S2 - Ep. 15 - Tig Notaro

Welcome to do you need to ride? This is Chris Fairbanks. I'm a little out of breath and I just want.

To let you guys know it's happy to have I'm happy to see you, and it's nice to have.

Friends, isn't it. I'm having a falling down type bang.

Oh uh everything, planes, trains and automobiles.

Just the mishaps my.

Uh, yes, of course, if not for the chiming alone and then safety. Yeah, my car didn't work and I charged the battery and that, and then it died while I was driving, So I abandoned it and went with an almost dead phone to my audition and I was with a difficult child actor that insisted on improving about Smucker's jam. No, and he didn't have the talent, he just had confidence, the gumption, and.

He took a half hour of my life. I'll never got it was by a child.

And then I was put in the car of a lift driver who was a total lunatic.

It's all over now.

It is.

And simultaneous to that, Stephen met me at my house was waiting on the doorstep because my family is at my house. We went to the grocery store to get groceries for tonight's dinner with my cousin. And then I said, guys, I have to leave and go podcasts for about probably what we'll end up being four hours.

And and we got on the freeway, flew for so I was like, this is golden.

We're going to get there, this is the timing is perfect. And then of course the traffic stopped and it rolled for so long. Then we made the call, we're getting Tigs. She's waiting. She's been waiting for thirty minutes, probably already.

I thought I was going to break the news that she wasn't unfortunately unavailable. I was waiting to reveal it once I got in the car. Oh, Tigg is sitting behind me. If I'm not mistaken, No, it's true.

Our guest today is comedian producer director.

Autumna. What's the word tour? Automatic tour.

Lady, ladies and gentlemen.

I do need a ride?

I wish they need really did need?

Yeah? I didn't need a ride kind of at this point.

I'm so award and we're taking you to the Ace theater or to your home.

Well, I need to go home. Yes, I have little babies waiting to see me. And to say good night.

And then I was hoping to shower that maybe I can look at myself and make myself believe that I look clean. Head out to the Ace Theater downtown, drop off some jokes, head back home.

You're just giving them an envelope with handwritten jokes.

Yes, yeah, I always do perfect.

Perfect, and then just have a dictator or dictated, an actual dictator.

An actual one. Maybe Kadafi.

Yeah, he's my favorite when it comes to reading out my thoughts.

Kadaffi really knows how to be one of the.

Best dictators around.

He's the.

He's the go to dictator.

He really is the best.

Last time we podcasted, I was so excited about the episode, and it sounded like bumblebees on top of some sort of an electrical power box with moments of what sounded like episode. It was your episode. It was your episode, and it went. I remember how well it went.

It was beautiful.

We all said poignant things, or you two did, and tears where shed points were made and they were brought back to a wonderful, funny moment.

I can't I can't believe we get the chance to do it again. Today.

We're going to muffle this one too.

Oh yeah, in the sound quality?

And when should we let the book? So that was you? I knew it was.

Yeah, yeah, just bumbled being around back there.

I I once again, I wish there was a word for thank you, and I'm sorry and I'm happy to see you, but I'm just going to say all those things individually.

Thank you for picking me up and take it for being.

On Hey, thanks for picking me up.

And where were you? You were in North Carolina?

Why do you think I was in North Caroline?

I don't know, that's in my head New York City.

Oh you said NYC, NYC, and I took out the Y and just made it North Carolina.

Yeah, yeah, I was in NYC. I did Cobert last night, How to Go. It was fun, and then I went to Days before that, I was in somewhere in Massachusetts and I was doing.

Live from here. It used to be Prairie Home Companion.

Okay, yeah, so uh And at no point were you in North Carolina?

I mean I have been in my life, of course, not on this particular trick here. It's nice that it's beautiful. I love it the apps, But yeah, I was out there. I have a silly online talk show, and I was on I was in New York promoting.

Have you shot any of these episodes yet?

Yep? And they're uh trickling out what's called they're out? They're out. They're called under a Rock with Tignotaro.

Because Pig doesn't know anything about the guests or they did they pick explain.

Explain, well, I don't follow pop culture.

I know that about you.

Yeah, it's people really don't believe the extent that I'm talking about, and they think I'm trying to be one of those people. It's like, yeah, I don't watch TV. Yeah, yeah, I own a TV. It's just dusty. And there's a very famous quote that my wife repeats.

When she had me turn the TV on to watch something.

She said, now get the small one and press the whatever button, and then the medium one, and then press this button and then the other remote, impress that button.

And I said, I truly said.

Three remotes for one show, I think in that exact inflection. And so anytime the TV is turned on, staff he repeats.

Three remotes for one show.

Can you do It a Little More Done?

Notts I naturally go into don knotts I surprise people see, Chris knows me well because we almost lived together for a decad.

We were almost recognized by the state.

Everyone recognized it, but us, You guys are in denial.

Yeah, everyone that at least worked for the city recognized us all the time.

Yeah.

But yeah, so Chris and I live together for almost a decade, and he can sit here and tell you I really I follow music. I love documentaries, but I just really don't follow much else. And obviously I know who some famous people are. Of course, of course you got my pit Bull reference were making. I actually like Pitbull great. I'm a music person. But anyway, I there are just famous people I happen to know. There are

Well if it gets into like I did trivia when I was back home in Montana and there was a music round and I thought, oh, I'm going to know all of this, except it was current music and I don't know any pop music references or anyone's name.

Yeah, I'm probably not great at today's pop.

Yeah.

I found out who Ariana Grande was about six months ago.

I was just gonna She's to one through ten songs are always Ariande.

If you played her for me, I know I wouldn't know who she was.

Did you get the chance to interview her?

No, but they tried to track her down.

And what they do on my show is they put together what they call face sheets, and they just show me hundreds of famous faces and then they'll throw in like a few random people that aren't famous, and then I just go through and I say yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, and then anyone I don't recognize, then they reach out to their reps and then there's a list of reps that say, don't ever contact us again. How Darius get a call of Tig doesn't know who your client is and it's gonna be so.

Fun hear us out?

And so yeah, the talk show is essentially me face to face with somebody and I interview them and try and figure out who they are beautiful and then so if people come on the show, they clearly have a sense of humor about it.

Yeah, I was just gonna.

Say, and so everybody's been really really nice and fun, and it's and I'm making it sound like it's an everyday talk show. It's it's six episodes right now, and.

It's the Funnier Die people, is it?

It's Funnier Die. And then the money comes from Alexa. So Alexa is on the show and I have to mention her or talk to her once or twice in an episode.

It's Alexa your sidekick kind.

Of kind of but not really. I mean nobody really.

You wouldn't go, oh, it's that show with Alexa, you know, that's good? Like every now and and then I might say, oh, let's get a timer, Alexa, can you count to ten for me?

And then that kind of thing. It's a light integration. Yeah, it's a very light integration. Nice. And then and who have you had so far that you didn't know?

Can you reveal?

Well? Yeah, we've released three episodes so far.

Okay, one of them I did figure out, and it's because he was a musician.

But the first one was James Vanderbeek. Sure, oh do you know who he is? Yeah, Friday Night from Dawson's Creek.

Dawson's Creek and I think Friday Night Creeks, Friday Night Lights Creek. There's some football thing.

Yeah. And then he's in the New Effect show Pose. Oh is he in that? Yeah?

I just started watching the first episode. Okay, really good.

Oh what's fun is at the end of every episode, that's when I reveal who it is and I give all their credits.

It kind of after I.

Destroy their their egos and you're like, oh, you're in that. Well truly, I go. My guest today is a three time Emmy Award winner, two time Oscar nomine No. But you know, it's that kind of thing where I'm laughing at myself, going.

I am that's the best. It's fun.

It's such a perfect show for you because I can see you calmly working.

Through that and well they give me clues, which is fun. And yeah.

Anyway, so I was in New York promoting that, and.

As someone who's worked on talk shows, so that's right.

You have quite a history of talk shows, and you know, I don't want to brag about how much I've worked on talk shows, but that the way you find out if someone's a bad talk show guest is at the end they produce it through and when you find out how seriously someone takes themselves and how much they won't do and won't play and think that their.

Image is who they are. So usually that bad news comes at the end, but you get it. You don't have to deal with those people because they would never be subjected to that, you know, idea of not being known. It's like the best sense of humor people you're getting. That's what makes a good talk show.

Yeah, well, it didn't make people act more human knowing that they were going into this kind of joke scenario.

I think so, I think they were.

There were definitely a few moments where people said, gosh, every.

Actor should come on this show, and.

Also that it creates real conversations because I really am off guard. I don't know who I'm talking.

To and you're not like blowing smoke or doing any of the usual stuff that like, no, yeah, because you can't.

I can't.

I mean, I'm truly looking at this person because they could be a sports figure, they could be a newscaster, they could be a politician.

I don't know, it could be anybody. It's so good. It could be a musician.

And one of them was y Cleugh and I figured out that it was like oh nice, Yeah.

Was that now at that moment on the show? Does that feel like a victory for.

Both of you. Did he like that you finally figured him out. I'm sure he liked it.

I was kind of onto him pretty quickly because he said he was from Haiti and then he kind of sang a line and I was I said.

I'm LANDI I know who you are.

November.

But so that was fun, and that's what we talked about with the show, the just having that openness of it'll be fun if I don't know him, or if I figure it out, if they start to look familiar to me, and I'm like, oh, because a lot of times when I would look at a face sheet and I would say I don't know this person, the producers would be like, not a minute, look at this again, and I say okay, and then they pull up other pictures in different angles and let's say, I don't know who.

The version is, but what about in this lighting? Is it a lighting?

What about if you look at them through my eyes?

Have you tried squinting? Use my glasses?

But yeah, so it's it's a fun moment. I think it only happened once. It was just with y Clough.

The person.

Her name is Julie Bowen.

She's the most.

Yeah, yeah, she's on the one of the biggest televisions. Well that was the thing, is when I was writing her third thing, it is like they're going into their thirteenth and final scene and she has won three Emmys, and I was I thought, one of the clues, the guest gives me clues about themselves and then I give

So I was like, I was on that trail and this is.

The best idea. This is the best idea of a show. I'm sorry, it's so good.

And then this is I think it's the clip that they used to promote this episode. But there's a moment where and I truly it seems like a joke, especially knowing who she is. But I thought I was so on this trail that I said wait because she said I'm she said something about being a mom. She's famous for being a mom. At first I said, oh, I think you're an actor. And then when she drew herself on the couch. I was like, wait a minute, are you a talk show?

Are you?

Why?

Why don't I have to talk to you?

I'm a couch potato mom.

But then I was convinced she had her own podcast.

That's what it was. I said, do you wait? Do you have a podcast?

And then that's a clip that's used to promote the episode and it looks like I'm sure, it looks like I'm full of it.

Ah, that's so fun.

I will just say this, and I know that you know this about that show, but I want tvo Modern Family because my sister and my niece watch it constantly. So when I go home to visit my family, I start watching it and then it's like this weird habit where then then I kind of need it, like it's like, oh, it's seven o'clock, I need to get this because they have such good jokes.

I mean, it's a.

Very very very well written show, so it's really satisfying, and they're such good actors on it.

So when I came home from a trip at home.

I dvr'd it so that I could watch it, and it filled up my DVR. That's how many times a day that show is on.

Really.

Yes, it's like it's almost like if you hate the Simpsons, where you just keep on getting it endlessly. It's been on that much and it's in reruns that much that she's got some cash.

She's not broke, she's not worried about anything. She didn't have a struggling mom podcast, not at all.

She's not trying to make ends meet.

I love your children.

I love you, and I love your two children.

And anytime I've been there, they just inherently know it's time to wrestle.

Are they always wrestling? Is it?

Well?

Usually right around bedtime. I mean there's there's several wrestling matches that happened throughout the day, but about an hour before night night it really starts to kick out.

Always by the China.

Yeah, truly, I love it.

And they they like, well can each other's heads on the ground and it sounds painful. It's the bonking noise of a head hitting a wooden floor and they just start giggling.

They love it.

Oh they're twins. Yeah, they're fraternal twins.

And my son Finn, the therougher it gets the harder, he laughs, And he's the tinier one.

I love it.

That's what I've That's what I've experienced. It's so fun to watch. I could watch it all day.

I know Chris really does enjoy it.

When they were just little blobby infants, they came over, Chris came over, and they all three had a wrestling match on the floor.

It was really cute.

They were just trying to figure out how to get my clothes off. This is a button, what is under here?

Let's get this off?

And maybe it's.

And maybe it's a weird thing to mention, but I loved every minute.

It was so cute.

They're still not great at clothes. I mean, both legs will go in one pant hole.

They wake up every morning like you and I and put both legs in one panhole like the next guy.

Yeah.

Stephanie sent me a picture of Finn. He put on two different shoes and he came in and said, look at my funny shoes and laughed so hard. We're afraid that we might have been have raised terrible senses of humor.

And are you done shooting Star Trek or is it still.

I finished season two and then that aired, and then I go back and start filming season three.

End of July and where do you shoot it? Toronto? Oh wow, that's great. I was lured back.

Season three and was told that a chunk of the new season was going to be in Iceland.

Oh and I was like, oh, yes, so excited.

And I haven't heard about Iceland ever again, do you think they lied to.

Your And I've said this before, but I is green and Greenland as I see. Yeah, yeah, that's I've said it before. There's only a handful of things I.

Know, and that's one for sure.

That's definitely one.

I actually know about five things about Iceland because that was the country I had to do my sixth grade country report on because I picked I was picked last, second to last, and everybody the person that got picked first of course picked Italy, second person picked France, what have you?

Ireland of course was way up there.

Then it just kept going down down through all the countries and I was second to last. I picked Iceland, and my friend Holly was last and she got Malta and we it was impossible to do reports on these countries because there was like, you know, one paragraph in the encyclopedia and now my country that it's you know, recofects the capital.

Sure, of course, the main export is airing.

I don't actually know that much, but some kind of can.

It's just so weird that I used to be the only one that gave a shit about Iceland, and now it's the place.

And now all of a sudden I do, And now all of a sudden, this one jumps on board the hell I have wanted to go.

I've been there on a layover, which was pretty fun just knowing I was there, But I'm hoping to go back and have more fun than a layover.

Yeah, and hopefully bump Intoorkork.

She runs her own spa there in a Swan suit. Everybody has to wear a bird suit of some kind.

That's their spa.

It's relaxing that that role was written for you, right, You did an audition for that someone that loves you?

Right, Yeah.

My friend created the new series and he created this role for me, and I thought I was just going out to do an episode and then.

I really did a terrible job.

And people think that I am being, you know, humble and.

Hard on myself for whatever you want to say. But I'm.

I have a hard time memorizing lines in general, and to memorize Star Trek lines, it's it's.

Truly nearly impossible for me.

It's a bunch right, Yeah, it's about it's made up words, about made up science, about made up outer space, and so I can't even picture what I'm talking about, Whereas in a movie or TV show, I can picture good to see you, We'll meet up with you at dinner tonight, like all of that makes sense. Yeah, and I can picture the little story I'm saying, But with Star Trek,

I was trying. I couldn't get it.

And then I finally went, I'm sorry, what.

Are we doing? What am I talking about? I don't know any of these words.

I've tried to learn them. And I was just having this spiral, laughing so hard. I wasn't like really having a spiral, but I was truly like, Okay, I can't pretend any longer that this is the most ridiculous thing I I can't.

I'm sorry, I'm ruining your show.

And there's just a bunch.

Of people, yeah, like, do you have to wear a body suit.

Basically, I'm just in I'm in a like a tight space suit. But I'm not like a monster or anything. But but you do alien see I'm not even.

It's monster monster.

But I the director came out of video village and you know where they are behind the scenes watching everything, and she was so nice and she just said, not a problem and pulled up an apple box, sat down and just started feeding me.

All of my lines. Really yeah, and all of the cast, if they.

Hated me, they didn't show it. They were all very kind and patient. I kept saying, thank you, I'm so sorry. I truly tried, and I tried to learn my words, and I'm so sorry. And so I wrote my friend Alex Kurtzman. I mean, he's he's so gigantic. He's written Star Trek movies, he's written Mission Impossible movies.

Wow, he's written you know, everything gigantic. And I just wrote him and I said, I just did a terrible job on your show. And I want you to know that the meeting that we.

Had in your office in Santa Monica, where you said we want to use you as much as you're available, I don't want you to.

Feel like, you need to stick to that, just because you said that to me.

And I really really don't want to ruin your show.

And I'm so sorry.

And he wrote me saying he was telling me that the show essentially edits right there on the set. Oh, they do a rough like line cut right there. Wow, And he said, I've seen the footage. He goes it all cut together well, and nobody would know. You're being fed all your lives and he said, and you're not getting out of this and and he said, and from here on out, I'm going to make your dialogue even harder because it amuses me to know that you're struggling so hard. Now I'm duck on Star Trek.

Yes, yeah, basically playing yourself right.

Yeah, it's tigging space in tight tight clothes.

In skin tight clothes.

But when I say I'm stuck on Star Trek, I really love it and I feel lucky and thankful and it's it's it's just when you can work with nice people, it's never a bad time. Well.

And also, if you can get your mind around lines like this, then you can do anything after that. If you can make you'd think the things were well because I did a show in England, and I'd never had like a big part before, so this was like my first big thing and it was this ensemble and it had these unbelievable British actors.

So it was the Hound from.

Game of Thrones, Rory McCann and this woman Michelle Gomez.

People that you wouldn't finger in a lineup.

They were.

They all went to like the Royal Shakespeare Academy for acting.

This guy.

I mean, everybody was an incredible actor. And by the way, that's like Star Trek.

They're all, what is it, Juilliard, They're Broadway seal right, They're all that.

And I'm like, nah, I'm gonna be in this scene too.

I know where like lines aren't an issue in any Lines don't come into it at all.

It's not even about that.

And I had the same thing with the first rehearsal we had. The director. I was saying, my life. She goes, I need to stop you, Karen. You're making that noise. And I go, what's this?

Sorry?

She goes, you're doing that American actress Exhale. So I would say a line because of course my character was like Vichy and so I go, like, that's not even and I was doing this exhale that I didn't know I was doing.

So then that's all I could think about.

And then when I would go to do the lines, I couldn't memorize my lines because all I was ever doing was going, I shouldn't have this part. I shouldn't I make noises, I do American things. And it was every time, every time we'd be on set, it would be my turn, and that I'd just be like, it was so much.

Yes, your American patriotism takes over.

It was fucking horrible. It was awful.

I can't. Yeah, that brings me anxiety just hearing about it.

It was it was.

I love acting, but that part, the technical aspect of it, is so much harder, I think than so many people understand.

And it makes me think of when Martha when Zach first asked Martha to be on Baskets, but she said, I don't want to be the jar Jar Banks of your show. She was so scared to ruin it. And it was the same thing mar char Jar.

In Space.

Yeah, very proud of you, Tig. I'm proud of you. Christopher. Oh, thank you, Karen, I thank you too for that matter.

Credit around I'm not ashamed of anyone in.

This I'm not embarrassed to be seen right now, Can you think of one of your lines, give us an example.

Well, yeah, the one that I really remember it and it's not even that crazy, but it was one of the first things I had to memorize. And I was also talking to myself in my bedroom and.

When Stephanie walked in, she was.

Kind of, you know, quietly coming in and out of the room doing things, and I was in there doing my Star Trek stuff, and she started laughing so hard because I was like, what happens is my character?

I'm an engineer, but I'm I'm kind of.

I'm really smart and I can I'm doing medical stuff and trying to keep all these people alive, and I don't realize that the war has ended, and I'm stranded with all these you know, creatures and people.

And then the Star Trek actual stars of the show come upon me in this moment and and.

I have like creatures plugged into things and you know, just keeping everyone alive after the crash, and and so somebody tells me that the the war is over, and I turned to one of the creatures who's plugged into a blood pump of some sort.

I say, here that Valentine, the war's over. We're going home.

And then I turned back to the cast and I go Valentine took a piece of shrapnel to the left ort Valve had to. I can't remember it rings the bell though, I think I saw that clip.

Was it one of the first episodes?

Yeah, it was the first episode.

I think they used that in promo.

Okay, yeah, because I watched a lot of it.

I went down a YouTube.

Are you a Star Trek fan?

I mean more so than Star Wars.

I think even though I spent more time with Spark, it was easier to have access to Star Wars.

I think when I was a kid.

Because well, you know, it's funny, and I told you.

It was on VHS in my collection.

Chris, one of the episodes I did on Star Trek, there was a huge cocoon. Chris had made a joke online, I think or tweet.

Do you remember that?

Well?

I think your tweets went through Facebook because I'm on Twitter, but the tweet, I think went through your Facebook account. I saw it and I thought it was the funniest thing I ever read in my life. Chris said that no matter what, I can't remember how you said it. Essentially, no matter what, on any science fiction movie or TV show, there's always a cocoon, and that somebody always says when they see it or come upon it, they always say.

I don't know, it looks like some sort of cocoon. That made me laugh so hard.

And then here I was on Star Trek on a sci fi show and day one there's a cocoon there, and I told everyone in the cast, and they were laughing so hard.

Does that mean that somebody on the ship had to have come from the cocoon?

Somebody ended up in a cocoon.

And when she clawed her way out and she's from Juilliard.

Yeah, of course.

And when the whole cocoon class I bat crawled out of that cocoon.

I was so impressed by hair because I was laughing that I was having to act with a cocoon, and because there's a point where we ripped the cocoon open and me and this guy Anthony have to scream into the empty cocoon and yelled no. And I kept kind of laughing because you know, I don't really identify as an actor, so to me.

I'm just like, why are we yelling into this efty cocoon? And he's over there.

You know, he's from the original cast of Rent, and he's this real talent, a red headed guy. It's blonde, it's white, little glass Anthony rap Yes, yes, yes, so yeah, he's this really great actor, very very experienced, talented man, and he's really yelling no, and I'm supposed to do. Yeah, of course that's what I was hired to do. It turns out we ripped he and I ripped this cocoon open, and I'm trying desperately to not laugh because the cameras in the cocoon in my face, and so we rip it open.

I'm like, okay, can we take that again?

I'm sorry, And then so we finally got it out, and then there's another moment where she really does.

Come out of the cocoon.

You have to see the episode, but when she claws her way out of that disgusting cocoon, I told her. I was like, I didn't know what it looked like when somebody clawsed their way out of a cocoon.

And somehow, by god, I know that's what it must look like. I was and she was like good.

Like it was so good, so good Mary Wiseman, and she's very funny.

That makes me think, wait, does Mary Reisman have red curly hairs. She's on Baskets. Yes, she's one of the best people. But she's one of my favorite characters on Baskets.

She's so good.

Oh, then you might like Star Trek. I will, absolutely, these people are on Star Trek. Danones, almost everybody on Star Trek.

But that makes me think of at the j C taking you know, in taking drama classes or theater classes, and there was I was in a movement for a theater class and one day they were like, and now everybody has to act like a praygmantis and I was like, I won't do it, and I just left because that I feel like that's the difference between acting and doing stand up comedies, Like I want to perform but only on my own term, and like I won't do anything that I find shaming or like that affects my pride

I know.

It's interesting because when I had my own show on Amazon, I didn't. I was so disconnected from acting that when I was writing the scripts, I forgot that I was going to have to do that stuff so I would get you know, in the moment, it was all about writing the best show and the best scripts.

And then when I got on set, I have to cry, Yeah, I don't. I don't have experiences. Who does that? Yeah?

Did you ever ask Stephanie?

Because Stephanie is a strained good actor, do you read lines with her?

And does she help you with that?

I do.

I mainly just need help learning the words, and then once I get those down, I can kind of just pull something together.

I don't have range.

And usually whenever a director starts heading over to me, I always say, before you say anything, I have no range and this is the bad news.

There's no range here. There's no range here. But what were you going to ask?

It was? It was range based. I'll go back to my chair.

Wait, was there an ending to your anecdot where you were saying the thing about the aortic valve in the bedroom by yourself. Did Stephanie when she found you where you were like.

I was mid aortic valve and she just was like, what are you talking about and I was like, this is my career, I'm doing this, and so, you know, whenever I get my new script, she always wants to hear. She wants me to run through my lines quickly, just so she can have a little cackle, knowing that I'm going to have to try and remember that.

I'm always blown away by the length. When it's the technical stuff like that, like playing a doctor or engineer, they do go into things where they're explained. It's obviously like the way you get out the.

What do you call it words? The plot?

Yeah, you know what I mean, Like you're the one that has to explain why the machine isn't going to go right, but it's this long.

Yeah, I mean that's horrifying. Yeah, that's my nightmare. It's but.

Am I really going to walk away from this and be like, no, I don't want to be on Star Trek. No, it's so fun. And it's like, how often do you get to be on an iconic series, you know, not very often. Maybe there's people out there in the world that are like, yes, I'm on another iconic series, yes, and.

Good for you.

I'm gene smart and I don't relate to what you're saying at all, because I'm on every iconic series.

So funny to think that I just came from a Smucker's audition where I had to talk about real strawberries to a child.

What now, can you give us an example of how that child was improving?

Well?

That he was supposed to just pretend to be playing a video game as I was listing off healthy things like legoomes and broccoli in the fridge, and then I finally mentioned the strawberries, and he was pretending to play a video game, but he was looking at me. And then I, in my little moment of improv, was keep your eye on the game, and he wouldn't. And then he started just talking about stuff and asking me questions. This kid was so comfortable in the room. He just

I don't think he's been in the business for five years.

Yeah, he's He was the Gerber Baby at one point, and.

He is an agent and a manager.

It's just so funny.

He's gone through several agents and managers firing.

I'm left and right.

He went to Juilliard Daycare.

Julliard Juilliard Preschool.

He was a sweet little kid, and so I just ended up talking to him, and I was so I was so late because of it, but I had to pretend like I was relaxed and a cool dad. I gotta shave this mustache and then I'll quit going out for dads. And I think I'd be a good dad for it, just like your mustache.

Well, thank you.

Can you grow a beard?

I can't.

No, there's patches of baldness on the side of my face.

Me too, I have patches. You can grow a full beard. I think I can end these days.

There's lots of white whisker situations where I'm just like, this is They're They're welcome, surprise.

This is a dream come true. I've got to get back to English.

You know how you pull a whisker out of your chin and actually it makes you stick to your stomach because it's so large.

A little bit it pulls you forward to the beer.

No, no, no, that's never happened.

Right now, unfamiliar.

I like this guy in the shorts.

Oh yeah, the guy in the shorts is just guarding a porta potty. Yeah, maybe there's pants. Are are your pants in that porta party?

Excuse me? Excuse me? What are you doing in that porta potty?

I wish I had legs like him? Why, I don't know.

They were just muscular. Mine are just literal walking sticks, little.

To no muscle tone.

How's your hip feels great? Really?

Yeah?

I think it's one hundred percent when it comes to things like climbing stairs or bicycling.

And what what sort of problems are you having?

Well, it's when it needs to be more technical, like with skateboarding or if I were a soccer player, which I'm not, but I am skateboarding, so I don't know why I mentioned soccer. It's the sidekick and the little quick twitch muscle things. It's like my leg is possessed and I don't have full control over it like I used to.

But like, you're not one hundred percent. Obviously you got the little twitch problems. Yes, what where are you? Percentage wise?

It depends on what I'm doing.

I bet your worst.

At my best, I could run and probably uh still run as fast as I could two years before surgery. But if it came to like any technical finesse like foot movements where I know, like with skateboarding, you have to be able to kick a certain direction to make the board do a certain trick, and my my legs.

Forgot how to do that.

My brain is sending the message, but it's like someone else is controlling my leg from a remote control.

Oh, hidden somewhere behind the bush.

Do you think could this be a message from God saying stop skateboarding?

Maybe? Maybe?

And it's it is. There's been plenty of messages from the Lord telling.

Me he's got a lot to say to you. Yes, about your whole body.

He's always talking to me about my tours. Mostly it's always a message from God.

Let's focus right here.

Yeah, this is God again. Why do your tits?

You drive?

Leave me alone? God?

I love that, But no, it's I'm going to ignore God on this one. I want to skateboard mistakes. It's what I've always wanted to do, and I know other people that do it and they're older than me.

I didn't mean to make you defensive.

I it's okay. I'm sorry.

I'm raising my voice, Stop hitting me, cabeting me, stop hitting.

How did you two meet?

You don't think it's working out.

We've been married for over eighteen years. I think it was through Greg Barren. Yes, at a party at my house, right, Yes.

And then I also worked with your ex husband.

Oh, yes, that's right.

He was a camera guy at Fuel.

Right. And I kind of knew Chris Through's stand up And then.

Yeah, when I first moved here and stayed on Howard Kramer's couch and didn't bring anything except for a pair of underwear and a skateboard. Hey, and I just thought he would drive me around, Like I came to Los Angeles, not realizing what a huge city it was and what a burden I was going to be. Yeah, I'm just staying for a week on your couch, and I assume you'll take me to all the shows.

But we did some show in a laundromat and that's where.

I first got Oh, right, how did I meet you, Karen? I wonder, huh was it like at a Largo show?

I don't know. I mean, I'm trying to remember now. Oh, I know we were at Bumber shoot.

Really, yeah, we were in the lobby of the hotel where we were staying.

Is that where we took our prom picture. I don't remember our prom picture. Remember we took a picture in front of the fireplace. Yeah, that was it. Yeah, it was the fireplace in the lobby.

That's how much fun we were having because we had just met at that festival and at one point we took a prom picture in front of the fire place.

Fell in love, Yes, we were truly in love, prom style. Chris and I fell in love.

I was just going to say, you beat me to up, And that's how I know it's true. I fell in love in Boise, I don't.

Yeah, I felt with Karen and I fell in love in Seattle.

That's right.

This is I feel like, this is how it is for all comics. This is what comics like are best friends, and then they'll be like fall in love with all comics.

No, no, no, definitely not like, oh wait is this right? Wonderful?

Eventually it'll all be right, okay, cool. I so comics fall in love.

And then I think it's like it's that thing where you know, for me, it's like I spent my life being the weird one that had weird ideas and said weird things, and all of a sudden, meeting people that did the exact same thing and better was like, I need, don't leave me.

I need. I've been alone for so long. It's always that feeling.

Yeah, I've always been in a constant search for people that said you're funny, not you're weird. When I was a kid, I would try so hard to make people laugh and they would laugh and then they'd say you're you're so weird. Yeah, and I'm like, don't you.

Realize that conversation stopper insight?

Yes, such an insult, but also it's like that person is saying I'm stupid to me.

I always interpret that as like, don't bother with me.

I don't get it, because it's just like if you don't, if you're not loving this, you've got to be out of your mind then you will.

Then you'll you won't love me at my best.

It is.

It is a bizarre thing because I'm I'm sure you've probably.

Gathered I'm I'm a gay person. Oh yeah. But before.

I when I realized that about myself, it was like, oh, well that there you go. Yeah, but wasn't quite as oh as when I joined the comedy world.

Yeah, that was more where I was like, oh, okay, all right, and like your tribe that feeling.

Yeah, I mean not to say gay people aren't my tribe, but it was. I I was, for sure more in the comedy clubs more than I was in the gay clubs. Well, I feel like the gay thing is like a much larger sect, and then the comedy group is just a subset.

Yeah, wouldn't you say?

Yeah, and then you find your gay people in there, and you find your your Chris Fairbanks mustaches running around, and you find your your prom date, your prompt dates in front of the fireplace.

Yeah, we did.

We knew each other two days before we decided we were going to live live together.

Yeah, this has to happen.

I was getting this house in Venice and and Chris was going through a breakup. And it was a one bedroom house, but there was this extra room that had a door that.

I loved that room. Thank you for letting me have that room.

Sure, I had my own little French doors where I could just let in cats and.

Just mount.

And he did. But yeah, I was like, oh you broke up.

Well, because we'd been laughing till we were crying the whole time we were together.

And then I was like, why you just move in with me? I just got a house.

I was trying to get an invite to live with you when I squatted over that dog poo that was on the sidewalk and pretended it came out of me because I knew you'd like it.

After the show, and he was like, well, wait up, and I turned around and he was squatting over fresh dog coke and I was like, all right, that's it.

You got to move in.

And we moved into this tiny house and put a flower in a vase and just stared at.

It in the corner of the room.

We're home, remember, we just this is all we need right here is this face and this flower.

I have told this story. That story I've told on this podcast several times.

Tigg is.

Remember there was the one year at Sarah's roof party, and which is an uncomfortable party because everyone's freaking out that famous people are there.

Including the famous people, and everyone just had an edible yes.

And so I went. But I did not want to go and I didn't want to be in. I didn't want to subject myself to the pain. I knew was coming, and instead I found the two of you and we stood next to the edge of the roof and pretended all different ways that we were going to conversationally jump off.

The roof in front of each other.

It was like how we were leaving the conversation good story to then turn and commit suicide.

Gotta get out of here.

We did it for like a half an hour. I don't even remember now. It was time. It's one of my favorites. There is the three of us.

Yeah, do you remember that?

And do you do pot drugs?

Oh?

Yeah, Oh?

And I didn't at the time, but I remembered the peer pressure of some nice truffles being presented in a plate and Jimmy Kimmel being like, yeah, just be sure to eat half of that.

Of course I'm going to eat half of it.

And then I look around this party and everyone's face is sweaty and they're rubbing their face and no one can talk. Yeah, everyone was so high because the potency of these edibles. Yeah, and it just you realize everyone's just human once they're high, that they're all uncomfortable.

Everybody's very very shandling rubbing his face.

Well, it's funny because I had gone to some sort of event and I came home and Stephanie asked how it went, and I said it was good.

I said, you know, I had a couple of drinks.

And you don't drink very much.

You never did, no, But I had never and I promise you I it had never dawned on me that people drink to feel comfortable at a party. And I told Stephanie, like it was this secret I had figured out. I said, I'd had a couple of drinks and I could deal with the small talk.

And I could. I mean, it was like I was in the middle of small talk.

And just describing liquid courage.

You and she said you didn't. She's fifteen years younger than I am. She's like, you didn't know that. That's what people do.

It's almost the only reason people do. I never put that together. I never put that together. And so there's.

Certain places where I'll show up and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna.

Have two drinks and I'm gonna start asking people where are you from? Was it rain and earlier.

It's the reason that it's so hard for me now to go to parties like I get invited places I want to go so bad, and because I don't drink anymore, I just sit there, going I can't do this cold. I can't walk into this place and stand around with that feeling. Even though I know people and that I have friends and all, it doesn't matter.

It's like, I think it was such a drunk for so long.

It was always just like slipping into the pool was so easy.

I just remember being There's that scene from Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carrey is pretend he's fantasizing about what a hit he'll be at the party, and he's lighting his farts and everyone's laughing and all he's doing is lighting farts and crossing his eyes. And at Sarah's party, I looked over at Tig and she's just surrounded by John Hamm and all these beautiful people laughing at and she was dancing and farting and throwing her arms in the air and everyone was laughing.

Maybe that's not that was exactly why.

You were making Everyone was like, come on, I've never sid her around here. Well, I probably had a couple of drinks right, started asking some small.

And then it turned into the far dancing man takes a hit at this party. I'm going to keep sitting in the corner uncomfortable.

You know what I am?

I can say about myself. I am, and then say something about me.

I'm third, I'm really good to invite to a wedding.

Oh, I will get out and dance my sweaty face off all night. And I'm not somebody that goes out dancing. But if you're getting married, you'll do it. I'm here to dance. I'm here to have a great time, and I'm going to celebrate you. Yeah, will you talk to some old great ants and stuff?

No, that's my cut off.

I'm so mad that I that I didn't go to your wedding, Tig. I think about it all the time that I should have been there.

It was a fun time.

I wish I was there.

A job in Colorado, yeah, I had to.

Be in Denver and to do comedy, and after each show I was thinking about how I should have been at your wedding, and I regret not going.

But and this is the point where I said, Karen, I'm sorry I didn't invite you to my wedding.

I wouldn't have gone. I couldn't have gone.

It was a destination wedding.

What would you have thought if I sent you an invitation of my wedding?

Would you have been like, I would have been very touched.

Okay, because because we it's not how it is with us.

Yeah, because you just would have been Yeah. I mean, I'm actually jealous and angry. We text every now and then we do and we're good at the year.

I think we should do it more because texting is a great kind of relationship continuer where you don't have to do bullshit like eat dinner together, but you can still be Like because I when when we were on our way and I'm like, the timing of this is getting weird.

So I wanted to text Tig and I was going to text.

Which I was hilariously a second after Chris texted me saying that he's going to be at the audi and.

I said, I'm not going to be able to do this. And then you text and You're like, well, we're on our way to get.

You, and I was like, well, there's no way out of this, thank god, but I well, I was I didn't realize that exchange had happened, and I just was like, I just need her to know someone's I've been the person's standing outside going, well, I'm not sure what's going to happen now, So just like we're on, we're on the way.

It's clearly why we don't usually is there a turn?

Okay, right, we don't usually do the airport pickups anymore because it's just so congested. It's all impossible lift an uber cars. It's so we it's just a mission.

And I really appreciate you. I am.

That's all I'm wanting.

In the episode that we lost, you talked about at your wedding the people stop traffic so you can run across the street.

Yeah.

We got married in my hometown in Mississippi on.

The beach past Christian Past Christian, and then.

The local police shut down the the street for our family and friends to cross over to go to my cousin's house to celebrate.

And uh, and you could see cars.

Lined up and you thought they'd be upset because you're blocking traffic.

Basically, Yeah, but.

Everybody was cheering us on and we were walking over to all of our friends were like, gosh, what what is a a a gay wedding in small town Mississippi? And right, yeah, and it was so beautiful. Yeah, but people were coming out of their houses. It was three hundred and fifty people were at our wedding, and they're coming out of their houses cheerings.

And uh.

And then I I turned to Stephanie and I said, they probably think I'm a man.

You hatch down. There's something to cheer for a man and a woman standing touching.

They were really coming out of their homes, going, this is so wonderful. Stephanie just sent a text, what is your eta now? Just curious if I should take them upstairs and start getting ready for.

Bed pajama time? What are you gonna say?

I'm gonna say, who is?

Oh? Wow? What do we we are doing?

You?

I like this aggressive side of you, right, I mean.

Just look, no one has time, None of us have time. No, you have family waiting for you. I have family waiting for me.

Stephen's trying to start a family right now, can't because he's write this second.

Damn car. Yeah when does this episode come out?

Monday?

Wow? Yeah?

So quick turnaround.

So people will hopefully watch Under a Rock with Tigna Tara.

How I will? How do you watch it again?

You can watch it on Funnier Die or on Amazon.

I like your interview style. I've seen you interview before.

Didn't you have another interview with Thing.

Where you had many Yeah, where you were like interviewing Zach at a piano or something.

What was that, Oh, yeah, that was you have a long history of interviewing.

Yeah.

And then I have a talk show every month at Largo called Tell Me Everything, and we really get into nothing.

I want to do it, please, I want to watch it. Yeah.

It's it's a it's a good hour hour and a half chit chat. And that's just very different from under a rock because you know.

Who you're talking to. Yeah, I can recognize the person.

I've seen pictures of you.

You know.

One of my favorite memories to date is is when we were at the Benson Ball that year and your brother came and his dance team performed.

Do you remember that? For the before the last? Now, I have two brothers.

One does not have a dance team, okay at all, it's not a family wide thing.

Not have a I add a French accent to it. I hope he doesn't mind. No, I just realized I've said it wrong to his face.

I think my brother's in love with Chris I.

Get the I feel love from him. Yeah, and it's mute. I think he's the best.

But yeah, I have another brother that is a break dancer. And I remember what you said to me made me laugh so hard.

Karen.

We were watching my brother and his dance crew break dance their faces off, and and.

I had just met my brother for the first time right.

A few months before, and and I had he lives in the DC area, and I invited him to bring his dance crew and open for me. And then I said, when I was on stage, I said, you know when you're forty whatever years old and you meet your brother for the first time, and then you find out he's a breakdancer, you know, and then you find out he's really good.

Well, I said something like the tonight, the first time you're.

Meeting him is the second time I've ever met him in my life.

I haven't met him. Then, No, I didn't see the break dancing, so.

It was amazing.

And we were standing backstage crying yes yeah, And Karen turned to me and she goes, I feel like I'm watching one of those movies where the dance crew is trying to get to the stand up show by the end of the movie.

But it doesn't make sense, and it was. It was so confusing, but everybody was like crying. It was because it was the best and they were great.

They were so good, and it was just emotional in that I had just met my brother and.

There was a feeling I think when you were introducing it, which is the funny part where it kind of no one was sure how it was going to go. It truly could have been like your brother and his four loser friends could have been practicing in the garage, Like I think, there was the extra tension of this could be bad and we have to clap no matter what.

I had not seen them dance, Yeah, I was just like it.

Was a total X factory and then boom, it was like they were like spinning each other on their heads.

It was beyond. It was beyond. It was the best.

There's nothing cooler than break dancing.

I At our wedding, Stephanie and I didn't want to do the whole first dance thing, and so we had my brother.

Dance with Stephanie's friend, Angela Trimber. They're both incredible dance and so they didn't plan anything. They just happened to be, you know. She represented Stephanie's world and my brother represented my world. And then they both just danced together and that was our first dance and that's what got everyone going, and it was really fun.

It's so good. We're rolling up to my house.

Thank you so much for being late for us.

This was great. Thank you, yeah, thanks for having me.

I was in such a panic and then you were all in the car picking me up and it felt great.

Chris, I brought this to from my airplane.

Oh nice, beautiful, so many grooming kids, so lovely.

Thank you in a bulletproof container.

So watch Under a Rock with tig Natara and Star Trek and Star Trek the track, Star Trek.

I always say, track.

Y, you're treking through space.

Oh yes, yes, you're not tracking no anything.

Yeah, and swing by Largo. I'm always there, yeah, once or twice a month.

It's a great place to see comedy. It's the best place in Los Angeles for comedy in my opinion.

It was a joy to see you. Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you so much.

Mike, thank you so much. Take it's good to see you.

This has been Do you need a ride?

D y n ar.

A leaven I you wanna way back home? Either way we want to be there.

Doesn't matter how much baggage you claim and give us time and turning on engage.

We want to send you off instar. We wanna welcome you back home.

Tell us all about it.

Were you scared or was it fine?

Melbourne?

Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need to ride? Do you need.

With Karen and Chris

H