October 9, 2025 • 16 mins
Fortune grew up across the lake from I'm sitting. Something about those southern girls that turns every conversation into a bless your heart kind of moment. If you have never seen her perform live. The experience will have you hooked for life. Brilliantly talented and extremely one on one with those in the audience. You too will be calling her your best friend.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Arrow on iHeartRadio from the c LT Comedy
Zone dot com studio. It's time to have some Southern
fun with a biscuit loving girl. We are unplugged and
totally uncut with Fortune Themester.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You get taller, what do you go?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yeah, wow, you look so much taller.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (00:23):
I don't know supplements though I think I was. I
think I'm just growing. I was eating more and just
widening out too.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
No, no, no, in California now, so no it doesn't
work out.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Well, Oh yeah, I wish.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So what you've been up to.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I've been working a lot, doing the MINDI Project and traveling.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
When you stay working, you're like the Walmart greeter now
for the Christmas season.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
No, no, I don't have that fancy of a job.
But just I'm on tour. IM not an official tour,
but just I'm pretty much gone most weekends.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Don't stand up?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Do you feel like Bruce Springsteen sometimes when you're out
there on the road going from town to towntown.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I wish.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I wish I had the turnout that Bruce Springsteen has.
But you know, I just gotta wear tight jeans and
white T shirts and maybe thanks will turn around for
me that I have a guy from the Sopranos behind me.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
How Stephen Benzani is the guy from Therano Sopranos to me? Yeah,
so do people compare you in life like that? Do
they say, oh, yeah you are and then.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
They yeah, well they yelled Chelsea at me a lot
because I'm like, well, I'm not Chelsea, but yes I
was on that show.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But people just go, Chelsea.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I'm ready for you to do a show like that.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I'm ready for that too, Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
What's up with those guys out there?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Well, I was very close to have my own show.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
I shot my own sitcom this spring with Tina Fey
producing the show, and we shot that for ABC and
it was great, super fun cast Annie Pops play.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
My mom and John Carrolynch played my dad.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
There's no way you can give up on that.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But they said no.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Why because they didn't have any room on the schedule.
Hollywood's weird like that. You can have a really great idea, concepts,
cast producers and then if there's no room for it,
or i mean any multitude of reasons can make them
say no.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But it's a lot harder to get a yes.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know it's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You're gonna get a big TV show and we're gonna
have to rent the Timewarder Cable arena and everybody from
Gastonia's like, we gonna have to go and watch it.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
They're like, she's like the Bruce Springsteen of Gaston County,
those tight jeans.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
So now do you look at Netflix now, because I
mean they're gonna they're gonna spend three billion dollars in
twenty sixteen for original programming.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Well, I mean, yeah, you know, it's nice that you
have these outlets. Now, you know you're not beholden to
the networks to do shows. I mean, my particular show
was what you call multi cameras shot from an audience
to Netflix and who those places don't do that medium yet,
so we couldn't just take it there.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Otherwise that would have been a great home for it.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So is it just that the digital platform isn't there?
They just don't want to invest in something like that.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
It's just an older version I think of shooting a
sitcom there, and money wise, it's just easier for them
to do the single cam you know, not have they
don't have to build studios that way, because you have
to have specific studios for the live audience.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
It all goes down to the bottom dollar day.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
It's all about money, all about money, and you know,
certain shows like mine, you never know if they don't
get picked up because maybe they don't have an international
they think it might not sell internationally. It's all things
that just go into it that it's not based on
whether or not it's a funny show, which it should be,
but that's just not how it works.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's the stuff that they have when they have a meeting,
after a meeting, after any meeting, to have a meeting,
and it's the goofball in the corner, it.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Goes no, yep, And is that that one thing that
just to be like, okay, well then want we won't
do it.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And you're like what, that's what?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
When I do commercials for doctors, there's there's like five
doctors in the same building.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, and one doctor won't like it. Yeah, you guys
start all over.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
I know it's too many cooks in the kitchen, but
you know what, you just keep plugging away.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
That's I talked to Luis c k this summer.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
I was doing show in Montreal and he stopped in
and a set and he asked me how the show,
you know, how it went? And I said, they think
get picked up, and he goes, you know, I I
sold five shows.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Before I got one on there. So this is my
second one I'm sold.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
So maybe maybe uh in the next one or two
will be the one.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Thats it is?
Speaker 3 (04:38):
It is?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Do you believe in that that you got to feel
the pain before you gain? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Well, I mean you just there are very few people
that go out to LA and you know, someone comes
and points set them and makes them a star. A
lot of the people that made it, you know, have
years and years behind them of work and not making
money and having rejection.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But you don't see that.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You just see like, oh my god, look they just
got plucked out of obscure and now they're famous.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Doesn't that also keep you humble?
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It should.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
I mean it doesn't always with everybody, but it does
for me because I've been at it now for you know,
ten twelve years, wow, and so you appreciate it when
somebody finally wants to pay you to do your job.
You know, I work for free for so many years now,
it's like.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, I want to get paid.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I'm still doing it for free, but I want to
get paid. So are you writing any of this down?
And the reason why I bring that up is because Mike.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I was talking with Michael Palin this week and he
has documented his whole entire life, all the way through
the process, and he says, because people want to know
how you became you.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
I mean, I don't journal or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But you know, one thing that's nice about things like
Facebook is you can go back and see that. It's
almost like a public journal in a way.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
It is.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
People share way too much, so you can kind of
go back and track different you know. I feel like
you share big things, happy things, bigger sad things. You know,
those are the things you made public. So those are
the things that you can kind of see, you know,
what's happened in your life and reflect. I mean, I
have one day that maybe like write a book. I'm
(06:10):
just not there yet where enough people would be interested
in it. I know what she'd about like all the copies.
That's the thing about mom Church.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I have a bestseller. We're in debt. Why I bought
all the books?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's like when all these artists they'll release an album
and it debuts at number one?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, how's that happen?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I know, who knows?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Are you doing comedy specials or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I'd like to next year.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
My goal now is I've been working on new material
at the club and stuff and uh, you know, and
so hopefully next year I'll have an hour.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I'd like to shoot an hour special.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And you know, because I've heard a lot of people
say they see me on Chelsea Lately or a mini
project other other shows, and they don't get to see
the full spectrum of my comedy and what I do.
And people that come to my live shows, you know,
leave saying they my mom was there last night at
the show and they were telling her. They're like, you know,
I wish people could see her live. It's just like
(07:11):
such a cool different experience. And I talk a lot
about my family and life and things we all go through.
I try to make it relatable and people seem to
respond to that. So I think a special would be
good and like showing people my voice.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
See I've always wondered about that on Comedy Central, how
much of the best part is sitting on the editing floor. Yeah,
and because you're watching and all of a sudden it
skips and you're going, Okay, did I notice it skipped
because I'm in the business, or did it really skip?
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah, Usually there's some sort of edit there for whatever
reason it were angry. We don't know a lot of
If you're not the producer of your special, you don't
have any say I did it special for Comedy Central
a half hour, and it really is in their hands.
You just see the final product. And I was happy
with mine, Mike. I didn't feel like anything crazy happened.
But I know other people would be like, oh my god,
(08:02):
I can't they use that? Or you know, cause you
just have a different opinion of what you think works
because you know you're stand up better than anybody, right,
so you know what.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It can be if it doesn't sell that particular night.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
So when you practice new material, is it like a
musician and you're going to a jam session you kind
of hit it off other comedians and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, I mean it's all about everyone's process is different.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Some people like to tell new stories on the fly
and record it. I like to write it out first,
kind of know where I'm going with it, and then
other comics will especially in La watch your set get
and nice ones will be like, hey, you know, have
some ideas or maybe try this punchline. Bill Bird did
that for me once really, which was super cool. I
(08:47):
was coming up. I wasn't on TV yet and he
sat in the corner and watched me do my set.
And he has been so good to me ever since.
Like he just came up to match the show and
so nice and he's like that that bit, Oh my.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
God, here try this out.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
He's like, you don't you know, don't worry if you
don't want to. But I'm like, well, you're Millberry.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I want to take any advice you give me. He's
the best.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
So I see him at like vessels and he's like, Fortune, why.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Don't you have like a million dollars right now? Who
are you?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Who is representing? Oh my god, you should have a
million dollars. And I'm like, I would love that.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
New hair.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Finally stopped being a super good That's where I go
to hear conversations, all right, And there was the super cuts.
Now they they the people that are styling your hair.
I like it when I'll get the older women, oh yeah,
and and because they've got the best stories. I'll sit
there and say, so, I know you didn't start here,
so you got to tell me where you were to
get here?
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Yeah, what happened? I didn't, you know what? I'm gonna
do that like tim I when we get all the juicy.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Scoop, Yeah, and they have got so much dirt and
then and the goal is to try to figure out
how you can get like like there was a time
I was out in LA and we got Brad Pitt's hairstylists,
and so it's like I can't just open up and
say tell me about Brad Pitts.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So you just sit there and you kind of just
needle your way in.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Yeah. Right, Well that's the thing on on TV sets,
it's the makeup and hair trailer where you get all
the awesome because it's there's something about sitting there having
people you know, put makeup on you. You can't do
anything else but talk about each other.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's like later on today, I'm gonna talk with Lori Depp,
Johnny Depp's first wife, and and her her claim to
fame is that she splash It wasn't water that she
splashed on Adam Ant's face. Oh yeah, And so it
was a mistake, but that's what got her her first
big break and so but I love makeup arts and stuff.
Sometimes I want to interview Roady one time.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Probably hear some stories like the interview on a Carney.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Who have you performed with? Up on stage where you where?
It was the shock and awe. It was like, I
can't believe I'm here, but oh my god.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, I got to do Dave a couple of shows
on Dave Chappelle's first tour bag the Oddball Fest, and
that was pretty trippy for me.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It was like, I don't know, three years ago and.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
It was like in front of nineteen thousand people at
an amphitheater and I just and there were like a
bunch of really big comics on the bill, and I
just couldn't believe it. I was like, oh my god,
this is the cool because he's, you know, revered in
the comedy world and was respected.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Just to be in that same lineup was insane.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
How do you keep it personal with nineteen thousand people
looking at you.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
It's real hard to do because you can't see anybody,
and you tell the jokes and it's like it almost
hits the back of the audience a little bit later,
like a couple of seconds behind the first people. So
the way the laughter comes in ways, you'll it'll start
in the front and kind of triggle back.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
So timing was you have to be a little more
patient and not just you know, burn through stuff really quick.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
You have to kind of way on them a little bit,
which is weird as a comic because no one likes silence.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know, you got a crazy laugher up there in
the nosebleed section, dude, that was the last joke.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, and when you finish, you don't quite know how
you did in a comedy club, you know, exactly like that,
if it works or didn't, because they're right in front
of you.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
It's so obvious.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They're like, you just don't know if someone in the
back and you know, the grass seats are laughing, you
have no idea.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But I walked through the crowd with Jeff Jeff.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Ross and we you know, had people coming up, so
I'm saying nice thing. So that's when you kind of
get that one on one feel, you know, comics we
just want to be praise.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Probably let's walk through the let's walk to the crowd
and hear some nice things.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
No, You're absolutely right. It's it's that feeling acceptance. It's like, well,
how was that?
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Because you know, that's one thing that my wife, she
would say she wouldn't call me by my name, would
go how was that? Yeah, because every time I do
a break on the eard, go how was that?
Speaker 2 (12:58):
How was that? Because you don't know you send it out,
you're going.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, you don't know who's listening that they're into it,
Like right now, we don't know.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
We have no idea, but I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Be like fortune tell more jokes, and I'm all wanting
to be serious.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
There's a little boy in South Korea right now writing
us a.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Letter there is He's like, I was waiting for her
to tell jokes about biscuits, and all she talks about
was comedy and writing.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
There is something about a Southern biscuit, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I know we just have all yeah, yeah, Mike knows.
He's like, you know, some comics need cocaine. I'm like,
give me a chicken. It's a lot cheaper, but have
it not as good. It's still equally bad for me,
but so good.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I have to break my biscuit apart they'll put it together,
but I will sit here and take it all apart
and eat everything one at a time. Oh really, yeah,
I can't. I just don't like it mixed together. Well,
that's interesting. I don't think I've heard anybody. Well, because
the chicken has its own flavor, it's got that, it's
got some sort of Southern spice to it, and the
actual biscuit itself has its own little buttery texture and
(14:03):
all that stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
I just want to savor each buy it, yeah, and
then then man, just take it all in. I don't
have any patience and shot it out.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
It is so fast in the way here, Oh my gosh.
Not attractive, but that's why I'm in comedy. I have
to look pretty.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So there's there's no biscuit place out there in California.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It's Popeyes is the Closes. It's not bad, it's not Buails,
but it's it's close.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But they serve different kind of food at the Popeyes
out there than they do here.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
More of a Louisiana yeah thing.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, shrimp stuff too, and there's something about that, the
peppered chicken. And I keep going into the one on
South Boulevard here going I want the peppered stuff that
you have out in California.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I don't know what you're ty.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Don't have it here.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
It's like you do your market research right.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
It'd be like in La they would always advertise nothing donuts.
I was not a Duncan Donuts there for years until
like recently, and so all the Boston people would be
so mad.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
They'd be like, why are you advertising it here? And
we don't have it.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
It's like Hardy's and Arby's. What do you get?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I think you have to drive Like, well, the only
Hardy's I know is the one over there on Little
Rock Road by the airport.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
We have one in Belmont, where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Wow, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Speaking of Belmont, You've got the biggest restaurant coming that's
about ready to.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Right, that's like the big news.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Yeah. Well, their grandmothers from Belmont and their dad, I
guess grew up there for part of his life. And yeah,
they're they're building it now. It's not going to be
ready for a while. I mean it's still pretty early.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
You were talking about earlier.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
It's originally going to be Italian, and I guess they
realized Southern might be better, which I think it's good
to have a nice Those nice southern restaurants right now
are doing well.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
And stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Well, just like the trendier.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Ones, like I went to one of Dallas where it's
like a gas stop pub but with Southern food.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah, so it'll be fun. So how long do
you have the comedy zone?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I'm here to I had a show last night, but
tonight's the last show. It's a quick trip, so tonight
at eight o'clock. All right, people, I hope will come
out because I'm gonna be I'm not gonna be on
the road as much next year, so y'all need to
come seeing.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
My mom's gonna be there. She's stelling merch for me.
I put my family to work, lovely.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
How did they follow you?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
But the fortune funny? On Twitter or my website fortunefemes
here dot com.
Hey, it's Arrow on iHeartRadio from the c LT Comedy
Zone dot com studio. It's time to have some Southern
fun with a biscuit loving girl. We are unplugged and
totally uncut with Fortune Themester.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
You get taller, what do you go?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yeah, wow, you look so much taller.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (00:23):
I don't know supplements though I think I was. I
think I'm just growing. I was eating more and just
widening out too.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
No, no, no, in California now, so no it doesn't
work out.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Well, Oh yeah, I wish.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So what you've been up to.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I've been working a lot, doing the MINDI Project and traveling.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
When you stay working, you're like the Walmart greeter now
for the Christmas season.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
No, no, I don't have that fancy of a job.
But just I'm on tour. IM not an official tour,
but just I'm pretty much gone most weekends.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Don't stand up?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Do you feel like Bruce Springsteen sometimes when you're out
there on the road going from town to towntown.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I wish.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I wish I had the turnout that Bruce Springsteen has.
But you know, I just gotta wear tight jeans and
white T shirts and maybe thanks will turn around for
me that I have a guy from the Sopranos behind me.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
How Stephen Benzani is the guy from Therano Sopranos to me? Yeah,
so do people compare you in life like that? Do
they say, oh, yeah you are and then.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
They yeah, well they yelled Chelsea at me a lot
because I'm like, well, I'm not Chelsea, but yes I
was on that show.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But people just go, Chelsea.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I'm ready for you to do a show like that.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I'm ready for that too, Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
What's up with those guys out there?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Well, I was very close to have my own show.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
I shot my own sitcom this spring with Tina Fey
producing the show, and we shot that for ABC and
it was great, super fun cast Annie Pops play.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
My mom and John Carrolynch played my dad.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
There's no way you can give up on that.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But they said no.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Why because they didn't have any room on the schedule.
Hollywood's weird like that. You can have a really great idea, concepts,
cast producers and then if there's no room for it,
or i mean any multitude of reasons can make them
say no.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
But it's a lot harder to get a yes.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
You know it's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You're gonna get a big TV show and we're gonna
have to rent the Timewarder Cable arena and everybody from
Gastonia's like, we gonna have to go and watch it.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
They're like, she's like the Bruce Springsteen of Gaston County,
those tight jeans.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
So now do you look at Netflix now, because I
mean they're gonna they're gonna spend three billion dollars in
twenty sixteen for original programming.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Well, I mean, yeah, you know, it's nice that you
have these outlets. Now, you know you're not beholden to
the networks to do shows. I mean, my particular show
was what you call multi cameras shot from an audience
to Netflix and who those places don't do that medium yet,
so we couldn't just take it there.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Otherwise that would have been a great home for it.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So is it just that the digital platform isn't there?
They just don't want to invest in something like that.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
It's just an older version I think of shooting a
sitcom there, and money wise, it's just easier for them
to do the single cam you know, not have they
don't have to build studios that way, because you have
to have specific studios for the live audience.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
It all goes down to the bottom dollar day.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
It's all about money, all about money, and you know,
certain shows like mine, you never know if they don't
get picked up because maybe they don't have an international
they think it might not sell internationally. It's all things
that just go into it that it's not based on
whether or not it's a funny show, which it should be,
but that's just not how it works.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's the stuff that they have when they have a meeting,
after a meeting, after any meeting, to have a meeting,
and it's the goofball in the corner, it.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Goes no, yep, And is that that one thing that
just to be like, okay, well then want we won't
do it.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And you're like what, that's what?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
When I do commercials for doctors, there's there's like five
doctors in the same building.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, and one doctor won't like it. Yeah, you guys
start all over.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
I know it's too many cooks in the kitchen, but
you know what, you just keep plugging away.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
That's I talked to Luis c k this summer.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
I was doing show in Montreal and he stopped in
and a set and he asked me how the show,
you know, how it went? And I said, they think
get picked up, and he goes, you know, I I
sold five shows.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Before I got one on there. So this is my
second one I'm sold.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
So maybe maybe uh in the next one or two
will be the one.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Thats it is?
Speaker 3 (04:38):
It is?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Do you believe in that that you got to feel
the pain before you gain? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Well, I mean you just there are very few people
that go out to LA and you know, someone comes
and points set them and makes them a star. A
lot of the people that made it, you know, have
years and years behind them of work and not making
money and having rejection.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
But you don't see that.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You just see like, oh my god, look they just
got plucked out of obscure and now they're famous.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Doesn't that also keep you humble?
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
It should.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
I mean it doesn't always with everybody, but it does
for me because I've been at it now for you know,
ten twelve years, wow, and so you appreciate it when
somebody finally wants to pay you to do your job.
You know, I work for free for so many years now,
it's like.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yeah, I want to get paid.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I'm still doing it for free, but I want to
get paid. So are you writing any of this down?
And the reason why I bring that up is because Mike.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I was talking with Michael Palin this week and he
has documented his whole entire life, all the way through
the process, and he says, because people want to know
how you became you.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
I mean, I don't journal or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But you know, one thing that's nice about things like
Facebook is you can go back and see that. It's
almost like a public journal in a way.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
It is.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
People share way too much, so you can kind of
go back and track different you know. I feel like
you share big things, happy things, bigger sad things. You know,
those are the things you made public. So those are
the things that you can kind of see, you know,
what's happened in your life and reflect. I mean, I
have one day that maybe like write a book. I'm
(06:10):
just not there yet where enough people would be interested
in it. I know what she'd about like all the copies.
That's the thing about mom Church.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I have a bestseller. We're in debt. Why I bought
all the books?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That's like when all these artists they'll release an album
and it debuts at number one?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Yeah, how's that happen?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I know, who knows?
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Are you doing comedy specials or anything like that?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I'd like to next year.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
My goal now is I've been working on new material
at the club and stuff and uh, you know, and
so hopefully next year I'll have an hour.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I'd like to shoot an hour special.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And you know, because I've heard a lot of people
say they see me on Chelsea Lately or a mini
project other other shows, and they don't get to see
the full spectrum of my comedy and what I do.
And people that come to my live shows, you know,
leave saying they my mom was there last night at
the show and they were telling her. They're like, you know,
I wish people could see her live. It's just like
(07:11):
such a cool different experience. And I talk a lot
about my family and life and things we all go through.
I try to make it relatable and people seem to
respond to that. So I think a special would be
good and like showing people my voice.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
See I've always wondered about that on Comedy Central, how
much of the best part is sitting on the editing floor. Yeah,
and because you're watching and all of a sudden it
skips and you're going, Okay, did I notice it skipped
because I'm in the business, or did it really skip?
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah, Usually there's some sort of edit there for whatever
reason it were angry. We don't know a lot of
If you're not the producer of your special, you don't
have any say I did it special for Comedy Central
a half hour, and it really is in their hands.
You just see the final product. And I was happy
with mine, Mike. I didn't feel like anything crazy happened.
But I know other people would be like, oh my god,
(08:02):
I can't they use that? Or you know, cause you
just have a different opinion of what you think works
because you know you're stand up better than anybody, right,
so you know what.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It can be if it doesn't sell that particular night.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
So when you practice new material, is it like a
musician and you're going to a jam session you kind
of hit it off other comedians and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, I mean it's all about everyone's process is different.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Some people like to tell new stories on the fly
and record it. I like to write it out first,
kind of know where I'm going with it, and then
other comics will especially in La watch your set get
and nice ones will be like, hey, you know, have
some ideas or maybe try this punchline. Bill Bird did
that for me once really, which was super cool. I
(08:47):
was coming up. I wasn't on TV yet and he
sat in the corner and watched me do my set.
And he has been so good to me ever since.
Like he just came up to match the show and
so nice and he's like that that bit, Oh my.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
God, here try this out.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
He's like, you don't you know, don't worry if you
don't want to. But I'm like, well, you're Millberry.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I want to take any advice you give me. He's
the best.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
So I see him at like vessels and he's like, Fortune, why.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Don't you have like a million dollars right now? Who
are you?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Who is representing? Oh my god, you should have a
million dollars. And I'm like, I would love that.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
New hair.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Finally stopped being a super good That's where I go
to hear conversations, all right, And there was the super cuts.
Now they they the people that are styling your hair.
I like it when I'll get the older women, oh yeah,
and and because they've got the best stories. I'll sit
there and say, so, I know you didn't start here,
so you got to tell me where you were to
get here?
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Yeah, what happened? I didn't, you know what? I'm gonna
do that like tim I when we get all the juicy.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Scoop, Yeah, and they have got so much dirt and
then and the goal is to try to figure out
how you can get like like there was a time
I was out in LA and we got Brad Pitt's hairstylists,
and so it's like I can't just open up and
say tell me about Brad Pitts.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So you just sit there and you kind of just
needle your way in.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Yeah. Right, Well that's the thing on on TV sets,
it's the makeup and hair trailer where you get all
the awesome because it's there's something about sitting there having
people you know, put makeup on you. You can't do
anything else but talk about each other.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's like later on today, I'm gonna talk with Lori Depp,
Johnny Depp's first wife, and and her her claim to
fame is that she splash It wasn't water that she
splashed on Adam Ant's face. Oh yeah, And so it
was a mistake, but that's what got her her first
big break and so but I love makeup arts and stuff.
Sometimes I want to interview Roady one time.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Probably hear some stories like the interview on a Carney.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Who have you performed with? Up on stage where you where?
It was the shock and awe. It was like, I
can't believe I'm here, but oh my god.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, I got to do Dave a couple of shows
on Dave Chappelle's first tour bag the Oddball Fest, and
that was pretty trippy for me.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It was like, I don't know, three years ago and.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
It was like in front of nineteen thousand people at
an amphitheater and I just and there were like a
bunch of really big comics on the bill, and I
just couldn't believe it. I was like, oh my god,
this is the cool because he's, you know, revered in
the comedy world and was respected.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Just to be in that same lineup was insane.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
How do you keep it personal with nineteen thousand people
looking at you.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
It's real hard to do because you can't see anybody,
and you tell the jokes and it's like it almost
hits the back of the audience a little bit later,
like a couple of seconds behind the first people. So
the way the laughter comes in ways, you'll it'll start
in the front and kind of triggle back.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
So timing was you have to be a little more
patient and not just you know, burn through stuff really quick.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
You have to kind of way on them a little bit,
which is weird as a comic because no one likes silence.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know, you got a crazy laugher up there in
the nosebleed section, dude, that was the last joke.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, and when you finish, you don't quite know how
you did in a comedy club, you know, exactly like that,
if it works or didn't, because they're right in front
of you.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
It's so obvious.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
They're like, you just don't know if someone in the
back and you know, the grass seats are laughing, you
have no idea.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
But I walked through the crowd with Jeff Jeff.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Ross and we you know, had people coming up, so
I'm saying nice thing. So that's when you kind of
get that one on one feel, you know, comics we
just want to be praise.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Probably let's walk through the let's walk to the crowd
and hear some nice things.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
No, You're absolutely right. It's it's that feeling acceptance. It's like, well,
how was that?
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Because you know, that's one thing that my wife, she
would say she wouldn't call me by my name, would
go how was that? Yeah, because every time I do
a break on the eard, go how was that?
Speaker 2 (12:58):
How was that? Because you don't know you send it out,
you're going.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, you don't know who's listening that they're into it,
Like right now, we don't know.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
We have no idea, but I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Be like fortune tell more jokes, and I'm all wanting
to be serious.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
There's a little boy in South Korea right now writing
us a.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Letter there is He's like, I was waiting for her
to tell jokes about biscuits, and all she talks about
was comedy and writing.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
There is something about a Southern biscuit, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I know we just have all yeah, yeah, Mike knows.
He's like, you know, some comics need cocaine. I'm like,
give me a chicken. It's a lot cheaper, but have
it not as good. It's still equally bad for me,
but so good.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
I have to break my biscuit apart they'll put it together,
but I will sit here and take it all apart
and eat everything one at a time. Oh really, yeah,
I can't. I just don't like it mixed together. Well,
that's interesting. I don't think I've heard anybody. Well, because
the chicken has its own flavor, it's got that, it's
got some sort of Southern spice to it, and the
actual biscuit itself has its own little buttery texture and
(14:03):
all that stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
I just want to savor each buy it, yeah, and
then then man, just take it all in. I don't
have any patience and shot it out.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
It is so fast in the way here, Oh my gosh.
Not attractive, but that's why I'm in comedy. I have
to look pretty.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So there's there's no biscuit place out there in California.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It's Popeyes is the Closes. It's not bad, it's not Buails,
but it's it's close.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
But they serve different kind of food at the Popeyes
out there than they do here.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
More of a Louisiana yeah thing.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, shrimp stuff too, and there's something about that, the
peppered chicken. And I keep going into the one on
South Boulevard here going I want the peppered stuff that
you have out in California.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I don't know what you're ty.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Don't have it here.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
It's like you do your market research right.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
It'd be like in La they would always advertise nothing donuts.
I was not a Duncan Donuts there for years until
like recently, and so all the Boston people would be
so mad.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
They'd be like, why are you advertising it here? And
we don't have it.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
It's like Hardy's and Arby's. What do you get?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I think you have to drive Like, well, the only
Hardy's I know is the one over there on Little
Rock Road by the airport.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
We have one in Belmont, where I'm from.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Wow, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Speaking of Belmont, You've got the biggest restaurant coming that's
about ready to.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Right, that's like the big news.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Yeah. Well, their grandmothers from Belmont and their dad, I
guess grew up there for part of his life. And yeah,
they're they're building it now. It's not going to be
ready for a while. I mean it's still pretty early.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
You were talking about earlier.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
It's originally going to be Italian, and I guess they
realized Southern might be better, which I think it's good
to have a nice Those nice southern restaurants right now
are doing well.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
And stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Well, just like the trendier.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Ones, like I went to one of Dallas where it's
like a gas stop pub but with Southern food.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah, so it'll be fun. So how long do
you have the comedy zone?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I'm here to I had a show last night, but
tonight's the last show. It's a quick trip, so tonight
at eight o'clock. All right, people, I hope will come
out because I'm gonna be I'm not gonna be on
the road as much next year, so y'all need to
come seeing.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
My mom's gonna be there. She's stelling merch for me.
I put my family to work, lovely.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
How did they follow you?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
But the fortune funny? On Twitter or my website fortunefemes
here dot com.
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