built up, so it
took us probably about twelve days total. Because my wife's

(03:29):
father lives up in Chicago areas, so we and my
daughter had a doctor's appointment in Denver, so that's why
we went down there.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Gee you were everywhere.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
Yeah, so we could. We took our time, so it
wasn't like a rush to do anything, which I think
made it better m because if we're tired, we're tired.
It's not like we had to be somewhere at a
certain time.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
It's nice.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
That's when you don't have to have that on that schedule,
like oh God, we're going to a wedding or we're
going to something and you must be there.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
You can take your time.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Look at the second biggest ball twine in the Midwest
or did you ever do any of that? Where you stop?
It's stupid things like the I think there's a maybe
in Nebraska. I forgot Kansas, there's like a big corn palace.
I remember I was a kid and my parents took us.
We would always do this, and my my parents were teachers,
so we'd always have the breaks on Christmas, but in
Easter and summer and Easter would always take a trip

(04:15):
across the country, bigger one in summer. But yes, they
would do things like that and take me. I was
so excited, and we'd go to the corn Palace and
it's as exciting as it sounds.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
I've never been to anything like that. We were going
to go to the Field of Dreams. Well, it's it's fun,
but that was a little too far out of the way.
We did see there was some rest stop, I think
in New Mexico or Arizona where they had like a
white tiger or something.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Oh see, that's more exciting too.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
It's not a corn palace where you get a big
building made of corn. I said, oh, and so there
was a little like guest book you could sign your name,
and I don't even think my parents liked it. I
look and my dad wrote his name like you know
who visited and at the end, what's the comment?

Speaker 3 (04:53):
And you wonte action packed. I said, Oh, that's where
I learned my sarcasm from.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Apparently, Yeah, those are the things you would do because
you're trying to keep economical and drive it and what
do you do with two little kids who's in the
backseat of the car fighting and you know, pinching and
you know, beating each other up in the back the
whole time. So yeah, it was kind of like National
Lampoon's Vacation, I could see.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
I mean, nobody died.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
We didn't put anybody up on the roof or anything
or you know, and we didn't go to Wallyworld or.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
Any of that.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
But yeah, I can see those are some of my
best memories as a child.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
Ohod and bad, good and bad.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Good and bad. Yeah, probably more bad for the parent.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Yeah, I see it now from their perspective, and I'm
kind of like, oh, I feel so bad.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
I'm sorry that we kind of did that before were kids.

Speaker 4 (05:35):
We didn't take a lot of planning and stuff for
the parents because you got to you gotta think.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
About hotels every night. We're you're gonna be yeah, ask food,
you know, and keeping us entertained.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
That was before.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
We didn't have games. We didn't have like Tetris. You know,
we're sitting in the car. That came a little a
little later. So we were just sitting there. There was
nothing to do, like a coloring.

Speaker 4 (05:53):
Book or something, or like license plate game.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Punch bug what is it, the little yeah, punch buggy
something yellow and whatever.

Speaker 4 (06:03):
You see like a Volkswagen Beatle.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
There were those kinds of games, so that's what you
had to do.

Speaker 4 (06:08):
But it was fun.

Speaker 7 (06:09):
It was fun.

Speaker 4 (06:10):
I mean, that's that's where you're entertainment.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Was better than putting on SpongeBob whatever, watching of you
know video and you're not really engaged.

Speaker 4 (06:17):
Mom, Dad, my phone's dying, deal.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
With charger, I know what, other what other movies? Then
we stream?

Speaker 2 (06:24):
I don't even say watching what can we stream? I said,
I have changed.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Everything is too much, too easy doing at the clouds.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
But the theme in our show, every show, I get
to the You're the yelling at the clouds and I'm
the get off my lawn person.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
We're getting to and we're not old.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
What's going on? I mean, I get a lot of
this in a new generation, new technology and stuff, but
some of it I think takes away from the creativity.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Of course, or just being in the moment, paying attention
to what's all the beautiful surroundings. When you're driving, you're
going through across you know, so many beautiful areas of
our country, and there are stuck in their phones or
they're stuck in their.

Speaker 4 (07:01):
Tea and drive through a whole state, and you might.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
Not even know that could happen easily in like Rhode Island,
or yeah, maybe Delaware, Oh what, we're out already.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
Or yeah, like the Southwest. I mean some of those states.
You don't realize how big somebody states, like oh god,
it took like half a day just to get out
of this state.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Even like I would go and I do business and
I'm like, okay, I'm in Miami. I need to do
an interview up in Orlando. I'll just drive ten hours later.
It's like a whole day to go up there.

Speaker 3 (07:29):
And I'm like this blows.

Speaker 4 (07:31):
Yeah, you don't realize just how big, how big, like
this country is.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
I mean it is, it is, And there's a lot
to see. Well, there was a lot more than to see.
Now everything's kind of just paved over, but there, you know,
there's still stuff to see. And I wish people would
get more back into just paying attention.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
Yeah, I mean it's a lot of fun.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
I mean it is.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
I said, get off my lawn. But you know, there
are a lot of good things that I miss. But
hopefully what goes around comes around. You know, what's old
is new, and maybe that'll start to see it now.
It is national Tomorrow is National road trip Days. So
maybe let's you know, encourage people get out on the road,
even if you take a two hour drive, go see
something and then no phones, no nothing, to spend the
time together and see what happens. Yeah, might the murder

(08:11):
rate might go up, but you never know. Yeah, that
is so well, you know what. Let's get to this.
Our guests don't have to travel so much and pay
more to talk to us.

Speaker 4 (08:18):
Yeah, let's get to it.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
All right, let's go all right.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
Today on the scene with Dorain, I welcome a guest
who has dominated the stage.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
On and off Broadway.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
Brandon Victor Dixon became a household name when he starred
in his Emmy and Grammy nominated role of Judas in
NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live and as Tom Collins in
Fox's Rent Live. Recently, coming off of his Grammy Award
winning and Tony nominated feature role of Davis in the
Broadway show Hell's Kitchen, Brandon has been seen in a

(08:47):
multitude of critically acclaimed roles such as Aaron Burr and
Hamilton Harpo and The Color Purple and Barry Gordy Junior
in Motown the Musical. But who of us can forget
his powerful portrayal of Heywood Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys,
which earned him Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critic Circle, and
Drama League Award nominations.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
Take a listen, didn't give.

Speaker 8 (09:23):
Has a page? So just one reson everything?

Speaker 9 (09:44):
Nothing SI.

Speaker 7 (10:07):
Shun.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Brandon Victor Dixon's talents don't stop on the stage. He
has been seen in multiple roles and shows like Power,
She's Gotta Have It, Modern Love, The Good Wife, and
This is Us Now. Brandon is throwing his hat into
the pop R and B mainstream music world with a
brand new release of his power pop song Maybe, which
not only highlights his glorious vocals, but also his skills

(10:37):
as a songwriter. So there's no maybe's about it. I
am thrilled to welcome the very talented Brandon Victor Dixon
to the show today.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Hey Brandon, what's going on?

Speaker 1 (10:49):
Not much?

Speaker 10 (10:50):
Not much? How are you?

Speaker 2 (10:51):
I'm going to be doing wonderfully well? And I love
I love that montage. I created it personally. I was
sitting there and I was finding all all of these
amazing clips of you on YouTube and everywhere online, and
I had so many to pick from, So I said, well,
what do I narrow it down to? How does it
feel to listen to that after all these years?

Speaker 10 (11:11):
Exhausting?

Speaker 3 (11:13):
That's perfect, that's perfect.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
You felt those roles more than anybody could imagine.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
So while you're singing them, Yeah, it's probably tiring, right.

Speaker 10 (11:23):
You know, it's actually what happens is yeah, I do
think through what it took to do each thing as
I hear each thing.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Now do you listen back?

Speaker 2 (11:32):
Are you one of those people who are perfectionists and
you hear all of your flaws and you say, oh god,
you know, oh here comes I gotta set that up,
you know? Or do you kind of just listen as
a listener after all these years and just kind of
take it all in.

Speaker 10 (11:45):
It's impossible not to listen for flaws without criticism. That's
for me. It's impossible to listen without criticism. And it
is rare that I am able to listen and not
have criticisms. But it does, It does happen. It does occur,
and I feel really satisfied when those moments come come.

Speaker 11 (12:05):
Oh.

Speaker 3 (12:05):
Absolutely. And you're an East Coast boy.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Born raised Maryland, so we're out of Philadelphia, so you're
kind of close to us.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
You're a little bit of a baby Northeast Maryland.

Speaker 10 (12:16):
Let's be specific.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
What's the difference. I'm not that familiar with Maryland.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Okay, give me the what is the Northeast Maryland idea?

Speaker 9 (12:22):
No, it's just you know, I.

Speaker 10 (12:23):
Just I just I appreciate specificity. Say so, we're in
the Northeast.

Speaker 7 (12:28):
I love it. I love it.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
East Coast could be a lot of things. You're right,
it could be Carolina.

Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, it could be. You're right in Northeast and we're
even more.

Speaker 10 (12:37):
I don't want to infringe on anybody's territory, so let
me claim. Let me claim what my set.

Speaker 3 (12:42):
I love it. What more do you need?

Speaker 2 (12:43):
I mean, you got New York over here, you got Philly,
you got you know, Baltimore.

Speaker 3 (12:46):
What else do you need up here?

Speaker 4 (12:49):
Exactly exactly, it's the heart of the world.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
I'm biased too, because you know we're in Philly, so
I can say it too. It's good. We're all good.
We're related here.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
So the story goes that you're three years old, you
look up at your mom and you tell her I'm
going to be a performer, and you knew right away.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
The music and performing was in your soul.

Speaker 10 (13:08):
I did. I didn't realize that the mythology had begun
to be created, that that story was out there. But yes,
I mean that is my most vivid, one of my
most vivid memories, and my mother has spoken to me
about it, and I really have felt that I've known,
you know, from from my earliest points in my life,

(13:29):
that this was a path that I wanted to follow.
And maybe I didn't know the details of the nuances
of it, but I definitely knew the direction I wanted
to hit in.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
Now, were you from a musical family where other people
are you just kind of like, you know, the black
sheep of the family and you just came out singing.

Speaker 10 (13:43):
No. No, My family is actually very talented and big
fans of music. We're Jamaican and so music is very
much just a part of our our kind of daily
cultural lives. Yeah, and my father sings very very nice singer,
you know, liked sing his country music. He's a big
fan of that country and Celine Dion. Really my mother

(14:06):
has always sung around the house as well, and also
one of my uncles was a professional recording artist. It
was very big in like the seventies, in the eighties,
so you know it is in the family.

Speaker 3 (14:18):
Yes, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
And so do you remember looking back, you're three years old,
can you have any any memory of what it was
that sparked the talent?

Speaker 3 (14:28):
Was it something like Sesame Street?

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Or do you just kind of you just knew you
just maybe heard the radio or heard your dad singing,
or you just kind of knew.

Speaker 10 (14:35):
Well, like I said you in, music was a big
part of my family growing up. I have a big family.
We got together a lot, and so you know, music
was always just a big part of what was going on.
But certainly I did grow up at a time in
an area where we as a country really understood the
crucial importance of arts integration into early education. And I

(14:56):
was exposed to the wonderful programming of PBS and things
like Sesame Street. But also I was in a school
that had a music class every day, So missus Worth
kind of steeped me in music from a very young age.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
Wonderful And I know, shout out to educators of music
and the arts. We always are cutting that in the budgets.
I always get that out here on the platform that
we should not be cutting we should be increasing those
budgets and focusing a lot more on that, because you
are obviously someone who came from that and look at
I mean, look at your amazing career, and we're just
tip the iceberg so far of what you've done. And yeah,

(15:33):
it's your testament to all of that.

Speaker 10 (15:35):
I mean, I appreciate you saying that, and I think
that I am. I would be nowhere without my education
and without my arts education.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
Amen. Amen.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
And so when you decided that this was something you
were seriously going to pursue, did you start to get lessons,
did you decide how did you start to cultivate your craft?

Speaker 10 (15:56):
Well, you know, I think deciding it was something that
was seriously to pursue it probably didn't happen until later
in my high school years, and you know, I was
I was auditioning for our Guys and Dolls production, and
you know, there were just certain vocal things that I
was having trouble accessing. And so that was the first

(16:17):
time that I requested any professional training. I started to
take lessons from Charles Dixon at the Lavigne School of Music,
and then later, you know, I decided I want a
scholarship to study and train in Oxford in England. And

(16:39):
so after doing that, coming into my senior year, I
decided I did want to do this professionally, and that's
why I chose to go to school in New York
City at Columbia University.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
As Columbia University shout out.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
You know, you had a lot of eclectic musical experiences
as a child. I mean you said country music with
your dad, and you know, did Jamaica background.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
So how did it come to be musical theater for you?

Speaker 2 (17:03):
I mean you could have done opera, You could have
studied classically obviously with your your chops, or you could
have gone the other way like a lot of my
guests where they form a band and they're out there
doing the club.

Speaker 3 (17:12):
Gig kind of thing. How did it come to be
musical theater for you?

Speaker 10 (17:17):
It was primarily because of the nature of my arts education.

Speaker 12 (17:22):
We did three musicals a year in my elementary school,
so that's first grade through eighth grade. So I was
exposed to musicals very early and I fell in love
with them very early. Julia Andrews has Alway Dame Julianne.

Speaker 10 (17:36):
Been an idol of mine, and so I think that's
where the initial love came from. And also for me,
you know, I see my primary skill as my acting ability,
and I always saw my voice as a tool that
I used as through which I told stories. And it

(17:58):
wasn't until later on in my life, later on in
my career, that I began to really see myself as
a vocalist. And so I think initially the musical theaters
began as a powerful way of storytelling and a method
of storytelling that I fell in love with early on.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
Well, the Broadway community is big on paying dues, and
over time they you know, you can rise to the top.
And you had a great amount of success very early on,
I mean right out of the gate with Columbia, but
then you know, Columbia University. But then you also got
your first real, big, originating role. Was it two thousand
and five, two thousand and six, I believe, yeah, So,
I mean you were you were only doing it for

(18:34):
a short time, and boom, there you are starring, originating
a new role. Did you ever feel pushed back in
auditions from your peers when you first started out, or
maybe even a little jealousy that you were like kind
of rising up so fast.

Speaker 10 (18:45):
No, not at all, not at all. My community has
always been very supportive of me when I've been having
challenges or when I have been experiencing great blessings and
great benefits and success. So I think think the theater
community is one of the most positive, can be one
of the most positive and supportive communities out there, and

(19:09):
I'm very grateful to them.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
That's wonderful to hear that.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
Speaking of originating roles, some of the best ones on Broadway,
You've originated over the years Barry Gordy Junior, Motown Harpo
color Purple, of course, Davis in Hell's Kitchen. Do you
find originating a role more challenging or perhaps easier for
you than already stepping into an already established role, like
say Aaron Burr and Hamilton?

Speaker 3 (19:32):
What do you find easier?

Speaker 10 (19:34):
I don't know which I find easier, but I think
I generally find originating a role more engaging, and it's
certainly more challenging. Stepping into role presents its challenges because
there's a mold to follow. Excuse me, but having done
it a number of times, I don't think the initial
kind of apprehensions still remain with me. I'm confident that

(19:56):
if I step into a role, I will be able
to fill the space and give it and make it
unique because it's you know, passing through my channel instead
of somebody else's. So I think, But I don't. I
don't know that either one is inherently necessarily easier, But
there are certainly challenges, unique challenges to creating an original role.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
Hey man.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
And how much creative liberty are you given when you
do step into a role that's already established. Are you
able to kind of break out of the mold or
do you have to sort of stay to that form
really religiously.

Speaker 10 (20:28):
Generally speaking, I'm giving I'm given a fair amount of freedom.
But I think part of that is because I always
respect what is there. I respect the purpose of of
of my track, I respect the purpose of my coming
in to take over a role. So you know, I
think if people are bringing me in, they have a
knowledge of the history of my work, and in the

(20:50):
history of my work, I always respect the elements that
are that that that need to be respected in order
to make the whole rise to its greatest level.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
Very well said, and you've performed and alongside some of
the most iconic Broadway performers of all time, Jennifer Hudson,
Nathan Lane, Peter Rivera, even Liza Minelli. I've always been
a firm believer that there's much we can learn from
those that have opened doors before us. What's your biggest
takeaway from the time that you've spent with these amazing
legendary performers.

Speaker 10 (21:18):
I think a responsibility to really dedicate oneself to the work,
and to really honor the craft and to honor the
space that has been made for you. I think sometimes
as artists we can take for granted the opportunities we
have a take for granted our circumstances, and not always

(21:40):
uphold that responsibility, particularly as we as more generations come
along who are maybe more distanced from the initial robust
nature of that lesson. And so I think that that's
something I take away from them work, ethic, appreciation, and resilience.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Did you learn anything not to do?

Speaker 10 (22:03):
I mean, certainly I've learned not to take things for granted.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
There you go very well, touche.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
Is there a dream rule that you haven't played yet
that you just would die to do?

Speaker 10 (22:14):
Yes, I would love to play Valjean h and I
would also love to play Harold Hill and in a
live television version of The Musing Man.

Speaker 3 (22:25):
Yes, has there been.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
I don't think there has been a live television version
of that one as of yet. They've done many sound
of music, They've done several, but ah, there you go.
I think we're putting it out into the cosmos. Perhaps
that could be. I'm just saying. I'm just saying, well,
I am dream Taylor, and you're listening to the scene
with Jerine. When we come back, I'm going to chat
more with a wonderful singer, actor, and now songwriter Brandon

(22:50):
Victor Dixon about his new single, upcoming album, and much more.

Speaker 3 (22:54):
Stay tuned.

Speaker 5 (22:56):
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(23:36):
six sixty two seven twenty six hundred.

Speaker 13 (23:41):
Maybe You'll never buye Worgan Bye, Maybies, You'll never the
best behind.

Speaker 9 (23:51):
It just might be too van maybe making Maybe we'll
never see may a true.

Speaker 13 (24:04):
Maybe keep ignoring God, we might just keeping loud the
maybe maybe maybe.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
Welcome back to the seam with Jorine, part of the
Beasley Media Group Family. I am your host, Doreen Taylor,
and coming out of break you heard a very small
clip of the song maybe. But my guest today Tony
Emmy and Grammy Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon. One more
nomination away from the coveted egot. I'm just saying, you
got one more, one more the o distance I am.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
I'm trying.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
I'm trying, but I said it's one more, and I said,
how many people can say that that they got three
of the four?

Speaker 3 (24:56):
And you are so young, it's gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
I'm just saying, any movie roles in your future here
that you're brewing, anything that we can say is maybe
an Oscar No, Mom, I mean.

Speaker 10 (25:05):
I wouldn't say that I'm brewing, but yes, yes they are,
Yes they are in the offing.

Speaker 3 (25:11):
Oh very good.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
So you heard that first right here. And maybe someday
I'll get an exclusive, but we'll see. But yeah, I
want to say, Brandon, congrats on the new single. Maybe
I love the vibe, but I really love the message
of the song and what you wrote here.

Speaker 10 (25:28):
Thank you. I really appreciate that.

Speaker 3 (25:29):
Yeah, you spent most of your career performing live on
the stage.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
What made you want to throw your hat into this
singer songwriter mainstream pop music world and why now?

Speaker 10 (25:39):
Well, I've been writing for a while and I think
it just it just came time where I decided I
was ready to share the music with the world. And
so I just think, you know, these things kind of
come in their own time, and they're in their right time.
And so, like I said, I've been I've been working
on things and now seeing things seem to align to

(26:00):
release release some projects into the world, right and you
have Perhaps I was inspired by the time I spent
with uh, you know, my former my former boss, who
is steeped in recording accolades and.

Speaker 2 (26:14):
Experience shout out, who is your former boss?

Speaker 3 (26:19):
There you are.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
I wanted to get that out there for those that
are living under a rock, because yes you did, as
if you were.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
Just tuning in.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
You originated the role of Davis in Hell's Kitchen, and
of course that's about, you know, Alicia's Key, Alicia Key's
life story. So uh yeah, yeah, I could see how
that could rub off a little.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
Yeah maybe maybe just a little.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
But it is sort of your first foray into releasing
your own music that you wrote, and that's got to
be really fulfilling that you're finally seeing this through, especially
since you have been writing for a while.

Speaker 10 (26:54):
It really is, and particularly with this song. You know,
I've written a number of things, and then there are
a few things that really seem to hit the vein
of manifestation. I'll say, they really align with what the
initial inspiration was. They they sound like what they what
I wanted them to sound like in my head. And

(27:14):
so I really appreciate the way the music came together
on this project, and I really appreciate how it supports
my message of really I think kind of universal and
community reckoning and recognition of the turning point of the
crossroads we might.

Speaker 2 (27:30):
Be in time and your process when you write? Do
you sit down at a piano? Do you just write
down and jot word? How do you what is your
process when you're sitting down and you have these thoughts
in your head? How do you get them down?

Speaker 10 (27:43):
It depends on what comes first. But with this one,
I was actually I was reading I was reading James
Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, and there was a passage
in there that really resonated with me, and so I
started to write the lyrics for the hook. And once
I had an initial you know, pass at the lyrics
for the hook, then I went to the piano and

(28:05):
worked out musically where where I thought it lay. And
then after after that kind of initial explosion of inspiration,
hopefully I have enough of a map and enough of
the puzzle that I can then even when inspiration's not there,
then my technical brain can start to figure out, okay,

(28:25):
how do we put this together in its most effective form?

Speaker 3 (28:29):
How do you know you hit it?

Speaker 2 (28:30):
Is it one of those things where you go to
sleep and you're humming it all night and it won't
go out of your head, and you're like, that's it,
that's the hook or do you just kind of know
how do you know that?

Speaker 3 (28:39):
You're like, yeah, that's it. That's how I want it
to be.

Speaker 10 (28:42):
It's an emotional response. It's like I feel it, and
I tend to I tend to have an emotional response,
an ocular emotional response.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
I get the chills, you get the vapors, you get.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
A little bit of something going on there. Yes, it
all happens to people in different ways. But I understand that, Yes,
you know, I under.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Yeah, that it touches you in a place that creates
that emotion and that that's a beautiful thing that.

Speaker 3 (29:08):
Not very little in this world can accomplish.

Speaker 2 (29:10):
I mean, there's very few things that can touch us
like music and creating that can do for us.

Speaker 10 (29:15):
It's alignment. I think you know when things align, they
can be moving.

Speaker 5 (29:19):
Hm.

Speaker 2 (29:20):
Yes, very again, very well said. I think you're also
gonna be writing a book soon. I think that maybe
a pulletzer will be added to that list of the egot.

Speaker 3 (29:29):
I'm just yeah, I'm putting a lot of things out there.

Speaker 10 (29:31):
You really are. You're building up the pile of projects.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
I was going to say, I'm making a lot of
pressure for you. I think I'm just creating a lot more.
But one of the hardest things as a singer is
crossing over to mainstream once you've really established Broadway a
classical technique. Did you need to make adjustments vocally to
fit into a more R and B pop sound or
did you just kind of sing the way you've always sung.

Speaker 10 (29:55):
I really just I sang the music the way the
music is. I feel like, though this is not always
the feedback I received, I feel like I adapt to
whatever the song is, whatever the genre of music that
is being presented is. And so that's where I think
I flowed naturally with this song. You know, there might

(30:17):
have been something overly enunciated here or there that I
was advised to lay off of, but for the most part,
I think this one really played naturally.

Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah, very much.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
And you know, what do you say to somebody like that,
Like in my past experience of doing classical then crossing
over to mainstream in my former life, that was always
the biggest criticism I would get, You're too broadway, you know,
I would hear that, and I'm like, first of all,
I'm not even sure exactly what they they know what
that means. They just say that's like a generic term.
So what do you say to somebody who says that

(30:50):
to you if they say that to you? Because I
heard it for myself so many times, and you know
it got annoying after a while, So what do you say?

Speaker 10 (30:57):
Well, normally, I think what I know what it means
is that general. A lot of times my songs lean
into storytelling. I use words, I'm saying things in my songs,
and a lot of times people's broader definition of music
that does that is narrative music is Broadway, and there's

(31:20):
already an association with me and Broadway, so it's an
easy thing to reach for. So I think that's really
where that plays, and I don't really tend to I
think about it, particularly if I'm writing a song this genre,
which I think I feel is different, and if there
are things that I feel like I need to alter stylistically,
I'll consider that. But for the most part, I've also

(31:42):
accepted that when I'm writing a song, the song is
what the song is, and once the song has told
me what it is, I just need to finish the
song and let it be received however it's going to
be received. You know, I have some you know, particularly
in the style of how the music is. They're really
kind of more pop R and B songs sonically. But

(32:04):
even then, I've had a friend he's like, he's like,
it seems like there's this like R and B, but
there's also this like musical theater quality to it. And
I'm like, I don't, I don't know where the quality
is unless you're talking about the storytelling and like and
that's all good for me.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
Hey, look at country singers. All these years you were
mentioned country.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
They tell a story, good old country music, you know,
not maybe not so much now, but back in the day.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
Yeah, I told a story.

Speaker 2 (32:27):
That was what it was about. Folk music told a story.
I mean, spirituals tell a story.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
You know that.

Speaker 2 (32:32):
There's nothing wrong with to almost I think we need
to get back more to that in music. I'm just
saying that we need to tell a little more of
a story and not just to have you know whatever,
you know, like a beat behind a loop and that's it.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
Nothing nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 10 (32:47):
I mean, it's Selson push that space, I'll put I'm
pushing that. We're pushing that space.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yes, you know, and I gotta say thank you for
using like just having string arrangements to just having that
in a song. Those that seems to kind of have
disappeared over time too. They don't really want lush strings
and soaring, you know, the violins going on.

Speaker 3 (33:06):
It's nice to hear.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
That's also something that will you know, kind of promote
an ocular response.

Speaker 3 (33:10):
I'm just saying that that.

Speaker 10 (33:11):
Is, well, I'm a motown I'm a motown man, and
you know, if you really look at if you listen
back to that motown music, which is pop music, but
it's pop, R and B, pop soul, and there's a
lot of string string usage throughout all those arrangements that
create just these emotional colors and also these rhythmic colors

(33:33):
that are really fantastic. And so I'm you know, I'm
pulling from all of those things. And what Rick at
Flores and Ray Angry did with the string arrangement is
really effective.

Speaker 2 (33:42):
So besides writing music and inspiring them that way, what
how do you help people that maybe are lost along
the way and you see that they're they're looking for that,
but they just might not be able to find it
or that's not so easily accessible to them.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
How do how does someone help someone like that?

Speaker 10 (33:56):
I mean I think really it's through the little actions
and little interactions. On a day to day basis. I
think it's very easy to get caught up in the
concentrated conflict and negativity that gets flooded through our digital screens.
Whether it's our phone or television, or cap computer or our laptop,
those devices really heighten or really create a disproportionate perspective

(34:22):
on the level of conflict that exists between us and
groups within community. And it's really important, I think, to
on a daily basis, in a moment by moment interaction,
to operate with the highest level of kindness you can
to anybody and everybody and every circumstance that you encounter.
You know, far more of us want to live peacefully

(34:44):
together than we want to live in conflict or in
a part and far more of us are content to
let each and every person kind of live as they
want to live, freely expressing themselves as an individual, uninfringed
with equal protections under the law. And so for me,
it's really urging people to operate with kindness in the
little moments, in every interaction that you have.

Speaker 2 (35:05):
It's infectious one little deed that you might not even
realize help someone might just spawn something else and it
trickle down where it just keeps helping people pay it
forward as they say. So, yeah, I always say it
might not take anything for you to hold the door,
say thank you, or say you look lovely to or
anything just a kind word and it might make someone's
difference in their life that day.

Speaker 3 (35:26):
You have no idea what people are going through.

Speaker 10 (35:29):
Absolutely yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
And so what is next in the life of Brandon
Victor Dixon. Anything you can share with my viewers and listeners.
I know you're still working on the album. I know
that that is forthcoming.

Speaker 10 (35:41):
The number one thing is that this single maybe comes
out May sixteenth. I'll be doing some concerts in Los
Angeles in June, and so hopefully you all can check
that out. We'll be promoting the album throughout the year,
promoting the single throughout the year, and I'll have another
release later on the summer as well, So I hope
you'll stay tuned for that and just you know, follow

(36:01):
me on my social media so that you can get
up on all the releases.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
Wonderful and you can follow everything. Visit Brandonvictordison dot com
learn more about what Brandon is up to stay connected
to everything that is Brandon Victor Dixon, and I'm very
excited to hear the tour dates and then your performance
dates too, because that is something very cool because you're
one thing to do it in the studio, but it's
another amazing thing to see you live.

Speaker 10 (36:28):
Absolutely, I'm a live performer at heart, so I hope
that you will will follow me and so that you
can get up on these dates.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
Wonderful.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
Well, congratulations on Maybe and I don't think maybe.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Like I said, it's going to be a hit. It
is going to be a hit.

Speaker 2 (36:41):
And again, thank you for doing something from your heart,
from your soul and following your dreams and making others
realize that maybe they can do it too.

Speaker 10 (36:49):
Thank you for having me. I appreciate all the support. Please,
I hope you all love the music, hope you love
the song download scream, and hopefully you can get a
chance to see me live as well.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
Oh I love it. Thank you so much, Brandon, and
you have a wonderful day. Please come back anytime.

Speaker 10 (37:04):
Thank you so much. Take care, take care.

Speaker 3 (37:05):
Of bye bye day.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
Tuned to the scene with Dorene because right after the
break we are joined by comedian JT.

Speaker 3 (37:11):
Habersat, Hey, guys, are you loving the show?

Speaker 2 (37:16):
Do you want to see more of the scene, Well,
guess what you can, because The Scene with Doreen is
now a weekly segment on the nationally syndicated television show
The Daily Flash. The Daily Flash is your daily destination
for trending stories, celebrity updates, and industry highlights. And it's
now your home to watch the Scene with Doreen. You
can turn us on and watch every Wednesday across the country.

(37:38):
Check your local times and listenings at the Scene with
Dorine dot com.

Speaker 12 (37:43):
This is Radio.

Speaker 14 (37:54):
I decided at two in the morning, I was so
drunk I was gonna make myself a Monte Cristo.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
Who do I think I am? Do you guys even
know what that is?

Speaker 3 (38:04):
That's an insanity sandwich?

Speaker 14 (38:07):
You have no business making for yourself whatsoever you order
that at best?

Speaker 1 (38:11):
Like, what's the base of any sandwich?

Speaker 10 (38:13):
Brid not tonight.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
My spot, like guest today on the Scene. Victorina has
been hailed as the godfather of punk rock stand up comedy,
and he is revered as an uncompromising cult comic favorite.

Speaker 3 (38:29):
JT.

Speaker 2 (38:29):
Haversat created the Altercation punk comedy tour in two thousand
and seven, which he headlined for over a decade and
has performed at feigned venues across the country such as
The Comedy Store, the Hollywood Improv City, Winery NYC, and
the Punchline San Francisco. He can be heard worldwide and
consistent rotation on platforms such as Today's Comedy Radio and XM.

(38:52):
Sirius up next in his act, However, JT is releasing
his new book, Doing Time Comedians Talk Stand Up, which
dies into the lives and careers of countless comedy legends
like Patton Oswald, Dana Gould, and even one of my
past guests on the show, Todd Glass. Preorder is now
available on Amazon at at jawbonepress dot com. So let's

(39:13):
sit down and talk a little bit about stand up
today with a wonderful JT.

Speaker 3 (39:18):
Have her sad Welcome into the spotlight.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
JT, Hey thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 (39:22):
Oh, it's my pleasure. And I love the clip at
the top.

Speaker 2 (39:25):
And I gotta be honest, I don't think I've ever
had a Monte Cristo ever.

Speaker 3 (39:29):
Ever, I don't think so.

Speaker 14 (39:31):
See, I grew up on the East Coast as a
pen and so diner culture was a big deal. Like
you'd go to the rock show and they hit the
diner at two in the morning, and a monte cristo
was always a staple of that. There was the monte cristo.
There was the happy waitress.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
Oh yes, uh huh.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
They have the garbage plate. They have a garbage plate.
I'm from Buffalo, so yeah, as a Rochester and yeah,
they had the garbage plate and always a ruben. For
some reason, that was my guilty pleasure when I was
drunk at like two am.

Speaker 14 (39:59):
In there fries with mazrilla, cheese and gravy, all these
late night snacks. But the concept of making a monte
cristo was insane to me because it was so many different.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
Levels of things. And so yeah, that bit came out
of a true late.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
Night, true and probably a bad morning thereafter too, probably.

Speaker 1 (40:16):
I don't remember, but probably.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
Well, hopefully this interview today will not be as bad
as the next morning.

Speaker 6 (40:24):
For you, so I'm sure to be good.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Well you you said in your new book that you
really didn't want to write it, but you felt that
there was this There wasn't really a proper oral history
style book on stand about.

Speaker 14 (40:35):
There right, Yeah, I didn't want to write it, but
I wanted to read it. I'm a pretty voracious reader,
and I have written a couple of books before, and
I know how much work goes into a book, Like
a book takes an insane amount of solitary uh confinement. Yeah, yeah,

(40:56):
because unless unless you're like a Stephen King, where you're
you know, you're you're set firmly with a huge publishing
house and it's really much on your own time of like, oh,
if you deliver a book, that's amazing and we are
so excited. But if you start a book coming from
the independent world, which is what I've always had one
foot in you really one is no one is cracking

(41:17):
the whip on you to finish it except yourself. And
fortunately I'm working with a really great publisher right now, Jawbone.
But I also didn't want to try and sell the
book to anyone until I had it done, because that
was another kind of carrot to make me finish it.
So yeah, it was basically I've always been a fan
of oral history style books, yeah, where you let the

(41:39):
performers speak for themselves and try and weave a story
that way, rather than inject I've read some music biographies
and stuff where it always like half of this book
feels like the author's opinion on the performer.

Speaker 2 (41:50):
Man, and thank you, thank you for writing it in
that style. I've got to say, yeah, first, people like
that and like me that have ad D this is
the perfect kind of book.

Speaker 3 (42:00):
You can literally go and say, well, you know what,
I like.

Speaker 2 (42:02):
I like Paton Oswald, so I'm going to follow his
answers throughout this book. And you know what, I don't
really give a crap about you know, somebody else x
y Z, but I really want to know about him.

Speaker 3 (42:11):
So you can go through and.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
Not hear about everyone else's opinions or your like you said,
your opinions, you go right to the source, and that's
really thank you for doing that.

Speaker 1 (42:19):
Yeah, well, I love the format, you know.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
There.

Speaker 14 (42:22):
There's there's been a bunch of books I've read growing up,
working by Studs Turkel where he just interviewed people on
the street in New York City and just you know,
basically anyone from a mortuary assistant to a construction worker
and just was like, what's your day like? And it
was inherently fascinating, and like you said, you know, if
if there was like a tax assessor or something, I
would skip that one generally, But if there's someone like

(42:47):
a stripper, I'm all about it.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (42:51):
Behind the scenes reality of it. So yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
And a little sample here or there. You know, you
got to you gotta test it out. You know, research
is research. I understand that is what I do for
a living. You know, you got to research the fun
stuff too, exactly.

Speaker 14 (43:03):
So my goal though with the book is to have
you know, the names you mentioned. You know, Todd Glass
has been on your show, he's still great, Yeah, and
Eddie Pepatone and the pat and Os Walts and Maria
Banfords are all in there. But there's a lot of
comics in there too that are working class comics that
may be less household names that I want people to
kind of discover. So I think the goal was to

(43:23):
create something that, like you said, you could read in
short bursts if you wanted to. But my hope is
that you're going to be hooked on and want to
finish it, yes, straight through.

Speaker 3 (43:31):
Yes, And it took you what three years to complete
from beginning to.

Speaker 14 (43:35):
End, three years pretty much from begin from concept to finish. Yeah,
it was for better for worse. When I got the
idea to do it, we were still in a lot
of COVID lockdown, and so one thing that kind of
worked to somewhat of an advantage during that awful time
was that a lot of people were home and had
more time on their hands than they normally would, so

(43:58):
I was able to connect with a lot of comics
that schedule wise. As a comic myself, schedules are the enemy.
You know, it's really hard to connect with people because
we're going in a million different places all at once.

Speaker 1 (44:10):
And so when I first.

Speaker 14 (44:12):
Started it, I did a lot via like this via
you know, zoom or phone calls, and then as things
opened up a little bit more, I did as many
sit downs as I could as possible. But yeah, it
took I would say, a year and a half to
get all the interviews that I wanted, and then a
year and a half straight of probably half a year
of transcription. Because it's one hundred and fifty five thousand words,

(44:34):
it's a big book.

Speaker 3 (44:34):
Did you sit there and count them all? Did you
just go?

Speaker 15 (44:37):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (44:37):
I waited to the end. That was that was a
little little gift to myself. I wasn't gonna say, Okay,
what am I at now?

Speaker 14 (44:43):
I waited to the very end and then did the
let my laptop do the counting for me, and was
kind of knocked out by Wow, that's a lot of numbers.

Speaker 1 (44:51):
But then I would say a solid year.

Speaker 14 (44:55):
And the most rewarding and difficult part of the whole
process was assembling it. You know, you have to break
down the quotes into bite sized chunks for this oral
history style format, and then assembling it like a I
liken it to a.

Speaker 3 (45:11):
Mixtape, Oh good example, Yeah.

Speaker 14 (45:14):
Where you have to kind of curate the entire thing
and make sure it flows from topic to topic very conversationally,
which is difficult and took an insane amount of time.
So yeah, about three years from start to finish for sure,
which is two and a half two to one and
a half more than most of my other books took.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
Well it, Like you said, though, it's interesting you mentioned
the mixtape and music because I do interview a lot
of musicians on the show and all different genres, and
I love that in your book you have a whole
chapter dedicated to just their musical influences, their their own talents,
their own influences and it. I like it because a
lot of people forget the comedy is very similar to music.

(45:56):
There's this relationship there. People think, well, they're completely different entities. No,
they really do have a lot of overlap.

Speaker 16 (46:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:02):
I mean. One of the really cool things for me that.

Speaker 14 (46:06):
I have as a little feather in my cap that
I'm excited about is that this is the first non
music book that jaw Bone Press has ever put out.

Speaker 3 (46:14):
Wow, congratulations, thanks.

Speaker 1 (46:16):
I'm excited by that because.

Speaker 14 (46:19):
They well, you know, they've been so great to work with,
but when I approached them, I was like, I don't
know if they're going to go for it because they
do music books. But as you mentioned in my kind
of intro there, I'm kind of known as the punk
rock guy because you.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Are a lot of bands and stuff.

Speaker 14 (46:34):
I've worked with a lot of bands on the road
like The Sword and the Dwarves and the Riverboat Gamblers
and all these loud and racous bands, with me going
out and doing stand up to open for them. So
I've always had one foot in the music world. But
I think it really informs that. Not that you need
to know what Patton Oswald listens to to get psyched

(46:54):
up for a show or something. But there's a quote
in there by him where he says when he was
like a teenager, basically, he and to see Love and
Rockets and the opening band was the Pixies, and he
said what struck him by that was the Pixies were looked.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
Just like him.

Speaker 14 (47:09):
They were, you know, wearing T shirts and jeans and
Converse sneakers and just got out there and blew everybody away.
And then Love and Rockets got up there and they're
kind of stage attire and sunglasses and just kind of
planted their feet, and he said he could tell that
they were miserable doing what they were doing at the time.
And he said, you know, it spoke to him that

(47:29):
he could do stand up and not need to be.

Speaker 1 (47:34):
A rock star. He didn't need to have.

Speaker 14 (47:35):
Smoke machines and all these things that you you know
in theory the He didn't need to have a sitcom
behind him to do stand up. He could just start
in that kind of Ramon esque way. And so and
people like kids in the hall, who are you know?
They released a documentary on Amazon called Comedy Punks, and
I watched that, and you know, one of the things
that always struck me about them is how left of center.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
They are. Oh, they never They weren't intentionally trying to
be weird.

Speaker 14 (48:01):
I don't think it was just they were naturally avant garde,
and that's what's so wonderful about them and so strange.

Speaker 1 (48:08):
And a lot of your sets are dark and so
to hear, you.

Speaker 14 (48:11):
Know, someone like Bruce McCulloch talk about he used to
blast lust for life before he'd go on stage like that.
Stuff informs I think a lot about the comedy that
they produce.

Speaker 2 (48:22):
I agree, And it's interesting to know what fire someone up,
what inspires somebody, what do they do, and what do
they like? Because you're right, a lot about a musical
choice will inform someone what they're about.

Speaker 3 (48:33):
I always say that.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
I mean, sometimes people have really odd musical choices and
they're like I do. I have some very people always
very surprised by my taste. But it does inform if
you really do know me though, it's pretty true. You know,
it's true on may not be my persona, but it's
true on to who I am. Probably under the CERVI.

Speaker 14 (48:49):
I think so also, And sometimes it's funny because I'll
have comedic friends that I find out their musical taste
and them like, wow, you don't like good music.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
That's surprising to me.

Speaker 14 (49:00):
I make fun of Doug Stanhope for his musical likes
all the time, but he's not a music guy, you know.
He just views it as something to have on at
a party.

Speaker 3 (49:08):
It's part of.

Speaker 1 (49:09):
The Really you're into this Counting Crows song.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
That's no offense to any of the Counting Crows fans
out there.

Speaker 1 (49:16):
No, Now, I think they're very talented. There you go
now with a very good band call.

Speaker 2 (49:22):
And now let me welcome my next guest in the show. No,
but okay, so spoiler alert. I gotta know, did you
learn something along the way while you did this for
the three years and all the research, you did anything
that just really shocked you?

Speaker 3 (49:35):
Shocked me because you've been in this world yourself.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
You're writing from both sides, So anything that you heard
that you were kind of like, I really didn't know that.

Speaker 14 (49:45):
I don't think I would say I was shocked by
anything necessarily, but there was a certain degree of observations
that I had never thought of as a performer. Because
I've been full time comic for over a decade. That's
you know, my day job, as it were, and so
certain astute observation. So there's a comic named Billy Wayne

(50:09):
Davis out of Los Angeles via Nashville, who's a really
great comic, and he said in the book, he said,
you know, one of the things a lot of comics
miss is you can't mess with the scam. And I
was like, what is what do you mean? And he said,
you know, when you work in a comedy club, especially
when you're first starting out and getting your foothold, there's

(50:30):
a lot of things. There's a lot of pluses and
minus about traditional comedy clubs, you know. But he said,
one of the things that certain comics that have a
chip on their shoulder, whatever, they'll they'll start either making
fun of the two drink minimum, or they'll say, oh,
look at this, you know, giant banana hanging behind us
on stage because we're at a the banana hut or
whatever the club is, the banana with sunglasses on it,

(50:51):
or or they'll I don't know, kind of riff with
the waiters, waitresses or whatever.

Speaker 1 (50:57):
And he said, you can't mess with the scam. You can't.

Speaker 14 (51:00):
You can't go after the thing that's making the show
run even if you're a little distasteful about it, And
that was really insightful. I thought I had never really
thought of it that way, so that was really great.
And also there's a whole I don't like to call
it chapters because the book is really broken into three
giant segments, but there's a section of the book that

(51:20):
deals with a lot of mental health stuff and just
kind of the natural I don't want to say inclination,
but there's myself included. There's an overwhelming amount of comedians
that seem to deal with mental health issues like anxiety
or clinical depression and stuff like that, and so it
was kind of eye opening to see everyone's opinions on that,

(51:43):
and it was pretty wide ranging, you know, so nothing
really shocking, but definitely some eye opening moments for me
that I had never really.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
Thought of as a performer.

Speaker 2 (51:52):
So at the end of your forward in your book,
you ask, did I get it right?

Speaker 3 (51:57):
To the reader?

Speaker 2 (51:58):
So, now that you're here, the ink is dry, you're
starting to you know, the smoke is now settling. Do
you think you got it right?

Speaker 1 (52:04):
I do.

Speaker 14 (52:05):
I think I got it right, and it means more
to me. I think, well, I'm like a lot of comics.
I hold myself to a high standard and can be
self critical, and so for this a it was important
that I didn't insert myself into it. You will see
no mention of me in the book aside from the intro,
because I really wanted to approach it kind of as

(52:25):
a cultural anthropologist, you know, not to sound lofty, but
I really wanted to document it as a fly on
the wall and let these people talk. So that was
important to me because again going back to what we
said earlier about I don't really care for biography books
when the author inserts their opinion about it. I just

(52:47):
want to know what Instead of telling me what you
know Eddie Pepotone is saying and what he's like, let
him just describe what he is like in his own words,
and that you fill that out in your own head.
And so I think to that, and I accomplish that,
and I think again the curation of it, which took
a lot of time to get right.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
I hope I got it right.

Speaker 14 (53:10):
I mean I again, I'm so close to it.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
It's kind of hard.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
It's like a child.

Speaker 2 (53:16):
You can never admit when your child maybe does something wrong.
But no, I've read it. I've actually been lucky enough
to get an early copy of it, and I think
you got it right. I got to say, I think you.

Speaker 3 (53:28):
Got it right.

Speaker 2 (53:29):
I do, and I'm you know, I really was excited
to have you on the show, and I wanted to
talk about it because, like I said, I do a
lot of musicians.

Speaker 3 (53:34):
I do actors, I don't.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
Do a lot of comedians. And I love that world.
I want to laugh. I think we need more laughing
in this world right now. And I think the time
is right to go back a little more to it
as well, because I think we got scared of comedy
for a while in this world. So let's get back
to laughing and having a good time and not worrying
so much about everything else. And I want all of
my listeners, my viewers. Make sure to pick up your

(53:58):
copy of Doing Time Comedian Talk Stand Up pre order
now at Jawbone Press dot com, or you can purchase
it on Amazon right now with the worldwide release everywhere
on July eighth. Also, you can learn more about JT
and what he is up to at Jtcomedy dot com.
I think I covered you right, I got it all.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
I think so, yeah, pretty much that's pretty much.

Speaker 2 (54:18):
And you're out, you're actually doing you're doing stand up
right now. You're going back out to a bunch of
select dates I saw on your tour schedule, So anyone
who's interested in see if he's playing at a town
near you, go check him out. You can learn about
the Monte Cristo and learn why he's so opposed to that.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (54:34):
Yeah, I've got a bunch of dates with my buddy
Eddie Pepatone, who's the brilliant comic, and I go out
with Brian Posan quite a bit.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
For mister show Big Bang theory, so.

Speaker 3 (54:43):
Big Bank theory.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Yeah, I'm on the road all the time.

Speaker 3 (54:45):
Awesome.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
Well, you are a pleasure. I wish you all the
success with the book. I know you will have it.
It is wonderful and this is just starting for you.
All of this this press for you.

Speaker 3 (54:53):
So I'm one of the first.

Speaker 2 (54:53):
Probably that's kind of welcome you into the fold as
the stand up author.

Speaker 14 (54:58):
Yeah, it's going to be a busy, but I really
appreciate you having me on and thanks for reading to them.
It makes me happy that you're Yeah, you're one of
the first to get to read the whole thing.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
I am honored.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
I really really am honored, and I'm honored who came
on the show. And like I said, please anytime come back.
Oh I'd love to thank you so much and I
will talk to you soon.

Speaker 3 (55:16):
Okay, Bye Jat, Bye.

Speaker 2 (55:18):
Thank you to my guest today, comedian JT. Habersat and
of course Brandon Victor Dixon. And thank you again for
tuning into the Scene with Doreen. I'm here each week
across the country bringing you the best interviews from the
entertainment world and beyond. Get connected with me on social
media and on our official website, the Scene with Doreen
dot Com, and tune in next week so you can

(55:39):
find out what is going on.

Speaker 7 (55:41):
Bye.

Speaker 15 (56:00):
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Speaker 17 (57:19):
At least twenty seven people are injured after a van
plowed into a crowd in Liverpool, England. The crowd was
gathered today to celebrate Liverpool's Premier League soccer title. Police
say a fifty three year old British man from the
Liverpool area has been arrested. Northwest Ambulance Service Head of
Service David Kitchen said of those people, want adult and
one child have serious injuries. Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Simms

(57:41):
says the incident is not being investigated as an act
of terrorism. It's a busy holiday weekend at the nation's airports.
The TSA says it expects to screen eighteen million passengers
over the extended Memorial Day weekend. Friday was the TSA's
third busiest travel day of all time, with more than
three million passengers screened. Triple A is forecasting a record
breaking thirty nine million people will travel by car over

(58:02):
this holiday weekend, breaking the old records setback in two
thousand and five. Three more inmates who escaped from a
New Orleans jail earlier this month are now back in custody.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Morrell announced on social media Monday
night that Lent and Van Buren was recaptured in Baton Rouge.
Minutes later, at WDSU reported Jermaine Donald and Leo Tate

(58:24):
were caught in Walker County, Texas. Eight of the ten
inmates have now been recaptured. Since they broke out of
the Orleans Justice Center on May sixteenth. Several people have
been arrested for helping the escapees. President Trump is pardoning
a former Virginia sheriff convicted of federal bribery charges. Former
Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins was found guilty in December

(58:45):
and was to begin serving a ten year prison sentenced Tuesday.
Trump wrote on truth Social that he was granting an
unconditional pardon to Jenkins. The president added, Jenkins and his
family have been quote dragged through hell by a corrupt
and weaponized Biden deals. Jenkins was found guilty of taking
more than seventy five thousand dollars in bribes in exchange

(59:05):
for appointing several businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department.

Speaker 6 (59:10):
I'm Chris Caragio, NBC News Radio.

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Speaker 12 (01:00:02):
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