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hey guys so we have got uh the one and only David Cross an old buddy today um
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Dave uh you know half of Mr Show with Bob Odenkirk another extremely gifted
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comedian those guys those sketches were so interesting so funny along with the
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rest of development we talk about the uh specials he's doing he's got one coming out uh uh Dana you had uh some good
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chats with them well I had listened to his album once I think and I asked I couldn't remember the title it was so
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funny and I think it was shut up you stupid [ __ ] baby or something and it
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was like 2002 but he's kind of like with and Bob oerk they're like Batman and Robin I don't know which one's Robin
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which one's Batman but they have an amazing sensibility we talk all about their friendship and um David just one
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of those comedians that is always goes outside the lines does whatever he he I
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mean he's he you he's um very thoughtful about what he likes in comedy and and he
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and Bob that's why Mr show was so great and we even make him talk about uh the
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Chipmunks movie especially the second one The squeel Dana thought I was making up the
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squeak which we brought we bring up his the the the trilogy of the chip monk movies that he was in and I thought Dave
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was kidding the second one but it was called the the the chick wool what was it the squeak wool yeah sque yeah so we
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laugh and you'll get to you get to know David David Cross the one and only David
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Cross and I like him because he's on just shoot me and he did one of our best episodes ever which was slow Donnie and
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uh so fun so we get to talk about that okay well here you guys go on a platter David
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[Music] Cross should we call him David Cross or
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David cuz I'm just how about DC just DC that should that should F that's my
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initials now it's that's why I said oh whoa whoa there's the joke there's two DCS two David do we have do we have a
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third what's your middle D Spade let's call me sper I'll call Spade Sparky
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Sparky for just today's podcast I'll call Spade Sparky do you mind I'm just going to jump
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in I'm looking at your whole everything to see where jump in I could easily jump
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in with my it's good it's it's good to know that you guys have really done your look at that look at Dana there's too
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much stuff there's too much I I don't know where to begin it's [ __ ] Spades
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over there Googling all right let's see what we got here I actually do my stuff
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right before they go you'll know them when you see them and I go okay so uh we
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Dana you don't know about this I did a sitcom the old days called just shoot me I was a guest you were a guest oh I
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can't say the next thing then and DC was I was going to say DC was probably our
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favorite episode but Danny you were second you were so close to second I can't do comedy acting like that David
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David Cross he's a brilliant at that stuff I put a wig on me I'll do a voice
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David do you remember this bit we did on just shoot me I uh it it was perplexing
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to me how to this day that that uh slow dowy thing was as popular as it was I
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mean I I this what we what was that 30 years ago 25 years ago something like that and um
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and I mean I still get people still to this day saying uh chicken popey or or
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quarter green quarter I get um Dana just so you know we were he was on as slow
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down and I think you're making fun of Todds yeah was a
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you know his all funny stuff back in the 90s he made fun of Todds yeah he was a
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challenged individual oh oh and uh he was one of the cast member's brothers
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and then he wanted to date Laura and he was hitting on her and she didn't know what to do because I don't
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know why he was mentally challenged and did you use a Boston accent for that oh okay because that was prettyy funny
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when he just did I uh it's the only way you're allowed to say the word [ __ ]
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in context is to do it like you're doing an oppression of a Boston guy because
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it's so normal up there yeah it it doesn't sound aggressive it's just I
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thought you were talking about that's just how they talk you know yeah um but uh
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uh the guy was the character was pretending to be
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mentally challenged be because he was getting a free ride yeah and then he
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showed him his the real self to Laura's character and then you know gas litter
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the rest of the show what did what how did did you affect kind of a voice or a character or you play it like
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yourself oh I mean I don't know it's it's a you know sitcom for a network so
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I just did it as Broad and dumb as you know it was just like you know Donnie wants to do this or what I can't
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remember but something like that it's only 30 years gone I remember when when he's with he's just screwing up his
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household his whole life he's getting taken care of his whole life and his mom's all beat up and she and he goes I
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love you Mommy and she goes see that makes it all worth it then he goes I love you
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table Pats the table and she goes well but with Laura he's hitting on her
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and he's like and then when they get quiet he goes listen baby I think we I know a great sushi place we can get out of here and she's like wait what can you
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talk normal and he's like no I'm Donnie and then he accuses
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Laura it's all great the great thing about that the sitcom world is that you
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would be sharing all these experiences with a coworker that you're extremely
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close with and yet never know until that episode that was never brought up again that he had a brother that was
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mentally disabled and then never brought up in any other episode never brought up again I'm I should every show I should
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have gone where's that [ __ ] scammer slowed on yeah don't bring
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him yeah he was funny and and Maya Laura was Maya and uh God we laugh we talked
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about that forever we always everyone's like that's the one that was but anyway good job David Cross on that thank you
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for that okay we're pretty pretty much did that one
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good it's a perennial wrap up we're always on the edge of wrapping up but uh
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do you want to talk about your current stuff or your Cannon of work oh I don't
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care um uh I mean there's not I I know I mean if
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we're talking about stuff to promote I do I have a special that I shot last
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summer during that tour that that I think is February
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it's in mid-February I should know this uh when it's coming out on is that
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world's worst yeah the worst daddy in the world worst daddy in the world yeah that's not okay so that's you when you
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shoot that like that special did you partner with a corporation or do you do it yourself or what was it is it like
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Louis C K kind of thing or what I I did the last one before that uh myself I
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just you know uh produced the you know out of pocket with some good local folks
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shot it in New York that that was I did that at because of Co um because I was going to go on tour but I had to cancel
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it and uh and I figured I'll just shoot this anyway it's all it's fairly topical
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and relevant so um when it came time to do this uh I paired up with 800 pound
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gorilla out of Nashville they're great and um and just yeah shot it uh in the
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middle of the tour in Chicago and and uh they were great I'm pretty pretty
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psyched about it it's good it was a very fun tour and uh and yeah I did it all
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myself it'll be out I'll distribute it you know with them and that's it so can
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I ask you a question because I think the last one I did it was with a corporation and anyway I think they said it was like
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something like four to$ 500,000 to shoot the special for for the
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two nights right is there way when you're doing it yourself to bring that price point down a little bit I mean it
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seems exorbitant I'm not anti-union I'm just saying I had s 17 cameras were on
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me I think it's like crazy yeah I mean um absolutely it's uh I did this one
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this was even less expensive than the one that I did myself where I was um
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kind of scrambling a little bit and uh and that's part of what small part but a
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significant part of what made 800 found gorilla so great to work with it's you know and everything's in house so I
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didn't have to get a separate editor and go find one and everything you know when you're communicating with them through
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the pre and the actual production and post- production it's all inhouse it's all one place and it's just a lot easier
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and they're all good at what they do so and it was it was relatively
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cheap and it seems like my impression with you is you wouldn't be someone who would get nervous but do you get nervous
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either shooting specials going on talk shows are you because you do seem pretty calm or at least
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together I don't like shooting specials because usually it's here you go it's your one shot you worked on it for a
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year better make it work you know well uh I think that's I I don't get nervous
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I definitely am aware of stuff and everything's kind of heightened a little bit but I I always shoot always in the
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middle of a tour so if I'm doing like let's say 80 dates right in a calendar
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half year whatever it is and I always look at the calendar and the routing and
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stuff I go okay I'm going to shoot my special right around there somewhere give or take a few shows around show 40
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then I always record the audio during the last or second to last show um because it changes it evolves as you go
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on and by the time I've shot it it's you know I mean that's my my 41st time I've
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done that set and uh so I mean I've got it it's down and and I was you know I'll
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tape two episodes so it's if I [ __ ] something up I got one more do you do
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retakes during your special I know uh There's a comic I know I work with a lot
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and Sh and they stop and they redo their line a bunch of times when even though they have two shows so that's one way
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that I have not heard of but I mean it would mess with the momentum for me
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um oh for sure yeah unless you totally mangle it I mean I don't think I'd do it no I'm not doing it
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for uh the TV audience or the audience at home when I'm doing that I'm always
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it's always about the people in that room and hopefully that translate and if I [ __ ] up I'll say I [ __ ] up and
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whatever and and address it um but I'm very much in the moment and uh you know
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it's I'm not trying to cut it so much so that it looks I want it to look as
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spontaneous as it feels when you're in the audience you know sure do you think
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that when you do it in the middle which I think I'm trying to figure this out for myself because I sort of got off
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caught off guard my first special was probably you know way back around just shoot me and uh and then it was on HBO
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so it kind of people were traveling with an hour for 10 years you know that was
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just the old way it was done and then when I thought about doing another one I
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did it for Comedy Central and I don't think as many people saw it was right before Netflix was blowing up and so I
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felt like God all that material and then you have to get rid of it I guess and then after my last special they're like
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now once it air the next con you know next stand up I'm doing at a theater they're like well ideally it would be
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all new and I'm like all new a whole new hour it took me so long to get this one one so what what I'm sort of getting at
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is you do it in the middle M which might be smart because by toward the end you
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you have free reign to sort of start screwing with it because you already got it then you can then by the end you might have you know another 20 half you
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don't know you know it might evolve that's that's exactly what happens and uh the the what I do and I've done for
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the last uh four specials this will be my fifth time doing this thing doing it
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this way is and I'm I just started a couple weeks ago uh I do these shows in
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Brooklyn where I live um and I do it's uh they're called shooting the [ __ ] seeing what sticks everybody knows what
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the premise is I'm going up there with just a handful of notes and kind of Dana
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like what you showed and uh just scribble SC you know and go yeah oh what do what do I want to work on what do I
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think is funny and everybody and I have guests so that it's they're not watching a guy for an hour and 15 minutes just
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[ __ ] around but um the beginning of it I will you know have some kind of
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fresh anecdote which I do now uh currently about uh
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a surprise hand job and then uh and then uh and then I get then I have a guest
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and then I get to and that's a thing like oh this just happened but I think there can be a story here you know and
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then I get to just kind of some ideas that I'm
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working on uh and you know sometimes it's it hits sometimes it doesn't and
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then I have a guest and then I'll just do stuff that I dropped out of the last special so every
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single special or tour that I do has like it anywhere from like five to 15
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minutes of stuff that I did on the last tour that I'm not going to put and an
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hour and a half of material uh you know not doing a special for I'm not going to make it a 90-minute special which means
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I got to cut something because the shows are that long and then the stuff I cut
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out of both the audio and the the video special is stuff where I go I know I can
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work on that and make that better and so I'll work on those bits and try to find a different context for them and and
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there's a I don't want to give a give it away but there's the the closing bit of this last special which is really strong
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and and uh you know pretty a pretty good
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punch um that whole bit was something that I riffed just before I shot the
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last special before this one where I took it out I cut it out and I was like I I know I can work on this and I worked
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on it and became the closing bit so I have that stuff ready to go so it's it's like a sourdough starter you know you
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take a little bit Yeah Yeah have you noticed what happened on my last one was
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I had stuff that was very new that I you know I I always fall in love with newer stuff and I threw it
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in and it was undercooked and then now I would work on it so I'm like I really
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can't put it in because the premise is the same one but now it's 5 minutes long and way better and more polished I'm
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like [ __ ] I kind of wasted it like you just said you didn't waste it which is smart well there is I mean yes but also
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there's stuff that um which is partly why I do the audio at the end because
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there are things that were definitely fresher in the middle of the the thing
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that I I you know I was like oh I I can I I just started working on it um and so
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the audio version is a little different and Tighter and even expanded but it it
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it's more of the idea like IT addresses the idea as opposed to this kind of throwaway funny idea a that I did and
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then I found some somewhere down the line I found a context for it when you say your strongest bit is at the end the
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last time I did one I went in I won't mention the live streaming it wasn't anything negative but went into a room
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with all these people and they just talked about audience retention they showed me posters of the special they
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said this does well in the Netherlands this does well in Brazil and then I thought well you should do a special as
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if the audience could start leaving at any minute yeah in other words you know I mean because that's what happens on
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when the living room uh because I there's certain people I'll go to the end but you know I'm a comic yeah 15 16
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so they really look at that he made you have 18 minute 18 minutes of retention
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by 65% of our audience I don't know if you think of that or experienced that it sounds like something you wouldn't like
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no I I mean as an artist I never think of that and hopefully never will uh but
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you know I'm I'm not you know I'm not I'm I'm in it to do fun good shows and I
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don't care I'm not uh you know I'm not looking to get a $40 million paycheck or I mean
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those days are over obviously but um you know I'm not that's not my interest I I
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really really really love doing standup uh
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and and it's just a fun process every every part of it is fun except for traveling I don't like the travel so
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much but uh everything else do you know any standup that does like I just did it
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was rough unless it's a G4 rocked and loaded and I don't know yeah there
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there's some people that have their own bus I know that um I wonder if a bus is good you know I did a I I've done it in
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a plane when I jump on with a Sandler it's but it it's great but it still delays it's still I mean it couldn't be
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better but you're still like we're in Florida it's 85 degrees now we're going to Canada now we're going to Nova Scotia
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now we're dropping down and you still manage to complain I do I find a
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way everybody but I'm I'm wait I want to go back so you you did Canada and Nova
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Scotia Dave how did you what happens is I just talk off the top of my head and it always makes no sense I that's a
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weird Nova Scotia is that still down by Australia because I don't have it in front of me they just moved it they just
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moved it a couple they pick up they've been talking about moving it forever north of Scotia it's north of Scotia
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you've been to Scotia hopefully no or had it I go to Canada only because I enjoy the extra
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[Music] taxes okay so if we're into the process just for one more thing I want to ask
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you like your comedy comedy albums mhm um do you feel like when it's recorded
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on video now is there anything that changes it at all cuz I'll just say for myself one night I was driving late
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night I got a whole I don't remember I don't know if it's your first album it's probably 20 years ago but it was so
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brilliant it you had a thing where you thought maybe I'll get a drink and next thing you were you were in your hotel
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room and people were pounding on the door oh yeah yeah and then and then the Ricky Henderson thing that you took so
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far like what album was that shut up you [ __ ] baby yeah okay that that's what
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I thought [ __ ] baby that's going plac is um I don't know how to describe that
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I Al it's such a cliche kind of monop python but also I look back at how you
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how you made that thing work just verbally you had to have you're waking up in hotel room you don't know anything
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you're stacking words together was that I mean those albums seem very free I
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don't know especially for sure and I was I was drinking way more during those
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uh show so wa it it feels like that I mean it's messy the the the it's
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definitely Messier it's it's it's it's like Cracklin though it it was yeah it
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was fun I mean it was uh I put that out on subp that was my first comedy album yeah and uh and that was a real story
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that was the uh I I I believe I was in Kansas City where there the guys
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knocking and saying answer your telephone but it was pitch black pitch black in the room I'd been traveling I
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didn't you know and when you're on the road you don't know where you are you wake up and you have no [ __ ] clue and
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i' had been out drinking heavily the night before and what do you drink sorry just real fast what were you drinking uh
00:21:42
I'm guessing beer and Tequila not together but together followed by tequila followed by beer followed by
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tequila followed by beer okay uh and then a slice and
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um and and yeah it was a bizarre are it was just it was Panic it was like little
00:22:01
kid Panic you know even though you're an adult there's a few seconds where you want your mommy because you don't like
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nothing is making sense and uh and trouble pitch black and pounding in yell
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out of you don't know where you are and you can't see anything and there's just a disembodied voice saying an see a
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telephone knock knock knock an see a telephone huh like they're right there
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and they're telling you your phone does he make you don't know where you are what telephone who who are you talking
00:22:33
to me are you the angel are you Angel Moroni what's happening see a
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telephone it's like a kubric moment basically it was very bizarre anyway
00:22:46
that was like a 20 minute bit or something but it was you know I I have those old Steve Martin albums David and
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uh as a kid I mean now it's all specials and stuff and video but it was pretty
00:22:58
fun cuz he had a few screw-ups like even when the sound goes out like that or he's like more wine and you just and
00:23:04
you're just picturing in your head oh it's so funny whatever he's doing and he does a bit everyone laughs I'm like [ __ ]
00:23:09
what is he doing but I kind of liked it that's all I had so I it's it's but I I
00:23:15
would like that scratchiness and that kind of fun of the old stuff like that and there's not that many I think some
00:23:22
specials come out as a as also a CD or an album but they I don't they'll never
00:23:28
get back to the sound of those 60s albums I mean it just was crackling I think it's One mic hanging overhead in
00:23:35
the club you hear your individual laughs that crackling thing and now it's all stacked and remixed there's one um I
00:23:44
don't know which one it is but of the different comedy channels on uh Sirius XM or whatever
00:23:51
um one of them 95% of the clips they play
00:23:58
uh mostly from people we haven't heard of but they're definitely in a club and they sound different and I appreciate
00:24:05
that you know you hear the people you hear right on you yeah and and it's it's
00:24:11
cool when you're going across the dial there as it were and uh you know you've got the Netflix is you know one and
00:24:18
you've got Comedy Central and and the and raw dog whatever that you you're
00:24:24
listening to it and they it just sounds Slicker it's it's you know sometimes
00:24:30
money hurts comedy put it that way oh yeah you know just if a guy doesn't have
00:24:36
much can't AFF many mics he's got he can only do a little Club he's not very popular but it has a crackle to it rick
00:24:43
Ruben in there fixing every mistake it's like uh yeah it's like yeah you know you
00:24:48
want it a little messy and that's what I like I like I like mistakes in a lot of things and I like them in songs when
00:24:54
there's they say something different than when the guy sings it in concert you kind of want that little mess up because you know where the mess up is
00:25:00
and all that stuff is sort of character and gives it something different than super polished which is the name of my
00:25:07
new special super polished and ni hey Neil Young releases whole songs that are
00:25:12
Out Of Tune you know see I like it just we got it we don't do it again it's all going for the feeling of stuff so you
00:25:20
know it says here I I I love that the the
00:25:26
the not a story but like the the when the different actors who work with Clint
00:25:32
Eastwood when he's directing will'll do a take and they'll they be like okay can I get one more like no we got it what
00:25:39
but I no no we're good we're moving on oh but I I just work with David yeah he
00:25:45
worked he said to Matt Matt Damon he was working with Matt Damon he goes can I do the take and he goes yeah if you want to
00:25:52
waste everybody's [ __ ] time one take Eastwood how great I like
00:26:00
these I like these movies where they go oh I did I mean they were this director
00:26:05
so good we were doing 40 ticks I'm like maybe he's not that good I mean come on I mean so 39 were horrible like come on
00:26:13
I had a guy drop bullets it was a scene where someone had out of frame just drop bullets and then they catch it I'm going
00:26:20
to say 60 takes and I realized he was a child in a sandbox he could not see the forest for the trees just wanted to hit
00:26:27
the bullets perfect anyway David I wait I have another cross I'll call you your full name now I had one that had rap
00:26:33
aobi we had a we had a rap party on the last day and we only had like two scenes
00:26:39
to do so we could have this party and he kept shooting and everyone's like oh my God he's got rap aobi he knows it's over
00:26:45
now and he won't let it end and we went till midnight we canceled the party we're like what are we doing wow yeah
00:26:52
but okay it also says says David you it says here no Stephen Wright it it says
00:26:58
it's one of your favorite Comics now if that's true I think he's kind of underrated and uh God he had a real run
00:27:05
there for a second when I was starting out that was so good and uh Dana you
00:27:10
probably worked with him right because you were oh yeah oh he's still out there playing big rooms I think um was it one
00:27:17
of my favorites uh you know I I don't write jokes at all I'm terrible at it
00:27:22
and when I think of the amount of material a comedian who works like that you know I went to
00:27:28
yeah um 24hour U convenience store I went there
00:27:33
it was closed he said something about not in a row he's locking up not but the he'll you ruin that one
00:27:43
he's like air I know I'm horrible I can't even explain it's like the movie Airplane where it's just so much
00:27:48
blending and you know Stephen's like that and you kind of it's like a magic trick I really and also the low fight
00:27:54
talk that soft and strut around on tonight's show only on your material but you're friends with him David
00:28:01
Cross just one of your favorite Comics yeah I haven't seen him in quite a while
00:28:07
but uh he is uh a key part of key reason why I'm
00:28:17
at the place I'm I'm in right now because do did you all know Lauren
00:28:22
dumbrowski by any chance uh Boston Comics she was a produc her head writer
00:28:28
for Matt TV for a while but um she uh she was in this comedy group I had in
00:28:34
Boston and um and a good friend and an awesome person uh unfortunately she
00:28:41
passed away from cancer a while ago but she uh she was good friends with Stephen
00:28:46
brought and said there's this guy I think you'd like um you should check him out and uh brought him to see me do
00:28:54
standup at catch in uh in in Cambridge and then he told his manager uh of
00:29:04
of uh whom I think he only had four clients at the time maybe three um to
00:29:10
come up from New York and see me uh Tim sarcus um and and then Tim signed me and
00:29:18
then the rest as they say is history um so he's in no small way of wow big part
00:29:25
of that to have some Powerhouse like that that about you it's such a nice Legacy when you hear that about someone
00:29:30
like hey check him out help help him out it's such a it's yeah Stephen is a very
00:29:37
sweet man the many time few times I've met him hung out with him that doesn't surprise me pay it forward there you go
00:29:46
I mean it it's uh I don't know if he's aware of that um but yeah it was uh um
00:29:54
hugely important yeah when I saw him the first time I it was I was newer and I had not
00:30:01
se you know it's hard to see somebody that kind of comes out of left field because you've seen such similar comedy
00:30:07
and you just go oh my God and I had a guy in Arizona that started trying to do Stephen wri and it was it was like oh
00:30:14
there's tons of them and I saw overnight he's like I had a dream I was a kite I
00:30:20
woke up in a tree I'm like no it's not it's not the same I'm going to just
00:30:25
write that down hold on I'm not good at jokes you it it you see
00:30:31
that kind of delivery and it's often like the Oddball you know they they
00:30:37
affect this kind of Oddball Persona of like so here's an interesting idea and
00:30:45
it's just like no you're not you know that's not how it works yeah the only one who did it well was slightly
00:30:51
different was Mitch Hedberg I thought Mitch also but different you know yeah he he had uh a
00:30:59
joke structure that was similar but his whole was and Persona kind of Southern
00:31:06
or some sort of weird T was kind of real yeah and he was always smiling Mitch Mitch would be smiling and there' be
00:31:12
kind of Jazz playing behind him sometimes and uh and to the best of my
00:31:19
knowledge uh Steven Wright was never a junkie so there's differences there's
00:31:26
differences they don't have the same first name um yeah well I have to say
00:31:31
that when I think of you David Cross go ahead I have a compliment ready
00:31:37
going to go something metaphysical uh well I just your your
00:31:42
career it seems like you just you you've stuck to your guns I'm just curious about you've talked about um the chipm
00:31:50
movie but it seems like your I you do what you want to do have you been tempted at times in your career
00:31:57
to do a commercial or something that the money was good or did you ever get into
00:32:02
that trap that world and did you regret I I don't know but it seems like you just seems like your career seems fun
00:32:10
because you're always doing exactly what you want to do the way you want to do it or you wouldn't do it which is sometimes
00:32:16
difficult I that's what I I would not say no to some um even if it was another
00:32:23
like Chipmunks movie which I did not necessarily for the money but I at that point when it came around I hadn't
00:32:29
worked for six months which is you know what happens internally in your head
00:32:34
when you're like after like two months you start going like to get some work and when two becomes three and three
00:32:41
becomes four and you're like am I ever going to work again do people hate me what's wrong four becomes five five
00:32:47
becomes six and I jumped it I was like yeah I'll I'll do what somebody wants you somebody likes you and you're like
00:32:53
[ __ ] I want I've I've been in that position for sure yeah and then and I nobody had any idea that that movie was
00:32:59
going to be as phenomenally successful as it was and I was contractually obligated to do two more and the first
00:33:05
two were fine I had no issue with it and the third one was just a terrible
00:33:10
experience uh for whatever I don't know why they was it chip
00:33:16
wreck it was Chip wreck yeah Dana they had me at the [ __ ] Squeakquel that
00:33:22
the funniest name for a sequel is The Squeakquel and I was like I'm in on that one Chipwrecked little it's still cute
00:33:30
it wasn't Squeakquel um but yeah it was uh but I
00:33:35
mean I get to do and you know I kind of supplement uh doing all the stuff that doesn't pay well with a couple of big
00:33:43
things and then I get you know you get these really cool really cool
00:33:50
opportunities Spielberg film and a Todd Haynes film and uh work with Michelle
00:33:55
gandre and all these people and that doesn't pay [ __ ] you know but you know it's all balanced and like uh
00:34:03
increasingly poor decisions of Todd Margaret you know I mean that didn't anything well you also have respect and
00:34:09
like I mean going back to Mr show like with uh Oden Kirk like Mr show coming
00:34:15
off of SNL was just going oh [ __ ] they're doing whatever they want it was
00:34:21
it it was really this is a compliment I was just saying these it's so bananas and they do and they
00:34:27
they put out so much stuff it's all clever I was really I I really got into
00:34:32
that one yeah it was fun man it was uh you know and it was all new it was new
00:34:38
uh you know Bob neither Bob or I had run a show before and it was and we were it
00:34:44
HBO was in its infancy basically and they were just like do whatever the [ __ ]
00:34:49
you want you know we need you to to yeah get yeah we need you to to not be
00:34:57
uh you know Network TV we need you to stand out and uh here's $25 get back to
00:35:04
us at the end of the year see what you can do with it and do whatever you want with it that was fun it was it was I got
00:35:10
two slinkies and a slim it had a yeah again I hate to use the word smart but
00:35:16
it was it's so dry and weird and clever I don't know whatever words people use for it and you guys obviously didn't
00:35:22
have a big budget was sort of part of the charm just the sets you said earlier
00:35:28
uh comedy uh oft yeah often you know uh hurts the
00:35:35
comic idea you know that's in [Music]
00:35:41
there well Dana you have to say I think David did audition for usn now we'll go through that briefly I don't know how
00:35:47
just give us the sort of is it a source subject s
00:35:55
subject I didn't do the traditional um the traditional audition where you come
00:36:01
in and you do some characters and you do all that and uh you know on the floor
00:36:06
but the comedy group I had in in Boston had really started
00:36:13
to uh make a name for itself and and there was a little buzz and people all
00:36:18
of a sudden in New York were aware of it and you know it it had a lot of people
00:36:23
that went on to great success uh um across the board as I said Lauren
00:36:29
debrowski was a producer head writer for bant TV Jonathan gra was oh you know
00:36:34
Jonathan Dana at uh uh Conan oh yeah was a head writer for
00:36:40
Conan uh John Benjamin you know does all the that amazing voice work and Sam C
00:36:48
there was just a lot of folks coming out of there and um
00:36:53
uh and they we got an invite to go to to showcase for SNL we did at Carolines and
00:37:03
uh I know Al Franken was there and James Downey and uh
00:37:10
uh Frank and some some other fol I don't know I don't know if smel go Jim Downey
00:37:18
and uh Franken and then some a handful maybe um maybe
00:37:25
uh Lauren The Farley era no um I don't know there were a handful of people who came down
00:37:32
94 would have been no like
00:37:37
902 maybe oh okay maybe we'll trade him for
00:37:42
Spade uh and we did the show and it was a [ __ ] disaster and it we started
00:37:48
like 40 minutes late I I somebody came in I can't remember who it was and you
00:37:55
know they wanted to to do time and they did a bunch of time with some bigger person and um and we started really late
00:38:03
and then it just yeah yeah really late and it and it was a disaster someone
00:38:08
bumps you on your [ __ ] and there were some people in yeah and we had a showc it wasn't
00:38:15
like five minutes we were doing like a show that had a beginning middle and end and it had Tech to it and it's it
00:38:21
started like at least an hour late by the time we eventually went on and then um and then there were a couple of
00:38:28
people in the group that were just pushing too hard like you could tell they weren't being naturally as funny as
00:38:34
they were bits we' done a million times and they were just pushing too hard it didn't work and Super Bowl and I think
00:38:42
Franken left is fine um uh grumbling all the way out and uh and
00:38:53
then um but I did get an open invitation to
00:39:00
write for SNL to come on and write and then I uh about a year or two later I
00:39:08
met with Lauren and I'll do that impression for you very quickly uh excellent I I think Julia Sweeney
00:39:16
had uh Rob Cohen if you know the writer director Rob Cohen uh Rob and I were
00:39:23
brought uh to New York to meet to be a writer with an eye towards
00:39:30
women it's the female cast all right whatever so Rob at his interview I went
00:39:36
in and everybody all our friends are as you know because we had tons of mutual friends we knew a lot of people at SNL
00:39:41
at that time and uh they were all excited for us and I went in and I met for about I want to say like 40 plus
00:39:49
minutes with Lauren in his office and here's my impression of how that
00:39:55
conversation went in a nutshell I'll be Lauren one of you be me I'll ask you a
00:40:01
question just start to answer it so David what what is what is your idea
00:40:08
what do you like best about sketch comedy well it's you know it's CU I'll tell you what I like I like it when and
00:40:15
it was that for 40 minutes I bar I would answer I'd start to answer and then he
00:40:21
would answer his own question and then I left and I had no idea was good or bad
00:40:27
and everybody was like wow you were in there for a long time holy you this is going to be great I think you know I was
00:40:33
like I don't know I have no idea and then I neither Rob nor I were hired and that was that not a bad story not a bad
00:40:41
experience but just weird kind of bizarre um there's so many people have
00:40:47
weird stories around that now it's so Mythic to be in a room with Lauren Michaels I mean that was 92 but like he
00:40:55
is I don't know what you call it iconic now with the Godfather whatever oh yeah
00:41:01
I I I can't imagine people going in there now um but um I talked to him last
00:41:06
night you know the one that really got away was called David Cross was that
00:41:12
thing of like I answered every question I didn't know I had a little toot right before he came in sort of amped up but
00:41:20
but he's like like really really good sry that's all I got for it does check
00:41:26
out because they were saying right for women like to us and it was sort of a problem then and they I think they fixed
00:41:32
there's so many great women on there but at the at that time exact time it was a
00:41:38
lot of like uh it was so D heavy yeah I think this would have been about 90 I want to say 94 maybe that's exactly
00:41:45
somewhere around there yeah yeah I I don't know it seems like it's dodging a bullet in some ways
00:41:53
it's you did fine I don't know go ahead I went to visit I know when um Sarah
00:41:59
Silverman and David tell were writing there and I was in New York for doing
00:42:04
something and I went to visit them I might have had a friend who was uh the
00:42:11
guest that week I I don't remember but I was in town and I went to go visit them and I
00:42:18
remember uh kind of walking in past some like a a a receptionist type of desk
00:42:25
like assistant desk or whatever and then there was this big room with a glass uh thing and a long big long table and the
00:42:34
Riders were there and I went in oh there tons of like pizza and Chinese food like delivery and then um I remember walking
00:42:42
in and uh and seeing everybody and everybody
00:42:48
kind of felt like they had 50 lb weights
00:42:53
on their like their necks they were just slumped over and there was no energy and no joy and I remember I've been coming
00:43:00
from uh Mr show at this point where we just had a blast most of the time I was like oh boy you walk in hello my baby
00:43:07
hello my go we're sitting there in those fluorescent lights it's funny yeah hello
00:43:16
I'm from the 22nd century how are you you guys like 20 minutes you know I'm
00:43:22
from the 23rd Century well you know more than I do hey I just did a Mr show kind of
00:43:28
template of what made me laugh so hard Bob oder and you um have this sort of
00:43:35
lenon and McCartney thing friends and I I don't know it just seems you have
00:43:41
a sensibility shared sensibility in so many ways we do we're we're it really
00:43:48
works so phenomenally well we're we're quite different people and with different backgrounds and um and
00:43:56
approach comedy from different ways but when we do it together it's just and we knew this from the very very very
00:44:02
beginning first thing we ever started doing um and
00:44:08
uh you know it it it's it was like effortless and it all
00:44:13
made sense and the the strengths and weaknesses I have balanced out his strengths and weaknesses which were
00:44:19
different and uh you know it was it was it's it's been a highlight of my life
00:44:27
you know to to be able to work with him and you know call him my best friend and
00:44:32
um and oh oh is that my daughter there's
00:44:37
a cat there's a she's pretending to be a cat Marlo Marlo are you out
00:44:46
there where are you oh you're at the door oh Jesus oh
00:44:52
that's my door thing on the roof I'm in my office where are you the door talking
00:45:00
Bo wait what what what is it all right on the talking box okay sorry about that
00:45:06
typical I thought I had my phone on silent um that's funny uh yeah Marlo
00:45:14
what was what was up with Marlo I mean I don't what was up with that by the way before we before we I I find that really
00:45:22
interesting Bob oerk oh yeah is the he's so to work with and he's so he's just
00:45:28
diffusive I don't know if he is all the time but no this GNA be great a great
00:45:33
I'll tell you this one thing which I want to ask ask you about this is a very human Bob so we know him in the 80s and
00:45:40
he's just coming along like that and then he goes through all his stuff Mr Show and everything then then he's on
00:45:45
better call saw uh so first he's on Breaking Bad then he gets that show so
00:45:50
he's on our podcast and one of my favorite moments and he goes he goes I knew knew if this action movie worked
00:45:57
you guys are going to go what the [ __ ] now he's a movie star really made me laugh like what is
00:46:06
going on because uh so with you and him like I was pulled out of a movie theater
00:46:11
Once In the late 90s but people didn't know I was ever on TV and they just said someone told us that you knew Adam
00:46:18
Sandler it's just sort of a weird the trajectory ego and stuff
00:46:24
so but but Bob just the kind of as he's a comedian and first and foremost so he
00:46:31
knew how funny it was he just has so anyway how do you navigate that like you your partner in crime now he's going off
00:46:37
on this thing you're still talking all the time it doesn't affect anything but with you too personally right well I
00:46:44
mean the the one of the greatest things about Bob as a person and as a uh sketch
00:46:52
writer comedian actor artist is he has no ego there's no real ego you know and
00:46:59
we zero yeah and we hard to hate I don't have that ego I don't have that ego either and and
00:47:07
it really helps to collaborate that way and uh you know I want for him and wish
00:47:15
for him nothing but the best and all the success success in the world and and him
00:47:22
with me vice versa and he's a big supporter he's at every show I do if I'm in LA or Chicago he's there and um and
00:47:30
he you know uh we enjoy the whole process so uh I think it and I also knew
00:47:39
early on uh because he demonstrated it in certain sketches he's a really good
00:47:45
dramatic actor I knew that was there and it was always bothered me when when
00:47:51
people kind of make an assumption it's just lazy that oh it's a usually it's like wow I had no idea
00:47:58
Robin Williams could really act or oh Jim Carrey really surprised me or you know when an a comic is show Humanity
00:48:07
Captain Kangaroo has some chops you know I mean it's it's it's just lazy thinking and so people be like
00:48:14
wow Bob Odenkirk who knew like well all of us who knew him yeah it's the same
00:48:21
thing like well a writer he's just a writer well a writer can't perform
00:48:26
that's insane they're just a writer but yeah the Bob who uh of 2023 when we saw
00:48:32
him yeah there's literally no ego and no change of anything it's like I you could
00:48:37
not talk to him for a decade and it's exactly just right there and so you guys share that and I guess that's why fun
00:48:44
that's why you get along I mean he did say on when he got his Star Walk of Fame that you were funnier than him I was
00:48:51
yeah he said he said I'm funny too I it wasn't false compliment but yeah David's
00:48:57
little bit funnier than me in that moment uh in that moment yeah there's if you watch it which I I didn't I was
00:49:04
there doing it but uh when I gave my little thing um in which I think uh I
00:49:09
referen you David SP and uh I saw that I watched it and then you can watch watch
00:49:16
Bob leaning over my shoulder at the script and you could just imagine him
00:49:23
like punching it up in his head and making not you know maybe cut that out and maybe focus
00:49:30
on this or you know well the idea I mean the initial broad-based idea was you started reading an article from from
00:49:37
Hollywood Reporter or something that had nothing to do with variety uh it was um
00:49:43
oh some guy what's that [ __ ] guy's name the DJ DJ khed and you know who's
00:49:49
everywhere and like what what have you done okay and uh so it was all it was an
00:49:54
issue dedicated did DJ K that was on everybody's chair the reason that I did
00:50:00
it was it they put it on everybody's chair there nothing to do with anything and you want to hear a great this is
00:50:06
this is great this is so present day Hollywood
00:50:14
um so we were on Vine right we you know his his star is on uh on Vine just north
00:50:22
of uh Hollywood Boulevard and um we were all sat there on the side like kind of
00:50:28
facing uh the sidewalk Up Up Up ab budding the sidewalk and you know
00:50:35
there's Hollywood royalty there's Carol brnette and there's you know all these people and dressed up and at the top and
00:50:43
and it's on an incline right and we were uh about halfway down uh and
00:50:49
then and it's disgusting right there's the smell of human pee and it's hot and
00:50:55
it's it's just a disgusting awful place and I don't know what where it came from
00:51:02
or what business was releasing it or whatever but this gush the stream that's
00:51:08
I'm want to say good inch and a half to two inches thick of water and people have open toad like the women have open
00:51:14
toed high heels just come and it's brown and dirty and oily and everything that's
00:51:21
Hollywood and it just comes rushing down and so while this celebration of
00:51:26
Hollywood is happening people are like oh God oh my God and it was just a perfect little if
00:51:35
it was on Mr Show it would have gotten higher and more covering people's heads right it would have been just like and
00:51:41
then they would have ignored it they would just be like I don't know nothing nothing's wrong it is like well when
00:51:47
there's Fame going on you're willing to I I'm willing to look the other way I just get so focused on the fame of it
00:51:53
all in the fun [Laughter] I'm on fire I'm like but I'm here it's a
00:51:59
blast my star is down near Elsa gundo if you know where that is uh it's by Al poo
00:52:06
Loco uh that's not on the map yeah all right anything left for Dana cross Danny
00:52:11
David Cross David Dana well unless he comes back another time I would I I well I have so many
00:52:19
things didn't arrested arrested development we didn't we didn't touch a
00:52:24
minion Mega we didn't touch um uh what's what's up with Jason
00:52:30
baitman what's what's the deal with that guy deal trash will AR deal deal don't
00:52:37
pull don't pull any punches what's the deal will aret I love those guys I love
00:52:43
those guys no yeah the people you want to see in a
00:52:48
restaurant and they wave you over to their Booth oh ba bait's a a pro I mean
00:52:56
he so so many of the of the people I
00:53:01
know that are the most down toe most Equitable gracious uh uh gracious and
00:53:07
and and caring people in the world of
00:53:12
Hollywood uh were kid actors were born and raised in La like the [ __ ] when
00:53:18
people think about [ __ ] Hollywood those are all people moved there but the people I know that were born and raised
00:53:24
into it were kid actors are just super sweet nice genuine good people and
00:53:29
Jason's one of those I do think the longer you're in it you don't you don't get tricked out by it much so I assume
00:53:35
if you start as a kid you see this kid got the Lassie show and I did all all the emotionally violent aspect to starts
00:53:43
to kind of Tamp down you see the the you know the sausage being made as it were and and there's yeah you know for a fact
00:53:51
it's not as exciting and glamorous and it's a job people seem to forget that
00:53:58
but it's a [ __ ] job you know I mean my wife was a a child actress you know
00:54:04
and she has a a lot to say about it you know there's a really good movie about
00:54:09
that Dan if you get a chance called Dicky Roberts uh opener anyway um by the
00:54:16
way Jessica Walters played my she was in a movie called PCU one of the first
00:54:21
movies I ever did so I would follow her and things she did did so it was fun um
00:54:27
she was kind of fun on that movie she was pretty sweet to me uh and the cast is huge uh everyone loves everyone loves
00:54:33
rest of development then it got another life on Netflix right is that right yeah yeah yeah good job did that I just was
00:54:40
curious because I was looking at that did that predate the American version of the office or do there any um like were
00:54:47
you uh Amer I think arrested predated
00:54:52
the American office but not by much it couldn't been by much but because I know the I I don't know but I think it did
00:55:00
but it could have been by different but there's a certain uh I don't know well the cinem ver yeah the documentary style
00:55:07
thing although we never the the camera the characters never
00:55:13
acknowledged the camera the or the quote crew uh right which they did in the
00:55:19
office uh I mean they went to the well on that thing like 20 times an episode somebody looking over going
00:55:25
well that's a great way out of a joke Steve Carell Steve Carell what's up with
00:55:30
that guy he's funny well you tell me I don't know I anybody David Cross what's
00:55:36
up with that guy yeah it's a good it's a good way to sound another very talented
00:55:42
comic uh who's a an extremely talented actor Steve Krell you never would have
00:55:48
thought never in a million years he'd be any good at anything that guy's a silly clown he's a clown what Oscars give him
00:55:57
no he's and he's a a another person it sounds like we're doing MV Griffin or something but it's like that's such a
00:56:04
lovely human being and so unpretentious even after he was huge he would go to
00:56:09
the mall his wife Nancy told me just as you know didn't think it'd be a problem
00:56:15
you know then people were mobbing him so I like the good ones let me tell you
00:56:20
that yeah David thank you for spending some time with uh
00:56:25
the dysfunctional couple of me and Dana that's great I'm glad to see you guys uh
00:56:31
you know the therapy's working out and it's it's you seem to be copasetic all working just I just want to news flash
00:56:37
we have a talkover meter and we are up at 60% of the time you tried to speak we
00:56:42
talked that's about an that's about an about an average it's right in the middle it's not it's a Steve Martin was
00:56:51
slightly higher anyway but we have to be careful of that this new technology one
00:56:57
day I'll just leave you with this if you're watching TV with your wife and a very handsome man comes on and she goes
00:57:05
oh and you and you go what I don't get it what what are you talking about that's what I do that's my defense fall
00:57:11
back that's it your closing words Brad Pit I was just doing this to
00:57:17
try to make him smile it didn't work this bit out yeah it should but I think it's funny Brad Pit comes on television
00:57:24
you go I don't get it what what's the what's the whole whoop you do this guy I see because you're you're you're
00:57:31
threatened by the the handsom this you're like I I don't get it yeah I do that I do that when I see Bruce fanch
00:57:37
but uh maybe it doesn't work that well I that's the one I get just for you
00:57:42
look up Bruce nothing against Bruce but look Bruce up Brad Pit Bruce flanch all
00:57:48
right thanks David this has been a presentation of Odyssey please follow
00:57:53
subscribe leave leave a like a review all the stuff smash that button whatever it is wherever you get your podcast fly
00:58:00
on the wall is executive and produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade Jenna Weiss Burman of Odyssey Charlie finan of
00:58:06
brillstein entertainment and Heather Santoro the show's lead producer is Greg
00:58:14
Holtzman
