The Fisch Bowl
Are you a fan of all things Film, Music, Horror, Sci-Fi, Theater, and the Arts, then you are going to want to swim down to the deepest depths of the sea and join Sam Fisch in the Fisch Bowl; where all your favorite aspects of the horror, music, entertainment, and arts industrie are covered.
The Fisch Bowl
Weed, Wait Times, and Why the Chicken Sandwich Is Always “Two Minutes Out”
The funniest part of chasing a dream isn’t the victory lap—it’s the miles you put in when nobody’s watching. We sit down with comedian Nathan Lund to talk about building a career that lasts, why “making it” doesn’t always mean going viral, and how to earn laughs fast without losing your voice. Nathan breaks down why open mics are still the best classroom, how one-minute sets can teach brutal lessons about pacing, and why patience beats panic when you’re new and hungry.
We wander into movie-geek heaven—character actors who steal scenes, the tonal whiplash of Judgment Night, and sleeper gems like Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead and Hard Rain. If you love the faces you always recognize but can’t always name, this part’s for you. Nathan connects the dots between those unsung film heroes and the role of a working comic: consistent, essential, quietly elevating everything around them.
There’s a candid detour into weed policy, vaping hazards, and what smart psychedelic use actually looks like. Think set and setting, not stunts. We talk microdosing, avoiding panic spirals, and why access to cannabis still gets tangled in outdated rules. It’s harm reduction without the lecture—and a few very funny stories about trips that landed well.
We close with updates on Chubby Behemoth (weekly free and Patreon episodes), the travel series Wide World (Tokyo, Paris, Colorado plains, and Rome), and where to catch Nathan on the road. If you’re curious about starting stand-up, obsessed with deep-cut movies, or just here for smart, unpretentious comedy talk, you’ll feel right at home.
If this hit the spot, follow, share with a friend who loves stand-up and cult films, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.
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Attention, all you fishes in the sea. You know him as the co-host of the hilarious Chubby Behemoth podcast with Sam Talon. You know him from the Kill Tony community. You know him as the hilariously funny comedian Nathan Lunn. Welcome to the Fish Bowl. Thanks for having me, man. Absolutely. Thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I got my floaties on. You can't tell. But I uh I have floaties. I have a little life preserver for the around my waist, so I can swim on my back easily.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I'm I'm in one of the the those chairs with the cup holder and uh you know flo floating right right by a making story, you know, my my guppies don't drown.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, but the key thing we gotta know is if the temperature is just right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's like a bath.
SPEAKER_00:Feels good. Yeah, yeah. You know, not not too not too hot, not too cold.
SPEAKER_02:Feels like amniotic fluid, yeah, it's nice.
SPEAKER_00:You know, like the instead of the the three bears with the porridge, it's the the three fish with the fish food.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, I'm getting my minerals and nutrients, not and I'm not getting it to be a fat fish, so that's good. You know, you gotta be healthy so I can live my full six months or whatever.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right. You know, and it's just swimming upstream from here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, man. What's that poster you got from Dust Till Dawn? What's the other one?
SPEAKER_00:Forbidden Planet or what uh Army of Darkness. Oh, hell yeah. Dude. Yeah, yeah. And my my shirt uh shoot uh do you know the comedian Steph Tolev? I I it I was it's funny you you I actually wore this shirt to so it's funny you brought it up because if you weren't, I was. I saw her this past week. Oh shit. In uh Pittsburgh and Jefferson McDonald opened uh you know for her, and I forget who I apologize, Steph and Jefferson. Uh the comedian who opened for them, but uh it was a it was a great show.
SPEAKER_02:I would imagine, yeah. I love Steph and the all the videos with with Jefferson have been great. They recre you know they reenact scenes from Happy Gilmore, or I've seen you know a couple other movies, but it's really funny to watch Jefferson play his own dad. Right, right. And then for Steph to play that giant that got the nail in the head. Jackass. Or yes. What's his name? Shit.
SPEAKER_01:Uh he just died. Yeah, he just died. Yeah, also from Pittsburgh.
SPEAKER_02:Was it Joe something? Joe Fleischer, no. Yeah, not Flesh Fleischer, but yeah, yeah, I know I know I know who you mean.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, he was he was from Pittsburgh, I I found out. And uh the funny thing I told Jefferson and Steph, because I was talking to them after the show, is the the actual real shooter McGavin, you know, Chris McDonald, was actually in Pittsburgh like a few weeks prior, same month, just a few weeks apart for Pittsburgh's uh like big uh Comic-Con film.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so he was there, and they also had uh what's his name? Alan, is it covert? He you know, the guy who's all in grandma's boy.
SPEAKER_02:Grandma's boy, yeah, isn't it? Yeah, co covert or coburn.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, something like that. Covert, covern. You met him? Yeah, they were both at uh the convention. Everybody was like, Are we gonna get Sandler? and um people like me who have been going to those things for years were like, no fucking way.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, Comic Con. Well, I can't say all some Comic Cons get some heavy hitters, but a lot of what you're gonna get are those really good character actors that have been in a million things, and and and it's they're almost kind of going away, I feel, as you see a lot of bigger movies, they just want all of like they want a bunch of A-list names, and then everybody else is kind of extras or whatever. But a lot of great movies were as great as they were because of those character actors filling up those roles underneath, you know, the the the romantic leads or whatever. Right. And uh and it yeah, the a lot of those cons. You get to meet a lot of really talented people that maybe you don't know their name. I've tried to get better at knowing a lot of those names because you get I get sick of being like, What's the who's that guy he was in? And so it is pretty cool to be able to meet some of those talented people that really that that could elevate a movie, you know, from good to great.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely. And it's funny you say that because like my my show kind of it's it's like niche is like uh actually interviewing those specific types of actors, the ones that like are in everything we would have seen growing up, because you and me are you know a couple years apart, and you know, basically everything from like the 70s, 80s, and 90s, you know, is is like all those people or you know, the character actors are who I like to get on my show. Like, and and it's funny you say that because especially about meeting them there. One of the big ones that I got just from attending a con and just going up to the guy and saying uh it was his name is Mark Ralston. Yeah, aliens.
SPEAKER_02:I looked him up because he was the second guy you listed as somebody that you had on. And I look him up and I'm like, oh shit, yeah, Shaw Shank, and you know, like you say, million things, yeah, talented dude. And then, you know, it's the same with comedy. Like I used to want long ago, I wanted to be a you know one of the biggest, or let's see where we can end up, you know, hopefully near the top or whatever. And it's like over the years, I got more realistic or more just like, man, I don't want to do all that shit that I would need to get up there. So I just want to be funny and and do it for a living. And some people think that's like that doesn't count as making it, and it's like, you know, but they don't know what they're talking about. Really, you have to be able to work. You want people to know think that you're funny and talented, and the rest, you know, you just I just want to see where I end up with with luck and with persistence, as opposed to this head down grinding, you know, putting your all into it. That's fucking exhausting, man. So not to say that people who aren't famous actors didn't work very hard, but you know what I mean. There's just there's only so many roles to go around, and if you can stay busy and fulfilled, then that's you know, making it to me, and it has been for a while now. And and you know, there's there's you know, people know me and and like me, and that's that's enough for me, you know. The rest is just icing on the cake.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And and you know, like people like you, and I really have to throw Sam Talent's name in there, and just the whole like Kill Tony team. You guys made it seem like just encouraging like the average person to you know just goof around to at least try it. If if you ever see Shane Gillis, tell him this story. I won't I want this story to go like viral amongst comedians because this this is like truly legendary. My my dad used to work the elevators at Rockefeller, you know, plaza or whatever, the the building where SNL right right is shot. And you know, he told me stories about how this is like back in the the early 80s. So like, you know, he he met like you know, Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Ragnar, you know, Gene Wilder, you know, like you know, all these like the the legends, you know, the the people who started it all and said they were really nice guys and really nice people, had nothing bad to say, you know, also used to sell drugs and stuff stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, perfect, yeah, good idea. Yeah, and you're you're running out of product.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And I mean, he gave me the rundown on the whole like cocaine system and you know how in uh the rec room of uh of you know the SNL area, you'd like open this this cabinet, you know, and there'd be like this bowl just filled with like cocaine, you know, and anybody was like allowed to help themselves, basically. The the the funniest thing he told me, and I also just found this out, him and his you know co-worker buddy at the time, you know, had turned on some producers and writers and stuff on the coke and you know different drugs and stuff, and you know, they were partying and having a blast. And the guys uh said to him, you know, but we'll we'll put you in a in a in a sketch, you know, as as like extras, you know, on uh on you know, this this weekend on SNL. You know, Friday comes and they're like, oh, like they're telling their friends, they're you know, telling all these people like we're gonna be extras on a skit on SNL. And you know, Friday night comes, oh you're cut. Sorry, you know, it is what it is. Yeah. My dad, basically, especially at that time, is like, these motherfuckers are gonna cut us after what we did for them, you know? So he's like, I'm gonna get back. I'm gonna get back at them. So he waited and he waited, and finally it was a night after rapping, you know, another episode of SNL. All the producers, you know, are in this elevator, which he has control of at the time, and basically they hit the button, you know, for the first floor, the elevator starts to go down and stops. My and and I found out the the most recent element to this story that kind of puts the the cherry on top of the the the cake or you know, whatever, is that that that producer was Lauren Michaels.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, he was in there, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And specifically the person who said all this to my dad was was Lauren Michaels. So my dad locked Lauren Michaels and like several other, you know, main producer, people, writers, or whatever, yeah, at the time in in an elevator, and they were all gone getting ready to go to like studio, what was it, 60 was 64, whatever back.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know, yeah. I think of like 8H as a thing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Studio 60 was yeah, I don't know. Yeah, it was it was one of those clubs basically all out the party, and you know, they they they Oh, oh not in rock, not in 30 rock.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, what was that? Studio 57, I think.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, something like that. That was the big one, the big club, yeah. Yeah, and they were all all like heading out to to go there. And uh, you know how they had, you know, in the old elevators, they'd have like a telephone, you know, in there you could call for like maintenance or whatever. And they they you know, Lauren Michaels would call and be like, excuse me, uh, you know, what's what's going on with the elevator? And my dad answered, you know, with his buddy, and perfect response, and and just kind of the the butt of the joke is uh we're working on it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Well, that's why you don't fuck with uh elevator operator, they can make you wait as long as they want you to wait.
SPEAKER_00:Right. My dad was like, you know, this this has to stay between us. And I'm like, no, this this story needs to go, needs to go viral.
SPEAKER_02:Did you watch Saturday night, that new movie? You know, I haven't yet. I wanted to. Yeah, I thought it was good. You know, yeah, the movie captures a lot of the electricity that must have been going on, you know, and stress for this unproven guy to get his shot and to like everybody kind of knows or finds out over the course of that day, like how close or how perilous it was because the studio, the executives were like ready to not air the show at all. They had a rerun of the Tonight Show ready to go. If they I don't know, I I guess because they were in negotiations with j with Carson about a new contract or something, and so SNL was like this threat to take away some of Carson's reruns, you know, and and to renegotiate going forward where they wouldn't need him on Saturday nights. So yeah, there was just like this big like power struggle up until I guess either you know, night of, you know, and in the movie, I think they might have made it a little more dramatic by making it seem like it was the last second that they were kind of planning on showing a rerun of the tonight show instead. But yeah, it was it was it was good. I thought uh just about everybody was true to their their uh character, their counterpart, you know, everybody, the Aykroyd guy that did Aykroyd, the guy that did Chevy Chase, they were all they were all solid.
SPEAKER_00:That's awesome. I well it was uh Dylan O'Brien who did Aykroyd.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know if that's is is he in a lot of stuff? I can't remember if I recognized him.
SPEAKER_00:He was like the the star of uh was it the uh the the maze run?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00:I didn't see that. To be honest, I didn't really watch it. I I think I watched the first one because it like reminded me of Lord of the Flies. Oh, okay. But but basically it's it's one of those like preteen or you like young adult, you know, novels, like where there was what was the one with a Shalen Woodley, uh like insurgent or something. Or it's it ba basically made like I think three of them or something, three or four. The the last one might have I think was like a part one, part two, so there might have been four altogether, but it's it's like a you know young adult uh like sci-fi novel series that that's like the the only difference is like I think why it uh it probably appealed to me more than you know those other ones was because it the the writer who you know wrote the the novel series aimed it more towards you know boys, so it has more of like a I guess a guy meter. Yeah, you know, where the other ones were like the these are aimed towards chicks, you know. Sure, yeah, maybe more uh action or whatever instead of yeah, yeah, more like guy stuff, guy oriented topics and action. You know, I I guess you know they they've I I would imagine by now they've done enough studies to to kind of gauge like what guys and girls, you know, like, you know, at that age range that it was aimed for, you know, which is like young adults. The first movie I was like, okay, this was kind of cool. As it went on, I was just I honestly lost interest.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, me me with novels, it's like I like one of those people who likes the movie more than more than the book.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I uh reading for me, if once I've fallen out of the routine, it's hard for me to get back in. So it's been a while since I've read anything. And I do I I I do prefer movies and TV just about every time. Even though, you know, Sam is such a big reader, I could get so many good recommendations from him, and I have, but I don't I don't consume as many books as he does, and sometimes I wish that I could get back into it, you know, and he started doing the Kindle thing, which makes it even easier. Right. But I haven't I haven't read anything on a Kindle. I have one from uh a buddy of mine uh gave it to me before he passed, and so there's even some books on there, it's just ready to go, and I just can't I can't I I don't do it. I'll I'll watch I watch a lot of movies and shows that I've already seen because I want to have them on while I am on my phone, and I'll read articles and stuff on there, and so I feel like I am kind of reading, but I as far as like novels, you know, or even like nonfiction, I just when I start to read, I usually get get tired, and so it's like annoying.
SPEAKER_00:So I'm exactly the same way. Like I I I keep up with the news and kind of articles like that, and just you know, but I definitely I I have my ADD is way way too too bad uh to kind of especially since I haven't been in school for like you know over uh like about 10 years was like since I was in college. So and even before that, it was like, you know, I I took time off in between high school and college. So like I started off like when you're in school, it's like they program you to read, read, read, you know, you have the assignment list, you know, and then once you're like like you said, out of the the swing of things or just the the system of it, it's like makes it hard to kind of go back into it. But you know, I I could not get into novels. I think that's because my dad showed me total recall when I was five years old. And it was over.
SPEAKER_01:It's it's pretty much been uh, you know, like what else can I watch?
SPEAKER_00:You know, that that is like you know, as you know, graphically violent as as this. I've also gotten a obsession with Schwarzenegger and Stallone and pretty much the the entire expendables, you know, cast up to this point because of that.
SPEAKER_02:They helped raise you while your dad was in the elevator. You were hanging out with uh you know buff action stars kicking ass. Right, right. Yeah, no novel, no Shakespeare, you know, play, and Moby Dick doesn't have a chick with three tits in it. So it's hard. It's hard to compare. Hard to yeah, sometimes I think re I think somewhere in my brain I associate reading with homework, with school, which I I went right from high school to college and then kind of burnt out and was sick of it. Like I graduated, I wanted to graduate undergrad and then didn't have a plan after that. But all I knew was the idea of going to grad school, of continuing with more school, made me want to end everything. Made me want to bring made me want to bring a Philadelphia pastry to the airport because it I was over it. So I think part of part of my my l inability to read has something to do with being forced to read for school and uh just never wanting to go back to that, which is insane because if I could pick and read whatever, then it's not like and I don't have to write a book report on it, so yeah, I would have to like retrain my brain, I think, to to get over that.
SPEAKER_00:I think part of my thing is the same thing as yours. I I did not have a good school experience growing up, not at all, which is one of the reasons why I really through watching you know Kill Tony and seeing like all the people that he's you know helped and kind of gotten like to do stand-up and everything.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah, we were talking about the uh make you mentioned comedy feeling more accessible because of some of the either Kill Tony or podcasts, and that is a good thing because I thought the same thing when I was a kid. I thought that there was some magic connection you had to have or you had to know somebody to get into any show business, you know, let alone uh you know, including stand-up, but that's not true, and I think some people could still think that. But podcasts and just interviews with comics, you know, comics talking about how they got started gets gets rid of that because it's not true. You just have to start wherever you are. You can just start doing it and pursuing it. You don't need permission, you don't need to take a class, you don't need you just need to look up where there's an open mic. And even that, if well, you wouldn't start one before doing stand-up, that would be literally insane. But just yeah, there's there's so much information now that is accessible so that you can kind of figure out what you need to do to get going. And there is not a lot of like you don't have to learn how to play guitar or you know, take a a singing class in order to uh figure out if you can sing, you just have to be able to speak English here, you know, and then and then try to, you know, you you watch enough stand-up, it's almost like taking a class as far as kind of the basics or whatever, and then God, yeah, there's so much advice and information that's ready, you know, that's out there for you. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I mean, uh there's probably way too many people doing stand-up, but you can't really, you know, tell people who can't should or shouldn't do it, because anybody could be really good at it and very funny. You just have to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00:And I I feel like I feel like with like even though like there there is a lot of people doing it now, like more so than when like we were growing up, you know, with the accessibility of podcasting and internet and everything, but I also feel like it's it's not at the point where like it's an oversaturated market.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, it's saturated, but I just don't know what that it's not like that means that people suffer. Like, and also how could you you couldn't say we have we have we're full of comics right now, so go home, you know. It's not really how it works. Right. You're st you're just gonna have more and more people trying to stand out, and then if you can, you do, and ideally, you know, you get rewarded. But it's hard, you know, it's hard. There is a lot of competition, and so some people, you know, try to do everything they can to advance, and others like me don't do much at all, but luck out. I mean, I moved down here to Trinidad and I didn't think I was gonna do as much stand-up as I did when I lived in Denver, but then Sam asked me if I wanted to open for him, and I said sure, and then got busier than I was. I mean, in in certain respects, got busier than I than I was when I was working real hard in Denver trying to do shows every night. So it worked out, but yeah, there's a lot of people doing it, and it is tough to uh figure out your path.
SPEAKER_00:I I I can believe it. And I mean, you know, one of the things I definitely wanted to ask and talk about is like, you know, like because since we're on the the subject, it's like, you know, I I watch Kill Tony, you know, I I I see you know I I I follow Adam Ray. I actually have some pretty decent seats to go see him do the Dr. Phil thing here in Pittsburgh in June. So I'm like really excited about that. But like, you know, it is like I've seen people do well on Kill Tony. I've also seen people like bomb like really bad because they they think just by listening to Rogan and watching Kill Tony that you know they can just go up and and and you know do it. And some people can't, some people have like a you know natural ability to you know just be themselves and be funny. Other ones, you know, they might need to work on material, they might have like a premise that that you know that if they work at it, you know, they can could potentially do something. And then there's you know other people that it's just like, dude, you may think you know what's funny, but you you got no fucking clue, you know. So just you know, it just it's better to just stick to your day job or whatever you're doing and just not pursue this. Me, you know, I've I've never done stand-up, but I know that my writing like is and writing ideas are funny. Because like I have a a script on Amazon that's actually like Sam's that's uh available as an ebook and for Kindle that actually uh got published because it made it as a finalist in a screenwriting competition. It's called Gurr, a zombie love story. And you know, there's like it's it's a zombie rom-com, you know, the adult humor. You know, if you're a horror movie fan, especially Ramiro movie fan, like you'll really get the jokes. It's like won like like over 20 different awards besides being published. And like I feel like I have an idea for like what's funny with like sketches and stuff, but uh you know, there's a difference between being like a a comedic writer versus actually you know doing stand-up comedy. Yeah, you know, for instance, there's like a joke uh I came up with in the script where there's you know the the character is you know a zombie who's basically he has a human wife and she's cheating on him with a high school kid and trying to kill him over a life insurance policy. You know, already I kind of think that premise is you know a little funny. And there's a scene, you know, in the in the in the script where he's at like some supermarket and there's a homeless zombie outside the supermarket holding a cardboard sign that says we'll work for brains, you know. I I think that's it's like you know, I I think I'm funny, but am I like you know, stand-up comedy funny? I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's its own language for sure. And right I think a lot of people start out kind of understanding it, and then some people have no clue. And to be on Kill Tony as a new comic is tough because if you haven't figured it out yet, the best part of being new is being able to fail and not having a bunch of people see it or you know, know who you are until you've been doing it long enough to where you're competent or whatever. So to hear that so many people move to Austin and and try to do Kiltoni when they're like less than a year in, right? When they've only done stand-up a few times, like it's insane to me. Because I wasn't I I was funny in the beginning, but I didn't have it figured out yet. It took me a while before I kind of realized that you need to. The main thing that I think most comics don't realize is how the language is very you have to cut a lot of stuff. Like you have to get people right away. You have to be funny right away. And I think a lot of people, I including me, when I started out, I used to think, well, the you know, the punchline is worth the setup. So if they just listen, then you know, then it'll it pays off. But they don't know who you are, you know, the crowd doesn't know who you are. So why would they listen to you for a minute and a half because they trust that it'll be funny and worth it? They they often didn't, and so and it wasn't worth it to them, you know. So the opposite is really true where you you gotta get them right away, and and and and once you get more established, then you can have the punchline, you know, uh build to a punchline because you're also making people laugh before the punchline, you know, and and so it is worth it because there's little laughs that lead up to the main laugh. And but yeah, all the pressure of being on Kill Tony as a new comic just sounds crazy to me. And I understand because you're you're rolling the dice or whatever. And it's not like if you have a bad set on Kill Tony, it's not like you're fucked, it's not like you can never perform again. But you also, I mean, that could be your first impression, and then you try to get booked and you're like, I did Kill Tony, and then if anybody sees it, they're like, Yeah, that sucked. You don't want that, but it it's it's also not gonna, it's not gonna be the end of the end of your career, so that is good. But yeah, just all that pressure is nuts to know that you know millions of people could see your minute and it's like the fourth time you've been on stage. That's all that's a wild ride. Because I did not I didn't have anybody looking at me. I started in Vegas and just did, you know, random open mics mostly for other comics, and then for people like playing video poker, so it's the opposite of you know, kill Tony. It would be tough to uh to have all that pressure when you're just starting to you know try and figure it all out.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right. And and the way I kind of feel I come off funny is just more naturally being myself, you know, v versus trying to like be funny by telling a joke, you know, or or like it does that does that make any sense? Like people sometimes are just naturally funny if they're like just joking around, but like the moment you kind of put like the spotlight on them and say, here, go perform and and you know be funny to a crowd of you know however many people, whether it's a you know an open mic or you know, the the an improv or like a arena or with like some of the the Kill Tony stuff. I I mean like for instance, like you know, yesterday I I I participated in the study to make uh uh you know some quick cash. There was another participant in the study. I have no clue if they like you know pre-screened us or anything, but never met this dude in my life. First time interacting. And you know, he told me afterwards I was wearing a uh King of the Hill t-shirt, and he said, I saw your t-shirt, so I knew you know who you were. You know, essentially like your your taste in you know movies and everything is probably the same as mine. But you know, we like just hit it off and we're joking around the whole time and just being like naturally funny, you know, like like like you're not you know it it's yes, it was circumstances of like the questions they were asking in this study, but like, you know, we were just goofing around, you know, you know, and I think sometimes like especially like if you're recording a podcast and it's like you know, you're just organically being like yourselves and sometimes you know, being yourself or organically interacting with someone who you vibe with, you know, whether it's a a longtime friend or you know, a guest or you know, a new new person, what's or whatever factor, it can come off just like the chemistry, you know, is like you you can't like you know recapture it if it was like you were told to like you know be like a monkey and like perform, you know. So I I think, you know, I mean I I know my writing is funny, like I wrote a uh a short script because I'm really into like my two favorite topics are movies and music. And I wrote like a short rock opera called Space Rockers, and uh the premise is like they uh uh intergalactic alien musician crash lands on earth and transforms a wannabe death death core metal band into his minions so he can conquer the world with rock all right but but you know I I I I like have a goofy sense of humor and I have like you know like my my writing I also had that this I this long this long running idea for a couple sketches and let me see if I can I can run these by you to see like if if if it you know being a comedian would you think this would be funny. The first one I've always had I've had this idea for a long time because it's been based on real experiences going to multiple different fast food restaurants with the exception of Chick-fil-A because all they sell is chicken. But like you know I mean every single fast food place I've gone to you know if you order you know the chicken sandwich versus the burger for some reason you're always waiting on the chicken. You know I I don't know if that's been your experience or you know at least in Pittsburgh every single fast food chain whether it's McDonald's Burger King Wendy's you know it's it's I've always had to wait on the chicken. You know and sometimes they've actually asked me to pull forward and and give other people their orders because they ordered burgers and and I'm I'm like still waiting on the chicken. So the initial skit was like you know a a joke on like the Twilight Zone you know with with the chicken sandwich premise. Essentially a person walks into you know their they're they would like start out where they're driving on the highway you know they're traveling somewhere it's like I'm hungry gee this place looks good I could use a chicken sandwich you know they they pull off the highway go in there you know it's like one of those old you know towns and there's like one you know chicken restaurant in there fast food chain chicken restaurant they go in there they order the sandwich while it goes by you know go into the bathroom and they come out and basically they're like stuck in the the fast food restaurant and can't escape you know and and they start like you know you know like they they go out one door they go back in the they end up back in the restaurant you know then they start seeing you know different people who've been waiting there you know like like the waiting room in in in the first Beetlejuice you know there there's people with like you know the the the line and then they say oh that's Bob over there and it's like a skeleton who's like you know holding you know a number you know you know but that's at least like the one idea I had for for a sketch. The other one is uh based based on actually my dad because this it's just literally him I my if I had described my dad I would say he in in movie characters I would say he's a mixture of of probably four four celebrities or three movie characters one celebrity. The movie characters are Ray Leota from Goodfellas John Goodman from the Big Lebowski and and uh Bert Gummer from Tremors.
SPEAKER_02:Which one is he the one with the stockpile or is he yeah the guy from Family Tives?
SPEAKER_00:Yes yes Michael Gross or whatever okay yeah the one the one the one who who kills the the worm in his basement because he has a fucking arsenal him and Reba right right you know um great movie great series and then the celebrity would be two's pretty good yeah yeah two is good they kind of start to go downhill oh yeah my wife and I I think ventured into three or she watched three and four or something and they're still kind of fun but yeah they oh and then Michael Gross is the main guy and like yeah he he turns into the the main you know guy the franchise they've made like I I can't remember there's like there might be like seven or fifteen there's fifteen tremors no I don't know or like sci sci-fi might have put out a couple of them right sci-fi put out a series with with Michael Gross okay it it I think it made it to the first like two or three episodes and then they axed it come on let it breathe sci-fi right then then some other channel that wasn't sci-fi tried to revive it with uh Kevin Bacon which was like the most recent thing they had a pilot episode where Bacon came back as his character from uh the the first film that didn't even make it past the pilot and uh and basically uh Michael Gross has been like the the guy who the franchise has turned into being like the the star and and you know we lost uh Fred Ward what like last year or something yeah I'm not sure it was last year of the year before I remember that because I was a big fan of his I I would have that that is a character actor who I would have loved to to interview. Oh sure yeah he did that movie with like the most recent film that I it was even not really recent it's like I think over ten years old at this point but it was with Danny McBride and Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari 30 minutes or less he was uh he played Danny McBride's dad in in the movie okay yeah I didn't see that one that that was a it's a fun little it's like I think like exactly an hour and a half or something with the credits. That's a good yeah a good move and uh Danny McBride I believe wrote wrote the script if I remember correctly it's it's it's a very Danny McBride humor theme film from all all his other stuff especially the HBO stuff like you know righteous gemstones and Vice Principles. Vice Principles right that was before that but I was talking about yes that was the one that was the one but it's very like you can tell it's like his his type of humor. It's basically it's based on like a real incident that that happened where basically the premise is like Jesse Eisenberg is like you know in his like early 30s in the movie and as he's unsorry is like his best friend and basically all you know everybody has like moved on with their lives and he's like you know a pizza delivery boy who's like you know everybody's moving on and he's like being stuck behind and basically Danny McBride and also uh what's his name Nick Nick Schwartzon is his best friend who's in the movie and they come out with this plan to basically strap a uh a bomb vest onto Jesse Isenberg again to rob a bank and basically you know say if if you tamper with this we'll be watching you know it'll explode and uh the movie just kind of goes from there and like you know Jesse Isenberg is basically forced to deal with his his issues because he thinks he has you know hours to to live it all works out in the end.
SPEAKER_02:But you know spoiler alert geez I didn't I'm gonna watch it eventually I just haven't gotten around to it yet geez.
SPEAKER_00:No but it's it's it's uh fun little movie. I actually wanted to ask you like on the subject of comedy like you know who are some of your like what did you some of your favorite like comedic films and comedians in general both like current and uh you know past.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah favorite comedian is Mitch Hedberg great great comedian I never I I started in 2004 he died in 05 so I never got to meet him but I did see him he did a tour with David and Lewis Black through I think Comedy Central put that together and so I got to see him the one time and I'm glad you know I'll never forget it he was he was great. All three of them were great but he like I said he was my favorite for well still but it was sad that he died because I've been able to work with and meet a lot of other comedic heroes of mine David Tell Doug Stanhope right are still just so good. You know I just talked to somebody who said they're gonna see both of them in the next couple months and I was like dude that's great because they're both just really still on top of their game.
SPEAKER_00:David Tell is coming to Pittsburgh the Pittsburgh Improv go see go see him. Yeah I'm planning on seeing him I they're actually getting like a hell of a roster this year.
SPEAKER_02:Steph Tolov I'm I don't mean to interrupt or or or change uh subjects real quick but uh yeah Tyler Fisher is coming Marlon Wains is coming Atel the guy who plays Joe on uh Family Guy at Warburton yes yes he's coming he's doing stand up yeah apparently oh I knew that yeah no I I knew that somebody I think my buddy Mitch Jones opened for him recently pretty sure and that that's cool he's funny yeah I haven't seen him do stand up Bobby Lee Bobby Lee's coming Bobby Lee haven't met him but yeah he's he's worth checking out but yeah who else Kyle doing it now you know is like Kyle Canaan I think is the you know just top-notch stuff every time Rory Scovell just moved to Denver like a year ago and I'm very like I don't miss living in Denver because it got very expensive and crowded and I was kind of over it you know just so much sudden growth. I lived there 2008 through 2020 and when I moved there in 08 like I didn't know anything about Denver. Nobody did no it it was just like not you know everybody knew about Denver but they didn't know I didn't know shit about what they had going on how big it was you know it was all a mystery I just moved with a girlfriend and and then to have it blow up like it did it was crazy. Like I always say when I first moved there you couldn't buy beer on Sundays they had that you know no liquor on Sundays thing and then a couple years a few years later they have legal weed and I was like all right they're catching up you know like but then it just continued you know the growth just was right right ridiculous and just there was no real plan or whatever. It was like just come and build you know developers come build a you know a giant apartment complex going on here on Pittsburgh so it's it's tough yeah and I I feel like you know when Rory moved there was like one of the few times where I was like ah shit where I was like jealous you know and and wished I was still up there because he it's so funny. And then to just the idea of being able to catch him performing a bunch like I I I hope Denver comics are taking advantage. I'm sure they are and are seeing him you know often because he's always he's always worth checking out very inspiring. But yeah what else oh you said movies. I I watch a futile and stupid gesture a lot the the story of Doug Kenny from Harvard Lampoon, National Lampoon, Caddyshack Animal House I really enjoy I I unfortunately a lot of my favorite stories about entertainers are the tragic ones like somebody's a genius but along with that genius you know comes demons or addiction or whatever and then they die young David Foster Wallace. I haven't read Infinite Jets but I've read a lot of his articles his essays and I love the movie The End of the Tour which is Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Siegel is David Foster Wallace and Eisenberg's character writes for Rolling Stone and they go together they hang out for like a week as he's doing a book tour and yeah I'm just like fascinated with the idea of like tortured brilliant minds and Mitch Hedberg obviously you know didn't didn't kill himself but tragic ending you know uh died very young and so yeah I I like a lot I returned to a lot of those movies or or topics I think because I'm I'm glad I you know grateful that that that didn't happen to me. I'm glad I'm able that I'm still here you know for a long time I thought I would probably die young for no other real reason than I didn't have any money, didn't have health insurance, drank a lot, partied and just didn't know you know where I was going to end up. And I think a lot of us Gen X or like millennials maybe uh thought like that where it's like yeah you know I'm not gonna like play the game and play it safe and like inherit a home and have a family so who knows what's going to happen.
SPEAKER_00:I'll probably get hit by a car at 26 you know and then you don't and it's like oh shit what do I do now you know yeah but but I'm I'm I'm grateful that I'm still here you know but yeah just like have I have you have had a fascination with some of these these people who were very talented and then you know just died Chris Farley Belushi you know gone yeah yeah so soon and it's like what what what else would they have done you know how long would they have been around I sor sorry I was just gonna say I just met uh Jim Belushi he was in town uh literally like the the last weekend in uh March for a uh actually a cannabis convention uh okay he was uh he was there because promoting uh cannabis awareness in Pittsburgh he was there promoting his Belushi's farm marijuana products oh okay yeah and uh one of the nicest guys I I celebrities especially that status and everything you know he he definitely came I I I spoke with uh one of the dispensary people who was like in conjunction with him being here and uh his exact words were he's like that you know the the old grandpa who gets high you know really cool guy and I have to you know promote his uh cannabis strain uh chemistry because that shit is amazing you know I I've in in Pittsburgh it's like we're still we're still with with medical and and with like the state that Pennsylvania is you know with it's it's kind of fucked up it's like we have I I can't remember if it's the highest or like in the top five states in the country that have the highest DYs like every year.
SPEAKER_02:I thought you were going to say opiate opioid uh addiction. Well there there's there's there's a lot of hero that too yeah that too yeah weed weed should have weed should have been legalized so long ago I know you said you don't get too political but god damn I mean I know it sucks that it is being kept from so many people that it could help.
SPEAKER_00:I mean Belushi's one of them right I think he said yeah he he literally he literally said if my brother was a pothead he would have been alive today. Right yeah yeah and and to keep it from people is insane to continue to demonize it as if it's the 30s you know it's like right please let's keep let's move beyond some of this old you know limited thinking like I I'm not sure what it's like in other states where it's still medical but like you know in in in Pennsylvania at least you know you have to give up your right essentially your amendment right to basically have a carry and conceal weapon if you want to have a medical license.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah have 12 beers and drive home and then play with your gun yeah no it sucks. It's the reason why getting a bunch of bicyclists along the way because you know you're you're you're you're all over intoxicated yeah that was you know I I I I never got my medical license in Colorado because of that even though I I don't have I still don't own a gun I didn't like that limitation. Right. And the trade-off was that the medical once we had recreational weed the medical was like cheaper you know there were better deals or whatever. Right. But I just didn't like that trade off so I I said I'll I'll keep I'll keep buying rec and and and reserve the right to be able to get a gun.
SPEAKER_00:But yeah it's it's crazy that that's connected and it's it's unfortunate but like because of medical taking over the way it has in Pennsylvania it's essentially wiped out the the black market at least for reefer.
SPEAKER_02:So people are I mean like all that's basically around now is people doing at least you know in in Pennsylvania the big problem uh I'm sure I've heard Dave Chappelle talk about it plenty of times in Ohio but it's it's it's the heroin addicts and the uh you know yes the opioids and you know the the crack addicts you know that that are like the the big issues and you know I I I definitely don't want to get too political but uh I will say Pittsburgh downtown right now looks like a a smaller version of uh California so at least with the homeless encampment so well yeah we're I mean we're we're we're telling people to fend for themselves and you know right toughen up or whatever and it's like no people you know let's we need to help people because we yeah we just keep ignoring it it's like all right well it's not going to fix itself so you kind of have to try something else you know throw some money at it but yeah no and and weed yeah just just in enabling people to be able to smoke weed is helpful to a certain extent not everybody but yeah you it's crazy that we're still fighting access to weed when there's so many other things out there that are more destructive.
SPEAKER_00:All those movies and shows and stuff you see where they depict uh people working at you know dispensaries uh just getting high you know not doing shit is bullshit because uh you know I can I can tell you this the the the weed store at least in Pennsylvania is actually way more busy you know in in flow of customers and everything than the liquor stores. And I have actually you know I think there they even did a statistic study that with like Gen Z, you know, more and more you know of that generation and you know the generation coming up especially is getting leaning more towards you know smoking cannabis or vaping which I'm against for various reasons. Again it's government tampering and there's already been like you know deaths and stuff or you know lung related issues related to vaping and everything. I mean I think you know weed that you know just if if it ain't broke don't fix it. You know some weed is just like meant to I mean weed is weed you know you're meant to just smoke the the flour and my my dad being a 40 plus year you know weed smoker you know it's like you know there like I I see certain companies like spraying you know at least here in PA you can taste like weed that's sprayed versus like you know weed that's not like tampered with. Oh sure yeah yeah you know and and I I guarantee you that like 20 years from now there's gonna be all these class action lawsuits against those companies for spraying their stuff because all these people that are like you know our age or younger you know for for that matter uh that are going to be our age or you know older our parents age or whatever are all going to develop uh you know lung related issues cancer or whatever because of of companies spraying you know the the weed just you know it's it's like if it's shit weed they're like well let's spray it and give it you know a punch up you know with with some smell and and flavor it's all artificial sure yeah make it make it look uh crystal right crystallized looking yeah I've heard about some of those shortcuts yeah it's both it's yeah we we will not know for a while when it's too late yeah so it is uh tough to know what to I mean yeah unless you really do your research it's hard to know what to avoid. Yeah and that brings me to a topic of my dad who reminds me of Willie Nelson and yeah just turned 90. Yeah yeah it's it's it's pretty funny the scenario of everything that my dad is a 40 plus year pothead I'm going on almost 20 years so I mean I I'm all for for since you were seven oh no no no for a second I thought you were 27 I was like what 20 years my ass bro right right I'm like 18 17 to 30 yeah yeah me too first time was 15 I didn't smoke a ton right away but since I was probably 20 22 so yeah it's been a while yeah I want to say probably from like 2021 22 on I've been like consistent you know yeah yeah yeah and you know that that's pretty much the only drug uh of of like you know well now it's pretty much legal but uh almost but you know I I mean I've I've done acid and I've done shrooms like a couple times but acid I think I got bad acid because I didn't feel a damn thing. Damn yeah that's not normally the case yeah shrooms I I've had some fun with but I always kind of felt like I don't want to like get to the point where like I'm seeing shit like you know morph and you know like go on a fucking journey or something you know because I always felt like I always felt like I I don't know like what happens if I have a bad journey you know yeah bad trip you know I like I don't know if like I since I've never done it like I don't know how I would handle it.
SPEAKER_02:And I and at this point in my life I'm just like you know really all I need is refer you know yeah yeah I think acid and mushrooms are both very fun useful but people do them in the weirdest like at a party or a festival music festival for your first time second time right that's crazy. You gotta be it has to be a more controlled environment I think and you have to be ready I don't know I think you can get in your own head and and the worst thing you can do is expect or super fear a bad trip because then I think it's more likely for that to happen. I think the main thing you have to do is set yourself up for success which is right with a a close friend or two have the ability to be inside outside so that you if you're hot cold whatever like you know you need some options and you just don't want a bunch of people around you to affect you because you're already going to have enough going on in your own mind. You don't need a bunch of other variables that are going to you know potentially set you onto the the wrong path you know so people have to yeah you have to you have to have a little bit of pre-planning you know right in order to have a good time with it.
SPEAKER_00:And I think it was uh Jordan Jensen who might have might have said this um it might have been with I think it was it might have been being with Jordan or Jordan doing uh her own stand-up but I think I'm pretty sure it was her she talked about might have been another female stand I I can't remember who it was but I I'm pretty sure it was Jordan Jensen but if I if I am messing this up I apologize to whoever the comedian is but they they were talking about uh going to see a uh a fish concert and they took uh you know mushrooms before and they're all like you know ready to trip and they you know they're hearing about how you know fish is like one of the best bands to like to see live and trip out to and essentially it goes the opposite direction like the wrong way because the the song that like fish opens with is like nothing that she was you know expecting and it just becomes like a a bit a bad trip from what she described you know but like I get that because I I mean I know fish like you just said like music festivals parties like especially for a person like me I'm like that is the wrong environment uh you know to do and there's even I mean Woodstock is a perfect example there is that the actual incident original Woodstock was at 68 or something 69 69 yeah pretty sure um famous instance where people were passing around acid and one of the the people there the hippies basically said uh you know we they figured out they had bad acid so they made an announcement over the loudspeaker probably they realized after the fact that that was the worst thing they could have done yeah announcing some of the this acid is bad which in turn caused everyone who was there whether they're on the bad acid or the good acid to feel like the to instantly turn into a bad trap.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah yeah not not a great idea to announce some of the acid's gonna kill you yeah back off yeah so yeah you're you already took it I guess maybe the hope was that some people would not take the bad acid if they could prevent it but yeah if for everybody else that was already on it it was too late.
SPEAKER_00:Right right like uh you know we're we're beyond the point of no return.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah I think I think one thing to keep in mind with acid ore mushrooms that people where people get caught up is you have to know you're gonna you're about to get on this ride and you can't get off when you want to. You have to ride it out. And so you you know the worst thing you could do is have like a time crunch. Oh I have to work in the morning then don't take acid or mushrooms the night before like you need to know you're gonna be on this for quite a while and you just have to wait it out and everything's gonna be fine. Like you you have to know that it's it could be a little scary but it's not going to last forever. It's not going to make you go insane or whatever. So yeah and you and you have to let go of the control that you want you know when it comes to drugs or partying or whatever. Like you can't dictate you're not you're not the one that's in control at a certain point and you just have to be okay with that and know that eventually everything you know you're gonna be done with the trip and then you can assess you know what what you're gonna do next time. Right right I I didn't I didn't do either of them until I was like 29 because I wasn't I wasn't confident that I could have fun with it. And eventually you know I talked to enough people or read enough online to think okay you know like I think I can do this and and the first time I did acid was actually at a birthday party for my my buddy Bobby but I knew that I was going to know almost everybody there. It was at his house where I spent a lot of time and so I was comfortable there. I knew that I I I lived only a few blocks away so if things got crazy I could leave right and I had I had a really fun time. And actually I actually I was helped by Bobby because he gave me two hits and said it was one he was like yeah just take one it'll be fine. He g I I I take I take it and then like a little bit later he was like all right just so you know I gave you two instead of one because I didn't want you to be scared but now that you've taken it like it'll be fine and it was you know it was kind of a funny way to go about it to lie to me to give me the pill and the peanut butter but uh it was it was a it was a hell of a trip. It was fun and I yeah uh luckily have had haven't had a haven't had a bad trip on either of them but again I I waited till I felt like I was ready or more more prepared for what what can come of it.
SPEAKER_00:I have a a funny uh funny mushroom story to tell you this was probably my my first time like really you know taking mushrooms and it was one of the chocolate bars and I was at my my cousin's uh 40th birthday this is like a couple years ago and his sister my other cousin was engaged to uh this really cool guy they're married now and have their first kid and it was like a you know big family gathering like all these uh friends of friends were gonna be there and everything and my my cousins are way bigger partiers than than I'll ever be so they were like you know you know do you do you want to try this you know no pressure and I'm like it's mushrooms and we're already smoking reefer and you know having a good old time and we rented this Airbnb that had like a lot of open space in Ohio and I was like you know what fuck it you know but what's what's the worst that could happen you know so typically a good good good mindset yeah right right you know I'm having a blast you know I'm with family and you know I I'm like okay give you give me a good chunk of the chocolate bar you know so I eat it you know and I'm I'm like I I'm a little of a you know curvy a little bit of a heavyset guy I'm also like you know six three six four so tall and and big and wide and uh you know I think like an hour hour and a half maybe two hours went by and I'm like I think I need to eat more and my cousin's like he's like no just wait you know just wait and and I'm like okay but I'm not feeling a damn thing you know flash forward like half an hour I'm having a conversation with my mom and and we're talking and like mid-conversation blast off and I'm like oh shit it's like hitting me right as I'm like in mid conversation with my mom and you know I just remember actually being the most I think like considerate sincere and like emotionally available to to my mom And like I ever have been or will be ever again. And like my uncle was having some health issues at the time, their dad. So, you know, I just remember being like, just like totally intuitive. The other funny part of that story is my cousin gave my grandma, who just turned 90 uh last year, a little bit of the chocolate bar too. She now she didn't know what she was eating, but but but but but I'll tell you this there was one of my his sisters, my cousin's best friends, is is overweight. And my grandma was tripping, but she didn't know she was tripping. And she basically said to my cousin, Who is that? You know, and she said, That's you know, so and so's friend, grandma, and and she's like, Is she pregnant?
SPEAKER_02:Whoops. Did she have did she have a good trip? Did she like it?
SPEAKER_00:You know, again, she didn't know what she ingested, but I I will tell you this. She got you know, she usually goes to bed at like you know, eight, nine o'clock, maybe nine thirty at night, and wakes up like at four a.m. You know, like as as many old people do. Yeah, yeah. You know, I remember she went to sleep, I think it was like maybe nine, ten o'clock, and she was like out. And she got like, I think, at least what I could tell, probably the best night's rest that that she's probably had in in that age, you know, range. So that was really funny, you know, and I've done it a few times since, and I've actually found that like the caps work better for me than just caps, yeah, the actual chocolate bars. Those are way more potent uh than than the chocolate bars. But either way, like you know, it's probably been like two years since two, three years since I've like I've done mushrooms, but I'm just like I think in a different mindset now where it's like, you know, I just you know I I don't have time to to really you know do stuff like that, and even though I you know I'd like to.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they're commitment. But microdosing, you know, a lot of people like to microdose too, because you get a little bit of the positive effects and like sparkly whatever feeling good without the commitment of you know 10 hours of stomach hurts, you think you're gonna puke.
SPEAKER_00:I the last time I I did do do mushrooms was the caps, and that's essentially what I did. Like I didn't eat like I think I ate maybe like three or four of the caps, someone like my size, and I got like the whole like head high, but I didn't get like the the trip. Yeah, and and I also have to say this is where like weed doesn't do this for me, and and the shrooms did, at least those kind I tried, uh it like all my anxiety went away. I felt like really good, and I felt like I want to go talk to people. I want to I want to go get my dick wet. You know, I want to go talk to people, I want to go like you know, interact, like like I feel like you know, all my whatever, you know, issues, like I feel like I can go like essentially take on the world, but not in like you know, make-believe or unrealistic fashion. You know, like like like I'm not I'm not fucking Superman and I and I can go like you know, leap tall buildings in a single bound, you know. You know, let's let's go mingle. Right. Yeah, there's a middle ground. Weed does that, but like, you know, certain certain times like I get paranoid just like anybody else, you know, with certain stuff. And you know, we I like weed a lot. Weed is my go-to, you know, it helps with creativity, it helps with, you know, writing, with you know, I I even have a segment where I interv where I interview like psychedelic rock bands and musicians in general and talk about, you know, specifically how cannabis related to listening to like certain genres of music, especially like shoe gays and like you know, you know, pot-oriented like music uh can help like open endorphins in the brain that you know brings out like you know, creativity, inspiration, positivity, motivation, you know, all like the the key attributes that you know you you essentially want to have to kind of like open the you know neural pathways to enlightenment or whatever. You know, so I'm really like you know, pro an advocate for stuff like that. And the stuff I'm against is like, you know, coke. You know, I was on Adderall for years and I just recently got off it, and my life is like way better for it. So like, you know, I can understand, you know, some practical uses for it, because you know, you know, human beings have been like, you know, messing around with like, you know, caffeine, you know, uppers, downers, you know, since like, you know, literally the Egyptians, you know, had had stuff, you know. Yeah. So it's like it's like, you know, it's been there for for literally centuries. And so on that note, I think uh I will rap wrap things up, even though it it has been a real real pleasure uh talking to you. You know, I mean I I'm a I'm a big fan, uh, you know, again, all the the comedy and everything. It's it's very cool. You're like the the first, you know, comedian of many in that that niche that I really enjoy uh watching and listening to. I did want to say before uh before we hang off, because uh it was on the top of my head, and you said you lived in Denver, one movie that you should check out is called Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. I I have not seen that. I've meant to watch it and never have, but I have heard good things. Yeah, I don't think it's on a lot of streamers. It's it probably comes and goes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It comes and goes on Showtime. I've no idea.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe Tubi. Tubi's got a lot of good older stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Tubi, yeah, they they do. You gotta watch the ads, but yeah, the good library on the the most is the Showtime. So if you have like Paramount Plus or Showtime in general, yeah, they they they run it occasionally, along with this other film they're playing right now, totally forgotten about from the 90s, uh Judgment Night with Emilio Estevez uh Cuba Gunning Jr., one of my favorite genre actors, Steven Dorf, and again a famous, famous comedian who played uh the villain, Dennis Leary.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I watched that not that long ago, and you know, I I forgot how it's kind of campy. I didn't I remembered it, oh, and you know, I read about it. The whole thing was that the I think the original writer had it as a very dark, fucked up movie, and a lot of it is, but then somehow the studio or someone else, a producer, executive producer, somebody wanted to have more levity, and so it ends up being this very funny like clash of tone. Didn't you think? Like it's like some of it is like funny and some of it's very gritty.
SPEAKER_00:It's a funny, it's a weird it it it starts out like especially like reasons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like like it starts out like like fun, you know. This is gonna be a fun kind of road trip, yeah. Yeah, and then it just does a total, right? It just does a total 180. And then especially another comedian who's in a Jeremy Pivon, when when his character gets killed, spoiler alert. Yeah, I came out in 94 or whatever. Right, right. Yeah. Sorry. You know, right. You know, I you know, especially how he dies and kind of like how he starts out, and then how he his character kind of, you know, the the arc, you know, kind of comes to be in that movie. But there's there's definitely some some clashes. It goes from like being real kind of PG 13 family oriented to the total 180 with uh being like more dark and violent pretty totally like switching the tone. But the the other thing I was gonna say is uh that movie has one of the best 90s soundtracks, you know, that uh that came out. I remember it it's like incredibly hard to find, uh like it's out of print or something. Oh, okay. Yeah, but it's a pretty hard to find. But things to do in Denver when you're dead. I interviewed someone who's one of the main characters in that. Uh I mentioned in the email uh or or message, uh William Forsyth, uh another uh another uh awesome character actor.
SPEAKER_02:Um yeah, man, raising Arizona.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes, very funny, very funny. Even uh Blue Streak or uh or uh Muslim Rob Schneider, where he's Deuce Bigelow.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Is he a cop? Is he a cop in that? He's he's the bad guy. Oh, okay. Yeah, I haven't seen that in a while.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. He's in that and uh among uh God, you know, virtuosity uh 90s, Denzel, Russell Crowe action flicks, Cyberpunk uh, you know, he's great in that. Just he he's I mean Dick Tracy, you know. Like I mean, the the list could go on with but yeah, just wanted to bring up things you do in Denver when you're dead as like a must must see because he specifically talks about in our interview how that movie probably single-handedly put like Denver on on the map. Yeah, but before like every everything else. So another thing I wanted to say on the topic of what we opened with Mark Rawson and Judgment Night, Hard Rain. I'm not sure if you remember this action flip from the 90s. No Christian Slater, Morgan Friedman, Randy Quaid, you know, uh, and Mark Rawlson was in it, mini driver. It's like Christian Slater is an armored car transport in like Louisiana, and there's this like hurricane going on, and Morgan Freeman and his like crew are like He's the bad guy, right? Yeah, yeah, they're thieves.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, I saw that, but it's been a long time. I saw that they were in boats and shit going through uh yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:The town was like flooding. Flooded, okay, yeah. I saw that boost like uh long ago in there. But he he talked about how like with Judgment Night, that movie was supposed to be a whole lot darker than it was, and it got turned by produce the production company into like a you know.
SPEAKER_02:They wanted some levity, but it yeah, it kind of made it a little bit of a whiplash kind of a thing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I'm not sure how to feel about it, but you know, it's like it's basically Conair, just just with like uh, you know, a hurricane and and and boats, you know. And it's actually because of that movie that I got Mark Rawson on my show. Before I let you go here, one last question. Any upcoming projects, comedy tours, podcast stuff to promote.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean, you know, uh Sam and I do our podcast, Chubby Behemoth. There's a free episode every week, Patreon episode every week. Patreon is five dollars a month if you want to get in there. You know, there's almost as many Patreon episodes as free ones, because we just knew, you know, we wanted to to have both pretty much from the start. We've been doing that since over four and a half years. This will be five years. We started during the pandemic, and then we have a travel show on YouTube called Wide World that you know is uh Yeah, yeah. The episodes come very randomly because it takes a long time for our buddy to edit them. We shoot for a week, you know, somewhere, and and and our friend Patrick turns that into three episodes. So there's a lot that he has to go, you know, a lot of footage for him to go through and and and edit those down. But we have uh, you know, a season from first one was in Tokyo, then Paris, and now you know we we shot where Sam grew up, we shot here in Trinidad where I live. So it's uh a big departure from from the first two seasons to to shoot in like eastern Colorado, southern Colorado, where there aren't mountains. You know, we didn't shoot in Denver where everybody kind of is familiar with Denver or you know, at least the idea of like Rocky Mountains. We are not there, we're in the plains, but I think it was a fun contrast to Tokyo and Paris. But then after these episodes, after this Colorado season, we'll be we shot in Rome for a week last summer. So we'll go back back and forth, I think, between like major m global cities and more personal, you know, locations. We're just kind of having fun with it. But that those are on why on YouTube, on Sam Talent's YouTube. And those are you know, those are my main projects is is working with Sam on the podcast, on the travel show, and then stand up, you know, we're all over. My website is Nathan Lund Comedy. I've got dates on there, samtalent.com, he's got his dates, and I try to open for him as much as possible so that we can do our podcast together versus over the computer, you know, it's a little bit tougher, right, right nice, nicer to be in the same room. So we you know, I'm trying to do that, and I and I'll be headlining shows as well. You know, I'm I'm trying to do more headlining shows next year. So we gotta get lungcomedy.com. We gotta get it. Nathan Luncomedy on Instagram, right? Right. Hopefully we'll be in Pittsburgh again soon, but uh I don't think there's anything on the calendar right now, so stay tuned.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely. And when you guys come, I would love to maybe do another podcast in person. Definitely uh like meet you guys in person with all the people that are coming to the Pittsburgh Improv this year alone. It is pretty fucking amazing. I was at Ari Shafir's show uh in January. Great, great show. Yeah, Steph Tolov again. Shout out to her and Jefferson. Yeah, she is really funny. She's like my dad. She she reminds me of like my dad.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. You know, like yeah, she she's an elevator operator for a long time.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right, right, you know, especially you know, crop dusting in people's faces and stuff. Uh nice.
SPEAKER_02:Well, yeah, thanks for having me, man.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Nathan, again, thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. Yeah, baby. Hoping the temperature was just right. Glug, gluck. All right. Pleasure, and love to have you on again anytime. And please tell Sam again if if you guys want to do another show or something or podcast episode. I'd love to have the Chubby behemoth. Chubby Bubby. You're right, right. Exactly. Exactly. Awesome. All right, man. Yeah, until next time. Till next time. Take care. You too, man. Attention, all you fishes in the sea. Thank you for taking the time to listen to the fishbowl hosted by me, Sam Fish. You can help Fishbowl out by subscribing on all major podcasting platforms and by donating anything that you're able to to help with purchasing mics, different podcasting equipment, and things to keep the show running so I can keep creating great content for all my fishes in the bowl. So thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. Uh-uh.
