← The Book Lisp with Jon Ryan & Sarah Colonna
The Book Lisp with Jon Ryan & Sarah Colonna
Side Hustle and Comedy Bustle
00:42:51
It's Week 1 of your January Book Lisp. With no spoilers until week 4, Jon & Sarah discuss topics inspired by this month's read, “Summer Island” by Kristin Hannah. Jon and Sarah discuss the random side hustles they had while trying to make it in their careers. Sarah shares some of the worst open mics she ever did. Are one way tickets to LA a good idea? And much more. Enjoy!
Loading summary
Transcript191 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hi, I'm Sarah Colonna.
- [00:02]
B
And I'm John Ryan.
- [00:03]
A
And you're listening to the Book List. The Book List.
- [00:08]
B
The Book Lisp.
- [00:09]
A
Oh, that's right. You're listening to the Book Lisp. Welcome to the Book Lisp with John Ryan and Sarah Colonna. Hi, John.
- [00:20]
B
Hello, girl.
- [00:22]
A
Are you having a headphone issue today?
- [00:24]
B
Yeah, a little bit. Something's going on, but I think I. I sound great.
- [00:30]
A
No, you do sound great. I think every once in a while my AirPods are in. Like, one won't. One's dead or something. You ever had that happen? Is that what's happening?
- [00:39]
B
I think that's maybe what's happening, but also I think I have. Sometimes I have, like, noise cancellation on, and I. I have a real problem, like, talking with noise cancellation on.
- [00:49]
A
Okay, well, you sound good to me, so everyone should be happy. It is your first week of January, 2026. Let's hear it. Okay.
- [01:04]
B
Hear what, baby?
- [01:06]
A
That was just everyone clapping. Oh, yeah.
- [01:09]
B
Yeah.
- [01:10]
A
All the listeners were clapping. It's the first week of 2026. Your first book, Lisp of the year, when we were reading Summer island by Kristin Hannah, which I'm very excited to read. I. And if you don't, if you're on Patreon, the short story is the Body by Daniel Hurst. And I've already read it, and it's real good. That is on Patreon, we do short stories. They're very quick, and we talk about them on the 15th of the month. And then the 5th and the 25th, we do random podcasts, which are super fun. So join us there if you can. Join the Book List Spinners on Facebook. And I know that I should be announcing my February book right now, but we're recording a week early, basically almost a week early because of our travels to Spokane and Tacoma. So I will announce it on the Monday that you're getting this podcast on our social media on at the Book list on Instagram. And then we keep everything on a featured tab on the Book List Spinners. So join that Facebook group, because then you just go to that tab and you have to expand it. Some people sometimes think they can't. They only see a couple months. You gotta expand. You go, hit see more and it gives you the whole list. And so all of our books that we've read are there, but it keeps you up to date. And so I will announce my February pick. I just can't believe I already have that coming. I didn't even think about it.
- [02:43]
B
2026 is almost over.
- [02:46]
A
Sure is flying.
- [02:48]
B
It's 20, 26 is flying by.
- [02:50]
A
It's flying by.
- [02:51]
B
It's already talking about February.
- [02:53]
A
That's right, February. February. And so this is January 5th. If this comes out, I would love for you guys to come see me perform in this new year. We've got February 6th in. Let me pull up my dates really quick because I want to read them off to you guys.
- [03:16]
B
There's a lot of them. A lot of them.
- [03:18]
A
And there's a lot. Well, yeah, February is very busy and we just got back from Spokane and Tacoma where shows were amazing. I'm just saying that in advance because we're recording this before them. So Wild Rose Casino and Resort in Jefferson, Iowa, the 6th, the 12th through the 14th in Springfield comedy Club at Springfield, Missouri. Mary Radzinski will be with me for that. Chicago, February 20th at the City Winery, St. Louis, the 21st at the City Winery, back to Iowa, the 27th and the 28th to the wild Rose Casino and Resorts in Emmitsburg and Clinton Skyline Comedy Club, 26 March through the 28th Arlington Drafthouse, the 10th and 11th of April. More dates to be added. But just getting those out there for you. Sarahcolona.com for all your tickets. What do you think, John? How you feeling about your your January pick?
- [04:16]
B
So far so good. I went in a little bit blind. I had not read this book before and I still haven't read it. I started reading it because we always talk about how we always start reading them too early and then we forget by the time we talk about it later on in the month. So this time I'm going to read it slowly throughout the month. But so far so good.
- [04:38]
A
I did that last month and read it slower and then I still was finished way too early and then I listened back. But I really liked the narrator last month too, for that was Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. So as you guys know, and if you're new here and you don't know, we don't do a full book review until the fourth Monday of the month. Therefore, we just pick topics that are kind of relate that relate to the book that have something to do with the book. And we just randomly talk for the weeks leading up. Now, this book is about what? JOHN.
- [05:14]
B
Well, we don't really know yet, but it's about a daughter and a mother who are estranged. And one of them is a very the mother is a very successful radio host in Seattle and the daughter is a struggling comedian in la. So where do you want, what do you want to talk about first because we have a number of options here. We've talked about it today and we have, we've already talked about first jobs. Do you want to talk about some of our early on, you and I? Because they talk very early on in the book. In the first chapter, the daughter loses her job. She's trying to make it in LA as a stand up comedian and she loses her job as a diner and, and now she's pretty much like down and out a little bit. And it made me think about like all the jobs that we had early on. And I know we've talked about this, but we haven't really dug deep into like not just our jobs but our side hustles. And this kind of came up yesterday when we were out with friends for drinks. You started talking about some of your side hustles back in the day that are very entertaining. And I brought up some side hustles that I had when I was trying to make the NFL. Yeah, living with my sister in Portland and living In a Motel 6, I had some side hustles that I don't think I even told you about.
- [06:29]
A
No, I learned about one today. So I kind of want you to lead off with that because I had no idea. So John was, I, I was telling him about some, some side jobs that I had. So yeah, we've, I think in another episode we talked about first jobs but this is very different because these are side hustle other jobs that we have.
- [06:48]
B
Well, so when I, when I, when I moved to the United States to try to make it in the NFL, the first time I moved here was in 2004, 2003 at the end of the three and I was living with my sister and my brother in law in Portland. And so as a Canadian living here, I could not work anywhere. I couldn't work at Walmart. I couldn't get like a little side job. I had to do like side hustles. Like I'm talking like under the table weird shit. And so my one, when I was living with my sister, my brother in law, my one was I'd buy like bulk clothing, find like someone who was selling like a whole bin of clothes. Like a hot like I'd go after like. But one big thing is back then is like you know, 20 years ago like sevens were just coming out citizens. It was like the first movement of like high end jeans and people were paying like $200. Now like 20 years later we still pay like 200 for jeans. We're paying the same price and So I bought. I used to buy a bunch of Sevens was like the hot brand back then. It's still a good right now. But I'd buy a bunch of fake. Fake sevens. Like knockoff sevens. And then I'd sell them on ebay and on Craigslist in Portland. And I would definitely advertise them as they were real, they were authentic.
- [07:59]
A
Where. Where did you find the knockoff sevens? What kind? What. Tell us how you got there. I need to know.
- [08:06]
B
So I think it was all like an ebay thing. You, like, on a deep dive on ebay and buy like a bulk. Buy like bulk. Like 20, 30, 40 pairs of them from some, you know, probably some company in China. They're just making knockoffs and they're. They're. My knockoffs were pretty good.
- [08:21]
A
Okay.
- [08:22]
B
I only got. Only got caught once on the knockoffs.
- [08:25]
A
Who caught you? I.
- [08:27]
B
A girl. A woman on Craigslist. And I went. I went to her condo building to give them to her for. To try them on. And she's like, are these real? I'm like, yeah, they're real. Of course. I hope so. I sure hope so. God. Or. Unless someone's screwing me over. And then she emailed me, like, two days later. She's like, these are fake. And I was like, no problem. I'll send your money back. And yeah, so it was like. It was like, sevens, they're like 200. And I think I was selling them for like 120, maybe a hundred dollars. And I was buying them for like $20 a pair.
- [09:00]
A
Okay, and this was all on Craigslist?
- [09:03]
B
Yes, and when I was. I know this. Craigslist and ebay.
- [09:07]
A
Okay. Do you remember your name?
- [09:10]
B
I don't. I don't. I hope it's deleted and no one can ever find it. I have a lot of bad reviews for selling fake shit, but when I was in college, my buddy Pete Reed, who's still one of my really good friends, who's supposed to be coming to LA sometime, babe, but we lived in a apartment together, and we had. I had all the side hustles. I. We paid 220amonth because we had to shovel the snow, collect rent, and mow the lawn in the summer. So we only paid 220amonth. Like 110 each a month for this apartment.
- [09:42]
A
Okay.
- [09:43]
B
20 years ago, but still, that was like a huge bargain. And so what we would do, and this was. This was Pete's idea, we went to the Sears outlet mall outlet center, and we'd buy tools, Craftsman tools. So we'd buy a set of 300 Craftsman tools. Like, there's 300 pieces in the set of Craftsman tools. And I forget what it was. It was like 150 bucks or something. And then we'd break them all up into individual sets. So we'd, like, take the wrenches and the whatevers and the whatevers, and we break them into, like, 15 different sets and then sell off those 15 sets, and we'd sell it. So for $150 set, we were selling for, like, $500 on eBay by the time we broke them all up. And so whenever they had this and whenever we had the sale on these sets, we'd just go and buy them all. And we had our whole.
- [10:29]
A
Our.
- [10:29]
B
Our whole pantry wasn't full of food. It was just full of tools. Read, Read, Ryan Coe. The whole pantry was just full of tools. And we'd sell tools out of the house on ebay. And that's how we paid our rent and paid for food.
- [10:43]
A
I mean, that's crazy.
- [10:45]
B
Yep. Then also later on, I had. There's this company called Baby Fat, and I think it's. I looked up, say, it's still a company, but one time I just bought this huge bin of baby fat clothing, and I was like, this is. This is not my. It's for, like, women. And it was like. Like Caprice. Capri. Capri type pants was a lot of them, and they're like leopard print. And I bought them for, like, a few dollars a pair, and they were selling for, like, 40 bucks a pair. Oh, you rushed it.
- [11:15]
A
You were making bank on those.
- [11:17]
B
And then when I moved to the. The motel in. When I lived in the motel in Phoenix.
- [11:25]
A
I'm just letting everyone know.
- [11:27]
B
Studio. Studio. So it was very upscale.
- [11:30]
A
The upscale.
- [11:31]
B
It was $28 a night. The maid came once a week. I had the very last one right by the highway, too. So you make it even sadder. So you have Nordstrom, and then you.
- [11:45]
A
Have Nordstrom Rack, and then you have John Ryan's ebay. Yes.
- [11:50]
B
But between that, there was a place called Nordstrom Last Chance. So it was like everything that people returned because Nordstrom has a very liberal return policy. So everything you return would go to this place called the Last Chance. And you'd have to line up in the morning. Someone would come out and read the rules every morning. No running, no stealing, no this and that. And then. But they were selling seven jeans. They were $30. They're all used, but they're like $30. That was like the Hot buy. Von Dutch was very big. He had a Von Dutch hat for like 10 bucks. But it was very hard to get. You have to line up early, like an hour early. So then I'd buy stuff from there and then sell it on ebay as well.
- [12:31]
A
And how early would you have to line up at Nordstrom?
- [12:35]
B
If it opened at nine, you have to be there like eight to get, like, one of the first, you know, the first row spots. They also. I never did this before. They also had like a Per. A purse line. And there's very strict rules of the purse line. You line up in the purse line and they set one person at a time and. And you could walk through one time. And once you grab something that's yours and you can only take one item.
- [12:54]
A
Like the Hunger Games for crazy, you.
- [12:58]
B
Have to, like, keep. Keep on moving forward because there's a one person in the gauntlet at a time. And once you grab something that was yours, you had to exit. The next person goes in. Like one man enter, one man leaves all day.
- [13:10]
A
I have never heard of this.
- [13:11]
B
Oh, it was Sarah.
- [13:13]
A
You.
- [13:13]
B
This place. You would hate this place. It's called Nordstrom Last Chance. I don't know if it's still there, but it was basically like the last chance of all the stuff that Nordstrom like, returned. It would go there.
- [13:26]
A
It's. I mean, it sounds. It almost sounds like. Like Black Friday at Walmart, you know, when people just every.
- [13:32]
B
Every single morning. Every single morning.
- [13:36]
A
Last Nordstrom. Last Chance. It. Last Chance Clearance Store, Phoenix. Nordstrom. Still there.
- [13:42]
B
It's still there. Oh, man, it's. I'm gonna have to go back just for.
- [13:46]
A
I mean, I wanna go. I kind of wanna go.
- [13:48]
B
Baby. It's hunger. It's Hunger Games, baby. It's Hunger Games up in that.
- [13:53]
A
It sounds a little scary, but I kind of wanna do it. I mean, this is. It's. It's so funny because John and I have been together for how long?
- [14:02]
B
12 years. Be 12 year, you're a year off. 12 years in March, February.
- [14:08]
A
Okay, so 11 years. And.
- [14:13]
B
11 years and 10 months.
- [14:15]
A
11 years and 10 months. And I've never heard this. This is why don't shoot your wad on a first date and tell all your stories. I fell all back in love with him again today when he started telling me just about. Just about the Seven Jeans side hustle. And then I only heard about the Nordstrom Last Chance. Right now.
- [14:36]
B
Yeah, babe. It's. It's a onion over here. A lot of layers.
- [14:41]
A
Lot of layers.
- [14:41]
B
Peeling back and you're. You're not even in the center yet. Your eyes are watering, but you haven't eaten it all yet. Keep chopping, girl.
- [14:53]
A
Well, so I was telling you, I don't think you knew about my camel side hustle until yesterday.
- [14:59]
B
No, I didn't. If I did, I forgot I knew about some of your other side hustles.
- [15:03]
A
So, yeah, there was. So I had a side hustle when I was bar attending where. I think I've talked about this a little bit, so I'll kind of blow through that. But I was where I had to call hotels and I was like the secret shopper. And I had a list of things they had to. I checked off if they offered them to me and offered the. And asked me the right questions. And then when I called a call to cancel my fake reservation, they had a list of things they had to go through. And it was a little sad because I had this one bedroom apartment in Hollywood with zero air conditioning and no air. And they were. And I had to like, I had to tape record them. And it's one time they told me I had to turn off my fan because the tape, it was too loud on the tape recorder. And I was like, I'm burning up in this apartment making fake reservations for Four Seasons in Lanai. That sounds so amazing. And then I'm crying afterwards because I don't think I'll ever get to actually go there. So that was one, but I think one John didn't know about. And this, the way this relates back to the book is this girl's a struggling comedian. Hi. I was one once. Luckily I'm not anymore. And I say luckily because, yeah, you hope to break out of that at some point. But I was doing this thing with my friend Brandon, who I went to college with. He had a friend who was in the Nightcraw nightclub promotion scene. So that's how we got this job. I don't remember exactly, but it was. He was in. He promoted nightclubs and whatnot. So he had a team of people who were the camel people. We went to set bars and handed out Camel cigarettes and would. You had to sign up for something and then we would give you a free pack of cigarettes. I mean, I mean, just was what.
- [16:55]
B
I was 20 years ago. Just a different world. That's completely illegal now.
- [17:00]
A
Oh, is it?
- [17:01]
B
Well, there's no way. Yeah, I don't think you can go around handing out cigarette to. To write people into. Like, you can't promote someone. I don't think you even I don't think you even advertise for cigarettes anymore.
- [17:14]
A
Good point. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it was. I for. You had to sign up for something, and then you would get. Yeah. Free pack of cigarettes, and we got paid whatever by the hour. By the. I forget. And then. But we. We had. My friend Brandon and I had all the bars. All the dive bars in the Valley. So we saw some real sad when we would hand out these cigarettes, and we probably only made their life worse by giving them the free cigarettes. So I apologize to anyone that I.
- [17:44]
B
Could you smoke in the bars back then?
- [17:47]
A
I think you could still smoke in the bars. But, yeah, at that point, I forget when it became illegal in California, but. Because even when I was bartending when I was working at Formosa, and by the way, thank God, smoking is illegal in bars. If you're a smoker, no shade at you. Just. It's awful.
- [18:05]
B
It's meant to be done outside.
- [18:07]
A
It's meant to be done outside. Yeah. It's not fun for people. And when I. That don't smoke. So. When I was working at Formosa, we had a patio. It was partly enclosed, but it had basically one wall that wasn't enclosed. So we were allowed to keep the smoking past the time that it became illegal. So we. Because we had. I. And so I worked the patio all the time, and my hair smelled every night, and I was like, this sucks. Why can't I wish we could just have it but be elite? And now it's not even on patios, I don't think. I think you just. If there's food. And I don't. I don't know exactly the rules, but, yeah, I guess it was legal is my point, John. And I handed people free cigarettes, and I made my money and I went home and I needed the job, I think.
- [18:57]
B
I mean, it sounds like a lot of no fun. I think back where I was from, it was around 2001 or 2002, right in that area where they made it illegal. I remember everyone's up in arms, like, oh, every bar is gonna close down because no one's gonna go out ever again. If I can't smoke, I'm not going out.
- [19:14]
A
Yeah.
- [19:15]
B
There's like, two weeks later, like, well, I can't just stay in my house all day. But I remember when I first got to go to the bar when I was of legal age, which was 19 at the time where I was from in Canada, and just going to the bar and go, there's one bar with the Checker Dome. It's been torn down. Thank the good God. They had like eight foot ceilings and it was just massive. So all the smoke just hung right around, like, where my head was. And I remember getting home and just being like, so what. What I thought was just so hungover every morning and just breaking, like, smoke. And when they made it illegal to smoke inside, I remember being like, all that was. I wasn't. I wasn't getting hung over. I just got. I was like. The smoke just crushed me.
- [19:54]
A
Give you.
- [19:55]
B
I still remember, like, getting home and just like, taking my clothes and like, hanging them out the window because it would smell up your whole house.
- [20:02]
A
Yeah.
- [20:02]
B
You were just sitting in a freaking chimney for three hours.
- [20:07]
A
Yeah. Because even when I went. Would go home to visit my mom in Arkansas, they still allowed smoking past, I think, when California did for a bit in bars. I think it. It was a thing where it was like, oh, if they don't serve food, it can. You can still smoke. And I would go out with my friends from college, and then I would get home and my mom, you smell like a chimney. It wasn't me. I just went to the bar on Dixon street and they're still letting you smoke in there. I don't know what to tell you, babe.
- [20:38]
B
We went back to Dixon street about 2020, and there we went into a bar with Brandon, Liz, and there was. Everyone was Rogers. Brandon. Yes. Still smoking.
- [20:49]
A
Yeah. Roger's rec.
- [20:51]
B
Oh, that was awful.
- [20:53]
A
Yeah, that place is awesome. You could pipe the air out of that. You could. I mean, it's only. The only thing that makes me nostalgic for bars that let you smoke is just. They had like a. It was a pool room. I think it's still open.
- [21:08]
B
We played shuffleboard for, like two hours that night.
- [21:10]
A
Yeah.
- [21:10]
B
And then you and Brandon thought you were 21 again. Smoking, drinking, playing shuffle.
- [21:15]
A
All right, don't tell everyone I smoked.
- [21:17]
B
This was. This was five years ago.
- [21:20]
A
Yeah, but I know for one night it wasn't like one night. I know, but I don't.
- [21:24]
B
I didn't kiss you all night.
- [21:25]
A
I know. And it was gross. And you know what? I felt awful afterwards, so I'm glad you brought it up. Thank you.
- [21:31]
B
It was nostalgic for you, too.
- [21:33]
A
Yes. Because, yeah, I saw some cigarettes in college. I'm not. I'm not perfect. And so when we went back to our college bar, we had a couple cigarettes. Move on.
- [21:46]
B
Well, I believe that I'm like, I'm a member at a place where I think it's the only place where you can still Smoke and drink in California.
- [21:54]
A
At my cigar power cigar bar. Yeah. Because John has a membership to a cigar bar. It's called, what's it called?
- [22:01]
B
The Havana Room.
- [22:02]
A
Havana room.
- [22:03]
B
Grand Havana room.
- [22:05]
A
Yeah. But they can't do cigarettes in there. Just cigars. Which smell worse.
- [22:11]
B
Which smell way worse. Well, I don't know.
- [22:13]
A
Well no, they both smell bad. But I, I just know when you come home from the cigar, I'm like, good night.
- [22:18]
B
I know. I've, I've usually I try to sit, I try to sit outside now because I remember like early on when I started going there.
- [22:24]
A
Oh, I thought you meant when you got.
- [22:28]
B
Sometimes you don't even know. I come and cuddle up with you about 6:30 in the morning, but I've been sleeping in the backyard all night. Okay, but okay with that. And I think this is something we should talk about because in this book she talks about how she's just like been grinding out in L. A trying to be a stand up comedian and she's just, it's not going well. She goes into her agent's office, kind of like a last ditch thing, and she's like, I'm going to quit. And he's just like, yeah, it's not a bad idea. She's like, she's waiting for him to be like, no, no, don't, don't. There's still hope. He's like, oh, it's not. Yeah, yeah. And then she's like, well maybe I can get you on like a cruise ship, blah, blah, blah. But you went through all that.
- [23:09]
A
Yeah.
- [23:11]
B
Like you've made it now, but you have some absolutely fudgeing crazy stories from when you first moved here, trying to make it as a comedian.
- [23:19]
A
Yes, sure.
- [23:22]
B
So do you want to share with the crowd?
- [23:25]
A
Sure, yeah. When I. So doing stand up in LA, first of all is already a weird place to start. I didn't know that at the time. Right. I knew what I knew which was that I did open mics in Los Angeles and people, when you talk to other comedians and that I've gotten to know over the years, they're like, oh my God, you started in la, What a fucking nightmare. You're like, yeah, well how come nobody told me that? But I didn't know. I wasn't in New York where there's like a ton of really good open mics right there. I wasn't in Chicago even where there's places to work out stuff for, for whatever reason LA it has back then it had the improv, the Comedy store, the laugh Factory. And you weren't really getting on stage at any of those places. New and the Laugh Factory was the only one that did open mics this place. So they did open mics. I have no idea what they do now. I don't care. It's a great club. I will. I've performed there since my, since this stuff. But at the time it was a process. It was. You would have to stand out outside. I think it was Tuesdays, I forget. And you would have to stand outside. You have to line up and you had to line up all day and if you had to pee, had to get something to eat, you, you lost your place in line. And they only allowed a certain amount of people standing in line to get on stage. It was disgusting. Like looking back at it to me, I think it's, it's such. Yeah, it's so fucked up. It was so demoralizing. You and it would just. To get us just to get on.
- [25:10]
B
Just, just hope you had five minutes that night.
- [25:12]
A
Hoping to get five minutes that night. And the owner would sit and watch. So you were basically getting in front of the owner. So great. But instead of just having a sign up sheet where people come get there by a certain time, take the first 20. They. You stood outside all day and literally like you, if you went with a friend, you could, you could maybe be able to go to the bathroom. Like Chelsea and I went once and so Chelsea Handler, that is in case anyone doesn't know, I've known her for a very long time. We did stand up open mics together. So if someone was with you, they could probably save your place in line. If nobody called it out. It was just, it was ridiculous and that's crazy. I remember once I got it, I did get on stage and the owner saw me and I did, I did it. I did. Oh, I was, I was watching other comics. I was in the back because my turn hadn't come yet and I was writing notes for myself of what I was going to do on stage, which is. John knows me. I still do this to this day.
- [26:18]
B
Still do it to this day.
- [26:18]
A
It's just, it's a neurotic little thing. Whatever. It's how I decompress before I get.
- [26:23]
B
On stage every show. You do it.
- [26:25]
A
Yeah. Owner. This, this, this. I don't know, 250 pound, probably in his 40s. Black man. Couldn't be more opposite than me, right? Being a 20 something year old dumb white girl from Arkansas. Doesn't matter. Like, couldn't be more opposite. And I Set this up to say, over. Over. Here comes the manager. Owner guy to tell me, stop taking notes on this guy's set. Oh, my God. We don't. We don't allow that. And I was like, what? He thought I was stealing. I'm like, you think I'm stealing material from that guy? Like, we. What am I going to. What are we doing? That's the fucking same. Like, first of all, just fuck you for thinking. I'm sorry. So cursing so now because I'm just so annoyed. But I was like, I'm not. And I said, I go, I'm not stealing anything. I'm writing myself. No. Okay, well, go do it in the green room. Whatever. It was just. It was just. I mean, it's.
- [27:27]
B
That's so insulting to think that. Oh, like, oh, obviously you're trying to steal his. Like, what?
- [27:33]
A
The only thing I. I'm not trying.
- [27:34]
B
To steal his shit. Like, are you kidding me?
- [27:37]
A
The only thing I appreciate about it now, in a weird way, looking back at it, is how people record during sets, and people do all this stuff and we have protections in place, right? We have managers go over. You can't record during a set. People don't want their material out there on YouTube when they're working something out or when people haven't paid for it. This is for the club only. That kind of thing. People put. They put their phones in the bags that. Even at the improv now at this. So in a way, if I look back on it, I appreciate a little bit that he thought he was protecting.
- [28:10]
B
Right? Sure.
- [28:11]
A
A comedian that was on stage, but at the same time, I just went, come on, dude. I mean, yeah, it's not what I'm doing, but okay. So that was the only open mic that was in a proper club that I did. And I don't even. I mean, the way I'm saying it out loud doesn't sound like I had a great time. Right. But I do love that club. It is a nice club. It's. They have great comedians. I just didn't like that.
- [28:39]
B
Which one does Paulie Shore own?
- [28:41]
A
That's the Comedy Store, so his mom owned it, and then now it's his. Yeah. And. But then other than that, there was just so many open mics in the most random places he ever heard. And there was a time that I was. You start doing shows, you start kind of meeting people. They have this place called the Westwood Brewing Company, which was so fun. That was a. That was. It wasn't an open mic. That was more. You got Booked on it. I mean, people like Doug Stanhope did it every week. That's where I met Doug, who I think is absolutely hilarious. And Chelsea and I would do it pretty often. We had a bunch of friends. I mean, that was. It was a bunch of people. Names you would definitely know that used to do that. That place all the time. Francola did it a bunch. So that was more of a booked show. But we still had our open mics, this group that we were in. And I remember one time this lady sends us to. She ran a few open mics and she ran us. She. She sent us to do me and Chelsea. A. She booked us, quote, unquote, at a Starbucks. That was.
- [29:53]
B
What a nightmare.
- [29:55]
A
That was across the street from the Beverly Connection, which is this giant, giant mall in middle of Los Angeles. And so across from that, the Beverly Connection, there was this little place that had a soup plantation. Love, love a soup plantation. A Starbucks, A couple other things. So she says that there's a show at Starbucks and that we're booked on it. And Chelsea and I go trotting down there on a. I don't know, Thursday night. We get there. Nobody. Nobody knows that there's a show. Nobody that works there has any idea what's happening. There's no. There's nobody there. There's no. There's just people there having coffee because they're at a Starbucks. So Chelsea and I text this woman and she says, oh, oh, yeah, just. There's a amp in the back. And just plug it in and do your thing.
- [30:54]
B
Tell some jokes.
- [30:55]
A
Tell some jokes to people who don't want to hear jokes. We basically plugged in an amp and a microphone in the back of Starbucks. Nobody knew what's happening. And we just start doing stand up for each other. At this point, nobody in there wants to hear it. They're all. Lee. People are leaving. People are turning away, trying to not make eye contact with us. Just. It's. It wasn't. I don't know what the miscommunication was. It doesn't matter. But it was humiliating. And then I just never forget. I got home that night and Chelsea wrote me, and she said, I think I've got us secured a spot at the Jamba Juice next week. Because we were both like, what the hell are we doing at this corporate restaurant that doesn't want us? So there was a bunch of those. There was.
- [31:46]
B
It's like, imagine if you. If you were at that. At that Starbucks that day. They probably don't remember it, but, like, fast forward, not even 10 years. And you and Chelsea are doing the Mohegan sun Casino for 18,000 people.
- [31:59]
A
Yes. It's a nice.
- [32:00]
B
Isn't that crazy?
- [32:00]
A
It's a nice outcome.
- [32:02]
B
Starbucks for two, Mohegan Sun Casino and Bridgestone arena in Nashville and the place in New York. But it's like you went from two people at Starbucks to 18,000 at Bridgestone arena in Nashville.
- [32:16]
A
True. To be fair, those were Chelsea's shows that I haven't done. I haven't sold my own tickets to a big stadium, but I do very well in my area, so that I gotta give credit where credit's due. On. She took me to. Yeah, it is a great story that I did this show with her at Starbucks and neither of us had any idea what was happening. And then a few years later, I'm working for her on her show on Chelsea Lately. And then she said, do you want to open for me on New Year's Eve one year? And I said, yeah. And she said, you'll get paid X amount. And I went, oh, yeah, she was, she was very generous, I will just say. And. And it was the Mohegan sun and she was dating 50 Cent at the time. I met Kevin Uclis there, who is a uk, who used to play for the Red Sox. Huge, huge baseball star. Great, great guy. Wonderful guy. And he was at that show and he came up to me afterwards and he said, you're really effing funny. I was out gambling at the Mohegan center or something and I ended up doing charity events for him from that and getting to know him and other people. So, yeah, it turned out well. But boy, was that few minutes in the Starbucks humiliating. But it's okay now. It's a good story now.
- [33:44]
B
Yeah, no kidding. That's crazy.
- [33:47]
A
Yeah. Stand up. As you, as you said, this girl in this book is what she goes. So she goes to her agent and says, should I quit?
- [33:58]
B
Yeah.
- [34:00]
A
Baby. Yeah. I had. I didn't have good representation in the beginning. I got signed with a big agency kind of after doing a. A big show, like a big showcase. And then I got. There was a little bit of heat on me. And then these. This big agency, Gersh, picked me up and they dropped me pretty quickly.
- [34:25]
B
Really?
- [34:26]
A
Yeah. Because I didn't take off when they thought I should. It's nasty out there.
- [34:32]
B
It's. It. It is nasty out there. And it's this. I. I learned more from living here. Well, off and on for seven years now, full time, for the last three years. This city is filled of Full of people who booked a one way flight out here.
- [34:47]
A
Yeah.
- [34:48]
B
Actors, comedians, whatever. They booked a one way flight out here and a lot of them had to pay for that return flight not too long after this city eats you up. Yeah, like, like, you know, I mean like a lot of people, like I, I am the lead play in every freaking play in my high school in Clinton, Iowa. I am the best actor in this town. And you move up to LA, you realize that you're like 1 millionth for the fricking Sprint commercial. Like, you know, I mean it's just like you wouldn't believe how competitive it is out here. I didn't, I didn't even realize that it's like it's the most competitive place on earth.
- [35:25]
A
Yeah. And it's just what. Because so many people are trying to do the same thing. And then I think for me when I, when I started doing stand up, I thought well, this is a way for me to stick out among, you know, instead of just being one of the other curly headed girls at the, at the Sprint Mobile audition, whatever. So I, I always wanted to do stand up. And then what I realized was, oh, this is a way for you to kind of build your own thing and, and, and not be just another person in the audition room. Definitely helped it. Definitely. Getting on stage, doing stand up, even taking an improv class, which I was terrible at those helped me get commercials. And so early on when I started booking commercials pretty, pretty regularly, that was great because it's, it was good money and so I didn't get to quit my, my night job over it. But it was good money to help me and, and to keep me going and to get health insurance and all those different things. But you know, I did a freshetta pizza commercial. I mean I'm just going to name drop right now. I did a freshetta pizza commercial. I have them all on like the, not vhs but even the Beta or I don't know, I have some Betamax. Some of them you haven't even seen John the Freschetta pizza one. But I had a real bad haircut and I had through a toll booth in the commercial. And it was, I did that. I did another one with a really big director, Todd Fields.
- [37:02]
B
Todd, okay, you did a big one in Canada with. I'm sorry, I can't remember Murphy Brown. It I think a Sprint or it was some kind of like Canadian cell phone company.
- [37:15]
A
Yeah.
- [37:15]
B
And the whole thing was you got a huge ring. It was someone, someone pulled that up after we got engaged. Someone Found it on whatever it said.
- [37:24]
A
Sprint Canada changed my life. And then I was like, I met him in Greece. And I'm telling her on the plane, Candice Bergen, I met him in Greece. And then. And before we know it, we talked and talked. Like, I remember the lines from the commercial. And then I was like, and now I'm engaged. And then I show this big, giant ring. And now I have a big, giant ring from another Canadian. So.
- [37:45]
B
But someone pulled that up, like, after. After we got engaged. I don't know how they found it, but it's still out there somewhere.
- [37:50]
A
But, yeah, I. Todd Field, who was a big. He's the big director. I'm trying to remember his big movie, Little Children. I'm trying to remember what the big. Oh, Eyes Wide Shut. Oh, he's. No, he was an actor in that. Never mind. Anyway, he did. It was a car commercial, and I did that. I did one for. I went for Home Depot.
- [38:23]
B
Oh, really?
- [38:25]
A
Yeah. Oh, that one was.
- [38:27]
B
Oh, was it the one where it was in the house where it was like a thousand degrees and they wouldn't turn the air conditioning on? Thousand degrees for sweating?
- [38:33]
A
Yeah, they got mad at me for sweating. They said that I was too sweaty. And I'm like, it's July in California. We're by the airport. And they couldn't turn the air conditioning on because of the noise. And I was getting sweaty armpits. It was already humiliating enough. And they were mad at me like, I don't know how to stop human sweating, but let me try. This business sucks. So, yeah, I did that one. So I had a few commercials. But my point being, yeah, stand up was a way for me to try to set myself. Oh, come see me do this and maybe you'll see me for. It helped a lot for commercials, for sure. It obviously got me Chelsea lately. So. Yeah, right. Even though Chelsea. It was Chelsea's show, it's not like she could just hire her friends without us having to prove ourselves first. So she. When she was. When the show was on for a while and she was able to give us a shot to be on the show, it was, you better do good because you don't want to let your friend down. That's how I felt. And luckily I did. And luckily I became a regular and then a writer. But I saw. I saw a lot of people that. That she knew that she and I did stand up with that got the chance to be on the show, and. And they just didn't. Just didn't work. And it wasn't because they weren't funny people. It was just the round table and having to play off each other and trying to get your jokes in or being too scripted. And I saw a lot of people that. And, and you know, she hated it because she was. She wanted all those people to be on her show and be on it regularly. So anyway, this is.
- [40:11]
B
The show is great. I wish they still had a show like that to celebrate comedians every night. Like every night there was three different comedians on. Sometimes it's like two comedians and someone else, but every night it was like a celebration of comedians and they had a place to plug their stuff. They had a place to be funny. And it was a show that was being watched by millions of people every night. Oh, and we don't, we don't have that. We don't have that anymore at all.
- [40:36]
A
I know. And I think she doesn't get enough credit for what she did. No, for comedian. I mean, I know for the. From the comedians she does, but for. From out the outside world that, that discovered people that way. I don't know that they all know. I mean, I, I still have a lot of really solid, loyal Chelsea lately fans, but I think, yeah.
- [40:55]
B
That it's been, it's been off the air for a decade and still people come up daily and talk about how much they miss that show and how much they love that show. It's really cool to see.
- [41:04]
A
Yeah, I just think it would be hard to do now.
- [41:06]
B
Well, Byron Scott tried it. This is, this is a Byron Scott show. So, Sarah, Byron Allen. I heard you like jungle gyms.
- [41:17]
A
Listen, I tell a story. I did it.
- [41:20]
B
Chris Frangola, tell me about that time you're in a public bathroom in New York.
- [41:25]
A
Okay, I'm gonna. It is cheesy, but I will say that I did Comics Unleashed and I appreciate it. A lot of people saw it. It was, it was very cheesy, the setup, but it was supporting comedians and it's back. I think it's on again now.
- [41:42]
B
Oh, really?
- [41:43]
A
Yeah.
- [41:43]
B
His lead ins were always funny to watch. Yeah, you're just like, he, he's trying to celebrate everyone. It was. Came from a good place, but sometimes there's like, there was no, like, there was no bridge, no finesse.
- [41:55]
A
There's no finessing.
- [41:56]
B
The, the crack up a little bit.
- [42:00]
A
Oh, yeah. No, there's no, there was no finessing of the setup. And well, that reminds me of like radio stuff, but I think we'll talk about that next week. Right?
- [42:09]
B
I think we gotta, we gotta go get on an airplane, baby.
- [42:11]
A
Oh, okay. All right. Well, yes, we are recording this the day before New Year's Eve. Hopefully, I will have seen you on Spokane and Tacoma. And then the rest of you that don't live in Spokane and Tacoma, I'll see you on the road in the other places. And we're still discussing a book list meetup. We'll figure that out. Happy 2026. Thank you for being with us. This. Our podcast is now a little bit over a year old, and we're having a blast. And we appreciate you guys being here. What a random podcast.
- [42:37]
B
Our podcast can almost walk, eat solid foods.
- [42:43]
A
Bye.
- [42:44]
B
Bye.
- [42:45]
A
The book list.
- [42:46]
B
The book lisp.
- [42:48]
A
The book list.
- [42:49]
B
The book lisp.
- [42:51]
A
The book list.