Yannis Pappas Hour - Animale w/ Joe Gatto
Episode Date: October 29, 2022Everyone’s favorite impractical joker stops by for a long day. Joe recounts his amazing journey with the Impractical Jokers, what he’s up to now and what he thinks about anyone who shows up empty ...handed.SponsorMint mobile https://www.mintmobile.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=mint_podcast&utm_content=fumes&dnfemfkahqkdlf=fumesWatch Yanni’s stand up special: https://youtu.be/ArlCFemEDvQJoin our Patreon for hilarious bonus episodes each week: https://www.patreon.com/yannilongdaysJoin our highlights page for podcast highlight clips: https://youtube.com/channel/UCfMy34qIYYy7XiRaHKO1ykwNew episodes every Saturday and new bonus every Thursday on Patreon.com/yannilongdays Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
What's up, everybody? Before we get into this very fun episode with everyone's favorite and practical joker, Joe Gatto, what a fun interview.
Here are my dates coming up. Come see me live. Austin, Texas, November 11th and 12th.
Detroit, Michigan, December 1st and 3rd, between 1st and 3rd. And then Chicago, February 24th and 26th. Also, Tampa's added.
Atlantic City and E-Mouse.
Pennsylvania?
I don't know where that is.
But E-Mouse Theater.
E-Mouse Theater on March 4th as well.
These will all be going up on my websites.
Also San Diego.
Also Providence.
More dates coming.
So go to yannispapiscomedy.com for tickets. patreon.com slash yannilongdays for our weekly bonus episodes.
Join up and enjoy the episode. David Moore And the news online Going on and on What's right and wrong And there's something up Now here comes a great kid
You know you can trust
From the true who's who
To the news and cameras
To the fake politics
And the propaganda
Yeah, this kid's screwed in
Got a lot to say
Aw, shit
It's about to be a long day
It's a long day
It's a long day coming
It's a long day
You better stop
You should stop eating
No, you can't
I mean, listen.
Start whenever you want.
You see this apartment.
This is a pretty...
It's our brand.
This isn't a true TV production here.
This is a self...
I ate more on TV than I think that I did.
Not.
I was always eating.
This is the most cable, old school cable...
What was that channel called
That uh
What's her name was on
Baby wanna bang your box
Wow you were watching
Different TV than I was
Her name was Robin
You talking about
The Magic Garden
Like PBS
No it was
Cable access
Oh okay
And her name was like
Robin something
And she was like
This 60 year old woman
Who like did this sex show. Really?
Yeah, you never saw it? No. Staten Island,
you guys are in another country. We are. Well, we had our own
cable network going on where we were doing some different things.
How to hide a body in a green
belt. You know, we had our own stuff. Yeah.
Like, probably you guys just watch the
Italian channels. There's pretty much Italian
soccer on. I'll just tell you, it's Fongool
channel. Yeah, yeah. We did,
I mean, I haven't been to Brooklyn in a minute,
and coming to see you, I remember, like, everything is just,
there is so much that really is just so Brooklyn, which is great.
Like, I was a little bit late because I was stuck behind a guy
who decided just to park in a red light.
He threw his flashes on, which was nice of him,
but he didn't even make an effort to go, so I was, and I'm sitting there,
and I'm like, oh, I thought he was in the car, but he wasn't.
He was, like, delivering food or something.
And then to my right, directly to my right there was a tesla beautiful tesla parked and right behind it was just a a water heater that somebody had thrown
out like he's behind the tesla and i'm like this is just so very very brooklyn i love it yeah well
you know bay ridge is like it's kind of like the city for a lot of staten island people
yeah like because they just they come over they come over the verazon and then they go out to a
lot of these italian restaurants yeah and then they valet your car which is funny
because there's no parking lots here but stat i think staten island people you guys are like the
suburbs of the city for sure like even you called and you were like is there parking like you were
well i know bay ridge because i you know i had spent a lot of time here and i know it's i mean
it's a nightmare to park around here you're like there's plenty of spots i it's not but you
skeptical when i said that i know i'm a real mean, it's a nightmare to park around here. You're like, there's plenty of spots. It's not. Are you skeptical when I said that?
No, I'm a realist.
Was it tough to find one?
It was never funny,
but now a couple laps,
I'm okay.
I'm normally pretty good.
I don't like walking uphill though.
Yeah.
So there was like,
you had a big hill up over here.
You didn't warn me about that.
Why don't you,
why don't you,
why don't you care?
Well, look at me,
my center of gravity.
You look pretty good, man.
I wear black and I blouse.
Yeah.
These chairs do no one favors.
If you've watched all your podcasts,
everyone sits the way you're sitting
to cover up what's going on.
You have no choice.
They lean back and you have to do it like this.
This is not a flattering seat.
And plus, this one's broken.
So I'm not like, I didn't like,
it looks like I engineered it like a cholo,
but it's not.
It's just that I'm so fat that I broke the back.
Oh, all right.
Yeah, it's good though.
I'm deceptively fat. I'm deceptively fat. I don't think it's as. It's just that I'm so fat that I broke the back. Oh, all right. Yeah, it's good though. I'm deceptively fat.
I'm deceptively fat.
I don't think it's as hidden
as you think.
You're like,
actually it's, you know.
It's right on spot now.
Dude, if you're a magician,
I can see the strengths.
No, but you're a bigger dude though,
like meaning frame wise.
So it doesn't like,
I have like a skinny frame
so it all goes to my belly.
I'm like a capital D. Like my body is like, you know, it's all right in my belly. That's all I carry. Yeah, meaning frame-wise. I have a skinny frame, so it all goes to my belly. I'm like a capital D.
My body is like, it's all right in my belly.
That's all I carry.
Yeah, but it's appropriate.
You carry good.
Yeah, but you get to spread it out, which is the benefit.
Yeah, I spread it out a little bit.
I'm a thick.
Yeah, but my frame is actually small.
It's just like, it's actually fat all over me.
It's well-panned.
It's a well-panned frame.
It distributes.
Yeah, I take a meat cleaver and I push it down like a chicken cutlet.
Hey, look, we like to eat.
That's what it is.
That's it.
We do like to eat.
We're Greeks.
You brought some cookies.
That was very nice.
Yeah, I brought some desserts.
I don't want to come empty-handed.
That's amazing.
That's an Italian thing, right?
Like you just like-
Yeah, you're a guest.
He's the only one who brought it.
That's the only one, yeah.
He's also the only Italian from Staten Island.
I mean, that's like, you know, that's class.
That's a specific thing.
Yeah, it's class.
I almost brought an Entenmann's,
but I don't know you like that.
If you would have brought an Entenmann's,
I would have had to rechristen
my daughter or something.
I'm like, we got to throw an occasion.
These cookies are too good.
For sure.
The crumb is what I go for for that.
You know, the crumb cake from them
is just a square box crumb.
Down the street from me in Staten Island,
there was an Entenmann's bakery outlet.
Like, you know,
they had those outlets
that like basically stuff that went bad and has another week,
and they get it for a deep discount.
My dad would come home, and he'd break me off.
He'd be like, get your bike, go up the street.
Get us an Entenmann's.
We're celebrating, and I would go get it.
Your Aunt Ruth's coming over here.
He'd hit me with a 20 spot.
We'd go up there.
I'd be like a king, man.
On the scale of Italian, how Italian is your family?
Are we talking sauce on Sundays?
Are we talking gravy on Sundays? Are we talking, like...
Gravy on Sundays.
Are you still in your mom's basement?
I was still by late.
It was in my early 30s.
I heard it until about season six.
I mean, you're going to save the squad.
You know what I mean?
You know, it's a nice thing.
No, I came from a very Italian family.
I'm the youngest of 15 grandkids,
and I'm the bridge to, like,
there's, like, 26 great-grandkids from my grandparents.
So it was, like, a big Italian family, all the holidays and stuff. Pretty bridge to like, there's like 26 great grandkids from my grandparents. So it was like a big Italian family,
all the holidays and stuff pretty tight with my,
you know,
very tight with my sisters,
pretty tight with all my cousins,
you know,
we see at least twice a year,
we have a big family reunion every year.
Yeah.
You know,
60 to 75 Italians all jump in the pool and hang out above ground pool or
in the ground.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It depends whose house it's at,
but for the most part,
for the most part,
it's that,
um,
I hosted it one year, which was fun. Um, but it's like, you know, it's at but for the most part for the most part it's that um i hosted it one year which was fun um but it's like you know it's very very tight always eating
you know i try to see everybody at the holidays go see you know go to my uncle leno's house
go down his basement staten island which is like right out of the 70s like still wood paneling
nothing's changed yeah still got the eight track player with the tape deck like all the technology
is just stacked on top of each other yeah and he's still got like the-track player with the tape deck. All the technology is just stacked on top of each other. And he's still got the vinyl.
He's got the 8-track.
He's got the cassette player, a CD player.
It's all just together, like in the wall.
Is that in Staten Island?
That's in Staten Island.
Yeah, Staten Island and Long Island.
Not a big fan of change.
No.
I'm the only on Long Island because my sister moved out to Long Island.
Wait, wait.
You went from Staten Island to Long Island?
Yeah, you either go there or you go to Jersey.
You make a left or a right.
That's it. It's like, which traffic do you want to sit in? Hampton or from Staten Island to Long Island? Yeah, you either go there or you go to Jersey. You make a left or a right.
It's like, which traffic do you want to sit in?
Hampton or Jersey Shore? What are you feeling?
Was your parents happier
about you being on TV or
you moving to Long Island? My mom, my dad
unfortunately didn't see me on TV.
He passed away when I was 19. You didn't do it.
Can't say that.
My mother got through season one.
She's only season one.
And then we lost her right before season two happened.
But, dude, she was like a peacock for just me being on season one.
I can't even imagine if she had seen.
She would probably be obnoxious.
She would tell everybody, it's my son.
It's my son.
I'm like, Mom, I'm just like, I'm at the grocery store.
It's my son.
Just please show him where the brawny toilet paper is, please.
Something happened in Staten Island because there's a whole crop of people who are like really funny who got really big at a Staten Island.
Yeah, it's just like a sampling.
It was like the Jokers.
Then you had the Jost brothers.
And then now you got Petey Davidson.
Yeah, it was something.
I must have been something in the water.
Something in the water.
It's the Ohio of New York, I guess.
Or it could be just like the fumes from
Elizabeth, New Jersey coming over.
Coming through, right? Yeah. You really
got to walk through a fart. You got to drive
through a fart to get to
Staten Island. For sure.
It used to be a worse fart when we had the
landfill. But
when the bridge was built,
my aunts and uncles my my mother is
from uh Bay Ridge right Avenue T Stuhl Avenue is around there so she was on and she when they
built the bridge my my mother and grandmother still talked about it was like oh when they built
a bridge everything changed the Verzano right yeah built a bridge everything changed you know
because it was only the ferry again and it became the bedroom of Manhattan like my mother used to
call it and my grandmother um but my father my my grandfather ran a tuxedo shop on Staten Island.
And when they opened the Verrazano Bridge, he provided the mayor and the people in the car, his car.
It was the first car to drive over the Verrazano.
He provided the tuxedos.
Wow.
Gatto's tuxedos, it was.
That's prestigious.
I literally rode those coattails for a long time. I was like, well, you know, we're tuxedos, it was. That's prestigious. I literally rode those coattails
for a long time. I was like, well, you know,
we're tuxedo people. So he measured
them up and everything? Measured them up and everything, provided
he got a photo with them, yeah. He tried
to get in the front car and they wouldn't let him go in it because
there was only four people. Like,
you're just a tuxedo guy.
Take it easy. We're going to have, like, the mayor.
He's like, well, the mayor can walk behind the car.
That's nice. Yeah, I to have the mayor. He's like, well, the mayor can walk behind the car. That's nice.
Yeah, I mean, the Verrazano, it's underrated.
I think the Verrazano is actually bigger than the Golden Gate Bridge. It is.
Longest suspension bridge in America.
They tell you that when you're young, right?
It's one of the questions.
I'd like to get you a diploma from high school.
It's a big deal.
The Verrazano is a big deal for Staten Islanders, right?
It is.
Yeah, I think you guys
Do a good job
Of keeping people out
With what is it
Like $25 to enter
It's a kidney
Yeah
You throw a kidney
In the basket
To get through
They charge you
To enter Staten Island
Like it's like a cover charge
At a club
Yeah
It's expensive
Yeah and meanwhile
The ferry is free
Yeah
Which is crazy right
It doesn't make sense
It means we like
The Manhattan people
But the Brooklyn people
Have to pay
Yeah
I guess that's better.
Having to be written between the lines,
it seems like some sort of thing.
I don't know.
Now, are you more the Let's Join Jersey crew,
or are you more on board with NYC?
Do you like being a borough?
Would you like to be, you know?
Well, I mean, I'm not there anymore,
so I don't really care anymore.
But when I was there,
like the secession thing was happening,
like the big vote and all that,
and I remember that happening.
And I was like, I didn't really care just think i think people just didn't want the
garbage right like that kind of just went away when they took away the landfill that's right
because we're getting everybody's garbage so what's the landfill one way i was like oh okay
we're good yeah i think that's i think they were just you know shaking the pans to make some noise
for that and that gave staten island like a really bad rap that like if you weren't from staten island
everyone was like oh isn't that where they put the garbage? And you were like, hey, and the Italians were going, did you just call me fucking garbage?
Because, fuck, I got a family there.
Yeah.
It's the greenest, though.
I mean, it's got the most protected parks
in all of New York.
Yeah, it's actually Staten Island.
You got to go to see it,
and then you realize it's a beautiful place.
Yeah, I mean, growing up there
was very neighborhood, which was good,
which I liked.
It was basically like Brooklyn with yards.
You know, everybody was still in everybody's business,
but everybody had to go out to play instead of being on the streets you know everybody was you still had everybody's grandmother looking out the window
so they were looking at the yards the back window instead of the front street yeah what part of the
island are you my wife's from the island i'm from the hood i was from marinus harbor near the goth
bridge no i'm talking about uh long island i said on the island because you came from
in the island you know you're on i went and on. I had to change my preposition.
Yeah.
I did the, right now I'm out on Glenhead.
Glenhead.
Glenhead.
He's from Long Island.
You know it?
Yeah.
Which is near like Glen Cove.
Yeah.
I'm from Amityville.
Oh, Amityville.
I lived in Linbrook for a minute.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Which is not far from there.
Yeah.
My wife's from Melville.
Oh, Melville.
Yeah.
Oh, fancy.
Everyone says that.
Yeah. It is. Melville. It's fancy, right? Anything that ends in ville, it's got to be. Yeah. It from Melville. Oh, Melville. Yeah. Oh, fancy. Everyone says that. Yeah, it is.
Melville.
It's fancy right there.
Anything that ends in ville, it's got to be.
Yeah.
Mel Town.
Now that shit.
You're from the ville.
Yeah.
Nice.
Ville's are nice.
Yeah.
I'm getting familiar with Long Island.
I get familiar.
It's by the Walt Whitman wall.
Yes.
Very nice wall.
Yeah.
Great deals at the Walt Whitman.
Who's got better food, you think?
Staten or Long?
It's a tough one because Italians are on both.
Italians are on both.
Both still got
Italian waiters.
You can get a...
You still got somebody
in their class,
they're in their tuxedos.
You know how I love
the tuxedo,
we spoke.
Did your father
outfit any Greeks
at diners?
No,
but I loved
Mike Slovaki King
in Staten Island.
That was my jam.
I used to go to...
That was my diner,
Mike Slovaki King.
It was a diner
in Staten Island
that was always open late
and we used to go
either there, it would be there or the Golden Dove. Those are my two diners. Golden Dove Diner. Yeah. That. That was my diner, Mike Slovaki King. It was a diner in Staten Island that was always open late. And we used to go either there.
It would be there or the Golden Dove.
Those are my two diners.
Golden Dove Diner.
Yeah.
That's a real good diner.
The Golden Dove.
They closed it not too long ago.
I think it was like a landmark.
Yeah.
It was in there so long.
Because when we were growing up, the Greek waiters would wear, they'd wear suits.
They'd have a suit on.
Yeah.
And all the Italian restaurants, suits.
There's very few of those
still left like
in the other boroughs.
But I know Long Island still,
I go to them with my father-in-law
and the family,
you know,
and they still have them.
I feel like the diner game
is run by the Greeks.
A good diner is a Greek diner.
I don't know any diners
that aren't Greek waiters
and runners.
We run it.
We run it.
I mean, yeah.
If they were more important,
there'd be conspiracy theories
about the Greeks like the Jews,
but nobody cares about diners. There's this too. That's true.. Run it. I mean, yeah. If they were more important, there'd be conspiracy theories about the Greeks like the Jews, but
nobody cares about diners.
There's two.
That's true.
True.
I mean, as long as I can get a good soup, you know, I get a good soup and a sandwich,
I'm all right.
Yeah.
What's your go-to diner, late night diner?
Well, over here, I don't want to bad mouth anything in Bay Ridge, but they could really
up the quality of the Bridgeview Diner.
I got to say that.
Oh, really?
No, I meant your order.
Like, what are you going with?
Oh, my order?
Oh, you always go cheeseburger or eggs. I mean,
I'm not trying to put my own life in my own hands.
I mean, you crazy?
You know, I'm... Well, you're deceivably skinny
for a guy that grows a burger and eggs in two eggs.
I mean, if you're going into the
middle of the menu of a Greek
diner, you're making, you're really,
you're gambling. Yeah, it is. It's like
gambling with your kid's college tuition.
Page three. I mean, don't get the scallops at two in the morning at a diner.
No, don't go north of page three.
You're in a seafood section, you're in trouble.
Yeah, they didn't just pull those out of the Chesapeake Bay.
Those have been sitting in a fucking basement freezer for months.
For sure.
Yeah.
It's funny.
I love how the Greek diner will go like $6.95 and then everything $8.95 deluxe.
Deluxe.
They love a deluxe. They love a deluxe.
They love a deluxe.
That means a slice of tomato and a grilled onion.
You give me a green card and cheese fries.
Anything.
The menu is like 800 pages.
But I love how the jump in price from the eggs and the burger goes from like $8.95
and then you go to the middle.
It's like $47 for a swordfish.
What the fuck?
You're like, that's the same price
as like a fancy restaurant.
That's crazy, yeah.
Yeah, and I think
it's a little fresher there.
But yeah,
I'm a big fan of the Greek diner.
Of course, my grandfather,
you know, that's how,
it's like...
Is that where,
that's where you guys
made your money?
That's where we made our money.
Yeah, that's how,
yeah, I mean,
it's kind of like
the Greek passport
into America.
I mean, like, you know,
that's everybody,
you come through the diners.
You come through the diner.
Like, you know,
the one guy comes out, then he brings his brother. That's what my
grandfather did. At one point, my grandfather had the biggest diner in all the five boroughs.
Really? It's called the Normandy Diner on the on the West Side Highway. Oh, wow. Where like the
docks used to be active. And before that, he had one in Red Hook At the docks And Albert Anastasia's brother
Used to shake him down
Really?
Yeah
Yeah my dad would tell me
Because my dad
Would work in the restaurant
And he told me that
Yeah Albert Anastasia's brother
Would just show up
That was his area
And my grandfather
Would just get in the car
And just give him an envelope
And it wasn't seen
The interesting thing
And this is
You know I gotta give props
To the Italians
You knew a little bit
What they were doing
They knew what they were doing a little bit.
It wasn't seen as like a payoff
as much as like a part of how the system worked.
Community.
Yeah, and like it was,
everything was cashed in,
so you needed,
it was like someone was gonna knock you off.
Yeah.
So it was almost like you paid them for security.
Yeah, my grandfather ran,
he had the biggest tomato business in New York.
Right.
He models tomatoes brothers.
Yeah.
And he was same sort of deal.
Him, my uncle Nino that we spoke of with the basement, my uncle Vinny, they all ran this big tomato market there.
And he was supplying basically all the food, you know, places, all the diners and all that stuff.
And the cash hand over fist, he would just just have cash and every time they would come over
they'd look how much he had and they said
how much is it, he told me a story
how much is it worth to protect this for you
and he's like well, 10% whatever
and he would just bust them off and sometimes the envelope would be bigger
but that's how my grandfather kept his money
nobody came and bugged him
it wasn't even like they were going to knock him off, they would just know that
somebody else was going to come
they're on the West Side Highway at
4 a.m. You can't rely on the cops
necessarily. And yeah,
I mean, it's one of those gray areas.
Yes, you're getting robbed, but also
nobody else is going to rob you.
You're getting robbed how much you want to give. It's more like
a charitable donation. You know, this is before
the 501c3s.
You know what I love about Italians?
Italians can be
really tough, right?
But they get real
sensitive about produce.
Oh, produce is very tough.
Yeah, they go,
look, I'll fucking
break your neck,
but take a look
at these tomatoes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I got the best
one.
You see these
galapagos?
Yeah, these Jersey
tomatoes.
Jesus Christ,
these Jersey tomatoes.
They got a plump
tomato here.
It's on the vine.
It's on the vine.
Look at it.
Smell the vine
Smell that vine
That's how you pick produce
I know how to pick produce
Because of my grandfather
So well
I smell the vine
I push the button
I knock on the watermelon
I do the whole thing
I do the whole thing
You really
You caress him right
Oh man
I'm there for hours
People you know
People start looking
And being like
Look at me funny
Yeah
It's like pick a cantaloupe
I'm like you don't tell me
How to pick my cantaloupe
You almost could see
Italians in a supermarket Where people pick their produce Quick You could almost see Italians going It's a pick a cantaloupe I'm like you don't tell me How to pick my cantaloupe You almost could see Italians in a supermarket
Where people pick
Their produce quick
You could almost see
Italians going
It's a fucking shame
Disgust
It's a shame
Take your time
I judge
If you don't do a lot
If you're not grabbing
Three to five tomatoes
You don't know what you're doing
Yeah
If you're grabbing
If you're doing a first pull
If you're grabbing
A first tomato
Get out of my supermarket
Very good
Good get rid of this shit
If you're not giving a squeeze Oh and if you're grabbing From the top Please You're right The bucket got me started First tomato? Get out of my supermarket. Very good. Good. Get rid of this shit.
If you're not giving a squeeze.
Oh, and if you're grabbing from the top, please.
You're right.
You fucking got me started.
You got me started because you're grabbing from the top.
That's what the new one's coming from.
The ripe one.
You got to go under.
You got to go under.
But is it?
Yeah, but you're kind of like, you're manhandling.
You're touching a lot of tomatoes.
It's kind of, I guess you got to do what you got to do to get the good ones.
You got to do what you got to do. You got to fight those battles.
But what if you're thinking like somebody else before you came and did that and moved,
took the ones at the bottom, and now the ones at the top, which are there in the bottom now.
Right.
Can you tell?
Can you tell?
Well, colorway, right?
You got to look.
You got to look around the stem.
If there's green around the stem, you know, right in that little top circle, the crown, if you will.
Right, right.
Yeah, you got to take a look there, and you got to make sure you're all red.
Yeah. All red there. Otherwise, I'm not touching that term.
Sherlock Holmes of produce.
If you need help, you know, Jack, you need help with produce.
We'll go shopping right after this.
Go right down to 5th Ave.
We'll work it out.
It's business.
It's business.
It's top-level business.
It's funny because
there's really truth to it. When you come home with an unripe honeydew
Yeah, I mean you and I our friendships over
It doesn't you know you do that you hear it sounds like a saw yeah, and it's not juice spilling out of it
Yeah, you're an asshole. You're an absolute you've got you know you've gotten robbed
Yeah, you guys have very high standards for food, and I think I would say it's unquestionably the best cuisine.
I don't think anyone who argues, I think it's sort of like saying
Jordan's not the best basketball player.
I'm going like, let's go over the stats.
Yeah.
I mean, we got ZD.
I mean, the list goes on.
It goes on.
And I will say that people could always find something they like on that menu
very easily.
Right.
Right?
Right.
So I think it's very broad in that sense.
Right.
Yeah.
I could have it every night.
Yeah.
I could do Italian every single night.
I pretty much do.
Yeah.
Now, how Catholic are you?
What's that?
Religion.
Oh, religion.
Yeah.
Did you grow up big time Catholic?
I grew up BTC, but then I stopped big time Catholic.
Right.
Then I stopped hard.
Right.
I hit the brakes on it.
That happens a lot.
I was altar boy and going to be priest.
Wow.
Yeah, I did that whole thing.
Wow.
Yeah.
And then when my father-
You took a big left turn from the church to improv.
To improv, yeah.
I was doing a lot of Catholic improv.
Right.
I was doing an all boy Catholic high school I went to.
Wow.
I went to Senior Farrell in Staten Island.
It was all-boy Catholic.
That's where we met.
All-boy Catholic high school.
And I was considering the cloth.
Right.
And then when my father passed away, we stopped going to church as much.
Not I wasn't angry at God, nothing like that.
But I was kind of like, oh, this is – I got older and I started looking at it.
And then the big thing for me was I don't believe in the middleman.
I don't believe in the priest.
I don't believe, like, somebody could do that for you like I didn't
really get on board with that I love the morals I love all that stuff good bad evil whatever but I
I was like that piece of it didn't make sense for me right because I started looking at it all and
I was like it doesn't make sense but I still appreciate the morality you get from religion
and all that like you know my my uh my kid's mother mother is Muslim and I'm Italian.
I'm a Catholic and both of us are not practicing.
So our kids are just growing up
without religion
but trying to teach value.
So it's kind of interesting to do.
That's nice.
I think that's nice for them.
I think it is too.
They have questions now too,
which is interesting
because my son's asking me,
he's like, where's God?
And he says that to me
and I'm like,
well, that's the question, buddy's like, where's God? Right. And he says like that to me, and I'm like, well, that's the question, buddy.
Right, right, right.
Where is he?
Right.
You know, so it gets a little interesting to not have that like book to pop out
and be like, oh, this is everything that you need to know.
Right.
As long as you're teaching to be good people.
It would be fun if you and your wife could make a fun thing
where you do a competition, though.
Yeah.
Where you go, look, the kids, tabula rosa, we let them choose,
but they can ask us both, you can present your case and i can present mine and then they choose and then you
and her compete by saying which one's better we kind of do that a little bit with food because
she'll present to bully and i'd be like do you want you know you want a penny alabaca yeah so
like you know we do that and my kids love to bully you know but nothing beats a good penny alabaca
it's tough yeah that's a vacca, it's tough.
Yeah, that's a tough one.
And then you could just go down the list of the amenities.
Yeah.
I mean, Muslim, Catholic.
I mean, they both got some decent amenities.
Yeah.
Well, she grew up Lebanese, which has a big family component.
Grandparents are super important in that family structure,
just like Italians.
So that kind of thing.
There's a lot of stuff that coincides.
Right.
But you guys are progressive.
You guys are more progressive.
Yeah, I would.
Secular.
I would say secular.
Yeah.
I don't know what that meant.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Opposite of religious.
Yeah.
So you guys are at the Catholic school.
The four of you meet.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah, freshman year.
Obviously, everybody.
Did we even introduce?
I mean, people know you.
At this point, I hope they do.
We didn't even do an intro.
We just started rolling, baby.
This is Joe Gatto from the Impractical Jokers, comedy, the Tenderloins, Staten Island, now Long Island.
So, I'll just take that clip and put it We'll put it in the beginning
Yeah
And that would be fantastic
Because this is coming
From mid-conversation
Yeah
This is like a
Quentin Tarantino movie
You know
You got it like
You start at the end
You come back at the end
The X point
We'll put it there
Before we get to the YZ
Let me know
We'll do a scene
In the bathroom
I'm just gonna
You're gonna beat your dick
And then you're gonna go home
You guys So you guys have been friends You Murr Sal I'm like, I'm just going to, you're going to beat your dick, and then you're going to go home.
You guys, so you guys have been friends.
You, Murr, Sal, and Q.
Yeah, 30 years.
Now, Q's the only Irish one.
Murray, what?
Two Irish.
Yeah.
I'm the only full-breed Italian.
Oh, because Sal's got the Cuban and Puerto Rican. Yeah, he's got the sexy Latino.
You know, on the Joker's Cruise
You guys do a lot of dance
And a lot of music
And you could tell
Yeah
You could tell Sal's got
The only one with a little
Sexy gelatin
Yeah he's the only one
His moves match
He matches the music sometimes
Yeah
Your energy's big
My energy's big
Yeah
I dance with confidence
I dance like I should
No
I dance like I don't care
What I look like
And it matches my
Like that's the energy I bring It's like you dance It's like you should not be As confident as you are I dance like I don't care what I look like, and it matches my dream.
That's the energy I bring.
It's like you should not be as confident as you are, but I'm on board with it.
I confuse them with it.
Yeah, you go.
Yeah, you go.
It looks a little bit like you're being burned by a car cigarette lighter.
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah, 100%.
And you know what?
And that's my move.
And you remembered it, so you're welcome.
Yeah, no, it's good.
It's good.
Yeah, Sal's smooth up there.
And was there ever a fifth Joker, like the Beatles?
No, there was a fourth that Q replaced.
So he had a drop off.
Yeah, there was a tenderloin that had gotten a good job
and got married and found, like, grew up faster than the rest of us, I guess.
And he had to make a decision because his time was too valuable to, you know,
he had a big PR firm job. Good friend of ours, Mike. Still friend of ours. I guess. And he had to make a decision because his time was too valuable to you know, he had a big PR firm job.
Good friend of ours, Mike. Still friend of ours.
Great guy. And he
fell out and then that left us an opening and Q
came in. And this was
during the turning point when we started doing sketch comedy.
And was Q a friend from high school too? 100%.
And he was a firefighter.
There was really five of us from high school
that were friends, really. Yeah.
And so Q was a firefighter too?
And so he kept being a firefighter while too? He was a firefighter, yeah.
And so he kept being a firefighter while you guys were doing it? For season one and two, him and Sal, everybody kept their jobs.
I was the only one that had to quit.
Right.
So I was doing baby store salesmen.
I was working for this company called Giggle, which was high-end baby furniture.
And I was slinging baby merch like nobody's business in Soho.
I was a personal shopper.
Yeah.
I got moved over to the corporate side, and I was training program manager i opened new stores yeah because i was a good
salesman she cooked the book she sent me for three weeks the way the store was open i would crush it
she's like look how good our store is doing in pasadena you know uh some one of those which was
great and uh so i was doing that and then we had to film a pilot so i had to get take my two weeks
vacation then they picked up the pilot and they needed six months to shoot season one so i said
hey i'm gonna have to take a six month hiatus and she goes oh so you're quitting
i was like no i was like i'll be back she's like she's like well i can't not have a training
program manager for six months she's like so good luck to you and if it doesn't work out and if
there's room for you you're welcome back and i was like okay so i quit my job and i was all in
but murr was working for the production with the production company that produced the show.
And Sal was a bartender.
I know he owned a place in Staten Island.
And Q was a firefighter.
So Q would work his 24, come to set, do the show, go home for a day,
then come back to the same thing.
And then Sal would go.
We'd film until he had to leave to go to work.
He would go work overnight and then come the next day and stuff.
So it was interesting that everybody kept their jobs for two years yeah but i just jumped in which
made me really produce like really i was really involved and all the way through the run of it i
was very involved with everything from writing the first joke to the final edit you know yeah
and i love that part of it so i mean i always wanted to be a director yeah and screenwriter
so that really was like oh i get to do this yeah you guys should make a movie about
the story of the show like you guys like you know what i mean like your movie was great i went to
that too yeah me and chris went to that oh yeah and we that was fun and you know it was like the
show yep but you guys should do a a movie about like like a documentary of like about what we
yeah or like write a movie about...
The making of the Jokers.
Yeah, it's such a fun story.
Because you guys are just like...
And I think that's part of what endeared you so much to everybody.
You guys are such humble, normal guys.
Well, I mean, yeah, it didn't click to us with 34.
Yeah.
You're the person you've got to be.
Yeah, I mean, how funny is that?
Q's like...
He's fighting fire. He's updating. He's literally saving gotta be. Yeah, I mean, how funny is that? Q's like, Q's fucking, he's fighting fire.
He's updating.
He's literally saving a guy.
Yeah.
And then we're like, dude, tell her you farted.
Like, you know, like, he literally,
he's pulling a man out of a burning elevator.
True story.
Like, he's got a medal for, like,
saving a guy from an elevator.
Then he came to work the next day,
and he had to, like, do, like,
announce funny names in an office.
Like, it's like, dude, what is...
Yeah, I mean, you mean, he's got a job
where he's got to carry it.
He's got to be able
to carry his body weight
plus 20,
and he's going in.
And he's also a firefighter.
Yeah.
And they go,
hey, Q, how you doing?
Yeah, you doing a shift tomorrow?
Yeah, I'm cooking tomorrow.
We doing chicken franchise.
And then he's going,
okay, guys,
I got to go do
a little zip zap zoom.
Did you guys warm up
with any of the improv games?
We threw zip zap zooms at each other. I mean, we're not above a zip zap zoom. Yeah, come back. Did you guys warm up with any of the improv games? We threw zip zap zooms at each other.
I mean, we're not above a zip zap zoom.
I mean, all greats do.
You're not gonna tell them that we did it
before we saw this podcast?
Absolutely, we did.
And we did wow.
What was the other one?
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
So how did you guys discover
that you guys all wanted to perform together?
Because I know you guys all went to college.
Yeah, so we did improv comedy. You got accounting degree i got my accounting degree sal got his
degree in uh finance finance yeah and he's a good gifter he's a great kid he's a great gift
he's one of the best he's up there with steve byrne he's steve byrne steve byrne's a good one
oh my god steve byrne's the best gifter in the world steve byrne is a great guy he's great dude
yeah he's the best i've been working with him a lot now which is really fun and you guys got a
podcast we have a podcast together, yeah.
Two Cool Moms, which is fun.
Because we both had moms
that gave great maternal advice,
and we both feel like we captured that.
So we start off telling stories,
and then we take fan-submitted dilemmas,
and we solve them as best we can.
Sometimes it goes great.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But it's always funny.
And Steve is a hilarious stand-up. Steve, he had that show on TBS for a little while. Yeah, And Steve, Steve is, Steve is a hilarious standup.
Steve,
uh,
he had that show on TBS for a little while.
Sullivan's son.
He does a lot of comedy specials.
He's great.
I actually just,
uh,
I just directed his latest comedy special for Amazon prime.
That's so cool.
Yeah.
Which is really cool.
It was really fun.
I love that about this era now,
you know,
like friends can kind of collaborate on something,
make it happen,
go straight to the fans like this.
Like I just love what you do.
You make me laugh. And I was, I just said, Hey, you're great. And then you're like, Hey, you want to come on. I mean, like this. I just love what you do. You make me laugh.
And I just said, hey, you're great.
And then you're like, hey, you want to come on?
This is awesome.
Yeah, and I appreciate that very much.
Thank you.
But yeah, it is very cool.
Like, it doesn't, there's no, it's not a protracted process.
It's not slow.
You just kind of like, hey, yeah, you want to do it?
Boom, boom, boom.
And it just kind of happens.
You don't have to have like 100 meetings.
You put the power to do it in the hands of the creatives.
Yeah.
How loose was True TV with you guys as you put the you know the power to do it in the hands of the creatives yeah like the business how loose was true tv with you guys um as far as the ideas pretty they were
it took us a minute to get there but once we got it it was pretty like season you know after you do
season four or five it's kind of like uh no you shouldn't be like well we're gonna try it right
end up like okay and then it worked and they're like okay you know so it was like that but uh we got on board with the the network exec really tightly um simi who was uh the guy who
ran it there and he was very i always find it's easier to like if you collaborate with people
instead of telling them what you're doing yeah you know so we would talk to him a lot and then
if he had questions his questions were normally pretty good like there's sometimes with anybody
that you know it's a network person you know a lot of times they just don't understand the comedy
it was more that he didn't understand what we were talking about.
Right.
So once you talk him through it and you're as excited in there,
because you're not in the room, right?
You're in the right room.
You're dying laughing about the stupid idea.
Like, I remember one,
it was like, they made me a massage chair.
Yeah.
And that was the idea in the room.
It was like, what if Joe was a massage chair?
Right.
And they were like, what happens?
It's like, Joe's a massage chair.
Yeah.
And it's like, we're dying laughing
at literally just that.
So we sent it in,
the punishment, Joe's a massage chair.
Yeah.
And he's like, what does this mean? It's like, I'm a massage chair. Yeah. And he's like, what does this mean?
It's like, I'm a massage chair.
Yeah.
And he goes, okay, so what happens?
I'm like, well, I'm a chair.
Yeah.
And people come sit on me.
Yeah.
I'm a massage chair.
And he's like, all right.
And he's like, so what?
And then we started being like, I was like, no, we don't think you're envisioning it correctly.
You know, this is what that.
And he was like, oh, all right.
And then they just had to talk him through it.
Right.
And it ended up being one of them.
And was it a lot of it sometimes your guys' enthusiasm to kind of just convince them?
Because that is, that's, you know, I know you now a little bit.
I know Sal.
You guys are, you guys are so enthusiastic and like your friendship seems authentic and
you're like normal guys.
And like, I would just say yes to everything because like you just, it's so easy to fall
in love with all you guys.
And you guys are still all friends?
100%, yeah.
How the fuck did you do that?
How did that happen?
Like, especially as the show got bigger,
like the Rolling Stones
fucking hate each other.
They just show up on stage
and they just fucking.
We didn't have time to,
I don't think, you know,
because with the touring
and everything, like,
look, there was one time
that we saw each other
for 32 days straight. Right. Like every day for 32 days. Like, think
about that for a second. You know, that's like a month, that's a 12th of the year we were together,
like working or either doing promo or, uh, you know, the cruise, it was like one of those where
we just all together. And if you can't be together, then you would end up just destroying each other,
you know? So I think that was part of it but it started with friendship like we were really friends so it wasn't like a cast that
couple together or people that didn't know each other's histories you know each other's parents
you know we've been there through for each other through a lot um so i think that helps the baseline
i always say that the show was more about friendship than it was a comedy yeah watching
four friends be friends like yeah this is literally how i make these guys laugh yeah i embarrass
myself i don't give a i have fun. I make my friends laugh.
And if I see them crack, I just keep digging until they crumble.
And that's the way it is.
That's really what we did.
That's what really made it unique.
And it was a massive hit.
And I figured at one point maybe you'd go in and you'd have to say to TruTV,
like, do you guys want to sign a deal with us?
Do you want us to re-sign you?
Because, I mean, your show was always on.
Yeah.
Yeah. Well Well they gave us
A development deal
Which we worked on
For a little bit
I think the guys
Still have it
But
They're not part of
That business anymore
But they
They did like jump in
And we had
It's
We saw
So many changes
At that network
Literally four presidents
Came
One show
Four presidents came
And went
So when somebody new
Comes in
You have to be like you have to be like
they have to be like oh and like instead of being like okay this is what we're going to do to us
they'd be like don't touch it it's the one that's working right so that kind of helped us i think
right where it was like you know it works don't don't don't fucking don't kill the golden goose
let it let them do their thing you know and people are kind of timid with it too right because they're
going to be like what are they going to say to you it's just 300th episode they're gonna be like
here's an idea right like it's like you, they just kind of got out of the way
and we weren't dicks about it,
but if they said something we didn't agree with,
we'd be like,
well,
it's not really on brand for us.
Like we could talk to the brand more
than a person that just started.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it was,
it was really not on brand for us.
It's a good way to say,
it's a very nice way to say,
fuck off.
Well,
they would throw it back at you.
Yeah.
They would throw it back at you sometimes.
Like,
is that really jokery?
Like there was like a turn
that got thrown around for a while.
Is that jokery?
How do we make it jokery?
Right.
Like that was like, when they make you an adjective, you know you're pretty safe.
Yeah.
Yeah, when they've created a word.
This is how successful it was because, you know, you guys were like, what, 2010 or 11?
2011.
Till now, right?
So it was like that period, TV was still very, you know,
in the conversation.
It still is.
I'm not saying it's not,
but back then as comedians we were constantly pitching.
I mean,
I pitched to True TV
a bunch of times
and every show
they kind of brought up
how can we make this
sort of a competition
between you guys?
Right, right.
They tried to like
jokerize it.
Yeah, yep, of course.
Every single idea.
For a long time
they were trying to find
a companion show for us
instead of just playing repeats of us.
Why didn't they just do
the girls' version of Ghostbusters?
Why didn't they just get a couple of girls?
Because the magic of the show
was that we were real friends.
Yeah, but Hollywood always fucks it up.
They could cast it
and just take some girl named Janine.
A lot of people tried it.
MTV had a couple of shows
that were basically kind of us.
It was like us, but not us. It just didn't work. There was a lot of people tried it. MTV had a couple shows that were basically kind of us. It was like us, but not us.
It just didn't work.
There was a lot of versions that happened overseas.
Oh, they did it?
I would love to see those.
There's like Belgium Jokers.
It's called like Das Fuckers.
It was.
The name of the show was Das Fuckers.
Das Fuckers?
Yeah, it was.
It was like crazy.
There was a Lebanese version.
It was like a bunch of different versions that just played everywhere.
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mintmobile.com slash fumes why wouldn't you do this it's just a great story great success it
was a great run and now you're on to stand up and podcast baby yeah you're you're hitting the stages
you're a funny fucking dude how do you like stand up-up? It's totally, it was totally different.
I have a respect for it because, like, you know,
when I did the live show with the guys,
it was like you're 25% of the funny.
This four years, if something bombs,
somebody will pick you up, you know?
But to do an hour by yourself is definitely,
definitely a challenge.
And when I first started, I started in January, right?
Because, you know, things happen in my life.
I had to leave Jokers.
It's like, okay, got to go.
Now what am I doing?
I got to put, you know, bread on the table.
I got a family to take care of. Kids to take care of. So what am I doing? So I had to talk to my jokers it's like okay gotta go now what am i doing i gotta put you know bread on the table i got a family take care of kids take care of so what am i doing so i had to
talk to my team and they're like well you perform live people will come out to see you so why don't
we start there so my first show actually toured with steve burn and a good friend of ours jiggy
mark jagarjian who's a big comic here in new york he's a friend of ours too he's open for us forever
he opened for us in msg he's a really good guy so i know him a dick you know a decade as well so i was like all right come with me i said i'm going to put a show
and then like tell me how i did you know tell me because your stand-ups i respect you know this
you know steve's been doing stand-up forever and i respect their opinion i find them both funny
and i did 35 minutes and it was felt really good i came i was in appleton wisconsin uh they they
hid me in appleton wisconsin real Real diverse crowd. Yeah, super.
Yeah, the whitest crowd.
It's like you jump in a bowl of milk and talk to marshmallows.
That's what it looks like.
So I was like, I go and do the set, and I come off stage, and I said to Steve,
and I was super nervous, but I had done my homework.
I wanted to do it right.
And I said to Steve, and Steve was like, he's like, fuck you, man.
He's like, fuck you.
He's like, you're just fun to watch.
You're just up there.
You're talking from your heart.
He's like, you got it. so then i just built my hour off of
that like telling different stories different things i'm really more like a storyteller than
anything like yeah you know and obviously a little bit observation stuff but i enjoy telling the
story yeah so because you mean i mean yeah you i mean you know you've been doing comedy for a long
time you've been performing for a long a long time so i could see that it just kind of that muscles
there it's just it's just a different way to it's a different way to do so i could see that it just kind of that muscles there it's just
just a different way to it's a different way to do it yeah it's like it's a you know improv sketch
television movie and it's like let me now try and stand up it's just a different feel but it's a lot
of fun man which do you like the best i'm honestly enjoying stand up more than i thought i would yeah
i know it started out of necessity yeah but then i quickly turned into something i was like oh this
is really fun i just love making people laugh i just love doing it you know what i mean you know yeah and just like to be
in front of a crowd that's laughing you have a theater full of people just you know laughing and
having a good time especially now when everybody's life is shit for the most part it's like it's
really good to to be able to do that you know yeah and so you have to now kind of it's interesting
because i mean you guys international i mean it was like You guys did the O2 arena
Everywhere you guys were going
Five times
Five times the O2
Wow
It was crazy
Yeah
The O2 and then Dublin
We did it a couple times
So we did London
And you know Ireland
Yeah and you did
You were doing like stadiums
Like you were doing MSG
You did
MSG
O2
Yeah we did a lot of
A lot of big things
Yeah
Yeah
I'm not doing that
Right so that was my point
My point is now
You gotta kind of like
Yeah
You're doing
You're probably doing like
Small theaters and clubs
I'm doing a lot of the theaters
We did
Before we started the arenas
So I'm doing a lot of places
I've played already
Right
As part of the guys
Right
You know 2,000 seaters
You know 1,500 to 2,000 seaters
And does it feel
It's just as enjoyable
It's great man
I feel like you guys
Just everything's enjoyable
Well I had fun
I honestly was more comfortable on a theater stage
than I was at the comedy club
because they did a bunch of comedy clubs to start.
But it's a smaller space.
They're right in front of you.
Still good crowds and everything,
but it was just, I'd never done that.
Never.
I'd never been on a stand-up stage.
Right.
You know, besides maybe popping up a burn somewhere
or doing something like together.
But like just never on a stage.
So that was completely different.
And then the first time I had my theater show,
I was like, I got a little nervous and then I realized how much room I have and I'm very
physical.
Right.
So it was just opened.
I was like,
Oh,
all my jokes got punched up more just because I moved my body.
I had room to run and stop or I did something.
I was like,
and I was just more comfortable.
I was always been on theater stages.
So I was like,
Oh,
okay.
Yeah.
So now I'm way more comfortable.
I think it's reflected in my work.
I think it's a good show now that more,
not that I just feel more proud of it, if that makes sense.
You know, it's like I'm putting on something that deserves to come out and see.
So it was good.
Yeah, you could do, I mean, you know, look at that.
Look at that right there.
Yeah, yeah, that's MSG, right?
I mean, look at that, dog.
You could Photoshop you guys out there and put Mariah Carey right in there.
I mean, that's a Taylor Swift audience right now.
I think that actually, that might even be the O2.
I'm not sure.
No, no, this is MSG.
I mean, that's wild, dude.
Look at that. Yeah be the O2. I'm not sure. No, no, this is MSG. It's the Garden. I mean, that's wild, dude. Look at that.
Yeah, the Garden was great.
I mean, honestly, we played Radio City too,
which was really, really amazing
because that was the first time we played
like New York proper, city proper.
We did two shows there.
And when we played Radio City,
we walked out and you know how many shows,
like being from New York,
how many shows you've seen at Radio City, right?
You walked out, we walked out the stage
and all four of us like were completely choked up and couldn't say anything so we stood there in silence
as the crowd went nuts for like a minute and everybody's just looking at each other like
sal's all filled up we're sitting there like joking about i think sal was even full-blown
you know ugly crying and like you know we're all choked up whatnot and then i would somebody had
to talk and i just like said anything whatever and just then we were just off to the races and
it was great but that was a that was a big moment that's probably one of my favorite that my favorite. The O2 in London was crazy because you see it here in America, right?
We go out and about and we do things.
But then the first time we went over to London,
we were arguably bigger over there
because just the way people responded to us.
It was like, what are you doing in my country?
People get crazy.
They're like, what are you doing in Pennsylvania?
Could you imagine?
What are you doing in Manchester?
You know what I mean?
It's really weird.
It's special, too, because you're not not from there and then you're coming over there.
Those are people who have really just responded to your comedy with no other tie to you besides the fact that you made them laugh.
Right.
Like, that's it.
Right.
Right?
That's all they know about me.
Yeah.
You know?
Here, you get a New Yorker vibe.
You get, oh, you see these four friends.
Oh, they remind us of guys from high school.
We're very American.
You know, like that.
But there, it's just like you literally did something that made them laugh, and they got hooked.
Yeah, I mean, you guys, you really exported the Staten Island accent out.
We did.
Yeah.
Yeah, we tariffed it.
Yeah, I mean, you turn on that show, you're like, these guys are definitely from the boroughs.
Yeah.
It's funny, because Murray went to Georgetown, and we always talk about how he tried to lose his accent to sound smarter.
And even sometimes on the show, you'll see him be like, gobble gold.
And it's like, Murray, it's gobble gold.
Come on.
He's like trying to do it.
Yeah, I was about to say, if we were going to go from most to least.
Most Staten Island to least.
Yeah, most Staten Island accent to least.
He would be on the bottom.
For sure.
Yeah, Q would be the third.
Oh, you think Q's third?
Yeah, I think it would be you and Sal for number one and two.
Yeah.
Me and Q normally get the one and two spots.
Really?
Sal's very.
Well, Sal sometimes gets his Cuban on.
Yeah, but.
But also Sal's probably got.
Well, Q too.
The two of them have very good vocabularies.
They do, right?
Actually, Murr does too.
I'm probably not the.
Yeah, Georgetown.
Yeah, Georgetown gets it.
Yeah, you're more a numbers guy.
I'm more a numbers guy.
Yeah, more a numbers guy.
I'm more about numbers and people skills.
And physical guy.
Numbers, people skills.
You'll act it out.
They talk, you'll act it out.
Okay, that's good.
They tell you.
Be a cockatiel.
Cock-a-doodle-doo.
What's a cockatiel?
Is it a bird?
You show.
You're more of a show guy.
I'm a peacock.
I go in fourth.
Yeah.
Throw the feathers.
But you and Sal hit the heart.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Yeah, why?
There's a couple words that really give it away, like why?
Yeah.
I also make up a lot of terms, too.
Like, you know, I use a lot of Italian slang I grew up with.
Like, you know, you should get all for money.
I'm like, where's my should get all to sound?
It's like, what should get all?
I'm like, it's escarole.
It's a green vegetable.
Just give me my money.
You know, like I had to explain it.
Do you do sister's ass or no?
That's a big Italian, right?
Your sister's ass.
Your sister's ass.
Oh, your sister's ass.
Your sister's ass.
Jesus Christ, your sister's ass.
Now, Christmas time, I just love this.
I saw this on Stiles' Instagram.
Do you still do the tradition every year where you go over his house,
just eat all his food, and then bounce?
Every year.
Every single year since you've been friends?
Every year we do it.
Every year I go to his house, I pop in, say hi to his family.
I don't tell him I'm coming.
Right.
So I never confirm or deny that I'm going to show up.
I'll walk in my pajamas. You're like Santa Claus
almost. I'll have a cannoli and kiss his nieces.
I'm like the reverse Santa Claus.
I'm an Italian Santa Claus. I take a gift
and I take a cannoli.
I go to his house every year.
I've probably been doing it since
it's got to be
20 years almost.
That's incredible.
Is it a specific time or you just keep them off balance?
No, I keep them off balance.
I've showed up because his family goes all night.
His family did a cool thing where they would go to put the kids to sleep.
Santa would show up and they'd wake the kids up.
And they'd be like, Santa just came.
And they'd do like a 2 a.m. gift thing.
Oh, wow.
So they would all wait until all the kids fell asleep.
They had to wait until all the kids fell asleep, set everything up, and wake them up.
So I knew they would go to,
you know,
two,
three in the morning.
So I'd had a window and I popped by uncle Nino's when I'm not in
Staten Island anymore.
I popped by uncle Nino's,
you know,
have some fish salad from aunt Linda and pop over there and get
myself,
you know,
get myself,
uh,
get myself over at Sal's and pop in second.
Yeah.
I mean,
you're the only fucking guys who've done Madison square garden,
who is saying I'm also popping by my uncle Nino's.
Those two things don't usually go together.
Like, oh man, yeah, before I go do MSG,
I gotta go pop by Uncle Nino's and have some fish salad.
Dude, I was late today because I had to do
career day at my daughter's school. I went and talked
about what it's like to be a comedian to a bunch of second
graders. The guy yesterday, not even
kidding, neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeon was yesterday.
This guy's father came in who talked about
the like, you know,
Gulab Dala,
whatever the hell's up there,
right,
talking to these kids about that.
I'm up there and I'm like,
knock, knock.
You're basically going,
hey kids,
I kind of do what you do.
Grown up you
that people give me money
to do it.
I just kind of play
with my friends.
You know,
you guys get in trouble,
that's what I get paid for.
I get paid for that.
The more trouble I get into,
the more I make.
And now, so it's interesting, you guys have known each other all these years and then you got you got families you started and
you still kind of maintained a friendship through all that yeah it gets harder like you know it's
it's it's tough for sure especially you know like uh like we were just talking about christmas like
i had to put together my daughter's dollhouse like you know and then and then i'm like the
bobby did bobby dream house is a son of a bitch.
And, you know, I didn't get out of my house
like one o'clock and I'm looking at the clock.
I'm like, it's one o'clock.
I'm living in Long Island.
And I'm like, I gotta go.
And I gotta go.
I was laying in bed.
I was like, I gotta go.
How long have you been on the island?
I've been on the island six years.
I went from Staten to Manhattan to...
Island hopped.
Yeah.
You're not comfortable unless you're on an island.
I mean, Long Island is technically part... It's an island because it's part of Brooklyn hopped. Yeah. You're not comfortable unless you're on an island. I mean, Long Island is technically...
It's an island
because it's part of Brooklyn and Queens.
Yeah.
But Long Island itself,
the traffic kind of acts
like another body of water.
That's what it does.
It does.
It keeps the culture in.
It's its own bridge, yeah.
Now, I ask that question
because every Christmas,
like, were you never discouraged
by the Bell Parkway?
I was.
Going to Sal's?
Coming back is tougher.
Yeah.
Getting to the islands.
A lot of people going out
to their in-laws on the island.
Yeah.
And you're just there just trying to keep... I'm going in. They're going on. In. A lot of people going out to their in-laws on the island. Yeah. And you're just there just trying to keep-
I'm going in.
They're going on.
In and on.
I'm all right.
If they're going on the island to Long Island, I'm going in.
Did you ever get tempted to break tradition because of the traffic?
Were you like, fuck this.
I'll just-
Never because-
Let me just FaceTime and say I'm here.
Never because of the traffic.
It was only because of the time.
Right.
The time.
Most of the time.
It was like, it's tight right now.
Is this something that you,
that you intend on
continuing to do?
I think we're done.
You think you're done with it?
Yeah, I can't,
I can't forgive Sal
for what he's done to me.
No, I'm kidding.
Imagine right here,
I'm like,
he's dead to me.
I'll be like,
wow, that took a turn, yeah.
I hope he rots in hell.
No, yeah,
I mean,
I would love to,
you know,
to do it.
The hardest thing now
is like you have to, I have the kids, you know, I have a five-year-old,
a seven-year-old, they wake up for Santa.
Yeah.
They're waking up at six o'clock, you know, I got to be up and I got to be present for
it.
Yeah.
So, every pun intended.
Yeah.
So, I got to do that.
So, that's the only challenge.
That would be funny if you're touring or whatever, like, you just, you're overseas and you're
just like, it's Christmas and you're like, you got to show the next day.
You're like, look, I just got to.
Yeah. I got to go to Staten Island and say hello to Sal.
We talk about like if
I get locked up.
I'm down in Mexico.
I get into some shit. I get locked into a Mexican
prison and it's like, you know, it's 1222
and I'm like, I got three days to make it
to Staten Island. That would be a fucking
great movie. That would be a fucking great movie.
Let's do it. You're great movie. Let's do it.
Let's make it.
Yeah, I'll play a fucking Mexican guy
or a Mexican girl.
There you go.
Yeah, that would be
a great movie.
It's a great movie, right?
Yeah, like you gotta break out.
It's like get him to the Greek.
Yeah, get him to the Greek
except you're coming...
Get him to the island.
Get him to the south.
Yeah, to the island.
Yeah, do you think
there's a possibility
Sal will ever be
stripped off the island,
or is he like Staten Island Velcro?
He's just, he just can't, he loves Staten Island.
Him and Q, no way.
They just stand.
Yeah, Murray ended up to Jersey.
He made the left.
Yeah.
Well, his glasses made it out of Staten Island
before anybody else.
Yeah.
He got his Soho glasses, Georgetown.
Yeah, he got enough.
He got his turtle shell.
Yeah.
We get it. We get it, buddy. Yeah, he was out. Turtle shell. Yeah. We get it.
We get it, buddy.
Yeah, he was the guy who got,
he was kind of working for the production company, right?
And then he was like part of your group
and he was kind of the bridge that got you guys into Tree TV.
Yeah, he did, you know, he was pitching shows
and he had heard, you know,
word on the streets that people were looking for a prank show.
Yeah.
He's like, what's our version of it?
And it was like, well, we just mess with each other.
Right.
You know.
I heard, like, was the meeting,
like you guys just figured out what the show
Was gonna be like in the room before no we had we in sandwiches in my apartment me Murray lived together
So we haven't sandwiches at the apartment
And then when we did we shot a sales tape which on our cell phones
And we showed it to them and we showed it to the woman Marissa who was working there
She lost it hysterical laughing said well wait right here when got 12 employees
She said I just have to make sure I'm not insane that I want to buy this right now
Made everybody watch it
again
she watched it again
I was like this is never good
because it's not going to be as good
still crushed and loved it
and then she said
go ahead and
let's do it
and then it got a bidding war
between them and MTV
but MTV wanted to recast this
and make it a strip show
meaning one show a day
five
that's when they were doing
a lot of the strip shows
five episodes
oh so they looked at you guys
and were like
we need somebody younger.
They liked your concert.
It was great.
You guys just, you know,
we need abs, not flabs.
Let's go.
What are we going to do here?
You know, but,
so we were a little out of the demo.
We were funny, though.
They loved it, you know,
and the thing,
but they're like,
oh, it'd be fun if they tried.
But then they tried their own stab at it.
Didn't work.
Didn't work.
Yeah, because you're right.
It really is,
it is about the friendship
and that's what makes the show,
like, you know, great.
Yeah, it's fun.
It's like you guys, you guys, like it it's genuine you can't be genuine yeah you can't be genuine it's hardest
to sell but you can't beat it no you know what you know what too is you know how to make your
friends funny right you know you know how to tee up your friends you know the bump set spike is
half that show yeah it's like what's he gonna do great here let me do this i'm not gonna try to
make you know somebody do something
that I think they're going to fail
or something that Sal
could do better than Murrow
or I could do better than somebody.
You know people's wheelhouses.
You stick to them
and you make them shine.
I think that's a big part of it too.
You want to see your friends be funny
as opposed to,
you don't want to watch
your friends flop
on national television
in high definition.
Right.
You know what it looks like.
But that speaks to you guys though
because a lot of people would,
you know, their egos would get the better of them. They'd be like, I'm the most popular joker. But that speaks to you guys, though, because a lot of people would, you know,
their egos would get the better of them.
They'd be like, I'm the most popular joker.
But that didn't seem to happen to you guys. That didn't happen to us.
You know, it's so funny because everybody we met,
everybody had a different favorite.
Like, we met, one of my favorite stories,
we do the meet and greets after the show, right?
After the live show.
A grandmother, a mother, and a daughter come back.
Three different generations.
All three of them have different moments they like.
All have three different favorites. All love the show and watch it together
yeah it's like you don't you don't get that you know and i grew up on that like i grew up watching
tv with my father i love that like i love being that for people yeah i think that's the co-viewing
thing i don't think anybody thought we were going to be that show like we were on true tv at 10 p.m
after a in between two tow truck shows right that was our first season right we're between
south beach tow and the Tow Monsters
or whatever the hell
it was called.
Right?
The two, right?
The two shows
and we're in the middle
we're a comedy.
Right.
Between these two reality shows
they didn't even
and we took off.
Yeah.
And they redefined
the whole network
to be a comedy network
because of the success on that.
Yeah.
And it would,
yeah, I could see
they cast you guys like,
oh, you guys are a reflection
of the demo,
male, this age,
a little older,
but you guys got everybody.
It's going to be that,
blah, blah, blah
and then all of a sudden we start doing it.
First time we went on a VAR, we started a tour,
we do our tour, and it's like an eight-year-old girl
in the audience.
She's like, I love you guys.
We're like, who is this girl?
What is she doing here?
How do you know what our show is?
I watch it with my parents.
It's crazy.
Was it a dream of yours?
Was it something you saw that you wanted?
Because you were a guy who had so many plan Bs going.
I mean, you're selling baby stuff.
I mean, you got your accounting degree.
Was this like, you obviously went all in when you were forced to.
I had to.
When you had to.
But was this like a dream or did you kind of feel like you fell into it?
Always on the side.
Always loved it.
Yeah.
Always had a passion for it.
Never thought it would pay the bills.
Always was like, wanted to be a businessman.
Always loved sales.
Salesman.
I love sales.
But you guys loved making the sketches on the side.
You just were going to do that.
I loved doing it. And then I fell in love with editing yeah i love to edit i fell in love
with filmmaking you know i loved i did a couple short films i love that and i always wanted to
be a director i always loved movies and then i was like that was why i got into the business i moved
to la in 03 right when we were doing the stand-up so i was like guys i'm taking a shot and i went to
la from 03 to 05 oh wow and i lived out there for two years and i worked at nordstrom
and i sold pants to the stars.
Dude, how fucking funny.
Imagine you were a guy who recognized him from Nordstrom.
You're like, dude, you guys told me where the shoe section was?
Now you're doing the O2 arena?
Flip of that.
Flip of that is I used to sell pants.
I sold pants to Vince Vaughn.
And then we ended up doing the Nashville Comedy Festival, which he helped put together.
And we're having lunch.
And I was like, you know, I don't want to brag, but I sold you a pair of jeans.
And he's like, what the fuck are you talking about?
I was like, you're at Nordstrom.
I was like, I couldn't even breathe.
I was like, I was so nervous because you're one of my idols.
It was hysterical.
I was like, but, you know, you're welcome.
I found you a pair of jeans that fit your fucking tall ass.
I found a 36 inch he needed.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How did the movie, the movie happened right before COVID.
We were the last movie that got released before COVID.
So we had three weeks in the theaters and the world shut down.
And it was so funny because like a year and a half later, you still had movie.
We make the joke that we're the longest running movie in history because it was still on marquees.
It's an impractical joke.
It's a movie a year and a half later because all the businesses closed.
They were all closed, you know?
So like, guys, we're still playing over at the Regal in Cincinnati, you know?
I mean, it was like like, right after, right?
Like, when was that premiere?
It premiered February.
Oh, it was, like, right there.
Yeah, it was, like, a couple weeks after COVID happened.
I think it was February 11th, 15th.
Yeah.
That was a crazy experience.
That was really fun to do.
And I really got to dive in.
And Chris Henchey was our director.
And he really made room for me to help dive in and make some decisions and help.
And then with the edit and stuff, it was great. so now you want to you want to do like some directing
you're directing steve burns special steve burns special yeah i've uh i got a screenplay i'm out
shopping um that's a really funny action comedy it's funny because when you focus on one thing
for so long right yeah so once i realized that i had time it's like just the kettle exploded and
you know i came up with a bunch of tv ideas movie ideas i wrote a kid's book i did like just so much stuff it was like just i didn't have time
i was just so laser focused on one thing so and what's it like now you are you you're divorced
now no secret yeah so you got kids yep are you just gonna like stay away from dating or what
are you gonna do stay away from for sure for now yeah i mean i got no i got no time for that i'm
still trying to figure out
you can't just go on a dating app
I mean you know
you go on a dating app
people know who you are
I think I think
I'm already on dating apps
other guys do that
you know what's funny
do you gotta do Raya
do you do Raya
I get what's
what's Raya
yeah I would know you
I would figure you would know Raya
Raya's like for celebrities
and like you know
it's a dating app for like
oh people of
of note
yeah of note yeah
i'm on basic cable yeah come on let's take it easy i'm not raya worthy they'd be like we're good
we're good um i uh i i do have get all the time where people put in their profile pictures uh
if people like took a picture of me on the street in their app and they're like you know you swiped
to their fourth picture it's me and them on the street it's like no and they'd be like i love that
show and they're using me for clout yeah andiped in that fourth picture. It's me and them on the street. It's like, man, show. And they'd be like, I love that show. And they're using me for clout.
Yeah.
And my nephews have been crushing.
Oh, that's good.
Because I'm their uncle.
Yeah.
I get FaceTimes all the time.
It's like, Joe, say hi to my friend.
It's some girl they're at a college with.
And like, oh, I told you he's my uncle.
I'm like, go get him, tiger.
That would be funny if you go on a dating app and then you see a girl.
You guys connect.
And you're in a picture with her at one of your shows. It's just her and you. And then you guys connect and you're in a picture with her at one
of your shows it's just her and you and then you guys connect that would be fun like an exception
moment yeah so what do you do like what do you do now you we're all the same age here the three of
us you know you got kids how many kids you got two a seven-year-old girl and a five-year-old
yeah so it's like do you what do you do do you just like work because now like because now when
you have the kids right like you but you also have to tour.
Yeah, so it's super amicable with me and my mom.
It's been very good.
We go to dinner at the house.
I go over to dinner.
I go over, I pick them up in the morning to take them to school,
come over, do homework.
Oh, that's great.
Which is good.
And when I'm gone, when I come back home,
they're basically with me for the week. So it's like the flip, right? Because I tour that's great. Which is good. And, you know, for the, when I'm gone, she goes, when I come back home, they're basically with me
for the week.
So it's like the flip, right?
Because I tour Thursday
through Sunday or Monday,
whatever.
And then I'll just grab them
and just take them
and they stay at my place.
I got bunk beds
in my apartment
and stuff like that.
So, and I recently
just started doing
the sleepovers
and taking them stuff.
So we're, you know,
slowly acclimating them
and stuff.
The questions are starting,
though, like,
why don't you live here?
It's like,
sometimes mommy and daddy
don't live together,
you know?
What do you have to explain divorce to a seven-year-old? It's like hard. Like, I don't know what here? It's like, sometimes mommy and daddies don't live together, you know? What do you have to explain
a divorce to a seven-year-old?
It's like, hard.
Like, I don't know what to do.
They go, dad, what's God?
Like, does this guy know?
Does he have any answers?
What's God?
Why are you living?
I'm like, yeah,
but I can tell you
what pasta fazoola is.
Like, yeah, you know?
Do you just distract them
and bring them pastries?
Just go, hey, guys.
My kids love a pastry.
My kids are sweet dudes, man.
They are.
They are.
Desserts, dessert is, we can't go to bed yet. My kids are sweet dudes, man. They are. They are. Desserts.
Dessert is.
We can't go to bed yet.
We haven't had dessert.
Yeah.
I am very conscious of not being that father that's competing, though.
Like, we are both very good at that.
Thank God.
Of being like, there's rules at my house.
Yeah.
There's rules when you're with me.
And I would arguably say the rules are.
Like, I came from a pretty strict upbringing.
You know, like, you do your homework.
You don't play until you do your homework.
I don't care.
I don't care what's going on.
I don't know.
You know, I'm only going to see you for two hours. But, you know, a half hour of that is us do your homework you don't play do your homework i don't care you don't care what's going on i don't know you know i'm only gonna see you for two hours but you know
a half hour that is us doing your homework yeah did your did your kids love the show did they
watch your show a lot my daughter not really because my daughter my daughter does now my
daughter loves telling everybody that her father's an impractical joker um but the she'll watch she's
she'd seen little skits of it you know like she's seen me be the genie and, you know, things like that.
And she'd seen some stuff and she was like,
that's me breaking the tables with my body.
Anything that's funny,
you know,
that stuff translates.
Yeah.
Um,
my nieces and nephews really saw me,
you know,
I have nieces ranging from 23,
20,
he's oldest,
he's 23 up to a pair of twins who are 18 and freshman year of college and a
bunch of them there.
So they really saw me come up and come to live shows.
I brought them on stage at MSG.
My daughter's actually been on stage with me
at MSG and Radio City.
That's amazing.
But she was a baby.
Yeah, yeah.
I still tell her she played MSG.
Well, when she sees that later,
that's going to be like, wow.
I'm surprised in her, which is fun
because she loves that aspect of it.
She loves to see daddy get in cheer for her.
She loves watching me make people laugh.
I see her beaming.
Like, she does.
I did some shows out on Long Island at the Paramount Theater.
Yeah.
Which is phenomenal.
I love that place.
I did four shows there.
It was great.
The island was very good to me.
And they came.
And at the end, they would come out to the top.
And she would just sit there beaming.
But I could see them.
Because the way that was lit, I could see them watching me.
And they were up on the glass.
You know, we had the owner's booth up there that they gave us for the family, whatever.
And they were up on the glass just watching me.
And the way the light was hitting them i could
just see them like smiling at me right it was so distracting but so cute at the same time and then
my son got really tired and i see him pacing like is this over like come on wrap it up like one of
those kind of thing yeah but i'm surprised i'm taking her to cincinnati i'm playing i gotta fly
back for a daddy and me breakfast i'm playing baltimore i'm gonna come back to a daddy and
me breakfast at the school but then I'm taking her
with me to Cincinnati.
I'm surprising her.
Oh, that's awesome.
Well, unless she watches this show
and then won't be as surprised as me.
You're right.
She's a big subscriber.
You should keep that out.
Guys, do me a favor.
Edit that out.
Also, I'm Joe Gatto.
Thanks for joining us.
What's it like to be famous?
You guys are famous.
You're famous?
People, you get recognized
from that Tom's commercial
all the time.
Oh, Tom's commercial? You guys're famous? No, I'm not. People, you get recognized from that Tom's commercial all the time. Oh, the Tom's?
Yeah, the Tom's commercial.
You guys were involved
in that somehow.
My cousin, Mike Polano,
played the host of that.
That's right.
Yeah, he played the host of that.
Nice guy.
He's great.
He's great, dude.
He said,
nothing but nice things
to say about you.
He was super excited
I was coming.
He was like,
you gotta tell him
so he remembers
the Tom's commercial.
I do remember
the Tom's commercial.
Yeah, you were very funny in it.
Yeah, it was fun.
But like, yeah,
I mean, like,
are you in the neighborhood and like, is everyone But like, yeah, I mean, like, are you in the neighborhood?
Is like, has everyone calmed down now?
I mean, how many cakes were brought to your door?
A lot.
A lot of paychecks.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
A lot of neighborhood people leave you alone there, which is nice.
But the school.
Long Island is very much like that.
Very much.
The school was weird.
Like, I go to the PTO meetings on Zoom.
Yeah.
And you see, like, you know, I'll pop on And I'm sitting there
And then all of a sudden
Everybody's cameras start turning on
And you see them being like
They're like
Are we on the show right now?
What's going on?
I get that a lot too
People are like
Oh you're not
I tell this story all the time
I was in Target
And I couldn't find the paper towels
And I was in a rush
So I said to the woman working there
And she's at the other end of the aisle
I'm like
Excuse me
Where are the paper towels?
And she goes
Oh no
You're not getting me
And she starts walking So I start walking On the other end of the aisle i'm like excuse me where are the paper towels and she goes oh no you're not getting me and she starts walking so i start walking on the other end of
the aisle i'm like excuse me and we're stopping every aisle i'm like she picks up pace she's like
no no no i know you i'm like where the fuck are the paper towels like just help me out i need
paper towels yeah because they they that's the context where they they know you from you know
like it's just happening right now my My, my, yeah, my kids,
that's another funny thing.
It's like,
that would be another funny thing.
I mean, we're thinking of ideas here.
That'd be a funny thing.
It's like you trying to live your life.
Right.
And people just keep it,
thinking it's the show.
And you're going,
I just want a fucking cup of coffee.
I use it to my benefit too.
The flip of that is when I don't want to talk to somebody,
or somebody's coming up hot,
I go,
we're filming.
And they walk away.
Like,
that's a good way to get rid of people.
I pretend I have a earpiece.
Yeah.
You really don't.
The only part of the thing, I love, you know, I love the famous part.
It's what you do.
But, you know, when stuff happens in your life, it's all in the public eye, which is hard to handle.
And, you know, people, there's an entitlement that comes to that.
You know, people feel like they deserve answers.
And it's like, you know, I'm going through some personal stuff.
It's not.
Yeah, I hate that.
I know.
It's part, you know, and people are like that. I hate are like that and it's also it's turned me away from it like i don't know if i used to be like that but like i i don't i turn a blind
eye to like all celeb drama like and all and stuff i don't even i don't even pay attention to any of
it because it's like you don't it's not it's nobody's business even though they are they're
in the public eye right but they're making a movie playing a character and that's who you know yeah
you know what i mean so it's kind of yeah and yours is just kind of run-of-the-mill happens to everybody.
People just kind of, like, marriage happens, and then people grow apart, whatever happens.
It's not a big deal.
I mean, I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
As long as you're not saying that the Jews run the banks, I think you're going to be fine.
I think everyone's attention is on something else right now.
Right, for sure.
But I think that the only time it gets a little bit is when you're trying to be a dad.
Like when I'm at Disneyland, and I'm with with my daughter and I'm just having a moment.
Can we take a picture?
I'm watching my daughter's excitement
or my son's excitement about something.
And that gets robbed for me. That's when I get really
Italian. I get really like...
No.
Not right now.
That's not how you get.
You said really Italian.
What did you say?
I think you're watering it down.
You're not on true TV.
Tell me what you say.
Get the fuck out of here.
I'm with my kids, you fucking piece of shit.
That's the second one.
You have to say it properly.
I have called people a piece of shit.
Get the fuck out of here.
I have called people a piece of shit and flipped them off.
And that's a true story.
We'll get to it later.
But the first one is always just stern, no smile.
Yeah.
And most people get it.
Yeah.
But then there's some people that don't.
Yeah.
And that's when I really get, that's when i get really like you you're taking memory away from me and my kid
like that's not yeah so yeah that's the only time but everything else like you know i love it i i
it's not lost on me the impact i have on people i hear all the time you got me through this we did
this but that's why we do it right that's why we entertain we want people to you're on stage making
people laugh to forget how shitty their life is that's's why you do it. Yeah. You know, so you don't lose that part of it.
Yeah.
Trying to think like if I had a problem with any of the four of you, I think I'd be most scared of you.
For sure.
I think you're the one.
I think there's another side.
I think you're the guy.
Yeah, I'm a Gemini.
I think, yeah, you're the guy.
You'll get it back quick.
I will say when we were on the road and the people are coming up to take pictures with us
and the way that they interact with each of us is very funny to watch.
Like Murray would get picked up.
They'd be like, look at you.
Put on a headlock and stuff.
Sally would be like, look at you.
You're scared, blah, blah, blah.
And me and Q would be a different vibe.
We'd be like, hey, Brian, how are you?
And they'd be like, Joe, can we approach you, sir?
You know, a little bit.
Because people know I'm crazy.
You know, like that's my persona.
Like I'm just, I'm UBOTS.
You know, I get out there and do my thing.
So I think people are a little bit on edge around me a little bit yeah
bots what does who bots mean crazy oh but do you speak italian no just the curse word just the
curse no just the slang really yeah jesse's italian though yeah half yeah half uh jewish
all right there you go great pizza bagel yeah there you go nice you go. His dad grew up in Bensonhurst.
It's funny.
Italians are very funny.
It is true that they take your worst quality
and then make it your nickname,
which is funny.
Or the flip, right?
They call the fat guy slim.
Yeah.
Yeah, they just fuck with you a little bit.
And the fun, I think about it, it makes me happy
because it's just so funny.
It's a sneaky funny, but Jesse's father,
one of the friends that he grew up with in Bensonhurst,
he was nicknamed Vinny the Mole.
Lenny.
Lenny the Mole.
I'm sorry, Lenny the Mole,
because he never came out of his house before 5 p.m which is like very inventive too that's like inventive
it's not like he had a mole yeah he would come out hey guys what's going on it's five o'clock
so uh Fucking mole What are you doing If he came out before that It's like who died
What happened
What's the matter
Something's wrong in the neighborhood
So we'll end that
Just like
The pod man
So you
How
How much
How much are you enjoying
The pod with Steve
So much more
And you guys were friends
Before too
Yes me and Steve
Know each other
You know
He toured with us
Actually in London
When we did one of the London tours
He opened for us
He's great
And I know him before that
He actually had the show Sullivan and Son on tbs which is a sister network to true
so we met him through a lot of the like events they were at and whatnot sal knew uh a bunch of
them through comedy and then uh we just hung out and clicked yeah and his mind was blown the first
time we hung out i don't drink i've never been drunk tried a cigarette or a drug in my life but
i'm absolutely crazy that's why i'm scared of I know. You've seen me on a dance floor.
You know what it's like.
He's sober, yeah.
Yeah, so the first time he saw me,
he was like, he said to Sal,
he's like, this guy is crazy.
He's like, oh, he's got to be the best
to go out drinking with.
And Sal's like, oh no, he's dead sober.
It was like 3 a.m.
and I had my shirt off.
I was dry humping a wall,
just like staring at it.
And he's like, he's like, what?
He's like, yeah, he doesn't drink.
And he came, Steve came over.
He's like, you're sober right now?
He's like, yeah.
He's like, oh my God, I got to be friends with you. And then we he's like, you're sober right now? He's like, yeah. He's like,
oh my God, I gotta be friends with you.
And then we just like clicked
and,
you know,
hit it off.
Cause Steve is a party guy.
He likes to make sure
everybody's having a good time.
Same as me.
And then we started the podcast.
We always wanted to work together
in some capacity
when my schedule opened up.
We started talking about podcasts
and we,
our first podcast was actually called
Ying Yang Parmesan.
We just,
us talking,
we couldn't find it.
Then we found our format with two cool moms and we really enjoyed that cool mom yeah we just did
our like 35th episode so we've been doing it for a minute and it's been it's been a lot of fun
35 that's that's you get over the hump of 20 right that's i think it's like a i think it takes a
while yeah you guys probably i mean it's to mean that you're gonna keep doing it right yeah i think
more than that yeah i think more than that yeah Yeah. I think more than that. Yeah.
I think you guys, yeah, I mean, I don't know.
You guys are good friends.
As long as you're having fun.
That's all it's about.
And yeah.
And the time flies when you're talking.
Yeah.
So then you know it's the right, you'll keep doing it.
Yeah.
You're having a good time.
But yeah, I mean, Pac is-
It's hard because he lives in Nashville.
So we try to do it.
But we tour together.
He comes with me on the road.
Right.
So sometimes we try to line it up that way.
Or I'm going through Nashville
So I'll stop in Nashville
He always comes to New York
Right, right
You guys could always bang him out like
Four at a time or whatever
Yeah, we film in Manhattan at a studio
Nice
We don't have something as fancy as this
Yeah, no, yeah
Oh, I got a new bathroom now
It's fantastic
Yeah, I mean it was
That's the only reason I was worried about nuclear war
I'm like, I've just got my bathroom renovated
I hope
I hope it doesn't.
Guys, guys.
Guys, Putin, can you just chill?
Put it away.
Look at this marble.
So two cool moms checking out.
Catch Joe on tour.
Yeah, Joe Gatto officials got all my updates.
Thank you so much for doing this, man.
This has been fantastic, man.
It's such an honor.
And you know what?
I mean, the class of bringing these uh it was a variety too which means you picked out i did you didn't just go
like you didn't just go in quick and go give me so you were like i let me give did i pick out i
produced it and i picked the one i wanted oh yeah give me the second from the top of the skull i
see that one that's the one that one looks good you can't squeeze them but you can see yeah and
we've been eating like i've been eating my whole life. How important do you think it is to bring something when you go somewhere new?
It's the separation between animal and human.
And I'll live and die by that.
I'll live and die by that.
You're an animal.
You're on the mall if you don't bring a box of pastry.
Okay?
All right?
Next time you come to my house, you know.
I will not come empty handed.
You will not come empty handed. There. I got to buy you a bowl. Not come empty-handed. Yeah, you don't want to come empty-handed.
There's a saying.
There's a saying.
It's like, did you knock or did you use your elbow?
If you use your elbow, you're carrying something.
But if you couldn't knock, that means you're coming to my house.
So don't be an animal.
Bring some.
Yes, for sure.
Thank you, Joe.
Thank you for coming.
Oh, thank you for coming.
I'm glad to be here.
Very good.
You know what? You hang out here. I'm going to leave. You know what you hang out here
This is yours now
What's up everybody
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