WEBVTT 00:00:46.270 --> 00:00:49.490 Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. Fedden 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:52.549 here. We've got comedian Lanny Farmer on the 00:00:52.549 --> 00:00:55.630 podcast today. We had a great conversation before 00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:59.890 his show at Foundry a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, 00:00:59.929 --> 00:01:03.090 the video file did get corrupted. So this is 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:05.189 going to be an audio -only episode. And there 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:07.629 is a little bit of background noise because we 00:01:07.629 --> 00:01:10.489 recorded this in the club. I did get a few pics 00:01:10.489 --> 00:01:12.290 of them. They're up on the YouTube channel with 00:01:12.290 --> 00:01:15.900 the audio. And I'm going to be at Flickr. With 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:25.760 Lanny on November 18th. So come see us. Here's 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.640 my interview with Lanny. We got into it. Enjoy 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:32.420 our talk. Thanks for listening. Hit that subscribe 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:37.000 button. Tell a friend about the podcast. Welcome 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.439 to overeducated and underemployed. Fedden here. 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:48.840 We've got a... comedian Lanny Farmer on the podcast 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.439 today. We had a great conversation before his 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:59.540 show at the foundry a couple weeks ago. We did 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:03.099 lose, unfortunately the video got corrupted, 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:05.659 so this is going to be an audio only episode. 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:08.240 I did get a few pics of him, so they're up on 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:14.770 the YouTube channel with the audio. I'm going 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:18.030 to be up at Flicker Bar in Athens, Georgia on 00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:24.909 the 18th with Lanny. So if you're in Athens and 00:02:24.909 --> 00:02:30.110 you want to come check us out, do so. I'll have 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:41.060 more details soon about that show. Well, here's 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.699 my interview with Lanny Farmer. We got into it. 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:46.460 There was a bit of background noise because we 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:50.139 recorded it in the club before the show, but 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:55.599 I think you can hear us just fine. So enjoy our 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.539 talk. Thanks for listening, y 'all. Hit that 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:01.780 subscribe button. We're on Overeducated and Underemployed. 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:05.000 I'm here with Lanny Farmer. He's a comedian for 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:10.669 since 13 years now, right? 13 years, yeah. Honored 00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:12.710 to sit down with you, man. Happy to be here. 00:03:13.349 --> 00:03:15.669 I'm going to start with a variation of the question 00:03:15.669 --> 00:03:20.050 I ask everybody. And that is, what's the first 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:23.469 joke that you remember loving as a kid? Oh, man. 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:25.550 You should have given me time to think about 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:28.370 that. The first joke. That's a hard one. Let 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:30.629 me think about that. Can we come back to that? 00:03:30.770 --> 00:03:34.710 The first one that you remember, too. So, not 00:03:34.710 --> 00:03:36.530 necessarily the first one that you... I know, 00:03:36.530 --> 00:03:41.139 like, my... My grandfather told me, or he told 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:44.360 a lot of jokes. I don't know if any of them were 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.300 appropriate for children, but I probably didn't 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:50.580 understand them that much. Do you remember maybe 00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:53.080 the first thing that really stuck with you that 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:57.620 you wanted to retell? Or the first joke you wanted 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.780 to tell somebody else? I feel like that is... 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.819 Usually when I ask a musician that question, 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:06.300 I ask them what the first song they remember. 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:10.500 I think with a joke, it might be more like, what's 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:11.819 the first joke that you were like, I want to 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.740 tell this to somebody. I feel like one of my 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:18.600 favorite jokes, I think I like it so much because 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:21.680 it's about a farmer. And with my last name, I 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.779 always thought it was fun. But it was a farmer 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:28.240 walked into his bedroom with a chicken under 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.120 his arm. And his wife was in the bedroom and 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.060 he looked at his wife and he said, this is the 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:37.250 pig I've been screwing. And she goes, that's 00:04:37.250 --> 00:04:38.870 a chicken, you idiot. And he goes, I was talking 00:04:38.870 --> 00:04:42.410 to the chicken. That's like a street joke. Yeah, 00:04:42.509 --> 00:04:45.709 just classics. I heard that one and I was like, 00:04:45.790 --> 00:04:48.670 I like the misdirection of it. And I like the, 00:04:48.750 --> 00:04:51.089 I don't know, I just like the whole setup of 00:04:51.089 --> 00:04:53.610 the joke. Because it's fun to picture in your 00:04:53.610 --> 00:04:56.750 head that happening. So I like that joke a lot. 00:04:57.370 --> 00:05:00.310 Yeah, I think the first one for me, very similar 00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:03.009 kind of play on words, misdirection. It's who's 00:05:03.009 --> 00:05:06.089 on first. It was Adam Costello. My grandfather 00:05:06.089 --> 00:05:12.949 showed me that. I was hooked. Sketch comedy was 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.889 my first love when it came to comedy. Was it 00:05:15.889 --> 00:05:20.069 for you too, or did you like stand -up very early? 00:05:20.290 --> 00:05:24.350 I really liked sketch comedy growing up. I used 00:05:24.350 --> 00:05:28.490 to watch Mad TV and old SNL reruns on Comedy 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:31.089 Central. I think stand -up was something that 00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:36.149 I really liked more. I remember watching, just 00:05:36.149 --> 00:05:39.889 as a kid, my parents introduced me to Gallagher. 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:42.649 And that was probably the first stand -up that 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:46.470 I can recall. And now people make fun of it. 00:05:46.529 --> 00:05:49.370 But to me, as a kid, that's funny. Smashing watermelons? 00:05:49.370 --> 00:05:53.250 Hilarious. Yeah, then I got into Comedy Central 00:05:53.250 --> 00:05:57.470 Presents. I loved the 25 -minute specials that 00:05:57.470 --> 00:05:59.769 people would do. I fell in love with that. I 00:05:59.769 --> 00:06:02.730 fell in love with... One -liner type comedians. 00:06:02.850 --> 00:06:07.250 Yeah. I really liked play on words. British humor. 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:11.170 I feel like I can relate to that a lot. I like 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:16.449 the dry wit, the sarcasm type stuff. Yeah, that 00:06:16.449 --> 00:06:20.850 was... I did love sketch comedy growing up, though. 00:06:20.910 --> 00:06:24.449 I just don't think I was ever good at it. I got 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:27.329 you. My brain doesn't work that way to write 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:33.160 out sketches, but... Yeah. me neither i i enjoy 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:37.779 improv but sitting down to write sketch is like 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:39.699 one of the hardest things i think yeah it's like 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:42.720 i can it's always the ending i don't know how 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:46.740 to get like the big finale of it like i it's 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:49.579 hard it's with a joke it's like you have a setup 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:53.779 and a punch line but with to me i guess sketch 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:56.019 comedy is like telling a story and that's just 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:58.730 not something that i do when i do stand up so 00:06:58.730 --> 00:07:01.250 it's like it's harder for me to write in that 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:05.170 format and so many of those sketches just end 00:07:05.170 --> 00:07:10.009 yeah they don't really like like even the great 00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:13.750 snl sketches like yeah they just have an abrupt 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:17.889 kind of ending yeah like chapelle show was big 00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:20.930 for me me too when i was in middle school and 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:23.509 like high school that was like i think i've seen 00:07:23.509 --> 00:07:26.300 on the internet like That was memes before memes 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:30.240 were around, where we quoted Chappelle's show. 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.519 And that's very true. Me and my friends quoted 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:34.079 that show. And it's also part of why he, like, 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:35.939 stopped doing it. Yeah. Because it started getting 00:07:35.939 --> 00:07:39.019 quoted by the wrong people. Sure. Yeah, yeah. 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.220 Or, like, the people that, like, weren't in on 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:47.060 the joke. Yeah. But, so, at what point did you 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:52.230 start, like, performing? In any way, not just 00:07:52.230 --> 00:07:56.529 comedy. Did you start performing in school plays 00:07:56.529 --> 00:07:59.930 or anything like that? The first thing I remember 00:07:59.930 --> 00:08:04.110 doing in elementary school was I went to a Christian 00:08:04.110 --> 00:08:06.829 elementary school and my brother had a part in 00:08:06.829 --> 00:08:10.730 the school play. It was just basically standing 00:08:10.730 --> 00:08:15.029 there and moving. It wasn't speaking. And he 00:08:15.029 --> 00:08:18.939 got sick the night before the play. They got 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:21.699 me to fill in, and that was the first time, like, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:23.759 being in front of a crowd. And, like, I remember 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.980 being very nervous, even though it wasn't really, 00:08:26.019 --> 00:08:27.899 I was just literally standing there, but being 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.560 in front of that many people was scary. And then 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:35.080 I did some, I was forced to do, like, choir and 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.980 musical stuff in school because I was in a music 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.659 class, and they forced me to be in that, and 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:43.539 I didn't really enjoy that much. So are you not, 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:49.220 like, a music guy, really? high school and i 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:52.120 was the drummer but i enjoyed that the stuff 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.419 we were doing in like music class was like very 00:08:55.419 --> 00:09:00.120 like kind of corny songs about yeah it was very 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.440 corny to me and i just didn't it made me feel 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:06.100 weird but yeah i started playing i had to sing 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:08.320 like yankee do yeah like stuff like that whole 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.899 school yeah to me it was just like it was embarrassing 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:14.059 and my brother was at the same school and him 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:15.700 and his friends were like in the front row laughing 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:17.570 at me and i'm just like i don't want to I'm a 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:20.149 very, like, introverted person anyway, and I 00:09:20.149 --> 00:09:23.450 didn't like them laughing at me. And then... 00:09:23.450 --> 00:09:25.809 How did you, like, work through that? Because 00:09:25.809 --> 00:09:29.110 obviously, once you... As a stand -up, like, 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:32.250 that... Yeah. You're... I'm not saying that people 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:34.190 are always laughing at you, but you have to be 00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:36.970 willing to let them. Yeah. I'd say the first, 00:09:37.070 --> 00:09:40.789 probably, six or seven years of stand -up were 00:09:40.789 --> 00:09:43.529 really hard for me, just as far as, like, anxiety 00:09:43.529 --> 00:09:46.679 and stage fright. But then... After you do it 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:49.399 so many times, you let that feeling go of caring 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.080 what people think. And it's... I don't mind people 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.620 laughing at me now. Like, it's... If I do a joke 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:56.679 about myself, like, I want people to laugh at 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:00.799 it. Yeah, no. I think some of your best jokes 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:03.139 are, like, self -deprecating jokes. That's... 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:07.039 Like, in some ways, it's one of your things. 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:09.659 Right. Yeah, yeah. I think it's important to 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:11.779 let the audience know that it's okay to laugh 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:16.139 at myself. But when it... When I started making 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:19.159 fun of other things, it's okay, you guys laughed 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:21.019 at me. Now we're going to laugh at other stuff. 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:23.679 And if you're weird about that, just remember 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:27.919 you were laughing at me. To me, it's like a way 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:31.639 to disarm the audience. Okay, you were in on 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:33.200 the joke when I was joking about me, but now 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:36.059 when I'm joking about other things, don't be 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:39.980 like, oh, don't pull back on me for that. Right. 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:44.159 Yes. So what? brought you into stand -up in the 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.960 first place then if you had this like stage fright 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.019 and anxiety yeah that seems like a weird thing 00:10:50.019 --> 00:10:53.399 to want to even want to do i think i was very 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:57.220 i was very like shy introverted as a kid and 00:10:57.220 --> 00:11:00.440 i had anxiety so i think the thought process 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.519 was if i can do stand up which is something that 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:08.940 drives my anxiety to its highest level then like 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.710 other things won't bother me as much If I'm putting 00:11:11.710 --> 00:11:13.690 myself in a position where I'm like the most 00:11:13.690 --> 00:11:16.409 anxious and I survive it, then like other things 00:11:16.409 --> 00:11:18.750 will become easier. And it did help me a lot 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:21.309 as far as being able to like talk to people, 00:11:21.389 --> 00:11:25.490 not worry about the outcome of things. It's just, 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:28.409 yeah, with standup, it's a lot of us are worried 00:11:28.409 --> 00:11:30.990 about, are we going to do well? Are we going 00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:33.169 to, are people going to laugh? And now it's just, 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:35.570 I'm just going to do it. And if people don't 00:11:35.570 --> 00:11:37.370 like it, they don't like it. And that's, I almost 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:39.250 feel like you have to let go of that in order 00:11:39.250 --> 00:11:42.809 to be. The audience can tell if you care. Yeah. 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:47.149 The first few years were really hard for me when 00:11:47.149 --> 00:11:49.450 I would not do well because I would beat myself 00:11:49.450 --> 00:11:52.029 up. But now it's, you just have to let it go 00:11:52.029 --> 00:11:55.950 and just let, you know, the result doesn't matter 00:11:55.950 --> 00:12:00.350 as much as, I know that the stuff I've worked 00:12:00.350 --> 00:12:03.669 on does work. I know it can be funny. And just 00:12:03.669 --> 00:12:06.409 because some people didn't like it doesn't mean 00:12:06.409 --> 00:12:09.600 it's not going to work in other places. And it 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.960 can always be a learning experience, too. What 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:17.899 did you do? Did you just first sign up for open 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:22.360 mics? Did somebody encourage you to do it? I 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:26.480 was working a job. I started when I was 25. I 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.279 was working a job, and one of the guys that worked 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:31.580 there, he did stand -up. And I found one of his 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:34.940 videos. It wasn't great. He had just started, 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:37.940 so I wasn't expecting a lot. But he was brave 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:40.419 enough to do it. And then I just went to open 00:12:40.419 --> 00:12:43.080 mics and watched, and I was like, I don't think 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:45.159 I would be the worst one, which is the thing 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:46.700 I was just trying to avoid. I don't want to be 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.340 the worst one on the lineup. And then, yeah, 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:52.919 I just signed up for an open mic after six or 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.100 seven months of just riding and going to open 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:57.659 mics to hang out and watch. And then I did it 00:12:57.659 --> 00:12:59.960 at a bar where there was only like four people 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:03.139 there that night, just to get over the stage 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.620 fright and the overwhelmingness of... Did you 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:09.039 have a bunch of material before you signed up? 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:13.480 I had a good bit of material. I did know if it 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.840 would work. A lot of it was I ran it by my brother 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:21.139 or my mom and just thought, I was like, do you 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.840 think this is funny? I had some backlog stuff. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:28.899 Once I got into it, I started writing a lot more 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:31.980 because I started to get a feel for what I thought 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:34.960 would work on stage. It's weird how that happens, 00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:38.259 isn't it? It's like you go your whole life without 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:41.460 writing jokes and then once you open the floodgates 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:47.700 just a little bit. And for me, I like almost 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:50.940 immediately after performing my first few times 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:53.620 was like, this is what I like. I'm an comedian. 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:58.779 It was like a shift in identity. Even if I wasn't 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:01.360 like successful, like in the way that like someone 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.659 just says they're a guitar player or whatever. 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:08.970 That mental shift, I think, was part of the writing 00:14:08.970 --> 00:14:12.490 uptick. Did you have something similar when you 00:14:12.490 --> 00:14:18.250 started doing it? So I did a lot of public speaking 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:21.990 in other ways long before I did stand -up. So 00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:25.230 that was not something I had to overcome. So 00:14:25.230 --> 00:14:27.549 the moment I started, I was like, oh, this is 00:14:27.549 --> 00:14:29.389 the kind of public speaking I should be doing. 00:14:29.990 --> 00:14:34.559 Did you fall in love with it right away? first 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:38.200 show i was still i liked doing it and it wasn't 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:42.299 as scary as i thought it was gonna be and then 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.639 it took a few shows where i was like okay i'm 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.700 enjoying this because i was still like getting 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:52.059 i'd get like sweaty and sick before the show 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:54.320 so i was like i don't enjoy that part but the 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.320 performance says it's like we're putting ourselves 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.000 through a car wreck every time we go yeah i mean 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:02.460 it it Definitely in the beginning it was probably 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:05.940 like that. Now it's more like I'm very okay with 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:08.899 whatever happens. But yeah, in the beginning 00:15:08.899 --> 00:15:11.340 it was like I felt like I had something to prove 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:15.019 and you want to do well every show and then that 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:18.759 perfectionist mentality of, oh, I want to destroy 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:21.000 every time I get on stage. And this is not the 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:22.879 reality. You have to give yourself permission 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:25.200 to fail. Do you think you get better when you 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.970 do well or when you do bad? I think the only 00:15:28.970 --> 00:15:31.629 way you get better is by doing poorly. It's like 00:15:31.629 --> 00:15:34.830 anything else, you have to be bad at it for a 00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:37.610 while before you get good at it. And it's just 00:15:37.610 --> 00:15:41.309 giving yourself that leeway to be bad at it. 00:15:41.629 --> 00:15:47.490 I still see that with newer comedians. It's like 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:49.669 they're beating themselves up in the first year. 00:15:49.809 --> 00:15:51.210 They're like, oh, I'm not good at this. I'm like, 00:15:51.250 --> 00:15:55.070 yeah, none of us were. It takes time, unfortunately. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:57.799 it does take a lot of time and that's why there's 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:00.500 so many people that like don't keep doing it 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:04.120 yeah you have to really want it yeah yeah yeah 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:06.539 it's something you definitely have to like really 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:09.500 be in love with to me it's still a hobby for 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:12.700 me like I don't do it full time but it's something 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:16.539 that you know it still excites me and it gives 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:20.279 me like a feeling that I don't get from others 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:23.679 doing other things it's definitely to me it's 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.049 better than it's a better feeling than when i 00:16:26.049 --> 00:16:28.850 played music but you think it comes from the 00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:33.909 same place maybe i know when i was in a band 00:16:33.909 --> 00:16:37.169 i was because i was the drummer i was in the 00:16:37.169 --> 00:16:40.970 back and no one really saw me if i messed up 00:16:40.970 --> 00:16:43.250 people would notice but i was in the shadows 00:16:43.250 --> 00:16:46.389 not really seen so that made it easier and i 00:16:46.389 --> 00:16:49.370 was on stage with other people to me comedy is 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:51.690 more it's really like you're putting yourself 00:16:51.690 --> 00:16:56.860 out there and really being exposed to to a crowd 00:16:56.860 --> 00:17:00.639 that will they can love it or hate it and that's 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.980 with music if people clap it's okay we're doing 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:06.339 well but like with comedy you have to be getting 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:09.400 laughs or you're like i suck at this yeah and 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.619 not only that like you can have a good show with 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:14.279 no audience yeah if you're in a band yeah you 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:17.039 can still have a pretty pretty fun time if you're 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.380 in a band and you're just there's only two people 00:17:19.380 --> 00:17:21.819 there you're still having fun with your friends 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:25.369 but with comedy it's I do watching my friends 00:17:25.369 --> 00:17:27.910 bomb, like my comedian friends. That's really 00:17:27.910 --> 00:17:31.990 fun to me. I mean, it's, yeah, it's, I think 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:34.730 it's just because it's such a like shared experience 00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:36.849 with comedians. It's like, we've all been there 00:17:36.849 --> 00:17:39.490 and like, maybe you're just a little, you're 00:17:39.490 --> 00:17:41.690 happy that it's not happening to you in that 00:17:41.690 --> 00:17:45.329 moment, but it's, we've all been there. I feel 00:17:45.329 --> 00:17:48.589 like at least if I'm laughing at them, then somebody, 00:17:48.650 --> 00:17:50.630 at least somebody's laughing. It might be for 00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:53.210 the reasons, the wrong reasons. Yeah. I always 00:17:53.210 --> 00:17:56.069 try to, if I feel like someone had a bad set 00:17:56.069 --> 00:18:01.029 or bombed, I try to just encourage them, maybe 00:18:01.029 --> 00:18:05.269 not make fun of them, because when you're friends 00:18:05.269 --> 00:18:07.750 with comedians, they're all like, they'll make 00:18:07.750 --> 00:18:12.450 fun of you, which is fine. Oh, no. Yeah. I think 00:18:12.450 --> 00:18:16.589 that's part of, like, I don't even, I don't make 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:21.029 fun of the people I like. Yeah. But it's also, 00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:23.730 we'll make fun of each other and then be like 00:18:23.730 --> 00:18:26.430 maybe these people are just having a bad night 00:18:26.430 --> 00:18:29.250 or could be the audience maybe it was you who 00:18:29.250 --> 00:18:32.970 knows just we'll move on to the next one I think 00:18:32.970 --> 00:18:36.130 it's more like for me in the moment if I'm the 00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:39.009 only one laughing then at least somebody's laughing 00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:43.049 yeah I will say I've done shows where I'm bombing 00:18:43.049 --> 00:18:46.930 and I would have either the guy running the show 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:50.210 or someone else on the show laugh And that kind 00:18:50.210 --> 00:18:52.549 of hurt more than nobody laughing because I'm 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:54.670 just like, oh, I don't know if they're mocking 00:18:54.670 --> 00:18:57.130 me or they're just like, they feel bad for me. 00:18:57.569 --> 00:19:00.410 See, I always think at least the comedians think 00:19:00.410 --> 00:19:03.410 I'm funny. Yeah. In my head, though, it's the 00:19:03.410 --> 00:19:06.609 comedians are like the only ones laughing. You're 00:19:06.609 --> 00:19:10.309 like, oh, I'm not doing well. Oh, man. I'm sure 00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:13.029 it's. Now you've just ruined half of my night. 00:19:13.509 --> 00:19:16.490 No, no, no, no. I'm sure when you do it, it's 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:18.539 fine. But I've had. It's like when a comedian's 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:21.079 in the back and they just go, huh? Something 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:24.480 like that. It's like you know they're like making 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:29.259 fun of you. Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I think bad 00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:33.200 shows have taught me more. When you have a good 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.640 show, it's like you don't really reflect on it 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:38.740 as much. Or at least I don't. I'm just like, 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.039 oh, I did well. That's cool. But when I do bad, 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:43.279 I'm like, okay, here's what I messed up on. Here's 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:47.440 what I need to work on. It forces me to. hone 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:50.119 in and like rewrite stuff it makes me work a 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:52.920 little more yeah and also I think bombing really 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.619 it is weird and I've talked to other comedians 00:19:55.619 --> 00:19:59.279 about this where like you'll have two good shows 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:03.799 three bad shows and it'll be like hills and valleys 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:07.559 and it's I think you need that to kind of keep 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:11.440 a keep your head straight and keep a little figure 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:16.799 out what works yeah yeah do you think that Your 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.400 desire to create, whether it was music or comedy, 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.380 do you think that comes from the same place? 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:28.700 I think it probably does. With music, I wrote 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:32.339 some music by myself, and it's writing lyrics 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:35.480 and riffs. When you come up with something that 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:37.480 you like, it's like, oh, this is cool. I want 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.940 to share this with people. And I think it's the 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:41.680 same with comedy. When I come up with a joke, 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.960 I'm like, oh, this is cool. I can't wait to try 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.579 this joke out. But then ironically, it's like 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:49.759 those jokes that I'm most excited about usually 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:52.180 are the ones that don't work. And I'm like, I 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:54.119 was really excited about this joke, and no one 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:57.299 likes it. Do you, like, belligerently stick with 00:20:57.299 --> 00:20:59.259 them longer than you should? Oh, yeah. Yeah, 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:01.319 me too. I'll stick with a joke, and I'm just 00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:03.700 like, I really need to, and I'll talk with people 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:05.380 about it. I'm like, I really need to stop doing 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:06.599 this joke. And they're like, yeah, you probably 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.900 should. But it's like, I just, it is, it's like 00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:11.940 a weird puzzle, and it's like, I want to figure 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:15.500 out. how to get this to work even if it's like 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:19.940 a just a bizarre premise that like only a few 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:23.720 people would get i want it to work and yeah i 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:26.559 feel like i feel like sometimes it's okay to 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.220 have a joke in there just for you and it's also 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:31.299 one of those things you can come back to a joke 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:34.339 five years from now and be like oh i figured 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:37.079 it out it took me a while but i think or sometimes 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:39.180 you're just not ready for it yeah yeah sometimes 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:42.279 it's just you gotta make fly yeah johnny you 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:44.900 gotta put it on the back burner and just work 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:47.680 on other stuff and eventually something will 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:51.880 come. At what point did you decide you were going 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:55.660 to like, like really, cause you say it's still 00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:58.160 a hobby, but I feel like there was a shift at 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:02.259 one point where the last five years you've really 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:06.079 been going for it in a way that you weren't before. 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:09.720 Yeah. I think the pandemic kind of shifted my, 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:12.440 my thought process because That's when I started 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:17.579 hosting shows. I got asked at the Jittery Joe's 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:21.059 in Bethlehem, where I live near there. They wanted 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:22.779 to start a show because they had a patio and 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:26.140 we could do it outside. And the manager asked 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:28.559 me and I was like, I've never really hosted a 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:30.400 show. I'm not sure I'd be good at it. But then 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:33.299 I was like, I'm not doing comedy at all. Everything's 00:22:33.299 --> 00:22:36.640 shut down. So I started that. And then I realized 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:40.430 that I liked hosting and booking shows. So I 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:42.450 started getting into that. And I guess, yeah, 00:22:42.470 --> 00:22:46.549 I guess just when comedy was taken away from 00:22:46.549 --> 00:22:50.750 us for that chunk of time, I was like, this is 00:22:50.750 --> 00:22:53.029 something that I really want to do and I'm going 00:22:53.029 --> 00:22:56.990 to fight to do it. And I think that kind of made 00:22:56.990 --> 00:23:00.009 me put myself out there a little more, do more 00:23:00.009 --> 00:23:04.589 shows, do shows that maybe I knew I wouldn't 00:23:04.589 --> 00:23:07.109 necessarily be comfortable in those situations. 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:09.839 Doing shows where I knew there was not going 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:13.220 to be anyone there or do shows where it's, I 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:15.380 don't know how to explain it. Sometimes it just 00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:18.220 turned into a comedy workshop. There's like certain 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:21.160 venues where I'm like, okay, I know my jokes 00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:26.480 don't go over well here. I started doing shows 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.339 at like retirement homes. And I was like, I don't 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:31.839 think they're going to enjoy my style of comedy. 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:35.799 But then it forced me to change my style of comedy 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:39.319 to be. to write more clean jokes, to write jokes 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:44.019 that can work in most venues. Yeah, no, I think 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:47.539 that is something that comedians should do more 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:50.680 of. Is put themselves in situations where they're 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:54.140 not... I think we all should have our rooms where 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:56.380 we can say whatever the fuck we want. But at 00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.799 the same time, I don't think that having some 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:05.220 constraint put on your set is a bad thing once 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:07.869 in a while. I think it forces you to be more 00:24:07.869 --> 00:24:11.930 creative and come up with stuff that you not 00:24:11.930 --> 00:24:15.269 necessarily would have done if those restrictions 00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:18.109 weren't on you. Even just telling it a different 00:24:18.109 --> 00:24:20.670 way or something like that. Or taking your dirty 00:24:20.670 --> 00:24:22.869 jokes and figuring out a way to make them clean. 00:24:23.289 --> 00:24:26.309 That's something I've done a lot. Nate came up 00:24:26.309 --> 00:24:29.029 in regular comedy clubs, but his goal was to 00:24:29.029 --> 00:24:32.170 not let the other comedians realize he was clean. 00:24:34.109 --> 00:24:36.170 He was, like, not going around telling people 00:24:36.170 --> 00:24:40.029 he was a clean comic. He just was. Yeah. And 00:24:40.029 --> 00:24:42.750 it probably took two or three specials for it 00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:46.750 to dawn on me. Yeah. I feel that way about, like, 00:24:46.750 --> 00:24:49.369 Jim Gaffigan. Like, I never considered him, like, 00:24:49.410 --> 00:24:52.730 a clean comedian, but then when you sit back 00:24:52.730 --> 00:24:55.329 and look at his materials, oh, yeah, he doesn't 00:24:55.329 --> 00:24:57.410 really cuss or do anything. Yeah, definitely. 00:24:57.410 --> 00:25:00.109 He's probably more friendly than Nate in some 00:25:00.109 --> 00:25:02.589 ways. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I think... 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:06.400 that's if you can get if you can do that like 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:10.279 that's to me that's a really amazing yeah I don't 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:13.099 think that I think there's a place for dirty 00:25:13.099 --> 00:25:14.920 jokes and jokes that aren't for everybody but 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.539 I do think that that is the mark of a really 00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:23.039 really good comic somebody who can do jokes for 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.819 and if you're just like a dirty comedian it really 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:30.460 limits your opportunities because even when I 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:34.430 do hosting sets at clubs they're like they'll 00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:37.890 say be clean something you would see like tv 00:25:37.890 --> 00:25:43.430 clean and if i hadn't my show in bethlehem was 00:25:43.430 --> 00:25:45.190 a clean show because it had to be because it 00:25:45.190 --> 00:25:49.289 was a coffee shop so if i hadn't worked on that 00:25:49.289 --> 00:25:54.029 skill i probably wouldn't get as many opportunities 00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:56.990 as i get because i can do both i can be there's 00:25:56.990 --> 00:25:59.839 like profanity laws in georgia oh really I think 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:02.720 that's part of why they have to have it's like 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:05.380 an open air. I know like when we were at Jittery 00:26:05.380 --> 00:26:08.539 Joe's, the owner had little kids and families 00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:10.920 could just walk. The coffee shop was still open, 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:13.420 so kids and families could walk in at any time. 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:17.559 So they just told us to be aware of that. But 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:19.619 I talked to a lot of comedians that have done 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.900 that show, and they're happy that it's there 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:26.200 because it allows them to work on that skill. 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:31.849 to work on being clean. To me, it really opens 00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:35.369 you up and can help you get more opportunities 00:26:35.369 --> 00:26:38.450 as a comedian, which is always cool. What are 00:26:38.450 --> 00:26:41.890 some of the biggest challenges for you when you're 00:26:41.890 --> 00:26:47.769 writing jokes or performing in a club, like personally? 00:26:48.210 --> 00:26:50.329 I think the biggest challenges for me writing 00:26:50.329 --> 00:26:53.789 jokes is I'm not one of those comedians that 00:26:53.789 --> 00:26:56.940 sits down and writes every day. I'm very much, 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:00.500 when it comes to me, I'll jot it down. I'm that 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:03.279 way, too. Yeah, and then sometimes I'm bad about 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.160 not jotting it down. I'm like, oh, I'll remember 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:06.799 that. That's pretty funny. I'll remember that. 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:09.420 And then I won't. And then I'm just like, yeah. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.819 Now it's if anything pops in my head, I'm like, 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:16.380 just type it out. Put it in your notes and just 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:21.880 performing at clubs. To me, hosting is, it's 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:24.619 difficult. It's not difficult, but it's out of 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:27.970 my comfort zone. Just because, to me, if you're 00:27:27.970 --> 00:27:33.329 a host, I thought you had to be this very energetic, 00:27:33.710 --> 00:27:35.690 hey, everybody, you know, that kind of person. 00:27:36.069 --> 00:27:39.549 That's just not my personality. I'm very, like, 00:27:39.589 --> 00:27:43.029 stand still, hear some jokes. And I was like, 00:27:43.069 --> 00:27:45.529 I don't know if this is going to work for a host. 00:27:46.170 --> 00:27:50.980 But I found out that people do like that. You 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:53.460 can still be warm and inviting to people, but 00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:56.539 still be yourself. But you do have to put on 00:27:56.539 --> 00:27:59.380 the fake, what's up, everybody? How's everybody 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.920 doing? That's difficult for me to do. Yeah, yeah. 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:06.000 That's impossible for me. It's hard for me to 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.079 be like, if I try to fake enthusiastic, you can 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:11.980 tell that it's not real. And I'm worried that 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:14.859 people see that. Same. I feel like if I hosted, 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:17.200 I would have to actually think everybody on the 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:19.420 show was really funny. Yeah. Because if they 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:21.619 weren't. The audience would be like, I don't 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:24.380 believe that this is happening. I've been very 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:26.880 lucky that everyone that I've worked with as 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:29.900 far as like at comedy clubs, they've been really 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:32.519 funny. So it's like I don't have to like, all 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:35.579 the shows I've done that say like the punchline, 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:37.880 I've been excited to do. Like I've heard of the 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:39.980 person or I've watched some of their stuff and 00:28:39.980 --> 00:28:42.640 I'm just like, these are funny people. I'm actually 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:47.460 excited to be part of it. But even... even if 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:49.519 I wasn't I feel like I've gotten to the point 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:51.960 now where it's like I've gotten better at the 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:55.819 being warm and inviting and like making people 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:58.200 be like think this is going to be a great show 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:02.400 even if maybe I'm not sold on it yet I'm just 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:06.380 like it's you have to be like a salesman in a 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:08.380 way and I'm not I don't I never thought that 00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:11.140 was a skill that I had so it's like hard for 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:14.779 me to do that but it's gotten easier yeah that's 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:18.119 probably my and then My challenges with hosting 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:21.740 shows is you kind of have to be on, like, top 00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:25.359 of things. I'm not the best at remembering names, 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:27.980 so I'm in the back, like, going over the person's 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:30.359 name over and over. I've literally, like, called 00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:32.759 somebody their own name before. Yeah, yeah, I've 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:36.220 done that. I've said the name wrong even after 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:39.359 I asked. And I think it's those little mistakes 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:42.200 that, like, it makes you a better comedian because 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:45.569 you're going to make mistakes. It's fine. Just 00:29:45.569 --> 00:29:48.930 do the best you can. This was another tip one 00:29:48.930 --> 00:29:51.789 of the club owners gave me. He told me that after 00:29:51.789 --> 00:29:56.490 I do my host set, don't say, okay, you're first 00:29:56.490 --> 00:29:58.630 comedian coming up. Because that's not the first 00:29:58.630 --> 00:30:00.769 comedian. You're the first comedian. And it's 00:30:00.769 --> 00:30:03.630 like you have to have that confidence in yourself. 00:30:03.829 --> 00:30:05.910 And that was something that I struggle with sometimes. 00:30:06.750 --> 00:30:09.309 I'm just the host. But the host is a pretty important 00:30:09.309 --> 00:30:12.089 part of the show. You're warming up the crowd. 00:30:12.369 --> 00:30:15.349 And sometimes the host isn't. necessarily a comic. 00:30:16.329 --> 00:30:19.569 Sometimes they're hosting because they're not 00:30:19.569 --> 00:30:23.210 that funny. When you're hosting at a club and 00:30:23.210 --> 00:30:25.430 you're doing a 10 minute set to warm the crowd 00:30:25.430 --> 00:30:29.789 up, you're help steering the boat in the right 00:30:29.789 --> 00:30:33.589 direction. Some people will be like, oh, it's 00:30:33.589 --> 00:30:35.670 just the host. I know no one's there to see me. 00:30:35.769 --> 00:30:39.470 I'm not on the marquee. I'm not on any of the 00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:43.630 promotional material. That job is so important 00:30:43.630 --> 00:30:46.849 to get it going in the right direction. Because 00:30:46.849 --> 00:30:49.630 if you get up there and suck the energy out of 00:30:49.630 --> 00:30:51.230 the room, the feature and the headliner are going 00:30:51.230 --> 00:30:55.630 to be like, what happened? What do you do to 00:30:55.630 --> 00:30:58.289 recover from that? Because we've all done that. 00:30:58.369 --> 00:31:03.490 Oh, yeah. What's your best way? I just try if 00:31:03.490 --> 00:31:06.369 I see the material. I did this one show, and 00:31:06.369 --> 00:31:08.990 it was for these two guys that were really big 00:31:08.990 --> 00:31:11.369 on social media. And they did a lot of crowd 00:31:11.369 --> 00:31:15.009 work stuff. But as the host at this particular 00:31:15.009 --> 00:31:17.690 club, they told you not really to do crowd work 00:31:17.690 --> 00:31:19.849 because you don't want to get them riled up. 00:31:20.390 --> 00:31:24.329 But that's what they wanted. And I did my material, 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:27.809 and they just were staring at me. So then I would 00:31:27.809 --> 00:31:29.309 address it, and I'd be like, okay, that sucked. 00:31:29.410 --> 00:31:32.390 And then I started leaning more into getting 00:31:32.390 --> 00:31:35.809 them involved. And that kind of helped open them 00:31:35.809 --> 00:31:37.829 up. And then when the feature and the headliner 00:31:37.829 --> 00:31:41.819 did it, they did it a lot better. it made the 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:44.960 show start to go in the right direction. But 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:46.700 it was like a younger crowd, so they were probably 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:48.980 more on like TikTok and stuff where they've seen 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:50.579 the crowd work clips, so that's what they were 00:31:50.579 --> 00:31:54.339 expecting. Yeah. And I'm not a big crowd work 00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:58.359 guy. I'm very... It's a weird trend. It's... 00:31:58.359 --> 00:32:01.579 I don't... We were actually... Me and a couple 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:02.880 people were talking about this the other day 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:06.920 where they saw a comedian at a club. And when 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:08.559 they would talk to someone in the crowd, like 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:10.740 there'd be like a camera crew, like flood them, 00:32:10.859 --> 00:32:13.619 attack the person they were talking to. And to 00:32:13.619 --> 00:32:15.960 me, that's just, that's so strange. I wouldn't 00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:17.859 want that. That is really bizarre. I wouldn't 00:32:17.859 --> 00:32:20.579 want, like if they talked to me and then there 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:22.059 were like three camera people around me, I'd 00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:23.299 be like, oh no, I don't want to, I don't want 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:25.900 to do this anymore. I don't want to. That's really 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:27.839 bizarre. I didn't even think about the production 00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:31.440 behind it. Yeah. I mean, good, good for them. 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:34.500 They figured out a way to, to promote themselves 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:39.119 and get. social media hits and that's part of 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:43.539 the game now do you think you're like i think 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:47.059 most comedians musicians artists of all kinds 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:50.359 it comes from like a place of darkness sometimes 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:53.359 it's internal sometimes it's external sometimes 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:57.140 a tough upbringing sometimes it's anxiety and 00:32:57.140 --> 00:33:01.220 depression or any combination of those what's 00:33:01.220 --> 00:33:05.599 yours definitely the anxiety part was part of 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:09.519 it. I feel I always I've always wanted to like 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:13.500 I always wanted to have the bravery to be like 00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:16.180 the class clown like I wanted to say things and 00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:18.240 like people laugh and be like hey high five and 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:22.460 all that nonsense and I'm very like a shy kind 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:24.940 of person I didn't talk a lot in school mostly 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:27.059 because I didn't want to get in trouble and I 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:31.599 think now it's like this is your it's okay to 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:35.519 speak now it's okay to tell jokes and like people 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:39.599 come to see that it's i think it's anything else 00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:44.880 maybe not feeling like you fit in i was in school 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:48.579 and stuff i was trying to find like where i kind 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:51.420 of belonged in the social hierarchy and all that 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:55.059 stuff and i think that kind of affected me like 00:33:55.059 --> 00:33:58.619 wanting to have wanted to have like more friends 00:33:58.619 --> 00:34:02.299 and make people laugh and stuff and now it's 00:34:03.049 --> 00:34:06.450 I think that affects me now because I want to 00:34:06.450 --> 00:34:10.690 help people have a good time. And if, I don't 00:34:10.690 --> 00:34:14.070 know. I don't know if that makes any sense. It 00:34:14.070 --> 00:34:17.030 makes total sense to me. I think that's what 00:34:17.030 --> 00:34:20.650 frustrates me so much. When people get mad at 00:34:20.650 --> 00:34:24.050 comedians for making an offensive joke. I've 00:34:24.050 --> 00:34:26.190 never met a comic that was trying to do anything. 00:34:27.170 --> 00:34:29.829 You just want to make people laugh and have fun. 00:34:30.389 --> 00:34:34.909 Have a better time. that's not the way that people 00:34:34.909 --> 00:34:39.750 handle certain things, and that's okay, but we're 00:34:39.750 --> 00:34:43.809 not coming to it with malice. Sometimes a boo 00:34:43.809 --> 00:34:46.690 is just as much as... Sometimes I like a boo. 00:34:46.690 --> 00:34:49.789 A reaction is good. I like a couple of groans 00:34:49.789 --> 00:34:53.690 here and there in the set. It's like that thing, 00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:57.349 I don't know, that feeling of wanting to... Be 00:34:57.349 --> 00:35:01.730 accepted. Yeah, be accepted, I guess. To be good 00:35:01.730 --> 00:35:04.460 at something. to feel like people are listening 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:06.639 to you. And like when you do comedy, they're 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:09.340 forced to listen to you. I don't know, just stuff 00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:13.739 like that. Yeah. I think those are pretty, those 00:35:13.739 --> 00:35:17.360 are pretty universal. Yeah. I've listened to 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:20.840 Neil Brennan talk a lot about dudes stand out. 00:35:21.179 --> 00:35:24.719 And I think it requires, it almost requires a 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.460 certain level of narcissism. I think so, yeah. 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:31.420 And I think that's, I think that's what I like 00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:35.610 about comedy is, it really gives and takes because 00:35:35.610 --> 00:35:37.530 like you can have a couple of good shows and 00:35:37.530 --> 00:35:39.610 you're like oh yeah I'm the man I'm killing it 00:35:39.610 --> 00:35:41.570 blah blah blah but then you have that show that's 00:35:41.570 --> 00:35:44.630 gonna humble you very quickly and I think that's 00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:47.889 good because it really I know for me it's like 00:35:47.889 --> 00:35:50.150 when I started out and I would do well I'm like 00:35:50.150 --> 00:35:53.650 oh this is I'm so good at this this is easy and 00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:55.949 then you would bomb and it's like god I hate 00:35:55.949 --> 00:35:59.730 this and it's to me it was it's a good way to 00:35:59.730 --> 00:36:03.400 keep the ego in check I'm at the point now where 00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:07.119 I tell myself, okay, I've had three good shows. 00:36:07.219 --> 00:36:09.699 I know one's coming where I'm not going to. It's 00:36:09.699 --> 00:36:12.739 coming. And I think that really. You really lean 00:36:12.739 --> 00:36:15.519 into it really hard. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. When 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:20.340 I start bombing, you just have to accept it and 00:36:20.340 --> 00:36:23.800 be like, okay, I've got 20 more minutes up here. 00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:26.880 It's going to be a long 20 minutes. We're going 00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:29.860 to keep digging until hopefully something works, 00:36:29.920 --> 00:36:33.320 and if not. That's fine, too, but I think just 00:36:33.320 --> 00:36:36.000 putting in the effort there is important. I think 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:38.139 self -awareness is really important. There's 00:36:38.139 --> 00:36:40.300 so many comics that go up there and bomb and 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:44.340 get off, and they're like, oh, I'm a freak. They 00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:48.860 do not see the same thing, but yeah. Part of 00:36:48.860 --> 00:36:52.260 me wishes I had a little more delusion where 00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:55.559 I'm not too hard on myself. I'm like, oh, I bombed, 00:36:55.599 --> 00:37:00.420 but I did pretty good. I like the self -reflection. 00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:04.539 When you don't do well, it really is. It's the 00:37:04.539 --> 00:37:07.199 best teacher. When you don't do well, you re 00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:12.800 -examine it. Some people will quit, and I'm too 00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:14.940 deep now to quit, so I just have to sit in it 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:16.840 and hopefully get a little better at it. I've 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:19.199 said way too many things on stage to get a real 00:37:19.199 --> 00:37:22.460 job. Yeah, I've posted too many clips. But I 00:37:22.460 --> 00:37:27.090 actually did once get a contracting job. for 00:37:27.090 --> 00:37:30.230 social media work because they had seen my stand 00:37:30.230 --> 00:37:32.010 -up and they thought it was funny and they were 00:37:32.010 --> 00:37:34.869 looking for someone to do funny stuff for them. 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:36.869 So I was like, okay, so maybe it's not all bad. 00:37:38.250 --> 00:37:40.809 I feel like I'm just going to get a social media 00:37:40.809 --> 00:37:44.969 editing job. You're not funny, but you really 00:37:44.969 --> 00:37:47.090 can edit. Yeah, you're getting really good at 00:37:47.090 --> 00:37:50.210 social media. Content's not great, but yeah. 00:37:51.449 --> 00:37:55.900 So what's your goal? Do you have a goal? To me, 00:37:55.920 --> 00:37:58.719 like, comedy is, I think the reason I love comedy 00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:01.960 so much is because it's always been very go with 00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:05.820 the flow. I don't really have, I've had little 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:10.119 goals along the way. And as I meet certain goals, 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:11.960 like, I'll be like, okay, I'll come up with another 00:38:11.960 --> 00:38:16.219 one. I'm not really vocal about them. Like, I'm 00:38:16.219 --> 00:38:19.639 just, and they're not, they don't make or break 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:22.199 me if I don't reach those goals. But they're 00:38:22.199 --> 00:38:24.380 just, like, little things I'd like to accomplish. 00:38:25.159 --> 00:38:30.420 Right now, my big goal is to be more of a feature 00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:34.880 at clubs than just a host. I like the host. I 00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:36.860 think it's fun. But I think, to me, featuring 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:39.880 is the sweet spot. That's where I'd like to end 00:38:39.880 --> 00:38:45.159 up in the next couple of years. But, yeah, it 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:48.920 is cool, though, when you accomplish goals, like 00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:51.880 little goals at one point. I think it means that 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:55.070 you're improving. Things are happening. Because 00:38:55.070 --> 00:38:58.110 comedy is really easy. It's a thing where you 00:38:58.110 --> 00:39:00.690 can really easily get down on yourself. You'll 00:39:00.690 --> 00:39:03.590 see other comedians doing really well or advancing 00:39:03.590 --> 00:39:05.409 quicker than you. Yeah, and there's a lot of 00:39:05.409 --> 00:39:09.269 toxic competitiveness sometimes. I haven't noticed 00:39:09.269 --> 00:39:12.250 it as much up here. Yeah, Athens. I think Athens 00:39:12.250 --> 00:39:15.070 has a really positive scene overall. And I'd 00:39:15.070 --> 00:39:18.090 be lying if I said that I didn't get like that 00:39:18.090 --> 00:39:20.110 sometimes internally, where I'm like, oh, this 00:39:20.110 --> 00:39:23.519 person got that. And it's the same thing with 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:26.699 keeping that ego in check. You've got to just... 00:39:26.699 --> 00:39:30.500 Psychedelic drugs are good. Okay. My thing is 00:39:30.500 --> 00:39:33.300 just be happy for the person. That opportunity 00:39:33.300 --> 00:39:35.679 wasn't meant for me. There are other opportunities 00:39:35.679 --> 00:39:37.659 that are meant for me. I just have to find them. 00:39:37.940 --> 00:39:41.699 And I feel like the path I'm on is different 00:39:41.699 --> 00:39:45.659 than other comedians. I've been building a lot 00:39:45.659 --> 00:39:50.300 of shows and doing shows outside of Georgia. 00:39:57.380 --> 00:40:01.500 building your own path is to me has been more 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:04.260 rewarding because it's like i'm getting shows 00:40:04.260 --> 00:40:08.199 that are like off the beaten path i'll do like 00:40:08.199 --> 00:40:11.659 get random shows in different states and to me 00:40:11.659 --> 00:40:15.179 that's exciting but yeah there's so many different 00:40:15.179 --> 00:40:17.889 paths with comedy a lot of people yeah i think 00:40:17.889 --> 00:40:20.849 and figure out their own way hank green who's 00:40:20.849 --> 00:40:23.010 like a he's like a youtuber he does a lot of 00:40:23.010 --> 00:40:26.070 science videos but put out a video pretty recently 00:40:26.070 --> 00:40:30.090 i don't really have goals i just try and do what 00:40:30.090 --> 00:40:32.829 i have with the tools that i have in my toolbox 00:40:32.829 --> 00:40:35.530 and i relate to that a lot like i don't necessarily 00:40:35.530 --> 00:40:38.050 know where i'm going yeah so i'm going to keep 00:40:38.050 --> 00:40:39.769 moving forward yeah there's like subconscious 00:40:39.769 --> 00:40:43.690 goals that you when you when stuff happens you're 00:40:43.690 --> 00:40:46.550 like oh i did want to do this and but you just 00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:49.530 didn't really verbalize it or write it down or 00:40:49.530 --> 00:40:53.230 whatever it just sometimes things just happen 00:40:53.230 --> 00:40:56.650 and you didn't realize that was the thing that 00:40:56.650 --> 00:40:59.190 you wanted you get an opportunity and you're 00:40:59.190 --> 00:41:01.130 like oh I really enjoy this and I never would 00:41:01.130 --> 00:41:04.110 have thought of it if I wouldn't have thought 00:41:04.110 --> 00:41:07.250 of this organically but this door opened and 00:41:07.250 --> 00:41:08.869 I went through it and I'm like oh this is pretty 00:41:08.869 --> 00:41:12.489 cool what's so as someone who's been doing comedy 00:41:12.489 --> 00:41:15.460 for like well over a decade now How have you 00:41:15.460 --> 00:41:17.860 seen it change in the last, like really the last 00:41:17.860 --> 00:41:20.400 three years? I feel like there's been like a 00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:23.519 drastic shift in a lot of what's going on. How 00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:25.539 has comedy changed in the last three years? Right, 00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:27.719 right. So yeah, in the last three years, I think 00:41:27.719 --> 00:41:30.320 it's gotten, there's a lot of people that think 00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:33.820 they can do it that aren't funny. A lot of people 00:41:33.820 --> 00:41:36.340 that think they can just be offensive. And then 00:41:36.340 --> 00:41:38.679 also, I think on the other side of that, I think 00:41:38.679 --> 00:41:41.730 there's a lot of people that have been. Like, 00:41:41.730 --> 00:41:45.510 overly gatekeeping. Like, about trying to tell 00:41:45.510 --> 00:41:48.150 people what they can and can't say. When to me, 00:41:48.210 --> 00:41:50.809 you just got to be funny. And the audience will 00:41:50.809 --> 00:41:53.409 tell you whether it's okay or not. Obviously, 00:41:53.489 --> 00:41:55.389 there's certain things that, like, nobody should 00:41:55.389 --> 00:42:01.190 say. I think just in the last three years, I 00:42:01.190 --> 00:42:03.170 know we were talking about the crowd work stuff. 00:42:03.349 --> 00:42:05.289 I'm not really sure when that started. I feel 00:42:05.289 --> 00:42:07.010 like that's... Like, it started during COVID 00:42:07.010 --> 00:42:09.269 or something. I feel like it's... What I'm talking 00:42:09.269 --> 00:42:13.369 about. Yeah, that's been different. We're like 00:42:13.369 --> 00:42:15.949 an offshoot of that. Huh? We're like an offshoot 00:42:15.949 --> 00:42:17.389 of what I'm talking about. I've talked to other 00:42:17.389 --> 00:42:20.909 comedians I've featured for this guy. He's been 00:42:20.909 --> 00:42:24.250 in the game a long time. And he worked at all 00:42:24.250 --> 00:42:27.590 these clubs and stuff. But now certain clubs 00:42:27.590 --> 00:42:30.349 won't let him headline because his social media 00:42:30.349 --> 00:42:34.230 account isn't high enough. I've heard things 00:42:34.230 --> 00:42:36.489 like that where it's like you have to have 100 00:42:36.489 --> 00:42:39.289 ,000 followers or they won't even book you. But 00:42:39.289 --> 00:42:42.050 it's also like doing stuff on social media and 00:42:42.050 --> 00:42:45.250 doing stuff on a stage are very different. I've 00:42:45.250 --> 00:42:49.230 seen people that do really well on social media 00:42:49.230 --> 00:42:50.730 and then they're like, I'm going to get into 00:42:50.730 --> 00:42:53.349 stand -up. And then they get into stand -up and 00:42:53.349 --> 00:42:56.849 they're not prepared for... They'll have 20 minutes 00:42:56.849 --> 00:42:59.610 of material and they're doing an hour just because 00:42:59.610 --> 00:43:01.530 they can sell the tickets. People know them. 00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:04.159 Only person I've seen pull that off is Cat Williams. 00:43:04.539 --> 00:43:10.420 Oh, yeah. He can bullshit. 45 minutes and tell 00:43:10.420 --> 00:43:12.239 three jokes. I fear for those people because 00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:14.780 it's like, how many times will people come out 00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:17.300 to see you? They'll probably come once and be 00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:19.880 like, oh, yeah, he did well for 15 minutes and 00:43:19.880 --> 00:43:22.760 then the rest was really bad. And then will people 00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:25.880 come back to see that? I don't know what their 00:43:25.880 --> 00:43:28.440 longevity will be. Yeah, I think it's somebody 00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:34.179 like Joe List. Yeah. mastered that yes he's almost 00:43:34.179 --> 00:43:36.019 like conning you into thinking there's going 00:43:36.019 --> 00:43:40.579 to be jokes and then there's not but he's like 00:43:40.579 --> 00:43:44.280 balls to the wall hilarious the whole time but 00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:47.519 he's like promisers jokes coming I just the best 00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:50.059 one I heard was you don't start working right 00:43:50.059 --> 00:43:54.219 when you get to the office right yeah but he's 00:43:54.219 --> 00:43:58.000 like this like con artist like internally selling 00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:00.119 you this thing that's going to happen that doesn't 00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:03.619 happen But I don't think a lot of crowd work 00:44:03.619 --> 00:44:06.760 guys do that. Yeah. I know, like, to me, it's 00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:10.679 better to be a good comedian and then blow up 00:44:10.679 --> 00:44:14.219 on social media versus blowing up on social media 00:44:14.219 --> 00:44:16.199 and then trying to do comedy, like stand -up. 00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:19.460 To me, I'd much rather work on the craft of stand 00:44:19.460 --> 00:44:23.500 -up and not have people notice it for a long 00:44:23.500 --> 00:44:26.219 time and then at some point something happens 00:44:26.219 --> 00:44:28.559 and then people are like, oh, he's been doing 00:44:28.559 --> 00:44:31.190 this a while. Like, you can tell that. He's good 00:44:31.190 --> 00:44:34.309 at the craft that he's been working on. Social 00:44:34.309 --> 00:44:39.289 media is very fickle. Your account could be suspended 00:44:39.289 --> 00:44:42.889 or deleted the next day. It might not even be. 00:44:43.250 --> 00:44:50.289 For no reason, yeah. It's very fickle thing. 00:44:50.590 --> 00:44:53.349 But with stand -up, it's the old way of doing 00:44:53.349 --> 00:44:57.389 it, I guess, like working clubs and building 00:44:57.389 --> 00:45:00.710 your set and building a following. It's definitely 00:45:00.710 --> 00:45:04.989 more difficult now, I think, than what it was 00:45:04.989 --> 00:45:08.650 because now most people will only come out to 00:45:08.650 --> 00:45:11.210 see you if they know you, if they've seen you. 00:45:11.269 --> 00:45:15.250 It's almost the opposite, too, in a way. If they've 00:45:15.250 --> 00:45:19.710 seen you, they're not going to come because it's 00:45:19.710 --> 00:45:22.630 like they'll come see you the first time if they've 00:45:22.630 --> 00:45:24.510 seen you on social media. But then the second 00:45:24.510 --> 00:45:30.000 time, that's where I think... MVs have a struggle 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:33.679 with musicians. Nobody wants to hear a joke over 00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:37.199 and over again. You want to hear songs over and 00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:39.920 over again. Yeah, musicians can get away with 00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:42.679 that because people come to hear the song over 00:45:42.679 --> 00:45:47.199 and over. They want to hear the hits. With comedy, 00:45:47.340 --> 00:45:49.860 it's like you better have some new material. 00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:53.440 We've got to come up with a lot of new stuff. 00:45:54.219 --> 00:45:55.920 Hey man, it sounds like they're about to get 00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:59.530 the show started. You've got tour dates. You're 00:45:59.530 --> 00:46:02.650 doing a lot of stuff in November and December. 00:46:02.989 --> 00:46:06.769 Yeah. All my dates are on LannyFarmer .com. Check 00:46:06.769 --> 00:46:08.429 those out. There's a link in the description 00:46:08.429 --> 00:46:11.030 of the episode. Sounds like they finally caught 00:46:11.030 --> 00:46:13.269 up to me, so I'm like, let's get out of here. 00:46:13.409 --> 00:46:15.949 Hell yeah. Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate 00:46:15.949 --> 00:46:18.989 it. Thanks, Lanny. I appreciate you, man. All 00:46:18.989 --> 00:46:21.510 right. That was my chat with Lanny Farmer. Come 00:46:21.510 --> 00:46:23.730 check us out at Flickr Bar in Athens on November 00:46:23.730 --> 00:46:29.010 18th. I want to let you know next week we've 00:46:29.010 --> 00:46:33.210 got Jason Thrasher. He's a photographer and an 00:46:33.210 --> 00:46:37.969 artist, and we had a really amazing talk. I hope 00:46:37.969 --> 00:46:45.269 you stick around for that. Tells me all about 00:46:45.269 --> 00:46:49.130 going to India, going back to India, working 00:46:49.130 --> 00:46:52.710 on Drive -By Truckers music videos, working with 00:46:52.710 --> 00:46:56.550 the North Mississippi All -Stars. Really, I mean, 00:46:56.570 --> 00:47:00.070 really an amazing, amazing story he told. So 00:47:00.070 --> 00:47:02.150 I really look forward to putting that out next 00:47:02.150 --> 00:47:04.989 week. Hope you enjoyed my chat with Lanny Farmer. 00:47:06.190 --> 00:47:09.269 Make sure to go check out Sloan Brothers' new 00:47:09.269 --> 00:47:13.389 EP. Make sure to go check out Sloan Brothers' 00:47:13.630 --> 00:47:17.369 new EP, Middle -Aged Love. And he's going to 00:47:17.369 --> 00:47:20.170 take us out of here right now. Have a good week, 00:47:20.170 --> 00:47:20.349 y 'all.