cover of episode Ep 115: Nate Bargatze

Ep 115: Nate Bargatze

2023/2/20
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We Might Be Drunk

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Nate Bargatze discusses the challenges of creating new material for his comedy specials and touring, emphasizing the importance of not repeating old jokes and the difficulty of balancing new and old material.

Shownotes Transcript

Hey, here we are. We might be drunk. We're back. We're doing it. Nate Bargetzi, everybody. What's shaking? Thanks, buddy. One of our faves. This is exciting for us. It's been a while. Yeah, I haven't seen you in a while. I've seen you a couple times on the road, which is fun. Yeah, that's always fun. He just saw Chris Rock on the road.

Yeah. We were in St. Louis and he was in the same hotel and I wasn't going to say anything, but he came over and hung with us a little bit. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. And he was, and then I ended up going to his show after my show and it's like, just cool to see jokes in an arena, you know? Where was it? St. Louis. Oh, he was in the St. Louis arena. What, uh, is he by himself? He was with Chappelle. Oh yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. What do they do? Does he go, Chappelle goes last and then? Yeah. Well, Chappelle, his private jet, there was a motor problem. So Rock was like stalling. So he did like 90 minutes. And they had Rick Ingram go up and host in between like stalling. And Chappelle, I was like, this is like a long show. Yeah.

I mean, this is... It's probably like a four-hour show. Did he know you were there? I mean, they might have had you go up. Oh, yeah. You beat her. They go... Yeah. Just stalling for Chappelle. Yeah. I don't know if I could be... I wonder if I'll ever be the comic that can be like, I got to do an hour. All right, I'll just do 90. Like, I don't know. You don't have it in you. I'm the same way. I'm like, I got to...

I can do what I got. Yeah. I'm not just sitting on... Yeah, whatever they tell me to... Whatever I'm like, I have to do. I feel like if I'm doing 60 minutes, I'm like, I have 60 minutes. Yeah. I don't feel like I have an extra minute. No, no, no, no. Because otherwise it just turns into like, is this anything? What's going on with this guy? It just falls off a cliff. The quality goes way down. Yeah. Sometimes you get those crowds where it's like you need to turn defense into offense a little bit. Yeah. And then that buys you a few minutes. Yeah. I'm like, I had to fight him a little bit to get him and now... Right.

Yeah, I don't... Jay used to have to do that with... Big Jay. Big Jay. At Caroline's for Paul Mooney. Because I remember... Because Paul Mooney would never... He would show up an hour late. Always late. Yeah, he would show up super late. Thank you very much, man. Appreciate it. Don't care for fruit on my drink. No, I'm joking. I'm joking. But they're...

It was, yeah, he would show up like an hour. You didn't know. So you'd have to go up there. It's probably something good to learn how to do, to be honest. And it's a weird one that I don't know where you can really learn it. You have to be in a pretty unique situation to have to learn how to do that.

You have to have an older headliner who's just jaded as fuck. Who shows up an hour late. Yeah, yeah, you kind of really have to have that. And it's a black crowd, so you're out of your element a little bit. So it's good on every level. Yeah, Jay would have to go up there and just, you know, you just didn't know. I remember we went up once.

Paul Mooney didn't show up. And then they had... He canceled. So they knew he was canceled. And then they had us. We were doing the show before that. So they were like, look, Paul Mooney's not coming, but we have another show. And so it was just like... It might have been me, Vitor. It was just not what... The people that are there to see Paul Mooney are there to see Paul Mooney. And not these two whites. Not...

But it was like a showcase show, so it's like five white cops. Right. And five low energy ones. Yes. Meanwhile, Paul Mooney's whole act is shitting on white people. Yes. And then here we are. If my man can't jump, who cares? They own the team. Yeah, the mindset is just, it's an adjustment.

He was funny as hell, though. Paul Mooney really was a funny dude. He was another dude that would do two and a half hours if he felt like it. Just sitting there. Maybe you get to... I don't know. I'm trying to think if you ever get to that point where you just could go up there and just talk. I don't have that. But those guys weren't putting out specials like you. You're putting out a ton of specials. That's true. Because you're not repeating old material.

No, in my hour? Yeah. I mean, so right now I have, because the special comes out next week, January 31st, Amazon. There you go. So for the new hour, I had a few minutes that I cut out of the special.

So I was like putting that in this new one. But then I was able to do like an hour. But man, this past weekend I had a couple. I thought like, all right, I got an hour. I can kind of do. I don't really have a closer. But I was like I was able to kind of figure out this one way to have a closer. And I had a couple good nights where I was like, all right. And then the other nights I was like.

I was like, I'm not going to hit 30. I mean, I could do... I have like a good 30 minutes that's like, you know... You said the special's coming up. I mean...

So I had some people come. Like you said, your closer is almost there, not there. Do you want a new hour by the time a special comes out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's very hard. It's very hard. It's hard. It was October when we taped. But I mean, it's a new tour. I put all new material. I put all this stuff on it. But I think I'll have it. I think I'll have it. I had the problem where I had some people travel. Like people came to...

to the show, they're like, oh, we've heard this material. You're like, I mean, that kind of took me by surprise, which was very nice, but it took me surprise to be like, well, this, I mean, the special is not out.

And I'm in a new town. Right. So I didn't think people were, you know, I was like, well, I haven't been in this town. And it's two people, but it still gets in your head. Yeah. You know, if two people have seen your act, it's 3,000 people. I remember I did all new stuff in Louisville, and I was like, fuck, it's like 55 minutes. I don't have anything else. So I just did an old bit, and someone screamed out the punchline. Yes! And I was like, ugh. I was so upset with myself. It was Vitor. Yeah.

Sometimes you can make the announcement, I think helps. If you go, especially if they're coming and you go, look,

look it's as far as i could get with new i'm gonna just close with some but if they're aware it gets it's exciting and like you know it's like instead of because i learned if you mix it in and say you do like if you did that if you do 55 minutes and five minutes old but you mix it in and don't address it then someone goes he did a lot of old something yes and you're like no no i did because they're not no one's timing you no one's like watching you at the time like that

So they just, if they hear one old thing, they just think, ah, he's doing a mix. I had that recently. I did three old jokes and the whole rest of the hour is new. And somebody goes, ah, I heard it all. Heard everything. And I'm like, the rest of it's new. I've never done it here. And they're like, nah, I heard it. I was like, it was three new and three old jokes. But if you say it,

Then there go. He was all new. He did an old joke. You could probably do 20 minutes of old at the end, but they would think it the other way. Exactly. But I got to get new stuff. The hard part of getting new stuff now is you get busy. I'm busy and you're

You're doing all this press to promote the special. It's hard to work out, and it's hard to go live normal. Yeah, totally. You can't be like, I got this press bit. That's not relatable. You got to do podcast interviews, or do you do...

No, it drains you. You got to put a lemon on your Diet Coke in a pot. He goes, remember, he goes, this guy. And I'm just trying to stretch it out into like a 30-minute bit. Remember those old days where you're like, I got 20, I can headline, I can just stretch it out, I'll do a little crowd work, I'll talk slower. Never worked. That's why I love Veeder because I remember when we were all brand new comics and everyone would be like, how much time do you have? Everyone would be like, I got 45. They'd be open micers but they'd say that shit. I'd ask Veeder and he'd be like, 19. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You never have as much. And this new hour, I thought I – because I did an hour –

one night and then it was like and then I mean it was like two nights later just the grips you have to come with to go like I mean I'm lucky if it's a solid 25 minutes like when you really if I really look at it if the audience is unreal we can do an hour yeah that's the thing is you gotta play like the worst you're like what is this for the worst audience yeah because I was I got the same thing over the weekend this is my first like theater run of shows and I was kind of like

wow, first few nights, I'm really ripping. And then I had one, the worst show was at the end and they weren't even bad, but they were the worst of that show. Right. And you're like, this joke's got to be better. This joke's got to be better. You need those. Yeah. You need them. Yeah. You go to, yeah. You learn like they're all great, especially when you like at,

When they're coming to see you, every show is going to be great. But you need to know which ones are bad. Right. Because you can't just go, they're all great. And they're not bad. Bad is not a good word. You know, if audiences listen to this, like, you're not saying bad, but it's like comparably, like, some places are going to, you know, it's a Thursday night or it's a Sunday night or it's Saturday or like, and it doesn't matter. Whichever ones can be weird or they can laugh quick.

or whatever it is. But you gotta know, because if you're not aware of that, then I think the second you kind of become unaware of stuff is when it all ends. But also too good a crowd can be a problem. Like you see that, when they're too good, you get confident in bits that are weak. I mean, there was that peak Dane Cook moment where people were just like, whee!

After his bits, I'm like, that's not good for fucking comedy. No, no, no. But you gotta be aware of it. If you're aware of it, I think you can... You know what's happening. Maybe you realize, alright, I gotta... I don't know, not do arena. Do your arena thing, and then...

you did it and then back out of it and then go back to regular. I mean, that was like Steve Martin. I feel like he just got too big. Yeah. You can get too big for the, what it is. Right. But if you set the tone of what you're doing to, yeah,

You know, then you can do it forever. Like, I started with Burr after the... I talked about this today, but with Opie and Anthony, when he had the rant, the Philly rant, I remember going to watch him at Caroline's and, like, people yelling stuff out, and he was like, I'm not doing that. Like, Burr was a very good... He set the tone to be like, no, no, no, I'm going to do new stuff. And now it's like no one even...

whatever you want the city like it just would be weird if someone did that so it's he set the tone for what his show is and being a comic and you're coming to see this act and that's what you're coming to see and if you set the tone for something else you can get yourself because you know you start you can set the tone too long where you just kind of go like well i'll just do this or i'll all right i'll roast them for what you know it's like well quickly that becomes you

That's what you're doing. Yeah, you're that guy. And then it's like, then that's tough to get out of because then you've got to get people back. Right, well, you're good at that. I don't want to do that. How many shows did we do in New York where it would be like some high-energy guy and then you would go up after and be like, hey, everybody. You made them come to you always. That was something that I remember we all did a show once and everyone bombed except you. It was at Caroline's.

because you, I think they were just this awful, terribly behaved crowd, and you just got quiet. Yeah. And it was like rough for the first few minutes, but then by the end they were like, oh, so you could tell they respected you? Yeah. And it was like a cool thing. No, I mean, everyone bombed, but you were the only one who I was like, oh, he didn't pander. Right. Yeah. You know, and I thought it was cool. Yeah. Well, I learned that because I did pander on once following like Rory.

uh, Scoville. Funny guy. I had like a, you know, festival, like Bridgestone, Bridgetown, Bridgetown. And, uh, you know, he goes on stage and he does his thing where he's being Rory. And then I kind of try to go up there with that same energy and it like went really bad. Uh,

And I knew not to. You did a gay Southern accent? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's like he's, you know, because there you're at a festival. It's like comics. It's like they love that it's weird and all this kind of stuff. So you're like, oh, I'll try to be weird. And then I bombed. I talked to Jay Larson after. He's like, yeah, because you try to act like you were Rory. Interesting.

And I was like, yeah. And I remember, and you know, so it's like you learn to like go, I'll just die with, if I'm going to die, I'll die with what I know what to do. Absolutely. Here, here. Because it hurts to bomb as not you. Oh, oh.

I mean, you really stick your neck out. You don't want to pander and eat shit. That's the worst. Yeah, you really stick your neck out. But I remember I think of that set a lot as like, okay, there's ways to change gears and grab them, but there's ways to change gears as you. And you did that. That was like what was a cool moment, especially when we were younger comics. Yeah, you learned which material like...

You know, it's like I never had dirty material, but it was like, all right. But it's like I had marriage stuff. So it's like, all right, if they were this, I could be like, I'll just do marriage, you know. Right. Or I'll do, if they're young, it's like you just go, all right, I'll do, I don't know, stuff not being married. Right. You just end up kind of doing. It's interesting to get to, I mean, as you're seeing, there's a point where you're both getting, you're, I mean, selling out and people are there to see you, but it's like stuff has to change constantly.

Because of that, because you know that they know you. And trying to stay good, knowing that they know you. Because you know you can get laughs. You can see how comics could...

become not good because they're going to laugh where you're like all right if i could just make that they like me yes so you can get a point to where you're not being funny but you're like i'm just i know they like me so i'll just make sure they keep liking me for the next hour right but it's like if you watch it outside of that room or that whatever it's like yeah but joke is like an a with your crowd and then it goes to a b you're like oh that joke sucks because this is my crowd and it was still a b

So I got to work on that one. That's why the cellar is great for us when we're off the road. Because you go up and you're kind of like, that one didn't do that well. And you can't just blame, look, yeah, they're a little younger than they were a couple years ago. You got to blame yourself. But you're a dude that's on the road so much. I mean, you're a dude I ask for advice a lot. I remember I saw you in Springfield, Missouri, and I was in the club and you were in the theater, and I went to watch your show. I let him know that I met him at home.

I wouldn't talk to him. I'd talk to him in a separate room. I don't want your club energy on me. But I was like, oh, shit. And I remember you were on the tour bus, and you were like, this is... You gotta hit every city. Yeah. That's always been your attitude. And a lot of comics don't have the endurance for that. No. No, they don't. And I mean, you can see, look, as you know, you see the comics that can...

It looks like they're touring and selling out a lot. And then it's like, well, go look at where they're playing. And like, is it New York, Seattle, Chicago, you know, LA, you know, kind of the major cities like there. And then, you know, and look, some comics don't want to go play in, you know, you don't want to go to Jonesboro, Arkansas, or you don't want to go do this stuff.

But if you look at Gaffigan, that guy's built a wealth of fans that for whatever it's worth, you can't go... You're not selling more tickets than that guy. And as comics, you know, where it's like... Sometimes people can have the industry love and all this kind of stuff. And it's like... It doesn't relate to money, but I would imagine it would be like a billionaire meeting a guy worth...

50 million dollars. You know, where it's like, he's like, no, that's great, dude. I think that's awesome that you have that much money. You are rich. You're not him. And there's a different kind of like, you know, it's like that guy's like, I'm going to go to my plane and fly home. He's like, no, you're going to fly in someone else's private plane. That's great. I own this plane. Like, there's a way that you can

And it's obviously I'm not I'm not talking about money in that way, but it's just about like getting the fans like that to be like Gaffigan can go everywhere like Gaffigan can take chances to go into Russia.

i mean he went to like he can do whatever and go perform everywhere and see in russia yeah you got to draw the line i'm not doing that ukraine he go there now they got money yeah louis had the show that friday that the war started yeah oh yeah you know some stubborn comic would have been like well fuck we're doing the show dude yeah yeah yeah uh i mean look at louis louis goes around and can go everywhere and

There's a way that you want to be able to go play everywhere in the whole country. I mean, you see that it's not easy. And it's not easy to have all of them be fans. And it takes a lot of work. And

it's always worth something going. I feel like there's a way to go. You want to go for it when you know that someone will not go for it. And then they're telling you why, like, well, I don't want to be on the road that much. And you're like, yeah, yeah. Cause you can't, cause I don't look at anything as like, you're not making that choice. You're not making that choice because you really don't want to be on the road that much. You're making the choice cause you can't.

And so you, but you say it and well, I don't, you know, I don't want to be gone that much. And you're like, no, you would like to be gone that much. Right. You, you went as far, this is where you can stop. And you could, they could. Yeah. But that is so much more work.

To then go past that and to go everywhere. You're justifying it. I have a sober friend and I'm always like, well, I drink, but I can always get my shit done. He's like, you're justifying. It's like a sober thing that he always calls me out on. Like, I get everything done and I drink. He's like, yeah, yeah. I'm like, I don't really get that hung over. And if I do, I push through and he's like, you see, you can't stop. He's always giving me shit.

Same thing with the road. Like, oh, you got to connect. I don't do those gigs. And you're like, you want to do that gig. We'd be going up in the city when we were doing spots. It's like, you know, I don't want to go to Dangerfield. Right. You're like, yeah, yeah, because, I mean, you can't. Or you know it's going to be hard. And so if you're not going to something that's, like, hard or, like, pushing yourself, working out would be – if you're not pushing yourself –

to a limit of uncomfortableness. I'd rather go to Russia than Dangerfield, honestly. That was a pretty rough run. It's the same way. It's the same thing.

That was a tough room. I remember the velvet seats. Bridge and tunnel. I remember they would have you do 25 minutes in there. Yes. And then the host would often forget. So you end up doing like 32. Right. There's like eight people in there. And you can't wait to get off. You're like, where is that guy? Dude, I was dying. Because I remember going in at first. I'm like, 25 minutes. You know how much work I'm going to get done in here? And then I'd just be bombing for 25 minutes. Yes. I remember one time there's eight people in there.

I watched three people, they get walked in to sit down during my set.

and they give it like one joke, and they're just like, and they just walked out. Just humiliating. You're doing a long enough time that they think about it and leave. And it's just one comic. They book a flight back home to Cleveland. That club had a grand piano on stage, and by the end of the set, you start by standing next to it, then you put an elbow on it, and you're bombing so much by the end of it, you're like, I want the piano.

That was a tough room because it got hard towards the end. I mean, no one was going to it. So you'd go up, and it's such a long time to be going up and just be like, what are we doing?

Those old sets were epic there. Those Dangerfield 80s sets when you hosted. Those are incredible. I was here a long time, but I don't know if I was ever here where I saw that room be... People started going to it towards the end right when I was close to moving. I felt like people started going back to that room. They made a push. But I don't ever remember Dangerfields being...

I remember the comic strip was pounding when I was here. That's where I started. Yeah. That was the club. That still can be great. I've done some private shows, and it's so electric. And you're like, I get it. This room's amazing. The room is electric. The acoustics, it's like a perfect. I mean, Seinfeld did the special there. Right. Sandler did parts of the special there. And I think that gave it like a boost. And then I think they just threw it away again. Yeah. The head shots. Is it still going? Yeah, it's still going. Yeah. Yeah.

Is New York Comedy Club at Eastville? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You got a show there on Wednesday if you want to pop in. Yeah. No pressure. All right. I guess that's tomorrow. I'll still go. Come by. But yeah, I was just at Zany's in Nashville, which is weird to be in Nashville and you were on the road. I know. But Lucy, who runs Zany's, was like, I saw the Nate Howard's, his best one yet. So I'm excited for this one. Yeah. I was at this...

I really enjoyed this. This was material I felt like... It was like I was excited to do it. You know, like where you're... You feel like you have an act that you're like, oh man, I'm like... Every city I went to, I was excited to... Wow. I enjoyed it. And I was almost like, when I taped the special, it wasn't like I was so over it. You know, there'd be parts I was kind of overtelling, but...

There was a lot of it I still really liked. You didn't get bored with the hour at all? I did not get... Yeah. And I did a lot of shows. But I really... It was fun. It's like I'm trying to find that... You know, because you always have in your act, you have jokes that are...

You know, you have some parts that you're like, you know, it's like it's there, but you're like, I'm just saying it. Like, I don't really enjoy it. And people can enjoy it. It's not that the audience doesn't, but you just, you're like, it's not as fun as this part. And so, like, I try to, like, that was the closest one where I feel like I had the most fun. And, like, that's why I'm trying to do this new hour because you're like, how can I have, like, I should want to be, like, I can't wait to get in every part of my act. Yeah. And, you know, it's like...

It's hard to do, though. How do you do it, man? How do you come up with so much material? Yeah, you're a tank. I don't know. You push it out. It's incredible. Yeah, you are a tank. I don't know how. How did you make the decision to go from Netflix to Amazon for this one? Amazon's making a big push, like a comedy push into comedy, and they were very excited, and they wanted me to come over there and kind of be the...

I guess, start of that. And so they're, they're really kind of doing a thing where they want to do standup comedy. And, uh, I think standup comedies, they're showing it's doing really good there now. All right. Uh, so they want to be a, I guess, you know, a player in that game. And, uh, so they were very excited for that. Uh, pretty good.

Pretty good pay. That was good. Pretty good dough, I assume. To be honest, I don't know. I did not. It is. Okay. But I took less. Oh. In exchange for more ownership? I own it. Why?

That's worth it. Yeah. That's a hard one. Yeah, so I licensed it with them, and then I own it, and then I can do it. So yeah, owning it was a very big reason. Huge. And I do think Amazon is going to make a big push, and they're going to be a part of it and do some new... Yeah, it's nervous going over it, because it's like Netflix has the audience, and Netflix changed my life, and I have nothing. And I love Netflix, and it's...

So it's, yeah, Netflix is awesome. But going to Amazon was, it was just like where I was at that, you know, it's like, all right, let me just see if, you know, if I think this will hopefully be the right way. And owning it was big. I did want to own it. Hell yeah. I wanted to, you know,

like having it it's weird because owning it like you know how you don't ever you don't ever get like it's always hard to get your own special when you're like yeah when you tape a special then you want to be you think they're gonna be like here it is you can have it and then you can post it like you know you know you don't own it but you just and they're always I don't think you ever really get it you always like there's like

a way that, you know, they give it to someone for streaming or like, so people can look at it for you. They watch it. Oh, and they say it's on Paramount plus a special. I'm like, just dump it in the toilet. Just put it in there. They don't even have fucking Yellowstone on Paramount plus they have the other Taylor Sheridan shows. Oh really? Yeah. If you want to watch one of his other shows and 900 comedy specials that

Comedy Central flush. Yeah. Give it a go. Wasn't that your last straw with Comedy Central when they said you couldn't clip your own show? Yeah. I'm doing that on YouTube from now on. Yeah. On Comedy Central's YouTube channel. But they let me clip it. Yeah. There you go. But that was, you know. That was a fight even. They're tough over there. You know what? They're always... I think...

Comics are always a step ahead with everything because we're in the clubs every night, so we know who's funny before they do, and we know kind of what's working before they do. And I saw the clips were working on this week at the Comedy Cellar, and we were just burning topical jokes because...

I'm not going to hold on to a headline joke. And they wouldn't let us post it. And I was kind of like, what are you doing? And it'll help you. You think I want to write a joke? I want to write like five topical jokes that are funny jokes that are only going to air on TV where like three people are going to watch it while, you know, folding laundry or beating off in the background. Like no one's paying attention to this show. No. Beat off to my YouTube channel. Exactly. That's what I say. Yeah. Yeah. They've made some mistakes, but where are they now?

Comedy Central? Yeah. They laid off a lot of good people. It's not a good story. It's not like a happy story. You showed them, though. Well, it's scary because you never know what the new thing is. Like when we started, Comedy Central was the end-all be-all or maybe HBO. And now you're like, fuck that. And then you're like, HBO, I don't even know if I would, whatever. And then who knows if Netflix will go away.

That's why I tour. That's why you tour. That's why I tour. And you set up a good tour. Like, I ask Gary a lot. I'm like, would Nate do this? I'll do that sometimes. I'm like, what does Nate do? Because I just trust what you would do. You'd go clean and pray. But, you know, you bring a good crew with you on the road. Your tour manager is like a childhood friend. Yeah. You surround yourself with good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's...

You want to create the hang and the, like, it's being, you want to be funny. Like, you're, you know, going up and doing club spots and hanging out in New York City. Like, that was like, that's where we were all being funny all the time and making a lot of jokes. And it's hard to do that.

when you start touring because you're gone, really. And so you bring all comics, and I bring two comics to open. And it's just to, you know, so we have a fun, like, after every show. Like, it's a lot of jokes. It's a lot of, like, you know, being funny. And it's just trying to almost, you know, that cellar table vibe. It's like you've got to kind of take it with you because otherwise you're going to be out there alone. And that's going to be easy to kind of just...

get lost in your own self. Totally. Because you're getting told you're great all the time or all this stuff. And you need to be with comics that are, you know, I don't know. It's like we've all known each other forever. Right. And so you get to hang out with them. And then I always think about the show I'm bringing where it's – I'm bringing comics that are like everybody's on TV and everybody's done stuff. And so the show that these people get to go watch is –

pretty great. And you're like, you want to, it's like, yeah. And then everybody's gotta be clean on my show, obviously, but it's like, so like with clean comedy is like, you know, we just did Mike Vecchione special. And, uh, one of my favorites. Yeah. So it was like making his special and like the crowd getting to see him and stuff. It's like,

I have an audience that a lot of times are... A lot of people don't care about being clean or not clean or whatever. A lot of fans that are fans of you guys that come up and say stuff and tell me that. But then there's fans that are there because I am clean. And so you're trying to... It's like to give someone like Mike Vecchione a clean comic. Or he was always kind of basically clean, like could be clean. So it's like to give that audience...

to see him. It's like, they just don't always going to see that level of comic. Yes. That they would get to see. And there's so many guys. Vecchione is hilarious. And he's been hilarious for 20 years. Follow Mike Vecchione on social media. We have his special come out probably in March.

Oh, nice. Also his album, The Worst Kind of Thoughtful. Is that the name of his album as well, which is also killer? Yeah, Muscle Confusions. He's a 10-minute joke on the bus. That's one of my favorite jokes. Oh, really? He's so funny and such a great guy, too. But there's so many guys like this who are so funny and underrated and just silently killing all over the country. But the industry kind of won't throw them a bone. That's why it's great when guys like you or other headliner...

comics can promote. Well, he's a headliner, Mike. Well, yeah, you know what I mean. 61,000 followers on Instagram. His joke, I love his joke about how he signed up to be a private detective online.

line yeah and they uh and they just took his money and he thought either i just got ripped off or this is my first case that's amazing yeah great great he has so many jokes like that we've he's got stuff i mean he murders when he goes out and that's what's great is because i have to follow that too so it helps me uh it makes you like stay yeah you have to be good like i mean because they're it's like i mean they're watching uh

a great show before I get out there. And so you got to live up to the hype and be better and like, not be better, but like be as good as these guys. Yes. There was another Vecchione. That's, that guy's funnier. Played hockey. He's a, he's a pro hockey player, but Mike Vecchione, our Mike Vecchione has a thicker neck somehow. This is, that's crazy that he plays for the Philadelphia. Oh, weird. That's true. Holy shit. Mike Vecchione,

Philadelphia comic. Damn. He has so many good jokes, and he's also just a great dude. I mean, he's one of my favorite people as well. Oh, yeah, he's the best. But, yeah, I mean, that's the thing. I want it to be a good show, too. Vita is with me all the time. I love Gary Vita. Vita is unbelievable. I mean, the first night of the tour, we were in New Orleans, and Amy Schumer and her husband Chris come out, and they're just watching Gary, and they're both, like, bent over, dying, laughing. And that's such a great feeling that you're like, this is the dude I bring. He's just murdering.

Just great. You're naming everybody. All of them think they're doing pretty good. And you keep going. I mean, another guy. Nowhere. Gary Vita. Nowhere in this business. Lucky to be getting by. Lives at the YMCA probably. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know what he's going to do. Yeah. I don't know. I just don't see how he makes it through. Hopeless. Oh, yeah. I'm going to be on the street in a week. Is that a set list or a suicide note? I don't know. Sorry, Gary. We're pushing for you.

Go book Gary. Please, someone book Gary. Both you and Sal. He's got a great career. Just saying, I want these people to be more well-known. No, I know what you mean. We know how funny they are. It's a lot of comics. It skipped over a lot of comics. But that's the thing, dude. Young comics, if you just go on the road...

I mean, not go on the road, but even if you're in the city, wherever you're at, just go and write jokes and be funny. And like that stuff, if you stay that way, you build your, you know, what is it saying? Like a house on stilts or like, what is it? A house on stilts. I don't know. I don't know, Katrina. I don't know. You got to build high up. It's, I don't know. A house on sand or something.

No, what's the saying of your house? Now we're really getting away from what he said. It's about stilts. But if you're building, you should build your house on concrete or something, not on stilts. Maybe that's it. But I don't know if that's the saying at all. Something about Gary being short. Take this as far as, yeah. It's weird that people don't know that. I blame bad comics for Katrina. And, uh...

But like if you built something, you know, like concrete that can't be taken away from you. Your material. Yes. Is all that you that cannot be. It's your worth. It's your it's the back. What makes you it's like it's the thing that people don't have. Your material cannot be taken away from you. See our first two specials on Paramount Plus. Yeah. It got taken away from us. And then you build more material. Yeah.

So it's like the more you get, the more you can't. Once you learn how to build it, even though it feels like you're never going to, you know, it's impossible to build. You think there's a solution. There's not a solution. Okay, is this it here in Matthew 7? Jesus said everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. Yeah. There's no stilts in there, but I got you. All right. There you go. That counts. Okay. It's in the Bible too, so. There you go. Yeah.

God forbid y'all read some of that sometimes. Take a gander at it. I have a joke Bible on my toilet. Yeah, there you go. It's not the same. I like the Koran. There you go. When you want to look your best, the only place to go is the Black Tux. The Black Tux makes it super easy to get top quality, guaranteed to fit tux without leaving your house.

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BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash drunk. If you, you know, like I always remember like actors, like you see that, you're like, God, you're just so reliant on. Yes.

So many other... Like, you put your whole career is... And they can be great actors and get past that. People want that, and they like that thing. But it's like writing a show. Like, you know, you go audition for stuff, and you're like, dude, I don't... It's up to these people if they like me or not. Yeah. And versus if I just do my act or if I write my own TV shows, it's like, you know, you're just a little more in control. Hell yeah. And then they need to go to you because...

It's hard to create stuff. There's not that many people that can create stuff. Not just that, but comics really help each other. And I was talking to a musician friend of mine the other night, and he was telling me, like, yeah, we don't really do that in our world. Well, like, yeah, they're not really pushing each other. Comics push each other. Like, we all... Like, Nate's producing a friend of his special. You know, we're posting clips of comics we like. We're promoting comics. We're doing each other's podcasts. I don't think...

Every world is like that. And we're creating shit and not reliant, waiting on industry to tap us, auditioning. I get auditions now and I'm like, why? I hate it. I turn them all down. Yeah. I've never gotten one. I never got one either. I even auditioned for your show. Didn't get that either. But...

Never got one. I remember that. I was hungover. Yeah. When I'm hungover, I can still do shit. You auditioned to play me. Sorry. Yeah, you auditioned to play me. That's why they brought you in, just to get, like, if I didn't work out, they were like, don't worry, that show didn't go anywhere. Lewis Black did that. Lewis Black auditioned to play himself on a pilot and he didn't get cast. Your audition was tough. I had this whole thing about stilts that didn't work. Yeah. He goes, build on stilts. I go, it doesn't make sense. I go, it's definitely not the writing. Yeah.

It was doing that when I did shoot that pilot and everybody auditioned for that. It's eye-opening to see who comes in for it. It's pretty crazy. It's famous people. That's wild. Any names you can mention?

I'm trying to think. I mean, Kristen Alley I met. Oh, Kristen Alley? Kristen Alley. R.I.P. Yeah. But she was playing my mom. Wow. I mean, my parents that we ended up casting were Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith. Oh, wow. That was my parents in the pilot. Wow. Is that weird to just put them back together? Yeah. Well, we were trying to do it, and...

uh they were on i mean they're just professionals it's pretty fun to see them like that world be professionals we're when we shot that pilot so we did in front of live audience and uh kurt would like when you know because they're coming and throwing you jokes like it's fun a multi-cam is very fun in the for a comedian because it's a lot of like on the thing like hey we're gonna change this joke you're gonna do this blah blah whatever right and then uh

But Kurt would, I mean, he would lay down on the couch, the living room couch. The whole live audience is watching. And he just closed his eyes and just lay there. And you're like, the comfortableness that this guy could have.

And just be like, there's people there. It'd be like if you went on, if you just laid on a couch on the stage. That's crazy. And then they're like, all right, ready to go? And he's like, all right. And he gets up and just goes and does it. I mean, he's been around forever. He's a great actor. Robocop. That's right. Fucking killer in that movie. Terrifying. But we were talking about Mike Vecchione as like a murderer.

These are amazing actors that may not be household names for everybody, but think about how many actors there are, too, that could just knock your socks off. Yeah. Maybe the average person doesn't know. Oh, yeah. They would do it. You would see it. We had one girl, I don't remember her name, but she did...

she was British. She did British and an English accent in the same audition. Just switch it up. And it was English. Uh, not an American, British American. And, uh, so she did British accent first and then she did, uh, do the, like a Southern American accent. That's incredible. And then you're like, just doing it in front of your face. And you're like, you're like, Oh my gosh, we had, uh, what's his face from, uh,

Home Alone, the tall... Daniel Stern? Daniel Stern. Yeah, he came in. How's he doing? He's hilarious. He came in. He was... Yeah, he is hilarious. I'm just a programmer, by the way. Oh, really? Yeah, fun fact. He came in and he was great. He was great. He was...

It was like, he's just, it's him. Right. Like, it's like, I think he's a little crazier now as he's gotten older, you know, like. QAnon guy? Yeah. Randy Quaid. I don't know if he's that. Well, Randy Quaid is one that I did think of. Great actor. Yeah. But it was like, I think it was right when he was, where it was like, oh, he's like gone. Flipping. Yeah. It's even, not even like his beliefs. You're like, no, no, I think it's like he's.

You know. Something behind the eyes. Yeah. Isn't that the guy he plays in another teen movie? I think he's become that dude. Who? Oh, exactly. The dad on that. Yeah. That's true. I can see that. He's got the weird pilot's cap on. Yeah. From the 40s. Yeah. No, he's a great actor, though, man. I mean, and he's around for fucking ever. You look back, you're like, this dude's in movies in the early 70s. I know. I know. You know? Yeah. It's so crazy. But just the fact that he had a TV show...

pilot thing is insane that that was happening. Yeah, I mean, I've written a bunch of TV shows. None of them go. That was the only one we shot a pilot. You're in a place where you don't need it. Yeah, I mean, I still, I want to do one just, but it's like now, I'm going to tell you, it gets, it's nice when you, it's a lot of work. Um,

but it's something, but it's, it's, it's, uh, you know, I mean, we're all Seinfeld guys. So we're all like that. Like we want what he did. And, uh, or I, I mean, I, you know, I do. It's like seeing Ray Romano, like seeing all those guys do these shows. And, uh, so I want to do that. Uh,

Whether it happens, I don't know. But you try. Shooting the pilot was, I mean, it was fun. It was like, it's just so different. Yeah. But it was very fun. Did you think while you were doing it, did you think it was going to go?

Yeah. I mean, you, you know, when you walk out, dude, it's like, you know, it was just called the neighbor gets his show and you're seeing, I mean, a seeing the people audition for it is insane. It's it's cause it's, it's people that you know, and it's people that you are like, Oh my gosh. Like, I can't believe like this guy's famous. Yeah. And then they're there. And then, uh,

uh, shooting with Gavin came in and like he did like, and then they're like, ah, everybody's like, they're a big fan. Yeah. And like there, so all these people come in and he came in from shooting, uh,

he was in the Dwayne Johnson TV show, like whatever, the rock show. Ballers or whatever. Yeah. Ballers. And so it's, it's all these dudes and you're like, you can't believe, cause you just, you know, as a comic, we always feel like we're just like, yeah, like we're, I don't know that we're going to be asked to leave every room. And,

And they have to be nice to you. You're the guy. Yeah, they come in and you're sitting there and they're saying stuff. And then I remember Katie Azleton, who we did – she played my wife in it. But I did not read with her at first because I was, like, nervous. I didn't want to read because, A, I was like, I don't want them not – like, who knows if I'm awful at this. So I don't want to be bad. And then they don't get the part because they're like –

Like she didn't look... Like she wasn't that good. And you're like, no, she was awesome. Like I am a train wreck. You're so much more considerate than the average comedian. Most comedians are like, yeah, she sucks. Who gives a shit? Oh, I felt... And so I didn't read with her, but...

I didn't know that whole world was like, she was coming in to read with me like that. You know, you know, your level of audition where sometimes you go and you're like, all right, no one from the show is going to be in there. Yeah. And that's one audition. And then auditions like the producers are in the room. Then the auditions like where you're reading with the person in the thing.

So, you know, like, all right, you're in a small group that's only going to be reading with those people. And so then I was like, I didn't want to read with her. And then, like, I talked to her afterwards and she was like, oh, I mean, really like kind of taken back by it because it was it was supposed to be she's reading with me because she's a big time actress. And like, so it wasn't like, you know, like.

she was supposed to come in and just read alone and i was like i don't i don't want to do it i i didn't do it on purpose i didn't know that yeah and so she thought it was like a bad thing and i was like oh no i didn't i didn't know i was supposed to be doing that what network was this uh abc we were at fox then abc it would have been on abc that's uh it would have came out right before covet and

Yeah, we did an episode on spanking. And I kind of... I regret that a little bit. Really? Just because it was like... When you make a show, you're making it... They show it to people. And in your head, you're thinking like, all right, we'll do a show where the daughter does get spanked. And trying to do something where it's like instead of like...

Trashing spanking like talk about you know whatever And it's just like too It's not fun And for that to be The first thing they see That was the pilot It was Yeah yeah it was I just wish I wouldn't have done that I wish I had done like

I don't know. I've done something more just fun. Did you get notes while you were doing it? Yeah, you get notes. I mean, when you do a run-through, I mean, it's the ABC, the president of ABC and all of them, they just come sit in chairs and you do the whole thing in front of them.

Was that stressful? Uh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, you go, I mean, they, then they go give you notes after that. And I told them, I was like, cause I was a, you know, a creator, executive producer on it and everything. So I'm supposed to be in every kind of notes. But I was like, I don't want to go up. Cause I was like, I wanted to give them the freedom to be like, I stink. Like if they want to say I'm terrible, I want them to be like, okay, that's okay. They can say I'm terrible. But what do you do with that? If they would, I mean, they can, you have a thing where they can, uh,

cast you out of it. Where like you end up being just... So Whitney's...

Whitney Cummings show. No, she didn't get cast out of it, but like she had those two shows. Yeah. Whitney and then the two broke girls. So you just become that where you're the creator and like she was on two broke girls. Was she cast out of that? No, no. But she created that show, I think. And so like she's made like she's done great. But like you would just be like that kind of situation where you're just not in it. But you can get cast out like you can't. Wouldn't that shatter you?

I mean, it would and it wouldn't. Because as a comic, it would be hilarious to go tell everybody that I was terrible. I would look at it like that, where I would be like, man, how funny would that be to go, you wait your whole life just to be cast out of this. But I think it would still hurt. It would crush me and hurt, but it wouldn't.

I wouldn't spiral. Like, I think with comedy, you just have, I can still go on stage. I'm not going to spiral out of it. Like, I mean, this was written where you're like, it's going to be tough to cast me out of it. And I did it. And also you write it to your strength. Yes. If you're writing it. Yes. I'm being very protected. I'm making sure like, yeah, there was no, like I was like, I'm not like, there's no crying. I'm not going to do like, there's, you know, there's no anything that involves like crazy acting. Like, I don't want a bunch of big laugh. Like, I don't have to laugh. Right.

Like I'm not, I'm writing it very protective of myself. The way you deliver. Yes. And I also am a believer that if like you're writing your own show, like any comic can do that. It's what you look like on stage. Like you could do it. Are you uncomfortable? Are you going to be awkward? Are you going to be, you know, what do you, what does it feel like? And, and,

And I did find out when ABC... When I didn't go do that notes, they were like... Oh, they wanted me up there because they were like, no, no, no. He was all... Like, they... I did... I was doing great. And I would ask a lot. Like, you know, you got a lot of people around you. Greg Garcia, who created My Name is Earl and a bunch of others. So me and him have come very close. And he...

Danielle Sanchez was the showrunner and she brought in Greg, which is funny because Greg was helping us and she brought in Greg and I didn't know Greg at that time. So it's like a dude that like comes in and like writes, like, you know, punches up. But he's doing a lot more than that. He's like held us with the structure of the joke. But I don't know who he is at first. And I'm like, who's this guy think he is? And then you're like, oh, this guy's created

five show my name is earl yes dear like wow i mean he's created five and what and what was he what kind of notes he's the a if you ever you y'all should meet him he's the best one of the best writers i've ever been around i mean it's uh he's a kind of a phenom kind of person uh very down to earth very normal and like he's just great at like making a show so i would ask him

And because he would tell me and Danielle would tell me like, just be like, yo, am I terrible? Like, am I? And they would like, they're just they're like, no, no, no. It's like you would know that you're right. The problem is not going to be because I'm awful.

Oh.

I mean, there's a point there where you're like, I'd quit. I'd just quit the show. Like, I'm not going to do that. Someone's worse than spanking a little girl. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we hit her on the show. But yeah, it's your. But I mean, having to like, you know, you meet that girl's family and like the girl's funny and she's sweet. Were you at the fire? No, no, no, no, no, no. We argued because we were like, we're not.

Wow. Because you're just going, like, there's no way that would be a problem, whatever. It's like they're giving you notes and stuff like that, but you're like, it can't be getting rid of, like, that's insane. Yeah, that's sad. Jordan Rock was in it. Oh, there you go. He was great. Who did he play in it? His daughter. Yeah, yeah. You know, they make you cast for that. He was, he played in, there's a golf game.

that we go in and he played in that. And so he would have, he was like, he was like a guy that grew up in the, he would have been a guy that grew up in the town. You're a golfer too, which is so, you're like one of the younger golfer comedians. Santino plays golf, you play golf. I remember when we were in Ireland together, all of us were just so freaking fun. That was such a fun time. Oh, that was great. But you were the one guy that,

We're like, where's Nate? He's golfing 30 miles away. We're like, what? 7 a.m. Yeah. I had to go golf with Rory Scovel's buddy because Rory was supposed to come and got Amy's movie and couldn't go. Oh, right. And so his buddy was coming to play with us. So then Rory just left and was like... And so I just played with his buddy from high school all weekend. But his buddy was awesome, so it was fun. That's hilarious. But he was like, yeah, it was funny to be like, I got to go. You know what's crazy? A guy, we go...

One day we go play at one of the courses. So in a lot of courses over there,

They don't have driving ranges like we do here. It's like you just go play. And so I'm playing, and I start talking to this one kid, and he went to my high school. Whoa. Over there. I mean, he was much younger. But, yeah, what are the odds over there to be randomly golfing at some course, and this kid went to my high school? That's wacky. Yeah. Let me let you say this about the TV show, and then I'll leave it alone. What would you rather, though? Would you rather have the show not go or the show go and fail?

I mean, if you have a choice. If you have a choice. Look at Mulaney. Yeah. If you have a choice, I'd rather shoot the pilot and the show not go and fail. Right. But it's just because it just doesn't matter. I mean, obviously, it did not hurt Mulaney. No, he's great. But, you know, it's like...

I don't know. It's like, I mean, the part of it is you want to see if you can win them over. I mean, that's the... Right. That's the idea of it. Maybe you get a cult following there and that helps set up another show, right? Yeah, it could. I mean... Is there great shows that lasted one season? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. True. Yeah. I mean...

I don't know. That's a tough question because it's like you would. I mean, if you knew for sure it was going to fail, I mean, I don't know why we'd even do it. I mean, I'm glad I shot the pilot because it's like I did get to learn that. That was a lot. When you see your name on everything and you realize how many people are working and that audience is there. And then it's like when I walk, they introduce you like they introduced like, you know, in Seinfeld and they walk out. And then I went out and talked on the microphone. I almost started crying.

at the microphone. Like, and I've never had that really in my career. Well,

But it was such a, like, I can't believe, like, it's, you're like, I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I'm going to walk through a door that's fake and go to a kitchen. And they, and when they make the house and you're, you tell them how you want the house and they have a newspaper that's the Tennessean, which is our local newspaper. I mean, they have like the Titans calendar as a magnet on the football. I mean, every detail looks like you're at a home in Nashville. Yeah.

And so your Tennessee royalty at this point, yeah, that's what I was trying to tell him, you know,

But it's like everything, there's a show that goes with it. But it's, all that stuff is, you know what I mean? Yeah, we obviously love Seinfeld and we talk about Seinfeld all the time. And being able to create something that you're like, you can walk me in. Remember in Clusterfest? Yes. They had that. It's always sunny too. They did Patty's Pub. Yeah. So yeah, I never watched Always Sunny. My sister's...

a giant fan of that maybe the best sitcom of the last 20 years yeah yeah and it's like it was uh but like with Seinfeld is that when you walk in there and you see that couch and you see you know the thing it's like I want that like you want to create that and like if you saw everybody love Raymond's set like you like I I want to do that like I want to go big I want to go after something big like that

Otherwise, it's like... I don't know. It's like making a... Well, that's what you do with your stand-up. So why take your foot off the gas with this shit? Well, I mean... It's different. It's different, but I'm saying, like, why not take a home run swing? Like, why make a show if you're not trying to make a great show? It's...

where I'm at in my career now, I kind of look at it as like, all right, if I want to do a show, it's like I want to try to swing for the fences or I'd rather not do it. Totally. Do you know Romano or any of those guys where you would say, hey, I'm making a sitcom, any advice? Yeah, yeah. I mean, the last one I made one that didn't go was with Phil Rosenthal. Wow. And so he created a religion. But I know Ray pretty well. And so when I first did it, when I first was doing one, I talked to him about it.

And there was a part he said to me where it was – I thought I was going to – because we had a pilot like Fallon. This is one that Fallon was doing. So it was a while ago. So Fallon produced it? Yeah. Yeah. Fallon produced it. And Letterman produced Ramona. Yeah. So that's like an old school kind of setup. So it was an old school setup. So I mean it was like this is where you think stuff is like – you're like, wow, this is lining up to be –

like, exactly like everybody loves Raymond. And then... So by the time my Ray's show came on, he was 37 years old. By the time mine went on, I would have been probably 37 years old. Whoa. And then Fallon's doing it, and Letterman did his. So I had all these things, and I'm like, man, it's happening. Yeah. And then it just doesn't happen. And so...

But you learn stuff in that moment. Sure. You will have these giant things that you think if this fails, like it's over. I'm done. And then you just keep, you go back to stand-up. But your stand-up took off around that time.

Yeah, well, I mean, everything else goes. But you have these moments where there's – the longer you do it, the more you realize you can't put much pressure on every one thing. There's just not any pressure on it because you don't know what the thing's going to be. You don't know what is the thing that's going to be the thing that makes it go. But if you're around and you keep putting stuff out,

You know, you're arguing your audiences by word of mouth. Essentially, you're getting this. Someone's going to watch this guy, whether it's clips or they're coming to see live and then they come back and see live. And if you put on a great show, then then you got to look at your shows are going to double. You know, you did eight shows at Zany's or something, which is in 10. So that's that's I mean, you're doing a giant, you know, I mean, that's that's 3000 tickets. Like it's I mean, that's you do you do a big show.

theater there next time you go you can almost be like 5 000 is what it's going to be and like or you know so it's like you just look at like that kind of thing two rhymands next time you go you might do two rhymands or whatever you want to go do but it's going to double as long as you're the show people are leaving and they're happy it should it will double like it just keeps doubling i always worry about it going away like you're doing so well now huge rooms big tickets i'm

What do you, you know, 10 years is a long time. Like, a lot can happen in 10 years. I mean, look at, like, a guy like Dane Cook. He was on top of the world, and now he's, you know, he's still doing it, but it's not what it used to be. And I always have that fear. I have the same fear. It's, we're, it's, I think, like, being a comic here, dude, I think we're, we talked about, like, it's...

As long as you're aware of it and as long as you have that fear, when the fear goes away and you believe the hype, then I promise it will end for you and you won't have to worry about it. You won't have to worry about anything. It'll just end. Fear is good. Fear is good. And you have the panic. If you have the panic and you have the constant of like, you're like, dude, I'm, you know, I'm... And it can't be manufactured. It's got to be real. But...

that fear is good but you gotta go do the you gotta go take the chances with that fear you can't just stay protected in like a scenario like there's a point like I mean look unless you want to you go do 10 zanies alright so what do you want to do 15 zanies like it's like if you want to then go do that Mark's gonna move to zanies yeah

But it's, but you know, it's like, there's a point you go, all right, well, you need to go to a Ryman. You need to go do two Ryman. You need to go do it. Otherwise it's like, well, what, you know, what are we doing? Like it's, you know, you're. Well, you were the blueprint for a lot of us. Cause you know, you, you're a dude that was, you know, ahead of us and, and we kind of watched your trajectory and we're like, well, this is what you do.

So we look to you. Because y'all both were guys that did spots and worked and wanted to work. And there's not a lot of comics that want to work. I mean, comics that would...

I always looked at it as guys that are like, well, I take Mondays off. I remember that, and I just was like, I mean, just quit. And it's one day, but in my head, you're just kind of like, well, just quit then. Especially in the early days. Especially in the early days, being like, I don't go out on this day. You're like, what are you talking about? You got to go out every night. You don't get to have that. You don't get to take Mondays off. Maybe Mondays take off from... Comedy takes Mondays off for you, but you don't get to tell...

You don't get to tell comedy what... It's not really on your... It feels like it's not on your terms, especially at the beginning. Or the dudes with the sense of entitlement. I remember we'd hand out flyers, and there'd be guys who would be like, why don't I hand out flyers? I'm like, well, enjoy not going on stage, dude, because you're not fucking funny. Yeah. We all hated it. Yeah, we all hated it. It was like, you just were like, that's what I have to do. I don't know what to tell you. It's like, I don't trust me. But you have humility. I mean, we're talking about like...

you know, the fear. And I think those dudes were kind of like, it'll work out. Like maybe they didn't have that fear. You watch them, dude. It's like, how, how crazy it is in your career when you see, cause you see people jump quick and,

And then if you stay on like a steadier rise, it's like, cause you see them go and then you see, then you slowly get to that level that they're at. And you're like, cause, cause people can make a jump and then they just assume the next jump will come. Yes. And so then they, well, one of the jumps is not going to come. Like you're either people are going to see through it or they're going to,

you know, they don't build an audience. Right. When you build an audience, you walk around with an audience. This isn't talking about the Gaffigan thing. You, you want, when he walks around with an audience, uh, Brad Paisley, country singer said to once like Gaffigan can go sell out a 2000 seat theater anywhere he wants to any night of the week for the rest of his life. That's a lot. That's a lot to be able to go. Yeah. And so to be able to go do that,

to have that backstop to be like, he's not ever going to be a club comic again. Right. But he does clubs and that's what keeps him tight. Like Gaffigan will still pop into clubs and he works on his shit. He was on MacGotham last week. Yeah. I mean, he, and he's a dude that works. I mean, he's a, you get a binder of new shit and it was all hilarious. He's a dude. Also, when I see working out, it almost always seems finished, which blows me. I know. It's weird. Like,

That's not the way I work out. I work out, I'm kind of like, anything? Is that something? That's how I build. And I watch Gaffigan, I'm like, that was 18 minutes without a fucking hiccup. I know! And he's like, it's new, it's new. I'm like, I just did a Michael Richards set up there. That was my new chunk. But...

This thing about humility is, let me say this, fun fact, Marcus Aurelius, the biggest, most famous. Did you just go from Michael Richards to Marcus Aurelius? They have a lot in common. This guy's got range. But he was the biggest guy, most powerful guy in the world at whatever year that was.

And he hired a guy to walk around with him and tell him that he wasn't that great. And he said that's what kept him focused. Because it's obviously easy in Rome or wherever the fuck he was to be just like, oh, I'm the king. I'm the shit. I beat every army. I'm the man. But he had a guy going, you're just a man. You're just a man. He looked just like Vitor. Yeah. But guys would come up on the street and kiss his feet and go, Marcus Aurelius, you saved my family. I love you, whatever. And he'd be like, oh, thank you. And then the other guy would go, hey, you're no better than him. And he said that like...

Kept him going. Then he died of stomach cancer. There had to be moments he goes, I pay you. Like, there has to be, you know. When he goes, you're just a man, you go, but understand, I'm doing so good. Yeah, I hired you. I hired you just to tell me I'm not good. Right, right. When you do shows, how big a venue do you do in Tennessee when you're in Nashville? Well, this year we're doing Bridgestone. Woo!

How many seats? April 15th. Don't have Rory open. You'll do them. Yeah. We're going to try to sell it out. I mean, it's already at close to 13,000 tickets. Oh, my God. That's insanity. We're trying to make it hopefully be completely sold out because I'm going to do it in the round. This pot will do it. It's a big night. I think this will send it over. Yeah.

So, yeah, that will be the biggest show. Already is the biggest show. Wow. We have some arenas this year that are coming up. You're doing arenas in cities, and I'm like, that's a hard city to sell out in, and you're selling out. Well, you got to see some of them they sell out, some of them they don't. I mean, like, all that stuff is, you know, some of, like, I was in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Like, there was an arena there because there's not really anything there to do. But then they just size it down. I mean, but we ended up selling, like, I

I mean, you still was like, I forget what, 1800 tickets or something, but you're in, you know, you gotta, you gotta look at that stuff sometimes. Cause it's hard not to, you see people and they're selling out everywhere or you feel like they're selling out everywhere and you can really get down to be like, God, am I going backwards? Like this, this leg that we're doing this year, we had some arenas set up in some places that we moved them back to theaters before they got announced. Yeah.

And, you know, and I got when I got told this, it was like kind of I mean, I really like hurt like because it was like, golly, am I going like is it not? Am I going backwards? Yeah. But then I have to remind yourself like, all right, well, I'm trying to go to places that people are not going and that are like, you know, that not every comic. You're the Russell Peters of America. That's what I'm trying to be. Right. And so you have to then you do.

there's going to be moments of I can do Bridgestone and I can walk out and it's going to be this crazy show of my life to like, I'm going to go somewhere else. And it's going to feel like, you know, you're like, I don't know if everybody here even knows who I am. Right. And so that's beautiful. And it keeps you humble. I mean, I mean, that's a beautiful thing. It's all, it's all humbling. So it's thinking about the three of you take a snapshot of you from like 2015. And it's like, just, you know,

almost 10 years later, whatever the hell it is. It's like, you're only doing theaters. You're doing theaters on a tour bus. You're opening, I mean, you're doing Bridgestone. I open for people still. And I just found, no, I didn't mean opening. Yeah, I'm joking.

Oh, wow. Look at that. That's wild. I was giving the same speech. Well, you look great. Yeah. You look so much better. It was a mess back then. Wow. I mean, what year is that? Who knows? Is that Cabin? Whiplash. Oh, 2013. Oh, that was at Molly Wee's. Molly Wee's. Wow. That's 11 bucks. 2028? 2028.

Ten years ago. Yeah. 26th Street. Wow. Ten years ago. Just take a minute and soak it in. It's incredible what you guys are doing. Life is good. I'm grateful for everything. Yeah, boy, we used to really put them back. We all stink. Nate, do you have any pet peeves? Anything that's bothering you? Just basic life? Something you can't stand. It really grinds your gears. Yeah, I'm trying to think.

I was thinking, do you have one? Yeah, do you have one? I have one on my way over here. The woman who's oblivious to, by the way, we're in Times Square. You got to keep your head in a swivel. The woman who's oblivious, just blocking. She's trying to get in a bus. She's having like a small talk with the woman who's letting people on the bus. And she goes, and then I tell my friend, I'm like, shut the fuck up. Move. You don't get to block the whole. It's like may as well just be a cone in the street. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I'm with you on that.

I hate that. We've covered that before. The guy who sits in the turnstile, the guy who stands and checks his phone at the top of the subway stairs. I think we covered it maybe with someone recently, the guy who's ordering the sandwich but doesn't know what sandwich he wants. Yes. You wait in line the whole time. It happened to me in Nashville at Hattie B's. I wanted the real experience, so I wait in line for an hour, and it's like six women all paying separately, all have no idea what the fuck they're going to get. They serve two things here. Yes. Put it together. I know. They want substitutions.

I'm just kidding. I always try to make this a joke, but I don't know if I ever could. But it's like when someone says it doesn't hurt to ask. That's good. That's a pep because it does hurt someone. Right, right, right. Can I borrow 20 bucks? Doesn't hurt to ask. Well, that guy's out 20 bucks. That guy's out 20 bucks or he has to say no, which is not something people enjoy. Right.

like you don't enjoy being saying no to someone good point so you're making someone it's like I mean you can go ask a million dollars yeah you say no because then when you get told no you don't go like laugh at all yeah there's a moment of like you know you have the money you know yeah right right you don't want to ask you that next time you should be like ah fuck yeah yeah yeah

That's a good one. That's a good peeve. That is a peeve for sure. That's a great one. That could be a bit, but mine is so vague, but I hate dilly-dallying. You know when you go, all right, let's leave, and they go, all right.

Okay. Let me see. Let me just check my phone real quick. This is women. You're just talking about it. Well, it's just like, get up and go. You're just standing there and you're like, I want to leave. So let's leave. But they have to like dilly dally, say bye to 18 people, check their phone, check their fucking shoes, tie this, tie that. Like, just go. Let's take Julie McCall on the road. Oh, is he a dilly dallyer? Oh, he, I, Julie, I mean, he's the best, but he's, I've, I've seen, uh,

You know those little cologne bottles that you get that are glass? Yeah. That you can get in a package that they mail to you? I've seen two of them broke in my life, and were both by Julian, and were both on my bus...

Back to back days. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know who has the little ones. He brings the little ones and he dropped them both in the same spot on the bus separate days. So the bus just smelled like that. Oh, it smells like a bouncer. We find Julian stuff on the bus. Like everybody this week in Graham found a watch, a necklace. Uh, he'll find his check. Uh,

Like it's all just kind of like he's it's what you sign up for with Julian. All right. He's a funny guy. Yeah. It's a it's a fun. But I know what you mean. I'll pay before. Yeah. I'm done eating. Let's just get out. Yeah. When it's time to go, it's time to go. I agree. Yeah. No, I hate I hate that. That's the whole reason. I think you want to be a headliner. Right. So whatever weird thing you have.

You're like, I'm going to make everybody have to do my weird thing. You know what I did this week? No one on my bus really plays basketball, but I was like, I'm buying you all basketball sneakers today so you'll feel guilty if you don't play with me. Oh, that's a headline move. And I bought them all Giannis sneakers, and we all played every day. Damn. Did you play outside or you played? No, we did outside the first day in New Orleans, but then we did rec center. Holy shit, these kids in Dallas could hoop, man.

Really? We were playing like 23-year-olds. After the first full court game, I was on my back like, ah. And they were just laughing, these kids. But I fucking, I got back in there, but I was like, I thought I broke my back for a second. It was a cramp. Yeah. Yeah.

But they came to the show, too. Oh, really? These young kids from New Mexico. That's my problem. I'm giving out tickets on the road like crazy. I have one good bagel. I'm like, bring your whole family. I'll meet them. Yeah. My agent's like, you're killing me here. This is 28 comps. I remember opening years ago for Jeff Ross and Dave Attell at the Borgata, and they

Jeff Ross's green room it's like 40 people in the green room they're like we met him at White House Shubs you know then I'm in David Tell's green room it's just him alone with a cigarette he just looks at me like hey that's great it's hard not to invite yeah I can't help it yeah yeah yeah one good cup of coffee I'm like you're like what are you doing come on by yeah that's how you got that 10th show exactly exactly you're at 9 you gotta do 10 of just who you meet

Yeah. Where do you work? The bagel shop. You saw me earlier. Right, right. So speaking of Dave Attell, he's the king of humility. He might have too much. Too much. Talk about self-awareness where you're like, I suck. I got to write more. He's that guy on steroids. Yes. He's got too much. I mean, he's the best. He's the one that's the most fun. Yes. They always say when people...

If I had to pay to go see someone, it would be him. Same, same. And it's like, there's no one more fun. Always funny, always new shit, and just always thinks he bombs. He'll murder, and he's like slamming the mic stand down like, you guys don't get me, or whatever, and it's all murdering. Yeah. He's the king. Yeah, that's, he was, I mean, yeah, coming up and watching him was, I mean, that was the

That's the stuff that makes, I think, you know, that sets a tone for kind of New York comics. For sure. Because you really kind of fit in a group. You were not a group or like a lot. It was like the Dave Attell, which is like Burr, Louis. It's like all of that, like the New York guys. Yeah. I mean, I guess, I don't know what the other group would be. Well, you had your like Mark Maron, Michael Ian Black, Patton Oswalt. But Maron is watching him.

Because I would go. You worked with him. I worked with him. And I actually, I learned, I mean, I learned a lot from Marin. Marin is, was what I wanted to be when I would see Marin is I would like try to, Marin's such him on stage. True. That it's, I remember like being like, how do I get to be where it's just, that's who he is. Like if you see him afterwards and see him on stage, it's essentially that,

exact same person. Yeah, you definitely have that. And so to be able to try to, you know, because you're like, I mean, the closer you can get

to your real life, the more, uh, I think the more material you you're open to, because you're just being you. So it's, you know, the more you can just do this, the more you'll be able to talk about the more, you know, it's, it's more conversational. It's more whatever it is. Right. Hold on. All right. But let me just say this.

I had nothing after that. But sorry. That was a squeaker. We had Jewish deli before this. Sorry about that. Oh, no. You're good. He farted. It was a whole thing. Did he? Yeah. Yeah. Nate did? I know. I know.

No. Supposed to be clean. I want Mark to have a sitcom just so actors have to walk in and he farts and they have to pretend they like it. Shoot him a Gavin's like, that's very funny. Yeah. He'll be kicked off like Patrice on The Office. Immediately. So funny to see reruns. You're like, that's Patrice O'Neil. And he wasn't happy to be there. He could tell he was like, ah, this is a shitty gig. He could tell that one episode where he goes something about like, you know,

What's-her-face calls him a monster or something like that. He's like, I'll show you my... He says something kind of aggressive. And it was...

And you're like, oh. You're almost like, that's maybe the episode he got banned from. It was like, the show's very fun and stuff, and then it's a guy that you're like, yeah, the tone is very different. Not the right fit. Not the right tone. Yeah. But great show. And great comedian, just not the right fit. Yeah. He's a guy. They said he would bomb so much, and he got banned from so many clubs in America that he had to go to London. He went for three years.

Patrice? Yeah. That's what Will Silvins told me. He said in London, he was a comic. In America, he was a fat N-word. That was his line.

And that's his line. So I was like, that's really interesting. So he wanted to just be treated like a comic. So he's like, I want to work this shit out. I'm going to text Will. He's like, yeah, I never said that. He said it to Will. But he said the word. He lived in London? Yeah, three years. Because he felt like no one was getting him here. They were kind of just judging him. Like, who's this big guy?

Who's this asshole? Well, Bill Hicks is another guy that did very well in London. That's right. I think there's like when you have an abrasiveness about you in America, sometimes it's a little bit like this and then you go to London and you're like, yeah, that's how we talk. Right. If he told me he never went to London, I would believe that, Petrillo. I don't even know when he would have went to London. I've never heard of this. Three years. Call Will. Get him on the horn. Yeah. He told me, but you know, what does Will know? Yeah, yeah. I never...

I remember when he got kicked out of the comic strip. There you go. What did he do at the comic strip? He would go up, you know, and like it was – they would drop checks and he'd go up kind of the check spot and all this kind of stuff. And then he'd just be like – the waitresses would be loud. It's like that – it's kind of that bounce where it's they – you know, the waitresses are just waiting tables. They want to be done and then he's on stage and it's like –

You understand the frustration that he's in and the fact that they're not... He would just be like, they're not here to see you and all this stuff. And you come in just getting arguments with them. We're the only entertainers that have to deal with that shit, though. That's true. And guess what? If a musician has to deal with a check drop, it doesn't fuck up their song the way it fucks up what we're doing. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

I mean, that's why doing the check drop is kind of how you get good, especially with an energy like yours. I mean, I remember doing check drops, and I'm a low-energy guy too, so I think people were trying to – you have to really have a good few jokes to grab. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But I get it. A guy at Patrice's level was kind of not having it. It makes sense too. Yeah. Well, yeah, they would do it back then, and then he would just – yeah, he would – I mean, really –

be brutal with the servers and you know and then it's like that well they're just being servers and all this but you're like yeah but there has to somebody needs to step in and go but you have a show you're having a show there's a balance there's a balance of like a guy is on stage right and you're just you can't just and be like a late show or something and you'd be like people don't know like what it's

you know when you're on there and you're like you think this is not fun yeah like it's like it's in it's in almost embarrassed drunk they're doing math it's brutal yeah it's really it's not you know they'd be like doing I remember uh doing a new year's eve once at new at stand up new york and I remember I was yeah that's a tough gig and I was on stage and I like saying in the microphone I was like I don't know if anybody knows that I'm talking no

It's insane to think you just say that to yourself, and it's crazy to be in a situation in your life. It's the funniest thing to say into a microphone. Yeah. No one's aware. Well, no one's even kind of aware that you're doing, that you're on stage. I mean, I've been on shows where at 20 minutes in, it's going so badly. You're like, should we just, like, let's all, you guys hate me. I hate you.

Let's wrap it up. And you want them to know, you're like, I know this isn't going well. Like, I have a higher bar than this. Right. I just want you to know I'm not bad and lacking in self-awareness. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And the shit usually works, so maybe it's a little bit on you guys. I don't know what I did in the beginning to piss you off. Yeah, when people say there's no... Some comedians say there's no bad crowds. I'm like, that's insane. That's insane. That's a person who doesn't do bad shows. Yeah. Or never did, maybe. I've had ice and fries thrown at me. That's insane.

That's a bad crowd. Yeah. You know? Yeah. You ate a few of the fries. I've had fries thrown at me. Where? Syracuse Funny Bone. Oh, wow. Yeah. So they weren't even good fries. No, I ate them. Yeah. But they were not good. But you know, just a guy like- That's a fucking shithole, that room. Yeah. Throwing shit at me. And I'm like, Jesus Christ, what are we doing here? You go to that room and you're like, there's a reason this is the suicide capital. Yeah. Like, this is a dark- A little mall. It's eight degrees. That's a long walk, too. Oh.

And Long Walk to the Stage. Right. That, Pittsburgh Improv used to, I think it's changed now. It's a new one now. Yeah, it's pretty good now. Yeah, Pittsburgh is great. Yeah. And the old one, I remember, and I did there one weekend, and this guy was hosting, might have passed away. I felt like I heard that after, but he was hosting. He was kind of a big guy. And so that walk...

If you don't know, but if you ever go to a comic company, if you look at where the comic has to walk from to the stage, that one you had to walk down the middle. And it was a very long walk. And so you would have to kind of be, if you're getting introduced, you need to be halfway. And then once they start, start walking. Right.

So it's that thing when they bring you up and you're already kind of halfway down. The crowd's looking at you already. I mean, it's not like I was really – I was just headlining, but no one's really there for me at that time. And so then I get done. And so when I'm saying goodnight,

I look and the guy hosting is kind of a big dude. No, it's going to take him a while. He's not walking down. And I'm like, oh man, you know, you're not supposed to leave a stage empty or whatever. And so I'm like, all right, good night everybody. And then I look, he starts walking and you're like, I mean, this might be 45 seconds. There's no hustle. There's no, and you're like,

And I'm like, all right. We had so much fun. Keep it going. You forget their name. You're like, the host is coming back up here. He has a heart attack in the aisle. Yeah. And he stops for a second because he thinks, are you going to keep going? You're like, no, please come. Yes, yes. Please come. I hate that. There's no music playing. Right, right. You just keep the awkwardness. Just keep doing this shit. Yeah. You're like the queen. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Woo.

You ever have someone have a heart attack or a stroke during a show? That's a fucking... Hamlet. No. But, no, I never had that. I had a stroke and I was in stand-up Scottsdale. Oh. In Scottsdale. I'm not bragging. Yeah. That's when they moved it to a Mexican restaurant. So you can't get to Phoenix. Yeah. The Reno of Phoenix. It really is. And they...

he puts me it was a nice club the first time I was there and then the second time I'm there he just rolls me up to this place I'm like what's this he goes this is the new venue it's the back of a Mexican restaurant so I'm already like this is gonna be a bad weekend you know and uh

I'm on stage and this guy, this old guy just goes, he just knocks over a drink. And I'm like, oh, you know, I do that thing. I'm like, yes, I'm doing pretty well, you know. And she goes, he's having a stroke. And I'm like, oh, fuck. Couldn't do that during the feature? Come on. So I'm like, you know, like Jesus Christ, call an ambulance. I stopped the show, obviously. Howard Hughes, the guy who runs the show. I don't know if you remember him. Yeah, yeah. I do remember him. He's got a great heart. Yeah. Yeah.

He makes some questionable choices. So he calls an ambulance. Then he goes on. I stopped the show, obviously. I said, let's see what happens. He goes on stage and starts doing schtick with the guy who had the stroke. So he's like, how you doing? I'm like, dude, he's having this. You know how he's doing. You don't ask that.

And the guy's just like, ah. And then he finally... Sorry. And then Howard's like, you know, I've had a stroke. I'm like, you had a stroke because you had 12 Red Bulls and a ton of Coke. This guy's like 70, you know? It's a different stroke. Yeah, yeah. So finally they bring him out and then I just had to go back on. You know, you give it like 10 minutes. But I'm like, this is a fucking brutal... I thought of the strip ones too. The comic strip guy...

Really? That's a jarring thing. Oh, yeah. For a person's life to, you know. Of course. This guy might be dead. It's like Broadway Danny Rose. And you got to be funny. You got to have a line, but not too mean, but cut the tension. Yeah, that's tough. Timber. You that good? You saw it coming? I think I did those. It's funny with...

The stand-up Scots, those kind of shows. You go do it one year and you're like, ah, it wasn't bad. He books you again and the venue's different. You don't think to look into that. Because you don't think you have to. You look at the offer, it says the club. And you're like, all right, so we're at the same place. He goes, nah, different part of town. You go, what? He goes, I'm walking to a crack house. He's like, look, we're working on it. There was one, I remember where...

I did. I don't know if it was in Scottsdale. It was kind of in Scottsdale. There was some other place where they made you. If you had comps, if you had someone with you, you had to pay for their ticket.

To get in. What? And I thought I heard a story with Pete Davidson headlined there when he was like 16 or 17 and he had to pay for his mom's ticket because she had to come. Wow, really? That's a good person to make an enemy with early on in his career. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me piss off. He's going to be one of the biggest comedy stars. Yeah. Yeah. That was a tough room. They would charge you for... That was the room in Staten Island. Looney Bin. Yeah, that one I remember. I got a Diet Coke and then they...

they charged you i had to pay two dollars and fifty cents it's like come on man yeah it's out of a soda gun that cost you three cents yeah yeah i've got the famous story that funny farm in youngstown ohio no longer around the guy goes you want any dinner i go sure you know i'm staying in the worst hotel i got eight people there i'm bombing and he goes all right get the swordfish it's the best thing on

menu. I was like, great. Give me the swordfish. Ohio, famous for that. There's a wine that pairs well. I go, give me the wine. I don't even drink wine, but if it pairs. And I get the bill. It's like $260. I was like, what the hell is this? He's like, well, you got the swordfish. I was like, oh my God. I think I was making $500 for the weekend. That happened to me in Colorado Springs at a club called Looney's with two E's. And I remember all weekend the guy's like, you can have a beer. I was like, yeah, probably not. He's like, pussy.

I was like, all right. So I started pounding beers. The weekend they hand me a bill. I'm like, what the fuck? He called me a pussy. I love that it worked on you. It worked. Yeah. They charge you for all of them? All of them. Oh, my God. What a scumbag. It was loony. Yeah. It was terrible. Terrible. Damn. These clubs.

They fucked us. They make it... But it's kind of funny looking back at that. It's very funny. I mean, that's so funny to have to pay for a swordfish. Yeah, and now you go to clubs, they're like, here's a menu book with all the menus of every restaurant. Watch out at Bridgestone. I heard they charge for waters. Yeah. So take it easy over there. Well, that's what you start doing in theaters. They charge for everything. That's true. Like a microphone. You know, like a god mic can be on a thing. What? If you want a god mic in some places can be charged for...

That's what they say about Madison Square Garden is you do it to do it, and then you don't do it. You don't make any money. No. No. But you do it to do it. Wow. Dana White said that. I bet they give Billy Joel a deal. Well,

Well, he does 18. Yeah, he does. You know what? If you do that, kind of maybe do that kind of thing. His jersey's in the – he's got like a thing in the rafters next to the Knicks. They might not give him a deal, though. I mean, like it's just like he comes down and, I mean, you know, it's not like you don't make any money, but it's like I want to say if like someone can make a million dollars out of it, like you might take home $200,000 or something like that.

I could be making all this. I don't know. That would be hilarious if you left with like three grand if you played the garden. It's back to, yeah, your normal 25-50. Yeah. 25-50 and travel by out. God, it goes all the way back to... We won't cover hotel. Wow, they're really... The garden's weird. You can stay across the street. What's that hotel called? Hotel Pennsylvania. Hotel Pennsylvania. We got your room there. I got to walk over. Right.

But I know it's late. You got to do Fallon today, right? I got to do Fallon, yeah. All right. Thanks for making time for us, man. It's great to see you. Yeah, great to see you guys. It's right around the corner. Yeah. Amazon, new Nate Bargatze special. And you're on the road. Plug some dates. Vegas is just the late show in Vegas. Super Bowl weekend in Wichita Falls, Shreveport.

Tupelo, come out, Baton Rouge. Then going to London. First time to Europe, so I'll be London, Dublin, Oslo, Brussels, Amsterdam. Then Melbourne, Florida. Oh, boy. That's a wake-up call. Yeah. Come right back to it. Yeah. Get in the thick of it. Uh-huh. Then PNC Arena. So that is an arena. That's PPG Paints Arena. Nice.

Same thing. I'm paying $200,000 to do it, making no money. It's the opposite. Are you going to do bus? Bridgetone. You don't do bus anymore. April 15th, I do bus. Oh, you do bus still. Tour bus life, man. Yeah, I was on the bus this weekend. I'm actually getting a new bus. Wow. Because if you get a bus, I custom this new bus and

you just sign like a three year lease. If you're going to do like a three year kind of thing where it's like, I look at it as like, I mean, I don't see myself stopping touring. So it's whether how much I tour, I mean, I don't know, but it's, so I just made it where I have like the back, the back area. Now I still have the bunks. I like a lot of people on the bus. So,

I sleep well in the bunks. Yeah, the bunks are great. The back is nice to have. You get your own bathroom and all that kind of stuff. But I like the bunks because I just kind of like a bunch of us on the bus. It makes it fun. It was fun, man. We're just waking up Vitor, sliding the curtain and farting in his face. Great vibes. Yeah.

I'll say it to the ton. I told you this earlier. I did the bus with Burt, Joey Diaz, Shane Gillis, and Big Jay. Yeah. And it was like a sleep apnea convention. It was hell. I couldn't get a wink. Yeah. Yeah. Even over the bus noise. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Farting. It was wild. Yeah. Yeah.

All right. Thank you, guys. Yeah, thank you. Love you all. Appreciate it, man. Love you. See the special. It's going to be on Amazon. It's going to be a killer. What's it called again? Hello World. Hello World on Amazon. Going to be big, man. Killed on Fallon. Yeah. Oh, wait. Let's get a picture. Oh, yeah. We're going to get a gay photo and we'll wrap it up. Mark, plug some dates, bro. Oh, hey.

I'm back in the clubs to run this special folks. Uh, I'll be with bird at the, uh, the arena though. We're doing, we're going to the super bowl. Then we're doing Spokane comedy club, skyline comedy club and Appleton, uh, comedy at the Carlson at Rochester. Then we're in Chicago for the big taping. Then I'm at laugh it up and Poughkeepsie take a little break for the weekend. Come back home. Uh,

Miami this weekend. All kinds of fun dates. And we're back in theaters after that. So, MarkNormanComedy.com. Get some Bodega Cat. I don't know when this comes out, but we got... When was it? What? February 12th. All right. So, what do we have? February 14th, Salt Lake City, Utah. Yeah, during the week. Yeah, through 16th, we added a few there. Huntington, New York. Atlantic City. We're going to have...

Royal Oak, Michigan added there, added Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, New Haven, Boston. We keep adding, so you better buy your Boston Wilbur tickets. And then Miami, Orlando, Ponte Verde, we're adding a show there. We got Atlanta, Charleston.

Durham, Charlottesville, tickets still available. Norfolk, tickets still available. Added in D.C., we got fucking Wilkes-Barre. Oh, the Warner. It's unreal. And Portchester. I can't wait. So love you guys. And bodegacatwhiskey.com. Keep on drinking. Hell yeah. We got a good thing going here. We love you. Yeah, get some glasses, get a shirt, and yeah, praise Allah. Thank you. It's feeling dangerous.

I'm out to lunch here in New York.