101 - Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours - Steve Schirripa

Summary

Podcast Summary: The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers — Episode #101: Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours with Steve Schirripa
Release Date: July 1, 2026
Guest: Steve Schirripa (Sopranos, Blue Bloods, Author)

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Episode Overview

This episode of The 500 features actor and author Steve Schirripa discussing Frank Sinatra’s classic 1955 album, In the Wee Small Hours, ranked #101 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums. Host Josh Adam Meyers and Schirripa dive deeply into the emotional and historical weight of Sinatra’s finest “breakup album,” tying in personal stories from Schirripa’s life, his time on The Sopranos, and Italian-American culture. The episode covers themes of heartbreak, masculinity, loyalty, and the transformative power of music, all wrapped in both comedic banter and honest reflection.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal and Professional Backgrounds

• [08:41] Schirripa and Meyers start with mutual introductions, sharing stories about comedy and acting careers. Steve recalls booking comedy clubs in Vegas before acting and knowing many comedians from those days.
• [11:46] Steve reveals his connection with Joe Rogan from Vegas and mutual friendships within comedy.
• [12:14] Both reflect on the perpetual drive and self-critique characteristic of creative careers:
  • Schirripa: "It's never enough. You're gonna chase the thing down forever." (12:49)

2. On Dogs, Family, and Schirripa’s Children’s Book

• [15:27] Steve discusses his new children’s book, Willie Boy Eats the World, inspired by his dachshund. The story is about embracing new experiences and the unconditional love between man and dog.
  • "He's the sweetest thing, the most loyal thing...he's like my son.” (16:13)
• [16:32-18:00] The book encourages readers — adults and kids alike — to try new things and branch out of their comfort zones, paralleling Schirripa’s own multifaceted career.
• [23:26] Steve details how sharing lighthearted content about Willie on social media created genuine joy for people, with videos going viral but never monetized:
  • "It makes people happy. That's all he does. People look at him, they smile,” (24:14)
• [25:07] The pair reflects on the changing roles of dogs in people’s lives, from “just a dog” to family member.

3. Sinatra: The Man, the Myth, and the Album

• [27:36] Meyers asks what kind of dog Sinatra would be; Schirripa describes Sinatra’s mercurial temperament:
  • "Sometimes a pit bull...sometimes he could be a pussycat. It depends if he liked you," (27:49)
• [28:21-36:18] Schirripa shares remarkable personal anecdotes about meeting Sinatra, attending shows, and knowing Sinatra’s inner circle (Jilly Rizzo).
  • “We're sitting at Julie's table, center table…Sinatra, at some point, shakes my sister’s hand. And there you go, Sinatra live. It was the first of maybe 25 times I’ve seen her.” (34:47)
  • He describes Sinatra’s generosity, perfectionism, and emotional openness, all of which play into In the Wee Small Hours’s heartbroken mood.
• [33:03] Schirripa and Meyers note that this is one of the very first “concept albums.”
• [41:26] The album marks a turning point for Sinatra:
  • "It established him as an album artist... It turned romantic failure into high art… and created the template for an adult concept record." (41:26)

4. Sinatra’s Heartbreak and Artistic Power

• [29:03, 42:39] Both delve into the raw honesty of Sinatra’s vocals:
  • “You can hear it in his voice. His voice is so sad. There's no acting here… these feelings are for real.” (42:39)
• [38:35] Discussion of Sinatra’s relationship with Ava Gardner and how their tumultuous romance influenced his artistic output.
• [43:44] Sinatra’s crossover into popular culture and how every Italian-American family revered him as more than just a celebrity.

5. Cultural Touchstones: The Sopranos, Mob Life, and Representation

• [47:34] Meyers playfully compares Sinatra’s persona to Bobby from the Sopranos; Schirripa explains Bobby was a “soft guy trapped among gangsters," channeling loyalty, melancholy, and devotion.
• [53:24] The duo distinguishes Hollywood depictions of organized crime from the harsh realities:
  • “Mob movies and mob TV shows are a genre… but my people don’t just hurt each other, they hurt innocent people. A lot of people don't understand this." (55:02)

6. Legacy of The Sopranos

• [59:52] Schirripa recounts joining the show, when it became clear they were making history, and the unique humanity brought to Tony Soprano:
  • "We were rooting for him to do well. We wanted Tony Soprano to be OK. That's the writing, and that was Jim's work.” (60:27)
• [64:31] He describes deep fan response worldwide, The Sopranos' continued popularity through streaming, and memorable cast relationships.

7. Funny Behind-the-Scenes Stories

• [71:49] Schirripa shares an on-set prank during the Pine Barrens episode — using a fake dildo to make James Gandolfini laugh during a serious scene.
• [75:50] Another story: Joey Pants (Ralphie) sticks a breadstick in his rear during filming, and Gandolfini’s reply is pure Sopranos mayhem.

8. Sinatra, NYC, and Knicks Fandom

• [82:19] Discussion pivots to NYC's energy during the Knicks’ recent resurgence, the city’s working-class roots, and the emotional resonance of sports.
• [86:55] Schirripa shares his lifelong Knicks loyalty and the communal impact of New York sports wins, tying it back to Sinatra's role as a city icon.

9. Final Thoughts on In the Wee Small Hours

• [96:14] Meyers asks Schirripa for his favorite track:
  • “Mood Indigo… It’s very, very cool. When I was booking acts… I just like it. It’s very, very, very cool." (96:16)
• [97:35] Both hosts celebrate Nelson Riddle’s arrangements and the lush orchestration that defines the album.
• [100:55] No song is skipped on the record — it’s cohesive, emotionally resonant, and, as Schirripa puts it, "no filler, no joy, no sunlight. Just Frank pouring his heart out, confessing. 'No, I'm fine.' Sung by a man who's absolutely not fine.” (102:56)
• [101:51] Schirripa advises:
  • “If you wanna listen to something that’s really cool, really mellow – when you’re in a certain mood… nice and easy, maybe a Sunday morning.” (101:51)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sinatra’s Emotional Honesty:
  “You could hear it in his voice...these feelings are for real, just like, you know, 'set 'em up Joe,' there's another one, right? ...There's no acting here.” (42:39 – Steve Schirripa)
• On The Sopranos' Impact:
  “You rooted for Tony Soprano. He’s a murderer, he’s an adulterer…We wanted Tony Soprano to be okay. That was Jim’s— that's the writing, and that was Jim’s work." (60:24 – Steve Schirripa)
• On Changing Attitudes Toward Dogs:
  “Now they're part of your family. You know, they used to be…get 'em in the backyard …Now, dog is part of the family.” (25:26 – Steve Schirripa)
• On Trying New Things (the Book’s Message):
  "Try new things…You're not just a comic, you're not just an actor, you're not just a podcaster. Try new things." (16:32 – Steve Schirripa)
• Sinatra and the Italian-American Experience:
  “Every bar, every jukebox at every bar in every neighborhood had Sinatra in it. ...Sinatra was this bigger than life thing.” (32:02 – Steve Schirripa)
• On Playing Bobby:
  “I played him as a guy that kind of got caught up, that really didn't want to be there, and that's how I played it.” (51:06 – Steve Schirripa)
• Mood Indigo (Schirripa’s Favorite Sinatra Song):
  "[It's] nice and cool, man. I just like it. It’s very, very, very cool." (96:16 – Steve Schirripa)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:14 — Introduction to In the Wee Small Hours and episode purpose.
• 15:27–18:00 — Story behind Willie Boy Eats the World and loving dogs.
• 27:36–35:15 — First encounters with Sinatra and personal anecdotes.
• 41:26–43:44 — Analysis of the album’s concept, influence, and emotional depth.
• 47:34–53:07 — Parallels between Sinatra, Sopranos, and mob genre realities.
• 59:52–66:49 — The Sopranos’ legacy, cast relationships, and impact on TV.
• 71:49–76:02 — Hilarious on-set prank stories.
• 82:19–88:40 — Knicks fandom, city unity, and sports as community glue.
• 96:14–97:35 — Favorite song on the album and the importance of Nelson Riddle’s arrangements.
• 101:51–102:53 — Elevator pitch for the album and summing up its mood.

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Episode Tone

The conversation is heartfelt, humorous, occasionally irreverent, and always honest. Meyers and Schirripa toggle between wisecracking and profound honesty, capturing the spirit of both New York and classic showbiz nostalgia.

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Final Thoughts

If you love music history, Italian-American culture, heart-on-sleeve storytelling, or The Sopranos, this episode is a must-listen. Schirripa’s stories offer a rare bridge between the Sinatra era and modern television’s golden age, all through the lens of a shared appreciation for vulnerability, artistry, and loyalty—in life, art, and fandom.

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Guest Links

• Steve Schirripa: @SteveSchirripaOfficial
• Book: Willie Boy Eats the World (available wherever books are sold)
• For more: steveschirripa.com

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Next week: The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle (1968)

Transcript

[Steve Schirripa]

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[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

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hey fleece army, we need your help to make the 500 even better by telling us a bit more about yourself. Go to www.surveymonkey.com R3TWX8YD for a quick listener survey. It only takes a few minutes and directly supports our team. To show our appreciation, we're giving away two 50 gift cards to lucky participants every single month. So head to www.surveymonkey.com Rs and RA/3 the number T as in Tony, W as in woman, X as in Xerox and 8 as the number y as in yellow, D as in Dog. I'm saying this, we're gonna put the link on our website if you can't

[Josh Adam Meyers]

see that, that was a lot.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

But this is your chance to win. It helps our show. We really appreciate it. We want to know more about you because you know so much about me.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

So yeah, dude, do it.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Www.surveymonkey.com R3TWX8Y D that's a mouthful, but it's there.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

The 500. The 500. JM been walking us down through that 2012 edition, so it ain't nothing to you. Hundreds more to go and in need of a friend. The King of Peace for angelo talking the 500 until the end talking the 500 until the end with my man JM on the 500 talking the 500 until the end. You ain't been blue

[Josh Adam Meyers]

till you've had

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

that moon,

[Josh Adam Meyers]

That feeling that is rude. Indigo by Frank sinatra from the 1955 album in the Wee Small Hours. This is number 101 out of 500 on the 500 with me. My name is Michael Imperioli and we are taking you through Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums all the way down to one to UNO. Look at my nails. If you can. See if you're watching the video, that YouTube, man. We're beefing it up, baby. We are beefing it up.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

We just got.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

We just broke bigger than the Mr.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Beast.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

We are the number one podcast on YouTube starting right now. If you believe it, it will happen. What's up, party people? I want to thank everybody that came out to the Sacramento punchline. I didn't get to do it on the last intro because I was flying. Sorry if the episode came out a little late with Fetterman, but you know Fetty Wap, God bless him. Wish him a happy birthday if you haven't already. It was last week. I was in Sacramento at the Punchline. We had some 500 fans come out. So you better enjoy this podcast while we can. And we need you now because all of us are making nothing. We are all doing this pro bono to finish this. The only person that's getting paid is Elon Musk. He is now our dark lord. And I should have said Larry Ellison. That would have been funnier. Why can't Larry Ellison buy the podcast just like he bought Warner Brothers? Watch the podcast on YouTube every Thursday. Search the 500 podcast. I don't know why they put that. Just write www.YouTube.com backslash the 500 podcast. I've got a YouTube Josh Adamire 79. I'm not gonna be on the road for a minute. I think I'm gonna go to Europe for a little bit. I don't know what I'm doing for the rest of the year. When we talk about funds, we need them. So if you listen to the podcast and what these final hundred episodes be as stellar as they can. Join the Patreon. Patreon, patreon patreon patreon.com backslash the 500 podcast. I don't know if we're still doing merch, but I'm pretty sure for 25 bucks, you get a hoodie, you get a whole bunch of stuff. You get to ask questions to the guests. I do have Pittsburgh coming up, and I'm gonna be at DC Improv, I think also, I think I'm going to be in the Harrisburg Comedy Club, whatever the that is. I just. And, dude, check out my Instagram, my TikTok, all that stuff right now. I'm making all these fun songs today. We just released Female Cops. What are they good for? It's amazing. Also, fat guys need love too. We're killing it, dude. I just built my whole studio. That's that's it. That's all I do is make music. I love it more than anything. And now I'm inspired to do like a breakup record because of this thing.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Isn't that cool?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Isn't that cool? When you find out your favorite artists, the guys that you hold up on these pedestals that you think are gods, someone like Frank Sinatra or Bob Dylan

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

or Beck, you know, when they've been through pain like you have now, your

[Josh Adam Meyers]

pain's way different because they get to keep living these incredible lives and eat caviar at every meal and go to the Knicks games. And you, on the other hand, have to go back to the office job and deal with. With a woman named Tina who works in HR, who you behind her back call Gummy McToothy. You know a Gummy McToothy? That's right. Today we are talking about Songs for swinging lovers from 1956. It's by Frank Sinatra. And this is the, this is the adult Frank Sinatra. This is no more of the, of the. You know, I don't call him, you know, you know, he's not teen idol anymore. This is a man. And he's making a record about loneliness. This is about grief. This is probably one of the greatest breakup albums ever made. You know, how great is that? And our guest today could not be more on the nose, could not be more perfectly cast. It is the one, the only Steve Sharipa. That is right.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

Bobby.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

He is one of my favorite characters on the Sopranos. You know him, Blue Bloods. He's got a brand new book out, Willie Boy Eats the World. He is such a great, great guest. And this is one of those episodes I was looking forward to. I'm a huge Sopranos fan. I used to own a dachshund, which is basically what the book is about. His dog taking him around and like, you know, showing him how you can eat from all to try different things. Be the dog. I say that all the time. Be Lekka. Just don't be Lekka in. In Newark Airport like she just did on Thursday. These are one of those episodes we get excited about and I hope you guys are excited as well because, you know, we, we literally have an actor, author, podcast host. He is. He is. He's the man. And this was great. So, yeah. Enjoy. Rate, review and most importantly, subscribe to the 500 listen free on all platforms. Any way you get your pods. Follow me at Josh Adam Myers. Follow the podcast at the 500 podcast. Email the po500podcastgmail.com Follow the Facebook group I don't even know if Evan's doing anymore, but he's crazy. And for all things 500, go to the website the500podcast.com not left to say. But here we go with Frank Sinaultro in the wee small hours at 101. Is my good Frank? Is my Frank good? I'm dyslexic. Enjoy.

[Steve Schirripa]

How you doing? All right?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm good, Steve. How you doing, buddy?

[Steve Schirripa]

I'm good, pal. Where are you?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I am in gramercy right now, 22nd and 1st.

[Steve Schirripa]

Where are you? I'm in Rhode Island. Ah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Can I tell you something? I got a theory. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, because I go up to this New England area all the time. I love the comedy connection in Rhode Island. I love all the clubs that I've done up there. But. And you're a Brooklyn guy, right? You're a New Yorker through and through. I see the jersey behind you.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Right.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

If I'm not mistaken, because I see it smaller.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Is that.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Whose jersey is that behind me? Is that your name on the Knicks jersey?

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Congratulations, buddy.

[Steve Schirripa]

Thank you.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I am a die hard Wizards fan, so we will be hopefully in the playing game next year.

[Steve Schirripa]

And are you a comic?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I am a comedian, yeah. I try to be. I don't know what I'm doing anymore.

[Steve Schirripa]

How long have you been a comic?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

August 1st will be 18 years.

[Steve Schirripa]

Oh, so you've been doing it a while?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And I have been financially independent as a comedian since 2016.

[Steve Schirripa]

And where do you. Where do you work?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm the seller. I'm the comedy. I go to the Comedy Store once a month. My name's on the wall.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

I've got.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I lived in LA 14 years and then I. But I grew up in the D.C. area, so I started there, moved to LA. 14 years there, worked in television, started stand up. But everything I've done is kind of with like comedy and music and so, you know, I mean, you gotta kind of stand up. Only there's only a few golden boys that they pluck from obscurity and take to the top. Same probably with acting. I mean, you probably knew some guys, but it's like with comedians, it's like you gotta. You gotta hustle. So I got, I got. I got the oven on. Is that the stove on? I got. I got pots, I got Sunday gravy over here. I got the fucking manager.

[Steve Schirripa]

You have an agent?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I've got out, dude. I'm with. I'm with one of the biggest agents in the world. They don't do shit.

[Steve Schirripa]

The reason I'm asking you. Yeah, Because I was at the Riviera and I booked the improv for years.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, right on.

[Steve Schirripa]

In Vegas, I ran the comedy room. Every comic has worked for me. Big room, small room, big comics. Small comics. I booked a bunch of clubs all over the country, mostly in Vegas. So I know everybody. That's what I'm saying. Who represents you now?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm with. My day to day is Silvio Lund at William Morris Endeavor. And then I deal with. When I have the big deals, it's Berkowitz. But, you know, I'm few and far between on the big deals. This is like, I'm. You're always creating, like.

[Steve Schirripa]

Well, I get it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

But it's.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But look. And I. And I. When I say that they don't do anything, it's like, I. That's more of a mental thing that I think.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah, that's. That's every. That's exactly. I mean, most of the calls are incoming calls, and then they make it like. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Most of the time. It's how it is anyway, you know, he. When you're ready or when the time is right, you should be able to go to Berkowitz and say, it's time for me to get a Netflix special or Hulu special or a YouTube special or whatever. And that's what you need him for, you know, 100%.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And I have brought. I have brought, like, even with this podcast, when we, like, I came up with the idea, and I was like. I was like, we're going to sell this to Spotify. And then 13 episodes in Spotify came a knocking. And. And then Joe Rogan came two years later and took all the money and we had to renegotiate.

[Steve Schirripa]

I know Joe for 35 years. He used to work for me in Vegas.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

He's the man.

[Steve Schirripa]

Jeff Sussman's one of my closest friends, and he produced me and Michael's podcast.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, right on.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, dude. Small world. You know what? You know, it's. It's. I love it more than anything. Every day is Christmas. And, I mean, I got an incredible life. And I think that's what people don't realize sometimes. You just look at you, always looking at so far ahead, you know, what the other people have. And that was great advice I got early on from a buddy. He goes, dude, take your own test and just worry about that. Study, study, study. And, dude, you'll be successful. You get an A plus.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's never Enough. What's your name? Josh.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Josh. Yeah. Josh Adam Myers.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's never enough. It's never enough.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But I can.

[Steve Schirripa]

There you go. You're gonna chase the thing down forever.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But I can. I'm four. I think I'm. I think I'm 46.

[Steve Schirripa]

Okay.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But I haven't checked in a while, and I don't want.

[Steve Schirripa]

You're a young guy. You're gonna chase it forever.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah. But what I was ultimately getting to is that now at 46 and where I'm at in my career, I can, like, settle in and look and be appreciative and be like, wow, man, I did a great job so far. Like, I'm killing it. And I think a lot of people don't see that, regardless of whatever their career is. And, you know, and. And. And to spin it back to this, because I don't want to for this. I've never had a guest on a podcast where I feel is more apt to be talking about the record. And, I mean, this is not just, you know, we're talking about Frank Sinatra in the we Small hours, the album where Frank basically invented the idea of looking handsome while getting emotionally murdered at 3am and this is not Fly Me to the Moon, Frank. That's what I was expecting, dude. I was really like, is this gonna be Fly Me to the Moon? Which I. Which I grew up with.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

This is.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I texted her, she left me on red, and now Nelson Riddle has brought in 14 violins to watch me die, Frank. And that's pretty badass. And when I said we have never. And I mean this, like, we always have guests that are like, oh, man, spot on. And sometimes I'm like, how the fuck are you here for this record? This one. I swear, the. The booking gods of Emily Kagan has brought you and me together because, I mean, Steve with Bobby from the Sopranos. You are a man who knows sadness, loyalty, food, trains, widows, mob politics, and what it feels like when Tony Soprano ruins your whole weekend at a lake house. And so I'm talking throw a darn at a wall and when we hit it on the nose. And before I get into. Because I feel like it's gonna be simple math, like, of where you grew up and everything. You've got an incredible new book out. Let's get this. Let's get to talking about this, man. Because me, as one dog owner to another, I grew up with. Not grew up. Am I talking about me and my ex girlfriend, Brittany. She had a dachshund. That dachshund was A dirty bitch, but God damn to other people. But to the people she loved, that dog was as loyal. She would have died for me. I have a Doberman pinscher, and people will cross the street when they see me. The Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn, dude, they fucking cross nine blocks away. But I'm telling you, they are the most loyal dogs. And I mean, I just think it's awesome for a guy that you were on Sopranos playing this badass character, but also, you really did have that sweet heart. It didn't surprise me when. When I found out and started, like, researching the book. So, I mean, you're. You're what comes. How do you. A children's book where. You know about.

[Steve Schirripa]

I've written eight books. This is my eighth book.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Okay, no, I understand.

[Steve Schirripa]

No, but. But this. So this is a children's book. Listen, I love this book to death. Let me. Let me get you this.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Take me there. Take me there, buddy.

[Steve Schirripa]

Hold on. This is. Well, I can't even get it off the. I can't even get it off. There you go. There's Willie Boy Eats the World. It's a children's book. I treat this dog. He's like my son.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Okay. I've had other Dotsons. I've had other dogs. The guy's smart as a whip. This was not about money. It had nothing to do with money. It's a small publisher. I've been with the biggest publishers for my other books. I wanted to immortalize him.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Once again, he doesn't like other people. He doesn't really like. He doesn't like any other dogs. He likes me and my wife, my kids. After he barks at them for a while when they come in. Yeah. Otherwise, he's the sweetest thing, the most loyal thing.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

I've had so much joy. He's seven years old. He's brought us a lot of joy. And I wanted to do something honestly for him, so I had this idea about him taking me around New York City to different restaurants. I only eat Italian food. And he takes me around to other restaurants. Other kinds of food. Thai food, Sushi, Chinese, Brazilian. On and on and on. Mexican. And he teaches me there's more to life, to try new things. He teaches me a life lesson. Not unlike. It's also for adults. Try new things. You're not just a comic. You're not just an actor. You're not just a podcaster. Try new things. I've done a whole bunch of stuff in my career, which I think you need to do. In order to survive, you know, unless you're a huge star, you know, Tom Cruise, just act. But a lot of us need to patch together a career. And the books. It's a kid book. It's for try new things, but it could apply to a lot of people. So that's why I wrote the book. It's a lot of fun. It's a big hit. We sold out. We went into the second printing almost immediately.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Congrats.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's been a lot of fun taking them to book signings and we did the Today show and we did Kelly Clarkson and all kinds of press, and it's been a lot of fun.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Dude, that. That rules. All right, I got. I got. This is a. Two parts, one statement. Next question. 1. Tom Cruise is not just an actor at this point. This is on a suicide mission to jump off a goddamn. He's like. He's like.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know what I'm saying?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

They're like. He's like, hey, I was thinking about setting myself on fire for this movie. They're like, it's a Christmas movie on Hallmark. Tom, we don't need you.

[Steve Schirripa]

I don't know. I don't know. To deal with him. But it is what it is to bring it back.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I got. Is it part question? The two part question is one, you know, because you've written, like, you know, during the research, you do memoirs, you, you know, parenting books, Sopranos, you know, history, and now a children's book. Did you. Did writing for kids end up being harder than writing for adults?

[Steve Schirripa]

No, because you have to write it as if it's an adult, you know, Right. For a kid. You know, it's not the dumbing down. I. I did a young adult book, which is like writing for an adult. You know what I mean? You can make the changes later on, but. No, no, no, no, not at all. It's. It's kind of the same. You know, I don't write all the time. I'm not that guy, you know, that is constantly writing. But when I have an idea, you know what I mean? And I. This. It took me a while, and I've had this idea. I worked on this book for a couple of years. You know, it's. No, it's. It's the same muscle. You'll be surprised. Kids are not stupid.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, I totally agree. My sister's a pediatrician, and. And she never talks down to him, but she does, like. And I noticed this when she was a camp counselor, you get down on their level and you just, like, look at them. And treat them. And you talk to them like. Like they're human. You know, you might have to soften the voice a little bit, but it's. But that's what's, that's what's so great about the people that, that have worked with kids or the, you know, writing children's books. You don't dumb it down. It's not like, it's not like, you know, it's not the way we talk to our dog. You know what I mean?

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah, but in the meantime, you can't talk to my dog that way. He understands every goddamn thing. I gotta. Me and my wife gotta spell stuff. Gotta spell. Because he understands everything.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

T R E A T, T R A T. Yeah, dude.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah, exactly.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You know, dude, I think I. I mean, I got another couple questions about the book before we get into the album, but I think I. I always say, like, my dog, I'm. I'm killing it. On this round of me having a dog. My dog Lekka. I did it right. I hired a dog trainer. Ten weeks in, I did every single thing that she said because I wanted people to know where I'm at in my life is the representation of where that, how that dog is acting. Does that make sense? If you meet somebody with a crazy dog, that person's life is unmanageable. Now, dachshunds, like you said, are. They're a special breed. They are a special breed. Haven't lived with one for three years. I get them Doberman's, you know, dachshund can maybe nip at somebody. A Doberman could kill somebody. And so I did it right and I trained the out of it, made it a service animal. I bring her all over the world with me. She flies first class everywhere because she's bougie and she's 80 pounds. And I gotta make sure you're comfy. And then I'm comfy and the dog's comfy because you didn't pay to sit next to a dog. Dude. The biggest compliment we. I mean, because I literally just flew in from. From Los Angeles yesterday is we're in the pods in Delta and when I use the bathroom four hours in, people are like, there was an 80 pound dog here and that's all you could ever ask for. And so I get the dude. You writing about the dog. I have been begging my friend Shane Gillis, because he loves lekka, to put the dog in his new season of tires. Even if it is just a walk on. I don't have to have a line. Somebody else can hold her.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

But I.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Because now that she's nine and everybody loves this dog, man, because we were in person, you'd be. She'd be leaning up against your leg right now. And. And it's just I. I totally respect and love that you did this.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah. And I also had a. On a. I had my guy Willie on an episode of Blue Bloods. Exact dude on an episode of Blue Bloods. And he had. I just wanted him to kind of walk by, but they gave me a scene where I'm holding him the whole time. They give him a cash chair. He's got a cash chair. Willie boy, treat him like a king. I mean, you know, and it was a long scene. It took way longer than what I expected. But he's in a scene. There's three of us in the scene, and I'm holding him the entire time. Love it. He's done quite a bit of stuff.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I love that, dude. I love that. And I love that because I say this to everybody, you know, if you ever. If you're bummed out and you're ever in your head, be the dog. You know what I mean? Live in the moment. Love everything, you know? And like you said, try new things, you know, It's. It's. It's really just the dog. The dog will fucking eat anything. You know what I mean? Which I'm not. I know it doesn't have me and go, oh, it's a grape or my own shit. I'll go with the grape. And that'll kill me. It's. It's crazy, you know? And then when I started thinking about it and finding out what the book's about, it's like, Bobby loved baked ziti, you know, Steve, you're only wanted Italian food until this docs and staged. This intervention is Willie boy basically doctor me with shorter legs. Maybe.

[Steve Schirripa]

Maybe so. Maybe so. You know. You know, when I did the book, you know, like we started, you know. You know how I started this, man. You know, we would just one day on Fridays to cast the Blue Bloods. The show was on Friday nights. So we would make these videos. All right, don't tune in tonight. Cbs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Not to do mine. I'm out in California in my house. I forgot to do it. I tell my wife, I got to get this video done. I'm sitting down eating popcorn. He's on my knee. I'm talking to her. He sticks his head in the popcorn bag, pops up with a mouthful of popcorn, sticks his head back In. I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Completely by accident. We post it gets millions of views. I said that was fun. People enjoyed it. Just make people happy. I don't monetize it. I don't look for money. It's nothing like that on Instagram. His. So we started then, let's feed him this and feed him that. Little pieces. People think I'm giving the guy, you know, a half a pizza. I'm giving the guy two bites of a pizza. You know what I mean?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

We started doing that. A hero sandwich. Got 16 million views. 100 million views. No monetized. Nothing like that. It makes people happy. That's all he does. People look at him, they smile. They tell me about their dog. They just lost their dog. They just got a dog. I got a dachshund because of you. That's all I'm doing. Me and my wife, she's the brains behind the outfit. We're just doing it to make people happy, make them smile. People love this dog. We did book signings. Hundreds. I kid you not.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I believe. No, I believe it, dude. I believe it.

[Steve Schirripa]

Me and Michael Imperioli did. Wanted to strand. He moderated. 400 people believe it. See, Willie, 350 in Brooklyn. Me and Will. So, you know, you guys.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

See you guys. Explain it to me, bro. I understand that.

[Steve Schirripa]

Not everybody understands.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You don't. If you don't understand that dogs rule and they're the greatest things that God

[Steve Schirripa]

ever gave us, but if you don't have a dog, people. People have no idea. And you know what? Years ago, people treated. Not that. I'm not even trying to be funny.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Good.

[Steve Schirripa]

They treated dogs like dogs. Now they're part of your family. You know, they used to be. Are you kidding me? Get them in the backyard, you know, keep them out all night. You know, dude, dog is part of the family. Like, your dog is dude up front with us. He doesn't make a peep. He loves to fly. He's been flying since. He's this big, you know.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Best compliment I ever got. My sister's husband, Mark, great guy. He's like a judge mandate, but he grew up in the middle of nowhere, Maryland. Because we're from the D.C. area. They moved out to, like, Salisbury, like Ocean City. So, like by the beach. And he's a farm guy. And he grew up very, you know, middle classy farm. You know, it's like where his dad worked his ass off in the fields, whatever the he did. And we've Now I've never been able to bring Lekka into their house and out of respect, I never did because I keep met the mom's at 10 minutes away. But over the years he's met my dog and he'd always make these comments because he'd notice how well trained the dog was and how like, you know, when you have an 80 pound, a dachshund can be in the room with everybody. You might step over, but she, for the most part they'll stay out of the way. But they're smaller. But an 80 pound Doberman, you notice when it's there and it's in a room with a. But there's eight people and there's a dog in a living room. You see it? That being said, over the years he keeps making these comments and we're making crab cakes maybe two Thanksgivings ago, whatever the it was. And, and I mean, dude, this is a, this is a dog outside guy like never would allow dogs in their house, working dogs. He stops holding his crab cakes and goes, I mean, you don't even know she's here. An 80 pound Doberman just out of the way. And he looks at me and he goes, you have a great dog, Josh. You did a fantastic job. And that was as good a compliment that you're gonna get from somebody that doesn't know that understanding and that love. And so everybody does.

[Steve Schirripa]

Joshua, even, even, you know, I think more so than years ago. I'm more. I'm much older than you, but years ago, man, you just. The dog wasn't really part of the family. You was just a dog.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's insane.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know what I mean? And it's like, what, are you kidding me? We're not feeding them that. We're not feeding them this, you know? You know, listen, he's part of the family. He brings us joy. You know, my kids joke we would never get away with what you let him get away with.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Sure. I got a good question. I'm trying to figure out how to word this. What kind, what breed of dog do you think Frank Sinatra would be if he was a dog?

[Steve Schirripa]

You know what I mean?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Like, what do you think?

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, it depends on what moodies in. I've been around him, so it's. I mean, you know, sometimes a pit bull, I think sometimes he could be a pussycat. I guess it depends if he liked you, if he took a liking to you. I think at times if he was drinking, you know, I've been in his company a few times. I was not friends with Him. But I was in his company numerous times. I have a picture here from way back, baby. Way back.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, fucking hell, man.

[Steve Schirripa]

7. Can you see that?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I can see it. Oh, my God. Hold it up a little bit closer. Just. Can you get it right up to the screen so everybody can see it? Because I go to the Go to, I guess. Yeah, keep going over. Go over, go over. Hold right there. Stop. It's like. I feel like the Summer wind should be playing as you put that by.

[Steve Schirripa]

The summer wind.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm blowing in from across the sky. Oh, God bless, dude. I love that. I love that. Yeah, I love that. You say that because. Because Frank is a layered onion. You peel it back and it always kind of feels like. He probably was the sweetest guy when he was in the good mood. He was probably a ball buster when he wanted to be, so I'm betting he could be.

[Steve Schirripa]

I think he was a perfectionist. I think he was. I know he was. I think he was extremely generous. I think he was extremely loyal. Helped a lot of people. A lot. A lot of people over the years, a lot of times. Anonymous. I also think if things didn't go his way, I mean, he had a lot of scraps along the way. He said what was on his mind. He was very hot tempered, very. I guess it comes to a point also, you know. You know, you're worshiped. There's an ego on a lot of entertainers. I guess there's some of that. He also, you know, his feelings were on his sleeve, like this album. I mean, this is, you know, he's going through the breakup. You know, the funny thing is that, you know, we've all gone through breakups, and if you haven't gone in the breakup yet, you're gonna have a breakup. You know, I don't know what age you are, but it's gonna happen. Hopefully it won't happen more than once or twice, but it's gonna happen, right? Yeah. I don't know why we listen to sad songs, because then you want to, like, hang yourself. You know what I mean? You think you would listen to things more upbeat and things that would make you feel better, but yet the pain. And you could hear it in his voice.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah, man. I was not expecting this shit, dude. I literally, you know, I grew up with Frank.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

I.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Because I wanted. The next question is gonna be, how'd you find him? And I feel like it's probably a simple answer, but with me, it was. My dad was always into the vocal, the crooners, the, you know, the four Freshmen, Nat King Cole. Like I grew up. Even the jazz he listened to, it was more. It was miles. It was modal. If it was, you know, even the. Like, you know, if I didn't care. My dad listened to all that, and I love that now. Frank was somebody. But I remember buying. I always liked Frank because my dad liked it. And I remember for his. For Christmas or his birthday, when he did the duets albums, I bought the first one. And, you know, when you're 11, 12, and all you can afford is an album, that's what you're giving them. And I love Night and Day when he sang it with Bono, so. But I only liked it because Bono was in, and I thought Bono was cool. And as I got older, I pushed him aside. And now as I'm getting really into this podcast, we've had a few of his records come up, you know, and. And. And it's like the love for it is there, but I wasn't expecting this kind of side. And I love that you said that earlier about how he is all these different people, and I mean, maybe this is a stupid waste of time question, but it's like, you grew up in Brooklyn. Frank's born across the river in Hoboken. You know, for Italian American kids in New York and New Jersey, it's like Frank wasn't just a singer. He's almost a part of the family. And, you know, like you said, you look.

[Steve Schirripa]

I mean, that was. Yeah, I grew up in Bedford. At the time, not now, but at the time, it was all Italian.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

All Italian. Every bar in the neighborhood, every jukebox. I'm 68 years old. I'm old.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Jeez, you look great.

[Steve Schirripa]

Every bar. Every jukebox at every bar in every neighborhood had Sinatra in it. Every song, you know, they close out the night with My Way. Every single club, they. They. They close out my. Every nightclub, every. Everything that you do, right? We all our parents listen, our grandparents listen, right? Sinatra was this bigger than life thing. This isn't like today social media. You could actually meet a celebrity. He was so far, you could never meet.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah. Oh, dude. Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, it's a whole different thing, right? My mother listened to him. It was. He was around in the house. But of course, you know, back then, also, you know, it's My Way. Sinatra, it's summer when Sinatra, it's Lady is a Tramp. It's the stuff that people like, you know, that kind of stuff, right? This is a little more obscure. You know, the. The Sinatra and This is probably the first concept album.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It is, it is. No, you're right. You're 100, right? This is. This is.

[Steve Schirripa]

This is the first concept. Now, me personally, I listened. Growing up, I got into him more. When I was in college, I got into. I went through a bad breakup, like we all do. Like I said, you listening to all this stuff. Back then, it was albums I was listening to. And then eight tracks, you know, Sinatra on a track. Now I moved to Vegas in 1980 from Brooklyn. I meet a bunch of people out there, and I meet Jilly Rizzo. Jilly Rizzo was Sinatra's right hand man. That was his guy. He owned a bar on 5050th or 52nd street called Jilly's. That's where Sinatra hung out. Jilly owned the bar. It was frequented by mob guys, by Sinatra, by Johnny Carson, by celebrities. It was a small place. Downstairs. They served Chinese food. And Jilly gave up his life, basically, and went on the road with Sinatra. This is Jilly. Jilly Rizzo.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

What a great name. What a great name. Jilly Rizzo.

[Steve Schirripa]

Willie Rizzo and I became friends. And in 1982, he said my mother was coming to town and my sister. And he said I could get you guys tickets to see Sinatra live.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You were like, I'm busy. I'm sorry. I got planned. Go to the Stratosphere.

[Steve Schirripa]

We're sitting at Caesar's Palace. We're sitting. I mean, I don't have 10 fucking cents in my pocket.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

I just got to Vegas, you know, I started making a few bucks. We're sitting at Julie's table, center table, you know, we're like, I don't know, 2, 3. Sinatra, at some point, when he's shaking, shakes my sister's hand. And there you go, Sinatra live. It was the first of maybe 25 times I've seen her.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

Wow.

[Steve Schirripa]

Now, when I worked at the Riviera for years, I was the entertainment director at the Riviera. While I was dabbling in the acting before I was an actor full time. He played the Riviera, as did Liza Minnelli, as did a lot of people, you know. So I was. I caught the tail end of those 80s. I saw Dean Martin, I saw Sammy Davis Jr. Oh, my God, a bunch of times. I knew Rickles, right? So then I really fell in love. Because now, I mean, here we are. I went to a party In Manhattan, Chili's, 65th birthday or 70th, 65th birthday. Sinatra's there. Somebody introduced me. I shake his hand. We Were on First Avenue. Rocky Lee's was Italian restaurant. Pizza. Pizza place was upstairs. Then I was at Julie's 70th birthday. And that's where that picture was taken.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

And Rickles was there. Corbett, Monica was there. Sinatra walks in wearing a members only jacket and it says Frank. I have pictures of this. Like no one knew who he was. It says Frank in red black satin leather Frank. And he's drunk and he's got a bottle, half a bottle of Jack Daniels. And there's a party of about 20 people in a U shaped table. And Rickles gets up and he's. Everyone's doing like a little testimony to Julie. And Frank gets up and said, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And shut up, Don. And I'm not joking. Dead fucking serious. Like it was silence. So there was that part of Sinatra at the end of the night. I had to get a picture with him. The only guy in my 68 plus years you've asked. Had to get a fucking picture with him. And I did. That's the one picture I wanted. You know, this song became a huge hit. He already had won the Academy Award. So, you know, in the early 50s, you know, he was this huge star. And you know, he sold out the Paramount in. Down in Brooklyn. The Paramount and. And in Manhattan. And the people lined up around the corner and on and on and on. And then he took a big.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

His career sank. He hung in there. He won the academy Award.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

He fought.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah. So, you know, so it's basically. I love that you're. I love you're bringing all this up because, you know, I think

[Steve Schirripa]

brought him back.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, he begged and begged. That's the whole. Like the. And you see the Godfather, the guy's like, please, please. And it's like. Because we don't realize that. A lot of people don't realize, dude, like Sinatra's not popular before. From here to attorney. Like he's. He gets dropped by his label. Columbia drops him. MGM drops him. Like, dude, music's changing, dude. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats.

[Steve Schirripa]

He's changing, you know, he's changing. He's not, you know, he was. I don't know if they were accepted, you know, they were accepting him as an adult. He was this Bobby soccer guy. Right, Exactly.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Then he gets connected with Ava Gardner. A man eater. A flat out man eater. Right. He gets divorced from his, you know, his wife. He's got three kids with his wife. And then he marries ava Gardner, whatever, 10 months a year later. And she is just beautiful and a Flat out man eater. And Sinatra goes in a deep funk. I would imagine he was still banging every word because I think he banged like every woman in Hollywood right on top of it. But he, Ava Gardner, I gotta assume was the love of his life. I mean, I can't speak for him. I've written, I've read numerous, numerous biographies, but that is somebody else's opinion. You know, I do know his daughter Nancy. I knew Frank Jr. Who was not a very good entertainer. He did a small bid on the Sopranos. I remember see him in Atlanta, in Vegas, at the mgm. And the last place he looked like he wanted to be was on stage.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Frank, can you imagine having that last name and then. You know what I mean?

[Steve Schirripa]

It's like on the other hand. I hear you. But on the other hand having that last name. Would he even be on stage?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, no, of course not. But I. That's the thing is like he former in Pittsburgh. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's twofold, right then.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, you're right.

[Steve Schirripa]

Then he took over and I saw him. He was. Became the orchestra leader for his dad. You know, he was leading the band at one point.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, Vinnie Falcone had given it up. He was with him for years. You know, another time I found myself in Dodger Stadium with like his whole band, me and Willie there, his seats and the whole band was there. Irv Kotler was the drummer and Bill Miller was a piano player and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So, you know, I was around. And then when Jilly got hit by a drunk driver on his 75th birthday, 1992, I was a pallbearer at the Rosary and I went to the funeral. We went to Sinatra's house afterwards and he was broken up. This was his best friend, like his brother, his best friend in the world. You know, he was an only child. The. The BB King was a huge Sinatra fan, as was so many people. And this, this song changed a lot of people's perception of him. A lot of the other songs on the album are from the American songbook.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's. It is a. It is a mishmash, you know, but this is the record, I think that, you know, when you're talking about him, it disproved that Sinatra wasn't just a singer, that he's an album artist. I mean, it is powerful. Very sad, very melancholy, you know, but commercially powerful. But this separated him from the singles driven, you know, pop that's out there at the time. It established him as like, for The Capital Years is probably his peak period. And then, you know, like you said, it created the template for an adult concept record. It turned romantic failure into high art. And. And, I mean, it made Sinatra, his sadness, glamorous before this because, like, being dumped was, like, pathetic. Now it's this beautiful thing of being a human and feeling. And you just add a goddamn string section, put yourself on an album cover, and then it's the coolest that what he did after this, which is, like, he releases probably the record that everybody mostly knows, Songs for Swinging Lovers. You know, it's Sunny, It's. It's swinging. Flip side to this record. And then he just continues on that hot streak with Capital, with Where Are you? Come Fly With Me, Only the Lonely. And. And from that point on, boom. He's the chairman of the board, killing the game. Rat Pack, all that stuff, man.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know. You know, this is. It's a very. You know, you can hear it in his voice. His voice is so sad. He's so. You know. You know what I mean? I. I don't. I don't think he had this. There's no acting here, is my point. You know what I mean? Which is. Singing is a part of acting, in my opinion. I can't sing at all. But there's no acting here. These feelings are for real, just like, you know, set them up. Joe, there's another one, right? You know, and this is like, the third of these concept albums of his. And then he continued on, like you said, with Duets. And then he had the trilogy. I forget what that's called. He had. The trilogy album was a big one. And listen, I'm a fan. I still listen. Yeah, I tend to like the more, you know, popular. Whatever you want to call it. I love them. Look, you ever see him in Guys and Dolls, one of my favorite movies.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Come on, dude. You think. You think my dad didn't show me that shit when I was, like, 5 years old? Come on, dude.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, everybody. Every Italian guy wanted to be Sinatra, I guess. And every woman loved him, right? I mean, you know, I mean, Christ, I mean, you know, I never noticed he wore a toupee. He had a toupee for years. I mean, I think I saw some show. A guy was selling it somehow he had his hands on. And I guess you could tell. But I. Maybe I don't want to see it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, dude, you'd like. Dude, he had a full head of hair until he died. And if he did have a. He never have a toupee. He would have Gone to the best doctor in New York City, Dr. Wesley, and gotten the. The hair out the back. And the doctor would have kept the little earbuds that fell out and sell those on the Internet.

[Steve Schirripa]

I'm sure he tried that. I mean, he was playing in Vegas until. Oh, I think he played till maybe 1990.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I. I saw him. I don't know if I was. If I was alive or. Or my mom. I was. I was in Euro, but my mom and dad, I think it was in 79. They went to the Capitol center in Washington, in Maryland, where we grew up, and they. They brought me. I'm almost positive I was in Euro, but, you know, I think that's why I love music so much. And then I think maybe a month later, they took me to see Alien. And I think that's why I'm just bursting, just trying to kick the. Just get out. I just gotta. Gotta get out and eat. All right. I never also. I never met. I. I thought of this joke when you were saying it. I think this is funny. It was like I never met Frank Sinatra, but I did eat a Patsy's pizza while watching Rosemary's Baby, so, I mean, that's pretty close.

[Steve Schirripa]

All right, so you got me.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

That.

[Steve Schirripa]

That was kind of weird, right? What was? Mia Farrell, 20, and he was 52.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, God. I didn't know. I didn't know. But she was. I mean, but that's like the. But that's how cool he is, man. I mean, not that the age. I'm gonna say the age, but she's the hot actress. I mean, dude, that's a guy that in his 50s, is still sexy and like, women can look at. I mean, dude, if you put him up against the. Like. Like What? Like. Like 50 now, you know, they're looking at, like, Brad Pitt and like, that. It's like, I don't think he was ever really in shape, you know, he wasn't all

[Steve Schirripa]

Josh. What made him so cool was he did it. He really did do it the way he wanted it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

His way. Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, honestly, there was no bullshit there. He did it the way he wanted to do it. The ups and the downs. He didn't have a smooth sailing career. He didn't formulate. He didn't fit in. You know, when he was making movies, he didn't want to do more than one or two takes. He had big problems with directors on the set. That'd be the movies the way he wanted. They also were out all night. He shot the Rat Pack. I mean, he shot Ocean's eleven. The original. I mean, they were working all night, shooting all day, back to the nightclub at the Sands and on and on and on with barely enough sleep. I mean, you know, he. And then even at the end when he toured with, it was Sammy Davis and it was Dean Martin. Dean Martin had enough. He said, I'm done, Frank. I can't do it anymore. And then they got Liza Minnelli to join the tour. He had just had enough. Look, see, I got my red cup. You got your blue cup.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, the big blue. The big red. Dude, I did this full on comparison, Steve. And I've got. I've tried to compare your career to Frank's, but the one I had more fun doing it. I spent all day on my flight doing this. Yesterday was comparing Sinatra to Bobby. You want to hear some of the comparisons?

[Steve Schirripa]

Let me hear, let me hear.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

All right.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Well, both of you guys, Italian American men defined by loyalty, melancholy appetite and old school codes. Pretty spot on, I'd say, right? Character.

[Steve Schirripa]

There you go.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

All right, one for one. All right, so then Sinatra's loneliness is romantic, but Bobby's loneliness is domestic.

[Steve Schirripa]

He's domestic. He was madly in love with his wife Karen. Madly in love with her. There was this mention he's the only guy that didn't have a gramata.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yes. Oh, you do. He's my. It was my favorite character on the show because it was, it was the most, you know, it was really. It was the opposite of everybody else. And I mean, while Sinatra is wandering the empty streets, you know, as Bobby's playing with his model trains, Bobby's dude, Bobby's a sweetheart, like, you know, very loyal guy.

[Steve Schirripa]

I don't meant to be in the mob, to be honest. He inherited Junior from his father, who play was played by the great Burt Young, who is one of the most underrated actors out there, ever a wonderful guy. And Bobby was very, very loyal. And I think Bobby married the psycho Janice. One, he was manipulated. Number two, I think he was looking for a mother for his kids. Yep. As he loved his family tremendously. As Sinatra loved his family. Of course, his three kids, he loved to death. They could do no wrong. He stayed close to them, passed a divorce and then on and on. Even left them off, you know, just inherited a lot of money and. And they were protective of him also, you know.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Let me ask you a question. So Bobby, like you said, is one of the few guys on Sopranos who, who, you know, feels real love, seems capable of real love. Did you play him as a gangster? That was Soft or a soft guy trapped among gangsters.

[Steve Schirripa]

That's exactly how. Yeah, a soft guy. You know, there was a. There was a guy in my neighborhood, his name was Freemo. He was a really big fat guy. I wore a fat suit my first two years on the show, by the way. And then that was season two and three, season four. I must have got fat enough on my own. Get off. But so you see, Bobby's really huge there. And when you first see him. But this fat guy, Fremo, was a guy in the neighborhood, sweeping up outside the club, getting coffee for the guys, driving guys. And I. I knew. I knew a guy like Bobby, capable of stuff, I'm sure.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Sure.

[Steve Schirripa]

But I knew a guy like Bobby and I thought back. Of course, it was all in the writing, but I thought back. That's how I played it. You don't see Bobby as a tough guy. There's moments where he's kind of forced to. And as the series goes on and he's getting closer to Tony, he's forced to do things. He never wanted to murder that, that kid. He murdered that kid because he had to. And his life is never going to be the same ever. You know, is he capable of stuff? I guess he put himself in that position. I mean, he wasn't innocent. He had to do it. But I played him as a guy that kind of got caught up, that really didn't want to be there, and that's how I played it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And also. Yeah, and. But also, you know, Tony's humiliating Bobby constantly. You know, he's constantly putting him down. He's like, eventually he's pushing him into the violence. Was. Do you think Bobby was corrupted or was that always in him being. You know, like you said, it's like he's. Everybody's capable of something. You grew up in a hard area, you know, like even you, probably. You're growing up in beds. Bensonhurst or bedside. I'm sorry, I don't want to it up. And I know one's totally different.

[Steve Schirripa]

I grew up in Bensonhurst and I have friends that did 25 years for murder.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Exactly, Exactly.

[Steve Schirripa]

I have friends that are doctors.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, exactly.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know why someone in my neighborhood makes a left and someone makes a right? I have no idea. You know, honestly, that's the million dollar question. Because we grew up the same. We played Little League. We grew up around each other. You know, Joe, Joe Blow, your Little League baseball coach, great guy. And then one day you open up the New York Post and he killed three people. And you had no Idea. I had no idea. I thought he was, you know, I thought he was a mailman.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

So there was all of that in the 60s and 70s where I grew up. That's even in the. Into the 80s. I had left. You know, I moved. I. I left New York in 1980. But even the 80s, into the 90s now, it's changed, you know, it's a different neighborhood. But I don't know why people go left or right. They get caught up. They get. Some people have it in them. I think some people have it in them. Yeah. With that. No, that is, you know, I don't know. Sometimes it's survival, sometimes it's greed, you know, sometimes it's power. Sometimes it's. I want to be somebody. I'm a nothing.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

I.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, I got a shitty gig, and I'm, you know, I'm shoveling shit, and I. It's a shitty job, and this is a way for me to be somebody.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, I think that's another thing, you know why, you know, I'm not a fan of the mob. They hurt people. I'm not really a fan of the Mob. I think people that

[Josh Adam Meyers]

idolize them.

[Steve Schirripa]

Well, they idolize.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, no. I was saying. I was gonna. I was starting to finish this sentence saying I think that people that idolize them because we've gotten so many incredible movies out of it that, you know, for the most part, makes it look cool, you know, and we always think about the exciting parts of Goodfellas, but then everybody, you know, oh, the second. The whole last hour is like the downfall, but they see them cooking.

[Steve Schirripa]

But, Josh, listen to me. You know, it makes it look cool. Listen, mob. Mob movies and mob TV shows, they are like a child. They're a genre. I love rom coms. I love westerns. I love horror films. I love stupid comedies with Will Ferrell in them. Right. Whatever. Whatever you like, man. You know, whatever. All right. Okay. I. I love. I love mob stuff most. Mob stuff most is.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You're not wrong.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah. It's obviously the great ones that we all know and love. Okay. This is great. The Godfather, I believe, was the first and one of the few where you actually saw the family. You spent time with your family. A man's not a man if he don't spend time with his family. You saw his. His love for his sons, his son for his wife. I'm sure he had a gromata. But you saw behind the scenes. You saw the house, you saw the dinners. You saw Sopranos, one of the few that Took you behind the scenes.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Tony had problems with his wife, problems with the kids, problems with his uncle. His mother.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Mother.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yep. You saw this, you saw a different side. They weren't. Yeah, those nights at the bottom were cool. They all had their girls and they went to Vesuvio and they had dinner and that was all cool in the hotel room at the Plaza. But you saw what really goes on there and. And the inner struggle of being a mob guy. My people, and I understand why people are so enamored with this. But of course, my people don't just hurt each other. Oh yeah, yeah. Innocent people. And I think a lot of people don't understand this. I think people especially like from other countries, they think it's fun and games. Hey, you wear a jogging suit, you smoke a cigar. This is fun. This is fun. It's not fun, you know.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

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[Josh Adam Meyers]

How many of them are there? I know all that.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

That's like the holy grail of streaming services though.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And, and getting paid.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

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[Josh Adam Meyers]

Dig it.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Hey, babes, it's Paris Hilton. So I was checking my points balance in the Hilton Honors app the other day, and, yeah, I've got about a billion, which feels excessive even for me. Just kidding. You can never have too many Hilton Honors points. And I want to do something iconic this summer, so I'm giving away all my Paris points. Just find somewhere you've always wanted to stay. Then go to my socials or Hilton's and tell me about it. Just make sure you're a Hilton Honors member. And I might be sending you Paris Points because when you want points that make your summer even hotter, it matters where you stay.

[Steve Schirripa]

I've seen it, you know, it's not fun.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You know, I mean, I'm gonna say something, Steve, because it's. It really is. And I remember when it comes out, you know? Cause I'm. I'm. I think it was 18, 19 came out what, 99. The first season. 98.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

99.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Or was it. Yeah, it was right on then. You know, the. The writing. The writing, of course, that. That David brought to you guys is incredible. The, like, I love that you said everything that you just said right there because realistically, you're right that there was nothing in the mob world that ever showed. Pulled the curtain back and said, hey, man, this guy's got kids. He's got to pay for college. He's got to do this. His mom put all these problems in him just like mine. I mean, his mom and my mom were sympathic or they would have hung out, probably shared medication and the old folks. So that also being said, you know, that was why it took off so much, because. Because, yes, you get the people that are like, I just like mob, and I want more of that. But then you have the people like, oh, my God, this is. He's like me and the. And the critics, of course. And it's in the prime of HBO becoming HB O. Like how when you started seeing them, all the critics and people see how this was. They were saying, this is changing television, you know, and everything. And it really did, because nothing before it did. You know, what was the moment that you really realized that you were like, oh, no, we're. We really are a part of something special.

[Steve Schirripa]

Okay. So I came on in 99. Okay. The first season was over. I came on in the second season, second episode of the second season. I happened to be there working one of the first episodes. And the show was the first cable show to be nominated for an Emmy ever.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I know.

[Steve Schirripa]

1999, 16 Emmy Awards. They were nominated.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

They.

[Steve Schirripa]

The. The.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

The

[Steve Schirripa]

reviews couldn't be better if David Chase wrote them himself. Okay? Joe was brilliant. We know it. We saw it. He. The acting, the humanized Jim humanized Tony Soprano. You rooted for Tony Soprano. He's a murderer, he's an adulterer. He sells drugs. He does every fucking thing under the sun. We were rooting for him to do well. We wanted Tony Soprano to be okay. That was Jim's. That's the writing, and that was Jim's work. Right? He was that good an actor that you humanize this guy. That was a big breaking point because when they first started shooting the show and the pilot, Jim, Michael and so on, had no idea it was going to be the hit of a game. They just. Another pilot. Jim had done numerous pilots. Michael had done some pilots. Hey, if nothing else, it's a payday. We're gonna shoot the pilot. Blah, blah, blah. That's exactly how it was. And then the thing explodes. Season two, it expands. They bring in some new characters. Season three, four, five, there's parties every Sunday. It's the biggest thing, the hottest thing. I never saw a bad episode of the Sopranos. Not one I never saw. There's some that you like better than others. I've never. There was not one bad of the 86. Okay? There were those people. It's a very complex, very deep, smart show. There are those surface people that say they should be a killing every show. Or at least a beat. That was actually a quote by someone. There should be. You know, it's too slow. They're not killing enough people. Well, they didn't get the whole show. They didn't get the concept of the show about family, capitalism, what the state of America, on and on and on. We could do the layers of what the show is about. And, you know, me and Michael did a podcast, and it's such a complicated show. It's so complicated the meanings of things. David is a really brilliant, brilliant guy, you know, so it went deeper than a lot of mob things. You know, for the surface, this is a mob guy. I'm gonna break your head. I'm gonna break your head. You know? You know what I mean? It's the usual. That's what you see a lot of, you know.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

You don't see many good ones. You know that Kill the Irishman was a terrible movie. It was just a big movie.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, was.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, I did. I read that book years ago. In a million years, that guy didn't kill Joe Gallo. You know, there's a million years, you know, Umberto's claim house. I used to work at Umberto's when I was a kid. In a million years, that guy didn't kill him. But. But whatever. They took it. It's almost fiction, which it is. But it was such a big movie with big stars, so another mob thing. But you know what I mean? I don't think anyone knew until it was like, okay, you know. And now, 19 years later, me and Michael Imperial just toured the UK. We did 14 shows in 10 cities, 27,000 people. We tell funny behind us. We've done it all over. We did in Australia, we toured. We did it all over the United States. In February, we went to the UK, 27,000 people. We talk about funny behind the scenes. Stories, clips, slides, Q and A. The show over there is as popular, if not more popular than here.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah, I could imagine. Because they're fascinating. They love America.

[Steve Schirripa]

Tattoos of Michael's character, tattoos of me, of Tony Sirico, of Paulie Walnuts on their leg. This. This. Because of streaming, there's kids in their teens, in their 20s. This show has had a revival. Not that it ever went away, but now there's 11 million people at HBO. Now there's. It's all over the world.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

All over the world. Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's just crazy, you know, and how it holds up, up the writing. It holds up. Besides the, the computers and the cars and. And the obvious, it holds up. You know, some shows you look at and you go, jesus, how did I ever like this show? Wow, this is fucking corny.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God, it's, you know. Well, that's why, dude, that's why, like this Breaking Bad, the Wire, you know, Chernobyl. That is one of the high ranking ones. Even like Game of Thrones, which had like, that. Everybody's like, loved it until that last season, which they shit the bed. The Sopranos never shit the bed. It never jumped the shark. It never did anything that made the audience feel dumb. It didn't, like you said, it didn't dumb it down. It kept it as Shakespearean and as true to human existence as any show. And that is why it was the only show during the pandemic I rewatched, which I got in a lot of trouble because I have $6,000 worth of. So no speakers. And I used to skip over the theme song, and I. My. My landlord, like, calls me, like, dude, what the Was going on last night? Every hour on the hour, just this blaring is, oh, God, this my own. Like, I don't. I don't know. But that's what I'm saying is that. Is. This is a show that. I mean, we. Everybody, dude, you couldn't have ended it a better way. I don't give a what anybody says. I don't give a what anybody says. It was one of the best endings in all of television. I think it was better than the Breaking Bad ending because did he make it? Did he not? Who knows? But that's what it's like being Tony Soprano. Every second. You got to look over your shoulder.

[Steve Schirripa]

I thought for many years that he was alive and well.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Same.

[Steve Schirripa]

Maybe it was wishful thinking. But as I watched again and went through the podcast and stuff, I think Tony Soprano died.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Okay. Yeah, it's good. One or the other.

[Steve Schirripa]

And he left it. David Chase, the writers left it up to you, what you want. And the music. I mean, you have a music podcast. The music was brilliant. Do you know at the end. At the end, hit me a half a million dollars an episode music budget.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, my God, dude. And switching it up. Not like fucking Scorsese that's put goddamn gimme shelter in every fucking movies, dude. Even in Kundun. It's got like the. It's like, wow, children.

[Steve Schirripa]

You're like, this isn't this million dollars an episode. David Chase, who's a. A music fanatic, and Martin, Bruce Lee, the music. The producer in charge of the music, he. He told us all about it. And Steve. Steve Perry said he had seen the last episode before he agreed to give them Don't Stop Believing He's a fucking liar. Because nobody saw that last episode, but he might have seen the scene. But, you know, some. Some. Some guys wanted to. Before they agreed to, there was another band of. I wish I could think of it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Sticks, Oreo Speedwagon.

[Steve Schirripa]

They wanted to see the scene or they wanted to read it to make sure you know what was happening. You know, they don't want a bloodbath with their song over it or whatever, but in the meantime, they use many obscure, you know, people that Alabama 3, has anyone heard of them before? Woke up this morning, which was not written for the Sopranos, by the way, that they had that song. And then David Chase found the song. I don't know if you knew that.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I knew that.

[Steve Schirripa]

Now, that was not specifically written, though. It fits in perfectly. Got yourself a gun, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Right? But, yeah, a half a million dollar budget. They use Sinatra, numerous Sinatra songs, numerous Van Morrison songs, you know.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, my God, I got into Steely Dan because of. Of Tony singing Dirty Work.

[Steve Schirripa]

There you go.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I mean, that's like. I was like, steely Dan sucks. And I saw Tony, I was like, all right, never mind.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know, you meet a lot of people along the way. One of my favorite things, you know, I'm the biggest Steely Dan fan, and I go to a Nick game and, you know, there's a suite upstairs. You go to. This is, I don't know, maybe 10 years ago, and, you know, everybody has dinner, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Donald Fagan said hello to me, Call me by name. That was a big thrill to me.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I could imagine. I mean, dude, you're. You're in the. Dude, you're a part of something, you know that. It's like you're part of a rat pack. You are a part of a rat pack of actors that. That we. That we love. I mean, these are. Some of them are horrible characters, but your character in particular, I think that's also bringing up Michael as one former addict. Like, we felt bad for him. Even though he's winning, he's like. He's so devastated.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

But you.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I mean, playing Bobby, you played it so well, where. Where it's like, you know, like you said, like, the love for Karen. It's like, you know, and I mean, how you're. You're also having to be in this world that's so dark and you were the one that didn't fit in, but then is forced to. So it's like,

[Steve Schirripa]

you know, he was. Listen, you know the scene at the end of that episode after he kills that kid, which we shot that in Brooklyn, by the way, in Double for Montreal, we shot that at Flatbush where the French kid gets shot and he doesn't even. I don't think he has a word. He doesn't. If he says. He doesn't say much. But he was very good. Very good. And, you know, when he goes back and he's, you know, the. The show ends and they're playing this magic moment, you know, like Jay, the Americans and this Magic moment. He's holding on to his daughter. Bobby's life has changed.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Will never be the same again, you know? You know, so. Yeah, it's.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's. It's. It really is, man. It's like, you know, you're. You're dealing in these heavy scenes, much like this album. I'm trying to see if I can fit this back, too, but I got a couple more.

[Steve Schirripa]

I understand, but the album is. The album is heavy. I read BB King, who I knew a little. He had a house in Vegas. He was a big fan of We Small Hours of the Morning.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I. I wanted to ask you because it's like you're dealing, because I could imagine Frank, you know, he's making this record. This is like his. This, like. It's so heartfelt. And it's also serious with what he's saying, because he's pouring his heart and soul into these. Into this great American songbook. On top of the. The originals. Was there ever a. What's the funniest thing that happened on set during a scene that was supposed to be serious?

[Steve Schirripa]

Well, there was a. There's a scene where they get. They're stuck out in the woods.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I mean. Yeah, is that. That's the one where they're after the Russian guy.

[Steve Schirripa]

After the Russian guy. Steve Buscemi's directing, and Jim sees me in the Elmer Fudd outfit already. You know, we had been out in the woods. I'll tell you a funny story. We didn't shoot in the Pine Barrens, which is in New Jersey. We shot upstate in Harriman, New York. Harriman State park, at this point. And the reason being there was a politician, and this scumbag's name is James Triffinger, okay? And he was a New Jersey politician who would not give the Sopranos the permits to shoot in the Pine Barrens. He said Sopranos made New Jersey look bad, made Italians look bad. Just hated the show. A year later, James Treffordshire gets arrested and goes to jail for obstruction of justice, mail fraud, and numerous other things. Okay? So we were at Harriman State Park. Was it supposed to snow? It was a lucky accident. Jim says to me, you got to make me laugh tomorrow morning. I don't know how you're going to do that. I come to work, I'm going, how the fuck am I going to make this guy laugh? He already saw the outfit with the mittens. That's what he was supposedly laughing at. That I come in at, you know, 1, 2, 3 in the morning, you know, get woken up in the middle of the night to help them. And I go to the prop guy and I say, listen, I don't know. I gotta help. I gotta make Jim laugh. You got anything? Any ideas? And he gives me a dildo that's about this big iron breath. And when I turned the corner gym and he's cracking open a bottle of Jack Daniels and I'm twirling this thing around out of my pants. And that's what he's laughing at. What? You see the scene. If you go back and look, he's laughing at me twirling a giant dildo, rubber dildo around. And you can see Uncle Junior almost crack because I didn't tell his soul.

[Podcast Host (Promo)]

No.

[Steve Schirripa]

Wonder what I was doing.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

If. If the. If the. If. If. So if Jim. If Gandolfini is. Is Frank, what would. What would Bobby be in the Rat Pack? Or what would, like, sale. And everybody, if you had to give

[Steve Schirripa]

Bobby would be what? Joey Bishop.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I. Dude, I was gonna say that. I didn't want to say it. I was hoping you would, but still was as cool.

[Steve Schirripa]

Still was the coolest character. He was wonderful. I guess he would be Dean Martin.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah. Dean. Yeah. Who's Sammy. Who's Sammy Davis

[Steve Schirripa]

that laughed a lot. And Sammy was a. A good guy, but he was so. So accommodating. Right. Stomping his feet and.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

I don't know who was a. Kind of a suck ass. I don't know. Ass. But you know what I mean. I'll tell you another funny story. They were shooting a scene with the Joey pants. Ralphie. Yeah, they're shooting him. And there was the one. The scene. They're up in the hotel room and they got the. The stewardesses from, I don't know, Iceland or whatever. And there's a big party goes on and blah, blah, blah, blah. And there's a. You know. And I think Joey's character winds up on, you know, flat on his stomach and he's got no pants on. And it's just chaos. They've been up all night getting high and fucking and whatever. And during one scene, Joey, who's a very funny guy, Joey Panther.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I can imagine he seems like he is.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah. He sticks a breadstick in his ass and Jim walks over and sees it and breaks it off and eats it. That was a pretty funny moment.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I mean, I can imagine now, you guys, you know, being. Well, you know what I mean, from being an actor. It's. And it's this. I've worked on stuff and the, the connection that you make with your, with the people you're working with, whether it's a week because you're with them all day. And you gotta, like on being on tour of musicians, I become cool with the crew and it's like, it's just. You become family. And then after all those years, you

[Steve Schirripa]

know, not every show does.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, but, but, dude, but it's a but. My dude. My dad always said this. Let me before I cut you off. I don't mean to cut you off. My dad always. Because my dad's from, from Philadelphia, but he was like, dude, the guys from New York and New Jersey, they're the fun ones. And the Italian guys, they like to laugh, they bust balls. He's like, I love hanging out. And dude, a lot of the people that I met, you know, throughout life are usually the most funniest guys are from, are from Brooklyn, they're from, they're from New York, they're from New Jersey. I always get along with them. So then, you know, just to put you guys on set, I mean, you guys must have just had.

[Steve Schirripa]

It was like hanging out, you know. Listen, you never once did I wake up and go, oh, shit, I got to go in here again.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Exactly.

[Steve Schirripa]

Very much. We were together for 10 years, man. You know, you go through marriages, divorces, problems, all kinds of shit, having babies, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So you're together, you got know each other. We traveled a lot together. We went to the Emmys five times. We went to the SAG Awards four times. You're traveling together. We would do appearances together. We worked outside. I did a movie with Michael. I did a movie with this guy. You know, you got to know each other very well. You know, I've worked on shows, I've been on numerous shows. And sometimes it's just work. You go in, everyone's polite, everyone's paycheck. Yeah, it's all business. It's great. Like you're going into your office. Not everybody hangs out after work. Not everybody goes to happy hour together. Sometimes you just work. You're cordial, you're respectful. You do your work together, you go home. Other times you run into some pricks. Not everybody's great. Sometimes you got a prick or two that you got to navigate and you'll learn how to navigate it. Like you do, somebody in the office is a suck ass. You gotta fix it right? You know, that's how it works, brother.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's always some lady in hr, she's the suck ass, she's always extending the Company party a little bit longer. Like, come on, I want to go home.

[Steve Schirripa]

I tell you, that's one thing. Sopranos, we had party after. They imagine it was party after party after party. There was any excuse for eating together. Yeah, it's wonderful. Just wonderful memory, a time in my life that I'll never forget, that won't come around again.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I could imagine. I mean, dude, you got to spend time with, with, you know, a rock and roll legend with one of the greatest actors our generation. Another one of the greatest character actors, Michael Imperioli. I mean, everything he's in. He just did my friend's TV show about when he was like the counselor for the. Those Latino guys with my friend, you know, with Frankie Quinones and Chris Estrada. And I mean, you see him on there, you're like, you're not. That's not fucking. And that's what I'm saying is, like,

[Steve Schirripa]

you get that Michael's a wonderful actor and a wonderful. And so is everybody else. I mean, Stevie Van Zandt couldn't be better fitting Pastor. You know, I mean, Jim was a great guy. Edie I still see quite often. Just wonderful, wonderful to work with.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You get free. Do you get free tickets to every Springsteen concert now? I mean,

[Steve Schirripa]

you know, I've seen him numerous times, you know, I mean, you know, I don't get free tickets. Tickets. No, I. But I had in the past, they invited us to shows. Stevie's very generous guy. You go out with. Stevie Van Zandi picks up every tab.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

Oh, really?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I love that. He did.

[Steve Schirripa]

We pick up a check, if you would. Stevie Van Zandt, he's a good guy, very generous.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

So, all right, so. So the cast is. The whole cast is going out to eat the main character. All the guys in the crew, you guys are going out to eat. Edie's there, like, let's say Lorraine, you know, so it's everybody. Is he always. He's always putting the MX card down

[Steve Schirripa]

or you would try to pay. Jim would try to pay Michael, me, you know, we would try to pay, you know, But Stevie would always. There's no tab that he's shy. He'll pick up the check. Sirico want to pick up a check. He's got this.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

That's just like the character.

[Steve Schirripa]

He's gonna pay.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Wait, so you say that. That he was the most like his character then? Like, I mean, it seems like he'.

[Steve Schirripa]

Oh, he was exactly like his character. There's not almost. I love it. Paulie. They're very similar germaphobes. They Both had a lot of the characteristics. A wonderful guy. Laughs. I had laugh after laugh after laugh with Tony Sirico. A wonderful, charitable guy and a lot of fun.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Man, oh, man. I did. I love this. Yeah, let's.

[Steve Schirripa]

Let's.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Let's start wrapping this up. I want to get you out of here soon. This is. I mean, I'm sorry. I mean, for the people out there that, like. Like, I feel like we've gone over Frank. I mean, the. We could go track by track, but there's no point.

[Steve Schirripa]

Are they gonna get mad?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I don't give a shit, dude. This is.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

This.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Sometimes. This is for me. This is for me.

[Steve Schirripa]

I don't want them to get mad about.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Nobody's getting mad. Listen, we. I feel like when you come down to some of these records, because we. All we've done is one. Give it the respect it deserves. We talked about why it's important, what was going on in the world. And then on that note, what number is this?

[Steve Schirripa]

100, I think.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Nah, this is. Let me take a look. I just had it up right real quick.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

It is.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm pretty sure. Let me take the list. Hold on. I'm pretty sure this. Oh, God damn. I searched the wrong thing. I think this is like 100, 102. We're about to break into the bottom hundred. And let me see if I got some facts I can. We can wrap this mama jam up with. Because this was like. This is. This is. I got re. Ranked on the new one, and this one stayed on here. I think, you know, when everybody talks about Frank, I think this is why this album was lower than the one that I think had more of the hits. It's because this is a side of him that you. This is an honest thing. This changes adult music. This changes music.

[Steve Schirripa]

But this is really a fan. If you're just a superficial guy, you know, like I said, you like the songs that are very popular, that. You know what I mean? You know, what is it? Summer Wind, which I love. And lady is a Tramp and I Did It My Way and, you know, and I. There's a lot of songs that. Let me try again. That's a obscure song, which I love, a Sinatra song.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Wait, Steve, Steve, Steve. I gotta actually mention it again. All right. I was gonna say for the end, but it just feels like it's apropos. Like, how hard did you cry when you saw that. That Benny Safdie commercial or the New York Knicks fan running down the streets in Manhattan and they're playing that, you know, they're playing. I did it my. Because for real, dude, As a basketball fan, as a guy that I lived in LA 14 years. I. I hate the Lakers. I. I hate all the LA teams. I. I quietly was like, man, I hope the Clippers do something like, come on for Billy Crystal.

[Steve Schirripa]

Why? What with the hate. Don't hate.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's not a hate. I just. Let me say this. I don't.

[Steve Schirripa]

What? Don't you.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Okay. No, I'm gonna flip it to what I like. I'm taking this. I'm gonna take it.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

This.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm gonna take it to. What I like about the Knicks winning is. Is that it's not a. Listen, it's. It's about. From living out here for five years, growing up on the east coast, and reason I cried when the Washington Capitals won the Stanley cup, it's because it's not for me. I. I'm living a great life. And if they lost, I'd go back and still do shows. The Knicks winning is for all the years that. That your. That the team has struggled and been so close. But it's not for the celebrities. It's for the bodega workers and the sanitation guys, the people that make this city run. It's like, you know, it's for. It's. It is. I understand the pain and I understand what it's like to live Groundhog Day over and over. And New York is a tough city, and sometimes, you know, you need that thing and you put the. The New York Knick fans are loyal to 18. Unlike. And this is what I'm bringing back to LA, unlike Lakers fans. Because when the Lakers started shitting the bed and the Golden State warriors started playing. Well, I was working at a nightclub and I was DJing. And you'd see everybody wearing the fucking warriors things, and I'd be like, oh, you were a Lakers fan? Hey, man, I'm at the California. I'm like, no, no, it's never like that. You're not jumping ship to the nets or LA France.

[Steve Schirripa]

They go to the Dodger. Go to a Dodger game. They get there two innings late, and they leave three innings early at the Mexicans.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

The Mexicans. The Mexicans are there from the beginning. That's what I'm saying. Those are the people. I'm excited when the Dodgers win.

[Steve Schirripa]

I've been a Knick fan Since I'm

[Josh Adam Meyers]

8 years old, exactly as it should be.

[Steve Schirripa]

I used to sit so high up, even through my college years, I could touch the roof. That's how high up I was. There was tickets for 650 for me and my girl with a student union card. On a Saturday night, we would take the train in from Brooklyn. When I came back here 26 years ago or so, I met someone at the Knicks and I started going to games. And I've been a long suffering Knick fan. I probably gone to 10 to 15 games a year for the last 20 something years. What I loved about this was, and I was at all the games, I was at game four, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This brought the city together. I don't mind that people jumped on the bandwagon. I like that people that don't know a basketball from a hockey puck suddenly were in a bar watching with a Knick jersey on while watching the game or watching it on the side of a building in Greenwich Village or Bryant park or Battery park or Central Park. I love that the whole city. And with shitty times in the city divided for numerous reasons, everybody was together on this and I loved it. And I still feel it. Oh yeah, I still feel it. People are happy. And you're right, people, big TV coming out in front of the bodega. He's handing out free beers down in Brooklyn, downtown Brooklyn. And just wonderful. Brought this city together. One goal. I was lucky enough, I was invited. I was on a float at the parade.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, God. I fly to. Look, I think I said I'm. I have. I have the Wizards logo tattooed to me. I just want to show you I'm not like, I'm not some bullshit motherfucker. Like, I love right next to RoboCop, the Washington Wizards logo. I love the Wizards.

[Steve Schirripa]

It was great for the city and great for the whole country, to be honest, because I think a lot of people caught Nick Fever.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

How could you not? Dude, how could. That's what I was saying. It was. There was an electricity in this city and like I said, it's like you, this is the connection between the DC and the New York and especially with Dolan and what the Commanders or the Redskins had to go through with our horrible owner Dan Snyder. And I don't want you to talk shit because I don't want your tickets to be taken. So I will say anything so you don't have to agree with me or anything, but the guy making bad decisions like people you, a lot of that you suffered through years of nobody's. Nobody's like where Chris Dohan is your best player.

[Steve Schirripa]

Yeah. But I'm going to tell you this. I'm going to tell you this. And I've been there the whole time.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I know you have.

[Steve Schirripa]

I'm close and I love Jim Dolan, and he's a generous guy and a really good guy. They never didn't try to win. They. Ned. The Knicks never didn't try to win. They never tanked. They never. They just. Mistakes were made, but never did they not want to. When people used to go, what do they give a shit? They sold out anyway. The Knicks always wanted to win.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, you know, I, I forget who now.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

And I.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You're right. And look. And I, I, you know, I. Dan Snyder is probably one of the worst owners in anything and nobody. And I'm not putting Dolan on that level. What I'm saying is. So that's. You're right.

[Steve Schirripa]

No, you won't know what Jim does. Trust me. He's a good cat. Yeah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's just. It's just. It's just tough when it's like, you. This is a city that, you know, that it deserves to have. Everybody always assumes. Bro.

[Steve Schirripa]

Bro.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I was gonna say everybody assumes that New York is gonna. Is always winning, and they haven't won. Dude, the Yankees are like.

[Steve Schirripa]

Haven't won since, like, what, 048?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But it's 17 years ago. It's like, wait, I didn't do my. I didn't do my theory. I didn't do my theory about New England. This is how I like to do the podcast. Like Pulp Fiction. Start it here, go around. I have this belief that because New England area is. Is. There's some great pockets, but just with the weather and the. The fog and the. In some of the racism and all the. Up there, so. So the fishermen don't kill it. Kill. Kill themselves. They have a deal with the NBA, the NHL, the NFL and the MLB to give them a championship every few years so they have something to live for. Now you. You tell me. We want them lobsters coming in, brother. I need that halibut.

[Steve Schirripa]

Listen, I'm a new. I'm a Yankee fan and I'm a Nick fan. I don't hate the Mets, but I'm not a Met fan.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Sure.

[Steve Schirripa]

I'm not a football guy. I want them both to do well, I guess.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

And I'm a Ranger fan, but, you know, I don't know what to say.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's a.

[Steve Schirripa]

It's a weird feel for the city, for the players. They work their ass off. I'm very happy for Jim Dolan and all the people at the Garden and. That's it, man.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

It's my favorite venue in the world. Every concert I've seen there, except one concert, Eric Clapton. It was the only one that everybody brings it at the Garden. And that's what this team, I think represented from a guy that loves sports. Watching Brunson, who I grew up, up watching his father because he played at Temple. And my dad's a Philly guy, so I knew Rick Brunson. I was like, oh, man, that's his son. And you could just see that hustle. It was really fun, man. And I, you know, my dad passed away in, in 2010. He was 69. He was a Philly dude. I used to be able to brag and said he. He had a lot of classes with Bill Cosby, but you can't really brag about that anymore. Yeah, they were like home. I mean, they were like. I mean, in the sense they like work. They had maybe a project together in school and then. But my dad, like, huge basketball fan. So he was the one, you know that he was never a Sixers fan. And just when he moved to D.C. he just got caught up. You know, the Wizards, he got moved out there in the late 70s and we had Wes unselled. You know, we were the team

[Steve Schirripa]

Monroe for a while. You had some great teams.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And bro, we're, I'm telling you, I

[Steve Schirripa]

remember when they were the Baltimore Bullets.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I know, I know. Dude, were you. Wait, you were a fan when Walt Frazier's playing, right?

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

I.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And I mean this.

[Steve Schirripa]

I got to be friend. I'm friendly with Walt.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, God. You're living the dream, man.

[Steve Schirripa]

Wonderful guy.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah. Dude.

[Steve Schirripa]

Of all the things you get to do as a half ass actor, that is my favorite thing to do.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I love it. And one of my favorite. I'm gonna wrap this up here and then we'll do the final questions, which are quick, don't worry. Thank you again for coming on, man. I, I really, I really enjoyed this. I. I've always, like, thought you. You were one of my favorite characters on the show. And I knew everything I've learned about. You've always been. Seemed like one of the coolest guys. And it lived up to it 100%. I had a very special plane ride once from New York to Los Angeles because I go back once a month. I fly Delta 1 because I got the dog. She around here. Damn. I was hoping you'd see her, but I. It was, it was the game. I know you're. You said you're not a football fan or you're more like, you know, well. But you remember a couple Years ago in 2024, the, the Washington Commanders are playing the end the in the NFC east championship. They're playing the 70, not 76ers, the Eagles. And I'm on the flight, it's a 6am flight and the door's about to close and I'm all the way in the back in Delta 1 in the middle aisle. So it's like the lay down stuff. And then lo and behold, running on is Spike Lee. And he sits right down next to me and he sees the jersey and he's like, ah. He's like the game. Bye. Bye. You could tell he's been partying still from the night before. Not like anything bad. He's just, he's just this, this really everything you see about Spike being interviewed is who he is. That goofy laugh and he's like, like just a jokester and a cool guy. And I got to spend an hour and a half. He saw the dog and my dog just went right to him. He started petting it. And we just talked nicks, we talked basketball, we talked comedy, we talked movies. I, I, he gave me his email and he's like, yeah, I'll do the podcast one day. And he was one of the first people, like a couple days after them winning the championships, that I got to like email and be like, dude, like,

[Steve Schirripa]

because it's, he's, you know, Michael Perioli, you know, he wrote Summer of Sam, which Spike directed.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh my God, dude, I'm, it's, it's the actors and just the people that he's worked with and then you've worked with and Michael.

[Steve Schirripa]

I mean, it's, but there's no bigger fan than Spike. Spike is the ultimate. Listen, I'm a fan. Fat Joe's a fan. Ben Stiller, Chalamet, all these people. McEnroe have been around forever. Chris Rock, Matthew Bodine, Spike Lee is the ultimate Nick Fay.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Exactly. And, and it's, and that's what I was saying is like, because it's not just him. When I say about all the other people that make the city run, they're more like Spike than anybody. You know what I mean? They're, they can't afford to sit courtside, but they're, they're watching every game while they're picking up the trash or they're doing this and doing that. And that's what I love. That's what I love. That's when I got emotional when, you know, I was in Phoenix the night they won, of course. But when they came back, that game, man, that was just like, I Was hanging with Chappelle that night. He was at the Comedy Cellar with Ray, who had just performed the Blue Note. And this, that feeling of that city, it really felt like it really. I mean, I don't remember what it was like pre pandemic in. In New York City, but it felt like it was just the party that.

[Steve Schirripa]

I like that.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Schirripa]

Very much. People came together. People were nicer. People are nicer. That's why I like the holidays. I like, I like New York from. From Thanksgiving to. To New Year's.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yes.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know what I'm saying? Because everyone's a little bit nicer, a little bit nicer during those time parties. And people, you know, they're a little bit nicer. Not just in New York. Everywhere, Everywhere.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Everywhere in downtown Beirut a little bit nicer.

[Steve Schirripa]

That's what I mean. Not just people are nicer. You know, they were nice during this and with COVID and you know, not to Compare this to 9 11, because there's no comparison, but people are nicer then. I wish we could bottle that up and be nicer.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, you're 100%. What he said after 9 11, which was like, I've never the America felt very like together and you'd be in everybody. And it's just, it's crazy how sometimes we can get so far away from that and for New York work. And I think like you said, it bled out to other parts of the other country. It was like everybody got caught up in it because it wasn't a team of superstars. And I think that's why it reminded me of the Detroit Piston beating The Lakers in 2004. A bunch of hard working guys, you know, that, that all that are superstars in their town. But I don't, you know, you ask somebody, it's not LeBron and Kobe. There wasn't that flashy, flashy name. And so it felt like what it really was, that middle class working. It's New York. What makes New York run are hard working people. And they could have not represented that more. God bless. All right, let's get you out of here, dude. Thank you so much for coming on. But the final questions, we'll make them quick. I'm not gonna clean them up. I'm gonna throw an extra one in there. What's your favorite song on Frank Sinatra's in the Wee Small Hours? What's your favorite one?

[Steve Schirripa]

Mood Indigo.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, any particular reason why? I just like the way it sounds. Or is it just because it's Duke Ellington? You know, you with that or.

[Steve Schirripa]

Nice and cool, man. It's very good. You know what? I. I used to book the Count Basie Band. It was a ghost, but they used to work for me in Vegas. I used to book a lot of jazz acts in Vegas. May not. Ferguson worked for me. Chick Corea worked for me. Oh, I could go on and on. I forget, man. But when I was booking acts, I just like it. It's very, very, very cool. Moon Indigo, just.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And also the way that he sings it, too. He's singing in this, like, smoky, exhausted.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Like.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Like, you know, less. Less jazz cool and more like I've become a human ash.

[Steve Schirripa]

When he was recording the album, his voice wasn't. He didn't feel his voice was right.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, I love it, though. I love it, though.

[Steve Schirripa]

But I'm just saying he didn't. So. So he just. He had the whole band ready to go, the whole orchestrating, just, you know, I'm gonna. You know, let's come back tomorrow. Yeah, let's go back tomorrow and do this tomorrow. And then some of these songs he played with a small band. It wasn't a big. You know, sometimes it was. It was three or four pieces, you know. Yeah.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

But it's those arrangements, and I feel like this is one thing. We got to give the shout out. We got to give a shout out to Nelson Riddle, who did all the arrangements for this, for the album. Because, man, it's just like. That's the thing about. That's the thing about Frank, over the years that I've noticed. It's just always, man, the. The production, the strings, the orchestra, always. He's got the best guy.

[Steve Schirripa]

Then you had. That's a riddle. Don Costa, he used a lot of the same guys, you know. Yeah, I knew a little bit. He was a partier, a good guy, and he liked to have a good time. Boy, dude, I love it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I just love that you say somebody. You're like, ziti with that guy. Ah, man, that guy.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know? But listen, you know, when I first moved to Vegas, I was a bouncer of Paul Anchor's club. So a lot of this came in it. I. I was just a street guy from Brooklyn. I mean, now all of a sudden, I put a tuxedo on. I'm meeting all these people I only seen on TV or read about in the papers and shit. And you're going, well, this is pretty cool. You know what I mean?

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I do that now. I remember moving to LA in the first. I went to Fred Siegel. I was working on Keeping up with the Kardashians for the first two seasons of PA and we go to Fred Siegel, and sitting at an outdoor table is Vladi Divats and Paula Abdul. And I'm like, I made it.

[Steve Schirripa]

I made it.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Vlad A divots with Paula Abdul.

[Steve Schirripa]

I have a frame Vladi Diva jersey. I don't know if it's worth anything. Somebody gave it to me years ago. I haven't.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, dude, that's. Dude, I've got. If I showed you how many. I collect jerseys. And the funny thing is, I have a vintage. You know, one of those champion. The ones from the 90s for the Knicks, for Ewings. I loved. I loved Patrick Ewing, what Went to Georgetown. I mean, I actually served. I'll give you a little story. I used to work at a restaurant, an Italian restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, called that's Amore. Go figure. And. And one day I was busting the tables and setting the waters and go, hey, we got some special guests coming. And go fill up their table. It was Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, and Patrick Ewing all sitting at a table with John Thompson.

[Steve Schirripa]

That's fantastic.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

And all the funniest shit. All of their legs were on the other side of the table, underneath the table, coming out because they're both very.

[Steve Schirripa]

He's a gentle. He was a gentleman, dude.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

They all were, dude. They all. Every time, like, all of those guys.

[Steve Schirripa]

Patrick's around all the time. I mean, he's been with the Knicks this whole run. He traveled with them. He helps the team.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Oh, yeah, dude. This championship was for them, too.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

They were there.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

They celebrated it just as much, all the guys, because they were so close, dude. And they just. He just happened to go up against that fucking Houston team, which big ups to lajuan and Drexler. I mean, they worked their ass off, and they're. They're some of the greatest players in the history of basketball, especially Olajuwon. But it's like, damn, that Starks Oakley from. And this is coming from a Wizards fan, dude, I'm just. I. I can. I can look at him and say, man, they. They deserve a title. And it sucks that they just had to go up against all those years of Jordan at his best. And, I mean, that's what makes Jordan the best. The years. Those 90s years. He's playing, and there's no ticky tack fouls. He's getting beat to shit by these guys, and that's what made it great. And that's why I don't give a. What anybody says LeBron's amazing. Jordan, Isaiah, all those guys. Amazing. We could talk basketball all day. All right, that. Let's get you out of here.

[Steve Schirripa]

All right.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Is there. Is there a song you skip over on this record or. Or is it a. No, Skipper.

[Steve Schirripa]

No. No, Skipper.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Okay. Can you. Can you.

[Steve Schirripa]

You know. No, Skipper. Go ahead, take a piss.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

No, I know. So do I. So do I. So do I. Can you.

[Steve Schirripa]

The interview was this song. I would have wore a diaper.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

What do. We had you for an hour and a half. I'm trying to get you out right now. Can you. To this album? Yes. I mean. Or is it too sad to any album. I don't agree with that.

[Steve Schirripa]

Stop. Come on. We're an amateur. What would be samples of waste? Absolutely. You can.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You can. I would probably choose songs for swinging lovers. What would be your elevator pitch to get someone to listen to this record? How do you sum it up? No one. No one's listening to Frank Sinatra in the wee small hours. What would you say to him to get him to listen to it?

[Steve Schirripa]

Just a really. You want to listen to something that's really cool, really mellow when you get, you know, when you're in a certain mood, you know what I mean? You know, but maybe you're going to go out later on, or maybe you just got home, you've been out, going to have a drink, not have a drink, it doesn't matter. Just nice and easy. Maybe a Sunday morning. Nice and easy. Listen, you know, there's certain. Certain things fit certain times. You know what I mean? You know, I wouldn't listen to this if I was at a birthday party and had people over the house. You know what I mean? I don't think that's a good idea. Gotta start giving them razor blades to cut their wrist. You know what I mean? Yeah, but they're nice and easy. And with you, with someone, a guy, a girl, whatever you're with, you know, whatever. You know, it's every. Listen, like I said, everyone's gone through this. And if two things. If they say they have it, they're either lying or it hasn't happened yet.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah, 100, I think.

[Steve Schirripa]

I think.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You know, I couldn't agree with you more. I think this is. This is probably going to be my favorite Frank record because this is. When you talked about Bob Dylan. It's Blood on the Tracks, his breakup record. When you talk about Beck at Sea Change. Some of the best records that our artists we love and made are our elegant heartbreak. And I think, you know, this is 16 songs of no filler, no joy, no sunlight. Just Frank, like, you know, pouring his heart out, confessing. No, I'm fine. Sung by a man who's absolutely not fine.

[Steve Schirripa]

And for him, you know, you. You listening to some of the songs. You could picture, you know, where he's at, you know, cigarette, the drink in his hand. Yeah. Sitting on the balcony, maybe overlooking the city. Sitting at the bar in his house. Sitting in a, you know, a Lazy Boy, you know? You know what I mean? You could kind of picture where he's singing this, you know, I don't picture him in the studio, even though of course he is. But. But you could picture where it takes place, you know.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Yeah. The book is Willie Boy eats the World, Steve. You know, it's like you said, it's not just for the kids. Get it for the kids. Get it for adults.

[Steve Schirripa]

Enjoy it. Where? Amazon, wherever you get your books. Are you guys on.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

You on tour, Michael? Still? You guys still doing the.

[Steve Schirripa]

We're taking a break. You know, we got other things happening and just up here in Rhode island taking it easy for the summer and. That's it, man.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

That's it, buddy. Dude, I can't thank you enough for coming on, man. Thank you for taking time out.

[Steve Schirripa]

Pleasure to meet you and talk to you. Good luck to you.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

Pleasure. Pleasure to meet you, brother. What did I tell you? What did I tell you? I'm wearing a Andrew Desclay shirt if you can see it. The one and only Steve Sharipa on Instagram at Steve Sharipa official and his website is steve sharipa.com. and make sure you get his new book, willie boy eats the world anywhere you get your books and go to his website for all things Steve. And now for new music pick this week brought to you in part by distro kid. It is just chemistry by dance lessons and you can find links to the music on our website, the500podcast.com. If you were in a band and you were influenced by one of these albums, albums, or artists, send us your song to 500podcastgmail.com. Put the album and artists that influenced you in this subject line. Next week it's the Zombies with Odyssey and Oracle from 68. I bet you're wondering, why is that on here? When you listen, you'll know. Do your homework. Tell all your friends we are one episode away from breaking in to the final, final hundred. Tell everybody we need you.

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

Some have a fascination with what's difficult and some they don't. Sex is always complicated, even for those who claim they have the easiest arrangement. Hey tell your friends it's all in the small between day and night plan. I'm not your. Please cut the you can change me and I land on neither him nor

[Steve Schirripa]

her

[Podcast Host (Narration/Intro)]

so easy to collapse into your memory where everything we had seems infinitely better than it was. Our friends. Sam. Sa. Saund keeping it please see for the fleece Nation on the 500 the 500.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

In 2008, a woman rang into a BBC radio show and begged them to stop picking on her niece, Amy Winehouse.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Read)]

Amy did not ask to be a teenage I can't. Amy just loves to write and sing.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

We're going deep into the BBC archives

[Steve Schirripa]

to show you a side of Amy Winehouse.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I think we sometimes forget we're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes.

[Steve Schirripa]

I'm Emmanuel Joci.

[Josh Adam Meyers]

I'm Kai Wright. Listen to Big Lives wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Host (Promo)]

The Internet gives us a glimpse into the crazy happening all around us. Unhinged behavior, Personal secrets. It's unbelievable Coincidences. It's all one big circus. And the RR show is your front row seat. Each week we curate the wildest Reddit stories just for you. Like how her future husband is definitely too close to his mother. Or how a guy got revenge on his awful boss by making him lose a major client. Or how a wakeboarding mishap sent a blast of water up where the sun doesn't shine. Whether you're in to hilarious accidents, insane relationship drama, or pure chaos, these insane confessions are sure to make your jaw drop. Don't miss out on the stories everyone is talking about. Listen to the RR show weekly on Mondays via your favorite podcast platform, or get your episodes early and ad free by becoming a member. The RR show all of the drama, none of the hassle.

[Steve Schirripa]

Next chapter podcast.