All right. Welcome to episode number 16 of the
Dan Time podcast. I'm your host, Dan McCardell,
back with you for your benefit. I hope presenting
to you the best that I can find and book from
the Daniverse. What a run of guests we've had.
I'm not just saying that. What a bunch of just
decent people doing great things, things that
you ought to check out or go see. How about Dan
Thomas? Did you like that episode? Are you going
to be in Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
in December? If so, I recommend, of course I
do, but really go catch a Dan Thomas performance.
We've had standup comedians, Dan Altano and Daniel
Iches on the show over the past few weeks. Both
these guys are going to be out there on the road
into 2024. Make sure. You follow all my guests
on social media to stay current with their whereabouts.
So the holidays have officially begun. Thanksgiving
is behind us. You made it. You got through. How
was that experience for you? How was the traveling,
the hosting, the visiting, whatever you were
doing, the chatting and hugging and smiling and
hey, how are you guys doing? How you been? How
are you doing? How's she doing? How's your job
going? How's all that working out? How are the
kids doing in school? What's going on with that
thing that you were dealing with? Let's hear
all about that. Looks like you got your hands
full. What went down for you over the holidays?
Whatever, you made it. You're here. You're back
on the Dan Time Podcast, back in your work week.
And you don't have to deal with that for another
few weeks, but you know, hopefully you did have
a great time and you saw some people that you
only see a couple of times a year that you really
love to see. My guest today is New Orleans musical
theater actor and performer, Danny Rubio. This
is a big deal for me and I'm so happy to introduce
Danny to you. Performing is just in his blood.
Nowhere is he happier nowhere than on stage.
You'll notice right away that Danny is not your
average guy and when you say go, he's on. He's
on 100%. We had a short history together in person
12 or so years ago and the bond was formed and
we are forever friends. Danny studied theater
at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and
was always involved in theater growing up. However,
It would be about two decades after graduating
before Danny returned to the stage. He shares
the story in this conversation about why it took
so long and what inspired him to make his grand
return to performing in musicals. Some of the
roles that Danny has portrayed have included
Peter in Company, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar,
Ed Solmanke in the Bessel Whorehouse in Texas,
the Mayor in Newsies, and R .F. Simpson in Singing
in the Rain. If you're in the New Orleans area,
you can catch Danny this weekend, December 1st
through 3rd, in Scrooge the Musical at Dockville
Farm, also March 15th through 24th in Jesus Christ
Superstar at Jefferson Performing Arts Society.
Later in May, the 3rd through the 19th, you can
see Danny in Sister Act the Musical at Rivertown
Theaters for the Performing Arts. All right,
to keep up with all of Danny's performances in
2024 and beyond, please follow The Company, a
St. Bernard Community Theater, also Jefferson
Performing Arts Society, and Rivertown Theaters
for the Performing Arts. Check out their social
media pages, like and follow. And if you'd like
to talk to Danny directly, I'm sure he'd love
to hear from you. Send him a message, send him
a friend request on Facebook. Danny Rubio, Danny
Boy in parentheses. And he tells the story in
our conversation about the Danny Boy nickname.
You're going to love it. We also talk some Saints
football, New Orleans restaurants, and of course
a good bit of side chatter. I think you're going
to love this conversation. So let's get to it
now. Ladies and gentlemen, it is Danny Rubio
time. Man, I can't believe it's been so long
since we have spoken. connected. And by way of
this podcast, we're actually I've facilitated
a conversation with you. And if nothing else,
that's a success. I am just thrilled to have
you on the show and be talking to you today.
How are you doing, Danny? I am doing great, Dan.
Thank you so much. It has been a long time, man,
like 12, 13, 14, some odd years. But you know,
Dan's have to stick together. So that's right.
Oh, that's why I'm here. Yeah, man. Thank you
so much for having me on the show I listened
to quite a few of them and Man, do I love listen
the stories about dance, you know, how could
you not? How could you that we are a community?
You know, I heard the Ryan convention I really
wasn't up to speed on that type of stuff where
they actually all these Ryan's get together Have
you heard of that? I have heard of it. I've seen
some some social media posts about them and and
whatnot. I feel like if we had our own Dan get
together, it would be even a smaller group. I
feel like there's less Dannys or Dan or Daniels
around and there are Ryans and Bryans and stuff.
So I feel like we would be like even on a higher
tier than those Ryans. You know, I agree. I appreciate
what they're doing. For me, I don't know if I
want to take it that far. And I kind of agree
with you that I don't know if we'd have the turnout,
but we actually, I like to on this show, catch
a few extra names. Like Danielle, or Danny, D
-A -N -I. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I like the
idea of female Danies. Keep going, yeah, yeah.
So I'm just having fun with this, and really,
I don't know if I brought this up on a previous
episode. But I think it's important for people
to find ways to root for each other, you know,
to kind of get out of their bubble and say, hey,
look what that guy's doing over there. Look what
she's doing. That's that's awesome. So it's kind
of me getting people thinking whether their name
is Dan or Danny like us or it's Alfonso. But
like just to find a common thread. So that's
my contribution is getting people thinking along
those lines that Hey, there's someone out there
kind of like you and maybe it's just because
you had the same name. That's true. I agree with
that. I think that I think your mission here
is. Is very commendable man. Well, thanks Danny
and I understand I didn't know that it had been
this long, but you actually. You're in musical
theater and that's your that's your love. That's
your passion. I didn't realize that a 20 year
gap had taken place between here the here and
now. and what you're doing, the projects, and
the performances that you're working on, and
how long it's been since you've been back in
the game. That's absolutely true, man. You are
right, first off, let me say. You say musical
theater to me, and you say passion, and that
is absolutely true. Man, there's nothing else
that I want to do than to be on stage and sing
and dance and act. It's like, hey, Dan, just
give me a microphone and a spotlight and put
me on stage and just let me go. And that's why
this podcast is great. especially for me right
now, because you've given me that microphone
and you're basically putting me on stage and
saying, let's just go. So I'm a little nervous
with all those people listening out there. I'm
just kidding. I'm just kidding, dude. I don't
get nervous anymore. I mean, I remember back
in the day when I did back in the day, like 20
years ago, you're right. It has been a long time
for me. And let me tell you why it took so long.
So I did musical theater in, you know, middle
school and high school. and in college at the
University of Alabama. And then when I was done
with college, like I haven't, you know, it's
been 20 years and I did not do any theater. And
the reason for that I feel like I've learned
is because I guess I didn't realize that I needed
to pursue that kind of thing. You know, when
you're going to school and you're doing theater
class, you're gonna be in shows. uh because you
just you know you audition in class but when
you're no longer in that kind of uh environment
you have to like go out and find it yourself
so um I love the musical Hamilton it came to
New Orleans which is where I live now where I'm
originally from and I went to go see Hamilton
four times within eight days and then I see the
entire cast on the stage taking their final bows
and I get goosebumps and I'm like man oh man
that's all I want to do that I want to do that
again yeah thinking it's really hard and so like
you know that next week I went and auditioned
uh and I got a show and and now we're here a
year and a half later and I got so many shows
and I've done so many Danny do you think that
uh even with people that or loaded with talent,
or it's just like I say, in the DNA, if enough
time passes and you're on the sidelines, do you
think some doubt can creep in about your capabilities?
You know, I didn't think about that, but now
that you bring it up, I guess so, man. Yeah,
because I auditioned for this show, that first
show that I was in, and I had all my lines learned,
and we're going up, so... you know run it and
not like in a production or a performance but
just for rehearsal and like I get so hesitant
and I was really nervous about it but that's
because there was like a 20 -year gap there but
after I did that show I lost that nervousness
until I moved to a bigger theater and then I
got that nervousness again because I'm like oh
wow now I'm with all of these people who are
so much better than me what am I gonna do I'm
gonna mess it up but then like once we opened
that nervousness went away. And then I went to
a different theater, a professional one, where
they actually paid me money to sing and dance
and act on stage. Dan, can you imagine getting
paid for like having fun? Right? So like, that's
what happened. And I didn't have any nervousness
there, I guess maybe because like they, I feel
like them paying me was like them saying, okay,
dude, you're good enough to be here. So I guess
I didn't get nervous at all. And I'm not nervous
about the people in the audience. I'm just like,
nervous about messing it up for my other castmates.
But now that I'm like past any of that nervousness,
I can just go up and perform. I'll tell you this,
if anybody out there that is listening that is
interested in performing in any like way at all,
whether it be like reading poetry slams or playing
guitar and singing, the number one thing that
will make you successful is to not care. about
what people think and to not have that nervousness.
It just allows you to be yourself and to really
like provide people with that entertainment that
they either want or they don't know that they
need. Yeah, I think that's great how you just
put that and people maybe imagine that others
are judging them or watching their every imperfection
or misfire or whatever and The reality is, most
people aren't. They're not hyper -focused on
you. I mean, unless you just haven't prepared
or something, but by the same token, would you
say that it's good to just run through those
situations where you're a nervous wreck to just
feel it? To just feel nervous and have that experience
where you just sweat in all the places that you
don't usually sweat? and have your heart racing
for a little while and just get past that so
that you know what you're done you're like okay
I don't think I I think I've got myself worked
up to the max I don't have to reach that again
I don't have to go quite that far I'm okay now
wait what's the question do I think it's a good
idea for people to embrace that situation where
they're feeling nervous yes Uh, yes, definitely
it's important because once you do that, like
you say, you get past it and then next time you'll
either be less nervous or you won't be nervous
at all. The more you do, it's like they say,
you know, the more you do something, the better
you're going to be at it. I don't know if anybody
actually ever said that, but I feel like somebody
should have said that. Uh, it's all about that,
uh, repetition, man. Repetition is what makes
you feel comfortable to do those things. So yes.
even if you feel like it and it's the terrible
and you're right sweating everywhere just go
up there man and just do it what would you say
about just the camaraderie being in music theater
how big of a role does that play in your enjoyment
uh well being a person that is addicted to musical
theater uh like i need to shoot musical theater
up in my arm like every three hours every day.
That's what it's like for me just to kind of
give you an idea of how my life is. Yeah, man,
that camaraderie is like amazing to me because
I'll sit with my friends or whatever and make
jokes or like they'll say a word and I'll sing
a show tune. I'll sing a song with those words
that they just said and they're just like, what?
But, you know, backstage with these people who
are uh is fiercely like dedicated to that same
uh thing that you know just like takes over your
mind and body is amazing uh like some of my best
times are sitting backstage in the dressing room
here for the for instance in newsies uh in the
summer of this year uh so that's a huge cast
the best show i was ever in by the way anyway
we had like four different dressing rooms and
i was in the older people's dressing room because
well i'm an older person And we're just sitting
there and we're just like waiting for cues or
whatever. And I just say something like, let
me think of one in particular. There's a place
for us. And like the next person will sing, somewhere
a place for us. And it's just like a game that
we play. But if you know musical theater, then
you know all of these things. And it's like in
your brain. And it's just like a great games
for us to play. Those people are amazing. uh
you should everybody should have a musical theater
friend in their life because everything is coming
up roses and that's a line from a song from gypsy
so like see we like talk in musical theater terms
and i can't do that with like you i can't do
that with like my other best friends in real
life but we have like this secret language and
uh and all we want to do is just like do that
thing man which is just perform and you know
what people are like well Do you like the rehearsals?
I mean, you got to hate the rehearsals to get
to that performance stage, right? And it's like,
no, I don't hate the rehearsal process. Every
single day I have rehearsal. I cannot wait to
get to rehearsal because I get to see all my
people and we're all loving and hugging. And
look, we all may not, we probably all definitely
don't share all the same, like political beliefs
or religious beliefs or things like that. But
that doesn't, it doesn't even come up, man. We're
not there for that. We're just there. To like
have a good time and do what we love I'll tell
you what I'm a part of like three different theaters
now and I have like these new groups of friends
over the last year and a half who I will now
go and Like next week. We'll have a friends giving
at one of their houses. So like we just kind
of like take anybody in and like You're part
of the family and I feel like that has a lot
to do with like people being addicted to that
same Weirdness that you're addicted to like no
matter what the situation is I'm gonna accept
you man because you're like the same weirdness
as me and like we have that same thing we call
ourselves like theater nerds and theater nerds
just need to stick together and I really do love
all of these new people in my life over the last
year and a half man I Knew when I first met you
like you said it was about 2010 or so that I
couldn't put my finger on it, that you're in
that community or destined to be a part of that
community. But I knew you were, I knew that you
were a performer at heart and you liked doing
some wacky stuff. I remember, I'm sure you do
too, the coed softball team, the dirty birds
that Emily and I assembled and your involvement.
Maybe we only did one or two games like that,
but do you remember when you - How could I forget?
How could I forget? You don't even need to ask
me. Yeah, man, I remember. How could I forget?
You gave me, look, everybody out there, I just
want you to know that I have a game softball.
They gave me the game ball for going to the recreational
baseball field, the local recreational baseball
field in Birmingham with a megaphone and with
an iPad and an amplifier. And I'd be like, next
up, ladies and gentlemen. Standing at six three
the first basement And like I'd play some music
for y 'all I think I even like let y 'all pick
your play on music or whatever. Yeah, but yeah,
man Awesome. Awesome. And you know to have received
I still have that softball. It's in my garage.
So like receive that that's awesome Because I
was just being like a weirdo Just like I said
just put me on stage. Let me do some weird stuff
and you gave me like a game ball and I was just
having fun man I was there because my friends
were there playing a game and I wanted to be
a part of it But I was on the team so like I
found my own way to do it and and to do that
and to get A ball for like doing nothing in my
eyes Like a little trophy ball was was a good
thing for me. It makes me think of like Here
recently earlier this year. I did Jesus Christ
superstar and I played Caiaphas So then we had
our annual gala for the 2022 -2023 season and
then I was nominated for best actor in a musical
for that particular role which you know I won
and like they gave me like a standing ovation
and a trophy that said best actor in a musical
and I went up there and I told the people look
guys I've been doing this for like 14 months
and this is like the most amazing thing because
I don't know how y 'all feel about it but i'll
tell you for someone to give me this type of
uh award for an accomplishment it doesn't even
seem like an accomplishment to me i should be
like giving all of those people an award an award
for them for like putting me on stage and an
award for the people in the audience for like
clapping for me it's like i said earlier it's
like getting money or getting accolades for like
not doing anything for just being myself so like
thank god i found this thing again because what
if I wasn't getting those accolades? I'd just
be being myself without accolades. And accolades
make me feel a lot better about life, you know
what I mean? Absolutely. Danny, you've been in,
like you said, you portrayed the mayor in Newsies,
Edsel Mackey in The Best Little Whorehouse in
Texas, Young Frankenstein earlier this month,
singing in the rain earlier in the fall. um you've
got some some great stuff coming up i can't wait
i wish i could go maybe i can i will see the
sister act the musical at rivertown theaters
which one that you've done in 2023 have you just
had the most fun performing oh that's a good
question oh they're probably all i've had enjoyable
for different reasons they are the one that i
had the most fun though personally it would have
to be Well, let me think because I just told
you that Newsies was like the best show that
I was in but that's because like all of the tap
dancing and and the big the big orchestrations
and stuff like that, but I'm gonna have to say
like probably Singing in the rain. Oh my god,
probably singing the rain. How'd you know that?
Why why'd you say that? I was just guessing I
was following a little bit when you're sharing
updates about that show and that performance
and I like it just seemed like Guess what I was
seeing in the photos like this is This is all
Danny. This is he's in his element. This is great.
I loved it You're right, man. It is that is what
I am I'm like in my element and it would have
to be I feel like it has to be singing the rain
only for like personal like greed reasons because
that was the biggest role that I've had since
I played mr. Gilberth in Cheaper by the Dozen
in sixth grade at Simmons Middle School, directed
by Philip Butler. I had like over 200 lines in
that show, but my brain was a lot younger then,
so I was able to learn those lines. And then
now that I'm 41, I had like 90 lines, I believe,
in Singing in the Rain. Anyway, it was the biggest
part that I've had here recently. And when I
started this journey, after I saw that Hamilton
stage show and was like, I want to do this. After
I started that journey, I was like, oh, well,
you know, can you would just imagine like, I
feel like I will have made it. I will feel like
if I had made it once I get a leading role at
Rivertown theaters, because like that's a regional
theater here in New Orleans, and it's very well
known and very professional and things like that.
So then I got that role and it was like, whoa,
I've got like a leading role in a musical at
a like a regional professional theater. But then
when I was done with that role, I was like, well,
what's next? Now that I've made it. And then
I realized, well, there's other places I can
go from here. So then I auditioned with J -Pass,
the Jefferson Performing Arts Society. And they
gave me a role in Young Frankenstein. And then
after that show, they gave me another role in
Jesus Christ Superstar, which is coming up in
March of next year. And not only are they going
to be performing it here in New Orleans, they're
also going to be touring around. So like now,
I feel like I've really made it. But really,
have I really made it? Because no, there's like
another step beyond that. And that's like national
tours. And then there's a step past that, which
is, you know, Broadway and stuff. But look, that's
not, I don't have my set site on, my sites, excuse
me, set on those types of things. Like that's
not why I do it. I'm not doing it for money or
to become Like famous or anything. I just do
it because it's what I like to do I just want
to sing and dance and act like I said several
times Long answer to your question, but yes so
far. It was singing in the rain. What am I following?
You're you're following your bliss Yes, hey,
did you have anybody come come up to you any
directors after some of those first couple performances?
That were a little taken aback like they thought
well this guy's been out of the game a long time
Had a good audition Debbie have you surprised
some people with your I don't know if you call
it your chops Yeah, I feel like maybe so in that
first show in Stephen Sondheim's company like
the very first show that I got Back doing and
I told you I felt really nervous about because
it was the first time being back He had I went
up there during rehearsal and was like very hesitant
and like Reluctant because of my nerves But after
that rehearsal, when I had all the nerves and
I was like, well, shoot guy, in my brain, I was
thinking to myself, well, shoot, I learned all
my lines. There's no reason for me to be nervous
about it. I did fine up there. And then I wasn't
any nervous. I wasn't nervous any longer. And
then like just something like kind of like popped.
And yeah, that show had a couple of producers
and the director. The director doesn't really
speak much. I used to say I don't really think
that guy even likes me but you know other people
were like no no no no he's just like that to
everybody he doesn't speak much but yeah the
producers came up to me and they're like wow
we didn't know that you had that in you and I
was like well I knew it was in there somewhere
I just had to like figure out how to get it out
uh so I was like appreciative of that and one
of my cast mates came up to me and said oh Danny
you're so talented and I was like whoa and I'm
like I thought about that sense of like well
I love hearing that because look i'm never like
taking voice lessons or or dance lessons or i
mean i was in acting classes in school but so
for somebody to tell me that i have a talent
for that thing and to not have worked on it uh
that's pretty crazy uh but i attribute that and
i know i'm rambling on but i attribute that to
like you know my parents uh my dad who has written
a bunch of musicals for Nord, which is the New
Orleans recreation department. They have like
a theater department. And he did that when he
was he started writing music for musicals when
he was a teenager here in New Orleans. And my
mom was always a singer. She was like Maria in
West Side Story as a freshman in high school
and and then like sang professionally and clubs
in Chicago. And so I feel like I was born with
like something in me that like Allows me to sing
on key and to like take in those choreograph
Sorry, there's choreography Movements and like
I'm able to like mirror them. I Don't know like
I'm just lucky to have like been born to these
people Who like gave me that stuff and I don't
want you to think like I'm just like living off
of that man I spent the last like a year and
a half singing Somewhere between six to eight
hours a day five days a week. So like 30 hours
a week I've been singing and working on my voice
and And that's what Mike my current job allows
me to do which is awesome for me So like I can
do my work and get paid like doing a real like
nine to five job But I can also like work on
my passion at that same time yeah, and you got
a you know have your your nose in a book or reading
over lines and studying lines, there's a lot
of I'm sure quiet reflective time or it's not
all the stage lights and show time. You really
got to put in the effort and the hours behind
the scenes. That's true. And you're right. It's
not. I mean, the being on stage and performing
is a small percentage of what all of, you know,
all the time that we put into it. Here's let
me just tell you this real quick for anybody
that's out there that wants to learn or that's
interested in to like know how you learn So many
lines and so many lyrics in a four to six week
period which is the amount of time that it takes
to produce a musical This is what I do and I've
learned that it works well for me I Instead of
just like reading the book and having the book
in my hand at all times and reading my lines
and try to memorize them What I do is I will
go through the scene and I'll record it Then
I will play that scene back with my lines in
it and everybody else's lines and I'll listen
to it in my Headphones and then the next thing
I'll do is I'll take my lines out. I'll rerecord
it. I'll use everybody else's lines I'll leave
my lines blank and that way I can Listen to all
of them and then perform my lines to myself in
my head And then if you do that enough, like
I said, man repetition is the cue at all So you
do that enough you're gonna have all of those
lines memorized once you have them all memorized
You can then start listening to these recordings
that you've made and you can work on your inflections
and your intonations and things like that, like
how I'm going to say the line or where I'm going
to put the emphasis on the line and things like
that. So you're right. It does take a lot of
preparation, but that's my little trick for it.
Here's like an even further step into that. Not
only do I do it that way, but I will also run
those lines through my headphones. at like 1
.5 times the speed and then like two times the
speed and then three times the speed uh and then
I'll I'll say my lines at that speed at these
quicker speeds that they're so you know they're
like talking like uh getting into uh chipmunk
territory here that's right chipmunk territory
you're right because look the way I do that is
if I go so fast once I'm on stage performing
with people everything slows down It's like what
they say when you're like a quarterback in the
NFL And the older you get the game kind of slows
down for you and that's kind of how it is for
me which allows me to be more Real to more to
be more believable. I I feel like Speaking of
quarterbacks every once in a while on the Dan
time podcast. I will Just go way off track for
a second because I just got to ask Danny. Okay,
I know you're a huge New Orleans Saints fan Who
do you miss more? Coach Sean Payton or Drew Brees?
Who do I miss more or who dat I miss more? Sorry,
bad joke. Oh, that's an easy answer, man. And
let me explain it like this. When I saw that
the Denver Broncos had lost so many games early
in the season, I was ecstatic. because Sean Payton
is their coach. Yeah. Look, let me put it to
you like this, Dan, for those Dan Time listeners.
Look, if Sean Payton didn't have Drew Brees,
he would have never have won a Super Bowl. Let
me put it to you like this. If Sean Payton wasn't
the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and
Drew Brees was the quarterback, we would have
won so many more Super Bowls. Oh. And that's
the truth, man. Look, Sean Payton, whatever.
The dude quits because like, I don't have a quarterback.
And then he quits and takes a year off and then
goes to Denver. And I just hope that they just
do terribly. Not because I hate Denver, but because
I hate Sean Payton. Drew Brees was an amazing
man. Look at the stats. That dude is the reason
why the Saints were name worthy for a decade
and a half. And it was not Sean Payton. You think
Payton really said, hey, wait a second. I better
get out of town here because I'm about to be
exposed. I do. I absolutely do. I gotta go find
a real quarterback. Now, Breeze, did he get drafted
by San Diego? I'm trying to remember now. He
did. That's correct. Yeah. So what if he stays
with the Chargers, never goes to New Orleans?
Nobody's ever heard of Sean Payton, right? Right.
Oh, I see what you mean. Well, I mean, he would
have been the Saints coach and then Drew would
have been over in San Diego. Yeah, probably not,
man. He probably would have been like a a couple
of your coach, I think, I think Sean Payton was
carried by Drew Brees on his back. Danny, what
is going on with the Patriots? This is getting,
this is getting pretty ugly. Well, look, I can
assure you that it's not the quarterback's fault
because he's a good Alabama boy. Well, University
of Alabama boy. I don't know, man. I feel like,
you know, Tom Brady left. And that was it. Maybe
Bill Belichick is in the same boat as Sean Payton.
I mean, I find it harder to believe, but you
know, Tom Brady won those championships for Bill
Belichick for sure too. What's happening to them?
I don't know. I think they're going through the
regular pains of losing the greatest player of
all time. You just can't replace a once in a
generation quarterback. Once in two generations.
Right. You're talking about the Saints, right?
Yeah, you're right. And we're learning that now.
I mean, we're trying with their Oh, you're talking
about the Patriots. Well, look, both of them,
Brady and Breeze were generational talents, man.
And no, you can't you can't replace them. You
got to get lucky. You got to hope that the guy
that's going to be a star is out there and you
go pick them up. And that's what we do with Breeze.
And we just got lucky, man. We just got lucky.
That's it. I feel like Breeze. He was never my
guy, but I I just feel like he's a really good
dude, a good dad. And just everything that I've
read about him. And, you know, when you see him
kind of post NFL career, he just carries himself
with such class. And I don't feel like it's contrived
either. I agree with you. I think that's very
true. I don't know. I don't know if it's contrived
or not. I feel like it needs to be something
that's contrived. by more starting quarterbacks
uh because like that's what you want kids to
emulate you know what i mean they're gonna look
up to the sports star and they're gonna do what
he does but you want that sports star to be like
a drew breeze and not a uh just john watson or
a little a little girly girl like tom brady you
know i mean i hate throwing tablets breaking
tablets on the side because he can't get a guy
to catch come on dude be a be a Be a real person
be like a nice dude and just like go over to
the guys and talk about it and stop being a little
I hate to say the word woman or girl about it.
But yeah, stop being I just don't want to use
a bad word. You know what I mean? Yeah We uh,
yeah, don't don't uh push it right up to the
edge here. I may run off some of my uh fervent
lady listeners All right. I know I hear you.
I'm sorry ladies. Uh, I'm just trying to like
make it kid -friendly too ladies, right? Danny,
speaking of New Orleans, you absolutely love
this town. You love the sights, the smells, the
buzz, the atmosphere, the restaurants. When you
guys wrap up a multi -night performance, do you
all go out to eat somewhere or do you sometimes
split off solo? What's a restaurant that maybe
people haven't heard of that you're like, you
gotta try this out? Get it. I do love New Orleans
and I might love it more than normal New Orleans
and I and I attribute to that to the fact that
I was born in New Orleans and then Went to high
school and college in Alabama and then was lucky
enough to find myself back home in New Orleans
So like I was out of New Orleans for 15 or 16
years. So Missing it for that amount of time
I feel like made me love it even that much more
and now that I'm here like I'm not gonna waste
anytime uh doing new orleans stuff uh and you're
right the sights the sounds the smells i mean
they could go both ways but you're right like
even like a crazy nasty smell you're like oh
that smells like the french quarter like the
good old days um and that's that's true uh but
after it smells like smells like late night's
gone by Yeah, and that's like not the only thing
going by but yeah, you're right Normally after
a show we do try to get together. Um, I Like
to I like to offer to everybody in the cast After
a Saturday evening show to go to the French Quarter.
Um, I mentioned my dad earlier So he has a gig
four nights a week in the French Quarter at the
Maison Bourbon, which is a bar On this at 641
Bourbon Street and he's got a band and he plays
either piano or the tuba It just depends on what
he has available to him at his disposal as as
far as other As far as other musicians are concerned
if he doesn't have a piano guy. He's gonna get
on piano obviously and and vice versa, um, so
I try to bring them down there Because it's live
music. It's New Orleans. It's uh alcohol we all
get to like hang out and and party and and have
fun and And sometimes if somebody's feeling that
they want to do it, my dad will get them up there
to go and sing a song. But you know, those theater
guys are real, real hesitant about that. So they
don't like it in front of people. I'm just kidding,
man. It goes off. It goes off really well. And
then in regards to the restaurants, man, it is
really cool. But, you know, that could be like
a whole discussion for another day. As a matter
of fact, you should holler at my father and get
him on here, because let me just say one thing
real quick. My dad was Debbie Reynolds rehearsal
pianist in New York City for a Broadway show.
And when Debbie Reynolds show was opening, she
asked my father if he would escort her daughter
to the opening night performance that night.
And her daughter, as I'm sure some of your listeners
know, is Carrie Fisher. who I'm sure some of
your listeners know was Princess Leia. So you
know my dad took Carrie Fisher on a couple of
dates way back in the day and that's just like
one little thing about my dad because he spent
a lot of time everywhere doing music internationally.
That's a terrible segue but to segue into the
restaurant situation, man there's so many good
restaurants in New Orleans. I have friends come
in town and say where should I go eat? Honestly
you could go eat at a gas station and that's
like I'm not even making a joke man. There are
gas stations here where you can go and get like
a full, you know, like meal with sides and everything,
or you can go get a po -boy, which other people
would call a subway sandwich, but it's totally
different than like the subway, the store. If
you were in town tonight, Dan, I would tell you
to go to Mandina's on Canal Street in Mid City
in New Orleans. It's an Italian restaurant with
a lot of New Orleans. seafood and local favorites
and The amount of food that you get on one plate
is Well, it will feed you for like two or three
sittings. So I'm all ready to go home directly
afterwards so that you can get to your Refrigerator.
Yeah, well if you got like a hour and a half
hour 15 minute drive and it's just Your car is
gonna be filled with the the smell of that dish
that you ate It's well worth it. Absolutely.
Oh, I hear you guys again It's like an air freshener.
That's a good idea, man. Right. I should just
leave it in there next time and just see how
it turns out. I'll probably get all the chicks
that way. Danny, speaking of gas stations, and
this is just what, it's not really way out there,
but people don't ask these questions on shows.
They take themselves pretty seriously. What's
your take, Danny, on Hunt Brothers Pizza? I guess
they have them out there in New Orleans. The
gas station. I know what you're talking about.
Ready by the slice. The logo is the two Italian
guys. you know, flopping the dough in the air.
Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Do you
ever succumb to that when you're just, it's lunchtime,
you're busy, you're in a hurry, you're like,
well, I guess this is gonna be lunch today. I'm
gonna grab a slice here at this Shell station,
and I'm just gonna eat this pizza. No, I don't
do that. Under the lamp. No, I don't do that.
I don't do that. I've had a piece of that pizza
before, and it reminds me of like high school
cafeteria pizza. Just like a lot of oil. It doesn't
have much taste to it. I feel like if you were
to buy a DiGiorno or like a whatever out of the
freezer section of that gas station, you would
be better off and get more taste to it. But if
you need like sustenance to fill you up, I understand
people doing that. But here in New Orleans at
those gas stations, like I said, you can get
a pizza, piece of pizza, or you can like talk
to the guy behind the counter and be like, hey
man, let me get a roast beef poor boy dressed.
You know and then you just eat that and it's
just a lot better. I bet you the hunts of the
hunts company is not Really too profitable in
New Orleans for that reason. Also, there's a
lot of fried chicken that they sell at gas stations
here They call it crispy crunchy chicken and
I think they probably have a monopoly on on the
fast food at Gas stations. Yeah, we've got them
here. Usually wherever they're located They've
got the window decals where you all you see is
just a crispy crunchy chicken photo up close
photos of all this fried chicken as you're approaching
the the store Well, i'm glad you know, there's
not just a new orleans thing then so I feel like
they're I feel like their market or their monopoly
on the market is probably Definitely better here
in new orleans than in other places just because
like I feel like the real food is going to cancel
out those uh those pizza pieces Danny do you
have a routine just speaking of every day Do
you like have to get up and have that bagel and
that coffee and the creamer and and if anything
is out of whack it's it's just not right or do
you just roll out of bed and Here we go. Whatever
happens happens I like to have my sandwich in
the morning. I know that sounds weird, but Like
wake up and then I get in my car and I eat my
sandwich in my car to go to work I need that
sandwich man sandwich because like Sandwich for
breakfast. Do I know what kind I'm gonna tell
you whether you do or not. It's Cajun turkey
with Swiss mayonnaise Creole mustard with some
Tony Sacheres on a French bread loaf so that's
basically like Cajun turkey and Swiss po -boy
and like I feel like if I go to the McDonald's
or I cook something in your home. It's not gonna
be filling you Do you agree that like breakfast
foods not filling? Kind of leaves you want more
unless you really I've got a system down for
myself. It's a lot of oatmeal eggs Toast I mean
I basically cram as much down and it's usually
all pretty healthy, but it's just a lot of little
things and it's like okay, that's enough, but
if you just I don't understand people have like
one hard -boiled egg or one piece of dry toast
like that yeah or like a sausage bacon or a sausage
biscuit or whatever from the fast food place
that'll fill you up for like an hour and then
you're hungry and it's like three hours until
lunch anyway i want that big sandwich in the
morning so i can eat it and like get my work
done and then go to lunch and be full for the
rest of the day i don't like feeling um hungry
So I need that big sandwich in the morning. And
honestly, if I don't have that big sandwich in
the morning, if I failed to have made it the
previous evening, prior to waking up, then yeah,
dude, things get out of control. Like I'll, I
don't know what I'll do. I mean, I got to find
something to eat and it's just like, and then
it's like taxing on my brain. Cause I got to
get to work and I just need to have my sandwich.
Look, I need to have my sandwich ready for me
when I wake up. Okay. Yeah. I think you and I
are probably similar. I'm a hungry guy. I'm ready
to eat when I'm ready to eat and I do not want
to think about where am I going to get a meal
here in the next 20 minutes because I am just
famished and you're trying to focus. Like you
said, you're at work and you're like, I don't,
this is all out of whack. Can't handle it. Right.
Hey, do you know what kind of work I do? No,
I don't. Okay. Well, I'm just going to say it
real quick. Uh, I work for the federal government.
I work as a clerk for the United States Postal
Service. Well, as soon as you said federal government,
I was about to say, you know, you must know all
about me. Yeah, well, I mean, your address and
stuff and what kind of mail you get sent to you,
but not all about you. Like, it's not like, you
know, the Department of Justice or anything like
that. It's just like the United States Postal
Service. But when I moved to New Orleans, like
12 years ago, I started working at the Hustler
Club on Bourbon Street. And I remember walking
down Bourbon to get to my job at Hustler. And
I literally say to myself, well, look, there's
like a brass band coming down Bourbon Street
towards me as I'm walking past it to get to work.
And there's guys playing drums on the sidewalk
on their buckets. And I say to myself literally,
I am in my element because you know I've been
away from New Orleans so long but now for real
the new me being in my element is just like doing
musical theater so like I feel like every single
decision that I've made in my life then whether
they were bad or good were good because that's
where I am now and I don't want to be doing like
anything other than that so that is a great way
of putting it and especially for people who listen
to this show that regardless of how you just
blew off the past seven or eight years, maybe
if you did, or you lived in that town and you're
like, that wasn't right for me. That city wasn't
me. That girlfriend that I spent four years with,
what in the world happened there? It's all about
the here and now. Would you agree? Yeah, absolutely.
You're here and now's the time to seize the moment.
I'm actually having more fun in my 40s than...
And I thought I was having fun in my thirties.
I really did. Same, man. Same. I mean, I was
having fun in my thirties or twenties, but like
having fun in your forties, I feel like the fun
that I'm having now is like more beneficial.
It's like a growing kind of fun as opposed to
a like staying where you're at kind of fun. You
know what I mean? And you finally, when you've
got that creative outlet that you've been seeking
for so long. and you're finally sinking your
teeth into it. There's got to be no better feeling,
right? No better feeling, man. No better feeling.
It's all I want to do. Sorry. How about when
you're on stage? I know the lights are bright,
but can you ever see faces out there and just
you're in the middle of your performance, middle
of your lines. But do you ever see people and
you're thinking, look at them? They are having
the time of their lives and I'm a part of this
show. Can you tell when people are just filled
with joy? Yeah, but it's like not really a visual
thing because you're right the lights are bright
and you can't really see Faces out there or even
if the house lights are on and you can see the
faces out there You don't want to be like seen
as looking into the audience because like that's
not acting not acting gonna be like making eye
contact with your Your other people and you know
the other people in the cast but I'll tell you
this though if you're sitting backstage or in
the wings and you can hear the audience's response
like their vocal response and their response
when they're applauding like when you hear it
man you know it and you're like oh wow oh wow
that is a good audience and you know what that
just for you that just like gives you that more
energy and that more excitement and you go out
there and you continue to give us you give even
more than you were giving earlier and you feel
like earlier you were giving 110 but now you're
like They're like, OK, well, these people appreciate
it. OK, now we're really going to do it. And
then the house, and then the roof blows off,
and it's a big party. Wow. Danny, I also like
to bring up or ask my guests, when you're in
some of those transitional periods or jobs that
it's not really what you wanted to be doing,
or maybe you were where you wanted to be at the
moment, like at Hustler Club, did you make some
contacts that You hang on to this day like some
of your best friends maybe came from some period
in 2015 or something or. Yes, for sure. Me and
you, we met in I think 09 or 10 in Birmingham.
For sure, man. Yeah, there's like some relationships
that I still hold close to me from those times
in the quarter from from all my quarter rat friends.
That's what we used to call ourselves. Still
do. the quarter rats that's what we are or we
I was and there still are people that are quarter
rats who I'm still friends with uh as a matter
of fact uh I had uh some people came in town
for a bachelor party and they went I think it
was Saturday night uh or no Friday night two
nights ago uh and they're like hey Danny what
can we do and I you know I called the GM over
at hustler because we're good friends this lady
look there's a oh my god it's a holding of the
tangent Look, New Orleans has a lot of Mardi
Gras parades. One of the Mardi Gras parades is
called Muses. Muses is an all -female parade.
This all -female parade has a signature throw
that they throw from their floats. That signature
throw is a individually decorated stiletto shoe.
So this lady who's in charge of like three clubs
on Bourbon Street Three gentlemen's clubs on
Burma Street contacts my mother like every Several
weeks and says okay. Miss Peggy. We got another
bag for you And those bags are like garbage bags
full of these shoes that are huge Some of them
are not huge, but like man these are like professional
entertainer shoes They're not like stilettos
that a lady would wear to like a ball these are
like huge shoes and they're like a canvas for
my mother and then she's able to decorate these
and You need to see amuses shoe one of these
days anybody that's listening y 'all need to
google what amuses shoe looks like and they're
like absolute beautiful pieces of art so like
that connection that I made back in hustler way
back in the day is helping my mom out and has
also gave my friends a free bottle of alcohol
the other night for their friends bachelor party
um I also have friends who who are really good
friends and we will go out to like the festivals
that we have during festival season like Jazz
Fest and French Quarter Festival, just meet up
down there and hang out or you'll just see them
when you're on the parade route. New Orleans
is like the biggest little city in the world
or like the littlest big city in the world. Like
if I go out today anywhere, I'll definitely like
see somebody that I know and like those relationships
stay the same. The reason like I had to leave
that quarter rent life is because the timing,
you know, the time that I worked, uh among other
things was not conducive to friends and family
like working in the middle of the night and getting
off of work at like six or seven in the morning
and then going to the bar and hanging out with
all your co -workers and uh and entertainers
like that's not conducive to having like family
and friends time and i'm not talking like family
time like wife and kids because i don't have
that um i'm young at heart and i feel like uh
i'll continue to be that way as long as i'm like
not kind of tied down that way and I don't like
judge anybody that is that does have their family
like that but what I'm saying is I want to be
able to like hang out with my mom and dad and
my nieces and nephews and sister and all that
jazz and you know and like I said that was a
time that's why it was time to change from managing
hustler to going to the post office well at least
you had the support of your family while you
were there and you meet some people I mean I
don't recommend that everybody gets into just
even a service industry job late at night. I
mean, maybe it's better for a teenager or someone
that's 21, 22 to work retail. I mean, I saw a
lot of ugly things in the late night lifestyle
that some of those establishments kind of spit
you out into, you know, if you're ready for it
and you want to jump in, it's all there, but.
But you do meet some people that have some redeeming
qualities and you meet people who are kind of
a mess and then they get themselves together
and yep, you stay friends and you do I'm sure
you saw some people who carried it a little too
far and yeah It's just kind of like a shame to
see the deterioration with some people. It's
just bound to happen That's true. I feel like
you have to go in with like a certain mindset
and some people don't necessarily have that mindset
but it's important for you to like make sure
that you know like there's another life outside
of late night craziness. It's a very insulated
world like it's you're living in this bubble
and you wake up you know you get up whenever
you need to or have to noon or one or two and
you go take care your business do some online
bill pay if you've got a yard to cut maybe cut
the yard you do things that you have to do but
then you go back to that lifestyle that a lot
of people don't live don't have any interest
in living but but you obviously found a way to
navigate just the different trails and not go
too far off the deep end while still having a
good time you're right well like I said man every
decision I've made was the right decision Put
me where I am right now, which is like the happiest
I've like been in life for real And I love hearing
that Danny you're one of the guys I mean this
sincerely that I wish I could see you more often
You made such an impression the short time that
we did have hanging around each other You're
an unforgettable guy. I'm not just saying that
I think anybody that's that's kind of meant for
the stage has that that quality to them Just
they don't really remind you of somebody else
that you know So I'm glad that we made our connection
when we did Absolutely. I'm glad that it's a
it's like stayed strong through since then as
well. I think it all really kind of blossomed
Dan with our mutual love of Those Northsiders
Chicago Chicago. Yeah, you're right. I was about
to bring that up. I Ruined it everybody. I'm
sorry Danny Are you okay with the way the season
ended? I mean, I think most cups cup fans are
just You know, we had the disappointment of Missing
the playoffs, but then all of a sudden we got
Craig council So yeah, you just immediately talking
ahead. We could talk all about that if you want
to but you know what? It just occurred to me
that Since you and I have spoken last The Saints
have won a World Series. So why don't we just
kind of like focus on that, dude? Let me ask
you. What were you... No, no, no. Did I say the
Saints? My bad. The Cubs. The Cubs won a World
Series. That's right. Since I spoke to you last.
So what are you... What were you doing when the
Saints... I'm sorry, the Cubs. I keep on getting
crazy. What were you when the Cubs won? I was
at O 'Reilly's Irish Pub in Pensacola. My brother
Travis drove down, spent the night and... It
was a long night. We made a couple other stops
and it was You know, I wasn't I'm not a part
of some Cubs community down here I mean, there's
all those drinking clubs if you want to join
them, but I Had to go out to watch it. I could
not just sit in my living room and watch game
7 on TV I had to be out somewhere and And go
someplace where I knew they'd have the game on
nothing else and the sound And I really, at that
time, loved that bar. But that's where we were,
and I was fortunate enough to watch it with my
brother. He was a little concerned. I was having
a good time. So by the time we reached, I think,
the ninth, tenth inning, the rain delay, I was
never really concerned that we were going to
lose. But looking back, I mean, wow. If the delay
hadn't happened, I think it was about a half
hour delay. We're probably gonna lose that series
if we were down three games to one yeah, people
forget that and That was right on the edge. I
mean the Cleveland Indians Almost should have
been world champions that year, but yeah, that's
what we were doing and it was it I'll never forget
it. How about you? What a great day to to be
alive as a Cubs fan man perennial Perennial losers
and then we we win the big one. So like, you
know, look at us. Look at us go Where was I I
was that I was at work. I was gonna say I was
gonna say 2016 Was probably the best time that
this could have happened because I just met Natalie
that summer We didn't have any kids yet Yeah,
it gets a little harder sometimes with the little
ones to watch complete games or to certainly
go out downtown and hang out for three hours
and watch a ball game. So for them to win it
when they did, it was good. I can't have a night
like that again. Well look, I bet you if the
Cubs make it to the World Series, you could probably
find a night off. I'm sure a wonderful wife would,
yeah. So like, you don't try to trick us, man.
Come on, Cubs in the World Series, you'll find
your three hours, I assure you. But now, so you're
at work. I was at work and at the time I was
working at the Hustler. So I was just in the
manager's office in the back with the TV on watching
it. I couldn't miss it, man. Were there fans
there? Were there guys in the club that were
watching the stage but also maybe looking over
at the bar TV? Yeah, when there were big games
like that, yes. And we put the projector in the
courtyard on the wall. So yeah, there was a lot
of people around there to watch the baseball
game. But never never is it always everybody's
watching sporting events in an establishment
like that Danny does the talent ever stop what
they're doing because they're just a huge Saints
fan or LA Lakers fan. There's just this big game
going on Does that can that ever happen where
they're not on stage at the moment and they're
just chatting up some guy and they just Hey,
I gotta watch this this inning here Honestly,
no Dan, uh, the stages are never empty. Now look,
if there's an entertainer that says, uh, this
guy wants to spend a thousand dollars on me right
now, uh, we will find another entertainer to
take the stage. But I'll tell you this, you can't
ever have the stage empty. So like even before
that entertainer comes off the stage, that second
entertainer has to be on the stage. I could see
that. Yeah. It's important, man. That's what
those clubs are all about. Danny would do is
security pretty busy. Are there many altercations
or fewer than yes there are yeah Yeah, there
are man. This could be like a whole nother podcast.
Oh, yeah But yes, look as the manager of the
club at times I would drill my hospitality or
Security guys because you know there would be
like shootings down the street and we say go
into lockdown and you know we close these doors
and put the big piece of wood through the doors
like it's a castle and then close the door on
the balcony until we hear the all clear from
our eye in the sky who's the guy that watches
all the cameras um because he's got external
cameras on the building and internal cameras
as well so we wait for the all clear but yes
there's been a lot of situations um like that
even situations in the club man um which were
like just crazy to have witnessed. For instance,
look, this one particular club hustler has a
pole from its main stage to the top of the ceiling
on the second floor. So it's like a 30 -foot
pole. And then the second floor, which is the
VIP, you can overlook that main stage. But also
if you're overlooking that main stage, you're
also overlooking other guests of the establishment.
So in this particular case, there's a bachelor
party or something. It was a party of these sorority
guys not sorority fraternity guys right hey it's
new orleans it's new orleans and in the french
quarter it could be sorority guys calm down stop
judging um but yeah it was like fraternity guys
up there and they spill their drink over the
edge onto these marines and these marines run
up the stairs run over to the bottle service
grab the bottle out of the ice bin and like hit
this dude over the head and knock him out and
there's like blood everywhere and then these
marines run out of the building I don't believe
ever to have been caught. And then, you know,
of course we have the cops come and EMS come
and take the dude out. And the dude lived and
everything. He survived. That was fine. Thank
God. I'll tell you this, working the quarter,
state police are like military compared to city
and local police. Like they, those state, those
state troopers do not mess around, man. I could
see that when it's time to throw down. They're
not going halfway. And like they'll even throw
down before it's time to throw down how, how,
how crazy and hardcore they are. Well, yeah,
we could go down in the bud in that case, you
know, it just like get into the point where they
need to be before it takes time to get there.
Well, you definitely had to be all business.
I never saw that side of you, but I could see
it. I could visualize Danny Rubio. No nonsense.
I suppose so. I mean a little bit of nonsense,
but when I needed to be there was no nonsense.
But always at that establishment they called
me Danny Boy. Just so you know, it wasn't Danny.
Right, yeah, Danny Boy Rubio. I was gonna ask
when did the nickname come about? Obviously you
don't shoot out the gate so to speak. Is Danny,
is your given name Daniel? It is Daniel, yes.
I was always called Danny. And my father's name
is Danny. or Daniel as well. So everybody growing
up, I was little Danny, you know, anyway, I started
working at Hustler and we all have these radios,
right? And people on the radio is like, come
back, Danny. And I'll be like, I'll be like,
yeah, what do you need? But at the time, there
was three managers, one of which his name was
Jamie, the other's name was Kelly, and then I'm
Danny. And sometimes people don't know how to
use the radios. So like, so instead of saying,
Danny, come back, it sounds like eat, come back.
So I don't know if they're saying Jamie Kelly
or Danny. So I tell them all right guys look
if you want me just call me Danny boy So at least
that way I get eat boy come back and I'm like,
okay Well, they're actually asking for me. Thank
god. Um, so that's how it started and then I
never knew so Yeah, that's how that started and
like uh, I started putting Danny boy on my business
cards for hustler and then everybody just started
calling me Danny boy and somebody gave me a St.
Jersey that said Danny boy on the back and then
I became Danny boy like well I guess I should
change my name on Facebook to Danny boy But I've
since taken the boy out of it because I don't
want to be known as Danny boy for like When your
theater reviews and stuff, you know, I mean Okay.
Yeah, I could see that I I never knew the backstory
but That's the backstory, man. Yeah, they're
they're reviewing Sister Act or Jesus Christ
Superstar and Danny Boy Rubio. Right. But look,
I think I'm going to change my name another time
because, you know, I got this review that said
like Danny Rubio did some great dancing or whatever
in in this last show, Young Frankenstein, and
I'm eating lunch with my dad like a couple of
days later. and one of his friends from like
four years ago says oh Danny it's good to see
you talking to my dad he goes wait a minute were
you were you in Young Frankenstein and he's like
no no that was my son Danny so like uh you know
my dad being like a local musician in New Orleans
and me doing like what I'm doing I don't want
to get that confusion so I think I'm changing
my name officially to Daniel C Rubio which is
my given name so I'm not really changing it I'm
just uh Look, everybody on Facebook, if you see
it say Daniel Rubio, just know it's the same
guy. It's like something I'm like fighting myself
with. I want to do it, but I don't want to do
it, you know? This is an internal struggle going
on as we speak. It really is, man. I haven't
even talked to anybody about it yet, and now
I'm just opening myself up to everybody out there.
Danny, are you the type of person that can spend
a significant Amount of time alone on a day and
a half or something where you got just some some
downtime Can you do you wander the city by yourself?
Do you like it or do you like to be with a buddy
with a pal with a few people? What's your? What's
your I prefer to not be all by myself I would
say yeah, if I am all by myself it would be I
feel like the World War II Museum is down here
in New Orleans and I love history. So I feel
like I go to the World War II Museum a lot, probably
like over 100 times since I've had a membership
there. But that's like if there's nobody to like
hang out with. But yeah, I would definitely like
to just like hang out with people and like create
if we can. Like my friends know that if we're
hanging out, and there's nothing to do they're
like hey dude do you have your car tar and i
always do because i always have my guitar in
my car so i always have my car tar uh it's called
my car tar for a reason so like we just like
to create and stuff and uh like me and a couple
of my friends right now are writing a musical
about the battle of 1812 but more specifically
about the pirate jean lafitte and how he and
his men and his uh his canons like shaped that
battle and saved I mean even though the battle
was already over due to the Treaty of Ghent but
it never you know it never made it to America
in time so they actually fought this battle of
New Orleans with Andrew Jackson at the helm anyway
so you know we tried I try to be creative all
the time man so and it I find it easier for me
to be creative with other people's input in that
situation. So I'd rather just like hang with
people than to be by myself. And if I am by myself,
I'm going to use that stuff like researching
or learning. And I guess that's why the World
War II Museum kind of like jumps in, you know.
Danny, if someone puts you to the test and you're
just in a park and there's a fountain and said,
Danny, just go up there, stand up on the ledge
of the fountain and just launch into a performance,
maybe about. Yes. Five, six, seven minutes long.
Yes. Yes. You would do it. Yes. I don't know
the question, but I said yes. Not that I know
the question. I'm going to have to say yes. Uh,
yeah, dude. Absolutely. I said it before. Give
me a stage. Give me a spotlight. Give me a microphone
and let me just go. Yeah. It doesn't even have
to be on a fountain. It could be like on a sidewalk.
Uh, right. Uh, if, if somebody just think inspires
me or, or whatever they want me to I want to
perform all of the time, Dan, so if somebody
shows interest in that, it's going to happen.
What about, this is just another New Orleans
question, and I'm going to have to rein it in
because I could just keep going and going. I
could too, dude. Danny, are you a Willie Nelson
fan? Yeah, yeah, for sure. Do you like his version,
I guess it's his version of City of New Orleans?
I don't feel like I'm well enough versed in that
to say whether I do or don't. There's a lot of
New Orleans songs or with New Orleans in the
song title. Or do you have a favorite song about
the city? It's kind of like an ode to the city.
Chicago's an easy one. Sweet Home Chicago. I
wouldn't even think of that one. I would think
like my kind of town Oh, yeah, I go is or Chicago
Chicago. That's subtle in town You also like
here I go again, but Frank Sinatra. Yeah, I know
I read took out your mouth Didn't I the crooners
the Sinatra Dean Martin? Love them Love them.
Look in high school. My license plate said Sinatra
So that kind of like explains to you and people
were like who's this Sinatra guy? and it's in
Birmingham, Alabama. I feel like that has to
just do like with who I was born to and where
I kind of grew up, my love for like those jazz
standards and those dudes. I do love those crooners,
man. That's my stuff. To answer your question
about the song about New Orleans, I'm gonna have
to say like... One that was made popular by Louis
Armstrong. Here, I'll just sing it for you. You
never know how nice it seems or just how much
it really means. Uh, that one's called Basin
Street Blues. Uh, stop it. Oh, stop it. This
old thing, this old thing. Stop it, Dan. Folks,
that was your price of admission right there.
You had to wait about an hour, however long we've
been talking, but I hope you made it this far.
Wow. I'm going to have to have you back on just
so you can sing us. You can regal us. What's
the word I'm looking for? Serenade. I don't know.
I don't know what the word is, but I'll do it.
If you need me somewhere to sing a song, I will
do it. And if anybody finds themselves in the
New Orleans area, they should come and see Scrooge
at Docville Farms, and that's December 1st through
3rd of this year. They should also come and see
Jesus Christ Superstar, which is the third week
of March of 2024 at Jefferson Performing Arts
Society. Or they can come see Sister Act, the
musical, which is also located in New Orleans
at Rivertown Theaters. And that is going to be
in May of 2024. Sorry, I have to put those plugs
in. Oh, you beat me to it. And I was going to
say this episode will be out on the 26th. So
folks, you got plenty of time. Should have about
a week if you want to catch the Scrooge performance,
Scrooge the musical. Danny, this is this has
been wonderful. Can we? Can we just talk through
the evening and just see how long? No, I'm just
kidding. We could, man. We could. But look, you're
right. I do have some. I know you're kidding,
but I totally would. I do also have to like learn
some lines and lyrics for the Screw Show. So
that's kind of what's on my plate for the rest
of this Sunday. But definitely look, man, let's
have me back again if you want, for real. And
I'll sing you a song or two. I'll get my dad
to hop on the piano. We'll just do some live
jamming for you, bro. Oh, I can't wait. Are you
and your dad or are you and your sister, everybody
texts each other, you know, family members and
sends pictures. Do you do all the liking and
the loving and the hearts and those types of
replies? Are you in on that with the family group
text? Wait, are you saying do I put the like
thing or the heart thing on people's text? Yeah,
somebody sends you a picture and it's a cute
picture. Lovely. Yeah, I'll put a little heart
or a like but I like tend to tend to more Often
than not like make a real response with like
words and stuff Do you ever use the double exclamation
point? Yes after after oh, oh, I don't know if
you're I do what you mean Oh, I'm an iPhone.
I know exactly what you're talking about. Yes,
I do use the double exclamation, but those are
very limited. I feel like it's hard to know when
and where to use a double exclamation. I find
it easiest for me to use that double exclamation
when I'm like, hey, damn. So what is your answer
on the... the question that I asked and people
are like, I don't even know what question. And
there's like, oh, you're fricking idiot. Well,
I'll scroll up and I'll just double the explanation,
that question, but I already texted them just
to like be like, I feel like the double explanation
is like an upside down I and that I am my brain
stands for like idiot. So it's just like idiot.
Look at this. Yeah. Where's that coming from?
I don't know. And there's also the question mark.
Yeah, the question mark is obviously understandable
look I Understand I appreciate you asking about
this but like let me that makes me think about
people on Facebook Liking and hearting things.
How hard is it to make a like or a heart? If
I see something post some stuff that I like I'm
gonna like it or I'm gonna heart it and then
I have people come up to me in real life and
they're like, oh I saw your post the other day.
I really like that. It's like dude. Why didn't
you like it or heart it? Why do you have to tell
me in real life? You know what I mean? How hard
could that have been? How hard could it have
been? You looked at it for three and a half,
four seconds. You studied it. You zoomed in.
You looked at the picture. But you couldn't be
troubled to just throw your name in the bucket
of the hearts and the thumbs up. Yeah, it's not
a good thing. People really need to stop hiding
behind that curtain. I agree with you, man. And
pay no attention to man behind the curtain, but
stop hiding behind it, too. OK, Danny, we got
to wrap up here. But do you have a favorite musical
of all time? I mean, that's maybe a tough question.
Maybe it's an easy question. Is there anything
that you just like, I could watch this thing
a dozen times and never get tired of it? Yes.
Yes. And look, it's not really a hard question,
only because I've been asked it a lot. And the
only reason I've been asked it a lot is because
that's like a common question that I'd like to
ask my castmates. Like when there's downtime,
like what else is there to do? Oh, hey, what's
your favorite musical? And we'll go through that
conversation. So I feel like my favorite musical
has to be Les Miserables. It's a great, I don't
know, I just love the music and stuff. But there's
definitely other ones that are in there. I like
to answer the question with like a top three
or a top five because I don't want to leave any
out and I don't feel like Les Mis is really worthy
to be my favorite. I feel like there's probably
other ones that should be up there but I just
like that music so much that that's like my kind
of go -to answer and the other ones are kind
of like you know you can't like leave Hamilton
out of that. I know it's not like classical Broadway
which is what I really love but it's like New
Age Broadway and it's just like a great form
of entertainment. But also, I'd like to go back
to, you know, Oskar Hammerstein and Richard Rogers
is like Carousel, the guys who wrote a lot of
those famous shows like The Sound of Music and
stuff. But Carousel is probably up there as well.
What about Cats? No, I hate that show. Won't
ever listen to it. I'm glad you brought it up.
I don't know what the heck. I mean I know what
Andrew Lloyd Webber was thinking he's got a lot
of cats and he loves cats and he's like oh hey
guys watch me I want to write a musical about
cats it'll never do anything and they put it
on stage and all these freaking people are loving
it dude waste waste of time and effort uh I have
no interest in that show I can't even believe
you brought it up to me but no no cats I'll tell
you what though Andrew Lloyd Webber does have
a great one out there I mean he's got Jesus Christ
Superstar which is great but that's not like
a classical Broadway musical but he also has
Phantom of the Opera which is a classical Broadway
musical and that one's gonna have to be in my
top five musicals as well. So it's really hard
to like pinpoint one down but if somebody held
a gun to my head I'd say Les Miserables just
because I don't want to be killed and that's
an easy answer to say pretty quickly. What's
your favorite musical? Oh gosh of all time maybe
maybe Encanto. Okay okay and look No, it's a
good answer. I don't want you to get it wrong.
Look, Disney cartoons are Broadway musicals.
Yeah, they are. It is. Do you like the new batch
of children's movies that are seems like most
of them are musicals? Yes. What kind of question
is that? Look, I don't want to be like labeled
as a Disney lover, but Disney. movies are Broadway
musicals and they're mainly like focused towards
the younger generations or that you know towards
kids and stuff but yeah man I love them you know
and well Miranda did those shows for Disney and
that's that's great I wasn't I don't think I'd
ever watch the sound of music until seven or
eight years ago and was just dating someone who
loved it and we were watching it one night and
Mm -hmm. I guess I would throw that in the mix
You know, I don't know how you feel about that
as far as top five type top ten Yeah, I hear
you Well the guys that wrote that show have other
shows that are better than that show and sound
of music is one of the greatest Musicals of all
time if I mean if you ask if you ask people that
know But they have even better ones that aren't
like mainstream as popular as the sound of music
like like I said carousel and West Side Story,
what about it? Is that a favorite? No. But I
mean, it's good. Nothing wrong with it, nothing
wrong with it. But the music is not like, the
music is not, it's not like big showy musical
music to me. And that's what I need in my life,
is big showy musical music. Yeah, Rocky Horror
Picture Show. Is that a musical? I thought it
was a movie. I guess Encanto is a musical, too.
Man, I don't want to alienate myself from everybody,
so I'm not going to say anything. Well, Danny,
I've taken up way too much of your time. To be
fair, you've taken up a lot of my time, too.
But wow, time well spent, time well wasted. Did
we spend it? Did we waste it? Doesn't sound like
a waste to me, man. Never. I had so much fun
speaking to you. I look forward to the time when
I can ask you the questions, because I know you
have a lot inside of you that you need to get
out too. Yeah, you know, that's something as
this podcast evolves, I want to flip the script
maybe towards the end of the episodes and let
the guest just ask away. But it's something that
I really try not to put too much of myself and
my opinion out there. Unless the conversation
starts calling for it, but I understood but you
are a Dan as I understand So it would totally
make sense for you to do. So you are a Dan as
I understand Yeah, I think that's I think that's
a lyric man. I think so Okay, thanks for having
me so much dude, it was it was really fun. Thanks
for asking the questions Yes, and please come
back on Let's just say I don't know in the spring
sometime as we get close to next summer whenever
you get another little break. Let's Let's check
back in. Danny Rubio, just the perfect guest.
Oh, once again, this old thing, stop it. Okay,
folks, remember, it'll be this coming weekend,
Scrooge the Musical at Dockville Farm. We got
Sister Act, the musical at Rivertown Theaters.
That's coming up in March. May. In May, I'm sorry
about that. Jesus Christ Superstar at JPEG, presented
by Jefferson Performing Arts Society, March 15th
to 24th. That's right. Go see what I know about
Danny and things that I don't know about Danny
Rubio. And there's your ride, so... Hey, that's
New Orleans for you, baby. It's good to hear
them moving around. Thank you again so much for
having me, Dan. I'll continue to listen to your
show. And I hope everybody continues to... to
tune into it and I do look forward to our spring
our spring fling that we have here soon and I'll
have the you are a damn as I understand song
ready to perform for you that night yes Danny
one final quick question would you if someone
gave you a gift card to a spa for a mani -pedi
are you are you all in I've never done it before
but sure why not okay On that note, I don't know
why that one came out, but it did. Folks, remember,
if you've got the itch for whatever it is, and
you feel like, no, I've been on the sidelines
too long, it's a young man's game, I don't know
if I got it anymore, get that thinking, that
negative thinking out of your head, start scratching
out some ideas, look for an opportunity, use
your network. You know people, if you're of a
certain age. and find a way to get back in there.
Danny's a great example of somebody who had to
twist around for a while, do some stuff, whatever.
And he's back and he's back in a big, big way.
And I'm so proud and better than ever and better
than ever. I'm so proud to call him, call him
a friend, call the fellow Cub fan and other things
that we share in common. And Danny, you have
a great rest of the evening. And folks, you have
a great rest of the week and we'll see you next
Sunday on the Dan Time Podcast. Thanks so much,
Danny. Thank you. Love you. Bye bye. All right.
If you love that episode, if you're enjoying
the Dan Time Podcast, be sure to download and
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Hope you have a great week. I'll see you next
Sunday.