I think I

know Nick Mullen

Nick's hilarious. Yeah, super fun. Oh, he's fine guy. Yeah Yeah, super fun. Really like and we had an I mean that show was, we got successful again, by accident. My whole career's felt like something that's - So when you get in,

so you're doing these rooms in New York and podcasting is just a thing just starting? It was literally, here's how I felt about it. So it's come down audio? It was audio. We were like,

you know, video, know nothing. And honestly, my thoughts were, I was like, podcasting's over. I was like, Marin, comedy, bang, bang, this American life. that was it, it's done. And Mullen was fucking right, and he was like, let's just do it. I thought for sure we would do like seven episodes. Every comic was doing that at the time. They would do 10 episodes. They'd see nine people listen to Nick Quaid. Exactly, exactly. And then we just, I think the reason we even associated the dirtbag left at all is because Nick was roommates with a couple people that were in Chappel Trap House. Yeah. And so, I mean, we, and you know, I happen to have, I don't, I'm not really super political in my act or even, but if something comes up, I'll talk, I don't, I won't shy away from talking about it. I just, I, my comedy is a lot more just like, interpersonal, I'm so personally driven that if you pay

attention you could probably see what my politics are. Yeah, that's me too. I know I can't talk from anywhere from my, but my own point of view. Right.

And so, you know, the whole political thing is very funny because I think just by having friends who are... Poligned. ...are political, then it's like we just got kind of... We were just friends with them, and same thing. I have friends who are... That's their thing is being political. Yeah. Twitch streaming, political stuff like that. But yeah, for us... And so it's funny that our show ever got aligned with any politics, because if you lose the show, the whole point is just like the dumbest... Having fun with your friends in, it's like middle school. When you would just say, not even sex. It's dumber than that. I mean, we talk about sex too, but it would be like, it's just shitting on each other. You know, stream of consciousness bits, saying, you know, it's kind of what you're saying about being 60 and being dirty. I kind of felt like, well, it was, in our 20s, being the come town guys was awesome, but it's like, we're gonna be 40, and being the Come Town guys, you know? So we're all doing our own shit now. They got the Adam Friedland show, which is really funny, and I got, I did my own podcast that's a little more, it's advice, it's advice plus interview stuff. Still do it? I still do, I still do Stobby's World, yeah. And it's video though? Video, yeah. Yeah. You

made the jump. I

made the jump, brother, yeah. Because it really was just, I wanted to make something that I could just do. My issue with podcasting was that, well, when you're doing it with two other guys, and everything is sort of like, you're dynamic, you can't really pre -record shit, you know what I mean? And I wanted to go on the road, we all wanted to kind of do our own shit. And so it was like, we're doing five episodes in two days, but it's like the same guys talking about the

same shit. So you do it at a time and you do call in?

I do a bunch at a time. I have a guest, I have a friend. If you're ever in New York, you want to do the show, we'd love to have you. And then we just, and then people call in with their voicemails. So we reply to there. And then we do a Patreon episode where they call in directly. And that's really fun to be able to just talk to people. That's interesting, though, what you said about,

you know, where you are personally, politically, and then what you do on stage. Because for me, that's always been the mix that you gotta pull off. Sure. Is that, you know, you're gonna, if you're gonna, for me, you don't seem to wanna do it, which is fine, but like, you know, I politics, how they run through me and what my interpretation is, but I'm always sort of like, I always want to ground it in the fact that I'm an imperfect person with problems. Sure, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. But I do think about this. Totally,

totally. Yeah, and I do think on some level, I guess, I also like to think of it holistically of like, that is still a passion of mine. And I still think inequality in this country is incredibly out of control. And the stuff I went to school for, public policy, and I mostly was focusing on welfare policy. But I just know that I spent, if I was really serious about those things, would have fucking gone to, you know, studied more, gotten a job. And had

like a thankless, civil service

type photo. Exactly, I mean, I was a tutor in Baltimore City for a couple years when I was open miking, and when I quit, I was like, I have to quit because I'm not pouring my whole being into this. Yeah,

and also, like, when you have ego, you want to be recognized for what you're doing, I mean, that's a pretty thankless world. I got pretty obsessed with social workers, and no one ever talks about them, and they're kind of holding things together barely. It's crazy. You

should literally triple what they make. And teachers too. Yeah, absolutely. And so I guess the way I look at it is poured myself into getting good at stand -ups. Yeah. And I do think there will be kind of a later, like I'm even kind of thinking about, I got a place in Baltimore, my family still lives there. So I'm spending a little more time there this year just kind of hanging out with them, reconnecting with stuff. And I was like, you know, I want to do some, you know, charity work in Baltimore. I mean the reason I do comedy is because I had a teacher in like second and third grade who was like, he was doing community theater. They would put on these great things. He let me host the talent show when I'm in third grade. So I'm up there like riffing. It's like one of my positive memories. So it's like I want to go back and like help, you know, help out that way. But I do think that's, to me right now, it's a little separate from my output. You know, don't think I can communicate the ideas that I'm passionate about in a way that's also funny, because I am very staunchly on the like, I'm a last per minute guy, I'm a like, and that's maybe why I want to do, maybe a little acting or write something, do a show, because you can be a little more you can be more complex ideas that way. Sure. Where I think stand up, I love it, it's my favorite thing

in the world. Depends what your audience is. And like, you know, lately, sort of, you know what I mean? Because you do build, when you get an audience, you have manifested it. True. So you're looking at a reflection of some kind. Oh, that's interesting. And then, you know, you have to decide, like, is this who I am? That guy?

Right. But oddly, despite my

lifelong attempt to self -sabotage myself, I, smart, kind of, you know, decent people at my shows. And like lately I've been like, are you sure? Like there's part of me that's sort of like, let me show you who I really am. Let's get into it. But I always have. Yeah. And they're still there. And I think that not unlike anything else, you know, people hear what they want to hear. They make judgments about it. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it all depends on how you tip it. But I think that being honest and being base or being filthy is as much part of the human condition as anything else. And the relief that you can get out of people and yourself by sort of sharing those things,

it's

genuine humanity.

That's

true. That's absolutely true.

And it the thing everybody does get. Whether you want to say it, somebody... Farts are funny. Yeah, farts. Yeah, absolutely. Sacks, all this stuff. That's why these things just do hit the hardest when it comes to stand up. And

now, unfortunately, despite no one's best effort, information technology is really successfully broken almost everyone's broken. Yeah, absolutely. It's fucked. It's super fucked. And our brains aren't meant to manage what we get out of that thing. No. And it's kind of crazy. So you can have this experience with these people, but they go home and you don't know what they're doing.

Yeah, that's what they're doing. And you're right, we kind of obsess over, you know, your acts, what you're gonna do, whatever, but it's like, this is one, most people, even diehard fans will see you, what, four times in their life? Right. Diehard. That's right. You know, so it's like. They don't know what you're doing with the other, you know, people. Yeah, yeah. And it's like, who knows what, and then you said it too, just something they like about that So something intrinsic about you. They just like that's right here you talk right when it comes back to it, right?

No, but it's interesting to me though because this is the other component that you know, I'm starting to realize is that There's still some of you that wants to write a show. I mean, like it seems to me, here's my premise,

is that you seem to be, movies may be more than shows.

It seems to me you're of a generation where I start to realize like, look, I don't have a YouTube presence. So like when I do a special, you know, I want to be paid by, you know, a network or platform. want them to give me the money, and then I don't need to know how many people watch it. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. But like, because I know, because I have no presence, if I did a special, I put it on YouTube, I'd be sitting there every day, I'm like, how could only 100 people watch this? So I don't want, I'm in denial, and that's fine. Sure. But it seems to me that there's all these, you know, everyone's building their own show business. Yeah, True. What, what mainstream show business is or what it was when I was coming up, you know, you go pitch, you get a show, you do this or that. People don't give a fuck anymore.

I guess that's true. I guess what I meant was like something narrative that's not stand up. Yeah. But not necessarily.

No, I was just asking in terms of like, how do you see show business?

Well, how I see show business is that, yeah, I think the self, that's exactly how I view it. My YouTube channel, I view it as like my own network. That's what I'm building, right? And I like that I have control over it. I mean, I am a little worried because YouTube was supposed to be this, oh, it's free from all these network restrictions, whatever, but now they're getting every huge tech company, they're starting to censor a little more and they got things a little cleaner because they make their money off advertising. So inevitably, we will have to make an exodus from YouTube as well, but that's not where we are now. At the end of the day, it is about having the ability to, having your own fans so that, even let's say you put something out with the network, you put something out, in theaters or whatever, basically show business is one gigantic bringer and that's it. There's no pretense

that it's not, there's no, yeah, there's no way to, and maybe you could. As an entrepreneur, it's a bringer. You know, if it's old school show business, it's just a numbers game. And now they've had to adapt to sort of giving people opportunities who already have a following, just to meet their bottom line. They don't give a fuck. They might not even know you, but they look

at the numbers and they're like, well, what do you want to do? And it becomes a thing of like every relationship is like, you just have to be getting something out of it where you have to build up the, you're never gonna, the way I look at it is you're never gonna develop through a network, you're never gonna get your opportunities there. Anymore. You have to create that yourself. Yes. And that then it becomes a pure, it is pure business where it's like, can we do something here? Yeah. Like, you know, I I loved I was a little nervous when I put a special on Netflix because you don't know anything about a huge I'd never done anything With a network the new one, right? What's it called again? Fat rascal? Yeah on Netflix right now because you know I had done my whole career was the internet. Yeah, I mean I did whatever the fuck I wanted. Yeah, and But it's Netflix, it's the biggest streamer and I want more people to see me. How did it do? It did great. It did really well. I was really happy with it. They were happy with it. And they didn't restrict me at all. They restricted me probably less than YouTube would have. And they were great to work with. And it was like, not that I didn't expect it, but it's like, you just expect the man. You're like, fuck, fuck you. All your suits, right? And it's like...

Well, I think what that is, but my point is, is that in terms of something doing well, it's all relative to their fucking algorithm, right? So you could get lost or you could not. And you don't even know. So, you know, really. Sure. Sure. And, and

yeah, that, that is true. I mean, uh, but I just think that putting something it just goes to are you getting something with a lot of? Viewership or are you getting money or you just have to make it worth your while one way or another? but there's no but and then you have to always have the Ability to walk away and be like I'll just fucking do it myself. Yeah, and that's also why I mean when I when we when we Stopped come town part of me was like I don't really want to do a podcast. But with just a couple months, I was like, it's so important to just have your own fans forever. And a podcast is the best way to just kind of keep them weekly, giving them something, getting to interact with them. You're

not crazy with the content. I mean, do you feel like you're overwhelmed in terms of what you have to feed? Yeah,

I mean, a little bit. I mean, the overhead is high. I have buddies that you know, I mean it's cool cuz I've got the gotten to hire my friends, right? But you know we have to put out a lot of fucking shit and it is like you're running a network and I'm not you're not Making that much money off it everything support everything goes to touring. So it's just like it's like a Jenga tower of like everything has to just support the touring business. So they know where you are and when you're

gonna be there and you stay in their face.

Yeah, and then if I wanted to put something out, right? Let's say I do wanna write that show. And either I go with the network because maybe they just give us a bigger budget than I can afford or have access to like really - of ad support. Yeah Whatever whatever it is like. Yeah that way or fuck it and we just make our own thing Then at the end of the day, I if I go directly to those people, yeah, I know they exist I know someone's gonna be interested

and then in breaking evens not terrible not

terrible, especially if like Especially if you're making money on the road. Right. Right? That's really, it's kind of what musicians have been up against since Napster, basically, where it's like, yeah, everything is your fucking touring business. And I happen to like touring. I mean, I'd like to do it in a way that's healthy for me, and I'm figuring that out right now. But I do like it. And so, and there is something to, going back to, not to sound corny about phones and shit, but it's like, there still just is nothing like live performance, and there is nothing like every show having its own energy, and its own connection to people, and to just, then, and that is, at the end of the day, the more I've taken, I've taken a couple months and thought about it, it's like, I still just love stand -up comedy. I

just do.

In a club, in a club the most.

You know? Yeah, I just did two sets of dry heat comedy club in Albuquerque, because I grew up there. That's awesome. There's like 50 people, and I just dropped in. But the weird thing is, is that because of, and you probably, you know, you work within this, because you seem to record a lot of club sets, is that, you know, when you do a show, if I go do an hour, like say tomorrow in Montclair, New Jersey, wherever, Thursday, and something happens, like I love it and it's great and it makes it worthwhile and it's what I set out to do, but you walk off going like, nah, no one, it's gone. No clip, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's beautiful. See,

I also philosophically have been thinking about this a lot because I also recognize, like doing clips was an accident. It was just, I put out my own YouTube special, and I didn't have much, I had a small YouTube presence, but nothing crazy. And I had been trying to get a Comedy Central half hour, so I recorded every set to watch it, and so I just had all these random moments that normally I'd be like are gone, and I never set out to be a crowd work clip guy, but I just had a year's worth of them. But were they crowd work clip guys when you did that, or did you set a certain standard? I think it was kind of starting. But it was like, and I was, don't get me wrong, I was like a material guy, you know, I was pressured by my material, and so I was like, fuck it, I'll put out some stuff. And within a couple days, I was out of material to put out because I was like, well, the rest of it's got to go in the fucking hour. That's how you don't burn it. So I was like, all right, let's just do this. And so it was kind of accidental, but I do think there is, and it's helped me tremendously. And I view these clips as like an advertisement. I don't see them as my common. I see them as like, it's either this or some full -sh. It'll make people wanna see you. Yeah, exactly. It's either, so, but I think there is a toll you pay in putting enough of that out there. Because that's also, you are, that does affect the live show. Because if people had no idea. Oh, they just want that the whole time. Well, it's not even just that that It's not that big a deal. It's not as big a deal as people think because usually it's one dickhead who really wants to be a part of it Yeah, and you could just destroy him. Yeah, and it's fun for you It's fun for everybody else and and they actually hate it do it to a point where they're not having a good time that one guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah He's the sacrificial lamb. Yeah. Yeah, but I just think there from a performance aspect, you're giving, you are giving away a lot of yourself. Yeah. And a lot of what is special about you as a performer. Right. And, but at the same time, because they are so ethereal. Yeah. And because I do like getting into it with the crowd, because like, you know, my, you know, I liked, I hope that my crowd work isn't, isn't like the like, hey, nice shirt, you fucking bitch. Like it's a little, I actually like to ask questions. Oh yeah, no,

if it happens organically,

it's great.