SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO Walked Into A Stranger's Home in Italy

Summary

Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers: Sebastian Maniscalco Walked Into A Stranger's Home in Italy
Release Date: January 28, 2025

Hosts: Seth Meyers (Sufi) and Josh Meyers (Pashi)
Guest: Sebastian Maniscalco

---

I. Introduction and Guest Welcome

The episode kicks off with Seth (Sufi) and Josh (Pashi) engaging in light-hearted banter about football preferences, setting a relaxed and conversational tone. Seth expresses his disinterest in football when the Steelers are not performing, leading to humorous exchanges about family members' team loyalties.

At [07:06], the hosts introduce their guest, Sebastian Maniscalco, commending him as "one of the greatest living comedians" and expressing excitement to delve into his personal stories and experiences.

---

II. Sebastian's High School Bookie Experience

Sebastian shares a candid and humorous recount of his high school days when he and his friend Tom acted as unofficial bookies. He narrates how their venture spiraled out of control:

Sebastian ([02:43]): "We had one of our clients really in the hole, and that was great for us... But then that kid went on a run that night with just wins, and then we had to pay out. And that was it. So burned."

The conversation takes a playful turn when Seth humorously connects Sebastian's story to a family anecdote about a mysterious incident involving a creative writing teacher:

Seth ([03:29]): "And then my memory is the creative writing teacher mysteriously got his legs broken. And you claim you had nothing to do with it."

Sebastian elaborates on the fallout, admitting to inadvertently causing trouble due to slippery conditions during a snowy February in New Hampshire:

Sebastian ([03:40]): "I mean, you tripped as icy as New Hampshire. It was February."

The hosts reflect on the lesson learned from this escapade, highlighting the importance of responsible behavior even in youthful ventures.

---

III. Family Vacation Stories and Dynamics

Transitioning from high school antics, the discussion shifts to family vacations. Josh reminisces about his middle-class upbringing, detailing trips to the Wisconsin Dells, Michigan, San Diego, and Florida:

Josh ([08:43]): "We generally went to Wisconsin Dells or Michigan. We did take a trip to San Diego. We did take a trip to Florida."

Seth inquires about their father's perspective on these vacations, to which Josh responds that their father doesn't regret the trade-off between saving for real estate and cherishing family memories:

Josh ([08:49]): "No, he doesn't regret it. A lot of memories were made on those vacations."

The brothers discuss the budgeting methods their father employed, emphasizing a strict envelope system to manage finances during trips:

Josh ([28:04]): "He had about eight or nine envelopes... He had a vacation envelope. He had a dining envelope."

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IV. Immigration Journey and Trips to Italy

A significant portion of the conversation revolves around Josh's father's immigration from Sicily to the United States at age 15. The brothers explore the emotional and cultural implications of such a move:

Josh ([09:35]): "My dad was 15 when he moved from Sicily to the States."

Sebastian adds depth to the narrative by discussing the challenges and adjustments faced during this transition, including settling first in Mississippi before relocating to Chicago:

Josh ([10:15]): "They went to Mississippi first... then moved to Chicago."

The discussion takes a heartfelt turn as Josh recounts taking his father back to Sicily to reconnect with his roots after his father underwent quadruple bypass surgery:

Josh ([13:26]): "We went back to Sicily before he died. He hadn't been back in 50 years."

Seth and Josh express emotional reflections on witnessing their father's reconnection with his past, highlighting moments like the symbolic shaving of his father's long-held mustache:

Josh ([17:05]): "He ended up shaving his mustache off in Italy and never looked back."

---

V. Parenting and Family Trips with Children

The brothers delve into their experiences of planning and executing family trips with their own children. They discuss the challenges of balancing relaxation with activities that cater to young kids:

Josh ([36:39]): "We are traveling a lot... It's incorporating the cousins and what have you."

Seth shares insights into their approach to allowances and chores, emphasizing a balance between responsibility and reward for their children:

Seth ([30:00]): "We have the three envelopes: Save, Spend, Donate. They have to put two bucks in each."

The conversation touches on the contrasting dynamics between their own childhood vacations and their current family travel approaches, underscoring the importance of creating lasting memories for their children:

Josh ([53:06]): "Traveling with kids gives them a perspective that I didn't have growing up."

---

VI. Final Quick Questions Segment

In the closing segment, Sebastian Maniscalco responds to a series of rapid-fire questions from Josh and Seth, offering personal preferences and humorous takes on vacation scenarios:

1. Ideal Vacation:

   Josh: "Relaxing."

2. Favorite Means of Transportation:

   Josh: "Airplane."

3. Vacation with Any Family:

   Josh: "The Keatons from Family Ties."

4. Stranded on a Desert Island with One Family Member:

   Josh: "My family. My wife."

5. Recommendation of Arlington Heights as a Vacation Destination:

   Josh: "No."

6. Visiting the Grand Canyon:

   Josh: "No, not necessarily."

Seth commends Sebastian's thoughtful answers, reinforcing the blend of humor and sincerity that defines Sebastian's comedic persona.

---

VII. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Seth delivering a poetic recap of the discussed stories, blending humor with heartfelt reflections on family, travel, and personal growth:

Seth ([63:03]): "It started long ago. Papa Maniscalco came over from Sicily... That's what a 10 year..."

This closing monologue encapsulates the essence of the episode, celebrating the intertwining of family history with personal adventures.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Sebastian Maniscalco ([02:43]): "We had one of our clients really in the hole... that was it. So burned."

• Seth ([03:29]): "And then my memory is the creative writing teacher mysteriously got his legs broken. And you claim you had nothing to do with it."

• Josh ([28:04]): "He had about eight or nine envelopes... He had a vacation envelope. He had a dining envelope."

• Josh ([17:05]): "He ended up shaving his mustache off in Italy and never looked back."

• Josh ([53:06]): "Traveling with kids gives them a perspective that I didn't have growing up."

---

This episode of Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers masterfully weaves Sebastian Maniscalco's personal anecdotes with the hosts' own family narratives, creating an engaging and relatable exploration of family dynamics, travel, and personal growth.

Transcript

[Sufi]

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] Here we go. Hi, Pashi.

[Pashi]

Hey, Sufi.

[Sufi]

How are you?

[Pashi]

I'm great.

[Sufi]

That's good. Have you been watching a lot of football?

[Pashi]

I have.

[Sufi]

Have you been enjoying it?

[Pashi]

I have. They've been a lot of good games.

[Sufi]

There's a difference between you and I.

[Pashi]

What's that?

[Sufi]

When the Steelers are out of it, football is dead to me.

[Pashi]

Oh, okay. Well, that's grown up.

[Sufi]

I know. I'm sad about it. It's a death I'm not telling you. That's how I want you to be. I'm just. It's heartbreaking.

[Pashi]

Well, yeah, I mean, I feel like dad is very similar to you, but then I talked to him this last weekend. He's like, it's great. Playoff football once the Steelers are out is great because it's just football. It's just like a game that he loves and. Yeah. And it's been. There were a lot of great games this last. This last weekend.

[Sufi]

I was very relieved because I could tell. I sort of know who Mom's rooting for.

[Pashi]

Oh, yeah.

[Sufi]

And I feel like every team she was rooting for lost this weekend until the Bills won.

[Pashi]

Yes. I called her also. I believe this is going to air after the AFC NFC Championship games. I hope those are good games. Yeah.

[Sufi]

But.

[Pashi]

So I spoke to her after the first three games of two weekends ago as this is airing, and she answered the phone and said, pashi, if one of the teams I want to win doesn't win one of these games this weekend, then I don't know what I'm going to do.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

Too mad about it.

[Sufi]

So I like that she both, I have to stop when the Steelers lose. And she just adopts more teams to be sad about.

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Teams to root for. I. I adopt teams to root for.

[Sufi]

I mean, I'm rooting. I just don't. I can't care anymore. Like, I'm rooting. I would like to see. I. Once the Steelers are out, I was hopeful for the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills because they have never won. And I just feel empathy for those fan bases.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

But, yeah, I was rooting for the Rams because of, you know, everything Los Angeles has been through. Commanders was exciting. That was nice.

[Pashi]

Yeah. So. All right, well, if you don't like it, then you don't have to watch it.

[Sufi]

I guess this is a. I feel like talking about sports and talking about football is a very Nice segue into Sebastian because he is on a wonderful show about a bookie.

[Pashi]

I was. Yeah, I was a bookie in high school and was maybe one of the only bookies ever to lose money.

[Sufi]

Did it happen quickly? Did, like, a big upset win and you were overexposed?

[Pashi]

We had. One of our clients was really in the hole, and that was great for us. And it was me and my buddy Tom. We were running the books. And then we were up. And then our law teacher and. And our creative writing teacher heard about it, heard that we were bookmakers and called us in after school, and they were like, you guys gotta stop this. And we were like, we will. We will. And then that kid, like, went on a run that night of just wins. And then we had to pay out. And that was it. So burned.

[Sufi]

And then my memory is the creative writing teacher mysteriously got his legs broken. And you claim you had nothing to do with it.

[Pashi]

I mean, you tripped as icy as New Hampshire. It was February.

[Sufi]

New Hampshire. It's icy.

[Pashi]

This is how they talk in New Hampshire, Mr. Sullivan. What happened to you, Mr. Sullivan?

[Sufi]

Oh, maybe sometimes people slip when they get in other people's business.

[Pashi]

It's like you didn't make it too far into your paper without making an error.

[Sufi]

So you were a bookie in high school?

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

And then. This is cool. In college, you had a gambling problem.

[Pashi]

Yeah, in college, I lost. I lost $1,800 in a weekend. And that's the last time I bet on football.

[Sufi]

So that is really. That is. I mean, what a lesson you learned. You lost on both sides of the. Of the bargain.

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

Can you tell everybody? Because it's one of my favorite stories how you and your friends were going to make money to pay your gambling debts.

[Pashi]

Was it the fluffy.

[Sufi]

Yeah, the fluffy bunny.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

There was.

[Pashi]

So we were in a bad way.

[Sufi]

You were in a bad way.

[Josh]

We.

[Pashi]

I was in a bad way. Lost $1,800. Another dude who was living in the same house I was in lost $1,600 in a weekend. And we didn't know what to do. And I don't know where we found this ad, but we were looking for how to make money quick, and we found a thing that said you could assemble these fluffy floppy eared bunnies and we could order a bunch of felt and a bunch of stuffing and make fluffy floppy eared bunnies. We were just like, it was gonna be our salvation.

[Sufi]

We were in college together, and I remember going to your house and you guys were, weirdly, on a high I hadn't realized you had lost the money. And yet when I came over, you guys were in a great mood. Cause you're like, the fluffy floppier monies are coming. And I'm like, why is that good news? And you're like, I'm $1,800 in the hole, but I'm about to get out. I'm like, what are you talking about? And then they came, and they were way harder to assemble than you guys. It was another scam.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

And we were ripe fruit for the picking for any scammers out there. So, yeah, instead I just had to deliver a ton of pizz.

[Sufi]

Yeah, you did pay off your gambling debts.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I did. I did.

[Sufi]

Did you have to. Did mom and dad have to float you the money before the pizzas came?

[Pashi]

No, I got floated money from my good pal Rob Fanter, who was never a gambler at all, but he had. He'd been working at a restaurant shucking oysters for a long time. And so he had some cash and he helped. He helped not get my legs broke.

[Sufi]

It was. It was. It was a years long thing that would make me laugh when one of your friends, I believe Brian Payne, would always be like floppy, fluffy bunnies. Yeah.

[Pashi]

Kevin Lynch. I think Kevin lynch was the real sort of the linchpin of that. But Paino and Lynch would play a lot of golf together. They were on the Northwestern golf team and they just thought we were such dummies.

[Sufi]

It is the best. Somebody in underwater with a bookie telling you their way out is fluffy floppy eared bunnies.

[Pashi]

Fluffy floppy eared bunnies.

[Sufi]

All right, well, speaking of bookies, he's in a show called Booky. He's one of the greatest living comedians we got. Give it up for Sebastian Maniscalco.

[Seth]

Family trips with my brothers. Family chips with my. Here we go.

[Sufi]

Hey, look at this. Look at this. This is like Star Wars.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Do you have a one person screening room in your house?

[Sufi]

Amazing.

[Josh]

I figured, you know, I. It's got to be professional, right?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

So, yeah, I mean, it's about as professional as we've seen it. Truly. Looks like you're. Yeah, I don't know. It looks like James Lipton should be interviewing you and not us.

[Sufi]

Yeah, this there is. I just watched Empire Strikes Back with my kids and there's a scene where you see Darth Vader from behind getting his helmet put on. And so it's the first time you see. He's got like a. That I feel like is the reverse shot of. Because it's that Chair. How are you, Sebastian?

[Josh]

I'm good. How you guys doing?

[Sufi]

We're wonderful. I'm very excited to talk to you. I mean, anyone who's smart enough to have engaged with your comedy over the years knows you have a deeply funny family that you have mined to great effect. So I'm so happy to talk to you about them and the trips you maybe have taken over the years.

[Josh]

Yeah, man, we've taken many, many vacations as a family. It was one of the staples over the summer. My father, the reason he said he doesn't own any real estate and the rest of his family owns real estate is because we took vacations.

[Sufi]

Okay, so does he regret that or does he feel like that was a good trade off?

[Josh]

No, he doesn' regret it. I think a lot of memories were made on those vacations that we often talk about and reflect on. So I don't think he necessarily regrets it. But I grew up in a middle class family. We didn't do like Europe or Australia or anything like that. I grew up in Illinois and we generally went to Wisconsin Dells or Michigan. We did take a trip to San Diego. We did take a trip to Florida. But yeah, vacations were something that were very dear to me growing up. And I'm so glad we got a chance to do all that and starting to do that with my own family.

[Sufi]

I'm fascinated by. Your dad was 15 when he moved from Sicily to the States. Is that about right?

[Josh]

Yeah, 15.

[Sufi]

So I'm always interested in how those people conceive of travel when they basically take the biggest trip of their life early on before they're even 18, and it's to change the course of their future.

[Josh]

Well, yeah, I mean, this guy got on a boat for whatever four or five days and came over with his family when he was 15 years old. So, yeah, I never really even thought of it in that way. I mean, he did take the biggest trip of his life to get to the United States, and then every trip after that seemed to be a drive for. For an hour and a half and he was still complaining.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Imagine what he was like at 15 on that boat.

[Josh]

Yes.

[Sufi]

So did they immigrate right to Illinois, the area you grew up in?

[Josh]

No, they went to Mississippi first.

[Sufi]

Get out of town.

[Josh]

Yeah. And they took a look around and said, where else can we go? So how it worked back then was, you know, the family had settled in Mississippi and they had like, you know, a sponsor that would. A family member that would sponsor them to come here. And then when they got here My family, my uncle and my father basically told my grandfather, we gotta get outta here. So they knew a contact in Chicago and then left Mississippi for Chicago. So that's kind of where they settled.

[Sufi]

Did they leave their parents in Mississippi? Did they stay?

[Josh]

No, no, everybody.

[Sufi]

The whole family.

[Josh]

The whole family came and. Yeah. So I'm, you know, I haven't been back to where they first settled in Mississippi. I'm trying to figure out where the town was. It's slipping my memory. But, yeah, that's where. Where a lot of my family. So I've seen some of my relatives from Mississippi come to a show in Memphis or what have you, and it's wild. It's like they're Italian with like deep Southern accents. So. Yeah, yeah, that's.

[Sufi]

Yeah, it's funny, like. Cause I feel like I can both. I hear like, you know, there's an Italian American, Chicago dialect that you hear so much because, you know, there's so many of them. And yet I feel like, oh, no, I've never heard that on a Southern accent. I have no idea what that would even sound like.

[Josh]

Yeah, it threw me, like, hey, how you doing? I can't even. I can't even. But it was interesting to hear.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I don't know if you know this, the answer to this or not, but, like, when you know your father and your uncle have a contact in Chicago.

[Sufi]

What does that mean?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Is that someone who's just like, hey, like, there's work up here or there's a good community up here. What?

[Josh]

Yeah, I still don't know what that meant.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, yeah, that's fair. I mean, look, it's. It was, it was before your time brushed over.

[Josh]

Like, we know somebody up in Chicago, so yeah, they had either a family contact or someone there that was able to kind of get them settled in Chicago, which I'm glad they did. Nothing against Mississippi, but growing up in Chicago, definitely a lot of my comedy is from that sarcasm that I grew up around in the Chicagoland area, which we basically just ripped each other to shreds the entire time growing up.

[Sufi]

Yeah, it's a good place to be from when it comes to that kind of, I think New England. I feel like Boston and Chicago have that going for em. Like it's a real trial by fire to get out of there as a young person.

[Josh]

Yeah, I agree. I think there are two hotbeds for comedy.

[Sufi]

Have you gone back to Sicily to that part of the world where your family's from?

[Josh]

So my dad had quadruple bypass surgery. This had to be 12, 13 years ago, as his artery. His widowmaker was like 99% blocked. They did the surgery, and then I said, we gotta go back to Sicily before you die. Because he hadn't been back.

[Sufi]

That's amazing.

[Josh]

He hadn't been back in 50 years. He just left it behind. I've never been to Italy, so I went to my father and I said, we're going to take this trip, father and son. So we went about 11, 11, 12 years ago, and he's been back every year since. We went as a father and son.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Wow.

[Josh]

He got reinvigorated. It's amazing. We went to his hometown, and I started seeing a lot of the places that he was telling me growing up. He's like, this is where I played soccer. This is where I learned how to play foosball. I'm taking all this in and I'm like, my God. I start crying, and he's nothing. He's just, like, stoic. And I'm like, this ain't hitting you at all. You're here with your son and showing me where you grew up. And he was in shock. He had later said that when he went back after we went, he was very emotional. I think when we went the first time, his mind was blown and he couldn't really even process what was happening. But I'm really glad that we did that trip, because to see him go around town and rediscover these different places and where his father's barber shop was, which is now a travel agency. We actually knocked on the door of where he grew up. It was a three flat. We knocked on the door, and he had asked the people that lived in his childhood home, can I show my son my house? And they let us in. And here we are walking in this small little home that he grew up in, and another family is there eating at the. I mean, like, this would never happen in the United States. Could you imagine getting somebody knocking on your door going, we lived here 50 years ago. You imagine we take a walk around. So to see all that, I'm so glad we got a chance to do that. Because he is now reconnected with old friends. And he goes every year.

[Sufi]

Did he. How. How long after that first time did he tell you, hey, Sebastian, that thing that I had no emotional reaction to when I was with you, I want to do it again? Did he basically, was it months after that he realized, I'm going to make this an annual trip?

[Josh]

I don't think it was months after. I think he. He went again the Next year. And then he met. He met up with his best friend. His. But he. His best friend growing up there. And then they started. He started to take them around, and he's like, I'm going again next year. And I think after the second time he went, he wanted to make it an annual thing. Obviously, with COVID he didn't get to go back, but. Yeah, it's one of those trips that often reflect back on that trip. As I'm thinking about it, my father had a mustache for, I'd say, 35 years. And on that trip, I go shave it. I want to see without a mustache. He ended up shaving his mustache off in Italy and never looked back. He's had no mustache now for 12 years. So a lot of monumental things.

[Sufi]

We've talked about it on the podcast before. Our dad shaved his mustache on vacation once, and Josh and I reacted with such horror that he immediately grew it back.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

It was awful. But even his mother, our grandmother, didn't like our father without a mustache.

[Sufi]

Yeah. It was a loser across the board.

[Josh]

It's traumatic, I think, for kids. If you grow up with a father who has a mustache and then shaves it off and you don't, it's like a different man. Yeah. So. But I was. I was what? I was in my 30s.

[Sufi]

So you were ready to handle it?

[Josh]

I was ready to handle it.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Was it a bushy mustache? Was it a lot to lose? Or was it, you know, was it like a thin pencil that was like. Oh, that always looked drawn on to begin with.

[Josh]

So, yeah, he had a. I'd say in between the bushy and the thin. It was just a nice, nice little mustache. Speaking of mustaches. And I'm just gonna take a wild guess. You two have never. Do you even grow facial hair, you two?

[Sufi]

So it's fascinating you ask. I cannot. Can't even come close. Josh knows how to mustache.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I've rocked a mustache for a little while. Yeah.

[Sufi]

A pretty good one.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah. I mean, it's my father's mustache.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Our father's mustache. It's very much. It's bushy. It's like a little ski jump and. Yeah.

[Sufi]

How about you, Sebastian? Could you grow one?

[Josh]

I can grow one. I just. I feel like I don't have creative facial hair. I don't have the facial hair that would, you know, especially nowadays, it seems like every guy has got a beard.

[Sufi]

I agree. I feel like now we're, like, holding out for now. It's quirky to just be this. Like this. I will say I'M glad your dad made new friends in Sicily or reconnected with old ones. Cause I bet when he came back to Chicago without his mustache, he was dead to everybody he knew there. Because let's be honest, that's the capital of mustaches in America.

[Josh]

Actually, he was well received.

[Sufi]

Okay, good.

[Josh]

He's a hairdresser. So when he went into the salon, a lot of people, you know, really didn't recognize him at first. But I. I think. I think he got a lot of compliments.

[Sufi]

So you mentioned your grandfather had a hair place in Sicily. So was this. This was the family trade. Was there ever anything else your dad did, or was this from the beginning?

[Josh]

No. Basically, when he moved to United States, he went to high school, and then shortly thereafter, I think it was the first year. My grandfather said, it's either you stay in school, you find a trade. What do you want to do? And he's like, I want to cut hair. So he went to hair school and started working with my grandfather in Chicago at a salon that my grandfather had somehow worked at and then later owned. So, yeah, it's always been the family business. I was never pressured ever to get into it. It was never suggested. I did work at the salon as a kid sweeping hair, but it was something that I never had any interest in taking over my dad's business at all.

[Sufi]

You have a very good head of hair, and I feel like that. Did you ever feel the stress of worrying that you weren't gonna have a good head of hair coming from a hair family?

[Josh]

Well, my hair is very, very thin. It's got a lot of colics in it, and I'm losing it. As time goes, goes on, especially with two small kids and a wife, the hair tends to end up on the pillow every morning.

[Sufi]

The hair wants no part of it. The hair's like, we didn't make this choice. This is your choice. We're out. Hey. We're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventure in the award winning Nissan Rogue. Rock Creek.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Hey, Seth.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

Tell me about your inner adventure. Are you a rocky trails guy or more of a snow roads bird?

[Sufi]

I'm a snow roads bird. Like to go up my snow roads, maybe pull over at one point, pop off a couple snow angels back in the car. Keep on rocking.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

I was gonna say your snow angels are some of the nicest snow angels I've ever seen.

[Sufi]

They look as though an angel fell from heaven and just splatted into the snow.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

One thing I will say a note on snow angels.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Pashi]

You don't have to do them face down.

[Sufi]

What? This is going to be a game changer. What about you? Posh rocky trails or snow roads, Bird?

[Pashi]

Well, I mean, I'm a bit of both. I do love when you're in a vehicle that can handle some rocky terrain. I like driving slow and feeling a big old tire sort of creep over a rock and sort of waggle you back and forth. And that's the kind of feeling that you can get with some confidence in the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek.

[Sufi]

And I would say a lack of confidence in the car we drove in high school, which was a Renault look car. And if it was even a little bit rainy, you wouldn't go outside.

[Pashi]

Whatever kind of adventurer you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you, thanks to its Intelligent around view monitor. With off road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles and tough terrain. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips. Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] intelligent ground view monitor cannot eliminate blind spots.

[Sufi]

It may not detect every object. Drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving. See owner's manual for safety information. Hey, Bashi. Hey, Sufi. Just talk to me about Airbnb.

[Pashi]

Well, we've had a trip coming up in the middle of 2025, a return trip to Amsterdam that I'm very excited about. We've got friends who got married 25 years ago. They're renewing their vows. So a lot of our friends are starting to book flights and starting to make plans. And our friend Jill reached out to me and she was like, hey, what.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Hotel do you stay at?

[Pashi]

And I've, like, maybe stayed in one hotel in Amsterdam in all the years that we've been going back there, because I always just get an Airbnb. You know, I lived there, I went.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

To the grocery store there.

[Pashi]

And staying in an Airbnb lets me have that feeling of living there again.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

And that's what I like so much.

[Sufi]

Also, sometimes you go to a hotel in a city like Amsterdam and it just feels like a hotel in any American city. And that's really nice. You know, the amenities are great, but when you stay in an Airbnb in one of these cities, you just feel like you get that uniqueness of what the architectural style is of that place.

[Pashi]

Yeah. And then you get to, like, Stay in more residential neighborhoods.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

So you walk outside and you just feel like you're a real.

[Sufi]

Josh, you speak Dutch. How do you say Airbnb and Dutch?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Airbnb, perfect.

[Pashi]

You know, luft, Luft, Luft, Baen, Bay.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Luft, Bay, and bay.

[Pashi]

Yeah, I don't know what the word for air is anymore, but.

[Sufi]

But the important thing is book your next awesome trip. [e-mail] support comes from Talkspace. Hey, Paschi.

[Pashi]

Yeah, Sufi.

[Sufi]

I think we've both been lucky enough to work with therapists over the years, and I think we can both attest to the fact that it's very helpful.

[Pashi]

Absolutely. I hope that those therapists also have liked working with us.

[Sufi]

You know what? Not enough is said about that. I'm glad. You know, maybe I'll send out an email. I bet if I wrote my old therapist and said, hey, did you like working with me? She would say, like, you know, based on you asking that, I think you should come back in. I think your need for affirmation from me, your therapist is a sign that things are coming undone.

[Pashi]

It can be challenging to find and meet with a therapist that's the right fit. And talk space ranges from personalized treatment to meeting online from anywhere to the ability to text your therapist at any time.

[Sufi]

But what about cost? Posh therapy can be costly. Put my mind at ease.

[Pashi]

Well, Talkspace is affordable and in network with most insurance providers. Most insured members have a $0 copay.

[Sufi]

But posh, usually it's really hard to sign up online. Put my mind at ease about that in regards to Talkspace.

[Pashi]

Well, you can easily sign up online and get paired with the licensed provider. That's the right fit for your needs, typically within 48 hours. You can also switch providers at no extra cost.

[Sufi]

What if I want to chat with them in between sessions?

[Pashi]

You can even talk it out between sessions by sending messages to your therapist. Talkspace provides personalized treatment for individuals, couples and the LGBTQIA community, veterans and teens.

[Sufi]

As a listener of this podcast, you'll get $80 off your first month with Talkspace when you go to talkspace.com trips and enter promo code space80 to match with a licensed therapist today, go to talkspace.com trips & enter promo code space80 to get $80 off your first month and show your support for the show. That's talkspace.com trips promote promo code space80.

[Pashi]

So when you're.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

When you're growing up, you've got a sister, correct?

[Josh]

Yes, I have a younger sister.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Five years younger sister. So just the four of you pile into car or are you taking your grandfather?

[Josh]

Never, never did a vacation with other families or people.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Okay.

[Josh]

And I don't know if that is normal or what, because often, especially my wife's family, they go on vacation with other families. And it was just us and us only. We didn't invite neighbors. The neighbors invited us to go to the Ozarks. We're like, we're good. We got our own thing going on over here. But yeah, it was just us. No grandparents, no other family members.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

And would you stay at hotels or would you rent houses? Like, if it was always a summer vacation, was it a. Were you going for a week or were you going like doing a month somewhere?

[Josh]

No, there's no month. My father, lucky he took off the week he thought he was going to lose clients, hair salon. If he, if he left more than three days, he got nervous. So no, it was generally a six day a week thing. It wasn't a month. We didn't rent houses. This is, you know, when we went to the Dells, it was. We ended up going. This is when the Playboy Club was still around. We ended up going for a drink at the Playboy Club, which I thought was odd that my father and mother wanted to stop there for a drink. So I'm like 9, 10 years old, looking at bunnies walking around. This a normal vacation.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

So the Playboy Club at the Wisconsin. At the Wisconsin Dells.

[Josh]

It was either in the Dells or Lake Geneva. I forget where it was, but we definitely made a stop there. Yeah, so we didn't do renting houses. I do know that when we went to Florida, we kind of splurged and stayed at a Marriott or Hyatt, but there was no renting homes.

[Sufi]

Or did your dad talk about. Was he. Did he make you guys acutely aware of how much things cost?

[Josh]

Yeah, we were the type of family that my dad took a knot of cash with him on vacation and once that ran out, we went home. There was no, like, credit card. Like, oh, you know, like, I remember we were in Florida. We didn't have enough money to get into this, you know, restaurant or whatever that was having live entertainment. We were watching from the window outside. It was very like money conscious, like my dad. The way my dad budgeted is he had about eight or nine envelopes. This is very popular in the immigrant community. They don't go to the bank to like put the money in. They leave it at home. So he had. And the way he budgeted his money is he took Cash. And he put it in the envelope that was labeled. It said fix F I X. Like anything that need fixing in the house, he took out of that envelope. He had a vacation envelope. He had a dining envelope. So that's how he budgeted his money.

[Sufi]

And once that ran out, if something broke but there was no money in fix, you just had to wait until fix was replenished or you might start.

[Josh]

Taking money from vacation.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, I was going to say that's the natural pull. Not going to take it from dining. You still got to go eat. Got to eat. Did you?

[Sufi]

Would you? What about allowance? And we have kids around the same age and so maybe this is a question for you. Did you get allowance when you were young?

[Josh]

Yeah, I had many chores, I had allowance. I used to cut the grass, which was a big one for me by the way.

[Sufi]

I feel like our kids just get allowance just for existing. Which is just for heartbreaking. Just like it's their birthright.

[Josh]

What are you giving them?

[Sufi]

We're giving them $6 a week.

[Josh]

And do they have any chores? Do they make their bed?

[Sufi]

Yeah, I would love to tell you they do. I would love to look you in.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

The eye and tell you they do. So that's a hard no.

[Sufi]

I feel like in general we're just like. Just try not to behave in a way that makes me want to wring your neck and I'll give you six bucks a week. Now I do. I think about this because we also do envelop. I should know. Cause they have three envelopes. Save, spend, donate. And they have to put two bucks in each. So you know, so at least two of it's going back into, you know, good deeds.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Right. Especially it's gotta be good. Make you feel a little bit better. Since they aren't doing anything for six.

[Sufi]

They're not $6. They're not lifting the fingers on a drive. So a drive. 90 minute drive to the Wisconsin Dells. But I'm imagining you're doing it in the summer. I'm imagining traffic. Your dad super low key and chill on a drive.

[Josh]

Yeah, I mean, listen, my family, we grew up in a very funny family. So it was very light hearted. Lot of laughs. It's funny. I mean that's all we did growing up was laugh. I think we masked a lot of. We didn't wanna get serious. We felt it was really uncomfortable to get serious. Cause we felt like, oh, is somebody gonna cry? So someone would crack a joke. I still do it today. Friend of mine cried in front of me this week. Actually, someone really close to him died. And I go right to funny. Cause I don't like to live in that. Like, oh God, I don't even know what to do when somebody starts crying sometimes. So I always fall back on trying to make it light hearted. So that's kind of where that all started for our family. It was always laughing, always kind of relaxed. I mean, my father was definitely, you know, I mean, he wasn't always laughing, but I mean, for the most part I come from a nice. Really we are.

[Sufi]

I mean, our dad is both temperamental, but mostly comedy forward. Yeah. And it was, it was a home of great laughs until something went a little bit wrong.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

But if I, if I would cry growing up, I would just run up to my bedroom, I would do it up there and then people would be like, all right, when you're ready to laugh again, come back downstairs, just get this out of the way, do it upstairs, please.

[Sufi]

Do you. My wife comes from a very different family where all they do is talk about like emotions and problems. Like when a problem comes up, they're amazing, but they don't laugh it off. And my wife is always pointing out like, maybe your family, you know, laughed too much growing up. And that's why you guys aren't good talking about difficult things. And I kind of prefer my path. I like the way we did it.

[Josh]

I do too. I'm not into this whole, like, let's sit down and discuss. So I do like the way that we grew up. I think it really established, even to this day, that's all we do is goof around and laugh. Why would you want to do anything else?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Fair. What was the, what was the family car when you were driving out to any of these trips?

[Josh]

We had a Cutlass. I remember we did have a Cutlass. We took that. Which was not that comfortable. I mean, there was. No, there's not cars back then weren't really, you know, now it's like you get a mini SUV is the thing you get now because you got a family back then. It's like we had a Cadillac Seville with white wall tires going to Lake Geneva. You know, it's just, it didn't, you know, you pull it over at a rest stop to. I remember there was a rest stop there where we would barbecue and the car didn't fit the trip. You know what I'm saying?

[Sufi]

Yeah, right. Yeah.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

But when you rolled up to the Playboy Club.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Josh]

That's where that fit in.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah. Yeah. That's what you needed it for.

[Sufi]

They were like look, this is obvious. This is a high roller. And then it was your dad and his wife and a nine year old, and they were like, all right, we got it wrong. We got it wrong. Have you taken trips with your children and your parents?

[Josh]

Yeah, so my parents are divorced. So apparently the laughing didn't work.

[Sufi]

Oh, now the other shoe drops.

[Josh]

So, yeah, so I. I took my mother and I took my sister and their family. We went to Italy. This was maybe six years ago. And then I took my father to Mexico this year. So, yeah, it's. Yeah, now we're doing more family type trips than we ever have growing up. Like, we're incorporating, you know, the cousins and what have you.

[Sufi]

Did you have big, deep family in the Chicago area growing up?

[Josh]

I mean, I did have a lot of cousins, not necessarily first cousins, but there's, you know, a lot of second, third cousins. But never, never really went on vacation. They didn't. I don't even think they went on vacation. Vacation again. They were buying real estate and we were in the Dells.

[Sufi]

We. I mean, we were, you know, Josh and I. It's just the two of us. So we were a core four as well. And we never went on vacation with anybody else. Yeah, like, it was always just the four of us.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

We'd have grandparents come stay with us, but we wouldn't go anywhere.

[Sufi]

Yeah, we'd never take them anywhere. Yeah. Yeah, that would have been a disaster.

[Josh]

Don't you think that changed now where, like, families are meeting other families on vacation?

[Sufi]

100%. My parents never talked to anybody. And you know what I remember? Do you ever remember this, Josh? I remember once there was a young couple that we befriended because they were just out at the pool in Florida. And then we saw them at the airport and there was some reason, maybe their wallet got stolen and dad gave them 200 bucks because they were in a panic. And he gave them our address and they were like, we'll send you the money. And I remember they never sent the money. And I remember that. I feel like that was the moral I took away from that is never talk to people on vacation.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, that's a real once bitten, twice shy right there. Yeah, I don't recall that, but yeah, we didn't. Yeah, we weren't. We weren't making friends.

[Sufi]

Do your kids. How do your kids. Do they. They must have different relationships with your dad and your mom. Like, how do they see your dad and how do they see your mom? How old are your kids now? Five and seven. What?

[Josh]

Yeah, five and seven. My mother Lives here in California. My dad.

[Sufi]

So they see him all the time.

[Josh]

They don't. They don't see him as much as probably I or my mother would like just because of. Of they. She lives about 40 minutes away.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And she doesn't really drive, so. Yeah. I mean, it's funny. I don't think that my kids have the relationship with their grandparents like I had with mine. I saw mine pretty much once a week. Every Sunday was like Sunday supper and we went to go see them and it was a little bit more ritualistic. But here, you know. Yeah. I'm traveling a lot. There's a lot of just like a moving parts that sometimes we don't get the chance to maybe see the people that mean the most to us. Especially my father living in Chicago, you know, he sees them once or twice a week. So there isn't really a bond there that I think I had with my grandparents.

[Sufi]

It is pretty cool that you had that. I feel like my wife's family, they live in the city as well. And I'm very happy my kids see them as often as they do. But I do, of course, wish they saw my parents a little bit more. Although we never saw our. We never saw our grandparents with any regularity.

[Josh]

Is that due to proximity of where.

[Sufi]

They lived or Proximity. And they were just so old. Like, I also. I feel like. Don't you think, Josh? I mean, certainly.

[Pashi]

I mean, they looked.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I mean, to kids, Anyone who's over 60 is ancient and are, you know.

[Sufi]

Dad's mom was old.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, she was.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Josh]

I like how you say dad's mom's not even Grandma.

[Sufi]

Yes.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Dad's mom's mom.

[Sufi]

We were very informal. I don't. I'm like, Grant. I was always like, I don't want to call you Grandma. I got another one of those. I'm going to call you Dad. I don't want to get confused.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I mean, we would see Addie, our mom's mom, with more regularity because she was only an hour away. So we'd drive down to mom's hometown and.

[Sufi]

But she was fascinating. Cause she had no interest in. For a long time, she had no interest in seeing us. Like, she was only interested in us till we were, I would say, like 13.

[Pashi]

Yeah.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I think even older than that.

[Sufi]

Yeah. She just. We had our mom's mom, as I called her, she was like a real fancy lady that just didn't have any interest in kids. But then she took interest in us as when we were like, older. She liked us. Yeah.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

She liked her kids. Just not her kids kids, as she called us.

[Sufi]

So where. What's the biggest trip you've taken with your kids? Because that's. I mean, it's the age where it's still. It's like they. You are making memories when you take them on a big trip, but they're a little bit of a pain to travel with.

[Josh]

We haven't take the, like, we want to take them to Europe. We want to do that Italy trip. And we are actually talking about doing a large trip this summer. And I was going to perform in some of these European and Scandinavian countries. I've never toured Europe at all. So we were trying to. Wouldn't it be fun to take the kids to, say, Greece? I do a couple of shows and we stay in Greece for a few. Few nights and then move over to Austria or whatever. Listen, I've often debated this, and my, my. And I don't know if you guys are. My wife is communicating with me now through Instagram.

[Sufi]

Oh, yes. Minus two.

[Josh]

So I get videos of, like, do it now. The memories are gonna be made now. If you wait. And then there's an old guy in a wheelchair, and I go, are you trying to down. Like, I feel like we have a whole Instagram relationship of videos that we send one another, and we're talking via through the videos. But then when we get together, you know, she'll go, oh, did you see the video about the guy dying and you should do stuff now? I go, yeah, well, you could have just told me that over dinner, you.

[Sufi]

Know, so we could have taken out the middleman, especially since the middleman was a dead guy.

[Josh]

Yeah, but we want to take this monumental trip. And I keep saying, you know, are the kids going to remember this? You know, do you remember five? I, you know, maybe I started remembering stuff at five, but what's the take over under when kids start really appreciating this?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Over five?

[Sufi]

Yeah, over five. I also wait over five. The reality is you just take a bunch of pictures that you show them later and so they remember the pictures and then they appreciate. Oh, yeah. When we went there, they have no memory of it. They just remember the pictures. Yeah.

[Josh]

I mean, when you look at pictures back when you were five and you guys went to wherever you guys went on vacation, you know, I'm sure you're not looking at it going, oh, yeah. Then after that, we went to get ice cream at that ice cream place. So what the hell are we doing? Are we just making memories for my wife and I so we could you.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Don'T sound interested in that.

[Sufi]

I mean, I think if it's me, I get a green memory, I roll a green screen in, take some pict, get your showbiz people to backdrop the leaning power Pisa. Sorry, I'm having a small technical issue. Give me one second, guys. Talk amongst yourself.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I wonder what his issue is.

[Josh]

You think it's the bathroom? You think it's the bathroom?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I don't know. The way he walked away, that's what I'm starting to think it is.

[Josh]

It's just a. I don't think it's a technical issue.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Like the body sort of has some technology that needs to be worked out.

[Pashi]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors.

[Sufi]

Support for family trips comes from public rec. Hey, Bashi.

[Pashi]

Yes, Ufi.

[Sufi]

Talk to me about public rec.

[Pashi]

Oh, man, these pants, they're so comfortable. It feels like sweatpants. But they're elevated above that level. I don't even like going to like the grocery store in sweatpants. It feels to me like I've given up.

[Sufi]

And you are a discerning buyer slash wearer of pants. So this is. Yeah, this should be taken very seriously that you're saying this.

[Pashi]

Yeah. These public rec pants, they're so comfortable, they're so cozy. And then again, yeah, they just, they have a look that is a cut above, I would say.

[Sufi]

And you're never mailing it in. Look wise.

[Pashi]

No, I tried, I tried it on. Mail it in. You can catch me mailing it in. I mean, let's be honest, like, and.

[Sufi]

It'S hard to catch me not mailing it in.

[Pashi]

Yeah. If anyone wants to Google the picture.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Of Seth eating pasta that he don't do that.

[Sufi]

Also, when you order comfortable pants, usually you only get to pick from small, medium, large, extra large sizes. With public rec pants, you get to select the exact width and length you need. Whether you're a 30 by 30 or a 44 by 36, you can find your perfect fitting pants.

[Pashi]

This last Christmas, I got dad a pair of these pants. He loves them. I got my father in law a pair of these pants. He loves them. I'm rocking these pants. These are good pants.

[Sufi]

Make your New Year's resolution the comfortable one. No more pants that pinch, tug or annoy. For a limited time, you get 20% off at public rec by using code trips at checkout. Just head to publicwreck.com use code TRIPS and you're all set. Oh, and when they ask how you found them, be sure to mention Our show, it really helps us out. Find your perfect fit and never compromise on comfort again. Public wreck where comfort arules. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventure in the award winning Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. So, Josh, tell me about a recent time you connected with your inner adventurer.

[Pashi]

Well, anytime it rains in la, which isn't very often, I throw my gear on and I get out in it. And my dog Woody loves to get out there with me. And we'll start on a trail on sort of a big fire road trail, but then we find those smaller trails where you need to crawl and get your hands dirty. And the wetter you get, the better you get and yeah, that's what we like.

[Sufi]

I love it.

[Pashi]

What about you? Have you connected with your inner adventurer recently?

[Sufi]

You know those squirrel suits where people jump off the sides of cliffs?

[Pashi]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sufi]

I just watched a YouTube video of that. My tummy, it gave me like, made my tummy feel weird.

[Pashi]

Yeah, yeah. Careful, don't watch too many of those. Whatever kind of adventure you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you. Thanks to its intelligent around view monitor with off road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles in tough terrain. Plus, with lava red stitching and Rock Creek embroidery, you're surrounded in style no matter where you go.

[Sufi]

Up on Rogue Rock Creek, she sends me, right?

[Pashi]

Yeah, we didn't have the right.

[Sufi]

We probably can't clear that. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn [e-mail] intelligent ground view monitor cannot eliminate blind spots and may not detect every object. Drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving. See owner's manual for safety information.

[Josh]

Listen, we were talking in regards to the technical issue, which we don't believe it was. We believe it's possibly a bathroom break or something happened.

[Sufi]

I'll just admit it was a bathroom break. Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend. I mean, I thought my acting would have been good, but I'm not gonna lie.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, so like, I got a technical problem. Let me walk away from all the technology.

[Sufi]

Yeah, sure. Got me dead to rights there. It was not, I think it speaks to the level of emergency. It was that I did not lay in the groundwork to make it a believable backstory.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, yeah, agreed, agreed. So, Sebastian, growing up, when you're going to these trips, the Dells or whatever, like what Are you doing when you get there? Like, what are your days? Are you lake? Is it lake life? Is it, you know, checking out little towns? What are these?

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah. So in the Dells, it was generally the pool. We didn't have a pool in our house growing up. So anytime you got around a pool, it's like you spend the whole day at the pool. And, you know, for kids, it was amazing. Oh, my God. They got a swimming pool and a diving board. So it was.

[Sufi]

And is it. Am I picturing a pool just full of kids?

[Josh]

I remember one of the pictures that I saw recently of a vacation. It was just our family. And in the background you saw a guy who looked like he might have been there waiting out a crime he just committed. But when we went to, like, a San Diego, you know, we did the San Diego Zoo. When we went to Florida, we did Disney World. Our parents took us to Epcot Center. I remember, which I absolutely hated at 9, 10 years old. They were like. And they got mad at us that we weren't appreciating. This is Germany, you know, it's like.

[Sufi]

Okay, so I never. We never went. And I think we never went because we had no interest in it. And I think our parents clocked it and didn't want to waste the time. I also think maybe my parents thought it was lame, the idea of what EPCOT was trying to execute.

[Josh]

Well, you bring up a good point. Did you guys think dictate the vacation or is it not really parents wanted to do.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I mean, I feel like we. We would semi regularly go to Florida, just sort of like where I feel like people from the Northeast. It was an easy flight. And we'd get some, you know, hotel, and we'd hang out, go to the beach. And I feel like when you were close enough to places like Busch Gardens or Disney, you would go. But mom and dad weren't so into those places. And when we would go to a Disney, I feel like that checked the box. And we wouldn't then also have to go to Epcot because our mom just wanted to lay out at a pool or on the beach. She was there to get tanned.

[Josh]

I remember tanning being a big thing growing up. Like, you wanted to come back to Chicago and have a beautiful tan. And that was a big part of what we wanted to do on vacation. I'm trying to think now. It's like you go on vacation and some people have to have it very regimented. Every hour of the vacation has to be planned prior to getting there. And I don't know. With my wife and I. My wife is more of a planner. When I go on vacation, I'm just like, I don't know how I'm gonna feel on Monday. I don't know if I want to do horse back riding.

[Sufi]

You know, I do know, and the answer is never. I never. There's no way I feel where I then want to get on a horse. Maybe if I feel terrible, I'll be like, this is the only way where a horse could maybe make me feel better than the worst I've ever felt. My wife's a real planner too. And it does. I. Then it's the stress of a vacation. Like, it's. I don't even. Yeah, I just want to go somewhere and I think I want one of just those, like, hyperbaric chambers. I just want to crawl in one of those by myself for like three days.

[Josh]

Yeah. I mean, that's how I look at vacations. More of just like, let me. Let me get a little breakfast, go by the pool a little bit. But you know, when you got kids, you gotta, like, there's a sense of like, entertaining them. Let's go and do da da da. Like, we went horseback riding. We were in Mexico a couple months ago and we took the kids horseback riding. And I think horseback riding sounds fun. And then you get on the horse and it's like, okay, it's. Oh, like within 10 minutes, like, all right, wrap it up. You know, let's go back to the. Let's go back. This is. What are we looking at?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Were you on the beach? Were you riding on the beach?

[Josh]

On the beach? Yeah. So it's like you're on a horse on the beach. Oh, look at the water. Look over here. He made a couple noises. Go back to the truck.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Made those memories. Check those boxes.

[Sufi]

My son was on a little horse, very low to the ground. I don't even know what you call him. Posh, you know, Mini pony? No.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Maybe miniature pony.

[Sufi]

I feel like it was a miniature.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Horse or a miniature pony.

[Sufi]

Let's say it's low to the ground.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Sebastian.

[Sufi]

That's why I'm asking Josh.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

So my son and I didn't even know this. He was telling me today. Cause we're going back to New Mexico, which is where my wife is from. And he said, you know, last time we were there, we were riding with that little horse Pepito. And I go, yeah, no, I saw pictures. He goes, did you know it fell over? And I was like, while you were on it. He goes twice and I'm like, Jesus. So he just. Twice this little pony, like fell over? No, obviously my son's fine, but just tipped him off the horse.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, yeah, I could see Axel getting, maybe falling off the horse, but I don't think if a horse falls down twice in one ride, that horse has to be looked at.

[Sufi]

Can I tell you something? I think that. I think that horse is D, D.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

E, A D. Well, yeah, it sounds like it was going that way. Fell down twice. Horses don't fall down. Yeah.

[Sufi]

So we're going to tell Axel we're hoping they get. If he wants to go back. We're hoping they got at least a horse that looked like that horse. What are your kids. Do your kids dictate at all? Is there anything. I mean, they're too young to say, I want to go here, but. Did they say they wanted to go to Disneyland?

[Josh]

No, they like Disneyland. I mean, they like Santa Barbara. And you're like, oh, when are we going to go to Santa Barbara again? They love it there. I don't know.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

They love the mission. They like that. The old mission up on the hill.

[Josh]

They like the beach, although the west coast beaches I'm not into. But we've been going to Mexico a lot lately, just because it's the two hours on a plane. We love the hospitality down there. The Mexican culture is that of like, you know, how can we take care of you? How can we make this experience?

[Sufi]

Food's great.

[Josh]

Food's great. You know, in the United States. What I've noticed is you go on vacation in the United States and it's like the customer service and the hospitality is like an eye roll. You know, you get like a, hey, hey, can I get another iced tea? You know, and it's like when you go to Mexico, they anticipate your needs before you even know what you want. You know what I'm saying? So I like that. Worked at the Four Seasons Hotel for seven years here in Los Angeles. So I really appreciate hospitality and anticipating the guests needs and I appreciate when I see that. It's just, that's what I'm looking for on vacation, hospitality.

[Sufi]

Seven years at the Four Seasons. What was your first job there and what was your last job there? Did you sort of go up the ranks at all in seven years or was it the same?

[Josh]

No, I stayed in the bar. I was, I was.

[Sufi]

Oh, that's basically.

[Josh]

Basically a cocktail waitress.

[Sufi]

That's a good job. That's a good job though, for. Yeah, a performer.

[Josh]

It was, it was a Great job. From 98 to 2005. God, I saw so much come through that it was the Windows Lounge. I don't know if you've ever been there. It's on Doheny. It was like the epicenter of Hollywood deals. And there was a breakfast. It was called the Gardens Restaurant. That was where a lot of big moguls had their power meetings in the morning and then at night it's where all the press junkets happened. So you got all the movie stars coming through through there.

[Sufi]

So it felt less people on vacation and more just a epicenter of Hollywood showbiz.

[Josh]

Oh, yeah, no, no, I don't think there's a lot of people on vacation there at the Four Seasons. It was very local.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

And then when you left that job, was it because you had succeeded at the point that you didn't need to work in that restaurant anymore?

[Josh]

Yeah, so I was making a living doing standup at that point. I was going to, you know, the Addison improv, making the 1500 dollars a week, hoping to get a bonus.

[Sufi]

And do you remember the moment that you actually went in and said, I'm not doing. I'm turning in my notice?

[Josh]

Well, I did the Vince Vaughn Wild west comedy show, which was a 30 day tour with Vince Vaughn and three other comedians. So we did that and I still had my job. I actually had to go in and tell them, hey, listen, could I have 30 days off? I'm going to go with Vince Vaughn on the road. And they're like, yeah, no problem. Because I had like seniority and I was really cool with the employer, so I said, I'll come back after 30 days. And you know, after 30 days I got a gig here, I got a gig there. So I kept the job for one year without going in. Wow. I was like a part time guy. Yeah. So after a year, they, they call me and they said, listen, your locker's still here. Are you coming back? Because we need to know. And I said, no, I think I'm okay. So that was a big moment for me because still, am I gonna be getting more of these gigs or is this gonna dry up soon? And I was very responsible. I'm not one of these comedians or actors or musicians who are like, nah, I just, you know, I just sleep on people's couches and it's all about like, I had health insurance.

[Sufi]

Oh, really?

[Josh]

Look at you as a comedian. You know what I'm saying?

[Sufi]

That you purchased on yourself.

[Josh]

Yeah, I was on like a COBRA plan.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Is that something that your parents drilled into you? Yeah. Ours, too.

[Sufi]

The amount our dad talked to us about a COBRA plan.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I cannot stress and just, like, the necessity to have health care. Like, no matter what, you got it, gotta have it.

[Sufi]

He could. My dad can really spin a yarn as to what a catastrophic injury will.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Do to your savings and to his.

[Sufi]

Yeah, it is.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah. Mom and dad lose the house cause you didn't have health insurance. Is that what you want?

[Josh]

That's funny.

[Sufi]

So that's so. Yeah, I mean, that is so funny. I feel like so many people are like, when do you think you made it? And I love that it was a full year after you made it that you finally let go of your locker at the Four Seasons.

[Josh]

Yeah, but I didn't even think it was, like, making it at that point. For me, it was more like I was now surviving on comedy and not surviving on being a waiter. So for me, it was like, all right, there's still a possibility that I might have to find another job, but I don't know, it's. I don't know. The confidence back then was a little, like, shaky.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

I think that's good, though. I mean, it's just being realistic about things is a very smart way to be.

[Josh]

Even now, you know, it's like, you know, I don't know if you guys live this way, but it's like, even now, it's like, you know, are people still going to come to the show? Are people going to watch the show? Or, you know, do I have. You know, I guess that uncertainty is kind of what drives me to be constantly working on this thing.

[Sufi]

I think it's very cool that you have held off on doing shows abroad in Europe, because I think you have an incredible one trip in you. And two, I feel like the fact that you have this body of work that has been available for people across the world to see. I think it's going to be really exciting when you find out the audience you have over there. I think it's.

[Josh]

I'm looking forward to international audiences and then parlaying that into a family experience, because, I mean, that's for me to take the kids and give them. Because I think travel, especially with kids, gives them a perspective that I didn't really have growing up. You know, they see different cultures, different food, how different people live. So I think travel as a family with kids, not only locally and domestically, but internationally, is definitely something that they could build upon in their adult life.

[Sufi]

That's fantastic. You, obviously, I do want to mention as well, season two of bookie. It's really? It's been very cool to see you as an actor as well, knowing you first as a stand up. Has this been a fun show to make?

[Josh]

Yes, it's been fun. I'm not like, this is how I look at acting. I can't wait to do standup. I can't wait. Acting. It's like, I like acting. Cause I thought it would feed the comedy the standup. Like, oh, more people see me do the acting, maybe they'll come see me. It don't happen that way.

[Sufi]

100% doesn't. No. @ least you found out by doing.

[Josh]

But I like doing the show. Working with Chuck Lorre has been an amazing experience in the sense that this guy knows exactly what he wants. And comedy is all about pacing. You get the scene. Okay, we're going on to the next. There's a rhythm that we have there that I haven't really seen on any other set. Just because this guy's done north of a thousand episodes of tv. So it's not like he's sitting there going, I don't know, guys, you want.

[Sufi]

To do it again?

[Josh]

There's none of that. There's like, we got it, let's go. So I. I like the. How he works. And it's been really, really fun. The best experience I've ever had doing any type of acting.

[Sufi]

That's great.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Before. Thank you. By the way. It's just always lovely to talk to you and we really appreciate your time. Before you go, Josh is going to ask you the questions we ask all of our guests. All right.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Some quick hitters here. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational?

[Josh]

Relaxing.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

What is your favorite means of transportation?

[Josh]

Airplane.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

If you could take a vacation with.

[Pashi]

Any family, alive or dead, real or.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Fictional, other than your own family, what family would you like to take a family vacation with?

[Josh]

The Keatons from Family Ties.

[Sufi]

All right. Look at that. First time we've heard that one. Good one.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Josh]

My family. My wife.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Great.

[Sufi]

Good answer. Smart.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

What is your. You're from Arlington Heights, Illinois. Would you recommend Arlington Heights as a vacation destination?

[Josh]

No.

[Sufi]

Okay, great.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

And Seth has our final question.

[Sufi]

Sebastian, have you been to the Grand Canyon?

[Josh]

No.

[Sufi]

Do you want to go?

[Josh]

Not necessarily. No.

[Sufi]

I love it, man.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

After Seth's.

[Sufi]

So I'm really happy. And you know what? I like that you thought about maybe trying to answer a different way, and then you let your heart lead you. And I appreciated that.

[Josh]

I went with my gut.

[Sufi]

Yeah.

[Josh]

So.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Sufi]

Well, thanks so much, man. Congratulations on everything.

[Josh]

Guys, hold on. I got a technical issue.

[Sufi]

How dare you. You know what? These are not the kind of callbacks I appreciate.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Thank you so much, Sebastian.

[Josh]

Thanks, guys.

[Sufi]

Buddy.

[Seth]

It started long ago. Papa Maniscalco came over from Sicily. He was with his bro. They went to Chicago by way of Mississippi. That's where they set up shop. Grandfather and his pop, they were kings of the salon. And you could probably get a shave. There was money to save. Dad said vacation, bring it on. Because his dad had envelopes of cash. So everybody piled in the car, went through his mustache a week max didn't go far. But that was just as well. Cause in Wisconsin Dells, the hotel had a swimming pool. Jumping off the diving board and also taking pictures that featured a sketchy dude. Believe it or not, up in Lake Geneva was a place you couldn't see 10 had bunnies. Unlike bugs, it was the Playboy Club. Hey dad, how much have we got to spend? Because his dad had envelopes of cash. What a sight to behold. Don't want to be crass, but it was great for a 10 year.