The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly

Episode: Billy Squier Pants with Colin Quinn
Date: September 25, 2025
Guest: Colin Quinn
Main Theme:
A classic, unfiltered comedy hang with Big Jay, Bobby Kelly, and guest Colin Quinn. The trio trade stories about comedy’s old guard, the realities and eccentricities of their home lives, the infamous Comedy Cellar table, burning ball-busting sessions, and the uniquely humiliating and nurturing environment of the New York comedy scene. They zero-in on the recurring "Billy Squier pants" bit, discuss Jay’s attempt to hide his domestic success, and reminisce about their worst comedy-related fiascos—both on and off stage.

Episode Overview

This episode explores:

• The evolution of their friendships and comedy careers
• The competitive, rowdy camaraderie of NYC comedians
• Brutally honest grilling about each other's houses and lifestyles
• Legendary Comedy Cellar stories (Patrice, Norton, Keith Robinson, and more)
• The awkwardness of being fans and friends at each other's shows
• Unfiltered fashion critiques, culminating in the “Billy Squier pants” segment
• Reflections on career choices, management horror stories, and old gigs

Key Discussion Points & Highlights

1. Comedy Friendship Hierarchies & Ball-Busting

• Big Jay and Bobby get right into busting each other’s chops about claiming each other as “best friends,” a running theme reflecting their circle's playful but slicing humor.
  • [01:16] Robert Kelly: "Are you my—am I—but am I one of your best friends?"
  • [01:19] Jay Oakerson: "I have a lot of best friends."
  • [01:22] Colin Quinn: "Louis CK, Bill Cosby, Colin Quinn all over the place."

The Myth of Humility and House Envy

• A recurring gag sees Jay and Bobby roasting each other about their homes, Jay’s supposed street-cred loss for having a nice house, and Colin’s “fake humility.”
  • [04:38] Jay Oakerson: "Is he saying that to just be like, you know, like fake humble?"
  • [05:10] Robert Kelly: "Because you have a beautiful house, this is a compliment you need to accept."
  • [05:25] Colin Quinn: (to Bobby) "Fancy house, Bobby."

2. Comedy Cellar Table Rituals & Legendary Characters

Old School NYC Comic Life

• Deep dives into the pecking order of the Cellar table, getting “upgraded” to new stools, and being endlessly negged by senior comics.
  • [03:03] Jay Oakerson: "I remember Jay coming, shuffling. Kurt Metzger, Jay and little Kev coming in like, oh, shucks."
  • [03:11] Jay Oakerson: "Where you guys belonged to... one foot on the bar stool and one foot on the little table..."

Patrice O’Neal Stories & Table Eruptions

• Nostalgic stories about Patrice’s ability to drive everyone insane and take over any room for better or worse.
  • [07:14] Colin Quinn: "Patrice doing dice to Norton when he had a girl at the Cellar... kept telling him to be like, pick up my laundry..."
  • [08:50] Robert Kelly: "Patrice was like, yo, yo, yo, no, no, no, I'm just wondering like..." (after offending Manny, the Cellar's owner)
  • [09:16] Colin Quinn: "Bobby, we're going to work on your friend impressions. They all are. Just a version of you that you do for Bill Burr."

3. Comedians, Success, and “Changing”

Losing Street Cred, Friars Club, Comic Class Divides

• The guys riff on the idea that success, nice homes, or even growing up may disconnect them from the underdog image so key to their comedy identities.
  • [05:21] Jay Oakerson: "He feels like he's losing street cred by hanging..."
  • [12:12] Robert Kelly: "You think that... being assholes to each other, do you think that affected our careers?"
  • [12:17] Colin Quinn: "Yes. Oh, you're asking me? Oh, yeah. Yes."

4. Comedy Scene Geography: Living in the Suburbs

• Heated debates about whose neighborhood is more authentic or livable, filled with inside jokes about New Jersey, Westchester, and rural perks.
  • [14:59] Robert Kelly: "No, his town is nice... but he's got that Jersey, it's just strip malls..."
  • [15:15] Colin Quinn: "Don't have it. Well, then how are you going to get Thai chicken lettuce wraps?"

5. Notoriously Weird Comic Behavior

Clinginess vs. Detachment

• Extended exploration of Jim Norton’s notorious communication issues:
  • [10:16] Robert Kelly: "Norton called me and then in the conversation went, I gotta call you back... and never, never called me back."
  • [10:49] Robert Kelly: "Jim doesn't—he never calls or nothing."
• Colin’s “two sacks of Joe” story lampoons Joe DeRosa’s physicality and his comic temper.

6. Fashion, Masculinity, and the “Billy Squier Pants” Bit

[22:11–24:37]

• The much-teased “Billy Squier pants” (aka tight workout leggings) segment delivers a blend of roasting and surprisingly supportive commentary as they convince Jacob to try on and model tight athletic pants, channeling the iconic ‘Rock Me Tonite’ Billy Squier video.
  • [22:32] Robert Kelly: “Are you playing Bill Squire? ...the song that took him down.”
  • [23:10] Colin Quinn: “Well, you know it’s funny... you bought Bill Squire exercise pants.”
  • [24:06] Colin Quinn: "The double tank top look should come back. Jacob, those hug your [butt] are great."
  • [24:13] Jay Oakerson: “They look really good.”
  • [24:20] Jay Oakerson: “Not bad. Not bad. Oh, man."
  • [24:39] Colin Quinn: “Hip thrusts. You do those, right?”
  • [24:51] Jay Oakerson: “Nothing gay about that.”
    (On their Zoom group workouts.)

7. Management Mishaps & Early Career Fiascos

The Steinberg Management Debacle

[37:45–39:33]

• Colin and Jay share jaw-dropping stories of early mismanagement: agents meeting them in stairwells, “Rocky” sweatshirts in MTV pitch meetings, and managers attacking late-night hosts.
  • [38:31] Colin Quinn: “Patrice did me nice ...convinced me to leave Ken Trusch, who was like an independent guy.”
  • [39:19] Colin Quinn: “And then Bill [Burr] fired [Steinberg] in the moment... and then Patrice just fired him. And I was like, patrice, you told me to come over here. He's like, yeah, well, you know, leave, too.”

8. Being a Fan vs. a Peer—Audience Hell Stories

• Hilarious, excruciating stories about bad seats, surrounded by mobsters and cameras at friends’ shows, and why comics should never “hook up” their friends in the audience.
  • [32:05] Robert Kelly: “I walked in, like, yeah. She's going to be like, oh, Mr. Kelly, come down this way... No, she... pointed to the door to the left right there. And I went, huh? In the back of the fucking theater.”
  • [35:17] Robert Kelly: “It was. No, it was miserable. So now I, I don't even ask for tickets. I just buy. I buy tickets. I get front row and I want nothing from his people or him.”
  • [36:41] Colin Quinn: "Story ends with one of the strippers punching an old lady in the face in the front row."

9. Block by Block and Colin’s New Project

[29:49–30:18]

• Colin describes his affection for talking to “old New Yorkers” and how that led to his new series "Block by Block," which consists of him interviewing real city icons and personalities.
  • [30:14] Jay Oakerson: “That would be my dream.”
  • [29:49] Jay Oakerson to Colin Quinn: “So you’re doing this new show on YouTube. What is this about?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Exchanges

• Colin Quinn on the pitfalls of club glory versus success:
  [12:17] Colin Quinn: “Maybe that was one of the things that affected our careers... Yes. Oh, you’re asking me? Oh, yeah. Yes.”

• Jay Oakerson on changing names and success:
  [11:21] Jay Oakerson: “I remember busting Bill [Burr]: you think changing your name to Bill from Billy and not hanging at the table is going to be your road to success? ...Guess who, boy, was it.”

• Robert Kelly, recapping a “VIP” nightmare:
  [34:05] Robert Kelly: “She rolled her eyes as soon as she saw me. She’s like, oh, God, chewing gum. So I get into my seat, next to me is another fat girl... and then what do I see in front of me? A fucking camera.”

• Colin Quinn on the Comic Strip’s pecking order:
  [03:17] Robert Kelly: “No, not the second.” [03:18] Jay Oakerson: “Yeah, the B team. The B team.” [03:22] Colin Quinn: “That was weirdly like Russ Meneve and Ben Bailey were on that table.”

• Jay Oakerson, on his dream YouTube project:
  [30:14] Jay Oakerson: “If I could live my dream, I would go to Target and just grab every old lady and just say, I want to talk to you about your life for the, you know, for the next two hours and just film this.”

• Colin Quinn, on the working-class roots trope:
  [26:01] Colin Quinn: “Nope. I was right. In black West Philadelphia playing basketball. And then Keith found my black ass at a black comedy club and brought my black ass up to introduce it to you. White.”

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:01–06:00 | House envy and “fake humility” gags | | 07:10–09:16 | Comedy Cellar, Patrice O’Neal, legendary ball-busting | | 10:16–11:05 | Jim Norton communication quirks | | 12:12–12:32 | Did ball-busting stunt their careers? | | 14:59–16:33 | Neighborhood wars: Jersey vs. Westchester vs. Upstate NY | | 22:11–24:37 | “Billy Squier pants” segment: Jacob tries on tight pants | | 29:49–30:18 | Colin Quinn describes “Block by Block” series | | 32:05–35:17 | Audience horror stories: being a comic in the audience | | 37:45–39:19 | Steinberg management & agent nightmares |

Tone & Style

• Blunt, unfiltered, raucous
• In-joke heavy, but plenty of context for newcomers
• Mix of affectionate ribbing and cutting honesty

Final Word

This episode captures the essence of life-long comic friendships: equal parts brutal teasing, nostalgia, and real admiration for each other’s journeys. The “Billy Squier pants” bit, with its merciless fashion roasting, is a fitting microcosm for the group dynamic—nobody escapes, but everyone belongs. Colin Quinn’s presence pulls out deep comedy lore and industry horror stories, making this episode a can’t-miss for fans of standup, NYC comedy history, and those who love a behind-the-scenes look at comic camaraderie and rivalry.

Plugs:

• Colin Quinn’s "Block by Block" streaming on YouTube
• Jay Oakerson: bigjcomedy.com for upcoming tour dates
• Robert Kelly: robertkellylive.com for shows and info

Recommended Segments:

• Comedy Cellar stories — [07:10–09:16]
• Billy Squier pants bit — [22:11–24:37]
• Management disaster tales — [37:45–39:19]