Jerry Caruso

In this episode, Drew interviews comedian, actor, radio personality, producer, and all around "big Italian guy from Massachusetts" Jerry Caruso,  The two talk about the differences between Comedy in the 90s and Comedy today, producing Fundraiser comedy shows, and more!

Check out Jerry Caruso here!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

All right, welcome back to the Clean Comedy Chats podcast. I'm your host, Drew Davis, and we bring you a different comedian every week to chat with, uh to get to know uh all the comedians that you hear on our podcast are from the group, the Clean Comedy Collective, uh, which started out here in Nashville and now we're nationwide. Uh, our comedian today that we're interviewing is actually from Massachusetts, and his name's Jerry Caruso. Jerry, how's it going? Did I say your last name correctly? Yeah, Caruso's good. Yeah, yeah. It's good. It's Castle. I'm I'm practically illiterate, but uh I'm glad, I'm glad you're here with us, Jerry. Me and Jerry have an abbreviated time. So we are gonna uh we're gonna fire off into the interview real quick. But just before we do that, just so everyone knows, uh, first of all, uh it's been a while since we've recorded a few episodes. I've gotten a lot of nice messages from people. Thank you for the encouragement and the positivity and telling me what you like about the comedians and the things we've shared. Um and if anyone listening, uh check us out, cleancomedycollective.com. You can see the podcast, you can uh see all the comedians from all the different states uh from across the nation. Jerry's in Massachusetts, I'm in Tennessee. Uh, you can see what kind of shows we have up uh coming across the nation. Uh and if you're a comedian and you want to uh it uh join the Clean Comedy Collective, uh you can see how to submit for that as well. Um and that's the normal just uh promotion commercial part of it. Uh Jerry, we're gonna get into it. Uh I usually read a super awesome, amazing bio of the comedian beforehand, uh, but I I don't have that on you on file. Uh a few things I know about Jerry is he's been doing comedy for a while. Uh he does he does shows and has a podcast called uh Comedy for a Cure. Is that right? Like that's the name of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Um Comics for a Cure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Comics for a cure. Uh so that's also something I was just on his podcast, so you guys can check that out if you'd like. Uh, this is kind of like a crossover episode with both of us. Um and uh Jerry, is there anything else? Uh I know you perform all over. What uh what other cool things can we say about you? Comedy.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Cool things. Uh comedian since 1993 uh started Comics for a Cure in 1994, 1999. I started teaching comedy at a community college level, and they interviewed me in the radio station and said, What's it take to do stand-up comedy? I said,$80. They go, what do they need to take to the class to become a good comedian? I said,$80. They said, what tools do they need? What uh special things do they need to bring? I go,$80. And that interview was immediately over. Uh after that in 2000, I started my own show on cable TV in a little town called Athol. Sounds like a body part, but it's not. It's pretty if you say it fast, I I suppose. And they called it. I said, name it what you wanted to. And the young producer said, let's call it the Jerry Crusoe comedy hour. I go, oh my God, that's so brilliant. I don't know how you thought of that. That ran 18 years. Uh, then in 2001, uh, by the grace of God, I got unemployed, didn't know what I was gonna do. And uh the clear blue, uh, Boston casting, which is a big uh casting for actors, comedians, musicians, etc., they call me, they go, How would you like to be an actor? I go, I'm not an actor. They go, look, what are you doing tomorrow? I go, Well, I just got unemployed. They go, Good, you're not doing anything. So come out and try out for a role for Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. So I tried out for Murder Mystery Incorporated, which became Murder Mystery USA. And I was, they said, You we want a wise ass Italian cop. I go, I'm your man. So that that was pretty easy. And uh out of a hundred, I think it was like a hundred or so people, they picked me, and I was, and that lasted for 23 years. And then I had double knee surgery and said, okay, maybe I'll go back into it eventually. But but in the meantime, it was a it was a good run. And after that, I've in during that time I did a lot of local radio and uh radio personality at three basic stations within my 20-mile radius. It's kind of cool whether I go virtual, they always want me in studio because it's so much easier because you make fun of the place, how terrible that it looks, how cold it is, and how we get no money and why people listen to radio and who really cares. And they say, Okay, come on, Jerry, you you're a perfect fit. And uh then back in uh I'd say 2009 when I got unemployed again. I had the notion to get heavy into motivational speaking. So I started speaking to groups, uh, brain injury support groups, and it turned into a big thing, and then it turned it to blossom to target to other groups. So I've been doing that ever since. So I think that's where I land now. Oh, and recently I have a show that started in 2024 called Jerry Duty, which I tried to get you on, but we'll work it out somehow. Down. Yeah, we'll figure that out.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

We'll figure it out. So now I'm doing that, and that's where I talk to people from top comedians, uh top entertainers, and it's really a cool show. I've had one probably okay show where one guy tried to take over and that was terrible. And then another girl who was just like I had to pull her teeth to get her to call my name by the 48-minute mark, and that's pretty bad, you know. Yeah, they look at you like, okay, and and and and I go, My name is oh Jerry, yes, that's right. And we got 12 minutes left, so it was it was a crazy time. Yeah, so that's me in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

That's a great, that's a great nutshell. And it's gonna make the next question I ask even harder because usually people just share a few things and then I ask them, okay, but beyond what you do, beyond all the different things, who is who is Jerry beyond the bio? And I feel like that's gonna be tough because you just gave me so much there. Like what aside from the comedy labels and accomplishments, what how would you just how would you describe yourself beyond what you do?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Beyond what I do. That is a tough question. I am a family guy. I've been married for over 42 years to a lovely wife who's saying, like, are you done yet? Um, and uh like in life or or like with comedy. No, just just to come downstairs and spend time with her because I worked on DLC. Oh, okay, yeah. Yeah. I'm semi-retired. I was a big IT geek guy. Not a geek, because I was anti-geek. I was like, I told jokes while I fixed equipment or while I resolved hardware or software problems. You're the the cool IT guy. Yeah, the one that's like, you're not IT, you're not IT. You you have a personality. You don't, you don't do these, you don't do gaming, do you? I go, no, I wouldn't be caught dead doing that. So I did that for most of my life till I got unemployed recently, and now I'm turned into like an equipment manager. I don't know how that happened. Another gift from God, it just came from above. So I do that too, and uh, you know, and I have grandkids who have a lot of fun with. I have five of them and age range seven to eighteen. It's amazing. But oh wow, yeah, you know, so so I do all that. So it's so it's cool. So that's yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

It's it's good to it's good to have a we talked about this a little bit on your podcast. It's good to have a life outside of just the comedy and the the hustle of all we do with entertainment uh to balance things out. So yeah. Um, so one uh one of the things I'm interested in is I mean, you were doing comedy in the 90s and you're doing comedy now in the 2020s. I'd love to know like what how do you feel like things are different now than they were back back then?

SPEAKER_01 7:30

I think it was more free, where uh you weren't censored and there was no woke stuff. The only good thing about my act is it's self-deprecating, it's about me. I've got one complaint about my act once. One woman said, I'm offended. You've made fun of Italians. I go, ma'am, I'm Italian. You can't tell by the nose, the tan, the mafia look, the the the you know, everything's Italian with me. She goes, You offended a lot of Italians. I go, I'm Italian, I'm 100%. Yeah. And guess what? She wasn't. But anyway. Oh, that's hysterical. It's always the people that are that are like a Yankee. She was like English, English, Scottish, Irish, and she was like, uh, you know, felt offended. And I go, Oh my god, you me of all people. And that's the only time. So because I make fun of me, people can't get mad at me when I make fun of myself. My crutch is a great crutch. Um, I remember what you said about you, how self-deprecating you you pick on a high voice. See, I have a lazy eye. That's that's like gold. I just talk about it because I didn't do anything about it. And you know, I make jokes about it. Some people feel bad, but then they're laughing their heads off. I go, if you feel so bad, why are you laughing at me for? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

So that's one of my yeah, that's one of my favorite things about comedy in general. Uh, I know one of the questions we were talking about in your podcast, I and by the way, I'm referencing it because I hope people will be like, oh, well, I need to go hear that conversation. And they go tune in and check it out. Um, but uh one of the things we talked about was like the positive things that we find in doing comedy. And uh I love that one of my favorite things about comedy is when someone with something is able to find humor in it. Uh, my very first five minutes I ever wrote ever uh was about how I was born without a sense of smell. Uh and I was able to make jokes off of kind of a disability. You know, I love I've learned some of my favorite humor, and this might make me an awful person because I feel like it creates a safe space for me to laugh at him. But like, for example, uh one of one of our local comics uh here in Nashville, uh, she's in a wheelchair, and all of her jokes are about being in a wheelchair. And I find it absolutely hysterical because I feel like I'm allowed to laugh at this wonderful lady in a wheelchair. And uh maybe that makes me an awful person, but that's my style of humor. If a blind person gets up and does jokes about being blind, I'm here for it. You know, like that's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

That's how it should be. Yeah, it's it's it's being supportive. Like there's a girl, I just finished up a class. There's a girl that took my class and she's in a wheelchair, and she goes, you know, I hate to make fun of myself. I go, No, no, you that's your crutch. I mean, that's your wheelchair. I told her that's your crutch. That's your wheel. And she said, she she said, but people won't think it's funny. Go, if you think it's funny, then they'll think it's funny. Like you say, blind person's making fun of the fact of being blind, then then that's great. She says, What should I start with? I said, you should start with the joke. I tried to give to one of my friends in a wheelchair and he wouldn't take it. He goes, that's offensive. I says, just say you you used to be a dancer, but you your your uh career continues because now you now you're part of the Crippendales, and which I think is a brilliant joke, but I can't use it. And this girl uses it. She goes, I shouldn't say that. I go, you can.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

You can yeah, that's it. It's not punching down because it's it's talking about your experience. And uh yeah, now if she was like, I don't want to use it, that's fine. But like if you want to use it and that's your thing, you absolutely can. So that's yep, that's right. That's right. That's funny. So so and then now I feel like now clean comedy is kind of a thing, more so recently than than maybe even like five, ten years ago. In the nineties, was was there much clean comedy, or was it just comedy? And some people didn't.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

I was part of that brigade. I I told every joke that you shouldn't tell, or I leaned on the dirty side, and I'm saying, like, what and I kept saying to myself, there's gonna be more than that. And after the 90s, I just started to branch out a little leaning toward clean comedy, doing shows where I had to do uh for the relay for life for the Cancer Society, had to do a show, and it had to be clean. And um, the best one that I did is one moment goes, I got a full tent of people for you. And I walk in, they were a group of 24 10 to 13 year old girls. As I had to go down to their level, but they were good because I was talking about how boys stink, uh, how I hate math and and and how my teachers are terrible and my parents are always wrong, and these and these mothers of the daughters go, Okay, they're all yours, and they walked out. So it's like I started back then, but then I leaned more in the 2000s since COVID, thinking, okay, when I had to do online stuff, not that I had to be clean, but I just tried to be. And now you know, uh the late like 2015 to 2020, I was doing some churches and doing shows for veterans. And uh since 20, I think 13 or 14, I think I was doing hope large for cancer patients, which I still do, and it blossomed uh very quickly into once a month. Me and my friend do it. He opens Paul Durant's 10, 15 minutes, and I do 45 to an hour. And it's like you probably get the same feeling when you're doing shows for for people who are ill, if that's the case, or people come up to you and say, Hey, I'm dealing with this, I'm dealing with cancer, I'm dealing with MS, but you made my day or you made my night. So that's a joy that I find. And only clean comedy can do that because I'm not saying you can't be dirty in in or uh f fall out of words, but it's more of a challenge just to be clean, but the reward behind it is just incredible. And and you you know, people will try to bet against you saying, like, I'm waiting you fee for you to slip. I go, slip on what? You know, you know, yeah, because it's my reputation and it's the church's reputation. Yeah, so uh fun stuff.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

So you and you do a lot of fundraiser shows, like that. So that's that's something I'd love to talk more about. So uh your your official group is comics for a cure. Um, and then so so tell tell us tell us about that. Um there I have I have several questions. I think the best way to start is like you tell you tell me about your fundraiser shows and all of all of that, and we'll we'll go from there.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Comics for cure started in 1994 after I did a benefit where you could tell it was a 90s, that's when AIDS was prevalent. And we did a show for AIDS patients, and we didn't know they were in the audience, so the guy told us. And we did it for them, and I uh opened up for uh legendary comedian Anthony Clark, uh uh very funny man, and he did a great job. But and me and my friend were totally unrehearsed, we didn't know what to do. We opened up, we did a team thing, and then we did a singular thing, and then some other guy went one up, and then Anthony Clark went up, and we raised, I don't know, 10 grand or 11 grand on a Monday night in a wall that was painted in psychedelic colors in a town that nobody wanted to go to, but they showed up because the guy promoted it. So since then, uh one guy uh after the show, Tony Marcus, he goes, Hey, look at let me meet at you so we got to talk about comedy. I go, why? He goes, I got an idea. He goes, let's do let's start a group and we would form it, doing benefits, fundraisers, uh, do stuff for worthy causes. What do we call it? Comics for something. I said comics for a cure. Since then, it it went up and and and did wonderful. We were doing like one to two shows a month, and it grew to almost like three or four shows a month. And it's it's it's been consistent since uh 1994. And uh, the last show I just did was for a girl battling breast cancer. I didn't know her from a hole in the wall. I knew her her friend, who I said, well, let me write to the group behind it. I go, You want to do a show? They said, Oh my god, really? You want to do it for us? And you know, we get a small crowd for a Tuesday night, but I got uh an auditorium from my buddy at City Hall. He's a mayor of a town called Leminster, and uh and we we raised like$1,500 plus. And she's overjoyed because you can use that for her expenses. So we like doing those kind of things. And I'm not saying they're all clean shows, but if a group says we want it clean, we make it clean. You can do it. But I try to lean toward that because there's no need to be on the X-rated side or the R-rated side if it's not necessary. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Oh, yeah. Well, um, is it do you find it's easier to build an audience for your shows when you're doing it for a good cause? Is it like, hey, come support this cause and come to this comedy show?

SPEAKER_01 16:16

So yeah, I think so because there's either a commonality, like a people know if I do it for cancer research or or a group dealing with uh cancer and stuff, there's a commonality where people come say, hey, you know what? I know someone dealing with cancer, or I've had it in my family, or if it's someone with a heart condition, it's it's the same thing, like, yeah, that's running my family, or I have a minor heart condition, I'm monitoring it, and I think it's a good thing that you're doing it. I think it's always a good thing because there's that relatability, and uh, and and plus uh you don't get heckled at fundraisers because they ruin the entire show. They don't want to be a good idea. It's like keep it up, keep it up, good idea. It's suicidal. That's why I warn people ahead of time.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yeah, that's a now is there uh now you've been doing you've done a lot of them since you've done it since 1994. Is there a particular show that really sticks out to you as like this was like a really special one, or this was this was a really great cause, or or you know, we we changed the course of the earth because of what we did with this one, or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 17:23

It was a recent one, but there were a bunch of them I did for this girl who uh her parents uh and uh family reached out to me because they knew I was doing it. I th let me get it right because it's Armenian, and Italians only say Italian names right, so I'll say it right. It's called a Danielle Ejelian Foundation. Danielle uh had a beautiful baby boy, and months later she developed stage four cancer. I think it was lymphoma cancer, and she never survived. And since then, they live on with her name by naming the foundation after her, helping people uh dealing with cancer. And they would tell me they turned down so many people going through uh it doesn't have to be cancer, but it's like you know, terminal illness. They have to, you know, they justify people say I'd like to apply for financial help because we're dealing with this with my son or or uh my dad or my husband or wife. So it's a great foundation. I've done like a handful of shows for them. We just did one recently, and they were overjoyed because they raised somewhere to the tune of three grand, and they didn't expect it because they do X amount of uh fundraisers a year. So that one always stands out because they're such good friends and they're and they're great people, and I still have a connection with them. Then they're the ones that talk me into doing a golf course and tell them jokes at hole number four, you know. Great, great. That's powerful the course, I said. But anyway, you know, that ended up being a good show, too.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Yeah, that's a well that yeah, that's wonderful. Now, if you're uh what kind of advice would you give to comedians that might want to start like a fundraiser show or uh do producing shows for a cause or anything like that? If someone was wanting to get into that, uh what's would be some pointers that you would give them? Because I imagine it's there's probably some subtle differences from just producing any old comedy show.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah, you know, it's a matter of like you have to book the right people that work together, get get along together, and you have to know who you're booking. Like there are some great acts that are edgy. I'm careful of that, I'm cognizant of that. I get the people that are not that they're not professional, because I've seen professionals be edgy, and and that's all and good. But I always try to book the people that are popular within the area, or if they have a connection to the town, because Massachusetts is a pretty big state, so it's like it's not like I couldn't get a guy from Maine like a Bob Marley, who's extremely popular, or I couldn't get uh you know, guys from Rhode Island, uh, you know, like John Parada, he's very, very popular, so so forth and so on. A Cecito from Rhode Island or you know, Ed regime like some of these guys. So depending on the area, you always try to focus on who's a good fit, um, who has the ties in with the town, and or maybe they may have ties in with people uh dealing with that disease, because uh I think it's a good thing. But you try and try not to make it a long, like maybe uh probably a three-person show. Because you make it more than that, you don't want the crowd to be tired. So if you have that, and if you have like at least two headliners, so I'll consider myself a headliner, but if if someone's more popular than me and stronger than me, then I'll certainly go second and be the quasi-headliner, like the uh like like the future slash headliner. And it's an honor to to do that. One of my good friends I work with is Frank Cinnarelli. And if you know the Sopranos, because you you said you're on the Italian side too.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Yes, uh yeah, I'm 50% Italian, but that's the side that raised me. So um I'm Sicilian. Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Oh, Sicilian, yeah. He had to sleep with one eye open at night. Yeah, um we uh so me and Frank, and Frank was in the soprano 16 episodes, so that he's a good selling point. Like, oh my god, I watched the Sopranos. Oh my god, I remember him. He was Georgie the bartender or whatever his name was. Him and I did a double headliner show, and it was so much fun. We raised money for a group called Live Strong where they support cancer patients after their treatment, and they work with the YMCA to get these cancer patients get their strength back because they lose all their strength when they're going through chemo and radiation. Wonderful program, and we raise a good amount of money. So, you know, that's like another one, but you try to figure on the best way to do it. So we thought, okay, how about a two man show, double headline, and we did 45 minutes each, you know, it's magical. So it's like just try to book the right people, don't make it long, you know, make it to Typical 90-minute show, but try to get people like I know I could work with Frank really well. John Prado, I could work with well, Johnny Joyce I work with well, Bob Sheehy. I go on and on and on, but I know who to put together and how they're gonna deliver. So that's the best way that I try to tell people to do things.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Yeah, I love that. And also something I heard in what you were saying that I think is uh admirable and notable is in producing shows, you were okay putting other people to headline if you know it's for the good of the show, if you know that maybe they're a bigger draw and stuff like that. Uh oftentimes producers have to realize that being the comedian isn't the most important part of the show. Yep. Um, I've I've I've worked on shows before for where the producer also kind of wants to be the headlining comedian. Uh and I've seen I've seen it before it's embarrassing for them, where they're like the the ends up being a big crowd, and the the person who put together the show and maybe put themselves as like the middle act walks up to the headliners, like, actually, I want to headline the show. And the headliner's getting paid the same anyway. So he's like, sure, whatever. Uh, and then and and then it's embarrassing. It's it's because uh because the producer's ego got the best of them. Um and and it's you know, so I I always let people know that you know there is a it's a different hat being the comedian and being the producer, and so but I I love to hear that you know when you're putting your shows together, uh you do put yourself as the headliners on that, but also you um you have other people that you can put in on that as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Um yeah, because I figured that that's the best thing because sometimes, like if I book a uh like a guy like Frank Centerelli or John Perato, like I booked them for all their credits. I have great credits, and I have some good credits too. Don't get me wrong, but you know, theirs can outweigh mine. But if there's one guy's from the Sopranos and one guy's a national act, and one guy's a king of comedy in Rhode Island, and one guy's a king of comedy in Maine, then I book it that way. But people know the names, and I want them to say, oh, he's on the show. And they know that I'm a part of it. Like if I do 40 minutes and they do 50 minutes, like, oh my god, you guys are almost equal, or 45 and 45. So we're still giving them a bang up show, like strong in front and strong in back, and yeah, they pay to see them. Not that they're not there to see me, but they want to see who's this guy, Frank Son. Oh, I think I remember him. You know, the guilty by association. Oh, yeah, I remember him.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

No, you don't.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

That's like I was in a movie for 10 seconds once. People go, I think I saw you. I go, you probably didn't even see the movie, but right.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

That's fun. Now, uh, as as long as you've performed it with as many people as you performed, is there any like either really famous comedian or really notable one that that's just like for a fun story of someone you've worked with? Um, or or and maybe you know, without dropping names, maybe someone that was like a uh it was a complete train wreck to work with, but makes for a fun story, um, whichever you prefer.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Two people stand out. The first one is Larry the Cable Guy, which uh I worked with him uh back in 2000 or 2001. And so uh some radio station picked me because I did work for them Rock 101, Manchester, New Hampshire. Not that they can they're listening to me and saying, like, oh my god, Jerry mentioned this. They don't even know who I am.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

I'm sure they are. They're listen, they they're regular listeners of the Queen Comedy Chats with Drew Davis.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Yeah, let's hope so, or or I'll tell them ahead of time. Um, but they I did a lot of work for them where we did like uh fundraisers or benefits. We did a couple. I was a stand-up Santa once for them. Nobody wanted to do it, and I did it with my uh tail between my legs, but I did it, and all the Santa's were following me around to trying to imitate me to go, look at do your own thing, guys. Uh I was just telling Christmas jokes, you know, but it was fun, and they made me do the set that time in front of like you know, two or three hundred people. So it was fun. But anyway, so I worked with Larry the Cable Guy, two shows. Um brace yourself, uh, big city of Rochester, New Hampshire. I know. How does he get to Rochester? It's in the middle of nowhere. There's a few hills around it. I don't know if you can see the town unless someone puts their lights on. But anyway, we did the show, sold out, two shows, and it was on a Friday night, and uh I was happy. And you know, unbeknownst to me, I went before the big act, and I'm saying, like, I'll try my hardest. Well, that's a mistake because I did bang up sets for like you know, 20, I'd say 25 minutes for each show. And back then I probably had like yeah, 20 to 25 minutes in me, but gave it my best. I just wanted to impress. Well, unfortunately, at the end of the second show, I met Larry the cable guy, and he says to me, I said, Larry, nice to meet you. He goes, Nice to meet you too, Jear. I says, Hey, look, if you haven't had anybody to open for you again, if you're on here, I'd be honored to do it. He goes, No way. I go, why? He goes, You're too damn funny. He didn't say damn, he said the little way. And so I was horrified. And his roadies said to me, Take that as a compliment. You'll never work for him again, go with him again. You work with him, leave it at that. And I walked away. And my friend goes, He I heard him say that to you. I go, Oh, the other one was Lisa Lampinelli. And everybody always guesses, like, you work. And I did probably like five or six shows with her. And she's known as the queen of mean. If you know Lisa Lampinelli, she could be very edgy. And someone said, Oh god, how was she? I go, she was the nicest person. Every show she did with me, she treated me and my wife like we were her best friends. We had drinks and we talked. Oh, that's so nice, yeah. So it's like those are two total opposites. I was looking at Larry the Cable, I was like, Oh my god, I'm working with the man, and yet he didn't want nothing to do with me, you know. Whereas she goes, Jira, I'd love to work with you again. And she made sure that every time she was up, yeah. I think I did six shows with her. I was so cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

And isn't it fun when you meet the comics that like maybe on stage are very dirty or very crass or very vulgar or whatever? And then they're just absolute sweethearts. Like, that's I I don't know. I always find that that's I mean, sometimes it's the sometimes it's the opposite where like they're super clean and super nice and super like saintly on stage, and then off stage you're like, oof, I don't know about that person. And that's that's right, that's never that's never as much fun. But it is I do I'm very entertained when it's the opposite, when it's like they're very nice off stage, but maybe yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

One nice guy before he he he became big. I I'm sure you heard of Tom Carter. Tom was the one, the only comedian that finished almost one America's Got Talent, but he lost to a dog act. And that's what he always says. Uh, but I worked with him before the Cuspering moved to New York and started getting big and very national, which Tom and his wife Carrie Louise, but they were both on Jerry Duty, are very extremely funny people. Yet I worked with him once and heard no times, yet when I did the show, we were like best friends. It was so weird.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

But I reminded Tom of one show that him and I did together in Manchester, no, in Nashua, New Hampshire, at a place that was kind of like not a gentleman's bar, but strippers used to go there afterwards. I don't know if they were in another room and they appeared afterwards. And I had featured for Tom and I did like 20, 25 minutes, and he closed with like an hour, and he's talking to me. Before he's talking to me, this woman walks by and he looks at her and he said, I'm sorry, are those real? And she lifted up her sweater and showed him what she had, and and he said, Jerry, I can't do this anymore. I need you to come back and relieve me. I go, What are you kidding me? I can't even move from here. And it was like, it was like we we we shared that story, but it was like I reminded him of it, he goes, Oh my god, I remember that like it was yesterday. And it was like, yeah, one.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

That'd be a tough one to forget. Yeah, that'd be a tough one to forget. That's it. Yeah, very it is, it is interesting the places we do, especially when we first start comedy. You because you know, especially when you first start, it's like you don't turn down gigs, and you who knows where that's gonna take you. Um, but this book and it is also interesting. I've worked with headlining acts before that they'll afterward, like you were mentioning with Larry the cable guy, you were too good to continue to feature for him. Uh, that is sometimes uh with headliners, is they look for what they consider mid features because they don't want to follow a tough act. Um, I personally that I'm I'm not really a fan of that. My attitude is like, um, I love it when the feature gets up and is absolutely amazing and builds up such energy. And it's a little, you know, it's a little bit of a challenge, like, okay, well, I gotta keep it going. But like, I feel like if you ever can't, then you guys need to switch paychecks, you know.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Like, so it's always you want it forces you to turn up your A game and and that's what you want. And you're right, the momentum's there. You if you have a feature act that's okay and low energy and got some laughs, then it's up to you to take it all home.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

You have to work harder, yeah. Which a good headliner, which is a good headliner. In my brain, I always visualize like you're bringing up a shovel and you're like, well, here we go. We gotta get we're gonna get out of this. But but I have had I've had headlining acts when I've featured or hosted, like come up to me after the show and be like, hey, so tomorrow night, can you not do those jokes? They got too big of a laugh. And I'll and I always agree. And then the next night I always do the exact same jokes. Uh I'm like, I I you know, what are they gonna do? Not book me, and that has to work with me again? It's fine. Like, um, but yeah, I've had that happen before. Um let's uh let's talk about um I'd love to hear more about the comedy scene in Massachusetts. Uh have have have you only ever done comedy there, or have you been like uh because you mentioned Rhode Island a little bit and of course you've been city of new new new rooms.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Rhode Island. Rhode Island has a comedy factory which kind of rules and John Perada runs it, or as I call him John Perada, because he's got that accent.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

Right accent.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Because you're in Providence, you had to have that accent. Yeah, Massachusetts comedy scene used to be a real hotbed with Nick's play it again, Sam, comedy connection, and it's it's evolved to the fact that Knicks is still hanging around. It's still a good place, but it wasn't the place to be. Uh Giggles is a big one in Saga. It's the outskirts of uh Boston. Comedy Palace used to be in Worcester and and Andover. That was big and that dwindled away. I mean, so that it's evolved. I mean, it's still good, it's still a great place. Still got a lot of great comics, but a lot of the rooms now are mostly seem to be run by comedians who are headliners uh who book a lot of great acts and book a lot of great shows, and which is wonderful. But unfortunately, the big names there what they had like now to take over for Boston. Comedy Connection has gone out of Boston, it's it's gone out of Portland Main, but it's still in Providence. It's not like it doesn't have the cachet, but they had the cachet. So the Boston comedy scene, you're in the comedy connection, and you could walk to next comedy stop probably like 20 minutes, and you could walk to Dick Daugherty's uh comedy den, and it was all three in the same radius. You could have like three to five shows in one night, but that you know that's how it got saturated. I think uh the the scene is still there, but it's just run by more. Like if you said, Who do I talk to? Well, it's not uh there's there's uh Rob Steen runs a lot in New England. Um uh Mike Catrovis, uh Dave Radigan. There are so many people that do it. Uh Johnny Joyce will book some too. So it's is it's changed where the big names are there, but they're under a different pretense. So it's the scene's kind of like it's still there, and there's a lot. You can go to any tongue and you you'll find comedy shows, but you just have to have to know the right people. And I know, so when you want to find out about it, I'll give you names.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Yeah, when it when I'm in the area, I'll definitely reach out. I that's one of my favorite parts about what we do with the Clink Omnade Collective is we are connecting comedians. So you have a whole list now, like whenever you're you can you if you know you're going to a state or know you're going to a city, you can look it up and see who's in the area and reach out to them and be like, hey, do you know who should I talk to? And that's that's I think the building the community is huge. Um, what do you have for yourself? I mean, you've been doing comedy for so long and you've been doing so many awesome things in comedy, but do you have any goals like big goals for yourself down the line in the future, even like nearby goals that you've set for yourself? And it could be just it doesn't even have to be just comedy, it could be like entertainment related, like any things that you'd like to see yourself achieve in the near and dark future.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

Um I I I I appreciate the gift from God being jerry-duty, gives me a chance to connect with people from all over. I've talked to people from Florida, uh, New Jersey, New York, um LA. So it gives me a connection. So I like for that to continue, but uh, grace to God it should. That was through Nancy Lynn Albertson, who was daughter of a famous comedian from Boston named Freddie Stone, who she she dared me to in interview him as a podcast, and we'll and we'll air it on our station. And all of a sudden I'm ready to leave. She goes, I'm not gonna let you go. I go, What? She goes, You have to promise me to do this again. She you have a knack for it, you know how to do it, you connect with people, you're funny. You get the funny out of people. So I like for that to can continue, but I also like to uh I'd love to do like I'm doing a sports podcast now. I'm a big sports nut, especially in Boston. We have a lot to choose from. And we criticize and talk about sports. It's only monthly. I like to see that grow more, but it's okay because I I I have a lot going on with Jerry Duty, sometimes twice a month, that's once a month. But I like sports podcasts, but I really would like to focus more on um uh senior shows because I love doing it because they love to laugh. Sometimes they give you jokes that'll make you turn red. It's just amazing because seniors say, hey, whatever, I got nothing to lose. And uh uh I like to build that more in churches because it's hard. You just like I was telling you, it's hard for churches up here, like uh the Chaffin Church in Holden, which is like 40 minutes away from me. My friend Marty Holman, he's a pastor there. He took my comedy class, and I've known him since 2020. He took it during the pandemic, and he says it's the best decision he ever made. It helps him as a pastor, like you being a youth minister, deliver the messages, but incorporate some humor into it too. So it's so I'd like to build on it.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

I like that. It sounds like because you got a lot of things going on and building them up and doing them better. I I think that's uh that's a great very achievable goals. Um, and now I am I'm being mindful of your time because I know you got big things going on later tonight, and then followed by bed, which is also later tonight. Um, but uh before we go, is there uh what can you promote? Where can people find you? Uh I've you're a hard person to find online, Jerry. I'll be honest. But but like for anyone listening to the next one.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

Jerry Cruz says there's a ton of things. But I mean, yeah, so I used to have a website. It went down because it was one of those ones that did I, it was webs.com, and unfortunately, that went down. I go, well, what happened on my website? Gone. I how can I recover it? It's gone. Where is it now? Gone. I'm like, oh, so I gotta find somebody, which I know a few people I'm gonna approach. Uh, they find out about me on Facebook and LinkedIn, unfortunately. I know LinkedIn's the a business Facebook, that's all it basically is.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

But I your LinkedIn though is pretty informative. Like, I was I was impressed when I was seeing your LinkedIn yesterday. I was like, oh man, maybe I should make mine better or whatever. So that was it was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

People do see that, and and like, like, so I'll get a lot of work through people on Facebook, and and people on LinkedIn will ask me, Hey, would you do this? Hey, can you do this? Hey, would you come and speak here? So it's like uh uh, you know, that's another part that I'd like to build is motivational speaking. I love talking about laughter as the best medicine, clean joke, health benefits of laughter, going back and forth to support groups. It it's cool. But I mean, yeah, people can find me through Facebook and LinkedIn, and eventually soon, after I get off my lazy ass and say, okay, hey Mike, uh, can you build my website? And and there was another guy I was targeting, but he's busy, so I get it. But but I'll deal with my friend Mike. He's he he's a good guy. He did a good job on my buddy's website. So hey, but whatever. I I know I gotta do it, and so hopefully I do that. But that's how people find me. And uh you could YouTube me. There's there's a bunch of YouTubes on me because I've done YouTube in Vegas and like California.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Uh that's probably what for anyone listening. I'll probably link his YouTube. Uh I'll I'll link YouTube and LinkedIn, and that's where you get on on the on our episode notes, so you guys can check those out.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Excellent, excellent. Yeah, but it's cool. I love it. And you know, you know too, labor of love. You know, we love doing it. To make people laugh is like a phenomenal thing. It's a high, like a runner's high, but you don't have to go run 26 miles to get it.

SPEAKER_00 39:08

You just so much better. I I I think you'd mentioned being a runner before. I've never I've never enjoyed running. I don't think the runners' highs exist. I think those are just crazy people. However, I never got it. You never got it. I tried, I tried running and I only felt like death afterwards. So I don't uh but I I have had the comedians high. Well, not that well, I guess that's not the best thing.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Comedian's high is is is good too.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

We talked about that on my show.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

Yeah, it does exist, it does exist, and it's it's a good thing to have. So yeah, I just say to people like you say, you know, as long as you have fun doing it, keep doing it. When it becomes a job, stop doing it because it's not fun anymore.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

It's not worth it. Once you you're not enjoying it, the the when you are enjoying it, you can get past the BS and the stuff that's sometimes tough. But when it well, when you when you don't enjoy it, it's like, why am I doing this? And that's a great question. So uh, but but Jared, I've had an absolute blast interviewing you, and I had an absolute blast not too long ago being interviewed by you. It felt like we had like a double double duty there. Um so um and everyone else, uh you all I'm you know, I'm I'm speed running the end of this episode, but check us out cleancomedycollective.com. Apply if you're a comedian, check us out on our shows, listen to earlier podcast episodes. Thank you for so much for being here. Send us a mail if you want. And uh, Jerry, thank you so much for being on this episode.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

Thank you, Drew. And I'll be in touch to do part two.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Yeah, we'll do part two, and the rest of y'all will chat with you next week. All right, have a good one. Bye.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

You're welcome.