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Our Guest today is Punky Johnson who was a cast member for four years on site
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live and just left the show and so she's going to tell us all about her
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experience on Saturday Night Live and other things the good and the bad and the in between we you know I don't think
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we've had someone off the show that we talked to him so quickly we've talked to people uh a while after or years after
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most people have been on it in the past but or just hosted we had Nate Bazi just hosted
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the week before so you know it's still fresh in her brain and uh she's pretty cool about it I mean you know it's
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obviously a roller coaster there we know but she's got a lot of energy she's got she's pretty hilarious to talk to about
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it she's very funny she says so many funny things Without Really Trying just in the way she describes the environment
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how she interacts with Lauren Michaels is really funny and her whole her whole
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presence is is is just extremely entertaining so I would listen this one if I were you and it is interesting
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she's hot off the show and we get like a first blink feeling from a cast member what it's like it's funny she's like
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Dana can you imagine she's like I see Lauren in the hall I go hey wait up I got to tell you something about read through I'm like what are you doing what
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how could you ever to confront Lauren about anything she goes no I do it in a funny way he he knows I'm not I'm like
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straight up I just I don't want yeah she had kind of an interesting relationship with Lauren it's really funny the way
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she describes it kind of of him we didn't really know him he wasn't Lauren
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Michaels then at least he was Lauren Michaels but now it's like he's well he is her Godfather I think that's what she
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refers to him as he was a locked door that's what it was to me like you walk by his office is Lauren there yeah why
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nothing keep walking what do you want don't break stride don't break stride don't don't Dart your eyes over there's
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no meeting don't don't Meander get the [ __ ] out and get down to your office you're doing circles what are you doing
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get out of here get out of here go at the host board who's the host next week not you now get out get out of here hey
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Marcy yeah hey Marcy Marcy it's just kidding Marcy all right well here's Punky I think you're gonna have a nice
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time listening [Music]
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enjoy Punky we've already started but Punky I'll just tell you this but this could be a bit that I'll sell to day and
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after but this is the same sinking feeling I get with zoom is when everyone's waiting and I can't get on is
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when I leave a parking garage and I put the [ __ ] ticket in and the arm doesn't go up and everyone behind me I'm
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like what's going on and then you and it pushes it back out and I go I did and everyone's like what the [ __ ] are you
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doing yeah I did my job I did my part I did what I was supposed to do I pressed the button yeah and that's and then but
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the thing still didn't go up so exactly and I'm trapped everyone's mad and there's a mob behind me I know you try
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to tell them I'm not going anywhere where I literally can't move I go like this like I can't try to
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make signals waving press the call then you got to press the call button and wait for somebody who wait for this
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Spirit to come and help you because nobody nobody's actually really behind that damn button by the way low urgency
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when you press that button they're like hello like I'm doing this from home and
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you're like well that doesn't help me I need you to walk out here let me got let me ask you two a question when you're
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parking your car and a parking garage yes this is not like the way I like to let the podcast just breathe on itself
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yeah it's sort of just are you do you go to the roof you say [ __ ] it there's a couple tight ones there's people over
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where I just go get me straight to the [ __ ] top of the garage wow you guys are down there one and two trying to
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squeeze in people honking I made that up but are you are you a Topper or are you
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trying to fit in like you know what it depends on how new or how old my car is oh interesting didn't Lauren buy you a
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car Lauren buys everyone a car no no now thank you for telling me now I'mma text that [ __ ] and be
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like hey I heard some [ __ ] about you that's my car Lauren buys us a car at
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every beginning of each week it's a Dodge Dart um 1968 it's vintage Chevy
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had it before you no uh we didn't get a car Punky the type of car he replaced it
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I think he replaced it with cell phones we got new I got a brand new cell phone phone every year brand new iPad what and
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I got a I got a brand new computer I think last year oh I got a brand new desk last year painted my office last
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year wow that's [ __ ] okay we didn't we got a yellow pad a legal pad we got a
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number three pencil the number twos are more expensive we had a number three [ __ ] pencil 1980 was there 70 [ __ ] it
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50 years ago that's a great that's a great Lauren impression he's so he's so chill um um I'm either chill or I'm not
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chill um right but regardless I he stays in that in that l so you know you don't
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know what level of chill or not chill he's on because he G stay talking that time here's him mad he goes why David
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why do you think that uh didn't work at all I go oh the bit I just did yeah
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where do you think you went wrong I'm like uh I don't like this question cuz I know you're mad but he won't he doesn't
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act mad doesn't act anything oh he's very very chill did he ever say to you are you still with the show cuz I thought that I just wondered you know
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you're walking down the hallway still with the show he say I would just imagine him getting into the elevator by
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himself and just cracking up just laughing just making someone feel bad and then I don't know how Lauren would
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laugh really hard though he's funny I used to mess with him a lot I used to mess with him a lot
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because he loves that like I was one I was one of the people who just wasn't afraid to interact with with him because
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everybody act like oh when he comes oh everybody gets crazy like he's the principal or something absolutely and um
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I did I did a bit and it bombed I mean I I bombed so hard it was so embarrassing
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and um he comes I'm sitting in the chair and I'm just looking like damn it I bombed and he's walking up the hallway
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and he's just looking at me with that Lauren look and I said uh I said you know I forgot what I said something but
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I know it was trash I know it's cut I was like don't come walking down H with that [ __ ] and he bust his
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outl I think he would appreciate he wouldn't he doesn't like you to kiss his
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ass I think he definitely likes a little bit of push back you know and I I'm I'm
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terrified I'm a people pleaser and I'm passive aggressive but once in a while I would ding Lauren and I was shocked
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myself but he didn't seem to be bothered you know yeah it's like I think I told
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him something one day and everything is such a blur me so not everything is like quote quote quote but uh one one one day
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we were just sitting there and we were just having a good time and uh I looked at Lauren and I was
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like how you doing he's like I think I I think I drove him crazy
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to the point where he just started ignoring me he was I don't have time for this [ __ ]
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today I don't have time for your games I don't have time for your stupid little quotes today he's just like get out of
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my face cuz I would mess with him I would call him Mr Michaels he's like don't call me that my
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name is Laur then I started writing him letters and stuff and I like hey Godfather you know just want to let you
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know I love you were they delivered I mean how were they delivered yeah I would give it to give him stuff like
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through his assistance and stuff like for his birthdays and Christmases and Valentine's Day and stuff like that and
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um and I I would get him really unique gifts like I know he own goats so
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I got him a goat daddy shirt he's a goat daddy oh yeah he's got goats up in New Hampshire or where I
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keep him at 88 one day I uh one day I asked him for
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a present for his birthday I said hey can you buy me a
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goat for your birthday boy and I'll come visit it from time to time he just he just he just
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shake his head he just like FK it is on another level I don't know what's wrong with this girl you know you ever catch new people calling him Lauren they think
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his name's like a woman's name like Lauren so people go hey Lauren and I'm always like I don't correct him though I want
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yeah Lauren it's Lauren does it did you say it it feels fuzzy now I mean you just got off the
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show and you did four years and you were hilarious on the show because I've been watching a lot of your Clips you killed
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hard on that show um I'm pretty sure you know like you know how it is David every
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week is a new week like you gotta act like the week previous didn't happen at all so the previous week has to become a
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blur if you want to try to be any type of way successful the next week so only good as your last
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show yeah yeah but also like I'm happy you said that thank you but I SNL was
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just you know I've never grew up in sketch I've never like went to a sketch school and I didn't I didn't really feel
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like I fit like I didn't feel like that was my zone you know what I'm saying I just think sometimes that show is for PE
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that show is for a different type of person like I'm crazy I'm more like out the box and just you know I'm I'm all
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over the place but that is like a a structure that that's a structure like
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when I got when I got to that job I was just chilling you know minding my business and you know I came from
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standup so I was just thought everybody else came from standup I started having conversations with people and everybody was like oh yeah we went to school for
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this I'm like y'all went to school to school for this to be here they like
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oh yeah went to school for this we were both standups too Punky we were just standups as well but the Groundlings
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people like Phil Hartman and stuff they came in with sketches that were that were done I mean they were just ready to
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go right on SNL so that was kind of cool for them yeah that that that's a hard
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job man like I I could I could write you a 32 33 page pilot faster than I can
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write you a 10 page sket you can write a 32-page sketch I did my first sketch was like 17 pages and they go Lauren's like
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what the [ __ ] is this I'm like no one talks to me I don't know what I'm doing
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I'm sure you had like a Heidi Gardner like there's people I think that have training and sketch it's very good she's
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already polished so they come in with no surprises really I think someone was saying it was Heidi and then we had our
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own Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks the people that came so you could tell someone who was better than the comic
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right off the top you know and then you had to learn right a sketch learn how to
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kind of act it's not even like regular acting sketch acting it's can I just point out one thing that it was a it's
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just a great sketch the coup's counselor with Jake glal you know oh God and you
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got to play two you know this skiz two different flavors and you're going back and forth and you're just hitting it so
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crisply I don't care how funny the lines are you still have to just hit them so I don't know if that was who you how that
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came about but there's an example of a standup being used properly in a sketch
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and being a sketch player yeah it was
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uh well that's a job for you that's I mean you know you have you you have fun and you have your ups and downs I
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whenever I was given opportunity I did the best that I could over there you know what I'm saying right so and lot of
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miles to feed it's a lot of miles to feed over there it's a lot it was like what I think like 22 of us and and then
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you add the PD the PDD guys cuz David when you was it was like 11 or 12 of you
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guys right when I was there it was more than Dana and then yours is probably but 11 or 12 I was there with six you know
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six six cast members and then we had Kevin nean and Dennis Miller as feature
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or Dennis did update primarily so it was Kevin but yeah it was just Victoria
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Jackson Jan Hooks Nora dun those were the three major and everyone has a lot to do well
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you get on the show a lot and then the you get used to doing it but uh when you came in like you can you walking in
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there who who came in with you that was their first year um who was in my class
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I think four years ago so Andrew Des mes who was a writer and he got bumped to
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Cass okay and then uh Lauren Holtz she
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came in with me um I forgot I I think I
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think she's from Carolina or something or whatever but um yeah she came in with me as well
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Andel Marcelo came in I think two years after oh okay yeah his class was uh
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Marcelo Devin Michael Molly okay and then the year before that I think it was
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James and Sarah that came in and Molly just stepped away also yes yes yes yes
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yes okay yes yeah that's a lot of people thing it's a thing it's a big it's a big decision you know what I'm saying and I
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feel like with me and SNL I feel like it was more on a mutual thing because I can tell you right now my February last
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season I was like nope I'm done just by I was just like what what was what was fueling that I mean what were you
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feeling when you you know what it was like the season before that I questioned
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it I talked to my team I was like look you know I don't really know if I belong
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at this job so maybe I should step away and it was just like you know let but I told him super super late like right
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after I found out I got get to go back and it was like well we don't well Punky you need a plan you can't just qu your
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job so I was like all right all right let's go back okay let's go back to work and I had a tremendous first half of the
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Season you know my right I had a writer and I think I got like three or four
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sketches on first half and usually I only get maybe two or three on entire season so I'm like oh man I'm I'm I'm
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killing it like this is this is my season but then my writer left oh my god when Ben Silva left I
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went down I spiraled because he he's gone and you know everybody's you know everybody has their their group you know
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you can't you can invate them if you want but they already everybody's already have their familiality everybody
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just and I couldn't I couldn't break those walls down and I've had I had special moments after that but after
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that I'm like if I don't have Ben then I'm pretty much like what happened to him why' he take
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off he got married and his wife moved to Los Angeles and you know for the most part
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he just wanted to be with his wife I was like Ben no he did you wait a minute you want to be
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with your wife he wanted to be I was soad that's not a good show answer but
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how did you how did you write with him did he sit with you and then you're riffing and then he'd go piece it
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together and you'd punch it up kind of thing or or did he hand it to you because he knew your voice so I am the
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type of person um I I'm goofy like I I know how to just
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play around with stuff I'm really really not to say I'm a writer because I can write but my brain works very
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differently from everybody else's and I can feel that all the time I feel like my IQ is all over the place and I feel
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like sometimes people don't get me when I am delivering information so Ben he he
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just knew how to speak Punky so if I was telling him something he knew how to put
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it in SNL format for me yeah and if I try to put it in SNL that's the hard
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part that's the hard part yes he knew how to he knew how to take all of the scribble scratch that I was delivering
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out my mouth and turn it into some real understandable
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words you know Punky like Dana knows this if you're in a Monday meeting and you pitch an idea and you say uh and
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you've got a weird idea oh a caveman that's afraid of caves and then after the meeting and you're not even thinking
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of writing it because you don't really know how to write it and you're just like treading water and some good writer walks up and said hey I like that idea
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do you want to write it and you're like thank you Jesus someone that knows how to write a sketch is going to help me
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they go I see how that could be funny and then that's a gift and if that guy leaves like you're saying because I see
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there's factions I I'm guessing it's like High cool these guys write with these people these cast members mostly
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right sometimes someone will write a full cast that you get in and you have something to do but it's not like you
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know the old days you'd be like I have a funny character sometimes it's very selfish like let's say uh sprockets Mike
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is GNA write a sketch that's basically Mike Myers scoring and everyone just is
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in it that that's one way to do a sketch and those work on SNL and then there's
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conceptual cast sketches where the idea is just bigger but everyone's playing into the idea so everyone's kind of
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scoring but just the idea of the sketch is funny right so there's both of those but it's hard to get those ones where
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just you score and you need those now and then yeah to survive you know well you know so like soon as soon as
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everything happened or whatever like the news brook or whatever and I um well of course we knew way before the news broke
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but I uh I text Lauren because I I every pitch I I be I be saying some wow [ __ ]
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in them pictures I mean people be like wild as [ __ ] um yeah I'm G give you
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an example I te I text Lauren and I was like look you know you know I love you I appreciate everything you know it's only
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four men in this business who's like really believed in me and really made a way for me and it's and Lauren is one of
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them and um I was like but you know um I'm sorry to tell you pitch gonna be
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boring as [ __ ] without me C you never know what the [ __ ] I'm G say
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you know I be saying some crazy [ __ ] you know um I think it's nice punk you have
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a direct line to Lauren I Dana that just struck me is we had to wait outside his
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office there's no way to just talk to Lauren so the fact that there was only number is youd have to call them up you
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know operator G me a line 44755 yeah is is that Lauren no he's not
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here yeah so he's just my guy I he just he's just always been like super supportive and
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just like you know one the one reason why I really really like him is because everybody kind of tiptoe around there
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nobody really wants to tell you what's really going on and I be like I don't have time for this [ __ ] somebody just tell me what's up Lauren is gonna
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tell you what's up ASAP he he not playing no games he gonna tell you how he feel he gonna tell you why your [ __ ]
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was trash he gonna tell you what you could do to fix it you know so it's just like
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he was just always just honest about everything how did they find you I was just curious what they first the show
00:19:35
how same thing same thing I was wondering I was like because was it Comedy Central special or what was it
00:19:41
what got you you know their you know just being in this you know I'm I'm you know I'm I'm from New Orleans I you know
00:19:49
I always knew I wanted to do comedy SNL was not on the vision board because I'm just like everybody told me my whole
00:19:56
life you'll never be on network TV so I was just like okay I'm never going to be on T had some nice nice friends SNL was
00:20:03
just never there for me so I never thought that that was possible so one day I'm just riding in the car I had
00:20:09
just left my wife or whatever and I'm just driving I'm like my life is over and I'm driving across the country and
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soon as I'm just like going crazy my phone rang and it's my manager and he was like Hey you ever thought about
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being on SNL I was like what he was like yeah you know uh do you want to audition
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I was like what he was like yeah I was like okay I'll do it and I was just like they never gonna hide my crazy ghetto
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ass so I what I I just gave them and I
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gave them crazy just goofy ghetto [ __ ] and then they hit me up with the recall
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I mean with the call back and I was like they like that they like yeah I was like okay send the same [ __ ] or you could or
00:20:53
you could revamp it I was like n I'm going revamp it I was like give me no no so the first time I se six characters
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next time I added six characters to it and then I put a of my stand up at the end because I'm like hey look if I'm
00:21:04
gonna be in this competition I'mma come for real so everything yeah throw it all up threw it all up there and then when
00:21:11
once you get in there you start seeing familiar faces like oh we did justful
00:21:16
laabs together I'm you know I'm I'm I don't really know anything about Hollywood business so when I'm at just F
00:21:22
laughs I don't even think SNL was in there watching but they had like you know they got people from SNL Scouts and
00:21:28
everything word gets around yeah yeah yeah so I think you know I think maybe from that it was it was buzzing from
00:21:34
that too you know Dana uh when we did lights out I used to go to The Comedy Store a
00:21:40
lot when Adam eot you know Adam egot was there and he would uh kind of ran the place and then I think he told me about
00:21:46
Punky and then I saw Punky there I'd see you in the hallways and then I think you
00:21:52
came on lights out a few times yeah that was fun lights out was super fun yeah yeah so yeah yeah I got you know Punky I
00:22:00
wish we had clips now because those clips would float around just an exchange between me and you on there
00:22:06
would have gone out as a clip you know that was that was like two years early for that but so Punky was already
00:22:11
getting the word out and those things all help you know you're on their panel with other Comics they say they're with
00:22:17
you Adam's talking about you I'm talking about and then you just never know whose ears are open to that and you just get
00:22:23
momentum and then somehow it gets to Lauren it's great I love that yeah you you look you telling me listen ever
00:22:30
since we got out you know that I'm not going back to the show my phone and opportunities have not stopped like it's
00:22:37
it's it's crazy I'm like wait what what's going on what's going on they like well people know you off the show now so people like what's up she want to
00:22:43
do this audition she want to do this Cameo she want she want you can work on something else yeah right and it's it's you know it's a little bit it's it's
00:22:50
it's going to be very different but I'm excited I'm super excited I'm working on a movie um that Lauren is also helping
00:22:57
me do good um I'm putting together my special that Lauren's also helping me do so my relationship with the with the
00:23:03
show is still strong we just we just mutually we just understood that it was in my zone and this is not like leaving
00:23:10
the show in the early 90s this is there's so many outlets for you to do
00:23:15
your work live streaming shows do special whatever so it's it's uh you've
00:23:21
shown on the show that you can Stand and Deliver like you're if they give you a chance and you're out there you're
00:23:27
scoring you're killing with Colin or whatever you're doing so you've got the
00:23:32
credibility so now yeah I could see your phone's going to be ringing a lot it's just well I'm happy y'all ain't see the
00:23:38
sketches that bomb thank for thank God we have something called the dress rehearsal let's look at a clip I put
00:23:45
Punky Johnson SNL and they do worst sketches no it's all it's all great
00:23:51
sketches oh my God I had like two sketches that went
00:23:57
that I just oh oh God sometime you know you know I'm D first of all let's get it
00:24:02
let's get it out there I'm dyslexic okay so you put a dyslexic person out here
00:24:08
get it out where they gotta read stuff that's about 10 to 15 feet away from them okay y it's sometimes it's far yeah
00:24:15
you're like wait what and then sometimes it being Brown I'm like I can't see Brown y'all better give me [ __ ]
00:24:21
yellow or orange yeah give me something jumps off [ __ ] that's so funny Farley taught
00:24:27
me how to squint he go all you have to do is lean into the cards and squint as hard as you can I go I don't think that
00:24:32
looks good on camera and then you go back and watch you like oh I guess that does look
00:24:38
normal but it doesn't feel normal so when you're out there you feels nuts yeah it I was just like I there were
00:24:44
times where I had to like like one of my sketches that bomb so bad I did uh the
00:24:50
the lady who had like the seven part series on Tik Tok about how her man right I forgot I forgot her retis right
00:24:58
and while I was doing recent I had to be like driving looking pressing buttons
00:25:04
fixing the mirror reading the cards I'm like I am slowly dying I was like can I
00:25:09
bring a bell or something to get out of this can I pull the eject button get the
00:25:15
next Skitch ready get the next thing ready I'm gonna get out early oh that's so true when you've got too much
00:25:21
business going on and you're trying to peek at the card H oh horri was it it supposed to look like a Tik Tok you're
00:25:27
saying so you're trying to the cameras like the you holding the camera and when you look at that you're really right
00:25:33
you're supposed to be looking almost into the camera but you have to look at the cards yes so it's a bit of a cheat already yes it was ter I could not I
00:25:41
could not get that sketch together to save my life you're like I'm going to crash this fake car can can we see that
00:25:47
anywhere can we it's out there somewhere we bite I might go pull it up it it'll be funny it would be
00:25:53
funny is it's one thing like never nobody ever had to come tell me my SK was cut I knew when my sketch I text
00:26:01
Dennis and up there I be like I know that [ __ ] cut you ain't got to tell me he like well thank you for telling me puny thank you I don't have to let you
00:26:07
down n [ __ ] I know yeah [ __ ] hor I know what I'm one thing about
00:26:13
me I know when I'm trash okay and I'm not about to even sit down and wish for the slightest uh Redemption I I'm like
00:26:21
I'm not even gonna have the opportunity to fix that so let me just tell y'all I know that it was trash and we good so
00:26:27
they go to the commercial and you quietly get up you get a smattering of Applause and then no one high fives you
00:26:33
crew guys look away you walk that long road no one makes eye cont no one makes
00:26:39
eye contact hey up not that now that is a walk of shame yeah do not walk by the
00:26:46
monitor where Lauren W watches that video Village oh everyone's like oof yeah but I'm you know me I'm just like I
00:26:53
know it was trash you I gota look I'll go I'll go walking through talking [ __ ] to everybody
00:26:58
you'll go even if you want it on I'm cutting it it's too much work I'm cutting it it
00:27:05
seemed like you had a personality that could navigate the nightmare that SNL can be I mean you you seem resilient
00:27:12
just hearing you like I'm trash we're good yeah because it's just like you know it's it's a thing of like look you
00:27:19
know I feel like if I got this job maybe 10 years ago I would have been better
00:27:24
because I would have had the momentum I would have had the energy I would have had the stamina but getting that job at I think what I
00:27:30
was like 36 or something it's like you just you just be like all that [ __ ] just
00:27:37
roll off your back you be like I don't care about none of that [ __ ] I don't care just give me my sketch let me go you know what I'm saying but years if I
00:27:42
about to start that job at 26 I would have been bouncing off the walls in that moment I'm trying to make friends with everybody I'm talking everybody head off
00:27:49
I'm in everybody office you know what's going on what you guys doing you know you got some treats give me some snacks just you know and I just mooching and
00:27:55
[ __ ] but I was just I was just too old [ __ ] puny do you ever do a sketch I was
00:28:02
the opposite I do a sketch with bomb at read through and I'd be back there going waiting to find out what made it going
00:28:07
maybe they think it's like a fixer upper you know they can get in there and if they put every single writer on it I
00:28:14
think we can get it going they're like yeah we can do that with every sketch but we like the ones that are already kind of done well the thing is like
00:28:21
sometimes you would have that feeling too because there be some sketches that buy them at that table and they'll pick
00:28:27
them anyway and fix them so why why wouldn't you think maybe this time it could be you of course maybe you
00:28:34
know I tell you I seen you fix that sketch why you can't fix mine I tell them I yeah exactly [ __ ] I got a nugget
00:28:40
of an idea in mind too it didn't it didn't expand the way we thought it didn't grow but uh you guys could fix it
00:28:46
you're smart that's why talk shows you know fake talk shows worked go ahead py yeah yeah no I was I was I didn't mean
00:28:53
to talk over you oh not at all I'm just saying that Homebase a fake talk show or
00:28:58
stuff where you're looking right at the audience as a standup you know being obviously on update is just right out
00:29:05
there and a restaurant sketch in the corner underneath the bleachers it's got to really be
00:29:10
great was probably the best for me but also the hardest because I honestly
00:29:16
could not see them damn cards I couldn't see them that's a yeah oh my God you
00:29:21
know so you know how did you man what what then also what upd is I'm
00:29:27
a up comedian so when I do comedy on stage um I'm talking to the whole crowd
00:29:34
I'll go here I'll go to the side to the middle to the other side so when I was doing up whenever I would do update I
00:29:40
would communicate with the crowd instead of looking at the cards yeah and so I would look at the card look at the crowd
00:29:47
go back to the card and they like Punky you have to just keep reading the cards but my my
00:29:52
muscle was would would always be standup comedy when I would into the chair my muscle would kick in yeah so I just you
00:29:59
know I might have did like four or five updates right now when you're talking you have an energy and a realness that
00:30:07
isn't exactly the same when you stay on cards for anyone so yeah I see why you
00:30:12
do that because you're in front of a crowd you're like this is where I know what to do and the crowd's with me
00:30:18
because it's like a Sprint Dana as you know you do update if you don't get out of the blocks and those first jokes
00:30:25
don't work it's a long update where if they don't buy your bit right away it's
00:30:30
very hard to get them to buy it toward the end you're like [ __ ] I want the first joke to get a laugh they know they get the concept and now I'm just going
00:30:37
to roll but man when you're working up there it is tough you're like [ __ ] am I bombing it update you're looking over
00:30:43
going it's not gonna make it oh sick I did update where I played Michael
00:30:48
Chase's ex-girlfriend who came back yeah basically like the premise was
00:30:54
like uh you know Michael Chase ex-girlfriend you uh you take you get me
00:30:59
you sweep me off my feet you pull me out of my apartment you give me this lavish life and then
00:31:04
you yeah yeah yeah do you have to run that by CH before read before read oh
00:31:10
sorry go ahead keep no no no I didn't I didn't run it you know you know we run it we run everything by the the the
00:31:16
writer uh our writing boss like the head head writer like do you think CH be all
00:31:22
right with this be like I don't know just right in the seat okay fine I'll ride in the seat but it got it got picked but address address I just the
00:31:31
first line off the top I don't know what happened but I said the whole first line
00:31:36
own and men oh no exactly what I'm talking about and
00:31:42
then you're on you go just give me one more take and I got this and they're like nope we're off and running digging out man just digging out digging out of
00:31:48
a hole you know doing the dance I mean but the audience if they feel it's kind of authentic there's a line where when I
00:31:55
was watching you perform up there and uh Michael Jay is such a great and Colin they're both great straight people to
00:32:02
their to their guests and uh they're they're seeing the fun I mean you're on a role as a standup they're just feeling
00:32:08
it and you know that's when it's electric that's what you want that it feels alive it doesn't feel it feels
00:32:15
alive in the room sat I'm GNA always remember my first update it was like you
00:32:20
know SNL is one of those things where you know your sketch can can die a thousand ways
00:32:28
period like so many different ways it can die so brutal yeah y it could start
00:32:34
it could it could start dying on a Monday night like damn we ain't even [ __ ] sketch dead before re
00:32:42
through it's dying before it it could die a thousand ways
00:32:47
right so I had this this sketch that I was doing I was writing a song and then they hit me up at three o'clock three
00:32:54
o'clock in the morning my first year towards the end of the season puny you can't do that sketch you can't
00:33:01
write that song cuz Chris is writing a song I'm like it's 3 in the morning what it's 3 in the morning this
00:33:09
is this is all I have oh oh man who's Chris which Chris
00:33:15
and uh huh which Chris Chris Chris R Chris R okay because he was he was you
00:33:21
know he was The Lyricist you know and so Chris hit me up he was like yo you
00:33:27
know [ __ ] sometimes you could you could write something cool at 3: in the morning and don't even know it because I was
00:33:33
panicking it's my first year it's a covid year we can't really communicate with each other because we have these
00:33:39
covid rules and these guidelines so I was just on my own just stranded on this island so I sat down looked in the news
00:33:46
I saw that Paul Pierce got in trouble for having strippers he's a ESPN analyst yes yeah I like I'm G write about that
00:33:55
but then the woman you know my girl who who I'm messing with I'm on the phone with her and she was like I was like I'm
00:34:01
going just write about this Paul Pierce thing she was like why don't you just be one of the strippers I was like yeah I'mma write
00:34:08
from the strip of POV so she helped me she helped me get that whole that whole thing out and I wrote it in about an
00:34:15
hour and and I sent up a wish and a prayer and it made it all the way to the show that was my first character pineapple panelope yes and it find out
00:34:24
panelope Pierce yeah crushed oh Peterson it crushed love it that was one that was
00:34:31
my favorite I've been I had been trying to bring her back to do something I want I had a vision of you know pineapple
00:34:37
coming down on a strip pole or whatever but yeah yeah yeah it died a thousand ways it's it's the pineapple show you
00:34:44
know it's a to give her a a cable access talk show Cable cable late late cable
00:34:52
show you know what I might have to do that everybody loves that's Apple well the
00:34:59
it's funny cuz just a tweak like that writing about it versus playing it and you're like oh and then you come alive
00:35:05
and go oh now I think of 10 more jokes I I know how to do this right and you get a funny look you get a wig you get a you
00:35:13
know whatever you want to dress like you you can ACC do whatever you want and then it all comes then when you get
00:35:19
pushed out an update they almost start laughing already yeah oh it's so stupid I I have this uh I I I envisioned the
00:35:27
have you have you guys seen Players Club with Ice Cube and Bernie Mack and um who else in that
00:35:32
[ __ ] um Damie Fox I don't think it's a movie right or series it's a it's a very
00:35:40
ethnic movie okay and and uh it's about it's a movie about
00:35:46
strippers you know and uh some of the strippers was just stripping and being gangsters and then they had another
00:35:51
stripper who was in school and just stripping just strictly for the money but the one that was the Gangsta I
00:35:57
that's who I resembled so she had this big tall white hair like white D and and
00:36:05
and some some two pieces that came down and the back of it was super super long
00:36:11
and these long nails and the boobies out so I was like I just showed SNL that and
00:36:16
it was like yeah we could do it oh they they go to town on that yeah you give them like 24 hours they
00:36:22
like got it that's why I see why they win all the awards you know yeah they're [ __ ] great that like in hair like
00:36:29
they like they like challenges too you they want something different weird there they get bored they're like you go
00:36:35
I have this super weird idea they're like yes because they want to see if they can pull it off it was insane I
00:36:41
remember when Maya was there and you know this is for the first election or
00:36:46
whatever I mean not the first but four years ago when all the stuff was going on yeah and uh and kamla Harris she was
00:36:55
playing kamla and then between read between uh dress and live kamla did
00:37:02
something on TV she maybe she did like a speech or something oh wow and she had on a different
00:37:08
outfit and so they saw that and within like I don't know man within like what an hour between
00:37:16
shows 45 minutes yeah they changed Maya's entire fit to match what was they
00:37:22
had directly seen on television wow I'm like I was just like what is going on and building the the Departments are so
00:37:30
crack and so aggressive and so they're like the veterans you know what do you want and the crew too between sketches
00:37:38
the way they move stuff and you go they've got 10 seconds but they always land it it really is extraordinary SNL
00:37:45
is just it gets you like this there is no during the commercial is the action
00:37:51
when you in the audience you get to watch everyone screaming going go go go this way and they're pushing stuff
00:37:56
around and they're like 30 seconds and Cass isn't even there yet and crowd's looking around like where's the what
00:38:02
who's in this and the host comes running out and they jump in they go 10 seconds and you're like where are the cards what
00:38:08
color am I green did you ever come too late to a sketch Punky like you you spaced or did you ever hurt yourself or
00:38:17
I mean Rob Schneider once did not come into the into the SE and it was the cold
00:38:22
opening I'm out there by myself doing Woody Allen and he's not there because he's supposed to do soon and I'm just by
00:38:28
myself improvising you know just spaced out everyone thought it was part of it they're like yeah you're like when when
00:38:34
is the movie start you're just talking to your's not even here and I you know I feel nauseous because you know that kind
00:38:42
of thing and then just wait wait wait and there he comes but the shenanigans of Satur Night Live I don't know if I
00:38:48
ever came to uh a set late but I know that I've wrecked a a live performance I
00:38:56
but like not I I I remember I I got on you know you know how those the big
00:39:01
sketches with the entire cast isn't it yeah and I'm pretty sure y'all don't know what that feels like because you've
00:39:06
never had to do perform with 23 people was it really 23 that blows my
00:39:12
mind if I'm not mistaken it's 23 if I'm not mistaken I mean I could be one
00:39:17
number off but still but um like it I remember I had to do my part in this big
00:39:24
long like PTA sketch or something and then I had to hurry up and run to be
00:39:30
ready for the next sketch and as I'm running I'm on live TV the whole top of my head brushes against the next set
00:39:37
cameras while the person was reading so if if you watch it closely the top of my
00:39:43
head is covering half the television oh no that's the stuff Lauren
00:39:49
does not like oh God Carol Bernett it' be better
00:39:54
if there was like not a head in the sketch we could actually see the performer that
00:40:00
would be like a really really good thing we know laoren sorry Lauren
00:40:08
sorry [Music]
00:40:13
fky you did just for this ramp up for a second so how long were you doing standup before you got on
00:40:20
SNL um let me see got i s out 2020 I would say about nine years okay started
00:40:27
I I started um I think June 2011 that was the first time i' I got on stage at
00:40:33
The Comedy Store oh and did you work at the comedy store before you got took the stage or is that just sort of a rumor
00:40:39
did you I did so what happened was so look La is different okay I don't know
00:40:44
what be going on out there in Los Angeles but every single job interview is like a casting call I had no idea
00:40:50
yeah so as I'm looking for jobs in Los Angeles um every time I went there it's
00:40:56
it's 50 to 60 people 70 people in line with briefcases and and and head shots
00:41:02
and I'm like is this a brief yeah just a bartender you have a head shot a
00:41:09
briefcase one head shot in it it was insane I'm like I don't have no head shots I a't got none of that [ __ ] I got
00:41:14
me and but everybody would be dressed like this for a job interview I'm like y'all dressed like that for a job you
00:41:21
know cuz me if I'm going to a job interview I'm coming casket sh I got on a suit my hair is done my are glossy
00:41:28
like I'm looking good okay so when I go s into the interview you know first me
00:41:34
and a guy bonded because he was gay and I was gay so that that that took off real
00:41:39
good and then some chatter and then he then me being from New Orleans he was like oh you know we never had anybody
00:41:45
that from New Orleans come here and then he asked me what my favorite food was and I say ham hack he was like what's a ham hack so now we getting into food and
00:41:52
everything talking about outside interview and I end up getting a job at the com to and he asked me if I did
00:41:59
comedy and I was like I would like to try comedy but I would like to also not tell anybody and I want to watch it for
00:42:05
a while and kind of just start understanding the politics of it and um he was like okay um but then maybe six
00:42:13
months later after I got the job that's when I started showing interest in comedy so everybody in the building was like nah you only want to do it because
00:42:19
you see it they didn't know what was in my heart so I had to work extra hard to
00:42:24
prove to them that I really came to do comedy and I'm not just trying to do it because I'm in the environment now so I
00:42:32
had I I I basically just shot myself in the ass well what was your job at the
00:42:38
store what was your job oh I was a waitress for maybe like uh maybe about two years and then I became
00:42:45
bartender and then you know what's funny I did a set last night in there I love it yeah it's fun in there go through
00:42:50
that kitchen you know the whole drill so you're in the main you're start doing spots there again well well yeah I can I
00:42:56
can go back now but it's it's super super different like when Jeff like Jeff is not there anymore which you could I
00:43:02
feel that presence not there it sucks um Richie's gone now and I think Richie was
00:43:08
the last bone that that was had been there over 20 yeah Adam's gone oh my God Adam but at least Adam is in Austin and
00:43:16
the four guys who I told you like really love me Adam is one of them oh oh yeah
00:43:21
of course yeah Adam's talking about I hit him up this morning talking about you that's that's my I got a comedy
00:43:26
father I got a comedy King a comedy zaddy and a comedy Lord which Adam Lauren Adam's my comedy
00:43:36
daddy um ahimed Weinberg is my comedy zaddy okay um Ethan Stern is my comedy
00:43:43
King Dave Becky is my comedy Lord and Lauren Michaels is my comedy Godfather
00:43:49
so I got five I forgot one of them look at this funky that was a good day right
00:43:54
there that's a picture I'm showing from lights out with me I think Dennis Miller and Joe Koy we were on the same show
00:44:00
right yeah that was a that was a fun one that was a great one we got to bring that back that was a really fun show to
00:44:07
be a guest on because it was just small it really was yeah what is your ideal performing like what do you love the
00:44:14
most small Club big club uh you like work with a lot of comics I mean what's your like like you're probably doing
00:44:22
standup right now are you are you doing gigs or you I'm stand up right now what it Ares to me like right
00:44:30
now like sometimes right now I just don't feel like it you know and I hate that feeling because I always feel like
00:44:36
doing standup but I'm just like in this just in this space that I'm trying to get out of which I don't even know what
00:44:41
that space is I'm trying to figure that out so I can get out of it um but if I'm doing comedy I honestly like the
00:44:48
intimate settings low roof low ceiling yeah laugh so
00:44:55
like um I some big places like when when I open up for Colin or when I open up
00:45:01
for Michael CH you know they got these they have these huge venues and those are pretty fun too
00:45:07
those are pretty fun but I I would prefer like nice you know like uh like at the seller in the
00:45:14
basement yeah like comedy seller yes that's kind of what it was made for you know yeah 200 200 seaters 300 seaters
00:45:22
low ceiling and then that's where we all used to start up I'm just going to ask you about I mean a lot of times
00:45:29
stand-ups don't feel like doing standup for a while and it's sort of good to just get away from it and then usually
00:45:34
the ideas will come pouring in all of the sudden but are you just a little bit um I mean what's your uh state of mind
00:45:41
right now because you just announced your you're leaving the home and got but you're busy or are you just feel do you
00:45:47
feel tired do you feel energized or how are you yeah like I'm just you know I my
00:45:53
summer went from not being busy to being busy and I was like wait how did this happen see this what I I
00:45:59
gotta start keeping my mouth closed see because I I keep forgetting that my team they some goons okay so I'm sitting up
00:46:06
there I got nothing on my calendar for the summer I think I had like three dates to go to like Vermont blah blah
00:46:12
blah blah blah and you know I call I called my my comedy King I'm like my I was like my C not full for the summer he
00:46:18
was like call you right back next thing I know is is Chicago Virginia
00:46:24
what I didn't want it to get filed up this much it's like you got you got a slim residency at the union you gotta
00:46:31
figure that out now you got to go here you gotta go there now you got this Gala and this day and I'm like when am I going to
00:46:37
sleep so he books them and then tells you you're you're taking them or does he run them by you first well well so I got
00:46:44
so then he hits up my touring agent and my touring agent just just just you know and then I I defer to him for everything
00:46:51
I'm like what you think about this what you think about that he was like if you want to do it we're doing it period because I defer to him for everything
00:46:56
because I just he just I I don't feel like he ever steer me wrong he always give me
00:47:01
the best advice he always hit me up on the side and be and give me like the pros and the con of doing the job and then be like look it's on you but this
00:47:08
you know that's how we feel about it do you travel with an opener do you have someone with you that have somebody to
00:47:13
open for me um which is great uh because we have mad fun look
00:47:20
I'm I'm trying to get HBO somebody cuz I started doing a docu series about three years ago about just what it's like
00:47:27
being on a road because I would watch these Comedians and they would do their standup special like and and and
00:47:34
everything is just they do their special in this one hour and then at the end of it they do like this 15 minute
00:47:40
documentary of Meet the family and this where I grew up in ABCD and I just like man that's is is is
00:47:48
that that [ __ ] boring man you know what I'm saying I'm just so I I wanted to show people what it's really like on the
00:47:54
road because nobody really want to show what it's really like everybody want show all the ups so I got the series
00:47:59
going you see the UPS you see the Downs you see the fights you see the uh the uh
00:48:04
back and forth with the crowd if the crowd do stuff you you know one time we was on the road and heard one of our
00:48:10
friends uh took his life man that was a disaster of a night for us and we show all of that just to show people what is
00:48:17
really yeah and and travel just just travel car doesn't show up plane that's
00:48:22
not taken off on time you know oh yeah it's it's it and I mean it's so stupid cuz me and my friend dicey we have such
00:48:28
this crazy Dynamic it's just like we are totally ying and yang she's so straight
00:48:34
I'm so gay she's so everything about her just gets on my nerves but we're best
00:48:41
friends so you have footage of this show you just need to complete it kind of the
00:48:47
yeah look I think we think it's we you know it we kind of want a base it is we kind of want it to be like you know this
00:48:53
is the life of a comedian so where we go up to a place we do what the tourists do we eat what the tourists eat and then we
00:48:59
perform and that's kind of like the through lineup that's good oh that's inter you know got a little more shape
00:49:05
to it that's good yeah yeah yeah yeah it it's super stupid I mean we it's so funny and I'm naked the whole time is
00:49:11
that the name stup stupid name it could be called super stupid I you know there
00:49:17
there's something you said that it's just been in the back of my head a little bit I have no idea why but you uh
00:49:23
a while back during this podcast you said strictly for the money it just sort of hit me as sort of
00:49:29
poetic and I don't know if that's the name of a show or it's strictly for the money just hits me I don't know just
00:49:35
sounds I like I like that name when when when when doing a special how do you come up with your the name of your
00:49:42
special like do you do you because I'm struggling I have about 15 names for my special right now yeah and I don't know
00:49:49
what funny part is it's fun to think of them and then afterwards no one really cares but it's fun to think of naming it
00:49:56
and go what if it's this what if it's this something to do I know it's hard I here's my people are like what was your last special like let's all think of one
00:50:03
here's my I'll do the first one Punky okay Punky gets loose or Punky on the loose yeah definitely I'm listen this
00:50:11
special like the first 20 minutes it's it's it's it's tough it's
00:50:17
it's it's very it's the whole the whole 20 minutes it's controversial oh oh okay
00:50:22
take that Chappelle that'd be a tough It's controversial like I'm really like you know I'm saying some things on that
00:50:29
but it comes full a circle you know like it starts like really high rate and just like look this how I feel oh yeah I'm
00:50:37
coming I start crazy I start insane I don't build up to insane I like it you
00:50:42
got to get them at the beginning that's a good time to do it I start insane and the crazy thing is my biggest like
00:50:48
supporters in this comedy business is old white men you never know your fans
00:50:55
they are old they are white and they are men and they love my black ass it is
00:51:02
crazy how many people like black people don't come to my shows gay people don't
00:51:07
come to my shows old white men and they bring their wives and their wives come
00:51:12
up and they be like Henry just had to see his Punky I be like how do Henry know
00:51:18
Punky what you me his Punky [ __ ] that's that's fantastic as part of
00:51:25
that club I I'm I'm a fan so I get it right here it's insane like they they
00:51:31
just they love me and I'll be like it could surprise you the people it it
00:51:36
surprises me when I'm on a road because they're like well you want to do your special I'm like I think Arizona they're like why Arizona I'm like cuz I always
00:51:42
get the people in Arizona just always show up and it' be my old white men all the time David stomping grounds that's
00:51:49
me that's that's me also I'm from Arizona so yeah it shows we only have we
00:51:54
start with old people I started there I'm old uh well Punky
00:52:01
what else you want to ask her Dane I think she did a great job it's great talking to you punk it's great to hear I think this gives people an Insight of
00:52:08
how you felt about your time on SNL if if Lauren is listening to this would you like to say anything to
00:52:13
Lauren he's always what do I want to say to Lauren um you owe me a car since I
00:52:19
heard about that yeah true he owes me a a laptop or whatever
00:52:25
yeah you owe David a laptop yeah um no Lauren know what's up Lauren
00:52:30
know how I feel uh I love him uh like I I I I I think I might have gotten into
00:52:37
some I don't I don't know what happened like I I said at a show that I wasn't going back to uh SNL and like the world
00:52:45
went insane and I didn't understand I didn't understand what was happening I
00:52:50
was like what the [ __ ] is wrong like my phone is ringing off the hook in the morning internet tags and all kind of
00:52:56
articles and reporters want to talk and I was like what is happening they was like you have to confirm you have to
00:53:01
confirm right now we have to know what's going on I'm like going on about what it's like that's know they want drama
00:53:07
they they want they want drama they want it to be leaving isn't good enough they want make it look like I was saying like
00:53:13
some wild [ __ ] but I was just sharing experiences in a funny like really goofy
00:53:19
type of way and it and it just it just went insane so I was just like the first
00:53:24
thing I was thinking about was do was Lauren cuz he's never done anything to hurt me or trash my reputation so the
00:53:30
first thing I was thinking about was him CU I was like I can't I don't ever want to piss him off I'm never going to piss off the people that showed me mad love
00:53:36
you know but yeah it blew over that was like my first I guess public thing or whatever
00:53:44
yeah it's weird to be quoted in ways you go I didn't mean that and I didn't say it that way and they cut and they paste
00:53:50
and then they want to but you know it's an emotionally violent place for everybody so that there's a drama to s
00:53:56
life just because the very nature of live and what it is so um everyone knows
00:54:01
that you know but now we have a better idea of your adventure there doing this
00:54:06
podcast but yeah look if you if you an SNL I just want to wish all my people
00:54:12
good luck y'all have a wonderful 50th season I know Lauren gonna put together some MadAss lineups I know that [ __ ]
00:54:19
gonna be bomb I'm G be tuning in and I'm G be at as many After parties as I can on somebody table shaking my ass
00:54:26
all right a good summ that's a good summary I don't know what else to say after that good job Punky I'll see you around
00:54:34
meet you Punky absolutely guys thank y'all for having me man y'all have a wonderful uh what is today Tuesday yeah
00:54:40
yeah happy Tuesday guys get a you too I'll see you around campus this has been
00:54:47
a presentation of Odyssey please follow subscribe leave a like a review all the
00:54:53
stuff smash that button whatever it is wherever you get your podcast fly on thewall is executive and produced
00:54:58
by Dana Carvey and David Spade Jenna Weiss Burman of Odyssey and Heather Santoro the show's lead producer is Greg
00:55:04
hzman
