Sweat-drenched tales from Taiwan and math mishaps set the stage as Joey Callahan, the Philly comic with a penchant for storytelling, joins me for a whirlwind of laughs and poignant musings. Our banter dances between Joey's family legacy, steeped in the history of Nazi Germany, and the warmth of a Philadelphia pub.
We confront the stark reality of mortality, the haunting thought of dying alone, and the solace found in cultural rites like the Irish wake. Our conversation, stitched with humor, traverses the highs and lows of life, from the stereotype of the 'big Irish head' to the deeper connections we forge through shared stories and experiences.
From life on the road to adapting our acts for the ever-evolving taste of stand-up connoisseurs, Joey and I unpack the craft's nuanced layers. We contemplate the aspirations that drive a comedian and the rich tapestry of human connection laughter weaves, regardless of the stage or spotlight. So tune in for an episode that promises not only a good laugh but also a candid look at the comedy of life itself.
Sweat-drenched tales from Taiwan and math mishaps set the stage as Joey Callahan, the Philly comic with a penchant for storytelling, joins me for a whirlwind of laughs and poignant musings. Our banter dances between Joey's family legacy, steeped in the history of Nazi Germany, and the warmth of a Philadelphia pub.
We confront the stark reality of mortality, the haunting thought of dying alone, and the solace found in cultural rites like the Irish wake. Our conversation, stitched with humor, traverses the highs and lows of life, from the stereotype of the 'big Irish head' to the deeper connections we forge through shared stories and experiences.
From life on the road to adapting our acts for the ever-evolving taste of stand-up connoisseurs, Joey and I unpack the craft's nuanced layers. We contemplate the aspirations that drive a comedian and the rich tapestry of human connection laughter weaves, regardless of the stage or spotlight. So tune in for an episode that promises not only a good laugh but also a candid look at the comedy of life itself.
I think his idea was that I killed you. But you know, the pity is when I'm paid, I always follow my job through. You know that.
Speaker 2:Go, Angel Line, Go. What's the crack? Everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Paddy's Parlor Podcast. It's fucking horrible, it's humid, it's sweaty weather here in Taiwan. I mean, summer's coming and this is just the start of it. You know, In April April you usually get like it's been 34 degrees now for the last few days and if you, you were to come here on holidays you'd be like, oh my God, it's too fucking hot, Like this weather is unbearable. But that's not even summer. Summer is like 39, 40 degrees. So yeah, I'm just struggling through that. Today I do not have music at the end of the podcast. Yeah, that's my fault. Anyways, never mind about that. So today I have a special guest on the podcast. He's back all the way from Philadelphia, my man Joey.
Speaker 1:Callahan, good morning, good evening. You know what I'm really proud of myself? Because you said it was 34 Celsius. In my brain I figured that's in the 90s. You take 34, you times it by two and then add 30. So I'm well proud of myself doing math, because last night you and I were trying figure out what time it is where you are. Thank god my wife stepped in and go hey, morons, if it's 7 o'clock in the morning, your time, it's 7pm his time, and you and I both went oh okay, thank you. So this podcast is brought to my wife, brought to you by my wife and her ability to do one of the benefits of being married to a primary school teacher.
Speaker 2:This podcast is brought to my wife, brought to you by my wife and her ability to do.
Speaker 2:Because it was like I think it was 7 am this morning when I got up and I seen your message and again, it's like my brain just wasn't firing on all cylinders at all. And you're, we're on about the times and we're like, okay, I'll see you tomorrow at 7, 30, tuesday. And I was like okay, and then you're like, yeah, and I was like that's gonna be wednesday morning for you and you're like no tuesday morning and I was like we're 12 hours ahead, aren't we?
Speaker 1:and I was like I don't have a fucking clue so I I had in my head like, like I was a horrible math student, horrible, horrible. I'm definitely, I am definitely, uh, right-brained and I just at one point I was doing homework with my mom and she told me she was going to take me to city hall in the center of philadelphia and legally change my name to moron. That's how bad, my it's funny now, but when you're like eight years old, you really don't know how to process that information. Yeah, you believe her. You'd have the fear. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Ellen O'Connor Callaghan was tough.
Speaker 2:That 70 sounds like an Irish mother's tough love. You know what I mean? Yeah, well.
Speaker 1:I know the tough part. I have to really sit there and think about that second part, oh fuck. And Sunday I left you a message. It was completely pissed as a newt, as my English friends would say.
Speaker 2:Oh, I got it. I got it. I had a good laugh at that. And you said something in the message too, and so, if anybody's listening, joey sent me a voice message um, on sunday it was, and he'd had a few ales, or more than a few ales, and at the end you said you had a few scoops. Now, I know that's an irish saying. We say that in ireland. Well, I don't say it. And there's a reason I don't say it, and that's because I hate the fucking word scoop, and I mentioned this. I talked about this on a podcast, like two or three podcasts back, and it's not that like, there's some words like is there any word that you hear that just instantly irritates you or makes you feel weird? It might be because I might be fucking, have some mental problems, but no, no, no.
Speaker 1:I I have a perfect example. For instance, if you were to say donald trump, I get violently angry, I get disgusted and sad. So so we all have our words so like is there like?
Speaker 2:another word for me is scooch. That word to you I I can't. There's something about that word, that just it. It irritates me. I don't know what it is like the word scooch has never done anything to me, but yeah, I gotta think about.
Speaker 1:I gotta think. I don't have any words off the top of my head that would, uh, that would happen, that would send me in the fits of rage other than the previous mentioned example. So I know that I was with. I was with, so here's this real quick.
Speaker 1:So my, my aunt, her family, had to get her out of germany because they were huge critics of hitler. So they sent her to amer and she met my uncle, tommy O'Connor, and they they got a loan from a beer maker, ortlieb's Beer. Old man Ortlieb's lent them money to open up the family's taproom, the pub, my aunt and uncle's bar, which, when I was born from the hospital, they brought me in and they brought me to the third floor of the tap room and that's where I kind of grew up, in and around. It was always there. So her daughters, their daughters, my godmother and my cousin Ronnie.
Speaker 1:We went back down to the old neighborhood and there's this great place in Philadelphia called the Frankfurt hall and he had these great German loggers. So it was a real good friend of mine is a neighbor, is a, was a bartender and um, so he and I were both coming out of mass one day and he goes hey, joey, I'm gonna be bartending at the ash burner. Ain't nothing like a sunday load after mass. So I always, am always fine. Did you go to church today?
Speaker 1:no, but I did get drunk, so it does kind of balance out I did meet with a group of people in in a building, you know, in a public gathering, I mean it was a mixing of spirituality, spirit, spirit spirit, spirit.
Speaker 2:So you're saying there that your grandmother, or that was a was a jew?
Speaker 1:in germany my aunt was. My aunt was from, so she's not a blood relative, but uh, she married into the family. God bless her. She was this. My, my mother's mother died before I was born, so my aunt, annie, was basically like another grandmother to me and she had. I adored her and she, she would speak german to me. So I was this scrappy little irish american kid, philadelphia, speaking german. So when I went to high school I took german. I remember my parents coming in for a teacher evaluation saying he's not doing well in any of his classes other than German. Clearly he can do the work if he can excel in German. I remember my parents looking at me like step it up, boyo.
Speaker 2:Damn, I didn't know that. So you speak German pretty good.
Speaker 1:Well, I did. As I get older it's diminished, but I can still read it, and if I get pissed, as a newt, my German gets way better. My inhibitions are going and I start speaking it pretty freely.
Speaker 2:So your aunt? She was a German Jew at the time. Was she around in World War II?
Speaker 1:No, that's a cool thing. And this further she wasn't Jewish, she was Lutheran. But her brother was killed in Lufthansa in World War I and her parents were real critics of fascism and authoritarianism. So they had to get their daughter out of Germany by the sheer virtue. I think her mother was in jail for a time for criticizing Hitler. So there's, it's not all. It's not. Yeah, there were a lot of people in Germany that weren't pleased with what Uncle Adolf was doing.
Speaker 2:Man I can imagine, and a lot of the younger guys that would have been drafted into the army there too. I mean you can't imagine all their families would have been so happy with that either. You know what I mean. It's like yeah, we're taking all your sons, to make them fight on the front line in this war for Adolf Hitler and his view of Germany and the Supreme Court.
Speaker 1:I said the only people, pro-war people, who haven't been in the in a battle. That's what I've read.
Speaker 2:I don't know it makes sense to me, yeah, or psychopaths, yeah I.
Speaker 1:I've been to enough irish weddings where I have ptsd from family gatherings and a few concussions maybe yeah, that's the.
Speaker 1:That's the only time my father and I've ever got along all right. So my cousin, sharon o'connor, was having a christening for her son and had an Irish band called Blackthorn playing, and I came out from the bathroom and Sharon's husband, matt McIntyre, got into a fight with her brother, jimmy O'Connor, and this melee broke out and I walked in the middle of it and my head whipped immediately to my father who was sitting at a table, and his head immediately whipped towards me and we both realized we weren't involved. We both put our hands up. That's the only time my father and I've ever connected emotionally that's fucking funny yeah, it's funny because it's true damn, do all.
Speaker 2:Do all irish americans, do all irish people. Are we all just brought up with that fucking trauma? You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:it's like I better not see you crying son one time. Irish people don't look for a fight, but if one comes they're not going to be rude well, I definitely think that's true.
Speaker 2:I mean, growing up in ireland, I had my fair share. So how have you been doing lately? Anyways, you've been busy touring, or what life is good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I've been working a lot, I can't complain. I, um, um, I had a recent incident. I was working in Long Island, new York, and I was staying in this hotel and I was by myself and I went to take a shower and I stepped in the tub and I slipped like the it was. It was like a sheet of ice at the bottom of the bathtub and I went, went up. Thank God I knew how to fall, but I landed. I'm like oh, and I'm thinking, oh, my God, it's Bob Saget. This is what happened. This is how he died in a hotel. My biggest fear is dying in a hotel alone. That's what I. I don't want to be that guy.
Speaker 2:Shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I tucked and rolled. Okay, but you gotta please kids playing along at home. If you're going to a strange hotel, make sure there's a bath mat in the bathtub so you're not alone.
Speaker 2:I mean you slip like that and hit your fucking head. It just takes one and you're done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. That's right. Well, thank God I have a thick head, but I probably would have cracked the tub.
Speaker 2:Big dick Irish head huh yeah, boom.
Speaker 1:Let me ask this question. I don't want to take over this interview.
Speaker 2:No worries, ask what you want.
Speaker 1:Inevitably, if I meet someone, they seem to have this epiphany that I have a big head. Now, it's been my observation Anyone who's Irish, of a various descent, had this huge melon. You don't have exactly a small head, I've got a big head. Have you ever noticed? You never see a small headed Irish person.
Speaker 2:Well, I can tell you exactly why that is. Joey, please, it's because of our big fucking brains.
Speaker 1:That's right. You don't put a limo in a one-car garage. You need a lot of space or something like that. This big brain needs a big head. You know what I mean? That's right, except when it comes to math.
Speaker 2:And time zones. Different time zones.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, carry the one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we would call it a potato head. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I've been called growing up A potato head, not a potato head, a potato.
Speaker 2:A potato, A potato A potato yeah, a potato head. But yeah, I mean slipping in the frigging bathtub. I heard that's how quite a few people have went out.
Speaker 1:I know, elvis died on the toilet, but I mean yes, that was slightly different.
Speaker 2:I think that was constipation from drugs yeah, I don't think he slipped and fell peanut fried peanut butter jelly sandwiches oh man, holy hell. But that's interesting that you say that like you don't want to go out in a hotel room by yourself. I've got a feeling and I was talking to my new housemate. He's from chicago. Just outside of chicago, we'd be chit chit chatting every night.
Speaker 2:He's a cool fella. And I just said to him randomly I was like you know what I said I reckon I'm probably going to die alone when I do go. And he's like you know what he said, I reckon. I reckon that too. I was like you, reckon I'm going to die alone. He's like no, I reckon.
Speaker 1:I'm going to die alone.
Speaker 2:So I was like okay, we don't know each other. How the saying this now, at this age, with all my family standing around me. I'm lying in a hospital bed. I'm looking up from that hospital bed. I know this is my final moments on this earth and I'm like, no, why do I have to go? I knew all you cunts are going to be still alive. No fucking way. So I don't want that. I don't want everybody, you know, looking down and be going. It's going to be okay. No, it's not going to be okay. You get to walk out of here and fucking live your life still. I don't want that. I'll take the hotel room by myself. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Well, I remember my grandfather passed away right. So I'm the last Callahan of my clan. I have daughters, and I was 15 years old, my grandfather Callahan, and he held my father's hand. He helped, reached out to both of us to hold his hand as he was dying, and it was three generations of callahan men. That's how he died and that was kind of like that. That to me wouldn't be too shabby, just to have that connection to family. And just he just closed his eyes and I'm like, oh my gosh, that was a circle of life that I can never repeat. And then I'm sure my father yelled at me for something afterwards and criticized me or told me it was your fault.
Speaker 1:Yeah it was somehow my fault. Yes, but that's.
Speaker 2:That's funny I mean, and again, I'm not trying to be more, but I'm only, I'm half joking, I'm half.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no. We definitely this has to. I mean, um, but depends on whatever side of the pond is like, people will come to funerals for, like my family and they have. No, is this a party or is this a? Is this a somber occasion? It's, it's, it can be both. Yeah, we have a grand time at a funeral and it's laugh, we laugh and we drink and we, we just tell stories and it's it's. I'll tell you, I've been to some fantastic wakes yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And for anyone that's listening that doesn't know what a wake is, a wake is like when they bring the body to a house and they all sit around the coffin, they drink, or I guess just after the funeral they have a big piss up as well yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:We had my cousin rosemary passed away and we went to this one restaurant and we literally drank them out of beer. They ran out of beer and they tried to extend. I guess the manager of the restaurant said, well, your party was booked, and my cousin Mary goes. This wasn't a party, this was. My mother died, like she don't really. There was a fight going on, totally, completely. I remember dear friends of ours, anthony Costello, who's a gay man. He's my cousin Beth's best friend, and I'm walking to the car and he's behind me and I drop my pants and I show him my ass and he starts yelling. I'm straight now I'm no longer gay.
Speaker 2:I just had a stare at Joey Callahan's bum, but also I mean death too, I mean the people that are left behind. It's almost a celebration of the life that the person lived, because when it comes to life, I mean from my what I think. Anyways, and again, I I can never say I'm right and no one can, because nobody's died and came. Well, some people have died technically for however many minutes and came back, but nobody's died, died for like a year and then came back and went oh hey, you know where were you for the last fucking year? Oh, I was dead. What was it like? Did you paint the dining room? Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:So I mean my thoughts are like, your life is complete when you die, because we're all born to die at the end of the day, right? So that's the way I look at it, and I don't necessarily believe in any afterlife and stuff like that. I mean, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not opposed to the idea. There you go, I'm fine with it.
Speaker 1:I just don't have proof, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, but I don't let's say I'm I don't hedge all my bets on that at all in any way, shape or form. I believe I have this life. That's right now. It's got a beginning, a middle and an end, and if I can be content with knowing that, hey, there's going to be a full stop there someday and it's going to be over for me, I'll enjoy my life much more now and have much less regrets and also much less like, um, I think, stress or anxiety about life, because I'm aware you know what this is it for me and this is it for everybody?
Speaker 1:around me I just want you. Yeah, I like I look at my daughters, I look at the name. Continuing to some degree, I I'm content. I have a beautiful wife who, whose only flaws are taste in men, my wife truly loves me and, uh, he makes me a better person, so I think that's, that's a pretty they're.
Speaker 2:They're pretty great milestones right there yeah, I mean, and that's again, things that you should cherish and relish and enjoy while you are here in this physical form and whatever spiritual form, and enjoy that. You know I mean too many people, I think, think about this afterlife and are certain about this afterlife and again, you can't be certain about anything in debt. You know I mean.
Speaker 1:So I think, if you don't mind one of the ideas that popped into my brain, you ever have food that you absolutely love, right, and you're hungry, but you absolutely love the food that you're eating, and you find yourself just shoveling the food in. You're not really enjoying it in the moment, you're not tasting the food, you're more like a Labrador retriever, just throwing food down without even chewing it. I think centered aspects of life is you've got to taste it, you've got to smell it, you've got to be in the moment, you've got to be centered. That's what I think is the most important.
Speaker 2:For sure, and that is probably one of the hardest things to do, especially in today's day and age. Like I mean, people are either reminiscing on the past or they're worrying about the future for the most part, and it is kind of hard to be present in this day and age when you got so much social media and all that kind of crack going on and just always wanting people always wanting, wanting, wanting, which is an anxiety about the future, isn't it? Because wanting is essentially fantasizing about something you don't have yet, but something that you want. You know what I mean. And then, like, let's say, the pain or the the great memories of the past is also you living in the past in your head. So it's yeah to be just content in the moment, like me talking to you here now, like you know you're a much younger man than I am, but spiritually we're both eight year old boys giggling with each other.
Speaker 1:But I say that's the beautiful thing about being a guy. I can't speak for women, but tell me if I'm wrong. You meet a guy, you know within three seconds whether this guy's an asshole or your best friend like it. There's a, there's a simplicity to men that we, if we didn't like each other, we would have known it like that exactly and we wouldn't pretend.
Speaker 2:I can't pretend. Even I met somebody uh, pretty recently mentioned this, but this was actually a woman, not a, not a guy, and I was going to meet someone and they said their friend was, was coming along, whatever like that, and within the first couple of seconds of being in this person's company I knew immediately that I didn't like them and that I just had no interest. I knew we weren't on the same wavelength of frequency at all and I just I got out of there pretty quick because I was just like I'm not yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2:I don't have any interest in talking with this person.
Speaker 1:I just don't feel good vibes, whatever it was. So, yeah, I got out of there pretty fast. Um, I was gonna say that's interesting. Sorry, but just everybody, you said it right a frequency, a vibe. I think we all give off rhythms and you've got to find the rhythms that you sync with or the rhythms you don't sync with and get away from them that's exactly true.
Speaker 2:And it's another thing too is like, um, let's say, growing up like growing up in ire, growing up wherever you grew up, and you grew up with a certain group of people, right, that you hung around with as a kid or this and that, and as you grow older then and you maybe separate or go your separate ways, then you might meet these people after a few years and realize, damn, I don't have anything in common with these people anymore, or we're just not on the same wave anymore.
Speaker 2:These people, I don't have anything against them. They're just who they are now and I'm who I am now and that's just it. Just because you were friends with them as a kid doesn't mean you, you know, you, you owe them anything or they owe you anything. As you get older, if you meet them or anything, it's just like, oh, hey, you know, but some people have that mentality of like, you know, oh, we don't talk anymore. You know you're an asshole or you're this and that you've changed and all this kind of stuff, and it's like, well, yeah, I have changed and you know, I'll probably keep on changing until the day I die. It's called evolving.
Speaker 1:Yes, I've developed, I've grown well. I had a guy, marty manion. I've known him since I was 11. He he was my best man at my wedding I was his best man. He was the godfather for my eldest daughter, emma. We just grew apart. There was not one incident. He went his way, I went my there. I recently, when I was working florida, I contacted him and we had dinner and it was. It was cordial, it was nice, we engaged in what have you been up to, what have you been up to? And we went our separate ways and I don't think we're ever going to reconnect it. Just, it was a final chapter, an epilogue, if you would, and then we just kind of moved on. Which, no, I wish him nothing but the best's. Just, we don't have anything in common.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's very true. You know um dad. Damn, we're getting very philosophical in this chat. We're deep brother we're deep, we get deep, we go deep on this one. That's right. We're smart, are we smart? We we, we philosophical? So something I was going to ask you too. Let's get back to the comedy, anyways, is that so I've? You've been touring a lot lately. You've been on the road busy. Yeah, you've been on the road a lot.
Speaker 1:How's it been going? It's been wonderful. I mean, it's, it's um, I've got a honda pilot, um that I'm driving. I gotta get a new car, which I dread buying a new car, but I've got 228 000 miles on it. It's still, but the windshield wiper motor just broke so I can't. I don't have windshield wipers, so a friend of mine's, a mechanic's going to be looking at it this evening. But I need the car and I'm sick of airports and I don't mind hotels. Sometimes you just get out, you get in the rhythm. But uh, yeah, I've been working between florida and new york. I I've just been touring.
Speaker 2:Tell joe, get check is really what I've been doing and do you write on the road Like, or let's say, okay, I do, but you do write on the road yeah, yeah, I try to write.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't want to call it writing, I call it more observing, like if I see something that kind of strikes me, strikes my fancy, I'll talk about it on stage. And sometimes things develop, sometimes things sometimes you have this idea and you just put it in the notebook, as it were, and then another idea will come and you can kind of blend them together also and you've got a joke. So you kind of amass these kind of this inventory joke, but you're trying to constantly come up with something new because you don't want to become stale and redundant okay, that was just something I was going to ask as well.
Speaker 2:It's like so, let's say, you had a show next week and you've prepared is everything that you do in that set? Is that all scripted and prepared, like you prepared it all, or is there a certain amount of um what's the word? And improvisation, like could you just say something on stage in a moment, that's part of your bit, but then think of something there and be like hang on a second and go with that in the moment on stage, like it is?
Speaker 1:yeah, that's exactly what I do. I, I have a, I have a foundation, the structure, um, and I know what I can kind of talk about. But like, for instance, this past couple weekends I was in a comedy club called governors on long island and it's a fantastic club and a lot of people came to see me, I'm embarrassed to say, because they saw me the last time. So I didn't want to have the same act. So I I got a chance to try some new stuff, but then I got a chance to engage the audience and interact. I mean, I never make fun of anybody but I'll kind of work the crowd and and have them lead that in the material. But I try to make a fun environment for everybody. Um, and I know that I have my act, but I don't want to be held bound to my act when I can kind of blossom and grow and and and free flow, as it were.
Speaker 2:Have you ever improvised a bit on stage and you've just felt shit, this is not going well, this is not happening.
Speaker 1:You, you, you know immediately, you, you know, you know, you can tell within, and it's tapping Talk about the rhythm, the vibration. It's tapping into an energy level, a plane of existence where you just the perfect example of what I'm trying to say is if anyone's watched Billy Connolly, you watch Billy Connolly and the man is just, he is there's no, there's no, it's perfect zen. He's not trying, he's not, he is there's no, there's no, it's perfect zen. He's not trying, he's not, he is, he just does it. And that's what you try to get on stage damn, that's good.
Speaker 2:And you've been in like comedy for what?
Speaker 1:40 years now I, I look at, don't I I'm glad this is an audio podcast um, I did. I did my first open mic um 1989, but I was always on stage as a kid, whether it was juggling or acting, whatever. But yeah, stand up, pure stand up was right after university I went into a comedy club. So about 30 years, 30-ish.
Speaker 2:What's like, what's some of the changes you've seen in stand up since then, or what's some of the evolution you've seen in stand up since then? That's a great. You just took the words out of my life.
Speaker 1:Well, it's evolution. Like everybody gets so offended we can't say this anymore. We can't say that. It's evolving sensitivities. Don't punch down, uh. You don't make fun of people that don't have an ability to defend themselves. And you're seeing I'm saying it's rather interesting to me because in in america, and I noticed that a lot of the comedians come from immigrant, blue collar, working class, italian, polish, irish culture right now we're seeing an influx of south asian, indian, pakistani comedians, chinese comedians, and they have a different story. I'm fascinated by them, like a lot of them are very well educated, a lot of ivy league, a lot of first generation. Uh, and, and be honest, my observation, my critical observation of them is they're quite fond of telling you they were in the advanced placement classes growing up in school, where the irish and the italian and the jewish kids were were scrappers. We were fighters and we worked our way up there. These guys are more kind of Ivy League, posh kind of comics.
Speaker 2:Okay, is there stuff now let's say that you wouldn't say or you can't say now, as opposed to back in the 80s and let's say the early 90s, where I mean there's still comics today that say whatever the fuck they want. And if I was a stand-up, I mean someday, if I want to do it like I'll say exactly what I want to say, and it's like again I think it's the context of a joke like people are saying you can't joke about this and you can't joke about that, but you can joke about anything yeah, I, I'm a mimic.
Speaker 1:I love accents. So I grew up everybody was white, irish and catholic. So when I got into the world and I saw people who were different than me, I just was like a sponge to water with them and I love accents. I hear accents like whether it's an indian, a british, yeah, asian, like I hear a russian. I hear accents and I'll mimic them and I'm pretty bloody well spot on what I want to be. But white guys, particularly white guys at my age level, can't do accents. It started also, I think, with uh, hank azaria doing au's voice in the Simpsons and they stopped Hank Azaria from doing it and brought in an Asian voiceover comic actor to do Apu. So that develops and that grows and you just try to figure out. Those considerations are things you have to deal with.
Speaker 2:Okay. So do you get people coming to your shows and getting offended by something you've said? And if like, what is your reaction to? Because for me it's like you're paying money to go and watch a stand-up comedian and then you get offended by something that that comedian says yeah, I know that this is comedy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my uncle, johnny o'connor, who I adored, had parkinson's disease and there used to be a commercial for a diet uh drink called, uh called slim fast, where the whole thing was you would have a slim fat shake in the morning, one in the afternoon and then a sensible dinner. So I asked my uncle johnny. I said hey, uncle john, how's that how you doing with the parkinson's? He goes, and they got me on that slim fast diet a shake in the morning, shake in the afternoon and a sensible dinner. I thought it was bloody funny. I am like brilliant, right. So I did that on stage and someone got offended that I was making fun of people with parkinson's and I got right angry and I'm like, no, I'm not you. And that's the only time I think I've ever really lost my composure, because that was a story. I was, I was. It was more of a tribute to the wit and wisdom and the ability to spit death in the face like my uncle johnny did.
Speaker 2:And how dare you tell me I can't talk about my uncle yeah, and again, it's like I mean coming from an irish family like me, my brother and different people like that. It's like when somebody's like the word, even down on the look or something shit happening to them, we'll always end up taking the piss and joking about it. Absolutely as bad as it is, it's like the laugh gets you through the hard times. You know what I mean. So, um, but not everybody's as thick-skinned as that. I guess you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Um, I think people want to be offended. There are some. I haven't really run into it because I'm pretty much what you see is what you get right now how I am on stage. I don't I've never really run into other than that example, but some people want to be offended. They want to cry the blues, as it were that's very true, especially in today's day and age.
Speaker 2:You see that even more so now. Like um everybody's offended by everything, you can't say anything.
Speaker 1:But then there is people who do say everything yeah, but also to keep in mind that this is not the first time this has happened. If there's a cliff, nesterov is a comedy historian and he just recently wrote a book I can't think of the name of it where, where in the 50s, raucho Mark was complaining that if I do a joke about lawyers, I get 100 letters from lawyers. A comedian by the name of Danny Thomas said I can't do ethnic voices anymore. People get offended. So it's nothing new. It's really nothing new in the world. It's really nothing new in the world. Yeah, you didn't think I was that deep, did you? So do me a favor, let me ask this question. You said people wanted to, who wanted to have me back, because I tell them they've got a special place in my heart because I love doing this with you.
Speaker 2:A couple of listeners I won't mention any names, as you know looking at me as it is, I like to keep everything a little bit secretive and under the coat, but they'll know they'll be listening to this for sure, for certain. I even messaged one of them Geographically?
Speaker 1:where are they? Where are they located geographically?
Speaker 2:One of them's in Hong Kong. Cool One of them's in Ireland.
Speaker 1:Fair enough.
Speaker 2:Actually, two of them are in Ireland, so yeah, Two places they've not performed.
Speaker 1:Well, two places I've not performed. I would love to go to shows in Ireland and I'd love to go to Hong Kong to see how the comedy would translate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know how it would go down in Hong Kong, Ireland. I reckon you'd go down a treat. You'd be a blast. Have you any thoughts or any ideas of going to Ireland in the future?
Speaker 1:I did. Yeah, I'd love to, I'm open to it. I did Edinburgh in the fringe and uh, that was fun. Uh, scottish people are very similar to uh. It's the first time I ever I was going to mass, right, and these two guys were outside in edinburgh and they start doing anti-catholic heckles at me and I was like taken back because where I grew up, everybody was catholic right yeah, and I go.
Speaker 1:I go. Hey, lads, I'm not only catholic, I'm american, so you can hate me for two reasons now. And they were just their mouths opened, they didn't know what to say and I just walked into mass. I thought that was great. But that's the first place I ever got where they would find out that you were Catholic and they really tried to treat you like a second-class citizen, which I found rather fascinating. But Glasgow was wonderful. I loved Glasgow.
Speaker 2:Really I've never been there. I mean I'd love to go and check out Glasgow, scotland as a whole. Actually, I'd love to do a road trip around Scotland. I mean such a beautiful-looking country.
Speaker 1:It's stunning. It's stunning and, my God, if they like you, they really like you, and if they don't, it's a good way to be straight down the middle.
Speaker 2:you know, I've had a lot of coffee this morning. I've been up since half past five, so hopefully I'm not that's an early start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, when you have 57 and your bladder wakes you up.
Speaker 2:You have no oh shit, you're around the same age as my old fella I think he's around I think so he could be older. He could be in his fucking 60s. I don't know who knows, who knows he's older than me and he doesn't know that much. Are you in Taipei? I'm in Taipei, yeah, okay yeah, that must be stunning.
Speaker 1:You'll have to send some pictures. I can imagine the beauty of it yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:I mean Taiwan as a whole, like it's got. It's basically surrounded by mountains. It's an island, so it's surrounded by ocean and the whole center of it is just mountains, mountains, mountains. And so it is. They call Ireland the Emerald Isle. They call Taiwan Formosan Island, which means beautiful island, but they could easily call this place the Emerald Isle too. It's so fucking green. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Now, do you have Netflix by chance? Yes, I do so. Do you have the show Somebody feed phil? Did that just come out? It just came out. Yeah, yeah and uh. He went to taipei. That's why I was the, the restaurants of taipei and just the sheer beauty of it yeah, I mean it's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, food is the culture here. I mean drinking isn't the culture here, but food is absolutely the culture. Like everything's about food, really, do you know? Um, I was telling people here, like I said, in ireland we have uh pubs where you can't actually get food and you just go to drink alcohol and they're like what you mean, you sit down and eat some food and drinks. No, no, you don't sit. You sometimes you don't sit, you stand, or you, you know, you sit on a high stool at a bar and you just drink all the time when you're in there and they're like what?
Speaker 2:all day there are.
Speaker 1:There are some pubs here now that what the new thing is? They have food trucks and the food trucks come and you can go to go outside or you can put your order. In the age of technology, you can put your order in over the phone and they'll text you when your food's ready. So you go outside the pub, pick up your food, you bring it in and continue your drinking, and that's that's great for the bar too.
Speaker 2:Right, because they don't have to like provide any cutlery, any that kind of crack no, no.
Speaker 1:Nor do they have to worry about a food license or certain things as far as inspections go. Because they don't serve food, people bring it in damn them crafty, huh them crafty bar owners.
Speaker 2:They're always finding a way around it, huh always work.
Speaker 1:Look at me angle, work at me angle yeah, always, always, it's humid as hell here. Now, my god, yeah we just got the first. I mean we. I said to my wife at one point I go. When did we move to Ireland? Because the weather was just gray and rainy?
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:It was horrible and you get to a point where you just go fuck this. And then Sunday when I went drinking with my cousins, it was 70 degrees and sunny and it was just beautiful. I'm like, oh, thank God.
Speaker 1:I'm at the point that, towards the end of the summer, I'm done with the heat, and then I wanted to be a little warmer and colder and awesome and awesome, like now I'm done with the winter. I want, I want to. I my, my summer clothes want to come out and the winter clothes want to be put away in the tomb so damn well.
Speaker 2:The weather here doesn't get much different than stinking hot most of the time. You get a bit cooler weather in the winter, but it doesn't last very long like. I relish every second of it and I love the rain. I absolutely love the rain. I have a big connection with the rain and yeah I just sometimes, just like you know, I don't pray, but whatever the equivalent of praying is wish for the rain, let's say uh many times I'll be talking to people at home.
Speaker 2:They're like, oh, you'd love it back here. Now it's pissing down rain with the wind. I'd be like, ah, I'd love to be back there for a weekend, you know so yeah, people think do you love it because you don't have a lot of it?
Speaker 1:less is more, or do you? Uh, no, I've always, since I've been a kid since I've been a young kid, I've always had a fascination or just a.
Speaker 2:I've just always been drawn to water or the rain, as it is like. I love the sound of the rain. I love the sound of the rain in multiple different locations. It sounds different if you're camping in a tent, if it's belting off a tin roof, if it's hitting off your window, if you're in the car. It just relaxes me and calms me down and makes me very, um, relaxed. I don't know what it is, I just I love the rain no, that's cool.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that kind of acknowledges that we do have a spirit. We do have we don't know if there's anything beyond that, but we yeah, there is. It's. It's more than physical and intellectual there. I think there's a, a depth and empathy that for certain things I mean I, I have hard press to believe you don't have a soul when you see a baby or you see a puppy there's just certain things that are going to touch you inside that are more not emotional, it's just something deeper inside my connection with the rain.
Speaker 2:You know, you said it could be spiritual or something like that.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, I think I'm not opposed to the idea, um I I think I think we there's more, to us there's more, I think there's. It's more inward than upward. Like you know, god's up there looking now. I think it's more internal what I think about sometimes.
Speaker 2:When I think about death or a person dying, it's like where did that personality go like? Where does that uniqueness of that person, all their traits, their way of thinking, their wish, their love, everything about them that makes them that individual? Where is that that just gone? Does that just dissipate into the fucking ether or what I am? Isn't it a?
Speaker 1:law of physics to say energy can't be created or deleted. The energy is. This is when I was a kid the nun really screwed with my head. I remember. I remember sitting in my backyard at like six or seven because the nun, lovely woman, said God always was, God always will be. And I couldn't fathom in my little six-year-old brain because it's ultimately a circle, but it's like God always was, always was. I couldn't like sometimes you talk about centering and staying in the moment. Ponder on that for a bit and it'll keep you straight, that's six years old.
Speaker 2:I know god always will be and you better listen there.
Speaker 1:Now you get the back of me hand, so you will there, sonny jim I uh it was centering prayer, like thomas merton talks about centering and staying still and just kind of focusing on one thing that God always was, god always will be, and it's just like I still can't wrap my brain around it.
Speaker 2:What about God? Never was, God never will be.
Speaker 1:And that could be as well, so you can do the same exercise.
Speaker 2:There's my cynicism.
Speaker 1:And now the cynicism denotes? The cynicism makes me think that you don't want to be open to a possibility of being wrong. I think that's what cynicism is.
Speaker 2:I'm kind of only joke Cause, like I said again earlier, I'm on the fence about everything because, like I said, unless you've died for a long period of time and you've came back and told me some shit, then how the hell could I know? I don't know and no one does know.
Speaker 1:So that's the way I am. You can only be on the fence. Well, my friend, chris mcsain, just joined one of them protestant christian churches. He was raised catholic, the guy was, and we went to primary and high school together and now he's a bible thumper. And I said to him I go, you have no proof. You, everything you're doing could be wrong, like everything you don't know. So it's all theoretical. Yeah, it's all theoretical. So until the actual yeah, we don't know.
Speaker 1:That's it, and anyone that claims they do, they don't no, no, really, really believing something doesn't make it true, very true, that's, that's very true, yes that's right. Yeah, okay, I believe that you can believe that that you can put your money on yeah.
Speaker 2:One more question I want to ask is um, I thought about this actually after we had our chat the last time and it was like um, I think I pretty much covered your, like you know, beginning of your career to where you are today the last time I chatted with you. But something I was wondering was um, what were your aspirations getting into comedy and what, like? Let's say, okay, I was in a band as a younger guy and my fucking dream was, like you know, I want to have a record and put it out and sell a million copies and be a rock star and play all these shows with thousands of people and be a success in that way. Or, if I was an actor, I want to make a movie and like it'd be praised and, you know, and sell out in movie theaters. What was your aspirations starting as a comic and what are your aspirations today as a comic?
Speaker 1:Well, to get on Paddy's podcast, I think I've peaked this point. I don't think there's anything beyond your show, man. Well, I was a wee lad. I have to say that I saw stand up and it just like you said about the rain something just struck inside me and I never wanted to be famous.
Speaker 1:But fame should only be you, should only want fame to have the opportunity to do what you love the first time. Like I went from working really crappy comedy nights to comedy clubs to working theaters. I got a chance to go to europe and perform and go to canada and perform. I want the opportunity, like my one of my favorite comedians if you get a chance to listen to her, she's just freaking awesome is kathleen madigan. And kathleen madigan, if you look her up, um, she's just doing theaters now and she's all over the country and doing and doing theaters and it's not the prestige of it, it's the opportunity of it, and that's what I really want to get. I want to get to that next level, like I'm I'm working Atlantic city casinos or I'm working theaters, but I want to. I want to go with that next level, where I want some more notoriety than I have, just for the opportunity to continue, cause, really, what it comes down to is getting the energy of the audience and writing the perfect joke.
Speaker 2:Okay, because I was going to ask you then what does it take? What do you think it takes to get to that next level, let's say like a Netflix special, like have you ever had that dream in your mind? Like I'd love to get my fucking chance to do that and what it would take to to do that, or is that even something you don't care about? You're like, whatever I'm, I'm I'm.
Speaker 1:I'm open to the opportunity of notoriety, um as long as it's legitimate notoriety. I don't want to have some kind of scandal or anything and I see to their credit. I see these people on youtube and tiktok and they're they're they're putting asses in seats at comedy clubs because of the million followers they have, but I've seen a few of them yeah they get all these followers.
Speaker 1:They're like the dog that chases the car and catches it. They don't know what to do when they're there. I've seen some horrible train wrecks of youtube people who don't have the capacity to meet the challenge of the asses they're putting in seats. So I've worked really, really, really hard. There's a guy named brad upton, very funny comedian, really put the work in and he did something called dry bar comedy. If you look at brad upton dry bar comedy, something clicked and he became viral with his stand-up clip and now he's all over the place. I mean I would also recommend you go to youtube and look at joey callahan, the notorious father of daughters. I'm not going to not plug myself.
Speaker 2:I've already watched it, but you can tell the listeners at home all about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you kids at home that kid in Hong Kong and Ireland go to YouTube. Say something nice about me, because people are mean with their comments. Really, Don't read the comments.
Speaker 2:So that's what that's, joey Callaghan's.
Speaker 1:That's on youtube. Yeah, joe, just because joey callahan comedy on uh youtube. But joey callahan, uh dry bar comedy. You can uh get my special. But back to brad upton. He's he's doing wonderful now, but he spent years upon years, upon years learning the craft and knowing how to write jokes and having planes canceled in airports and staying in shitty hotels. Now he's kind of living the high life, but he's he's up to the challenge, is my point so you just like you'd like to just expand and just grow your audience, maybe a bit more.
Speaker 2:That's like very much so, very much as a comic yeah, I.
Speaker 1:I used to think in the beginning, uh, could I make them laugh? I make them laugh in philadelphia, can I make them laugh in new york? I made them laugh in new york. Okay, well, can I make them laugh on the road? And I go to places like chicago, like okay, yeah, I got. Then I said, well, can I make them laugh in another country? And I went to canada and I did okay, like, okay, yeah, but canada is kind of like god, so what about the uk?
Speaker 1:then I did edinburgh and I went people are people they just want to laugh and I've had people from different countries come up to me and say it's like you grew up with me, the stories that you tell, so it's all universal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, damn, I went blank there for a second. I had something to say, that's okay.
Speaker 1:You had something profound to say. I could see it in the shades, of your shades.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't remember. I was about to say it and then the fucking mosquito bit me on the damn knee and I was there scratching my knee and all I was thinking about then was the damn mosquito. Oh man, yeah, I've been getting absolutely bombarded with mosquitoes since I moved into the city.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't do well with the mosquito audience. The mosquitoes don't pay to come see me, so I could see why the mosquito was daughters All they do is Well you know only the female mosquitoes bite and suck your blood right. Really Didn't. I know that.
Speaker 2:Brilliant. I'm not saying Anton, that's just a fact. Is that coincidence or irony, I don't know? There you go. Nothing to do with me. I'm just Don't shoot the messenger. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Don't anybody, you know, don't shoot. Well, I had I, I, my wife gave birth to two mosquitoes.
Speaker 2:I can tell you that right now oh shit that's the first time I've ever heard anybody describe their beautiful young daughters as mosquitoes yeah, but your description of sucking blood I can well, you know what joey I'm.
Speaker 1:I think I'm gonna wrap this up actually now, and uh, no you gotta go to bed at 8 30 man, it's 8 31 joey ah, I got 8, 34 boy, we're really screwing up with this time oh, what the hell?
Speaker 2:you know what? Here's something interesting for you. My phone says that it's 8 34 my watch says that it's 8 31. Who do I believe?
Speaker 1:you've got. You've got a time warp between. You've got a three minute time lost.
Speaker 2:Just three minutes. Three minutes. This on this. On this hand, I'm I'm on time. On this one, I'm not on time. But yeah, I gotta go. Three minute time Lost. Just three minutes. Three minutes In this. On this, on this hand, I'm I'm on time. On this one, I'm not on time. But I got to go and have a shower because it's like I said, it's stinking hot here and humid and I've been sweating like a this is wonderful man.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me. I hope I.
Speaker 2:I hope cast, and like I said again, I'm available anytime.
Speaker 1:The the irish compliment is as, uh, he sounds like a sound a sound fella.
Speaker 2:That's what I was hearing. I was like, all right, they're not getting back on, so that would be brilliant yeah, let me know any feedback.
Speaker 1:If you, let me know if he was a right horse's ass, if anyone says that too and uh, where can people see you again?
Speaker 2:where are you playing next?
Speaker 1:come to joey callahancom and that'll have all my dates coming up and, like I said, my drive, our comedy specials on YouTube and my, my website's, joey Callaghan so dot com. So if you have any questions or criticism, just send this. Send me the message there. Joey Callaghan dot com.
Speaker 2:OK, Joey Callaghan dot com. Check him out. Ladies and gentlemen, Come on.
Speaker 1:Since you don't have music at the end of this episode, I I like to do a number of my original songs.
Speaker 2:No, I'm just kidding, I don't do it, do it, give me something. See, all right, seeing as I don't have music, anybody that's listening. As you know, I love to feature original music at the end of each episode. Sometimes I drop the ball and I just don't get the chance. And next week I I'll have it. But today our guest, joey Callan, is going to sing us out with an old Irish tune.
Speaker 1:All all the money that I spent, I spent it on good company, and all the harm that I done, alas, it was to no one but me. That's all I got. All right. Peace everyone. Thanks for listening. Cheers.