Speaker 1: Comedy Saved Me.
Speaker 2: Well, my first under five was as a waiter and
Speaker 2: then I'm not kidding you, I left that job to
Speaker 2: go really wait tables. So I would leave, I would
Speaker 2: play a waiter on TV and then go and wait
Speaker 2: tables in real life.
Speaker 1: I'm Lyn Hoffman and welcome to the Comedy Saved Me Podcast,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we talk with comedians about their craft,
Speaker 1: their inspirations, the power of their comedy, and the way
Speaker 1: it helps all of us through challenging times. If you
Speaker 1: like this podcast, you might want to check out our
Speaker 1: Music Saved Me podcast that I also host, and you
Speaker 1: can get that wherever you get your podcasts. Today, we're
Speaker 1: so excited to welcome comedian Brett Ernst, one of the
Speaker 1: great talents of our generation. And I mean that Brett
Speaker 1: shares his journey from the football fields to the comedy
Speaker 1: stages and I'm so psyched to have him here today. Brett,
Speaker 1: Welcome to Comedy Save Me.
Speaker 3: Thanks, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: It's great to have you now. I want to start
Speaker 1: off because interestingly enough, there's so much in your background
Speaker 1: and family that I want to get into. But you
Speaker 1: were really into football, and I'm curious how did your
Speaker 1: background in football influence that transition into comedy. And what
Speaker 1: was your first experience like performing stand up? Do you remember?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I remember the first time I got up.
Speaker 2: But you know, football actually saved my life, man, because
Speaker 2: when I was a kid, you know, I was all
Speaker 2: over the place, and I mean I still got in trouble,
Speaker 2: but I wanted to play ball and that that kept
Speaker 2: me kind of focused.
Speaker 3: You know that that was the one thing that I
Speaker 3: didn't want to lose.
Speaker 2: As far as taking that comedy experience into football experience
Speaker 2: into comedy, and yeah, it helped a lot because you know,
Speaker 2: when you come from an athletic background, you're okay with
Speaker 2: getting your ass kicked, You're okay with losing. I mean,
Speaker 2: you don't like it, but you've you've dealt with it.
Speaker 2: That's the best way I could say it. And the
Speaker 2: most important thing is you know how to be a man.
Speaker 2: You know how to compete with your friends. And you know,
Speaker 2: in comedy, a lot of people in entertainment feel that
Speaker 2: they are competing with other people, which you're not, right,
Speaker 2: it's you.
Speaker 3: You're bringing whatever you bring to the table.
Speaker 2: I always compare comedy more to golf, where you're just
Speaker 2: competing against yourself, you know, trying to outdo your last game.
Speaker 2: And you know when when in sports you're friends with
Speaker 2: guys that are starting with you, starting in front of
Speaker 2: you or behind you, or guys across the line from
Speaker 2: you that are trying to kick your ass every practice,
Speaker 2: and you know what I'm saying, and you just you
Speaker 2: build that camaraderie, and uh, I don't know, it really
Speaker 2: helped me into the entertainment business when I went into that.
Speaker 1: How did you end up on stage at a comedy
Speaker 1: show open mic?
Speaker 2: I just it's an odd story and it's kind of long,
Speaker 2: so I won't bore you with it. But the first
Speaker 2: time I met a guy that said he was a comic,
Speaker 2: and I was like, oh, well, how do you go
Speaker 2: about it? And he said, you have to sign up
Speaker 2: for an open mic? And I always thought about it,
Speaker 2: you know, and I was always told I should get
Speaker 2: into it by my friends. And then I came home
Speaker 2: and my mother said, hey, you got a letter from
Speaker 2: the Bronx, and I was like, and I opened the
Speaker 2: letter and it was an ex teammate of mine, this kid,
Speaker 2: jose Cosme I used to cut my hair and he's like, yo,
Speaker 2: I was walking by. I was in Times Square and
Speaker 2: it had an open mic and you should do comedy
Speaker 2: and that kind of I looked at that as a sign,
Speaker 2: and then I went down there and signed up for
Speaker 2: the open mic and I went on.
Speaker 3: I did really well. I didn't bomb until like six
Speaker 3: months in.
Speaker 1: And how was that first night for you?
Speaker 3: I just was laughing. My buddy filmed it.
Speaker 2: You did it all?
Speaker 3: How did you ex Oj Simpson joke? That's how far
Speaker 3: back it was.
Speaker 2: But all you see is I'm like, yo, I go
Speaker 2: to my friend, just cut the camera off and you
Speaker 2: just see him do this and then the thumb go up, like,
Speaker 2: you know, like he's not cutting at all.
Speaker 3: It was great, and.
Speaker 1: It didn't deter you. Obviously you continued on, And.
Speaker 2: No, didn't determine me. I wanted to get right back up.
Speaker 2: I didn't like the loss, didn't I didn't like the
Speaker 2: l that I took.
Speaker 1: You know, that's pretty. You've got thick skin. You must
Speaker 1: have gotten it somewhere. Obviously sports had a lot to
Speaker 1: do with that. But you've also had a pretty remarkable career.
Speaker 1: I mean, Vince Vaughn's Wild West comedy show, Cobra Kai.
Speaker 1: What have been some of your favorite projects since those
Speaker 1: early days.
Speaker 2: Well, those are the two biggest and my two favorites
Speaker 2: for different reasons. Yeah, I enjoyed working. I worked on
Speaker 2: Young and the Restless when I first got to LA
Speaker 2: for like two years.
Speaker 1: It's hard work doing those shows.
Speaker 3: Uh soap, operasier, you know, but a lot. It's steady.
Speaker 3: It's steady work.
Speaker 2: And the first under five, which you know, under five
Speaker 2: lines that I got was as a waiter in a
Speaker 2: they I was like, I think I was twenty nine
Speaker 2: at the time, but I was in the high school scenes,
Speaker 2: you know where there was like a coffee shop where
Speaker 2: all the high school kids hung out and I always
Speaker 2: worked there. But I was more like a glorified extra.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 3: But my first under five was as a waiter.
Speaker 2: And then I'm not kidding you, I left that job
Speaker 2: to go really wait tables. So I would leave. I
Speaker 2: would play a waiter on TV and then go and
Speaker 2: wait tables.
Speaker 1: In real life, did people recognize you and say.
Speaker 3: Wait a minute, No, not from Young and Rests, they
Speaker 3: would have.
Speaker 2: They recognized me from the comedy Store when I would
Speaker 2: perform there, because like sometimes I used to work at
Speaker 2: the cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey, and it was
Speaker 2: pretty pretty popular a lot, like you know, it had
Speaker 2: a lot of a lot of traffic, a lot of
Speaker 2: people ate there.
Speaker 3: It was near the airport on the water, and there's
Speaker 3: was a bunch of times, you know.
Speaker 2: I remember one time I heard I'm walking towards the
Speaker 2: table and they came in because there was a show
Speaker 2: called Dublin's. It was every Tuesday in La on the
Speaker 2: Sunset Strip. It was one of the biggest shows that
Speaker 2: ran for like four years, and everybody would go go
Speaker 2: to this stand up show. And I had a really
Speaker 2: good set the night before. So that was a Tuesday.
Speaker 2: This is a Wednesday lunch. I'm working and I heard
Speaker 2: these people coming in talking about the show and then
Speaker 2: specifically talking about my bit, and then when they sat down,
Speaker 2: I had him. And then it was kind of like, uh,
Speaker 2: then you go up to the table and they were like,
Speaker 2: we just saw you that awesome dressed in the cheesecake white.
Speaker 3: And then you're like yeah, yeah, and then you're like, so,
Speaker 3: you know, we have a passion fruit ice teve. You guys, it's.
Speaker 1: Got to be like at that moment, maybe he's soul crushing.
Speaker 1: But but to them, they're thinking, is he stalking us?
Speaker 1: Or you know the part of the act.
Speaker 2: I was delivering pizzas man, and uh I was on
Speaker 2: and I was doing a set on on a late
Speaker 2: show and uh I couldn't get off of work because
Speaker 2: the Lakers were winning everything then, and I wanted to
Speaker 2: watch it, and my my little brother was going to
Speaker 2: record it and TVO had just came out, so my
Speaker 2: girl at the time was going to record it. But
Speaker 2: I wanted to watch it live at the Pizzeriha, But
Speaker 2: I couldn't because we were slammed.
Speaker 3: So I had this ninety seven Ford escort that couldn't
Speaker 3: make lefts Man. It would stall out.
Speaker 2: So I'm rushing to try and get back in time,
Speaker 2: and I'm delivering the pizzas and I'm like, I'm just
Speaker 2: not going to make it.
Speaker 3: I'm like, God, I wanted to see it live, you know. Well,
Speaker 3: I mean we tape it in the day and they
Speaker 3: air it at night. And I'm not kidding you. As
Speaker 3: soon as I as the.
Speaker 2: Kid opened the door that I was delivering to, I
Speaker 2: was walking out on TV and I was standing there
Speaker 2: with the pizzas and then but the look on his
Speaker 2: face was like Wow, this is cool and how depressing,
Speaker 2: like at the same time.
Speaker 1: Oh my god. But it just shows that you really
Speaker 1: do have to work your ass off to get to
Speaker 1: where you want to go. I mean, you can't just
Speaker 1: expect it's going to come to you, like, Oh, this
Speaker 1: one thing, everyone's gonna knock on my door.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 2: Stand up is the biggest of that. I mean, you
Speaker 2: can't really slip through the cracks.
Speaker 3: You could.
Speaker 2: You could maybe go viral on something and then get
Speaker 2: people to buy tickets to your show once. But to
Speaker 2: be good at the art of stand up, you got
Speaker 2: to put that time in.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 1: It's so true.
Speaker 3: There's no cutting corners because you can't fake it.
Speaker 2: You can't fake it once you get out in front
Speaker 2: of you know, the biggest crowds. I've done fifteen thousand
Speaker 2: on bert On Chrisier's thing at the t Mobile, and
Speaker 2: I've been in front of two people at the o
Speaker 2: R at like one in the morning on a Tuesday
Speaker 2: at the comedy store.
Speaker 3: You're you, whatever your situation is, you just you as you.
Speaker 2: You can't fake that. You just can't fake it. They'll
Speaker 2: know even if you try to do other people's jokes.
Speaker 3: They'll know.
Speaker 1: No, it's true. And your comedy is known for being
Speaker 1: very honest and truthful, and dare I say, edgy, How
Speaker 1: how do you balance being relatable with being original in
Speaker 1: your material because that changes probably yearly.
Speaker 2: Well, everybody's original if you're talking about yourself and your
Speaker 2: own journey, you know, and then if that journey might
Speaker 2: have similarities. But you know, that's what people kind of
Speaker 2: relate to. Truth is as far as like you know,
Speaker 2: you just you just try and be as honest as possible.
Speaker 2: You can never be fully honest. And I don't mean
Speaker 2: with myself.
Speaker 3: I meant with some of the stories I tell because
Speaker 3: there's other people involved.
Speaker 1: Right and oh yeah, family, anonymity and stuff.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to go full on. Sure,
Speaker 2: but you know there's everything's based in truth?
Speaker 1: Is there? Is there when you say it's based in truth?
Speaker 1: Is it first? Is it important? Do you think it's
Speaker 1: important to be able to laugh at yourself even if
Speaker 1: you're not a comedian?
Speaker 3: Absolutely?
Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's the ultimate not I don't know
Speaker 2: if not caring? You know, we can't curse, can we?
Speaker 3: Sure? Yeah? Okay?
Speaker 2: The art there's a book called the Art of not
Speaker 2: giving a fuck, which I never read.
Speaker 3: I just loved the title.
Speaker 2: And you really can't care, man, you don't, because here's why.
Speaker 3: The and I you.
Speaker 2: Know, I'm just referring it to just people you meet
Speaker 2: every day or the audience.
Speaker 3: They're full of shit, You're I'm not right.
Speaker 2: So you know when when somebody is like, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: really you don't have fucked up thoughts?
Speaker 1: Right? You know?
Speaker 2: The Japanese say that every everybody has three faces. You know, again,
Speaker 2: I'm the I'm the worst at paraphrasing or requoting.
Speaker 3: I just get the gist of it. So it may
Speaker 3: not even have been the Japanese. They couldn't.
Speaker 1: That's okay for this podcast right now. It was We're
Speaker 1: going to give them the credit. What the hell?
Speaker 2: No, the Japanese say that everybody has three faces, right.
Speaker 2: They have the one that they show society, the one
Speaker 2: that the one's closest to them see. And then there's
Speaker 2: the one that they know, the one that they look
Speaker 2: in the mirror, that weird one when you do weird
Speaker 2: shit when nobody's around, and all those messed up thoughts
Speaker 2: you have. That's the face the comic is trying to
Speaker 2: show the general public. Now, the problem with the general public,
Speaker 2: their perception of how they want to be perceived. That's
Speaker 2: why everyone's a everyone's a hypocrite. If they're not honest
Speaker 2: with themselves. There may be one thing that bothers them,
Speaker 2: but then there's something they do that could bother someone
Speaker 2: else that they don't want anybody to know.
Speaker 1: It makes sense, makes total sense.
Speaker 2: So the point is you really can't give a fuck
Speaker 2: because you don't want I don't want everyone to like me.
Speaker 2: You don't want everybody. You want, you want the right
Speaker 2: ones to like you. And then and Mitzi Sure used
Speaker 2: to teach us that at the comedy store. You know, yeah,
Speaker 2: that you build your own your audience will find you
Speaker 2: just be honest with yourself.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Being honest, I think and authentic is the most important thing.
Speaker 1: I started in radio and I worked with all guys,
Speaker 1: so I grew very thick skin. I was like the
Speaker 1: sister they all picked on, but I but I was
Speaker 1: taught that same thing. You know, half the people aren't
Speaker 1: going to like what you have to say, and the
Speaker 1: other half are going to love what you have to say,
Speaker 1: and you can't let that stop you from what you're doing,
Speaker 1: because that's just the way it is.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 2: The the thing too, is you know back then somebody
Speaker 2: wrote one letter and the place freaked out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1: Well we could hide things more then, like get us
Speaker 1: the tape all the tape machine broke.
Speaker 2: Sorry, now you know it's all for you to see, right,
Speaker 2: So you put something out and you just can't care.
Speaker 2: You know. It's another favorite quote of mine, and it's
Speaker 2: something I'll find, like I'll develop something through the process
Speaker 2: and then read something that aligns with stuff that I
Speaker 2: always thought.
Speaker 3: And one of them, it's none of my business what
Speaker 3: you think of me.
Speaker 1: That's huge.
Speaker 2: It's none of my business. If I'm performing, I'm I create.
Speaker 2: Like let's just say I create a joke or I
Speaker 2: put out a special once I put that out there
Speaker 2: in the world. Okay, that was my gift to you.
Speaker 2: My gift to you is my dysfunction. Now you do
Speaker 2: what you want with that, and it's none of my business.
Speaker 2: I can buy you a shirt, it's none of my
Speaker 2: business if you don't wear it, if you hate.
Speaker 3: It, if you love it. Either way, it's yours. Now
Speaker 3: my integrity.
Speaker 2: I don't like being questioned when I'll put a joke
Speaker 2: out and then somebody's like, oh, he stole that from
Speaker 2: so and so, and it's like, no, dude, I've been
Speaker 2: in this game to almost twenty it'll be twenty eight years.
Speaker 2: That's my original material that I put on TV in
Speaker 2: two thousand and two, you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 2: that type of stuff that'll irk me. And when I respond,
Speaker 2: I'll respond in a general which I've been accused of
Speaker 2: stealing from myself that I.
Speaker 1: Would like, yeah, how is that possible.
Speaker 3: They're like, I thought I saw a guy do this,
Speaker 3: you know, like it was me.
Speaker 2: It was me, But that that's the only time that
Speaker 2: I'll clear something up. But if somebody goes this guy
Speaker 2: sucks that, that makes me laugh.
Speaker 1: Well, you know, yeah, that's interesting. When I worked the
Speaker 1: first job in television, it was right in the beginning
Speaker 1: when Internet was I'm aging us, aren't I?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: And it was like I got out unscathed because the
Speaker 1: one thing that the most nasty thing that anyone ever
Speaker 1: said to me, and I was in I was like
Speaker 1: twenty nine thirty yearsyears old and the ques and the
Speaker 1: comment was Linn Hoffmann looks like a she's holding on
Speaker 1: to her youth like a fat kid to an ice
Speaker 1: cream cone. And that made my mom so mad. I
Speaker 1: laughed so hard. I thought that was hilarious compliment that
Speaker 1: I thought so But it can't let that bother you.
Speaker 1: But it's good advice. The quotes that you gave, whether
Speaker 1: you gave the right person who quoted it doesn't really
Speaker 1: matter as long as the sentiment's taken. I think it
Speaker 1: can really help people. And speaking of which.
Speaker 2: I'm not into this empowerment shit either, man, Like, you
Speaker 2: know how people need to be If you need to
Speaker 2: be empowered, I don't think you're meant to do it.
Speaker 2: You know, if you need to be told you're awesome
Speaker 2: and encouraged, you're not going to make it. You need
Speaker 2: to just understand that, you know. I mean, how do
Speaker 2: I say that? How do I say?
Speaker 1: Well? Why do you do it? Why do you do comedy?
Speaker 3: I don't know. I couldn't tell you.
Speaker 2: I love it?
Speaker 4: Is it?
Speaker 1: Do you think it may have anything to do with
Speaker 1: something that's therapeutic that happens between you and maybe like
Speaker 1: the audience.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I really don't and I don't know.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, you know, there were so many things
Speaker 2: in my life that didn't make sense but then made
Speaker 2: sense when I stepped on stage.
Speaker 3: You know, like like I went to like.
Speaker 2: Fifteen different schools and then you know, being the new kid,
Speaker 2: it's almost it's weird though, It's like I didn't mind
Speaker 2: the awkward and nervousness. I knew what would happen. I'm
Speaker 2: going to show up, They'll put me in front of
Speaker 2: the class. Some of these weren't the nicest of schools.
Speaker 2: So now I'm going to end up throwing hands either
Speaker 2: at recess or you know. And you know, then and
Speaker 2: then after about two weeks of fighting every other kid,
Speaker 2: you'll end up making friends. Yeah, through through sports. You know,
Speaker 2: that's how guys bond, you know, teams. Yeah, well, if
Speaker 2: you're good at sports as a kid, then you know,
Speaker 2: if you're good, you're good with your hands.
Speaker 3: And because guys like to.
Speaker 2: We we're like, let's say you have a friend that's
Speaker 2: really fast, right, or that can fight.
Speaker 3: We we build them up, right, Like like.
Speaker 2: If I'm hanging out with a guy that and this kid,
Speaker 2: I'm like, yo, I bet you can't beat my friend.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean, Like we like we like
Speaker 3: to associate ourselves with that or women. You guys are
Speaker 3: a little opposite you guys.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, But you're talking about lifting people up, because
Speaker 1: when you get in a team and everybody works together,
Speaker 1: that everybody sort of lifts everybody up.
Speaker 2: No, you, you live, you only there's a great You
Speaker 2: pat yourself on the back when you fail, and then
Speaker 2: you kick yourself in the ass when you succeed. But
Speaker 2: what I meant more is if you have to be
Speaker 2: constantly told that you're you know, you're awesome, you can
Speaker 2: do it, that's just no, you're not.
Speaker 3: You're not meant to you. Just go do it. Go fail,
Speaker 3: be okay with failing. Move, move the fuck on. You
Speaker 3: know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Talk that that to me in my head, that's how
Speaker 2: I talk to myself. Just go get it done. Because
Speaker 2: most of the people that are trying to encourage you
Speaker 2: as soon as you leave, they're not being honest with you.
Speaker 3: But you you're the only one that can really you know,
Speaker 3: you're you.
Speaker 1: Know how honest with yourself are But I'm saying, you
Speaker 1: know what you can do.
Speaker 3: Nobody knows what you could do.
Speaker 2: And when you keep asking other people can I can,
Speaker 2: I know then you're not.
Speaker 3: Meant to do it. Just go get it done.
Speaker 1: You know, how do you how do you feel about
Speaker 1: the role of comedy, UH with respect to healing others.
Speaker 3: I think perspective. A perspective is what's healing.
Speaker 2: I mean, I know that there's UH studies done on laughter,
Speaker 2: how it releases endorphins or whatever. But perspective is really
Speaker 2: what I think comedy gives because it goes it goes
Speaker 2: in line with the oh my god, what's woe is me? I?
Speaker 2: You know, I don't. I'm insecure. This is this, so's everybody.
Speaker 2: We're all insecure. And one thing I always tell my
Speaker 2: audience at the end when I talk to them, I
Speaker 2: always say, everybody in this room is hurting.
Speaker 3: We're all hurting.
Speaker 2: We all love the same, we hurt the same, nobody's
Speaker 2: different from the other. And you're all dead in a
Speaker 2: hundred years. And this goes in line is why I
Speaker 2: suck at dinner parties. But do you sit in the
Speaker 2: middle of the table?
Speaker 3: I just you know, comics.
Speaker 2: When we get together, it's it's very interesting and fun conversations.
Speaker 2: And then when you're out with regular people that they
Speaker 2: it's not as fun and they think that we're all like,
Speaker 2: you know, soul the other day, it's far from that.
Speaker 2: We're all mentally ill and depressed, but at the same time, like,
Speaker 2: I'm I'm optimistic guy. I just I'm just an honest person.
Speaker 2: And people hate honesty. They hate it, they hate it
Speaker 2: with themselves, right, like getting older? Who cares?
Speaker 1: Right? Right?
Speaker 3: What do you think you're going to be twenty two forever?
Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying? Or just worrying all the time?
Speaker 2: To me, it's just do you think you're the only
Speaker 2: person in the in the timeline of human existence?
Speaker 3: I mean, do you understand how selfish and narcissistic that is?
Speaker 2: And then to think that you're always going to look
Speaker 2: the same and that everything's always going to work out
Speaker 2: for you, You're fucking delusional. You're a delusional person that don't
Speaker 2: accept the way the world works. And that's not on me,
Speaker 2: that's on the that's on you. So you know, comics
Speaker 2: will give you that perspective that this is great, own it.
Speaker 2: Who cares?
Speaker 3: Laugh? Move on? You're dead soon or shut up?
Speaker 1: Ye have you ever experienced or witness moments where comedy
Speaker 1: helps someone cope with difficult emotion or situation.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you'll get emails from people, but it's only people
Speaker 2: that have experienced it in a way that get it.
Speaker 2: And then you know, every once in a while it's
Speaker 2: I'll say this, ninety five percent of the time, if
Speaker 2: someone experienced it and they know you're being honest about it,
Speaker 2: they'll hit you up and laugh. Ninety five percent of
Speaker 2: the people that don't like it think it should be offensive,
Speaker 2: like I can't believe you say something like that, You're
Speaker 2: not considerate. And then you'll get like a five percent
Speaker 2: of people that I went through it to said, look, dude,
Speaker 2: I didn't think that was funny. But for most I
Speaker 2: would say, again, I'm just throwing out a number. If
Speaker 2: I'm doing a joke that you could tell is I've experienced,
Speaker 2: because that's my rule of thumb. I only make fun
Speaker 2: of my own tragedies, you know what I mean, I'm
Speaker 2: not making fun of someone else's because that's where the
Speaker 2: authenticity comes in.
Speaker 3: Because I'm not a set up punch guy.
Speaker 2: I try to be honest and taking my experiences and
Speaker 2: you know, making light in them.
Speaker 1: It's pretty amazing. I would say comedies right up there
Speaker 1: with being a therapist. Almost a lot more fun, I'm
Speaker 1: guessing than well.
Speaker 3: No, there's two to that too.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, I don't know I've if you know,
Speaker 2: when you're taking something that affected you and making light
Speaker 2: of it, it's very therapeutic.
Speaker 3: I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2: That's the only thing I know, So I don't know
Speaker 2: how it would be any other way.
Speaker 1: Well, it's so helpful when you go into a show
Speaker 1: and you hear somebody I was watching one of your
Speaker 1: specials recently where you got into your dad, and it's like,
Speaker 1: if there's anyone in the audience thinking to themselves, you know,
Speaker 1: my goodness, he went through that growing up with his dad,
Speaker 1: and how can I complain about my life for my problems,
Speaker 1: you know? And then you're up there making fun and
Speaker 1: finding comedy in that. That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2: And then everything's relative, right, So like, you know, there's
Speaker 2: people that are worse off than me, there are people
Speaker 2: that are better off than me. But the when you
Speaker 2: learn the technique to deal with everything whatever comes your way. Right, So,
Speaker 2: as an artist, if you need constant validation, you're you're
Speaker 2: not going to succeed because most a lot of people
Speaker 2: just won't be honest with you, and you're you know,
Speaker 2: they say, the only person you can trust is yourself
Speaker 2: in the process, and the only person you can blame
Speaker 2: is yourself, right, like when you assess, because we know
Speaker 2: we know ourselves better than anybody. It's that third phase
Speaker 2: that we know right, but we also know where are
Speaker 2: failures are and what we need to work harder on.
Speaker 2: That's why I think as an artist self assessment because
Speaker 2: it's especially stand ups, always a work in progress. And
Speaker 2: sometimes you'll run a joke or a premise by somebody
Speaker 2: and then they'll be like, eugh, that that sounds awful,
Speaker 2: But then when you execute it, then they're like, oh, Okay,
Speaker 2: I get it because you know where you want to go.
Speaker 2: So you know, I always take criticism and compliments the
Speaker 2: same way.
Speaker 1: If that makes sense, Yeah, totally. Did you have a well,
Speaker 1: you know, if you can take criticism, you're way ahead
Speaker 1: of the game in this industry.
Speaker 2: Account criticism, uh, critical thinking, honesty, those things are the
Speaker 2: only things that you can really go and sometimes you know, look,
Speaker 2: because people mistake bad habits for who they are, if
Speaker 2: that makes sense. You know, like I'm the king of procrastinator.
Speaker 1: Who isn't It's awful?
Speaker 2: Like I still have to get my taxes going and
Speaker 2: you know, I keep filing extensions which cost me more
Speaker 2: money because it's like, oh I don't want to have
Speaker 2: to go you know, that type of stuff bothers me
Speaker 2: and then but you know you have to buckle down
Speaker 2: and get it done.
Speaker 3: But you know, you know your strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 1: So it's the curse of being creative. I think.
Speaker 2: Yeah, man, it's I mean, you get two types and
Speaker 2: stand up. You have the ocds and the adhds. You
Speaker 2: have the people that have anxiety versus the people that
Speaker 2: have depression.
Speaker 3: You know, it's just.
Speaker 1: I'm laughing, and I know I shouldn't be laughing, but
Speaker 1: I totally understand what you're talking about. Did you have
Speaker 1: a mentor or a mentor?
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it was the Comedy Store in general, just
Speaker 2: being there at that time period when I was there,
Speaker 2: being around comics that you know, I grew up watching,
Speaker 2: and then guys that were ahead of me, guys below me.
Speaker 2: So you you actually learned by osmosis and that o
Speaker 2: R the Original room because the Comedy Store, I have
Speaker 2: to explain it has three rooms as the main room,
Speaker 2: the original room, in the belly room, and the original
Speaker 2: rooms my favorite room in the country.
Speaker 3: Main room pays more. But the o R you've we
Speaker 3: learned all the.
Speaker 2: Comics that I came up with, like you know, some
Speaker 2: of my best friends. We you learn different things by
Speaker 2: being forced into it, like how to reset a room,
Speaker 2: how to follow uh like I you know, you follow
Speaker 2: everybody from Chris Rock to Chappelle to Rogan, to BurrH
Speaker 2: to Dice. You know you you you, and there's no
Speaker 2: MC so they bring you up. So then you got
Speaker 2: to learn, just through repetition and failure how to get
Speaker 2: the room after they just saw somebody that there were
Speaker 2: fans versus somebody they had no idea who they are,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean? And totally that type of
Speaker 2: stuff you you learn the comedy. So the Comedy Store
Speaker 2: itself was probably my biggest mentor that's cool.
Speaker 1: I think I think your failures are, like you said,
Speaker 1: some of your biggest successes. You just don't know it
Speaker 1: at the time, right, and you know if you can
Speaker 1: make it through.
Speaker 2: And what's funny is, like you when you were in it,
Speaker 2: and then when you're past it, you're always going back
Speaker 2: to that time period because that's the most fun, even
Speaker 2: though it was the most difficult.
Speaker 4: You will be right back with more of the Comedy
Speaker 4: Saved Me podcast. Welcome back to the Comedy Saved Me podcast.
Speaker 1: It's so it is. It's very hard if you want
Speaker 1: to pursue a career in general, in front of the
Speaker 1: camera or on the stage, to have that sense of Okay,
Speaker 1: I can do this. It's horrifying if you don't have
Speaker 1: some type of maybe somebody came into your life at
Speaker 1: one point said, hey, well you just did was funny
Speaker 1: and that's all you needed to hear one time to
Speaker 1: know that you were on the right track.
Speaker 3: Well, it goes back to that validation thing, right.
Speaker 2: So I can't tell you how many times I've been
Speaker 2: in conversations with other comics, like at the comedy store,
Speaker 2: we hang out in the hallway where till we go
Speaker 2: up and nobody even saw the guys set, And then
Speaker 2: somebody will get off stage will be like, yo, great set.
Speaker 3: They didn't even watch it. Oh man, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 2: That's when you learn that nobody really gets you know,
Speaker 2: people somehow create this narrative in their head that everybody's
Speaker 2: talking about them, everybody cares about nobody cares, nobody's that
Speaker 2: invested in you.
Speaker 3: That's why the self reliance thing.
Speaker 2: Is really important, and for younger artists to know that
Speaker 2: whatever art form they're in, it's all puberty, it's all this.
Speaker 3: We all go through the same thing.
Speaker 2: You know, you're not unique and you're failing, and you're
Speaker 2: not unique in your successes.
Speaker 3: Everything will come and go. It's the ebbs and flow
Speaker 3: of it. When you're in it long enough, you're going
Speaker 3: to be up.
Speaker 2: Your highs, your your low's way way more than your highs.
Speaker 2: But it'll eventually go away, then come back, go away.
Speaker 2: That's why if you just focus on what you love
Speaker 2: to do and just keep doing it, if you can
Speaker 2: still make a career at it, then you know you're
Speaker 2: you're lucky.
Speaker 1: Those are wise words. That was my next question is
Speaker 1: what do you what do you tell young up and
Speaker 1: coming artists? And that pretty much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all part for the course and what makes
Speaker 2: stand up such a unique art form. I mean there's
Speaker 2: a few exceptions. Is we've been at every level. When
Speaker 2: you're a headliner and there's a kid m seeing or
Speaker 2: a person guest setting or middling and there, we've all
Speaker 2: been there. We none of us have skipped any steps.
Speaker 2: We've all done open mics, we've all done the lotteries,
Speaker 2: we've all done the.
Speaker 3: Bringer shows, everything.
Speaker 2: So when when we're at at where we're at, and
Speaker 2: the person that's new is where they're at.
Speaker 3: What are you going to complain? You can't complain.
Speaker 2: We've we've all done it, we've all we've all been there.
Speaker 2: But I'm one of those those types too, where I'm
Speaker 2: more into like breaking just because something bad might have
Speaker 2: happened to me.
Speaker 3: I don't want to project that on someone else.
Speaker 1: Right right, I mean you feel you want to, but
Speaker 1: it's it's hard personally.
Speaker 3: No, I honestly don't, because you look at it two ways.
Speaker 2: It's like, you know, I remember watching people even a
Speaker 2: store one time, and I noticed that when people didn't
Speaker 2: hold the door for the next person, the one person
Speaker 2: that started holding the door, and then the next person
Speaker 2: would hold the door.
Speaker 3: And that's kind of what you want to do.
Speaker 2: You want to break cycles in that type of sense,
Speaker 2: because some of it's unnecessary, Like I've I've met comics
Speaker 2: without mentioning names that were like, hey, I went through it, so.
Speaker 3: Now I'm going to do to someone else.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Whereas like I don't see the purpose in that
Speaker 2: because some of those some of it is just isn't
Speaker 2: isn't cool?
Speaker 1: You mean, like hazing the new comic.
Speaker 2: Like Bump like, there's been times where, like you know,
Speaker 2: especially like in Hollywood and New York, where you have
Speaker 2: industry come down to see you for like a showcase
Speaker 2: type set, so you set it up at the club.
Speaker 2: Then all of a sudden, a major celebrity comes in,
Speaker 2: and we use a term called bumping right where you
Speaker 2: get bumped. So let's say I have a ten fifteen spot,
Speaker 2: and I brought some executives down that wanted to see
Speaker 2: my set that might be considering me for either late
Speaker 2: night appearance, which doesn't really happen that much anymore, or
Speaker 2: people that are developing shows, or even people that might
Speaker 2: be like, hey, we might want you to be on
Speaker 2: our show, like as an actor, and they're there and
Speaker 2: it's called the showcase set, right, and then that person
Speaker 2: famous person comes in and says, I want to go
Speaker 2: up now, and now they're going to do however long
Speaker 2: they're going to do, and the comic that had set
Speaker 2: it up, you may not even get up till midnight,
Speaker 2: and then that's bad. The industry sometimes doesn't want to
Speaker 2: be there that long, So I don't bump anyone.
Speaker 3: Even if I can, I won't.
Speaker 2: Do it, especially if they're I'll like if I show
Speaker 2: up at a show and they're like, hey, can you
Speaker 2: come down?
Speaker 3: I'll wait till the end. You know, that type of
Speaker 3: stuff I don't like.
Speaker 2: I don't like to do because I've been there and
Speaker 2: I didn't like how that how that worked out?
Speaker 1: Well, you're also a groundbreaker. Besides being a nice guy,
Speaker 1: You're Principal's office special was groundbreaking, I say because it
Speaker 1: was the first self distributed am I saying that correctly
Speaker 1: online special on YouTube?
Speaker 2: There were guys that like went viral with their specials,
Speaker 2: but I was the first to do a YouTube special.
Speaker 1: Yeah for free fully produced?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: And what what would inspire the approach? And how did
Speaker 1: do you feel it impacted your career?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 2: And but you know, because you're the first doesn't mean
Speaker 2: you did it right. Like you know, take because again,
Speaker 2: our community is pretty supportive.
Speaker 3: It's supportive in a way where like guys were.
Speaker 2: Like when when I told like Bill, Bill Burr and
Speaker 2: ur Is Shafir what I was thinking of doing, and
Speaker 2: then they're like, yeah, yeah, you should do that, you
Speaker 2: know what I mean. And then when I did it,
Speaker 2: I had other guys say how did that work out
Speaker 2: for you? Other comics And then I'd be like, look,
Speaker 2: it worked out great this way, but I I messed
Speaker 2: up this way, and then if I were to do
Speaker 2: it again, this is what I would do different. So
Speaker 2: when they did it for the first time, I was
Speaker 2: given telling them what I did.
Speaker 3: Wrong for them to you know, not do wrong. Does
Speaker 3: that make sense?
Speaker 1: And then yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: But it became a thing because I had put about
Speaker 2: twenty thousand on my own money, and you know, I
Speaker 2: had some friends lent me some money too to invest
Speaker 2: in it, and in the process of shooting Principal's Office,
Speaker 2: I was hoping Netflix would well. Prior to that, I
Speaker 2: did a Comedy Central present, so everybody wanted to get
Speaker 2: their hour on Comedy Central.
Speaker 3: Let me take it back a little, and I had
Speaker 3: a top five.
Speaker 2: Comedy Central would do this thing where they would air
Speaker 2: all the half hours and hours that they produced for
Speaker 2: the year, and people would vote on it. Right, they
Speaker 2: would call in. This is like two thousand and ten,
Speaker 2: twenty eleven, and they would call in and say, this
Speaker 2: was our favorite. So there was like a hundred specials
Speaker 2: that year and I was in the top five, but
Speaker 2: it was only my half hour, so I wanted to
Speaker 2: get the hour, and every year after that, I was
Speaker 2: on the one yard line, but I would lose it
Speaker 2: to check because they would check is like we need
Speaker 2: we have enough white dudes. We're gonna do more females,
Speaker 2: or we're gonna do this, and they started just checking
Speaker 2: boxes and I was getting frustrated with it, so I
Speaker 2: was like, screw it, I'll shoot one myself and have
Speaker 2: Netflix was licensing at the time, but in the process
Speaker 2: of shooting it and editing it, Netflix changed the policy
Speaker 2: and said we're not going to license anymore.
Speaker 3: We're going to own it.
Speaker 2: So now I was stuck with this twenty thousand dollars
Speaker 2: special because you get for me. I got to the
Speaker 2: point to where like, I don't need permission to exist,
Speaker 2: Right If I'm putting this work in and these people
Speaker 2: are like, no, he doesn't fit this criteria or that criteria,
Speaker 2: then I'm like, well then I'm just gonna do it myself.
Speaker 1: And I love that.
Speaker 2: And it just the way it worked out was, you know,
Speaker 2: I thought outside the box. I built out a website
Speaker 2: that you could watch it, and then I ebbed in
Speaker 2: a YouTube player, so whatever views I got, you can
Speaker 2: monetize it on YouTube. Then I set it up where
Speaker 2: if you wanted to buy it for five dollars, you could.
Speaker 2: If you wanted to get a T shirt for twenty
Speaker 2: you get the special with it, or just give me
Speaker 2: your email. You didn't have to do anything, and I
Speaker 2: would tell them that I'd say, you just enjoy it,
Speaker 2: but if you wanted to stay in touch.
Speaker 3: I'll take your email.
Speaker 2: Because it was one of those things where I was
Speaker 2: in the nightclub business, where like if I if I
Speaker 2: don't get.
Speaker 3: You at the door, I'm going to get you at
Speaker 3: the bar.
Speaker 2: So you wanted to get a bunch of, you know,
Speaker 2: as much fans as possible. Eventually, if they like it,
Speaker 2: they'll go buy a ticket. But truth be told, after
Speaker 2: about three hundred thousand views, my average was like twenty
Speaker 2: dollars and I ended up making a shit ton of
Speaker 2: money from it.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: And but I used the comedy community. I went on
Speaker 2: Bill Burr, I went on all the podcasts that were
Speaker 2: my friends, and we promoted it because comics have always
Speaker 2: been on the forefront of everything from early Hollywood to radio,
Speaker 2: to silent films to sitcoms. Dame Cook blew it up
Speaker 2: with MySpace, you know, Rogan, Mark Marin, Tom Green, Adam Carolla,
Speaker 2: with the podcasting, and then you know, now that's why
Speaker 2: you're doing a podcast. Is comics started podcasting. We were
Speaker 2: the first.
Speaker 1: It's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've always been ahead of because we just love
Speaker 2: to create, and we can create funny and.
Speaker 1: Well, I know, I actually know why believe it or not?
Speaker 1: Why because it's something I say with every time I
Speaker 1: talk to a comedian, and I don't try to repeat
Speaker 1: myself just to be heard. But it's true. You really
Speaker 1: are the foundation of entertainment and the hardest working people
Speaker 1: in entertainment. That's why you're so interchangeable. You can act,
Speaker 1: you can do drama, you can do comedy, you can write,
Speaker 1: you can perform on stage to a live audience or
Speaker 1: a camera. But you all work so hard on your
Speaker 1: own and you support each other, whereas like, that's comedy
Speaker 1: that's so different than acting or music, where you sort
Speaker 1: of on your own. You don't have all these other
Speaker 1: people trying to lift you up and help you in
Speaker 1: the same industry, or at least it doesn't seem that
Speaker 1: way as much anymore.
Speaker 3: Well, we definitely are the blue collar of the entertainment business.
Speaker 2: And you're right in that fact that like to even
Speaker 2: get to a point to where you're even considering doing
Speaker 2: something right. You have six, seven, sometimes ten years of
Speaker 2: shitty bar gigs, you know, living in a smaller area
Speaker 2: moving to a bigger one, keeping your nights so open,
Speaker 2: waiting in line, Like we used to wait in line
Speaker 2: at the lab factory to do three minutes and we
Speaker 2: would get up at five am and you'd have a
Speaker 2: friend that would sit there until about five pm until
Speaker 2: they came out, and then we would do it in
Speaker 2: shifts just to do three minutes to try and get
Speaker 2: a paid spot at a club. And we're doing that
Speaker 2: until for so many years. So yeah, you're right. We're
Speaker 2: always always.
Speaker 1: Moving, always and don't ever call in the morning early.
Speaker 3: At least you catch just before we go to bed.
Speaker 1: That's true, because then you're in the morning. How do
Speaker 1: you maintain that work life balance? It's so funny. As
Speaker 1: a woman, that's always the question. How are you a
Speaker 1: mom and work full time and all that? But this
Speaker 1: is different. I mean, like we said, you're hard working,
Speaker 1: but there's your whole life outside of comedy, and there's
Speaker 1: a lot of demands with touring and acting and performing.
Speaker 1: What's your secret?
Speaker 2: I don't know, Like, well, I don't act as much.
Speaker 2: I mean, I was very fortunate to get on the show.
Speaker 2: I just always focus on the traveling and the stand up.
Speaker 2: But I you know, I I guess state keep working,
Speaker 2: like keep doing new material, like keep take you know,
Speaker 2: coming up with stuff, and so each time you're coming
Speaker 2: to a city, it's a different routine or try to
Speaker 2: be you know.
Speaker 1: And take like new risks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, creatively, you know, and it's usually you know, it's
Speaker 2: it's goddess.
Speaker 3: I was who the heck was I talking to about this?
Speaker 2: Where I you deconstruct what where you're at to figure
Speaker 2: out the way you got there, but while you're getting there,
Speaker 2: you have no idea how you're getting there.
Speaker 1: I think that's called hindsight.
Speaker 3: Is that what it is?
Speaker 1: Look, I just simpled it up for you really easy.
Speaker 3: Well, it's like you reverse engineer the process.
Speaker 2: And like when I was talking about, like you learn
Speaker 2: lessons with all right, I'll give you, uh, when you're
Speaker 2: at the comedy store, say and you who like Dice
Speaker 2: taught me something one night.
Speaker 3: I don't even know if he was teaching me.
Speaker 2: He wanted me to do this bit but then do
Speaker 2: a monologue leading up to the bit, and I was like, ugh,
Speaker 2: I had never done.
Speaker 1: You want to memorize it too, Just make it up, Oh.
Speaker 3: Make it up. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I was in the main room and I used
Speaker 2: to do this roller skating bit about this guy named
Speaker 2: Tony that was like thirty when we were ten.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you ever remember.
Speaker 2: There was that old dude at the roller rink, but
Speaker 2: he he was like, you gotta tell everybody who's Tony?
Speaker 3: Where is he from?
Speaker 2: And because Dice was one of my idols growing up, I, uh,
Speaker 2: I did it. And I went up and just started
Speaker 2: talking about this guy. I'd never done it before. And
Speaker 2: this was in the main room. And I didn't realize
Speaker 2: that at the time because I would watch Dice in
Speaker 2: the or he commits. But he was teaching me commitment
Speaker 2: by putting me in that situation which I would never
Speaker 2: have been in, and you just I just committed to
Speaker 2: it because I had no choice and and and the
Speaker 2: uncomfortability came to laughter and I and I kind of
Speaker 2: I didn't realize it till like eight months later, that
Speaker 2: that's what he does sometimes, Like he'll go on stage
Speaker 2: and just commit to things.
Speaker 3: He never waivers and commit.
Speaker 2: And I learned commitment from that, and then you learn
Speaker 2: how to get a room back. One night, one of
Speaker 2: the more famous comics just said good night and he
Speaker 2: was supposed to bring me up, so he ran off
Speaker 2: stage forgetting to bring me up.
Speaker 1: Oh what did you do?
Speaker 2: Then I had to run up while the room was leaving,
Speaker 2: And then now you're like, hey, and you have to
Speaker 2: get everybody back. You just you learn these different scenarios
Speaker 2: and but you don't know you're learning it at the time.
Speaker 2: So it's like twenty something years later you go back
Speaker 2: and say, this is how I learned to commit, this
Speaker 2: is how I learned how to reset, and you know,
Speaker 2: but in the process, you don't know what's happening.
Speaker 1: Can you share Brett a time that comedy helped you
Speaker 1: through a tough situation?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the night the day my brother died. I went
Speaker 2: on stage that night, and uh, you know I didn't
Speaker 2: I just I don't even think.
Speaker 3: I talked about it.
Speaker 2: I just went into do a material and I just
Speaker 2: kept getting up because you know, it's it's one of
Speaker 2: those things where like you just I just forced myself
Speaker 2: to get up that day, and you know that helped.
Speaker 3: That helped a lot.
Speaker 2: It's like, you know, you don't feel like going to
Speaker 2: the gym, and you're like, I gotta go. You know,
Speaker 2: I just gotta go because that's what you learn from sports.
Speaker 2: But you know, working out makes me feel better. I
Speaker 2: feel like I accomplished something, like I center my day
Speaker 2: around a gym, and then I center my.
Speaker 3: Meant health around my stand up.
Speaker 2: I guess because I do have that outlet, and I
Speaker 2: can see where it could be difficult for somebody who's
Speaker 2: going through something that doesn't have an outlet to be
Speaker 2: creative with it, if that makes sense totally.
Speaker 1: And do you see when you've done that for others
Speaker 1: when you're on stage, No, because.
Speaker 2: You you can't get the same feeling. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: it's the difference between preparing a meal and somebody eating it.
Speaker 2: You know, there's the chefs that are like, hey, I
Speaker 2: just discovered this new spice or whatever, this new combination.
Speaker 2: The satisfaction is watching people eat it and being wow,
Speaker 2: this is the best. This was really good, you know,
Speaker 2: But it would be more of trying to give a
Speaker 2: one of the best meals possible, or you're the best
Speaker 2: meal you can give to someone who hasn't eaten in
Speaker 2: a while, and then yeah, so not only are you
Speaker 2: feeding them that, but it's something really good for them, because.
Speaker 1: Did you know that was going to be a byproduct
Speaker 1: of yours?
Speaker 2: What I mean, you don't, You don't know. You still
Speaker 2: don't know. You just know that, you know. Some people
Speaker 2: will leave you a private message saying, hey, I went
Speaker 2: through this, and it's funny too when you're online and people,
Speaker 2: uh leave comments about things they don't understand. And then
Speaker 2: and then there's the ones that do get it, and
Speaker 2: then they hit you up and they're like, yo, this
Speaker 2: was my story.
Speaker 3: And then then you know, you kind of have a.
Speaker 2: Shared experience with them, and those you try to tie,
Speaker 2: you know, try and hit them back and say, yo,
Speaker 2: I'm glad that that worked for you. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: but that's not the I I know, it's everything sounds contradictory,
Speaker 2: but that's not the goal.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: It's still like there's just there's something pleasing in taking
Speaker 2: a thought and then constructing an idea. And then here's
Speaker 2: the crazy part. I don't even care if they laugh.
Speaker 2: I just want I just want the right people to laugh,
Speaker 2: and they will.
Speaker 3: Huh right.
Speaker 1: That's that's an interesting take. I don't think I've ever
Speaker 1: heard anyone.
Speaker 3: Well, no, there's a lot that way that are okay
Speaker 3: with silence.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I am horrible with that. By the way, my
Speaker 1: husband tells me that for someone who gets paid to talk,
Speaker 1: I give a lot of words away for free.
Speaker 3: Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1: But looking back on your career, what do you hope
Speaker 1: that your legacy in comedy will be?
Speaker 3: You know, I don't know.
Speaker 1: Is that a hard question?
Speaker 3: Yeah, because you don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't know, you just the only thing I would
Speaker 2: want people to say about me is how hard I
Speaker 2: work and how much integrity I have.
Speaker 3: And what I do.
Speaker 2: Like, you know, I don't want to to sit there
Speaker 2: and go I want to have world peace. I don't
Speaker 2: you know, you don't know, there's many I want people
Speaker 2: to realize that everything will be okay. You know what
Speaker 2: I mean, when you leave, everything's gonna be fine. You
Speaker 2: have two choices. Just laugh at it and from me.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm Catholic. I believe in God. I believe
Speaker 2: Jesus was who he was. But I give I always
Speaker 2: compliment atheists. I now, I'm like, I don't know how
Speaker 2: you guys do it without God, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like, I give you props, but.
Speaker 2: At the end of the day, we're all gone. I mean,
Speaker 2: every every this, I mean, it's just everything goes like that.
Speaker 2: And you know that because I was twenty five two
Speaker 2: weeks ago and I got to assume I'll be seventy
Speaker 2: five in a month.
Speaker 3: And what are you going to do?
Speaker 2: Everybody goes through things, So just laugh at it, because
Speaker 2: that takes the.
Speaker 3: Power away from you.
Speaker 2: Know.
Speaker 3: I don't want to say the devil or evil or negative.
Speaker 3: Does that make sense?
Speaker 1: No, it's true. It keeps it all at bay.
Speaker 2: Evil knows it can't win. It doesn't want to win.
Speaker 2: It just wants to cause chaos and cause sorrow. And
Speaker 2: when you get caught up in that and you start
Speaker 2: to make decisions based on.
Speaker 3: Desperation, everything will.
Speaker 2: Everything always works out, and even if it doesn't, something
Speaker 2: else will, because you know, God gives by taking away.
Speaker 3: It takes something away, something else comes in.
Speaker 2: And when you're sad about things or think your tragedies
Speaker 2: are unique, then they're not. Everybody goes through something. Some
Speaker 2: are way more awful than others, some are way more
Speaker 2: harder to laugh at.
Speaker 3: But just know all of us will be dead one day.
Speaker 2: And I'm willing to bet when you're one hundred years
Speaker 2: old in bed, your last thoughts aren't going to be God.
Speaker 2: I wish that person didn't make fun of me. You know,
Speaker 2: you're going to be focusing on ice cream and past
Speaker 2: family members, and I wish I had more time.
Speaker 3: I missed my mother making Sunday gravy.
Speaker 2: You know, whatever those thoughts are, those are the ones
Speaker 2: that you're really going to think about.
Speaker 3: And that's why all this stuff in between. Just just
Speaker 3: laugh at it. You got no choice.
Speaker 1: Laugh and look for silver linings. That's that's MyD.
Speaker 2: Just like I said, if you know you're going to
Speaker 2: be dead one day, why are you letting everything stress
Speaker 2: you out? I mean, there's gonna be major events in
Speaker 2: your life that you have no control over, but everything else,
Speaker 2: you know, That's the beauty of comedy is we're laughing
Speaker 2: at life, right. And I remember at the end of
Speaker 2: my special, I said that you know when you because
Speaker 2: I was, I got divorced. But that when I did
Speaker 2: the not Principal, the one after Principles of Domesticated Animal,
Speaker 2: it was my least favorite special because I was lying
Speaker 2: the whole time. Because I wrote it as a married man,
Speaker 2: and I had made jokes about our marriage as kind
Speaker 2: of like not a homage or whatever the word is,
Speaker 2: but in honor of that.
Speaker 1: And then I think the h is silent whatever.
Speaker 3: That thing's called.
Speaker 1: I've never heard anyone say that, I'm sorry, So I'm
Speaker 1: not that broud. You're not even trying to be funny,
Speaker 1: and I'm.
Speaker 3: Stupid sometimes I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: So I said at the end that you know, whenever
Speaker 2: we see romantic movies, it's either when we first met
Speaker 2: or when we're getting a divorce. You know, does usually,
Speaker 2: but it's all the in between is where comics come in,
Speaker 2: and that's the stuff you need to laugh at.
Speaker 1: Yes, sir frett Ernst, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 3: I know it was very wordy, but this is very early.
Speaker 1: For me right now, That's okay. I love wordy