Swordfish! (w/ Ali Siddiq)

Summary

Staying Alive with Jon Gabrus & Adam Pally

Episode: "Swordfish!" (w/ Ali Siddiq)
Date: July 2, 2026
Guest: Ali Siddiq

Overview

In this lively and candid episode, comedians Jon Gabrus and Adam Pally are joined by acclaimed stand-up comic Ali Siddiq. Broadcasting from Miami, they unpack the realities of carving out your own path in comedy, maintaining health and wellness (mental and physical), and the crucial art of balancing a demanding creative career with family and time for yourself. The conversation is loaded with hilarious anecdotes, deep personal insight, and concrete advice about independence, fame, and the meaning of "success"—all delivered with the irreverent, brutally honest tone fans love.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ali Siddiq’s Career Independence and Industry Changes

• Ali's Approach: Ali discusses his self-produced specials, owning his content, and funding his own work after having industry doors closed or feeling ownership slip away.
  • "I'm the EP of the car...I'm paying for—I'm behind. But I wouldn't drive a car I built." — Ali Siddiq (04:38)
• AI and Streaming's Impact: The group laments the shift from supportive executives to algorithm-driven networks.
  • "Now all those people are fired. They’re all algorithm." — Adam Pally (03:03)
  • "When Ann and that whole genre of people who were doing that left, Comedy Central left as well." — Ali Siddiq (03:05)
• Content Ownership Frustration: Ali shares the frustration of posting a Comedy Central clip and receiving a copyright infringement notice.
  • "It’s not what they said—it’s how I took it. 'Oh, we own it.'...You’re looking at something that you wrote...and someone else can just say, ‘I own it.’" — Ali Siddiq (30:23)
• Success on Platforms: Discussion about comedy’s migration to YouTube, personal channels, and mailbox money.
  • "I'm my own channel." — Ali Siddiq (03:49)
  • "You have YouTube money and Facebook money and album money that rolls in.” — Ali Siddiq (18:10)

2. Family, Work-Life Balance, and the Meaning of “Vacation”

• The Necessity of Real Time Off: Ali emphasizes extensive, non-negotiable annual family holidays.
  • "Vacations, buddy. I’m like European...July, the whole month, now into August. That’s my time." — Ali Siddiq (10:53)
  • "Vacation is really the reset...I don't talk comedy...totally with my fam." — Ali Siddiq (22:31)
  • "If you make your own schedule...that is such a glorious example of work-life balance.” — John Gabris (11:12)
• Sacrifices of the Road: Ali and Adam reflect on missing family milestones due to career demands.
  • "You're sharing yourself more with strangers and the world than the people that actually know you." — Adam Pally (12:39)
  • "Dawns on you when your daughter changes her favorite color and you didn't know..." — Ali Siddiq (13:13)
• Guilt and Letting Go: Adam and Jon admit the difficulty in giving themselves permission to rest.
  • "It's hard to feel like we deserve a break sometimes." — John Gabris (52:34)
  • "The immense guilt that I feel is so hard to shake." — Adam Pally (53:10)

3. Industry Realities: Creative Freedom, Crowd Work, and Influencers

• Rejecting the Rat Race: Ali outlines why he's content to stay independent and not chase TV/movie deals.
  • "Comedy’s supposed to be freedom of things...I’m not looking for a movie deal...I'm cool with being a stand-up." — Ali Siddiq (38:30)
  • "Just because you in somebody's movie doesn't make you a great comic. That makes you a good comedic actor." — Ali Siddiq (39:22)
• Crowd Work and Art Form Integrity: The prevalence of crowd work and online influence alters audience behavior and comedian expectations.
  • "Crowds don't know how to be crowd anymore. They're like, 'I can't wait to tell them what I do for a living.'" — John Gabris (43:02)
  • "Covid shifted the narrative...now you see the difference...comics and DJs took over social media because all you need is one thing." — Ali Siddiq (40:03)
  • "The best followers don't make you good on stage." — John Gabris (39:39)

4. Health, Wellness, and Staying Grounded

• Self-Care & Pampering: Planting, gardening, and unstructured, relaxing activities as essential aspects of staying healthy and creative.
  • "I plant things in the ground; that is a relaxing thing." — Ali Siddiq (44:51)
  • "You have to take time for yourself. I'm talking about some real time." — Ali Siddiq (44:15)
• The Value of Simplicity and Friendships: Delight in fish fries and keeping grounded by regular friends and routines.
  • "I would always rather go to a fish fry with my friends than any industry party." — Ali Siddiq (20:48)

5. Lessons on Success, Stepping Stones, and Owning Your Journey

• Step-by-Step Approach: Ali advocates building a career through incremental "stepping stones."
  • "You step up from one thing to the next thing...It’s like going to the league—you play Pop Warner first." — Ali Siddiq (36:43)
  • "How do you eat a bike? One bite at a time." — Ali Siddiq (38:28)
• Audience & Platform Power: DIY content allows for authentic connection and true creative satisfaction.
  • "I'm not selling my ideas anymore. I'm getting people to finance them." — Adam Pally (51:57)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Vacation as Self-Care
  • "I want to walk off the beach, snorkel still on: 'Yo, swordfish!'" — Ali Siddiq (26:22)
  • "When I’m on vacation, I achieve the best version of myself...if I could do this for six weeks out every year, that shit might be enough." — Adam Pally (25:22)
• On Breaking Free of Industry Norms
  • "Why am I trying to sell a TV show to Netflix? I want a TV show, but I want to make money on YouTube." — Adam Pally (51:35)
  • "Six years in prison...if that doesn’t motivate you to live life on your own terms, I don’t know what does." — Adam Pally (53:54)
• On Industry Irony and the Hustle
  • "Please, please, billionaires—can I have $100,000 for my dream?...and then they’re like, 'No.' And you’re like, 'I’m worthless.'" — Adam Pally (54:16)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [02:20]–[05:25]: Ali details self-producing, funding, and owning his comedy work.
• [10:33]–[12:39]: The method and philosophy of annual family vacations and their impact.
• [13:13]–[14:37]: Emotional costs of career: missing family milestones and evolving relationships.
• [30:23]–[33:06]: The Comedy Central "ownership" story and streaming network frustrations.
• [36:43]–[39:22]: The importance of "stepping stones" and building a career slowly.
• [40:03]–[42:54]: The conversation on crowd work, influencers, and comedic dilution.
• [44:15]–[45:22]: Health, wellness, and relaxation through gardening and real downtime.
• [51:35]–[54:16]: Hosts reflect on being inspired to pivot away from industry gatekeepers.

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The Takeaway

This episode is a masterclass in carving out authenticity in a commodified, fast-changing industry—whether that’s building a healthier lifestyle, redefining career “success,” or enforcing personal boundaries for rest and connection. Ali Siddiq’s fierce independence, commitment to real life over showbiz chase, and insistence on the true value of time and relationships galvanize both the hosts and listeners—and might just inspire you, too, to take a real vacation and own your story.

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For tour dates and more from Ali Siddiq, visit alisiddiq.com.

Transcript

[Ann Harris]

Smart.

[Ali Siddiq]

Less.

[Adam Pally]

So you're on the road. Like we. We happen to be lucky enough to catch you in Miami.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yes.

[Adam Pally]

Oh, man.

[John Gabris]

Because where are you based at it?

[Ali Siddiq]

Oh, Houston.

[John Gabris]

Okay.

[Ali Siddiq]

Lucky you guys.

[Ann Harris]

For real.

[Adam Pally]

For real. Honestly, I'm shocked we were able to get.

[John Gabris]

We're like. Because we were told if. If we could book three guests we can record in Miami and an's like actually I got us and pulled it out.

[Ann Harris]

That's the.

[Ali Siddiq]

That's the right person to get to.

[Adam Pally]

Oh, yeah.

[John Gabris]

This has been the. The true magic sauce on the show.

[Adam Pally]

It would not be a show without an. That's 100%.

[John Gabris]

She ain't going nowhere.

[Adam Pally]

I'm really excited. This is one of our producer Anne's. This is one of Anne's old homies.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

They go back a long, long ways. And luckily for us, he's also one of the funniest people on earth.

[Ali Siddiq]

And he.

[John Gabris]

Even luckier for us, happens to be in Miami. A Houston based comic happens to be in Miami because he's got a live show tomorrow night.

[Adam Pally]

Yes.

[John Gabris]

And was willing to do our pod and I'm so stoked to have him.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah. And he. And he is truly one of the funniest dudes. Like ye. His specials are just next level. He's doing stuff that's like. He's doing stuff that is so far beyond what the next person up is doing.

[John Gabris]

Right. He's. And he's like a throwback in a way too.

[Adam Pally]

Yes. Stories with jokes inside of them. It's like he has one line jokes that'll come out of nowhere that he's got that have been set up like six minutes ago in a story about him in prison. It's like that's. He's so skilled.

[John Gabris]

He's so funny. And I'm stoked to talk to him because his vibes are so.

[Adam Pally]

The vibes are high.

[John Gabris]

His vibes are different than ours. And it's like.

[Adam Pally]

Not really.

[John Gabris]

No, not really. But on paper, on or on first glance.

[Adam Pally]

First glance you would think that we're very different. But I feel like we also just like he has that thing that we have which is like we make. Make eye contact and you just kind of like settle down.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

You know, and like, I'm looking forward to it.

[Ali Siddiq]

Awesome. I really wouldn't be where I was at without it.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

I think. I think both of us would have the same thing.

[John Gabris]

Comedy Central. Anne was the one. Only one having a look at us back then.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, I know. It's a. It's. You know what? Not to be, like a bummer about the industry, but, like, that. It is such a bummer that you don't grow anymore with, like, the executives that there used to be, like a comedy thing where, like, an executive would

[John Gabris]

see you, you would, like, come up

[Adam Pally]

with them, and they would be like, no, I'm vouching for this guy. And then that person through your career would, like, you know, constantly put you on. And then all. Now all those people are fired. Yeah. They don't have.

[John Gabris]

All those people are pivoting. The AI.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, they're all algorithm.

[John Gabris]

Yeah. They're all.

[Ali Siddiq]

It's the same. But, you know, then you got to think when Ann and that whole genre of people who were doing that left, Comedy Central left as well.

[Adam Pally]

I know.

[Ali Siddiq]

The whole thing is gone.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

So what does comedy really live at?

[Adam Pally]

Well, you. You seem to have figured it out. Your YouTube. He was telling me before that he has a younger brother that doesn't even watch TV. Like, when he says, I'm gonna go watch TV, that means just turning on YouTube so it feels like you've kind of. YouTube, is it. I mean, that's because you're self producing

[John Gabris]

your own specials and stuff.

[Ali Siddiq]

Finance and everything. Yeah.

[John Gabris]

Hell yeah.

[Adam Pally]

Farmer table.

[John Gabris]

You own the means of production.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Farmer T

[Adam Pally]

to me is the answer.

[John Gabris]

Right.

[Adam Pally]

Like, you've. You're your own channel.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah. And I think I. I got this weird email. I did the Daily show, and. And I was talking. They were saying, well, you. You independent. And I'm like, yeah. And so we talking. And then I get this weird email from this guy. So your Netflix specials and all your things, you're just doing on your own. How you just don't have a team. I was like, hey, my guy. They're talking about funding.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, everybody that there is getting paid. And I'm the. It's out of my pocket. And. And they're doing their. They're doing a job. You know what I'm saying?

[Adam Pally]

Yes. That's what that guy's describing, is the workflow.

[John Gabris]

Yeah, exactly. So what do you. What, do you fix your own car? No, I hire a mechanic to fix my car.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yes.

[John Gabris]

I'm paying for. I'm behind. I'm the EP of the car.

[Ali Siddiq]

But I'm.

[John Gabris]

Yeah, I didn't build stuff. I wouldn't drive a car. I built.

[Adam Pally]

You are the EP of your Subaru.

[Ali Siddiq]

They not writing the material, they're managing. Everybody's doing their job. Like a manager, a publicist, the cameraman, the craft services.

[Adam Pally]

That's a new thing that's a new thing that I've found from, like, maybe I'm. I sound like a grumpy old man, but like, anyone that's like, oh, the. You're not these big corporations. Like, you're taking Netflix's side. Like, someone's writing it.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, what the fuck are you talking about?

[Adam Pally]

That is the evil. That's the. You're like, hey, let's. All those comedians would be nowhere without Netflix. Like, what? What?

[Ali Siddiq]

So since you said it, like, you said, let me continue with the story. So I'm. I'm being very politically correct in my answer. I wrote. I wrote this whole thing. And then I started with, by the way, I don't have a Netflix special. I have no idea what you're watching on me, but I'm not on Netflix. And my publicist just started. Like, we had, like, seven specials out before she started. And my manager's been with me from. For a long time. Like, we. Like, I said, you and you will cause no division between us. Now I'm doing all this political stuff because he tagged the publicist and my manager in the email, so I am being very politically correct. Then my manager comes on there, fuck off, Bill. I was like, oh, okay. So this is. This is what it's supposed to be

[John Gabris]

the other way around. You're supposed to say, fuck off. And then your manager covers.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

And I caught him, like, so you still on the meds, right? He's like.

[John Gabris]

He's like, everything okay at home?

[Ali Siddiq]

He's like, no. Cause he had my. I think people don't really know how close knit me and my manager are. You know, we don't have the normal business relationship. Like, me and Joe are intertwined, you know? Joe had a car accident in Vegas. Like, some people ran into his car while he was in Vegas. And Joe called me just, like, when I broke my clavicle in my ribs. I was surfing in Cabot, and I made sure to call Joe, and we both sounded the same. I was like, hey, Joe, my clavicle's broken. My ribs are broken. Then he calls me. I'm getting ready to do a show, and I hadn't talked to Joe for, like, two days. And so I was like, wait a minute, I ain't talking to Joe. And then I get this phone call, and I thought Joe was fucking with me. Joe was like, hey, I think he's

[John Gabris]

doing an impression of you.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

He's like, not cool, dude. Don't remind me about the clavicles.

[Ali Siddiq]

I had a car accident, and my ribs are broken. And my shoulder. And it was like. And I was like, well, I can tell you about the ribs in the shoulder. I don't know nothing about your knee being cracked, but. But I can. Man, it was. It was so fucked up.

[John Gabris]

That's like a cosmic connection.

[Ali Siddiq]

And I was like, yo, I'm doing the show. And I'm. And I keep mentioning. I'm like, yo, I'm here with y', all, but my. I don't know what's going on with my rope with my manager, like. And I. And I'm about to fly. I'm leaving where I'm going, I'm gonna fly to Vegas. He called me. I can hear the IV dripping. He's like, no, I'm good. I'm like, joe, you're not good. Yeah, your is up. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, he didn't know he was at.

[Adam Pally]

The manager talent relationship is really truly unique. Like, I've had a same manager since I'm like 22, I think. And I love him. He's. He's great. But it's. It's evolves in. Into all these things. You know, it starts as like, hey, I'm going to break you into the business. And then it becomes we're collaborating on your career. You know what I mean? Like, you're bringing me stuff, and I'm telling you how it's going to work, and you're telling me what you want. And. And now it's. It's almost like a marriage or. Or. You know what I mean?

[John Gabris]

Because I make the joke every once in a while, like, who manages who?

[Adam Pally]

Yes.

[John Gabris]

And I feel like I'm like, am I managing you, Tucker? Sometimes I'm like, yeah, well. And I'm like, having a conversation, and I'm like, oh, part of it. This dynamic has changed years working together.

[Adam Pally]

Also, my manager likes to party. And like that often times I'm like, let me.

[John Gabris]

Let me be the party animal. You do the. You.

[Adam Pally]

There have been times where, like, he's fallen out of a cab at Up Front, and I'm like, I don't know who's manager that.

[John Gabris]

I don't know who that is.

[Adam Pally]

I don't know who that is.

[Ali Siddiq]

That reminds me, Joe has called me so drunk before, like, yo, you killing the gay guy?

[John Gabris]

You know, there are people out there who are dying from a call from their reps, and you're getting the calls that don't help you at all. No job offer, anything.

[Adam Pally]

Just a.

[John Gabris]

Like, man, I love you.

[Adam Pally]

You're funny.

[John Gabris]

As hell.

[Ali Siddiq]

Well, I'm telling my kids, it's Joe.

[John Gabris]

This could be good news.

[Ali Siddiq]

This could be big.

[Adam Pally]

So you have kids? I, I have children.

[John Gabris]

Do you, you have an abundance of children is what I. Yeah, you have,

[Adam Pally]

you have a lot of. Do you have. Do they know what it takes to do what you're doing? Like, do. Do they do. Because I feel like mine have no idea the actual day in, day out of like how of Hollywood in the way that we're doing it, you know,

[Ali Siddiq]

I don't think my older kids nor my young kids even care.

[Adam Pally]

Right. Like, no one cares from the top to the bottom because no one gives a shit.

[John Gabris]

Nine. Nine children.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah. No one, you know, 52. I've been having them a long time.

[Adam Pally]

52, you look amazing. So that I gotta ask you, what are you doing to stay. To stay like that?

[Ali Siddiq]

So vacations. Vacations, buddy.

[John Gabris]

This is finally, finally, finally the advice I want to listen to.

[Adam Pally]

Honest and perfect answer. We ask.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, I don't have no, no philosophy behind vacation.

[John Gabris]

Hell yeah. Month.

[Ali Siddiq]

You need, you need like I'm, I'm, I'm like European when it comes to this year. I'm like holiday.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah. Oh, prolonged siesta.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm July. I am off and because like for years it's been just July, the whole month of July. Now I've extended it into the, to the middle of August. Like. Yes. That's.

[John Gabris]

Congratulations. That is such a glorious example of work life balance. Because we get to. There's a privilege to make in your own schedule and book and get your dates and, and you're like, don't book me in July, don't book me in July. And that's hard to say as a comic, if you, if you value, like, if you get, if you get your own value from work, which is how I feel.

[Ali Siddiq]

Let me, let me, let me say this. Of course you get to a point to where you understand that you are doing 200 shows, you're doing 150 shows, you're sharing yourself with the world and then you missing all this other stuff with your family. You say, when I was in the clubs, I was in the clubs. I was leaving on Wednesday, show on Thursday, two shows on Friday, two shows on Saturday, two shows on Sunday, getting home, leaving Wednesday, doing the same routine. Then it came from that many shows to like his eight this ten shows. Now within. I'm two on Thursday too. It was like, it's crazy. So then you leave there, you go to the theater and you leaving on Thursday to get somewhere Friday and Saturday. So you having a little more time at home now? It's two shows on Friday, matinee on Saturday, show in the 7 o' clock on Saturday, then you may do a Sunday. Oh man. 100 city tour didn't turn into 200 shows.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, and that's more time. Like you said something so on, on point about you're sharing yourself more with strangers and the world than you are with the people that you, that you act, that actually know you. And I feel like that can throw off your like value system in a way because you're like, I'm, I'm, I'm begging for the love of these people as my, as my job. But that takes me away from the love that I need from these people who are at home. And that's a really hard man.

[Ali Siddiq]

I, I, it dawns on you when your, when your daughter changes her favorite color and you didn't know he was

[John Gabris]

like, gotta keep me updated on this.

[Ali Siddiq]

It's not purple. He's like, no, that was like six months ago. Like, well, how did I miss that?

[Adam Pally]

Have you had, what have you had? Let's go for pizza. I don't eat pizza anymore.

[Ali Siddiq]

Oh man. And you're like, that would crush me. A crushing, like, okay, when did you not want to go for a walk anymore? Like, it's crushing.

[Adam Pally]

I mean, and I, I have it differently than you. Yours is tough because of the consistency of travel. It must be hard, like you're saying to leave on a Wednesday and then come home. And it's like constantly re entering. I get these, like, I'll book a movie. Like, I just came back from two months in New Zealand.

[Ali Siddiq]

No.

[Adam Pally]

And it was like, great, you know, that's my job. You got a movie or a TV show, you go and you do it. But I didn't see my kids for seven weeks and it was like really hard.

[Ali Siddiq]

Really?

[John Gabris]

Cole has a mustache.

[Ali Siddiq]

No.

[Adam Pally]

No joke. My 14 year old showed up and he was like a man, you know? And you're like, oh my God, like, what, what is the value? So my whole life was placed on, on this value of becoming a success in entertainment so that I could get love from strangers and now money. But I'm now, but like now my son is kind of a stranger.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

And that's a really tough negotiation.

[Ali Siddiq]

And they, I don't subscribe or prescribe whatever the subscribe to. You don't describe the, the, I don't scrap to the Illuminati and blood sacrificing sacrifice. It's really when you, when you get something, what you have sacrificed is time with your family, you know? Like my mom is 72, you know, and she gardens. And when I. The last time I was over there, it was like one little cactus. Now it's. So you grew this tomato, right?

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

And like it's crazy that I didn't miss all of this stuff that she didn't put in this yard. And this used to be my house that I gave to her. I gave to her. And she is. This backyard is beautiful. And it's just full of fruit and herbs and all sorts of. And I'm like, yo, you had a small cactus and. And my son found some cats, right? And he wanted my mom to take care of them. So he. I remember she got the cats. Now I go over there. The cats are huge lions.

[John Gabris]

Time moves, man. It's crazy.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm like, yo, where did you get these big ass cats from? She's like, no, the little ones that just sign. I'm like, no, this is, this is a bingo tiger. It's crazy. Like so, so you don't. The only person that really recognized me is my dog.

[John Gabris]

Your smell. Still, Still.

[Adam Pally]

That is true. That is totally true.

[Ali Siddiq]

Can't cause. And he just. When he see me like finally somebody who going to feed me consistent cuz these bums.

[John Gabris]

The little, the little ones, they don't pay as much. Wait, I have a. I have a question. Every time I meet a cane corso owner. What's the name?

[Ali Siddiq]

What's your Reese?

[John Gabris]

Oh, they always have such badass. I mean, because you can't name it like Petunia. These fucking cane corsos are like monsters.

[Adam Pally]

I have a little like street rat from Tribeca that, that we took in named Myrna. And when I come home from a trip, she cries, rolls on her back, demands that I pat. I get like this huge greeting.

[John Gabris]

And then like kid doesn't like look up from Xbox,

[Adam Pally]

he's like, oh, that's why the dog was barking. You're like, God damn it.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, so the vacation time and. And everybody goes, right?

[John Gabris]

Because it's in the summer, so the kids are off from school.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, we taking everybody. I'm talking about we. And we rolling.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, that's deep. You roll, you roll. 10, 11.

[Ali Siddiq]

We rolling deep. We in Greece. We like. And it's. And it's Helena's birthday and so she picks a place that we gonna go and the time how long we gonna stay there? So Turks and Caicos. We in Turks for at least two weeks.

[Adam Pally]

That is so Expensive. That is. Now, that's what. That. This goes back to, like, the comedian's mindset in my head. I'm like, two weeks. That's two weeks of shows. No income, right?

[John Gabris]

Yeah. You're not bringing in any money, but

[Adam Pally]

you're putting out all this money. So it's like, well, now you got to double up in August. I gotta. I gotta. That's the only way I can have this pina colada.

[John Gabris]

But this is built in. This is built into your program. Oh, I love.

[Ali Siddiq]

This is a program.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

But then you have YouTube money and Facebook money and album money that you wrote. That rolls in. Did you. That you. This is the speaking mailbox money that you. That you don't even think about.

[Adam Pally]

Right?

[Ali Siddiq]

And. I hope you don't never see this. My friend was like, yo, man, I'm. I'm struggling on this road. And I was out of the country. I was feeling good. He called me on the phone. I had like, two or three margaritas, and Joey called me and said, hey, this is going to be a deposit coming to your account. I'm like, okay, cool. And then he calls me talking about how, you know, he's. He's not making enough money in there. And I just said, damn, I just made $150,000 and I ain't did shit. He's like, goodbye, thank you for. Thank you for that. I'm like, no, I'm just saying. But I'm full of margaritas. I'm like, I'm just saying, you calling a rich person and complaining about money. What, you want me to see something? He's like, yo, man, you like an asshole. I'm like,

[Adam Pally]

conversation.

[John Gabris]

You're not lying.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm just telling you what happened. You can. It's like, I remember when I had friends that were way. They career was going way better than mine. You know what I'm saying? I couldn't call DL complaining about. Think about it. Hey, D, man, oh, man, this is just not going well. He's like, well, let me call you back. I'm finna do an arena with four friends.

[Adam Pally]

No one wants it yet.

[Ali Siddiq]

Three other friends, like, hey, Sid, hold on. Lee on the phone, complaining.

[John Gabris]

That's when DL stops answering. This guy's gonna.

[Adam Pally]

That's such a good note, though, for a lot of my friends. Stop complaining to me. I don't want to hear anything negative about your life.

[Ali Siddiq]

That's for you.

[Adam Pally]

That's for you to deal with in your own space. When I say, how's it going? You do not tell Me the bad, you tell me the give me the good.

[John Gabris]

How are you doing? Is such a dangerous thing because it's a default thing. You ask to the point where you like go to someone's funeral and you're like, how you doing? They're like, well, mom's dead. Yeah, it's like, right, my bad. Totally. I didn't mean how you're doing.

[Adam Pally]

But on that flip side, God, when someone takes it literal, when someone takes how you do in literal and they go, well, actually immediately you're like, I don't need this.

[Ali Siddiq]

You gotta think of. This is why I'm like, this is. Cause you're calling me about something in the business. But my friend that is a cable guy just called me and said, yo, we having a fish fry, Are you coming? You know what I'm saying? Yo, his like, I have people with normal jobs. That reminds me how good life is. This is who I would rather hang with. I would rather always go to a fish fry with my friends versus any industry part.

[John Gabris]

Not even say less. You said you live in Houston, Texas. We know you don't give a fuck about the industry. Yeah, you.

[Ann Harris]

I'm not.

[Ali Siddiq]

You're calling me from la, where you with all the industry shit. I am in Houston. Like, yo, if you would have called me and I wasn't on vacation, I wouldn't have gave a shit. Then I was like, yo, you moved out there, right? Okay, you want to dumb it down a little bit? Well, move to la. Austin then. Move there. No, thank you.

[John Gabris]

USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a'@usaa.com bundle restrictions apply. Jumping back to what you said about vacation. You said, oh, I'm seeing. I'm doing 200. It's 200 shows a year.

[Ann Harris]

Whatever.

[John Gabris]

When you look back on your life, you're never going to go, like, why didn't I do 220 shows those years? You're going to look back on your life and go, the six week vacation I did with my family and friends was like the most beautiful.

[Ali Siddiq]

Why didn't I go to Antigua instead of Cabo for two weeks?

[John Gabris]

Not exactly.

[Ali Siddiq]

Hell yeah, man. The vacation is really the reset of. And like, I don't talk comedy. I don't take no calls about comedy. I don't talk business. I am totally with my fan. Joe has called me and he's like, yo, don't worry about it. Cause he already knows.

[Adam Pally]

He's like, he's gotten through it.

[Ali Siddiq]

He can see my face. I'm not even on FaceTime. He can see my face.

[John Gabris]

Like, joe, Joe, I'm in Turks.

[Adam Pally]

It's July.

[Ali Siddiq]

They just brought oysters. I don't know what you got going on right now, but you better not. This ain't it. No energy. So just special. I'm like,

[Adam Pally]

you're like a king. You're like a king. That's like slurping oysters, forgetting that they've, like, decreed special.

[John Gabris]

Then what?

[Ali Siddiq]

I don't even know what's going on in America. We have a president. Hey, man, I think I totally unplug because I think that's the only way that I'm going to keep loving it is to come back and then talk about new experiences I had away from the business.

[John Gabris]

Right. You keep telling jokes about being on the road. Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

Stand up goes. You've been on airlines lately and you're like, I don't want to hear. I know, I know, I know, I know. You know, I know you flew here

[John Gabris]

and you're staying at the Marriott. So you have like Marriott based jokes and plane based jokes. But I. I want someone who's lived a life. I want to watch this. And I. Another element to what you're saying. You really activated me because I look, obviously I'm a vacation looking guy, you know? Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

My guy. Let me tell you something. It's like, we'll go somewhere and they say, well, you know, bring something for formal. And I was like, okay. And then I do it and then we'll go to the spot that's supposed to be formal.

[John Gabris]

And then.

[Ali Siddiq]

And it's like 13 white guys dressed like this with slides on. Like, well, this is a. I am for him. I tucked it in.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

This is actually a Supreme Court justice. This is what the.

[John Gabris]

They call me the Kavanaugh of my friend group. Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

I mean, like.

[Ali Siddiq]

And so I've done this. I've done this. I'm like, yo, I'm wearing all the relaxed stuff that I like. If you see me on vacation, you like, he's definitely from Europe. He's definitely. He's Black Sweden.

[John Gabris]

Black Sweden.

[Ali Siddiq]

He's definitely Black Sweden.

[John Gabris]

By the way, one of my search terms on pornhub.

[Ali Siddiq]

What are those shoes that he has on? Like, these are definitely. All of my toes are separated in these shoes.

[Adam Pally]

You remember Flip flops with four.

[Ali Siddiq]

I don't give a damn. Four thongs.

[Adam Pally]

Flip flops.

[John Gabris]

I Dress like I'm on vacation because I like the energy it gives me in real life. Like, I like hustling, I like working, but I also want to feel like I'm on vacation. I. When I'm on vacation, on top of what you're talking about, I do think I achieve like this version of my. This best version of myself too, where I'm like, I woke up this morning, I read and I drank coffee and I didn't rush to anywhere. And then I exercised. And then I went to the beach and then I went out, I saw some culture and I went out to dinner with a friend. And all of a sudden at the end of the day, you're like, man, if I could do this every day, I'd be really happy. And then you're like, fuck, if I could do this for six weeks out every year, that shit might be enough.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, it might be enough.

[Ali Siddiq]

You know what drives me crazy? Any type of plans on vacation, I don't want no damn plans. Like, I don't want to have to be at dinner at a certain time. Like some of these resorts, they like, what's the reservation? What? Man, I want to walk off the beach. Snorkel still on. It was like, yo, swordfish.

[Adam Pally]

Swordfish. Swordfish.

[John Gabris]

Screaming swordfish. Put in a huge ass movie on the tv.

[Ali Siddiq]

That's like one with fizz on.

[Adam Pally]

Swordfish.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, yo, you having Speedos?

[Adam Pally]

Like, yeah, right. Greece over at the beach.

[Ali Siddiq]

This is grease. Everybody got on Speedos.

[John Gabris]

Wait, in Rome. Not the worst shaped one.

[Ali Siddiq]

What about this guy's Speedos? Know. You don't even know that's me eating that.

[John Gabris]

Why? Don't bring me into this guy is

[Ali Siddiq]

clearly naked in here.

[John Gabris]

He's like, no, no, no, no, no.

[Ali Siddiq]

What? Crazy.

[John Gabris]

I did a two week, like a 16 day solo vacation over Christmas break. And it was like, transformative experience.

[Ali Siddiq]

Solo.

[John Gabris]

Yeah, I went by myself.

[Adam Pally]

He's going through it.

[Ali Siddiq]

Other people in your life.

[John Gabris]

There were, but there were. There were.

[Ali Siddiq]

I was like, yo, solo.

[Adam Pally]

I'm like, yeah. This solo trip, that's when you go on a solo vacation when there's no people around.

[Ali Siddiq]

I think I went on a solo vacation when I was by myself. Like before he was called prison. It was called prison.

[John Gabris]

That's when you're on your back. That's when you're on your best. You get a little exercise in a little yard ball. Three squares, three hats and a cot. A lot of push ups.

[Adam Pally]

Regimented,

[John Gabris]

all that.

[Adam Pally]

Those trains run on time.

[John Gabris]

Wait, what time? You can't scream. Swordfish in the joint.

[Adam Pally]

Sword.

[Ali Siddiq]

Sword.

[John Gabris]

Don't see it.

[Adam Pally]

Everyone's, like, sharpened up.

[John Gabris]

Toothbrush.

[Ali Siddiq]

Fish. Crazy, man. A sword. I would.

[John Gabris]

Of course, by the way, the guy who did time. Fucking loves vacation. With no places to be and no time.

[Adam Pally]

It makes total sense.

[Ali Siddiq]

It's like, no plan.

[John Gabris]

There's the exact top. Cause you. How long were you in for?

[Ali Siddiq]

Six. Wow.

[Adam Pally]

You did six?

[John Gabris]

That's years, people.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, I got out in 97.

[John Gabris]

Jesus.

[Ali Siddiq]

I. I've. Sometimes I forget I was even there. And then.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, I speak a different life now.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, totally different.

[John Gabris]

And then you drive across the border to Canada or some, and they remind you.

[Ali Siddiq]

No, you know, I was in. I've been in Canada quite a bit. It's crazy. Yeah. You know, I've been a sponge or something like them people. I thought.

[Adam Pally]

I think that that might be. Not as. I think the Canadian thing is, like, that's the problem. Yeah.

[John Gabris]

It's. Every one of my friends with DUIs is like, they have to, like, you can't. They won't even let them in Canada.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Because there's so much liquor in Canada.

[John Gabris]

Yeah. Like, we don't trust you.

[Ali Siddiq]

We don't trust you. You're not coming over here to break your sobriety, sir.

[Adam Pally]

I know exactly what your plans are in Montreal, my friend. No, no, no.

[John Gabris]

Club super six.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

But you.

[Adam Pally]

I think that you have figured out a lot. A big part of this equation that is so inspiring to me, which is like, fuck a network, a streaming service.

[Ali Siddiq]

You.

[Adam Pally]

You found a way to do to get laughs and turn that into money without the feeling of, like, these corporate. A middleman, this corporate overlord that you have to please.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah. And I don't think that I would have enjoyed it because it was like, say, for instance, Comedy Central. We gonna act like Ann's not here. Yeah, okay. Comedy Central. That was the big callous of me going independent because we did a special bigger than these bars.

[Adam Pally]

What year is that?

[Ali Siddiq]

This is 18 when it came out. So then I put a clip of it on my social media and they. Copyright infringement.

[John Gabris]

Comedy Central.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yep. And then we caught. Then we called and was like, yo, we just trying to promote it. X, Y and Z. And he's like, and it's not what they said, it's how I took it. Oh, we own it. And I was like, and you're looking

[John Gabris]

at something that you wrote.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, you.

[John Gabris]

You performed super personal to you about your life. And someone else can just say, I own it.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, but you don't own me. Right. And I took it as that you owe me. And so I never, I was like, I'm not shooting anything with anybody else because I can't even promote it. And I felt like, no, no damage to them. You know, they was doing how they normally did business. But then we had to beg them. I'm trying to promote it. We had to beg them to show it. Like they showed it once at 11:59 to catch whatever west coast time. So it's no way for me to ever recoup this special. If you spend all this money on likes, you spend all this money on this. When am I gonna ever get. You only showed it once. And then we, we called like three or four times to get you to show it again. So we got shown like three times on Comedy Central. So then we do domino effect. Okay. We get all this things and now I feel like, yo, I got the bread to buy bigger than these bars back. So we call. Now Paramount owns this. It's not even conversation more. And we talking about buying it. And then they dropped it on YouTube. Cool.

[Adam Pally]

So that they. But so that they could take the profit.

[Ali Siddiq]

They could take the profit that like 4 or 5 million views now. What it didn't get when it was

[Adam Pally]

on the network, you know, that's. It's such a smart point you're bringing up. And I, I do feel I had a similar thing with Comedy Central around that time. Probably like two years before, before I made a show called the President show, which was like a really. It was like a takedown of Trump from inside. And it was like he had a late night talk show. But we were, we were really, really harsh and in the best way. But Comedy Central would not air reruns of it because they were like, you know, it's too, whatever. We don't want to screw our daily show audience on the West Coast. So it's just going to air on this one time. And then it showed up on YouTube and we were like, oh, great.

[Ali Siddiq]

Awesome.

[Adam Pally]

At least it's getting out there. Not until you just told me this story did I think to myself, wait a minute, I didn't haven't seen a dime of that YouTube money.

[Ali Siddiq]

No. And you don't know. I created that show and you didn't know if it. You recouped or whatever.

[Adam Pally]

I have no idea. I have no idea what happened to those. That's 16 episodes that is up on YouTube. They have millions, millions of views. That's probably a lot of money.

[Ali Siddiq]

The same way that I think that what's got a real. Which this is not happening. Which was a me winning Comedy Central's comic to watch the album, got the album, the special, and then there's another show that, you know, I'm gonna be featured on, so. And then start doing podcast, and. And then it's just. You just get fed to a different audience.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

And now you going to these shows, and you actually can tell all of these different types of stories because you're not in one space anymore. You're not in. Just in front of one audience. And even going to Comedy Central was the club owner, Raymond Cook. Raymond called me like, yo, you should do this show. This. This competition. I say, ray, I don't do competition. I never won any of them. There's all type of bullshit politics behind it. I don't do them. They're like, no, you ought to do this one. So I go, I'm in Houston. I do the show. I don't care if I win or lose. I don't give a. Then I get. I get pushed to Austin. So in Austin, they. I'm the only guy from Houston. So they walking up and they clapping for everybody else that's from Austin. And then they introduced me. It's silent. It's like. It's nothing.

[Adam Pally]

They don't know this one. You never know Bringers.

[Ann Harris]

But.

[Ali Siddiq]

But luckily, it's not based upon the audience. Nobody here judging. It's what you're doing on the camera.

[John Gabris]

Right.

[Ali Siddiq]

Right. I get a call. Now I'm going. Now I'm in Chicago. So I do. And I'm literally outside. They getting ready to announce the winners. I'm outside talking to some people, and they came and say, ali, they need you on stage. I'm like. I said, yeah, excuse me. Let me go ahead and take these pictures. The group picture for the thing. So I walk on stage. It's me and this other white guy, and. No. Yeah, me and this other white guy. And I'm like, yo, hey, man, where everybody else at? He's like, no, we're the finalists. We're going to New York. I'm like, oh, shit.

[Ann Harris]

Okay.

[Ali Siddiq]

Right.

[John Gabris]

So.

[Ali Siddiq]

So then we go to New York, and I'm in the. We in the green room, and I'm sitting there, and. And I just reminded of this. I said. An came and sat down next to me and said, you don't care, do you?

[Adam Pally]

That sounds like.

[Ali Siddiq]

I was like, not at all. Like, not at all. I didn't care until they. Now you got to vote on who has the best setting, whatever. I have, like, all these views, but the Least amount of votes. And I'm like, yo, what the. They don't know they're supposed to vote. So I go on the radio in Houston the next day. I'm like, yo, you. You supposed to vote. Like. Like, you're just watching it and like, oh, this is.

[John Gabris]

You're doing your, like, one man get out the vote campaign. Vote or die.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm like, is it crazy?

[Adam Pally]

That's a real grassroots campaign.

[Ali Siddiq]

And then I win. I win the next. Like, the next. All these votes come in. Like, did y' all not know I'm not gonna lose something because y' all don't know.

[Ann Harris]

Y'.

[John Gabris]

All.

[Ali Siddiq]

Y' all some assholes. Like, it say. It clearly says vote for the offense. They just watching. Like, yo, that you did was good, son. Did you vote?

[Adam Pally]

Oh, the vote, it says it. It's literally got a chiron. A call to action.

[Ali Siddiq]

So I always big up Comedy Central in that whole process because that kicked your off. It gave me a reboot because, you know, I was on Def Jam in 0 in 08. I was on Common. I was on Comic View. I did Last Comic Standing. None of those things. I guess all those things prepared me for something else, right? People like, well, what's the key to success? Stepping stones. You're going to. You step up from one thing to the next thing to the next thing. It's like going to the league. You pay Pop Warner football first and then you go through and then you get to the league.

[John Gabris]

They do six years in prison. You get red shirt freshmen.

[Adam Pally]

You're more than just one thing. Your vehicle should be 2. More connectivity when you're the boss. Hey, Google, when's my next meeting? And more space when you're the mom. Everyone in the all new Mazda CX5 more to move every side of you. Google is a trademark of Google llc.

[Ali Siddiq]

Sequences shortened and simulated.

[Adam Pally]

You operate at a really good, like, admirable pace for me. Like, you seem to be just in even talking to you, you seem to go like, I'm. I'm not at anyone else's clock. I'm. I'm going to get to my spots. It's like very, you know, like, I'm not going to be pushed around by some idea of what I need. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm just gonna do what I want.

[John Gabris]

The stepping stone is. Is very eye opening too, because it is a great philosophy for every step in life.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, step.

[John Gabris]

But you, like, look at a mountain. You're like, that's insane. It's like well, that's less insane to get right there. And then to get from right there to right there is less insane. And then you keep going. Then you're like, oh, I'm at the top of the mountain.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

How do you eat a bike? One bite at a time.

[Ali Siddiq]

One bite at a time. You just. I think that in comedy, because I don't live in these places that stamp you for. You gotta be here, you gotta be there. I don't have to be anywhere. Anywhere. Like what are you talking about? Like, comedy is supposed to be a freedom of things. Like I'm not punching nobody's clock, so why do I gotta get in this rat race? And I'm not looking for a movie deal, I'm not looking for a sitcom deal. I'm cool with being a stand up.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

And, and if a movie comes that I like, then I do it. Or sitcom that I do. But I'm not. That's not my race. Right. I'm saying. And, and I, and I figured out a long time ago, just because you in somebody's movie doesn't make you a great comic. That makes you a good comedic actor.

[Adam Pally]

Right.

[Ali Siddiq]

You know what I'm saying? These are two different muscles. I'm not.

[John Gabris]

You see that a lot when you see some of these people who popped off somewhere else try to do like an hour.

[Adam Pally]

We were talking about that with influencer because like the, the, the idea of like influencer versus comic is starting to kind of like go like this.

[John Gabris]

Well, even, even like podcast hosts.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

Like people who aren't comedians first, but our podcasters are pretty funny as a podcaster or their two and a half hour podcast, when shown in 60 second clips on Instagram, is pretty funny. And then that person has to get up and do an hour and you watch it and it's upsetting and it's like a meltdown. And you're like, I can't deal it like that is out. Because these people don't. It's a different art form. The best followers don't make you good. I'm sorry I jumped on you, but followers don't make you good on stage.

[Ali Siddiq]

It does not. The best thing in the world that happened to this world as far as entertainment was Covid. Covid shifted the, the narrative from every influencer, every guy who's doing sketches, being called a comedian. Then Covid happened. Now you see the difference of somebody who needs camera, lights, action, editing and all this. And comics and DJs took over the social media because all you need is one thing all you need is what comics will pop on, and then it's. It goes from there. I'd be sitting there watching like, yo, he's a nut. But he didn't need nothing. He didn't need a script. He didn't need any stuff. And I listened to a dj, but it changed the narrative. But now it's. I'm not a big fan of crowd workers because it's the one. It's from the era. I'm from the era where I remember that Joe Torrey and D.L. hughley were ridiculed for this. Like, oh, you must don't have no material. You just do crowd work. And that was something that, like, young comics would do. You know, it wasn't a imma. Do an hour crowd work. I'm like, what the? Like, you don't know the. You don't know the business. Like, you don't know the craft. So then it's like, nobody understands it until it starts to feed into their craft. Like, you're not a model. Just because you have on some. On the Internet. That doesn't make you a goddamn model.

[John Gabris]

Just because you got your picture taken in a nice shirt.

[Ali Siddiq]

It doesn't make you a therapist. Because you say you. You say some regurgitated. That you read somewhere else to somebody. Are you talking to one of your friends? You give a little bit of good advice. That doesn't make you a licensed therapist.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Doesn't make you a professional. It's like most people who I know that say they life coaches, they life is a fucking shamble.

[Adam Pally]

That's the last thing they can do is coach your life.

[John Gabris]

You know, getting a laugh off the barista when you order a coffee does not mean you can sell out a room.

[Ali Siddiq]

Right.

[John Gabris]

Right.

[Adam Pally]

But that seems to happen a lot. And crowd work is like. Like is an interesting thing because you're like a lot of crowd work in my. And I. I don't tell me if this is wrong, but it. It is. It's written in a way that, like, you're only going to get so many answers to. What do you do for a living and where. You know what I mean? It's like if you're on the road, you're doing 200 nights a year, that crowd work is. You know, that might as well be scripted. Might as well be scripted at that point. Here's where I go talk to the crowd.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

You know, like, it's like, so you with him? Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

That's crazy.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

It's like. And that's all that it is because you're.

[John Gabris]

I'll tell you, I'll tell you another negative side effect on this butterfly effect of crowd work. Crowds don't know how to be crowd anymore.

[Adam Pally]

That is true.

[John Gabris]

An audience doesn't know how to be an audience anymore. They're like, yo, we're going to his comedy show tonight. I can't wait to tell them what I do for a living. People are so activated. Crowds don't realize. You got to just. You're supposed to shut the up and watch somebody.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

But now it's like, they're like, yeah, I want to be on your tik tok. You know, I want to make it to your tik tok.

[Ali Siddiq]

I get sharks for a living.

[John Gabris]

Sword fish. Now you're like hamburger. You say sword fish at the end of all you. The catchphrase and

[Ali Siddiq]

sword fish. This dude's in the balcony. You don't even know.

[John Gabris]

He's like, I don't even know you here.

[Adam Pally]

It's true. Even like, it. It's worse when you. When the comedy form shifts and it's not just straight stand up. And it's like someone goes to a stand up club and it's like you see someone come out with a guitar and then they start to do their act and then you hear from. It's like, well, I'm a plumber. Person's like doing art and they're like, oh, all right.

[John Gabris]

This is a live podcast about health and wellness. I don't know what the you're telling

[Ali Siddiq]

me about sitting there playing a good song. I guess he's up on her.

[Adam Pally]

Wait, let me put that in my song now.

[Ali Siddiq]

Like, But I think as an entertainer, speaking of health and wellness, that us as entertainers, comics, creators, artists, actors, you have to take time for yourself. And I'm talking about some real time. Like, you have to pamper yourself. Cause you work and you doing all

[John Gabris]

these things when your work is kind of fun. It doesn't feel fully like, like factory work or digging holes or whatever. You forget that you're still running that in red. You're still revving that engine a lot.

[Ali Siddiq]

The crazy thing is because I plant things in the ground. That is a relaxing thing. If I, if I get that tiller out and I decide, yo, today, man, I need this. I need to clear all this right here because I'm planting okra and tomatoes and, and cilantro and I'm like, and. And now I'm out here dirty with boots on and people, and I'm speaking to the lady across the way with the horses. All right, now, Mabel, come out here. Just.

[Adam Pally]

That's real life.

[Ali Siddiq]

Then all this shit hurt. I ain't did this in months. Yo, man. So

[Adam Pally]

the neighbors, like Hollywood over there.

[John Gabris]

Our neighbors back from his vacation.

[Adam Pally]

I guess he was taking time for himself.

[Ali Siddiq]

And you and you have a good time or you just go, man, it's amazing when you can just call a friend and say, hey, man, you want to go to dinner? My boys be on some. Hell, yeah, I want to go to dinner. And. Because they know if I call, I'm the one paying, and if they call, they paying. Like, I come. I. My friends have called me to have chips and salsa and margarita. I have come in there with my pockets folded out, like I'm letting you know I have no money. My phone's in the car. I'm not tapping.

[John Gabris]

Nothing.

[Ann Harris]

Nothing.

[John Gabris]

Yes, I'm your richest friend, but tonight is on you.

[Adam Pally]

I go into the strip club at a bachelor party. I'm like, sorry, everybody, I have nothing.

[Ali Siddiq]

I have nothing here.

[Adam Pally]

I'm just here to hit the buffet.

[Ali Siddiq]

Nothing here. Hey, don't dance on me.

[Adam Pally]

Oh, you want a private practice? You want to get some reps in? Give it a shot.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm not doing.

[Adam Pally]

Let me put my fl. Back up a. Dude. Well, it has been a blast.

[John Gabris]

Thank you so much for coming on.

[Adam Pally]

You are. You are the funniest. Like, I. I love the way you.

[Ali Siddiq]

You do.

[Adam Pally]

Your style is just so awesome and long and then short and like, this is unique week. And. And I'm so thankful that you came here.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, I'm thankful.

[John Gabris]

Where can people. Where can people see your tour dates?

[Ali Siddiq]

Oh, man. Go to Alicedique.com Ali is spelled a L, I, not the. The other way. Which I don't. I didn't know it was another way until people started writing my name down wrong. Like, no, that's Oli. That's not Ali. They put O, L, L. I like.

[John Gabris]

No, you're not like a British schoolboy.

[Adam Pally]

It's not Ally.

[John Gabris]

Not short for Allison.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Sadiq S, I D, D, I, Q. Yeah, you know they think I'm Raphael. No, I never. Oh, I'm gonna say this for you.

[Adam Pally]

Wait, tell me.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah, my guy, Delay. Good comic, great comic. He. He calls me and say, yo, this guy sends me this letter, and I would like to read this letter to you. And I said, why you wanna read to me? He said, just. Just listen. Hey. He's currently shooting a show, self funded, about him being his uncle. How him. His uncle's relationship was so guy sends a letter. Hey, man, hey, Delay. I think that you should do a show about the younger you with an older guy teaching you the ropes. And you should take a page out of Ali Siddiq's book, you know. You know he used to be with Tony, Tony Tone. And then Cantaloupe. Then right after, right after, right after, right after the album came out, he was like, yo, this is interfering with my comedy career. And he's like a wrong Wikipedia, you totally wrong. So he went to do comedy. You know, his real name is Thomas and then he became Muslim and then he changed it, you know. But right after that album came out and I'm sitting there, I was like, yo, man, I am trying to make guacamole feel my family. He's like, he's like, yo, this is the craziest goddamn letter that I've ever seen. It's like, yo man, tell your crazy ass fans that I was never. My name was never and I wasn't with.

[Adam Pally]

Do you ever get those Google alerts though? Sometimes like I feel like I get them. Sometimes it's like, like, hey, some. My name got put in some AI thing and it will come out and the facts will be like wildly wrong. Like, it'll be like Adam Pally, born in, in, you know, Illinois. I wasn't born in Illinois. And then it's like has been, has been married to Diane Wiest for 16 years. That's not true. I'm not married to Diane. We like, it's like that some crazy.

[Ali Siddiq]

The worst thing about AI with me is they always have my teeth wrong. Like my face, it'd be somewhat, slightly my face, but then it'd be some big ass teeth. I'm like, who is this guy? He's like like British teeth. What is this got going on? And his forehead to be wrong. I'm like, yo, man, I hate this. Yeah, they just make up.

[Adam Pally]

They AI me here. I always get like, I always look like, like, like a, a a drowned. Like I drowned and then they found me and they took a picture of me and they sat me up.

[Ali Siddiq]

I'm like, fish, slap, slap, slap, drown.

[Adam Pally]

It does. You know when you see like a picture of a drowned body and they look fat?

[John Gabris]

That's what I look like. Just swim and laugh. I'm always eating in a Speedo at a restaurant. People going like this naked over here.

[Ali Siddiq]

Thank you guys.

[John Gabris]

Thank you so much. This is so sick. I want to move to Florida, dog.

[Adam Pally]

Dude, I want to move anywhere. I'm, I'm, I'm Truly activated by. I'm activated three ways by all three of them. And this was a. Was an Ali just activated me to get the out of New York. What am I doing? Doing.

[Ann Harris]

Right.

[Adam Pally]

Why? What the.

[John Gabris]

Also New York. Also you drive. You could live in like rural New Jersey with a house with a built in pool.

[Adam Pally]

Mine for millions.

[John Gabris]

Yes.

[Adam Pally]

What the am I doing?

[John Gabris]

You can buy a mansion outright with what you sell your place for. Especially like in a few years the kids are going to be like out of school.

[Adam Pally]

What the am I doing? And also, why am I. Why am I trying to sell a TV show to Netflix? I don't want a TV show on Netflix. I want a TV show, but I want to make money on YouTube. I don't want Netflix to make my YouTube money.

[John Gabris]

Yeah. I'm gonna, I'm gonna like, we. I'm gonna like take a look at my YouTube.

[Adam Pally]

Yeah. I'm not doing that anymore. I'm not selling my ideas anymore. I'm getting people to finance them.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

And then putting them on YouTube. I'm not doing that anymore.

[Ann Harris]

Yeah. He.

[Adam Pally]

He was like, I'm not chasing a movie deal. And I'm like, why am I chasing a movie?

[John Gabris]

Right.

[Adam Pally]

It truly, I'm like, what the man? Totally brainwashed by the industry.

[Ali Siddiq]

Totally.

[John Gabris]

Because we like to work. And so you think that vacation is not working, but it's more important than work.

[Adam Pally]

But a teacher, like doesn't lose their job every summer and have to find a new teaching gig. Right. Yet that summer is a reset.

[John Gabris]

And it, it is hard to feel like, you know, it's hard to feel like we deserve a break sometimes.

[Adam Pally]

I mean, that's always something that I, that I.

[John Gabris]

But when you take it and you retroactively after your break that you gave yourself, you're like, yeah. Holy.

[Adam Pally]

I'm trying not to have guilt off of my. Like, I've been, you know, just like on a. Like, you know, we talk about our stuff, but like, I've had a couple rough. Right. Months. Yeah. Personally and I. Everyone is like, take care of yourself. Take care of yourself. Do something for you. Take time out.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

Do something to get yourself something. You know what I mean? And I've tried and the immense guilt that I feel is so hard to shake.

[John Gabris]

Like, and it's only you that's putting it on you. Right. That's like the hard part too. It's like you're in your own. Because that's the way I feel. I'm like, I'm going on vacation. Like, I want to go on vacation. It's like, can you really do that? And it's like, well, yeah, you can do it however you want. Like, if it has to be, I could say, I'm not taking any meetings or recording any podcasts for a week and just sit in my apartment for a week if I wanted. That's not gonna cost me a fortune.

[Adam Pally]

You know what I mean? Right?

[John Gabris]

And it's like, that's. But, like, you wanna just. I got so much from Ali, the way he was talking about it. Of just like, yes. Six weeks of no schedule. You know what I mean?

[Adam Pally]

Well, also, let's.

[Ali Siddiq]

Let's.

[John Gabris]

Also, he's working hard.

[Adam Pally]

He's working extremely hard, and she spent six years in prison, right? And like, if that doesn't motivate you to live life on your own terms, right, then I don't know what does. You know? Like, he. Like, he said it says, he's like, I'm not clocking in for anybody. And like, I was like, God damn it. Paying my own way out to LA to, like, go walk into these big corporations.

[John Gabris]

Be like, please, please, please, billionaires. Can I have $100,000?

[Adam Pally]

Can I have a money, a laundering amount of money that will not affect anything in this operation, please, for my dream. For my dream. And then they're like, no. And you're like, I'm worthless.

[Ali Siddiq]

What am I doing?

[Adam Pally]

I'm. I'm worth more than any of that. I'm a fucking star.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

Like that shit. And.

[John Gabris]

And if you just paid to make your own movie and star in it, you're still an actor.

[Ali Siddiq]

Yeah.

[John Gabris]

You know what I mean?

[Adam Pally]

After your director.

[John Gabris]

Yeah. Everything. Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

And he was. He's doing it and does not have that. And it's like, like. And. And it's really like. I feel very, like, yeah, man, I'm not doing that again. I'm not. That rejection is like, not.

[John Gabris]

It's hard. It's hard to put yourself out that much to people who most of the time. Opinions. You do not resp. It's not like I'm going to people who I look up to comedically to say, like, hey, is this funny? And they go like, I don't know, you can maybe do it a little.

[Adam Pally]

That's always a misconception about Hollywood. That bothers me. Is that.

[Ali Siddiq]

That.

[Adam Pally]

Well, it's. I mean, there's nothing you do about it. But, like, you. People think when you're coming up with the ideas of the things you want to work to. And. And you're like, oh, yeah, I'm Gonna do this at NBC. They're like, oh, did you pitch it to Jerry Seinfeld? You must have pitched it to Jerry. You must have pitched it to Conan. Right?

[John Gabris]

So.

[Adam Pally]

And Conan thinks you're funny. It's like, no, I didn't pitch it to Jerry Seinfeld.

[John Gabris]

I pitched it to a 27 year

[Adam Pally]

old millionaire, Brian Anderton from Palm beach, whose parents, I guess, are the Van Leeuwen people. And he went to Penn and apparently was a superstar there. And this is his first year in development.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Adam Pally]

And he told me it wasn't funny.

[John Gabris]

Right.

[Adam Pally]

It's like, why? What am I doing?

[John Gabris]

Yeah, it sucks.

[Adam Pally]

It sucks. And this guy is a dream. That is Ali is a dream also

[John Gabris]

for us to engage with someone who moves at his pace, like on the micro, like in the interactions with him and then overall in his life. I was like, why am I so illuminated?

[Adam Pally]

Why am I rushing to.

[John Gabris]

Yeah, what dog? I was thinking, I'm like, why am I rushing? Why am I rushing all the time?

[Adam Pally]

I'm rushing to see my uncle, Rushing to get here, Rushing to do this.

[John Gabris]

Flying home at eight in the morning so I can get to a contin.

[Ann Harris]

Rushing.

[Adam Pally]

What am I doing? Fuck, dude, stay alive. Yes, I needed that one.

[John Gabris]

You have been listening to Staying Alive with John Gabris and Adam Palace. A smartless media production in association with Sirius xm.

[Adam Pally]

Produced by Devin Tory Bryant and Anne Harris. Engineered and edited by Devin Tory Bryant, who also wrote the music, Associate producer

[John Gabris]

and video producer is Matty McCann. Social media producer Tommy Galgano.

[Adam Pally]

Assistant engineer Kyle McGraw. Special thanks to Jared O' Connell at SiriusXM.

[John Gabris]

Executive producers are John Gabris, me, Adam Pally. Ooh, you Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Richard Corson and Bernie Kaminsky. Do us a favor. Just rate and review the podcast. It actually helps.

[Adam Pally]

Just so everyone knows, we do not have a discord.

[John Gabris]

Don't reach out to us.

[Adam Pally]

See us on the street. Walk the other way or you'll catch hands.

[John Gabris]

But Matteo, the plan is to do an intro and outro for that interview we just did. Change into wardrobe and then do an outro for the chef guy and then we're done for the day.

[Adam Pally]

And then you're done. Mat you crushed, dude.

[John Gabris]

Yeah.

[Ali Siddiq]

Thank you.

[Adam Pally]

It wasn't too much.

[John Gabris]

You all right?

[Ann Harris]

Yeah. No, no.

[John Gabris]

I mean, this is more entertaining than a lot of podcasts. Oh, hell yeah.

[Ann Harris]

Thank you.

[Ali Siddiq]

It's Florida.

[Adam Pally]

I don't know what you're saying here.

[Ali Siddiq]

Smart, less media.

[Ann Harris]

Real talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect Hire Skills first. Hiring helps you see talent others miss, like more than 70 million stars skilled through alternative routes, let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage. Because hiring managers who start with skills are 60% more likely to find a successful hire. Hire skills first. Learn why at tearthepaperceiling. Org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council.