The Bonfire w/ Big Jay Oakerson & Robert Kelly

Episode: Flame Throwing with Luis J. Gomez
Date: November 18, 2025
Guest: Luis J. Gomez
Theme: Comedy road stories, green room disasters, hygiene rituals, and backstage tales from the stand-up circuit, featuring the chaos and camaraderie of Skankfest and reflections on the realities of a comedian’s life.

Episode Overview

This episode brings together hosts Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly with frequent conspirator Luis J. Gomez—a key force behind Skankfest—for a classic hang: chaotic, brutally honest, and hilarious. They swap stories about green room disasters, awkward openers, facility mishaps, and the very real perils and neuroses of personal grooming as a career comic. The conversation is a rollicking reminder that comedy isn't always glamorous, and behind every onstage success lies a swamp of mishaps and character-building discomfort.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. White Rappers & Comedy Banter

• The gang attempts to name as many white rappers as possible, riffing on Eminem’s legacy and poking fun at Jay’s inability to recall names.
  • [03:01] Robert: “All three Beastie Boys. Ten.”
  • [03:05] Jay: “Name 70 white rappers.”

2. Luis J. Gomez and Skankfest Origins

• Luis plugs Skankfest New Orleans and his new special, “You’re Making This Worse”.
• Anecdotes of fellow Legion of Skanks member Dave Smith coming to Skankfest for only one day due to his child being in the hospital.
  • [05:00] Luis: “Dave, one year, just came one day.”
  • [05:56] “He shouldn't have even come. It was a bad move for him to even come.”

3. Legendary Backstage Stories: Hospital Jacking and Venue Mishaps

• Luis confesses to having masturbated in a hospital during his child’s birth induction—treated as a casual aside, to Jay and Bobby’s shock.
  • [06:22] Luis: “When we got there, after we checked in, ran to the bathroom, cranked one out.”
  • [07:00] Jay: "You steamrolled over it like we were like, whoa, whoa, what?"
• Luis and Robert swap notes on public masturbation and drug use, including in SiriusXM’s facilities and airport family bathrooms.
• Discussion of the family bathroom as optimal for solitary airport activities.
  • [08:14] Luis: “You know where I jerk off in the airport? The family bathroom. Oh, I smoke weed, too, in there.”

4. Comedy Club Reviews: Side Splitters in Tampa

• Robert gives a full review of Side Splitters Comedy Club—the humidity, crowd energy, food, and particularly, the green room's shortcomings.
  • [09:13] “I look like a six-year-old boy all weekend because… the stupid humidity.”
  • [13:20] Robert: “I like the club a lot.”
  • [14:09] Jay: “Used to have a couch, bookshelf, and a photo of Smokey and the Bandit… now it looks fantastic.”
  • Critique of the cramped, ad-hoc green room and nostalgia for clubs with better accommodations.

5. Openers, Road Disasters, and Backstage Trauma

• Robert tells a story of a hyper-anxious opener mismanaging Bucs game tickets, leading to a multi-level stadium trudge and front-row disappointment in the nosebleeds.
  • [19:53] “We get all the way down, walk across the thing, go back up the escalators… up to 310. Row AA... it’s four rows from the very top.”
  • [22:30] Luis: “I almost never fly first class. The amount of times I walk past people, like: 'Lewis, what are you doing going back there?’”
• Bobby describes classic opener disasters: the guy whose car breaks down, the chatty opener, or the ventriloquist who was neither funny nor a capable ventriloquist:
  • [28:37] Luis: “He made me go to lunch anyway that I had to pay for because I’m the headliner.”
  • [30:46] Jay: “He didn’t know how to do the ventriloquist stuff… his mouth was just moving, like, regular.”
  • [31:45] Jay: “He took my room. I had a suite. He ate my meal. So I had to pay for my fucking dinner.”

6. Road Comic Rituals and Food Hoarding

• Rich Voss and others memorialized for extreme frugality—taking home chicken, seafood, and steak leftovers from gigs and even flights.
  • [40:57] Jay: “Voss… took the crab legs on the plane… ate crab legs on the fucking plane.”
  • [42:54] Robert: “I almost never take home food… even when I was broke, pride would have let me.”

7. Personal Hygiene, Aging, and Manly Insecurities

• The trio goes deep on grooming woes: waxing shoulders, laser hair removal, and the social shame around ear and nose hair.
  • [49:03] Robert reveals getting his ears waxed: “Yeah, well, nails and eyebrows.”
  • [50:46] Robert: “Behind here is where it’s like. It feels like it’s a lawn… behind whatever, like, the triangle is that comes out…”
  • Jay and Luis exchange stories about realizing how visible and off-putting ear hair can be, and the pain of wax and laser.
    • [53:01] Jay on gifting laser: “This is a great Christmas present for you. Nice laser treatment.”
  • Casual taunting and inspection of ears all around ("Check Jacob's ears!").

8. Relationships, Restaurants, and Sharing Food

• Spirited debate about etiquette when dining with partners—should you order the same dish, and who gets to sample whose food?
  • [45:58] Robert: “If it’s just two people eating, if they order the same exact thing as me… I get mad.”
  • [46:07] Luis: “If a girl orders the same thing as me, that’s a test. She’s not the one.”

9. Platonic Bragging Rights: Saving the Show

• Bobby narrates closing acts where he had to “save the day” after a prop comic sets the stage on fire, or after bombing openers.
  • [37:24] “He lit the stage on fire. He dropped the sticks and the stage is just on fire… I had to go on stage. The stage was still smoldering.”

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

“You threw that in and just steamrolled over it like we were like, whoa, whoa, what?"
— Big Jay Oakerson, on Luis’s hospital jack-off story (07:00)

“He didn’t know how to do the ventriloquist stuff. His mouth was just moving, like regular.”
— Big Jay Oakerson, on a disastrous opener (30:46)

“He took the crab legs on the plane… ate crab legs on the fucking plane.”
— Big Jay Oakerson, on Rich Voss’s frugality (40:57)

“If a girl orders the same thing as me, that’s a test. She’s not the one.”
— Luis J. Gomez (46:07)

“Behind here is where it’s like. It feels like it’s a lawn... Like, it’s not coming out of my ears at all, but it feels like a toothbrush almost."
— Robert Kelly, describing his ear hair woes (50:46)

Memorable Segments & Timestamps

• 02:49–03:05 – White rapper banter
• 05:00–06:16 – Dave Smith’s Skankfest attendance explained
• 06:22–07:18 – Luis’s hospital confession shocks the room
• 08:05–08:40 – Airport and green room masturbation confessions
• 09:02–14:29 – Side Splitters Comedy Club review
• 19:53–20:35 – Ticket mixup and stadium misadventure
• 28:37–31:45 – Opener disasters: forced lunch, ventriloquist bomb
• 40:57–42:00 – Rich Voss and food hoarding
• 45:58–46:12 – Arguing about sharing food in relationships
• 49:03–53:53 – Ear hair waxing, laser, and public inspection
• 57:29–58:39 – Nose/ear hair trimmers, and competitive grooming

Tone & Takeaways

The entire episode is classic Bonfire: unfiltered, sometimes juvenile, always self-deprecating and filled with genuine chemistry and affection beneath the ribbing. The hosts and Luis weave between absurdity and honest reflection, shining a spotlight on the real, unglamorous life of a comic—the gig circuit, awkward openers, wild road stories, and relentless body maintenance that comes for all men.

For listeners, it’s a generous helping of backroom stand-up grime, road wisdom, and a snapshot of modern comedy culture—hilarious even for those new to the show, and stacked with insider moments for regular fans.

Bonus: Skankfest Plugs & Tour Dates

• Luis J. Gomez: Skankfest NOLA, special “You’re Making This Worse” on YouTube, Body Brain Coffee
• Robert Kelly: The Comedy Connection (Providence), Uncle Vinny’s (NJ)
• Big Jay Oakerson: Gramercy for Story Wars (NYC), Skankfest New Orleans, Salt Lake City

For tickets: LuisOfSkanks.com | punchup.live/RobertKelly | BigJComedy.com