Tosh Show - My Opera Singer - Danielle Bond

Episode Date: April 1, 2025

Daniel duets with mezzo soprano Danielle Bond as she belts out stories about growing up in New Jersey, studying musical theater, and performing in German castles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does an opera have to be in a foreign language or can it be in English so Americans can understand why they hate it? Hello welcome to Tosh show i'm daniel tosh and with me as always is eddie gosling April fools And he's not here okay, he's in Florida visiting his father in the hospital the jokes on you guys Now he's been a good son taking care of his dad we wish them all well and I'll be back next week. By the way, if ever there were a time to talk shit about Eddie, now would be the time. Yeah.

You know, he's not here to defend himself. Well, let's go. What's your biggest complaint of Eddie? I'll start. Okay. I don't think he's a good husband. April fools. Is that how it works? You just say lies and then just April fools.

Hey, speaking of which, I always put my foot in my mouth. I mean, just, it's just a thing I do. When I talk to people, I'll say such random things out of nowhere. And then I find myself just constantly in horrible situations. Well, this happened recently. I went on this rant about this person that was, was bothering me. And the guy that I was ranting to out of nowhere just stops me and goes hey Just you're gonna feel bad about this, but you shouldn't

Because you have no idea yet you had no idea but the person that you're talking about is my brother and I was like, oh I Did not know that But then I didn't stop I Oh, I did not know that. But then I didn't stop. I just piled on a little bit because I felt like if I stopped at that point, I wasn't gonna make my point. I had to continue on a little farther.

Listen, it was awkward. Did they agree? Yes. Okay. No, no, they agreed, but they were like, there's a lot of things contributing to why his brother acts that way. Just the fact that I didn't know,

I just thought I was talking about a random person. Next thing I know, it's like the guy's asking my brother. I'm like, oh, okay. Well, this is why I don't go to parties. Do you feel differently now? No, no, no, the person's horrible. Okay, no. The person's horrible. Okay, anyway, hey, you know how when you have children and people always like say, oh you'll

feel different about that when you have kids? And for the most part none of that is true. Recently I was watching John Wick 4 with my daughter. She loves it before bedtime. You know, just a quick three hours of screen time. Lots of violence, it helps a two year old through the night. I was affected by this movie in a way I never thought I would be affected by a movie. You know, like people have kids and they say, oh, you know, you hear a tragic story about another child

and it just affects me so much now that I have kids. That never does. That never affects me. I'm always like, whatever, that's your problem. I'm glad that didn't happen to me and my family. But now, when I watch a movie like John Wick 4, where he just goes around killing people in the movie, I get affected by it in a different way. just goes around killing people in the movie, I get affected by it in a different way. These nobodies that aren't crucial to the story, they're almost like extras that just get shot

and killed right away. I'm like, oh my goodness, that was somebody's son. A mom and dad, they raised that kid and went through so many things. And then, I mean, all the sacrifices that they made for this child, for him to storm John Wick way too quickly in a room and just get fucking shot and dead. I'm like, what an idiot.

By the way, John Wick four, is he dead at the end? I don't even know. I just watched it, guys. At the end of the movie, he dies, or you think he dies, but you don't actually see his body. And then you see a tombstone. He's not dead. Oh, so there's gonna be a John Wick 5?

That'll be exciting. Anyway, John Wick 4 was like, it was beautiful. That whole movie was beautiful. The locations were beautiful. Long. It's long, it's like an opera. Yeah. You ever been to an opera? I have.

I think the reason that I've never been to an opera is because I know that it's long, I know that I won't understand any of it, and then there's just tons and tons of strangers surrounding me. Oh, and I also have to dress really nice. That is a triggering scenario for the old IBS. You're shitting it in opera house.

I'm, I'm, I'm guessing that the opera houses have nice bathrooms. But what if I don't have an aisle seat? Yeah. The good news for me is I don't have to go to the opera. The opera is coming to me. Enjoy. Today's episode will be about the life of an opera singer. The story follows the love affair between a woman and her desire to sing between the notes of

middle C and D5, performing in the role of my guest whose voice might make you weep, please welcome mezzo soprano opera singer Danielle. Hello. First, mezzo soprano. What is that? It's basically a mezzo is kind of between the high soprano and then the lower range of the voice of an alto, yeah. Is it the most prestigious? It is not, but it is the cooler of all the voice types.

Like you get to be the witch, the bitch, and the pants basically. So you get to be like more of a fun, dark colored voice. So you get to also get the fun, dark, colored. I like the witch, the bitch, and the pants. Yeah. I've never said that in my life, but I know that I will from this day forward.

Exactly, be a mezzo. Oh man, do you believe in ghosts? No, however, I- You don't have to talk after that. Just saying no. All right, let's hear this however. to talk after that. Just say no. All right, let's hear this however. I understand why people could believe in them. Sure, I can understand that.

Yeah, like there's energy and like you can walk into a room and it feels amazing or it feels really awful and that's like, it's just like energy. So I get that. And then also like brains do stuff, so. I understand why half the country voted for Trump. Doesn't mean I accept it. Mm.

No disrespect to your peers, but are you small for an opera singer? Oh, no, no. I mean, I think that- Is that just something that we were always taught because of looning tunes? Yeah. I mean, the good thing about if you're a little heavier

is like you've got like a different center of gravity and like the space for your resonators is like slightly larger, but no, it's otherwise a myth. If I wanna start just practicing the opera, give me some pointers to how I can, just around the house. Just make fun of opera singers, like that's the best place to start.

And I also think I have to make fun of like a language that I don't really speak. Oh, solo mio. Oh, solo mio. You did it! Bravo! You're from the armpit of America. We talk in North or South Jersey. North, we smell sweet in that pit.

Say coffee talk. Coffee talk. I don't know, I don't have the big accent. Did you ever? No, no. The only word that I can't really say is like orange or draw. Like people, like the address or draw. I can't say that.

Yeah, that's pretty bad. That's my only accent accent. You still go back to Jersey ever? Yeah, yeah. You have family there still? Mm-hmm, it. Yeah, that's pretty bad. Yeah, that's my only accent accent. You still go back to Jersey ever? Yeah, yeah. You have family there still? Mm-hmm, yeah, so. Tony Soprano, did that speak to you as a young child? It makes me a little nostalgic, surprisingly.

I grew up in a town where it was very similar to the town that they lived in. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's all I can say. Fine, are you Italian? No, I'm French and Irish and English and German. Ah, I'm in that world too, I think. I'm French, Irish, German, something like that.

I never could understand it. Talk about your childhood in New Jersey. What was it like living in that hell hole? I loved it. The Jersey Devil is a very good leader of hell, I guess. I don't know. I love Jersey. It was a beautiful place to live. We were super close to the city.

And we also had the countryside. I used to go horseback riding. It was idyllic. I hate Atlantic City. Yeah, no. Why would you go there? Isn't it weird that it didn't work? That like, oh, we're gonna have another little like Vegas,

a smaller one here on the East Coast. In theory, you think, oh, of course this country would relish in. Yeah, and right by the beach. No. Doesn't work. No, it doesn't. No, I mean, no. If they wanna have me back, I'm sure I'd love to do a show there.

You went to college at Indiana University, and then you transferred to Arizona State. You probably don't know, yeah, you probably do. You know that I was in the NACA Hall of Fame. That is just a big deal. No, I've performed at thousands of colleges. Indiana University, I believe, if you're there at the right time,

which I'm gonna say mid-April, is the most beautiful campus I've ever stepped foot on. It's gorgeous there. Like, I mean, if you're talking about, oh, I wanna know what, if you fantasize what a cool college experience would look like, it's that campus. But then you like go to ASU and then you're like,

I just walked onto the set of Clueless. It was like very, yeah. Now ASU, the slots at ASU, that's exciting. I mean, yeah. Rage Castle. Oh, Rage Castle. Did you ever party at Rage Castle? No.

At ASU? Oh my God, Rage Castle. No, we have no idea what we're talking about. We went there one time and a bunch of the people and my crew went to a place called Rage Castle. It was embarrassing. Which did you like better? Which experience was better for you? Indiana University or ASU? Yeah, I would say ASU is better.

Like as a vocal performance major, Indiana was really great for people who were like in their master's program, but for undergrad, it just wasn't enough for me. Yeah. How did you get into the opera? So I was a music theater kid and I always wanted to sing.

My family, they do not really love music. My mom like actively did not like music for a very long time and now she's like really trying. So they like wouldn't play music in the house and stuff like that? My mom would play Julio Iglesias and that's it. That is sexy. I mean, I understand.

I understand the Julio, but like that was it and I would like be practicing on the piano. I like- You had a piano though. I did. Speaking of Atlantic City and gambling, I was able to win like, I think it was like $1,200 on a cruise ship

when I was nine years old. Okay, this doesn't- International waters, like there are no rules. Maritime law. Maritime law, I believe in it. So anyway, so I was like, dad, can I pull a slot? And I put in a quarter and out came $1,200.

And I'm like, no, we can buy me a piano. That was- You're talking about one pole. You had one pole with a quarter and you got $1,200. Yeah. Imagine if you would have played the bonus, the max amount per that slot. I was nine, I did not know about that.

You messed up, you messed up. You probably left a huge jackpot on the table. Seriously. Anyway, so you said I'm gonna buy a piano with 1200 bucks. Yeah, and like, I think, preemie dolls or something like that for my sister and me. The fact that your dad let you have the money is pretty good,

because I'm guessing that wasn't your quarter. No, no, no, no, it was my dad's quarter, yeah. Good father. I know, he is, yeah, he's a good father. But yeah, so I bought a piano, and I bought the preemie dolls and I gave $200 to the church because I always really wanted to tithe.

I was Catholic. Yeah, I was like super proud and my parents were like, "'Tell Father Carl how you got the money.'" Yeah, it was ridiculous. Give you that $200 back. Ah, it's okay. That was so rude. I'm just gonna donate it to the Catholic. No, I won I'm just gonna donate it to the Catholic, no I won't.

Don't give it to the Catholic Church. I won't. Are you still big into the Catholic Church? Mm-mm. No, no. I like the ritual. I think the ritual is cool, you know? Which one?

All of it. I like going to a thing and doing, like having something super meditative like that. If you go and you do rituals, it's very meditative. The Catholic Church actually scares me. The outside of it, inside and chants. Yeah. Oh, the chants are my favorite part.

Ha ha ha ha. Do you belt out the chants so people are like, oh, there she is, there's Danielle. I'm obnoxious. If I have to go to a Catholic church, I'm going to sing. I'm going to make everybody else around me be like, what? And I'll be like, turn to page 375 or whatever it is. Yeah, I love singing.

Well, I get it. Yeah. All right. Did you know how to play the piano before you bought one? Yeah, yeah. I had been begging for lessons. I was that nerd kid that was like, if I do this, can I have piano lessons or voice lessons? And yeah, so I always wanted to be a musician.

Dream child right here. Well, not for my parents, because my mom would be like, stop practicing, or she'd be like, stop playing it over. Stop practicing. Because she'd be like, you're playing the same thing over and over again. I'm like, it's called practicing. Holy cow it over and over again. Because she'd be like, you're playing the same thing over and over again. I'm like, it's called practicing. Holy cow.

Yeah, yeah. Did she have you when she was 16 or something? No. My son practices all the time. He's playing on the piano. He's five and I can kind of make out the greatest showman song that he's playing, Rewrite the Stars and I literally just like get teary-eyed. I just almost got teary-eyed for you.

That's beautiful. It's the best thing in the world. Meanwhile, your mom's just screaming at you to knock it off. Stop singing so high. Yeah, she, yeah. Stop singing so high. And that's why I'm a mezzo. Okay, get me from that to being an opera singer.

Okay, so then I really was focused on music theater. I went to college. When you study Okay, so then I really was focused on music theater. I went to college. When you study voice, you always study classical voice because it's the healthiest position for your voice to be in. And then you kind of learn how to do music theater and things like that. So I was pretty much studying classically, but with the idea that I do music theater.

My last performance in college was The Coronation of Poppaea, which is the second opera ever written. And it is gorgeous and fun. And I got to act, sing and dance and also learn history. I am, as I said, a nerd and like, I love history. So it just felt like I could research so much, I could really get into these characters and I loved it.

I loved it. It just felt very holistic to me and that's when I... This was, was this at ASU? Yes, that was my final semester of ASU. And so that was it? I was, yeah, I was definitely hooked. I wasn't great at singing classical music at that point and it took me a while to do it,

but it was just, you know when you like feel that passion for something and you're like, mm-hmm, yes, like you don't have any other choice but to pursue. You said this was the second, the one that you performed was the second opera ever written. How many operas have been written? It's infinite, right? Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, I don't know the answer.

Have you ever written your own opera? No, there's one that I think I will eventually write. By the way, I'm gonna ask a ton of dumb questions that don't make any sense. When a popular opera tours, can a director, are they allowed to take any liberties and change the songs? Oh, no.

Or tweak them? Mm, sometimes people will rewrite them, but operas typically don't tour. Every once in a while, there'll be a certain thing where, like, I did a tour in Germany, for example, where we would take a couple of operas to various historical locations and perform them there. But no, like, you really don't touch it mostly.

You might edit within it, so you might like cut a scene for time's sake or whatever. But pretty much traditionally you're gonna do what the composer wrote. How long is a standard opera? About three hours. That's too long. But it's fun.

You get intermissions. How many intermissions? Usually two. You get two intermissions and it's like a spectacle. I get it. But now you're talking, is that three hours with the intermission? Yeah, usually.

We try to, like nowadays we keep it short, but like imagine like back back in the days before TV and you would only go out once every month or so. I refuse to think about life. Yeah, I do. There's no reason to. And also, okay, so this is funny. A lot of operas, especially in France,

were written with the idea that people would go to the opera and the ballet dancers would do a ballet, but then the gentlemen that were there for the ballet would go and canoodle with the ballerinas. Bang ballerinas. I had no idea. You might be an opera guy. I'm an opera guy.

I love the opera. What language would, in your opinion, is the ugliest sounding for the opera? I don't know, I have not come across that yet. Let's go your preference. I sing a lot of French opera, which I think is wonderful. Oh, that's beautiful. It's gorgeous.

That's my favorite language to sing in other than Russian. Don't say it, not in this podcast. I know, I know. Don't you go canoodling with Putin here. Oh no, no, canoodling with Putin, but my God, Russian music is so gorgeous. Can you speak these languages or do you just memorize the song and can sing in all these languages?

I speak some of a few of the languages like French, Italian, German, but then Russian I can barely speak, but also like a lot of it is pre-revolutionary. So I would sound like I was speaking Shakespearean English if I was actually to speak in the same, you know, words as... But you can just memorize the song in any language? Yeah, there's like helpful ways like you can, you know, read the IPA. So that way your pronunciation is really good and specific.

And then you just memorize the words and the feelings behind them. So talented. I can't learn the words of a Gracie Abrams song. Like I listen to these songs over and over and my son will sing them verbatim. I think when you can't sing, for some reason, you just can't learn the words to songs. That's my theory. I learned a lot of the wrong words to songs, especially if learn the words to songs. That's my theory. I learned a lot of the wrong words to songs, especially if they're like pop songs. Like, yeah.

One, it's more fun. Like, if you don't need to know them, like make them your own. You like singing in German? Yeah, I do. It's beautiful. I mean, if the music is gorgeous, everything is gonna be great.

But my favorite thing about singing in German is like when you're holding a really long note and you're like, I can't hold this any longer, they have such good like endings to the words that a lot of times I'll be like, dirist. And it sounds like I sang longer than I really did. So you just like put the consonant on the end

and you're like, I just sang super long. How often are you singing, like really belting out, every day? I should be, but no. You should? I should, yeah. You should be singing pretty much every day. Like an hour? How long do you sing?

But I'll spend maybe 15 minutes on it, but if I'm working on a role, then I don't really spend time singing, singing. If I'm preparing something, I will literally be doing a few measures at a time and refining that measure. So I might work for two hours on that, but it's not like belting out a song. Run me through some warmup exercises.

Should I do these before every episode? Ooh, okay. Okay. Yeah, so when I start warming up, I actually don't really like sing-sing. I do more like, this is actually really great for voice actors. You can tell a dramatic story,

but with your mouth closed like a blowfish. So also you look ridiculous. So it goes, wadadad you into like a better resonating placement, and it drops your larynx down. So it's really healthy for your voice. And the reason why you want to tell a dramatic story is so that way you get pitch range. Quick little tip. I think it's great.

Blowfish. I had a really bad sore throat for about 12 years from performing. And then I would go see my ENT guy, and they would give me these exercises like every night, I want you just to spend like five minutes talking like this way. And I never did it.

And I was like, you know what? I'll just have a sore throat. You know what? If it gives you a little bit of color. I just was like, I know what, I'll just have a sore throat. You know what, if it gives you a little bit of color, yeah. I just was like, I'm not gonna do these things. When I see actors and musicians doing those things, I'm just in awe of how fearless they are. I think that's why I was never a good actor,

because I would watch people audition and they would be practicing in the hallway. And that would always just mortify me. I was like, oh, what are they doing? Don't do that. I know, yeah, it's weird to like practice in public, but I've, I catch myself like singing and you know, like as I'm walking down the street and stuff.

And I'm like, well, whatever. How long can you hold your breath? I don't know. My friend got into like free diving, but like now I'm like, I need to do those exercises. Yeah, I can't hold your breath? I don't know. My friend got into like free diving, but like now I'm like, I need to do those exercises. Yeah, I can't hold my breath that long. I try. Singing isn't about holding your breath though.

It's like about releasing air, but it's not like you don't hold it. I gotta try. I gotta try it in standup, see how long I can hold a joke. Yeah. Just let it rip. Opera house versus a theater. They're different, yes?

Somewhat, I think that an opera house is built for the acoustics, but can be used for general theater as well. You know, and that's why like you might end up having some microphones in places because they're not really set up acoustically for opera. That's cheating though, right? Total cheating.

Cheating to have a microphone. I've done it before. You ever done that, Eddie, where you're at a show and they're like, the microphone doesn't work for whatever reason, and you're like, I'm just gonna go for it? No. I have done it. Have you really?

I've done a college where I was like, all right, this isn't worth it. Here I go. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna rip the voice, but I'm gonna project. I did have my microphone turned off during a gig at the airport. I did, I had my microphone turned off

doing a show in Mormon land in Utah once when I was younger. They said that'll be enough. That'll be enough. The college was like, yep, nope, we're not gonna have. Oh no. And I'll be honest with you, I was working under the rules that they had given me, at least in my head I was.

Because this was a, I was very handcuffed. But when people told me what rules were before I did the show and I accepted the gig, I would, I agreed to it. So I would like, oh, I'll give this a shot. Let's see how funny I am without talking about anything. But sure enough, they were like, no, no, that's it, you're done.

You had to do the soda joke. You just had to. I didn't even do a soda joke. I don't know what I was talking about. I remember just kind of awkwardly walking off stage and like, am I going to get paid? I got paid. Okay. All right. Favorite outdoor venue that you've performed at? Schloss Braunfels. Oh, it's beautiful.

It's so gorgeous there. What is it? It's a castle in Germany in the Rhine area. The Count and the Countess still live there and they had us to dinner and they were super obsessed with dentists. What? Yeah, it was very funny.

They kept asking about our dentists. They were crazy and wonderful. They were great people. I swear I was born right off the Rhine River in Germany. Really? Uh-huh. Oh, that's so cool. What town? Bopard? I don't know Germany. Wait, really? Uh-huh. Oh, that's so cool, what town? Bopard?

I don't know it. Yeah. Why would you? Yeah. But if you Wikipedia Bopard, it says like whatever, notable people from there. And I think I'm like number two and somebody else like a mathematician from the 1500s.

Whoa, that was a span of time that they just were not producing. God damn it, Bopard had a dry spell. Seriously. Have you ever performed in Italy? No, I have not. Is that the dream for operas or no? Yeah, I think like a lot of American opera singers,

the dream is to sing at the Met. But for me, my dream was to sing in like all of the major cathedrals of Europe, that's what I wanted at one point. But now I just really love working on new music. Like that's the thing that I'm the most interested in is working with new composers that are creating things that are gonna be relevant for a modern audience. How's the breakdown of the money work for an opera?

Who's pulling in the real money? Is it always just the opera singer? Is it, you know, where's the orchestra at? I mean how much is this? It's so expensive. That's what I'm wondering because like I perform at a show, I show up there's a microphone. I gotta throw Eddie some scratch but other than that, yeah, it's pretty much that's it. You guys have such a production. Oh, it is crazy. So it's so expensive and that's why,

especially in America, like you only get a few performances even at like the big houses. I sing with LA Opera often and we do six performances of a production. And like you train for like years on a roll and you're like, okay, done. What are tickets? What are tickets called? a good seat in that house

that's face value, what's that ticket cost? Somewhere around 250 or something like that. Something around there for like a really good one. What's that Opera House seat? I think it's around 2000 some odd. So it's like, because Opera isn't like the most highly attended thing, you need to get as many people into the seats as possible.

In this country. In this country, yeah. If you go to other countries, like in Germany, they have, pretty much every major city has an opera house, and they have full-time people at each of those houses. But in America, like, you get contracted per performance, per production, but in America, like, you get contracted per performance, per production, I should say, and then, and all the musicians too, like, you know, the instrumentalists,

all of the singers, and then sometimes, like, there's full-time crew, but that's pretty much it. What's the difference between an opera and a musical? Like, true operas always use a live orchestra? In my book they always do. I feel like opera technically is a story that is fully sung is how I've heard a lot of people define it but I also think that it has something to do with like the vocal mechanism and the production of it where you really have a certain way that you are projecting your voice

and utilizing your voice that can be carried over an audience. By the way, why are operas so goddamn depressing? They're not. Like, like, the, I feel- I mean, everybody dies, but other than that- Right, that's what I mean. Like the death, the weeping, the sorrow, the angst,

all of that, that just has to be the story that's that's told. There's no, there's no, is there comedy opera? Yes. Okay, I gotta go see a comedy opera. So there's this one company, they do English translations of operas, but they have like, it's basically a Mario Brothers meets Zelda production of the Magic Flute and it maps perfectly, it's hysterical. That one is great and then they do like a Star Trek themed abduction from the Seraglio and it's amazing. I mean, do you have to be so in the know to appreciate it or can?

If you've ever played any Nintendo games. I thought I meant in the know with opera. God no, no, no, no, no, no. Like it's one of the most accessible things that you've ever played any Nintendo games. I thought I meant in the know with opera. God no, no, no, no, no, no. Like it's one of the most accessible things that I've ever seen. Both of those productions are just so much fun. Can you yodel? No, I've tried.

I mean like, I've tried to learn and I need to focus on it. Cause it is... Why, why, why, why? No one needs to learn to yodel. No, no, no, no, no. It's like, it's good for you. Like to experiment with your voice like that. That's like's like, it's good for you. Like to, to experiment with your voice like that.

That's like vocal health. It's good for you. And also like. What about scat? You know how to scat? I wanna be, yeah, I can do it a little bit, but I can't do it now. Ha ha ha!

I'm not gonna ask you to scat. Come on, Daniel, give the people what they want. Sabo lile! Very well done. Mm-hmm, that's just what's her name from, from Sex and the City. Kim Cattrall. There's an old viral video of her scatting with her husband who plays the upright bass.

Nice. And she's very humiliating. It's the worst video, but it's enjoyable. Stop, it's a rat! You had to sign a nine-page NDA to perform for Beyonce. Was that because Diddy was there? Oh, God. No, I didn't even get to, I didn't meet her.

I just did like a prerecord for the Grammy performance that she did in 2017 as the opera singer. But yeah, it was intense. Like that was, I was like, oh my God. And you know, I was like, I wanted to tell people to watch and see. But you were scared. I was like terrified.

That they were gonna come for you because. Seriously. Oh. Well no, I take it seriously. Like I understand why somebody at that level has to have privacy and stuff. So, but I was like, no, I can never tell anybody. And they're like, it's aired, it's okay.

I'm like, oh. Oh. Oh. What modern pop singers do you go, oh, their voice is pretty legit? Ariana Grande. Oh my God, her performance on SNL, that was insane. I know she's good, but she is, I believe she is a robot.

Like I don't believe she's actually a person. It's just so at all times aversion that I'm like, man, I believe you. Yeah. You know who else's voice I love is Dave Grohl? I love his voice and I know that that's like. Why did you bring him up after what he did to you?

But put his wife through right now. Really? Yeah. I don't know, I am like not a good fan. I like don't know anything about stuff. I only know this because I don't know, maybe my phone thinks I want to know about Dave Grohl's sex life,

but he just fathered a child outside of his long marriage. Oh, sorry, Dave Grohl's wife, I'm sorry. You like his voice. I love it because he just expresses himself really, like fully, and that's what I would love to, like his level of commitment when he plays or sings is what I would love to be able to do with myself. When I see or watch him sing,

I'm like, I could do that for maybe 30 minutes once before my throat is gone forever. No, it's like, because it comes from him. Like, it's just like. You're from him. Like it's just like, You're justifying why he cheated on his wife. Yes, because it's just like, no. Oh, it's too much. It's too much music inside of him.

Are you crazy protective of your voice? Not as protective as I probably should be, but yeah, like you have to be really mindful if you're in performance. But again, like that's why you just do it regularly so that way you keep yourself as healthy as possible. But if I'm doing a big show, obviously, yeah. Do you get sick often?

Not really anymore. I gave myself bronchitis the other week by inhaling lime dust accidentally, so. Lime dust? Yeah, I was like moving, like the contractors had left a bag of lime dust and I was like, what's this? And my friend who's helping me get organized

was like, put a mask on and I was like, you're right. And then I threw it into the garbage and- I thought you were gonna snort it. You're like, what's this? And your friend's like, you know what to do. I mean. You just bought a house? Mm-hmm. Congratulations.

Thank you. It's so terrifying, but also such a great feeling too. Yeah, it really is. Are you on the market? Is there a Mr. Bond? Oh no, I am on the market, yes. If you have recommendations. I refuse to like do the dating apps right now,

I just cannot, so yeah. I'm just gonna, this is my dating app, I guess. My experience, I went off the market before dating apps right now, I just cannot. So yeah, I'm just gonna, this is my dating app, I guess. My experience, I went off the market before dating apps, but I have my wife's cousin who always, she'll have the dating apps on, and then I'll talk to her like a day later, and she'll be like, they're all deleted, they're all, and just furious.

And then she has to like reinstate all of them six months down the road, but she's like, reinstate all of them six months down the road. But she's like, no, all of them, they're gone. They're not on my phone. Because I would take them and I would do the swiping for her. Oh, that's good. Because she's not capable of picking the right person.

Yeah. Yeah, all right, so you're on the market, but you're not on the apps. Correct. Okay. I'm just being a little lazy right now. That's fine. That's fine. Listen, you got house projects. I got a lot to do. Oh man. But yeah, but like. What's the biggest house project you're working lazy right now. That's fine. Listen, you got house projects. I got a lot to do.

Oh man. But yeah, but like. What's the biggest house project you're working on right now? Getting the electrical to not spark. So yeah, just. The whole house? Yeah, like they said everything was new.

Did you get a homeowners inspection? Yes, I know. A shitty one. A shitty one, yeah. And then like, it's a whole thing. Like they, the disclosures were not accurate and la la la la la la. So anyway, I have an electrician coming tomorrow

and I get to spend tons of money. But I was like, yeah. Yeah, but you'll get all that money back. I hope, yeah. No, you will. It'll all work out. I'm a big fan of home buying. I think it's fun. You know what? I love it. And I never thought that I would be able to afford my neighborhood.

And I'm like, I did it. Have you informed the neighbors of your little profession? No. But, okay, this is a huge benefit to me. I'm sure it'd be super annoying to other people. Every Friday night, there's a mariachi band that rehearses in the backyard of my next door neighbor's house. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that would be annoying to everyone. No, it is like a free concert.

It's only for like a couple of hours. If you wanted to go to a mariachi concert every week. Every night, every Friday night. I love it. I love it I think it's the greatest and like they're not like a great band or like anything like that But they're like they've got your cell in yeah I think you actually have an out on your home if you wanted to get out of the purchase I think I should have been disclosed. Oh, this is, if you- That's way worse than somebody dying in your bathroom.

No. You need to know if there's a mariachi band performing that's not even a good mariachi band every week. And they're good, they're good. Well, okay, now I know that you just bought a home, but prior to that, when you were living in an apartment, I mean, your neighbors, were they annoyed? Were they like, think it's, oh, it's beautiful,

so it's okay? Well, so they, it's interesting. Like I always would give like a card and be like, hey, I'm your next door neighbor now, and here's my card if you ever just wanna call me and tell me to shut up because- You can't, that's dangerous though. Yeah, but like-

Trust these people. I don't know. Like, you know, you've gotta be kind to your neighbors. Did they ever complain? No, they would request certain songs a lot. So I'm like, I don't sing songs You know, you've got to be kind to your neighbors. Did they ever complain? No, they would request certain songs a lot. And so I'm like, I know the same songs. Yeah, so, and it was sweet. Like, I lived upstairs in this apartment building

with like the greatest landlords, the greatest neighbors. They were so sweet. And this woman was in the downstairs apartment and she would always request Ave Maria and she would always want certain songs, but she was passing away. And so her daughters were like, will you come and sing to mom?

And I was like, absolutely. And so I sang to her the night that she passed and I sang at her wake. It was really beautiful and meaningful. And then I asked my landlords, I'm like, can I get her apartment? Cause it's bigger. And so I was like New can I get her apartment? Cause it's bigger. And so I was like New York about it.

I like slid in there. That's weird that you were a part of her death and then immediately took her apartment. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. By the way, I got you. I always get people a gift.

It's just, I just take something from my house and I give them something as much. So you, I couldn't, I was like, oh, the only thing I could find, I don't drink tea and I have this in my house. So I was like, oh, give her this for her voice. Thank you. It's kind of cute so you can keep that. That's cute.

There you go. It's like the very, do you just like getting rid of things in your house? Uh-huh. Does your wife agree with this method of? No, I mean, she doesn't, I don't ask her. I'm gonna need you to put that on the floor. I'm sorry. But you'll like it.

I think you'll love that. I'm delighted. Do you drink tea? I do. Is that any good? I don't know. I haven't tried this yet. Well, do you know the brand at all or no?

No, I don't know them. All right. Can someone really shatter a glass when hitting a high C or is that bullshit? I's, I mean, like you could like hold a glass and be like crack it, but yeah, no. It's like the frequency of glass is supposedly the same frequency and then that could shatter it. What if it's like the thinnest piece of glass, you know?

I mean, maybe, I think it actually can be done, but the human voice, like, even if you're not singing like opera opera, it vibrates between frequencies, and that's why we connect with it as much as we do. So like it has that vibrato in it, like where, if I go, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la that's vibrato, and so it's constantly oscillating between the pitch frequencies to get that little vibrato. So I don't think that it wouldn't sustain a C

on a straight tone for long enough to break. What about your new house? How about in one of the bathrooms, just as kind of a joke and Easter egg for people, you have the window in the bathroom by the shower shattered. Oh, that would be, that's a great joke. I like that. People are like, oh my goodness.

I should just like, for April Fool's Day, just crack all of my windows. Well, that seems like you went a little too far. Well, okay, fine. Name the greatest opera singer of all time. Is there a clear pick for most people? Do most people agree on this or no? No.

It's a personal preference. It's a personal preference. It's a personal preference, yeah. I mean, like, Pavarotti is probably like the most. Do you have to say it like that? To be Pavarotti? You have to do it like that? Yeah, Pavarotti. I can do my part.

Pavarotti, it's so good. Jersey, I can't even do a Jersey accent right now. Yeah, but he's like one of the most highly valued singers and whatnot, but like Maria Callas for other reasons. But I don't know, like I think it's gotta be what's connecting you. I feel like Joyce DiDinato is like the person that, for me, is the exemplary of the way that I love performing

and I love experiencing opera, so she's my favorite. And a gorgeous voice, stunning. Do you remember that the Pope in 1903 banned boys from being castrated so that they could- Remember it like it was yesterday, 1903. What? Did you know this bit of history? Well, I knew that they stopped castration,

but I didn't know it was the Pope that did that. Pope is the one that made it official. That like, we are gonna stop you guys castrating these boys so that they continue to sing. Do children still sing in the opera? Yeah, mm-hmm. That's common? I didn't even know that.

Well, it's not like common, common, but there'll be like a children's chorus for something and a lot of those castrati parts, so there used to be. Castrati. Castrati, of people that were castrated. They're called the Castrati Boys. The Castrati Boys.

Hey, the Castrati Boys are here. Hey, look who it is. That is a Castrati Boy. Why don't you sing that high note for us? Put an extra pie in, the Castrati Boys. No, they were like totally, I don't know, they were, I guess very sexually desirable. But anyway. Of course.

I mean, so a lot of those voices that would sing in the early operas are the roles that I would do because they're like kind of the higher placement of the male voice. You've taken over. I've taken the castrati by the balls. The child labor, like that's good, good for you. Thanks. You've taken over. I've taken the constructions by the balls.

The child labor, that's good, good for you. Thanks. You're doing God's work. I really am. When can we watch you live perform next? I'm gonna be in Aina Damar at LA Opera, it's in Spanish, so. That's fine.

It's fun. I can probably do my little translate thing on my phone, can people hold that up? No, no, no, you get a translation right above the stage. That's beautiful. Yeah, and it's gorgeous. It's one of my favorite operas and so I'm very pumped about it. And when is that?

April. April. Yep. All right, Danielle, thank you for being on the show. Thank you. Okay. Thank you for being on the show. Thank you. OK. Thank you, Danielle. Thank you, Danielle. Thank you, Danielle, for being on our show.

Thank you, Carl, for sitting across from me right now. That's fun, right? Carl, we gotta go to the opera. You know how to sing? Oh, oh, can you sing for me? Oh, you know how to sing? Sing for me sing no go all right let's do some plugs then. We got ToshShowStore.com.

Get yourself some merch. Come see us do stand-up comedy. You got Eddie's tour. You got me on tour. Guys, make sure you come see me this weekend in New York City. Big shows. You ready to do the free plug? Let's hit the music. Whoa. You ready to do the free plug? Let's hit the music Sorry about them free plug, okay This free plug is is for Rivian Rivian Originally founded in Florida. I believe and their headquarters is in Orange County here in California. Ah Now you might think oh, you're just doing this free plug

So you can get a free Rivian. No, I own two Rivians. I have an R 1t and an r1s. I have the SUV and the pickup truck Okay, and and you're probably well, you don't reason you're doing a free plug to Rivian is because you want a vehicle, pun intended, to shit on Elon Musk. Ah, you caught me. Alright, let's do it. Let's shit on Elon for a second. Because I love hearing people say, oh, these liberals, the ones that loved Elon Musk, are now the ones that hate him. It just shows how stupid they are. Mm, you miss with me on that one, okay?

You know, people talk about liking a band before they were famous, and that's never me. I'm always the guy that like, oh, I buy their next album and it's garbage. I'm never on the cutting edge of music. But Elon Musk, Tesla, I always hated it. Never owned a Tesla, always hated Elon Musk. I was like, this guy fucking rubs me the wrong way.

Just a gut feeling from the day he became a person that we had to know about. I was like, I fucking hate him. Ah! And I was never into it. And then the Rivian guys came along and I'm like, well, I want a pickup truck anyway. Boom, give them a thousand bucks deposit

I'll get this cool pickup truck back in 2014 or something Lord knows that took six years longer than it was supposed to but whatever then I got my truck and I'm like, I love it I love my truck So good. Nah Anyway, well really Rivian's on a mission to keep the world adventurous. It's an American electric vehicle founded in 2009. They found a more responsible way to explore the world and are determined to make the

transition to sustainable transportation an exciting one. Well, I will give you a few complaints. One, they definitely advertised tank turns and then disabled the ability for the truck to do it. So I would like them to release the software so that I can do tank turns in my truck and know that I will do it in a responsible area. Not gonna be destroying the environment. But don't sell me on tank turns and then I get my truck and you're like, oh no, it turns out we can't do them. So I'm giving you this free plug, but I'm a little angry now that I think about it.

Anyway, they got a new one, the new R2, smaller SUV, five seater coming out next year reservations can happen now if you want to be in the the top of the queue join me and my fellow Rivian owners in living out their slogan keep the world adventurous forever oh now that I did this free plug is it considered a free plug if after I do it, they do send me something for free? We'll just redact it. We'll redact it. Okay. That's good to know. Because I'm not above them sending me something free. Yeah, or all of us. Or all

of us. You send me a free truck or SUV or you send me that new small SUV Rivian and I'll give it to somebody that deserves it okay make that a thing but currently this is a free plug I'm receiving nothing other than getting to shit on Tesla and you know talk about my Rivians people trying to, what's dumb is that people trying to put the stickers on their Teslas to be like, hey, I'm sorry, I didn't know. Well, enjoy your shitty resale value. Don't key my car.

And I'm not encouraging people to vandalize Teslas. That's nonsense. I could never key a Tesla because my Rivian doesn't have a key. I just use my phone so I can't rub my phone on the side of a Tesla. That seems that seems dumb. Yeah. Here's how I protest. There's this Tesla showroom that's right next to the Whole Foods grocery store that I frequent. So what I do, out front of this showroom, they always have their Teslas parked right out in front, but they're not spots reserved for the Tesla.

So anytime one is opened up, I back in real cool with my Rivian and I make it look nice and I just park right in front and they always give me, it's inconvenient for how far I have to walk to the grocery store from there. My wife gets annoyed, but it my my little protest and I put my Rivian right in front and then the people in the showroom always shoot me

a look and I'm sure they open their doors into my truck and try to give me a little little door ding but guess what I got a truck okay? Dang it doesn't bother me. Okay I'm a man. I got a truck, brum-brum. Well, anyway, there's my free plug. See you next week.