- 11 months ago
Ted tells us about meeting Roger Waters and his new Instagram accounts about dentistry and virology
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00:00All right, next guest is going to be at Helium Comedy Club tonight and tomorrow.
00:05We love having him on.
00:06He's been on many times.
00:07Please welcome Ted Alexander.
00:10Oh, guys, I was listening closely to the traffic report because I'm going to be on the road shortly.
00:16So I had to, you know, take notes and make sure I'm avoiding any dust-ups.
00:20Of course.
00:20Have you heard, and Preston was talking about earlier this week, that because of the shifting work-from-home sort of atmosphere
00:26and also people just returning back in a hybrid way, that the morning and evening rushes may be less congested but extending longer?
00:37I have heard that.
00:37You know, I asked Helium if I could Zoom my shows in.
00:41I thought it might help with the traffic, trying to do my part, you know, but they said, no, they prefer that I come in person.
00:47You know, it's funny, for a while, though, listen, and the last thing we want to do is go back to the beginning of this
00:52and, hey, the nostalgic wonder that was the beginning of the pandemic.
00:55But did you, in fact, end up doing some Zoom shows and stuff like that?
00:59Well, weirdly, you know, just prior to the pandemic, and this is purely coincidental, I took, just on a whim,
01:08I took a gig at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
01:11Oh, yeah?
01:12No kidding, huh?
01:13Yeah, it had always been a hobby of mine.
01:15So this was like 2018.
01:17Right, right.
01:17I just wanted to kind of get in there, get my hands dirty, and, you know, I coupled it, you know, as comedians often do,
01:25I piggybacked it with a gig at the Chuckle Hut in Wuhan.
01:30So Wuhan and the Chuckle Hut.
01:31It all worked out.
01:32Yeah, everything worked out.
01:34And then, but next thing I knew, you know, things kind of got out of hand.
01:36I was asked to leave both the gig and the, you know, Wuhan Institute of Virology.
01:41Wow.
01:42So I'm back, and here we are.
01:45Was that going to be your thing?
01:47You were the virology comedian?
01:49I was going to be the virology comedian.
01:52Yeah, I thought, like, you know, this is really kind of an untapped area.
01:55This could be my niche.
01:57Oh.
01:57And let's face it, people need to laugh more than ever.
02:00So that was my case that I made to the Chuckle Hut.
02:03I'm like, this is really the time you guys need me.
02:07You're right.
02:08They saw it differently.
02:09So I'm back.
02:10You know, it's all for the best, because here I am.
02:13I'll be at Philly this weekend.
02:15Yeah.
02:15So obviously, you know the trends before they're happening.
02:17So in the world of virology, are you like an influencer?
02:21Well, that can be a blessing and a curse.
02:22Yeah, I am a bit of an influencer.
02:25If you follow my, not my comedy page on Instagram, but my virology page, you have to look for that.
02:32That's Teddy Wuhan.
02:34Teddy W.
02:35And you'll see a lot of trends, you know, at least two to three weeks before the rest of the world is hip to it.
02:42Wow.
02:43My Instagram page will tip you off to that.
02:45That's amazing.
02:45I don't know how you find the time.
02:46I mean, as a working comedian with, you know.
02:49Yeah, I've got two babies now, two little viruses, we refer to them as.
02:56So, yeah, I've got my hands full.
02:58Thank you for acknowledging that.
02:59But, you know, I also try to make time for the greater good.
03:03You know, it's not just about me and my family.
03:05It's about, you know, how can I help the world?
03:07You can't take and take and take.
03:08And that's, you've got to give back sometimes.
03:10And you are a giver.
03:11So, obviously, we have a guest on.
03:13We want to do some research.
03:14And I'm reading through these things and, you know, did various interviews with you.
03:19And I don't know if this is true or this is one of those things that happens to end up in your information.
03:23Did you, in fact, open for Chuck Berry one time doing a show?
03:28That was not in Wuhan.
03:29That was in St. Louis.
03:31Really?
03:31Chuck's hometown.
03:32Yeah, I mean, this is one of those gigs.
03:34Wow.
03:35Yeah, isn't it nuts?
03:35You get so many gigs as a comedian that you really don't deserve, especially when you're coming up.
03:40I think it's because you're cheap and these big acts want somebody to kind of just throw to the wolves to warm the crowd up.
03:49So, it was a dental convention, of all things.
03:52You're a musician.
03:53So, you, I mean, you're a trained musician.
03:57To open for Chuck Berry, even at a dental convention, had to be pretty astonishing.
04:02Yeah, I had dabbled in dentistry.
04:03I have an Instagram page.
04:05You can check that out.
04:07Next to the biology.
04:08It's Teddy Novocaine.
04:09Yeah, and so, yeah, somehow I got paired with Chuck Berry.
04:16I was probably, I couldn't have been more than 30 years old, but it was amazing, man.
04:20In all seriousness, it was amazing to watch him work.
04:22He must have been probably close to 80 at that point and just fit as could be and still doing the duck walk and put on a great show.
04:31And what was really sweet was his wife sat in the wings and watched the show.
04:37God.
04:37So, I was like, aren't you tired of this crap?
04:40I'm originally from the St. Louis area.
04:42Do you remember what venue it was that you played?
04:43Oh, gosh, I don't, honestly.
04:46Okay.
04:47Yeah.
04:47He had his own hotel and restaurant that he would film people in the bathroom while they were coming.
04:55Well, you know, I mean, there's always a nuance.
04:59Yeah, maybe I can get a hold of my tape then.
05:02And if he did that, would he go somewhere in the archives?
05:06Oh, God, that'd be a Teddy Novocaine.
05:08That'd be a keeper.
05:10Yeah, yeah.
05:11It's like, you know, when you go to Six Flags, they get you on the rides.
05:16Ted, you were actually the first, like, legitimate stand-up comedian I ever saw.
05:20It was at this, I don't even know if the venue still exists, but it was in Northeast Philly.
05:23It was off the boulevard.
05:24It was this sort of bar that was attached to a hotel.
05:28And I remember two things about it.
05:30The venue was a piece of crap, but you were hilarious.
05:32And so I've always loved going to see stand-up comedians since then.
05:37But I wanted to ask you, outside of that venue and the Wuhan, Chuckle Hut, what's the worst venue you've ever had to play over the years?
05:46Oh, man, there have been so many.
05:48You know, like, basically, the ones that come to mind are any type of bar or restaurant where people are unaware that there will be a show that night.
05:58Right.
05:58And that was probably the first half of my career was it's kind of like guerrilla comedy where sometimes I don't even think the owner knows.
06:07I think just how, you know, the producers put it together.
06:10There's a game on, you know, like the Super Bowl, perhaps.
06:13It could even be like that type of thing.
06:15They're like, you know, we're going to market for the people who aren't interested in the Super Bowl.
06:19So, yeah, I've done gigs where the television, there's a big game, you know, not necessarily the Super Bowl, but, you know, maybe something like the Final Four.
06:29Yes.
06:29There's no way.
06:29Why are we doing this show?
06:31And I'm trying to do my bits about virology, which are hard enough even under the best circumstances.
06:36Yeah, before it became popular to talk about, you are so right.
06:39I had a brief, like I had maybe like a decade run, you know, where I was serious about doing comedy.
06:44You are so right.
06:45You would show up at a place and it'd be the assistant manager and no one would even know who booked the show.
06:50And you're like, oh, my God.
06:52I'm sure if you hear the words, somebody say, oh, there's a comedian here.
06:58It's the worst.
06:59The worst thing is when they ask you on the way in, hey, are you interested in a comedy show?
07:05I'm like, actually, I am the comedy show.
07:08Right.
07:09You know, I've had that happen.
07:10Even like after I had been doing it 20, 25 years, walking into like the stand, you know, because they hire some young kid.
07:18You know, I'm not I'm not blaming the kid, though I did have him fired.
07:22But you didn't blame him.
07:24Yeah.
07:24Yeah.
07:24No, no blame.
07:25But, you know, he's asking me like, hey, do you like comedy?
07:29I'm like, well, I'm kind of on the fence, but I'm about to do it.
07:34I would love to see you just show up and pretend at a bar like you had been booked and see if they even like, oh, I didn't know that that was tonight.
07:43And then just hop up on stage.
07:45I mean, now as a seasoned veteran, you know, see, you know, try your chops at the ground round.
07:50But those those battle those battle scars are things that they are.
07:54It's kind of cool to have that in your history.
07:56You know, you those because everyone we've talked to, obviously, we have a number of comedians on the show.
08:00And there is that certain thing that you guys, you know, understand that is just a shorthand of like the the comedy condo.
08:07Or I mean, one of the stories from my past, I kid you not, I was at a college in Louisiana and they literally handed me like one of those megaphones, like an old standard, like, like, you know, non-powered, non-powered cone.
08:25Yeah.
08:26To do the show.
08:28And like.
08:30How'd that go?
08:30Have you heard about Alexis?
08:32Like you were like a bare knuckle boxing.
08:34Yes.
08:35Round one.
08:37Oh, like I was Al Jolson.
08:39Yes.
08:39Yeah.
08:39It's crazy.
08:40Yeah.
08:41Like you say, though, those are truly the gigs that make you a comedian.
08:45You have to kind of run the gauntlet of all those kind of crazy gigs to come on the other side.
08:50But yeah, there's so many of those.
08:52I mean, I've done plenty of college gigs where there's like a podium in the middle with no microphone, nothing to amplify.
08:59Am I like giving a PowerPoint?
09:01Am I a preacher?
09:03Like what is.
09:04Do you guys not know how.
09:05Have you ever watched a comedy special?
09:07How many people.
09:08Does Chris Rock have a podium?
09:09What is.
09:10I didn't bring any notes, you know, like it's insane.
09:13Yeah.
09:13So there's so many of those gigs that, you know, ultimately they make for a good story, but they're painful as you go through.
09:18Sure.
09:19Um, a couple of things I want to ask you about.
09:21First of all, uh, I want to ask you about your beard because it looks great.
09:25And when I first met you, you, you might've had like some scruff, maybe a five o'clock shadow, but now you have a full on beard and it totally works for you.
09:32How long you've been working on that thing?
09:35Uh, I guess probably the last five years or so I've had a beard, but like the pandemic has really afforded me the opportunity to play with length girth.
09:45Uh, it's, it's kind of my, it's my hobby, you know, like I'm constantly checking either my wordle or my beard, you know, those, those are the two things.
09:54Did a, did a growth spurt occur right after you left the Wuhan chuckle hut?
09:58Uh, yeah, there was an odd spurt, uh, inexplicable really.
10:01Uh, yeah, that, that it was, it grew about a foot in a week.
10:05Um, but yeah, we'll never know the reasons really.
10:07You mentioned wordle and that is, uh, consuming.
10:10Like a lot of people on the show here, it's just my, my wife is addicted.
10:14Are, are you in fact a, a daily player?
10:18Yeah, I'm a wordle head.
10:19I play, you know, my, my kids, um, you know, once they are, they're two and 10 months.
10:26So once they are sufficiently kind of into something, uh, I check my phone as if I'm trying to solve a murder.
10:34I'm constantly going over to it, but it's the little things, you know?
10:38So, I mean, the pandemic combined with having two under two, as they say, uh, has really, yeah.
10:45Like you just look for those little moments of peace.
10:47Uh, so yeah, that, that, that is my, that's my little escape for now.
10:51Right.
10:52Yeah.
10:52We had, uh, I recently segued over to the New York times.
10:56I had been on, on the old, uh, URL.
10:59So I had my, you know, my 31 game streak was intact and I switched over yesterday and that goes straight down to zero.
11:05Got to start all over again.
11:07I know it was heartbreaking, man.
11:09It's like Cal Ripken, man.
11:10It's, that's not fair that you, uh, 31 games in a row.
11:14Yeah.
11:14There's gotta be some way to, to keep that in the, in, on the record.
11:17Wait, at least.
11:18New York times you should have that technology.
11:19Come on.
11:20Yeah.
11:20It just reset mine, by the way.
11:22I, I'm, I, I finished mine this morning and I was like, oh, one in a row.
11:25I was like one in a row.
11:26What?
11:27Yeah.
11:27Again, again, I think the most I've gotten in a row is like three at this point, ever since they switched
11:34over, have you guys dabbled at all in like the ones that you can play just one after another?
11:40There's one called word us, uh, that I, that I came across right when the game first came out.
11:45Cause I was like one a day is not enough.
11:47And plus keeps your skills sharp so you can knock out that one a day thing.
11:51Uh, but I haven't, I, go ahead.
11:53I said to, I said to my wife too, that this is perfect for us because it's really like a sixth
11:59grade level.
12:00It's like, I feel like I'm a genius, but it's like, oh, five letters.
12:03Okay.
12:04You know, it's, it's like sixth grade level words.
12:06Yeah.
12:07Yeah.
12:07And you feel great about yourself.
12:09Yeah, absolutely.
12:10And now they have geography ones and curse words.
12:13And there, I, I, I don't know if this guy, I highly doubt he's got a hand in any of that
12:18of the stuff that created this, but it's being, it's being parodied left and right right now.
12:23It's a moneymaker.
12:23I mentioned short or now he made a deal.
12:25Obviously we heard it was, what was it in the, in the six figures or the low seven figures.
12:31Yeah.
12:31I believe a wordle Jesus Christ.
12:33But, uh, yeah, at some point I'm sure he'll get boned out of something.
12:36I think he made the deal very quickly too.
12:38He didn't sit on it long enough.
12:39Yeah.
12:40Yeah.
12:40Yeah.
12:41Well, you know, my, my time, uh, over at the Institute, my first guest is always, uh,
12:45Wuhan and that doesn't, you know, it's not the best word to start with, but, uh, it depends
12:50on the day.
12:51But when you get it, you feel so accomplished.
12:53Do you actually have a pretty steady starting word or do you switch every time?
12:58No, I'm too scattered to, yeah, I just go, I'm a field player.
13:01I don't know about you guys, but I'm not, uh, you know, my brother is, is in like, uh,
13:05statistics and analysis and stuff.
13:07He's like, you got to start with like crate or stoic or something.
13:10And I'm like, no, man, I go with like, you know, uh, you know, stamp or, you know, one
13:16day and then like humor the next or whatever, you know, whatever.
13:19I, I, I don't, I don't have a predetermined word.
13:22The only, I get, you got to live, man.
13:23You got to live.
13:24Yeah.
13:24The only choice I'll go is, is I, am I feeling it?
13:27It's an E a word or an O U word.
13:30Uh, and I'll go with either gut on that.
13:32And that's, that's the only system I pretty much use at this point.
13:35You know, the thing that really trips you up is, is when there's a pronunciation that you're
13:39not, your, your brain is missing, right?
13:42There was one the other day.
13:43Yeah.
13:43Uh, what was the, when you guys were talking, you both were two different words were correct
13:47for the word.
13:47Well, it was, yeah.
13:48Agora and aroma.
13:50Aroma.
13:50And that was because of the two different servers.
13:52And I was on the old ones.
13:53Okay.
13:53You might look at like aroma and you go like, what is aroma?
13:56Aroma.
13:56What is aroma?
13:58Aroma.
13:58No, that's not a word.
14:00Yeah.
14:00Sometimes you feel like a fool.
14:01You're like, oh, a C can also be pronounced like an S.
14:04Oh, okay.
14:05Right.
14:06The best is Kathy's story.
14:08Kathy was playing, tell about playing Scrabble.
14:10I mean, this was well before any of this.
14:12And I was playing Scrabble and, uh, they laid out the word and I was like sounding it out
14:18as he was laying it out.
14:20It was O-R-A.
14:22So I was like, O-range.
14:24O-range.
14:25I'm like, that's not even a word.
14:26Is he like, uh, orange?
14:29Yes, it is.
14:32But your mind doesn't process that way all the time.
14:35And so you're like, okay.
14:36This is part of the deal.
14:38You're like, app play?
14:39Oh, it's Apple.
14:41It's Apple.
14:42That's what that is.
14:43Hey, uh, Ted, I wanted to ask about a photo on your, uh, Instagram account.
14:46Nick just pulled this up, but it's you and Roger Waters together.
14:49Uh, oh man, that's pretty incredible.
14:52Yeah.
14:53Yeah.
14:53Yeah.
14:54That was insane, man.
14:55There was a gig.
14:57I've only been into New York three times.
14:58My wife and I moved with the babies up to Connecticut, uh, in the last year or so.
15:03And so I haven't been back to the city except for three times.
15:07One was I played Radio City with Jim Gaffigan, who I opened for, for the last six years.
15:14Uh, the second was Todd Barry's, uh, 34th anniversary show.
15:18Cool.
15:18And the third was Roger Waters, uh, was doing this gig.
15:23Lee Camp is a great comedian, uh, who was doing this benefit, uh, to get the word out
15:30and to raise funds for Julian Assange.
15:31So he's like, do you want to do this gig?
15:33I was like, yeah, sure.
15:34And at the time Roger Waters was not on it.
15:35It was just like a fundraiser, whatever, kind of a political thing.
15:38I'm like, sure.
15:39I'll, you know, I'll do that.
15:40And then, uh, the day of, as I'm driving in, he tells me Roger Waters and Cornell West
15:46have been added to the gig.
15:48And I'm like, damn, Roger Waters, Cornell West.
15:52So that's a pairing.
15:53Yeah.
15:54So, and I'm like, am I, you know, like, are they going to be there?
15:57Is it going to be a zoom thing?
15:58Like what's, what's the deal?
15:59Sure enough, when I get to the theater, they're there.
16:02And Roger Waters is trying to post, uh, the link to the live stream to his phone.
16:06And he's like, I don't know how to do Twitter.
16:07Anyone know how to do it?
16:08I'm like, I know how to do it.
16:09Like I jumped at his phone, you know?
16:10Yeah.
16:11Yeah.
16:12Yeah.
16:12So he's like, I don't know.
16:13They want me to do the live stream link.
16:15So I do it.
16:16But what I did was I retweeted him from my account so that people, people would see me.
16:23Brilliant.
16:25Brilliant.
16:26Yeah.
16:26Yeah.
16:26Did you get any?
16:27But I also, I also did his, you know, just to make it legit.
16:30I also did it from his.
16:31Did you get any, any really good chat time with him or was it more, you were servicing
16:36the gig?
16:37Well, again, you know, that was my thing was like, is this going to be like, he does the
16:41gig and runs.
16:42Right.
16:42But you know, what was funny was it was supposed to be me and Cornel West, then Roger Waters
16:48at the end.
16:49Yeah.
16:50But then they say to me, Hey, Ted, there's going to be a switch.
16:52It's going to be Roger Waters, Cornel West, and then you, your headlining.
16:58I'm like, Oh, great.
16:58I'm following right.
17:00Roger Waters and Cornel West.
17:02I'm like, you know, I'm there just to help.
17:04Sure.
17:04Whatever, whatever, whatever you guys need.
17:06So, and I'm also thinking they're going to duck out, you know, to your, to your question.
17:10I'm thinking they're going to, they're going to leave after they're set.
17:12They stay, it's a small theater.
17:14The two of them sit at a table in the front row.
17:17They're sitting like 10 feet away from me.
17:19And it was great because they're laughing the whole time.
17:24And I told a story about how I had been at Occupy Wall Street and Roger Waters came, I'm
17:30sorry, Cornel West walked up and I was holding a sign and the sign said, if only the war on
17:39poverty were a real war, then we'd actually be putting money into it.
17:43So I'm holding this sign and Cornel West comes up to me and I was like, would you like to
17:49hold my sign?
17:50And he's, and by the way, I should say it was on a pizza box.
17:56So I was like, would you like to hold my sign?
17:57And he said, you've tried the rest.
17:59So I got to tell him that story at the gig on stage, man.
18:11So it was like this full circle moment, you know, and then on top of it, we all went out
18:16for drinks after.
18:17So I'm having drinks with Roger Waters at a small bar.
18:20It's the pandemic.
18:21So not many people are there.
18:22We're at a table and, uh, and you know, you guys, you know how it is where they're talking
18:26to me about calm, like Roger Waters is saying, like, I can't believe what you guys do.
18:31I'm like, you can't believe what I do.
18:34I'm like, you, and you don't even know about my work in virology.
18:41Astonishing.
18:42It was insane, man.
18:43In that company, do you find a way to ask about, you know, the songs that you, that,
18:50that he wrote or is it in a, you know, I mean, I'm blown away by, you know, Roger Waters.
18:56Yeah.
18:56But, but I mean, do you ask those questions or this guy's heard enough?
19:00I'm not going to, you know, you know, he played a song on the piano.
19:05He debuted it.
19:06So it was the first time he ever played that song live in person.
19:09And also he said the first time he ever played piano.
19:11So, uh, but he started with a joke, uh, like, cause it was a comedy show.
19:16So, uh, so I kind of gave him, I ribbed him.
19:20I ribbed him about the, the joke that he told.
19:22Right.
19:22Uh, but then I said, you know, like that, that was really awesome that you, you know,
19:26you've never played piano in person before.
19:28And I said, I'm kind of shocked that you never did that.
19:30He's like, yeah, you know, I'm, I'm just kind of, he's self-deprecating,
19:33calling himself a one trick ponies.
19:34Like I play the guitar and I sing.
19:36So it was that really amazing thing that often happens, uh, when you're a comedian and
19:41you meet these people, they are more impressed by what you do, you know?
19:45Uh, so it was kind of that vibe, but I didn't ask him too much because, you know, you didn't
19:51want a fan boy out.
19:52Um, and he was, like I said, he was more intrigued and they really wanted to ask all the comedians
19:57questions.
19:58We've always said that you run the risk when you meet people like that or people that you've
20:02enjoyed all your life.
20:03And it's almost, I find my, now in this job, we, we get to meet a lot of people.
20:07So it's not, there's, there's not that it's not the way it used to be where I'd be like,
20:12Oh my God, I'm so nervous.
20:14It's your job.
20:15You're going to meet them.
20:15You're going to converse with them.
20:16But there are still some people that sit in that zone.
20:18Like, I don't know if I want to meet this person.
20:19Cause God forbid I find out they're a raging a-hole and, and, and it's going to sully everything
20:24I think about them from here on in.
20:26Uh, but you had, not only did you get that moment, but you had an intimate sort of conversation,
20:31uh, which is amazing.
20:33And you're the piano is your instrument, right?
20:36That's right.
20:36I studied jazz piano in college.
20:38So, you know, I actually, it's funny you bring that up.
20:40I considered, cause I followed him.
20:42So I considered on the show, sitting down at the piano and playing, but I'm like, I don't
20:46want to make him look, I don't want to make it like I'm trying to show up Roger Waters.
20:50Well, you could have said I blew Waters off the stage with my musicianship.
20:55Yes.
20:55Yes.
20:56But I will say, I listen, I'm obviously a fan of music.
20:58I work in radio, but I'm also a huge fan of, of comedy and what you guys are able to
21:04do, you know, not just creating these jokes out of thin air, but to be able to command
21:08the, you know, an audience by just standing on a stage with a microphone, uh, is to me,
21:14like, I just, I don't know how you guys do it.
21:16And I've always wanted to try it.
21:18Like it was, you know, my, my parents would, uh, at parties be like, Hey, you know, Case
21:22come in here.
21:23Tell everybody what you want to be when you grow up.
21:24I want to be a standup comedian.
21:25Um, because it's, you know, it's ridiculous, but, uh, but I've always loved it.
21:30And the fact that you guys are able to do that, I just, you know, and I've been watching
21:34you guys for my entire life and I still don't know how you guys are able to do it.
21:38No, it is a bit of a mystery.
21:40Uh, it's funny you bring up about your own childhood.
21:43Cause I told, I would tell my mom that I wanted to be a clown.
21:45Uh, I never got to achieve that, but I'm, I'm sort of in the, in the area.
21:51She wanted you to go into biology.
21:53Yeah.
21:54Yeah.
21:54You know, so eventually I made her happy, but I, I do think that to answer your question,
22:00the way that you get there is all the gigs that we were talking about beforehand.
22:04You know, I never get, I never get to share a stage with, with Roger Waters or Cornell
22:09West or Chuck Berry.
22:10If, if I don't do the gig at the ground round, if I, if I don't do the bar, you know, that's,
22:16that's how you get there.
22:17We were just talking about the gigs and I, and I did a fair share of ground rounds.
22:20And so I'm, I'm like a canker sore on the volume of, of your career and which is, but
22:25there are those moments when you are in that moment.
22:27And, and that's what, what I'm sure feeds you, Ted, is that when you have, you know,
22:32a couple thousand people, uh, look, hanging on your every word on a stage and, you know,
22:38really dialed in, it's, it's, it's, it's there, it's such a communication and such a connection
22:44that, uh, there, I don't know what can rival it.
22:46Now I get to do that every morning here in, in a much larger capacity, but there is that,
22:52that uniqueness.
22:53It's amazing.
22:54There is something very beautiful about it.
22:56You know, in a, in a room full of people, uh, you know, especially the big venues, you
23:00know, I'm doing like NBA arenas when I opened for Jim Daffigan.
23:03Wow.
23:04So yeah, we're in the round, you know, like with 15,000 people.
23:07So it's so, uh, special and bizarre and kind of, sometimes you have to pinch yourself because
23:13you also remember the gigs where you were in front of like, sometimes I'm talking like
23:19two people, you know, waiting on their popcorn.
23:22Yeah.
23:23Yeah.
23:23Two different tables.
23:24So yeah, uh, you know, and the thing you also learn is not to do another gig after
23:30a special gig.
23:30Like, because I, when I did, um, radio city with Jim, a comedian called me and said, Hey,
23:36you're going to be in the city.
23:36You want to do a gig the same night?
23:38I'm like, I'm not doing a bar gig after radio city.
23:43You know, there's no way that I'm going to go from that high.
23:45I'm going to let that high last 24 hours.
23:48You know what?
23:49Um, I love, uh, getting insight from comedians when, uh, you guys talk to one another in
23:54podcasts.
23:55And it's, it's really interesting to see how you guys are able to dissect your art form.
23:59And, uh, Mark Norman, I think is a really, really great, um, source for that stuff.
24:04And, and he said something, yeah, he is, but he said something really interesting in a podcast
24:08that I was listening to, uh, when he talks about bombing and he doesn't look at it like
24:12bombing, you know, the way he looks at bombing is his, he's just gathering information.
24:17And I thought, man, that is such a, uh, positive way to look at, you know, what you guys do.
24:23And he's like, no, no, man.
24:24He's like, you know, if, if a joke doesn't land or it doesn't go, he goes, you know, I
24:27need to learn from that.
24:28And I'm, I'm gathering information.
24:30And, uh, you know, just the, the way that you guys were able to do that, you know, like
24:35just to go, okay, all right, this to go for it.
24:37I was reading, I was, well, it's not that detached though, just to answer that.
24:41It's not, it's in the experience.
24:42It's not like, okay, let me gather that data.
24:44It sucks.
24:46It sucks.
24:47You know, after the fact, when the data collection begins, yeah, well, in the moment, it sucks.
24:55To Casey's point, I was reading an interview with you and you were talking about how you
24:59try out material and you don't like, for example, I know a lot of comedians will have their go
25:02to, you know, uh, sounding board.
25:05They're the comedian who they, can I bounce this off you?
25:08Uh, but you're a fan of, okay, bring it up on the stage and let's, let's work it here
25:12because this is ultimately where it's going to end up anyway.
25:14I might as well get started.
25:15Is that, would you say that's a fair assessment?
25:18Absolutely.
25:19Cause a crowd is a different organism.
25:21It's not one-on-one.
25:22It's not your wife, your buddy, your friend, like, Hey, can I run this bike?
25:25Cause even if they laugh, it ultimately doesn't matter, you know, because when you get it in
25:30front of a crowd, that's when you have to test it.
25:33So I, you know, I'm not going to waste my time or, or my friends or my wife's time.
25:37You know, it has to go in front of a crowd, right?
25:39So I like to not only do it cold, but sometimes I like to put it in the front of my set.
25:45So I haven't won the crowd over yet.
25:47You know, like with like 10 minutes of stuff that I know works, I like to put it right up
25:51front to challenge myself.
25:52Like, all right, let's see if this really works cold when they haven't seen me yet.
25:56I haven't said anything.
25:57Let's really judge the material and give it a chance to, to see if it works.
26:00That's cool.
26:01Ted, another comedian that we're friendly with.
26:03Then I know you're friendly with as well as, as Mike Birbiglia and you've done his show
26:06and, um, yeah, he's great.
26:08And I love his, um, his observational humor and, uh, and how he approaches the, the studying
26:14of the comedy as well.
26:15Um, but I always like hearing from comedians who they have discovered recently.
26:19So is there, is there somebody that's been opening for you that you love or somebody that's
26:23new, that's up and coming that we might not know about, or, or, you know, along those
26:26lines?
26:27Well, you know, uh, I, I would say not somebody new, but it's funny enough, a guy from, from
26:35the Philly area who I've long been a fan of who, who is, you know, probably 10, 15 years
26:40behind me is Jim twos.
26:42Uh, Jim twos is a, is a great comedian.
26:45I think he's out of the Allentown, uh, area, uh, in, in his beginnings, but, um, yeah, just
26:51a funny, smart, um, kind of sneaks up on you.
26:56And I've worked with him many times over the years.
26:58He's probably in his, uh, mid to late thirties, but another guy that I just love to watch
27:04work because he's got his own style.
27:06You know, it's so cool here.
27:08So the, the, the comedy clubs will have their comedy competitions and, and, uh, um, you know,
27:13uh, helium does one that I'm always a judge on.
27:16And there are so many talented, I mean, really thoughtful, funny, um, you know, uh, comedians
27:23in this area that, that are creating, you know, unique characters, it's always a hard
27:27thing for a comedian to pick.
27:28What am I going to be on stage?
27:30And there's just a ton of talent.
27:32It's so cool to see that.
27:34Uh, and, uh, you've been around so long.
27:36Do you, have you, have you ever had a comedian come up to you and say you were an inspiration
27:39to, to me and what I do?
27:42Yeah.
27:42You know, it's funny.
27:43I've been around long enough now, 30 years that that, that does happen where comedians
27:48tell me, like, I saw your comedy central special when I was in grade school or, or middle school,
27:52you know, and now they're like 40.
27:55No, not that old, but you know, yeah, it does make me, it does make me feel, uh, both proud
28:02and, and old.
28:03Um, but I love to teach and I love to talk comedy.
28:06I now would be a good time to plug.
28:07I do a comedy class on my Patreon, uh, patreon.com slash Ted Alexandro, where I, I posted 20 classes,
28:15uh, talking about comedy, talking about the things you were talking about, finding your
28:19voice, exploring who you are on stage.
28:22Uh, so yeah, I like, I like to talk about all those things and it takes time, you know,
28:26so everyone's different, but the thing, the advantage these kids have now, there was no
28:30YouTube when I started in 92.
28:33Uh, you know, so like, I remember going to the museum of television and radio in New York
28:37city and it was basically YouTube.
28:39It was like going into a building where you can say like, can I see Richard Pryor's first
28:43set on the show?
28:45Can I see, you know, this tape from Steve Allen's show or whatever?
28:49And you would watch and that you can only get two at a time, I think, and you would watch
28:53it and I would watch, I would take notes, study, but now the benefit that these kids
28:57have is, you know, at their fingertips, the history of comedy.
29:01So it's, it's great.
29:01And I think it's to the benefit of comedy because kids are a lot more savvy and a lot
29:05more knowledgeable.
29:06I think you're right.
29:07Yeah.
29:07Uh, well tonight and, uh, tomorrow night it will be, uh, evenings of comedy and virology
29:13with Ted Alexander.
29:14That's right.
29:15A little dentistry maybe?
29:16Uh, maybe a little dentistry.
29:17We'll see.
29:18We'll see.
29:18Uh, it's Teddy Novocaine, right?
29:20Teddy Novocaine.
29:21Yes.
29:21Please follow all three of my Instagram channels.
29:24Uh, but I have to leave you with a joke cause I think you said it was a national wine day.
29:28It is.
29:28And, uh, coffee and wine are like my life coaches.
29:32Coffee's there for a pat on the ass.
29:33Like, go get them.
29:34We can do this.
29:35And then wine's like, you'll get them next time.
29:37You gave it a good shot.
29:38Keep your chin up.
29:40I'm like, thanks wine.
29:41You're the only one who gets me.
29:45I love it.
29:46HeliumComedy.com.
29:47Get your tickets for Ted Alexander.
29:48Thanks, Ted.
29:49It's great to see you, man.
29:50Thank you guys.
29:51It's a pleasure.
29:51Ted Alexander.
29:53Really good.
29:54He's one of the best.
29:55One of the best.
29:56I love it.
29:58I love it.
29:58You're the best.
29:59Don't forget about it.
30:02I love it.
30:04I love it.
30:14I love it.
30:16You're the best.
30:17Bye-bye.
30:18Bye-bye.
30:19Bye-bye.
30:21Bye.
30:23Bye-bye.
30:24Bye-bye.
30:26Bye-bye.
30:26Bye-bye.
30:27Bye-bye.
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