Matt, Bob, and B-Doe 🗓️ 3-24-22 🎤 Lewis Black
Key Highlights of the Interview 🌟
- The “Angry Optimist”: 😡✨ Lewis Black clarifies that he isn’t a pessimist; he’s an optimist.1 He explains that his anger stems from waking up every day thinking things will be great, only to be proven wrong within minutes. ⏰💥
- The Magic of Live Comedy: 🎭✨ Black discusses why stand-up is superior in person compared to specials. He describes the experience of laughing with a crowd as “spiritual” and comforting, noting that it creates a communal bond that digital media can’t replicate.2 🤝❤️
- Acting vs. Stand-up: 🎬 vs 🎙️ While he prefers stand-up, Black enjoys acting (citing his role as Anger in Inside Out 🔴🔥) because it allows him to collaborate with others, whereas stand-up is a solitary and “narcissistic” profession. 🤳
- A “Vow of Poverty”: 🏚️💸 Black jokes about his early days writing plays in New York, stating that he didn’t mind being poor because he loved what he was doing—a piece of advice he gives to all young artists. ✍️🎨
- The Dennis Quaid Game: 🎲🎬 The hosts play a trivia game with Black about his own film roles. He correctly identifies that he played a penguin in Farce of the Penguins 🐧 (directed by Bob Saget) but struggles to remember playing “Paul” in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters. 🤔🎥
- Comedy Legends to Watch: 🤴📜 Black recommends that younger generations look into the work of:
- Phyllis Diller 👠
- Shelly Berman ☎️
- Mike Nichols & Elaine May 🎭
- Bob Newhart 📞
- Richard Pryor 👑
Summary Table: Quick Recap 📊
| Topic | Details |
| Guest 👤 | Lewis Black |
| Event 🎟️ | Promoting his show at the Moody ACL Theater (Nov 3rd) |
| Philosophy 🧠 | Anger is “playing” a role; real anger isn’t funny. 🙅♂️🔥 |
| Advice 💡 | Pick something you love so you don’t worry about the money. 💰🚫 |
| Museum Mention 🏛️ | The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY. 🗽 |
Matt, Bob, and B-Doe 🗓️ 3-11-22 🎸 Mojo Nixon
In this high-energy interview ⚡🔥, hosts Matt, Bob, and Chuy talk with cult icon Mojo Nixon (born Kirby McMillan) about his long-awaited documentary, The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon. 📖📽️ The conversation captures Mojo’s unapologetic, “rebellious” spirit and his deep connection to Austin, Texas. 🤠🎸
Interview Summary 📝
The segment begins with the hosts reminiscing about Mojo’s impact on MTV in the 1980s 📺💥, describing him as a “psycho-billy, cowboy, punk, freak, nut job” who brought chaos to a world dominated by polished pop stars like Paula Abdul. 💃🚫 Mojo joins the call from Austin, expressing his relief that the documentary—delayed two years by COVID 😷—is finally premiering at South by Southwest (SXSW). 🎡🎸 He discusses his origins in Danville, Virginia, his transition from bicycle racing to music 🚲➡️🎶, and his philosophy of “optimistic lunacy.” 🤪✨
Funny Moments & Quotes 😂💬
- The “Outraged” Fan: 😱🛳️ Mojo recounts a woman on the Outlaw Country Cruise who threatened to get her $4,000 back because she didn’t pay to hear songs about “poontang.” Mojo notes with pride that he’s glad he “still has it” when it comes to offending people. 😈
- The Setlist Hierarchy: 🎵📝 Mojo laughs about how the woman wasn’t offended by his song “Tie My Pecker to My Leg,” but “Poontang” was the final straw. 🤭
- Mojo’s Self-Description: 🦊🔥 He describes his documentary as being “hotter than two foxes fornicating in a forest fire” and “crazier than a one-eyed chick on a rabbit dog.” 🐶🌀
- The House Concert: 🏠🎸 Mojo mentions he once auctioned off a house concert for $5,000 where the winner paid specifically for Mojo to come over and “insult his family.” 🤬💸
Cool Stories & Fun Facts 😎💡
- The Origin of Mojo: 👺 Mojo (Kirby McMillan) explains that Mojo Nixon is essentially the person Kirby wanted to be. Eventually, the two identities merged into “one psychotic stew.” 🥣🌀
- The Winona Ryder Connection: 🎬 The documentary mentions a music video where Mojo got Winona Ryder to play Debbie Gibson because MTV was unlikely to run the real thing anyway. 🎥💃
- Jackass Ancestry: 🩹🛹 Matt posits that the Jackass movies wouldn’t exist without Mojo Nixon’s brand of loud, crazy, and rebellious humor. 🧨
- The “Toad Liquors”: 🐸🥃 Mojo’s longtime backup band was an Austin-based group.3 He credits Austin with being a place that embraced his wild style early on. 🎸📍
- Advice to New Artists: 🧘♂️🤳 When asked for a “Mojo-mench” guru tip for the TikTok generation, he simply says: “Whatever it is you’re doing, be real. If you offend somebody, that’s fine—you just can’t offend everybody.” 🚫🌍
The Hosts’ Perspectives 🎙️🧠
- Matt: 🗽 Views Mojo as a “libertarian for good,” someone who wants everyone to be free so they can have better lives. 🌈
- Bob: 📸 Recalls seeing Mojo’s contemporary, Steve Poltz, performing in a diaper at SXSW, highlighting the “nutty” circle Mojo ran in. 👶🌀
- Chuy: ☁️ Reminisces about working with Mojo during the “Austin Music Network” days, though Mojo admits those years are a bit of a “deep haze.” 🌫️
Matt, Bob, and B-Doe 🗓️ 2-1-22 🎭 Sebastian Maniscalco
This transcript captures an interview with comedian Sebastian Maniscalco on a radio show based in Austin, Texas. 🎙️🤠 The conversation covers his career trajectory, his personal life, and his upcoming film projects. 🎥🎬
Interview Summary 📝
- Career Origins: 🧱🏗️ Sebastian discusses his 2005 special, Sebastian Live, which was financed by Budweiser (Bud TV) while he was still waiting tables at the Four Seasons. 🍻🍽️ He views his career as a series of “building blocks” rather than an overnight success. 📈
- Stardom & Fans: 🌟🤳 He reflects on “making it,” noting that taking his father to the Super Bowl was a major milestone. 🏈🏆 He describes his fans as “salty of the earth” and polite, though he sometimes misses the anonymity of his early career. 👤💨
- Family Life: 🇮🇹👨👩👧👦 Sebastian talks about the challenges of being a “loud and aggressive” Italian father to a four-and-a-half and two-and-a-half-year-old. 🧒👧 He contrasts his parenting style with his wife’s more diplomatic, “nurturing” approach. ❤️🕊️
- Current Projects: 🎥🎬 He is heavily involved in film, including a movie loosely based on his life where Robert De Niro plays his father. 👴🇮🇹 He also mentions a film with Ray Romano and a role as Giorgio Moroder in Spinning Gold, where he had to attempt a German accent. 🥨🎙️
- Views on Technology/Finance: 🖼️💸 Sebastian expresses total confusion regarding NFTs and Crypto, stating his philosophy is: “If you can’t buy it with cash, I don’t want it.” 💵🚫
Host Opinions & Takes 🎙️🤔
The hosts (primarily Speaker 03 and Speaker 25) provide several observations throughout the interview:
- The “Old School” Comic: ☎️ Speaker 03 praises Sebastian for being a “real comic” because he calls in personally from his cell phone without a “handler” or assistant. 📱👊
- Austin’s Growth: 🏘️📈 The hosts (particularly Speaker 25) express frustration with the Austin housing market, telling Sebastian “don’t come here” because the city is “maxed out” and property values have skyrocketed. 💸🛑 They credit the influx of people to celebrities like Joe Rogan moving to the city. 🎙️📍
- Communication Style: 🎬 Speaker 25 shares a humorous take on his own family life, noting his wife wants them to stop talking like they are in The Sopranos 🔫🍝 and more like they are in a “Disney movie.” 🏰✨
- Professional Respect: 🛠️💻 The hosts acknowledge Sebastian’s “DIY aesthetic” and his ability to bypass traditional industry gatekeepers (like HBO or Comedy Central) early in his career using early social media. 📲🙌
Matt and Bob 🗓️ 10-21-22 🗽 Michael Rapaport
This interview features the actor and comedian Michael Rapaport joining a morning radio show (hosted by a group including “Speaker 03” and Natalie). 🎙️🔥 The conversation is high-energy, shifting quickly from Rapaport’s career origins to his unfiltered political takes and his use of social media. 📱💥
Summary of the Interview 📝
The hosts introduce Rapaport just as he “hits the doorway” of the studio. 🚪💨 The discussion begins with his work ethic and whether he has a massive staff to manage his prolific social media presence. 🤳⚙️ Rapaport jokes about having a bus full of 50 people outside but admits his content is mostly spontaneous. ⚡
The interview moves into his childhood in New York 🏙️🍎, where he was a “disruptive” student, and his transition from a failed dream of being a pro basketball player 🏀🚫 to finding his footing in stand-up and acting. 🎬🎙️ The latter half of the segment focuses on his public “pickles” (feuds) 🥒👊 with figures like Donald Trump and Kanye West, and his perspective on why he is so vocal. 🗣️🔥
Interesting & Fun Facts 💡✨
- The “Jumanati”: 🕎🤣 Rapaport jokes that the Jewish community isn’t actually offended by Kanye West’s comments—they are just worried because he “cracked the code” and “hacked the text chain” of the secret Jewish billionaires. 📱💎
- Early Riser: ☀️⌚ Despite the “rockstar” persona, Rapaport is a natural early riser who usually gets up at 7:00 AM. ☕
- Career Pivot: 🎭 He moved to LA at 19 specifically for stand-up but found that acting “made sense” to him much faster. 🎬 He quit stand-up at age 23 and only returned to it about four years ago. 🎙️🔙
- “Performance Art”: 🎭📱 Rapaport describes his “unhinged” social media rants as a form of performance art—he knows exactly what he’s doing even when he looks angry. 😡✨
What Everyone Had to Say 🗣️💬
| Person | Key Perspective / Takeaway |
| Michael Rapaport 🗽 | Believes Donald Trump is a “two-bit conman” who wouldn’t help his own supporters in jail. 👮♂️🚫 He argues that New Yorkers “know his deal” and aren’t fooled by the bravado. 🏙️ |
| Host (Speaker 03) 🧔 | Noted the cultural difference between the South and New York. 🤠🏙️ He observed that in the South, people are subtle/indirect, whereas New Yorkers can scream “F you” at each other and walk away as friends. 🤬🤝 |
| Natalie (Speaker 02) 👩 | Wondered if Rapaport was an “at-risk” student (he prefers the term “disruptive” 🎒💥) and suggested that getting roasted by him at a show would be a “badge of honor” for fans. 🎖️🔥 |