Latest / Caught on the Mike... / "It's show business, not hobby business" with comedian "El Gato" Felix Izel

Transcript

"It's show business, not hobby business" with comedian "El Gato" Felix Izel · Caught on the Mike...

0:04
SPEAKER_04: Warning due to some language and subject matter, listener discretion is advised.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: Beyond the stage lights, the random chatter, and all the laughter in between, there has to be a nucleus in which an entertainer has to determine whether they are in show business or have a show hobby.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: My next guest has pondered that question many times, not only for his own benefit, but also for the sake of putting over those that have chosen to be on his journey with him.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: Joining me on the podcast today is stand-up comedian, actor, and promoter Elgato Felix Icel.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Currently based out of Lincoln, Nebraska, Felix sat down with me before he makes the big move to Hollywood, California for my first in-person episode since December of last year.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mike.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: Ladies and gentlemen, joining me today is El Gato, Felix Isel.
1:27
SPEAKER_02: How you doing, man?
1:28
SPEAKER_02: Man, I'm doing good in about oh now we're doing better.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: Living the life of luxury on my casting couch.
1:37
SPEAKER_02: By the way, before we on your casting couch, whoa, whoa, easy.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: But no, so I gotta just let everybody know because they need the visual here.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: All right.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: So you come into my boy Clark's studio, Michael Clark, you come into his studio, there's a lava lamp.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: All right, there's graffiti on the walls, all right?
1:54
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing you go into the restroom, there is a replica one up arcade Mortal Kombat one, two, and three, like right there in the restroom.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: That's the next level, baby.
2:10
SPEAKER_02: That's yeah, I mean, who doesn't want to take a shit and like beat up Raiden?
2:16
SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, man, is like I'm clowning you on it, but I straight up had the the one-up arcade NBA jam.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: I had I had that in my living room.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: I downsized everything for the move that we're gonna talk about later.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: But yes, I am in I am in the studio here.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: Send the candles.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: This is a killer vibe, man.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: I gotta say, anybody anybody who like wants to get on a podcast, man, you gotta come down into the studio.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: It's it's righteous, brother.
2:38
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you very much, sir.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: And you are actually the very first person that's come down and done this in person in almost a year.
2:46
SPEAKER_02: I've been doing all of my interviews remote, and uh, this is awesome.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: I I think we connected almost a year ago.
2:53
SPEAKER_02: Right.
2:54
SPEAKER_02: And and and we've been talking about doing this, and we had to get it in before you left town.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: Well, I appreciate you you know uh bringing me in in such style, dude.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: Great, great setup here, man.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: Great setup.
3:03
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, thank you, brother.
3:04
SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, yeah, why don't you introduce yourself and kind of tell your origin story a little bit?
3:10
SPEAKER_00: All right, right on.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: So um, my name is El Gato Felix Isell, and as far as the origin story in the context of stand-up comedy, that's what I do, right?
3:16
SPEAKER_00: So I'm a stand-up comedian here out of Lincoln, Nebraska, getting ready to uh to bounce out, to make the move out to Hollywood, California.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: And you know, the thing is, is here's something really weird, and all my haters will agree.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'm that funny.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'm that funny.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: So I used to be an actor, like in theater and stuff like that, and a professional actor.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: I never made it, obviously.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: I was back home in Lincoln.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, an ex-girlfriend of mine, back then we were together, she was looking at old pictures and flyers of when I acted, right, on stage.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: And she said, Man, I wish I could have seen you on stage.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, for the people that you love, and I had abandoned that dream because I was like, whatever, I'm not gonna do it.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: You know, I didn't make it.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: For the people that you love, you do stuff, right?
3:57
SPEAKER_00: So I said, you know, whatever.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: So I I auditioned for like a play at the community playhouse, and I got the role, and it was a romantic comedy, and and whatever.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: So we did it, and it was a hoot, it was a blast.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: Like, shout out to to Leticia, who she played my my romantic interest in it.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: She's a friend of mine, it was crazy.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: She was actually my girlfriend in junior high for like two weeks or whatever.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: So shout out, Letty.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then she played my romantic interest in this play.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: That was really cool, and then I was like, okay, cool, I did it.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm done.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: And then the the ex-girlfriend, she goes, you know, my brother-in-law and my cousin are doing this stand-up comedy competition.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, look, look, look, I get it, it's performing arts, but baseball, basketball.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: They're performing arts, but theater and comedy are two different, totally different things.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a comedian, whatever.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: Whatever.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: She coax me in for the people you love.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: We break up 10 days or a week before the stand-up comedy competition.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: I've never done stand-up comedy in my life.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: Out of 20 comedians between Omaha and Kansas City, I get third.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Right.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: So that was at the the now out of business uh comedy loft.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, so they invite me back.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: So here's the thing.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, cool.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: I did it, I'm done, and I broke up with her, I'm whatever.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: I decided that I was gonna go down to Mexico and hang out with my family that I didn't seen in a while over Christmas of 2018.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: So I go down, I'm just hanging out, and I get an email from the comedy club, right?
5:21
SPEAKER_00: The comedy loft, excuse me.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: And they said, Hey, we're gonna start up our season again.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to come do open mics?
5:26
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, eh, yes, you know, but again, I'm not thinking this.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: They invite me to do open mics, and they're like, Look, we'll pay you in tickets and drinks to the shows.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, Well, that's cool.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: I thought that's just how it worked.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: I had no idea how this stuff works.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: So I actually post on Instagram, you know.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: Oh, dude, you know, when they keep giving you tickets and drinks, why stop going, right?
5:50
SPEAKER_00: Something like that.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: They're like, dude, you gotta take down that post.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: We don't do that.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's just like a you thing.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: That's like something, you know, whatever.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh shit.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: All right.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: So I keep doing the open mics.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: They keep like, I'm I'm getting like free tickets to like different shows and I'm seeing comedians.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: Then they say, Hey, do you want an MC for us in May?
6:08
SPEAKER_00: And I'm posting on social media and stuff, like all the stuff that I'm doing.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: And then one of my fans, I guess, right?
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Of just of my social media stuff, she reaches out and she goes, Hey, I got a friend that owns a bar in Central City, Nebraska.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: My you ever been out there, Clark?
6:25
SPEAKER_01: No, no.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Do you even know where it's at?
6:26
SPEAKER_00: No.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: Exactly, man.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: I only know where it's at because of this thing.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: So it's out by like Grand Island and Aurora.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Okay, all right, yeah, you know.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: So the guy hits me.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: So this is the weird thing that's happening throughout this whole time.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm meeting comedians and I'm asking them, hey man, how much do you, you know, how much, how much should I charge if someone says do a show?
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Granted, I never had a show done, right?
6:46
SPEAKER_00: This one comedian who will remain nameless, he goes, dude, sometimes you gotta do it for dinner and drinks.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: Dude, that's lame.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Right.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: I I dude, I can't pay taxes in dinner and drinks.
6:57
unknown: Right.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, well, this is stupid.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna do this.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Anyways, so the fan says, I got a friend out in Central City, owns a bar.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: Would you go do a comedy show out there?
7:05
SPEAKER_00: Just because she just liked me.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Right.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And she now she has access to a comedian.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: Allegedly, alleged comedian.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: And I go, yeah, for sure.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: But the guy we're talking, he goes, Yeah, man, and he's like, can get you dinner and drinks.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: And I knew right then, dude, total Yoda, Empire Strikes Back.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: Once you start down the path of the dark side, am I gonna be a chump?
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Dinner and drinks, you know?
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Hell no.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: I told the guy, look, I can't do it for dinner and drinks.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: Right.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: We made the money work, and the money has to be, you know, here's the thing is like if I break down what I earn into an hourly rate, then I gotta at least get paid that, right?
7:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: So we made the money work, right?
7:45
SPEAKER_00: It was definitely more than dinner and drinks.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: It was more than the comedy loft paid me, by the way.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: So, and I was gonna head out there.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: So that was in the books.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: I hadn't even done the comedy loft yet.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Comedy loft invites me to MC.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: No problem, dude.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: I do four shows two Friday, two Saturday.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: It was a fun experience, you know, and I get this check and I'm looking at it and I'm like, dude, this is this is whack.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: I I my whole weekend was shot, and this is it, you know, a couple hundred bucks, like whatever.
8:16
SPEAKER_03: Right.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, um, and and on top of it, I didn't like the way the guy talked to me.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna be, I'm gonna keep it 100, man.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: He talked to me sideways.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so I was like, I'm not gonna, this isn't worth it.
8:28
SPEAKER_03: Right.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: I got integrity, I got dignity.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: The very next day we go to Central City.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Dude, we do the Central City show, it was nuts.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: By the way, by the way, I will say this myself as EMC and then the opening act definitely killed.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, we we brought the house down and it was awesome.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: And that's when I knew the power of stealing the show.
8:48
SPEAKER_03: Right.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'll say that the opening act stole it, I didn't steal it.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: This guy was awesome.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: Akeem Woods, actually, now he's doing like super big things.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: So that was really cool.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: He came to our town and did that, and I hope that one day that he comes back.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: He's a great guy.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Everybody follow Akeem Woods.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, now we go do the Central City thing, and it's just me.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: I grabbed my brother, and I'm like, hey bro, dude, remember when we used to do all that like poetry slam stuff, you know, and he's like, Yeah, man.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Well, remember how I got you into it?
9:14
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Well, yeah, yeah.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: I was like, now we're gonna do comedy.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: I need you to write some jokes, right?
9:20
SPEAKER_00: No idea about structuring a joke, no idea how this is supposed to be supposed to work.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yeah, dude, just get like you know, 10 minutes of jokes, and then you'll be the MC, you'll introduce, you know, our buddy over here.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: And so actually, my ex-girlfriend's cousin, I get him to come along, right?
9:35
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, dude, I don't know, it's like the guy said dinner and drinks.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: If you guys want to do it for that, you know, if not, I'll just do the thing.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: So they're like, nah, fuck it, we'll go.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: And then uh and then I go and I go for like 30 minutes.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: And I have no idea what I'm doing.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: I I don't even have an idea that 30 minutes is like a long time.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: We go, we destroy, we kill that.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: No idea what happened.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: People said after they were partying, it was awesome.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: So that happened.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: Then someone heard about it, and they they said, Hey man, we need you to go meet this guy.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, he owns Rosies, Ryan Rosenthield, super awesome guy.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: Guy's amazing, dude's a fantastic businessman.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: We're hanging out at his crib, it was so cool.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: It was the NBA Finals.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: He had just got done shooting pictures for his um for his menu.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: So he had like all the food at his house, all the drink.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: The guy's one of the most hospitable.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, just like total hospitality, class act from beginning to end.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: Somewhere in the third quarter, I just hit him up and I was like, hey man, you know, we know why we're here.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: This person brokered us to hang out tonight to meet, you know, everyone's hanging out.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: So he and I, we struck a deal, did a show at Rhodes.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: Again, I don't know what I'm doing.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: Right?
10:49
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't know, but he's got this back room.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: It's not a big risk for him.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Dude, we go, we kill.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: Again, it's me, my brother.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: I go, hey, bro, I need you to do this thing.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: And I get, you know, these other guys to open.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: We do it in August, August 17th.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: I post on Facebook, sold out 100 seats in four hours.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: So we do another show, sold out in a couple of days.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: So now it's 200 seats that are sold out, plus people just came in anyways.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: Standing room only.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: We rocked it.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: We did it again in November.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Rosie's rocked it.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: We're like, he's like, dude, do this every month.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I can't write like this every month, but what I can do is maybe I can find other comedians.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: Pandemic hits.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Right.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: I had sold out a show in March.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: Pandemic hits.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm like not canceling, right?
11:43
SPEAKER_00: Because everyone's like shutting down two weeks to flatten the curve.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, nope, nope, because people already bought tickets and I already spent the money.
11:50
SPEAKER_03: Right.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you know, I didn't know.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know what I'm doing.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: Anyways, that stops us.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: I had met some other comedians, right?
12:00
SPEAKER_00: At Rosie's, they were doing an open mic, they were awesome.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: So then pandemic kills everything.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: I keep following their page, and they're now doing an open mic at Rheumology.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, I don't do open mics, but I'm gonna go and just like wave the flag, support these guys.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: I bring friends to just sit in the crowd and watch.
12:17
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: One of the guys coaxes me up on stage after everybody's gone.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: And with open mics, it's the exact opposite.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: You want to go on early because that's when everybody's there.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: Towards the end, nobody's there.
12:26
SPEAKER_03: Right.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: I go up, I talk shit for 10 minutes, bring the house down.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: The owner comes up to me, he goes, Hey man, I want to book you.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I got this deal over here at Rosie's, which is an awesome deal.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: And so I look at him, I'm like, Look, dude, I'm gonna sound like a real arrogant asshole because you don't know me and I don't you, but I don't think you can afford me because my paycheck comes with a comma.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, and so I think this perked his ears up.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: We start talking, he makes the deal sweeter.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: Next thing you know, I'm at Rhomology, and Romology, dude, if you gotta go down there, man.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: It is posh, it is class act all the way.
13:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: And so big shout out to Jay Donaldson.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: He's actually become my friend because of our business dealings, you know.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: And so that's just one of those things, man.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: When anything good good that happens in Hollywood, I gotta give Jay Donaldson and everybody else, because those are the those are the giants whose shoulders I'm standing on.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: Right.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, so that's the origin story, and now here I am.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
13:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, I think there's two tiers to what you're talking about.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: First and foremost, Felix the performer, and then Felix the promoter.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: Right.
13:36
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, you let off your story with saying that you aren't funny.
13:41
SPEAKER_02: Right.
13:42
SPEAKER_02: But the thing is, is you have a background in theater, you have a background in drama.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: And and, you know, I've talked about it plenty of times on my show, you know, my background is music.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: But very much like you, I actually started off acting.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: That's that's what I got uh scholarships for in high school, and that's that's what I was gonna do.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: I was I was gonna go to college and I was gonna become an actor and uh but then I kind of went a totally different path.
14:07
SPEAKER_02: Do you think that maybe having that background just lent to a natural talent for timing and and performance that maybe made you I don't want to use the word believable, but like very added to your integrity as a performer for uh as being a stand-up comic?
14:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, here's here's the thing, yes.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: So short answer is yes, and to expand on that, you know, it you gotta you you gotta put in your chops, man.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: You gotta put in the reps, you gotta, you gotta do the thing, right?
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Kobe Bryant, work ethic, all that stuff, right?
14:41
SPEAKER_00: Right.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: So with the acting and with the with the comedy, you're absolutely right.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: There's timing, there's writing, and there's always this constant, constant learning.
14:49
SPEAKER_03: Right.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: I heard Chappelle say, and I don't know if if he heard it from Murphy, who heard it from Pryor or how it goes down, right?
14:56
SPEAKER_00: You can be funny, but you gotta be interesting.
15:01
SPEAKER_03: Right.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: And and I'll add this, man.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, my brother introduces me as Mr.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Sunday morning.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to you know, Mr.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Saturday night, right?
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Sunday morning, but you also gotta be entertaining.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: That's the deal, man.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: You gotta be entertaining.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: And when you and and I'll even also say you gotta be memorable.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of comedians that, especially now that I've booked, I don't know however many shows we've done, you see these guys and they're good and they're funny, but do you remember them?
15:31
SPEAKER_03: Right.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: Or these gals, but do you remember them?
15:35
SPEAKER_00: And that's the key thing.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: Or are they just another comedian that does their 10, 15, even 40 minutes, but you don't remember them?
15:44
SPEAKER_02: Right.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: No, I I wholeheartedly agree.
15:47
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I can even parallel that to what we're doing right now.
15:52
SPEAKER_02: Totally.
15:52
SPEAKER_02: You know, I I created this podcast year and a half ago, and the big thing, the question that I posed myself before I did it was is this gonna be something that I would listen to if I was not on it?
16:06
SPEAKER_00: Dude, that's it, man.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: And and here's the thing, because we've all got friends, right?
16:12
SPEAKER_00: So those first shows I did at Rosie's, those are my friends.
16:15
SPEAKER_03: Right.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: Those were, you know, 300 of my closest friends that are cramming that place in.
16:21
SPEAKER_03: Right.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's awesome.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: So anybody could throw themselves a party, which is what I did.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, I would encourage anyone, and I've shared this.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: If you are a stand-up comedian and you want to like do something, or if you're a band or whatever, dude, throw your own party.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely throw your own party.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know what I mean?
16:40
SPEAKER_00: Get get 300 of your friends to come through.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: Right.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, you know, if you've got the lead time to do it, definitely do it, man.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Get some momentum going, right?
16:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, but here's the thing is your friends aren't gonna be there every single show.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: Right.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: So what are you gonna do?
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Are you would you listen to your podcast?
17:00
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: That's that's it, man.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: That's and then that's you know, creating content that's memorable, as you said, and something that resonates with people that they can walk away and take something away from.
17:13
SPEAKER_02: Right.
17:14
SPEAKER_02: So you I mean, you described it really well in the context of comedians.
17:18
SPEAKER_02: Like, is this somebody I'm going to remember in the future?
17:20
SPEAKER_02: Is this a face I'm gonna remember?
17:22
SPEAKER_02: Right.
17:22
SPEAKER_02: Is is is there a punchline that I'm going to remember and recite to my friends and what have you?
17:27
SPEAKER_02: Um I had somebody tell me one time nobody is going to invest in you until you invest in yourself.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: Right?
17:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
17:37
SPEAKER_02: Right?
17:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: So um it sounds like, you know, swaying this more towards the business aspect, you took a big investment of yourself and you took control of the business properties that kind of surround your creative endeavors.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Totally, man.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's not just, hey, man, the the art of the deal, so to speak, right?
17:58
SPEAKER_00: Right.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Right.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: And so I I gave the Cliff's notes version of that.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: There's there's obviously like negotiations that are involved, right?
18:05
SPEAKER_00: And that's the thing, is that if the deal that you're cutting takes 10 minutes to do, you got a 10-minute deal.
18:13
SPEAKER_03: Right.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, if you've got one that, hey, we're gonna have to sit down and really like work some stuff out and maybe even like think about this for a day or two, you got a bigger deal going on.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: That's the thing.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: So again, anybody could cut a quick 10-minute deal.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: Hey, you know what?
18:25
SPEAKER_00: Can I come do a show on an off night?
18:27
SPEAKER_00: Five bucks a ticket for sure.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Right?
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Can I come to an open mic on a Tuesday, on a on a Wednesday?
18:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no problem, man.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: Come on off night, come on a Wednesday.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: The bar loses nothing, you get five bucks, but now you got a five dollar show.
18:40
SPEAKER_03: Right.
18:40
SPEAKER_03: Right?
18:41
SPEAKER_00: You you take control and then, but damn it, give them a show.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: At Romology, man, when you walk into Romology, they have a sidebar.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: This sidebar, you know, and that's for like birthday parties or whatever, right?
18:55
SPEAKER_00: And that's cool.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: And they when they have the caters come in, they set up there.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, I was talking to Jen.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: I go, Jay, you'd be great as if this could be our green room.
19:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: Right?
19:04
SPEAKER_00: Because the green rooms that I had seen are the size of a broom closet.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: And then most places the comedian just sits in like a back table.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: I go, dude, let's treat people, artists, like their art is worth something.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: So I asked him, I go, man, can we put a big old curtain?
19:19
SPEAKER_00: And we're talking about, you know, 20 foot, you know, up there, whatever.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: He looks about it and he goes, you know, I think that could work.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: And then I asked him, Can we have a dedicated spotlight?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: You go to Rhomology, there's a spotlight that's only purpose is to shine on the people that come out from behind the curtain.
19:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
19:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: So this isn't a theater.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: You get me?
19:41
SPEAKER_00: Right.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: Romology is a cut is a craft cocktail, fine elixir bar, you know, real swanky place.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: But when there's a show there, when there's a gato show, and I and I don't know what's going to happen afterwards, but I was like, dude, if if that blue cat is going to be on there, so when you're talking about taking control of like the business aspect, then what product are you putting forward?
19:59
SPEAKER_02: Right.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: You know?
20:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: And what you're describing in a lot of ways is what separates a show from an event.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: Two.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: You have to take that event mentality.
20:11
SPEAKER_02: You have to create, you have to create that moment where they're going to choose your thing that you're doing.
20:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:19
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes against a Husker game, or sometimes against, you know, a concert at Pinnacle Bank or something along those lines.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: Totally.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: Well, how do you do that?
20:28
SPEAKER_02: Like, how do you how do you decipher that your event is going to be what people choose?
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Dude, you give them a show, right?
20:38
SPEAKER_00: And you give, you give, I give them Mr.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Sunday morning.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: You know, um you got to give them the the man that your mom loves more than you.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, but the thing is, is you go up there and you're thinking it's about your art, no matter what, dude, you're you're at best distant third.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: It's about the audience.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: See, if if art was just about yourself, then you could just do it just for yourself.
21:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, you just set me up for my own anecdote on this same thing.
21:09
SPEAKER_02: All right.
21:09
SPEAKER_02: So back in the day, yeah, I was playing, I was playing in in bands and what have you.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of how I established myself.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: It's like, I'm going to set up every show as an event.
21:19
SPEAKER_02: It's like, it's going to be the thing that other bands want to be a part of.
21:22
SPEAKER_02: So I had rules, I had structure.
21:24
SPEAKER_02: It's like, okay, if this band has played within six weeks of my event, I'm probably not going to put them on the bill because what are they going to add to the show?
21:34
SPEAKER_02: So, of course, you know what that does.
21:36
SPEAKER_02: That invites out the haters, that invites invites out the critics.
21:39
SPEAKER_02: And yes.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I had one guy in particular, it was on a uh a local music message board, and we were talking about it.
21:46
SPEAKER_02: And he's somebody I would, I don't know if I'd call him a friend, but an acquaintance.
21:51
SPEAKER_02: And he'd messaged me, direct messaged me, and he says, Hey man, you know, you really need to put me on the shows.
21:56
SPEAKER_02: I remember back in the day I used to put you on shows and this, that, and that The other thing.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: Well, there was simultaneously on this public message board a thread going on about what it took to get people to come out to shows.
22:08
SPEAKER_02: And I chimed in, I gave my whole business premise.
22:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, you have to do this, this, this, and this.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, pretty much.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: Right.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: And I referred to bands as a product.
22:19
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: The same guy that the same guy that direct messaged me was like, this is my art.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: It is not a product.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, then you don't want to fucking make money or play at any of the good venues or be on any of the good shows.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: That's it.
22:33
SPEAKER_02: It's like you have to have enough dissonance to be able to separate the art from the product and know that they can be one and the same.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
22:42
SPEAKER_02: You can make commerce off your art.
22:44
SPEAKER_02: You just have to apply basic business principles to your art and not be a chicken shit.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: So here's the thing, right?
22:52
SPEAKER_00: So here we go.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: My art is my product.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: So that's the product, right?
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Who's the consumer?
22:59
SPEAKER_00: The audience.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: What's the marketplace?
23:02
SPEAKER_00: The venue.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: So the job is to get the consumer and the product to the same marketplace.
23:11
SPEAKER_03: Right.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: So I need to get the art and the audience to the venue.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: That's what we do.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: So at first, thank God that I'm a likable person and I got a lot of friends.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: They're not, you know, I don't have all the friends, but I have enough friends that, right, I can get 300 people to come out, you know, and do back-to-back shows.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: If we could have fit 300, we would have fit 300.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: Right?
23:34
SPEAKER_00: We we just happened to do we well, because I was only going to do one show.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, and then we're like, oh shit, we can add a second show.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: And then it was like, we might as well do an after party.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: And then there's a formula.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: And I, dude, I tell these cats, I'm like, that's how you do it.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: Do two shows and an after party, you know, and have a blast and get people a product.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Don't just kick them out the door.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: Now they're here.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Embrace them.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Talk with them.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: So that's the thing, dude.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: Boom, boom, boom.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: But yes, like have some damn business acumen and put it on the table.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: And there's nothing wrong with earning a paycheck from this stuff.
24:05
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
24:06
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
24:06
SPEAKER_02: If you want to be an artist, stay in your fucking basement and be an artist.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: And that's totally cool.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: So here's the thing, man.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: It's show business, not show hobby.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Bingo.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Right?
24:17
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean that it's a bad, like, I am a hobbyist when it comes to basketball.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: I will never, not in my wildest dreams, be a starting shooting guard for the San Antonio Spurs.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: One, I'm five foot ten, and two, I'm not that good.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean that I don't love basketball.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't mean I don't love the Spurs.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't mean that I'm not a fan.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that, you know, even to this day, I'll lace up the, you know, the high tops and shoot some, you know, jumpers.
24:43
SPEAKER_03: Right.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: At best, I'll be a hobbyist.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: I'll not be a professional.
24:47
SPEAKER_03: Right.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: So the thing is, man, is I had to make that choice.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: Am I doing this for as a show hobby?
24:55
SPEAKER_00: Am I doing this for show friendship?
24:57
SPEAKER_00: Am I doing this for vanity?
24:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, and again, if you want to do that, that's totally cool.
25:02
SPEAKER_03: Right.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: Because how much do like do sportsmen, fishermen, I mean, between the bass boats and the finders and the poles and the the and the weekend, right?
25:13
SPEAKER_00: That's and good for you.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: And you should have a hobby.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: And I think that art can be a hobby as well.
25:17
SPEAKER_03: Right.
25:18
SPEAKER_03: Right.
25:18
SPEAKER_03: It sure can.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: But if we're going, we're on a different vibe.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: We're on a different vibe.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: And that's the difference between the guy that's going to go fishing and the guy that's like practicing go on the tournament trail and wants to really, you know, do some fishing.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: And you know, as artists, as I hold up the air quote, right?
25:36
SPEAKER_02: People tend to have a very uh selfish mentality with it.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: And they're not looking at the fact that a venue's looking at you and they're like, how do I get asses and seats?
25:45
SPEAKER_02: How do I sell drinks?
25:47
SPEAKER_01: Right.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day.
25:48
SPEAKER_02: That's it.
25:49
SPEAKER_02: And and like the venue is going to choose 10 times out of 10 the band or the comedian or the artist that's going to try their damnedest and be successful at selling drinks and filling asses and seats.
26:02
SPEAKER_02: That's it.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: Not the guy that wants to be artsy in his fucking basement.
26:07
SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry, I keep going back to that.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: But it's true though.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: So and here's the thing.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: So as I've I've looked at like different comedians and I work with them, right?
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And so a guy like me, I ride the edge, I push the envelope.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't go overboard.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: And that's just my comedic style.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm also not a roaster, I'm not a ball buster.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't pick on the crowd.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I definitely slice up hecklers, dude.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: There isn't there hasn't been a heckler that's toppled me.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that's going to be an open challenge now.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: But the reason is is because if it gets out of control, you got security.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: So you know what, man, be a part of the show, but then like, you know, chill.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, the thing is, is like if it's just that whole, that whole like artist thing, you know, and there are definitely fringe venues that want yeah, the super raunchy or the super political or the super whatever.
26:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: And you just have to understand that that is gonna be a fringe thing, and you'll probably to be successful have to be in a city that's huge to have enough people that are there about that.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: In Lincoln, Nebraska, I don't think we could fill a venue if we all we did was politics or super shocking dark humor, you know.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: And I tell everybody, go, dude, if you're a dark humorist, that's cool.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Right.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: That's not my show.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I think there's uh also a kind of a progression, and I think this applies to any form of the arts where maybe you need to establish a baseline of who you are first, and then you can kind of start experimenting with the fringe stuff and start throwing that stuff in, but you really gotta ex establish who you are first, like and get a baseline.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: So if we look at like Chris Rock.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: A couple years, 2019 he comes out with tambourine man.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Right.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you saw it on Netflix, but right.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: This is Chris Rock who gave us bigger and blacker shiny suits in the you know late 90s, early 2000s, right?
28:02
SPEAKER_00: Right.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: And Chris Rock back then was like right, and he's walking back and forth the stage, high energy, you know, doing all this stuff.
28:11
SPEAKER_03: Right.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Tambourine Man comes out, Chris Rock is in jeans, a t-shirt, clean shaven, and he's there talking about his divorce and the challenges or what have you.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, this was a very artistic piece, theater in the round, right?
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Or at least like a like a half circle theater or something.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: But Chris Rock could go artistic, could go French because we already know the resume is solid.
28:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, right.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: We already know that he's he's solid.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Andy Kaufman could go out and read a book on stage because that's the most Andy Kaufman thing to do.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Well, and Chappelle's doing the same thing.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: Chappelle's doing the same thing right now, right?
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Dude, who's the guy?
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Is it is it Gaffigan that refused to do any more Netflix?
28:58
SPEAKER_00: There was, I want to think it's Gaffigan.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, but there's a cat out there, one of the big time comedians, that like stopped that didn't take a Netflix deal and offered it to him.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: He goes, No, I'm doing it my way, totally solo.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: And and like, and then making all the chatter now.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Craziness.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: But so like, who's oh god, Sebastian, dude?
29:18
SPEAKER_00: Man, I always mess up his last name.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: The Italian dude, right?
29:21
SPEAKER_00: Physical, you know, comedian.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: Hot, he's played, he's played um like Madison Square Garden.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: I always messed up his name.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: I feel so bad because I get upset when people mess up my name, Mascalka.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: So anyway, so he's played that, and he's like, you know, doing TV shows for Discovery.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: But I could definitely see that guy in like 10, 15 years just doing something, you know, again, fringe, super cool.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: But you're right, you have to establish the baseline.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
29:43
SPEAKER_02: Who you are, your identity.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: For sure, for sure.
29:46
SPEAKER_02: Now that we've established who you are, and we've kind of shared some uh shared some uh some common ground, so you think, right?
29:55
SPEAKER_02: What is next, Real Gato?
29:57
SPEAKER_00: Dude, so here's the thing, man, is we could keep rocking here.
30:03
SPEAKER_03: Right.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: I've got a fantastic relationship with Romology, Jay Donaldson.
30:07
SPEAKER_00: I can't say enough good thing.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: I've been really lucky.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah seriously, because I also gotta get in that same breath, I gotta give shoutouts to Rosie's, you know, big time, man.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: But Jay Donaldson, I'm leaving that stage.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: So on the 17th of November, right?
30:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know when this podcast is gonna go live, but the 17th of November, which is a Wednesday, uh, the day after this is is recorded, that is when I end my residency at Romology.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: I am the resident comedian.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: I do a weekly trivia show that's now going away.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: All right, no, no, the trivia isn't I'm going away.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Trivia by Gato is going away, trivia is gonna live on at Rheumology.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: And and the Corey, oh my gosh, she's awesome.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: She's a bartender there.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: She's gonna take over, she's got great personality.
30:47
SPEAKER_00: Definitely go to trivia by Corey or by Romology.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm leaving that stage and I'm I'm happy to.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't want to hold on to it.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: And this is an open invite.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: Any comedian, if you're ready to take it to the next level, if you're like a hobbyist on this and you want to say, let's experiment with professionalism, give a call to Jay Donaldson.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: Give a call to Romology.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: Say, dude, I heard Gato talking about it.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: It's not my stage anymore, guys.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, and and whoever's out there, you know.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, because what's next for me, dude, is we can say here in Lincoln, I'm a big fish in a small pond, and then I'm gonna go out to Hollywood and I'll be a small fish in a big pond.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: But really, the size of the fish is the same.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: Right.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, the fish is gonna grow to its to its surroundings.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: So I just need to grow.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: I need to go out there, I need to bang.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, I need to like, you know, all right, let's knock some heads, let's see what the competition's about.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: Let's get the best, you know, be amongst the best of the best, and and really see what that's like.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: Let's go out there 19 hours a day, grind it out, right?
31:50
SPEAKER_00: Dude, eat dirt, you know, cut your teeth on the cement, the whole thing.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: Dude, the auditions out there are two minutes.
31:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: Right?
31:57
SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, is even if you get if you get in, you're still not all that because they just got to keep filling slots, you know.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: You're you're in the meat grinder.
32:07
SPEAKER_00: So there is nothing that's in the bag.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: Do I have leads?
32:10
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: Do I have warm leads?
32:12
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, have I been out to LA?
32:14
SPEAKER_00: Have I been doing stuff?
32:15
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: Have I posted about it?
32:17
SPEAKER_00: No, because it's all just talk until you do it.
32:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
32:21
SPEAKER_02: Totally, totally, totally.
32:22
SPEAKER_02: Anytime I book somebody on the this show in particular, and that's what I kind of have to rebound to.
32:28
SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't tell anybody who I have on the show until the thing's recorded.
32:33
SPEAKER_02: You gotta right, right.
32:35
SPEAKER_02: Because because that money isn't yours until it's in your bank account.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: That dude, that's that is it, man.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: That that is so it.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's just like anything else in life, man.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: Dude, people let you down.
32:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: And you gotta roll with it.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that I've let people down, and they gotta roll with it too.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, and you you come into this with the with the greatest of intentions, so to speak, right?
33:00
SPEAKER_00: And things happen, and you know, there's there's sensitive thugs everywhere, and you know keyboard warriors and all the same.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: Dude, they all need hugs, but there's there's plenty of opportunities for for those guys to do their things, man.
33:14
SPEAKER_00: And here's here's something that's interesting, dude.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, you meet a lot of people.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you meet a ton of people, and they're all just chasing their nut as well.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: And you can't like fault them for that, right?
33:25
SPEAKER_00: Right?
33:26
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm not gonna pay their bills.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: I gotta get, I gotta get on my on my thing first.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: Right.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: But I do have a list, and this list consists of everybody that I'm coming back for.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, this I don't have a list for the for the people that I'm not gonna come back for, but I definitely have a list of the people that I'm gonna come back for.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, the people that I want to continue to work with, you know, and basically you don't have enough time to like make like a like a black list or anything like that.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: Those people work themselves out.
33:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
33:53
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: You know, those are the people that like, you know, they'll cancel on you.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: They those are the people that uh, you know, they'll they'll talk bad about you, they'll, you know, this and that, and that's fine because they can do all that and they can shine on and they can do whatever they gotta do, you know, but you gotta worry about your own thing, and then make sure like it's imperative, and I think in good business, in good business, no matter what it is, also deal with character.
34:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, just deal deal with character.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if I'm not dealing with somebody, it's because something about their character didn't vibe with mine.
34:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm the same exact way.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: Same exact way.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, I might not be everybody's favorite, and that's okay.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, and uh because you don't have to be everybody's favorite.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: So just worry about the people who do love you, who do support you, who are on your squad.
34:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: And it's uh it's so easy to burn bridges these days.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: And there's no it's almost like it's an art form.
34:52
SPEAKER_02: And I think it's because I think it's because you know, we have information at will.
34:57
SPEAKER_02: We have Twitter, we have Facebook, we have Instagram, we have all this information at will.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, canceling somebody, and I hate using that term right now because it's been so it's been so overused, but canceling somebody is really, really fucking easy.
35:17
SPEAKER_02: But putting somebody over, and and and that of course, going to the pro wrestling term because we're right mutual fans of the Macho King, Randy Savage.
35:26
SPEAKER_00: I love first of all, yeah, he's my top five or my top favorite wrestler of all time, right?
35:30
SPEAKER_00: He's on my Matt Rushmore.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: I love Randy Savage, and yes, though, dude, talk about putting people over.
35:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
35:36
SPEAKER_02: I mean, and that's that's the thing.
35:38
SPEAKER_02: Like, you want to elevate everybody around you because it's playing the long game for yourself, too.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, like so it's called the Gato Comedy Showcase, right?
35:49
SPEAKER_00: Right.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Everybody knows I'm gatho, right?
35:51
SPEAKER_00: Right.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: So I couldn't just be up there like headlining my own shows.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: Right.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's just now.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: I'll say this though.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: If I was doing like my first shows, right?
36:00
SPEAKER_00: Or if I was doing like a one every six months or whatever, definitely headline your own shows.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Right.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Right.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, you should do that.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: That's a good formula to have, right?
36:08
SPEAKER_00: If you're betting on yourself and you're, dude, headline your shows, get that, you know, get it going.
36:13
SPEAKER_00: But I we were doing this like consistently at Rheumology, you know, there was a comedy thing like once a month, you know.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: So I couldn't headline my own thing.
36:21
unknown: Right.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, and I was like, we're we're building this whole thing.
36:23
SPEAKER_00: So there were comedians that were local, and I'm like, dude, I'm gonna, I am, I'm gonna, I'm gonna put you over.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know what I mean?
36:31
SPEAKER_00: Like, I I fast tracked, you know, with guy, you know, boom, like here you go.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: You got no, you got like no experience, no worries, neither did I.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: But you're a funny guy, you're a popular dude.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's go.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
36:43
SPEAKER_00: I got this one comedian, man.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Dude, I I've booked him, I don't know how many.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: Z, dude.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna say, right?
36:49
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: Z, Scott Zimmerman, who's running for governor, by the way, on the libertarian ticket.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's crazy.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Dude, it's awesome.
36:54
SPEAKER_00: It's so nuts.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: I love that guy.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, dude.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: He I've booked him I don't know how many times, you know.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's just a he's just a funny dude.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: He's a good guy.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: He's a he's a solid man.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: Dude, if I can put him over, I will.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, for sure, dude.
37:09
SPEAKER_00: He's he's on that list of people I'm coming back for.
37:11
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
37:12
SPEAKER_02: I think one of the most commendable things, and it's funny because you are my second guest in a row that I brought this up with is taking a bet on yourself.
37:20
SPEAKER_02: You got it, you know, and betting on yourself in times when it's not the easiest to do.
37:26
SPEAKER_02: It's different, it's much different now than it was five years ago.
37:30
SPEAKER_02: Way more different than it was 10 years ago.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: For sure.
37:34
SPEAKER_02: You know, and even more different than what it was 20 years ago.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: So, like it's getting harder, it's getting incrementally harder, especially when you're navigating the waters of social media influencers, people that are becoming famous overnight, people are taking that craft all digitally, right?
37:51
SPEAKER_02: To where, you know, you're actually doing it the old school way.
37:54
SPEAKER_02: You're picking your shit up and you're moving to Hollywood, man.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but here's the here's the thing.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: So you got to decide what your identity is, right?
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Right.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: So are you going to be a social media sketch comedian?
38:04
SPEAKER_00: Right.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: Which in itself is is an art, and that's fine.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: But, dude, that's not me.
38:09
SPEAKER_03: Right.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: Right.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: So that's not me.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: So there's no way I could do that.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I definitely haven't like utilized the full power of social media and its reach, you know, and I think there's professionals that probably be better at that.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully I can find someone and be like, yeah.
38:21
SPEAKER_03: Right.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Right now, you talked about taking a bet on yourself, right?
38:25
SPEAKER_00: And at the at the toughest time for X amount of reasons.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: Dude, so one, everybody's like quickly can like drop an opinion about how much you suck and how offensive you are, or how much off-putting you can be, or or whatever the case is, right?
38:36
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: And at this level, dude, you know, I'm I'm still I'm still just a Joe six-pack type of guy.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: Right.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: It's not like I'm untouchable, whatever.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: I just happen to have a little bit of steam with me.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: How about this man?
38:46
SPEAKER_00: And this is where I give Jay Donaldson so much credit.
38:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: Tons of credit.
38:53
SPEAKER_00: I bet on myself.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: That guy bet on me.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: His bar opens, pandemic hits.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: What the hell?
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm not even talking politics, it just was what it was, right?
39:04
SPEAKER_00: Pandemic hits, now it's tough, right?
39:06
SPEAKER_00: So he's looking at me, and I'm looking at him, and we're sitting here like, well, one of these days, all these people that I've that I've sat here and bought tickets for, they're gonna come to your bar.
39:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know when that is.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: You know?
39:17
SPEAKER_00: So then we drop a show, we're getting ready to do another one, and then the second shutdown happens.
39:21
SPEAKER_03: Right.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: Right?
39:22
SPEAKER_00: And this whole time, you know, and I'm like, well shit, dude, I don't know.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: And then he's like, let's do trivia or something, you know, and what can we do?
39:28
SPEAKER_00: And and you know, I'm sitting here like, dude, this sucks.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, this guy still hasn't even seen me do anything, you know?
39:36
SPEAKER_00: And this whole time he's just like, he's bet on me, and he's bet on me, and he's bet on me.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is I can't give the guy enough credit.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's hilarious, dude.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: He just he told me this.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: I had uh a corporate gig on Friday.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: They just so happened to choose Rheumology as the spot.
39:55
SPEAKER_00: Nice, right?
39:56
SPEAKER_00: So that was like awesome, right?
39:57
SPEAKER_00: So I'm doing this corporate gig, I'm hosting it, and they said they wanted comedy, and I was like, okay, well, it's not just gonna be me, I'm gonna bring an actual another comedian, like an actual comedian, because I'm not.
40:06
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm bringing another comedian down and giving this guy a shot.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: And then also I told this guy, I said, look, it's gonna be at Romology, I'm not there, but the owner's gonna be there, impress the audience, impress him.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: Sure, be smart about it.
40:18
SPEAKER_00: This comedian's a big talker, like he just he can breathe and talk at the same time, you know.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: Jay's not a big talker.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: So Jay comes up to me, he's like, dude, he's like, I realize I talk to you more than anybody else.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: And that like warmed my heart, man, because it's like from a business aspect, we became friends.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: So there's that character, and the guy is all character, all class.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: He's got nothing but my blessings, but my best wishes.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I gladly say, here's all the comedians I worked with, here's the ones that I would book, here's the ones that I wouldn't.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: You do what you want.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: If I can push your show from even out there, absolutely.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna say it a bunch of times Rheumology, Rheumology, Rheumology.
41:01
SPEAKER_02: Right, right, right, right.
41:02
SPEAKER_02: But the thing is, I think the thing that Jay saw in you, and I don't know Jay from Adam, but I gotta meet him.
41:09
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but I gotta tell you from what you're describing to me, is that he saw that you have a special mentality that not everybody has, and that's work ethic beats talent 100% of the time.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
41:23
SPEAKER_02: And if you keep working, that talent's eventually gonna be there.
41:26
SPEAKER_02: Totally, totally.
41:28
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
41:28
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm I think I might be talented.
41:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yes.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: No, but here's the thing, dude, is when it comes to entertaining, yeah, you can write the whole script.
41:40
SPEAKER_03: Right.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: Right?
41:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: So here's the premise, here's the punchline, here's the tag, here's the callback, here's the this, right?
41:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like comedians know what I just dropped, and if not, look up those terms and you'll get it.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: But again, do you just have that je ne sais quoi?
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Right.
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Right?
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Is there something about like I could get up there?
41:58
SPEAKER_00: Here's dude, I'll this my farewell show, all right, two weeks ago.
42:03
SPEAKER_00: I opened the fucking thing by singing an a cappella song that I wrote.
42:09
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome, dude.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: Why?
42:11
SPEAKER_00: I don't just because whatever, right?
42:13
SPEAKER_00: Don't you know that the audience was clapping, half of them off beat, but they were clapping.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: Dude, you leave something like there's something memorable.
42:20
SPEAKER_00: I know that I could get up there, throw me any topic, and we could just have a conversation.
42:25
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
42:25
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're having with here's the beauty of it, man.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go kumbaya on you for a second.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: We laugh because we can relate.
42:34
SPEAKER_03: Right.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: If you go to my shows, the youngest, and I cannot neither confirm nor deny that this happened, it may or may not have happened at Romology, but the youngest audience member is a 19-year-old with a fake ID.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: That most likely did not happen at Rhomology.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe I'm just making it up because I want to like tell a really good story.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: I can be it too, okay?
42:56
SPEAKER_00: The oldest audience member is an 82-year-old woman.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: Everywhere in between, every demographic, every ethnicity, socioeconomic background, education, blue collar, white collar.
43:08
SPEAKER_03: Right.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: All right, they're all at these shows.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: You come seriously, man, it is definitely a very mixed bag.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: Because people ask me, like, what's your crowd like?
43:16
SPEAKER_00: And I go, dude, it's it's all over.
43:18
SPEAKER_03: Right.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, what kind of joke should I read the fucking room?
43:21
SPEAKER_00: I hate it when comedians ask me, you know, what's your crowd like?
43:24
SPEAKER_00: Read the room, buddy, be a pro.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: Anyways, when you see that everybody from all walks of life are laughing, that means they're all relating.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: And that means that we are not as separated as demographics would have us be.
43:41
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
43:42
SPEAKER_00: You know?
43:42
SPEAKER_00: I mean that that's just it.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: We're we're we're so much closer, and that's the beauty of stand up comedy, is that you get to hear the audience around you agree with you when you make a joke.
43:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
43:56
SPEAKER_02: It's the the humanity of the whole situation unites us.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: That's beautiful.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: That's just gorgeous, man.
44:04
SPEAKER_00: Can we light the lava lamp now?
44:07
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna take a couple of pieces of Colorado candy and light up the lava lamp.
44:12
SPEAKER_02: Here it goes, man.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: But dude, that that so we go back to the thing is is who is the art for?
44:18
SPEAKER_00: Is it about is it your message?
44:21
SPEAKER_00: No man, dude, you you perform for the audience.
44:23
SPEAKER_03: Right.
44:24
SPEAKER_00: You give them the show.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: You you you put that energy and it goes out where out there.
44:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, if you're just thinking it's for you, oh, look how awesome I am, look how funny I am, look how talented I am, me, me, me, me, me.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: Right.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: Nah, bro.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: See, it's called gatho comedy syndicate.
44:40
SPEAKER_00: Syndicate means network.
44:42
SPEAKER_03: Right.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: Connectivity.
44:43
SPEAKER_03: Right.
44:43
SPEAKER_00: Right.
44:44
SPEAKER_00: I'm not out there calling it, hey man, it's the Felix Eissel show.
44:47
SPEAKER_00: It's not even the Felix Ecelle show.
44:49
unknown: Right.
44:49
SPEAKER_00: It's the gato comedy showcase.
44:51
SPEAKER_03: Right.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: Right?
44:53
SPEAKER_00: Like it's it has nothing, you know, and gatto is this arbitrary term, right?
44:56
SPEAKER_00: And that's a you know, it's not my face, it's a blue cat.
45:00
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
45:00
SPEAKER_00: It has like nothing, it almost has nothing to do with me.
45:03
SPEAKER_03: Right.
45:03
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
45:04
SPEAKER_00: Like it has nothing to do with, you know, so gato is this this creation, you know?
45:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:11
SPEAKER_00: It happens to be my creation, but like my birth name isn't gato.
45:17
SPEAKER_00: Right.
45:17
SPEAKER_00: Right.
45:18
SPEAKER_00: But you know who gatho is?
45:19
SPEAKER_00: Gato is someone who loves the audience.
45:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
45:21
SPEAKER_00: Who wants to see everybody connect.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: And that so the the name of the brand is is is that man.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: It's syndicate, it's network, it's connectivity.
45:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, and building on the word syndicate, it's it's the synergy between audience and performer, boom, where the audience ultimately is your boss.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: Tying it back to the business side of it.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: The audience is who determines whether or not you're successful at the end of the day.
45:45
SPEAKER_01: Heavy duty.
45:46
SPEAKER_02: You know?
45:46
SPEAKER_02: Heavy duty.
45:48
SPEAKER_02: You make the investment, but they're they're the ones that carry you away from that investment.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: That's it, man.
45:54
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, and the audience here in Lincoln is always going to be a focus of mine.
46:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, of course I want to be able to play, you know, fucking Red Rocks.
46:10
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
46:11
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
46:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, like the Hollywood Bowl.
46:12
SPEAKER_00: Like, that would be awesome.
46:14
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
46:15
SPEAKER_00: Like, that would just, that would blow my mind.
46:18
SPEAKER_00: But I would love, I would love to get to that stage and then come back and drop a show at Rheumology.
46:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, that that'd be that'd be the stuff.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: And it's so weird because like as I look here at like your studio, right?
46:29
SPEAKER_00: And you're doing the podcasting, and you've made some inroads.
46:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
46:33
SPEAKER_00: You you've got some you've got some heavy hitting, dude.
46:36
SPEAKER_00: All those fighters, man.
46:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
46:39
SPEAKER_00: That's that's something that folks are like, wait, out of Lincoln, Nebraska?
46:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
46:43
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
46:44
SPEAKER_02: And funny, the funny thing is is when I pitch and I tell people where I'm at, I I'm like, I I have a little bit of hesitancy, and it's no disrespect to Lincoln at all.
46:53
SPEAKER_02: It's just it just, you know, there are things that people are going to assume because you're nestled in the middle of the Midwest where it's like, man, why do I want to do this corn fed motherfuckers podcast?
47:06
SPEAKER_00: You know why though?
47:07
SPEAKER_00: Because half of those fighters are corn fed motherfuckers.
47:11
SPEAKER_02: And it's and it's not just fighters.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: Like the the thing for me, if I were to kind of draw my own example here, would be that I want to create some something very similar to what you're describing with your comedy show, is I want everybody to be able to listen to my show, no matter who's on it, whether it be you or Drew Dober or Anthony Lionhart Smith or Steve Ewing from The Urge or any of those guys.
47:37
SPEAKER_02: I I want the same listener to be able to listen to every single one of those episodes and take something away from that.
47:45
SPEAKER_02: Whether they're into that specific topic or that specific art form or not, they take something away from that.
47:51
SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna be your memorable trait.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's my niche.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: That's the thing is we gotta be memorable because how many podcasters are there?
47:59
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's exactly it.
48:01
SPEAKER_02: That's exactly it.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: That's yeah, and the same, and by the same token, how many, you know, the reason that there's standard comedians don't get paid is because there's a ton of them.
48:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
48:11
SPEAKER_00: And I'm one of the the the ton.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the forgettable ones.
48:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, my challenge when I get out to Hollywood, right, is to be memorable.
48:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
48:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, to say, dude, we want that guy.
48:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
48:23
SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, hey, we want that gato guy.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: And then we want gato.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
48:28
SPEAKER_00: Like that's that's how it goes.
48:29
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
48:30
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
48:31
SPEAKER_00: That that's the challenge, man.
48:32
SPEAKER_00: And and then never never forget though that you're a cornfed motherfucker.
48:35
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
48:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
48:37
SPEAKER_00: But that's because not everyone was born in Hollywood, California.
48:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
48:40
SPEAKER_00: Right?
48:40
SPEAKER_00: We just go there to cut the deal.
48:43
SPEAKER_03: Right.
48:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, that that's the thing, dude.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: I hope that like I dude, I mean, like, Larry the cable guy lives around here.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: Right.
48:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of people have to know who you know where he's at, whatever.
48:51
SPEAKER_00: Super approachable dude.
48:53
SPEAKER_02: Right.
48:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, right.
48:55
SPEAKER_02: So before you make that trip, yeah, what is your fondest memory of your time in the past two years in Lincoln, Nebraska?
49:06
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
49:07
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, in the scope of this comedy thing, dude, that's that's such a question, man.
49:13
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have to like edit because there's gonna be like a ton of dead air as I as I think about this thing.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't, man, I I I can't nail it down to one, but I can definitely nail it down to those times when when people come up and they're just like, that was the best show ever.
49:30
SPEAKER_00: Dude, that was amazing.
49:32
SPEAKER_00: When you said this about your dad, it made me think about my dad.
49:35
SPEAKER_00: You know?
49:36
SPEAKER_00: When you're talking about your brother, it made me think about that.
49:38
SPEAKER_00: Think about, hey man, actually, I'll tell you, I'll tell you that the best, the best memory, dude.
49:45
SPEAKER_00: The best memory is it's the after party.
49:49
SPEAKER_00: We're just sitting there, right?
49:50
SPEAKER_00: The bar is just like clearing out or whatever.
49:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
49:54
SPEAKER_00: And the energy now is just like like cold.
49:58
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
49:59
SPEAKER_00: Just like like slow burning cold.
50:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's just chill and what have you.
50:05
SPEAKER_00: And I just look around at the people that are there, and I'm like, dude, this is dope.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: And it brings me back to this other memory, which is right after Central City.
50:15
SPEAKER_00: We finished Central City, we all pile in into this big old like church van type of thing, right?
50:22
SPEAKER_00: Because we all just went together.
50:23
SPEAKER_00: It was one of those uh Ford Transit, the big ones, right?
50:26
SPEAKER_00: It starts to rain, so shit, we all run out and everybody gets in first, you know, and I hop into the the front passenger seat.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it was something like out of like a cheesy movie or whatever, right?
50:38
SPEAKER_00: And we're all like just hyped up because it wasn't just it wasn't just me and and the other comedians, like we brought friends with us, right?
50:44
SPEAKER_00: Right?
50:45
SPEAKER_00: So I don't I don't know.
50:46
SPEAKER_00: There was maybe nine of us in that thing, and everybody's like, dude, high five, that was awesome.
50:51
SPEAKER_00: This dah da da da.
50:52
SPEAKER_00: And I look at everybody and I was like, dude, here's the thing.
50:56
SPEAKER_00: Ride with me.
50:58
SPEAKER_00: Ride with me.
50:59
SPEAKER_00: I promise that like I'm gonna take us there.
51:02
SPEAKER_00: This is just the beginning.
51:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take us there, I'm gonna take us there.
51:06
SPEAKER_00: And it it blows my mind because that night, the amount of money, the very little amount that I made versus like what I'm doing now, you couldn't say how are you gonna get there.
51:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, you get there through the grind and everything like that.
51:18
SPEAKER_00: So that's why Hollywood, though it's a big challenge, I'm like, dude, I'm just gonna repeat what I did here out there, right?
51:26
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna find out in a year, you know, whether this was show hobby or show business.
51:32
SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you what, if it's show hobby, cool.
51:35
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'll hang it up, I'll be like, man, that was a fun ride.
51:39
SPEAKER_00: But I'm kind of betting on myself out there too.
51:41
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely you are, and I think after listening to this episode, if my listeners don't know who you are, they will know who you are after this is all said and done.
51:53
SPEAKER_02: And uh I thank you for doing the show, man.
51:56
SPEAKER_02: This is amazing.
51:57
SPEAKER_00: Awesome, man.
51:58
SPEAKER_00: No, thanks for having me.
51:59
SPEAKER_00: And I hope that like I hope that in a year, right, that we can come back and we're both at this spot where like let's just like get that energy to perpetuate our audiences even more.
52:09
SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
52:10
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
52:11
SPEAKER_02: Hopefully, hopefully in a year, right, you've got uh top billing someplace or a starring role in something, right?
52:19
SPEAKER_02: And I've got myself some of that Joe Rogan money from Spotify.
52:23
SPEAKER_00: I love it, man.
52:25
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna do the thing, man.
52:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna share the hell out of this, you know, out of your page or anything like that, man.
52:29
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me on, dude.
52:31
SPEAKER_00: To all your listeners or whatever, thanks for listening in to me, you know, and uh and I hope that I got something for them.
52:35
SPEAKER_02: Where can they find you online, sir?
52:37
SPEAKER_00: Dude, just El Gato, man.
52:39
SPEAKER_00: Look for El Gato Felix Isel.
52:41
SPEAKER_00: I Z-E-L is my last name.
52:43
SPEAKER_00: So El Gato Felix Isel.
52:45
SPEAKER_00: Go across the social media platforms, do a Google search and come to my website, um, all that stuff.
52:49
SPEAKER_00: If it's not as dope as anybody else's, don't worry about it.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: Come to the live show for sure.
52:52
SPEAKER_00: We'll give you something, man.
52:54
SPEAKER_02: Man, I'm glad we finally got to connect and uh I'm glad you're here.
52:59
SPEAKER_02: The world's a better place with you in it, my friend.
53:00
SPEAKER_02: Dude, I appreciate it.
53:01
SPEAKER_02: Thanks again.
53:02
SPEAKER_02: I want to give a big shout out to my homie, the gato, El Gato Felix Ezzel.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for being on the show, and God speed to you, my friend, on your journey to Hollywood.
53:14
SPEAKER_02: He told you where to find him friends.
53:16
SPEAKER_02: Make sure you give him a little like and follow on the Facy Space and any place where you can find him.
53:23
SPEAKER_02: Make sure if you haven't followed me on all forms of social media yet, you do so soon.
53:30
SPEAKER_02: Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
53:34
SPEAKER_02: It's the holiday season, so make sure you share your favorite episode of this podcast with one of your friends and give me that five-star review on the Apple Podcast app.
53:47
SPEAKER_02: Thanks a lot for playing along, friends.
53:50
SPEAKER_02: This has been Caught on the Mike with Michael Clark.
53:52
SPEAKER_02: I'm Michael Clark.
53:54
SPEAKER_02: Until next time, thank you.
53:56
SPEAKER_02: Find all things podcast related at www.caught on the mic.com.