Latest / Eating While Broke / TONY BAKER - From Cream Corn to Comedy Legend
Transcript
- 0:13Speaker 1: Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke.
- 0:16Speaker 1: I'm your host, Coleen Witt, and today we have very
- 0:18Speaker 1: special guest, comedian and actor. Legendary comedian actor, legend legendary. Yeah,
- 0:24Speaker 1: you've been in the game long enough to be legendary.
- 0:28Speaker 1: Tony Bakers in the building. How good. I'm very excited
- 0:32Speaker 1: to be very excited to have you on the show.
- 0:34Speaker 1: A little concerned about the dish you're gonna be having
- 0:36Speaker 1: me eat today. I'm concerned. I'm excited because I've never
- 0:41Speaker 1: had this dish on the show. We've taped like one
- 0:43Speaker 1: hundred and fifteen episodes, so to never have a dish
- 0:46Speaker 1: is like very amazing. I literally hate Ramen to the
- 0:50Speaker 1: ultimate max. I've had great Ramen and terrible Ramen. Yeah,
- 0:54Speaker 1: so I'm excited about this dish. But I literally had
- 0:57Speaker 1: called like five people, like I think he's just testing
- 1:01Speaker 1: to see if I'm gonna eat this.
- 1:03Speaker 2: It's crazy.
- 1:06Speaker 1: So go ahead and tell everybody what your dishes.
- 1:11Speaker 2: So my dish is cream corn sandwiches. Okay, Now this
- 1:16Speaker 2: is not something I ate on the regular. It was
- 1:18Speaker 2: a one There was a one time only affair.
- 1:22Speaker 1: One and done one and done that means it's not good.
- 1:25Speaker 2: I don't remember what it tastes like. It was just like, man,
- 1:29Speaker 2: I got cream corn in here, there's bread.
- 1:33Speaker 1: And before he started taping, he was like, I'm not
- 1:35Speaker 1: really gonna eat this right, And I was like, oh,
- 1:37Speaker 1: heck no, you know you're gonna eat this with me?
- 1:41Speaker 2: Ladies.
- 1:41Speaker 1: First, I don't mind. I mean, I'm Jamaican. So we
- 1:45Speaker 1: we eat literally everything good at least once.
- 1:48Speaker 2: That's how it should be at least once.
- 1:51Speaker 1: So go ahead, start making this. The ingredients are, what's
- 1:55Speaker 1: the ingredients for your dish today?
- 1:56Speaker 2: So we got the cream corn. Okay, first, as I can,
- 2:01Speaker 2: I haven't had cream corn. I feel like I haven't
- 2:04Speaker 2: had cream corn since I had the cream corn sandwich.
- 2:08Speaker 2: I don't know, I can't remember. Yeah, of course cream corn.
- 2:12Speaker 2: I like the spray, you know. Now, I didn't use
- 2:16Speaker 2: the coconut oil back then. I think I used just whatever.
- 2:19Speaker 2: I think we had pam in there, whatever we had.
- 2:22Speaker 2: I just sprayed the pant over with that. Because I
- 2:24Speaker 2: grilled the bread and just some wheat bread. It might
- 2:28Speaker 2: not even been wheat then, I don't know, like I
- 2:32Speaker 2: feel like it was wheat. This was like, mind you,
- 2:35Speaker 2: this was ninety ninety nine. I think this was ninety nine,
- 2:42Speaker 2: and you maybe even ninety eight.
- 2:45Speaker 1: So you you went as far as to make shift
- 2:47Speaker 1: cook this day. So you took the cream corn, you
- 2:49Speaker 1: heat it up in the pot, I'm assuming, and you
- 2:51Speaker 1: actually made the bread. So this was a very thought out.
- 2:54Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I was trying to jazz it up
- 2:56Speaker 2: as much as possible, like I'll.
- 2:57Speaker 1: Jack it up for who me.
- 3:00Speaker 2: Okay, okay, it was that's been messed, but at least
- 3:02Speaker 2: I can class it up. Okay, Well, I feel like
- 3:04Speaker 2: when you when you when you grill the bread, classing
- 3:07Speaker 2: it up a little bit.
- 3:08Speaker 1: Go ahead and make me this gormet gormet cream corn.
- 3:13Speaker 1: I can't remember the last time I had cream corn.
- 3:16Speaker 1: I'm like nervous and excited because I remember liking it
- 3:18Speaker 1: back in the day.
- 3:19Speaker 2: Creek corn was a good time. Yeah, creek corn was.
- 3:22Speaker 1: Like yeah, yeah, when I was a kid, it was
- 3:26Speaker 1: a good time.
- 3:26Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, you know, taste bush changed.
- 3:29Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 3:30Speaker 2: Yeah. We think we better than stuff we used to have.
- 3:32Speaker 1: And you're vegan now right, I'm one.
- 3:35Speaker 2: Hundred percent vegetarian, mostly vegan. Now. Why I say that
- 3:40Speaker 2: is because like if I if I want a cookie.
- 3:45Speaker 2: I'm not gonna be.
- 3:46Speaker 1: Like, is that real body?
- 3:50Speaker 3: Yeah?
- 3:50Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna get the cookie.
- 3:52Speaker 1: Okay.
- 3:52Speaker 2: Okay, So it's like or if I want, like if
- 3:54Speaker 2: I go to the waffle house and I get a waffle.
- 3:57Speaker 1: Okay, you're not gonna okay, if I if I got
- 4:00Speaker 1: this because you were specific about you know, if you
- 4:03Speaker 1: can't find vegan.
- 4:05Speaker 2: Well, I know, because the can stuff they add a
- 4:08Speaker 2: lot of animal whatever. Okay, So I tend to avoid
- 4:13Speaker 2: anything with animal life.
- 4:15Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, is there a reason for this slide?
- 4:18Speaker 2: But if it's like you know, like the pork and beans,
- 4:21Speaker 2: or you know, there's gelatine in this animal bones or whatever.
- 4:24Speaker 1: So that's what I meant, animal bones.
- 4:27Speaker 2: Gelatine is like usually an animal bone.
- 4:30Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I didn't know that. So does it smell
- 4:36Speaker 1: like cream corse, take a whiff of it. It is
- 4:38Speaker 1: a nostalgic. Yeah, that tastes that tastes that smells official, right.
- 4:47Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I remember that. I haven't had cream corner
- 4:51Speaker 2: mad long Okay, Okay, so now I'm gonna get it.
- 4:55Speaker 2: I hate electric stuff.
- 4:57Speaker 1: Yeah, I know you told me, but this one gets
- 4:59Speaker 1: hot real fast looking. Look, why do you hate it?
- 5:01Speaker 2: You see that, because I feel like I could never
- 5:05Speaker 2: get the the heat right, and I'll never forget. One
- 5:09Speaker 2: time I was visiting my brother in Toasta, Oklahoma, and
- 5:12Speaker 2: I was bragging about my French toast the whole week.
- 5:16Speaker 2: Then my French toast is legendary. Man, y'all, y'all ain't
- 5:20Speaker 2: ready for me. And at this time, like he was,
- 5:24Speaker 2: he was, uh, you know, this girl was living with him.
- 5:27Speaker 2: His girlfriend had two twin boys and they were like teenagers.
- 5:30Speaker 2: I had my family there, so it was like I
- 5:33Speaker 2: was talking cat can I cuss on? Yeah, I was
- 5:36Speaker 2: talking cash ship and then I was like, yeah, you
- 5:39Speaker 2: know what I'm saying. And then when I made that
- 5:42Speaker 2: big breakfast for everybody, I the French toasts.
- 5:45Speaker 1: Terrible, all because of the electric So yeah.
- 5:47Speaker 2: Because I was it was burning. I burned the majority
- 5:51Speaker 2: of the French and I was like, man, I'm done.
- 5:54Speaker 1: I think the secret to good French toast is in
- 5:57Speaker 1: my twin could debate this, but a healthy balance of
- 6:01Speaker 1: butter and sugar. Am I right? No sugar?
- 6:06Speaker 2: Disagree?
- 6:07Speaker 1: Sugar?
- 6:08Speaker 2: I got sugar. The sugar. You don't need to add
- 6:11Speaker 2: the sugar to the.
- 6:11Speaker 1: Fresh tost Oh see, my swe just did that to me,
- 6:14Speaker 1: and I'll be honest. She was like, did you try
- 6:16Speaker 1: did you try it? And I was like, sugar, because.
- 6:19Speaker 2: You got the scare what you need the sugar for.
- 6:21Speaker 1: Oh, I'm scared to try your French tos. I'm glad
- 6:24Speaker 1: we STI He said it was legendary. No, the trick
- 6:27Speaker 1: to great French toast is to make sure you add
- 6:29Speaker 1: cinnamon and sugar.
- 6:31Speaker 2: Answer you, still you're doing too much? Yeah?
- 6:35Speaker 1: No, let me tell you something.
- 6:36Speaker 2: About the sugar on top of the French toes. You
- 6:38Speaker 2: like that?
- 6:39Speaker 1: No, but I mean if there was, that's how they restaurant.
- 6:44Speaker 1: I would if there was. But I'll tell you right now.
- 6:47Speaker 1: I just had French toast from my twin the other day.
- 6:49Speaker 1: She was raving about it, and she said that she
- 6:51Speaker 1: used a little bit of a combo mix of cinnamon
- 6:54Speaker 1: with sugar in it. And I tried it. It just
- 6:56Speaker 1: tasted like cinnamon toast.
- 6:58Speaker 2: Oh did she did? She get the egg and evaporated milk? Oh?
- 7:03Speaker 1: You put evaporated milk in it? You gotta that's a cheat.
- 7:07Speaker 2: You gotta make the rout. The root is essential.
- 7:09Speaker 1: Okay, tell us how to make this good French toast?
- 7:12Speaker 2: Okay, so you need eggs, a little evaporated milk, thattmeg, cinnamon,
- 7:19Speaker 2: vanilla extract, and butter is like optional. Use the butter.
- 7:25Speaker 1: I just used the butter. Yeah, get yeah, of course
- 7:29Speaker 1: you have that little butter hen.
- 7:30Speaker 2: Yeah. So that's that's it.
- 7:31Speaker 1: Evaporated milkporated milk. So that's like the same as sugar
- 7:35Speaker 1: kind of but.
- 7:37Speaker 2: It's but it's not but it's not sure.
- 7:40Speaker 1: I want to try this.
- 7:41Speaker 2: It's good.
- 7:42Speaker 1: Oh my god, I want to try this as.
- 7:44Speaker 2: Long as I'm making on the electric stoves fire. So
- 7:48Speaker 2: and now now that they got like they had this
- 7:51Speaker 2: French toast, they kind of make bread now where they
- 7:53Speaker 2: kind of cater.
- 7:54Speaker 1: To French toast, like the brochet bread or something, but
- 7:59Speaker 1: they had ever made it on brio spread. I think
- 8:01Speaker 1: I tried it once and I messed it up. It's good.
- 8:06Speaker 1: Damn you made me want to try this French toast because.
- 8:09Speaker 2: I feel like out of the tree. The breakfast trio
- 8:11Speaker 2: and waffles, pancakes, and French toes frenchs number one. French toes,
- 8:16Speaker 2: if it's made at the highest level, is number one.
- 8:20Speaker 2: Now why I say that because most restaurants fumble the
- 8:23Speaker 2: French toes.
- 8:25Speaker 1: I think most restaurants can't cook breakfast period though. I
- 8:28Speaker 1: think the only place I honestly like if someone were like, hey,
- 8:31Speaker 1: let's meet for breakfast, the only place I'm choosing this
- 8:33Speaker 1: Blue Jam Cafe. And that's it.
- 8:35Speaker 2: They got a good uh, they got the little they
- 8:37Speaker 2: got like a good vegan scrambling.
- 8:40Speaker 1: Really yeah, I like I like their little potatoes, but
- 8:44Speaker 1: everywhere else absolutely not. I'll just cook breakfast in my house.
- 8:47Speaker 1: But now take me back to what was going on
- 8:50Speaker 1: during this cream corn sandwich air.
- 8:55Speaker 2: Okay, So we in college. I went to New Mexican
- 9:00Speaker 2: State in ninety eight, nineteen ninety eight, and I know
- 9:03Speaker 2: some people watching him be like, ninety eight, man, did
- 9:06Speaker 2: they have cars? Then? That's crazy? Was that prohibition al capone?
- 9:12Speaker 2: It was ninety eight, and so you know we broke
- 9:16Speaker 2: you know, we getting financial aid. We out here scrambling,
- 9:20Speaker 2: and at that time, I think I might have been
- 9:23Speaker 2: working on campus, like works thirty job or whatever in
- 9:26Speaker 2: Department of Black Programs. So you know, times was hard,
- 9:31Speaker 2: and we already in the poor state. So we pour
- 9:34Speaker 2: into poor state, poor college students. So we we ended
- 9:41Speaker 2: up and at this time, so this was probably I
- 9:44Speaker 2: want to say this was ninety nine because I was
- 9:46Speaker 2: an alumni ninety eight, so this was ninety nine when
- 9:50Speaker 2: I had the cream course sandwich. So I was illegally
- 9:55Speaker 2: staying with my with my homeboys, Andre and Jamal, they
- 9:59Speaker 2: had that they were living on on campus. They had
- 10:02Speaker 2: the four bedrooms. I wasn't supposed to be in there.
- 10:07Speaker 2: We like, we like broke into one of the rooms
- 10:09Speaker 2: pretty much, and I was staying in one of the rooms.
- 10:13Speaker 1: Broke into one of the rooms. Yea, it was.
- 10:17Speaker 2: I wasn't supposed to be there, got it, got it.
- 10:19Speaker 2: I was staying in there, so I was illegal. Technically
- 10:24Speaker 2: I was homeless, but not really.
- 10:28Speaker 1: So it was it was now it's coming full circle. Okay,
- 10:32Speaker 1: we're getting in there.
- 10:34Speaker 2: Technically Visita del Monte was the name of him. And
- 10:41Speaker 2: I think I got in academic trouble or whatever and
- 10:43Speaker 2: I couldn't stay there anymore. So it was like, well
- 10:46Speaker 2: the door is open, don't you just you know, crash
- 10:49Speaker 2: with us. So we in there. And one night, I
- 10:57Speaker 2: mean it was it was cream corn in the crib.
- 11:01Speaker 2: It was bread. It was toast heck playing dream.
- 11:08Speaker 1: And all y'all went in on this bread in this.
- 11:10Speaker 2: Corner I feel like it was just me this night.
- 11:12Speaker 1: Okay to Jack.
- 11:15Speaker 2: Everybody was because.
- 11:17Speaker 1: This jagging the box around back. Okay, okay, okay, listen, okay, okay, okay, okay.
- 11:26Speaker 1: I know, I know I'm an eighties baby. Okay, yeah, yeah,
- 11:31Speaker 1: we don't. We don't have that. I don't think so yeah, okay,
- 11:33Speaker 1: I think that's an l A thing or any city,
- 11:37Speaker 1: any city, but New York thing.
- 11:39Speaker 2: Okay. So so yeah, so that it was cream corner there, bread,
- 11:43Speaker 2: want you that bread?
- 11:44Speaker 1: You make it? Did you at least have a car?
- 11:46Speaker 1: So you were like just stuck in the crib and
- 11:48Speaker 1: you had these are my options.
- 11:49Speaker 2: I had a car, but I didn't have the bread.
- 11:52Speaker 1: The bread. I had the bread, so you was hungry.
- 11:58Speaker 1: You said let's make it through. You get in the
- 12:00Speaker 1: kitchen and that's what you whip up.
- 12:01Speaker 2: This is I was like, let's bring them together.
- 12:03Speaker 1: At that time, did you know you were inching towards
- 12:06Speaker 1: the entertainment business at that point or were you what
- 12:09Speaker 1: were you going to school for?
- 12:10Speaker 2: I was going to school for I've always wanted to
- 12:15Speaker 2: be an actor, to be honest with you, but I
- 12:16Speaker 2: felt like, you know, I was in New Mexico at
- 12:18Speaker 2: the time. I was raised in Chicago, moved to New
- 12:23Speaker 2: Mexico because my brother got stationed there in the Air Force,
- 12:25Speaker 2: and I ended up going to New Mexico State.
- 12:28Speaker 1: But I was like, may you moved to New Mexico
- 12:30Speaker 1: because your brother, my.
- 12:32Speaker 2: Oldest brother, he was he joined the Air Force. He
- 12:35Speaker 2: went to Hawaii for his first order. Then New Mexico
- 12:39Speaker 2: was his second order, and he was like, watch ya
- 12:41Speaker 2: come stay you know, with me in New Mexico. And
- 12:44Speaker 2: my mom was born and raised in Chicago, so she
- 12:46Speaker 2: was like, I'm down for something different. And at that time,
- 12:49Speaker 2: I was scared of nuclear war, okay, So I was like,
- 12:53Speaker 2: I'm down to move because Chicago gonna get hit early
- 12:57Speaker 2: in New York get I was terrified, okay, nuclear awards.
- 13:03Speaker 2: So I was like, uh yeah, I'm down. So we
- 13:08Speaker 2: moved out there because of that, Okay. So I went
- 13:12Speaker 2: to New Mexico State and I was majoring in psychology first,
- 13:17Speaker 2: and I was never like college was never something I
- 13:20Speaker 2: really wanted to do, but I was like, let me
- 13:23Speaker 2: just do it. I was going to the community college
- 13:25Speaker 2: at first and clovies New Mexico and then my friend
- 13:28Speaker 2: Andre was like, Yo, I'm going to New Mexico State.
- 13:30Speaker 2: I was like, I'll go with you, and so I
- 13:33Speaker 2: went out there. So majored in psychology. That was the
- 13:36Speaker 2: initial major. But it was boring.
- 13:38Speaker 1: I was like, psychology was boring. I was, and so
- 13:43Speaker 1: I was like, good to know I've always wondered about it,
- 13:46Speaker 1: but guess to know I was boring.
- 13:47Speaker 2: Okay, mind you, I'm just doing the basics. I didn't
- 13:51Speaker 2: even get into the heavy psychology courses. But it was
- 13:54Speaker 2: just like, man, I ain't feeling none of this because
- 13:56Speaker 2: I knew I wanted to act. I was a kid.
- 13:59Speaker 2: I wanted to be a TV and movies because I
- 14:01Speaker 2: was obsessed with the TV and movie, especially movies. But
- 14:05Speaker 2: New Mexico just felt at that time, it felt like
- 14:08Speaker 2: a world away from Hollywood. I was like, yeah, mind
- 14:13Speaker 2: you fast forward they would, but at that time I
- 14:16Speaker 2: was just like, ain't not cracking out majoring something regular,
- 14:19Speaker 2: and so it was psychology and then I changed it
- 14:24Speaker 2: to secondary education science.
- 14:29Speaker 1: Okay, that's a hard subject.
- 14:30Speaker 2: So I was gonna I was going to teach because
- 14:32Speaker 2: I was like, I like biology, you know what I'm saying.
- 14:35Speaker 2: I could teach, like, you know, because I like because
- 14:38Speaker 2: I felt like teaching would be a form of performing.
- 14:42Speaker 2: So and I'm good with like the youth. And so
- 14:46Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, secondary education, I can teach middle school,
- 14:49Speaker 2: high school. Them. Science classes was kicking my ass. Chemistry
- 14:56Speaker 2: told my ass whole open twice. They then ecology tore
- 15:03Speaker 2: me in half, Genetics tore me in half. Physics I
- 15:08Speaker 2: ain't even I was, I'm dropping this one, and so like,
- 15:11Speaker 2: I can't do the science, you know, astronomy, ace, but
- 15:15Speaker 2: everything else tore me up. So I was like secondary education,
- 15:20Speaker 2: social studies. I changed my major again.
- 15:22Speaker 1: I can teach history.
- 15:24Speaker 2: History is not hard. That ain't no formulas, ain't no
- 15:28Speaker 2: X outside of the parentheses, none of that. Ain't no
- 15:31Speaker 2: quadratic equations. I got to worry about. So I changed
- 15:34Speaker 2: it to that. And then that was the plan. I
- 15:37Speaker 2: was all right, I'm gonna teach.
- 15:38Speaker 1: Oh, you did good in it.
- 15:40Speaker 2: I was. I was thriving.
- 15:41Speaker 1: I was okay. Now now I can feel like I
- 15:46Speaker 1: found the path.
- 15:46Speaker 2: I found a path.
- 15:47Speaker 1: Okay, So did you end up graduating with it?
- 15:50Speaker 2: I didn't graduate because it was like while in college,
- 15:54Speaker 2: I auditioned for a play. It was a miso, man,
- 15:59Speaker 2: I played Crooks. Crooks is like this disabled black man
- 16:02Speaker 2: within the play. So I played that won an award
- 16:04Speaker 2: for it. And then because I never thought I wanted
- 16:08Speaker 2: to do theater, and I was like, man, I just
- 16:10Speaker 2: want to do TV and film theater. Looks I did theater.
- 16:13Speaker 2: I was like, man, this is dope.
- 16:16Speaker 1: Really, this is this is dope. Okay.
- 16:19Speaker 2: So I was like, so at this time, I've already
- 16:24Speaker 2: put years into these other steps, so now I'm just like,
- 16:29Speaker 2: I should major in theater the whole guy.
- 16:31Speaker 1: Damn oh that was an option. Yes, okay, I.
- 16:37Speaker 2: Was like, but I was always just hated.
- 16:39Speaker 1: So how did you end up in the theater play
- 16:41Speaker 1: you just tried out without? Okay? Okay? Cool?
- 16:44Speaker 2: On campus? It was a it was a play on campus.
- 16:47Speaker 2: I was like, let me audition at the role, did well,
- 16:51Speaker 2: got the award. Then I did another play with that
- 16:53Speaker 2: same director. It was like a holiday place. So we
- 16:55Speaker 2: were playing various characters.
- 16:57Speaker 1: I was like, you loved it.
- 17:00Speaker 2: And then this one guy saw me. I think he
- 17:04Speaker 2: saw me of mice and Men. So he was doing
- 17:07Speaker 2: his own version Offenses by August Wilson. Yeah, so he
- 17:15Speaker 2: wanted me to play Troy in the lead. And I
- 17:18Speaker 2: was like, man, that's a lot to memorize. Yeah, I
- 17:21Speaker 2: did it. I remember that whole thing, and I was
- 17:24Speaker 2: just like at that point, I was just like, I'm
- 17:29Speaker 2: going for that act. I have to.
- 17:30Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 17:31Speaker 2: I was always into it. I was always like I
- 17:34Speaker 2: was doing like vine videos in the nineties, Like I
- 17:39Speaker 2: was just making little sketches and shins and stuff like
- 17:41Speaker 2: that with a camquarder and just like I was always
- 17:43Speaker 2: on that type of time, and I was just like, man,
- 17:46Speaker 2: I just gotta go for it because I knew if
- 17:48Speaker 2: I got my degree, yeah, I'm not gonna go as hard.
- 17:52Speaker 2: I'm gonna be teaching. I'm gonna be grading papers, I'm
- 17:55Speaker 2: gonna be teaching summer school.
- 17:56Speaker 1: And what's your What was your family saying in all
- 17:58Speaker 1: of this?
- 17:58Speaker 2: My family was like whatever you want to do, Like
- 18:02Speaker 2: they would never it was never any like you should
- 18:04Speaker 2: do this, you should do that. It was just like
- 18:06Speaker 2: okay either way. It's all Like I was kind of
- 18:11Speaker 2: scared to tell my dad that I was dropping out
- 18:14Speaker 2: because he was more those grades doing. My mom was
- 18:19Speaker 2: just like do you Pops was just like the grades
- 18:23Speaker 2: looking like he was sating like extra money if the
- 18:26Speaker 2: grades were good. So I was just kind of like,
- 18:30Speaker 2: I don't want.
- 18:32Speaker 1: So how'd you break it to him?
- 18:34Speaker 2: I just told him, Uh, I was like, yeah, because
- 18:38Speaker 2: I was too full semester shy of a degree. Oh
- 18:43Speaker 2: my god, yeah I was. I was right there. But
- 18:46Speaker 2: I was like, but I know, I know my son,
- 18:48Speaker 2: and I knew like once I started teaching, I'm not
- 18:51Speaker 2: gonna be going to these I'm not gonna be scrambling.
- 18:54Speaker 2: I'm gonna be teaching grading papers and like, nah, it's
- 18:57Speaker 2: that safety there. It's just like but if I go
- 19:00Speaker 2: out here where this is the focus.
- 19:04Speaker 1: So what was your next plan? So you deliver the
- 19:06Speaker 1: news to dad. He takes it pretty okay.
- 19:09Speaker 2: He was like, Okay, you know.
- 19:12Speaker 1: I ain't send it no more money, you know, No,
- 19:15Speaker 1: I'm just I'm asking Like was he like that?
- 19:17Speaker 2: I never said that, but it was just like but
- 19:20Speaker 2: I really wasn't hitting.
- 19:21Speaker 1: Him up for they Yeah, it.
- 19:23Speaker 2: Was like, this is what I'm doing because I'm very
- 19:26Speaker 2: like strong will and so I'll be like, I don't
- 19:30Speaker 2: even want to hear what you got to say.
- 19:31Speaker 1: Oh my god. So then what was your plan? Did
- 19:42Speaker 1: you where did you go from there? Did you move
- 19:44Speaker 1: to la? What did you do?
- 19:45Speaker 2: So what happened was so at this time I started
- 19:52Speaker 2: doing all the plays and stuff in like two thousand
- 19:53Speaker 2: and three. I got married in two thousand and three also,
- 19:56Speaker 2: and so we had we had two boys before we
- 20:00Speaker 2: got married. We ended up having the boys and then
- 20:03Speaker 2: we got married in two thousand and three. So my
- 20:06Speaker 2: ex wife is she's a nurse, so she can get
- 20:09Speaker 2: a job anywhere. So it's just like she was just
- 20:12Speaker 2: like CALLI. She had a cousin that was already out here,
- 20:17Speaker 2: and she's a nurse as well, so she had that
- 20:19Speaker 2: end and so it was just like all right, So
- 20:22Speaker 2: she was down. So we made the move in two
- 20:25Speaker 2: thousand and six. Now at this time, my oldest son
- 20:30Speaker 2: was six, my youngest probably four, and so made the move,
- 20:36Speaker 2: came out here living Orange for that first year.
- 20:40Speaker 1: Living Orange, Orange County, Orange County. What was it expensive
- 20:45Speaker 1: back then? It's always been oh okay. I was just kidded.
- 20:49Speaker 1: And so because she already had relationships, Yeah there, okay,
- 20:56Speaker 1: that's a nice area, that's ex area. But yeah, how
- 21:00Speaker 1: was you haling that?
- 21:03Speaker 2: I was like, you know, when you're not from here,
- 21:06Speaker 2: you're just looking at the little map. Oh I could
- 21:08Speaker 2: just drive right there, but then that traffic is tear
- 21:13Speaker 2: my booty.
- 21:14Speaker 1: Hole Loya his booty hole references.
- 21:20Speaker 2: Yo.
- 21:22Speaker 1: And so you were going to reading maps too, hungh?
- 21:25Speaker 2: Because when I had the I had the atlas, remember
- 21:29Speaker 2: the big fig Yeah booty Atlas you can get from Walmart. Yeah, yeah,
- 21:35Speaker 2: I'm using that.
- 21:36Speaker 1: But you know how, because when I first moved here,
- 21:37Speaker 1: I would try to read those maps and I'd be
- 21:40Speaker 1: lost in the in the same two miles for like hours,
- 21:43Speaker 1: like I don't know how to read this thing. And
- 21:45Speaker 1: then God, map Quest, map Quest came and saved my life.
- 21:49Speaker 2: Map Quest saved my ass.
- 21:51Speaker 1: But so you move here, your is your wife now
- 21:54Speaker 1: at this point like the primary breadwinner?
- 21:56Speaker 2: Why one thousand? Now?
- 21:58Speaker 1: How did that make you feel?
- 22:00Speaker 2: Oh? Man? So I was the house husband at this time.
- 22:03Speaker 2: So I'm holding the kids down, I'm getting them signed
- 22:05Speaker 2: up for school, I'm taking them to school, all that done.
- 22:08Speaker 2: So I'm handling the board, I'm cooking, I'm doing all this. Okay,
- 22:11Speaker 2: that's cool, I'm doing I was the housewife.
- 22:14Speaker 1: Okay, But how I have to ask these questions because
- 22:19Speaker 1: I want to know, But like, how did you handle that?
- 22:21Speaker 1: Were you? Just Like I know what I'm here for,
- 22:23Speaker 1: so I know it's going to take time. How did
- 22:25Speaker 1: she handle that, Like what kind of strains, Like what
- 22:27Speaker 1: was the emotional behind the scenes, Like how did you
- 22:30Speaker 1: feel during that period?
- 22:31Speaker 2: Emotionally? For me, I felt like a failure in a
- 22:36Speaker 2: sense because it was like because my wife, she knew
- 22:41Speaker 2: she was going to be a nurse from high school.
- 22:43Speaker 2: So it was just like boom pile, four years degree,
- 22:48Speaker 2: me changing my major, I'm failing. I'm on academic probation.
- 22:52Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. There's a lot of uncertainty.
- 22:54Speaker 2: So I was in I was in limbo in terms
- 22:57Speaker 2: of drive, career goals. I'm in limbo from like essentially
- 23:05Speaker 2: ninety eight to when I started doing stand up in
- 23:08Speaker 2: two thousand and eight. Wow. Even even though I picked
- 23:11Speaker 2: up on the acting thing and I was like fun,
- 23:13Speaker 2: but I was still just like.
- 23:15Speaker 1: Of course because I'm not right. Oh father, Now you
- 23:18Speaker 1: know what I'm saying.
- 23:19Speaker 2: I can't be new. I should have figured all this out.
- 23:21Speaker 2: So I'm in my head a lot. So so yeah,
- 23:26Speaker 2: so that gets in your head. It's like, man, you
- 23:28Speaker 2: know what I'm saying, Like I don't want this to
- 23:30Speaker 2: be even though I know you gotta work hard at it,
- 23:33Speaker 2: but it's just like I got a family though, you know,
- 23:36Speaker 2: and so.
- 23:38Speaker 1: So where you're like juggling like whether you're making the
- 23:40Speaker 1: right decisions too or And then it.
- 23:42Speaker 2: Was like and then when you when you get out here,
- 23:47Speaker 2: it's daunting, like you have the fantasy in your head
- 23:50Speaker 2: like I'm gonna get out the greyhound, the director's gonna
- 23:53Speaker 2: see me. I want you my new picture. Yeah, and
- 23:59Speaker 2: so but that's not the that's not the reality. So
- 24:01Speaker 2: the reality is you're doing extra work. You're sitting in
- 24:04Speaker 2: traffic driving you on set doing extra work for scraps
- 24:09Speaker 2: for long hours. And yeah, that's the reality. And so
- 24:14Speaker 2: it's like I'm just like, oh man, this sucks. This
- 24:21Speaker 2: is not this is not what I thought it was
- 24:23Speaker 2: gonna be.
- 24:24Speaker 1: And so how's your wife at the time dealing with
- 24:28Speaker 1: did you kind of going through the motions in her
- 24:30Speaker 1: being the primary did she handle it? Okay?
- 24:33Speaker 2: She did, Like in hindsight, she she handled it like
- 24:35Speaker 2: a g because she was you know what I'm saying,
- 24:37Speaker 2: because she was working because on her end, she was
- 24:40Speaker 2: doing what she always sought out to do.
- 24:42Speaker 1: So she was happy. She had like good home and
- 24:44Speaker 1: then she had her career.
- 24:46Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, she being a nurse, she's trying different things
- 24:50Speaker 2: within that and was always able to find work because
- 24:54Speaker 2: we lived in Orange that first year and then we
- 24:56Speaker 2: moved to Burbank. Was a much better location because.
- 25:00Speaker 1: Well, especially for your career. Yeah, that's exactly.
- 25:03Speaker 2: So it's like Burbank felt like a small town right
- 25:06Speaker 2: next to La so I can just go over the
- 25:09Speaker 2: hill and go to an audition or whatever and it
- 25:11Speaker 2: was just like you come back, it was safe, were good.
- 25:14Speaker 1: Yeah, it was just like perfect.
- 25:16Speaker 2: The only thing it was a little too non black.
- 25:19Speaker 1: But other than that, I'm like, something smells like it's burning.
- 25:23Speaker 2: I don't know what this is an extra smoky right,
- 25:27Speaker 2: and this is what I'm talking about with the electric stove.
- 25:29Speaker 2: It's always some bullshit.
- 25:33Speaker 1: Like something's burning. I smell it.
- 25:35Speaker 2: Yeah, what changed?
- 25:38Speaker 1: What changed? Is it your toast?
- 25:40Speaker 2: It can't be the toast? Is it? I just dropped
- 25:43Speaker 2: these that's extra smoky?
- 25:46Speaker 1: That look. Okay, we're gonna pray that Tony doesn't burn
- 25:49Speaker 1: down the set. So so in two thousand and eight,
- 25:55Speaker 1: now is this in two thousand and eight when you
- 25:56Speaker 1: moved to Burbank or when did when.
- 25:58Speaker 2: The Burbank two thousand and seven?
- 26:01Speaker 1: Okay, so then at six to seven was orange and
- 26:05Speaker 1: so you were doing acting auditions, and then it was
- 26:07Speaker 1: once you moved to Burbank, you try out, you start
- 26:09Speaker 1: doing common stand up.
- 26:10Speaker 2: I started doing stand up in two thousand and eight.
- 26:13Speaker 1: Now what was that first experience like and what made
- 26:16Speaker 1: you actually say, Okay, I'm gonna go for stand up.
- 26:18Speaker 2: So what happened was we gotta we gotta go back
- 26:21Speaker 2: to New Mexico State again. Okay, So I was very
- 26:26Speaker 2: much involved in.
- 26:32Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, it smells official. Yeah, I think you
- 26:35Speaker 1: don't like this.
- 26:37Speaker 2: You said, what you don't like this? I mean I might.
- 26:40Speaker 2: I am hungry. I haven't eaten today, so.
- 26:43Speaker 1: I ate because I knew what we were gonna eat. Yeah,
- 26:47Speaker 1: because I just was like, man, I don't know. I
- 26:49Speaker 1: thought you were pranking me for a second.
- 26:51Speaker 2: Little faith. Now we can do this two ways.
- 26:54Speaker 1: You can either I'm gonna do it the way you
- 26:56Speaker 1: did it. I think I'm gonna pour it on here.
- 26:58Speaker 2: Pour it on the bread and fold its folded. Or
- 27:02Speaker 2: you could just make it a real sandwich.
- 27:05Speaker 1: Okay.
- 27:05Speaker 2: The reason I did the fold is because it's wet.
- 27:08Speaker 2: It's like, you know, it's cream corn. So having a
- 27:12Speaker 2: sloppy sandwich like that. That's not a sloppy Joe just
- 27:14Speaker 2: didn't make a lot of sense. I'd rather do the fold.
- 27:18Speaker 1: This is crazy, but what happened in New Mexico. Go
- 27:21Speaker 1: take us back to New Mexico.
- 27:22Speaker 2: So let me get back up in here.
- 27:27Speaker 1: I'm excited to try this too.
- 27:28Speaker 2: Don't be too excited. Man, Lord you expectators.
- 27:32Speaker 1: Okay, guys, So just so you know, I broke my
- 27:35Speaker 1: little bread in half. I'm putting my like this right, yeah.
- 27:39Speaker 2: I just I can't believe this I did. Man.
- 27:43Speaker 1: I literally was like, oh, he's breaking us.
- 27:46Speaker 2: I wouldn't do that to you. All right, here we go.
- 27:49Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
- 27:51Speaker 2: Will it tastes like bread and cream corn? That's all
- 28:01Speaker 2: we live?
- 28:02Speaker 1: I would eat the preme corn playing man.
- 28:05Speaker 2: The bread is just to add some extra half.
- 28:09Speaker 1: Yeah, the bread and cream corn isn't isn't hidden, but
- 28:13Speaker 1: try it.
- 28:13Speaker 2: Try it.
- 28:13Speaker 1: Bite of that prem corn straight. Let me tell you something,
- 28:18Speaker 1: it's remarkably great. You don't you will go home and
- 28:21Speaker 1: get some cream corn after this.
- 28:23Speaker 2: It's like old time.
- 28:26Speaker 1: Tell me it ain't great.
- 28:27Speaker 2: That's a good time. Cream corn is good corn? Man?
- 28:31Speaker 1: Why did we give up on cream corn? I believe
- 28:35Speaker 1: how great it is.
- 28:36Speaker 2: I don't know why we gave up on cream corn.
- 28:38Speaker 2: We turn our backs. Hold on, we turned my clock.
- 28:42Speaker 2: I'll be intermitting faster, inter minute.
- 28:45Speaker 1: What does that mean? You don't eat till three o'clock?
- 28:47Speaker 2: Yeah, usually, like sometimes even later. Hold on coolining, So
- 28:52Speaker 2: I'm breaking my fast on this show. Yo.
- 28:55Speaker 1: You know what. We appreciate you. But I gotta say this.
- 28:58Speaker 1: I don't know why I give up preme corn. It
- 29:00Speaker 1: is simply amazing. I'm having some I have extra hands.
- 29:06Speaker 1: Tell me right, cream corn, it's vegan. What are you
- 29:11Speaker 1: gonna do?
- 29:12Speaker 2: It ain't crazy.
- 29:14Speaker 1: By the way, for all y'all listeners, Tony is in
- 29:17Speaker 1: remarkable shape. Remarkable shape. I was like trying to pick
- 29:23Speaker 1: the aprons. And you know, I try to stay away
- 29:25Speaker 1: from white because I'm a sizeable person. But you're in
- 29:30Speaker 1: such great shape. I was like, he can handle white.
- 29:34Speaker 1: He doesn't need to hide. But no, cream corn is Honestly,
- 29:40Speaker 1: I would I would ditch the bread, but the cream
- 29:41Speaker 1: corn cream cool. That is amazing cream corn. No, I
- 29:49Speaker 1: don't think so I have I have a terrible memory,
- 29:51Speaker 1: though I've probably seen it, don't remember. I'm gonna eat
- 29:54Speaker 1: all this.
- 29:54Speaker 2: Cream corn anyway. So while I'm in New Mexico State,
- 29:58Speaker 2: I'm telling you, I'm just creative. You know, I'm a performer, naturally,
- 30:04Speaker 2: I guess. And so I'm hosting whatever the Department of
- 30:07Speaker 2: Black Programs was doing I was involved in. So like,
- 30:10Speaker 2: if we had an MC battle, I would be the host.
- 30:13Speaker 2: If we having a pageant, I was hosting that. It
- 30:16Speaker 2: was just I was always like I wanted to get
- 30:19Speaker 2: my creative juices out.
- 30:22Speaker 1: So I'm just doing all that, and you were obviously
- 30:23Speaker 1: good at it to keep letting me be do it.
- 30:25Speaker 2: Yeah. It was just like, and I was naturally funny.
- 30:28Speaker 2: I wasn't even trying to be funny. I didn't even
- 30:31Speaker 2: become aware of my humor and being funny until so
- 30:38Speaker 2: I was doing all that hosting because growing up I
- 30:41Speaker 2: was funny, but my older brothers never laughed. So it's
- 30:45Speaker 2: like I'm at the crib when.
- 30:46Speaker 1: I'm cracking their.
- 30:49Speaker 2: Jokes, they're giving me nothing give you. I'm the youngest,
- 30:53Speaker 2: so it was just like, look at me, the kid.
- 30:56Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, Man, I'm trying to get it.
- 30:59Speaker 2: I'm trying to get my little jokes. I go to
- 31:01Speaker 2: bed and so so I'm in school thinking I'm not funny.
- 31:07Speaker 2: I'm cracking up my classmates. They laughing, but it's still
- 31:11Speaker 2: just like I ain't funny at home. So I'm just like,
- 31:14Speaker 2: I don't know what they're laughing at it. So in
- 31:15Speaker 2: my mind I'm not even registering the effect. And so
- 31:19Speaker 2: then when I started liking girls, girls think I'm funny.
- 31:22Speaker 2: But at that time, I don't want to be funny.
- 31:24Speaker 2: I want to be the heart throb. I want you
- 31:27Speaker 2: to be like you know what I'm saying, because we
- 31:30Speaker 2: didn't put heart throb and humor together. Were d Yeah,
- 31:36Speaker 2: you were cool and sexy. You were that guy, you
- 31:39Speaker 2: know what I mean, you divante from jobsy or whatever.
- 31:43Speaker 2: You know what I mean. So it's like, you're funny,
- 31:46Speaker 2: and I'm like, man, i ain't trying to be funny.
- 31:48Speaker 2: I'm trying to give you the squinty eyes and my
- 31:51Speaker 2: shirt is off but it's on, and so never register
- 31:56Speaker 2: in the comedy. So I'm just like whatever, So I'm
- 32:01Speaker 2: always funny. So fast forward back to college, I'm still funny,
- 32:05Speaker 2: not even trying to be funny. It's just funny. And
- 32:08Speaker 2: so I was at a concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- 32:13Speaker 2: It was common common was on the Electric Electric Circus tour.
- 32:19Speaker 2: So me and my brother at that concert, this girl
- 32:21Speaker 2: comes out of nowhere like you're hilarious, and I'm like,
- 32:24Speaker 2: you know me, She's like, yeah, you hosted that MC
- 32:26Speaker 2: battle at New Mexico State. You are hilarious. And that's
- 32:32Speaker 2: what it registered like, Man, I'm must be really funny
- 32:34Speaker 2: because this girl came out of nowhere with this, and
- 32:37Speaker 2: so I was just like, it just echoed. It always echoed,
- 32:40Speaker 2: and I was just like, I'm funny. That's crazy. And
- 32:43Speaker 2: then you start thinking it's like the end of the
- 32:46Speaker 2: usual Suspects. I'm piecing it.
- 32:47Speaker 1: All together, like, Yo, why did it take till two
- 32:49Speaker 1: thousand and seven or two thousand and eight for you
- 32:52Speaker 1: to actually act on the common side Now?
- 32:54Speaker 2: So it's like, all right, I want to act. Though
- 32:58Speaker 2: that was always the focused like, even though I grew
- 33:01Speaker 2: up watching stand up, I never liked was like I
- 33:03Speaker 2: want to do that. I want to act, and so
- 33:07Speaker 2: I was just like and then I got to thinking
- 33:09Speaker 2: about all the comedians that became actors. I was like,
- 33:14Speaker 2: that's a nice transition acting. Thinking about Robin Williams was
- 33:18Speaker 2: the main in print for that, because he was doing
- 33:21Speaker 2: dramatic and comedic, and he was a stand up commershore
- 33:25Speaker 2: like Robin Williams is the template, and so I was
- 33:29Speaker 2: just like, maybe I can get noticed doing stand up.
- 33:33Speaker 2: That's why. That's what gave me the drive to try
- 33:35Speaker 2: to stand up?
- 33:36Speaker 4: Okay, And then then when I did it, I was like,
- 33:42Speaker 4: this is it, this is what I was supposed to
- 33:46Speaker 4: be doing.
- 33:47Speaker 2: Wow, the whole time was supposed to be stand up.
- 33:50Speaker 2: And so I was like, and so once I did
- 33:52Speaker 2: that first open mic, that went well. Then five minutes
- 33:55Speaker 2: at the Ha Ha in North Hollywood, it went well.
- 33:59Speaker 2: I went every day. I was going back every day.
- 34:04Speaker 2: It was NonStop.
- 34:05Speaker 1: I was just like, now, when did you start elevating
- 34:08Speaker 1: to work in other clubs? Did they just start reaching
- 34:11Speaker 1: out or you start making relationships?
- 34:12Speaker 2: So in LA there's open mics all over the city.
- 34:16Speaker 2: So we're just doing the open mic circuit. We're doing
- 34:18Speaker 2: We're going to the comedy comedy store signing up for
- 34:21Speaker 2: their open mic. We're doing the improv, We're doing the
- 34:24Speaker 2: Laugh Factory, We're doing all these spots, We're doing these
- 34:26Speaker 2: coffee houses. Were doing every every piece of comedy stage
- 34:30Speaker 2: we can get our hands on. We were doing that.
- 34:32Speaker 2: So that's how you start getting into these other clubs
- 34:38Speaker 2: and so and people see you like, hey, man, do
- 34:40Speaker 2: my show, and I'm doing Bringer shows, I'm doing all
- 34:44Speaker 2: kinds of comedy competitions. I was just doing everything.
- 34:46Speaker 1: And now LA is a tough market when it comes
- 34:49Speaker 1: to comedy because everything that I've understood LA comedy to
- 34:53Speaker 1: be is like the clubs out here don't really pay
- 34:55Speaker 1: that well or pretty terrible compared to New York.
- 34:59Speaker 2: Yeah, they they like those open mics. I was doing that.
- 35:02Speaker 2: I started doing. I paid for that stay. I remember.
- 35:07Speaker 1: I remember knowing that like LA usually pay, beginning to
- 35:10Speaker 1: pay every time, it could be a coffee shop, wherever
- 35:12Speaker 1: you get paying up perform. And then at what point
- 35:19Speaker 1: during this whole career do you start to see uh,
- 35:23Speaker 1: like a hope towards money, money land prom money, promised land,
- 35:28Speaker 1: because I'm sure it was like a long road. And
- 35:31Speaker 1: at this point, you know this is what two thousand
- 35:34Speaker 1: and eight, you're like, Okay, I'm in now, you found
- 35:37Speaker 1: you found your niche. How long for that niche until
- 35:40Speaker 1: you start like actually getting a check that's like, hey, honey,
- 35:43Speaker 1: look what I brought home.
- 35:44Speaker 2: It was the first time I was like where I
- 35:48Speaker 2: got like substantial three figures.
- 35:52Speaker 1: Okay, three.
- 36:02Speaker 2: We did a road gig because I had you remember
- 36:05Speaker 2: it though, absolutely, this is the first road gig I did.
- 36:08Speaker 2: It was ridiculous when I think about it now, how
- 36:10Speaker 2: much I get paid for the amount of drive.
- 36:13Speaker 1: Okay, so that's still exciting now.
- 36:18Speaker 2: So my wife's cousin, my ex wife's cousin, he was
- 36:23Speaker 2: doing stand up. So he was the one that took
- 36:25Speaker 2: me to the High High to go up. His name
- 36:27Speaker 2: was to Sean Barrett, and so he was like, yo,
- 36:32Speaker 2: we got a gig in New Mexico, you know, And
- 36:35Speaker 2: it was like so they pretty much I drove my
- 36:38Speaker 2: car out. There was me and him and two other comedians.
- 36:42Speaker 2: So we drove all the way out to New Mexico.
- 36:44Speaker 2: This is like eleven hour drive and to do this
- 36:48Speaker 2: winery or whatever. And so we get out there. I
- 36:51Speaker 2: think I ended up just getting three hundred That was
- 36:53Speaker 2: my cut. I don't know, you know what else everybody
- 36:57Speaker 2: else made.
- 36:59Speaker 1: And I was just like, this is that's kind of
- 37:03Speaker 1: cool though, right right? And how long was it set?
- 37:06Speaker 2: So I ended up doing like twenty five minutes okay,
- 37:09Speaker 2: And this this is early on, like I was like, man,
- 37:12Speaker 2: I had that much material. It was just like and
- 37:15Speaker 2: then I ended up staying with like some friends of
- 37:19Speaker 2: mine or whatever, while the rest of the comedians was
- 37:21Speaker 2: at the hotel or whatever or the dorms wherever they
- 37:24Speaker 2: put us up at. Now I get people out here,
- 37:27Speaker 2: I'll be over here. And so I was just like,
- 37:29Speaker 2: man with three hundred, even though you know, I drove
- 37:35Speaker 2: my car, it was justus.
- 37:36Speaker 1: That's still exciting to know that, like you got to
- 37:39Speaker 1: do something you love compared to the hourly rate of anything.
- 37:42Speaker 1: If you think about it, it's like an incredible feat.
- 37:45Speaker 1: I mean, at least that.
- 37:46Speaker 2: Was the most tamony money I had seen at that time.
- 37:49Speaker 1: So then you go home, you brag, and you're like,
- 37:51Speaker 1: I'm sure. Now you're like, I gotta get more.
- 37:54Speaker 2: Oh yeah. It was like, okay, there is something to this.
- 37:58Speaker 2: The road is where the money is, so now I
- 38:00Speaker 2: have to get to the point where I can work
- 38:02Speaker 2: on the road. And so but I was just always
- 38:05Speaker 2: just trying to get better, putting my hands and everything
- 38:09Speaker 2: I can get my hands on, winning some comedy competitions
- 38:12Speaker 2: which brought money and bookings, and so it was just
- 38:15Speaker 2: like it was that it was that process of just like,
- 38:19Speaker 2: you know, doing everything, not turning away from stuff and
- 38:23Speaker 2: just growing, getting my name out there and meeting other comedians.
- 38:26Speaker 1: And at this point, you're still doing the house husbands
- 38:29Speaker 1: during the day.
- 38:30Speaker 2: During the day, I'm getting up in the morning, bags
- 38:34Speaker 2: under vines, getting the boys ready.
- 38:37Speaker 1: For school, or making like you don't understand what I'm
- 38:40Speaker 1: going through right.
- 38:41Speaker 2: Absolutely, So here here's here's the moment where it was
- 38:45Speaker 2: just like it was a dust up because I was
- 38:48Speaker 2: still playing video games too. So yeah, she came off
- 38:52Speaker 2: from work one time and I was on call of duty.
- 38:54Speaker 2: She was just like nah. I was like, she's I
- 39:00Speaker 2: can tell she was just like, nah, you over here.
- 39:04Speaker 2: I'm over here working and you over here and gaming
- 39:06Speaker 2: it up. I know what that looked like. And so
- 39:10Speaker 2: you know, at.
- 39:11Speaker 1: This point, the kids are at school.
- 39:12Speaker 2: I'm guessing they was in school, like she had got
- 39:15Speaker 2: off early or whatever. I felt like I got caught.
- 39:19Speaker 2: I rather had got caught with my dick and somebody else.
- 39:24Speaker 1: You feel what you feel like.
- 39:27Speaker 2: I felt like, oh you what you're doing home? I'm
- 39:30Speaker 2: on I'm on call of duty. You know. I was
- 39:32Speaker 2: just like, oh man, I felt like cold busted.
- 39:36Speaker 1: So that's hilarious.
- 39:38Speaker 2: And then but then there was a moment like later
- 39:40Speaker 2: on it was just like I kind of I kind
- 39:43Speaker 2: of went off a little bit because it was like
- 39:45Speaker 2: I do do a lot, you know, so I was
- 39:48Speaker 2: just like, you don't know what it's like to hit
- 39:50Speaker 2: it with you know what it's like, No know what
- 39:54Speaker 2: it's like. I'm getting these boys together, I'm doing this
- 40:00Speaker 2: and that It was just like while also feeling like
- 40:04Speaker 2: less of a man because she's the bread winner.
- 40:07Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, but I love to hear that you you
- 40:10Speaker 1: I hate to say it, but I love to hear
- 40:11Speaker 1: that you had to experience that side.
- 40:14Speaker 2: Yeah, I was the wife that was getting overlooked for
- 40:20Speaker 2: my contribution. And then I got a job after that.
- 40:27Speaker 2: After that moment, I was like, let.
- 40:28Speaker 1: Me get a job like a day job so you
- 40:31Speaker 1: can still do the night still.
- 40:33Speaker 2: I had to find a job where it was flexible
- 40:36Speaker 2: enough to where I could still pursue acting comedy still
- 40:40Speaker 2: hold the kids down. So I was able to find
- 40:42Speaker 2: something through my friend Sean Jones. It was like an
- 40:46Speaker 2: inventory where we counted inventory at different stores. You can
- 40:51Speaker 2: pretty much set your own schedule. So because of that moment,
- 40:54Speaker 2: I was like, let me get a job. So I
- 40:56Speaker 2: was still holding the boys down.
- 41:00Speaker 1: So now now you're at least you're you're like, hey,
- 41:03Speaker 1: I'm I'm you was you was really doing new thing, Okay.
- 41:06Speaker 1: I like that. I like that I was trying to traumatizing.
- 41:11Speaker 2: I was trying to I was trying to do the
- 41:13Speaker 2: best that I could while still staying focused on the
- 41:17Speaker 2: reason why.
- 41:17Speaker 1: I can find the balance. I like that you did that.
- 41:20Speaker 2: Yeah that's cool because it was like, man, you know
- 41:23Speaker 2: it was And I didn't hold that against her because
- 41:26Speaker 2: I know what that looked like. You know what I'm saying,
- 41:28Speaker 2: I'm not here working and you're playing call of duty.
- 41:34Speaker 2: I was just like, you know, so I was like,
- 41:37Speaker 2: all right, I just had that. I just had to
- 41:39Speaker 2: have that little blowout real quick. But then I was like,
- 41:41Speaker 2: you know what, she right, let me let me contribute
- 41:44Speaker 2: money as well. Yeah, and so that's why I got
- 41:47Speaker 2: that job.
- 41:53Speaker 1: Problem. So yeah, when does it trickling where you have
- 41:57Speaker 1: where you get to the point where you're like by
- 41:58Speaker 1: inventory job, Well.
- 42:00Speaker 2: I quit that job pretty quickly because it was like
- 42:02Speaker 2: I was doing because all I'm thinking about while I'm
- 42:05Speaker 2: doing that gig, because this is at night, because this
- 42:07Speaker 2: is after the stores closed, I'm just thinking about.
- 42:10Speaker 1: I thought it was allowing you to do comedy and
- 42:12Speaker 1: take care of the.
- 42:13Speaker 2: No, it was it was it was a night gig.
- 42:15Speaker 1: Oh, so you were allowed you could make money, but
- 42:18Speaker 1: you could take care of the boys, but you couldn't
- 42:20Speaker 1: do comedy.
- 42:20Speaker 2: Right. It was just like, this ain't gonna work because
- 42:25Speaker 2: I was like, because it had to be when the
- 42:27Speaker 2: stores were, you know, down. So I was just like,
- 42:30Speaker 2: and I'm thinking about comedy the whole time. Yeah, taking
- 42:33Speaker 2: the inventory, I'm thinking about material. And so it was
- 42:36Speaker 2: just like, so I was, you know, scheduling myself so
- 42:38Speaker 2: I can still do comedy several days a week and work.
- 42:43Speaker 2: And then I was like, once I started getting more
- 42:45Speaker 2: and more gigs, I was, I just quit sending in
- 42:50Speaker 2: my schedule.
- 42:52Speaker 1: Okay, So you were starting to get enough to like
- 42:54Speaker 1: phase out the inventory. Yeah, and without your wife being.
- 42:57Speaker 2: Like yeah, because you know, because she's all the work
- 43:00Speaker 2: that was being put in.
- 43:01Speaker 1: Yeah, and well she I'm sure she saw the effort too, like, hey,
- 43:04Speaker 1: he's trying.
- 43:05Speaker 2: He listened, he tried.
- 43:06Speaker 1: I think women they wanted to see effort. You heard me,
- 43:10Speaker 1: you heard me. It penetrated, right, I'm.
- 43:13Speaker 2: Definitely penetrated for sure.
- 43:15Speaker 1: So at what point in your career are you like,
- 43:18Speaker 1: I one hundred percent on this craft. Is it like
- 43:21Speaker 1: your first acting gig or is it like your first
- 43:25Speaker 1: what's that first big pivotal moment where you're like, I
- 43:27Speaker 1: got this like one hundred percent, never looking back with
- 43:32Speaker 1: a check attached, because I think until you fully get
- 43:34Speaker 1: a check that can sustain yourself, it's still a little
- 43:37Speaker 1: bit of still am I doing the right thing? It's
- 43:41Speaker 1: still still oh still.
- 43:43Speaker 2: Like that kind of sort of not necessarily, but comedy
- 43:46Speaker 2: as much as acting per still because you know I'm
- 43:48Speaker 2: not I'm not an established actor like that. Yeah, still
- 43:52Speaker 2: to this day. So it's like, but comedy is like,
- 43:57Speaker 2: here's what I loved about comedy more so than acting,
- 43:59Speaker 2: where I felt like, Okay, I can keep this going.
- 44:04Speaker 2: Of course, social media has changed the game tremendously.
- 44:07Speaker 1: And you dominated it pretty well.
- 44:09Speaker 2: It's it's allowed me to for a lot of people
- 44:13Speaker 2: to see me everywhere, and so now if I come
- 44:16Speaker 2: to your city's it's Tony, you know, even if even
- 44:19Speaker 2: if you know me for the voice, so you still
- 44:20Speaker 2: be like, let's go see him live, Let's see what
- 44:22Speaker 2: he's he's like. Live and so it's like, ah, And
- 44:25Speaker 2: the reason I focused so hard on stand up over
- 44:28Speaker 2: acting was because I was more in control of my
- 44:32Speaker 2: own destiny with the stand up. You know, with acting,
- 44:36Speaker 2: you're at the mercy of casting, director, producer, director, script whatever.
- 44:43Speaker 2: There's so many things that are out of your control
- 44:46Speaker 2: when you're just an actor. You don't have the right look,
- 44:50Speaker 2: you didn't look right on camera with this other person, whatever,
- 44:54Speaker 2: whether you book it, whether you don't book it, it's
- 44:56Speaker 2: so much out of your control. It's just like I
- 44:58Speaker 2: can't live like that. But stand up, I control the
- 45:02Speaker 2: table more. It's like I can book my own gigs.
- 45:05Speaker 2: I can sign up for this, I can do this,
- 45:06Speaker 2: I can I can do my own show and just
- 45:08Speaker 2: promote it myself. And there's so many avenues that I
- 45:12Speaker 2: have so much more.
- 45:13Speaker 1: Now.
- 45:14Speaker 2: I feel like a business owner. Now, I feel like
- 45:16Speaker 2: I'm for real because it's like I'm putting all the
- 45:20Speaker 2: work in and I'm seeing the results of the work
- 45:22Speaker 2: I'm putting in, and then when I do perform, I'm
- 45:26Speaker 2: getting the feedback from the from the customer base directly.
- 45:30Speaker 2: So it's just like, oh, I had a great time.
- 45:31Speaker 2: It's like and I was able to control that myself.
- 45:35Speaker 2: And so that's what made me be like, all right,
- 45:38Speaker 2: stand up is the.
- 45:40Speaker 1: Is the move now when you look at the way
- 45:43Speaker 1: things have changed, because now we're in a whole different era.
- 45:46Speaker 1: Like I always tell my dad, like he'll talk to
- 45:49Speaker 1: me about a show, and I'm like, Dad, it was
- 45:50Speaker 1: the last time you really went home and watched TV? Yeah, Like,
- 45:54Speaker 1: I mean, I barely know how to work my TV
- 45:56Speaker 1: at this point. I know there's a Netflix button, Yeah
- 45:58Speaker 1: there's Amazon. But you know what I'm saying, Like I
- 46:01Speaker 1: push whatever button or like slide to the icon. But
- 46:04Speaker 1: the last time I actually flipped through a television, I
- 46:07Speaker 1: can't tell you. And I heard not gonna say the
- 46:09Speaker 1: name drop the person. But I was just telling Jerry
- 46:12Speaker 1: back there that like Amazon is now paying for content
- 46:16Speaker 1: way more than even networks are. Right, So now when
- 46:19Speaker 1: you see the ship, do you still feel like acting?
- 46:25Speaker 1: Like you can't control acting the way you controlled comedy still.
- 46:31Speaker 2: Because it's like unless I was like a writer, director
- 46:33Speaker 2: or something like that, it would be a different conversation.
- 46:36Speaker 2: But since I'm just like purely just on the acting
- 46:38Speaker 2: side of it right now, it's like I still got
- 46:41Speaker 2: auditions still, gotta unless they come to me with like, yo,
- 46:44Speaker 2: we want you in this. That's that's the dream, that's
- 46:48Speaker 2: the ideal situation. I have books stuff like that. But
- 46:52Speaker 2: like and now too, it's we're so oversaturated with content
- 47:00Speaker 2: and different platforms and where you can see anything. It
- 47:03Speaker 2: becomes like because you got Netflix, you got Amazon, and
- 47:06Speaker 2: now you.
- 47:06Speaker 1: Have all these other people that are like I want
- 47:07Speaker 1: to create my own.
- 47:08Speaker 2: Exactly, and so it's just like, so it's people are
- 47:12Speaker 2: oversaturated with like choices options, so it's a lot of
- 47:15Speaker 2: content out there, and so it's just like we got
- 47:18Speaker 2: streaming platforms and you know, movie theaters are struggling, and
- 47:21Speaker 2: so it's just like and I'm just sitting there like, well,
- 47:25Speaker 2: regardless of what happens, as long as it is there's
- 47:29Speaker 2: not another pandemic, there's no substitute for live entertainment ever. Yeah,
- 47:35Speaker 2: you gotta take your girl out. Yes, you gotta take
- 47:39Speaker 2: your girl out. Y'all can't be watching Netflix all the time.
- 47:42Speaker 2: Let's go Somewhere's go somewhere, Let's go somewhere. I want
- 47:46Speaker 2: to be out, I want to be cute, I want
- 47:48Speaker 2: to be somewhere exactly. And so live entertainment does that,
- 47:52Speaker 2: so it's like and stand up is live.
- 47:54Speaker 1: So it's like, so what would you say, like, we're
- 47:56Speaker 1: the hardest things to digest as a comedian as far
- 48:01Speaker 1: as as all the way up to this date, like
- 48:02Speaker 1: what are some of the hardest things to like digest
- 48:05Speaker 1: as a comic?
- 48:06Speaker 2: The hardest thing is just like the struggle. It's like,
- 48:10Speaker 2: you know, you go through so much comedy, years and
- 48:12Speaker 2: years of just like just getting by. Yeah, you know
- 48:16Speaker 2: what I mean. But even then, like I got divorced
- 48:21Speaker 2: in twenty twelve, so I was living off of stand
- 48:26Speaker 2: up and whatever I booked on the sketch side or whatever,
- 48:31Speaker 2: and so that's when I started working with all death
- 48:33Speaker 2: and stuff like that, and I was like, whoa, it
- 48:35Speaker 2: was like every month, I was like, thank you laugh
- 48:38Speaker 2: actory I'm just but I'm living off the craft. But
- 48:42Speaker 2: it was just like.
- 48:44Speaker 1: Like you like, you're surviving every month? Yes, yeah, okay, okay,
- 48:48Speaker 1: I know what that's like. I'm familiar with that doing
- 48:50Speaker 1: that today.
- 48:52Speaker 2: Surviving month. Let's go care me. I won this competition.
- 48:58Speaker 2: Who needed that?
- 48:59Speaker 1: And you're and you're also I'm guessing you're amazing with
- 49:01Speaker 1: money at this point. Oh yeah, like you know how
- 49:04Speaker 1: to live on a budget. You know how your cash
- 49:06Speaker 1: flow works.
- 49:07Speaker 2: Budget. Oh, I love that. I was just like h
- 49:12Speaker 2: and I had a roommate, so that that's taking some
- 49:15Speaker 2: of the edge off. And so I'm just like bare minimum,
- 49:20Speaker 2: getting the boys what they need, saving as much as possible,
- 49:24Speaker 2: paying the rent, paying the utilities, Uh, anything wrong with
- 49:28Speaker 2: the car, just like you know, I've just been good
- 49:30Speaker 2: with money.
- 49:31Speaker 1: Good, you know. And so now that's something you had
- 49:33Speaker 1: to learn during this whole pursuit or did were you
- 49:35Speaker 1: like that before?
- 49:36Speaker 2: I think I started learning it once. I was in college,
- 49:38Speaker 2: those college days and we was dead broke. We was
- 49:41Speaker 2: dead broke.
- 49:42Speaker 1: I think like, yeah, I could tell because you was
- 49:45Speaker 1: eing bread with this cream of corn.
- 49:48Speaker 2: Tell you something I learned it squandering the financial aid money.
- 49:52Speaker 1: Oh okay, okay okay.
- 49:53Speaker 2: And I was like, yo, I squandered all that money
- 49:56Speaker 2: on clothes or whatever. And so now I'm just like,
- 50:00Speaker 2: I'm looking like a jackass now because I'm in the
- 50:02Speaker 2: super struggle and they don't have to pay this money
- 50:05Speaker 2: back because I got loans, and so it was just like, oh,
- 50:08Speaker 2: so those those were the lessons my dad always told us, Yo,
- 50:11Speaker 2: save your money, save your money, man. Watch out man,
- 50:14Speaker 2: watch out, you know, and so he instilled in us
- 50:19Speaker 2: early like save your money. We was like all right, sure,
- 50:24Speaker 2: but then it was like he was right and so
- 50:27Speaker 2: all of that and I'm still that way, like you know,
- 50:31Speaker 2: like this year, well, twenty twenty four, that's the most
- 50:35Speaker 2: money I ever spent in like a year, because it
- 50:38Speaker 2: was just like I was just sitting on money, all
- 50:41Speaker 2: the money I had accumulated over all this time. It
- 50:44Speaker 2: was just like, okay, I need to buy a house.
- 50:48Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been seeing your stories. You got a nice house.
- 50:51Speaker 1: You're renovating it and building it.
- 50:53Speaker 2: And finally bought a house and it was like and
- 50:57Speaker 2: this was after like you know, I paid my mom's
- 50:59Speaker 2: house all off, and then I was just like I
- 51:03Speaker 2: still didn't have a house myself, but I was I
- 51:05Speaker 2: was perfectly happy with doing that for I'm like, man,
- 51:07Speaker 2: life is yeah, I could check out right now and
- 51:10Speaker 2: I'm good. But it was like and then my my
- 51:13Speaker 2: ex girlfriend she was just like, well, think about like
- 51:17Speaker 2: you know, something you want to leave behind for sincere
- 51:20Speaker 2: and so.
- 51:21Speaker 1: I was just like, oh, you right, generational wealth, that's
- 51:24Speaker 1: what it was.
- 51:25Speaker 2: And so it was just like all right, I got
- 51:26Speaker 2: to make a move because I was scared to buy
- 51:27Speaker 2: a house because it just looked like a lot CALLI
- 51:30Speaker 2: price is a ridiculous crazy I was.
- 51:32Speaker 1: Just like the first time I bought a house. As
- 51:35Speaker 1: an entrepreneur, you have imposter syndrome. You're like, are they
- 51:39Speaker 1: really gonna believe that I'm going to survive? And buying
- 51:42Speaker 1: a house, I think is the ultimate test because a
- 51:44Speaker 1: bank has to believe you're not going to go broken. Yeah,
- 51:47Speaker 1: And so I want to know, like, how did it
- 51:49Speaker 1: feel to know that the bank was like you're approved?
- 51:53Speaker 1: And did you feel like, yo, I like I'm official
- 51:57Speaker 1: or did you just know I mean the whole time
- 51:59Speaker 1: or did you have a little bit of imposter syndrome
- 52:01Speaker 1: throughout the whole thing and then you get that final
- 52:03Speaker 1: stamp of For me, at least, it was like, yo,
- 52:05Speaker 1: I'm a legit, right, I'm legit. They said yes to
- 52:09Speaker 1: the craziest to the craziest gammel of life because they
- 52:13Speaker 1: are rigorous. They're like, why did you move this money
- 52:15Speaker 1: to this money in this account to discount discount? Why
- 52:17Speaker 1: did you do this and this and this?
- 52:19Speaker 2: There? Maybe in there ye ask too many questions. I
- 52:22Speaker 2: was legit. Yeah, it's legit trust me. Now, I wann't
- 52:25Speaker 2: trust nobody.
- 52:27Speaker 1: After getting on my first after getting my house, I
- 52:30Speaker 1: just remember going, I am never gonna move my money
- 52:33Speaker 1: around the accounts the way, even though I do now
- 52:36Speaker 1: come struggle a little bit, but usually if I'm good,
- 52:40Speaker 1: I keep them very separated. Because my first house experience,
- 52:44Speaker 1: they questioned every transaction. They're like, why did you move
- 52:46Speaker 1: this from this account? This is discount where this money
- 52:48Speaker 1: come from?
- 52:48Speaker 2: And this is right, the money's there, isn't it.
- 52:52Speaker 1: You think I'm gonna remember two thousand and I get
- 52:57Speaker 1: but it felt good, didn't feel legit, like tell me
- 52:59Speaker 1: about so.
- 53:01Speaker 2: So I thought about getting the house in twenty twenty
- 53:06Speaker 2: one and it was like that's that's when I put
- 53:12Speaker 2: my toes in the water, like let me see what
- 53:14Speaker 2: this is like, you know what I'm saying. Because I
- 53:17Speaker 2: knew I needed it was like because I was living under.
- 53:20Speaker 1: My means for so yeah, yeah, I like that.
- 53:23Speaker 2: I was scared. I was in that same two bedroom apartment. Yeah,
- 53:27Speaker 2: dirty carpet. It was just like but then I was like,
- 53:30Speaker 2: all right, I want my boys to live with me,
- 53:32Speaker 2: so I need more space. So I was just like,
- 53:37Speaker 2: all right, I need to find the biggest space I
- 53:38Speaker 2: was gonna rent. The biggest spot with the burdbank prices
- 53:41Speaker 2: was they was crazy, and so I was like, man,
- 53:44Speaker 2: let me look out in Santa Clarita or whatever. And
- 53:46Speaker 2: then I was like, you know I should buy a house.
- 53:49Speaker 1: Yeap, you should, especially at the rents.
- 53:52Speaker 2: So so they gave me. They gave me a quote
- 53:56Speaker 2: the pre approval, and I was just like, I was
- 53:59Speaker 2: looking that the pre approval they they you know, approved
- 54:02Speaker 2: me for compared to what the houses were going for
- 54:04Speaker 2: in sam Cared, and I was like, I didn't really
- 54:07Speaker 2: like that. I was just like, damn, that's not enough.
- 54:10Speaker 2: And so I was just like because I didn't, I
- 54:13Speaker 2: didn't want to settle for of course. So then I
- 54:16Speaker 2: was like, all right, I'll just rent and I was
- 54:19Speaker 2: just going back then. It was horse.
- 54:20Speaker 1: I knew you back then, because I would have told
- 54:22Speaker 1: you settle, man, settle, settle. I would I would have
- 54:25Speaker 1: instantly told you to settle. I tell all my girlfriends
- 54:27Speaker 1: that this is first, it's your first. Just settle. You're
- 54:30Speaker 1: just looking at equity. I was just like, I can't
- 54:33Speaker 1: believe you did it. So you waited till twenty twenty
- 54:35Speaker 1: four in the high interest rate.
- 54:36Speaker 2: So now the interest rate now.
- 54:38Speaker 1: Is just like and the prices it was disgusting.
- 54:42Speaker 2: But what the approved I saw. I saw the jump
- 54:46Speaker 2: in preapproval.
- 54:47Speaker 1: Okay, that's that's good though, and you were working towards something.
- 54:51Speaker 2: Oh, that's a big difference is what I was pre
- 54:53Speaker 2: approved for in twenty twenty, twenty twenty.
- 54:56Speaker 1: Also at that time it was probably really high.
- 54:58Speaker 2: Yeah. Yes, I was just like, now I can work
- 55:02Speaker 2: with this, and so I went in way under.
- 55:05Speaker 1: Yeah I approved me for of course, I'm glad to
- 55:07Speaker 1: hear that too. Financial literacy do I'm.
- 55:11Speaker 2: Not pushing it to the limit and so so yeah,
- 55:14Speaker 2: so that felt good. I was scared shitless though, Like
- 55:17Speaker 2: I got cool feed several times throughout the process. Even
- 55:20Speaker 2: after I bought it, I was still just like, that
- 55:23Speaker 2: was me. I make the right choice.
- 55:24Speaker 1: Yeah, you realize that. I always like to tell people.
- 55:28Speaker 1: I bought my house with two hundred and sixty thousand
- 55:30Speaker 1: dollars ten years ago in Cali. In Cali it's a townhouse,
- 55:38Speaker 1: but still still and I begged all my girlfriends to
- 55:42Speaker 1: buy homes at that time. You know, I was with
- 55:45Speaker 1: the low interest rate I had. My interest is four
- 55:48Speaker 1: and a quarter. And I also did as an entrepreneur.
- 55:53Speaker 1: You know the game you you like to hide money
- 55:56Speaker 1: in the tax error, so that bites you. You know,
- 55:59Speaker 1: it's twofold, know you you don't report as much, you
- 56:02Speaker 1: get lower approval. So at the time, I was very fortunate.
- 56:05Speaker 1: So thank god I got approved for that because let
- 56:09Speaker 1: me tell you, my life has been nothing but like
- 56:11Speaker 1: it's all roller coaster, high risk or whatever. So what
- 56:15Speaker 1: I did was because the house payments are so low,
- 56:18Speaker 1: every Christmas, I will Christmas present the principal. Yes, so
- 56:23Speaker 1: I always do like a twenty thousand dollars a year
- 56:26Speaker 1: principal payment on December. Every December, Yeah, my house would
- 56:30Speaker 1: be paid off like next year. That's crazy. And all
- 56:32Speaker 1: my friends, you know what, they tell me, you're an idiot.
- 56:35Speaker 1: Why did you do that? Why would you do that?
- 56:36Speaker 1: And I'm like, yeah, well, guess what we're gonna airb
- 56:38Speaker 1: and be this bitch like next year.
- 56:40Speaker 2: Let me ask you that. Let me ask you this
- 56:42Speaker 2: on on this principal day. Do you have to specifically.
- 56:46Speaker 1: Mark principle only on the actual check? Oh see you cannot, yeah,
- 56:51Speaker 1: because I made that mistake. So they have so many
- 56:53Speaker 1: different loan programs out there. For everybody that's ever interested
- 56:56Speaker 1: in buying home I always advise you, like there's nonprofits
- 57:00Speaker 1: in LA that will do like it's like seventy five
- 57:02Speaker 1: bucks and they teach you a whole course on home buying.
- 57:05Speaker 1: I think I paid for it. It was worth every
- 57:07Speaker 1: penny A lot of times if you graduate, they give
- 57:09Speaker 1: you like a if you complete the course, so it'll
- 57:12Speaker 1: could be like some kind of down payment assistance. So
- 57:14Speaker 1: I did that. When I bought mine, this was like
- 57:16Speaker 1: ten years ago. I begged all my girlfriends. Of course,
- 57:19Speaker 1: you know, I was like thirty, so you know, girls
- 57:21Speaker 1: are still young. They were like, girl, you whatever, you
- 57:24Speaker 1: wait till you get married. I was like, just in case,
- 57:28Speaker 1: just in case. But no, there's so many programs out there.
- 57:32Speaker 1: But I one of my homies, like two years after
- 57:36Speaker 1: one of my ex boyfriends, two years after I bought
- 57:38Speaker 1: the house, was like, you're an idiot, Like you know
- 57:40Speaker 1: you're gonna pay all this interest, Like look at how
- 57:42Speaker 1: much you're gonna pay for the house right later, And
- 57:45Speaker 1: I told you, I'm like half Jewish, So I I
- 57:47Speaker 1: looked at it and then I said, I realized that
- 57:50Speaker 1: I would be paying like by the time I was done,
- 57:52Speaker 1: I was gonna be paying like four hundred or five
- 57:54Speaker 1: hundred thousand for the house.
- 57:55Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 57:56Speaker 1: So when I realized that they had this like mortgage
- 57:58Speaker 1: payment calculator you can google, So I googled it and
- 58:02Speaker 1: I just put in, like how much would I have
- 58:04Speaker 1: to pay to pay it off by the time I'm forty, right,
- 58:07Speaker 1: And it was like twenty k a year? Okay, So
- 58:10Speaker 1: I was like, oh, at the end of every year,
- 58:11Speaker 1: I'll just add an extra twenty k. But also if
- 58:15Speaker 1: you do just an extra house payment, it cuts it
- 58:17Speaker 1: down like ten years. Okay, but I just I do
- 58:20Speaker 1: that method, I'm just like fuck it. And then but
- 58:23Speaker 1: you got to remember the best part of owning a
- 58:26Speaker 1: house is that you get to write off the interests.
- 58:28Speaker 1: So once you get to the principal point, so like,
- 58:30Speaker 1: your tax are gonna be great this year and for
- 58:32Speaker 1: the next couple of years, I'm at the point where
- 58:34Speaker 1: there's no more interest left. Really principle, like I make
- 58:38Speaker 1: a payment, it's like ninety percent is.
- 58:40Speaker 3: Going to principles fly, but you have But the catch
- 58:44Speaker 3: now is that if you're an entrepreneur on the taxi,
- 58:47Speaker 3: it's gonna hurt because you know when you're married and
- 58:50Speaker 3: you own real.
- 58:51Speaker 1: Estate, those are like great write offs. The most money
- 58:54Speaker 1: I've ever gotten back in my life is like the
- 58:55Speaker 1: day I got Oh, I got married. I didn't know
- 58:58Speaker 1: you could get money back. So I've learned a lot.
- 59:01Speaker 1: But I'm excited to hear. I love financial literacy, so
- 59:04Speaker 1: it's really nice to hear that you you went through that,
- 59:07Speaker 1: and I get to see your home as it progress
- 59:09Speaker 1: is online. You're doing a lot of work.
- 59:12Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I might as well make it because I've
- 59:14Speaker 2: never had.
- 59:16Speaker 1: A six foot person tub.
- 59:17Speaker 2: I saw I can fit in there, I can stretch out.
- 59:21Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's tough, you know, finding that first contractor.
- 59:24Speaker 1: I did that, Like when I first got my home
- 59:26Speaker 1: and I the bill. They said it was going to
- 59:28Speaker 1: be like a certain amount, and then it came out
- 59:30Speaker 1: a lot bigger, of course, and I had a complete meltdown,
- 59:34Speaker 1: com complete meltdown.
- 59:35Speaker 2: I'm like whoa.
- 59:37Speaker 1: And it was a terrible job.
- 59:39Speaker 2: So oh wow.
- 59:40Speaker 1: I was like, I'm stay away from contractors for a
- 59:43Speaker 1: little bit. Yeah, but I'm happy to hear this. What
- 59:47Speaker 1: are some milestones like in your story that like particularly
- 59:50Speaker 1: stood out to you in your career that were like
- 59:54Speaker 1: I've officially besides the like big home purchase, Like the.
- 59:59Speaker 2: First time I was on that a comic standing on NBC,
- 1:00:01Speaker 2: I was like, yo, I'm on TV. That's a comic.
- 1:00:04Speaker 2: That was a big moment. It didn't change my life at.
- 1:00:09Speaker 1: The time, did you think it was?
- 1:00:10Speaker 2: I thought I thought it was gonna be on the
- 1:00:14Speaker 2: road now, baby, but I didn't go far enough into it.
- 1:00:18Speaker 2: And then I did another season of Last Comic saying
- 1:00:20Speaker 2: I was like, man, this this, this is it right
- 1:00:22Speaker 2: but it still wasn't it right there? And so but
- 1:00:25Speaker 2: those were big moments, like when I when I booked
- 1:00:27Speaker 2: that and I did especially that first time on Last Comic,
- 1:00:31Speaker 2: I had a really good set and I thought and
- 1:00:35Speaker 2: then it was like I didn't advance. I was like,
- 1:00:37Speaker 2: that was crushed. So that was a big moment. And
- 1:00:41Speaker 2: then when I went on the road, when I went
- 1:00:45Speaker 2: on tour with Kevin on stage the Real Comedians Tour
- 1:00:48Speaker 2: is Me Kevin to here, that was a great moment
- 1:00:51Speaker 2: because it's like, Yo, we're on the road doing these shows.
- 1:00:55Speaker 2: It was like my first tour. Yeah, I was like, oh,
- 1:00:58Speaker 2: this is fantastic. And we did it again, we went
- 1:01:01Speaker 2: back to back on it. So I was just like
- 1:01:04Speaker 2: those moments. And then when I went back on the
- 1:01:06Speaker 2: road by myself and the tickets were selling, that's when
- 1:01:10Speaker 2: I was.
- 1:01:11Speaker 1: Just like, wow, yeah, that would be a huge moment.
- 1:01:14Speaker 2: That that was the moment I was just like And
- 1:01:18Speaker 2: so all of those little moments right there, it is
- 1:01:20Speaker 2: just like, man, I really So now it's like I'm
- 1:01:26Speaker 2: just in a good space of and I'm in I'm
- 1:01:29Speaker 2: in the space of you know, And I know people
- 1:01:32Speaker 2: get annoyed when people talk like this, where you're getting
- 1:01:35Speaker 2: a certain financial situation, then you're like, money isn't everything.
- 1:01:43Speaker 1: But money matters.
- 1:01:46Speaker 2: Money does matter, and it for you. But it's like,
- 1:01:49Speaker 2: you know, because I lost my oldest son, and so
- 1:01:53Speaker 2: when I say money doesn't matter, I would give it
- 1:01:56Speaker 2: all to get him back. So it's just like I
- 1:02:00Speaker 2: would I would give everything in my account right now
- 1:02:03Speaker 2: to get him back. So it's like, even even with
- 1:02:05Speaker 2: the money, you're still heartbroken. So it's like dang. And
- 1:02:10Speaker 2: then so now I'm in a space and me and
- 1:02:13Speaker 2: keV on stage laugh about this all the time because
- 1:02:15Speaker 2: he knows how I am. I will walk away from
- 1:02:17Speaker 2: money now that I wouldn't have before for peace of mind,
- 1:02:22Speaker 2: because since you know, since I did lose my son
- 1:02:25Speaker 2: like that, I'm looking for peace above all else. So
- 1:02:29Speaker 2: it's like, yeah, they're offering this much money, but I
- 1:02:31Speaker 2: know they're knowing to work with.
- 1:02:33Speaker 1: Okay, That's what I was going to ask you. What
- 1:02:35Speaker 1: is like, have you had a real bad example of
- 1:02:37Speaker 1: like a deal gone bad where you're like never again.
- 1:02:40Speaker 2: Well, it's not really like a bad deal. Well, but
- 1:02:46Speaker 2: just like if I know the production will be raggedy
- 1:02:50Speaker 2: in terms of how they run it, what's going on,
- 1:02:53Speaker 2: I'll be like, I'm good if they get on my
- 1:02:55Speaker 2: nerves too much, or if they doing too much stuff
- 1:02:59Speaker 2: short notice or this is that, and the third I'm like,
- 1:03:03Speaker 2: I'm good. But the money, I'm like, nah, it's not
- 1:03:06Speaker 2: because if I'm annoyed, it's just like I'd rather not
- 1:03:09Speaker 2: deal with it because I'm always looking for the peace
- 1:03:12Speaker 2: and so and so. Since I'm not a big spender,
- 1:03:18Speaker 2: I don't stress about you know, I need the money.
- 1:03:22Speaker 2: Of course I can use the money. I need the money.
- 1:03:24Speaker 2: I want to make more money. But it's like if
- 1:03:26Speaker 2: I got a sacrifice my little my little nerves for it,
- 1:03:31Speaker 2: I'm walking away. And so I feel like I'm in
- 1:03:35Speaker 2: a healthy relationship with like.
- 1:03:38Speaker 1: Finances, it sounds like it sounds like you're good at
- 1:03:40Speaker 1: it too.
- 1:03:41Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just like, you know, I won't stress myself
- 1:03:44Speaker 2: out for more money.
- 1:03:47Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 1:03:47Speaker 2: And so as before, I be like, I'll do anything
- 1:03:49Speaker 2: for the money.
- 1:03:50Speaker 1: Well, yeah, when you're coming from this.
- 1:03:52Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll I'll do whatever for a while.
- 1:03:56Speaker 1: I have a very difficult question. I asked, Okay, with
- 1:04:00Speaker 1: everything that happened with your son, dealing with that whole
- 1:04:03Speaker 1: grief period, how did you like pull through it, especially
- 1:04:07Speaker 1: being a comic.
- 1:04:08Speaker 2: So, so he passed August third, twenty twenty one, and
- 1:04:13Speaker 2: so I ended up going back on the road at
- 1:04:18Speaker 2: the end of August to Atlanta. And so because I
- 1:04:22Speaker 2: was like, because of course, you know, my team was
- 1:04:25Speaker 2: just like, hey, you know, if you need to not
- 1:04:28Speaker 2: do nothing, we we understund like, and I was just like,
- 1:04:32Speaker 2: I don't want to just sit and do nothing. I
- 1:04:34Speaker 2: want to make people laugh. So I got back on
- 1:04:36Speaker 2: the road and work finished out the rest of the
- 1:04:39Speaker 2: tour for that year. And making people laugh was beneficial
- 1:04:44Speaker 2: for me because I'm getting that good energy, because laughter
- 1:04:48Speaker 2: is just great energy. Giving back making people laugh makes
- 1:04:51Speaker 2: me feel fantastic. And so and then to hear about
- 1:04:54Speaker 2: what people are going through themselves, Like, man, I can't
- 1:04:57Speaker 2: you A comedy show just made you know what I'm saying.
- 1:04:59Speaker 2: I was having tough, I was in the dark place.
- 1:05:01Speaker 2: This is that and the third and so it's like
- 1:05:05Speaker 2: that good energy exchange. It's just like I needed that
- 1:05:08Speaker 2: because if not, I was just gonna sit and just
- 1:05:10Speaker 2: be done.
- 1:05:11Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.
- 1:05:12Speaker 2: And so it was like the working help help keep
- 1:05:15Speaker 2: me going through that. And then I was like, but
- 1:05:17Speaker 2: I did realize, yo, I need to sit down and
- 1:05:21Speaker 2: take it. So I took it from like August third
- 1:05:25Speaker 2: through like August twenty third. I was just you know,
- 1:05:30Speaker 2: taking it walking still like I always do, trying to
- 1:05:33Speaker 2: get everything together. Because we had like a little COVID
- 1:05:36Speaker 2: outbreak within the family around that time. It was a
- 1:05:38Speaker 2: mess and so and I was just like all right.
- 1:05:42Speaker 2: So I finished out that tour and in the first
- 1:05:44Speaker 2: two months of twenty twenty two, I was like, I'm
- 1:05:46Speaker 2: gonna just sit down and just grieve, you know, because
- 1:05:51Speaker 2: I was never running from the grief. It was just
- 1:05:53Speaker 2: I need to do something to bring me joy within
- 1:06:00Speaker 2: the grief. And so then when I sat down, I
- 1:06:03Speaker 2: was able to take it in. It's all right. And
- 1:06:05Speaker 2: so then I got back to work. And so now
- 1:06:08Speaker 2: and you know, my friend Chantee, she had lost her
- 1:06:10Speaker 2: husband and she was just like the best thing I
- 1:06:13Speaker 2: learned is, you know, grief comes in waves. Don't fight
- 1:06:17Speaker 2: the waves, all right. So it's just like the water
- 1:06:21Speaker 2: coming in. You just go with it and wherever it
- 1:06:24Speaker 2: takes you. And so I live like that, Like when
- 1:06:26Speaker 2: I have a wave, I take it. It's just like,
- 1:06:29Speaker 2: all right, here we go. Like yesterday was his birthday,
- 1:06:31Speaker 2: January third, so that day is always the hardest of
- 1:06:34Speaker 2: the year, and so I was just like, I just
- 1:06:37Speaker 2: chilled yesterday. I was crying off and on all day
- 1:06:41Speaker 2: and then just keep going. And then that's what I do.
- 1:06:45Speaker 2: And so and I talk about him a lot, like,
- 1:06:49Speaker 2: you know, because a lot of times I've been watching
- 1:06:51Speaker 2: this show called Cross on Amazon Prime and he's dealing
- 1:06:56Speaker 2: with grief because his wife got murdered at the top
- 1:06:59Speaker 2: of the show, and the way he's handling the grief
- 1:07:02Speaker 2: just pisses me off because he has two children that
- 1:07:05Speaker 2: lost their mom as well, but he can't like talk,
- 1:07:08Speaker 2: he can't talk to them about her or play this.
- 1:07:11Speaker 2: And I never wanted to be in a situation where
- 1:07:16Speaker 2: I can't talk about my son because it's like, oh,
- 1:07:18Speaker 2: you know, I'll get too sad or whatever. It's like, no,
- 1:07:21Speaker 2: it's just let's talk about him. I'm always down. I'm
- 1:07:24Speaker 2: down to talk about what happened, how I got through
- 1:07:27Speaker 2: it anytime.
- 1:07:28Speaker 1: And with your other son, you're able to like go.
- 1:07:32Speaker 2: Through that, yeah, because it's like we never want because
- 1:07:36Speaker 2: a lot of times when we lose somebody, they kind
- 1:07:39Speaker 2: of turn into the name that should not be mentioned,
- 1:07:43Speaker 2: you know. Yeah, it's like, don't break up, And I
- 1:07:47Speaker 2: never want that to be the case because I feel
- 1:07:50Speaker 2: like he kind of just pushing your loved one. You're
- 1:07:55Speaker 2: tucking it in, you put it in the trunk and
- 1:07:57Speaker 2: then there. I feel like the love and the memory
- 1:08:00Speaker 2: can't live on fully like that. So it's like I'm
- 1:08:04Speaker 2: always down there, Like remember Serainemember. We always doing this,
- 1:08:07Speaker 2: so we always like So for Christmas, my son lives
- 1:08:12Speaker 2: in San Francisco. He graduated and he stayed up there,
- 1:08:15Speaker 2: and so me, my ex wife and her husband, we
- 1:08:18Speaker 2: all went up there to be with him for Christmas
- 1:08:21Speaker 2: and so and we'll just be talking like you know,
- 1:08:24Speaker 2: random memories, you know, we talking about Seraine. We talk
- 1:08:27Speaker 2: about them, were talking.
- 1:08:27Speaker 1: About but it's in like a good spirit.
- 1:08:29Speaker 2: Absolutely, It's like, you know, we want his memory to
- 1:08:33Speaker 2: live on.
- 1:08:33Speaker 1: I like that. Yeah, I like it. I still think
- 1:08:36Speaker 1: it's incredibly tough, like from the outside, Oh, for sure
- 1:08:40Speaker 1: it looks you know, but I commend you.
- 1:08:43Speaker 2: Yeah, because it was like, you know, I used to
- 1:08:45Speaker 2: see parents that lost their children, you know, on the
- 1:08:47Speaker 2: news or whatever, and they be talking to the news
- 1:08:50Speaker 2: and like, you know, my son was killed this weekend.
- 1:08:52Speaker 2: I'll be like, how are you able to form a
- 1:08:54Speaker 2: sentence like I would? I would think that, like, how
- 1:08:58Speaker 2: were you able to? And then happened to us? And
- 1:09:01Speaker 2: so it's like and I'm sitting here forming sentences like
- 1:09:05Speaker 2: in ground zero, I was able to be on the
- 1:09:08Speaker 2: news and be on this and that, and I'm just like,
- 1:09:11Speaker 2: how am I able to do this?
- 1:09:13Speaker 1: I literally just told that the other day. I was like,
- 1:09:15Speaker 1: I had a bad dream, terrible dream. I thought I
- 1:09:18Speaker 1: was going to die. Yeah, And I was like, I'll
- 1:09:22Speaker 1: be honest back, like, I think that would be the
- 1:09:23Speaker 1: straw for me. They definitely think that would be the
- 1:09:26Speaker 1: day that I like, I'm done, like you know, And
- 1:09:29Speaker 1: that's that's what I said from the outside, I'm like, whoa.
- 1:09:31Speaker 2: Yeah, because it was like I would never because I
- 1:09:36Speaker 2: used to. As parents, we always have that thought like
- 1:09:39Speaker 2: anything ever happened to any of our kid, I can't
- 1:09:42Speaker 2: go too. But then it's like when the reality, the
- 1:09:46Speaker 2: unfortunate reality, hits you in the mouth, it's like, Okay,
- 1:09:51Speaker 2: what if I did shut down now? Now my my
- 1:09:54Speaker 2: other son's sufferers. Now it's like, you know, my loved
- 1:09:57Speaker 2: one suffer, I suffer, and who you lost would never
- 1:10:01Speaker 2: want you to shut down because they're gone.
- 1:10:04Speaker 1: Do you empathize with even though the guy from the
- 1:10:07Speaker 1: Cross Show bothers you, do you? Does a small part
- 1:10:10Speaker 1: of you empathize with him?
- 1:10:11Speaker 2: Absolutely? Because it's like it's hard because you never want
- 1:10:16Speaker 2: to tell people how to greet But it's like, you know,
- 1:10:20Speaker 2: when his son was asking him like how come you
- 1:10:26Speaker 2: never talk about mom or whatever? And then he was like, well,
- 1:10:30Speaker 2: his son would ask some questions about Mom and then
- 1:10:32Speaker 2: he'd be like, oh, he started fumbling around or whatever,
- 1:10:35Speaker 2: and then his son told him. I was like, well,
- 1:10:36Speaker 2: when she died, it was like I lost both of you,
- 1:10:39Speaker 2: and so that's when he was like, oh, Like they
- 1:10:42Speaker 2: hit him in that moment because he was running from
- 1:10:45Speaker 2: the conversations before. So it was just frustrating to see
- 1:10:49Speaker 2: him run so much, especially when the kids were like, yeah, Dad,
- 1:10:53Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. And so it was like
- 1:10:55Speaker 2: and so I never wanted to be like that, Like
- 1:10:58Speaker 2: I was always aware of just like you gotta be
- 1:11:01Speaker 2: there for sincere. You know what I'm saying. And so
- 1:11:04Speaker 2: it's like and not only that, like I know if
- 1:11:07Speaker 2: I if I was to pass away, I would never
- 1:11:09Speaker 2: want my loved ones to be like, you know what
- 1:11:14Speaker 2: I'm saying. And so, and another thing that gets me
- 1:11:17Speaker 2: through a lot of this is that I don't have
- 1:11:19Speaker 2: regrets as far as my relationship with Serene, because we
- 1:11:22Speaker 2: were good. That's good. And so I think that's what
- 1:11:30Speaker 2: helped me a lot is because there was no regret.
- 1:11:35Speaker 2: There was no underlying beef, there was none of that. Yeah,
- 1:11:39Speaker 2: because if you got regrets, that's a whole nother emotional
- 1:11:42Speaker 2: weight on you. With the grief. It's like, man, I
- 1:11:46Speaker 2: should have I wish I would have. I could have
- 1:11:49Speaker 2: you know what I'm saying. That'll tell you in half.
- 1:11:51Speaker 2: And so that we were all good and the last
- 1:11:53Speaker 2: words were I love you, I love you too. That's
- 1:11:56Speaker 2: what he left here knowing he was loved and we
- 1:11:59Speaker 2: were good. So that brings me peace.
- 1:12:03Speaker 1: Yeah, well I mean to good on that. I thank
- 1:12:08Speaker 1: you so much for being on the show. Thank you.
- 1:12:11Speaker 1: I didn't get to touch on everything I wanted to
- 1:12:13Speaker 1: be with hello over the minutes, but thank you so much.
- 1:12:18Speaker 1: How can everyone keep up with you? Can you tell
- 1:12:20Speaker 1: us a little bit about the tour directly into that
- 1:12:23Speaker 1: camera camera?
- 1:12:24Speaker 2: Yeah, it's called the Replenished Pockets Tour. Like I said before,
- 1:12:30Speaker 2: I spent a lot of money this past year, good money.
- 1:12:34Speaker 2: I wasn't wasting money, but it was a lot of
- 1:12:36Speaker 2: money spent. So now I got to replenish the pockets.
- 1:12:39Speaker 2: Now I'm back on the road. You can find my
- 1:12:42Speaker 2: tour days at Tonybakercomedy dot com. Really keep up with
- 1:12:46Speaker 2: me on Instagram. That's my main primary area of where
- 1:12:49Speaker 2: I promote Tony Baker on Instagram. Don't underscores, no nothing,
- 1:12:54Speaker 2: It's just straight Tony Baker. I'll be doing the Bay Area, Sacramento, Tampa, Miami, Raleigh, Chicago,
- 1:13:02Speaker 2: New York, Charlotte, d C, Houston. I feel like I'm
- 1:13:09Speaker 2: forgetting somebody, but uh, my whole schedule is up I'm
- 1:13:14Speaker 2: promoted every day, so just stay tuned, man. I would
- 1:13:17Speaker 2: love for y'all to come to these live shows. And
- 1:13:19Speaker 2: at the at the end of the year, me and
- 1:13:21Speaker 2: keV we're gonna do something with the Ball Brothers. We're
- 1:13:23Speaker 2: gonna do a tour for that as well in the
- 1:13:25Speaker 2: later half of the years. So I'm out here, man.
- 1:13:28Speaker 1: He's out here in the streets, So pull up and
- 1:13:30Speaker 1: see him live.
- 1:13:31Speaker 2: Yes, replenish the pocket.
- 1:13:32Speaker 1: Replenished the pocket. We want to see the house, and
- 1:13:34Speaker 1: you'll give us updates on the house. We can start
- 1:13:36Speaker 1: Untie to see the updates. So let's replenish and make
- 1:13:39Speaker 1: sure this house looks magnificent. To replenish those pockets.
- 1:13:43Speaker 2: Tour, Yes, that's the tour.
- 1:13:45Speaker 1: Man at Tony Baker. Peace out, y'all. Thanks for tuning
- 1:13:48Speaker 1: into Eating While Broke. Peace for more Eating While Broke
- 1:13:57Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio and The Black Effects, visit the Eye Heartradio app,
- 1:14:01Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.