Behind the Mic with Kash Hovey

I was always doing creative things , whether it was writing , uh , performing , drawing , and , uh , my dad was in music publishing , so he really got me . He really like , like , um , geared me towards the uh , like the business side of entertainment .

So , you know , I , I did commercials , I'd done some acting , and then , um , I did um , I was studying business law , computers and I got a degree in communication studies .

So then I started working at wme right out of college and after being there for a few years , I just it was , I was fortunate because the situation I was in , I was around a lot of creative people , so it opened up some opportunities to produce and get in front of the camera again , which was great .

They were like hey , you know , cash , do you want to come and do this ? Yeah sure why not . You know , there were productions going on , the industry was shifting , social media was taking off .

So then , prior to the pandemic , I was putting some , I was working with some comics who were performing regularly at the comedy store in Hollywood and it was just really . I just really enjoyed the camaraderie . They all had podcasts and like , there were nights like Whitney Cummings would drop in , rogan would drop in , bob Saget would drop in .

So it was just like , oh my God , this is awesome , you know , just to see all these comedians work out their new stuff . And then , um , when the pandemic happened , we , um , I started doing interviews with friends and we were talking about what was happening and , uh , you know , even just we were trying to keep everyone's spirits up as a lot was uncertain .

And then that shifted into , uh , what I started with on air , with cash .

Rogan has his show , bill Burr just sits there and goes insane in whatever room he's in with a microphone for like four hours , me and Mitch and our buddy Hayden , who's not here . He's deployed right now to Iraq the three . He made us start a podcast because he thought we didn't have enough nothing to do during the pandemic .

I mean you had started your show and I mean obviously you're around a huge creative vat of talent . You know , like you said , bob , bob Saget , rogan , mrs Cummings , all those people .

And it's such an interesting way that you got involved because for us it was , we were hanging out and Hayden was like , oh , we should do a podcast , and then he made us go to Mitch's house and sit there with laptops and microphones and do it , whereas yours was kind of like , oh , yeah , we want you to do this , this would be great .

And it's like , oh , you got to do it willingly , we got Shanghai'd yeah , nobody asked us to do it , we just kind of volunteered and now it's been four years well , you know , that's .

Like you said , it became a common thing and I think it's that's been one of the benefits of just even um with social media and with um the internet it's allowed us to connect and even just share new ideas and just go with it , Like hey , we're a group of people who want to talk about certain things or express ourselves .

I look at every art form like that creatively .

And if you swear you have to take hot sauce that was invented in a lab by maniacs oh gosh , yeah who work for the devil . Apparently it's the worst substance known to man . It's terrible , or you know , one of us is gone for an extended period of time . It's like , well , what do we do now ? Oh , top tens , this , tens , this and that .

Have you in your podcasting experience , have you had a similar experience with just keeping everything fresh ?

She's an actor , she , friend , jackie Moore , she's an actor , she's done a bunch of Lifetime movies , so she was one of the first guests and for us it was really I was , I was started with some of my friends . It was kind of we were , we were able to like tell our stories and share our experiences in the business .

And then it kind of grew into where certain publicists were reaching out and like hey , you know , cash , we have so-and-so there . They just did a new film and I know that you're like you said , it's a very small town when you're around a lot . I mean . Well , for instance , I was on my buddy , Tyrone Tan . He's been around forever . I mean he's got .

We always say he's like the Forrest Gump of the 90s . He's very , oh really . You look at his social media . He was like everywhere in the early 90s with like Leo and Toby , and then he was on set with George Clooney and he knows so many people in the industry and he would actually I got .

I got to say right before we closed for the pandemic I was on his podcast and that that I I'd have to say that was also something that helped kickstart me . But with someone like him we had a .

So you know he has a show that he does regularly and recently I I got invited because we were promoting something for the Burbank Film Festival and then there was another person there and he's like , oh , he's going to be my co-host . I'm like great , and we're chatting . And it turned out his name is Michael Campion .

He played Jackson on Fuller House and my dad grew up with the guy who created Full House , so we were kind of in each other's orbits . I mean , he's younger than I am , so we didn't I think our worlds just kind of missed , but we were around the same people .

And then it was bizarre because I think right before we had gotten an inquiry from his publicist about what about these shows he was doing , because he's a magician also and he'd been promoting .

So it was just like , oh my God , you know we did this one podcast together and that led hey , come on my podcast , we'll talk about booking Fuller House , and then what you're doing now with your magic . So I like when it's fun like that and you get to meet people that way .

And then we did and it's like , well , what do we do now ? It's like , I don't know , let's talk about something . It's like , what do we do now ? Talk about other stuff .

They had a voiceover department at the time , and so I worked for one of the senior partners of the commercials department , and so when you start at an agency , you're in the mailroom for a week or however , and then you start floating on desks , and then it just was a good fit for me , because I was able to work with a lot of people who were , who had

been on shows and who made their living in voiceover . I had a few friends in voiceover growing up , so I basically ran the recording studio and then they would throw me in .

I mean , we had , um , I remember it was , I think , like Ty Sheridan had come in right before Ready Player One , and then they'd throw me in the booth and we'd audition for a few things together , and then Dave Franco , he came in , and so there were times when we'd have people like they needed someone like an actor to read with , so then I'd get to audition

for some of the stuff also . And then there was a few like actually a friend of mine , catherine Bayliss . She was on the show , hit the floor at the time . It was on VH1 show .

She was on the show , hit the floor at the time it was on VH1 show and we had met right before we signed her and we had friends in mutual circles , we were hanging out and then we ended up collaborating on a few things and I was helping her with her PR and social media .

So that's how I , you know , that was my day job , which kind of morphed into , which allowed me some opportunities to , you know , to expand to a more creative career .

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But then with voiceover , because you're in a studio and there's the scripts in front of you and you're reading off of it and then you get and even just a lot of it's projection too , so it's even being animated I mean they'd be like oh , we're doing this , we want like a Jeff sort of like hey man , what's up ?

I'm like a Jeff Spicoli character or like , or for something like that , or if you need to be more articulate , and then you know you enunciate it , so it's . You know that the freedom in the booth is you can kind of goof off more and really like explore what exactly it is that

you want , or I don't mean to say goof off , but you know there's there's much more of an animated approach , um , while you're interacting mitch spicoli is a character from fast times for ridgemont high I know you you might not know that it's Sean Penn's first movie it's Sean Penn . Hey man , you're ripping my car . What's up with you , bro ?

Hey , Mr Hand , Mr Hand man .

They're affiliated with his foundation that his widow runs is affiliated with LA City College where I'm an alumni . And so she was saying like just growing up her dad had all these jokes . Then she turns on this movie , caddyshack , and she's like who's this guy in like this really loud golf attire ?

And he's like , who's this guy in this really loud golf attire and he's using all my dad's material . So her dad was watching Rodney movies and then saying the jokes like they were his jokes . So that's where he got it .

the script every five minutes . They rewrote that movie like 18 times and Rodney was like the biggest nervous wreck . Like he'd go up , he'd do his lines and then he like like would shamble off and he'd be like I'm bombing out there , kid . He's like I'm not getting nothing . It's like rodney , we're filming , we can't laugh it's like you're doing great .

It's like I've actually I've been through his neighborhood I'm from Long Island , because he was from Babylon , long Island and he was actually like still doing like aluminum siding , like painting , and he was like on not Carson , the Beatles , the Ed Sullivan show . And people were like , oh yeah , it's like you know , the guy's doing our side .

He goes hey , can I watch the Sullivan show with you ? And they're like what ? He goes , yeah , I'm going to be on it . And they're like nuh-uh , and so they let him hang out . And then all of a sudden it's like Rodney Dangerfield and he comes out and they just looked at him . It's like , yeah , he's like it's me , I get no respect .

Might have actually been to Dangerfields in New York Dangerfields , I believe , has since closed , if I recall and it's like everybody would go to . Dangerfields in the 80s to hope to see Rodney .

Granted , you're in for a great time regardless , because you're going to get Andrew Dice , clay , dom Irera , jerry Seinfeld Somebody was going to be there , but it's like Rodney would just pop in and just do a set all of a sudden . It would be the same jokes he's been telling for like 15 years , but it didn't matter how many times you heard it .

He just told him so fast , at rapid speed , that you just couldn't breathe . The dude just made you almost pee yourself .

It was like it's just what you were saying like with Seinfeld , but he hosted at the Roxy in Hollywood and I mean it was like Seinfeld Jim Carrey , foxworthy , tim Allen , roseanne , so many people before they made it big , and it was even at Sam Kinison's some of his first shows too .

My dad was a big Kinison guy too , and so we would watch some of his old stand-ups . But I mean , just look at the people that rodney had and who he discovered . I mean , he was just he knew how to spot talent and actually the only time I really . I mean I , I , you know I saw him at a movie theater in westwood .

Coming out of a movie theater , I was a little kid . I'm like oh that , yeah . And then he was . He was actually getting my hair , his haircut at the same place , at the same barbershop in brovwood . So I had , like I had two just like star sightings of him when I was a little kid , which is funny I would have loved to have seen roddy dangerfield .

I've been very fortunate to uh be in some certain I , I , you know , I remembered when I was about 15 , my cousin , she took me to a Grammy party and I bumped into Mark Wahlberg and it was like I , I mean , at that time too , he was a um , yeah , I was just really into like boogie nights and basketball diaries and like a lot of his earlier movies , and

he was I think he was , he was filming rockstar cause his hair was all out . And I just walked up and said , hey , you know , I just really admire your work . And he actually just pulled me aside and talked to me and was just really encouraging and I just thought , wow , what a cool guy .

And then , years later , because he was a client at WME2 , and I actually got to meet him backstage at the Spike TV Awards and I have a selfie with him and he was just super cool . That was a really cool moment .

I felt like a little kid next to that guy .

And then it was funny because I was a little kid , it was in the 90s , and so it was him with two other guys and everyone was just coming out of the stores like it's Shaq , it's Shaq .

So it's funny how , like there's certain movies that you just , if you're my age , you can just say a reference and people get it right away .

And we noticed when it was funny , like when I was like when I started WME , you know we're all out of college and you know just people around our age , we're like , you know there's like there's things from like Dumb and Dumber and Happy Gilmore that are just references that everyone knows .

And then , you know , as the years went on , you'd be like , oh , the new generation , you started to know and , okay , we're like the older people , like they performances , and so I mean , with that said , it was just we were always just kind of performing , and this is before they had smartphones , like we were like taking our parents' camcorders , writing scripts ,

making movies , and also I was I studied martial arts when I was a kid , so there was a group that we had we did karate with and we do choreographies , and so when I was about 15 , that's like I said my cousin took me to this Grammy party and I was starting to hang out with some of her friends who were .

They were older than me and they were already established . So I got an agent , I booked a couple of commercials and , you know , I did some jobs here and there . I always liked working , so I was always . You know , I like I said I booked a few things and then I was like a videographer for some friends who were in bands and I worked other jobs .

And then when I was in college I think it was more the broadcast and you know whatchamacallit I was just really interested in studying like film , history and cinema , and then I was studying business law and computers as well , and so then I took some theater classes too . I kept going and then I was . You know , even after college I didn't know where .

I thought , okay , I'll just be an agent . Then it just seems like even every time I try to just shift gears , there's something like no cash , you have to come back and do this . And so when I was at wme , um , my cousin was working on the runaways movie , the one with um joan

about joan jett , that kristen stewart and dakota johns . Dakota fanning did . And so one of the agents I was working with , uh , was working with joan and was packaging that with the music and and then she ended up managing me . And then they there was a movie called Undateable John it it came . So we shot this like years ago .

When this came , I want to say it was like maybe 10 years ago . So that was kind of my first jump back into it , because there's a part that I got to do with Shannon Doherty and then after that they offered me the lead role in this other thing that Joan was producing .

So that's really how I jumped back into the movie stuff and then through that we were trying to find distribution and I started going to local festivals and that's how I really met a lot of the people I became friends with and collaborated with .

There were probably like three friends from like just , who didn't know each other , and they kept I'm like , oh my gosh , what is this thing ? So we were a few months leading up to it , we kept trying to get it and then it just happened to work where it was just before the pandemic , when the last ones they did , I'm like there was such a rush .

They put you in the harnesses and you do all these exercises to warm up . And then , I mean , when you're just at the beginning , I couldn't do a front cartwheel , and then I'm doing backflips , you know , doing the photography , so that was pretty gnarly .

And then , um , I was , yeah , they opened it up again , there's a new studio , but , yeah , we did the this the last time with the sword choreography .

And then , um , yeah , they drop you on the wire and we get to alternate the roles , like you're the hero in one role , then you're the person who gets kicked and then it pushes you back and you fly into these boxes and everything . So , yeah , it's fun .

I mean , there's always crazy stunt histories and you know about crazy stunts that you see in movies , especially ones that were like there's no way they actually did that , but they did one of them in the James Bond movie , the man with the golden gun , where they flip the car sideways . They did it .

They did it in one shot like it worked , and then they added that stupid sound effect . And then the director's like we ruined the whole movie because we did that .

I'm like there's no amount of money you're paying me . It's like we're going to put you underwater with a giant , great white shark . No , we'll give you a million dollars . Not enough , not enough . I want to live to enjoy it .

you know , the thing too is when you , I think when I was like a little kid , there was this kind of perception of like , okay , you go into one field , or people are trying to say , or you know , you're good , like I said , you're just going to be an agent , you're just going to be a producer , just be a director , but then what it ended up happening in

the 2000s , I felt there were just so much with technology , of course , smartphones and um , just so many things became

accessible that everyone seems to wear different hats . And most of the people I'm friends with , you know I have friends who , friends who you know , either they were , you know , they had shows when we were

kids and they come out of it and we'll be like you know , I feel like I just want to be a cinematographer , a director , or we have , and I think a lot of times , you know , I mean , if I've always said , hey , if you want to pay me to like star in movies , I'll totally do that , but then what ends up happening , especially with the independent movies , that

that happen . You know , you get booked in a role and then I end up , you know , talking with the director and they , you know , pick my brain for ideas . I'm like you know what ?

I got a connection at this film festival or you know , there's , there's a someone at this company that I think could do so I end up taking on a producer role and then sometimes , you know , things fall through and you got to be ready to just jump in , and sometimes I've had to step in when something doesn't work out , or I'll be like

, hey , I know someone who's perfect for this job , we'll get this person . So I think that's got to be a jack of all trades , I guess .

And you know , I think I got that a lot from my dad in the sense of where , you know , I mean , I remember even , like you know , early on , you'd , you know , you'd go to acting classes and you'd , um , and I'd always loved movies and I was thinking like I was really I , I , so I , I was passionate about it , so I got into it .

But you know again , you know there's certain I mean opportunities , you know are are scarce , you know , I mean very rarely can you just jump in and be like , okay , you know , you , you book this , then you're on a roll some people have had that but other times , like , hey , you know , you can , I mean I've been on a roll , and then it dries up , and then

you got to be ready to be like , hey , you know , I got to pay my bills , I got to make some stuff happen , and so I was able to . So , like I said , my dad was in music publishing . So , you know , I think when I went to WME . That was like , okay , you know , this is a good foundation for where I need to be .

And at the time I thought the hot show and everyone was about becoming like CEOs and I think that was a theme in the 2000s . So I went in there with that sense and then it was like I said , it was this idea of , um , you know , jumping back and acting . It was like , oh well , okay , you know , this is independent movie .

So I really I really do feel I'd say that's it .

Yeah , I think you say you've got best podcast , best web series , best host all for your on air with cash best variety . It's really impressive to just to have so many wins especially for just the one show specifically .

And then , as the show grew , it was a lot like the , a lot of the bigger podcasts that are really popular now , like that . Those were my inspirations for wanting to get into it .

So when I have and it's been a theme lately where you know , we people have opened up and we all talk , I like that there's not as much of a stigma about expressing , you know , obstacles we've gone through and even addressing mental health .

I think that's very important because , you know , even just growing up , like you , didn't have social media when I was , you know , in middle school . I mean it really didn't come . I think it was like I was in college and even social media started . I know I'm dating myself , but I don't care anymore .

to their parents and be like you know .

But , and I think you know , the communication got so cut and even I think even with certain entertainment outlets there's so many quick takes and edits where I think that's why podcasting is becoming prevalent is because people are , you know , it's like quick responses , but they really want to hear an open dialogue .

They want to hear people talk about a topic thoroughly instead of just , you know , a few talking points , right .

And it's like green . It's like okay . Moving on , like what I saw , one one guy's like uh , he asked a question . I thought it was funny . He's like . He's like all right , you're at a bar in a city you've never been in . It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon . What are you ordering ?

So , yeah , maybe I'll order an old-fashioned or a celebration or a good tequila and just kind of get the night started before I'm meeting up with everyone and partying . That's a great answer .

Like nobody really was like , oh , like what even is podcasting ?

But now it's just taken off Like everyone does something , like there's people who just like they interview people , they talk about movies , they talk about murders , they talk about real life events , it's , or they do like an audio dramas , like it's such a huge sphere of things that can happen on just one show that I don't think TV has really grasped .

Well , now the guy that played Lex Luthor and Clark Kent on there are just doing a rewatch of their entire series with one of their friends that had never seen it and they're just talking about each episode . I listen to that every week .

I was like , bro , I just love what you're doing , I love how you're , you know , and there were people who I was , you know , like even beverly d D'Angelo . She was a client , so I that was , and I ended up interviewing her and having her on the show . We had a great conversation . So that that's the thing .

Rosenbaum was actually one of the one of my motivators as well .

I think that's the thing too is , you know , because even I mean I and hopefully I don't want to say , oh , this is the only thing that I do , because I'm sure that I may , I might come across a certain way , so I don't want to contradict myself , but a lot of times it's , you know , I , I like , I mean there are times when you like certain people , I

mean , and it shows when I'm not as connected , or you know , because I've interviewed people who are great people and good at what they do , but but sometimes it's like they're in a field or a topic that maybe isn't my thing , but you know , I still engage and I talk and so for me it's a job .

So sometimes , you know , you get stuff that's like , okay , I'm glad I met this person . But then there's other people where it's apparent like , whoa , we have a connection , we have , I mean , and there's been so many of them were , whether they're peers of mine or someone who I just met who I know shared a similar experience . So it's really the .

I think the best parts that uh have come through in the show is when it's people that you really connect with and you really know , or it's maybe and oh gosh , I'm just trying to think of , yeah , I mean like we've had people where it's like I was running in certain circles with and I didn't know that well , and then all of a sudden I get their bio .

I'm like , oh my gosh , we were crisscrossing at different times . You had an experience with this person . So I think those are where the better episodes come from .

Well , I've talked to him several times on social media and stuff , just because we interviewed him eventually and just talking back and forth through the private messages asking how things have been , because he just got a new role in the Penguin . He's like the leader of the triad gang in that . So yeah , so it's pretty neat , you know , because uh he was that .

He's been in the expanse . He was in um , was it rescue dawn with uh christian bell and he was like the , the general that had captured him at the time . He's been a lot of different things and he's had an interesting life because , uh , he came from overseas when he was real young , gotcha .

It's a cash-o-vian friend , so they have an all-day festival of films , tv pilots it's a great event that they put on , and then at the end they have this segment called Cash Soviet Friends , where it's some work that me and my collaborators and Stephen friends in the industry do . We're all . We have a screening and it's a great time .

You know , come on down , it's like seven o'clock red carpet , then the show will start at nine and there's a couple of new projects . I've worked on the hit , which just screened at burbank international film festival , another one called marble , with some of the same team and then also one of our friends who's in that block with us , valerie brandy .

She's screening a trailer for her new book but we actually wrapped a feature together early and I'm sorry it was last year and yeah , it's in post-production now and they're shopping at Renison Festival , so yeah , I'm pumped to see how that turns out .

All I got was like best sportsmanship when I played baseball , which basically means thanks for showing up .

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