Bruce Campbell, Sara Schaefer, and Emi Pop

Summary

Live Wire with Luke Burbank Episode: Bruce Campbell, Sara Schaefer, and Emi Pop Release Date: February 28, 2025

Introduction In this engaging episode of Live Wire with Luke Burbank, host Luke Burbank delves into a diverse array of topics with a stellar lineup of guests: cult film legend Bruce Campbell, Emmy-winning comedian Sarah Schaefer, and Puerto Rican pop-punk sensation Emmy Pop. The episode, recorded at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon, seamlessly weaves discussions on acting, personal trauma, and musical performance into a rich tapestry of insightful conversation.

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1. Best News of the Week: Project Camp The episode opens with a heartwarming segment spotlighting "Project Camp," a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children affected by natural disasters. Co-host Elena Passarello describes Project Camp’s mission and impact:

Elena Passarello [04:31]: “Project Camp has four camps set up in Southern California, but they've also been active in Florida, Maui, and New Mexico. They provide day camps with arts, STEM activities, and socialization, all run by trauma-informed child care professionals.”

Luke Burbank reflects on the importance of such initiatives, emphasizing the resilience of children even amidst adult struggles:

Luke Burbank [04:49]: “Kids are resilient, and yet this stuff really affects them as well.”

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2. Conversation with Bruce Campbell Guest Introduction: Bruce Campbell, renowned for his role in the Evil Dead series and his enduring presence in cult cinema, joins Luke to discuss his latest project and his extensive acting career.

A. Discussing "Hysteria" on Peacock Bruce Campbell shares insights into his role as Chief Dandridge in the Peacock series Hysteria, highlighting the show's exploration of the satanic panic of the 1980s:

Bruce Campbell [11:11]: “Carnage and mayhem can be fun. Depends on your approach. This was a good chance to explore something that wasn't really explored before—the concept of the satanic panic.”

B. Balancing Horror and Comedy Campbell reflects on his long-standing relationship with horror and comedy, acknowledging the evolution of film-making techniques:

Bruce Campbell [14:03]: “If you're gonna get money from an investor in Detroit in 1979, we're making a horror movie. Sam Raimi thought it better be pretty horrible. So let's make the most horrible horror movie.”

C. Independent Filmmaking: "Ernie and Emma" Together with his wife Ida, Campbell discusses their independent film Ernie and Emma, a departure from his usual horror roles:

Bruce Campbell [20:40]: “It's like Hallmark with swearing. There's no blood. It's about a guy getting a love letter from his dead wife, sending him on an internal journey.”

D. Future Projects and Roles Campbell expresses his desire to revisit Western roles, specifically referencing his work on Briscoe County Junior:

Bruce Campbell [26:30]: “I would like to revisit this western idea. The Adventures of Briscoe County Junior.”

Notable Quotes:

• Bruce Campbell [10:37]: “I am like the salmon spawning to Portland.”
• Bruce Campbell [18:12]: “I'm in the crooked politician phase of my career.”
• Bruce Campbell [23:16]: “It's a big journey. It's an internal journey…”

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3. Listener Interaction: Cherished Childhood Possessions Luke and Elena engage with audience stories about treasured childhood items, setting the stage for Sarah Schaefer’s emotional narrative.

A. Audience Stories

• Olivia [31:23]: "Her baby blanket made from old cloth scraps was cherished throughout college."
• Ashley [33:42]: "Had a colorful Elmo telephone that was never actually stolen."
• Libby [34:02]: "Wore a Ducky crop top T-shirt with three ducks for much longer than socially acceptable."

B. Sarah Schaefer’s Story: The Lost Blankie Comedian Sarah Schaefer shares a deeply personal story about losing her cherished blanket, "Blankie," at the John Marshall Hotel during a traumatic childhood Christmas:

Sarah Schaefer [35:55]: “I brought Blankie down to the hotel because I wanted to show her the velvet carpets... but when we checked out, Blankie was gone, and the hotel staff said they didn’t see anything like it.”

She poignantly reflects on the impact of this loss and the realization of parental falsehoods:

Sarah Schaefer [32:22]: “Maybe my mom lied to me because it was way overdue to not have a blankie.”

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah Schaefer [35:55]: “Blankie was more of a tattered snake by the time it became my blankie. It smelled like heroin.”
• Sarah Schaefer [33:00]: “You have to take it from them, tell them it’s gone... Maybe my first marriage would have worked out if that had happened.”

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4. Musical Performance by Emmy Pop The episode features an electrifying performance by Emmy Pop, a Seattle-based artist with roots in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Emmy Pop discusses her musical upbringing and the punk scene in Puerto Rico before delivering a spirited rendition of her single "Lose."

A. Background and Musical Influences

Emmy Pop [47:29]: “I grew up with salsa and reggaeton, but as a teenager, I started dabbling in punk and began playing music around that age.”

B. Live Performance: "Lose" Emmy Pop captivates the audience with her dynamic stage presence and catchy melodies, embodying her signature pop-punk fusion.

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5. Interactive Segment: Station Location Identification Luke and Elena engage in a fun, interactive quiz, challenging each other to identify U.S. cities based on quirky facts. This segment adds a lighthearted touch to the episode, showcasing the hosts' chemistry and knowledge of American locales.

Example Clues:

• Largest collection of toasters.
• Most expensive crab cake ($310).
• Nicknamed “Soda City” and abbreviated as "Cola."

Elena Passarello [45:09]: “It's close to an ocean.” Luke Burbank [45:42]: “Columbia, South Carolina.”

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6. Preview of Upcoming Episode Luke provides a sneak peek into the next episode, featuring poet Roger Reeves and comedian Sean Jordan, along with a performance by indie folk singer Aaron Ray, recorded at the Epic Four Day Music Festival in Oregon.

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Conclusion The episode wraps up with heartfelt acknowledgments to guests Bruce Campbell, Sarah Schaefer, and Emmy Pop, as well as shout-outs to the Live Wire team and supporters. Luke encourages listeners to leave reviews to help sustain the show’s longevity.

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Key Takeaways:

• Project Camp highlights the resilience and support systems essential for children post-disasters.
• Bruce Campbell offers a unique perspective on blending horror with comedy and shares his passion for independent filmmaking.
• Sarah Schaefer delivers a moving narrative on childhood trauma and the complexities of parental honesty.
• Emmy Pop energizes the audience with her vibrant musical performance, reflecting her diverse cultural influences.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Bruce Campbell [11:11]: “Carnage and mayhem can be fun. Depends on your approach.”
• Sarah Schaefer [35:55]: “I was having a complete nervous breakdown.”
• Emmy Pop [48:00]: “I became a little rebellious, so I started listening to dabble in punk.”

This episode of Live Wire with Luke Burbank masterfully balances humor, emotional depth, and cultural commentary, making it a must-listen for audiences seeking both entertainment and meaningful conversation.

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

Hey there. Welcome to Livewire. I'm your host, Luke Burbank. This week on the show, we are talking to the legend himself, actor Bruce Campbell from the Evil Dead films and Briscoe county junior. He's gonna be talking about his latest role on Peacock's Hysteria, where he plays a police chief of a town that's going through a satanic panic. Also, you know, Bruce has been doing this acting thing for like over four decades and he really knows his way around a script. He'll talk about what he looks for in a script these days. Then the comedian Sarah Schaeffer will stop by to share a story of when she was a kid and lost her best friend, by which she means her childhood blankie, which her mom may or may not have kidnapped. Plus, we'll hear some music from the Puerto Rican pop punk artist Emmy Pop and her band, recorded at the Hotel Crocodile in Seattle, Washington. Do not touch that dial. Great episode of Livewire on the way. It starts right after this.

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[Luke Burbank]

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[Elena Passarello]

From prx, it's this week. Actor and filmmaker Bruce Campbell playing an.

[Bruce Campbell]

Age appropriate role is delightful. I'm not wrestling demons. I'm making phone calls and talking on walkie talkies.

[Elena Passarello]

Comedian Sarah Schaeffer.

[Sarah Schaefer]

Cut to my late twenties when I start realizing what parenting is. Lying, right? You're lying to your kids all the time.

[Elena Passarello]

With music from Emmy Pop and our fabulous house band, I'm your announcer, Elena Passarello. And now the host of Livewire, Luke Bobbing.

[Luke Burbank]

Hey, thank you so much, Elena Passarello. Thanks to everyone tuning in to Livewire this week. From all over the country, we have a fabulous show in store for you this week. Whole range of different kind of folks to hear from first, though, of course, we've got to kick things off like we always do, with the best news we heard all week. This right here is our little reminder at the top of the show that despite what you may have heard, there is some good news happening out there, and we're finding it for you. So the service we provide. Elena, what is the best news that you heard all week?

[Elena Passarello]

I love what I found. I found a nonprofit organization called Project Camp. They've been around for a while, and what they do is they stage these pop up camps for kids who have been impacted by natural disasters. They find an institution, they find volunteers, and then they have these day camps for people ages 6 to 16 where they do arts and crafts, they do STEM activities, they do physical games, they have, like, special guests, like local sports teams. There's sharing circle, there's socialization. But the thing that's cool is that the people who run this camp are schooled in trauma informed child care. So all of the fun stuff that the kids are doing and all of the relief that they're getting, you know, because in the aftermath of a natural disaster, even if you know your family's okay or your community is okay, it's just stressful for days. The adults are dealing with the insurance companies and trying to find all this new stuff. And so just having these kind of spaces where the kids can go away is really important, but they also kind of process through play and through being in community with other kids who are in their situations.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. So much of the attention around these disasters, particularly thinking about the fires in Los Angeles and stuff, is the adults who have maybe lost the home that they bought or are struggling to figure out their life. And of course, many of them have kids. Kids are resilient, and yet this stuff really affects them as well.

[Elena Passarello]

Yeah. And you mentioned Southern California. They're there now. Project Camp has four camps set up in that area, but before then they were also in Florida. They went to Maui, they were in New Mexico. So just seems like a really cool organization that made some really smart choices and is really providing a great service.

[Luke Burbank]

The closest we got to that when I was a kid, and luckily it wasn't because of trauma, was Vacation Bible school, which was really a way for my mom to eliminate the seven children living under her roof during the summertime, which was a lot.

[Elena Passarello]

In fairness, they sent me to zoo camp, and we got to just kind of like prowl around empty animal cages, which I feel like would not be legal now.

[Luke Burbank]

So much from our childhood, Elena. Would not be legal. Now I think reflecting on it, speaking of, long ago in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or at least the greater Harrisburg area, about 35 years ago, the Dallas town area high school was having its prom and there was a guy named Sean Moyer. Now he's Dr. Sean Moyer. But back then he was just regular Sean Moyer. He was a senior, he was the class president. He also was voted most likely to succeed at the high school. Sounds like, you know, a kid with a lot going for him. And yet his prom date broke it off with him right before the prom because she apparently had better options. And Sean Moyer was without a prom date. So he reached out to a junior at the high school, Elena Hershey.

[Elena Passarello]

Hey, cool name.

[Luke Burbank]

Particularly in that region, huh? In those days, if you were a junior, you were not allowed to go to the senior prom unless you were invited by a senior. Elena was excited. Sean and Elena went to the prom. They had a very nice time together. Sounds like it was really just kind of a friendship thing, a platonic thing. And then they both went off to college and lived their lives. Cut to nowadays. And Dr. Sean Moyer was in need of a kidney transplant. In fact, this is something medically that he'd been dealing with throughout his life and had had a kidney transplant 20 years ago from his wife. But eventually he was going to need another one and they were having real trouble finding a match for him. And somebody in their kind of shared friendship, kind of Facebook diaspora from the high school said, did you know that Sean needs a kidney transplant? And Elena, who by this time was out in Colorado, said, well, that's interesting because I've been considering making an altruistic kidney donation anyway.

[Elena Passarello]

No way.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes. So here's what essentially happened. Biologically, they weren't a match, these two one time prom dates. But there's something called a paired exchange that you can do where you agree to donate a kidney and it will be matched with someone who is the right fit for that and then someone else will, who is the right match for your intended recipient. Like in this case, Dr. Sean Moyer will then receive a kidney. So even if you don't match with someone that you were trying to, trying to help out with this, you can do this paired exchange thing, which is exactly what Elena did. And so she donated her kidney. She really wanted people to know that her experience with it was that it was not an overly invasive thing. She recovered very quickly. She was back riding her bike within a few weeks. She's apparently a fitness nut, which is that's the person you want to get a kidney from, by the way, a.

[Elena Passarello]

Good fit Colorado kidney. Absolutely.

[Luke Burbank]

Nobody wants old burbs kidney these days, but some cyclists from Colorado. Sure. Anyway, so she donated the kidney. It went into this paired exchange thing. And just recently, like A week ago, Dr. Sean Moyer and his family got the news that he now is ready to receive the kidney from someone else. It moved him to the top of this list, whereas otherwise he would have been waiting for months and maybe years. Wow. And so they've reconnected over Facebook, and everybody seems to be recovering well, and Dr. Moyer is on his way to getting his new kidney. And I guess, as our producer Ashley said, who was finding the story, this is a lesson in not cutting people out of your lives.

[Sarah Schaefer]

No, no.

[Luke Burbank]

Because at some point, they may need to cut out part of their body to help you. Like, let's not. Let's not burn these bridges, folks. Did you go to your prom, Elena?

[Elena Passarello]

Oh, yeah, I went. I went to my senior prom with, like, my BFF, Darren, and I got my dress caught in an escalator.

[Luke Burbank]

Would Darren. Do you think Darren would give you a kidney?

[Elena Passarello]

To this day, I do. And, you know, he is a really healthy guy as well. So I think at this point, my own kidney. I don't smoke, but I think my kidney does.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Elena Passarello]

So I don't know exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

You may be in need of something. Well, listen, lifelong friendships and people doing nice altruistic things for each other. That is the best news that I heard this week. All right, let's welcome our first guest on over to the show this week. He burst onto the horse horror comedy scene with the 1981 classic the Evil Dead, immediately establishing himself as a king of cult cinema and eventually earning him legendary status at film festivals and comic cons and midnight movie screenings all over the world. 43 years later, he is still battling evil, but this time as the police chief of a small town bedeviled by the satanic panic in the Peacock series, Hysteria. We were so excited to have the one and only Bruce Campbell join us at Revolution hall in Portland, Oregon, to talk about his life and career. Take a listen. Welcome to the show.

[Bruce Campbell]

Thank you. Welcome back. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

I was really. I was touched that you agreed to come back to the show, having been on it once.

[Bruce Campbell]

I am like the salmon spawning to Portland.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano.

[Bruce Campbell]

I love this city. I love it. Nice. Yes. Portland, Portland. Where beautiful and horrible collide and commingle.

[Luke Burbank]

I have been really enjoying this new Peacock show, Hysteria. I have to say, like, for A show about people getting brutally murdered. It is a lot of fun.

[Bruce Campbell]

Carnage and mayhem can be fun. Depends on your approach. This was a good chance to explore something that wasn't really explored before. The concept of the satanic panic. A lot of people went through, buzz sawed through small towns. 80s. Our show is set in, like, 88, small town Michigan. The big stretch for me, playing a Michigan chief of police. Yeah, so a lot of work went into that. But it was interesting to see how it could play out if you did it as a story. Because it starts out sort of being misinterpreted as just these kids with a hard rock band. But then weird stuff keeps happening. So the question is, is it real or is it not? Like satanic panic? Was it real?

[Luke Burbank]

Do you remember that, like, time in America? Because I do, vividly. I was in, like, fundamentalist Christian middle school at the time. And it was. Yeah, we like that. Oh, I mean, we were on guard at all times for satanic rituals or signs that people were practicing, you know, witchcraft or Satanism. It was a big thing in our lives.

[Bruce Campbell]

I mean, okay, I might have this wrong. AC dc, Antichrist Child of the Devil. Kiss Knights in Satan's service. They're kind of asking for it, wouldn't you say? Like, hey, this would be cool. Let's call ourselves this.

[Luke Burbank]

We would watch this double VHS series every year called Hell's Bells, where this guy, who purported to have once been a rock and roll music engineer who'd now turned his life over to the Lord, would methodically take us through all of the rock songs that had hidden devil messages. And one of two things was. Well, first it was like, that's how we heard about good music. And the second thing was they would finally uncover, like, what some rock band was doing with this back. Masking, like, the reversed messages. It would be like whining women. Like, that was like. That was what Led Zeppelin came up with with all of their programming and backmasking. It was. It was so underwhelming.

[Bruce Campbell]

There's more. You haven't heard it, though.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, really.

[Bruce Campbell]

But AI can find it.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, golly, they can write it. Has this always been kind of the sweet spot for you? That intersection of things that are kind of horrific, but also things that are comedic and how these worlds that seem separate actually coexist pretty quickly?

[Bruce Campbell]

I grew up. I liked the Carpenters. I like Swiss Family Robinson. The Sound of Music is the best movie ever made.

[Luke Burbank]

I would agree with that.

[Bruce Campbell]

But if you're gonna get money from an investor in Detroit in 1979. Yeah. We're making a horror movie. So Sam Raimi thought, well, it better be pretty horrible. Otherwise we'll just be another horror movie. So let's make the most horrible horror movie.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Bruce Campbell]

So we did at that time, but we're amateurs now compared to what's out there now.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's a whole new ball game.

[Bruce Campbell]

Although a buddy of mine said digital stuff doesn't work as well sometimes because it defies optics that you have a monster who's here and then a frame later he's right in front of your face going, I'm now boo. Boo.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Bruce Campbell]

They don't move that fast. They can't move that fast.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. No.

[Bruce Campbell]

In my world. In my optic world.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I want to talk more about your optic world, including the film that you just made right here in the state of Oregon in a moment. First, though, we got to take a very quick break. This is livewire. We're talking to the legend Bruce Campbell at Revolution hall in Portland, Oregon. Don't go anywhere. We will be right back. Special thanks to our sponsor, Up Up Books, a Portland bookshop specializing in diverse authors, local writers, and independent presses. They're located across from Revolution hall in the Buckman neighborhood, and they offer a space for book clubs, workshops, and events. Check out their website and grab a [e-mail].

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[Luke Burbank]

Welcome back to Livewire. For PRX, we're at Revolution hall this week. I'm Luke Burbank. That's Elena Passarello. We have the one, the only Bruce Campbell here on stage with us from so Many Things, including Hysteria, currently streaming on Peacock. What do you think of as the kind of guiding principles of this character that you're playing, Chief Dandridge in Hysteria. He's the police chief of this Michigan town.

[Bruce Campbell]

When horror comes across my desk now I know more questions to ask. You know, I've been in a lot of crappy movies and there's a really good advantage to that, you know, a crappy script a mile away, two pages in. Oh, no way, baby. I just know it it's like a DNA thing that just. I get twitchy, and so it's the words that get me. And this was kind of a cool premise. And, you know, playing an age appropriate role is delightful. I'm not wrestling demons. I'm making phone calls and talking on walkie talkies. That's for all the younger cast who are. It's amazing. Young cast members. They're full of collagen. It's beautiful. This actress was like. I had to get in the chair a little longer today. I think she was 23. I went, oh, honey bunny, stick around. You know, I'm in the crooked politician phase of my career.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Bruce Campbell]

You know, you ain't seen nothing, lady.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I saw an interview with you, I think, in the New York Times where you said, I'm in my playing chief of police era of my career. How do you feel about that?

[Bruce Campbell]

That's right. I'm okay with it. Because male actors can get old and craggy and they still work. We don't have to get the strings and the glue and the tape and all that. We can just be our saggy ass self. There's an advantage to that.

[Luke Burbank]

Are people surprised because of your body of work and how much of it is. Has been around horror and things that are so fantastical to hear that you live a pretty quiet, unassuming life in like Southern Oregon?

[Bruce Campbell]

Yeah, you know, I go to conventions. Cause it's fun. It's fun to see what the hell is going on out there and to shake hands and get diseases, you know, it's awesome. The old days, the husband would bring syphilis home. I gave my wife Covid twice. Both from conventions. Yeah. Those miserable bastards.

[Luke Burbank]

So people have this perception of you sometimes as being like the kind of a gruesome dude, but you seem to be. Not that way. You and your wife Ida, are you still farming lavender?

[Bruce Campbell]

We had lavender on our property. It was there. We did not plant it. We just figured out how not to kill it.

[Luke Burbank]

You brought us, like, lavender oils last year.

[Bruce Campbell]

Oh, yeah. We were trying to get rid of that crap, let me tell you. We had acre. Acres of it. And we. We started to. I did a TV show called Burn Notice.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Bruce Campbell]

And. And hot, sweaty Miami. Right. Everyone's sweating. And. And a lot of our crew, they were a little on the smelly side. And so we started passing out sachets. You could put it. You could put it in the van. In the. In the production van.

[Luke Burbank]

Like a grenade.

[Bruce Campbell]

Yeah, but it was the good kind of grenade. It was like A love grenade that went off, cuz. Lavender is very soothing. But then these tough teamsters were like, yeah, hey, Bruce, I'm starting to smell up the joint. Let's have a little more lavender here. All right. I'm like, okay. Sorry, man. Sorry. So, yeah, we're out. No more lavender. Done. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

You and your wife just made an independent film called Ernie and Emma.

[Bruce Campbell]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

What's the. What's the film about?

[Bruce Campbell]

It's like Hallmark with swearing. There's no blood. It's okay. It's okay. Someone said, don't you want to make a horror movie? Shouldn't you, if you're going to put your own actual cash into this movie, don't you want to make a horror movie? I said, well, I think maybe I should make a movie that's for, you know, a broader audience. So I'm actually trying another age appropriate role. I play a guy, Ernie Tyler. He's sort of the Willy Loman of pear sales in the fictitious town of Pear Valley, Oregon.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, so he's selling pears.

[Bruce Campbell]

He's early. Ernie Tyler, the pear guy. He works for Laurel and Davies Pears. He's a regional sales manager and his wife. Does you better feel that way because we're going to feel bad for Ernie. Turns out his wife was an executive secretary at a sawmill for 25 years and she left a safe deposit key that leads to a lot of stuff she needs him to do with her ashes. She's very meticulous about this. And each stop has a purpose that relates to their life, not all of it happy. And so it's a guy kind of getting a love letter from his dead wife. Wow.

[Elena Passarello]

And that sends him on a journey.

[Bruce Campbell]

It's a big journey. Yeah. It's an internal journey and we have to kind of. She knows him so well. She knows that he's not going to handle this well. And she helps him move on with his life, even finding somebody new. I call it a sunrise story. So by the end of, you will be happy. So it was also nice to film in a state which is brutally under utilized. It has the greatest coastline you've ever seen. With my favorite sign at a hiking trail. Danger High winds may blow you off of steep cliffs into deep water with strong current. Have a great hike. I'm like, I love this state. Like you could. You could be killed on this trail. We told you. And then the Cascades. Unbelievable spine of it. And then the Owyhee, Eastern Oregon. There's nobody there. There's nobody there. Go try and find someone in eastern Oregon. And if you find them, you don't want to find them. Really? No.

[Luke Burbank]

What was it like making this movie on your own dime with your wife Ida? Was that stressful or liberating? Because you didn't have to answer to anyone.

[Bruce Campbell]

In my opinion, there are three systems to avoid to have a long happy life. The legal system, the healthcare system, and in my case, the studio system. Because, you know, it's the golden rule. Ye who has the gold makes the rules. And I don't like the rules that Hollywood makes. I don't like the judgment. They're very, very poor with money. Why are movies costing 2,300 million dollars? I'm not a mathematician, but I've played a few. That's lousy math. It's lousy math. And so they're made by committee. And I think it's important if we actually want to keep it pure as an art form. It's, let's have more movies that are made with a singular vision. So I'm going to go right down the toilet with this movie. If it sucks, it's mine to suck. No one else has contributed to the suck except a great hard working crew. There was no notes on this movie and if you see it, you may go, there should have been some notes, but I'm willing to take that chance.

[Luke Burbank]

So how do you take this movie that's so personal and is really your vision? And how do you get it to the wider world? Is it film festivals, is it streaming?

[Bruce Campbell]

Please give me suggestions and write them down. Okay, I will be back here with selling tickets in about six months from now. Yeah, it really is. The idea is I'm trying to do a closed loop that's without any other outside influence. A studio can distribute the film. Knock yourself out. I just don't want you to make the movie. So I'm going to start and try and sell it to some Acme movie company. And when they go, hardy har, where's Nicolas Cage? Then we'll do the film festival circuit.

[Luke Burbank]

I see.

[Bruce Campbell]

And you just, you work your way right down to Four Walling where you say to this theater, hello, how much do you charge for a night for all of your stuff?

[Luke Burbank]

If we can afford it? Not much.

[Bruce Campbell]

Right? So you'd say to this theater, here's your nut. I'm paying all of your expenses, I keep everything. But you have to put the nut up and go theater to theater and do that in our case to get the Money back in 800 theaters, you know, I mean, it would take years to get the money back if we did it that way. And I will if I have to.

[Luke Burbank]

Is this the role?

[Bruce Campbell]

Why not? Why not?

[Luke Burbank]

Why not?

[Bruce Campbell]

Yeah, you know, that's okay because, look, I've toured a lot with movies that are 40 years old. It's okay to tour with a movie that's like, you know, six months old. We'll do a double bill with the 40 year old movie. I'll make you a deal. It's okay, half price.

[Luke Burbank]

Is there a character or type of a role that you still would like to play that you haven't yet? I mean, you've played a lot of different roles.

[Bruce Campbell]

I would like to revisit this western idea. The Adventures of Briscoe County Junior.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes. I loved that show.

[Bruce Campbell]

Yeah, you gotta. I'd have to kind of get a little training going again. Loosen up the hips again. You know, cowboys are actually bowlegged for a reason, because horses have big fat bellies and over time, your legs actually bend disproportionately. So I'd have to get used to that again.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay.

[Bruce Campbell]

And working with a real good wrangler, we had the best wrangler on the planet who taught. He taught us all how to film horses. Because for my one horse, you had four different horses. Because they each did specialized things. And the director of each episode would go, okay, you get on the horse, you say your line, you rear. Ha. You say this and you ride out. We go, okay, that's four different horses, three different angles. The guy goes, what? And we go. And you can't even say the word action. So because you said you call the progression of making a movie. Roll sound. The guy turns on the sound. Roll camera. They roll camera. Standby. And action. That's the progression. Horses know what's going on. They hear roll sound. Their ears go. They point up, they start going, hmm, something's gonna happen. Something's gonna happen. Roll camera.

[Luke Burbank]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Bruce Campbell]

Horse is like spinning in place going, yeah, I can't wait for this. So between takes, you. You'd have to fool the horse. So take one is, get on it. Say goodbye to the school mom. Race out of town. Now the horse goes, I got it. Take two. Soon as that guy's down my horse, we're gonna race out of town. Between take one and two, you get on him and you walk them in the opposite direction. And the horse goes, ah, crap. Do I walk that way or race that way? And then take two, you race that way. He goes, ah, I knew it, I knew it. And if they want take three you're in trouble. Of course. The horse goes, not this time, ma'am. So you'd get on it and I would jog in a circle. Now, because there's a point where the horse won't remember. He can't remember after about 45, if I keep. And if I went the opposite direction, he'd go, ah, screw you. And then you do take three. And he would be impossible for the rest of the. Because you fooled them three times. So what they would do is on a. On a very cold morning, when you're getting ready for a shot, they'd step on your foot. The horse and this son of a. They would lean. He'd lean and put the weight and kind of go, he's bullying you. Yeah. How's that working for you? How's that working for you? And I would. Our wrangler was Gordon. I go, good God, Garth. He's stepping in my foot. What do you do? He goes, what else? Boom. He punches the horse in the shoulder. And the horse is like, hey, whoa. He goes, that's what you do.

[Luke Burbank]

So let me just. Let me just make sure I understand this. This is the show that you're dying to get back to. If you do, we will absolutely be the first in line to watch it. Bruce Campbell, everybody, right here on Livewire. That was legendary actor and one time lavender enthusiast Bruce Campbell, right here on Livewire. Gosh. When you get somebody like Bruce Campbell on stage, Elena, and you watch how they operate, you're just like, this is a person who has been in front of a lot of people over the course of their career.

[Elena Passarello]

He's like a star. I felt like I could, like, plug my iPhone into him and charge it up totally.

[Luke Burbank]

I felt like, take the next 20 minutes off. Bur Bruce Campbell has this covered. You can check out Bruce on the Peacock series Hysteria right now. Special thanks this episode to Danelle Solberg of Portland, Oregon, who is part of the Livewire member community and is generously supporting us with a donation each month. And we are so grateful for that support because it really and truly is how Livewire is able to keep going 20 plus years later. Can you believe it? Thanks again to Danelle for making Livewire possible. This is Livewire. I'm Luke Burbank. That's Elena Passarello, of course. Each week we like to ask the Livewire audience a question like this to be a sort of a reciprocal relationship with the audience. And inspired by stand up comedian Sarah Schaeffer's comedy set, which you're gonna hear in Just a minute. We asked the audience what question, Elena?

[Elena Passarello]

We asked them what was your most cherished childhood possession?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, right. Yes. Sarah does have a story about this coming up. What did the audience say?

[Elena Passarello]

Olivia says that hers would be the baby blanket that her mom made from all of her other old baby blankets. All these square scraps. It was on my wall, she says, for a long time in college. Whenever I do see it, it still. Still so nice and in such great condition. That is very sweet, but it makes me think of the opposite thing that happened at my house. My mom really didn't want me to have one blanket, I think for hygiene purposes. She's a Virgo, so she's kind of a neat freak. So I had a bunch of. I think they were old cloth diapers that I would. I would take one to bed and then she'd throw it in the wash. And then one day, I guess she decided I was too old for them. They were called my night nights, and they just disappeared. And then like a couple years later, she was like, it's time for you to start helping around the house. Here's the dust dusting.

[Luke Burbank]

No, no, no.

[Elena Passarello]

Night, night, night. You know those. My night nights were used as the dusting cloths. And my mother listens to the show, and I would like her to know that I am sending the therapy bills her way because of that decision.

[Luke Burbank]

That is a fast track to some childhood issues. I was like, I didn't have a blankie, per se, but I did have a doll. Like a baby doll.

[Sarah Schaefer]

You did.

[Luke Burbank]

That was named Jim, by the way. Weird name. Weird name for, like a two year old to have. And I remember I used to. This just tells you that I grew up in a house where there were just constantly babies being born. I mean, literally in the house. My mom gave birth to six of my siblings at home.

[Sarah Schaefer]

Whoa.

[Luke Burbank]

And I would just walk around nursing this baby, baby Jim, all the time. Wow.

[Elena Passarello]

We're really getting deep into our psyches here with these audience cards.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right. That's right. That's. It's. It's sort of for the audience, but also sort of us and our processing. Elena, what's something else that a listener became attached to when they were a kid?

[Elena Passarello]

Okay, I totally love this story. Ashley says I had major separation anxiety during preschool, and I had a routine of playing this with this one toy every day at home. A colorful plastic Elmo telephone. I was obsessed with it. Ashley says one day I showed up and another kid appeared to have stolen my Elmo phone. I threw a fit. My mom had to come pick me up early. And then I got home and my tears dried up because my Elmo phone was still right there. What a concept. Ashley says, I think I learned a lot that day.

[Luke Burbank]

So there were two Elmo phones.

[Elena Passarello]

Yeah. She learned, I think, that like, like toys are mass produced basically.

[Bruce Campbell]

Right.

[Luke Burbank]

Elmo did not make one phone that was going to be shared amongst the children of whatever area Ashley was growing up in that turns out there was multiple Elmo phones to be had.

[Sarah Schaefer]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

All right. One more thing that one of our listeners became attached to as a child.

[Elena Passarello]

Libby says, I had a little crop top T shirt that I called Ducky, Ducky, Ducky. Why, you may be wondering, because it had three ducks on it. I wore it for probably longer than I should have. It was real small.

[Luke Burbank]

I had a T shirt in high school from a place called Chico's Pizza in Seaview, Washington. And it had a cartoon of the pizza chef and he's smoking a cigarette again. It was a different time. And he says, seven days without pizza makes one week. And I loved this shirt. I wore it all the time. And then of course, lost it or whatever. And a couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I were celebrating her birthday and we were staying in, of all places, cv, Washington. And we walked over to the pizza place.

[Elena Passarello]

And Elena, he's reaching behind him, ladies and gentlemen, and everyone else, oh, Chico's Pizza T shirt.

[Luke Burbank]

I got a replacement. So, you know, is it the same? It's the exact same thing. And I will tell you this, I was far too excited about this for the people working at the pizza shop. I was like, I was trying to explain to them how important this T shirt was to me in like 10th grade. And they were nice, but they were like, okay, we get it, sir, Please just take the T shirt and leave. So. All right. Thank you to everyone who sent in your responses for our listener question this week. This is Livewire Radio. Our next guest is a critically acclaimed standup comedian, writer as well as artist. She's won two Emmys. She co hosted a late night show on MTV and toured the world with her solo show going Up. She's also, by the way, a world class crafter who sells things on her Etsy page and she has a web series now called Crafting Through It. We were so glad to get her back onto the show. This is Sarah Schaefer who joined us at Revolution hall in Portland, Oregon. Take a listen.

[Elena Passarello]

Hello.

[Sarah Schaefer]

I recently moved home back to my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Yeah, it's like the Portland of the South. Every, by the way, you guys have to understand, every city across this land, every mid sized city says they're the Portland of whatever region now because they're like, we have breweries, we have a coffee shop now we're Portland. No, but it's been very surreal being back in my hometown. Like literally five minutes from where I grew up, driving around. I never thought I'd be back there. I am, thank you. Capitalism decimating the housing market. But it's great just being confronted with all these memories and trauma and just driving around like, oh, it's my school, it's my church, it's racism. I'm just back, back, baby, I'm back in it. Back in the South. No, I go by my church every day and I'm like, hey, Jesus. Hey Devil. Because you know what? They talked a lot about the devil. Have y'all been to a Baptist church in the South? They're like, you better keep your eye on the devil. They get like a little half grin. I'm like, what? You better watch him. You better keep him close so you can know what he's up to. You better keep him in a little box next to your bed so at night you can wake up and take him out and rub him. I'm like, what? Talk a little bit too much about the devil? Like, you're just a little too into it. Like one of the big icons in Richmond, Virginia, when you're driving downtown is this big light up sign that says the John Marshall Hotel. I don't know who John Marshall is, but I assume he was a slave owner of some kind. But the John Marshall Hotel holds a lot of memories for me. This is where I experienced my first major trauma. So here's what happened. I was 8 years old, maybe more like 10. And my mom, we lived out in the suburbs and every Christmas she always wanted to do something fancy and special. So one year she was like, we're going to go downtown and we're going to stay in the John Marshall Hotel and then we're going to go see Santa Claus at Miller and Roads, which was like a fancy department store. And this was the real Santa Claus. Like he had a beard, you know, that you could like rip and it wouldn't come out and he would, they had him like, like come down an actual chimney. And you could hear him stomping around like above. And everybody would be like, he's coming. He knew your name. It was crazy. And so she'd make. One year we did this whole thing we went down there. John Marshall hotel was great because it had these velvet carpets. And my brother discovered that if you rubbed your feet on the carpet really hard and went up to the brass fixtures, you could get a lightning bolt about 6 inches between the brass fixture and your hand. And it was shocking, literally. So this year, I was like, well, mom, can I bring my best friend? And she was like, sure. And she knew who my best friend was. It was Blankie, right? Who here had a blankie? Yeah, Blankie. My blankie, probably similar to yours, isn't really a blankie, right? By the time it becomes your blankie, it's more of a tattered snake, you know, of knots. It smells like, you know, drool that's been dried up and, like, cheerio breath. The whole family hates it. They're like, get that thing away from me. And I'm like, this smells better than anything. Like, I. Now I can assume it's similar to heroin, right? When my mom washed Blanky, I would be furious because I'd be like, where's the. And I had to, like, re season it, like, in a cast iron skillet. Like, rub it all over my body and lick it. Let it smoke for a while. Let it cure. So I bring blankie down to the John Marshall hotel because I got to show Blankie the velvet carpets, right? So we go, and it was a great time. We had a great time. And it wasn't until, like, a full day later that I realized, where's Blankie? I left Blankie in the John Marshall hotel, and I'm, like, having a complete nervous breakdown. And my mom is like, okay, let me call him. Let me call him. She's like, hi, I need to speak to housekeeping. My daughter, she's left her blankie there. Okay, well, what does it look like? Okay, you probably wouldn't think of a whisper of a blanket. Like, their nuclear bomb went off, and this is all that's left of the whole world. That's it. You probably aren't gonna notice when you saw it. You probably thought it was a piece of a pillowcase that got caught up in some sort of industrial dryer, right? It's gonna be tattered, you know? And they were like, ma'am, we don't see anything like that. It's gone. And I was, like, so upset, traumatized, and then cut to my late 20s. And when I start realizing what parenting is. Lying, right? You're lying to your kids all the time. I'm starting to understand that because friends of mine are starting to have kids. And I'm like, maybe. Maybe mom lied to me because it was way overdue to not have a blankie. Like, I was way too old to have a blankie at this point. And she probably lied to me and said blankie got lost, and I didn't lose blankie. So I go into her bedroom and I go, mom, I need you to tell me the truth right now. I've never wanted something to be a lie so bad in my life. I was like, did I really lose blankie in the John Marshall Hotel? And she was like, oh, Sarah. Oh, baby. Yeah. Yeah, you did. And I was like, God, why didn't you lie? I was so upset. I wish. By the way, if you have kids who have. Who here? Does anybody have kids that have, like, a little blankie or a baa ba or something that they can't let go of? Right. What you do is you take it from them, right? Right. Like a little too early, Right. Where it's really upsetting to them. Okay. You take it. You tell them that it got lost, that it died. You know, whatever you need to say, it's gone. Right? Hide it. Okay? Hide it. Wait until their wedding day, Right. Put it in a shadow box. Pit it up like a butterfly, right? And then present it to them. I'm getting chills thinking about it. Do it. I'm speaking from experience. I wish that had happened. Maybe my first marriage would have worked out if that. Anyway, guys, thank you so much. I'm Sarah Schaeffer.

[Luke Burbank]

That was Sarah Schaefer right here on Livewire. You can check out all the stuff that she's up to [e-mail]. this is LiveWire. I'm Luke Burbank. That's Elena Passarella. We have to take a very quick break, but do not go anywhere. When we return, Puerto Rican pop and punk artist Emmy Pop will perform a song for us. More Livewire coming your way right after. Welcome back to Livewire from prx. I'm Luke Burbank here with Elena Passarello. All right, it's that time again. My favorite part of the show, I think Elena's second favorite part of the show. It's called station location identification examination. I think you like it when we're reading the final credits. We're done for the week.

[Elena Passarello]

Yeah, that's my favorite.

[Luke Burbank]

This is where we quiz Elena on a place in the United States where Livewire is on the radio and she has to try to guess the place that I am talking about. Elena, are you ready? Yeah. Okay, good. I Like that. Enthusiasm, excitement, preparedness. This city boasts several world records, including the largest collection of toasters. The most expensive crab cake. $310, by the way, is what that went for. And the most bow ties tied simultaneously. 823 if you're scoring at home.

[Elena Passarello]

If it's the most expensive crab cake, it's either very close to an ocean or very far away from an ocean.

[Luke Burbank]

Close.

[Elena Passarello]

It's close to an ocean.

[Luke Burbank]

Close to an ocean. The city's minor league baseball team, which started in 2016, so fairly recent. The team is named the Fireflies. This is because of synchronous fireflies. Fireflies that light up all at the same time, and they're found in a nearby national park.

[Elena Passarello]

Okay, are we.

[Luke Burbank]

Are we narrowing it down for you?

[Elena Passarello]

It's not super close to the ocean, though. So let me. Let me have my third clue, see.

[Sarah Schaefer]

If I can get it.

[Luke Burbank]

People often abbreviate the name of this place as cola, which explains why it's got the nickname Soda City.

[Elena Passarello]

That'd be Columbia, South Carolina.

[Luke Burbank]

That is Columbia, South Carolina. Exactamundo. Okay, so sorry. It's not. I feel like I've gotten myself in trouble involving the Carolinas previously, so I want to correct the record. I'm not trying to say it's on the ocean. I just. Yeah, it's not that far from a crab cake.

[Elena Passarello]

Yeah, it's like a couple hours. So really, really closer than most people are.

[Luke Burbank]

Soda City, where folks are tuning in on wrjafm. So shout out to everybody listening in from South Carolina. This is Livewire. Before we get to our musical guest this week, a little preview of what we're doing on the show. Next week, we are going to be talking to the poet Roger Reeves about his debut work of nonfiction. It's called Dark Fugitive Essays, which explores themes of silence and protest and freedom. Kirkus calls it a cerebral essay collection brimming with insight and vision. We've also got comedy from Sean Jordan. He's gonna tell us about the perils of doctors using slang. And then we'll round out the hour with some music from indie folk singer Aaron Ray. We recorded this at the Epic Four Day Music Festival in Oregon. That is Pickathon. That was last summer. It was super duper fun. We got a great show next week. Make sure you tune in for that. This week. Our musical guest is a Seattle based artist who hails from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Originally, her sound has been described by KEXP in Seattle as an irresistible blend of pop and punk. We recorded this Session at the Hotel Crocodile in Seattle, Washington. Take a listen to Emmy Pop here on Livewire.

[Emmy Pop]

Hi, everyone. Thank you again.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you for being here. Did you grow up in San Juan?

[Emmy Pop]

I lived in San Juan, so I actually was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, which is the south. I was raised in the east side. My dad was in the military, so. So the military base was in the east side of the island. So that's where I grew up.

[Luke Burbank]

What was your kind of musical life like as a kid? What were you like, listening to? What were your parents playing?

[Emmy Pop]

So my parents were not. So I come from a very, like, Christian family. Very.

[Luke Burbank]

Got some Amy Grant going on.

[Emmy Pop]

I have no idea what that is. I grew up with salsa and reggaeton. How about that?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, okay, okay.

[Emmy Pop]

And I. Yeah, I know who that is, but. Yeah, but then, you know, I like the pop music. I like. I became a teenager, just like my son. I became a little rebellious, so I started listening to dabble in punk, you know, and I started playing music around that age, my teenage years.

[Luke Burbank]

What was the. At your time? What was like the sort of punk scene in Puerto Rico?

[Emmy Pop]

Like, there is and was an underground scene in Puerto Rico. There used to be so many bands back in the day, but it was pretty much like a bunch of teenager kids. It started like 15, 16, 17 years old playing in San Juan. I don't know, it was a bar. So we would play bars. I don't know how that's legal or not, but you would see the parents waiting outside and like me and Mug and everyone like, what are you doing? And we would play shows and then leave back. But that's how it started.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, well, let's hear some music from emmypop, everyone.

[Emmy Pop]

Thank you. This song is called Lose. It was the first single that was released about a year ago, so. So I hope you enjoy it. And if it's the first time seeing us, thank you for being here. Welcome.

[Luke Burbank]

That was Emmy Pop and her band right here on Livewire performing their self released single Lose, which is out and available now. All right, that's gonna do it for this week's episode of Livewire. A huge thanks to our guests Bruce Campbell, Sarah Schaefer and Emmy Pop. Also special thanks this episode to the fine folks at the Hotel Crocodile, including Tonya Zubia.

[Elena Passarello]

Lara Haddon is our executive producer. Heather D. Michel is our executive director. And our producer and editor is Melanie Savchenko. Our technical director is Eben Hoffer. Hazik bin Ahmad Farid is our assistant editor. And our house sound is by Dee Neil Blake, Ashley Park Woohoo is our.

[Luke Burbank]

Production fellow, Valentine Keck is our operations manager, Andrea Castro Martinez is our marketing associate and Ezra Veenstra runs our front of house. Our house band is Sam Pinkerton, Sam Tucker, Ethan Fox, Tucker, Eyal Alves, and A. Walker Spring, who also composes our music. This week's episode was mixed by Eben Hoffer and Hazik Bin Ahmad Farid.

[Elena Passarello]

Additional funding provided by the Marie Lamb from charitable foundation Livewire was created by Robin Tenenbaum and Kate Sokoloff. This week we'd like to thank member Danelle Solberg of Portland, Oregon.

[Luke Burbank]

For more information about the show or how you can listen to our podcast, head ON over to livewireradio.org I'm Luke Burbank. For Elena Passarello and the whole Livewire team, thank you for listening and we will see you next week. Dear Livewire, when we first met, I was really shy. I had no idea we'd spend so much time together or that you'd be one to fill my heart with joy and make me want to be a better person. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here. I was busy reading a review from one of our many, many rapturously smitten listeners. Oh, wait. Actually, no. Sorry. This is from Elena. Anyway, the point is, it would be really helpful if you wanted to leave us a review. Feel free to say really nice things about us and we'll even read them now and then on the show so you might hear your review of Livewire read on the program itself. Reviews help other people hear about the show and then we can keep doing this for a long, long time because we love having this job. Thank you so much. If you've left a review and if you're about to leave a review, you can go ahead and do it right where you get the podcast.

[Sarah Schaefer]

From PRX.