Joy, a Podcast. Hosted by Craig Ferguson - Ronny Chieng

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

Meet Ronny Chieng, a stand up comedian, actor and Correspondent on "The Daily Show". In addition to two Netflix stand-up comedy specials, Ronny has starred in "Crazy Rich Asians", Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", "M3GAN", "American Born Chinese", "Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.", "Vacation Friends 2", "Joy Ride" and will star in the upcoming Hulu series "Interior Chinatown”. Catch Ronny on his stand up tour named Love to Hate It. Tickets available here: https://www.ronnychieng.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Angie Martinez, and on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad, and I had the best memories and the greatest experience, and that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Get emotional with me, Radhi Devlukia, in my new podcast, A Really Good Cry. We're going to be talking with some of my best friends. I didn't know we were going to go there. People that I admire.

When we say listen to your body, really tune in to what's going on. Authors of books that have changed my life. Now you're talking about sympathy, which is different than empathy, right? Never forget, it's okay to cry as long as you make it a really good one. Listen to A Really Good Cry with Radhi Dabluqia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For 10 years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history.

We were all facing 20 years and all that good stuff. The lead singer tried to pull off an English accent and they went on the road as the zombies. These guys are not going to get away with it. The zombies are too popular. Show you everyone. It's that time. away with it. The zombies are too popular. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Craig Ferguson Fancy Rascal Stand-Up Tour continues throughout 2024.

For a full list of dates and tickets, go to thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. See you out there, thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. See you out there. thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting people about what brings them happiness. Today on the podcast, my guest is Ronnie Chang. He's a Chinese-Malaysian-American comedian who is huge.

He's huge. He's like blowing up all over the place. He's like the biggest deal on the internet and TV. He's very, very, very funny and very interesting. Here he is. That's a very nice watch. Oh, thank you. I kind of like it. I got a Breitling.

Breitling, the watch of... Of white guys? Of people. Of certain people. No, no, not white guys. Not white guys. I don't think white guys when I think Breitling. Really?

Yeah, yeah. I think like people who don't care about watches but in a cool way. Not in an ignorant way. In the like, I'll just wear, you know. See, I have two watches.

Yeah. There you go. And they're both Breitlings. Yeah. Because you don't care. It's not that I don't care. It's not that I don't care. Yeah, right. I don't care, but in a cool way.

Yeah, I'm spot on. I was fucking spot on. You absolutely fucking nailed it. All right. Yeah. All right. Let me, I wanted to ask you something before we start, because I mean, I've watched a lot of your stuff.

Oh, thank you. Sorry. And it's very funny. Thank you. But I want to talk to you about Australia. Oh, please you. Sorry. And it's very funny. Thank you. But I want to talk to you about Australia. Oh, please. Please. Because you went to school in Australia, right? You went to university in Australia.

I only went to law school there, but which as you know, is undergraduate. Right. I went to undergrad law school there. Are you a lawyer then? Yeah, I passed the bar in Australia. Yeah. So, but you can only do law in Australia, which is like sheep. Yeah, it's all criminals anyway. Yeah, yeah.

But what happened in Australia, I think, is that if you can trace yourself back to the original criminals, that's actually cool now, right? Oh, no, it's cool if you're them. Right. They make it sound cool. But it's not cool. I don't think it's cool.

Well, they had a pretty bad, they got a pretty bad record. I think so. Yeah, I'm not scared. Yeah, I'm the only one who will say it, you know, everyone else is, everyone else either doesn't know about it or bashing it. I'm like, yeah, you guys kind of... It was pretty bad. It was not a good time. No, it was pretty, I mean, they just kind of wiped out everybody who was there. They wiped out, never formed a symbiosis with the indigenous, not that anyone really did, but you know, at least the Maoris, I think they had a treaty, at least, you know. And you can, when you go to New Zealand, Maoris are on the money.

Yeah. You know, Maori language, you come in, they greet you. Right. In Maori, you know, the Maori art is kind of embedded into society. Right. In New Zealand, you know, Australia, they didn't do a good job of, I don't think. I worked when I was in Australia. I've never been in Australia sober,

so I haven't been there in a long time. But I worked with an Australian comedian called Ernie Dingo. Do you know Ernie Dingo? I heard of Ernie Dingo. Yeah, Ernie Dingo is cool. He's an Aboriginal comedian. Please continue. Well, I'm just saying I worked with him,

but you didn't know him. No, I've heard of him, but I'm not trying to... Different generation. I'm just saying I worked with him But you didn't know him No I've heard of him But you're I'm not trying to Different generation I'm not trying to be a dick here You've got a couple of generations on me Definitely

I came on this podcast To talk to you honestly Because I want to hear about these stories Well When were you When did you meet Ernie Dingo Back in the time The Kaiser was amassing

His armies on the border When did you meet Ernie Dingo What was the circumstance We were I was at the Melbourne Comedy Fest Yes My home festival Really?

Yes Another thing I want to talk to you about Right okay So I was at Melbourne Comedy Festival In an area called Fitzroy Yes What year was this roughly? God it would be about 1987-88

That's freaking That's too long ago It's crazy right? It's too long ago I know That's way too far That's nuts I worked with another

Australian comedian Called Anthony Morgan You know Anthony Morgan? I know him very well Oh you know. That's way too far. That's nuts. I worked with another Australian comedian called Anthony Morgan. You know Anthony Morgan? I know him very well. Oh, you know? I talk to him all the time. I make his website. He's a great comedian.

He's a great comedian, great guy. He exited the game a little bit. He moved to Tasmania. Lives kind of off the grid, but he occasionally- He's kind of an off the grid sort of a guy. Even in the 80s, he was off the grid. That I don't know. That I can speak to.

But I know that he was a legendary. He was probably the original that I can speak to but I know that he was a legendary he was probably the original modern Australian folk hero well Anthony Morgan and I we used to play this

because we had this drinking game we used to do and it was a place called The Last Laugh in Fitzroy is it still there? no The Last Laugh

moved to Collins Street at the Athenaeum theater oh I remember the Athenaeum the Doug Anthony all stars used to play there I know Doug Anthony

very well as well oh really and then unfortunately so it was a comedy club in Collins Street when I started right

and then unfortunately it closed down but it had Australia at that time had a well certainly in the 80s which is

you were probably being born then I was born I was just borns which is you were probably being born then I was born I was just born new born you were a tiny little baby I was a small baby and I was getting fucked up

with Anthony Morgan yes yeah but it's well that's great please continue I don't want to interrupt you no no no

please interrupt me because I can do this podcast I can't do this one with you without you no because so I started doing comedy in Australia in 2009.

Right. Jesus, that's too late. It felt pretty late to me. I started when I was 24. That's about right. Yeah, I started at 24. I think I was a good age to start. I wasn't ahead of the curve, but I wasn't behind it, I think.

Because I'm a fan of comedy. I just love comedy history and Because I started in Australia. I have a fondness for Australian comedy history. That's why when you say these names It's like I know to you is not even history to you. That's just your curious It's just my life but I am now living history I'm like colonial Williamsburg, but as a person Yeah, but the thing is Anthony Morgan and I used to have this it was upstairs

at the Prince Pat and we had this deal we had to drink and you weren't allowed to have anything in your head when you got to the microphone and you had to do 10 minutes yeah you guys are crazy

it was I don't know that it was good but it was well Morgan Anthony Morgan comes from this very prolific type of comic that category there's some geniuses in the world who are just Anthony Morgan comes from this very prolific type of comic,

that category. There's some geniuses in the world who are just, they just go on stage. And, you know, for me, comedy takes so much work and it's scary and I have to work at it for months and months and months. And hopefully I'll have five minutes that's good or decent. But for some people, it's just like, they're so prolific that it just comes and goes.

And part of that tradition, I think is like an Edinburgh thing. Yeah, that's right. because i've been to edinburgh festival i've done it a few times right and so you know and and anthony went there and did it as well but i was touched with him after australia i don't know i like because i was still drinking there and i got sober i'm so glad i can you give me a reason to message him again i'll just be like yeah he's maybe i would say maybe the best stand-up I've ever seen. See, I hear legends of this. I hear legends of this.

And unfortunately, it was a time before, you know, writing was invented. So there's no record of any of this. There's some hieroglyphics of him. There's some hieroglyphics, but there's no record of this. But this is all I hear because he was, to ground this in a bit of facts, he, I think it's fair to say

the biggest comedy management company in Australia is Token. Right. Token Management. And the guy who founded it is Kevin White. And Kevin White, so imagine this guy

who founded the most successful comedy management company in the country. Right. He, when he was 18, he managed anthony morgan wow so meaning this wasn't this is not just a case of comics saying someone's good this guy was commercially he was considered the best you know he was the he was but he was he was i remember

i mean we had a couple of nights out and and you know he he was pretty wild. Oh, he was? When I met him, he was in my sitcom. He was in my sitcom, yeah. So I knew of him before, but I wrote this sitcom about being a law student. International student. International student, yeah. And I wrote him a part. I mean, it kind of came organically.

It wasn't like I was out looking to write him a part, but of the kind of wary bitter law lecturer and my co-writer Declan Fay also Australian he suggested Anthony Morgan for this I was like yeah

that's great so we had him in and I was a bit worried because I never met him before I thought maybe he'd be like don't come at me with your stupid you know

whatever your new ideas are I don't care about this do you know who I was? He was always a very nice guy the nicest dude not that energy at all he came very collaborative collaborative. He got it. He was down. He played with us. Very down to earth. That's cool. But he lives in a cave in Tasmania.

Essentially, he lives off the grid in Tasmania. I'm pretty sure, not pretty sure. I know for a fact he built his own house with his own hands. And then he'll go and do the local pub gig every few months. And I'll kind of harass him to record it. Or I'll harass him to digitalize a cassette that he's recorded from years ago. It's so funny because he's kind of like, you know like in the movies where they have to go and get the detective. He's retired, but he works on his boat.

And they say, you're the only guy that can... Anthony Morgan's kind of like that as a comedian. He's like, I didn't give up on comedy. Comedy gave up on me. There's a bit of that. I think he tried to come to America, and I think he toured a bit in America, and I think there's

certain comics who know him very well. I'm so surprised that you mentioned him. Yeah, like I say, I think he may be the... I look in my memory. He's the he's the best I've ever seen It's the fate of all legends to be forgotten. Yeah, but he's yeah, he's still in Australia and I'll put you guys to touch How did you become a fan of comedy? You grew up in Singapore, right? Yes. So is there a big scene of comedy there? No, there wasn't.

Is it like a TV thing that you fell in love with? I grew up in Singapore, but they have their own type of comedy, where it's not stand-up. It's kind of TV, sketch, a little slapsticky. There was one stand-up comic in Australia, but it's not a known thing stamp stamp comedy is not a known tradition in singapore right the way it is in the uk or scotland or australia you know uh where it's very established you know what you're supposed to do you go to the pub you watch a comic right you know how you're supposed to behave we don't have that we don't have those norms but when i started there there wasn't there was billy conley

and that was it. Oh, okay. Well then maybe we're not so different. Yeah. I mean, when I started in Scotland, there was Billy Connolly who was huge. Like Billy's 20 years older than me. Still is huge. Yo, absolutely. And then there was, there were no comedy clubs. There was no places to go. So you would go to like a, it would be like a music club or a disco or something. What year was this?

It'd be like mid eighties or a disco or something? What year was this? It'd be like mid-80s. Mid-80s still? Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In America, they had all the comedy clubs, the guys with the piano key ties and all that. But we didn't have any of that. You know what's interesting?

I'm very lucky to meet Jerry Seinfeld. And I got to ask him about this. And he said the same thing As you did He said when he started There was nothing That's right I think he's probably right He said

And he wasn't You know I don't think he was saying He definitely wasn't saying this To just be arrogant He was just saying like We were the ones who started it He started the rooms

Him and Leno At the time as well I mean these guys Do you ever meet Leno? No I've never met him Leno's an interesting guy. Not many people know how good a stand-up he is.

I believe that. I believe he's a great stand-up. He really is. Keith Robinson at The Cellar will always tell me how good Jay Leno is. I did some dates with Jay this summer. We did this old dudes of late night thing. That's funny. That's funny.

It was great. That's funny. Who else was in it? Me and Jay and Arsenio Hall. Jackie Mason. No, no, no. Arsenio was great. I met Arsenio. He's lovely. Another great stand up. I think stand up is a little bit like playing electric guitar. There's a lot of people who are good at it. But you got to have something that's maybe just a little different. Sure. To make you stand out. Yeah, I think that's all art.

That's all art. Yeah, you know what? You're right. So what was it with you, you think, that made you... Because you have to do this thing. I think all stand-ups have to do this. You go on stage and you die and it doesn't work. Yeah. And when you do that, I think all stand-ups have to do this. You go on stage and you die and it doesn't work.

And when you do that, like a real stand-up laughs when you say that to them, right? Because that's what it is. Because I remember the first time it happened to me and it was terrible. When I came off and people were going, oh, I'm sorry that happened. I was like, oh no, I got to do that again. I got to do it again. And I think there's something about stand-up comedians that male, female

doesn't matter it's like you're drawn to that weird kind of love of yes failure? is it failure?

what is it? I don't know if there's a love darkness? I don't know if there's a love of failure I do think that I do think if if I'm looking for a common thread there i would say

that it's probably that all the great comics i know don't think that they're good at comedy right and so you naturally think that you're bad you're shit yeah well yeah and so when you bomb if you feel like oh yeah i'm supposed to bomb i'm not good at it. Yeah, you're validated. Right, right. And then that's kind of how you quote unquote be a good comic.

That's a sign of being a good comic because when you, not that you enjoy bombing, but you're able to process it in a way where you're like, oh yeah, I'm not good.

The Craig Ferguson Fancy Rascal stand-up tour continues throughout the United States in 2024. For a full list of dates and tickets, go to thecraigfergusonshow.com slash tour. See you out there. I'm Angie Martinez. Check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go

beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between. This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things. That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell, if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to, you're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Back in 1969, this was the hottest song around. So hot that some guys from Michigan tried to steal it. My name is Daniel Ralston. For 10 years I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. A group would have a hit record, and quickly they would hire a bunch of guys to go out and be the group. People were being cheated on several levels. After years of searching, we bring you the true story of the fake zombies.

I was like blown away. These guys are not going to get away with it. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business? Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. Over my career, I've built and helped run multiple seven-figure businesses that leverage culture and build successful brands. Now I want to share what I've learned with you.

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Listen to Butternomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My wife has this theory that all stand-up comedians have the same type of mother Oh interesting. Cold with bad boundaries that's what she says Cold with bad boundaries, oof. That's pretty close. I said it to Lewis Black and he was like oh my god that's my mom. That's great, that's funny. He said that he only, Lewis said that he only made eye contact with his mom on her deathbed when she was 104. Oh man. But you know, it's kind of, it resonates a little bit. I mean, she met, obviously my mom's passed

now, but she met my mom. She's like, Jesus. For the record, my mom is very warm. Yeah. But there is some no boundaries in there and can be very harsh my mom can be very harsh so you know different word for cold

yeah but it is that kind of thing it's like whenever whenever I see a good stand up now I think their mom must be

pretty tough tough yeah very tough mom my mom is tough that's fair was she upset that you went into stand up because obviously if you're going into law,

that's one set of expectations. You decide not to practice? Well, I had a few things to answer your question. She was not as upset as I thought she'd be. Okay. Wasn't thrilled, but not upset. But one of the few reasons for that was that we actually, I went to university in a different

country right so she wasn't even around no she didn't know she didn't know you were doing stand yeah I didn't tell her I didn't make a big deal about it I just went to go do it because I kind of instinctively knew like hey if this is gonna work for me I kind of have to do it on my own I can't be you know asking friends to come I can't be like you know making a big deal I was like that is why I would never have friends come see me it's hilarious now now even now I'm like I don't be asking friends to come. I can't be like, you know, making a big deal. I was like that as well. I would never have friends come see me. It's hilarious now. Even now, I don't want friends to come.

No, I don't like it. I don't even like my wife coming to the show. It's like, please don't. It's not for you. Yeah, it'll be in my head. It'll be in my head that you're out there going, 1000%. 1000%.

And also comedy is like, it's different to music in that you have to be you have to want to be there it can't just be background noise you have to so if you don't want to be there

just don't you know what I mean have you done any corporate gigs yet? of course yeah yeah done corporates see cause that's when that's the test

they don't want they don't really want you but they have you anyway cause they see you on TV corporates are so weird that they want you but they don't yeah they they see you on TV. Corporates are so weird that they want you but they don't. Yeah. They sought you to come and play there. And they will pay you a great deal of money. But they don't want you to be there. I know. It's the weirdest gig ever. It's horrible.

Nobody wants you to be there. I talked to a musician, a very famous, I'm going to tell you actually what, you know Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, right? Okay. There's no corporate gigs anymore he said the last time he did it he was like playing down the front and there was a nacho cheese fountain

yeah and there was a woman taking and he was like ah fuck we can't do this it's not rock and roll it's not

it's not rock and roll you know comedy and rock and roll are very kind of counter cultural that's why it's it's at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It's at the Fringe Festival, not the Edinburgh Festival. It's a fringe thing.

Where did you play in Edinburgh? Underbelly, unfortunately. I don't know where that is. Oh, that's… I don't even know where that is. The Caves. I started in Edinburgh in 1984. Right.

And I did it for, I guess, until about early 90s, I guess. So you're an Edinburgh boy? Yeah, I'm from Glasgow, but I started in stand-up. I had a show that started at 2 o'clock in the morning, above a bar called the Café Royal in Edinburgh. And it was... And what was that? That's not...

When you say you had a show, does it mean that was a weekly show? No, it was every night. Oh, damn, every night you'd be 2 a.m. a weekly show? No, it was every night. Oh, damn. Every night you'd be 2 a.m. at this bar? Yeah, every night 2 a.m. at this bar during the Edinburgh Festival. Oh, during the festival. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, no, like. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's cool. But I didn't have anywhere to live because I was in class. So I used to sleep in the photo booth at Waverley Station. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's fucking gnarly. And did you, was it one hour? Yeah. Did you have guests? No, I would just do stand-up. For one hour at 2 a.m.? No, about a half an hour.

I don't know. It was hard to say. And was it like pay by donation? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So who were the comedians that you were drawn to when you were starting out? You thought, I want to be like this or that.

So the truth is. That kind of person makes me laugh yeah the truth is when when i was uh four and a half years old i was watching seinfeld the tv show and uh he would do his stand-up in the interstitials i remember yeah yeah and then i i told my mom like hey i want to do that one day and she didn't she was like okay whatever you know. And that was the first time I saw someone doing that. Like, oh, I didn't know that was a way to express yourself. But I didn't do anything about that. At four years old, you don't want to be doing clubs at four.

I was in New Hampshire at that time, Manchester, New Hampshire. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. So my parents went there for college. And they went to college very late after they had two kids. So I was in Manchester, New Hampshire for a bit. And that's where I saw Seinfeld. That's where my wife is from, New Hampshire.

Oh, really? Oh, there you go. Manchester. She's from Hanover. Hanover, okay. But there's a place where they are cold with bad boundaries. That I don't know. My memories of it was always very warm.

You like it? I liked it. But I was like four. I go back there always very warm You like it? I liked it But I was like four Right I go back there now I went back there After I moved back to America After about 20 years

25 years actually It took me 25 years To move back to America And I went back there As an adult And I was like Oh I guess this is A very random town to be in

Now Now that you're there You live in New York I live in New York Yeah Do you socialize You part of the, yeah. Do you socialize? Are you part of the scene? Do you socialize with Kimomics?

Do you go to the comedy clubs and hang out backstage and all that? I hit it hard. I don't hang as much because I guess I'm older or whatever. Dude, you're not even 40. I'm old in this scene. But I do hit the clubs hard in Manhattan.

In Brooklyn, yeah. Do you try new material? Yeah, I try new stuff. I try to get I'm all in this scene and but I do hit the clubs hard in Manhattan and Brooklyn yeah do you try do you try a material yeah I try new stuff yeah I try new stuff I try to get a new line

every time I get on at least one new line you know what I mean you know old joke even just get a new line do you do that like when you're putting together like an hour

yeah which I'm doing right now right do you do you learn it all do you write it piece by piece are you methodical about it my method has my mythology has changed Do you learn it all? Do you write it piece by piece? Are you methodical about it? My method has,

my mythology has changed over the years, I think. So right now, I come from Australia. So we're used to the Edinburgh. Right, that vibe. That vibe. So you do like an hour, right? Yeah.

You do an hour. Sometimes people do an hour before they even have 15 minutes. Yeah. As weird as that is, right? Yeah, because they're doing crowd work and they're doing... Right as weird as that is right cause they're doing crowd work and they're doing personal stories and they're a bit more indulgent

and the crowd gives them a bit more rope so I come from that school but I think I was always considered a more I don't want to pat myself on the back but I think I was more

of a US style comic doing like an hour so I never have a great pathos I never had a great one comic doing like an hour. So I'll never have a great pathos. I never had a great one man show like someone died or something. My shows were always like kind of 15 minutes of material, 15 minutes of material, 15 minutes of material. Do you think that'll change as you get older? Do you have kids yet?

No, I don't have kids. No. You know, I come from that. So it's hard for me to differentiate that one man show and you know quote unquote pure stand up so I what is pure stand up though

I don't really understand I mean yeah good I mean is it one liners I mean maybe it's okay so here's where I am right now with this new hour

is I've been doing I've done two tours in America now this is my third tour and my goal was I wanted

every 15 minutes of this next hour to be something I could just do in a comedy club. Right. So that was my goal. Right.

And so that's kind of what I've been working towards. Meaning, I'll work at 15 minutes and then I'll work the next 15. Versus, you know,

sometimes you just have that club 15. Yeah. And then you have like 40 minutes of stuff that will work after you have convinced the audience

that you're not terrible at comedy right okay you can butter them up and then you can do what you want right right right so now that's kind of my goal was to do that 15 minutes

so in that sense it's more of a stand quote unquote stand but I've always been kind of a longer joke teller you know I think that again that comes from coming from Australia

I think so I think also to me that that feels more like if you go the real kind of storytelling roots of what this thing is yeah when I'm putting together an hour I put together like maybe I don't know 20 minutes of stuff that I know I'm gonna say yes but I know when I always start pretty much the same time place I always start in Denver. The Comedy Works in Denver. One of the best clubs

in the country for some reason. Yeah, it's crazy good. So I go there with what I, it's 20 minutes in my head and invariably it's an hour by the time I get out in the club. Well, you come from that tradition.

Right. You come from that, you know, Billy Connolly tradition. You can come with 20 minutes of ideas and make it come over an hour. But I think, it feels to me like you have that too I don't think so

I don't think I'm that good at it why? I don't know because when I watch you do stand up it feels to me like you are someone who

maybe I'm wrong maybe you're really good at when I watch Speakeasy when you were doing that thing about everybody you know

say the race that you but there was like the, say the race that you lose. But there was like the thing with the glass and all that. All that kind of looked really kind of off the cuff to me. Was that really? I mean, I've been touring that for a while before filming it. And so it builds in over time. Yeah, it builds in over time.

But I definitely, to go back to what you're saying about Turning 20 into an hour If you have 20 I think you can get to 45 Which is basically an hour Right But if you have 5 I don't know if you can get to I can't get to an hour

Do you ever forget Do you ever go upstairs And you just You're up on stage And you just fucking forget Everything Yeah Yeah I've done that

You know what Leno said I said that to Leno I was talking to Leno about it. He goes, just keep talking. Just keep talking. They don't know the fucking script. Just keep fucking talking. But that's also a product of being able to play to your own crowd

in a very friendly environment. Definitely. You know what I mean? And I think sometimes, you know, New York comedy clubs can kick you in the ass a little bit. And that's why I moved here. Because not like Australia, they probably give you some rope where you're like

oh yeah okay you forgot you can mess around you can be like ah there's nothing here you go through your whole setup and you're like

ah this was funny in my head and then people are like oh ha ha ha they go along with it especially if you call your show

testing material Craig Ferguson's testing material whatever it is I don't test material you just go for it again you come from well I mean also the thing is as well for it again you come from well I mean

also the thing is as well is that if it doesn't work that's also funny yes that's my point that you're in a friendly environment

where if something doesn't work it's also funny and you honestly you have the chops to pull it off anyway alright so but I don't

I don't have no I disagree with that but I think what I think what it is is that what happens when you get what you want from stand-up? What do you want from it?

Apart from the, like you want to succeed every show. Yes. But a lot of stand-ups, I know they want to be actors or they want to be writers or they want to be philosophers or they want to be...

If I can do a gig where my old stuff killed i had a good crowd interaction and my new stuff killed then that's when i'm that's the three things if one of those three things doesn't happen that means i'm just a fraud i'm like i you know and the stand up the stand up occupy all of your frontal lobes or is it is like do you want to like do you play a musical instrument do you have

oh no I can't do anything else I enjoy acting you know I enjoy acting yeah of course I enjoy acting like when you were

in Crazy Rich Asians I think for for like Asian actors that was like Braveheart was for Scottish actors yeah you know

and I wasn't in Braveheart I always feel like such a fucking loser for not being in Braveheart dude that's so. Yeah. And I wasn't in Braveheart. I always feel like such a fucking loser for not being in Braveheart. Dude, that's so funny. Did you audition? Yeah.

What did you audition? I auditioned for the The guy who kills with a woman. No. I auditioned Do you remember the movie? A little bit, yeah.

I auditioned for the part that was played by an Irish guy. Oh. And I But here's the thing as well. When the movie came out, I was in Hollywood and I was

kind of broke. Oh man, it was awful. And I didn't have any work and I went to audition for the part of reading the audiobook adaptation of Braveheart. I didn't get it. The cast and director said to me, we don't feel your accent is authentic

wow I know that's so funny yeah but but there was a time when you know every Scottish thing I was like do you ever look at parts and think you know what you no I'm not doing it just because I'm Asian or because I would get that with Scottish because I'll be like, ah fuck off. Yeah, I mean when it was, when it's kind of very stereotypically written, then I'm like, I don't want to do this. I audition for everything on principle because I feel like I, as someone who didn't go to acting school, I need the reps. I need the repetitions.

So whatever comes in in I audition for it but that stuff I tell my agents like hey I'm sending in an audition because I need the practice but I'm not gonna do it I'm not gonna do this one

there was one unfortunate one that was so it was Clifford the big red dog okay and I was like oh this is cool

you were gonna be the dog? no no no I was like this is a cool movie I know this prop. It's IT. I'm like, oh, well, you know, fun. Sounds fun.

And they had me play the big bad guy, which I'm like, yeah, I'm down. Love being bad guy. Right. And in the movie, unfortunately, the big bad guy, he is a genetic biologist scientist and he's trying to end world hunger

and he's trying to grow food bigger and bigger and everything he grows all his his whole company keeps failing all his underling scientists

keep failing at growing big foods and then he sees Clifford the Big Red Dog on TV and he's like get me that fucking dog

because we need to figure out how this thing got so big how the dog got that big listen I'm totally absorbed now this is a great story. But then now it looks like fucking Asian people trying to eat dogs. Oh shit!

I never even thought about it. I know. Oh my god. I'm sure they didn't think about that either. Because everyone's not a fucking idiot. So they want racist, bad, so they want thinking that. But me, I'm like, I told my Asians like, hey, even if I get this, I can't do this. No, of course you can't it's not a good look no it's not a good look

but have you ever done stuff and you went oh no i shouldn't have done that okay yes there's one there's one okay no this is still another audition they all love this one so this was a bag henchman i get the audition in henchmen for, I won't say which movie. And it's called, the henchman's name is The Scotsman. And I'm like, oh, okay. Maybe that's just his name.

Maybe the joke is that I have my accent, but my name is The Scotsman. But the very first direction is, this henchman has a very thick Scottish accent. Please try to do your Scottish accent. The joke is that no one can understand his thick Scottish accent I've heard a lot of those

so somewhere on some cloud somewhere exists an audition of me doing a fucking Scottish accent shut the fuck up

and just just I wish I could hear that I know I wish and my friend recorded it and he was reading it

with me and we would and I had my my friend actually it And he was reading it with me And we were And I had my My friend actually had to do The Scottish accent And then I would like Impersonate him Is your friend Scottish?

Oh fuck man Come on So No but the whole joke was that That nobody could understand it And then I'm like Well Do I want to be the Asian

Who people can understand Because of that accent Even if it's Scottish Yeah It's very You know It's a fucking minefield. I auditioned once, I went for an audition once, I got this, I really needed a job in Hollywood.

And I got this audition to, there was a sitcom called Suddenly Susan with Brooke Shields, right? Yeah. Do you remember that show? Yeah, it was good. Right, in that show there was a character, a Hispanic photographer. He was a, I think he was a photographer from Mexico or something like that and for some reason I was on the audition call in and I was like oh and it's written like yeah exactly it's written for I mean exactly no like oh geez and exactly and this is the 90s and

I need a job so I go in and I go in as a whole line of guys in the audition they all look like Antonio I need a job. So I go in and I go in and there's a whole line of guys in the audition. They all look like Antonio Banderas. Nobody looks like me at all. And I go in and I do the audition. I do the accent in the audition. Like Speedy Gonzalez or something. It was bad. Dude, it's so funny because all these auditions somewhere will probably just...

It's terrifying. But what year was that? It would be 1995 because I tell you what happened is when I got done or 96, it's terrifying but what year was that? it would have been 1995 because I tell you what happened is when I got done or 96 when I got done with the audition they said to me

that's the worst accent we've ever heard I went thanks they said but we are doing a show where we're looking for a guy to play the English boss on the Drew Carey show can you do an English accent? and I said si senor yes I can

and I got I got a part from it it wasn't a part I auditioned for because I think you should always go if you're a young performer always go

that's why I always audition you're right because there's been three projects now where they've given me something else or they're still writing the script

and they write characters out sure and they hear your audition and they like you and they change the part to make you the guy yes yes yeah yeah i think that's right you can't but it's it's so i don't know how i would be now starting out because you guys have a look you've got to have followers on your tickety talk i think yes and no i think yes and no I think like I've met some people who were

shoved into a project that I was on because of their followers right and I've also and I've met ones who come on because of their followers but they're great

anyway right right sure so that's that and then there's I've met people who don't have any social media and they got cast from nothing do you have a ton of social media

I don't you don't I don't I have Instagram't? I don't. I have Instagram. That's about it. Facebook. That's about it. I'm off Twitter now.

Twitter doesn't really exist anymore, does it? I don't think so. It's kind of falling apart. Yeah. I mean, it used to be like super powerful. But I guess I'm a little old school in the sense that when I started in 09, YouTube just was getting its legs and no one had figured out

how to do stand-up on YouTube yet. In fact, stand-up clips on the internet is a last 5-6 years thing. Before that, it was YouTube comedy, right? It was YouTube style sketches. Yeah, people would do them.

Yeah, they would do the little things. Yeah, they do the things. And then the idea at that time was that if you were a stand-up or live performer, you would do your YouTube comedy, sell tickets and people come and see you live. And you would do essentially a different show live. Right.

Because there are different skill sets. Right. But in the last six years, people have figured out, you know, I got to give credit to probably Andrew Schultz is the one who figured out how to put stand-up clips

on Instagram in short bursts for better or for worse and put subtitles and find a following and also educate the crowd in stand-up comedy. Because before that,

you will watch YouTube style comedy, which is very physical. It was very exaggerated. Right. A little slapsticky, right? Right. And you could digest that in like 20 seconds.

If you saw a stand-up clip at that time, you wouldn't even give it five seconds. You just, well, I got to listen to a setup and then you just swipe. Whereas now, I think people have… Because they have the subtitles. Subtitles and educating the crowd. But I noticed that with my old late night show. It's all over that shit. I don't get any of that.

It has nothing to do with me. I don't touch it. I don't edit it. I don't put the words on it. People are clearly putting it out. And I guess the hunger that the Beast has is just for content. I mean, I made like 2000 hours or 2050 hours of- Content, yeah. There's nostalgia. There's also-

Jesus Christ, I'm nostalgic, I suppose I am. Yeah, I mean, when you did the Britney Spears thing, you know, and stuff like that, it's kind of socially relevant. If I had to analyze it, yeah, it's a bit of that. Also, just good comedy, right? That's not- Yeah, well, one likes to think. Yeah, they put it on a, unfortunately, for better or for worse, in a a bit of that. Also, just good comedy, right? Yeah, well, one likes to think. Yeah, they put it on a, unfortunately, for better or for worse, in a more digestible format. Yeah, they cut everything up and spliced it. Well, let me ask you this.

Have you ever fallen foul of the pitfalls of our game? The drugs and alcohol, it's not a thing that… It's not a thing because I grew up in Singapore it's just a very it's very strict in my head it's very strict

it's super strict you can't have gum or something no gum no drugs no freaking no hats no sodomy

no sodomy yeah you can't Jesus yeah so they're very they're very strict about so I just grew up in an environment

where it's like oh there's no drugs and I don't know I just grew up in an environment Where it's like Oh there's no drugs And I don't know I just And I'm physically allergic to drinking Yeah me too So I'll have like one drink And then I can stop

Which in Australia Was like crazy Yeah I remember all the comics Were always like Oh you They were like Oh you don't drink right

I was known as a guy Who doesn't drink And I was like I do drink I just don't I stop at like one I don't need to go to They wouldn't drink. And I was like, I do drink, I just don't, I stop at like one. I don't need to go to... They wouldn't understand that.

Yeah, it was always very, I was kind of known as the comic who doesn't drink. You know? They were like, oh, Ronnie, you don't drink, right? Ronnie doesn't drink. Ronnie doesn't drink. Come here, Ronnie.

Show them you're not drinking. Show them, Ronnie. Basically. But I mean, I also never felt the urge to. So I just, you know, just you know did you ever see any of them fucking giant spiders

they've got there in Australia no the ones that are scary isn't the fucking giant ones it's the fucking the red bags the red bags the red bags

are the most venomous I saw one of those once was it on your toilet no it was it was in a shoe on the balcony and someone killed it immediately

because that's that's a thing that's a problem that'll kill you it will yeah but 10 years in Australia I've only seen one of those right

but you know that's all you need it's only it has to be one see my wife I'm like we should go to Australia she's like

I'm that guy it's like these fucking spiders and I was talking to her today and I said I'm going to talk to Ronny Chang and he's like spent a lot of time in Australia

and she said ask him about those those birds that can kill you with one kick I'm like you're making that up yeah that's not what you just mean no no I think it's like it's called a casamore or something or yeah I never heard of it and then she looked it up on the internet and apparently she showed me a picture of some giant chicken that'll kick the shit out of you what the hell I never saw it in Australia I saw koala bears and shit, but they were friendly.

My wife is Australian as well. Well, were you asking her about the giant kicking bird? Yeah, I was there. I got to find this giant kicking bird. But this isn't my joke. This is the great Will Anderson. You know Will Anderson?

I don't know personally. I know who you're talking about. Yeah, yeah. Very funny comic. He's also a legend. And he's almost, I would say, almost like an Australian

Dave Chappelle in how prolific he is but this is his joke not mine I'm gonna butcher it but he was always like man Americans always

scared about Australian animals you guys have guns yeah that's true like everyone's always scared of spiders and those things

you guys have freaking machine guns well you need a gun though if you got spiders and chickens that can kick the shit out of you. I've never... I gotta find this bird that can kick the... No, kangaroos can beat the shit out of you. Kangaroos are fucking mean. Yeah, kangaroos can beat the shit out of you.

The giant red kangaroos. They can jump like 30 meters high. They got claws, they can rip your dick off. They rip your dick off? Yeah, they got claws they can rip your dick off they rip your dick off? yeah they can because they and what they will do if they rip your dick off is they put your dick

in their their pouch and then they they make a little necklace of them that's what they and they're like do you like my necklace?

I'm Edgy Martinez check out my podcast where I talk to some of the biggest athletes, musicians, actors in the world. We go beyond the headlines and the soundbites to have real conversations about real life, death, love, and everything in between.

This life right here, just finding myself, just relaxation, just not feeling stressed, just not feeling pressed. This is what I'm most proud of. I'm proud of Mary because I've been through hell and some horrible things. That feeling that I had of inadequacy is gone. You're going to die being you. So you got to constantly work on who you are to make sure that the stars align correctly. Life ain't easy and it's getting harder and harder. So if you have a story to tell,

if you've come through some trials, you need to share it because you're going to inspire someone. You're going to, you're going to give somebody the motivation to not give up, to not quit. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business? Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. Over my career, I've built and helped run

multiple seven-figure businesses that leverage culture and build successful brands. Now I want to share what I've learned with you. And on Butternomics, we go deep with today's most influential entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to peel back the layers on how they use culture as a driving force in their business. On every episode, we get the inside scoop on how these leaders tap into culture to build something amazing.

From exclusive interviews to business breakdowns, we'll explore the journey of turning passion for culture into business. Whether you're just getting started or an established business owner, Butternomics will give you what you need to take your game to the next level. This is Butternomics. Listen to Butternomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Back in 1969, this was the hottest song around. So hot that some guys from Michigan tried to steal it. My name is Daniel Ralston. It's the time of the season for the beast. My name is Daniel Ralston.

For ten years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. A group would have a hit record, and quickly they would hire a bunch of guys to go out and be the group. People were being cheated on several levels. After years of searching, we bring you the true story of the fake zombies. I was like blown away. These guys are not going to get away with it.

Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you ever play out in the boonies in Australia? Did you ever go west of Adelaide and stuff like that? I went to Alice Springs, Darwin, which is the outback. I didn't get to super outback, but I got moderate outback. Because for most Americans, obviously, outbacks are a reasonably priced family

But the outback in Australia is like people don't know there's just nothing there Yeah yeah this is the whole desert, miles and miles of desert The middle of Australia is all desert so people only live on the edge And there are there comedy clubs? In the middle? Like next to Uluru? Yeah the middle? Next to Uluru? Yeah, there's Captain Brian's off the hook comedy club. No, there is comedy clubs in...

Okay, so Australia comes from that Edinburgh comedy festival culture. So we have clubs. Every city has like maybe one club. But really the way comedy is consumed there is comedy festivals. So every city and state will have its own comedy festival kind of thing. So it's like a Darwin festival. And then you'll go there and do comedy there. Right.

And you hang with all the local comedians. Right. Well, no, no, no. They'll fly people in. So it'll be the same people. So you meet the same people all the time, right? All the time, yeah. And then you go and you'll be performing in like small theaters in the country. So one thing, Australia, I didn't realize this until I got here, but Americans would consider Australia extremely socialist.

So they have a lot of arts funding. The government funds a lot of arts for the country. Rural Australia has a lot of arts. America has that too. They have these theaters out there where you play an arts theater and it's like, how can they afford to pay me this to be here?

And then you see who else is playing it and stuff. You alright? You gonna make it? Yeah, I'm okay. But yeah, that's what they do.

So I've done the Melbourne Comedy Festival road show twice and that, you know, all around Australia. So I would go to country Australian towns and just perform there. So I've done the Melbourne Comedy Festival roadshow twice And that, you know, all around Australia So I would go to country Australian towns and just perform there So I've seen like country theatres, you know

Do you consider yourself an Australian? No, I'm Malaysian You're Malaysian Talk to me about Malaysian Chinese Because I know nothing about Because I know it's a little tricky, right? Yeah Politically

So can you explain for me, just like imagine I know nothing, which is exactly the truth because there's some tension, right? Between Malaysia and China. Basically, I'm third generation Chinese Malaysian. So my grandparents came from China and they settled in...

No, my grandparents' parents came from China and they settled in, no, my grandparents' parents came from China and they settled in Malaysia. Right. So Malaysia has a large Chinese diaspora. So, yeah, I mean, that's the best way I can explain it is that there's a lot of Chinese people in Malaysia. I think there's some, the racial tension, if there is any, is never on the ground.

Everyone in Malaysia is super friendly face-to-face. Right. It's always like the government is always trying to protect its majority Malay population from like minority. We'll give certain tax breaks and this is official government policy. We'll give tax breaks to the majority Malay race, they'll give school places to the majority Malay race and they always play up those tensions, you know, so that's the kind of problem. So the idea of people in administration playing up racial tension in order to further their

own agenda exists outside of the United States as well? Unfortunately it's universal, yeah. And very clear along racial lines and yeah, so, and it becomes a whole, you know, language. Do you speak Mandarin? I speak Chinese, yeah. So, Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese Chinese? I can speak both. Wow. That's, because my son speaks Mandarin.

Wow. My oldest son speaks Mandarin, which I'm. That's amazing. It is amazing because the language is so phonetically. Yes, different. It's hard for me to, I'm usually, I got pretty good ear for, different. It's hard for me to... I'm usually... I got a pretty good ear for things,

but Chinese is hard for me. Yeah, it should be. It's a completely different language family. Do you make it hard for me? Did you do it for you? Yeah, we were like, make sure these Scottish people can't say these words.

But I learned Chinese late. I learned Chinese from scratch when I was eight years old. So I know what it's like I learned Chinese from scratch When I was When I was 8 years old So I know what it's like To learn Chinese To learn it Yeah So I know how hard it is

Can you do stand up in Chinese? I've done it before But I'm not good at it I can do like 5-10 minutes in it Me and Des Do you know Des Bishop? Yeah

Yeah Des Bishop can speak Chinese What the fuck? Irish Queen's born Irish comedian Des Bishop So He went to Ireland

when he was a teenager and he started doing stand-up comedy in Ireland. And one of the things he did as an Edinburgh show was he learned Gaelic. Is it Gaelic? Yeah.

Irish. Nobody speaks Gaelic though. Yeah. So, he learned it from scratch and he did comedy in it. Wow. And so, that was his show. Right.

And then maybe Five or eight years later He said You know what I'm going to learn Chinese From scratch And do comedy in Chinese So he moved to Beijing

For two years He learnt Chinese from scratch The guy speaks I speak Chinese to him All the time That's amazing Yeah he can read and write Which is not easy

Because reading and writing There's no phonetical connection Right There's no connection Yeah And he does comedy in Chinese He has a special on YouTube in Chinese and I'm like That's crazy It's crazy

I mean it's very impressive Yes it is he doesn't get enough credit for it unfortunately That is a friend of mine Eddie Izzard Yes Eddie I was on his gala Oh you were? That's how I met Trevor Noah

Yes yes yes Certainly I've known Eddie for a very long time. She learned her act in a language that she didn't speak. Yes. And then went out and did it without knowing really. Not just that, Eddie did it in like five languages. Yeah, that's right. Spanish, Italian, French, German. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a crazy thing that Eddie did it in like five languages. Yeah, that's right. Spanish, Italian, French, German.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a crazy thing that he did. And then he ran like marathons. 25 marathons in three weeks and stuff like that. Yeah, he would run a marathon and do a comedy show in a different language. It was crazy. It was crazy. It was absolutely insane.

You know what though? Here's what I think. His mother's probably a piece of work. Do you know his mom died when he was three actually. Oh, I a piece of work do you know his mom died when he was three actually yeah his mom died

when he was very young so you know all these guys from back in the day oh yeah yeah yeah yeah I mean everybody was at Edinburgh

yes everybody was at Edinburgh I was at Edinburgh right but you were at Edinburgh I was already doing late night by the time you were

in Edinburgh but Edinburgh in the 80s was an interesting thing because I wonder, it was such a bacchanalian, it was such a heavy drinking, heavy late night thing. But it sounds like Australia, when you were coming up, it's pretty much the same deal.

Edinburgh is different. Australia was a steady drunk. Edinburgh was an intense... For three weeks drunk. Yeah, atomic bomb drunk. Which like, again, I didn't drink, so I was just observing it. But man, it was physically and mentally exhausting. I don't know what it was like back in the day, but when I went...

Yeah, no, it was not. I mean, I ended up in rehab in 92. So, yeah. But what about how commercial it was that's that's what i really want to ask you about because when i went it was it's just so you have something to contrast with yeah when i went was uh 2012 2013 2014 right and at that time it was already edinburgh festival edinburgh fringe and then in response to the commercial quote unquote commercialization of

the of the edinburgh fringe they had the free fringe right that was already going on so there was essentially three festivals happening in this one city yeah and so it was all a competition to get into the big six venues whatever that was yeah so it was like... Assembly rooms, Gilded Balloon, Underbelly, something else, something else. And then in response to that, they started the Free Fringe to start this idea. So was it like that when you started? Yeah, it was similar. I mean, there were venues that were established. The Gilded Balloon, I don't think that was there when I started. But the assembly rooms was the big one. And everyone tried to get in that. And there was this idea. I remember because I was Scottish and there was all these English

comedians used to come up and I fucking hated them. Because they weren't really comedians. They were like rich kids that went to Oxford and Cambridge and they would come up. Some of them were talented, but most of them were just fucking you know playing at it and they would come up and I would get if I got a big audience to say yes but it's a local

audience isn't it I'm like well isn't every fucking audience a local audience that's so funny that even you had your gripes

with the festival oh my god as you should because I have my gripes but I don't know whether I'm just being a bitter you know

no no no you gotta be bitter or you can't stand up. You have to have a certain amount of bitterness. It's an essential part of the recipe. The Michael Jordan chip on your shoulder. Yeah, I think you have to have a little bit of it. It's part of the savory.

Yes, yes. You know, you can't have all the savory. It gives you a bit of edge. It gives you a bit of edge. Yeah, I think so. I agree. And what makes you bitter then? I don't know if it makes me bitter.

I just got so the joke is which i did in in uh speakeasy was that the joke for me which is true is that i would go to edinburgh and try to get them to like me and then they will always give me shitty reviews and i always definitely they would give me the worst reviews and yeah and i think part of it is you know main reason is me I wasn't very good and I was still getting better starting out in comedy and two

I think there's something to in Edinburgh you know in the UK there's not a lot of context for what they would say East Asian storytelling yeah

there's a lot of context for Asian storytelling for Indian subcontinent like that kind of even I would say the British Muslim experience. Sure. I think the East Asian experience

in the UK is very, is still very unclear, you know? Do you know what? My theory is with Edinburgh Festival about bad reviews, here's what it is. Because I've gone through that and I feel exactly the fucking same.

But here's what happens. So Edinburgh is a small, sleepy town. It has one fucking local newspaper right one fucking newspaper and there's one guy on that newspaper that is even interested in comedy right that's it but during the edinburgh festival there's like 20 000 fucking stand-up shows so they have to draft on every fucking journalist they have anybody they know they can write and they all go out and write reviews of comedy. Yes, yes, yes. So if you get the guy who normally writes about owls,

right? Yes, yes. And he's reviewing you and you go, Craig Ferguson's show was very disappointing. There were no owls. Yes, yes, yes.

And they bring their fucking agenda to the review. Yes, yes, yes. Just like people on the internet do. Yes, 1,000%. You know,

and I think that what was great training for me for the internet was how shitty the reviews were in Edinburgh. Yes, 1000%. You know, and I think that what was great training for me for the internet was how shitty the reviews were in Edinburgh. Yes, yes,

yes. The people, I remember getting a bad review and I met the journalist in the bar and I was like, the fuck with you man?

The fuck with you? Because he was like, he was like, I was like, what the fucking review? It was fucking terrible. He was like, he didn't like my hair.

I was like, what the fuck has my hair got to do with that? And all that shit. And he said to me, I'll never forget this. He said, if you put your head above the parapet, you should be ready to get shot at. I said, it's not fucking war. It's not a fucking parapet.

It's just a fucking guy telling jokes right trying to trying to like why do you make everything conflict yes yes yes and i still think that about like the internet now like whenever i like the internet i think it's just like show business it's only dangerous if you take it seriously but but but but if you take it seriously you can kill you yes i agree i agree and so that's a great way to put it so what happens when what would happen to you Yes, I agree. But if you take it seriously, it can kill you. Yes, I agree. I agree. And that's a great way to put it. So what happens when, what would happen to you like, say it's 20 years from now. Where do you want to be?

Do you have a, I want to be, do you want to have kids? Do you want to get out of town? Do you want to have a farm with maybe kangaroos and shit? I'm kind of really living the dream right now. Sure, of course. So every day, every night when I can do stand-up, I'm just like, damn, I feel like I'm living in a dream world. Like when I'm at the Cellar, when I'm at Gotham,

when I'm taking the subway to Westside Comedy Club, stand-up New York. You're the real deal, man. You're living it. That's right. That's right. And I remember when I visited New York, I was like, damn, how great would it be

to be able to take a subway and do multiple spots a night, you know, and have stage time and all that. And now, like, you know, in a rare position where you can get that, you know, it's actually not that many people. Oh, no, listen, there's already 28-year-old kids that you come into the club and they're like, fuck that guy, that was my spot.

And now I'm fucking no no no I never bump them you don't know but the club will know no no I never bump I always book in

oh you do? I book in I don't bump I don't bump people I hate it when people bump me so I never bump people did you ever get bumped? yeah

one time at the cellar I got bumped by and this line up was incredible. I couldn't even. First of all, when I say I hate getting bumped, I don't even mind because whoever bumps me, I'm a fan of theirs.

This one night, I was at Cellar and man, first it was, I'm going to get the order wrong, but I'll get all the names right. Aziz came in and bumped and I was on the lineup, right? So they bumped, so meaning, okay, everyone's going to get later. And then Jon Stewart came in and bumped and I was on the lineup right so they bumped so meaning okay everyone's gonna get later and then Jon Stewart came in and bumped and and then Louis CK came in and then Amy Schumer came in Richard Pryor came back from the dead no no and then Madonna came in shut the fuck up Madonna came in and then they did a double act Madonna Amy Schumer and it the lineup made the news. Jesus.

It was like a multi-million dollar lineup. But you know, money, whatever. But it was just cool to see that. That is fun. The whole show got bumped. The whole show got bumped. That's crazy. I think Chris Rock may have jumped in. But definitely those names I said.

And so, and that was fun. That's part of being in New York. You can't see that. You can't see anywhere else. Literally the best comedy scene in the world. You know, there's so much stage time there's so much energy there's a very ready audience

that's usually very comedy savvy and they're literate and they understand yeah or at the very least there are you know

there are tourists who are here to experience what they think is a New York cultural thing comedy club yeah so you know

it's man it's a dream it's a dream but when you're going to that's what I really love about your show by the way with Edinburgh was when I watched your show

I remember thinking this has Edinburgh all over it I just stole everything from there you know the horse the robot

the thing the robot all this and you're going up close to the camera like to me Edinburgh fringe which I didn't appreciate

at the time but now i do more now it's such a response to whatever people think the mainstream should be yes you know i mean and so whatever mainstream is just do something different yeah it was punk rock it was yeah and that's what it was it was right and that's i could see that sensibility in the show you know and i think that's something that like i I think Americans didn't, they understood they were watching something a little alternative, but like, I knew the roots of this. I was like, I've seen this. In Edinburgh, we do this all the time. I did a talk show in Edinburgh where someone pierced their mouth with a needle

and made out with someone in the crowd. Like, you know, and I don't come from that. So for me it was, cause Singapore's as straight laced as you can get. Do you, do you enjoy gum now? Do you, do you, do you take gum now? Do you have a lot of gum? Yeah, I'm addicted. Yeah, non-stop. Every moment, I get itches. I wish you well. I'm so glad you came in

and talked to me. I am a fan of yours. I think you're a great stand-up. I think you're just going to get better and better and better. By the way, although I'm just watching you, I'm like,

you look to me like someone at the peak of their powers and it's amazing. Oh, thank you, thank you. Hopefully, I'll get better. I'm trying to get better. Try and get better, Ronnie, because really, it's amazing oh thank you thank you hopefully i'll get better yeah trying to get better still trying to try and get better because because really it's it's a little poor right now no it's it's terrific and and i wish you well uh and uh speak to you

yeah thanks so much take it easy man very nice to meet you I'm Angie Martinez. And on my podcast, I like to talk to everyone from Hall of Fame athletes to iconic musicians about getting real on some of the complications and challenges of real life. I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience. And that's all I want for my kids as long as they can have that. Listen to Angie Martinez IRL on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I am Lacey Lamar. And I'm also Lacey Lamar. Just kidding. I'm Amber Revin. Okay, everybody, we have exciting news to share. We're back with season two of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's

Big Money Players Network. This season, we make new friends, deep dive into my steamy DMs, answer your listener questions, and more. The more is punch each other. Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen, okay? Or Lacey gets it. Do it.

For 10 years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. We were all facing 20 years and all that good stuff. and roll history. We were all facing 20 years and all that good stuff. The lead singer tried to pull off an English accent and they went on the road as the zombies. These guys are not going to get away with it. The zombies are too popular.

Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.