Andy Beningo

And Beningo was his Name-o!  Andy Beningo is a 20 year veteran comedian based out of Michigan.  In this chat we talk about his Dry Bar special, working the cruise lines, the beauty of bombing, and also his book that is coming out in the fall, "Awkward Stories from the Road."

Check out Andy's site here!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

On a cruise ship about two months ago. Slecky came up to me after the show and she goes, Hey, I saw you on Saturday, you remind me of Jay Leno. And then she goes, I hate Jay Leno.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

You're welcome. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Welcome back to the Clean Comedy Chat, the podcast where I get to interview different clean comedians from the Clean Comedy Collective every week, every Saturday, or whenever you're listening to this, you get a new episode. Meet it, maybe your next new favorite comedian. My name is Drew Davis. I'm your host. Uh, for those of you that have listened to the other episodes, I feel like you know the whole spiel. But for those of you that haven't, um, maybe this is your first time. Maybe you're here because you are excited to hear from our guest today, Andy Beningo. If you're here and you've never listened to us before, I just want to give you a shout out to like what we're doing. Uh, we're part of a group called the Clean Comedy Collective, uh, which is about 240 comedians from almost 40 states. Uh, my goal is to get us to all 50 state representation by the end of the year. And there's a lot of things you can do on our website, cleancomedycollective.com. You can check out uh previous episodes where we interview different comedians each week. Um, you can see who's in the clean comedy collective. We have it broken down by states. You can see what upcoming shows we have in the month. You can learn a little bit more about the Clean Comedy Collective, especially if you're a comedian who wants to uh be part of the Clean Comedy Collective. There's a submission process. And then lastly, uh, this is everyone's favorite. There's a donation function. So you can just give us all of your money and help provide for what we do. Uh, but we are so excited that you're here listening. Thank you for joining us for this conversation and this podcast where we just get to talk comedy and life with comedians. Uh, and I'm very excited uh with our guest today, Andy. How are you doing today, Andy?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Hey, really good. Excited to be part of this, man. Thanks so much for having me on. And uh it's fun, uh fun talking comedy, dude. So uh excited to be done.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yeah, this is this is I can already tell this is gonna be a fun conversation. We're both two Italian guys. Uh you gotta I I told Andy before the podcast. I don't know, he was the first one to sign up to be part of this podcast, and I don't know why it waited till episode 19 to have him, but I just I wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing before we brought such great um girth to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Well, it's pretty cool. Number number 19 is kind of my lucky number. So uh are you serious? I guess, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Is that a real are you just trying to make me feel good, or why is 19 your lucky number?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

No, so you can kind of see behind me I got all my uh hockey pictures from the Red Wings, and so Steve Iserman was my favorite player growing up, and he wore number 19, and uh so it's always been kind of a lucky number for me. So uh so being being number 19, episode number 19 kind of is uh so cool.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

That is fun. I I think he may have put that uh poster up before the picture up before the podcast, just to say that to make me feel good. No, I'm just kidding. That's so cool. What a coincidence. Um, well, uh, for anyone who doesn't know about Andy, here's a short little bio that will kind of tell you about him. I mean, there's so much we could have said, so I limited a little bit on this bio, but for sure, y'all listen, go check out Andy Beningo when you're anywhere you're going. Uh, but so Andy is a stand-up comedian out of uh Lacing, Michigan, with uh over 4,000 performances, who has worked cruise lines, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the top comedy clubs in the country. He's been ranked one of the top 40 comics in the country and best comedian by both the Detroit Metro Times and Detroit Hour Magazine. Uh, you can hear his dry bar special called Adorable Tough Guy on Amazon Prime and Comedy Dynamics. Andy's a regular guest on the Bob and Tom show, and his first comedy special, Quiet Coyote, regularly plays on Laugh USA on XM Radio. Finally, Andy's first book, The Awkward Stories from the Road, will release this fall. Uh, and like I said, I that was me kind of summarizing a lot of the cool things I was saying about Andy on his website and stuff like that, which you all uh, if you go down to wherever you see our notes on our podcast, you can learn more about Andy that way. But uh, he's very cool, uh, got a lot going on. This was this bio I feel like barely scratched the surface of you. So, Andy, I guess my first question for you uh was uh when and uh when did and how did you get into comedy? Like what let's talk about how did you you have you done this for a while? Is this your first year? Where are we at?

SPEAKER_01 4:21

So yeah, so believe it or not, this is 20 professional years of doing stand-up. Um, I've always been a stats nerd, so that's true. I've done over 4,000 shows. I've kept track of every single one. Uh that was a side question.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

I had like, are you still counting? Because like after I feel like after a thousand, I'd be like, you know what? We'll just say I've done a lot of shows on books.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I I rarely go back to look at it, but I do keep it on a spreadsheet. It's kind of fun to to um, you know, I like to kind of keep track of where I performed and who I've kind of performed with. And you know, you kind of can start going back through through some of the database, and you go, man, I've gotten to work with some pretty, you know, great comics, and uh a lot of people that uh you know you meet them when they're coming up, and now some of them are famous, you know. So it's kind of cool how how life is kind of that long and you and you kind of follow people's careers. But um, yeah, 20 years. Uh I've been doing it full time for 20 years. Uh started in college uh at an open mic um when I was 18 and kind of did just some some local kind of open mics as uh as I was in college. And then when I turned 21 and could kind of legally get into comedy clubs, I started kind of uh skipping night classes to go and uh kind of perform. And so by the time I graduated college, I was kind of already kind of hosting and kind of featuring and uh you know luckily met a lot of really nice people that started bringing me on the road. And and like I said, it's it's crazy that it's I say 20 years because you know, especially when you're starting off, you don't even know if you're gonna make it the first year. It's you know very challenging. Um you're trying to figure out who you are as a person, who you are as a performer, what to talk about. There's a lot of stuff you're just trying to figure out. But um, I've always loved jokes. I've always just been been a huge fan of comedy. And when I was a little kid, Steve Martin and and Robin Williams, and just anybody funny, I just was was just amazed by. And so um, you know, like I said, I was very, very lucky to to be able to turn this into a a pretty nice career.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Yeah, that's so cool. And so uh so you mentioned um uh being able to tracking all the the the folks you've worked with uh and and folks you start with maybe start with you, and then are for do you have any names that come to mind as like uh really really cool folks you got to perform with and now they're doing big things, or maybe like or I don't know, some of your personal favorites that you've gotten to work with.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, I mean that's the fun thing is when you're coming up, you get to meet some of these people that only exist on TV, you know what I mean? And then you get to share a green room with them. You know, I've been very fortunate to work with a lot of my heroes, uh Frank Kelly Endo and Dave Coulier from from Full House, who was uh you know, he's a Michigan guy, so it's easy to look up to him when you're starting off, you know. And uh then just people uh recently, you know, like Taylor Tomlinson and Sam Morell, and some of these kind of bigger comics that like I said, we're all kind of the same age, and you kind of meet them on the road and you go, Hey, you know, nice to meet you guys, whatever, good luck. And then you know, fast forward a couple years, they're doing giant arenas and stuff now. So it's uh it's very cool to see um uh you know people just just working hard and and seeing their dreams come true as they as they go. Did you see that statistic where they said like they basically broke it down where they said this is like a rough estimate? They're like at there's like 50,000 to 100,000 people trying to do stand-up, right? And they said like 40 percent of those people go away after the first two years, right? So if you're just trying hard and working at it and just trying to, you know, figure it out and write every day and get upside stage and you make it to year three, you're already doing better than 40.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Yeah, that makes you the top 60 of comedians, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Exactly. So then they kind of further broke it down where it was like, you know, there's only like whatever 10% of people that get regular gigs, and then it's like eight percent of people, uh, you know, uh can do it as a living for a living, right? And then they even break it down where they're like there's like 0.01% to like 0.05% is is Nate Bargazzi and doing you know arenas and stuff. So I mean that's the that's the thing with comedy. It's I kind of compare it to like professional athletes in the sense that it's like the general public. If you say like you talking baseball, the average person knows like 10 baseball players, right? Right but then there's you know, there's hundreds of people that you've never heard of before. If you played baseball against them, you're like, this guy's phenomenal. And so you know, I feel like comedy is kind of the same way where it's like there's a lot of really talented people that you've never heard of before that that are really good, and for whatever reason, they don't get the you know, they don't get the the the platform to to do it. But you know, my my personal belief was like never really set out to be like famous or anything like that. I just like telling jokes, you know what I mean? It's just fun being able to entertain people and bring a little bit of happiness into the world a little bit. So, you know, if especially for younger people trying out, I know we're all trying to be you know on Netflix and trying to be headliners and stuff, but truthfully, my advice is just just enjoy it because this is such a special thing to be able to just get on stage and make people laugh. And um, you know, comedians are are so important, especially now. Um, so you know, that's my advice to people is just hang in there and and just enjoy being in show business. There's nothing better than going into a you know dirty comedy club in some basement, you know, and the the floors are all sticky and it smells like burnt popcorn. I mean, I just I love everything about it, you know what I mean? The the travel, the time on stage, just you know, like I said, even this getting meeting getting to meet new people, it's just really a special thing. So um, like I said, for people listening, don't you know Netflix would be nice, but it's not the end game. If you're still doing it after three years, you know, consider that a win.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Yeah, you're top 60%. I love that. That's right. That is that is so true. And that's something I am realizing more now than ever, but like I've over the past few years kind of reached that conclusion of like, um, there are so many wins that can come with comedy and personal, and that's there's nothing like it. It's so much fun. It's one of my most favorite things in the world. There's just so much, there's so many, like, and you mentioned that a lot of there's so much in addition to making people laugh, and and of course, going on stage to fulfill something for us, like the people you meet, the places you go. Um, I was actually just in uh Michigan kind of last week, and I was in I was in Niles, Michigan. So, like, I barely was in Michigan. So yeah, I was at the Underground Laugh Lounge, and I absolutely love that place.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Um that that is one of the hottest rooms in the country. Sean runs an awesome room, and they get packed in there, they're really tight, and the crowds are hot. And then the best part is you stay upstairs right above the club, which is like, what's better than staying in your pajamas all day? Yeah, and then 10 minutes before showtime, you're like, all right, I'll put some pants on. You walk downstairs, do the show, you order pizza, then you go back upstairs. Like, nothing better. That the place is great.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

And my fa, I of course, I this was my second time there. Uh, and so I I I kind of had a vague idea of all the cool things. So I loved the comedy club. I love, but I'll I'll I'll tell even all that was fantastic. Um, my favorite part about going and doing Niles, Michigan is uh going to the the Jack's like barbecue, the the just a little bit down the road, there's this little little place, and I don't feel like I'm exaggerating when I said this weekend I had the best uh hamburger I'd ever had in my entire life, and I was sitting here enjoying it uh because they do they add he's known for his candied bacon, and then like when you get this special kind of burger with candied bacon, he's like they the the the guy working the bar was like, Oh, and we always recommend to add Chipotle sauce to it. So I was like, you know what, throw it on there. Um, and I'm sitting here eating this burger, just feeling like I'm in heaven, and I'm I'm like, man, if I wasn't doing comedy, I would have no reason to be in Niles, Michigan having this burger.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Right? Yeah, exactly. That is the best part of doing this, is like, especially if you're fortunate and you get to work the road a little bit. I mean, some like you said, some of these small towns, you're like, I probably would never have heard of this place or whatever. And then not only do you get to meet some of the nicest people off stage, but yeah, you hit some of these great food places, or my favorite thing to do is I like going to like these little historical spots, you know, when you're traveling, there's always some museum or some battlefield or something that you go to, and you're like, Man, it's just kind of cool to be able to see a little bit of the country and a little bit of uh like I said, a lot of history stuff, and then at night you go and bust it out, tell some jokes, and do it again next week. I mean, it's such a such a fortunate thing that we get to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yeah, I love that. Now, you've done it for 20 years. Do you feel like your style or your comedy-ness or like just in general your character or anything like that? Do you feel like you've watched it grow, mature, change over time, or has it been more like you've fine-tuned it to where you are now?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think I think again, the first like two, three years, you're just trying to figure it out. So you kind of I think every comic has like a comedian they look up to and they sort of like emulate a little bit on stage, whether it's the writing or their performance, you know. Like when I first started like 20 years ago, everybody in the comedy club was trying to be Dave Vittel or Mitch Hedberg or Dane Cook, right? So if you weren't one of those three guys, they would kind of look at you like, Well, what do you what are you trying to do? Yeah, um, I mean, I've certainly got some influences um, even to this day, but like I said, I think the first couple years you're just trying to figure out how to get comfortable. Um, in terms of like writing and I guess performance, I guess I've always kind of worked clean. Um, and that wasn't ever really like a conscious, like you know, like looking down on blue material or something. I think it was more like self-awareness. Like uh, this is what I think is funny, and I I can't pull that off. I can't. I mean, there are some people who are yeah fantastic at being edgy and dirty, and it's like every time I tried it, they would kind of look at me like, why is that teddy bear talking disgusting?

SPEAKER_00 14:34

You know, you know, I I feel like I Andy, I feel like you can relate to that so much. I I because I've tried I I'd work mostly clean. Occasionally I throw stuff that I wouldn't do it like at a clean show, but like I remember as I've developed my act, I've tried sometimes to be dirtier, and I just I've say I say it now like I don't have a face for dirty comedy, like it makes women uncomfortable. They're like, you know, you don't need to say that.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Yeah, yeah. And I for me, it's always been like, I don't want to say, and I hope this doesn't sound snobby or anything like that. It's sort of the fun of it. It's like I feel like anybody can kind of go up and say something dirty, and you'll at least get that shock laugh, right? But it's like if you can kind of just pull something from real life or um, you know, just whatever, and and still deliver it clean and have people laughing the same or harder than if you would have done something dirty, I think is uh, you know, it's like uh it really is like it's it it it's a it's a skill and it's hard to do, and it just opens you up for more work too. Like I feel like that was the one thing that I noticed right away, like probably like my third or fourth show. I remember headliners like, Oh, you were clean, you could probably do corporate shows. And I was like, Cool, and I'm like, I have no idea what that means, or whatever. And then as you you learn, then you learn, like, oh, there's there's just more avenues to work, and like I said, that's kind of just my personality, anyways. I mean, even in I don't really swear that much in real life or or you know, offstage. I mean, and it's just uh, you know, I I feel like so my act has changed, obviously, because it's like when you're starting off, it's all Taco Bell jokes, and you know, you're you're just talking about stuff that you kind of know as a 21-year-old. And so I didn't I I I like now it's like I guess my act is a little bit like Ray Romano or Jim Gaffkin. It's like just a lot of stories about being married and having kids, and but it's more like personal, you know, personal stuff. So it's like I feel like I don't say that stuff writes itself, but it's like I felt like once I started getting married and having kids, it was sort of like, oh yeah, that's what I'm gonna talk about. Because for me, it's like there's there's a there's a universal, you know, there are universal topics, you immediately get people on your side and people can relate to kind of the craziness of everyday life. So um I think that's kind of how it's developed and changed a little bit. But yeah, since like when I first opened Mike, I've always kind of worked, you know, uh, you know, clean. At the end of the day, you just want to be yourself, right? So it's like, you know what I mean? I think people can really tell if you're being inauthentic or not, right? So it's like that's kind of the goal is just to kind of be yourself and think your audience kind of finds you as you go, so um absolutely, and especially as they as you're being your authentic self, and then they're relating to that.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

That's such a pleasant experience relating to the person on stage as they're being them, you know. So uh let's talk about some of the cool things you've done before. Um, I think I want to start. I I think I want to start with dry bar. You you have a you have a good dry bar special out. When did you do your dry bar special? And what was that whole experience like that? For a lot of clean comedians, dry bar is like the Netflix. Although I I have a comedian friend that makes a joke about that. He's like, no, uh, Netflix is like the Netflix. Dry bar is but like um, but yeah, so that's a big goal for a lot of comedians.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Well, I mean, first of all, what what an what an awesome idea to do. I mean, you know, you're giving people not only comics a platform to kind of show who they are, um, but also people you can watch a special with your mom and dad or you know, kids or something, and not worry about being offended. So it's nice that they have such an amazing plot platform. Uh, I appreciate what they're doing. They're they're doing great things, and just like I said, there's been some comics that you never heard of before that have suddenly blown up from it. So it's really nice to kind of have an ad an avenue. And so I'll I'll I'll tell you, I'm I'm I did it maybe I think it was only like the second or third season, they kind of done it, and I kind of fell into it by accident. I had uh started work, I was working aboard a cruise ship, and uh one of the guys I was working with, Steve Mazon, who fantastic comedian. He's been on Letterman, he wrote I think he won an Emmy Award for writing for Empire Generous, and just a just a funny guy, just a sweetheart of a guy. And he just was we were kind of talking, he goes, Yeah, I just did this thing called Dry Bar. Have you ever heard of it? He'd be perfect for it. And I go, Oh, cool, yeah. Kind of reached out and you know, basically submitted at the time they were still shooting 45-minute specials, which was cool. So um, you know, it was like basically all the jokes I had thrown into one, you know, kind of special. Um, and so it was really exciting because you know, you go there and it's cameras and people are putting makeup on you, and it's really uh a fun thing. I'll tell you the you know, the the the pros and cons. Obviously, uh the con for me was just a lack of sleep, you know. It was uh I you know they film in Provo and I'm from I'm from Michigan, so they did I think a seven o'clock and nine o'clock show, and it was so it's nine o'clock and eleven o'clock, uh, you know, Michigan time. So a little tired, but um, I felt overall, I mean, the crowds are there to laugh, and they're they're you know, honestly, I've been very fortunate to be doing this for 20 years. Some of the best audiences I've ever had my entire life for that that taping. They really come out and they're very supportive and they're very genuine and very nice. And um, you know, like I said, it was sort of like kind of a newer thing where it was like, hey, we're doing this thing called dry bar. And so I didn't really, you know, to be completely honest with you, there wasn't the scale of it until they were in the kind of post-production where it was like, oh, this guy just got you know three million views on one clip, and all of a sudden you're like, what did I just film? You know, I didn't I didn't really realize. Um and then so it was in 2019 that I shot it. So it's been you know, whatever, five, six, seven years. So it was like right when they first started, and uh, you know, it was really nice because I had people coming out to shows on purpose from it, you know. They they sort of that's that's the dream, man. That's yeah, that's the coolest thing. And I still have people that come out that have seen clips or whatever, so it is nice that it, like I said, you kind of you do get fans from it, and I'm very appreciative that people spend their hard hard-earned cash to come out and see me, you know, do a show or whatever. And you do, you you kind of make little friendships from people that send you nice messages, you know, those things are always nice that that feels like you're doing something right, but it was such a great experience, and like I said, everybody's at uh you know in that organization is just fantastic from from the top to bottom. So I was really uh really thrilled to be be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Uh yeah, and that's so cool. That's so cool that um it is like you got to do something before you realized like what a big deal it was. Like so um it sounds like because you were doing it before it was kind of a big deal, but also it was it was just blowing up, yeah. I remember I remember those early years though, and like I mean, I love I loved it. Like it did I they started producing so many specials where I could barely keep up. Um, but like just it's like Marvel movies now, where there's like so much out there where it's like I don't I don't know, but but like but when it first started, it was like, Oh, cool, this isn't it. Let me like, yeah. So uh I think. Was like I feel like uh the first couple few seasons of dry bar, I was like dry bar in its prime, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

I mean, that was one of the things that I liked doing was you know, once I filmed it, it's sort of like telling your buddies, like, hey, reach out to this guy because yeah, you know, it's sort of like I don't know, it's like not to compare it to hockey, but for me, it's like kind of winning the Stanley Cup. It's like once you kind of win it, you're like, I kind of want my friends to kind of experience this too. So it's very fortunate that I was able to get some of my buddies to do it as well. But yeah, that's also like like I said, it's nice to have a platform for for people. And I I I feel like, you know, there's there's just so many talented people on that on that uh channel. It's it's it's it's nice to be part of it.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

That's an interesting, and so you just said something that's very interesting. Uh, and I love this perspective. It's come up a few different times and how you're talking about how you're like, I got to do this cool thing or I got to be part of this cool thing, and I want other people to experience it as well. And I think that is such the mindset we should have with comedy and ultimately with life in general, just like the the sharing, uh being happy when people have opportunities, being happy to be able to like if you produce a show creating opportunities for other people, like that is something. Um, and I think I think uh I I don't think that uh I think that is the for some people, they're like, Well, that's never the case. It's more it's the case sometimes more than you think it is. And if it's not the case, I think it takes some self-discipline as a comedian to get to that point. And I think overall that's a healthier way of looking at everything we do in comedy.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Yeah, I I mean con look, I mean, especially for the people that are starting off comedy, comedy is so hard, man. It's so hard when you're you're you know, all the all think of all the late night drives, all the fast food you've eaten through drive-throughs, all the all the beatings you've taken, you know. And so for me, I feel like everybody deserves a win every now and then, you know what I mean? And so it's like I mean, there's obviously some people that like they're not quite ready yet, you know. And it's like it's they might not necessarily sometimes it's just patience is the hardest thing in comedy because everybody goes, Hey, I've got you know, everybody, you know, people you that start 10 they've done comedy two times. How much time you got? Oh, I could do an hour. It's like, no, no, like you like 10 years and figure it out, then you then you maybe have an hour, yeah. But you know what I mean? So sometimes that's the hardest thing is you tell people like just you know, like you they don't want to hear it. You're just trying to say, like, just be patient, give it away, keep doing it, keep grinding it.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Like, because people, yeah, you got uh people that have done it for less than a year, but like, oh yeah, I've written my hour. It's like you've started your hour, you're you're you're getting you know, but but and I and I have no problem saying stuff like that because when I first started as a comedian, I was a hundred percent. I mean, a month into comedy, I booked a 45-minute gig and I was confident that it was gonna kill. I was like, it like and so many nice comedians in Nashville, like, dude, you should not, but I was like, Oh, you're just jealous, like you're just like so so like there's we we all kind of have that sort of uh I don't I don't know what the right word is, uh, but that's on on you know, you're not self-aware of you just go, oh I I I can do that.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

And it's like I said, it my old comedy mentor used to say it, and I never knew what he meant, but he always go, Yeah, you got the lightning, but you need the mileage, kid. You got the lightning, but you need the mileage. And I was like, this guy's an idiot. I don't know what he's talking about. And then as you kind of get older, you just realize like it's just like quarterback snaps, right? It's like, yeah, you can throw a bomb, but you just need you just need to keep taking snaps, and that's all it is. And and yeah, you know, comics that are two years in sometimes are like, Yeah, I want to headline, I want to headline it. And maybe you are ready to headline, but you're better off waiting another couple years and just being sure because yeah, that's sort of the sad thing is comedy can be a brutal place where they give you an opportunity, and if you don't deliver, then it's you know, you're back in the minors and they don't care because asking for that getting rebooked is sometimes harder than getting booked.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Like they might give you the shot for that headlining gig, but you want to make sure to it's it's it's such an honor to headline a show, and then as you're going home, you get that you know, you send that thank you, Matt. Thanks for letting me do your show, and then they shoot back, you're welcome. And with when when can we like let's start talking dates for next year? But uh, and this is as someone who's done plenty of gigs where maybe I wasn't ready for the gig yet. Uh I don't I just get the thank. You're welcome, or like you know, like that. I don't get the let's have you back, you know.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

It's tough because even when they like you, like I mean, they're like uh the example of my home club in Ann Arbor. It's like I I literally talk to that guy all the time, and it's like, even oh, you're you're one of my favorites, you're you know, you've been coming here for 20 years. Our rotation's like a year and a half, so just email me. That's if they like you. That's it, yeah. If they like you, there's you know, a hundred comics doing comedy before you can go back. So if they don't like you, you know, then it's even it's even more, yeah. Just kind of be patient and just just wait and kind of you know, you're better off going in as a feature act and just burning the stage down as a middle act a bunch of times than it is absolutely and then and then slowly find those little rooms that'll give you opportunities. And I'm not sure what the question was. I don't know if I went through.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

Oh, we we we we we shifted we shifted gears a little bit, which I love it. I love I love just this is a very organic conversation. Uh if if someone's listening and they're wanting it to go in a particular order, then they're they're it's not but I think we do some editing on this one, yeah. But but I love that. That's okay. Um, but this but I can already tell this is gonna be a good one. Um it'll you know, if they listen to an hour or less regular edited one, that's great. But this is a good one to go check out the the full episode in because there's a lot of content that because that's the hard part when I'm editing these, is I want to keep them an hour or less because I've seen that's kind of what the yeah uh meant like that's about the length that most people want for a podcast. But often for the ones that I have to cut, it's like I have to pick and choose what good content do I need to cut. And it it feels that's why I started doing the Patreon thing because I was like, well, then at least I'm not cutting it for life, you know? Like yeah, yeah, exactly. Just let it roll, yeah. Yeah, but this is a good episode. If you're listening, this is a good episode to check the Patreon one out. Um, no, so um, I we're uh I it was you gave me great information about dry bar. We had talked about some other other good stuff there. Uh and then the kind of another related question I had for you was uh talk to me. And this is I don't think this is something we've covered on this podcast. I don't think I've had a comedian who does who's done a lot of cruise ships, uh, but I'd love to hear more about uh the cruise ship game and stand-up comedy. Um, I've heard mixed, I've heard people love it, and I've heard people be like, it's the worst thing ever, don't do it. Um, so like I'd love to hear your thoughts, um, but then also maybe talk about how do you get booked for cruises or like stuff like that. Like, uh, give us some just cruise ship insight.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Yeah, well, I mean, it's part of my act, but it is true. It's like you're there's there's a lot of pressure because like when you're in a comedy club and it doesn't go well, you just go, all right, see you later, you sneak out. But then if you're on a cruise ship, you're living with the audience. So you are you're if it goes well, you're a hero. If it doesn't go well, you're the awkward guy that's still there. They see you in the buffet, and it's just awkward and everything. But um, sort of, I guess the way I got into it again was just sort of right right spot, right time. I was working a New Year's Eve show here in Michigan, and the headliner was um uh, you know, this is going back 10, 12 years. He was uh working on the cruises, and he goes, Yeah, you're you know, again, you're clean, you you would be perfect for cruises. And uh, you know, again, it always has that kind of connotation, like, oh, it's like I always thought it was like an old guy in a Hawaiian shirt doing the arms bit, and just you know, this whole thing. I was like, I don't know, man. And then and then he told me how much money it was, and I was like, Yeah, yeah, I'll try it out. Let's you know, we'll we'll see what it's about. And um, I mean, I guess it really depends because every cruise line is different, you know. Um, I'm mostly on Norwegian cruise line, and I've been there for 10 years, and they've just been fantastic. They um they're more of a family-oriented kind of cruise line. Um and you know, they've they've treated me very well um over the years. The best part about it is you get to see the world, right? So, I mean, there you were talking about going you know around the country and seeing stuff, and now now you're you're going all over the world, you know. I've been very spoiled to go to like you know, not only the Caribbean Caribbean, but you get to go to Europe and and all over. I mean it's it's uh really amazing, you know, and and it's it it can be tough because uh you do sometimes have things stacked against you, you know. You've got like say, for example, you you know, people are drinking and laying out in the sun all day, and so they get on the ship and now they're tired, but you gotta do your theater show, you know, and you've been taking a nap all day trying to rest for the show, but they're tired. So there's there's really like again, I don't say like trial and error, but it's like anything else. Once you get on it, it seems like you're kind of doing comedy again because you're like, What am I? You're just trying to figure out how to live on the ship and do things, and then once you kind of start doing the shows, you kind of realize like, okay, it's like anywhere else, they're just a touristy crowd, so it's not sometimes gonna be a little low-key, but other you know, sometimes you go and it's just like you're like, Man, I wish I would have recorded this one because they're right on fire. But um, yeah, so I mean, overall, I really enjoy it. Um, you know, I've done some some other cruise lines that have that were really, really good too, but um Norwegian seems to be kind of my my main uh my main focus.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

And um I mean that's okay. You've been working with them for a decade, so that's a that's a that's the end something, you know?

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Very nice, yeah. They've been very good. And and um like I said, I I genuinely enjoy it. Yeah, it's like a floating comedy club, to be honest with you. There's there's like you do a couple you do a bunch of club sets. So I guess the breakdown for people that are interested, it's generally like one uh club set that's like 45 minutes long. Sometimes they expect you to do two different 45 minutes in the club, and then there's like a theater show that's like 20 minutes, and then sometimes they'll add another 20 minutes. So it's like you a lot of it, I feel like is just playing chess with material. It's like okay, this joke. I love and I love that.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

I love doing I actually have gotten into the habit now with my headlining sad set clubs, like on a Friday night and a Saturday night. I might do two different routines because uh I I guess I have a low attention. I was like, I just said that last night, I want to say something different tonight.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

So it gives you an opportunity to just play, you know, the crowds. You know, I'm not like a big crowd work guy, but it you know, you do a little bit to just play with them, and then you kind of go, all right, they they seem to be liking this, so I can go this way, or uh, they kind of push back on that, so we'll go a different way. And so, um, you know, so the bigger ships, you're doing a lot of shows, anywhere from like six to ten. And then the smaller ships on Norwegian, they're in the theaters. So the theater is uh, you know, six or seven hundred people, so you're doing you know, two nights, two shows on two nights, and it's awesome. You know, you're up in front of 700 people and you get to play around, and oh, that's so much fun, yeah. And then, like I said, it goes well, and you're a hero, you're walking around the ship and everybody's high fibing you and stuff. So uh you know, like I said, I've been very fortunate because it's uh again pretty pretty competitive to get in. So um, you know, very fortunate to be to be doing it this way.

SPEAKER_00 33:39

Yeah, that's really cool. Absolutely. So so uh you because you've done um a lot of different kinds of comedy. We talk, you know, we've talked club comedy, we've talked cruises, uh, one thing we haven't talked much about, but it's it's in your bio and and is is as cool, you do a lot of corporate comedy. I'm wondering, what do you feel like your lane is? What is your what's your favorite kind? What's like what's the is how do you feel about because like yeah, you're very eclec. I love seeing how eclectic you are. That's a goal I have for myself is to be a very uh versatile, versatile comic. And so, but do you have a lane that you yeah?

SPEAKER_01 34:14

I appreciate that. That is that was kind of my goal was to be like go into any room and just make it work. If it's a crowddy bar or if it's a theater in front of 700 people, do the same act and it get it gets laughs, you know. And so I started I started, like I said, 20 years ago where they felt like there were more comedy clubs, or or at least more like I don't say like mom and pop clubs, but there were a lot of like just one-off clubs that you could kind of get into a little bit easier. And so, and they were long weeks, they were six, seven shows over four or five days. And um just unfortunately, I don't feel like that's I I mean, and maybe there is, maybe I'm just disconnected from it, but like I just felt like um what I I I I just I don't know. I I I kind of get bored doing the same thing over and over again. So if I'm doing all cruise ships, I get burned out. If I'm doing all comedy clubs, I get burned out. So it's like I I try to just do a little bit of you know, I try to diversify everything and just so it's so it's exciting. So for me, I really enjoy doing theaters, you know. I'm not I I mean it was kind of the dream to go and do like some massive theater, but I mean it's like I'm pretty self-aware that people aren't, you know, thousands of people aren't coming out to see me at a time. So a lot of things like little smaller, you know, a couple hundred seats about the size of a comedy club. And um, I really like doing those, they treat you well, but you know, sometimes you go and do some corporate show for some company, you play around. I had one, just didn't want an Oka Boji that was a lot of fun out in Iowa where it was just they just wanted to play, man. They they yeah, I would go into material and they're like, We don't care, make fun of the boss. And it was like, all right, so then you're you know, it's like it kind of keeps you in the moment because you're just playing around, and so yeah, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

I feel like with corporate gigs, corporate gigs and crowd work go perfect because they they when they know their coworkers, when you get to make fun of the boss or whatever. Same with honestly, same with churches. Uh like you do, you know, if you they're already a community, they already know each other. Um, some of my friends who do, I feel like do the best at those shows, um, really lean into crowd work. And uh I I do I I think you were saying you're not much of a crowd worker. I'm not much of a crowd work person myself, but I try a little bit when I'm doing those shows because that because it never fails.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

That's gonna end up doing a little bit better than yeah, you do a little bit to get them on board, and then you trick them by, you know, ah, I talked about this and now you're doing your act, right? I like I I I mean it sounds funny because it's like when you're coming up, I feel like you really are playing these like terrible bark gigs, and you know, there's clubs where there's bachelorettes and people are getting into fights, and so that's just part of it. Like, if you can make those audiences laugh, the reward at the end of 20 years is gonna do some theaters, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

It's it definitely gives you tough skin, but it also gets you developing your arc, you know.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

You get to a point where like you've been doing it for like 15 years, where you're like, I don't want to battle for your attention, you're adults, like you know, we're all never, yeah. You know, so so I've been lucky that I've been able to kind of, like I said, do some of these little theaters or church events or something where you go, man, you can just go up and you've got them and you don't have to fight for their nobody's on their cell phones, and and that that to me is uh really nice. I get I get more annoyed when people are on their phones or talking and whatever.

SPEAKER_00 37:31

I have it, I can tune them out, but then you know it's but you also feel like at this point you're like you I shouldn't have to, and like you can, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

I'm not a I'm not famous or anything, but it but you just go, we're all adults, man. Can you act like an adult in public?

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Like you came to this show on purpose. Like this is this is you paid money to sit on your cell phone. You made a choice to be here, just pay attention for an hour for an hour. That's not too bad. You you can respond to all those messages and jump on TikTok. The weirdest is like the weirdest is uh I've seen this before when um I'm on a show and I'm not up yet, but I'm about to be, or whatever, or maybe I already had gone. Uh, and you look out at the person on the phone and you look at their phone and they're watching like comedy reels on their phone.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

I'm just like, that's insulting.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

I had that happen to me on a show. I was on stage, and there's a girl in the front row watching another comedian. I'm like, there's a comedian right in front of you. Why are you on it? It's just like so funny. People are so funny, man. So, not not to do a self self-uh, you know, plug, but that is basically the premise of this whole book that I wrote called Awkward Stories from the Road, because it was like I said, it was 20 years. I just celebrated 20 years doing stand-up, and you it was for me, it was kind of a personal achievement. And then you I started kind of going back through that database of all the shows and all the people I've gotten to work with, and you just start looking. You can never even the you remember the good, you you don't even remember the good shows, you just remember like, oh, I remember that hotel was terrible. Oh, I remember this happened, oh, I remember that happened. And so, as I was kind of like telling my wife some of these stories, she was like, Oh, that's really funny. It almost sounds like a book, and kind of like a light bulb kind of came on because that's kind of what people always ask you like, have you ever bought an open storage thing? Yeah, so you go, man. So I I spent a little bit of time uh on the ship, you know, I had a lot of free time, just start typing stories out, and it was like, I don't know, it's not terrible, but some of it was all some of it was almost like therapy where you're like, Oh wow, I forgot about it. Coming to terms with it, you know, yeah, and you go, especially like I said, the the first five years it was just like working some of these nightclubs and bars, you just run into so many like kind of shady, you know, shady and just a lot of weird, crappy hotels.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

There's a there's such weird, like listen, we already talked about the amazing and beautiful and wonderful things that you encounter when you do stand-up comedy, but like to be transparent, there's also some really weird stuff that you see, and there's some nice man, yes, off awkward, yeah. So, first of all, feel free to self-promote. That's a big chunk of this podcast is introducing people to the comedian and the things that they do. And and my hope is that people listen to these episodes and find their like new favorite comedian. Um, and so I I would love to do is there a uh uh awkward bomb story that comes to mind, uh, maybe one that made it in the book, or even one, maybe one that didn't make it to the book that made it to clean comedy chats.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

You know, well, my all-time favorite was because people will tell you comments after shows. That's that's my favorite. So it actually happened to me on a cruise ship about two months ago. And I was like, the minute she said it, I'm like, Oh, I'm putting this in the uh book, you know. This lady came up to me after the show and she goes, Hey, I saw you on Saturday. You remind me of Jay Leno. And then she goes, I hate Jay Leno. Oh, I don't know how to respond. I mean, it's kind of like, Oh, okay, thank you. And then, like I said, it's even more awkward because you see that lady every day walking around the ship, and you're like, that lady hates me, and I there she is in the buffet, and she's at the guest services, you know, and so so it's just kind of the awkwardness of being kind of closed in there. But yeah, a lot of stories over the years, a lot of just um, you know, you you you should just just especially like I said, a lot of them are just like your first couple of you know headlining things where you that you were talking about, you think you got enough time, and then you're you know, 10 minutes into your act and you go, I'm out of material and I don't have enough time. Yeah, and you're and you're just doggy paddling to the end. So it was kind of fun to look back at all those things, and like I said, for for people that are starting off, just hang in there, man.

SPEAKER_00 41:53

Because there is kind of you know, for you know, I just think continuing to do it, like if it and I think the key is having fun, always having fun because that gives you the inspiration and motivation to get through the tough stuff. But like for so many new people, it's like yet that really hard thing, you'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

It just takes time and experience and reps and everybody and and the and the best thing is I won't say the name of this comedian, but I I was working a theater not too long ago, and I saw that this very famous comedian who had been doing comedy probably 50 years had been there a couple of weeks before, and I was like, How was the show? And the owner was like, dude, guy went up and bombed for an hour, and I was like, No, and he goes, Yeah, it was yeah, I don't know what happened, but people were spending 75-80 bucks to see this guy, and he bombed. And so there's part of me that's like happy to hear that because you go, Wow, a comedy legend can bomb, but it's also a scary thing where you're like, Oh, it doesn't matter right for how long you've been doing this, there's gonna be nights where it just doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

So, I mean it's not like a question of uh if you're ever gonna bomb again, it's like when's your next bomb? It's yes, exactly. When I when I first started in Nashville, and I have no idea this this story has no like actual fact verification, but it's nice for new comics. It was like an urban legend that helped us keep going. But there were stories about how Jerry Seinfeld like bombed at Zany's and then went into another show and did fantastic. Uh and so like the running, I don't want to say joke, but like the running thing that people would say, like if Jerry Seinfeld could come here and bomb one night, yeah. It anyone can, and it's fine. And the fact that he's then the next then the next show he'd you know, so like it was just a reminder, like, yeah, it happens sometimes, you know.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

So absolutely, absolutely. So it's part of the it's part of the process, part of the grind, man.

unknown 43:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:49

I think I think you handle it better when you've done it so many times. Now you just go, Oh, all right. You start realizing why you bombed. You know, when you're younger, you just immediately think, Oh, it's me, I'm off, I didn't do something. And then you as you start going, you go, Wow, there's a bar and they have the TVs on and people are playing keyno right now, and there's three people paying attention and four people drunk, and you go, Yeah, no one's gonna do well in this situation.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

Yeah, you realize there's there's some times where you're just like everyone's bombing, or like I there's uh I had a lot of barriers. Um, or what I find helpful too, like at open mics, uh, I still I still bomb at open mics when I try new jokes. I feel like it takes me at least two or three reps of a joke to make it figure out what's funny about it. Like what's I I it's funny in my head, and those first couple times where I say it out loud, I'm not properly portraying the humor. Um, and I love it when uh, you know, and not you know, we don't have as many uh you know open mics here as like a New York or an LA mic, but like you could still get up sometimes and do two or three open mics a night. And so what I love is taking jokes to the first open mic uh and possibly bombing big time, but then on the drive to the second one, I'm I'm already thinking, like, how can I shorten that joke? What can I turn around? And then like when it does goes does excuse me, I don't know how to speak apparently. When it goes better the next night, the next mic, it's like that's part of the process, you know.

SPEAKER_01 45:17

Absolutely, and and it's it's just so funny. I mean, I've done that before where I've pulled into places and I know immediately, like, oh this is this show's not gonna go. I can tell before I even say anything, I go, this is gonna be a nightmare. But uh but yeah, I mean that's a that's great, and that's what open mics are for is just tweaking and figuring things out. I mean, especially when it's like your first five minutes, you just want to run your five minutes until it's killing, and then you can start expanding. But that's what I do a lot of times with open mics too. I'll go and just have a have an idea of all right, I kind of want to hit here, here, and here. And like you said, as your first time doing it, it's way too long. So you go, all right, I gotta tighten this, or oh, here's an idea, or yeah, I just I just said this on stage in the moment that seemed to work, and now I got something, and it's it really is a big process of just you know, just just getting up, man. That's that's so why it's so important, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:10

And it's and that's the that's the fun part though. A lot of people they're so afraid of bombing that they might miss the enjoyment of the craft of stand-up comedy. Like, I mean, it's so fun and fascinating to think that, especially when you get a well-formed joke that basically works in whatever room. So, like the fact that you can say something, or even that if you have I have certain jokes that in some rooms I'll say one way, in another room I'll say another way, and it's just fun that I've learned how to make that joke work for different audiences. Like, that's that's the skill of comedy, and so um for anyone listening, references or yeah, different, you know.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

Oh, it's not gonna work if I say this, I'll say this guy.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Any pop culture references has an expiration date. Absolutely. Um, you've been doing this for 20 years, you've done a lot of cool stuff. What's a what's a goal you have for yourself in stand-up comedy? Or have you have you peaked and reached our all the goals, or is there something you're still working towards?

SPEAKER_01 47:10

Yeah, I appreciate that, man. That's that's very nice to say. I mean, I like I said, I when I started, I just wanted to do it for a living. You know, I was like, if I don't have to punch a clock in some job I hate doing, you know, I consider that a win. Whether it, you know, I I never really set out to do TV or radio or any of that stuff. To be honest with you, a lot of that stuff just kind of fell on my lap. It was sort of right place, right time, and they were looking for somebody. And and I I hope, you know, uh it's just to be honest, it's like I I there were certain things that I wanted to do, you know, a little radio, you know, Bob and Tom was something that I listened to when I was a kid. So, you know, getting to go on there a bunch of times over the years has sort of been surreal that I, you know, like I said, those guys even remember me and are very nice when I go to studios. You know, honestly, I um the book was something that I was really proud of to kind of kind of write. Um, I'm working on a couple other little short projects, little little filming stuff and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

And is is the book out now or is it coming out? I was trying to find out.

SPEAKER_01 48:14

I don't know, it'll be out, yeah, it'll be out this fall. I'm just kind of tweaking the land doing the last minute tweaks and getting the publishing and all that stuff out. So probably cool, like I said, hopefully we're looking at September or October is what I'm kind of hoping it'll be out. Um, but um, but yeah, Comedy Wise, man, when I when I started, um you know, it was I wanted to do the tonight show. That was my my big dream. Um it's it's very hard if you don't have uh the right agent or the right manager and things like that. So, you know, um and and to be honest with you, it's like they only do whatever 10, 12 people a year, and there's you know 50,000 people trying to get out. So I mean it used to be yeah, so I I don't know, like I'm I'm kind of at peace if I never do it. I mean it's uh you know it's not you know, it was kind of crushed uh when it didn't happen, but like I said, I I don't think it defines you, you know. It's like I think as comics we're looking for well, this credit is gonna define me, and this is gonna you know, and then you and then six months go by and people forgot you even did it, right? So it's like again, I think it's like for me, I just I it's fun going into a room and making people laugh. So I mean, I I genuinely just love doing comedy. So like I know it's probably like not an exciting thing to say, but it's like my goal is to just keep working and just keep traveling and having fun doing it. And I've been very fortunate to do it for been doing it 20 years, so if I can do it for another 20, I'll I'll consider that a huge so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

I love that answer. And your enjoyment and joy over doing comedy is so evident in talking to you. Like, I mean, this is the first time we've ever had a conversation, and it's it's so motivational to just to see that um that you've you've you've done it longer than me and you're loving it, and it's like it's it's it's when you talk about comedy, it's like a kid in a candy shop, and I think that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Oh, it's the it's the best, buddy. Nothing better than those lights hitting you and those people are ready to go, the energy. It's it's fun, and then like you said, just the process of figuring out a new bit. I mean, it's uh yeah, it's literally, it's literally the best thing.

SPEAKER_00 50:20

Yeah, yeah, stand-up's literally my favorite thing. Like it's it's it's uh uh at times I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to it, but like I tell myself, like, there's way worse addictions out there. There's way more harmful things than I could be. Uh, and so um okay, let's let's shift gears. Uh, I want to because I always do like to get to know a little bit about the comedians outside of comedy. Uh and so uh your backdrop and reading about you before uh you are kind of a fan of hockey, it seems like you're kind of uh huge, huge Red Wings fan.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

Actually, I think game four of the Stanley Cup Finals is on right now, but uh yeah, huge Red Wings fan, being from Michigan, they were a powerhouse in the 90s, so it's easy to fall in love with it. I was uh I played hockey a little bit, not nothing too crazy competitive, but always loved playing, always loved watching it. I'm big uh memorabilia collector, so that's kind of the fun thing about going on the road is you pop into some of these hockey card stores and see uh you know the cards you're looking for in the dollar bins, people get rid of it because uh you know in Chicago or St. Louis or something where they don't care. So it's it's fun to just kind of do stuff like that. Kind of keeps you busy on the road. Something fun.

SPEAKER_00 51:29

Yeah, that's a fun that's a fun, fun thing to keep up with. Now, my uh when I think of hockey, so I um I love how into sports you are. Uh I it I has to I I think we I don't know how long we are in this interview, but uh this several minutes in, I should probably let you know. Like, I'm the least sports fan ever. Like, I yeah, uh I love it for other people. But that being said, um uh what are your thoughts on like the Mighty Ducks movie, the old 90s Disney movie?

SPEAKER_01 51:55

Love them, man. I grew up on those. I was excited when Disney kind of rehashed that little TV show. It wasn't yeah, and it only lasted for a couple seasons, right? Yeah, it wasn't great, but it was fun to kind of have something to kind of look forward to and watch. But yeah, I always enjoyed it. And funny enough, I was in I was in Nashville the one time I was in like well, I've been in Nashville a couple times working zanies and a couple other private shows, but I I remember when I was there for the Christian Comedy Association, the predators were in the Stanley Cup Finals, and that town was nuts. It was so awesome.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

Yeah, we I I wasn't living in Nashville at that time, but I remember through all the social media and and like the the craze that I mean that really helped predator publicity, which isn't the best phrasing, but that really helped with the publicity for them and the that helped us out with a lot with our team, so yeah, yeah, oh yeah. But yeah, I I am I I definitely mighty the Mighty Ducks 2 is one of among one of my favorite movies of all time, and growing up that was a series that it made me want to like hockey because I loved those movies so much, and I feel like that about a lot of sports movies. Like, I I love the sports movies way better than the actual sports, uh and it made you have a a distrust for Iceland for some reason.

SPEAKER_01 53:09

I always thought that was hilarious. You're like, why Iceland? They're not I don't even think they have a hockey team, but that was their big rival in that movie, and so it was uh it was hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 53:18

Yeah, uh you're right though. It took me a while to realize like Iceland's fine, like they exist, okay, goons, yeah. Yeah, that's funny. Um, and the only and and it gives you that one uh fact that uh Iceland is always green and Greenland is made of ice. Like I learned that from the Mighty Ducks.

SPEAKER_01 53:36

Thank God for Emilio Esteves because I would have known that.

SPEAKER_00 53:40

Right, absolutely. Uh well, that's cool. I appreciate it. Well, we're gonna enter in the section of our show called uh Ask a Comedian. So uh I already told Andy about this before the show, but if you're listening, uh I'll tell you about it. Uh we have the uh people have the opportunity to send us in questions at really anytime periodically. Um, I'll shoot a message out on my own social media and stuff like that, where uh a lot just ask people to shoot send in questions if they want. Um, so if you're listening to this podcast, uh if well if you're watching us on YouTube, you can just drop a question in the comment section. If you're listening to us on, you know, whatever you're listening to, Apple or Spotify or whatever, there's in our episode notes, which by the way, we'll link you to Andy's website and that kind of stuff. Uh, there's also like a ask us a question option. And if you feel like it, you can just text us a question. You can on any of the clean comedy collective or my own Drew Davis comedy social media, you can ask a question there. So, Andy, uh, I have uh I believe I have 39. Let me double check. I yep, I have 39 questions. So you can give me three numbers between one and 39, and that will dictate which questions we ask you.

SPEAKER_01 54:47

Okay, well, since this is the 19th uh episode and number 19 was my guy, we'll go uh 19. Okay. We'll do uh number three, and we will do number 22.

SPEAKER_00 54:59

Question number 19 is uh from Jakeovis, who's actually a clean comedy collective comedian. Uh and he's uh he's based out of Kentucky, uh very cool guy. Um and uh he he he uh his question is uh have you ever tutor during a performance?

SPEAKER_01 55:21

Well uh I can't say that I have, but this is probably a little more information than you need to know. I remember I love that. One time uh I had these really bad migraines, and I remember feeling completely nauseous before a show and feeling like I was gonna throw up and just felt terrible. And there's something about the adrenaline of doing a show that the minute you go on stage, I don't know if you're I was just in the moment, like just hey, yeah, let's do comedy. Um, I did literally 45 minutes of comedy, and I said to you know, people laughing, it was a great night. And the minute I said thank you very much, all those symptoms hit me again, and I immediately got off stage. I was thrown up in the bathroom and just was completely ill. So uh never, never uh never farted on stage, but have definitely almost threw up on stage. So yeah, so that was probably the closest uh you know to an embarrassment.

SPEAKER_00 56:17

That was a fun answer. Uh this is another this is another fun question. This came to us from Threads from Glenn Tickle. Uh, and it's what's your favorite Mr. T project?

SPEAKER_01 56:30

Mr. T. Oh uh man, I'd probably say probably was it Rocky III that he was in. I loved him in Rocky III.

SPEAKER_00 56:39

That's that's my favorite as well. Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 56:42

Clever Lang, he was a tough guy, man. He's scared, yeah. He's scary. I mean, he scared Rocky so much he was off his game and was freaking out. So I mean, uh, that was probably my favorite thing, Mr. T was in. Or there's also uh this is uh it's not a clean movie, but there's a movie called Not Another Teen Movie. If you've ever seen that I've seen that one, it is a spoof, and he is the wise janitor of the uh it's a spoof off of uh Rudy, and he has all the lines in that that made me laugh. But yeah, what a what a great guy, man. What a what a character.

SPEAKER_00 57:16

Okay, so this last one comes to us on Instagram from Chris. I don't have a last name, so just Chris. Uh, and uh it's uh this this I I don't this there's a a lot of answers, so we'll hear from what your answer is. But it says, uh, how do you craft a punchline?

SPEAKER_01 57:32

How do I craft a punchline? Um a lot of my stuff comes from just daily life, little observations and things like that, or my son will say something, or a little thought pops in my brain, and so it's just you know, a lot of times it's just in conversation. This happened, and I tell somebody and they laugh, and I go, ah, there's something there. That's kind of the basis of it. And then um, you know, you just kind of try to punch, you know, you try to expand on it. You try to look at who, what, where, when, why. You try stretching it out a little bit and things like that. But a lot of my stuff is just just conversation or something I noticed uh with the family, and uh it's fun.

SPEAKER_00 58:12

Yeah, that's good. I love that. Well, Andy, thank you so much for being on this show. It's been a wonderful chat. This has been uh so much fun for me. Uh and and and I I truly mean inspirational and motivational talking to you. And I feel like uh a lot of the things that you're doing and a lot of the mindsets that you have are are things that I strive to do in my own stuff. So it's just kind of encouraging to to hear you say some things like, okay, that that's a good idea, you know.

SPEAKER_01 58:34

Um fun getting a chat with you a little bit, and it was great to meet you, and I appreciate you having me on. And hopefully we'll get a chance to do some shows together here sometime.

SPEAKER_00 58:44

That would be wonderful. Like I said, hit me up next time you're in Nashville and we'll see what we can do. And if if you I'm ever if we're ever in the same area, I'd love to work with you too. Um, so this is your chance to plug and promote and tell us, you know, tell people where they can find you, tell tell us anything cool that you have coming up, and uh, you know, what just tell us whatever you want, you know.

SPEAKER_01 59:03

Yeah, yeah. You can check me out on my website. It's just my name, andybeningo.com. It's B-E-N-I-N-G-O and Beningo was his name. Oh, that's the easiest way to remember it. Uh, tour schedule online, pretty busy uh uh summer with a lot of tours touring and and going to Arizona and Wisconsin and a bunch of other stops, and then uh it'll be nice because I'm off the road for a couple of months, which I don't think has happened since the pandemic. So I'll be doing a lot of Michigan local stuff, but uh yeah, I got some got some uh little reels and and Facebook clips and stuff like that. So feel free to add me and uh and have some laughs. And uh, like I said, it's uh that's all it's about, man. Just making people laugh. So if you have a clip, if you see a clip of mine, you laugh, then I'm then I'm proud I was able to do my job. So uh yeah, it was fun, buddy. Thanks for having me. So it was a blast getting to chat with you.

SPEAKER_00 59:54

Yeah, we appreciate you being here. And for anyone listening, feel free to check out the Clean Comedy Collective on all of our stuff. Our website, cleancomedycollective.com, has a whole list of comedians from all across the country. Andy's in the Michigan section, I'm in the Tennessee section. Whatever state you're in, you can find some comedians. Uh well, I should say 39 states that you're in and Washington, TC. You can find a comedian that you like. Um, but uh we do these episodes every week. So come back next Saturday. We'll be interviewing a different comedian. If you love this and you just can't get enough, go check out our previous episodes. And thank you guys so much. Uh Andy, thank you again. And uh we'll see you all next week. You're welcome.