"CLOWNS" (w/ Ana Gasteyer)

Hey everybody, it's me Matt Rogers, letting you know. Tickets are on sale now to see me on tour, the Prince of Christmas Tour. That is, I'm doing my whole album have you Heard of Christmas? Plus a lot more with the whole band all throughout December. Go to www dot Matt rodgersofficial dot com. See me in a city near you and now lost cult drums.

Look mare, oh, I see you my own and look over there is that the culture?

Yes, lost culture ding dong, lost culturistas calling.

I mean, it's a new era. And what do you mean by that? Christmas? It's officially it's officially the holidays. Holidays.

That's a fun spin on everything that's happened. It's holidays.

Now do you think that the Christmas spirit can thrive under fascism?

You know that's an introt. Well, the thing is, we're not officially in fascism, yet we still have a week.

Some people might argue with you. Your known chom skis might say, oh, we've always been under We've been in fascism for so long, which is God, This is what a terrible, rancid tone to start this episode.

What are we going to do when when you look around and the world's on fire, what are you going to say, like.

Ooh, like, pass me my iced tea. That's what we that's what we're meant to do as entertainers. Sometimes past the icy is that hey, pass me the iced tea.

I mean, this is it's a complicated thing people. It's our first episode recording since the election. Obviously, want to express to everyone out there that is feeling terrible, that you know, we are all.

In it together.

Lots of avalanche of reasons why this may have happened. It's kind of neither here nor there. Certainly not going to get into it here on this episode, but just if you're feeling.

Although we have the greatest political minds in one room, yeah, I'm looking around and everyone here has everyone has something to contribute to the solution. I mean it.

We just want to say if you're feeling down, that you have a hug from us.

And I really appreciate you saying that. Man about being in this together. I think this is an easy time for people to start to go for individualism and say, well, as long as I'm taken care of, then it's the best I can do. And that's true, and that's important. But also I think talking to someone like a week before,

It's actually kind of time to think about things in a way like that, to be honest, because again, more to come later when it's when it feels like appropriate and things have died down a little bit. But community is going to be the way, and maybe some unexpected community if.

You're in New York, New York cares great thing to do, just in terms of like a spirit of volunteerism. I really enjoy the time. The few times that I've done something New York care is related, but it was during lockdown and it was kind of like the only thing that made me feel good. Yeah, so I'm gonna start doing that again. Tiny beautiful things, Tiny beautiful things. And we have a tiny beautiful person.

Tiny beautiful but here's the thing. Big gorgeous talent. Oh, of course, a front runner for title of app.

Big Gorgeous Talents.

Her talents. She's cupping the talent. I have like a confession to make. When I heard about Once Upon a Mattress being revived, I was a little bit like, really because those shows, I'm like, I just was surprised to hear that that was getting revived.

I went to go see it. A delight yep. From start to finish, it is one of our great, joyful shows. My first musical that I ever did in high school. Really, I was the gestures understudy. I had to learn the choreography for very soft Shoes. Then I know every song word for word. This is important to know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I mean sensitivity is Oh it's great, A plus A plus villains.

I think I just forgot how delightful it is. And combined with this really amazing.

Incredible talk Amman Palladino, who just like punched it up for all it's worth.

I mean, it's so funny, it's like really just like from start to finish, a great time at the theater. Here's the thing, it is a couple more weeks on Broadway at the Hudson Theater this comes out, and then from December tenth to January fifth, you can see it at the Amunsen in Los Angeles. This would be well worth your time, absolutely, and it stars our guest, who, among other things, is also Christmas Royalty. Christmas Royalty.

Oh.

I talked about this with her actuallyause, if Mariah's the Queen of Christmas and I'm the Prince, we're actually speaking with the Duchess of Christmas self appointed.

The only way to gain royalty and Christmas is to self appoint.

And so this person has done it, and we're so grateful and happy, sugar and booze the At this point, I would say, it's Oh.

It's in the cannon of great Christmas albums. It's in the canally. She is going to do a few cities at the beginning of December, Lansing, evanston Illa, Noy, Indianapolis. Please catch her. What a sublime time.

I mean, of course you know and love her from being a true SNL legend, I mean, one of the greats of all time. We are absolutely fucking thrilled to welcome to this podcast, the one the only guess can you imagine when's going to come to the point where she comes out and does it, And it sounds like that, We're like drops down, like.

Four it is time Hi, thank you for mentioning my Christmas title. Yes, status, thank you, my honorific thank you for so much.

Okay, self appointed duchess. Where there's a court we have to fill out, or there's a whole feudal system. Yes, Christmas, right.

But I feel like I've earned it.

I mean, I'm best known for Sweaty Balls in It SML, which runs in the Christmas Steward's Topless Christmas. Yes, and I wrote a Cluster Funk Christmas, which was the homemark parity movie with Dratch. Yes, and yeah, lots of things that have happened around holiday time. It's my favorite time of year.

Did you seek out this Christmas canon status or do you think it happened happy accident?

A good fit for who like from my value system, if that makes sense. Not to say that I'm like really obsessed with Jesus' birthday as much as I do. Have a little bit of an old fashioned traditional side and just sort of more in like the domestic part and the kind of actually oddly referring to what you were talking even post election, the sort of coziness and the I love to cook. Yeah, I love throwing parties

Fit kind of my style.

You can be sort of throwbacky in a way that doesn't feel as kitchy or annoying to people.

Yes, well that's the thing. I feel like the cocktail lounds jazz aesthetic of sugar and booze is that it's like very It's like the wing is so pretty and like that's such a nice sort of like comedy sensibility about it.

That was sort of what we went for, like just it should feel like an old fashioned album, but not campy or not like Kitchie, I guess is the word like avoiding kitch and making it more like Yeah. My biggest compliment that I like was so excited by I was one the La Times reviewed it. They said like Frank and Dino would have wanted to sing this song, which to me was like as opposed to just like someone doing a lounge jack. You know, it feels a

So that's that's the most Christmas place of all.

Absolutely hashtag the dream bore that.

J cru is very baby kind the Christmas.

They love Christmas. I'm trying to get close what I'm saying this right now. I wear a lot of I have. I always end up buying a lot of J Crew to wear in my show.

It really honestly, you you walk in J Crew, it's hard to leave empty house. It is because you want to know what coziness, which is really what this is really about. If we're we're not saying the word cozy, but it's about being cozd Yeah.

It's huge. It's a placement thing. But who goes placed here right between the eyes?

I don't. Yeah, I think anyone Scandinavian would place it right here.

Yeah, upper which is really a hard place to find, our place to find. Now, are you on this sort of within your coterie of best and known people like I feel like everyone is obsessed with Iceland newly because of polar Oh, she's loving Iceland is The last time I spoke to her, she was like, she are y'all going to Iceland or Scandinavian?

You said that, I mean, it's not high on our list.

I do want to see.

I mean we're always sort of debating because we have these like reunions re unions, and so we're always debating. You know, there's an East coast west coast kind of conversation, and different places come up depending on what's happening. I mean, at the moment, I think everybody's just gonna, you know, try to have dinner in New York together.

Right, That's nice. Okay, Who's who's holding it down on the East coast right now? It's Utina Tina Paula.

Paula lives up in you know.

Westchester, Breastchester, a million Breastchester. On wheels, her dogs on wheels.

She just got another wheel dog the best she like zooms around the apartment house.

Uh yes, and polars here part of the time.

And then Maya's in la and Spivey's up in North Carolina, so down by, so we sort of float.

What's been the best vacation you guys are taking together? Wine Country is.

Based on Yeah, Wine Country was really fantastic and it was actually in wine Country and we ate and drank to our heart's contents and literally the whole movie was basically is all we did.

And then you know, we'd.

Like like our night at the Strip club was just like an antique mall. You know, look at this tea pot, and then uh uh. For my birthday, we did palm Springs and everybody wore really old fashioned we wore momos and we wore really old fashioned bathing caps. But I bought everybody on the internet and I made everybody were like, do like gentle, don't ruin your hair swims.

Yeah, yeah, that is an important image.

Hair up like okay, okay, okay, neck up, totally neck up.

Lately, but lately we've done more cozy things. We've gone to Fire Island or we've gone.

To Yeah, people, where do you go Fair Harbor basically Sultaiir Harbor area. Yeah, gay audience, these are the non fine.

I get a lot of gay cred when I say Fire Island and evaporates by the vague white supremacy of my area.

Don't you should take the gay crad You have plenty from from things from your life. Yeah, I try.

Before I go any further, my daughter said to tell you, and I quote on air. She's a huge fan and so we're all her gay.

Hello.

Wasn't going to get if I said it off air. She was like, you have to tell.

Them on air.

So I guess that she's a katie.

Yes, I believe, Yeah.

I would imagine, yes, of course, of course, And a Katie is Katie has a lot of gay friends, a lot of gay friends, so we have some sub sects of our fandom, and he's a Katie. I believe a Katie would be like me and all.

I don't know how she could be my child and not be a Katie.

Well, of course, because I have a number of gusbands, which is g apostrophy silent age.

Who's the top husband.

My top husband's my friend Tony, who I've lived with on and off, who's my first director at the Groundlingks. My actual husband named him my husband because I lived with him through out a bunch of TV shows I did in LA. Because as you know, everybody in Ella has like a second bedroom, so for years just had pajamas and things there so people have more space. My next gusband is my friend Ryan, who is my what's

That's wonderful.

Did you acquire a lot of gusbands and Guzman types during your run as Alphaba?

I mean I've always had need to be alpha, but I have gust.

No, but it certainly helps. Yeah, as soon as as soon as the news of the belting got out and had my my gay que went way up.

I do remember like being obviously loving you forever on Saturday Live and then hearing that you were belting on broably as alpha, but did make this something like your shoulders drop as a gay person.

Support staying and she does vibrado at the end. All those things call me very far on straight tone with a little vibrato at the end.

Yeah, well you know, I mean.

To no, that's it.

Wow. I was gonna say, you know, the sketch that really hooked me when I moved to the US was Jemini twin Oh my God, thank you, and the line read that even rang in my ears. No day, no, no, no, You're gonna love it. It was it was whack. They had a big man, the flap Jack. And then at one point, this is the Charlie's episode, like the first the first episode I ever saw, Oh my god. And then you had a line where if someone's Carson Daily, it's t R L and and and then they're like,

I wish that they would, you know, they ever reair any of It's one of my great sadness is this because music races are so yeah, so many of my sketches don't rear a regular way, and which is sad because you know, we wrote so many dumb things and Gemini twin, like we wrote this ridiculous thing with Lucy lou about.

And that's my favorite Gemini twin because Lucy looked at one point Ben's over and like her kind of fingers dirty.

And it was I don't remember it was about airplane. I think it was about airplane safety.

I don't even know what it was about.

And then we did one with Pierce Brosnan that all I remember. It was actually good. I need a man, Anita man anita o. God, it was so dumb. It was like with a something credit card, ana sancho pet.

I need a man.

It was a real man. It was a man anyway. He for some reason we did like a Frankens, this is a bad story. He should just watch it, but he doesn't air because of the music race. He had, like somebody sent it to me he's he's doing like a Frankenstein thing.

Oh yeah, because we were.

We were like doctor eviling it. And I don't even remember what the premise was, but I remember writing for him like he was like, I'm alive, I'm all up in it alive. It was so dumb.

Why are the music rights so tricky with that when it's like an original? Because the there's that butte too, I think that was super politically and correct. Didn't we do like a Dixie number? Oh? It was like it was like we were we were you just worked on it was you guys worked on like Manicello.

Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was more Likene with a wind kind of vibes. Or maybe it was it might have been Tara, it would have been I don't remember, but I was so Yeah.

It was so fun because it was Maya.

I mean it was again like those Yeah, those nights with Maya and with like will On Bobby and Marty were like those are my most like truly treasured nights because they were James Anderson and Paul po and like the greats. I mean, and I'm a terrible procrastinator. We would stay up, Bobby and Marty. We were like super famous, like when when people would start something late, they would be like, no, I mean famous for how dicked around where they would be like, we're Bobby and martying at

We're talking about six in the morning on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, all the way up to the line, and then we would write it and then many times we would go to McDonald's and get a night McMuffin on the way home.

At like eight or often Will because.

Will famously So this is another Will dressed as Jerry Reid.

From the Smoking in the Bandit series.

Okay, bear with me please, So Norm McDonald and Will did Burt Reynolds. It was a Burt Reynolds they were they were writing to the Burt Reynolds impression at the time, and they did these smoking and the Bannitt commercials and

Like, why are you still wearing that? Happit?

Yeah, you know, like and meanwhile he was just like, I'm gonna I'm gonna wear this all season. So he proceeded to wear it from before it was like brown Thanksgiving.

All the way.

If you go back, it would have been the too nineteen ninety seven eight season he wore that costume. Tom Broker would just go and like clean it at every break, and because he of course got it, he was like, well, he's comfortable in it, so you know, just like immediately always gets it and exactly and then anyway, many many times writing a Bobby Marty Will would fall asleep on the sofas in the old research area which is now offices,

We couldn't internet. There was no internet. Yeah, so I know crazy.

You ever meet Chip Kudro No, so this I guess was Will's character of Lisa Kudro brother.

No, but he also did, Yes, I remember Jim Pudrou. He also did Jim Seniurelli's former DP that started at a party at zipper Boot party at my house where everybody had to wear zipper boots and Harper Steel and he and all.

Those people are all wearing zipper boots and.

Then like seventies boots is zipped, and then he wore like a red pants suit with an ascot and then he just yeah, did you ever hear about Ron?

No?

No, wait a minute, that was Ron.

Ron was Jim Senior really's fired DP who was still trying to get jobs sintil he was coming around and he's dressed is Ron.

And then famously when p Diddy came, we're.

Getting into it. Yeah, I gotta find this.

Tape because I have it.

He of course like shut down the whole building, like you know, SNL. It's like you can tell like the five assholes and the six years that I was there when they would be like and thoes.

In the building.

Everybody stand in your dressing rooms, you know, like and you're like, which is applicable if you're a presidential candidate, but apart from that, really it's my house.

And for.

P Diddy, he demanded a totally closed.

Set Sean co.

Yes and he was doing Kashmir. Remember that, donam right, okay? And they brought in like the New York Phil and they had them in there and they was sealed off on Thursday, and we were in the writer's room on nine and Will and typically McKay or somebody was like, I would be so the dresses Ron because he would stay in character for like the whole week, like his dresses. Ron at the table. I think we were rewriting Bobby

And he did.

He went on down the stairs and he marched right in. And I have the video on st.

Where Seawan Combs is like rapping.

Behind him and he's just like Ron's like walking around like really disoriented and looking for Jim. He's like, have you seen Jimson? You're Jimson. Really, to be clear to your listeners, was the per og pre tape guy. So he was like the director who did all of the commercial parodies, all of the Gemini's twin videos, all of the videos that you would do before Lonely Island came. It was like you would go and they were shot on film by the s guy, Jim Sinereli, who was a character in his own right.

Yeah.

So yeah, so I think that it is the greatest thing that's ever happened, because what a deserved person to have the Kashmir moment interrupted by Ron And he really did not he did not roll with it.

He was very uncomfortable.

But it was so also just like the artifice of all that faux importance, like what's gonna happen. Yeah, You're gonna walk.

Into the studio and you're like, I'm in the studio, I work here.

Yeah.

What's crazy about the p Diddy of it all is it's like you look back at his time of being like when he was huge in pop culture, it was always weird, Like if you go back and watch like making the band. The way that he treats people I know is so crazy. The way he talks to these especially like I think it was the second season where they were making Dannity.

The way he talks to these girls is absurd.

You wouldn't believe how they talked to us in the nineties.

I mean, it's really like the bend, the mine Bend is like every now and then I look back and I'm like, wow, like the things that we sort of endured, but I mean whatever, like it all evolves, and thank God for you guys in your generation.

And you know we didn't do it. No, you didn't do that. You didn't do it.

You weren't born. No, But that's what I'm saying, Like it's just been I really do want to speak to what you said about community at the beginning of your show, because I'm old enough now that I've endured a few of these like bumps, And I was telling you right before we went on, like the first time the election didn't go, you know, our way, I had to do a reshoot the next day of the Goldberg's where a chandelier fell on me.

And it's literally like, how did it fall on you.

Oh my god, I'm sorry, sorry, but the characters were.

Very special.

Goldberg, No, I don't remember, just pretend to.

This year I had to wake up and dress up as Martha Stewart and go be with Martha' Steuart on The Drew berrymar Show and it did really And then doing Mattress, which is this extraordinarily joy oriented show full.

Of people who are just of the best, sweetest intentions.

Everybody who did Mattress did it in high school or a camp, and there's like this real kind of collective.

I do have this weird.

Moment of gratitude in this time that there are so many of us who love making joy and who will take care of one another and will take care of our community. I have more faithly oddly enough than ever in that. And I do feel like, whatever, even in this terrible scenario, no matter how we want to parse it, there's still half of us. I mean, it's a lot of people. And you know, it's a lot of people.

It's millions and millions and millions of people.

And you guys know because you tour like I'm going to Indiana, which is a red stake, and these people show up with tears in their eyes at my shows sometimes. I mean it's like the joy and that's an I don't mean to be arrogant about that and whatever. Like I just I feel like we have one move left and that is literally sending the clowns. This is your job, and have a good time doing it and take care of other human beings because church is gone for a

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't have to audition, enjoy.

It, like people just get together to make music together. And I do think when you sing and when you join That's why I went back to do musicals after all was said and done, because sharing that it's outside of your control whether you can sing, you know, and so like being able to share that with other people, not to be corny, but like.

No, I don't think it's corny at all.

I actually think especially after like doing something and we love SNL and you know, there's lots of amazing memories, as you were saying, but it does feel like by nature of the show, a lot is out of your control.

So when you leave, you want to run towards the joy.

Yeah, And I feel like, do you think that that is a direct correlation that you can see in looking back?

That's such a cool way of putting in.

I've never thought about it that, yes, absolutely, And even with regards to my gender and my whatever, all those specific things to each of us that are we felt have impacted who we became or whatever. I do find, especially in this chapter, which I guess is my third chapter of five let's say.

Total, I definitely.

Got more thank you well listen, you know, but I do in this chapter so many Like actually literally when I got the offer for a mattress and I hadn't worked for a while because I've seen your parents, I was dealing with them and some stuff was going on, and after the strike and all that, so I literally

Go do it.

Yes, for me, backstage is everything. It's much more fun if each person's diff friend. But SNL my favorite was never Saturday. My favorite was always the rewrite table, which is weird because the writers hate the rewrite table.

But I loved it, Like I.

Love the idea that you could be with all these funny fuckers, Yeah, make your thing better and you're just like yeah, and like talking on Thursday's fun and the joy of the community is ultimately for me what makes us a thing real. And Alphaba to that point was a hard job to follow up SNL with Wicked was stupid.

You didn't give yourself a rap. I mean it was.

It's really hard, especially that early I was like the whatever third, four, third or fourth alphabet place, So I mean I was yeah because it went. I was in that audition round, which is how I got Chicago. So it was me Shoshana and Eden. I think, well, Eaten and Shoshana had been standbys on Broadway, so usually those people get bumped, kiss the bomp, the costumes already made, but also because they're missing and they've been they are fantastic.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, so arguably I was the first outside the family.

Yeah, but it was great, but it was super hard work. And Kate rinders. Oh, and so what I was starting to say is that Kate everything's funnier from Glinda, by the way, because they're also they talk literally like yeah, yeah, yeah, And like even when she was angry about something, she would be like he looks all for forty, you know, like I would always gonna be last.

But she said, she's like, we're broa best friend, so should we just we should just probably be best friends.

And we were and we still are. Like she she's a really good girl, and we've always been very close. We just took care of each other. And again as number one, and you know you said all the tones, I was like, we can gossip and we can talk shit, but only to each other.

To each other. But you guys, really I think like people talk about that cast when you were alphabove, just like that was setting this model for the future on like how like this is the tone setting that we want, this is the environment that we want. It's not toxic. And sometimes said anything before was like no, I know, just but.

You know, but no, it really wasn't. It was a really sweet group of humans. And part of it was Chicago too. We had a lot of step and we like Ronnie like a Tony Winner from the Steppenwolf's production of August nosh County, Like incredible people were there. Heii, Kenton Ring, who I went to college with, like she played nessa forever. So there was this real gratitude amongst a lot of the Chicago locals that were this is a good equity gig for a long time. You know,

We have a book club company. We played Traders.

Yeah, I mean all of it, like all of the things.

Daniel Breaker is like an incredible chef, so he's like every other day they'll be like Oh, there's jambalaya in the green room that Daniel made, you know, pullpork, he made pull pork the morning after be like.

You can tell you actually can tell that. It's like that when you see the show, it's really fun and you get the sense to that while all of the amazing physical comedy is incredibly well blocked and everything, it feels improvisational.

There's a lot of it.

Yeah, and the ensemble is really really engaged, a small ensemble. We're close. It's nice. Yeah, it's just a fun sure that there's those songs are really well.

The music is fantastic and that's actually probably the most important part and nothing outside of our control. But because that stuff get when you do a music will get stuck in your head. I've been living with it for some time. So what else?

What else?

What?

Wait?

But was singing first or was it violin first? For you?

So violin theoretically? Yeah, and truly I love that you know that, but I really hated it. That's a lonely ass instrument.

Do you play the violin I played growing up? Yeah? And I have neutral complicated feels about it. It's complid. I was good at it, and I enjoyed it. It was also I was better at the piano for sure.

But the perfectionism fact is really if you're a little OCD as I imagine all everybody in our community is, is really dangerous and it's lonely like I mean, I mean the sad part is like, so I was playing violin, I was good, Yeah, same exact like you. Like if I had really loved it, that would have been the thing. Went to like camps for it and stuff like that, and then I went to interlock in. Oh wow, theater camp break and I as a Island major and I went and I was like, I want to do plays

He were you, Annie, I was Helen you were?

I mean, yes, go off.

I love it.

Even as blind defew Helen Keller. I was like, I'm home.

I found my thing.

And from then on I was like, oh, I think this is my It was honestly, it was all backstage people. It was people like in seventh grade. I was like, oh, this is what I.

Want to do, like the bits, but I didn't know that they were bits then I just thought, you know, funny, was it college? Was it Northwestern where you were like comedy? Yes?

Because then I switched a voice.

I bargained out from violin because my family was very classical music, very training oriented. So my mom there was not going to be not doing an instrument or training of some sort. So I bargained into a classical vocal program. I take some roles in the Washington Opera as a kid, like Labom Children's Chorus, Ghost and Macbeth, like Barrie, which I also hated, and then again community. I like the kids, but that was it. And then when I got to I sang my way into Northwestern. I never would have

I mean, I don't because you lost interest or I just I.

Mean I did not want to be an opera singer. And then I found improv therelay. It was called me a Show, and like Seth was in it, and I think Sarah Sherman was in it, and yeah it was it's a very like all the Julia Louis Dreyfus. Yeah, yeah, but.

That's how I did.

I just found the people, and I'm sure when you start doing improv, you're like, oh my god, my mutant friends.

Yes.

And then that's why I went to LA and went into TV, and I didn't do anything thing vocally. I kind of part I was like, smoked a bunch of cigarettes and did comedy and then did the groundings.

But I was always like going back to singing.

Yeah, because it's in the toolkit.

And then after SNL, I sort of wanted to like it was reaction formation, the chaos, and the sort of the thing I started to feel at the end of SNL was I was sort of always just not failing, if that makes sense.

Like I was sort of totally not like just pulling it off.

Whereas with theater, like you have the opportunity to constantly refine and make it better and better and better.

It's so ephemeral doing an SNL.

Sorry, yes, exactly exactly, and especially if you're one shot Saturday night and you're like I kind of, you know, didn't love how it went at air, I went, whatever.

Yeah, that is a feeling. I guess you never get to correct anything, never, never, which is kind of beautiful, but also for yes, yes, yeah, I'm at the frustrating.

Point it's frustrating. It's a weird feeling because the stakes feel very high, which they are.

But also what I will say is.

Not that you're asking, but please you know, twenty two years out, the part I remember is the creative part. The part I remember is the people and the community and the making thing, and those skills never go away. They never go away, and the community never goes away. I mean, I've worked with so many people across so many generations of SNL that I wasn't even on the show with but the shorthand of understanding one another. I mean, Rachel and I never wrote together at the show, and

It's the mutant skin. And also but I feel like what you've done with that's an all sort of like I don't know, I guess like holding some kind of like weight on the tablescape of it is like so like it is your own specific tableau of things, like like no one else from mess and L has been that kind of vocalist and has like used their specific talent in that way the way that you have. And I feel like that's just what's kind of incredible about well everything said.

You kind of you know whatever, what is it? Necessity is a mother of invention. I mean just what things that you love and that you do and it gives you. I mean, it really does give you the freedom to go a lot of places. Yeah, I mean it's insane. I couldn't even get roles as a girl on SNL in the nineties like coming out and then now like it's just you know, the legacy of the place is such a gift, Like it's unreal.

It's so crazy because I feel like that was the time when everyone was talking about the women of SNL, the women of est.

We definitely got a lot of attention.

We definitely did, And I don't mean to disturb that in any way, Like especially the beginning with Molly Sherry and I just because it was coming, Like when I got the show, I'm not making this up, it was a reset. People came up to me and they were like, Oh, you're so funny. I'm so bummed that you're going on SNL. You're going to be squandered, like the idea of being a woman on the show was not a good idea because they had just fired Janine Garoffalo do you remember that, and.

Women had been fired.

Like all these really kind of interesting girls had just sort of been eaten up and chewed out. Right, they're chewed up and now to say stay away from this metaphor, they.

Got lot of shit out.

And uh, it was hard, you know, there was it was hard to navigate, but for whatever kind of cosmic reasons, the three of us kind of powered through. And then and then by the time I left, it was there were a lot of women. There was like Amy and Tina and yes, all these kind of domin didn't feel watershed.

And then all of a sudden, almost like ever since then, it's like, who are the women in this?

Andw I love it this way? No one's really ever talked about the guys since, and I'm like, that's totally fine. I think even now, it's like the women of SNL are killing it. It's like, I love that the women and bowen the women in this gig.

Guy, that's not true. You cut right through my friend.

One of my fondest SNL memories ever was doing my most random update ever. I don't even want to mention it because it was just mentioned it that it was bottle Boy. It was a total like let's just fucking write it. It was fine, and then I just like went into my dressing room and then I was just

It was.

We wanted to meet you. It was so surreal to me, but the three of you at the same time screamed at the door. I like, come in, but I was like I couldn't believe it. And we talked about bar Island and we talked about what we do and that was just such a I will never forget.

He texted me, when you guys you have to know, like for gay boys who grew up with snel, like, you guys are legends and the like I'll never forget, Like, I mean, we talked about geminized twin and talk about swoenty balls. All these things are like in the fabric of our comedic upbring you know, and that that it's not just that I.

Mean mean girls, I mean like.

All these things, so many of the things, so many of the.

Things I'll never forget, Like watching the the intro to Diva's Live.

Okay, you just said that. Well, I'm saying no, you want to know why because when you your question about what the cultural moment is, I got there, like really chewing, We'll get there.

But it's funny because I was like, do I bring up deep this last? Because I do that wasn't speaking to the power of the women on the show. That was a moment where I think, you know, you have these moments when you're like a nobody and then suddenly you're on and it must be so intense now because you guys are all over social and whatever. We were just like quietly, I mean, you know, the day I got the show, I think I had on my og answering machine, I thirty six like messages at the time.

Like you know, were like, I just wanted to say congratulations.

We had such a sense and you've landed raised such a sense even though we told.

You you weren't wouldn't work and see you look like Courtney thorn Smith deep cut but true I had twice I had that had such to me twice.

I don't want to say, isn't that crazy?

I know, well, Tina and I have a saying which is ethnic in the eighties because we both had like super Greek care.

We were ethnic in the eighties breakness.

So it was literally like I was, yeah, so ethnic in the eighties and now because literally my school was like you know, wanted me to do whatever. The West Side store like now you're like, my daughter is scandalized.

Yes, but you so you were Celine Dion, Molly was Shanayah, and Sherry was Mariah and it was the three of you, like all discussing. It was a sketch with the three of you before the show started.

Do you know who was there, you guys was Destiny's child. We were introducing Destiny's child. Isn't that crazy?

After you'd already done no, because I hadn't been the show.

I wasn't on the show on the show yet. It was it was ninety six, I think or seven, early seven, and that was my first moment where I was like, oh, we're this is a thing. And the first paper to mention it, the first paper of record was Playboy.

Wow.

Playboy did like a little story on the girls of SNL popping.

Wow.

Weird, but it used to be. My husband has a plan, by the way, Playboys for sale.

He's like, I think we should buy Playboy, and we should just quietly talk to all the white straight boys who don't know how to vote and gave them a place that isn't like such like it's only semi.

Toxic masculinity exactly, give him a gray scale gale. Yeah, so I think we'll include. I mean, I have I have a sweet straight boy, so I want to I want it to be they're not all bad, they're all bad, like like how'd you get him that way?

He has an anxiety disorder. That's so he just runs constantly. He runs, like constantly running, like running running, like he ran the Brooklyn Half as a sophomore in high school, like he's so that's how he handles his despair without the money.

Looking back, I know that was why I was a runner too, and because I was also a heavy track athlete.

Yeah, and I you were looking back, I'm like it was my anxiety. Oh yeah, anxiety.

I ran across country high school too, did you badly?

Badly? But I liked it.

It was the only thing kept me saying because it was you know, very sure it was prediagnosis.

Times right, right right, I keep.

Aging myself in my day.

My mother bought me Dexa trim. Dexa trim.

My mom bought me Dexa trim.

Can you imagine? Yeah, like you know what you should.

Probably we all did the Scarsdale Dialet diet, which was gross. It was like half a I can't imagine having an adolescent in my house and being like, here's your half a grape fruit and black coffee. Yes it was black coffee, half a grape fruit, and then hilarious eighties pasta for dinner. Well, you're all on dexterterrim anyway, so it didn't matter.

Yeah, but you know what, there was high.

As a kite, Judy Garland, Jesus.

We were told like you can't eat enough pasta the runner, you know what I mean, Like it was a carbo load all the time.

That's actually still a thing.

Well, yeah, I remember I would go for pasta party dinners at Applebee's and I would fuck myself up because I would just have the three cheese chicken penny and I would run my race the next day.

Yeah, but look, there was a day where I had to stop and ship, which.

Is like, yes, I just read an article about it.

Yeah, like it's it's out there, it's happening. We're kind of existing in this area where I think we should ask the question. Yes, I think we're short of back in time. So Ana Gostayer, what was the culture that made you say culture was for you?

Okay, so I'm going to be this is I'm not gonna be as fun on this answer. Okay, we are existing in this time and it is the only thing I can think of, And it's going to sound really humble braggy, but it is about SNL and it's about the importance of laughter.

I can't believe I just said that.

My friend Tony and I have a bit where we always make fun of people who use the word humor.

Of course it's so humor they kill it.

Just just this sucks all common Yeah, people who call that out exactly. I love how you use humor. Humor, some humorous done, use umor to difuse awkward situations. Yes, just destroying it, ruining everything random humor.

We my what I was gonna say.

So this is a weird thing to throw out there.

But as a kid, I was friends with Amy Carter, President Jimmy Carter's daughter. Oh, I grew up in Washington, Okay, so for starters, let me just start with culture. Like, I grew up in a totally black neighborhood. I was a little white girl who played the violin, and I had an eye patch, wow due to blindness, oh, due to due to permanent just whatever legal blindness my writing.

So I was always patched. They patched me for like ever.

So I was.

I would go to like my all black elementary school with my.

Violin and my eye patch, and as you can imagine, I developed a sense of I used humor to situations. Okay, so anyway, but then weirdly it was in this after school program like this GT kind of thing, and I got I became friends with Amy Carter, Jimmy Carter's daughter, and we became really good friends. And she played the

During the camp.

During during the Camp David Accord, I played if You Research It, if you go to the Viola for Anwar, Sadat and knockam Big and just me, And it's such a weird, yes, for the Middle Eastern I watched Star Wars with the Sadats insane thing.

Okay, so we're just to make this clear. This is while he was president.

Okay, so all this kind of weird fact about my life just by this accident of biography, Okay to say that I was in the White House sleeping over at Amy Carter's. And now remember Saturday Night Live started in seventy five, Yes, and it was everybody, like liberal parents, all the people on my block, everybody was aware that this kind of like radical piece of television had come out. And again, I know for your audience, like it's hard to imagine, but nobody had made fun of the news.

The onion like that was so radical.

Yeah, and I was a kid, I was little, but I was aware that they were like edgy and cool and making choices that were strange and wearing costumes and funny, like we knew it was cool and him it's right after Watergate. It's right right after water Gate. And basically what we watched was which was great. It was like Carol Burnette and Bob Newhart and like what was on TV when it was scheduled. So you just kind of like consumed television idly if you will it. So and

Oh my god.

And it imprinted in my brain of the well, obviously, the surrealness of like whatever, there's this person dressed as this person imitating this person president leader of the Free world.

It's starting it all.

Deep and what a special memory.

Yeah, that is wild.

Even my ten year old brain was like, oh, he's so good at he's laughing at himself. Like I understood it on some profound level.

And like you understood what was being shown on television was this, like I mean lampooning.

I mean, I don't think I will Like I was a kid, so I wasn't like dialed into like the nuance of the politic, you know, but you just understood that he understood that it was an impression of him that he was we were in the White House, and that he was watching this Saturday night live still and yet that one of the cooler pieces of cultural reflection in our in our society, and that he understood that it was funny and that there was a power to that.

Yeah, it's like the ron thing or it's like it's like whatever. It's like it's like either youther, either you get it or you don't. Yeah, and like right now you gotta get it.

We gotta get it. I mean it's really hard.

I don't get it. I don't think anything's funny right now except for you and all the work that you do. But it's like, but you know what I'm saying, Like yeah and whatever. Sometimes that means we just need something light and fluffy and joyful and something is whatever the moment calls for.

I just it's about humility. It's about it takes you out of It takes you out of like thinking that your own reality is the most important one.

I've definitely been thinking a lot about like because as we as we have like this platform where we're expected to come in on culture and everything, it has been I don't know how if you feel this way, but it sometimes can be confusing about like do we come on here and like say this is what I think and like that's that and react in real time or are we supposed to be clowns? And I think it's

I want to get in there.

But when people I sometimes like, for example, I've really been thinking a lot about like the celebrity endorsement, right, and like how it didn't I mean, it literally didn't matter at all in one sense, Like of course, it's great to be able to speak out against like fascism and these like objective evils and to let people know like, Hi, women, I see you, I'm sticking up for you. I'm standing

You know what I mean. I'm not saying like, don't speak up, but I.

Say I mean I do see some fault at the feet of those who have characterized it as such. I do feel like, yes, stay in your lane to a certain degree, but we also are what we're made of, right, Yeah, So finding common ground as human beings is part of what comedy is, like finding the things that we share in common. And actually, I do think it gets harder and harder and harder as we're more and more sort

I mean, Beyonce Taylor Swift, like those people showing.

Up men to people like my daughter who are twenty two, it meant a lot because it's very it's a very hopeless feeling to be a young woman right now in this country, not just from the tactical standpoints of reproductive care, but also you know, they've now in their very short lives, seen misogyny really run the roar, you know, now pull the camera back. We've run two candidates in twelve years. It's not bad. I never thought a woman was even an option for a president, let alone a person of color,

You know, it just feels very immediate right now, right, And this is the thing that I've learned from like my Shoemaker via Seth. Yeah, I don't know if this gives me pause or if this like puts me into more despair. Yeah, yeah, I'm just like anytime Seth wanted to have it out with someone at SNL, like Shoemaker to be like, it's a long life. It's a lot if you wait, whatever you're feeling about these particular people is going to go away and then they'll be at

I don't think Trump it's gonna come to any of my children's keep mine.

Can it happen? I don't know. You were friends with the Carters.

It's true. I was friends with the Carter, but I he turned out to be the best president ever.

My god, did you ever go to Georgia or Atlanta or no?

I mean they literally moved back and that was sort of that. And again, this was like pre it was like long distance phone calls something, you know, But I mean we had some friends in common over the years, and President Carter did depend and whatever. This is just humble bragging now, but somebody told me that a book on tape editor had also worked on his memoirs, and I don't know how it came up, but he mentioned he was like, oh, the comedian on a gas styre,

But but no, but at a time when everyone but it seemed that was monocultures, I know, was monoculture.

Yeah, and the think about Christmas. Sorry to go back to this, but.

Yeah, yeah you can so braggy, you know.

But you two kind of going across the country performing these shows about Christmas, having it be so resident and people loving it. It's like Christmas feels like the Holidays feel like the last kind of they do.

They're the last safe space.

And also because they are so just admittedly pagan at this point, it's not like, you.

Know, I know what's funny about it.

I know it is kind of funny because I just feel like people like need a fucking break, like they just can I say fucking yeah that they like people are just tired and they want to be it's a funny time for programming. Like it also gets really because I've done so much now, like with Cluster Funk, with our Christmas movie and Lifetime and Hallmark and like we're developing the Cluster Funk into a musical actually over the stage.

But I know, so fun.

But everyone's always like, well, yeah, it's such a weird time with program because nobody thinks about it.

And then everybody's trapped in the.

House and they're all watching Hallmark movies because all they want to.

Do it's comfort food because they just want something new because the old stuff kind of like, why don't we visit the old stuff? There's not that much, but many people do. I know many people do. But I'm like, like.

I do, White Christmas.

I do.

It's a wonderful life. Yeah I do, Rudolph, I do. What do you do, Charlie Brown? Yeah, there's there's Yeah.

The heat Miser. Those are bops by the way, Yeah, Heat Miser. Whatever I touch starts to melt in my clutch.

Yeah, I'm too much ranking and bass right, Yeah that was.

Good, you know, What's funny though, Like you're talking about like going to like red states, and I remember I was looking at because I'm going on the road yea for all of December, and the by far slowest markets, like the tour is selling great, but like the slowest ones were Philadelphia and Atlanta, And I asked my agent.

I'm like, why are these so slow? And they were like, oh, because those cities are.

Like the anxiety is so high for the election, and like, as you said, across the board, like those are any swing state is like tough. And now it's kind of like, I really do hope people like come out because I think that the amount of anxiety that had to have been felt that.

Think about how I got robo calls exactly.

Oh yeah, speaking a lot of money, I bet too, like at different events and because people that were really activated in those areas are spending a lot of money, like in the way that other areas may.

Not have been.

Also just I mean, we were in Pennsylvania recently and it's tense, Like it is tense you look around at people and you're like, how are you looking at me? And I think that you know what I'm saying.

And we were just there. It was rough. It.

I had people like in campussing say like I'm afraid to vote because I'm afraid what my neighbors will do.

I mean, it's you know, people are scared. Yeah, it's tough.

That's why we're going to continue to Christmas write a moment.

Christmas bring in that class.

I feel the Send of the Clouds theme is really really trenchent or trench.

Yeah, I don't know what trench, but I like it. We need to find out in real time.

Well, Christmas on the cover, Favorite Christmas on the cover on the album or off the album, off Sugar and Booze favorite Chris Chrimas song to cover I'm So Sorry to cover. Well, I love the version that I on my album is a sleigh ride. Great.

Nobody like it's not that popular, Like I don't know what he listens to it, but I love it's like this sort of Boss on Nova cover and I love Yeah, yeah, You're.

At home in that style and that like sort of like Cuman.

Yeah, we have that secret Santa song that I wrote. Yeah, Maya is so funny on it. You know where we recorded that, which is so crazy because Maya's like knows everybody. We recorded that in Joni Mitchell's studio in La because her friend like runs that studio. Oh, it's amazing, and actually Pharrell, they stuck us in. Just do it really fast because apparently Farrell had it for the day, So Farrell doesn't know that he paid for my studio time that song, which is kind of.

He's good for it.

Yeah, means vigorous or incisive in expression or style.

And what did I say, was trenchent the point that the ten in the Clowns, Then in the Clowns is is trunchient. I would say vigorous and incisive an expression, yeah, in the clown Yeah, in the Clowns is trunchent. That's the r of culture. That's real culture. Number seventy five. Then is good. You would do a great rendition of that song. It's kind of a downer, yeah, but that's yeah, but there there's an ounce of triumph to.

It, yeah, a little bit.

Yeah. I think it's beautiful and how sad and resign.

I know now that I'm in my third chapter, I don't feel anything. I try to shut down feelings as fast as possible, you know what. I know it's because I figure chapter it is going to be about getting them, no. Four, because fourth chapter, a lot of people are going to start dying, and so then I'm going to have to cry a lot. So and then by fifth chapter be like, well that we were good friends, and then I'll be it.

It is crazy.

Like I was watching like Hillary was obviously doing the rounds a little bit and a lot of her friends are dead.

Hillary, Well, Kelly, she's talking about, well, this is my friend who died, and this is my friend who died.

And I was like, oh god, I mean, it happened, It happened.

My friend Kelly was she was She was like, we were talking about when certain people were going to die, that you know, might die, that maybe we're just selected. And we were talking just like loosely about that, and she was just some theory, you know, just how that might go. And she was saying, she was like the people who feel died more right.

No, no, no, some someone was saying this, like people were that disgusting. Tend to live so.

Long, guys, I know, because they don't. They're not trouble.

They don't get cancer from being sad.

The point I was making earlier, I'm a little self conscious about because it's not really what I believe about celebrities and the celebrity endorsement of it all.

No said that.

What I'm talking about it is like standing up for issues is important, and I think standing up for women is important. I just think all of that is important. What I'm saying is, though, when a celebrity is at a certain privilege level, are some people are not listening and they feel patronized for it, And I think there's something to learn from that match in maybe how comfortable we all felt.

No listen, I want to say, my husband just he's an advertising but he just did this huge research project on the heartland because he also feels as as we all do. I think correctly that many people in rural America feel patronized and they that is an understandable point of view. That is I think very real, and it is incumbent upon us to find common ground when people feel that marginalized.

Right, And what's.

Interesting is that this is common ground that he discovered. First of all, community is really important in rural America. That was like the number one thing. Your community is almost more important than yeah, other things. And the second is making and doing, which was really really interesting in the research. So we may be making and putting on you know, putting on a show or whatever, like putting on our wigs and you know, getting a barn together decoratively.

Uses of your time.

Literally, But what we have in common with that is we also make things. That's what we do. And so somehow finding the way to communicate the two of those things, so it's not just arrogant, fucking didactic entertainment, and it's not just like you know, mud races. Like there's got to be somewhere where those two things do overlaps lately, and it doesn't have to be as divisive as it.

Is exactly, you know, exactly, because a lot of the messaging might have been left like be more like us, yes, exactly. There's there's a level of disdain that's implied, yes, completely, and there's there's something about like redistributing respectors.

It's really hard so hard. It's hard when you don't feel respected. You know, it's understandable as a gay person in America or as an ethnic woman in the eighties. Yeah, I have a flat iron my head.

See me.

Yes, But I mean so, I know, I know, I know.

Let's talk about Disney.

Yes, Disney our listeners. I hate Disney users.

I'm so well, we're gonna hopefully go December, I'll tell you, But no, because I there's this one thing that I have done over the years that is so incredible.

Which I'm we all type that off. What is it? Just that candle light?

Professional? Have you heard?

You've done it?

I've done it.

Wow, that's what I'm dreams. I want to you. Absolutely, you have to do it.

First of all, like I said, not a religious person, but boy, does Jesus flow through me when I do that, Because there are three hundred and fifty voices behind you. Your spine shakes from the base of the singers. There are fifty six pieces in that orchestra. With those Disney arrangements, there were eight heralding trumpets. It is so spectacularly magnificent. Can you read the story of Christmas? And it's very hard not to cry.

Yes, that's beautiful. This is it like like there's no church anymore, but like what needs to be replaced is like meaning and that's oh my god.

And also a big part of the meaning is the fact that my family gets the guide the whole time that I'm there.

Oh yeah, that's huge, very meaningful. Shout out to r VIP guy, Matt, Will.

Sam, do you have I've met I have Sam too, Sam, Sam, Astina and Mariah car Right, but then Matt is Matt was like spit out of like a Disney sort of three D printer.

Right, so we're talking about the same person.

He's the most lovely guy.

Yes, yes, this guy is great.

He's delightful. Love Do you take in a show when you go to Disney? I like to take in a show just to cool my jets.

What do you mean taking a show? Like taking a show? Yeah, I'll sit down and enjoy that year's Beauty and the Beast or whatever. What did we see?

Did we go into the Frozen show? I think we stayed till let it go and left?

Yeah, yeah that's fair.

I mean Aladdin, nice little forty five minutes.

Yeah, fantastic.

I mean I enjoyed taking in a show for a break because it's often air conditioned.

Of course that's.

The thing, and you can settle in. Yeah, and what's your favorite place to wait?

You like?

Do you like well, disney World or Disneyland?

I love, I love World, I love Tiffins in Kingdom Animal Kingdom. I haven't been.

It's good, No, so Jeventina turned us onto the Cars One.

Do you ever go to the not Cars World? Do you ever go to the.

Old timey in Frontier Land?

Feet sci fi movie?

Yes?

Also really good for again, I'll lot of our thoughts are around the kids. Yeah, my kids are old now, but early on these taking a show and sitting in the drive and those are like, it's hot, everybody's over stimulated.

Let's sit in the dark for a few minutes. Yes, that's important.

Where we went for lunch this last time was the Space Restaurant.

Remember that. Oh that's Mission Space. But it's it's like the pretend you're I think it was booked. When we were there, we tried to get in. It's kind of goofy, but it was good. But it's fine.

I do o g Blue Bayou.

So you can have a cocktail. Goddamn it. I mean, why not.

Yeah, you might blow in the dark.

It might just might just might be too sweet.

That's the thing is, like, now, whatever I go drink there, I always drink beer because.

Everything is so now and now you're in your sugar watching time, yes, but also times sweet cocktails like it's really tough.

Like you can get wine over in California Adventure. You sure can't.

So your listeners are tired of hearing it anyway.

Well, so we have it's game in my family. It's called nervous breakdown job. It's what you're going to do after your nervous breakdown. Well, mine is going to be and it's kind of a cheap because it is a job at Disney. But we have different versions of it. My main one is that I'm going to work at Trader Joe's on the Fearless Flyer, where I write up reviews of new Trader Dress products.

That's good.

But if I have a Disney nervous breakdown and I end up in Disney, I'm going to try to audition to be the Wicked step Mother Meet and greet lady. Oh my god, they're so funny. Those ones are so funny. Just yell at people yell at children. It's not unlike my character actually in a mattress. My husband's nervous breakdown job at Walt Disney World.

Is he wants to manage.

He's sorry everybody, He's going to manage the tiny barge trip from the.

Yacht your kid to.

You.

They get on in there.

Like, oh, that's per.

All aboard. Yeah, you just go right back. He's gonna do that all day and find it soothing. You know what.

The culture that made me say culture for me in many regards was this is not Disney, but it was Universal Studios, The Jaws ride, the boat, the Skipper. I actually am off book on it, and I'm not kidding you. I did a show years ago at U S be called called a one man show called You Will Get Wet, which actually doesn't really qualify as where my character's biggest dream was to be that Jaws and Bowen Yang played the Shark.

And I see where this is going your future career.

I staged the ride and there was I did in the basement at Chelsea. Actually is there is a YouTube video of it. I don't know if it's taking it down.

That sounds fantastic. It was good it was good. Shannon O'Neill did not get me a ride, but it was an excellent show. It was almost honestly, one of these days. Is it a great title? You will get wet.

Yes, it's really good.

I'm gonna use it for something else.

Listen, there's gonn a lot of Disney times in the coming years for a lot of America.

They say, drop their prices because it's very extensive.

Can I say this is a thing though, It's like, after the result came in, I was like, you know, it's the separation of wealth because families can't even go to Disney.

You're absolutely right, Like that's what it is.

Is.

It's like we talk about the separation of wealth, we talk about wealth inequality at Naustium, and then it's like the Democratic Party decides to put someone up who doesn't make that a forefront issue at least enough for people, and we're surprised. I mean, the separation of wealth is the number one thing that we have to fix. Money has to come.

Out of politics and needs to be some redistribution, like I mean a billion dollars, it's crazy.

And meanwhile, this like whatever I'm just saying, it's like you talk about these things, and then it is sad because families can't experience it anymore.

That's ridiculous. Yeah, then why don't we start a fund. Maybe I was going to start a community college fund.

But you know what, let's start a fun Disney fun for everybody.

It's for the community.

It's just not everybody gets a guide. Everybody gets everybody. But honestly, I should be a guide. I really should be a good nervous break down job for you. No, get your.

Steps, perfect steps.

My nervous breakdown job. So when you get a guide, when you arrive at each park, yes, there's someone waiting there with a wicker train full of like Laura bars, looking at bars, and I want to hold that tray.

You know what people don't they really want to do because when they okay, this is cutting deep. But when they give you the guide for Candlelight professional, they give you VIP housing. So that housing is unbelievable. Okay, So we stay in like yacht club, or we stayed in like the Polynesian in the apartment where the Beatles broke up, where there's.

Broke up with Disney World. I know, go figure. Well, John Lennon was there with his family. Anybody was like dang, I love.

It was like I'll fuck it, I'm out and uh but in the nice like fancy, you know, like there's club levels or hotels, so they have and my family always gets so excited about this because you'll have like a little breakfast spread, not a big one, because it's like the club level. Like you you're still expected to go to breakfast, but there's some like you know, a little lic croissants and whatever, and they come out throughout the day and it always it tells you the times

Like we're always gonning.

You were doing a service, a candlelight, professional service, and you deserved all those.

I want to Christmas season, damn it. I want to eat fresh fruit with y'all in the morning.

You bet you can come. We always have extra beds.

I haven't done it for a long time, I.

Believe me.

Every year next to next week we went.

During COVID and we all discovered we had COVID the last morning because obviously we got it because it was Florida's nobody is masked. It was like that weird little omicron break, Okay, And as we landed at Orlando, I received three calls from the Department of Health and my son.

Was like, have you been.

Around a lot of Florida people?

And then literally everybody in Florida no mask nearry a mask to be found. And then the last morning and my mom, my old mom had shared a room.

I mean, granted it was a big Disney.

Room, so it was like between two Queen's size beds and he was in one of Literally my mom from the other room, She's like, what is two lines? Met?

I was like, can you imagine they're like all these public health officials taking sewage water from the oral land Sam.

I was like, sam, my man, were a mask.

We're sorry, we're down bad.

But also it was I and I'm not a good person. I got on a plane, I double masked. Everybody was like, no one even on the plane had a mask.

I was like, we're going home.

I'm not going to spend a week at Disney quarantine with a child.

We double masked and we got home.

We also we were also on vacation. Then we got we got COVID, Well you had just had COVID, yes, I we thought we were in the clear. And then I got COVID normally in Mexico City. Oh yeah, lonely. And it was crazy because I was a hotel, well in a hotel in Mexico City, and I was starting to feel a little weird, Like two hours.

Before we had to get on the plane.

Was this early or I took a test and it was like and it said I was negative, But I was starting to feel word so I like triple masted it and I got on the plane and I went and but.

You weren't sure what you weren't sure if it was like like a water that you drank or something.

It was it could have been anything. And so I was like, I'm going to test and it said I was negative, masked up, got on the plane because then what was I going to do?

Like be I would have had to be there for I.

Think a lot of people did that and that is why we had an epidemic. Anyway, You're right, ever heard of patient zero?

That little girl was me keeping it light? Special?

How were youst election special title?

How does it feel to be on the post election special, really painful, but happy.

It's harmful. This is I don't think so honey. This is our segment where we take one minute rant and or ail like something in culture that we don't love. U.

Do you have something, you'll go first? I do have something. I do have something. Okay, this is Matt Rogers. We all have something very good. This is Matt Rogers. I don't think so many time starts now.

I don't think so, honey. So the Beatles song, the new Song Now and Then is nominated for Record of the Year, and the way that they got John Lennon's voice on it is by AI ing his voice out, Like they had to bring his voice out, so they used.

AI on it to make it a real vocal. I don't think so, honey.

I don't think so honey. The AI like recreation of people that have been long dead. He's been dead for forty plus years.

I don't think so honey.

The Whitney Houston holographic, I don't thinkgraphic. These people actually can't consent to releasing music. And this is not just John Lennon, This is Olsho, George Harrison, and I get that. His wife says, you know George would have been on board for this.

I don't know what Yoko.

Is saying, but I don't think so, honey, if I ever died, No AI lost coachstas I'm telling you, I don't care what how much money Bowen Yang needs because he's talking about pivoting to holding a wicker tray at Disney. I don't care how sound his career goes. No AI lost coach after I Am Dead. No AI beatles song now, especially not nominy for Rucker of the Year at the Grammys. Where was Ariana Grande.

And that's where was already and that's one minute, No way, especially if it's gonna like suck up all the power that could be used to, you know, power a small town.

That's another thing is like how harmful AI was for the I'm really glad to cool down all.

The whatever I never got hold at that or AI voicing.

As part of it. Now now it's all kind of blending together. It's like anything generative is AI. But for anything AI, it has to be derivative by default too, So it's like, I don't know, weirdly I'm like about it because I'm like, it will always be derivative. By definition correct, that's correct, and so I'm like.

Right, as a comedian, that's such a like a weird sort of almost constitutional stance. You know, what's the word constitutional? I don't know, I mad is it constitutional? Like you have to take a big ship after.

Constitution?

People say, like, let's take a constitutional they mean like.

The gentle take ships together and communal constitutional.

Comedians don't like people who copy them.

There you go, there I go. There's like, no, there's it's so trunchent that we've done that. There's no worst thing. I don't know the AI of it all, like know what that?

Because now I get really wary of people that are like, yeah, but about AI.

I'm like, I don't think so.

I mean maybe, okay, oops, I just did it.

But medical research or like quick research, isn't that just like a computer. I'm just like, yeah, I don't want to I don't want an AI operation, but I wouldn't mind somebody saying this cancer cure is this effective.

Based on your your vitals? Like absolutely, I'm just thinking like the everyday uses of it. People are still trying to figure out even apples kind of like you can write your emails with it. But I know how to I know totally. We need to stigmatize this idea, like if you need AI to write an imail for you, that fucked.

I mean, by the way, Yeah, whatever happened to like plagiarism being bad?

Like no, you can't, truly you can't.

Why I was get in trouble for reading cliff notes back in the day, it's the same idea.

I'm just not afread the book.

I'm not a fan of anything that, like if we participate in it to an extent, makes us lazier and dummer.

Correct, you know what I'm saying. It's by the way, and that's like the Google maps of it all. I don't know if you ever do this, but you turn it off every.

Blue moon and try to go somewhere, can't It's well Also, it's a really important piece of your the navigational piece of your brain affects other things you do in life. So if you don't want to just turn into a total you know, yeah, like in La every blue moon, I will just not. It's so instinctive to just plug it in if I'm driving, Like right, I'm not how to drive there.

Yeah, I haven't even thought about it.

That like just allowing myself, allowing myself to have enough respect for my.

Navigation exactly, because otherwise you do feel like a soul adrift in space. And it's like you're just being told to go easy.

It's like a bad like Blade Runner movie, where we could all just be programmed to drive to the same place to be bombed. Yeah, and.

Don't spring in the clown. I'm asked to leave that you finally went.

Bring blade run up and Google maps and a bomb.

My god is Bowen Yang? Don't you have anything you want to do? You want to rail? Yeah?

Okay, this is Bowen Yang's I don't think so, honey. His time starts now.

I don't think so, honey. Putting little stickers over the hole in coffee cups that you're supposed to drink out of because I got to take the sticker off, and guess what. Now I'm drinking sticker juice instead of coffee, and now my lips are sticking together, and I go, no, I just want to enjoy my iced black coffee. That's it. I'm not asking for much. I just want iced coffee in a cup. And I understand that it's to prevent spillage.

I will also say you said so many words and didn't even touch on what I think is the most annoying part, which is when you have to peel THEI you have stickery fingering on this part of your fingers, very bad.

See gravity, This is higher why we don't need it.

Don't much of the top.

It's only spilling. Let me paint, yeah, which is a.

Peeve of mine.

It's only spilling if the fucker filled it too hot, right right, so that is coming out the side off the top. I blame that little culturehead.

Lidle culture is in a state of disarray, like no one can figure out what lid to put on anything like. And sometimes it's like you go to a certain coffee place because you know they're not going crazy where.

Live, they'll have changed, like I don't know you when I take it back.

I love a barista, and I have the thoughts.

And I really love I love coffee.

I love coffee so much that I've actually had this thought, I'm not proud if I went to prison, I'd be super sad because the coffee situation would be so bad.

Wait wait, wait, wait wait, what is the coffee situation? I'm sure it's not existent. It's not great.

So I love I will never I didn't give it up when I was pregnant. I didn't give it up.

I will never, ever ever give up coffee. Should we start a fund for prison coffee? Yes? What would it be called?

Doesn't it sound terrible?

It doesn't sound good? No? What would Joe? Behind bars? Behind bars? Bruis behind bars? Why is my brain going? And we did it Joe, we really did it. We didn't do it. We didn't do it Joe at all. We didn't Joe did over. It is over over? Well, what's because Joe? Now? Are you ready? Because the moment? Okay, okay, this is on a gas Stars. I don't think so any her time.

Starts this is what what are we starting to?

Time starts next, Oh, Kelly's gonna pass. Time starts next commercial break. This is on a goth Stars. I don't think so many her time starts now.

Okay, so my I don't think so. Honey is about TikToker POV video instagrams. Nobody understands that it has to be an actual point of view that is something new. So here's what it has to be a new take. It has to be observational. It has to be something that I haven't thought of, that's a witty use of humor. For example, I just saw one that was POV you get to the airport, find your gate pee, and get a snack.

That's not a POV.

That is just going to the airport and doing what people do when you go to the airport. There's no pithy observation therein that's not Oh, my god, my dad got a dog.

He didn't want it, and now he's carrying it around at a baby born.

I get it.

That's a POV.

That's funny. What's not a POV is POV? I took a shower before I.

Went to work. What's wrong with people?

You have to have some kind of a take. And if you're not doing that, you know what, put your phone down and go to the airport and get.

A magazine and piss and get on your plane. And if you open up Google Maps, you're dead. And that's one minute. You know.

I hate to break it to you, but I think that they know this and willfully aren't doing it because.

I'll be shocked when I work your phone.

Then just live your life for four seconds, just being a human.

I guess the thing is, though, they're more interested in virality than humanness.

Who is going to like or comment on pov?

You find your gate and get a sandwich.

So many people. I'm telling you, it's like when I have worked with social media people. If I had to do like a TikTok or something for my album, I'll be shocked. Sometimes when you realize what's trending, it's like, hey, so you have to walk from here to here, and this.

Song is you got on the elevator.

Yeah, but literally it's like noo nailing a letter.

The appetite is for every day of mundanity.

Well that's fine at least if you're gonna be pithy about it, like I don't mind mind something that's like I.

Don't know something new or observational like that.

It's it's that's the Seinfeldian moment of it all, like like oh my god, you know.

But the POV thing is even so stupid because they don't understand what povy stands for. No from the first person point of view at all. It's just like PUV, I'm going to the airport and then they're in the frame. I mean that that's what these kids are doing too.

Right right, and I I don't at the airport and it's them POV, POV me with my friend, POV, I'm hanging out with my friend.

Friend isn't there again? I'm just like, I don't mind.

I really you have to develop some semblance an observer if this is supposed to be funny or engaging in any way, like this.

Is my almost like I'm gonna say, like boom er take, which is like, oh, language is breaking down, like no one, no one knows how to communicate with each other and therefore and here we are.

I'm mean, but that's also like secondary all all of the applification I mean of life. Yeah, exactly, like you're early on tried to like address phone usage with our kids or whatever, and everybody was the only way they communicate is to take and picture of themselves on snap and send it to one another now it or otherwise. But it's just even like if there's courtship ritual and my sixteen year old, you're right, absolutely right, my sixteen year old.

Just like you'll see him do that and you're like, who what are you doing?

Say, oh, I just snap, I have something my friends, Like there's no there's no ham at a restaurant with my folks, or like there's no even texting is one iteration to boring and f loaded for them.

It's this, This has infiltrated being at dinner with your with your family, like nothing is correct.

But also this is why we are where we are.

We are sheep totally.

Did you see that Australia wants to do a ban on social media until the kids are sixteen.

Well, I think it's actually well what this boring is talking about to our audience, But I mean, I actually think it's coming.

I do.

I do believe the tide is turning because that is actually a Purple State issue. People across the board are understanding the attention spans. Aren't you know, just screaming all now, what is a third election that we're just screaming at Facebook? Like that's all we're doing, so, you know, into Instagram or none of us are actually engaging or having conversations that are face to face, are human to human and it's not going to get any better.

Or with anyone that would challenge an opinion that you may have. I mean that's I watched AOC's Live, Like the day or two after the election is.

The chandelier day, crashing chandelier, the market.

Again, the big pull, she said. She was like, sectarianism has to stop. Like that's why I'm so kind of blown away by people being like, unfollow this person, if you follow me on your I'm like, I understand where this comes from. But if you can't see the forest for the trees, that this is the problem. The fact that we were so shocked that it went that way. If you were shocked like that is because we are

We're in like an algorithmic echo chamber, all of us, you know, except her to pop out and troll people. That's literally it, right, not me, No, never, you aren't told or you don't troll.

I'm not in an echo chamber. Oh really? Yeah? He has incredible outside honey, Okay, that's not indoors that I love.

And you you power down for forty eight hours every every week, right, just for your mental health.

I'm looking at maps. He reaches across the school.

I know, I know, but I mean even those little everybody, we're all addicts.

World thoughts. Something on the Martha Stewart doc. Oh my god, I loved it.

I love actually I love her.

I think be great on the show.

She would be great on this show. She, especially in her sixth chapter, is extraordinarily enjoying all the things she's been through, and she's letting herself soften. I mean, I've known her now, yeahsh my impersonation was thirty years ago or twenty eight or whatever.

And she always been a great.

Sport and all that, Jimmy Carter, but she's been.

Jimmy Carter even though she's not like a terrifically funny person. But she's very easy, she understood, a good business person. But mostly I have to say, this is my fifth chapter. Take on her eighth chapter.

Sixth chapter? Is that my third chapter take on her fifth chapter? Right?

Is that she really is like I don't know, there's something to be said for this, like old people wisdom, like you get your heart broken a lot in a life, and she kind of buckles down. I love that whole thing that she says about, like I don't want to deal with feelings all the time, Like I just I like guys that do stuff. I want to go places, I want to take in the world. Her boyfriend charles that she had for a while, she's just a doer, like we would do stuff, And I get that there's

And there's something deeply inspirational to me about that. That garden thing is what kind of cracked something open for me, where she was like, if you want to be married for a year, do you want to be happy for year? Get married. If you want to be happy for a decade a dog, get a dog. You want to be happy for a lifetime, get a garden, plant, guard plant, a garden. And I'm like, oh, that's it. Yeah, there

Hands, and she's doing that every day in different ways. I mean, and she's endlessly creative from a business standpoint. But also let's just say, oh, g feminist because she turned domestication on its ears and became a billionaire. Yeah, she took she somehow understood Purple State. Early on, people were very shitty, including me on SNL about her selling that brand to Kmart, and she was like, why wouldn't people at kmart want nice things?

And it's she just she would say that I like Letterman, Yeah, it's yeah, makes total sense. I love that.

I love that she you know again, I mean it's insane, like when you look at like, whatever, let's have cornish hens for one hundred and that catering company, it was insane.

It was totally insane. I mean like, you know, you're just looking at her stuff like what that's impossible.

She was just making it happen. And then she was like, this is a business.

This is a business.

And she's been very open minded about lots and types of all kinds of people across our you know, culture. I think she's great.

I didn't realize that Andy Steel, her husband was was a cheating was so like that but then that story about her in the cathedral. I know, so beautiful, so beautiful, but I was so random. She's like I got so overwhelmed by being in a cathedral that I made out with an Italian story. That's such a gay guy thing. It really was.

It was deeply relatable.

It wasn't cheating.

I was like, is it you can't judge yourself what everybody's got in that space? Everybody's God.

And that's what she really is. She's like an instrument.

Of beauty, Like she loves beautiful.

Things and she wants everyone to experience. I mean, and they are like I don't know, like there's a big part of me. It's like it's so cheesy, but like Paris is my favorite city and like I've gone and it's like you have a You're like I just can't stand how every single thing here's perfect. I'm so happy, Like it's your you vibrate with beauty.

And it reminds me of the Will and Harper thing where at the end, like he gets Harper those earrings like it's okay, nice, it's okay to like nice nice. That was beautiful, okat like lovely things and I'm like and it doesn't have to be the most expensive, Like that's what's so cool. Garden there you go plant a garden, a planet, garden of flower, a vegetable of fruit, a lovely thing that you made.

I know, and she was so cool when I was on Drew, she was so like, I mean, we quote unquote surprised her, which I was always like, you again, just a nightmare because you know, if not a person who loves a surprise.

And she like, you know I.

And I'm like sailing in dressed as her.

And she was so sweet. She's just killing it.

She kept like grabbing my hand and she was, you know, ruining it by talking through the fauna. So much liked me, but but it was still like so charming, and she hugged me after and her assistant was like, it's so great to see you.

We should do more together. It was just very she gets it.

She's always gotten it totally. We were mean on Saturday night and she always got it. Actually everybody on SNL, Celine Dion, same thing. So graceful about it, and I, you know, well partially I think she thought I had a bad voice, which helped. But because she said that to me, she was like youoice is so horrible to hear, which I was like, this is a language barrier, saying I'm gonna choose to believe this is horrible to your voice is so horrible to here.

Okay, they say you gotta wrap up, which means it's time to say one more time that you can see Once upon a Mattress at the Amenson in LA from December tenth to January fifth, and you should, and also if you can catch it in the last I guess a couple of weeks on Broadway to that it really is.

It's joyous, it's fun, Sugar and Booze.

You better be streaming it and checking out the shows in the Midwest and in La what day on the.

December sixteenth, one night only.

Yeah, but mostly just listen to it because it really I did make it to bring people joy. And listen to it while you're wrapping your presence and you're shaking your drinks and you're shaking and you're shaking everything.

Yeah, shake and jiggle, shake that ass, shake that ass. Listen to Sugar and Booze. We are so happy you're hearing so much the best.

Thank you for having me and my daughter and her Hello, Gaye, say thank you.

We say the.

Gas and the usbands and everybody out there we want to say hello to you, and we.

And every episode with a song, have yourself, very little Christmas. Let your hard right, We'll work. Why didn't why didn't we say?

Why did you start so high? Goddamn tennor.

This is the second time in a row, third road that someone calls us it me for the key.

No, it's a nice it's your song, it's your show.

Hell. Last Cultures is the production by Will Ferrell's Big Man The Players in My Heart radio.

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Produced by Becker Ramos, edited mixed by Doug BABYMANI Forlord and Our Music is by Henry Kmerski. Hey everybody, it's me Matt Rogers, letting you know.

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