09-26-25 - Jonathan Kite - Desert Ridge Improv - In Studio

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Holmberg's Morning Sickness — Arizona
Date: September 26, 2025
Guest: Jonathan Kite (Comedian, Impressionist)
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Theme:
A comedic, free-wheeling in-studio interview with Jonathan Kite—best known for his impressions and comedic work—centered on his last-minute gig at the Desert Ridge Improv, viral comedy videos, the art (and controversy) of impressions, filming challenges at public locations, and unique pop culture experiences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jonathan Kite’s Impressions and Comedic Risk-taking

• Reveal of Damon Wayans Jr. Impression:

  • The segment opens with Holmberg faux-introducing Damon Wayans Jr., only to reveal it was Kite performing an impression.
    • (01:19) Holmberg: “What you just heard for the last 30 minutes was a marvelous impression of Damon Wayans Jr...The only person in the world doing a Damon Wayans Jr. is Jonathan Kite, everybody. And that was incredible.”
  • Kite: “I’ll be doing his act all weekend.” (01:44)
  • They riff on the risk and layers of comedy impressions, hinting at famous controversies (e.g., blackface) and comedic boundaries.

• Discussion on Blackface, Satire, and Sensitivities:

  • The conversation satirizes old comedic traditions, referencing blackface to expose changing cultural lines.
    • Kite (ironically): “I said make America blackface again.” (02:06)
    • Holmberg: “That’s my hat...We could all just loosen up a little bit and allow us to be blacken up, man. I think that’s what’s causing all of this political stuff.” (02:14)
  • Humor persists with self-awareness, poking fun at past costumes and misunderstandings about race in comedy.

2. Viral Video Concepts & Challenges Filming in Public

• Anthony Bourdain Impression Series:

  • Kite discusses his popular YouTube series impersonating Anthony Bourdain, reviewing locations in Bourdain’s signature style.
    • Kite: “We just did. We dropped In-N-Out yesterday… for October I’m doing Spirit Halloween.” (04:04)
  • The group marvels at Kite’s attention to detail and comedic insight.
    • Kite, as Bourdain: “The holy grail of drive thrus where X marks the spot and everything’s anointed with scripture turning each meal into divine dining. Disagree and the faithful will excommunicate you in the comment section because here slander is sacrilicious. Let’s eat.” (05:12)
  • Memorable Moment: Discussion of In-N-Out cups with Bible verses, the subtle quirks found in fast food, and how these fuel comedy.

• Filming at Chuck E. Cheese:

  • Practical hurdles are discussed—getting thrown out while trying to film with a child present for authenticity.
    • Kite: “We went to Chuck E. Cheese and we did bring a child...People, when you’re filming, will involve themselves in it and then sort of try to penalize you for it.” (05:39–06:39)
  • Stories about animatronics, picky parents concerned about cameras, and last-ditch successful filming (“like Indiana Jones’s hat under the door”). (06:42)

• Other Locations:

  • Highlights positive, nostalgic experiences at Red Lobster, Rainforest Cafe, and the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon.
    • Kite: “We called them ahead of time. They couldn’t have been nicer hosts.” (07:19)
    • (07:32) Even on weekdays, Blockbuster was “packed, packed, really packed.”

3. Pop Culture Tangents and Absurdist What-ifs

• Blockbuster Themed Experiences:

  • Running gag about a “September 11th–themed Blockbuster,” where every movie is interrupted by breaking news of tragedies, lampooning the intrusion of real-world events into escapism.
    • Kite: “It’s a 9/11 watching reenactor...Some—and you just have to watch until it interrupts. You might be able to make it all the way through.” (08:06–08:27)
  • The riff continues with other events ("Kennedy assassination," "JonBenet Ramsey"), intensifying the absurdity and satirical edge.

• Random Pop Culture References:

  • Holmberg and Kite riff on old movies, classic TV, and the dietary habits of Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz.
    • Kite: “Judy Garland was on a strict diet of coffee and cigarettes.” (09:52)
  • Discussion of immersive experiences, like seeing The Wizard of Oz at the Las Vegas Sphere with interactive effects (wind, leaves, apples), noting ticket prices and audience reactions.
    • Kite: “They're making $2 million a day...It was amazing.” (10:02—10:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Impressions Meta-comedy
  • (01:49) Kite: “You can’t tell if I’m Jimmy Kimmel or doing Carl Malone or Jimmy Fallon doing Chris Rock or every American pre-1920.”
• On Cultural Sensitivity and Comedy:
  • (02:06) Kite (satirical): “I said make America black face again.”
• Filming Mishaps:
  • (06:42) Kite: “It was like Indiana Jones’s hat under the door…We’d just finished taping, but it was just—we just got it in.”
• The Last Blockbuster:
  • (07:32) Kite: “Packed, packed, really packed...It feels like 1995. You walk back in time. Interesting. Yeah. It’s like a time capsule, truly.”
• Mocking News Interruptions in Blockbuster:
  • (08:42) Holmberg/Kite: “Love the idea. Accomplished. All the videos are interrupted by a horrible news story. Doesn’t have to just be 9/11...wait, the Kennedy assassination.”
• Immersive Cinema Experience:
  • (10:02) Kite: “They're making $2 million a day...It was amazing.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:19–01:59 — Damon Wayans Jr. impression reveal and discussion on comedic impersonations
• 02:00–03:17 — Satire about blackface and pushing boundaries in comedy
• 04:02–05:07 — Anthony Bourdain impression videos and the religious quirks of In-N-Out
• 05:39–06:42 — Filming at Chuck E. Cheese: animatronics, parents, and getting kicked out
• 07:15–07:56 — Visiting the last Blockbuster and nostalgia as comedic fodder
• 08:06–08:55 — Absurd runs on Blockbuster “news break” interruptions
• 09:25–09:57 — Seeing The Wizard of Oz at Las Vegas Sphere & classic movie riffing
• 10:02–10:57 — Sphere ticket prices, show experience, and conclusion

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Tone & Style

• The conversation is rapid, playful, and irreverent, with layered jokes about pop culture, comedy as an art form, and satire on contemporary sensitivities.
• Kite complements Holmberg's quick-witted style, pushing boundaries but keeping the energy upbeat and performative.

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights Jonathan Kite’s comedic skill, particularly his impressions and his knack for finding the absurd in everyday pop culture experiences. The hosts and Kite blend edgy satire with nostalgia, providing listeners with a behind-the-scenes view on making viral comedy and the challenges of pushing boundaries in 2025. The pace is quick, and the conversation feels like a comedy green room—loose, sharp, sometimes risky, always engaging.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the HMS Podcast, brought.

[B]

To you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories.

[C]

All right, HMS Podcast time again. It'll let you know where to go for some great comedy in the Valley this week. Head downtown to Stand Up Live Thursday to see Ashley Gavin and Stephen Ho on Friday and Saturday. The Desert Ridge Improv up North features Aaron Weber all week long and East Siders. The Tempe Improv has Mikey Winfield on Thursday, and Ashley Gavin finishes her week in Tempe on Friday and Saturday. For the complete lineups and for tickets, go to standuplive.com desertridgeimprov.com and tempeimprov.com limu.

[A]

Emu and Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the Emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[C]

Person in this condition was to throw him in jail.

[A]

Look at what this day is going to be. Easy, man, this is cake. We got to do the entertainment drill, and we're going to do it with a special guest, who, by the way, Damon Wayans, Jr. Isn't even in town. What you just heard for the last 30 minutes was a marvelous impression of Damon Wayans Jr. The only person in the world doing A Damon Wayans Jr. Is Jonathan Kite, everybody. And that was incredible. We had to pull the. Pull the lid off of that whole thing.

[B]

And, guys, surprise. It's me.

[A]

Yeah, see, I know. I know. Yeah. Look at you, so humble.

[B]

I'll be doing his act all weekend.

[A]

You're gonna dress it all up, too?

[B]

Yeah. Risky.

[A]

Very risky.

[B]

Yeah, but you can't tell if I'm Jimmy Kimmel or doing Carl Malone or Jimmy Fallon doing Chris Rock or every American pre1920.

[A]

Remember when America was great?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We could get in blackface. It's all against whites now.

[B]

I said make America black face again.

[A]

That's my hat.

[B]

It's a maga hat, but it's black and it's actually red. But we paint it.

[A]

Yes. Yeah. We could all just loosen up a little bit and allow us to be blacken up, man. I think that's what's causing all of this political stuff.

[B]

Make Halloween great again.

[A]

That was beautiful.

[B]

I want to go.

[A]

No limits.

[B]

No limits, buddy.

[A]

Yeah, I agree with that. Did you ever do blackface as a grown?

[B]

As a grown up, As a grown.

[A]

Out, As a grown up, as a person? I did it when I was 13.

[B]

Really?

[A]

It was Eddie Murphy's fault because me and my friend were Buckwheat and Alfalfa for Halloween.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

I went door to door.

[B]

Really?

[A]

I was in the full deal.

[B]

I went as mlk.

[A]

Did you really? Yeah. That's. That's brave. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Not on Halloween.

[A]

I think that was part of his dream.

[B]

Yeah. Just. I just walked Selma. I did the whole thing. I did all of February. I mean, it was. It was a leap year, so it was a little bit longer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But 29 days of blackface.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's all. That's a new Ken Burns.

[A]

I was going to say that's my favorite. I was going to use him. How does that happen? I almost said that's my favorite Ken Burns, doc. And you nailed it, dude. Allow the host his moment, Jonathan. You have plenty of time on television.

[B]

Let's go back.

[A]

All right. No, it's good. That's hilarious. Where are you? Where's he Playing Desert Ridge Improv this weekend. You're kind of a last minute.

[B]

I'm in, baby.

[A]

You just showed up the other day.

[B]

Yeah. And they said. They asked if I would do it. I said absolutely. And then I said, can I come on here and talk about blackface?

[A]

Yeah. And I said, oh, my God, it has to happen.

[B]

Is this a blackout date?

[A]

But yeah, you're gonna be at Desert Ridge Improv tonight. So if you go to desertridgeimpro.com right. Thanks for bringing all the info, Alex. And he's texting right now. The information. Because he is so on top of.

[B]

He's texting you. Stop talking about.

[A]

Nobody wants to hear. Damon was nice to you. Yeah. So what are you going to do? But Jonathan Kite's here. He's going to do the squares for us today, which is always good.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Your Bourdain stuff.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Going bananas.

[B]

We just did. We dropped In N Out yesterday.

[A]

It's. You did him at In N Out?

[B]

Yeah, and I did. Because he famously. He thought In N Out was the best restaurant in la. And he has this great line at the end where he says that he's a burger slut. And so I. I did a review of him going to In N Out and I didn't realize how much religious symbolism there was everywhere. Like, there's psalms on the bottom cups and everything. There's verses and everything and there's. So yeah, we went there and we just, we just dropped it and then, and then for. This is a. Haven't announced this yet, but for, for October, I'm doing Spirit Halloween.

[A]

Oh, you're going as Bourdain as Bordeaux and you're going into the Spirit Halloween stores and just.

[B]

And just reviewing all the costumes.

[A]

It is hilarious. Caliento is the first one that sent it to me.

[B]

Oh, that's sweet.

[A]

And he was like, this is as good as it gets. And we both agreed, like, yeah, there's no reason to keep doing this. Jonathan, there's a Paula Dean documentary coming out. Do you do Paula Dean in blackface? Yeah, me too. She hates Bourdain. I guess they didn't like each other. Well, she won. Yeah, that's what she said. She's the. Oh, is this. You have it up already. Look at this.

[B]

Oh, the in and out.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, the. The makeup is a killer on this thing.

[B]

In and out.

[C]

The holy grail of drive thrus where.

[B]

X marks the spot and everything's anointed with scripture turning each meal into divine dining. Disagree and the faithful will excommunicate you in the comment section because here slander is sacrilicious. Let's eat.

[A]

Do you have to give permission for all these things?

[B]

If, if people are listening? Yes.

[A]

But you just wander in and start filming it and then they're like, what's going on?

[B]

Well, we've been thrown out. We've had some run ins, to be honest. So we went to Chuck E. Cheese and, and we, we did bring a child. We, we went with my friend's family because people how do in without a kid. Right. And so I actually took my neighbors and they have two little kids. So the. A whole family went and then we filmed. And actually we got through the whole thing because we went to one of the last ones that has animatronics in the country. There's only like 10 of them that have animatronics.

[A]

What did they replace them? Oh, they screw TV shows.

[B]

They replace. Yeah, with nothing. With crap.

[A]

Terrible.

[B]

And so the thing that was, we had to get it and we drove about two hours to get to this location. And then it was weird because this, this family was off to the side. We clearly. What I do notice is when you're filming something, people will involve themselves in it and then sort of try to penalize you for it. And this woman was complaining to the management that we were filming her and her Family. It couldn't have been further from the truth. We're, like, pointed over here. And then she's like, what's going on? It's like, do you.

[A]

I don't want to be on that camera.

[B]

Do you know how a camera works?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so we. We had gotten. They had asked us to stop in that moment, but we had just finished taping with just filming. But it was just. We just got it in. It was like Indiana Jones's hat under the door. So that was. We've been asked a couple times or. But we always go up. You know, I go up to, like, Red Lobster was amazing. Rainforest Cafe was amazing. And so we go up to them and just say, hey, we're showing. Obviously, it's very positive. Like, you know, I'm not taking shots at people. And. And we're just having fun. And I think that we tag them. And we went to Blockbuster, the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we called them ahead of time. They couldn't have been nicer hosts.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The woman who runs that shout out is one of the best people I've met in a long time.

[A]

Is it the same people from the documentary or the same ones. They hung on to that thing.

[B]

What, are they selling them dreams?

[A]

Yeah. I was gonna say that's all they've got left. It's.

[B]

They. That place, by the way, we went on a weekday. Packed, packed, really packed. And it was so nice. And they had. They were so accommodating.

[A]

But nobody's buying anything. You gotta, like, pay admission. They are.

[B]

They're buying.

[A]

There's shirts and stuff, there's merch.

[B]

But also they have rental cars. Like, they. They work as a rent. And they. They rent new movies. I mean, it feels like 1995.

[A]

You walk back in time. Interesting.

[B]

Yeah. It's like a time capsule. Truly.

[A]

Huh. Well, I don't want to do that. 95 wasn't so great for me. Yeah. Yeah. It was a tough year.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't want to go back.

[B]

The other one that they had, there's actually a second one. It's themed September 11th.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

The blockbuster has nothing to do with it, but it, like, whatever movie you're watching, it just changes and you go, hold on one second. Let's go back to his. You interrupt. As good as it gets. Wait, hold on. What are we watching here? Every day?

[A]

It's a.

[B]

It's a reenactment.

[A]

No matter what. You rent, dude. Some. And you just have to watch until it interrupt. You might be able to make it all the way through.

[B]

It's a 911 watching reenactor. It's not about. It doesn't take place in New York.

[A]

This is what it makes you feel like. You were there.

[B]

You're in Topeka, Kansas. You guys have Ernest Saves Christmas. Wait, hold on. We interrupt Ernest Christmas. Wait, what's happening right there.

[A]

Everything.

[B]

This is in New York. Um, it's every. Yeah, the ending.

[A]

Love the idea. Accomplished. All the videos are interrupted by a horrible news story. It doesn't have to just be 9 11. Although I do. Like if it was only 9 11. Wait, the Kennedy assassination.

[B]

Everything.

[A]

What's the matter?

[B]

No. JonBenet Ramsey. Haven't found her yet.

[A]

Did we break into programming when they found her? Yeah, I don't think we did.

[B]

They didn't find her. She was in a build a bear box. No, no, listen. Here's the thing. She's Megan.

[A]

Okay. I didn't know that. Is that real?

[B]

Yeah. There's a.

[A]

That answers all.

[B]

I'm here a lot. I'm here to spill the tea.

[A]

So much pineapple and milk. I just had no idea it was her last meal.

[B]

Gross.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I just saw the wizard of Oz, by the way, in the sphere. Did you? It was truly amazing. I went for leaves at you. It was incredible. It was incredible. It's my favorite movie of all time. And.

[A]

And they made a few cents, you know.

[B]

Yeah. Return to Oz.

[A]

No, no. Just movies since 1939. You should probably lift that favorite of all.

[B]

We're not in Kansas. Give me one second. Interrupt. We're starting World War II. Oh, sorry. But. But she was. Judy Garland was on a strict diet of coffee and cigarettes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

She looked great.

[A]

She did. She peaked right there.

[B]

That movie still holds up.

[A]

Yeah, it does. And especially in that set in a dome, I hear. That is so cool.

[B]

It really. They're making 2 million a day.

[A]

Is that right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it was packed when you went.

[B]

Packed.

[A]

I see. I would love to go to that. Because they said. They said the wind gets going and then they throw leaves at the crowd. And the. What's the ticket? Run for the movie part. I know. The concert. Is it as much as concerts?

[B]

Yeah, it's a few. Maybe.

[A]

Is Liza Minnelli making the money? Who's doing this? No one left.

[B]

She's hosting.

[A]

She's just live.

[B]

Yeah. She's throwing the wind. Just paper bags and. And she will. Apples drop when they. When they're really in the forest. And so then. But they don't drop for everybody. So then people get them. Yeah. Well, she. That's Liza Minnelli. She one woman show. And then they melt her with water on. Will we interrupt this wizard of Oz and les on fire. So they. Yeah, it was. I think they're like a few. Maybe a couple hundred bucks. Maybe.

[A]

No kid, that's still worth it. It seems.

[B]

It was amazing.

[A]

It seems I had a blast. Well, the entertainment drill was brought to you by react.com. it is. It is the home of tactical black self defense training. Look into that immediately. You actually did our entertainment drill force? There's no stories you want to tell, are there?

[B]

No.

[A]

Nah, we're good. Jonathan kites at Desert Ridge Improv this weekend. He's gonna do the squares for us and get that together. Are you prepared?

[B]

I'm ready, baby.

[A]

I think you are. I think this is gonna be good. All right, we'll get the squares together. If you're a girl or a boy, we need one of each. 5, 8, 5, 9, 800. And you can play those squares. They're coming up next. Hey, it's not weird.

[B]

It's pretty cool, actually.

[A]

No membership fee. I have heard enough of this.