Hey and welcome to the latest episode number
14 of the Dan Time podcast. I'm your host, Dan
McArdle. It's great to have you back. How's the
time change treating you? You know, one thing
I like, nobody ever mentions this, I don't think,
but that strobe effect of the early morning sun
flickering at you through the trees as you drive
to work, that's gone. That's gone, for most of
us, for a little while. Then when you're heading
home, there's no squinting. No trying to watch
that light change from red to green while you
look straight into the low setting sun. I sincerely
hope you enjoyed last week's episode with our
first female guest on Dan Time, Ms. Jeannie Cook
from the Danville Dan's Prospect League baseball
team in Danville, Illinois. What a wonderful
perspective we received from someone who is in
part responsible. for saving a baseball stadium
many decades ago and helping to create lasting
memories for fans of all ages. I truly hope you're
enjoying the variety on Dan Time. If there's
a guest for the show who you know about, who
you think the rest of the world needs to hear
about, maybe it's you. Maybe it's you. Drop me
a line at dantimepod at gmail .com. I'd love
to hear from you. Or maybe you just got a garbage
time question that you'd like me to toss out
there at the end of an episode. Folks, today
we're getting right back to the comedy well.
We heard from West Coast based comic Daniel Ichus
a couple of weeks ago. Hey, be sure to follow
him. Follow Dan Ichus on all the socials for
his upcoming dates. Today, Dan Altano is my guest.
This was such a blast to connect with Dan and
I can't wait to wrap up these remarks. so that
you can see what I'm talking about. Like Dan,
I'm also a middle brother of three boys. We bonded
on that front and he really opened up about what
it's like to build your brand and handle all
the obstacles that come your way as a comedian,
as a husband, as a father. Dan recorded his new
album, Stand Up Dad, at the brand new New York
Comedy Club in Stamford, Connecticut. Stand Up
Dad debuted at number one on the iTunes Comedy
Charts. I highly recommend you download this
album wherever you download music or comedy.
You're going to love it. Dan Altano was born
in New Jersey, longtime resident of New York
City and is now based out of New Haven, Connecticut.
He headlines clubs and theaters across the country.
Listen to this episode for a little teaser on
some upcoming tour dates and follow him at danaltano
.com as more dates are released for December
and into the next year. Dan was recently named
one of New York City's Breakout Artists of the
Year by Caroline's on Broadway. He appeared in
the New York Comedy Festival for three straight
years. He also co -produced Just a Jersey Guy
and His Son, a comedic storytelling show with
his father, Brian Altano. Okay, there's so much
to sink into on this conversation, so let's get
right to it. Folks, it is Dan Altano time. Great
to be speaking to you today, Dan. Hi Dan, thanks
for having me on. This is a thrill. I'm really
excited. Awesome. Well, I have been checking
out your new stand -up album or your new comedy
album, Stand Up Dad. I think that men of all
ages, women of all ages too, but particularly
dads around our age will be basically, if you're
anything like me, be grinning, have a fixed grin
throughout the entire album. You hit on some
of the challenges that we face, some of the ridiculous
things that we have to go through. Oh my gosh,
Dan, the terrible twos track. I had to play it.
I had to play it again and again. It is spot
on. Oh man, thanks. How are your audiences reacting
to this material when you're out there on your
headlining tour? It's been really fun. It's been
really exciting to see how it plays out. You
know, until this album, this is my debut album,
right? So until this moment, everything's always
been live. And so you get those immediate reactions.
What's been really fun is when I get a message
from someone or you saying that it resonated
where you were. So it's cool as a dad to not
have to go out and do stand -up now for some
people to hear me do stand -up. I'm still doing
shows constantly, but it's also nice to have
the work being done for me out there while you're
listening to it. But yeah, it's interesting.
There's a lot of comedy out there bashing being
a parent or bashing your own kids. And I've always
thought of it as like, you know, if you wanted
kids, why are you ripping on it? Like, this would
be something that you, that you like. And so
for like the terrible twos, it is a funny thing
because it'd be parents complaining to me after
a show. It's like, oh, they're the worst. I'm
like, they're 24 months old. How could they already
be awful? You know? So it's the idea of like,
can you take a little bit of ownership of like,
maybe, maybe we're terrible. and then we made
more of us, right? So it's like, there's never
any ownership of like, hey, maybe we made annoying
people. It's always like, oh, they just showed
up like aliens and started crying, you know?
You know, all these behavior characteristics,
we were there at one point. Yeah, I was on a
plane once and I had my two year old with me.
And I remember a woman was annoyed that he was
kicking the seat. She was like, could you please,
could you please tell him to act? a little bit
older and I was like, he's two. Like, do you
want him to like, do you want him to be reading
poetry right now? You know what I mean? Like
should he do a crossword puzzle? He's two years
old. Like, he's acting exactly how a two -year
-old acts. I'm like, yeah, like I'll tell him
to stop kicking the seat, but he's not going
to suddenly put on eyeglasses. You know what
I mean? And just start like, oh, you're sorry.
Let me get back to my Kindle. I apologize for
how I behaved here today. One of the funniest
things I experienced because I have a two and
a half year old when he was 18 months we got
him into a preschool and I remember the first
note that he got sent home and it and I think
it started out saying please have a conversation
with Wyatt about not sticking toys up his pants
or like have a talk What do you think you're
going to be like sipping your coffee on the porch
and be like, Hey buddy, I think we should discuss
this thing. Like I had a daycare. We need to
talk about boundaries. Yeah. And they're like,
what? I don't, I don't even know how to put pants
on. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know
how to do anything, but yeah, let me do, let
me think about boundaries at this point in my
life. Like, no, no, but I had, I had a teacher
once like he was like a year and a half and I
walked in and it was like a daycare person and
she was like, he hit a kid and I was like oh
my god the terror was like yeah he hit a kid
and I was like okay I'm like thinking like that
day like do I have like a like a serial killer
on my hands and whatever went back in the next
day and I asked the other teacher I'm like what
happened she was like oh some kid took his toy
and he like tapped him on the shoulder and I
was like that's way different Than hitting a
kid like she acted like he battered a kid around,
you know You know what I mean? Like he just came
home from a hard day of work and just started
hitting a kid But no that's he's being a little
kid. We we do that We do have that like you said
that that short -term memory and we forget that
we were ever kids We just expect them to act
like 40 year olds, you know out of the gate.
Yeah, it is I will admit it is frustrating at
times I'm sure you can relate when you're trying
to maybe write or get you got a great idea you
want to get it down and Talked about this on
the last episode I think or a couple episodes
back and you kind of stop what you're doing either
to just change a diaper or for two hours because
your wife's got to run out and now you've just
got to be a dad and You got you got to do it,
but it it's not like it's always easy You know,
I don't know how you experienced the pandemic,
but I was in New York City So we were in a one
bedroom closed off from everything and I heard
all my friends being like work has been crazy
Work has been insane the ones without kids. And
I'm like, really? It was insane because I was
doing a Zoom comedy show, which those are fun.
And I'm in the middle of I'm headlining and I'm
in the middle of like my big closer. And my son
just walked in and just closed my laptop. Oh,
man, just closed it. And I'm like, I don't want
to hear that work has been saved when at any
point my son could just literally just end what
I'm doing. No one that kid had to deal with that
kind of that kind of threat. And those Zoom shows
were crazy, by the way, because you'd get hired
in the pandemic by an office that wanted to keep
the camaraderie going, so they'd hire a comedian.
But they always start with a report about how
the company's doing. And I have this one company
that they started off, they're like, listen,
we've had a good year, but there will be layoffs.
And we're not going to be able to keep everyone,
and our sales are down. And the death toll has
risen and things are really rough out there.
And now for comedy, please welcome Dan Altano.
And I'm like, what? I just followed layoffs?
And so everyone's just, I'm seeing their faces.
They just literally like their whole world shattered.
And I have to come in and be like, God, what's
going on? Yeah. How do you walk into that? it's
yeah you just you just have to be like well that
was the grim reaper and now it's uh now it's
time for some some jokes it's gonna be really
fun this album dan and it when it debuted on
itunes it was at the top of the itunes charts
how much fun did you have putting this together
the the artwork had me rolling or you got thanks
you got the mic you're trying to uh hold the
mic but it's the milk bottle There's this amazing
artist, her name is Liddy Corbin and what she
would do is she would sit in the back of comedy
clubs and she would draw in real time like fast
like what was being talked about and then she'd
go up at the end of the comedy show and she would
show the audience like here's a recap of everything
you saw and it was mind -blowing. So I knew when
I wanted to do my album cover I wanted to use
her and she did such a great job and the concept
I basically was like I'm holding my baby on stage
I'm feeding my baby the microphone by accident
and talking into a bottle. And that's all I gave
her. And then she just made this amazing graphic
and I was so excited about it. Yeah, I mean,
honestly, the process of putting together the
album was thrilling and scary and so much fun.
A record label reached out to me to sign me,
which was like such a beautiful moment. And it's
funny because everyone thinks comedians are like
these hardened people and stuff. And I'm on a
call with this record label and they're like,
yeah, we want to sign you and make an album.
And I was like, I actually said, I was like,
I'm getting teary. I'm like, I'm so excited.
And they all kind of looked at me like, all right,
tone it down. Like, relax. Too much. Too much
emotion. And then we picked a venue, which was
New York Comedy Club in Stanford, Connecticut.
They just opened a new club. I thought when I
signed the contract, I figured, all right, there's
probably like 80 people that it fits. So I can
do two shows and I can probably sell 160, like
no problem. I can try to make that work. When
you do an album, you do two shows in one night.
So you do five o 'clock and seven o 'clock or
seven o 'clock and nine o 'clock. And then you
take the best moments of both and you put it
together. So I signed the contract and I said,
yes, Sanford, that's a great place. By the way,
how many tickets does it hold? Like how many
seats does it hold? And they said 250. And I
was like, oh my God. because now you've gone
from trying to sell maybe 160 tickets to 500
tickets. And so that was I was terrified that
no one would show up. You know, you have those
like nightmares, right? Where you just like show
up to do your album and it's just it's just like
tumbleweeds and like, you know, some wait waiters
or something. And I just got so lucky that it
just was packed out. So just just because there
were people there, I instantly was like, I'm
happy no matter what happens. And then the second
show. It was going so well that I forgot that
I was recording an album and I would say that's
the best sign because the first show I was like
in my head. I'm like, okay, this joke and that
joke and I say that and say this right and say
that right by the second show. I was just like
having fun. It was like a blackout moment. I
just blacked out got off stage and I was just
like, I think I think that was it. I think that
went well and I'm really proud of it. It's I
don't know how you feel like editing a podcast,
but I hate hearing my own voice and when you
go through editing a an album, you have to hear
yourself over and over again. So I think that
was the hardest part in the editing was like,
why do I say that? Or why do I sound like that?
But once it once it was done, I'm super proud
of it. I've been really excited by the response.
And it's just been it's been thrilling, like
I said, to hear someone across the country. I'm
in the New York area to hear someone, you know,
across the country say this resonated or I love
this this joke. That's a real true compliment.
And it feels good. Well, it is just, I mean,
you go right out the gate, pedal to the metal.
And for me, just speaking for myself, you had
me from beginning to end. I love when you go
back to the middle school days. That's something
that I talked about a couple of podcasts, a couple
of episodes ago and the locker and everything
and just the the Dan Altano persona at, say,
13 years old. I won't give it away, but just
like that. grown man but look but the look but
the boy oh yes i think you did a great job girl
said to me i i asked a girl for a dance and she
said um i know who you are you're that short
guy with a mature face and the line i say in
the album which is exactly what i was thinking
was like i couldn't quite tell what she meant
but i had a feeling she meant no i will not dance
with you and I remember being in seventh grade
and a girl saying that to me, you're the short
guy with a mature face. And it like, I didn't
know that I was going to be a comedian one day.
And one of the best parts about being a comic
is like, you can take those moments that at the
time were painful, or really embarrassing, and
you can turn it into something and get a laugh
out of it. So it makes that memory nice now.
Whereas before it might have been like, oh that
was brutal but the fact that I could turn it
into a laugh and I could turn it into a story
that people resonate with is such a joy it's
such an exciting thing and so like that actually
that joke motivated me in a lot of ways to look
at other moments in my life or painful things
or or stressful things and turn them into jokes
because it almost was like no let me take my
history or the things that I'm embarrassed by
or stressed out by and let me turn that into
Something that's relatable that we can laugh
about and suddenly those those memories kind
of drift away Or they they don't feel as big.
I think the way you delivered it may be helpful
for other people listening Who thought yeah,
I was kind of a an odd character at 12 13 years
old I had a weird shaped head or big feet or
you know, I had everything I was such a I mean
looking back in the moment is not fun and you're
like, what is this? Why why do I? look so bizarre
and you don't realize you're gonna fill out stretch
out a little bit but when you get older you can
have some fun with those old periods. Oh my god
yeah and I think and I say it in the album where
like I was the shortest kid in my entire school
but I mean maybe it's because I'm Italian but
I was the first one who could grow a mustache
and I'm like what is that like what can I do
with that like What can I do as a short kid with
a mustache? And I like kept the mustache thinking
like, this will make me seem cool. But I just
look like Super Mario. You know what I mean?
It's just the funniest thing. You must have had
enough charm even back then to take some attention
off just only the appearance and have some of
your friends laughing and kind of charm your
way out of some things. That was always what
it was. I definitely charmed my way out of everything,
out of every fight. Anytime that there was any
kind of friction, I was the, I was the comic
relief. I definitely wasn't like a class clown.
Like I wasn't jumping in front of the room, jumping
around and stuff, but I was that person that
would diffuse the tension. I'm a middle child.
I got an older brother and a younger brother.
I've got, you know, have to kind of be the funny
guy. So I was always the kind of wise ass, make
the little wise ass comment, but then not get
punched in the face somehow. like slip, slip
out of this situation. The guy's like, I don't
really want to hurt this dude anymore. He's actually
pretty cool. Yeah. Or just like, just like to
be honest in that moment and not be the tough
guy. Cause I knew I wasn't like, I remember that
once there was this huge guy, like Jack guy.
And he started an argument with my girlfriend
at the time in high school. And he's like, we're
going to fight. It's like, we're going to fight.
And this is like, you know, you know, when the
kids like circle around you. Right. And I was
like, I'm not gonna fight you." And he's like,
why? I'm like, "'Cause you're gonna win." You
already won. And now I already feel bad because
I'm saying, no, I'm not gonna fight you. But
I don't have a black eye. I'm like, let's just
pretend you beat me up. I'm like, do you need
me to like lay down and cry? Like, we'll try
that. And he just starts laughing. And he's like,
all right. And then we like, we're hanging out.
And it was the idea of like, there is that feeling
in high school, middle school, like, no, you
gotta fight this guy. And it's like, No, I'm
five foot flat and he's six foot two and he gave
another friend a black eye Like what are we doing
here? You know, so yeah There was always that
like I'm gonna diffuse the moment and just kind
of like I'm gonna make the bully laugh and then
we're okay You know, you mentioned being the
middle child. I was also I am the middle of two
I'm sorry of three boys with with his dad. So
it was like, you know and my dad still a huge
part of my life. He was gone a good bit, but
when he was around, he made a point to make those
moments count. He always kept me and my brothers
together. He'd make pancakes for us to come over
when we were already grown and doing stuff. When
I read about you and your relationship with your
father, and I want to touch on that too, the
Just a Jersey Guy and Son show. How did that
come about? Yeah, I guess I also want to ask
about just your relationship with your brothers
and your dad. Yeah, my dad is an amazing person.
He's a he's a storyteller. And so he's also a
professor. But growing up, he would do these
like one man shows where he would just go on
stage and tell stories about growing up in Jersey
City and all these these characters. And we're
different is that I write my stuff out like I
really I look line by line and that kind of thing.
And my dad just riffs it, freestyles it, but
I watched him growing up like killing. I watched
him going on stage in theaters and just annihilating
the room. And so to me and in my house, the currency
was never money. We never cared about money.
We didn't have it, but we also didn't care about
it. There wasn't any prestige around money. It
was who has the best story today or like who
had the funniest moment at school or what's something
you're creating. My mom was very artistic. and
a painter, and everything in our house was just
creativity. So my dad was, he's not like the
person that's gonna give you the hug or the great
job, but he always kind of just pushed me in
the right direction. Like I was in a band for
many years, the band fell apart and I was kind
of lost. And for my birthday, for Christmas one
year, he got me a comedy class at the comic strip
in New York City. And he knew deep down, I was
obsessed with standup. I always wanted to do
it, but I didn't have the courage to do it. And
he's like, all right, I signed you up for this
class. It's like 10 blocks from where you live.
And I was like, I don't want to do it dad. Like,
I'm not ready. He goes, well, it starts in five
days, write a joke. And I started it and just
became addicted. And it also made me feel connected
with him. And we had something to talk about,
I think in a deeper way, because now we're both
performers. And so we had this bond. that started
kind of in my 30s, where we could talk about,
hey, when you do a joke like this, what reaction
do you get? Or what do you do when you don't
have a line for this? We have this other language.
And I think maybe you can relate to this, but
as a middle child, you're always kind of vying
for attention, right? Because the older one gets
the attention. My older brother always got all
the attention because he was very rebellious,
very talented. My younger brother, they're the
baby. So they're like, oh, isn't everything they
do cute? And the middle one, they're like, what's
his name? Dan? That's exactly how it was. Yeah,
right. My brother's a musician. My older brother.
Oh, talented, right? Super talented. Yeah. Right.
It's how we end up in comedy or in doing a podcast.
You know, it's like someone's got to listen to
me. Right. But yeah, I had a joke that I actually
didn't put it in the album, but essentially my
brother, Brian, always got all the attention
and I was looked up to him. And when I first
started doing stand up, I was like, getting a
little bit confident for once. And I Googled
my own name and I put it Dan Altano. And I'm
not making this up. Google said, did you mean
Brian Altano? It's like, Oh God, Google's playing
favorites too. But I think growing up, it was
a very funny household. It was a, everything
was jokes. Everything was storytelling. Everything
was like, again, like the, the excitement in
our house is like. something cool that you're
working on and doing. And yeah, my dad, my dad's
amazing. Like he just super talented. And I really
look up to him. But like I said, when I think
one of the probably the best moments, one of
the best moments of my life is he had been doing
those shows, those theater shows. And I watched
him my whole life as I was a kid growing up.
And I was probably four years into standup. And
he said, would you like to do it with me? And
I was like, I don't know, like, I don't know
if I'm worthy of that. But He said, no, no, you
do 45 minutes and then intermission and then
I'll do 45 minutes. And instead of calling it
the Jersey guy, which it always was, he goes,
we'll call it like Jersey guy and son. Like it's
one of those hardware stores, you know, and we've
done it a couple of times now and it's just been
so exciting and cool. And yeah, it's just really
special. I think your dad and maybe now as a
dad, you can see this. He could see that it was
in the DNA with you. Like when you go back to.
We'll just write it. You got a couple of days
to deliver this performance. And you're like,
I don't know if I can do this, but he knew you
could do it. And I think maybe like he saw that
my boy is going to be all right. He can handle
this. I think that's what it is. And it's also,
someone said this to me recently. They're like,
you know, your job as a parent is not to teach
your kid everything or be like in their lives
so much, like a helicopter, you know, you know,
those helicopter parents who obsess over every
little thing. they said your job is to be a shepherd
basically like you see a direction your kid could
go in and you just kind of move them along and
you bump them along and so like I said my dad
wasn't like an overpraiser he wasn't you know
so effusive with praise all the time and not
the most emotional person but little parts of
my life he was just like oh you know what I think
you'd be pretty good at that you should try that
and he would just encourage me like give that
a shot and that's been a tremendous gift to have
and it makes me think as a parent like that's
what I want to do with my son like my son's very
musical he wants he's six years old he wants
to be in theater he wants that he loves acting
already and so I just want to kind of push him
like oh here's a theater camp like go do that
for a summer and do these little things that
just kind of move them along towards the thing
you know and I think that's yeah that was a true
gift that I got from my dad my dad did such a
good job growing up of just kind of uh I think
setting the tone of what matters in life and
I think all those things really show themselves
years later. Like if you ask any comedian why
they do stand up, no one has ever said the money
because I've been doing this now for eight years
and for the first four or five, you're a failing
business in the sense that like you go to a show
five hours away for 20 minutes. for 50 bucks,
which you spent on gas on the way there. And
then you come home and you're like, you've lost
money. And if you explain that to any rational
person, they're like, that sounds like insane.
Like, what is wrong with you? But you just love
it so much. And you know that it's progressing
and you know that each time is an opportunity
to get better. And eventually, all of a sudden,
these opportunities open up and it all seems
like it happened easily, but it It doesn't. And
it really, if the goal isn't money, the goal
is just to get better and funnier, you'll succeed.
And if the goal is to get on a sitcom or a show
or whatever it is, which is so difficult nowadays,
you're going to fail. So for me, I'm very lucky.
I have a wife that is super supportive. She's
like, go do it. You know, go take that gig. It
makes it that much more exciting because you
know, you're doing it for the love of it, not
for the paycheck, because trust me, Like I said,
for the first five years, it is the most insane
business to explain to someone. There's so many
reasons to get out of it or not even get involved.
Do you, um, some of those experiences early on
where you'd, uh, like you said, drive an hour
or two or longer away and play to a small crowd
and not really make much money, but you, you
get back home and you thought, man, that's really
cool that I got to meet that guy or I made that
I've now made a new connection or Hey, I would
have rather played in front of several hundred
people, but those 12 people that were there,
they looked like they were having a good time.
Yeah. And I'll tell you, I'll tell you one of
my favorite stories with standup. I was probably
three years into standup. I was staying with
my wife's family in Connecticut. And so I got
a call from this this Booker who I really wanted
to get in with because he owned a lot of different
clubs and things like that. And he said, can
you host a show tonight? in Atlantic City, New
Jersey. I look at the GPS, it's five hours away.
That night opening, so you're hosting. Hosting
is hard because people think you just work there,
like you sweep up and then you go up on stage
and, you know, they think you're like the bar
manager and they give you a mic to start the
show. So it's not a great position to be in.
So I'm five hours away and I said yes. And my
wife's like, really? You're going to go five
hours to host? I'm like, yeah, I'm going to go
do it. I went, drove five hours, had a really
great set. And the next weekend, the manager
said, can you come host in Atlantic City? So
at this point, I was in New York City. I got
on a Greyhound bus. I sat on the bus for hours
in traffic, did the show, came back middle of
the night. Next weekend, do you want to come
back to Atlantic City? Sure. I kept saying yes.
Probably the fifth weekend in a row. He said,
hey, the host just backed out. Could you be here
in 10 minutes? And I said, no i'm i'm in new
york city he goes wait a minute you don't live
in atlantic city and i go no i've i've been driving
you know crazy he's like you keep saying yes
and i was like yeah this is a good opportunity
and ever since then he has been this is guys
his name is emilio savon he owns new york comedy
club he owns stanford comedy club he owns pinch
records which signed me he knew right there he's
like oh this is someone who loves this so much
they're willing to just drop everything and do
it and so most people would have said I'm not
driving five hours to do 15 minutes on stage
for however much money but because I did that
he saw something he saw how like dedicated I
was although now when he tells the story he'll
say something like oh I love Dan he's always
so available some people look at the short -term
discomfort inconvenience expense pain and uh
however you want to package it and say no I'm
I'm not going to make that drive. Let me wait
for the next offer. Yeah, it's so easy to say
no to that. It sounds insane. And I think the
best part of it is I could say like stand up
and you can relate it to a lot of things, right?
A lot of different things where I needed to learn
how to perform in front of an audience like that.
And I could say that with so many shows that
I took that I probably shouldn't have taken on
paper. But like, no, I got to go do a show at
a firehouse in front of a bunch of alpha firemen.
Or I have to do a show at this, this Italian
place. It's only Italians or a PTA meeting that
they bring a comedian for some reason. And you,
none of it sounds glamorous, but you learn how
to adapt to those situations and get better so
that when you're in front of a big audience,
you almost feel like you're not fazed by it as
much. Because you've gone through so much, like
you've gone through all the hell gigs. And if
you look at the stand up comedians that really
make it, the ones that you know, their names,
usually it happens like in their 40s, right?
It happens when they're a little bit older because
they've gotten to a point where they've been
through so much with stand up that they're like,
what can you do to me at this point? You know,
I'm not going to be nervous about the situation.
I've gone through 10 situations like this. And
so you need to go through. hell gigs, which by
the way, become the funniest stories after. But
you need to go through those to then actually,
you know, have the skin, the tough skin to make
it. How did you respond when you were younger
and you get up there and you're like, I know
these jokes are good. I mean, they're funny to
me. That's what Daniel Iches, my guest last week
was saying is like, if you believe that the material
is funny to you, for most people, it should be
funny. But how did you respond when you'd go
up? and not get any laughs after a series of
bits, and you're just standing up there, and
the room is pretty quiet, and you're thinking,
what is happening? And did you struggle any of
those moments, or did it happen much? Maybe your
stuff is, I think it's great, so I can't imagine
it falling flat, but were there some nights,
some crowds, and you're like, I just can't do
anything with this crowd? Oh yeah, it happens
all the time. I mean, the numbers game gets better
after a while. You know, you'll have 20 good
shows, and then one show that, for whatever reason,
misfires. There's a lot of elements in stand
up that people don't really fully realize. Like
if you're in a room with high ceilings and they
can't hear it that well or if it's a certain
audience that just doesn't connect with you.
But yeah, I remember the first time I didn't
get last, which is I did three shows, but each
time I brought all my friends to those shows.
So it seemed like to me, like, where's my HBO
special? Like, I got this like everyone's laughing.
And then the fourth show was. probably eight
people in the audience. It was a small audience
at the comic strip in New York City. My wife's
parents came to see me for the first time. It
was a small room. And I did my first joke expecting
laughs and nothing. And went to the next one,
nothing. And I start stuttering and my face turns
red and I started getting, you know, clammy hands
and I'm making things up and just trying and
it's getting worse and worse and worse. And I
got off stage and this comedian was like, so
that wasn't good. And I'm like, that was horrible.
And he goes, do you still want to do it? And
I said, yeah, of course. And he's like, okay,
you're a comedian. He goes, if you can go through
that, most people will be like, I'd love to be
a comedian because you go up there and get all
these laughs. But the real question is can you
deal with embarrassment and shame of just not
connecting and wake up the next day and want
to keep going? But I think what was even worse
about that moment was my in -laws came as I mentioned
my wife's parents were there first time they
saw me I completely bummed we then had to drive
to Connecticut two hours after that gig and we
all sat in the car in silence because like what
do you say your mother -in -law is like uh yeah
you sure you made a good choice here with Dan
yeah and I had just gotten married and I saw
my father -in -law he's an old school Italian
guy and he's like looking in the rear view mirror
and he's like just keeps staring at me like What
am I gonna do to my daughter? Is this what you're
gonna do? Yeah, but I think as you get more into
it, like I even had a show last night where I
was opening the show and they weren't kind of
ready yet. They weren't warmed up yet. And I
just stopped for a second and made fun of myself.
I'm like, oh man, I really thought that last
one would get applause. I'm like, you clap, but
one clap is so much worse. Then a bunch of claps.
It's always I'd rather not have that one clap
because that just feels like you know and then
they started laughing but how I was Making fun
of myself and they got them back and then I was
fine so I think it's you get better at being
honest and acknowledging Acknowledging the moment
when it's not going well and also It's part of
the gig like you're gonna try new jokes and in
your head that joke is gonna kill you're driving
there You're like this is gonna get They're going
to go crazy and then it's nothing. Uh, and you
have to dig yourself out and that's, that becomes
the fun. Like, can I get out of this if it's
not working well? Can you describe the feeling
of having an audience in the palm of your hand
and it's just electric and everything is firing?
It is. It's equal parts joy and relief because
I think about my shows all day. Like I'm headlining
tonight in Derby, Connecticut and It's on my
mind all day. I'll be eating and thinking about
the jokes and I'll be driving and thinking about
the jokes. And then I start going, all right,
I think it's going to go well. And then I go,
Oh, that joke might not go well. And you're thinking
you're overthinking. Like if you've ever overthought
something, and then we get to that moment, it
starts going well. You see me the happiest. I've
been all day on stage if it's working because
I've thought of every worst case scenario and
it starts working and then you just start feeling
free. You're like, I got this. I got it. Yeah.
And you get into the zone. It's almost like,
uh, I've heard, I've heard surfers describe it.
When you get into the zone, you catch the perfect
wave. It's that feeling of like, you actually,
for a moment, you're like, I can't miss. You
know, everything I'm saying is going to work.
And it really is. You're one with the crowd.
They get you. they get your sense of humor and
you're connected in that moment and it really
is just it's the thing it's the dragon you chase
you know it's that like it's that high so once
you've had moments like that where you really
kill you spend so much time wanting to get back
to that moment right that becomes the drug so
when it happens you're just so relieved but you're
also like it's almost like you're not there you're
you're so present And I think all of us, we get
distracted so much. I'm a very distracted person.
And in that moment, I'm not distracted by anything.
I'm locked in. And how many moments in a day
do we get that? How many moments do any of us
get those like true moments of being present?
We talk about it all the time, right? Got to
be present in the moment. But when you're killing,
everyone's laughing, everything's working, it's
that moment of being like, I'm very present.
And also from the egotistical standpoint, It's
that feeling of a middle child which you might
relate to Dan. It's like, oh they get me Right,
you know they hear me they get me they get who
I am What a feeling to have your existence validated
in that moment because they're laughing at your
life So therefore you feel like oh like they
hear me they get me like this is you know, I'm
connected with them and so Yeah, it's such a
good feeling. Especially if you're you're killing
with new stuff with stuff that you just wrote
because there's that excitement of like what
this joke could be as I, as I keep working on
it and getting it better and better. Now with
this career, you're not taking the typical vacation
that someone working an office job or another
profession might be taking in a few months. How
do you slow it down? Do you ever have a stretch
of a few days where you're like, I'm not going
to do anything comedy related. I'm just going
to lay on a beach or I'm just going to go skiing.
Dan, I have tried. I've tried so many times.
After I did my album, I had this thing in my
head of like, I'm just going to relax for a month.
It's just going to be... It's going to be great.
I'm just going to sit on the beach and just chill.
I think it was three days and I was like, I got
to write new jokes. Now my album is done. I have
nothing now I've recorded everything I need to
I need to slow it down or you know I need to
slow down but then the other voice is like no
you got to keep going keep writing so I guess
the answer is I'll tell you where my relaxation
comes from it's after I've done a show after
it's gone well I come home and I'm like maybe
my wife and kid are sleeping and I'll like eat
something that I shouldn't eat and watch a movie
and go like I did it and there's that like there's
that it's momentary after I've done something
I'm proud of where I can really feel relaxed
but extended relaxation I have a lot of trouble
with it like if you it's also when relaxation
is not your decision do you know what I mean
like summertime I struggle with the summer because
it's like You're supposed to be outside. You're
supposed to be relaxed. It feels like too much
pressure. When you go on a beach vacation, it's
like, all right, hurry up and go, be relaxed,
go. And that's where my mind starts racing the
most. So I like stealing moments of relaxation.
But to take a month off, I can't imagine it.
But I also know my mind would be racing with
ideas. So that never stops. I don't know. Are
you able to shut it down? Are you able to do
that? Not for long stretches. Speaking of like
a week vacation. I'm really good with a long
weekend type deal or maybe even a Four -day thing
or like you're saying if I just get half a day
or or an open evening to just watch a ballgame
Flip around watch some documentary. That's enough.
That's enough because when the next day starts
I'm back to Let's not lose any momentum here
or whatever. I'm working on Yeah, I can totally
tell that you're like that. I mean you're doing
a podcast in your car right now. It could be
You can be on a lunch break. You know what I
mean? You guys be Relaxing for a moment. Like
there's that there's that drive You know someone
asked me once as a friend of mine and he wasn't
wrong We were just different and how we looked
at things. He goes. Why do you do this? Why do
you always do a million things like you're working
you have a family you got the job like you have
a stand -up and why and I said I know it sounds
morbid, but, you know, we're going to die. So
I want to go do the things that I want to do.
And I don't want to have any regrets. And he
was like, well, if we're going to die, why not
just relax? What's the point? And he wasn't wrong.
It's just there's people that look at that. It's
all the same thing. It's all that phrase is we're
going to die. So I might as well go out and do
all the things I want to do. Or so who cares?
Let's just relax and have a drink and take it
easy. No one's wrong. I just think that there's
people that are built differently. I wouldn't
wish this plight on other people, like always
needing to create and go and take on a new challenge.
It's exhausting, but it's also, I don't know
any other way. And I can't just sit and have
a drink unless I feel like I earned it. That's
just how I've always felt. Yeah. I think that
my kids have helped me, like we were saying earlier,
where you have to You gotta watch the kids. I
always thought that was pretty funny. Oh, I gotta
watch my kids this weekend. Well, yeah, aren't
you one of their parents? But, you know, that
whole day where you've got to suspend everything
and just be a dad and watch PJ Masks with them
or sit on the floor and do Legos. It's like,
oh my gosh, I got a million things running through
my head, but I just have to do Legos right now
for 30 minutes. And I'm glad that my kids forced
me into those moments where you just got to push
it aside. You gotta do story. Story time. I really
do. I like that I think it's important for children
to hear their parents Speaking to them or reading
to them and so I really get into stuff like that
now if I just have to sit it'd be a captive of
observer to blaze in the monster machines for
four episodes that that's Almost torture, but
well some of those shows are better than others
It's borderline torture. No, I I'll tell you
like when I when my son was three I remember
I had been on the road for three nights And I
came in, and maybe he didn't mean it this way,
but it sounded passive aggressive from a three
-year -old. He goes, hey dad, how you been? How
you been? It wasn't like, how are you? How you
been? Good to see you. I was like, oh. And so,
I mean, there's been a lot of moments like that
where the deal I make with myself is, you know,
I'm gone sometimes doing standup, but the deal
I make with myself is when I'm home, I'm home.
Like when I'm home, my phone is in the other
room. I'm with my kid from morning, noon, night.
If I don't have a show that night, I'm doing
bedtime, I'm doing dinner, I'm doing everything.
I'm never gonna be like the dad that's in the
other room with the whiskey, just like by themselves,
all like dark on the chair. When I'm home, I'm
there. And so, cause I never want to, yeah, I
never want him to feel that, that I'm not around.
So I really, and maybe it's justifying or maybe
it's overcompensating, but when I'm home, I'm
all there. And you're right. It does help you
be more present. It does help you be like, no,
put away all the ambition, put away all the BS,
and build these Legos. And then you have these
little moments. And the other day, my son had
never seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
with Gene Wilder. Classic. And we're watching.
Yeah, we're watching something. I'm like, you've
never seen this. I've never shown this to you.
So we decided we're going to put it on. I showed
him the trailer. I showed him a couple of things
and he goes, oh, let's, let's dress up as them.
So he was Willy Wonka and I was grandpa Joe,
you know, and we got dressed and dressed up and
then watched the movie together. And it was like
this magical moment and we could like talk about
it and hang out. And, uh, it's things like that,
that you go like, all right, this is, this is
actually what matters. All the other ego stuff
is ego stuff. Yeah, I remember being a kid and
I knew how busy my dad was I mean if you if one
of your parents is pretty busy Rest assured your
kids know after a certain age that hey He's got
a lot moving and shaking here and when you slow
all that down and give them your undivided attention
I think there's nothing better for that child
and I see it with my kids because there's I do
a lot of hang on a second Give me 30 minutes
I'll be there pretty soon. It's a lot of, Hey,
hang on. And then when I finally get there, I'm
working on that, but they're thrilled. No, I
feel the same way. And I did that a lot. I think
where I mentioned the pandemic before, when we
were in a one bedroom, we were both working.
He just wanted to play and I was like, I need
five minutes, I need 10 minutes. And I started
to see him not trust that and not believe me.
And that was what was hard. It was that I needed
to be like, no, I need to like say this and actually
follow through. Yeah. And then realize like what,
what actually matters. It's like his attention
is much more important than that dumb email I
have or you know what I mean or that other thing
I need to do. I mean so much comedy comes out
of those moments too. It's like just to just
to be with them and uh and kind of like see the
life see life through his eyes is so much fun.
Yeah and I'll remind everybody again but check
out if you've been listening to this episode
and you love it put it on pause real quick move
over to Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you get
your music. And comedy and download stand -up
dad this thing is if you're a dad or if you're
about to be a dad by the way, Dan I love I love
the track on the expectant fathers and how useless
we are and You guys got to listen to that but
I think that You'll get a lot out of it. This
is a hilarious album. It's easy to say that of
course I'm gonna have a comic on the podcast.
I'm gonna say his stuff's hilarious. Trust me
on this you're going to sink right in right out
the gate. Thanks, Dan. I appreciate that. Can
I ask you a Dan question? Absolutely. Is there
a nickname with Dan that you don't like? Well,
I've heard most of them. So Dan the man, there
was the Dan man that was given to me for a short
time when I was little. You didn't like those?
Those are fine. I think I'm pretty much good
with all of them. The name Dan, I think for me,
It's distinguished, but it can also, it's like
you can play it in different directions. You
can be, yeah, I got a classic name like Steve
or Joe or Don or Ron. By the way, I love all
the modern names that you run through on the
album. Kid names it, get a little flowery, but
Dan is also kind of a, you can caricature that
name. And I like having fun with it. It sounds
like it could be silly. It sounds like there's
an ex boyfriends named Dan. There's, um, whoever.
So like, I like having a name that's not so rigid.
It sounds, it just sounds like a, I don't know.
How do you feel about being a Dan? I think it's,
it's a cool club to be in. I love being a Dan.
I think it's great. I think I was Daniel only
when my parents were mad. So it's just from the
other room. It was like, wake up, Dan, wake up,
Dan, Daniel, you know? So I liked that. Um, the
one that I have. that I don't like is Danny.
For some reason, I don't know why it feels condescending
a little bit, like, hey, Danny, how are you?
And I had a soccer coach when I was a kid, like
a British soccer coach. He was like, Danny, get
to the bowl first, Danny. For some reason, to
this day, when someone says Danny, I go, like,
I cringe. I don't know. That's the only variation
that I don't, for some reason, I don't like,
I don't know, do people call you Danny? I've
never gotten it consistently. And that one didn't
really bother me. I've had girlfriends, more
than a few, that prefer Daniel. So they said,
well, everyone's going to call you Dan. I'm going
to call you Daniel. Like, OK, that's fine. Yeah,
because it feels like the official name. You
know what I mean? Like, they feel very connected.
So it's like the official, I'm going to call
you the official name. Hello, Daniel. But it
feels very formal. Yeah, I think that they, in
those cases, they felt like Dan seemed like what
the guys call me. And they're like, well, I'm
your girlfriend, so I'm going to call you Daniel,
your given name. right right and then i know
i like it i like it uh and then some people some
older folks i remember a few occasions where
they refused to call me dan they wanted to call
me by the biblical daniel that has happened it's
not very many times and they'll say they'll say
biblical daniel like they'll actually say it
they'll just say daniel whether they whether
i introduce myself i'll introduce myself as dan
and then from there then on they'll just say
daniel Yeah, it might be a respect thing I always
thought it was weird that the biblical story
like we're we're associated with the lion's den
It's it was always just a we I'm like that's
it. That's it That was a strange story to grow
up with as a Daniel, but you know, Dan is one
of the tribes or the 12 tribes of Israel Yeah,
we're all over the place. We're taking over as
this podcast is an indication of we are we are
everywhere Dan would you recommend? if someone's
got the itch and they've got some material and
they're say 22 years old and they've never gotten
on stage before and they're like they're thinking
man i don't know if i got it i don't know if
i could do this but i like my jokes i like my
stuff would you encourage just anybody to give
this a shot yes you have to be willing to write
and you have to be willing to edit I think that's
the common denominator of people that I think
really continue with this. I mentioned it before.
One, you have to have a high threshold for pain.
You're going to fail. The best comedians fail
constantly. You have to be loving the writing
process. We all love getting a laugh, but where
it really exists in comedy is in writing new
jokes, coming up with fresh material, editing
when a joke doesn't work, and being self -aware
enough to say, hey, that's not working. What
can I do to make that better? And if you don't
have that, that editing mind where you go, I
got to get that better. I got to get that better.
It's going to be tough for you. It's hard to
be self -aware and say that's not working or
that didn't go well. It's easy for us to go,
that was fine. It was fine. It was good. You
have to own it and look in the mirror and say
that joke isn't working. Um, so I encourage everyone
who really has that drive to do it. Comedy is
the one thing. I feel like it's one of the only
professions where someone will come up to me
and say, yeah, I could do that. I just don't
have the time. It seems like it's, if you're
doing it well, it seems like you're just making
it up or it's effortless, right? So I understand
how people feel about that, but I would say,
I think Jerry Seinfeld said it. He said, all
you have to do is do it once and then you're
a comedian. So I think the biggest fear is like,
I could never, I could never, you hear that all
the time. but just do it once and you'll know
right away whether you love it or not because
some people go up there the first time they go
I am never doing this again that was pure torture
I don't know how people do this and then people
like me the first time I did it I was like oh
damn it this is going to be the rest of my life
have you seen any comics that they've got great
stuff but all the non -verbal stuff all the moving
around the stage and the connecting and the animation
that they need to have. They just don't have
all that extra stuff, but they've got good material.
Do you ever see comments hit a snag there because
they're not animated when they need to be? I
think so. I think you're in sales. Comedy is
also a sales job, right? You're selling the joke
and you're selling the emotion behind it. And
so I do think there's great writers who have
great material, but they don't know how to really
connect on a human level with the audience. And
that sometimes comes with time. I think in the
beginning, I was just getting the jokes out and
then slowly learned that part of the job is to
emote. It's to express the emotion behind the
joke so that people can connect with the emotion.
So if I'm talking about insomnia, which I talk
about on the album, I have battled insomnia.
And so I'm putting myself back in that moment
of when I had it. and when it was at its worst
so that I could really bring out the honesty
behind it. So I think you have to remember where
you were when you wrote it and how you were feeling
and try to channel that and connect back with
it. So, yeah, I have seen standups are a great
joke, but the audience doesn't feel connected
or like feel the emotion behind it, you know,
and some people don't even need that. Some people
are the jokes are so good that it doesn't even
matter. But you do need to your point about the
facial expressions and You do need to find your
own timing, because comedy is timing, right?
So everyone has a different comedic timing. And
so it is, I learned, I would go too fast. I would
go, ba -ba -ba -ba -ba -ba -ba. Go to the next
one, go to the next one, because I just want
to like kill. And sometimes in New York City,
you only got five minutes. So it's like, let
me jam it all and go. And a couple of times I
just paused and sat and the laughs got bigger
and bigger because it... built a little bit and
people could think about what I was saying. Cause
we forget sometimes people have to hear it and
think, and they're going through their own dialogue
in their head as you're up there. So that was
a great moment to go like, Oh, like my timing
can be a little slower sometimes. Like if I know
it's going to get a laugh or I hope it does,
or it usually does, I'll just sit. And that's
a very uncomfortable thing to just sit in silence
for a second, but it pays off even more. And
I think that's where you get better and better
when you when you're not afraid To let something
be quiet before you bring up the big the big
line or hit the big punch You're letting they
letting the audience catch their breath Take
you in take all of you know, you're delivering
everything and get comfortable with you Yeah,
I think that's great Yeah, and it's also building
tension like I have a joke on the album. You
mentioned that joke about the soon -to -be dads
being useless and we're at a Dad bootcamp class
and my wife signed me up for it, which is real
and the teacher asked me to go first like we're
going around talking about what we're afraid
of and I thought we were just sharing and So
I said I'm afraid I'm not gonna do as much stand
-up when I have a kid I won't be able to be on
the road and my dreams will change all about
you Yeah, all about me my ego and then the next
guy went and he said I'm mostly scared of my
baby choking on food. Like he's afraid of what's
going to happen, like how I take care of a kid.
And here I am worried about my career, my stupid
little comedy career. But what I love about that
joke is that when I give my answer, it's quiet
because I'm giving a very sincere, ah, like I
have a kid, I'm going to be able to pursue my
passion and what's going to happen to my life.
And it's quiet in the room. But then when the
next guy goes and says, I'm afraid of my baby
choking on food, then you get the big laugh.
But it took me a while to have the guts to sit
in that silence and trust in that silence. Because
in the beginning, you're so afraid of anything
silent because you think it's not going well.
So it's that kind of thing you learn over time
that actually the silence can help you. It can
help you get that bigger laugh because you created
a real moment. You built tension. And then the
punchline releases the tension and gives the
audience an opportunity to to realize what you
were doing. Right. For our listeners, where are
you going to be the next few weeks into December?
Do you have any dates lined up if people are
on the East Coast and want to want to check you
out? Yeah, I'm going to be all over Connecticut.
I'm going to be all over New York City. And then
my tour really starts. It started in Denver,
but we're continuing it. I'm going to be in Buffalo.
New York, maybe in Washington D .C. That's right.
My wife's from Buffalo. I love I love doing stand
up in Buffalo. I love it. I went in there thinking,
oh, it's all Bill's fans. And you just think
of like people jumping through tables and stuff.
And they're the coolest, nicest people. And they're
happier there. And they love being from Buffalo.
Yeah. I grew up in Jersey where there's not really
Jersey pride. We make fun of ourselves more than
anyone else makes fun of Jersey. And trust me,
people make fun of Jersey and you probably know
that. Um, but we were self -deprecating. Whereas
in Buffalo, there's a pride. We're from here.
We're Bill's fans. We, we love it. So there's
a, there's just a good salt of the earth people.
Like I love doing standup there. Yeah. So I'd
be in Buffalo and then I'm actually in November.
I'm also later this month I'll be in San Francisco.
So kind of all over the place, but, uh, I have
a website, it's danaltano .com where I'll be
putting up all my tour dates soon. So I would
definitely encourage people to check that out
and definitely come see me. Great. Well, there's
some Dan time listeners in most of those spots
you mentioned. So folks, if you're, if you're
listening to this and you're looking for a good
date night, or if you just want to run out there
solo, do you see a lot of people in your, in
your audience? I mean, everybody assumes it's
just couples and couples and just tables of,
do you ever see just a dude sitting there just
having a ball? All the time, all the time. And
sometimes they're having a ball and sometimes
it's that thing of like, I need this. Something
went wrong and they're like, I'm going out on
my own. I gotta go get some laughs. So there's,
there's, you can see it in their eyes, you know?
But no, I think that's like, I admire that so
much. I admire anyone. I like, I did that a lot
in New York city where I would just go to a diner
by myself. I'd go to a movie by myself or even
go to a comedy show by myself. I think there's
a, There's something nice about that because
it, it takes a lot to be like, Oh, this might
be embarrassing or I'm by myself. Like what does
that look like? But when I see people like that,
I'm like, either they're going through something
and they need these laughs. So I respect that.
Or they're just like really confident in themselves
and they, they want to go and have a good time.
Or the third one, which is that no one can tolerate
them or deal with them. And so they have to be
alone, but there's less of those, I think. I
did that a lot when I was still single before
I met my wife and I was out of a relationship
Maybe I had no problem going to lunch by myself
Going to watch a ball game by myself It's a skill.
It's a skill. I think people are afraid of that
But when you stop caring about like the people
in the diner, they're like, what's with that
guy? You realize they are not thinking about
you at all That's a really freeing moment. That's
right Dan I could talk to you for another hour.
I just have enjoyed this entire conversation
and really excited for you out there and for
your album. And we didn't touch on a few things
like Dinner's Ready Live. Do you want to talk
about anything or plug anything that we didn't
mention here? Well, yeah, Dinner's Ready Live,
it came out of the pandemic where I started doing
a cooking show at home. And while things would
simmer or bake, I would bring on comedians. So
we have like an eight minute simmer. I bring
on a comedian to do eight minutes of material.
And then we started doing that live. We started
doing a show where we would eat dinner and then
do the show afterwards. And I will be putting
on an actual a show where it's going to be sketch
comedy. So it's while I'm cooking, I'm going
to be cooking and then I'll be cutting away to
sketches like SNL style sketches. It's going
to be called Dinner's Ready Live again. And it's
going to be fake live. So it will. you know record
it and pretend that it's live and uh yeah i'm
really excited about it it's something i've been
working on really hard on for a while so yeah
dinner's ready live check it out okay dan any
uh music that you're jamming to right now anybody
you want to promote or talk about i love uh noah
cajon nice uh he's got an album called stick
season that uh that a good friend of mine told
me about and it's Fantastic. It's kind of an
indie, indie folk kind of rock. Um, but a good,
a good, like long drive album, you know, it hits
you in the feels a little bit. And, uh, it's
just well written and, uh, yeah, Noah Khan stick
season is a great album that I've been, uh, I've
been loving lately. All right. Well, a couple
of silly questions here and we'll wrap up. Are
you a Skittles or M &Ms guy? Are you taking a
pass on both of those? You know, I'm going to
go M &Ms. I do love Skittles. Um, For some reason,
as I get older, I've been enjoying chocolate
more, and I have to be gluten -free now, which
is terrible. As an Italian, that's horrible,
but I just have to do it. And M &Ms are gluten
-free, so I can eat them all day and pretend
that I'm healthy. Nice. What is the one children's
show that maybe just because you've had to watch
it so many times that you're like, this isn't
so bad. The rest of them are just annoying as
they can be, but this one's all right. There's
a show on Amazon Prime called Wild Kratz and
there's these two nature guys and they turn into
cartoons and they like have the powers of animals
and I love it and my wife loves it, my son loves
it. We went to see it live and instead of them
turning from humans into cartoons, they were
cartoons on the screen and all of a sudden the
screen opens and they came out and maybe it's
because I had like two martinis but I was actually
like Really excited and I like turn to my wife
like they reversed it. Usually they turn into
the cartoon She was like, all right settle down
So yeah Wild Kratts. It's a great show. It's
like I actually learned stuff about animals That
one's good. Can I tell you the one I can't stand
that I can't stand please? Lippy I'm right there
with you. I'm sorry if Lippy's listening or the
guy who plays him Or if any of you guys love
Blippi, I'm sorry, but I can't handle it. Blippi.
Blippi. What are you doing, Blippi? First of
all, he's not teaching us anything. He doesn't
understand the different levels of a two -year
-old versus a six -year -old. And he's just running
around with his suspenders. And all I can think
about when I watch is how much money he's making.
And he knows it. And it's just that I'm not into
him. But luckily, my son's six now. He's starting
to like... Not be in a blippy and he's into other
things and that that was a big moment Where he's
just like I don't really like but the I'm like,
oh Thank you There's a character he's I don't
know if he's trying to be anti blippy but Danny
go have you heard of or seen Danny go I've never
heard of it, but I love the phrase anti blippy.
Yeah He's really good. I've I'd love to have
him on the show as well. You can find all his
stuff on YouTube It's a lot of dancing. It's
he encourages kids to Just get up and move with
them, you know, so you'd like you'd be watching
it on TV and just shaking and moving and Doing
jumping jacks I'll check it out. I'll check it
out Dan how many times a week? Do you have to
apologize to your wife for something? Big or
small and just say honey. Look, you're right.
I'm wrong Let's um Let's move along here every
day Daily. Me too. I think me too. Yeah. Every
day. And I've gotten better at apologizing because
I remember when I first got married, I called
my dad and he said, how's it going? I'm like,
ah, we bicker all the time, you know, cause I
will, cause we both want to be right. And he's
like, you're a moron. And I'm like, why? He's
like, be wrong. He goes, you know how quickly
you can go back to watching the hockey game when
you're wrong? Be wrong. Who cares? And I was
like, you're right. Cause if you're right and
you prove that you're right, nobody wins. Cause
you're right. She's mad about that. She doesn't
want to be wrong. So if I'm just like, she'll
be like, you know, you didn't clean that up.
I'm like, you're right. Sorry. I'll take care
of it. She's happy. Cause I heard her. Like I
actually heard what she was saying and I'm happy.
Cause I'm watching the game within 10 minutes.
Um, so yeah, so I just, uh, sometimes I'll just
apologize and I don't even know what I did yet.
You know, that's just it get ahead of it Yeah,
it's going on the bank. I got a couple apologies
in Okay, Dan, I got like a keep going here, but
you got a show tonight and I appreciate you making
some time for Dan time and I'd love to have you
back I'd love to be back. I love the podcast.
This is a great idea It's been such a pleasure
to talk with you and just you know, the middle
child of brothers and we're both Dan and we're
both You know, like holding microphones for our
jobs. Like, let's do it. We're pals, man. We're
pals for life here. It was meant to be. Yeah,
absolutely. Okay, so danaltano .com. Pull up
some clips on YouTube, but for sure, go to your
favorite streaming platform and download Stand
Up Dad. You're gonna love it. Thanks for listening
to the album. I really appreciate it. You're
great. I really appreciate it. I'm going right
back to it after we wrap up this conversation.
I love it. Thank you. Okay, folks, that's it
for this episode of Dan Time. And remember, if
you need a laugh, quit taking things so seriously.
I know that's easier said than done, but times
are still tough for a lot of you people. So if
you're having a hard time, check into it and
say, I'm going to, I'm going to take a break
here and put on this album and give yourself
a good belly laugh. We will see you guys next
week. Go out there and make a difference in somebody's
life. Thank you so much, Dan. Thank you, Dan.
It's been a pleasure. Hey, if you loved that
episode, tell a friend about it. I think every
show probably asks you to leave a review, leave
a rating, and I appreciate it if you do. But
if nothing else, just talk about Dan Time. It
really helps the visibility of the program. You
can find Dan Time on all the social media pages.
and you can also reach me at dantimepod at gmail
.com. Thanks so much for listening. I'll see
you next week.