1
00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,960
Speaker 1: I went to three high schools, so I was kind

2
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: of able to like reinvent myself when I would go

3
00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 1: to each high school. So I saw, okay, you know,

4
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:11,879
Speaker 1: I had friends of my first high school kids I

5
00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,319
Speaker 1: grew up with. They think I'm funny, but you know,

6
00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,920
Speaker 1: they know me. So I need to figure out am

7
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,040
Speaker 1: I funny? At this next high school I go to,

8
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,760
Speaker 1: and I remember I was funny, and then I remember

9
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,919
Speaker 1: I came out a little too strong, eventually being too funny,

10
00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,080
Speaker 1: and then that becomes annoying. And then I went to

11
00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,720
Speaker 1: a third high school, I'm like, all right, I kind

12
00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:30,400
Speaker 1: of get the idea I could tone it down. And

13
00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:31,880
Speaker 1: then I went to college and I'm like, all right,

14
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:40,040
Speaker 1: kind of have a good balance. Hi. I'm Gary Veeter

15
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,680
Speaker 1: and I am the host of the limited series podcast

16
00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:44,640
Speaker 1: Number one Dad.

17
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,120
Speaker 2: Hello again, everybody, and welcome back to the place you

18
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,760
Speaker 2: want to be right here on Off the Beat with

19
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,080
Speaker 2: your host Brian Bongertner. Of course, my guest today is

20
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:11,280
Speaker 2: an extremely talented stand up comedian, Gary Veader. He really

21
00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:16,360
Speaker 2: tickles me. He's dry and understated, but very very clever

22
00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,280
Speaker 2: and sharp my kind of humor for sure. He's performed

23
00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,480
Speaker 2: on Conan, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and he

24
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,720
Speaker 2: was even a finalist on America's Got Talent. He tours

25
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,040
Speaker 2: and performs all over the country, or if you prefer

26
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 2: to stay home, He has a stand up special out

27
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,480
Speaker 2: now on YouTube called It Could Be Worse. For his

28
00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,880
Speaker 2: most recent act, Gary is going back to his very

29
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,800
Speaker 2: unique childhood, I love this. You see. Gary's dad was

30
00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:52,120
Speaker 2: a real deal con artist. Now we're talking a list

31
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:57,520
Speaker 2: of aliases, fake accounts, shady deals, rated by federal agents.

32
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,200
Speaker 2: Kind of con artist. And he even brought his young

33
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:06,040
Speaker 2: son Gary in on some of his scams, like sneaking

34
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,440
Speaker 2: into Disneyland or photo copying dollar bills for lunch money,

35
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,800
Speaker 2: and even making Gary pretend to be a reporter to

36
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:19,280
Speaker 2: get access to Madison Square Garden, interviewing players including even

37
00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:24,000
Speaker 2: Michael Jordan himself. Now, even though he cut his dad

38
00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,800
Speaker 2: out of his life over twenty years ago, Gary is

39
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,600
Speaker 2: now revisiting all of these memories, plus the stories he's

40
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,680
Speaker 2: heard from other people, and attempting to reconnect and reconcile

41
00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,080
Speaker 2: with his father. Luckily, he has recorded his journey for

42
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,480
Speaker 2: you and me to listen to on his new podcast,

43
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,440
Speaker 2: Number one, Dad Give It a listen. I promise you

44
00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:52,680
Speaker 2: won't be disappointed. Please welcome my fascinating, upstanding and well

45
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,040
Speaker 2: very funny new friend, Gary Veder.

46
00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:07,680
Speaker 3: Bubble and squeak. I love it, Bubble and squeak, Bubble

47
00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,720
Speaker 3: and squeak. I cook get every mole lift over from.

48
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:12,720
Speaker 1: The night before.

49
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:23,919
Speaker 2: What's up, Gary?

50
00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,480
Speaker 1: What's up man? How's it going.

51
00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:28,119
Speaker 2: Good?

52
00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:29,760
Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of the Office, so this is

53
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:30,400
Speaker 1: super cool.

54
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,399
Speaker 2: Oh you you are you've seen it before?

55
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,960
Speaker 1: Oh, I mean many times over, So this is super cool.

56
00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:38,200
Speaker 1: I love it now.

57
00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,280
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. That's very nice. I mean mostly people

58
00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 2: don't say nice things to me. Thank you so much.

59
00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,320
Speaker 1: You deserve it. And you were are you?

60
00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:50,800
Speaker 2: Were you an og or did you find it later?

61
00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,240
Speaker 1: No og? I watched it when I was in college,

62
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,160
Speaker 1: so it was pretty. It was super cool. And then

63
00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,200
Speaker 1: I mean it hit, it hit big time. I loved it. No,

64
00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,640
Speaker 1: I mean, you know it was different than you know

65
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,840
Speaker 1: when you find a good show. It's just so nice

66
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,200
Speaker 1: and uh yeah, I mean I love Seinfeld. And then

67
00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,320
Speaker 1: I put for me, I put it right up there

68
00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,600
Speaker 1: with Seinfeld, and I mean, it was just an incredible show.

69
00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,480
Speaker 1: And I was said when it when it when it

70
00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,960
Speaker 1: went off the you know, I mean obviously you completed it.

71
00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,080
Speaker 1: It was it was a completed show. But I was

72
00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:21,800
Speaker 1: sad when it happened when it went on.

73
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:23,839
Speaker 2: Where did you go to college?

74
00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,160
Speaker 1: No, we're good University at Buffalo.

75
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:29,880
Speaker 2: Why is that nowhere? Good?

76
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 1: I mean it's a college and you know you pay

77
00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,880
Speaker 1: for it, but it's not really educational experience. You're just

78
00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,760
Speaker 1: going to get a degree. And anybody, I feel they

79
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:42,440
Speaker 1: would you know, if a dog went there, it's as

80
00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,400
Speaker 1: good as a dog. It's like a dog college. That's

81
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:47,480
Speaker 1: probably never happened back, you know, I know it.

82
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,160
Speaker 2: Yes, this is your all, my moter. You can't say

83
00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 2: things like that. I just had a couple of uh,

84
00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,599
Speaker 2: very entertaining days and evenings and in in Buffalo. I

85
00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,279
Speaker 2: it was, it was good. What's the place Pink's Pinkies

86
00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:05,200
Speaker 2: with the steaks?

87
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,320
Speaker 1: Oh, I don't know. Very late, I don't know about Pinky's.

88
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,479
Speaker 1: I know Anchor Bar. I mean there's Anchors and Duffs.

89
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,279
Speaker 1: Anchor Bar is a famous one. Duffs.

90
00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,080
Speaker 2: That's the whole what do you call it? The wings? Right?

91
00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, the supposedly supposedly they started the wings and that

92
00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:28,880
Speaker 1: was the big that was the big thing for Anchor Bar,

93
00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,680
Speaker 1: and they make great wings. They make great wings, duff says,

94
00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,080
Speaker 1: great wings, and it's kind of if you're from Buffalo.

95
00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,800
Speaker 1: Those they'll argue who has the best wings. And I

96
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,520
Speaker 1: think the people, yeah, I think people from Buffalo. They

97
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,839
Speaker 1: go with Duffs a lot. That's their thing. So they

98
00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,960
Speaker 1: could tell an outside if they pick Ancher Bar. But

99
00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,680
Speaker 1: my friend actually saw O J. Simpson OJ I said

100
00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:50,359
Speaker 1: it was weird.

101
00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:50,880
Speaker 4: But O J.

102
00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,760
Speaker 1: Simpson at Anchor Bar, Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was a

103
00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:54,120
Speaker 1: good guy.

104
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:54,320
Speaker 4: O J.

105
00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:55,479
Speaker 1: Simpson was a good guy.

106
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:56,120
Speaker 2: But O J.

107
00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:57,360
Speaker 1: Simpson not so good.

108
00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:58,840
Speaker 2: Uh but yeah O J.

109
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,360
Speaker 1: Simpson at ankle Or Bar once and uh yeah he

110
00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:03,039
Speaker 1: stabbed them.

111
00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:10,520
Speaker 2: Wow he like everybody that I didn't hear that news.

112
00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,719
Speaker 2: Yeah was this before OJ's problem or after this?

113
00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:15,479
Speaker 4: Was this was?

114
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:21,920
Speaker 1: Is that yeah his little miss out? Yeah yeah it's

115
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,640
Speaker 1: yeah LEAs right, Yeah, but no, yeah this was after.

116
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,240
Speaker 1: This was after this is when he got away you know,

117
00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,560
Speaker 1: doing it. But hey, so that's it J talk.

118
00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,440
Speaker 2: Ye're yeah, that's a race we're talking about.

119
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:39,919
Speaker 1: Shimpson are Yeah.

120
00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:46,880
Speaker 2: Shims Look, we did our crack research team here analyzed

121
00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,400
Speaker 2: your life, put you at a computer, spit out a

122
00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,200
Speaker 2: bunch of data to me. I am totally fascinated, so fascinating.

123
00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,960
Speaker 2: In fact, i've I have not started your show, but

124
00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,440
Speaker 2: I have seen all of your teasers and tray. I

125
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,120
Speaker 2: am so excited to listen to it. This is not

126
00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,760
Speaker 2: a joke. Thank you podcast number one Dad, which is

127
00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,200
Speaker 2: is rolling out as we speak. This is fascinating. You

128
00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:19,600
Speaker 2: partnered with Big Money Players podcast, Will Ferrell's podcast Empire.

129
00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,880
Speaker 2: It's about Gary's family. So I want to start. Usually

130
00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,400
Speaker 2: I sort of go more chronological here, but this is

131
00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,440
Speaker 2: a This is a part of your newest project, which

132
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,440
Speaker 2: was your your childhood growing up? So where did where

133
00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:33,200
Speaker 2: did you grow up?

134
00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,520
Speaker 1: I grew up on Long Island in a town called

135
00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:37,600
Speaker 1: dick Hills.

136
00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:39,840
Speaker 2: And yeah the Unfortunate game.

137
00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, unfortunate name, and we're thinking about changing

138
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,200
Speaker 1: it for the podcast, even though the podcast is completely true,

139
00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:48,840
Speaker 1: like can we get rid of that? But yeah, it's

140
00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,960
Speaker 1: a podcast called and at least it was not called

141
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,200
Speaker 1: Little dick Hills. But anyway, I enjoy. You know, when

142
00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,800
Speaker 1: I decided to do this podcast, you have to be

143
00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,640
Speaker 1: very vulnerable, and I was not. Uh when I when

144
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,360
Speaker 1: I pitched the idea, I didn't expect it necessarily to happen.

145
00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,480
Speaker 1: And then as soon as they're like, oh, we're gonna

146
00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,560
Speaker 1: we agree to this. Nobody ever agrees to anything that

147
00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,000
Speaker 1: I ever pitched or but they agreed, and there Now

148
00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,600
Speaker 1: the whole plan is that I go and I tracked

149
00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,440
Speaker 1: down my father, who I haven't talked to in twenty

150
00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,200
Speaker 1: four years. And my dad is a con man. So we,

151
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:29,600
Speaker 1: uh we ran a bunch of cons together, which sounds.

152
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,080
Speaker 2: No, but so but this so I want. So you're

153
00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,040
Speaker 2: grow you're growing up there in Long Island, and are

154
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,839
Speaker 2: you aware that your dad is a con man? As

155
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:38,839
Speaker 2: a kid, Now, I know we're going to talk about

156
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,160
Speaker 2: your Madison Square Garden experiences, so obviously there were things

157
00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,920
Speaker 2: that happened. Are you aware that he is growing up

158
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:45,840
Speaker 2: or is he just dad?

159
00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,520
Speaker 1: Well, he's dad, but I wouldn't say I knew that

160
00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,079
Speaker 1: he was a con man. I knew that he would

161
00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,840
Speaker 1: kind of cut corners to get around, you get around.

162
00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,040
Speaker 1: I didn't know the name con man necessarily, but as

163
00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,040
Speaker 1: I got older, I was like, oh, this, this, this

164
00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:02,920
Speaker 1: is what a con artist is. And my dad is

165
00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:05,560
Speaker 1: I think one of the best at this because he

166
00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:07,720
Speaker 1: never doesn't seem to ever get caught. He gets what

167
00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:12,200
Speaker 1: he wants. He's able to manipulate different situations, and yeah,

168
00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,240
Speaker 1: I would just watch him, you know, could be small things,

169
00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:19,200
Speaker 1: but we would be going to Disneyland, and this is

170
00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,679
Speaker 1: back when Disneyland used to get a stamp on your hand,

171
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,880
Speaker 1: and he would have my entire family lick their hands

172
00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:26,880
Speaker 1: and then just press it against his, which would get

173
00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,160
Speaker 1: the stamp, and then we would have all get access

174
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,280
Speaker 1: to Disneyland, you know, a simple thing.

175
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,880
Speaker 2: And he'd pay one on one ticket, one ticket. Yeah,

176
00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:35,880
Speaker 2: he would pay for one.

177
00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,400
Speaker 1: Ticket and he would get four other people and for free,

178
00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,440
Speaker 1: and they you know till they you know, this is

179
00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,439
Speaker 1: back in the eighties early nineties when you were able

180
00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,960
Speaker 1: to do this. And he would always find ways, creative

181
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,240
Speaker 1: ways to cut corners and wouldn't really care if the

182
00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,280
Speaker 1: kids were involved or were aware of like what he

183
00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,480
Speaker 1: was doing. And yeah, pretty much, you know, it was

184
00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,560
Speaker 1: everything his businesses the same thing. He was involved in

185
00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,120
Speaker 1: different scams where he had a furniture company and he

186
00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,240
Speaker 1: wasn't delivering the furniture. And these are a lot of

187
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,040
Speaker 1: these scams were things that you could get away with

188
00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,720
Speaker 1: in the eighties and the nineties, because it's pretty hard

189
00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,600
Speaker 1: when somebody doesn't get their furniture delivered to figure out

190
00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:18,480
Speaker 1: who do I complain to? And am I going to

191
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:22,320
Speaker 1: start making ninety phone calls and waiting on hold for

192
00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,160
Speaker 1: hours to get to the bottom of this and then

193
00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,480
Speaker 1: there not to be any resolution. So my dad would

194
00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,680
Speaker 1: figure out these ways to yeah, definitely rip people off

195
00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,000
Speaker 1: and get away with it, and he was successful at that.

196
00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,600
Speaker 2: Wait. So he was the furniture delivery person.

197
00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:44,120
Speaker 1: He owned the whole sorry, he owned the showroom. And

198
00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,160
Speaker 1: there are people that would get their furniture, but then

199
00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,120
Speaker 1: there are also people that he just would not deliver

200
00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,840
Speaker 1: their furniture too. So it was, you know, kind of

201
00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,160
Speaker 1: a plus minus game where maybe let's say, you know,

202
00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,320
Speaker 1: ninety percent of people were getting their furniture, but then

203
00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,559
Speaker 1: ten percent was just handing him money and then he

204
00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:03,120
Speaker 1: would never deliver it. Eventually, the Attorney General of New

205
00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,000
Speaker 1: York State got wind of it and went after him.

206
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,760
Speaker 1: But for years he was very successful in doing this

207
00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,080
Speaker 1: and then just collecting one hundred percent profit and not

208
00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:13,080
Speaker 1: delivering the furniture.

209
00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:20,800
Speaker 2: So you mentioned before, he he didn't have any sort

210
00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:27,960
Speaker 2: of he had no qualms about including you the children, correct,

211
00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,400
Speaker 2: and how many how many siblings were there?

212
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:32,640
Speaker 1: I have two older sisters.

213
00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,840
Speaker 2: Okay, so the three of you and is he is

214
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:42,840
Speaker 2: is it? Is there an attitude of hey, son, let me,

215
00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,000
Speaker 2: let me, let me, let me show you what we

216
00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,640
Speaker 2: can do here, like is heching you?

217
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,280
Speaker 1: Yeah. It was all lesson absolutely grooming me to be

218
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,439
Speaker 1: him and kind of showing me, oh, this is how

219
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,679
Speaker 1: life works. And we you know, we're seeing I'm seeing

220
00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:01,760
Speaker 1: this at his kneeland. I'm seeing this, you know, if

221
00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,800
Speaker 1: we're going to the movie theater, you know, sometimes you

222
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,400
Speaker 1: know you're gonna go with the movie theater with your

223
00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,560
Speaker 1: parent and my dad and my experience was we would

224
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,199
Speaker 1: sneak in. There was no there was no difference except

225
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,679
Speaker 1: that he wouldn't want to pay, and he just found

226
00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:17,880
Speaker 1: this easy way to do it. You know whatever. It's

227
00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,079
Speaker 1: me going under the ropes, just like I mean, kids

228
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,320
Speaker 1: sneak in all the time, but not with their parents.

229
00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,040
Speaker 1: So my dad would have me going under the ropes

230
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,520
Speaker 1: and then I would be down the corridor and then

231
00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,720
Speaker 1: he would tell the usher, hey, my son has my ticket.

232
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,120
Speaker 1: And I'm you know, seven to ten years old at

233
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:36,559
Speaker 1: the time, and I looked even younger when I would

234
00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:39,680
Speaker 1: be ten, I would look like I'm seven. So it

235
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:41,920
Speaker 1: worked to his advantage the way that I looked and

236
00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,800
Speaker 1: for him to have access. And of course we would

237
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,880
Speaker 1: see his movies at the same time. It wouldn't be

238
00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:47,760
Speaker 1: movies that I would want to see. What we would

239
00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,640
Speaker 1: be saying. You know, we'd be seeing Rambo and I

240
00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,040
Speaker 1: would see I remember seeing dances with wolves. So there

241
00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,520
Speaker 1: was all the things that he was interested in. Going

242
00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,000
Speaker 1: to say, but but yeah, but I was growing up

243
00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,920
Speaker 1: quick and taking the life lessons that he taught me.

244
00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,439
Speaker 2: Well, I want to talk about that, but before I've

245
00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,079
Speaker 2: got to mention Madison Square Garden. So you guys would

246
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:14,320
Speaker 2: consistently how would you get into Madison Square Garden? Because

247
00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,880
Speaker 2: that feels like, yeah, it's you know what's funny is

248
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,440
Speaker 2: I heard a story a few years ago about there

249
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,840
Speaker 2: is a vip entrant. Did you utilize that?

250
00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,520
Speaker 1: No, I don't know if they had that back in

251
00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:29,000
Speaker 1: the day, but I do remember taking the elevator and

252
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,520
Speaker 1: the vip I've been in that vip entrance and that

253
00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,080
Speaker 1: is so I'm very familiar with it.

254
00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,000
Speaker 2: I've heard of people sneaking in there. But how would

255
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:39,439
Speaker 2: you get into Madison Square Garden.

256
00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,640
Speaker 1: Okay, so back when Sports Illustrated for Kids was very relevant,

257
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,440
Speaker 1: I was getting the magazine and I was I adored

258
00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,920
Speaker 1: sports everything, and especially the New York Knicks and the

259
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,559
Speaker 1: New York Rangers. And my dad and I we went

260
00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,560
Speaker 1: to a few games, not at Madison Square Garden but

261
00:13:55,600 --> 00:14:00,160
Speaker 1: at Nasau Coliseum, and we would never have access to

262
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,319
Speaker 1: any of the players or anything. And I remember one

263
00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:06,080
Speaker 1: time we tried meeting players and I just waited with

264
00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:08,280
Speaker 1: the rest of the kids, and kind of the players

265
00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,640
Speaker 1: leaving that entrance, that VIP entrance that you're talking about

266
00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:12,559
Speaker 1: at Madison Square Garden. They had something very similar in

267
00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,440
Speaker 1: NASA Colisseum. But you're waiting. If you're waiting over there

268
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,800
Speaker 1: for players to leave, you're waiting with a whole bunch

269
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,040
Speaker 1: of other people, and hopefully maybe you're going to get

270
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,120
Speaker 1: an autograph. And I remember we did that. And then

271
00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,920
Speaker 1: soon after that, my dad said, the Rangers are playing,

272
00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,800
Speaker 1: We're going to go to a game at Madison Square Garden.

273
00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:31,280
Speaker 1: And I didn't think much of it. I thought it

274
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,800
Speaker 1: would be just like every other time we've went. And

275
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,480
Speaker 1: this time he called up Madison Square Garden and told

276
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,680
Speaker 1: them that Sports Illustrated for Kids would be there, and

277
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,880
Speaker 1: on the way to the garden, he told me that

278
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,960
Speaker 1: I would act as a reporter for Sports Illustrate for

279
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,160
Speaker 1: Kids and he's going to be the photographer, and I

280
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,240
Speaker 1: don't have to say anything, just follow my lead. And

281
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,560
Speaker 1: we went to Madison Square Garden for the first time

282
00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,360
Speaker 1: this is back in like the nineteen ninety two to

283
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,040
Speaker 1: ninety three season, to a Knicks first game, and it

284
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,640
Speaker 1: plan worked flawlessly. They gave us press passes when we

285
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,680
Speaker 1: walked in, and then I went into the locker room

286
00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:09,760
Speaker 1: and I would interview the players on the Knicks and

287
00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:13,240
Speaker 1: which would be Patrick Ewing and John Starrks, Charles Oakley,

288
00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,200
Speaker 1: Anthony Mason, they were all on the team at the time. Yeah,

289
00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,640
Speaker 1: and completely rolled out the red carpet for us. And

290
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,120
Speaker 1: after that happened, we just kept doing it and nobody

291
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,280
Speaker 1: suspected a thing, especially because you're doing it frequently enough,

292
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:32,000
Speaker 1: they just become acquainted with you. So everybody would go

293
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,200
Speaker 1: assuming that we're there as Sports Illustrated for Kids, and

294
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,080
Speaker 1: I go into the visiting team's locker rooms, and then

295
00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,800
Speaker 1: I started going to Ranger games also, and we went

296
00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,040
Speaker 1: to some big games for basketball I mean, the biggest

297
00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,800
Speaker 1: that I consider is when I went to Michael Jordan's

298
00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,040
Speaker 1: double Nickel game where he came back to the Garden

299
00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,120
Speaker 1: for the first time. He scored fifty five points, and

300
00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,320
Speaker 1: after the game, I went into locker room and I

301
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,520
Speaker 1: interviewed him and sat with him and got an autograph card,

302
00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,080
Speaker 1: an autograph picture or photograph card, and he took a picture.

303
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,160
Speaker 1: And then I went to Rangers were in the Stanley

304
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,840
Speaker 1: Cup in nineteen ninety four, and I went to game one,

305
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,040
Speaker 1: Game five, and Game seven, and we're going to all

306
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:12,800
Speaker 1: these games. Every game that I ever went to with

307
00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,640
Speaker 1: my dad. We never paid for a ticket, We never

308
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,880
Speaker 1: had a seat. We would always find a great seat.

309
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,440
Speaker 1: He would be off taking pictures with the rest of

310
00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,640
Speaker 1: the photographers because he's keeping up the scam, and I

311
00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,240
Speaker 1: would be sitting either in the press area by myself,

312
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,120
Speaker 1: or he would locate a seat that was open that

313
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,320
Speaker 1: would be like a special area. So when the Rangers

314
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,920
Speaker 1: won the Stanley Cup Game seven, I was sitting pretty

315
00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,800
Speaker 1: much right behind the goalie of I want to say

316
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,440
Speaker 1: it was yeah, of the Vancouver Canucks goalie, and right

317
00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,440
Speaker 1: there I'm sitting glass and I witnessed everything and then

318
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,160
Speaker 1: after the game, I go into the locker room and

319
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,360
Speaker 1: I interview the players for the Rangers, and then I

320
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,560
Speaker 1: went to the team after party. And this is all

321
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,120
Speaker 1: without a ticket everything. And then after that my dad did.

322
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,400
Speaker 1: Nothing was ever too big or too scary for my dad.

323
00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,440
Speaker 1: The Rangers celebrated at Gracie Mansion, which is Mayor Giuliani

324
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,840
Speaker 1: was the mayor at the time, which was his house,

325
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,280
Speaker 1: and we went there and we went to the team

326
00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,359
Speaker 1: like whatever celebration that was a few days later there,

327
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,000
Speaker 1: and he went past the security detail for the mayor

328
00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,959
Speaker 1: and everything, and not a problem because they believe that

329
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:23,879
Speaker 1: we were pressed. And so this is something that of

330
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:30,439
Speaker 1: course is definitely worth jail time for trespassing. But my

331
00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:32,800
Speaker 1: dad didn't get He was bringing his kid there and

332
00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,639
Speaker 1: he just keeping up appearances. Nothing phased him, and his

333
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,880
Speaker 1: camera definitely helped give him access. But of course, his

334
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,800
Speaker 1: his you know, it's his quick talking, his thinking, and

335
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,399
Speaker 1: he was always able to maneuver. He always seemed like

336
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:48,280
Speaker 1: he was somebody who could get out of anything or

337
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:52,080
Speaker 1: figure out a plan to get whatever he needed, and

338
00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:54,800
Speaker 1: that was definitely beneficial. A lot of people look at

339
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,480
Speaker 1: scamming as they become a little bit fearful. I'm not

340
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,439
Speaker 1: going to do this because I might get caught. My

341
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,640
Speaker 1: dad never seemed like that person. He didn't he didn't care,

342
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,359
Speaker 1: he didn't getting caught. They never never crossed his mind.

343
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,520
Speaker 2: How did it? How did it turn sideways?

344
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,919
Speaker 1: Because everything he was doing was a lie. Everything was

345
00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,520
Speaker 1: a scam. So, you know, I mentioned the furniture stuff,

346
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:19,760
Speaker 1: and chronologically we're a little bit out of order, but

347
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,040
Speaker 1: that was going on around the same time the Sports

348
00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,879
Speaker 1: Illustrated stuff was going on. And then he had other businesses.

349
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:26,800
Speaker 5: Uh.

350
00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:30,600
Speaker 1: Mainly it was a telephone business where he would help

351
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,680
Speaker 1: install telephone systems to different various businesses and payphones as well.

352
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,240
Speaker 1: Payphones were big in the in the nineties, and he

353
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,240
Speaker 1: would he would say that he, you know, in the

354
00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,520
Speaker 1: payphone business. He would say that he was at and

355
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,440
Speaker 1: T and that's how he's getting accounts. He's getting big

356
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,240
Speaker 1: accounts Toys r US and Costco and a lot of

357
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,280
Speaker 1: a lot of different gyms that were big balleys had

358
00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,119
Speaker 1: you know, had a had a gym back in the

359
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,560
Speaker 1: in the nineties, and so he'd have these access to

360
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,280
Speaker 1: it by just basically, you know, saying he was certain

361
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,600
Speaker 1: person great at impersonating people. Eventually, AT and T got

362
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:05,960
Speaker 1: wind of this and then took him a court and

363
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,119
Speaker 1: we had the US Marshall's Raidar house because he was

364
00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,280
Speaker 1: saying that he was somebody that he wasn't, and they

365
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,560
Speaker 1: brought a big case against him, which is that this

366
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:16,960
Speaker 1: is all talked about in the podcast. But all this,

367
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,560
Speaker 1: all this heat, all all these problems that happened with

368
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,920
Speaker 1: my dad really took a toll in the family. And

369
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 1: then on top of that not the greatest father. You know,

370
00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,560
Speaker 1: part of being a father is being selfless, and he

371
00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,480
Speaker 1: lacked a lot of selflessness and it definitely hurt where

372
00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,080
Speaker 1: you're kind of wondering as I got older, were you

373
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,600
Speaker 1: doing those things at the garden for me or were

374
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,159
Speaker 1: you doing it more for you? And you're it starts

375
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,160
Speaker 1: crossing your mind. Was it just the need to lie

376
00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,879
Speaker 1: into to con people and to scheme or did you

377
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,280
Speaker 1: really want to just take your son to the game

378
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:52,879
Speaker 1: and this is the only way that you could do it.

379
00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,439
Speaker 1: And the podcast really dives into trying to figure out if, uh,

380
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,560
Speaker 1: if if that was his goal, if his goal really

381
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:04,520
Speaker 1: was for me, and also maybe has he changed has

382
00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,640
Speaker 1: he changed his ways because I want to track him down.

383
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:09,080
Speaker 1: I want to find out what he's been doing for

384
00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:11,480
Speaker 1: the last twenty four years, because yeah, we stopped talking

385
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:12,639
Speaker 1: when we were fifteen.

386
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:13,920
Speaker 2: You and you were fifteen.

387
00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 4: Right, have you found him?

388
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,760
Speaker 1: So that's what the that's what the pod in the podcast, Uh,

389
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,160
Speaker 1: right now, I'm trying to figure that out. I'm trying

390
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,040
Speaker 1: to I'm trying to locate him. You know, a con

391
00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,920
Speaker 1: man and a guy. You know, numbers get changed a lot,

392
00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,479
Speaker 1: things aren't, things aren't as easy, but you kind of

393
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,080
Speaker 1: have an idea, like hopefully where he is. And definitely

394
00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:56,280
Speaker 1: when I decided to do this, I I believe that

395
00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,560
Speaker 1: I would be able to find him. And the reason

396
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,040
Speaker 1: why is as soon as I start talking about him,

397
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,960
Speaker 1: I think that he'll make himself more present. So you

398
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,760
Speaker 1: know that there there are things that I didn't I

399
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,960
Speaker 1: didn't think that it wasn't wasn't going to happen. So

400
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,440
Speaker 1: and that's kind of where I'm at in the podcast,

401
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:14,800
Speaker 1: where I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to find him,

402
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:16,879
Speaker 1: but it might not be as easy when it's just

403
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,480
Speaker 1: me trying to trying to look. So, you know, I

404
00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 1: reach out to different people and trying to get phone

405
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,119
Speaker 1: numbers and and trying to locate it. But I'm you know,

406
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,359
Speaker 1: I'm not an investigative reporter by any means, So you

407
00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:30,800
Speaker 1: know I'm doing everything you can do that that any

408
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,520
Speaker 1: normal person would do also, But hopefully the goal is

409
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,359
Speaker 1: to find him and to see what he's up to

410
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,760
Speaker 1: and and possibly reconcile. But reconciliation is is a tough

411
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,560
Speaker 1: thing because it doesn't just happen over you know, a

412
00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 1: talk during a podcast. It's going to take time and

413
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,000
Speaker 1: have somebody and yeah, and maybe TV it would work

414
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,440
Speaker 1: that way, but it's going to take a minute. And

415
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,160
Speaker 1: so if you know, we were to meet it, it's

416
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,639
Speaker 1: a work in progress no matter how it looks.

417
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,879
Speaker 2: Number One, Dad, the podcast, It is such an amazing story.

418
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 2: I don't want you to give any more of it away.

419
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,040
Speaker 2: I don't really care about my listeners, but for me personally,

420
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,080
Speaker 2: I want to hear it all play out limited series.

421
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:23,120
Speaker 2: It's fascinating to me and the psychology of that and

422
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,120
Speaker 2: going through that as a kid, and as you just mentioned,

423
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 2: was he doing was he giving me his kid those

424
00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,119
Speaker 2: experiences or was it all just about him? I can't

425
00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 2: wait to see how this resolves itself, which also transitions

426
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:44,359
Speaker 2: me beautifully expertly, if I do say so, myself into

427
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:50,320
Speaker 2: your now future successful career as a comedian. Do you

428
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,080
Speaker 2: think that your dad and the experience that you had

429
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,640
Speaker 2: with your dad shaped you in any way to who

430
00:22:57,760 --> 00:22:58,600
Speaker 2: you are today.

431
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: It's tough because I never wanted to give him any

432
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,800
Speaker 1: credit for anything that I became. You know, part of

433
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,479
Speaker 1: you know, if I if I wanted meeting him, I

434
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,159
Speaker 1: wanted to show him that I wound up being different

435
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,679
Speaker 1: than he was. But the fact of the matter is

436
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 1: my childhood shape me, and it showed me that you

437
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,080
Speaker 1: could do things that are outside the box. A lot

438
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,040
Speaker 1: of people don't believe that certain things could be accomplished.

439
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,639
Speaker 1: And when I was able to see that my father

440
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,800
Speaker 1: was able to accomplish things not doing things the right way,

441
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,360
Speaker 1: but it took a lot of thought and a lot

442
00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 1: of creativity. It really made me think that doing something

443
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,400
Speaker 1: that I want to do with my life, if which

444
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,600
Speaker 1: is stand up comedy, it seems very difficult, seems so

445
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,840
Speaker 1: far fetched, and nobody really believes it. When I was

446
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,560
Speaker 1: growing up, like kids in my school and when I

447
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,439
Speaker 1: was in high school, and you tell them that, oh,

448
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,199
Speaker 1: I'm you know, well, I'm thinking about maybe writing, you know,

449
00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:54,480
Speaker 1: TV or or doing stand up comedy. And to them,

450
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,679
Speaker 1: it's almost like you might as well say that, you know,

451
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,080
Speaker 1: Aliens landed, which by the way, I heard that they did,

452
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,159
Speaker 1: but I was really talk about it, so I I,

453
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,480
Speaker 1: you know, I would say it and nobody believed. But

454
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,359
Speaker 1: I had a belief in myself. I to me, I

455
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,280
Speaker 1: saw the impossible being done through my what my my

456
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,200
Speaker 1: father's lens. But I knew that I could possibly translate

457
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,480
Speaker 1: that into thinking outside the box. And and if if you,

458
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 1: if you work hard, if you if you're creative, just

459
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,040
Speaker 1: like my dad was, maybe my my dream of becoming

460
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,480
Speaker 1: a stand up comic can can be fulfilled.

461
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 2: When did you start having the idea? Well, is it

462
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,080
Speaker 2: for you? Is it about performing? Is it about making

463
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 2: people laugh?

464
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:35,680
Speaker 1: What?

465
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,600
Speaker 2: What is it for you that drove you towards it?

466
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,360
Speaker 2: And when did that start to happen? Was your dad

467
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:43,400
Speaker 2: still around?

468
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, he was around. I saw him being funny. I

469
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 1: always thought that he was funny. I remember him being

470
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,200
Speaker 1: I mean, he was extremely charming and people. He would

471
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:56,360
Speaker 1: make people laugh and I saw him do that, and

472
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,240
Speaker 1: to me, I guess you know, when I when I started,

473
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,520
Speaker 1: I do remember having the thought that, oh, you know,

474
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: you could have been to me. I thought, oh, you

475
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: could have been a comedian. And I'm sure he wasn't

476
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 1: as funny as I thought he was, but I do

477
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,600
Speaker 1: remember him telling Joe. I remember telling jokes, and I

478
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 1: remember thinking when I was young, I was like, oh, wow,

479
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,560
Speaker 1: like that is funny, and I can't wait to be

480
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,159
Speaker 1: older to make adults laugh. I remember I could. I

481
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,280
Speaker 1: could make some of my friends laugh, but I wasn't

482
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: making adults laugh. And I remember thinking, oh, if I

483
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,160
Speaker 1: could make adults laugh, that would be good. That would

484
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,639
Speaker 1: be that could be something. And then as I got older,

485
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,679
Speaker 1: I started thinking about it more. And because my parents

486
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 1: have everything that they were going through, I went to

487
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,960
Speaker 1: three high schools, so I was kind of able to

488
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,280
Speaker 1: like reinvent myself when I would go to each high school.

489
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,080
Speaker 1: So oh, I saw Okay. You know I had friends

490
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,800
Speaker 1: of my first high school kids I grew up with.

491
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,399
Speaker 1: They think I'm funny, but you know they know me.

492
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:51,959
Speaker 1: So I need to figure out am I funny at

493
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,560
Speaker 1: this this next high school I go to, and I

494
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,439
Speaker 1: remember I was funny, and then I remember I came

495
00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 1: out a little too strong. Eventually, being too funny and

496
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: then becomes annoying. And then I went to a third

497
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:03,520
Speaker 1: high school, I'm like, all right, I kind of get

498
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 1: the idea I could tone it down. And then I

499
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:06,679
Speaker 1: went to college and I'm like, all right, kind of

500
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 1: have a good balance here. And there's a there's definitely

501
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: a weirdness of being a comedian. If you tell people

502
00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 1: you're going to be a comic or you want to

503
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,200
Speaker 1: be a comedian, then they start thinking that, oh, you're

504
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:18,960
Speaker 1: just trying to be funny, and they kind of shoot

505
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,679
Speaker 1: it down. A lot a lot of people when you

506
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,760
Speaker 1: tell them that you have this goal of becoming something,

507
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,199
Speaker 1: they tend to shoot it down because maybe they're afraid

508
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,760
Speaker 1: of it, but they or they see that you're trying

509
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,200
Speaker 1: it and and and that's what they want to do

510
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 1: and but or that's just their mentality. But yeah, it's

511
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,919
Speaker 1: a it's a tough thing to go through. And uh,

512
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 1: but you have to just kind of be your own

513
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:41,720
Speaker 1: person and have your own faith in that. I mean,

514
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,879
Speaker 1: you know that it's a I mean going you know,

515
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 1: when you say that you want to be acting an actor,

516
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,359
Speaker 1: that what makes you think that you're going to get picked,

517
00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,800
Speaker 1: You're going to get a goal and it's a tough

518
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:53,880
Speaker 1: thing to go through, but you have to fight through

519
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 1: that stuff and and just yeah, there's some luck involved,

520
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,879
Speaker 1: but I mean, obviously there's it's majority of it is

521
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:01,600
Speaker 1: skill and you have to back it up when it

522
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:03,840
Speaker 1: when the time is right, because you know, if you

523
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 1: didn't back it up, you wouldn't have got you wouldn't

524
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,280
Speaker 1: have been on the office, it wouldn't have happened. You're

525
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:09,160
Speaker 1: able to backround.

526
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:11,159
Speaker 2: Do you consider yourself an actor?

527
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,399
Speaker 1: You know, I maybe not until recently, but because but

528
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,120
Speaker 1: now and and listen, I if you watch me on stage,

529
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,119
Speaker 1: it doesn't seem like I'm performing at all, but I

530
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:29,680
Speaker 1: because I stand still, I'm very monotone and but yeah, right,

531
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,919
Speaker 1: I'm talking to the right person. But you know, but

532
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 1: there is acting in it. There is a performance in it.

533
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 1: I might not be jumping around or making crazy facial expressions,

534
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 1: but I try to think of being in the bit.

535
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,800
Speaker 1: And you you there's little movements that go a long way.

536
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,280
Speaker 1: So there's acting in stand up. But as far as

537
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,919
Speaker 1: acting acting, I'm not. I'm definitely not an actor, but

538
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 1: I think I I could play myself. I could do that,

539
00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: you know, but so so it'd have to be something

540
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:01,800
Speaker 1: I would write. I don't. I'm not going to be

541
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,400
Speaker 1: able to be you know, Jim Carrey man on the Moon,

542
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,120
Speaker 1: but I could be you know, Gary Vetter searching for

543
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,120
Speaker 1: his father, if it was, if that was a TV show.

544
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:15,399
Speaker 6: Pitching it now, Yeah, one of the things that I

545
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,800
Speaker 6: like to talk to people about because you know, look,

546
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:22,159
Speaker 6: there's Gary the little kid or high school kid, college

547
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 6: kid who wants to make people laugh.

548
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 2: But to me, there's a distinction between and.

549
00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:29,719
Speaker 4: I call it.

550
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:31,399
Speaker 2: I don't know if this is right or not, but

551
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:35,480
Speaker 2: like I'm doing an activity versus like, oh, this is

552
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:37,800
Speaker 2: what I want to do, this is what I'm going

553
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 2: to focus in and that I want to do in

554
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,000
Speaker 2: my life. Was there a moment for you or was

555
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,120
Speaker 2: there a time where it changed for you where you

556
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,880
Speaker 2: were like, oh, this is a pursuit that I'm going

557
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 2: to put my whole self into.

558
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,640
Speaker 1: Well, I didn't think there was something else that I

559
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 1: really wanted to do, and I don't think there's something

560
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,680
Speaker 1: that I thought that I could enjoy doing. So I

561
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,959
Speaker 1: would look at people and everybody, you know, I mean,

562
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:05,600
Speaker 1: people do it every day, but I didn't think I

563
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:07,240
Speaker 1: could do this. I didn't think I could put it

564
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 1: on a suit every day and go to an office

565
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,360
Speaker 1: and maybe be in that suit in hot weather and

566
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,719
Speaker 1: sitting in my car and traffic. I thought of all

567
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,400
Speaker 1: these things. I wanted a job that had some freedom,

568
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,280
Speaker 1: that maybe allowed me to travel and maybe, you know, yeah,

569
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,880
Speaker 1: I might go to Dayton, Ohio. No offense Dayton, but

570
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,640
Speaker 1: it's not the you know, the best place for me

571
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 1: to go visit, but I would I would be like, Oh,

572
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 1: that's cool. I get to go there and do stand

573
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 1: up so, you know. So these are things that I

574
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,640
Speaker 1: thought would be cool, and I was envisioned myself, Oh,

575
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 1: I could be a comic and then I'd come home

576
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,320
Speaker 1: and then my family would be there and they would

577
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:46,320
Speaker 1: think that it's cool. I also thought that too. I

578
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,400
Speaker 1: thought that maybe one day I would have a family

579
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:52,280
Speaker 1: and I would be a comic and my kids would

580
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,080
Speaker 1: be be like, oh, my dad's a comedian. That's a

581
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,880
Speaker 1: cool thing. So I thought that could Maybe that's what

582
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 1: I wanted my dad to actually be. So I wanted

583
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:02,720
Speaker 1: my kids to be proud of me, because I didn't

584
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,280
Speaker 1: really feel proud of my dad. I felt that I

585
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,080
Speaker 1: had to really keep that decide what he was doing.

586
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,720
Speaker 1: I wasn't proud that not only was he installing payphones

587
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:12,560
Speaker 1: and that was his business, but he was conning people

588
00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,840
Speaker 1: too in a process. You know, he was doing all

589
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,720
Speaker 1: these things to rip people off. And yeah, I wanted

590
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,280
Speaker 1: my kids to be proud, and I wanted to be

591
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:22,040
Speaker 1: proud of my dad.

592
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,560
Speaker 2: You know, something just occurred to me. And by the

593
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,520
Speaker 2: time this errors, we will have passed. I guess I'm

594
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 2: exposing myself, but I was going to thinking about this. No, no, no,

595
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 2: this experience will have passed. But I'm sharing something with you.

596
00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 2: I probably should not share this at all, but I

597
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:44,480
Speaker 2: have a daughter and just right now, this week, she's

598
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:48,640
Speaker 2: participating in let's just call it a camp. And in

599
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 2: order to participate in this camp, she has to be

600
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 2: of a certain age. Now she is not that age, okay,

601
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 2: but all of her friends are doing this again, let's

602
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 2: call it a camp. We lied, I lied. I lied.

603
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 2: I signed her up and basically put her correct birthday

604
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,400
Speaker 2: and put it a year earlier. And I'm not joking

605
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 2: with you. The entire day yesterday, I felt guilty. I

606
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:20,760
Speaker 2: felt I felt horrible. So I'm just thinking back again

607
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:26,480
Speaker 2: about your dad and that idea of like bringing your

608
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 2: kids and without judgment, saying myself, I am currently right

609
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:35,000
Speaker 2: now doing the same thing. Yeah, and you felt guilt.

610
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:40,920
Speaker 2: I felt incredible guilt. But and this is I guess

611
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,840
Speaker 2: where I at least can assure myself that I'm different.

612
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 2: I made that decision not because I needed some time

613
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,560
Speaker 2: off this week and I needed to stick her somewhere,

614
00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:56,240
Speaker 2: right like, this is an activity that she legitimately loves,

615
00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:01,200
Speaker 2: that she will legitimately excel at with her friends in

616
00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,400
Speaker 2: the summer, and so I wanted her to have this experience.

617
00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:09,080
Speaker 2: Does that make it any better? I don't know, but it's.

618
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,000
Speaker 1: Just I think so, because yeah, I think it really does.

619
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,360
Speaker 1: I think, you know, you're kind of answering the question

620
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:18,200
Speaker 1: that I'm searching for is that did my dad do

621
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,760
Speaker 1: it for me or for himself? And here you're trying

622
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,120
Speaker 1: to do something for your daughter that will benefit her,

623
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 1: and you're you know, what you're getting out of it

624
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,680
Speaker 1: is her pure enjoyment, that her succeeding and what she's doing.

625
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,120
Speaker 1: And it sounds like, you know, hands down the right decision.

626
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 1: Now it doesn't It doesn't make it any better that

627
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,360
Speaker 1: you had to, Like, yeah, but you know, sometimes you

628
00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,440
Speaker 1: maybe That's the thing is sometimes you might have to

629
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:44,240
Speaker 1: to fib a little bit. That's a that's a little

630
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:45,280
Speaker 1: fits a little.

631
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,680
Speaker 2: I tried to explain to her literally what I said

632
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 2: to her, I'm sorry to interrupt you was right. So

633
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,800
Speaker 2: remember our little white lie. That is what was the

634
00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 2: word I said. And I was like, is that a

635
00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,600
Speaker 2: good thing to explain? I mean, at some point she's

636
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,960
Speaker 2: gonna understand it, right, I don't know.

637
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 1: It's yeaascinating. I mean I think I now I find

638
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 1: and you know, don't get me wrong. I mean I

639
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 1: learned from somebody who was constantly lying, and I kind

640
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 1: of showed me, oh, maybe you can lie. And there

641
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,520
Speaker 1: are things like, yeah, just lie. You don't know. What

642
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,400
Speaker 1: my dad was showing me was that that he lies

643
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,640
Speaker 1: all the time. So then I realized, oh, I don't

644
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 1: want to be like him, so you know, I won't.

645
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,920
Speaker 1: But it's still that lying is still in me. And

646
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,800
Speaker 1: I would still lie as I was getting older, and

647
00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:31,640
Speaker 1: I would lie about things that I didn't need to

648
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: lie about. And eventually, you know, I meet my wife

649
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,240
Speaker 1: and I'm you know, I she would get upset with

650
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 1: me because I would lie about something silly, like not

651
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,240
Speaker 1: tell her anything, tell her something.

652
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:43,720
Speaker 2: I would tell her.

653
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,520
Speaker 1: I would tell her everything for the most part, but

654
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,120
Speaker 1: then things I would leave out and she would be like,

655
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 1: why are you not telling me that? And I realized

656
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 1: that was a big problem. I can't not tell her stuff.

657
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,760
Speaker 1: It was just in me. And she taught me a

658
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 1: lot about just just be as forthcoming as possible and

659
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,440
Speaker 1: there's no there's no reason not to and because then

660
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,160
Speaker 1: you're hiding something. So my dad kind of just showed

661
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:09,319
Speaker 1: me that that was okay to do. And it really

662
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:10,920
Speaker 1: took some time to break that up.

663
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,839
Speaker 2: In twenty fourteen, ten years ago, now, you participated in

664
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,960
Speaker 2: a little competition. It was explained to me as a

665
00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 2: March Madness type competition Caroline's on Broadway. You beat beat

666
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,759
Speaker 2: that's what you were the champion and beat sixty three

667
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,720
Speaker 2: of the best young comedians out there. Now here's my question.

668
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,879
Speaker 2: First off, congratulations ten years later. Is there anybody who

669
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:02,360
Speaker 2: you hang out with now that is in the stand

670
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,839
Speaker 2: up world that you beat that you can hold over

671
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,399
Speaker 2: their head? That's really where I'm angling here.

672
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:11,920
Speaker 1: Is there anybody you do so many of these things?

673
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:14,359
Speaker 1: There were so many when those were in the early days.

674
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,240
Speaker 1: I was probably doing comedy five years. At that point,

675
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,200
Speaker 1: five six years, you're you're in these infancy days of

676
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,360
Speaker 1: doing stand up where you're just trying to get ahead.

677
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,640
Speaker 1: You're trying everything, and you know, there's that was one contest,

678
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:27,799
Speaker 1: and that was a good one because I was in

679
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,160
Speaker 1: New York and you got to be seen by different

680
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 1: managers and agents and I got an age manager after

681
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,000
Speaker 1: that and I won. Yeah, and then you get bookings

682
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,399
Speaker 1: at Carolines and that's cool. But you know, it could

683
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,600
Speaker 1: have it. Really, it could have happened to me, ey

684
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:43,840
Speaker 1: the way I look at it, it could have happened

685
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:45,879
Speaker 1: to anybody, because you do that and then you get

686
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,760
Speaker 1: that and then somebody else gets something else. So it's

687
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,640
Speaker 1: it's all it all. It all happens for everybody, if

688
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,160
Speaker 1: I feel, if it's supposed to happen, and your career

689
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,560
Speaker 1: kind of moves along as time goes on. But uh,

690
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:00,920
Speaker 1: I couldn't even tell you who was in it. I

691
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:02,960
Speaker 1: know there was one person. I know, the person who

692
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:05,120
Speaker 1: had to go. I know there there was one person

693
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:07,840
Speaker 1: who was in, who was in the finals, who is

694
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,360
Speaker 1: a finals with me, who's a runner up who I beat?

695
00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 1: Uh So technically I do have it.

696
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 2: His head.

697
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:18,440
Speaker 1: Yes, I beat him and he is my friend, but

698
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,319
Speaker 1: so so I okay, so yes, I do have I

699
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 1: take it back. I have one person and I hold

700
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:25,719
Speaker 1: it over his head all the time, no matter what

701
00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,480
Speaker 1: you do, because I'm a better stand up comedian and

702
00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:29,319
Speaker 1: he's you're better.

703
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:34,239
Speaker 2: You won, he won, You're a champion. The next year,

704
00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:39,080
Speaker 2: season ten of America's God Talent, you become a finalist there.

705
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,960
Speaker 2: Do you think that that the Caroline's thing helped you

706
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:42,719
Speaker 2: to get that?

707
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, yeah, totally. You know I did before even

708
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 1: that March Madness thing in twenty fourteen that you mentioned,

709
00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:52,600
Speaker 1: I did a couple other contests and there was one

710
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,880
Speaker 1: I came in second that was in Atlanta, and what

711
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,920
Speaker 1: I realized was that if you come in second, nobody

712
00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,439
Speaker 1: really nobody cares. Nobody cares if you come in second and.

713
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 2: The first love.

714
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, extactically, yeah, I mean that's how it goes and

715
00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:12,160
Speaker 1: and and you know, all the glory goes to whoever wins.

716
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:14,440
Speaker 1: So when I then I went to that you know

717
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,399
Speaker 1: thing at Karenlines where they did the March Madness thing,

718
00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 1: and I was like, all right, I gotta win it

719
00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,680
Speaker 1: because nobody's gonna care if you don't. Nobody's gonna remember

720
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 1: if you came in second.

721
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,440
Speaker 5: And then I when I went, your buddy, no right, yeah, exactly,

722
00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,520
Speaker 5: he quit. He's the garbage right now, which is a

723
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,200
Speaker 5: good job. But so then I did America's got talent,

724
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,799
Speaker 5: and I kind of went in with that mentality. I

725
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,480
Speaker 5: have the way I tell jokes there. I have some

726
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,080
Speaker 5: longer jokes, longer bits, but for the most part they're short,

727
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:44,719
Speaker 5: and I could get to laugh pretty quickly. I could

728
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,120
Speaker 5: get to laugh in ten fifteen seconds and a lot

729
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:50,759
Speaker 5: of jokes, So I thought I had an advantage.

730
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:52,760
Speaker 1: And I really went in with a lot of confidence

731
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,719
Speaker 1: that that that this could happen, that I could that

732
00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 1: I could advance. I didn't know how far, but I

733
00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,160
Speaker 1: was really hopeful. I felt that if in the right situation,

734
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 1: I could maybe catch a hot streak. And I was

735
00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,400
Speaker 1: fortunate I got a hot streak I had. I had

736
00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:09,279
Speaker 1: people that went before me that weren't stand ups that

737
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,880
Speaker 1: you know, I'm going to a ventriloquist and then a

738
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,560
Speaker 1: parrot and all the things that are not stand up comedy,

739
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,520
Speaker 1: so you still have to perform and it's a different setting.

740
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,800
Speaker 1: But I felt that my act would uh would really

741
00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:26,400
Speaker 1: come out and really play itself well in front of

742
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,279
Speaker 1: their audience, and and it and fortunately enough it did

743
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,319
Speaker 1: and and that was that was a good moment for

744
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 1: sure in my career.

745
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:39,680
Speaker 2: I watched your first Colbert Club. Oh but you you

746
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,520
Speaker 2: appearing on Colbert and Conan and those late night shows.

747
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:46,400
Speaker 2: Do you feel like that, because you know, back in

748
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,600
Speaker 2: the back in the olden days, right, it was like

749
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:54,319
Speaker 2: being on Johnny Carson was like it for you in

750
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,920
Speaker 2: your experiences doing those shows? Was it similar, Like do

751
00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 2: you feel like that gave you some street crowd?

752
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,839
Speaker 1: So it's such a different world. And I looked at

753
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,120
Speaker 1: it when I started doing stand up, that's that. It

754
00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:10,880
Speaker 1: was all I wanted. My first TV appearance that I

755
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,440
Speaker 1: ever had was on Conan. It was Conan when he

756
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,560
Speaker 1: was on TBS, and I grew up my Conan was

757
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:19,399
Speaker 1: my guy. I loved Jay Leno, I love Letterman too,

758
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:23,520
Speaker 1: but Conan was what I grew up watching. I love Conan.

759
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 1: I would watch him all the time, and I wanted

760
00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:28,960
Speaker 1: to be on his late night show. And then he

761
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: moved to TBS, and then I was started doing stand

762
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,439
Speaker 1: up probably around that same time, and I tried getting

763
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:38,879
Speaker 1: an internship there when I was in college. That never

764
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:41,200
Speaker 1: that that didn't work out, but I tried, and I

765
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 1: really wanted to be somewhere in Conan's world, and I

766
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 1: tried so hard, and then I finally got the offer

767
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:52,480
Speaker 1: to do Conan and I did it, and it was

768
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:54,920
Speaker 1: kind of like an outer body experience when you're on

769
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 1: the show. Because I watched this guy growing up. I

770
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 1: never thought that I would be on TV, and this

771
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,080
Speaker 1: was my opportunity. I'm going to show these people that

772
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,319
Speaker 1: said that being a stand up comedian, people that I

773
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,600
Speaker 1: that that knew me that this is not going to

774
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,799
Speaker 1: this isn't gonna happen, And now here I am doing

775
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:14,839
Speaker 1: stand up comedy and I'm on TV. I made it,

776
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:17,919
Speaker 1: And that's really what I was. It's just complete. You're

777
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,920
Speaker 1: just on pilot mode doing your set in front of

778
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,879
Speaker 1: that that camera because they keep everything. Everything you say,

779
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:26,680
Speaker 1: it's just it's good, but it was, it was. It

780
00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:29,080
Speaker 1: was incredible. It was an incredible experience. And then you know,

781
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:32,320
Speaker 1: then I did I did Colbert a little while later,

782
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:34,759
Speaker 1: and it was the same deal, same thing. You still

783
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,560
Speaker 1: have that outer body experience where I'm I'm on the

784
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,000
Speaker 1: Ed Sullivan stage in the in this theater. It's like

785
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:43,120
Speaker 1: so many, so many historic people. You try not to

786
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:45,640
Speaker 1: think about it, but it can't. You can't help it

787
00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:49,839
Speaker 1: because until you go on, you're you're just sitting there

788
00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:52,520
Speaker 1: with you know, in this environment. And then then you're

789
00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,520
Speaker 1: on stage and now you're doing you have to do

790
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,879
Speaker 1: your set, words have to come out of your mouth.

791
00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:01,440
Speaker 1: It's unbelievable, but it But but you do it and

792
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,279
Speaker 1: and yet and if you practice enough, that's all you

793
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,640
Speaker 1: want to do. You want to just keep practicing, keep practicing,

794
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:08,760
Speaker 1: keep getting you know, if you're a comic, keep getting

795
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:12,239
Speaker 1: on stage, because when that moment comes, you're just it's

796
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:14,920
Speaker 1: like a fight or flight mode and you just just

797
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,760
Speaker 1: do it. You say it and then and then hopefully

798
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:18,839
Speaker 1: you know, it goes well.

799
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:25,840
Speaker 2: Uh, you recently released comedy special. It could be worse.

800
00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:29,960
Speaker 2: Do you enjoy doing those? Do you enjoy having those

801
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:30,760
Speaker 2: out in the world.

802
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:33,920
Speaker 1: For sure, it's a you know, a sense of completion.

803
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,920
Speaker 1: I worked on an act that I was doing for

804
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:40,400
Speaker 1: about a little over two and a half years, and

805
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,480
Speaker 1: I feel the jokes are good. You know, things change

806
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,000
Speaker 1: over time, so you're you know, you're mixing things back

807
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,120
Speaker 1: and forth. But these are jokes that I took on

808
00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,600
Speaker 1: the road, and I would I would be saying, and

809
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,000
Speaker 1: I feel like I perfected him to the best I could.

810
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,759
Speaker 1: And then you deliver in front of a camera. Uh,

811
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,600
Speaker 1: and and that's it, that's the final product. And then

812
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,799
Speaker 1: I put that on YouTube, and so far it's been

813
00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:04,040
Speaker 1: a good response, and yeah, people people think it's great.

814
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,239
Speaker 1: And you know, I mean, I'm not that obviously the

815
00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:08,560
Speaker 1: biggest comic in the world, but it's a good way.

816
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:08,759
Speaker 4: Now.

817
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:11,360
Speaker 1: YouTube is such a great way to get people that

818
00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:13,520
Speaker 1: might not be familiar with you to actually see you.

819
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:17,120
Speaker 1: And uh, yeah, that's that. That's been a so far,

820
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:18,640
Speaker 1: a good, good thing to release.

821
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,399
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Do you like still like being on the road?

822
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,560
Speaker 1: I really like the road, I really do. I enjoy

823
00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,160
Speaker 1: it because you're really the only way to find out

824
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,640
Speaker 1: if a joke works. I mean, I live in New York,

825
00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:33,640
Speaker 1: but the only way to find out if a joke

826
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:35,680
Speaker 1: works is if you take it everywhere. You got to

827
00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:38,359
Speaker 1: make sure that it's going to work for in all

828
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,000
Speaker 1: these different scenarios, you know, in front of different types

829
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:44,399
Speaker 1: of people, and you want I want every everybody as

830
00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:46,560
Speaker 1: much as possible. You're never going to make everybody like

831
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,000
Speaker 1: your comedy, but I want to make as many people

832
00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,160
Speaker 1: as possible enjoy my comedy. So the only way to

833
00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:54,319
Speaker 1: do that is by testing the material out and doing

834
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:56,480
Speaker 1: it in different situations.

835
00:42:57,120 --> 00:42:59,440
Speaker 2: Yeah you're a dad yourself down.

836
00:42:59,719 --> 00:43:02,239
Speaker 1: Yeah I am. And that's kind of what got the

837
00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,880
Speaker 1: podcast going was that my my first son was born,

838
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:10,480
Speaker 1: and it made me really reflect on Okay, here's I

839
00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:13,359
Speaker 1: have a son. You know all I did have. I

840
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:16,440
Speaker 1: had a dad that was in my life, and you know,

841
00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,120
Speaker 1: how am I going to be as a father. And

842
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:22,080
Speaker 1: that's what got me thinking more on the podcast. But yeah,

843
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:25,480
Speaker 1: being a dad and it is amazing. I love it.

844
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,360
Speaker 1: And now now I have a second son as well,

845
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:32,799
Speaker 1: so I have a four year old now and one

846
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:36,440
Speaker 1: and a half year old, So it's pretty it's pretty special.

847
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:39,880
Speaker 1: And yeah, I mean it's everything I ever wanted. I

848
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 1: never you know, my wife and I it wasn't easy

849
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,520
Speaker 1: for us to have kids. Uh, in the beginning. I

850
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,360
Speaker 1: tried first, then she tried, and now it was we

851
00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:52,080
Speaker 1: both she was going, uh we had to do IVF.

852
00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:55,279
Speaker 1: So it was it was a struggle and but we

853
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:57,799
Speaker 1: were able to do it. So we're so thankful that,

854
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:01,120
Speaker 1: you know, as heart of the process. As we're now

855
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,040
Speaker 1: we have two, two beautiful kids.

856
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,640
Speaker 2: That's awesome. That that to me is the hardest part

857
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:09,440
Speaker 2: about being on the road right when you've got when

858
00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:13,120
Speaker 2: you've got the little ones at home. Yeah, it leaves

859
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,040
Speaker 2: an empty space at times. As much as you love

860
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:18,960
Speaker 2: what you're doing, as much as you you know, know

861
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:21,360
Speaker 2: that for yourself and for your family, you have to

862
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:25,080
Speaker 2: be out there. That's a that's a that's a tough part.

863
00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:29,320
Speaker 1: It's very tough. I was just away this past weekend.

864
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,239
Speaker 1: It was only for a day, uh to Atlantic City,

865
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:33,440
Speaker 1: so I had I had to go for a night

866
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:38,200
Speaker 1: for a gig and it was I was fortunately enough.

867
00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:41,320
Speaker 1: But before that, the week before I was, I was home,

868
00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:43,960
Speaker 1: so I didn't and so i'd been home. I had good,

869
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:45,960
Speaker 1: good times at home and it was great, and then

870
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,600
Speaker 1: I just had to go away for a night. And

871
00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:50,000
Speaker 1: that's just it's such a short trip. You know, a

872
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,040
Speaker 1: lot of times I've gone for for maybe five days

873
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:55,439
Speaker 1: at a time, but this time was just one night,

874
00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,279
Speaker 1: and it's just it's it's just tough. No matter how

875
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:01,960
Speaker 1: many days it is, I feel I'm missing out. I'm

876
00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:04,520
Speaker 1: missing out on things, missing things out in their childhood

877
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:08,879
Speaker 1: and my wife, she's really supportive, she's wonderful, and she goes.

878
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: You know, you don't don't have to say you're sorry,

879
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:14,560
Speaker 1: like you're making money for the family and and yeah,

880
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:16,799
Speaker 1: but I want to I feel I want to be there.

881
00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:19,319
Speaker 1: I don't want to miss out on things. And but

882
00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:23,480
Speaker 1: it's inevitable. But uh I, it is very hard. It's

883
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:26,399
Speaker 1: very hard to do, so, you know, but I love

884
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:30,640
Speaker 1: the road too, so yeah, so it's it's but it's.

885
00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:31,520
Speaker 2: You got to do what you gotta do.

886
00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:33,000
Speaker 1: There's no easy way around it.

887
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:39,520
Speaker 2: Well, Gary, you're clearly a great, caring father. You're a

888
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:42,680
Speaker 2: delightful guy. I wish you all the best. I know

889
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:47,080
Speaker 2: these limited series podcasts, when you're editing together material, it's

890
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:50,799
Speaker 2: a lot of work. I know from personal experience. So

891
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,600
Speaker 2: I first off, I applaud you for going through the

892
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:59,200
Speaker 2: effort and for going inside yourself and exposing yourself not

893
00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:04,239
Speaker 2: in a weird way. That's cool and important. Number One

894
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:10,400
Speaker 2: Dad the podcast. I'll be a subscriber today, Gary.

895
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:12,239
Speaker 1: I promise you that I appreciate it.

896
00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:15,600
Speaker 2: Good luck to you on the road and at home

897
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:18,120
Speaker 2: and with with the podcast. I can't wait to hear

898
00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:19,480
Speaker 2: if you find your dad.

899
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:21,240
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Brian.

900
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:37,960
Speaker 2: All Right, cheers man, Gary, that was awesome. Thank you

901
00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:41,760
Speaker 2: so much for sharing with me and the world your story.

902
00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,040
Speaker 2: I know it wasn't easy getting to a place where

903
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,279
Speaker 2: you can talk about it, but man, it is so

904
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:49,880
Speaker 2: fascinating to me. I'm so glad that you've put this

905
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,440
Speaker 2: podcast together and I can't wait to learn how this

906
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:57,759
Speaker 2: all unfolds. Good luck finding your dad. Listeners, you too

907
00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:02,359
Speaker 2: can follow Gary's story on Number One Dad wherever you

908
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:04,919
Speaker 2: listen to your podcast. In fact, you can just add

909
00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,040
Speaker 2: it to your cue right now, since you're already here.

910
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:12,680
Speaker 2: Do it, do it, Do it now now. I promise

911
00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:16,440
Speaker 2: you won't be disappointed, and tune in here next week,

912
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:19,680
Speaker 2: because well, we have a very special guest back on

913
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:27,279
Speaker 2: the podcast revisiting us, regaling us with stories of his childhood.

914
00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:31,239
Speaker 2: I don't know. Get ready, office fans. As always, it's

915
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:43,840
Speaker 2: going to be a wild ride. Off the Beat is

916
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:48,319
Speaker 2: hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our

917
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:52,760
Speaker 2: executive producer, Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia.

918
00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 2: Our producers are Emily Carr and Seth Olanski, and our

919
00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:01,200
Speaker 2: talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary, our theme song Bubble

920
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:04,640
Speaker 2: and Squeak, performed by the one and only Creed Breton