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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, joining us from a top-secret government hideout, so his kids can't find him.
00:06Please welcome to our visual microphones, Mr. Jim Gaffigan. How are you doing, sir?
00:12I'm good. Thank you for having me, Scott.
00:15September 18th and 19th at the fabulous Fox Theater in Detroit.
00:20Welcome. Tickets are on sale. 313 presents Ticketmaster.com
00:24and, of course, your website at jimgaffigan.com.
00:28The Everything is Wonderful Tour come to town.
00:31Now, tell me, Jim, what's so damn wonderful right now?
00:36Well, I don't know if you know, but everything is wonderful.
00:39Things are just going great.
00:41The economy, kind of socially, everything just seems to be going along swimmingly.
00:48No, that was some of the inspiration behind it is that, you know, we exist in kind of an age
00:58where things are not wonderful.
01:00And I don't really discuss it.
01:04In fact, I don't discuss it in this show that I'm doing at the Fox Theater.
01:09But it is just kind of, you know, the reality we exist in where it's just bizarro world over bizarro
01:18world, you know, all the time.
01:20And so I just thought it was funny to just call it Everything is Wonderful because nothing is, you know
01:28what I mean?
01:29But it almost makes shows even more important at this point.
01:33Well, something that is wonderful, for one, you're catching up to me, Welcome to the 60 Club.
01:40Thank you so much.
01:42Believe me, I feel 80.
01:44You feel 80?
01:45I think the only moaning that comes out of the bedroom at my house is just me trying to get
01:50out of bed.
01:51Oh, yeah.
01:52But did you do anything special for your birthday?
01:55I did not.
01:56I mean, you know, that's where I'm kind of, I mean, I've got this place in the suburbs that I
02:03go to during the summer.
02:05And I like to garden and I like to kind of tinker in the woods.
02:09I'm slowly turning into a serial killer, I think.
02:13So, I, you know, I love doing stand-up.
02:19I love acting.
02:19I love writing.
02:21And, but, you know, I, you know, I wouldn't have been opposed to a big party, but I'm also, you
02:29know, somebody that, you know, that's fine.
02:32You know what I mean?
02:33I think I hung out with my kids, which is great.
02:36And, you know, then they, I'm sure there was drama.
02:39You know what I mean?
02:40There's always drama.
02:42You still got a place in Manhattan?
02:45I do.
02:46With your wife and five kids.
02:48Five kids.
02:48How did you make it through sanely with five kids?
02:52You didn't want to go for six, make that perfect half dozen?
02:56Yeah.
02:56No, I mean, well, that's why I look like this, is the five kids.
03:02No, I, you know, who knows?
03:05You know, the path of life that we take is really bizarre.
03:10I mean, I obviously love my children, but it's, it's an insane responsibility.
03:16You know, so often we kind of live week by week with kind of commitments and, and, you know, being
03:24a present kind of responsible adult is, is pretty toxic.
03:30So, yeah, no, if I could do it all over again, I'd do nothing.
03:34You know what I mean?
03:35But I love my children and I want them to be happy or have the tools to pursue happiness.
03:43You know, well, my wife made mention and also my, my own mother, who's 92, uh, loves your acting little
03:52skits that you do on a CBS, uh, good morning.
03:57Yes.
03:57They're just utterly fantastic.
03:59How did you get wrapped up into doing those?
04:01Well, I did, they did a segment on me when I had this book, dad is fat, where I talked
04:07about a father of five young children.
04:11And, um, and then there was a time when they were, um, they had some commentaries and, uh, and I
04:21kind of, it's so creatively rewarding to kind of just write up, you know, they're usually two minutes long.
04:28So I'm usually, uh, complaining about something for just two minutes.
04:33And, you know, I live in Manhattan, so I can just pop over to the studio and do that.
04:39And I mean, I love that show CBS Sunday morning.
04:43It's just, um, it's similar to like, everything is wonderful.
04:47It's just kind of like this place you can go where it's not political.
04:52It's, you know, you know, we can kind of be in touch with being humans.
04:56We can kind of walk away feeling better about ourselves and, uh, have a laugh.
05:02And, uh, so it felt like there was a lot of synergy there and creatively, it's just kind of rewarding
05:08to kind of just get on and kind of rant in kind of a Sunday morning vibe about something.
05:16Now, which is usually my children now with the many hats that you wear and what you do during your
05:21daily life, uh, you've got the acting bug, uh, uh, the gilded age.
05:25I cannot wait for, uh, your portrayal of a Grover Cleveland.
05:30Yes.
05:31That's good.
05:31Yeah.
05:32Was the, uh, person that was playing James Garfield unavailable or something that you're doing?
05:37I, you know, it was, yeah, no, it is.
05:40It's so fun.
05:41Like, you know, there's so many shows now.
05:43Uh, so like I had watched Downton Abbey, I had heard that the gilded age was great.
05:49And so I started watching it and it is a great show.
05:52I love history and, um, and so some of it is as an actor, when you adopt a character, you
06:00kind of end up defending him.
06:01So it was pretty fascinating how now I could, you know, I really believe Grover Cleveland was a great president,
06:08but a lot of that's influenced by the fact that I played him in a couple episodes.
06:12Now, how did you do that makeup wise?
06:16Cause it's just amazing how it comes across.
06:19You did a great job.
06:21Well, some of it is, uh, you know, I'm a beard guy, so I had to get rid of my
06:27beard to the horror of my children and myself when I look in the mirror and, uh, and, you know,
06:35but the whole, you know, this, the gilded age.
06:38This is a top rate, uh, show where, I mean, there's, I mean, I got fitted for a top hat,
06:46you know, it's just insane.
06:48The amount of money they spend.
06:51I mean, I'm playing a president from 1884, so it's, it's pretty bizarre.
06:58It's like all the, all the clothing is wool.
07:01We're shooting in July.
07:02It was pretty bizarre.
07:05Again, it's, you know, it's not like, I'm not complaining.
07:09I'm just saying it's just surreal because it really was one of those opportunities where it was just playing pretend.
07:15It was so fun, which made me want to be an actor talking with Jim Gaffigan, uh, the everything is
07:21wonderful tour coming September 18th and 19th to the Fox theater.
07:26Now you, you've got a really, really nasty habit of selling out the Fox theater.
07:31Every time you come, what, what, what are some of your great, uh, memories from, uh, stopping by the motor
07:37city when you're on tour?
07:39Well, I mean, I, uh, uh, you know, I'm from the Midwest and, you know, being from Indiana.
07:45Michigan has always held kind of a romantic, uh, appeal, you know, I mean, obviously it's a big state and,
07:55um, but I remember, you know, in Indiana, we would go up to Holland, Michigan and my parents, there was
08:01a restaurant there that they loved.
08:03I remember the birch trees, but what I love about Detroit is, uh, really the comedy audiences.
08:10And like the Fox theater, I remember, I think the first time I performed there was for a benefit.
08:17I can't remember the name of it, but I was like, this venue is insane.
08:21And touring around the country, that's not, um, you know, uh, uh, a foregone conclusion in every market.
08:30Sometimes they're, they're nice venues or they're prestigious, but like the, the combination of the Fox theater having the prestige,
08:39but also being a terrific performance venue with also, and some of it is, I think, because I'm a Midwesterner.
08:48It's like, it's like, there's a connection with the audience that is just, so it's really kind of a sweet
08:54spot for me.
08:54I, I, I'd love to see if the powers that be, I'd love to see you film one of your
08:59comedy specials from the Fox theater.
09:01Cause Oh yeah, no, I mean, I would love to do that.
09:04I mean, it's, you know, it's, some of it is like filming specials and I've done a bunch of them.
09:09A lot of that occurs when you figure out when you're done with the, the special, when someone wants it
09:18and what your schedule looks like.
09:21Like, you know, I mean, for many years I would do this outdoor venue in Detroit.
09:27Um, I can't remember the name of it.
09:30Pine Knob or Meadowbrook or.
09:32Yeah.
09:32Meadowbrook.
09:33Yeah.
09:34I mean, there's multiple outdoor venues in Detroit too.
09:37So, um, it's like, you know, sometimes if, you know, if I was doing an outdoor, if I was doing
09:43Meadowbrook for like four years in a row, it wouldn't make sense.
09:48Cause usually when you do a special, you want to do multiple shows and, and the Fox is pretty large.
09:53You know, I'm sure like the Friday and Saturday show will sell, but yeah, you gotta, you know, it's a
10:00lot of tickets.
10:01Well, moving on to America's favorite pastime, let's get right to alcoholism.
10:06Uh, your, your, your bourbon.
10:08Oh my God.
10:09It's, uh, there's so many different rock artists that have their own bourbon from a Metallica to Bob.
10:15I didn't know Bob Dylan has his own whiskey, uh, Alice in Chains, Motorhead.
10:21What inspired you besides the love of whiskey to get your own bourbon?
10:27A father time.
10:28It sounds so cool.
10:29Yeah.
10:29Uh, well, you know, for me, I mean, during the pandemic, I really got into bourbon and then, um, I
10:37had been approached, uh, you know, to do a spirit multiple times.
10:43I was approached to do a tequila and no one looks more Mexican than me.
10:48Right.
10:48But for me, it really came down to, um, I wanted it to be of a certain quality and I
10:57wanted to have a kind of curated experience with it.
11:01So I'm still learning a lot, but I knew that I wanted it.
11:06I mean, if you've tried some celebrity spirits, they're horrible.
11:10So I just didn't want that.
11:12And so, uh, and I, you know, I knew that I didn't want it, uh, I wasn't viewing it as
11:19kind of, uh, an opportunity to make money.
11:22I just literally wanted it to kind of reinforce my passion for bourbon, which is why I did this whole
11:29bourbon show, you know, live from old forest or the bourbon set, uh, which is on YouTube.
11:35So it was just, it was just, I get these obsessions, you know, and, um, I kind of just go
11:42off on them.
11:43And bourbon was one of those it's again, it's like, I'm not, it's not going to be some huge liquor
11:50empire.
11:51It's, it's very much boutique.
11:54It's for people that are whiskey geeks really that get into it or people that want, uh, a bourbon that,
12:01you know, I, cause I sign all the bottles, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but that's
12:05no small task, but it is fun.
12:09Yeah. And it's something that, you know, I, as I describe it to my wife, it's, it's better than me
12:15having an affair. Right.
12:18Now you can only get this, uh, bourbon online. Am I right?
12:23I think I know that we have some distribution in Michigan and we're also going to be doing a bourbon
12:31event on Saturday, the 19th in Novi.
12:35Um, so there is, uh, and that information should be on my website or at father time, uh, uh, father
12:45time bourbon.com.
12:47But, uh, yeah, so like it is, you know, the bourbon whiskey, American whiskey community is pretty significant.
12:55Um, for me, you know, it's like something where like us bourbon geeks hang out and talk about things.
13:03And, uh, but I'm really excited cause father time, our empty nester, uh, version, cause everything is about parenting.
13:11Uh, uh, just one, uh, best new bourbon at this San Francisco spirits competition.
13:17So, well, everybody has a story of, uh, being a teenager and a bad experience with alcohol.
13:26Do you have one of those stories?
13:28Oh yeah.
13:29I have tons, by the way, you know, you know, growing up in Indiana, I drank a lot of Schlitz
13:35and, uh, you know, which was made in Detroit, I believe.
13:40Right.
13:41And so, uh, drank as teenagers don't even exist anymore, I don't think, you know, but my whole thing is,
13:52you know, it's why I got into whiskey.
13:54I was in my fifties when I got into it is I had never really, you know, the dark liquor,
14:01I had kind of played with it in my college years and was like, I was drinking beer to be
14:08responsible.
14:08But during the pandemic, I really started to enjoy the flavor and the experience.
14:14And, you know, you can have like one drink or two drinks and you're good.
14:19Whereas like beer, you might have six.
14:22And, and, you know, eventually I got older drinking a beer.
14:25It felt like eating a loaf of bread, you know?
14:28Now my bad experience is somebody, uh, some bar owner, uh, approached me and said, Hey Scott, we have this
14:35great idea.
14:36Somebody took JƤgermeister and Red Bull and you combine them together and you can party all night.
14:41And boy, that was the death of me.
14:43But, uh, but peppermint schnapps as a kid was, was the one that, that done me in.
14:49Yeah.
14:50Yeah.
14:50You're, I mean, there's all these things that seem like a really good idea that are kind of like of
14:57our era, the, uh, fireball, right?
15:02You know, it's like the JƤger thing, it's, you know, I think it started off as a cough syrup and
15:09it's like, which makes sense.
15:11Yeah.
15:12But, you know, every, every kind of what I love about traveling around America is like every city has their
15:19thing.
15:20You know what I mean?
15:21And some of it is just, uh, culturally or kind of like the demographic makeup of that area.
15:29So, but Michigan has great bourbons, you know, there's, uh, you know, there's Detroit, there's Motor City, there's, you know,
15:39uh, there's the, uh, you know, I could look it up.
15:43But like, there's also one in New Holland, Dragon's Milk, you know, that is really good.
15:48There's, Michigan's a great whiskey state.
15:51Well, are you ready to play our favorite game show, This or That?
15:56Happy to.
15:57Well, what I do is I give you a topic and then you just give me what comes off the
16:00top of your head.
16:01Are you ready?
16:03Ready.
16:03Jim, favorite sports team?
16:08Gosh, uh, here's what I would say is like growing up, I was a Redskins fan.
16:17Uh, and then when they won a couple of Super Bowls, I kind of lost favor with that.
16:23I'm from Indiana.
16:24The Colts weren't even there when I was growing up, but, um, being, living in New York, I, I developed
16:32an attachment to them.
16:33Uh, so.
16:35I, you know, it's weird.
16:37I love the underdogs.
16:39So, like, I really, you know, have rooted for the Lions the past couple seasons.
16:45You know what I mean?
16:46And Jim Schwartz, who was the coach.
16:49I played football with Jim Schwartz at Georgetown.
16:52So, there's been some connection.
16:55Keegan Michael is, you know, I love his passion for the Lions, too.
17:00You know, he's a friend.
17:02So, um, it's like, I love the underdogs.
17:07You know, so, like, in the Super Bowl, I did root for the Seahawks against, uh, the Patriots.
17:13Because the Patriots are Satan, right?
17:15You know?
17:16Satan.
17:16Um, they're not at all.
17:18But, like, there was a time when I was rooting for the Patriots.
17:21Yeah.
17:22You know, before they took over the world, right?
17:25All right.
17:26Favorite fast food.
17:27I know comedians go to town to town for many, many years.
17:31Uh, well, there's, you're asking someone who, who wrote a whole book.
17:37Book.
17:38I know.
17:39About food.
17:40Exactly.
17:41Dad is fat.
17:42So, like, when I go to Detroit, you know, there is the Coney Island, right?
17:48But, I would say that when I go to Detroit, I do think that Detroit pizza is pretty exceptional.
17:57Awesome.
17:57Um, I would say that, um, and now it's pretty much all over the country.
18:03Yeah.
18:03People are just ripping it off.
18:05But, I remember doing, um, those summer shows and going, this pizza is really good.
18:11And they're like, this is Detroit style.
18:12So, um, but yeah, so fast food wise, to answer your question, uh, you know, like of the big
18:19four, I would say Wendy's.
18:21But, uh, if we go beyond that, I'm a Shake Shack or, uh, a Culver's guy, but a steak and
18:29shake, you know, like I'm a, I can totally geek out on this.
18:32You know what I mean?
18:33Now, Wendy's, do you dip your French fries in the Frosty?
18:37Um, in the Frosty?
18:38Mm-hmm.
18:39I will, no, I won't.
18:41Um, I did do that when I was a 10-year-old girl, but I, uh, no, I would, I,
18:47you know,
18:48my, my era of Frosty time is kind of behind me.
18:53Right.
18:53I do appreciate, you know, like hearing that now, I'm like, yeah, maybe I should get a
18:57Frosty.
18:57I haven't had one in probably 20 years.
18:59They got different flavors now.
19:01They've got a banana flavor that's out now.
19:04But I like a Five Guys burger.
19:06Yeah.
19:07They have a peanut butter shake.
19:08That's amazing.
19:09Mm-hmm.
19:09I think peanut butter's really underrated, one of the greatest things ever.
19:14Especially for a milk shake.
19:15When I go to Michigan, I'm kind of keeping my eye out for some cherry stuff.
19:20Mm-hmm.
19:20But, uh.
19:22All right.
19:23Favorite car to drive?
19:25All right.
19:25Well, first of all, I should say I'm the, uh, I'm one of four boys in, uh, I have three
19:31siblings and I know nothing about cars.
19:34Mm-hmm.
19:34And, um, so whenever I see my brothers, they'll be like, you know, what kind of car did you
19:39rent?
19:40And I'd be like, it's blue.
19:41You know what I mean?
19:42I mean, so, uh, I drive, uh, an Escalade.
19:47I try to buy American.
19:49I, uh, the size of it is so important because I have five children and they usually have
19:55a friend and we have a dog and we have two cats and there's always luggage, you know,
20:01like these kids, you know, they have a backpack for school.
20:04They have a backpack for basketball.
20:05They have a backpack for, I don't understand.
20:09This is a tangent.
20:10Why do some of these teenagers take off their shoes when they're in the car?
20:15Like, what is that about?
20:17Yeah.
20:18Hmm.
20:19Got me on that one.
20:20Yeah.
20:21Uh, favorite comedian besides yourself?
20:25Favorite comedian.
20:26Oh, well, that's an impossible thing.
20:30Mm-hmm.
20:30Um, I have a very strong attachment, uh, to Jerry Seinfeld, uh, to Brian Regan, to, uh,
20:40you know, kind of similar molds as me, like Nate Bergotze, uh, but I, you know, and Letterman,
20:49huge influence on me.
20:51Mm-hmm.
20:52Um, Jonathan Winters, I think incredibly underrated.
20:57But Foster Brooks, who probably no one knows what I'm talking about.
21:01I do.
21:01Foster Brooks was great.
21:03Um, by the way, what I would also say is on baseball, uh, sports team, Mark Fidrich,
21:12you, you're old enough to remember Mark Fidrich.
21:14The Boyd.
21:15Like, I loved Mark Fidrich.
21:18Mm-hmm.
21:18I loved, uh, you know, um, God, I can't believe, you know, this is the problem with alcohol
21:25as it destroys your brain.
21:27But, like, so, like, those characters, like Mark Fidrich, you know, um, but I can't even
21:36remember what I was talking about.
21:37I, I grew up on Norm Cash, and I remember, uh, during, I believe it was a Cardinals game,
21:42he came out, uh, one of the great Cardinal pitchers was almost at a perfect game, and instead
21:49of a baseball bat, he came to the plate with a leg from a table.
21:55It's, it's amazing.
21:56They actually have a YouTube on it.
21:59I'll, I'll have to send it to you, but it was just amazing.
22:01No, there's, like, there's crazy baseball stories.
22:04Like, you know, I grew up around Chicago and Indiana, and I remember falling asleep listening
22:11to White Sox games, and during the day, I would watch the Cubs games because they didn't
22:16play at night, because, you know, everything back then, they didn't have lighting.
22:21But I remember Rick Monday saving the American flag.
22:26Someone was going to set it on fire.
22:28I remember that, too.
22:30Disco demolition, you remember that?
22:32Steve Dahl.
22:34Yeah.
22:35Actually, the Tigers won the second game of the doubleheader because they, they told
22:42Chicago, it's, hey, you can't play in the field, guess you lose.
22:45So, Tigers walked away with a, I always love when Tigers walk away with a victory.
22:50I remember when I was a kid, I went to a White Sox game with my family, Comiskey Park.
22:57This is, so this is in the 70s.
23:00And my dad had us wearing ties.
23:03You know, we didn't grow up in a fancy thing, but, like, my dad aspired, you know, he was
23:08like a Depression-era guy.
23:09He aspired to be the Kennedys.
23:13You know what I mean?
23:14And everyone around us was smoking pot.
23:17And I remember thinking, what is that smell?
23:20And why do I have the munchies for some strange reason?
23:24Things to do with the family.
23:27Oh, gosh.
23:29Well, I would say that, um, grilling, I love grilling.
23:36I, you know, I'm, I love making bratwurst.
23:39Uh, you know, uh, I am, I would also say, you know, going to movies, that's a big thing
23:47in my family, even though, um, you know, when I was growing up, going to a movie was a reward.
23:55Yeah.
23:55But, like, for my kids, it's like, we're just trying to get everyone together doing something.
24:01And getting them off their screens and watching a bigger screen.
24:06And, uh, so, yeah, I would say movies.
24:09What is the right answer?
24:11I don't know.
24:11Like, should we sit around in prayer?
24:14I don't know.
24:15Kumbaya.
24:16Uh, your favorite cartoon growing up as a kid?
24:21Um, I would say, um, as a little kid, I loved Speed Racer.
24:31I remember when my boys were younger, I tried to, you know, I think this is, I got them,
24:38uh, books about Speed Racer.
24:41It was all in Japanese at that time.
24:44But Speed Racer, I loved the Harlem Globetrotters.
24:47Yes.
24:47Uh, and, uh, it's weird, because it's all blurry, because then my kids got into Scooby-Doo,
24:56and, uh, so that was chronicling that through five children.
25:01Did you show them the Scooby-Doo episode where they meet the Harlem Globetrotters?
25:05Yes.
25:06And, by the way, I did, uh, I had the opportunity to be in a Scooby-Doo episode.
25:12Wow!
25:13Which was very exciting.
25:15And the last one, uh, favorite bar to go watch Canadian curling?
25:20Well, that's, how many times have I been asked this question?
25:24So many times.
25:26Um, you know, I do love Canada.
25:29I just want to, you know, I know that there's drama, but, like, the, you know, the Canadians,
25:36I, I, you know, uh, I love everything about Canada, but the curling thing is, you know,
25:45I like curling, not that I've watched much of it.
25:48But I like it because the guys look like me.
25:51Yeah.
25:52Do you know what I mean?
25:52Yeah.
25:53They're not in shape.
25:54They're kind of, they look like guys that, like, are finding a reason to get out of the house.
26:02You know what I mean?
26:03Mm-hmm.
26:03They're like, someone literally made up this sport.
26:06Like, they're like, well, it's too cold to say I'm going to play golf, which I don't do.
26:11You know, that, my stand-up comedy is my golf.
26:14Right.
26:14And, um, but they're like, you know what, we're going to push this puck on this ice.
26:20They couldn't find enough people to do hockey with.
26:23So, they're like, me and Roger are going to do, uh, and, you know, they just, it just seems like
26:31something that a guy came up with to, like, spend a Saturday afternoon away from his family.
26:38And I respect that.
26:39Growing up in Detroit, uh, we had the Canadian Channel, Channel 9 here in Detroit, and they would always show
26:45curling on Sundays.
26:47And in the 70s, you know, they had the bowling shirts, but they would literally be smoking while they were
26:53playing.
26:54Oh, yeah.
26:54The main curler that would slide and stuff has a cigarette dangling out of their mouth.
26:59And it was just an amazing sport.
27:00And it's like, oh, how did they do this?
27:03And how, how, how did they find a service that slippery?
27:06God.
27:07Yeah.
27:08Well, it's like, also, it's like, I remember, uh, you know, there's all these winter activities.
27:14I mean, doing shows in Canada, it's also bizarre to see people ice skate.
27:19Like, in Ottawa, some people will ice skate to work, and I'm like, or they'll, on their day off, they'll
27:25ice skate in, like, zero-degree weather.
27:28And I'm like, you don't have to do that.
27:30Like, that's just, like, they're, they're cut from a different cloth.
27:34Well, September 18th and 19th, two great shows at the Fox Theater.
27:38I implore you to get your tickets early.
27:40You can get them at jimgaffigan.com, ticketmaster.com, and 313 Presents.
27:45Jim, hey, thanks for taking the time, a lot of great stories, and I can't wait to see you live
27:50once again at the Fox Theater.
27:52Jim Gaffigan, ladies and gentlemen, right here with 94.7 WCSX.
27:57Thanks for having me.
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