C (2:34)

Yeah, I need to try one of these.

B (2:36)

Yeah. During prohibition, all we had here was brandy and Wisconsin could not handle prohibition like. The next episode of the commercial break starts now.

A (2:51)

Go 30 in the morning. Oh, yeah. Cats and kittens, welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green Here on a Friday infomercial with Charlie Burns. Charlie coming right up. And Chrissy was in the studio with me, But I'm here on a very merry Christmas Eve, recording this episode for your listening pleasure. I hope you had a wonderful holiday and you're taking some much needed time off or away from the family or with the family. I choose away from the family, but the family chose me. So, you know, it is what it is, my friends. It is what it is. We are, of course, on our new schedule, and that is putting out episodes Wednesdays and Fridays, and then Tuesdays and Thursdays. We will be live on YouTube.com the commercial break. But we're not here today to talk about that. We're here to talk about Charlie Burns. He is. He was a television journalist who then started his own social media kind of parody channel doing what's called the Manitowic Minute. And it's. I don't even know how to explain this. You've got to go check out Charlie's Instagram, which I will put a link in the show notes, as I always do. I found this guy, like, maybe right before the pandemic. And because I was born in the Midwest near Chicago, and he is from Wisconsin, there is a certain flavor, a certain dryness, a certain affectation, if you will, to the voice, the comedy, and the mannerisms of someone from the Midwest that can only be recognized by someone else from the Midwest. Now, I think everybody will be familiar with kind of that, you know, go, Bears Chicago accent and that kind of affectation, but it's so much more nuanced than that. And Charlie gets it right every time. Why? Because he comes from a huge Catholic family that is from the Midwest, and that is as stereotypical as it comes. But we found that Charlie was anything but stereotypical. He was nice, he was funny, and he was engaging. Charlie is one of my favorite. One of my favorite interviews of 2025. And as we round the corner into 2026 and we do less interviews, I sure am glad we got this one in, because he was on my list. He was on my list. Not that list, but, you know, the list of people I wanted to talk to, not the other list. Get your head out of the gutter. Told you it's Christmas. Okay, let's do this. Let us take a short break. Charlie's gonna be with us here in a few minutes. After we take that back break, through the magic of telepodcasting, we are going to. Actually, we already recorded this episode. What am I doing? Chrissy was here with me. We recorded an episode right before the holiday. You're going to enjoy it. Take a break and we'll be back with Charlie.

D (5:46)

Hey, it's Rachel, your new voice of God here on tcb. And just like you, I'm wondering just how much longer this podcast can continue. Let's all rejoice that another episode has made it to your ears. And I'll rejoice that my check is in the mail. Speaking of mail, get your free TCB sticker in the mail by going to tcbpodcast.com and visiting the Contact Us page. You can also find the entire commercial break library audio and video just in case. Want to look at chrissy@tcbpodcast.com Want your voice to be on an episode of the show? Leave us a message at 212-4333, TCB. That's 212-433-3822. Tell us how much you love us and we'll be sure to let the world know on a future episode. Or you could make fun of us. That'd be fine too. We might not air that, but maybe. Oh, and if you're shy, that's okay. Just send a text. We'll respond. Now I'm gonna go check the mailbox for payment while you check out our sponsors and then we'll return to this episode of.

A (6:44)

This episode is sponsored by our longtime sponsor, Squarespace. I am working on a new project Information tbd. It's very secretive, it's very hush hush around here because you know, podcast secrets are a thing. Anywho, there is only one all in one website tool that's designed to help my new project stand out and be successful. And that one tool is Squarespace. Squarespace can help me through every step of the process. The launch, the scaling, the branding and the growth. No matter what part of the journey I am on. Squarespace is an all in one website platform, so it'll cater to my needs every step of the way. There are so many benefits, services and tools built into Squarespace, I would need a 10 minute commercial to name them all. Cutting edge design, search engine optimization tools, domain management, analytics, email campaigns, the ability to host videos, and most importantly, the ability to get paid. So if you've been thinking about building or upgrading your website, now's the time to head to squarespace.com commercial for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, make sure to use the offer code commercial to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. That's squarespace.com commercial then be sure to use the code commercial when you're ready to launch. Squarespace has been with the commercial break for a long time and we have been with Squarespace for even longer. This is a company we trust. It's a product we use. And there's one overarching reason why it makes my life easier. Go build yourself a beautiful website squarespace.com commercial and thank you to Squarespace for being a sponsor of the commercial break.

C (8:23)

Maybe you like cooking, maybe you don't. Either way, the new Blue Apron is for you because along with our classic meal kits, we're offering new pre made and one pan meals to help you get dinner on the table fast.

A (8:36)

And now there is no subscription needed.

C (8:38)

So you can just order and enjoy. Do delicious food your way. Shop 100/Meals@blueapron.com Get 50% off your first two orders with code apron50 Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms4more Charlie's here with us now.

A (8:56)

Chrissy, one of the surprising things, you know, I've been following you for years on social media and I am a Midwest boy born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. A lot of your comedy is extraordinarily familiar to me at feels like these are characters I know, these are accents that I know, these are things that I know. It just feels warm and fuzzy in that not warm and fuzzy way like the Midwest is. But one of the things I didn't know about you until very recently was that you, previous to being a comedian and content creator, you were an actual journalist, like a legit journalist.

B (9:30)

I mean, I wouldn't say legit.

A (9:31)

You know.

B (9:34)

I did journalism. Yeah, I did journalism for a number of years. I started in college. I was actually working for MTV then with their like choose or lose.

A (9:43)

Okay.

B (9:44)

Back when MTV did news and back when MTV did news videos and back.

A (9:50)

When they were a station.

B (9:51)

Yeah, yeah, right. And so there was a rep in each state. I was a Wisconsin rep. And that, that kind of got me into this journalism world. But it was always like journalism with like a little bit of entertainment. Like I worked for a YouTube news channel. I worked for a local TV station, which kind of the local TV news was the most traditional news I did. But even that started off as like, let's kind of do this new infotainment type news. They tried it for 1.2 months and then they were like, well, they said, let's just go back to what we've all been doing. So that's when I was like, probably the most traditional journalist was at that station.

A (10:33)

Yeah, that's an interesting place to start. Chrissy and I actually met working in radio, and we.

B (10:39)

Nice.

A (10:39)

How. Yeah, the. The emerging technology. Emerging new media technology of radio right at its last kicks and breaths. Chrissy, when I were a part of it. But it is hard to get the old guard to change their ways. Part of the reason why the medium is dying, I think, is because it's. It's hard to get people to change their ways. And I would say that you made the right move doing your own thing. I have a question that interests me about you. Are you kind of like, can you go out in the Midwest anywhere, to a bar or something like that without being noticed? Like, you must get noticed a lot of places up there.

B (11:18)

Yeah, I get noticed. It kind of like the epicenter, sort of Green Bay, and then it sort of expands. I get less popular the farther you go from Green Bay, you know, but it's. Yeah, I'll get. I'll get noticed every now and again. But I still. I still go out and do things and all of that because everyone. Most people are pretty nice about it, and they'll just, like, say hi to you or whatever, maybe get a picture or something then. And then kind of move on. And I think that's important. It's. It's, you know, when you get, like. And you guys probably experience this too, when you get like a little hit of something that goes off online, people may recognize you and then you get that. But what you really don't want is to, like, put yourself in a. Sort of a. Sort of a bit of a prison, you know, where, like, I got some friends that really can't go out, and it's. That's a problem, you know, or if they do go out, they. They need security. And these aren't good friends, but my friends aren't. This is more like a friend of a friend. I don't want to, like, casually name drop. I got a friend with security. I really don't.

A (12:34)

People you've heard about through the people.

B (12:37)

Whose podcasts I've listened to. But yeah, I mean, it is so anyway. But I almost feel like the more like I do go out or go to just like the bar or the gym or whatever, the more people would be used to see me, and really the less they care, you know? Yeah, that's kind of the big goal there.

A (12:57)

Yeah, I hear you. You don't want to create your own prison. We don't necessarily have that kind of taste. I think we've been lucky in that sense. We get wrecked. Recognized a couple of places throughout the years, but you have this kind of identity brand that is. It's really spot on. Did you. You grew up in Green Bay, right? In that area?

B (13:17)

No, no, I grew up in. I grew up just. Just north of you in the suburbs of Milwaukee and. Oh, no.

A (13:22)

Shit. I didn't know that.

B (13:23)

Yeah, my grandparents are from Fond du Lac, so, like, a lot of stuff, like. And my grandma's still up there, so, you know, I shoot a lot of stuff up in Fond du Lac, and people recognize that, so. Yeah, but. But yeah, and then sort of we grew. We would go up north every year, you know, to, like, Eagle river or Mando Lakes or whatever. Did you ever go up north?

A (13:49)

I did. Yeah, we went up north. We would go to the dunes of Wisconsin. You know, we did all of that stuff. My dad liked to be on the lake, so he. Not. And not Lake Michigan. So, you know, we would go up north and. And visit all of those little places. The Indian plate. Go buy fireworks from the Indians. I mean, there was like, you know, like the. On the reservations, you could buy fire. My dad would buy fireworks from. Yeah, some of those guys. And so we had that kind of traditional Midwest upbringing. I mean, we're from Chicago, right. If you ask, I'll say Chicago, but not the city proper. We're like 40 miles outside of the city in this place called Oak Forest. So to me, it felt more Midwestern and homey than it did city. But your. Your content, the way you just have this way of nailing it, like, this way of nailing that flavor of human being that is up there wandering the wild Midwest. And I think that that's. It's comforting in a way, actually. That feels to me like identity content. Right. Like. Oh, I. I recognize that. I understand that. That feels. That feels good to me. When. What. At what point did you hit on this? Like, did you just start making these reels about things that were familiar to you or videos about things that were familiar to you? And people started connecting, going, oh, yeah, that's. That's me.

B (15:00)

Yeah. You know, it all started doing stand up because I. I was trying to figure out, like, I did not. Like, I was doing red carpet reporting at this time, which. Yeah, yeah.

C (15:12)

Wow. Red carpet reporting.

B (15:14)

Yeah. And I don't know if you guys know this about me, but I do not have any. I was a terrible red carpet reporter.

A (15:25)

I did, because I got that about you.

B (15:27)

But, yeah, I have bad facial recognition mostly because I did absolutely no research before any red carpet because I just, I couldn't get. I just felt like it was a waste of time. I was bad at it. I didn't have a passion for it. So I started doing stand up at night. And when you start doing stand up, you're looking for material about yourself, like, what are facts about me? So I was writing these news facts. And one thing was at a few places I worked, my accent became an issue. Like I, I was told I couldn't do voiceovers at this place because of my accent. I, I had, I had to get a voice coach. It was a whole thing. So I just. Yeah. So I just decided to do this stand up character who, like, instead of taking everything people say did wrong and fixing it like I tried doing in the news and still failed, I just doubled down on it.

A (16:18)

Yeah.

C (16:19)

Leaned into it.

B (16:20)

And that was the basis for this standup character. And that character, I could tell, did better when I was on stage than anything else just because I think it was relatable. People either were from the Midwest or knew someone from the Midwest.

A (16:34)

Yeah.

B (16:35)

And, and so that was the first thing to take off. And then I was like, okay, that worked for 50 people, but it would be great if I could do this. So more than 50 people saw it. So that's when I put out the first video that took off when a bunch of other videos I put out didn't. So then I knew I was onto something.

A (17:00)

That's how it works as a digital creator too, as a content creator in general. Not just a digital creator, but as a content creator, someone who's creating art or whatever is my opinion. You run through a bunch of ideas before you settle in to what is yours, what, what is uniquely yours, and starts the, the people that the intended audience starts identifying themselves as your people. Like, oh, I get that. I understand that. And you're right about something is that, you know, yeah, you're. A lot of the content that you create or that I've seen is focused around kind of this Midwest accent, this Midwest character, this Midwest mannerisms, but everybody knows what that is. If you live in the United States, you know somebody from Chicago, from Green Bay, from, you know, you know these people, you've seen them in movies or you, you're familiar with them yourselves. So when was the first video that you. When did you put out that first video? What was that year?

B (17:55)

It was. So I think actually even before the first man, 12 minute. That was 2017 and 2016. I put out this video. If Jack Dawson was really From Wisconsin, where I just changed. I just changed the voiceover so everything Jack Dawson said was with the Wisconsin accent.

D (18:14)

Right.

B (18:15)

You know, and that was. That took off. But then, like six months later, in 2017, I put out the first Manitowoc minute. So. Yeah.

A (18:23)

Which is fucking hilarious.

B (18:25)

Oh, thank you. You're too kind.

A (18:27)

I'm kind. I'm kind, but not too kind. You gotta be nice.

B (18:30)

Okay, well, you are from Chicago.

A (18:32)

I am from Chicago. And that's the thing I think about Midwesterns that I also think you nail is that, you know, down here in the south, it's all warm and fuzzy. It's. Yes, ma', am, no, ma'. Am. Bless your heart.

C (18:43)

But we'll talk about you behind your back.

A (18:44)

We'll talk about you behind your back. Right. That the. The drama happens away from you. But in the Midwest, there is this kind of in your face honesty that doesn't allow it to be too over the top. It never feels so warm and fuzzy that it seems insincere. But Midwestern people generally are nice. Like, if you ask somebody for help, I think they would. Most people would. Except for Charlie, would allow. Would do it. Charlie's got security.

B (19:09)

No, I don't have security. Kidding.

A (19:12)

I'm kidding.

B (19:12)

Don't throw that on me right now.

C (19:14)

Well, you got. You've got a security team when it comes to. You're one of 12 kids. Holy.

A (19:19)

Yeah, we read that about you. And I. I did not know that.

C (19:22)

I was, like, 12.

B (19:24)

Yeah.

A (19:24)

You are from the Midwest.

B (19:25)

Yeah, my parents Catholic. Yep. Yep. My parents, they really loved each other and. Yeah. So it's fun growing up in a big family, though. Like, I really enjoyed that big Midwest family thing, you know, Holidays are fun.

A (19:43)

Yeah.

B (19:44)

You learn how to fight, you know, you learn how to steal. You learn how to take food before someone else does. I'm still a very fast eater to this day because of that.

C (19:54)

Oh, yeah, me too.

A (19:56)

One of four. My mom's one of six. I have 29 cousins on one side of the family, so. I know. And we're Catholic, too, so I get that big family feel. Do you guys still get together a lot?

B (20:06)

Yeah, we. My mom likes to have everyone over who's in town.

A (20:10)

Yeah.

B (20:11)

You know, which is a lot of my family. We still live in the Milwaukee area every Sunday pretty much.

C (20:18)

Oh, wow. Sunday dinners. That's cool.

B (20:20)

It's really nice. Yeah. Nice to get. And people. People actually make it for the most part, if they're in town. So it's. It's. Yeah, that stuff's Fun, you know, and that's something that you kind of take for granted. But. Yeah, not every family can do that. I mean, a lot of families can't stand each other, you know?

C (20:40)

Right. That's true. Is there a special dish? Like, I know I'm Italian, and so it's, you know, a big Sunday dinner with, you know, the marinara and the meat sauce and the meatballs and all of that. What do you guys. Do you guys have any kind of special dish?

A (20:52)

I want to come to your house.

B (20:53)

Yeah.

A (20:54)

So much better than anything we're serving.

B (20:56)

I know.

A (20:57)

Dry ham and. Dry ham and shitty potatoes.

B (21:03)

My mom is a fantastic cook, let me say that. So she. She's. She'll do kind of a little bit of everything. But, I mean, we don't have. I'm Irish and German and, like, we don't really take pride in our food.

C (21:18)

Right, right. I gotcha.

B (21:20)

Like, we know where the beverages are, but it's sort of the food supports the drinking in these two cultures.

C (21:26)

Well, now you've got your own beverages too.

B (21:28)

Right?

C (21:29)

Your beer and now recently a brandy.

B (21:32)

Yeah, sure did. It's the baron's old fashioned brandy. Nice little brandy.

C (21:38)

Right?

A (21:38)

How did you land on brandy?

B (21:40)

Oh, my God.

A (21:42)

It's your favorite.

B (21:43)

Yeah. You guys, you guys. Wisconsin drinks more brandy than Wisconsin drinks 85% of the United States brandy.

A (21:54)

No.

B (21:55)

Yeah, yeah. Because of our brandy Old fashions.

C (21:58)

Oh, I had no idea.

A (21:59)

Okay.

C (22:00)

Yeah, I need to try one of these.

B (22:02)

Yeah. During prohibition, all we had here was brandy. And Wisconsin could not handle prohibition. Like, you know, like when. When. When they said there's prohibition, Wisconsin was like, wait, wait, wait, wait. So we can drink.

A (22:17)

We didn't vote on this.

B (22:18)

Yeah.

A (22:19)

Vote on this.

B (22:19)

Yeah.

C (22:20)

And it's too cold not to drink.

A (22:22)

Yeah.

B (22:22)

Right. So. So people. Someone found a stash of brandy, and then people start making it in the bathtub and bath.

A (22:29)

So Brandy. Yeah.

B (22:30)

Yep, yep. And so that was. That was our thing. And maybe I got that wrong. Maybe it was during the war because they were rationing booze. It doesn't matter.

A (22:40)

It doesn't matter either way. Brandy got Brandy was a hit. My grandfather had a bar in his basement. We're talking like a Cheers bar in his basement. Like a legit bar. And they would throw parties down there. And I think this. And I've seen this in a lot of different older houses in the. In Chicago. Right. There's an actual bar downstairs where people would throw parties, and that. That survives from the era of prohibition when you would. I don't know, I guess get by liquor from. Run over the border from Canada or Wisconsin Brandy. But I do remember my grandfather in this full bar. So many bottles of liquor and all this other stuff. He had quite a few bottles of brandy. That was. That's how I even knew that it was a thing when I was. When I was a kid. But I never started drinking it in. In particular. But how is. I. I love the idea that you can go to a beer manufacturer or a liquor manufacturer and team up with them and say, I want my own booze or I want my own beer. What does that process like? Did you come up with the idea? Did someone approach you and say, hey, you could be a good ambassador for a brand. Let's do this together?

B (23:50)

Well, no, in both cases, I was like, oh, this would be. This would be kind of cool. Yeah. Especially, you know, on the beer. Honestly, I can't remember. I can't remember if I was talking. No. Someone came to his show, came backstage, gave me a beer, said, do you like that beer? I said, yeah. He said, well, do you want your own beer? I was like, oh, yeah. Yes, let's do that. But with the Brandy, because I had then done the beer, and then the beer kind of crashed and burned. It's tough to sell, like, alcohol and herbs.

C (24:26)

Very competitive.

A (24:27)

Very competitive.

B (24:28)

Oh, yeah, yeah. And this was kind of just as the weed Seltzers were coming into play, you know, so people were like, I'm gonna get stoned instead of drunk. And then the actual seltzers were there. So it was tough time to sell beer. Chose the wrong guy. It's like buying a really big house in 2007. Yeah. Not a good idea. But with the Brandy, I was like, I did a video how to make an old Fashioned during COVID And. And, you know, people. People really. It got, like, an insane amount of views because people were just stuck in drinking with their alcohol.

C (25:05)

Right?

A (25:07)

We were doing drinking.

B (25:08)

Yeah, exactly. Had nothing to do with the quality of the video, But I then saw, like, how much people love the old fashions. And I was thinking like, oh, this is just something kind of like my family does here. And so. But then I was like, we're all drinking Corbel. Like, that's what my grandparents had. And. But it's a California thing, so I just wanted to have one that was from Wisconsin, you know, Nice. And. Yeah, so that was kind of a passion project of it all, but it's a fun thing.

A (25:40)

So Brandy is doing better than the beer. Like, the beer, not so much, but the brandy doing better than the beer.

B (25:46)

Well, the brandy's still around.

C (25:47)

Yeah.

B (25:48)

So, yeah, it's still in circulation. So.

A (25:51)

Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a source.

C (25:52)

Available everywhere. I really. I want to try some now.

B (25:55)

Yeah.

A (25:56)

To buy your brandy.

B (25:57)

Oh, that's really nice. It's only available in Wisconsin, so I have to send you a bottle.

A (26:01)

Ah.

B (26:03)

Little exclusive kind of thing. Also, it's a. Liquor laws are pain in the ass. Yeah.

C (26:08)

They're really different in every state and counties. It's crazy.

B (26:12)

Yeah. Yeah. And so we just kind of are sticking with Wisconsin because if you want to talk about wax liquor law, it's Wisconsin. Yeah.

C (26:22)

That's the place.

B (26:22)

Pretty easy.

A (26:23)

85% of the brandy is.

D (26:26)

Yeah.

A (26:26)

Is consumed or purchased inside of Wisconsin. Go where the market is. The market is not in Atlanta, Georgia, for brandy. It's in Wisconsin. Except for Chrissy. Now. She's the market.

C (26:37)

I'll be the ambassador for Planter. Yeah.

B (26:40)

Yeah. Well, we'll expand out eventually, but I. I know where to start. You can be my first brand ambassador down there.

C (26:47)

I would love that.

A (26:48)

She's good at that. She. You were. She was a brand ambassador or.

C (26:51)

Yeah. At the radio station.

A (26:52)

The radio station for when they rolled out Yingling down here in Atlanta, Right?

C (26:57)

That's right.

B (26:57)

No kidding.

A (26:58)

Yeah. Yingling knows how to throw a party. Let's just put it down.

B (27:01)

Yes.

A (27:01)

One of us got arrested and ended up naked in a hotel room. It was a whole thing, really. I was with her.

C (27:06)

Yeah.

B (27:07)

What happened there?

C (27:09)

It was St. Patrick's Day.

A (27:10)

St. Patrick's Day. They rolled out the beer and they rented. And they. They sponsored a party at a big bar just north of Atlanta. Put up a couple tents, freezing cold. They got heaters. They had multiple fans. They went all out. And we. There was a hotel in the parking lot, you know, like next to it. And so we rented some rooms. The radio station did.

C (27:30)

We were being safe and smart, but I think that made us go even wilder.

A (27:33)

I think we were lucky we even made it to the hotel on our own feet. I think we decided not to drive, but I'm sure walking was a better idea either.

B (27:42)

That's hilarious. The. The. It's really a dangerous thing. Yeah. When you got unlimited supply. And also, you're supposed to be the life of the party here, right?

A (27:52)

Yeah, exactly.

B (27:53)

Well, that's like a job that's like. It's good to have for, like, the. The distributors, like the sales people for alcohol. I know a bunch of those guys, and some are either, like, full Totally burnt out.

A (28:08)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

B (28:09)

Or they're the guys who, like, never actually drink. They'll have right sips and they'll be pouring drinks in the bushes all night.

C (28:17)

Yeah, they'll keep the beer in hand just for show, but. Yeah, exactly. You have to be a pro.

A (28:23)

Yeah.

C (28:23)

To be in that.

A (28:24)

That's a very interesting observation, because I worked in the restaurant business for a long time, and I did notice that the wine reps, the liquor reps that would come in, there were two types. There were the party hounds, Right. The people who were drunk, like, all eternally drunk. Just all the time, you know, perpetually drunk and drinking. And drunk. And then there were people who just would, you know, not even sip the wine that they. That we were tasting. They'd open it for you, but they wouldn't sip it. And they're obviously the responsible adults. Probably.

C (28:49)

They probably still have their jobs.

A (28:50)

They have their jobs. That's right.

B (28:52)

It's. That's an art form. It is, though. It is so easy in that business. Even in. In my doing the thing. Like, people want to do shots a bunch and I just gotta be like, no, you see me do shots, I'm gonna have a PR nightmare on my hands. I just. I just, you know, tell people the. Because otherwise you're just drinking all the time and.

C (29:16)

Sure.

A (29:17)

Yeah. You become Burt Kreischer. Yeah. You know, it's. It's interesting because the. When you get to a certain level of notoriety, then you do have to be careful because, yeah, sure, you can go out and drink shots all night long, but everyone acts like an idiot sometimes when they're drunk. And every. And the people are looking to post. They're looking to exactly catch those moments so that they can have some notoriety themselves or maybe just unintentionally post stuff that obviously is not flattering. So I can. I can see why you guard against a little bit like, you know, taking all the shots or doing all the things that someone brings with you. You know, it's. It's like a fine line. You want to party all night long, but you got to be careful that you. You don't put yourself in a compromising position. But I think that it's just like, good advice for any. It is actually now that it's 20, 25 and we all have cameras everywhere.

B (30:06)

Right. Yeah. I got it lucky, though, because I got like. I get. I get, like, sick if I drink too much. Like, I am.

A (30:15)

I am not throw up sick. Yeah.

B (30:18)

Or just, like spinning, you know, And. And I've done that enough in my life to know, like, that there is nothing for, like, that's not the way I want to end the night. So, like, I think that's been a blessing that has. I don't know what happens, but I pass a certain threshold, and it's like, I gotta. I. I'm just not gonna do it. You know, I'm not a great Wisconsin night in that regard, but I can only do so much. I really can. Do you.

A (30:46)

Do you know that line? Like, do you. Now do you understand where that line is? You're like, okay, two drinks, you know, over the course of a couple hours, I'm good. Five drinks over the night, and I know I'm going spinning, and I don't like that.

B (30:58)

Yeah, it depends how long the night is. Usually after a. An hour or after a certain time, I'm just like. I'm just not doing it. I'm. I'm on the decline. I'm on the decline.

A (31:09)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to sober yourself back up so you don't lay in bed spinning all night long. Yeah. I have an interesting question. Do you do. When you go out on the road, do audiences, like. Are the audiences more favorable to your material, I guess, in the places that you're identifying with, like, in the Midwest, or do you come down to Atlanta and places like Florida, and you find that the audiences are just as welcoming, just as understanding? You know, they under. They. They're vibing with the. What you're throwing out there.

B (31:43)

Yeah. So the. That's. It's. I found it to be really interesting because I never really thought I would tour outside of, like, Wisconsin initially. Yeah. But then I. I was googling my name because I'm definitely not a narcissist.

C (31:57)

We've all done it.

A (31:58)

We've all done it.

B (31:59)

And the first thing that came up after Charlie Barron's was Nashville. I was like, what the hell? I didn't. So then that. I did my first, like, out of the Midwest kind of show in Nashville, and it did well. And I think I learned then that Midwest people, they. They move out of the Midwest, you know, but they still want to be reminded of home. And so. So they use these shows almost as, like, meetups or something. And so there's, like, a lot of Midwest people that come no matter where I am, and then they drag along their local people who really have no interest in any of this. But. But I'll change, like, maybe a setup. I'll do local jokes no matter where I am. And, you know, we've done it in London, we've done it in Hawaii, and it's been good. So so far it's been fine. And most of the comedy now, it's like just about the world from a Midwest guy's perspective. So early on it was about the Midwest, and now it's a little bit.

A (33:12)

More now it's perspective based and less like, you know, actually. Yeah, I get it. And I also agree with you that people from. There's a. There's a line from the show, the West Wing that I love about Chicago and the guy's talking to the fake president on the fake show about presidents and he says, you know, it's a funny thing. I keep on hearing about how great Chicago is, but none of the people I hear it from seem to live there. And it's so true. You know, we move down here to Atlanta and I meet so many people that are from Chicago, live in Chicago, you know. But it's, you know, it's a. They're transient places. I guess all big cities are transient at this point. But it. All those people have now fled all, all around the country. They fled the cold weather and, you know, that's why the populations are growing down here is because people like warm weather. Do you. How do you survive those fucking winters, man? That's the only thing I wouldn't be jealous of anymore. Like, I wouldn't. I would love to go live in Chicago, but I wouldn't want to do winters there.

B (34:13)

You know, winter's actually one of my favorite seasons because my favorite ducks come back on the river and red breasted mergansers. Great duck. Great duck to look at, but beautiful duck. Yeah, really is. Yeah. The red breasted Mergansers, baby. But I honestly, the best time. I'm a big, like, outdoors guy and for me, like, the best time to go walk in through the woods is in the winter because everything's so quiet because the snow is like a big sound blanket.

A (34:45)

Yeah.

B (34:45)

And no one's around, you know, like you, that, like, it's kind of creepy but also kind of fun. I realize talking like this, I'm sounding like a serial killer.

A (34:57)

I was just gonna say to you, I think I saw a scene similar in the Ed Gein story that I watched recently.

B (35:03)

Right. Thank you. I get that comparison a lot. Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy.

C (35:12)

Do you guys do the ice fishing? I've heard about that.

B (35:15)

Oh, do we do the. Oh, yeah.

C (35:17)

I mean, it's a whole.

B (35:18)

Why you want to go?

C (35:19)

Well, I'VE heard enough about it. I used to work for a company, and they were based out of Minneapolis, and so all those guys up there would, you know, talk about during the winter would be them going out on the ice and you have like a whole little cabin type thing, right?

B (35:33)

Yeah.

C (35:33)

Shani set up shop out there for days.

B (35:37)

Yeah, yeah. You can. You can have it out there up until mid March, but, I mean, really, depending where you are, you should have it off end of February, because the ice, you can't trust it much after that. We're definitely getting warmer winters, that's for sure. Like, significantly warmer.

C (35:56)

I'm sure you can really tell being up there, seeing the ice and how long it stays around.

B (36:00)

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I mean, I got buddies at ice fishing guides that, you know, they. They'll tell you once you've been doing it for 50 years or so that this is. It's gone downhill pretty quick. But regardless of that.

A (36:13)

Yeah.

B (36:13)

You bring out your ice shanny and you go out there, you have some beers, and you just sit there with your tip up and lock and load, baby.

C (36:21)

Right. So interesting. I love this tradition.

B (36:24)

Yeah.

A (36:25)

I had a friend that did it once, and he went to a shanty right out. Out on the ice, and he said it was, like, really nice. They had, like, a pot to cook in. It was a. You know, they were. They were doing. They were doing the. And I said, isn't it freezing cold? He goes, yeah, it's not like it's not warm. He goes, but it's. Once you put the roof over it and you stay in there for an hour or two, it gets warmer. Like, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I was like, catch any fish? And he said, nope, didn't catch.

C (36:47)

More about the act of it.

A (36:49)

Yeah, he said it was more about just sitting around, you know, having a day. They brought some guitars and they were playing. I said, probably scared the fish away because you're a terrible guitar player. You're an awful musician.

B (37:02)

Yeah, but that's the nice thing. I mean, you put a space heater in there, and it can get pretty warm. In fact, like, you'll be taking layers off, you know, so you can get those as warm as you want them. Really?

A (37:12)

Yeah, but it doesn't. It's a dumb question because I've never been ice fishing. Does the space heater melt the ice?

B (37:21)

Yeah. I mean, the thing about hot air is it rises. So you can have a bonfire on the ice if you want, and you will melt. Melt the ice a little Bit. But that's. That's the question of how much ice are we talking?

A (37:34)

And if it's a foot of ice.

B (37:35)

Yeah, yeah. If it's a foot, you're fine, you know, depending on what the weather's been like. If it snowed after the first ice, that's not good because it now insulates a little bit, and it. It makes it soft and it's easier to fall through. So, you know, these are all the things that go through your mind before you decide whether or not to drive your truck a mile and a half out on the island, you know?

C (37:59)

Exactly.

A (38:00)

It's like we live in two different worlds. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, we worry about pollen and tornadoes, and they're worrying about driving their truck on the ice. And these. Like, even when I grew up in Chicago, we did not go ice fishing. I, of course, have walked over frozen water before. I've seen lots of snow. One of my friends who lives in Chicago currently told me it's the snowiest December in, like, 80 years or something up in Chicago. He's like, we've had, you know, 18 inches of snow already. But he also says that it doesn't snow as much. I remember it snowed all the time when I was a kid. It felt like snow was just a part of the winter. But he was sharing with me that over the last couple of years, it really is not part of the winter. It might snow here or there now, I'm sure upward where you're at. It snows more often, I would imagine, in Milwaukee.

B (38:47)

No, not. Not as much. It does more often than. Than Chicago, but, you know, and we did get a. We do have, like, a very snowy winter this year because of the polar vortex. But, you know, we'll see, we'll see. But, yeah, historically, it has gone down a little bit, you know, so. Or quite a bit, I guess. But yeah, I mean, when. Even in my lifetime when I was growing up, it was snowing all the time. And now, yeah, you get a few. Few days in southeastern Wisconsin or a couple. Few weeks of snow, just depending on the year. But, yeah, you know, that's how it goes.

A (39:22)

I feel like I'm talking to my. My. My uncle or my cousin. Like, it's just. Your voice is so familiar. Your mannerisms are so familiar. No, it really is. It's kind of a. There's a little homey feel going on here.

B (39:32)

We're talking about the weather.

A (39:34)

We're talking about the weather. We're ice fishing. You know, it's all liquor, liquor, booze.

B (39:40)

Checked it all off the list here.

A (39:42)

Tell us about the special, which is why you're here. You're not here to talk about ice fishing. You're promote your new special, which I understand is. Is going very well. It's on YouTube. Link in the show notes for all the listeners. Where'd you film it? How did it. How are you feeling about it?

B (39:57)

Thank you. I'm feeling great about it. You know, we put it up on YouTube. That's sort of where I started doing all the things and the last one we put up there and did really well. So, you know, and I got like that the. Just a lot of, you know, you get. You build like a community and you really just want to like embrace that. And I'm glad I did because, you know, people have been really nice. You know, you put it on Netflix and they write all these bad reviews about you. You put it on YouTube and I can just delete your comment. No, I'm kidding. I actually haven't deleted any comments yet. I haven't deleted any comments. There are a couple mean ones, but that's fine. Most of them are positive. Positive. But no, it's called Neighborly. Had a lot of fun with it. We shot it in Appleton, Wisconsin, which is the first stand up special ever shot in Appleton, Wisconsin.

C (40:53)

Really?

B (40:54)

Yeah. Also the last stand up special.

A (40:58)

But the infrastructure for it. Do they.

B (41:01)

No, honestly, they. They did such a phenomenal job. The Pac up there was. It's a beautiful theater that the Fox Valley and that area of the state that's over by Green Bay, I mean, that's such a. Such a great audience is over there. A lot of packers fans. Yeah. So anyway, we had a lot of fun doing it. Such a blast, great crew, all that sort of stuff. And yeah, it's up on YouTube for anyone to. You can do it for free. So that's for all my Midwest cheap people. I really have a very money conscious fan base, let's say.

A (41:35)

And I think everybody's money conscious except for the, you know, the billionaires running the country. I think all. Everybody is paying attention. I've got a lot of content creator friends who have subscription based stuff and people are leaving and they're saying they're sorry and it's just the way that it is. You know, the economy is cyclical and so, you know, I'm hoping the depression doesn't come soon. But you can check it out for free on YouTube right now and make sure you follow him on the social medias because he. I You're good for a laugh all the time. Anytime I see one of your videos come up, I'm like, oh, good. Another you, honestly, you make me laugh. And you have for a while, so.

B (42:13)

Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.

A (42:15)

You're welcome.

B (42:16)

You were starting to sound like my dad there. You're good for a laugh. You're good for a laugh some of the time.

A (42:21)

Some of the time.

B (42:21)

Yeah.

A (42:22)

I don't want to fluff you up too much.

B (42:23)

Yeah.

A (42:24)

If you're gonna come back, then we'll go full. We'll go full cuck. If you come back now, we're just nice and tell your dad I said I will. You do. What number are you in the 12.

B (42:37)

Oh, I'm second oldest.

A (42:38)

You're second oldest. Okay, so that's in 12. That's like being first all, you know.

C (42:42)

Right.

A (42:43)

There's so many below you that.

B (42:45)

Right.

A (42:45)

What are the age discrepancies? Like how many years between you and the last one and the youngest one?

B (42:51)

There's 17 years between the oldest and the youngest.

A (42:54)

Very interesting.

B (42:54)

I can't do, I can't do the further math on that.

C (42:57)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

A (42:58)

No, no, no, it's fine. I'm not asking you to. But I just was wondering if you connect with the youngest ones, like when you get that many children in a room, do you connect with the youngest ones as closely as you might connect with the ones that are closer to you in the age?

B (43:13)

Well, I mean, the older ones, man, you know, we. We were diving into mulch piles together.

A (43:20)

Yeah. Trendsetters.

B (43:22)

Uh huh. And you know, we kind of lived through a lot of. We lived through more life together, so there's obviously a connection there. With the older ones, you can't, it's impossible to replicate. You know, we saw each other get in deep trouble and all that, you know, and so you have a bond there of like any sibling. But now with the younger ones, they're also. They're a different generation. There's two generations in a family of 12, and the older ones are better raised, you know, so it's tough. Yeah, I agree.

A (43:57)

I agree.

C (43:57)

More was paid attention.

A (43:59)

Yeah. I have 12 to 13 children and I'm wondering which ones I can throw out is why I'm asking. Are they. Are the young ones? No, I don't. No, I'm kidding. It's a joke. I have three. Yeah, it seems like 12 after two, it's just, it's all chaos, you know what I'm saying?

B (44:14)

Right. Yeah, that's probably what my parents Were thinking too. Yeah.

A (44:18)

But by the time the youngest one came along, the oldest one was out the door or on the way out the door. Right? Yes, yes, there was a rotation going on at least. At the very least by. I can't even imagine. Your mom must have gone crazy.

B (44:30)

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She. I mean she, she handled it so well. But I mean there's only so well you can handle kids, you know, and. But she's, she's a saint. She really is. She. She did an amazing job and my dad too, you know, But. But yeah, we did a lot of stupid things and put them through a lot and. But the, the younger ones, it's a different existence because you know, you don't like, like wake up, come down in the Morning at like 7:06 and all the lucky charms are gone. You know, these kids had lucky charms and yes. You know, my brother was one of those psychos that would get down there at 6:45 just so he could start doing spoonful shots of the marshmallows.

C (45:16)

Those are the best part.

B (45:18)

Yeah, but then I just got a bowl of like the unlucky charms and it sucked. But yeah, the younger ones, they never had to deal with that sort of stuff. But that's okay.

A (45:29)

Yeah, listen, you know, everyone has their cross to bear as the, as the Catholics would say.

B (45:36)

Catholic boy by that.

A (45:37)

Wow, what's that?

B (45:38)

I said you're a Catholic. I can tell by that.

A (45:41)

I'm definitely a Catholic. Well, reformed Catholic, but I.

B (45:44)

That's how I grew up Catholic.

A (45:45)

I grew up Catholic. I went to Catholic school. You know, I did the whole routine. So I've lived enough Catholic lives for all of us together. Charlie's new special is a available like I said. Links are in the show notes. Charlie, a real pleasure. I really appreciate you coming on. You're welcome back anytime. Are you coming to Atlanta? Is the question we always ask.

B (46:05)

I'll be out there. I'll be out there at some point. Nothing on the books yet, but we got some stuff close. If you go my website's charliebarance.com tour. My memory is garbage, so you might have to go there to look and see if I'm around you. But I hope to come to Atlanta and if so, I'll bring that bottle of brandy and you guys should come to a show if you want.

A (46:27)

We would not miss it. So let us know. Thank you very much, Charlie. We really appreciate it.

C (46:32)

Thanks for being here.

B (46:33)

Thanks guys. Watch for dear now. All right. Bye bye.

A (46:37)

Thanks Charlie. Appreciate it.

B (46:38)

See you soon.

A (46:39)

Okay.

B (46:39)

Thank you.

D (46:42)

Rachel. Here. While Brian takes his old man bladder to the little boys room, let's talk turkey. TCB needs your help. If you love the show, do us all a favor and share. Sharing is caring. And we know you care, don't you? Well, don't you? Ooh, that was some childhood trauma rearing its ugly head. Do you want to be on the show? Leave us a voicemail at 212-433-3822 and you could be the next TCD disembodied voice. Ooh, what'd you do today? I was a disembodied voice. You know, that sounds more dangerous than it actually is. Find us on Insta at the commercial break on the web@tcbpodcast.com and all the episodes on video are available the same day@YouTube.com thecommercial break. I'm gonna go help Brian get back up the stairs while you listen to the sponsors. And then we'll all meet back here and get back to this episode of the commercial break. I'll take a raise now, bitches. Bye.

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See mintmobile.com. Okay, three things that I learned about Charlie during and post the interview. 2.7 billion views on his collective social media. 2.7 billion with a B. That is monstrous by comparison. On our commercial break, Instagram, we have 2.7 views. So follow us there at the commercial break. We'll tell you when we're going live. Tuesdays and Thursdays you can jump in, in get involved in the fun that's going to be going on after the first of the year, that first week in January. We're really excited to get back to it live here from the studio with you as a part of the show. 1 o' clock Tuesdays and Thursdays. You never know what you're going to get. We might do two episodes a day. We don't know. We don't know. We're going to play it all by ear. We're going to see how we're feeling. We're going to hope my old man brain doesn't fall asleep halfway through, through the first show. And if that works, then we'll go to the second one. Okay? Other thing, the only YouTube special ever recorded in Appleton, Wisconsin is Charlie's Special. And it's available now on aforementioned YouTube. Neighborly. It's out now, one hour, three minutes worth your time. I know you've got some time off, go watch it. And even if you're not from the Midwest, you're gonna get it because he's really fucking funny. Okay? And then number three thing that I learned that I'm glad I didn't ask, but if you know who Laura Cleary is, another very popular social media and YouTube creator. There was a little, little hubbub about the two of them dating there for a while. I almost asked him if it was true, but then Google told me it wasn't, so to dispel any rumors, they're just friends. No Laura, no Charlie, not together. And you'd be, you'd have to really be down a big rabbit hole to even understand what I'm talking about. I spent too much fucking time on social media. All right. YouTube.com thecommercial break, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Catch us live then you'll be able to hear those recordings here. Wednesdays and Fridays, starting the first week in January. All of Charlie's information is in the show. Notes down below. Follow us at the commercial break on Instagram. DM us. We'll get right back to you, I promise. And yeah, so you're gonna get an episode New Year's Eve. You're gonna get an episode on the second. That's all I can do for you. Until next time. I will tell you that I love you I will say best to you we must say say we will say and we do say bye. Twas a cold winter's night and without.

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