Former Letterman Page Eric Schmidt Reveals The Secret List All Letterman Pages Memorized

hey it's me John Beckerman and you are watching the Letterman podcast with Mike Chisum and coincidentally I am Mike Chisum that's your bit right that's your bit that's my bit doing your bit thank you buddy welcome once again to the Letterman podcast my name is Mike Chisum all right uh if you have uh listened to or watched this show with any degree of regularity um first off what is wrong with you uh second off you know that I love standup and and and um I've done it a couple of times uh to enjoy to get the discipline kind of you know familiar with the discipline I I I very much enjoy standup a lot but I love the mechanics of standup and going through it so um and then of course this show uh we love to talk to folks who worked for the production at some point in the timeline or one of the Productions of pants somewhere along the timeline this today's guest is both he is a standup that was a page for Late Show with David Letterman during a time where I considered to be one of the greatest times of David Letterman's career obviously uh you know there's a lot of the late night stuff the early stuff with Late Show after the big move happened all of that stuff I mean um you know uh the Carter Bay Craig Thomas years phenomenal phenomenal years there of course as well and then the last six weeks of Letterman were amazing but to me the this period between n you know 2009 and 200 there's this period um that is just is so special and it is it is precious to me it really is uh you know this was the time when um the the Conan O'Brien when late shift 2 happened and that was part of it and and and just there were just a few different moments that happened in that time that I just found so special Eric Schmidt is um a standup comedian uh you know really you'll hear it and see it when when when he appears on the show extremely charismatic extremely smart extremely funny guy he was a page during those times that I was talking about and and and uh he and I have a fantastic conversation reminiscing about we talk about standup we talk about you know um you know his take on standup and and how he got into the business but of course his we a lot of stories about his time there we Bond over a lot of the music if you've watched the show um you know that I'm a huge fan of the musical component of late show and late night and um we have a really fun conversation that goes through all of these things uh he has a podcast himself talking Schmidt uh SE M DT so you can find him talking Schmidt and um you can find him online um also does a does a comedy show once a month in the Northeast and uh we talk about that as well called live snakes uh just I this is again just standard have so much fun doing this show I think it translates that these conversations are are are reciprocal uh fun and that's what today is all about uh please enjoy my conversation with Eric Schmidt all right Eric I'm very excited to have you on here I'm a huge standup fan and uh whenever I can get somebody who has combined standup and Letterman somehow whether they appeared on the show worked for the show anything like that uh I just uh I I I love it thank you so much for coming on here I know you grew up in Florida did you always know you wanted to be a standup uh no actually uh I I always love standup and I always I grew up watching Letterman uh obviously and but like when I moved to New York and was just around standup so much I was like you know what I'd probably be a fool to not at least try yeah um just because I you know also working at Letterman and then working in uh entertainment after that I just had so many good connections it I just would have felt foolish not and I always wrote jokes actually before like I I probably started writing standup style jokes five years before I ever did stand up oh kidding yeah so like I which is good because you want to have a lot of material to pull from so like coming up with a first set that I ever did at an open mic was not you know wasn't difficult to put together so I mean I still do some of the jokes that I did on the first mic I ever did back in like 2015 so yeah oh that's fantastic okay so first that's that was actually one of my next questions first time you did sign up was in 2015 yeah um I had done sketch videos um yeah I followed like the typical Arc you know do some improv then do sketch and then you know you work your way up to being you know confident enough to try it by yourself on a stage with everything that you wrote so yeah it's uh it was uh it was a great time to start actually I really just like had a great there was a great community that I started with and everything it was really nice um I assume that you started in a room in New York what room uh what was your first uh first experience uh so some friends of mine uh also former Pages uh they did they had a mic at this place called stairs bar um which was a gay bar like nightclub where they did stand up like during the day you know the daytime hours before it became like a big club scene y uh so yeah that unfortunately stairs bar is no longer around but it was a great great spot so many Comics I know started out you know doing those mics and and are now having pretty good little standup careers so yeah it was a great spot to start you got a bit of a net doing the day crowd at a gay bar you got a bit of a net there it's you got the Highwire but but but if you fall you know uh nothing catastrophic there just good to get kind of get a feel for it and whatnot did you take to it like a duck to water like immediately like oh yes this is what I this is what I need to do uh yeah I mean like I I really enjoyed it the from the get-go and uh had luckily had pretty good you know experience and feedback never i' to this day uh never really had like a set totally bomb obviously you get jokes that just don't work all the time yeah you're working stuff out obviously yeah yeah or or you'll have ones that like work with certain audiences and don't with others I was just talking to another comic about this the other day actually open mic uh open mics are kind of tougher than shows because you end up performing for people who are just uh you know worried about their own thing that they're about to go up on stage and set so it's it's not like an audience who has come and they're you know they came with the intention of seeing something funny and laughing so they're really yours to lose in a show respect but at open mics you know it can it's a little bit tougher of an audience yeah that makes um absolutely and and did you go through the St the phase or are you still in the phase where you're bring you're trying to bring the audience with you every week you're trying hey bring a couple friends yeah you can get a spot but make sure you bring a couple people at the club is that uh is that part of or in New York the New York comedy scene too I mean you walk down you Through Time Square you walk through some of the populated areas and you see you know Comics out there grinding it out trying to get people to come into the club for that night have you has that been Part of Your World at all uh no I've I've kind of avoided the having to you know recruit audience that way uh the the Midtown Club way I a show out in uh Williamsburg and uh it's at the at the gutter in Williamsburg which has kind of become like the um you know spot uh for for standup For in independently booked standup um uh like people are recording their specials there um so I'm very lucky in that like I get to perform at Rooms like that um and yeah the audiences in Williamsburg are great um they're a little you know I I don't do a lot of like I'm not an edgy com I mean like I you know I do jokes about drugs and things but like I'm not like I'm not trying to offend like I'm my my goal is not to offend it you're not pushing any envelopes no no so um but like you know I think some Comics who do like to be edgier uh you know might find a Williamsburg or Greenpoint audience to be a little uh you know tight with their laughter but you know I've I've always had a good experience so um that's the good for you show so good for you was a show I produced with h another former page Ian hunt who's an amazing standup comedian himself he also runs and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say this but he runs the uh Power of self care uh Instagram account which is very popular on Instagram and I love uh but anyway so he and I produced a show uh called good for you for a decade uh from 2013 to 2023 yeah uh it was at a this wonderful place in uh Williamsburg called Cantina Royale which uh had to close due to the pandemic um and uh but there guy the guy that owns it is this guy named Julio and he makes these hot sauces now that are always featured on hot ones very popular hot sauce yeah they're always fantastic yeah yeah so anyway so uh we we did the show there uh and then they closed and then we did at a few other venues and then we were like you know what it's not really the same uh as it was like some there was the venue was such a part of the identity of the show The Alchemy was it was necessary for the for the chemistry what you were doing yeah yeah and Julio was nuts man like he would let us use one of his like delivery guy scooters to ride up on stage to start the show like it was just silliness and totally illegal a lot of the things we were doing so uh but yeah that was part of the magic of it and so we we we decided to just kind of retire that brand and that show and then uh in 20 uh or the last last year I was uh I I really wanted to do a live standup show again yeah produce one and uh I asked Ian if he wanted to do it again he was like no done that yeah yeah no hard feelings there but uh you know so but I I produced with some great uh fellow comics and actually one of them uh was a did you have you had Kevin mcaffrey on I haven't yet I would love to have Kevin on yeah so I produced It with Kevin actually so the one in February that I'm hosting uh February 27th I'm hosting that one Kevin's gonna be on it and he's another old Letterman guy he did a set on Letterman yeah uh was he a paig he was he an intern he had a bunch of jobs there so like he's uh he's an old old Letterman Chum for sure and so he's going to be on that show on the 27th so that'll be a fun one at the that's fantastic oh sorry I completely forgot to say the name of the show yeah no no no I I wanted that we're going there next I want to talk more about this because it's such a smart it's such a smart way I look at the standup scene in in in my city uh my city is a city called Colona which is um about three hours uh east of Vancouver now Vancouver of course you know has got a big comedy scene and lots of lots of stuff moving and shaking all the time and you get these smaller areas um that develop these these these standup scenes and to me some of my friends locally are are the ones who produce these these shows and it's such a great way to get in and learn the whole experience of getting into standup yeah also because you're also solidifying yourself a place where you get to go work out and and producing a show is such a such a a great way to get into it that way what's the name of the new show and and and how can people uh you know find it it's called live snakes which uh yeah right you know uh our friend and comedian Mia Faith Hammond uh she's the one that came up with the name and we voted on it and it initially lost and then lose to I forget nothing good yeah and then we were like you know we we decided to have a revote and no one voted for it either and we were like you know what that live snakes one we all just kind of were like that one has like just better marketing I feel like the stickers you can make the sign you can make yeah for like the it's a much more fun name so we revoted and then it won unanimously um so which is good because it's a way better name than whatever we had planned is it live snakes comedy or just live snakes just live snakes so on on Instagram I think it's live snakes comedy that's like the name of the Instagram account okay yeah um but uh yeah so we um it's it's just and like I said it's at the gutter which is a great venue and it's it we the first year so February will be the Oney year anniversary the um first year we did it on the last Thursday of the month but we didn't really think that through because like at the end of the year you've got Thanksgiving oh yeah Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas you know there's like a three Monon like oh [ __ ] we got to reschedule it we can't can't so like uh starting in March will be on the first uh Thursday of the month and then we won't have any like holiday issues from that um but yeah so it's it's been a fun show I I produced it with a few other comics and uh so we alternate hosts and and everything and so Kevin's one of them and uh yeah he's on the February one so should be that's fantastic um who are some of the uh stand-ups that uh that you love that you draw maybe influence from or are or are you one of those stand-ups that you got to be real careful of of how much standup you consume I I know a lot of stand-ups who who who are careful about that because they don't want it to affect you know their process either and you know so I mean there's a couple schools of thought to that yeah I try to um I mean like growing up I loved uh um I loved you know Letterman who's not like you know did stand up before he had the Late Show obviously um and and late night and then uh I would say George Carlin was a guy I grew up watching a lot of um and then more recently Bill Burr I really love um Chris Rock uh Chappelle pre whatever he's doing now as far as material well he's he's the guy that that that's in inally kind of pushing the envelope or or you know and and exploring exploring around there um what he's weird weird trans Focus TED Talks you're just like what is this even yeah but he you know he's one of the best though still I think absolutely yeah um yeah I mean like I my approach to that is kind of like if so if you if you can if someone's telling you ahead of time before they've even told a joke that like I'm edgy or you know the alternative too like if they're like I'm like super Progressive and going to try to like get you on board with that it's like I just you know do your material and like I'll either relate to it or I won't you know like if if you're coming out like very like focused on that I feel like that's I don't know not not for me anyway it makes I mean yeah there there's so many there's so many ways that you can approach it just like there's every any art form like music you know I mean there's so many different um you know sub genres and sub genres within music standup I I feel is exactly the same it just doesn't get focused uh you know categorized the same way I mean obviously you know um like I love Comedians and Cars Getting Coffee as a as a as a um you know an artifact of all of these standups that explain their process a little bit you know Norm McDonald um is a guy God yeah Norm Norm definitely a a Mount Rushmore uh you know for me yeah absolutely and and and I mean here's a guy who who on his episode of of of of Comedians and Cars I mean he looks at Jerry and says okay well clean comedy is the superior form he talks about that and I mean you think about Norm uh I remember the first time seeing him live because I'm Canadian and and he would he would tour to small towns in in in in Canada and you know he played our community theater and um and and I remember um going from the Saturday Night Live Norm that I knew and the and the letter of course the Letterman appearances of norm and then seeing him on stage you're like whoa okay there is a you know because you you have these hunks that are TV friendly and this body of work that's TV friendly and then you go and see what he does and I don't think he was necessarily trying to push the envelope I just think he just didn't put limits on himself you've got some comedians who are totally agenda based comedians who are you know trying to um whether it's it's it's manufactured or it's something that's just boiling up from them inside trying to push some sort of a a greater message of some kind and I think you got some people who just want to test the limits and just to see and and to say you know what okay freedom of speech Let's see if if if we have freedom of speech here too as well so I mean there's so many ways to skin the cat sounds to me like you just want to go up there and have a good time and and and get some laughs going and and uh sounds like that's just you you just the simple version of things yeah I don't and I don't like I know people who write with the intention of offending and that just seems misguided to me it seems like if you just write everything like I I like I write things that would never say on stage but it's important you know you have to write everything and then you can be like all right this fits with the kind of person I am as a standup this this can work for me or you know you find out uh you know you find out okay that one doesn't work for me but you but you write it all write everything and then you can figure out where you want to go with it is my I I want to uh I want to come back to this um and and because again I love standup I love the process of it and feeling uh feeling everybody out as to how they how they do things and get to things but I do want to bring in the Letterman part of it um you know you had you had been in entertainment before you started being uh working for for for for Dave and Company or no was that was that the Gateway that brought you into entertainment yeah that was the Gateway so like it's kind of funny I um I moved to New York um and you know my my wife already lived here and she went to law school here and I moved here and um and you know I was just trying trying to find any job you know whatever and uh my mom called and was like hey um your cousin your cousin's husband knows a guy who worked there would as a Paige do is that something and I was like what the [ __ ] yes like Jesus yeah what yes do you remember who it was uh yeah this guy Tom uh man What was Tom's last I never actually even met him the guy like I know I know my cousin's name but no no no no the guy who it was yeah but uh but yeah so like uh and he was a pige and I think he got he got to be like an audience coordinator too like which is rare like because they only have like eight of those and so like your timing has to be perfect with someone leaving and you just being like an exceptional page y so anyway um so he yeah like I got in touch with him and like he helped me get an interview and and uh man it was like I feel like at that time there were people getting page jobs that were just like finding it on you know on like Craigslist who had no idea who had no idea like what because it was kind of vague you know it didn't say that it was Letterman it would just be CBS show blahy blah and uh you know so some people ended up as Pages who were like I didn't know what this was going to be I never watch Letterman I don't know what's going on here oh God the people the Legion of people who are hearing that going like out of frustration whereas I'm like so I was like I can't believe I'm in the building I'm like sneaking taking pictures in like the lobby like where it says worldwide pants behind the thing I'm like this is amazing yeah I was so like so into it I was because I you know I was I was a super fan like my parents let me watch when I was a little kid I was in like I don't know I was probably in second grade I remember the old show like my parents were letting me stay up till 12:30 night to watch the when it was on the old you know the old time on NBC but yeah I remember like watching uh just as a kid I mean I have it right here I had this like I had this top 10 book y do you have one you got this one we've got the second one it's in behind the the it's in behind earbook here I got the second one on the set here and then yeah that one's upstairs dog ear just like yours yeah exactly yeah so like I mean I would get in trouble at school and like third grade for bringing that in you know like so I you know I've been a super fan like my whole life and I'm just and man what a dream come true to be able to work there uh but yeah the page program is just it's it's a great opportunity it's a it's just a year-long program um uh it's shorter if you're not good at it uh I got to do the full year I got to do the full year though you made the year yeah I made the year didn't cut you no no no no no I got to do the full year but um yeah there was not really um an opportunity to stay once I was done no one was leaving those jobs I think even in 2010 11 I feel like you know they the people that had those jobs were like you know I'm not sure how much longer this is going to go so I think I want to ride this out y I don't think anybody I don't think any of the audience coordinators left in that time period like after you know 2010 so um but it was you know great opportunity to get to know a little bit of the business and uh you know make some really good connections I mean I'm still like best friends with so many of the people that were paid and worked there it was you know just such a wonderful time yeah it's it's uh you know talking to Janice has been on this show uh but I've you know I've talked to her a couple of times um you know at length and and I mean I love the way she looks at the pages I can't get Janice to actually say to somebody to to tell me okay of the interns and the pages and and all of that um there are some like you look at a guy like Brian Teta he started as an intern and now he's executive producing The View you know and but I say to her you know give me give me some of the stories of some of these these people um that that you're proud of and she won't do it she's like no they're like my kids I will not I will not pull one out over the other ones it was a really meticulously uh taken care of program um and and and uh I love that worldwide pants is a family you know in so many respects and hearing you and your Vantage Point about it you're certainly solidifying that perspective um what years what years were you there again you were there 2010 to 2012 no sorry I was there uh 2000 October 2009 to October 2010 I started I started right after the you know the Scandal uh where the guy tried to like blackmail him blackmail Scandal yeah yeah and uh so yeah interesting time to be watching the like sexual harassment video as the you know intro uh for for that was right around the time you started yeah I mean that was October 09 yeah um I just were you in the room were you in the room that night no no no so like that that was right before that was the week before I started I was just like oh my God like you know it was while I was in the process of lining up the interview but yeah I was like man what an interesting time to start but then also while I was there was when the whole uh Tonight Show yeah yeah exactly yeah that was interesting time to be there I was in the you know I was in the studio when he when he had Conan on that for that episode where they just kind of I mean Letterman was so delighted by everyone hating Leno again I I've talked a lot about that on this show here people always ask me when my favorite uh Letterman Incarnation was and and I mean you know there's there's people who watch the show that say we don't focus enough on late night and we we we focus too much on late show and and I mean there's logistical reasons for that I loved late night of course I love late night but my favorite of Dave's entire run if I had to boil it down to any particular time it was that time in 2009 2010 when uh all the turmoil at NBC was going on and and and it was almost like catharsis for Dave coming out every single night and talking to some of the writers where there were prepared comedy pieces sitting right beside him and he just would throw it away and say no no no let's talk about MEC some I'm too I'm too delighted yeah what a magical time I mean he was uh crushing him in the ratings at that time which hadn't happened in a while so yeah it was uh it was just man that was fun um we were like let's put on our Late Show page jackets and go to like the Rainbow Room which I think was still open at that time at NBC as like a bullying thing to do that must have been so much fun oh man it was a blast it was a total blast I mean I love Conan too obviously I mean yeah strong strong second place favorite of of the late night guys so yeah that was that was a special time I was also there when he did the that was in the um was that the Super Bowl commercial is that where you super bow commercial yeah like I remember I think someone one of the security guys who maybe wasn't as in the know about what was going on was like I saw Leno go in the other day because I take it at Ed Sullivan Theater like I think he sure did yeah yep and so they're like saw Leno go in the other day and and so we were like what and then and then that commercial came on we were like oh well that's what that was okay I guess they taped it there this is cool this is the first time on this show we've talked a lot about that as well this is the first time that that uh the idea that there were people who knew about it had gotten out because they did a very good job of keeping that secret like like like when that commercial when that Super Bowl commercial happened um you know the the the Scuttle butt is President Obama then President Obama was sitting there going how' they do that and he like got them to make some calls to figure out like real time what happened what happened that couldn't have been real what what happened there like that was a big deal when that happened and and uh you know most people that I've talked to have said oh yeah it didn't get out we kept the secret of it there there it is yeah people knew they kept it secret to the point that like one of the security guys didn't know and was just like I swear to God I saw Leno go in the building the other day and you know they were trying to sneak him in I mean I guess he I guess he missed Oprah walking by but yeah like they uh you know that was and so like we kind of knew something up or not sure what like I mean kind of horrifying to find out like the man you you've believed to be the enemy uh Public Enemy Number One is like at Late Show somehow you're like what why is he even in this city stay out of here Jay you know but like but yeah somehow got in and they did that and yeah it was it was so fun I was actually at another Page's Super Bowl party watching when that came on and we were all like what the [ __ ] it was a blast am I allowed to say [ __ ] yeah let's do it oh yeah absolutely um the uh well the thing about that that I love so much and I mean um even Kimmel kind of kind of nudged Dave a little bit when he made a a subsequent appearance after after that he said oh you you you you you uh it's I think he said something you threw Jay Jay a life preserver or something like that you threw him a and and the thing that I love about Dave is if the joke is strong enough or funny enough he goes where the joke is and and and um I mean of course you know the other part is Conan was actually invited to that uh to that experience as well and and and for obvious reasons declined at the time before wasn't it though like that was before no it was it was it was after the fact was it yeah and and Conan Conan was invited and he said no um yeah yeah so so imagine though like I mean I I would love to that's actually a question that I have I I have aspirations to get Conan on here and one of the questions I do have for him is is uh Kevin Smith's another one Kevin Smith had the opportunity to be uh the subject of a top 10 and and and and and declined because you know during the time it was it was during a sensitive time for him um he had got thrown off a plane for being overweight and and and and so uh apparently the Letterman people called and said hey do you want to come on out here and we'll we'll have you do a top 10 that's a question I want to ask him do you regret do you regret not going out and doing that cuz he was a letterman fan same with Conan right now with the with the the benefit of hindsight is that something that he would have done it was such a big moment um and what the hell is going on with Leno now he's getting beat up for owing people money have you guys uh isn't that weird is so it's it's it's if I would have ever in a million years uh you know tried to predict Leno in his in his in his senior years I would have predicted a car show yes that's perfect you know that that yes but the idea of all these injuries and some of these crazy um you know conspiracy that are being thr out it's letter obviously I assume you you also wish Letterman still had a nightly show where I mean the whole thing is CH it's it's like um someone said uh I forget who it was it might have been Bill Carter you know when when when when Johnny Carson retired he took the show with him you know and and and it became a different thing after that I I feel the same way um with Dave except he did the whole thing he did that with the genre I I think the genre is just I think Kimmel is probably the closest kind of emulator um in many respects and some of the stuff on Kimmel uh I love where Kimmel's out right now cuz he gives zero [ __ ] right now you can tell um you know respectfully but but but but but yeah I wish of course I love my next guest I love watching Dave do the the the long form with people uh you mentioned Chappelle I think his episode with Chappelle uh might have been my favorite one it was so good um but but to be able to see Dave comment in in real time uh to current events I mean God weekly oh it'd be so great it'd be so great to have him do that like and John Stewart coming back for just one night even on Daily Show has been so amazing so I I wish you know I love Dave's uh Channel though his his YouTube channel is great and I don't know how the hell he's getting the rights to like I mean there from the NBC days there's like yeah I can I can I think I I think it's I think I think I can say this part uh there is a um they've got a they've got a for the YouTube channel they've got a um with universal I mean obviously with NBC Universal they've changed hands so many times and so many of the executives and stuff have changed hands so many times that I I don't know that there would still be any sort of I mean there's only a couple of people in that building that are still assoc that were associated with late night uh and and and and that back then um and and there were people who worked for late night that work for Myers that you know you know Jay Johnson is one and uh you know Wally ferron's another one and there's not very many people so so to create some sort of a REV share um you know agreement or something like that between pants and and I don't think that that is that difficult of a it's not nearly as big of a Highwire as it would have been say even 15 10 15 years ago kind of a thing right yeah well I remember Conan was teasing that he was going to put everything from his show on there and that it hasn't happened yet as far as I know right I I certainly hope that that uh that he I I believe that Dave needed to not get the Tonight Show to build his legacy that he built because he basically took Johnny Carson's contract and walked across the street and continued it at CBS when he started late show I also believe that Conan needed to have his moment where that happened because I mean you look at how big he is now you know the Serious XM deal that he did uh Team Coco and the and and his his podcast network is just it's it's fantastic his travel show for him to be able to have access to his body of work uh I wish that they would release his Tonight Show run I loved his Tonight Show run I DVR it every night I watch Letterman but I I watched Conan's Tonight Show as well I thought he was fantastic in that it was great yeah uh I would love nothing more than if they could put you know like kind of how Letterman's doing it uh that would be that would be fantastic but you know Conan's got a very popular podcast he's busy with which is the fantastic one as well so speaking of which you're podcast as well yeah yeah I've been doing it since uh 2021 with a buddy of mine who is also a pige his name is Greg Burmeister um yeah we've been uh we've been we've had a podcast for a few years now and uh we what's it called where can you find it oh it's called talking Schmidt you can find it wherever you find podcast yeah and uh we we started out just having Comics that we need because we we have quite extensive rolodexes Greg and I so we were like you know let's just have our funny friends on and it's been uh been a great time but now we're kind of Shifting towards uh just the two of us like we we kept getting people being like you know what I really like the episodes where it's just the two of you guys so we were like right maybe we'll do that for a little bit we're also in talks to start recording it uh at the studio or Studio at where where where we do live snakes which is which is a cool venue so yeah that would be a lot of fun what's it called The Gutter yeah the gutter yeah believe I haven't done one yet I want to I've got a couple ideas I've got a couple like like crazy Big Ideas I got I got a couple pieces of very rare never before seen you know footage and documentaries and things like that that were shot around uh late night or late show I've got a couple of them and I love the idea of maybe getting a guest like a Rob brunette type type guy and we show we show something to the audience and then we have a have a have a live podcast I love this what we're doing right now it's so great I like literally I feel like I'm in a flow State time is is nothing when we do this it's so great this experience but then the live experience is so potent as well and the idea of being able to do it with audience participation and reaction and maybe Q&A and things like that that adds a dimension to it that makes it different not any uh not better or worse necessarily but different the live podcast so you haven't done a live podcast yet uh in in front of an audience no and I I don't know that this one like if we did it if we started taping at uh at the gutter I don't know that we would have an audience there for it oh you just changed the venue you you nicer you know it's like a it's a bigger space it's you you know I think it takes our podcast to the next level if we if we start recording it there you know and they have like they have like a fancier camera you know that all that um but yeah no we we but we have talked about doing like one where you know you've got an got an audience for it and then yeah I think you incorporate standup into that I think you have people that um you know have been guests that do stand up and they do a set and then you talk to them that kind of thing I've seen that format work pretty well so yeah that's something it feels like I don't know if he invented that model but he it feels like he kind of did because you look at Kevin Smith and I mean he has this extremely successful podcast he also had this extremely successful you know for lack of a better term standup where he would go and he would go in front of audiences and tell stories from his his adventures in in film and and he kind of took the two and merged the two that he took his podcast on the road and and and some of these same bits that he did and and it's a genius way to um to figure out a way to to to make it in this world when it comes to you know throwing your art out there it's it's not easy for artists and and and um uh adding all these different dimensions you know at least adds ways that people can do what they do how many nights a week are you performing these days oh probably one or two just one or two a week I think um I uh I was talking talking to another buddy of mine about you know the process for standup and and when you if a lot of comics and and we all kind of did this before the pandemic where we would push ourselves to get up more often you know to to be on stage more often and then you find that your writing really takes you know you're not you're not writing as much and so I feel like after the pandemic people kind of hit a hit a better balance um like you know what uh I pushing myself physically to be on stage is maybe hurting the writing and hurting the uh now there's some people who can do it all you know they somehow find extra hours in the day to do it all um I haven't figured that out yet so that uh that work life balance uh the Performing writing balance and then you throw in personal life into that it it it's a lot of plates that are spinning um let's go back to the uh the page job for a while because I mean you were there during a phenomenal phenomenal time um a lot of really great memories um let's talk a little bit about the uh the day-to-day of things was it a was it a was it a regular job for the most part from from hours and and and and predictability within the um unpredictability uh but was it fairly predictable for the most part you just didn't kind of know what was going to happen during the day so it was a it was a part-time job I would say you know you end up working like and also sorry about the sirens I I live on Amsterdam Avenue so you might hear some Sirens going by you can make the joke my rides here anytime you like uh so yeah it was it was part-time it was uh like 20 hours a week I want to say and for the mo so not a very normal job at all and it paid crap but we were all so happy to be there anyway but uh they uh you you would end up having to do occasionally you would end up having to work with the box office yep um which that was a little bit more normal hours that was a more 9 to5 kind of gig but otherwise you would go and then it was just kind of getting the audience in giving them the speech have you had another page on uh we have oh yeah but but your version of like figuring out your version of the speech I would very I'm very curious as to how that worked for you because you know you get your rhythms you get your it's basically like a monologue essentially sure yeah it's a total you know and and and a lot of it was handed down um and there would you allowed to change some things if you wanted to make it your own which I did I can't I can't for the life of me remember anything that I would have tweaked to make it my own at this point but I do remember weirdly we you would be like all right so let's practice like a punchline and then you laugh audience and the two things that were most common that people did the entire time I was there before the time I was there after the time I was there was you would say Donald Trump's hair and then everyone would laugh or or Andor a lot of times it was and you would say Hillary's pants suit and this is 2009 2010 yep why did we predict the future and I feel terrible about it like what the hell what happened what kind why was were we like praying in some way to like cause this did we Manifest this collectively yes yeah so I remember when like that election was going on I was like oh god what have we done um but yeah so it was I I had I you know I'm I'm a big guy I'm 66 I'm very you know I'm very loud uh so I I had I would speech like the bigger parts of the audience which uh one time I got to do it at because when it was inclement weather they would have them they would take them inside you otherwise yelling at people on the sidewalk or like just inside the lobby yep and uh so I got to do it at uh rosand one time yep with like being on the stage at rosand even though not like performing any of my own art or music uh you know but like and you regularly killed with the speech you know whether it's because you're actually good or you actually did anything creative maybe is not that it's just that like they want to be they're excited they're trying to show you they're excited y uh you know it's a very prepared audience which is what you're trying to accomplish like like I think Dave I'm pretty sure Dave used the word indoctrination I remember somewhere where he talked it might have been the last show where he talked about the audience coordinators and how how how they would indoctrinate people or or maybe it was near the end of the Run he was talking to a a guest about it but but it was very um I I saw Cole be last year and I mean don't get me wrong I you know I understand what they do but they were really focusing on the uh the warm-up guy to get the audience uh excited compared to back in the Letterman days where it was you guys who had the audience like kind of frothing and the moment you walked into the to the uh the audience chamber to to the actual Studio I mean the energy level was really really high and then Paul and the band just maybe even more so like Eddie Eddie doing his thing and then introducing the Eddie BR I listened to that episode and that was great by the way oh thank yeah I love Eddie Eddie's a friend he's a friend he's he's we we love him love Eddie bro he's great U but yeah so it was uh that was so cool because then we would also go in and like you know be clapping with the band and everything and I remember the the seating song in 2009 20 early 2010 was I Got a Feeling by blackeyed peas which like I remember hearing that Dave for some reason liked that song and Dave has such a cool he likes a lot of cool music but I remember thinking like this one's not as cool as I guess he he wanted that one I mean it's a great song for like getting people of course it is it worked it worked out um but like yeah I just have you know I just have the these insane memories of just like having to clap along to that stupid song from every day for like a few months you know but it's very much an up with people type type type gig that you're in and uh and if you're if you're a um I've had I've had a couple people who have been on the show and i' I've actually talked to who haven't been on the show uh who who have that um almost that cynicism uh that that cynical type uh personality and then they're thrown in like I love the irony of that because they is really really up positive High vibration which is my disposition I'm a I'm a happy positive guy I love kindness I love happiness and all that I could have done that job very very very easily I also know people who you know worship the show where they have kind of the exact opposite but yet equally clever um and and and uh andent disposition it's it's it's it's funny to me is the irony of that sure some of the pages who were too cool for school let's say yeah had trouble like uh but I man I I didn't mind I loved it I loved every second I was there um it was it was really cool and I don't know I mean we had we only worked four days out of the week so we always had a three-day weekend so every Thursday we'd all go out um after work it was did you go to the mcy so we were what when I was there uh uh Barcelona bar uh was the was the Page Bar it was very inexpensive it still is a very inexpensive place to go still around um I'm actually I'm actually going to start hosting trivia I'm I'm covering for a guy uh who hosts their trivia uh starting uh in a couple weeks so or actually this coming Monday and then every they do trivia there every Monday so I'm I'm hosting for until like March I'll be hosting trivia at Barcelona bar the old the old page fantastic yeah so a lot of fun um I remember one time we were leaving to go there and we were all standing outside waiting for everyone to come out yeah uh and Dave came out and he never would like you you'd never see him almost you know like you'd see him occasionally running around the the hallways but like you almost never saw Dave other than on the show yep um but he came out and we were all like holy [ __ ] and he said he just said hey guys merry Christmas and we were like oh my God that's so nice of them and it took a few seconds for us to realize it was March like what a nice guy wait a minute no good and then uh one of the other I don't know why it reminded me but like I got I got in a Paparazzi picture uh by accident um it was Bill Murray was on and he was uh he had uh he had crutches he had broken his leg I think uh I maybe you remember what cause that but uh so he was he was on crutches and he always liked to come in the front door you know he didn't want to go in the side entrance or one of the secret entrances he he he liked going in the front door and our our boss I want I don't name names here but she was like she reminded us ahead of time she was like hey Bill Mur likes to come in the front door just let him go in I know it seems kind of weird that's not normal but like let him in we're like okay and then I guess he got to her and she was like sir what are you doing she like didn't immediately recognize him and he and she goes oh my God and then he got but I so anyway I'm in the background I'm just kind of like I turned my I'm behind Bill Murray and I like turned my head because I'm like what is happening why is everyone going nuts and it was because he was walking in so that's that's one of my favorite uh you know uh pictures from that time period is me being confused about B Bill Murray walking by me and then I don't know have you had Mike Leech on no no I would love to have Mike Leech on he was uh he started in the mail room and like he was in mail room when I worked there when I was a paig and man worked his way up to like was he head he might have been head writer by the end he was yeah I don't I don't know if he was head but yeah no he he he he did that that same thing that so many of the and some of these other guys did uh to get up there you know Bob bordon I mean you started in the mail room as well right like like there's so many people that that that made their way up and Le's another one that did that yeah so many great stories from that show specifically that that are like that but yeah so uh this is a this is one of his stories uh I'm because it's I I feel like you deserve to have it on your podcast I'm G to steal it from him but he uh so he was hanging out talking to I think Bill Murray uh and Regis was on I don't I don't know when this would have been but he was talking to them after the show and Regis realized his shoe was untied so Regis goes to tie his shoe and Bill Murray's like I'll get that for you reg just you know you're an old man let me get that so he ties his shoe for him and then he stands up they talk a little more and then B Murray's like I gotta go so he leaves and then re just goes to leave a little bit later and he realizes Bill Murray had tied his shoelaces together so and Reus was like I'm an old man he might have killed me you know insane oh that's Fant it's see Bill Murray loved his entrances on camera to be different as well like like my favorite one I think was um you know Dave saying you know please welcome to the show Bill Murray and suddenly the shot is outside uh right and a van pulls up and and and uh and and Vinnie and somebody else are pulling a tied up and gagged Bill Murray out of the van throwing him into the into the into the you know the theater Vinnie oh my God Vinnie we're talking about Vinnie right Vinnie on no God I would love to have Vinnie on I have a I have a personal experience with Vinnie and and because of that I I I would it would really really have a special place in my heart to have Vinnie on uh or Mike I heard Mike is down in Florida I've I've got a line on Chief there is a chance that I will actually get uh uh get Bill on I I would love to have chief on and I think that would be uh really cool but I would love to have Vinnie on as well of course Vinnie used to tell us all these crazy stories I'm I I'm not sure well there there's a lot of holes in some of the stories like he would when he was like he was like we were around when rap started and I was like What He biggie puffy Snoopy we knew all those guys and I'm like Snoopy first of all famous yeah also that's not what he goes by and second all's famously from Los Angeles what are you even talking about so we saw him rapping you know we didn't know what rapping was like he would just tell and he never looks he would always look around your head like he was look looking to see if there was some sort of threat coming in like he never it was he's such a funny guy I love Vinnie man oh absolutely um I I I uh I had this crazy experience with the show uh a month before retired where where where you know I did a Q&A thing with Dave uh and it got put into the New York Times it's it's up there yeah it's super super cool and then I've got myct taking behind the desk with my with my wife Vinnie is Vinnie and Mike are the guys who made it happen and um and and and just talking to them both for you know a little bit longer than than anybody else who would be in the in the in that context you know you're sitting at the front you almost on the gold list uh on the audience thing you know you get on the gold list right you get to go in first you get to go um and and and so you know you talk to that security person well I had more interaction with both those guys and so I I I met Vinnie and uh I wrote down my experience I called it the letter Manifesto It's like 15,000 words and in that I said I met the man I met this dude who is the most uh stereotypical New York mobster guy uh that you'd ever meet and it's Vinnie and then I met Mike and then I said the exact same thing about it now I met the they both just they say mobster because they're literally former cops former cops I know I know but they're Heavies right like they like they come across like they're heavy like you do not want to [ __ ] with these guys oh no and man the way they would like Bully each other you like these guys are are ruthless uh so such funny and great personalities all of them uh yeah that was the other cool part like they would like well after I had paged there they would uh they would always get us in for like the live on Letterman concerts we could just show up I'm probably definitely not supposed to say that but like yeah they would just be like yeah come on they would sneak us in like the side and like let us sit front they would make us sit front row like they would be like right here and we're like we don't need because it's like on you know it's like on TV essentially you're just like I don't need to really show that were abusing like the system man they didn't care though they were so fun um yeah were there any highlights if you remember from that like like any any shows which ones did you love going to see because that special series I went and saw Snoopy uh that was I went and saw Snoop Dog and that was super fun and but then he had he was like I got a special guest he's got crazy hair and he smokes more weed than me and everyone in the audience is like Dr Dre who is he talking and then Willie Nelson came out and Willie did like a couple songs with him and I was the only person excited about that like oh my God we were I was front row was like yeah like all right this get contact high that's fantastic this nerdy white guy in front row also like I'm really tall and like I being front row for Snoop I was like uncomfortably close to him you know he's looking at me like who the [ __ ] what is this but yeah that was super fun uh saw Foo Fighters Wilco um oh my God those are two of the big oh those two and cake cake I was at the C you were there for the cake one yeah God yeah watch watch them again you'll find me I didn't I didn't have uh I didn't quite look like this uh but if you see just a tall awkward big tall guy yeah yeah yeah that's me hey will let ask you you you when you went uh to Late Show the one the when one you're talking about did you have long hair and a beard then or I didn't I uh I didn't I I I was I was way more clean cut and uh yeah they wouldn't let a guy like you now on the gold list by no way no way the that I got on the gold list so this is the this is the that was uh that's that's that's Dave using me as a comedy speed bag to Paul and that moment that moment was immortalized in the New York Times like literally the moment making F of me yeah oh yeah like it's a it's a it's it's a lottery win from an odds perspective like how in the world you know I I needed to see him one last time and then and so you know that's where I started you know phoning in and bugging the office a little bit that's how I got on the gold list and whatnot and I knew I was going to kind of manufacture the picture of candy and I behind the desk I knew I could make that happen yeah but then Serendipity kind of steps in and Dave you know hey I got a question he and I was a little bit of a brat and so in that he starts going back and forth and the moment he say Paul these Canadians are supposed to be polite and the whole audience laughing at me whatnot the New York Times guy just happens to be there that day doing the the coverage for the behind the scenes click take a picture of that moment like are you kidding me yeah that's so cool that's amazing yeah it just just Absol and then and then uh to top it off too I get the the old uh I know it was in obviously but the the the H Dave comes out the moment the monologue starts he comes out and he goes yeah I asked him about a jacket he goes yeah if you're really good we'll get you a jacket and then it pans to me in the audience you know like how back in the day back in the original Late Nights would do that whenever they referred to somebody in the audience how would get the shot in there right well they did the same thing for me so you know the moment is immortalized in the New York Times and then I've got the clip that I can watch whenever I'm whenever I'm feeling sad I can watch that clip and it's like they give a uh I not that night which um you know again that was part of the joke but the universe kind of knew that eventually I would I I would host the show here so I've got eight of them now uh got me I have three which is more than like most Pages because like there's your page jacket yep which I have and then they give everyone every year another one like it's not a page jacket it's just another Late Show jacket Christmas there's a Christmas gift one every year and then one of the security guys just gave me a late show jacket they had that they were just like I have too many of these and it's I don't know if you can see it's the black one that says Late Show behind me it's like you see Dave wearing that one quite often actually absolutely on one side and then the black jacket late and then show yeah you got the red one there as well yeah that the red one was the Christmas one and then that's the page that's the back of the page jacket just says worldwide pants thep yeah well and uh that's if it's okay with you the thumbnail that I want to use when you get to know each other you got you've got a very fun picture of you given given the salute to the wife yeah so that's a funny that's a Kind of a Funny Story actually so I um when you know when Trump won uh the first time we went my we went I went to DC uh or actually no sorry the week before he was being inaugurated uh I went on just like a we we went to Washington DC it was some planned thing we had to do and then um I was like you know I know Obama's in there but like I have to and I don't I don't mean to flip off Barack Obama but this I'm going to make this my profile picture the day Trump is inaugurated so you know it's really funny the people that got mad about me posting it on Trump's day I felt like explaining to them well actually he wasn't in there yet I was I but like symbolically yes it is a [ __ ] you to Trump but yeah and also like yeah what a perfect jacket to wear because there was no one you know before he ran there was no one who poked more fun at Trump than Letterman like AB natural natural enemy um so yeah but that was you know for decades like like I mean even when you go back um I believe this is I'm gonna F I'll fact check it I'm I'm I'm 99% on this one you go back to uh in ' 05 uh Letterman does a uh a tribute show to Johnny Carson after Johnny Carson passes away and and and the one thing and it's come out you know since then many in many different times and ways is that Johnny Carson would write jokes and send them in for Dave's monologue which is I love that part of the history of of the show and so the entire monologue of that show Dave did Johnny Carson jokes that he had sent in to Dave well there was a Donald Trump joke in that W like like like you go and all the way there are so many times where there are Donald Trump jokes back in the day I was thinking about the SNL uh 15-year reunion that I that I saw back in high school Trump was in the audience and and and people were making fun of him you you know and and and it was just the guy has literally for decades been the punchline of all of these jokes right so yeah yeah I mean I think I thought of him I thought he was just kind of doing a character like Trump like I thought he just like this like Rich [ __ ] guy who would come on how Stern and Letterman and like would just say dickish things and look outrageous things crazy things yeah and then I I don't that like somehow appealed to people in like a way where you're like wait no we're not supposed to like this guy like what are you doing but you know I don't know man I'm not a political scientist but shit's shit's gone a foul a skew even absolutely um I like I like some of the I I did see some of your your Clips uh that are that that are out there uh you made a good joke about uh the idea of you being um uh it was it was it was the gore the gore bush oh yeah yeah oh my gosh okay so that's a little uh that's a little bit of some uh biography there yeah I did wored I worked on that campaign uh and you know that's I I volunteered because you had to have like a certain number of volunteer hours to graduate high school because I went to performing arts high school and like that just seemed like an easy one like sure yeah I mean like I had just kind of figured out Loosely where my politics were I remember like you know before before the hyper partisanship that we're in now kind of started back then though but like I remember I watched the the Republican uh convention with George W bush and I was like well I don't think I like this and uh so I was like all right I guess I like this other thing then and you know you think at that time the 16-year-old brain you're like well there's only two things you can only there's only one or the other you know yeah you got to pick one yeah and volunteer for Al Gore and all all I did was call like older Democrats in Florida you know to be like you need to ride to the polls you need to ride to the polls and uh you know I yeah and then the election came down to being so close it's like man I if I just tried a little harder we you know we wouldn't have had Iraq war or anything you know just I feel bad I owe I owe my country an apology I guess but yeah that's like that's just a real story that that is one of the weirder things about growing up in Florida at that time was that happening do you still have a lot of family there uh no so um my my uh well actually yes uh but my my mom and my sister have moved to North Carolina uh which is a great area by the way have youever been to Wilmington North Carolina I haven't I've heard the Carolinas are absolutely amazing I want to go see both of them yeah fantastic area they uh so they live there now and um yeah we're kind of trying to not go to Florida as much anymore it's uh it's kind of fallen into the wrong hands if you ask me so I'm like I don't I don't need to go but yeah I got some I got some family there still so uh I try to just get them to come to me you know the Florida punch lines uh are always always fun I love to play the a Florida Man game uh on your birthday you know you pick your birthday and you play Just put in a Florida man and and and you know uh that's that's a fun game and it's a fun uh punchline to have out there I want to talk about uh some of these other memories that you have of of of working for the show uh one of the you know since you and I have decided to do this uh it's come out that one of my favorite moments of the show it's actually in my top 10 uh moments of any Letterman uh moment I'm music is like a huge part of my life and one of the things I love are the musicians that I know because they broke or or or appeared um on on on Letterman and one of those bands that I still love to this day is a band from Britain called The Heavy um you know uh uh rock and roll with horns and and and and very much a blues rock and roll with horns you just described all like The Late Show band I mean you just that's that's what they're doing absolutely well and and that was just it like like like they were a perfect uh you know how do you like me now and then and then they came on a second time and and played a song called uh uh what makes a good man and the cool thing about that uh they come out there and they play How You Like Me Now and it was so good and so much energy and you're right I do believe that that energy of that song was absolutely a perfect match for what Paul and the band did and it was so good that Dave said hey why don't you play it again and he makes them play the whole song again and then the second time they showed up they played what makes a good man and Dave loved it so much and he's like why don't you guys sing How You Like Me Now and they sang How You Like Me Now so th this band has been appeared twice and both times Dave got them to play a second time uh you were there you were there for one of those you were there for one of those yeah so like when so they did uh they did you know they did the song and it was great and then Dave came out and was like do it again and the audience and the pages and everyone were just like so confused as to what was happening like literally people are just like look around like is this what's happening and we you know because like after the B after the band plays it's then the end of the show like he comes out ends the show and then we're supposed to like tell people to get the hell out of there remind them not take pictures [ __ ] like that yep uh so you know when they started just playing again we were like everyone was so confused in the studio we were like what's happening and then it became and then we're just like laughing because we're like they are just doing it again like what what is this and then they end and and you kind of figure it out because they show on the screens that are you know they show that like all right you're coming back from commercial again yeah and so then you're like okay they just I don't know how this is going to look look on the televised version but like they did just play the whole song they played the entire song yep again I don't know if there is there is did they ever put out like what it was like in real time or yeah I think uh well see what they did was if if if memory serves me correctly uh I might be thinking of the second performance but but the second time they played one of the songs they ran the credits so so so they basically made the end of the show the band playing the song again and the uh the audience at home saw them play kind of maybe half of the the song for the second time kind of a thing so so that was one if not both of them but I think um I think that's that's what we saw but we it's certainly both times because I by the time they came back the second time um and and played what makes a good man I I was a fan of the heavy already and I was excited to see them back so you know I don't know if I had the original one DVR still but I had it in my memory oh yeah when they came on the last time they made it play the song play play twice them it again it was just such a big moment and and so the audience both times uh the television audience I should say definitely definitely knew that they played twice I'm I'm sure your audience uh knows this that like when the B when when Paul and the band would play they just played a whole song and then it would come back you know from commercial on them finishing the song they started when it went to commercial like it wasn't eight bars of the intro to the song and then eight bars of the middle of the song when they come back yes in reality they played it in its entirety and then I remember I remember one time uh Jay-Z and uh Eminem were on as musical guests and they were performing on the roof they sure were and uh they did Renegade it was amazing yeah and but Paul to give everyone enough time for that setup they played Freebird and and when they came back from Comm I remember thinking like holy [ __ ] they're playing Freebird like I I I I in my mind I was standing there like I was main floor too so I'm like standing there watching this man like have they ever played Freebird like it's just not one songs you would hear them do like there were a bunch of songs that they would do like that that I think of as that that I think of as like their songs at that point I heard them play the song so many times I'm like yeah I don't think they ever played Freebird and they come back from commercial and and Dave's like Dave's like we've been doing this show for like 20 years first time we've you've played Freebird and I was like okay it was the first time I was when they played Freebird oh that's outstanding give them enough time to set up uh the the roof you know to get up to the roof and everything but and then D and then of course darling love uh the Christmas I I love that Mega mix they put together but like the one I was there for was so so unbelievable and I love that song one of my favorite Christmas songs um real quick though you The Orwells uh were another band that he asked to just play it again uh the what's that who needs you which is a fun song um that that band got into some unfortunate trouble and I think is canceled now but uh but that man that performance uh was great and then Dave did the same thing he was like do it again and they look so confused when he when he's like hey Play It Again they're like what like because I feel like the younger bands who they would just not think Dave would be into their music I think that was the confusion they were like is making fun of us like what is this but no man he had a genuine love for like young hip music absolutely TV on the radio when they came on like they played on the the first time might not have been the first time they played on the uh um on the fire escapes yeah uh oh that was such a great that was such a great rendition when they did that I remember the Black Keys did that too I think for their live on Letterman if I'm not mistaken but yeah Black Keys see yeah see there's all of these bands that that's this is the thing that like I love this thing being Indie like I I there's parts of it where and I've actually had people who have said to me you know Mike you're actually lucky because I can do whatever I want at this point not being Affiliated but wanting to be Affiliated but not there yet but I have flat out said I would love to have a second Letterman podcast called live on Letterman that literally just focuses on the music I don't know I know there's rights when it comes to music and all that sort of stuff I just think Apple bring in a back up a Brink truck and and and and and make it happen so you can talk to some of these bands now who got these breaks on Letterman and and and and you know play the moments because the moments are so unique I've had Harvey Goldberg on here and I mean he would talk about how the the the the performances on Letterman whether it was the full-on live on Letterman or just their one shot yeah it is a unique performance because yes you see the live version but then they've also got the studio in the back where they can augment and they can make things sound because the goal was to make it sound as perfect as possible and it was literally the blending of a live experience and um and a studio experience at the same time and you just don't get that any other way and some of these performances were just so unique and the Future Islands one like whenever I'm whenever I'm having uh you know whenever the party has gotten to the point where we're like let me show you this cool thing on YouTube let me show you this cool thing on YouTube it's that and then the The Orwells like is what I is what I usually show people like watch how much Dave really likes this you know it's so so funny the confusion part that you that you were referring to too like I you I loved I loved the jokes that Dave would have that were literally a slow burn that would that would that would go over months and years sometimes and and how do are those your drums is one of those things where at the end of the musical performance he would look and I always loved looking at each individual drummer to see their reaction when he would ask that question um you know oh man yeah the confusion like is he [ __ ] with us it's just his his way of showing that he really enjoyed your performance you could tell like that's the fact that people couldn't tell it was genuine I was always kind of tickled by you know it's like yeah no he's he's he's enjoyed what you've done here and is showing it um one of I one of the thing one of the like repeat jokes he would do back when like McCain and even after McCain had run for president was he would keep talking about how he was blowing on his soup do you remember this era and my friend Zach my my friend Zack Levan who was a Paige wrote that joke and so like every time D you used to be able to submit jokes uh as pages but then they stopped that by the time I they stopped that because of me no they stopped that before but like um but yeah so Zach like would get a check every time he would do and he he did Dave was so tickled by that and he would just do it when it was nonsense when it had nothing to do with anything he would be like and there's McCain blowing on his soup you know and like another check for Zach but yeah a letterman ISM um yeah exactly yeah especially for that time period we've got a gal coming on the show who uh uh um if you remember uh Tommy rupe had a a phenomenal um bit reoccurring bit called Great Moments in presidential speeches and it was a little clip of of bush so there's there's one where there's a lady who is on stage sitting in a chair uh you know in front of President Bush sitting beside her in a chair and she is talking about the woes of her RCA television set and and George Bush is just listening to that going oh boy you know listening to this woman talking about television so um and I mean when when we have her on the show I've got permission from pants to put the to put the clip in which I'm very grateful for um so it'll make a lot more sense when when they see that I'm having that lady come on here and and and and it was it was that was one of those ones where every once in a while Dave would be so tickled pink with something that it would come back so it it happened the first time uh in in in some sort of bit and then it became a great moments of presidential speeches bit and then it became another bit and the only reason they would keep bringing it back is because Dave was tickled with that with it and they would keep using it and there are many examples of that through the years oh yeah I love the I love the repeat jokes where it's it's now just a reference you know it's not even it's not even pointed at anything anymore it's just like remember how I keep saying this you know the sneezing monkey or the you know the you know the the monkey Wasing the Kitty uh you know things like that and that brings you back to Rick did you ever have any did you ever cross paths with Rick sheckman did you know Shey at all I don't think so no yeah I mean what when was when was he there Shey was the whole time uh he was there from NBC all the way to the very very end he was what they called the film coordinator so the the black and white footage of the of the monkey washing the kitty that's something that Shey would have found in his archives and all of that sort of stuff he he brought in uh uh when they were when they were uh you know the very famous clip of them going through the cave um and that that joke was they were were you know going through somebody's colon and what we got footage of the you know the orthoscopic surgery of people going through a cave Shey was the guy that found that footage so iy might have been there for that one actually probably yeah that that's another one of those that was another one of those reoccurring reoccurring uh things that Dave liked that he would they would continually was it Matt L had his colonoscopy it was har um I'm trying to remember like Harry um it was a CBS news guy I think called Harry somebody Harry and I forget I forget yes you're right and yes it was that time period yes I remember um go ahead sorry you go no no no no Fleet like I just I just love riffing with you on this stuff this is what are what other memories you got from uh like okay how about okay you're a standup now you're obviously you know the craft of standup is clearly clearly um you know attached to your DNA um standups that you would have seen there do sets are any of them in your memory that like did any of them make an impact back then I know it was before you were doing it but yeah you know that's funny the music sticks out so much more for me that like I don't I don't remember which standups I would have seen on the show I I before before I got on the zoom with you I I I was looking up I was trying to find a list of uh all the episodes that I would have been around for yep and I I just found one and was just kind of looking through them I like holy [ __ ] yeah I do remember being there for that interview I do remember being there for that interview um not a standup but and also not a particularly memorable episode to me um but I Toby Maguire like physically ran into me in the hallway when uh he was on I think he was difference did you did you floor him did he hit the ground after he well yeah also I was up on a step like he ran into my my crotch you know and uh and I was wearing a fanny pack for some reason I just thought to wear a fanny pack to work and like cuz there were certain like things we had to keep on us and I was like I'm going to keep mine in a fanny pack instead of my pocket it's handy yeah it's a it was a white leather fanny pack and uh and and bougie wow there you go he ran into me and then like looked at the fanny pack and then at me and I was like what the [ __ ] I mean it literally around a corner there was no like oh I see Toby McGuire coming it was just like boom he's like at my crotch look at me in the fanny pack and I'm like uh I just said I think you you can go up there and he's like Okay and like he just walked P me it was real most strange uh interaction and then one time I was I was out front um for the start of the show just like I think if any like VIPs got there a little late maybe I had like a list and uh this guy walks up and was like can I get in here and I just thought it was like some random person I wasn't really looking and then I look up to be like no beat it and it's uh it was Steph Baldwin because his brother was on the show so I was like oh I was like got to go you got to go around the side man like and then one time we were going I don't know if any other Pages have told you about how we would go to like Time Square uh to give out tickets uh was a thing we would do yep we talked a little bit about that but yeah absolutely yeah out front uh of the theater itself on a Saturday or or or on a Time Square things like that absolutely we have to they would have us go to Time Square for some reason out front might have well no because then you had because you had people coming into the box office so you wouldn't want to be out front doing it no sorry on a Saturday on a Saturday sometimes that would be the case they would be doing it for a yeah yeah yeah so we would go down to Time Square to you know have like trivia and give tickets out based on that and we were walking and this guy like stopped us and was like hey are you guys giving out tickets for Letterman and we were like yeah and like you know he had facial hair and long hair and we were like you know it's not really the kind of person we were looking for to give tickets to you know like because you you you wanted to have more like clean cut for like the advertisers is who wanted to put in the seats so like we were like oh uh yeah and then he was like yeah my uh he was like my uncle knows Paul and we were like oh okay that's cool you know and he's like yeah my uncle's Clarence Clemens we were like okay yeah that you you could probably just go and get it like you they'll get just give you VIP tickets actually you know like that sounds like what you should do and then I know that turned out to be Jake Clemens who's now like that's who was talking to us was Jake Clemens who's now the saxophonist for the EAS band fantastic we were like oh no this guy who has kind of an alternative look wants to see the late show and then we're like oh no you actually are important and you can just go getet whenever you want man uh but he was very nice very nice U and then one time when I was going down there I don't know like this might be too you know who the hell is that guy but uh we I saw Jesse Palmer when I was walking back with one of the girls I paged with we were walking back to Late Show after having given out tickets I saw Jesse Palmer who uh I know him best as the quarterback for the Florida Gator uh who was my team that I that I was a fan of or still am a fan of yeah and but he also went on to like host he host shows on like uh Food Network stuff like that yeah and become a TV oh yeah he was on The Bachelor that's what he's like most famous for okay Bachelor he like the original Bachelor yep so uh man if he's listening to this he's pissed so uh but we got there we got there he's fine now he's he's good he's good we got there I saw him and I was like uh I said I just said go Gators to him and he just said go Gator back and then walked Walked like a block more and my friend who I was paging with she was like hey who is your hot friend and I'm like not I just recognize I know I know who that oh just having a little not stopping to talk go Gators go Gators bye yeah see you later that's all we say uh on a slightly less fun note uh I was there like when Cosby was like making the you know the female staffers like watch him eat did you read that story I did I did read that yeah yeah remember if that came out then or if it came out after he got you know into the more legitimate trouble that he got into I'm trying to remember where I heard that story well it was in the post no I yeah I I I I I'm trying to remember if it was before or after I I I became reware of it because of this show but but yeah I I remember I remember it was it was familiar to me and I forget it was probably the Post article that came out yeah you were there for that like like like around uh I never I mean I never saw Cosby like lurking the halls or anything but like some of the women that we worked with and it wasn't the pages as far as I know anyway he never had like the female Pages go but like you know it just like I feel like one of the women we knew that worked there was like yeah I had to go sit in a room while Bill Cosby ate it was real weird like you think maybe I you know it wasn't like you have to do this sort of thing I think more like a oh Cosby would like and then you just kind of get there and realize it's all women in here like what is this like just kind of a weird just a weird like what the heck what like what was that you know like so it was just uh yeah unfortunate uh one of those things oh yeah like I mean there's a there's a picture of him um in the in the yearbook actually might even be a couple pictures of him there and and one of them um like you think about the history of late show and uh I mean how few times few and far between there were guest hosts for for the show um and and the only time it ever happened was if there was some sort of medical thing with with Dave but Bill Cosby is one of them and I mean you know you know watch the interview with with Bill Cosby and and Sophia vagara uh back the day it it doesn't it doesn't no and and there's I mean there's there's going to be stuff that doesn't age well because of culture uh but then there's also going to be stuff like I mean I I get a kick out of listening to some of the things that Dave says about then mayor Giuliani even up at the highest level at 911 where he talks about M Giuliani but but that's the most kind of famous one but I go through a lot of footage as you can imagine and and and there are so many times listening to him talk about you know may Giuliani back then when you put it through the microscope and the and and time as to what's happened it becomes humorous the Cosby one sometimes these things become cringe cringeworthy and that one is certainly one of those ones yeah one thing another thing I remember from the show is um you would often find yourself uh in a in an elevator with Paul and he was always really interested in what snacks like if you had a bag of chips he would be like where'd you get that and you know just like the snack machine you know what like he was just always so interested in what everyone was snacking on I think he maybe his Green Room didn't have enough uh snacks in there I guess I don't know um one time one time we got you know I would I was telling you earlier we would go to this Barcelona Place was kind of the place the pages would go yep well after we were done paging like I was you I was not no longer working there uh but we we were we were just there on like a weekend having some drinks and then one one of security guys not one of the ones not one of like the older ones one of the younger Security Guys was like let's go let's go hang out I he was like I got a bottle in my locker at work let's go like drink at the show we were like yes and so we go over there and we're just like hanging out on the stage drinking definitely was not supposed to be doing that especially since I didn't work there anymore but like oh yeah there was just a few of us that just went over there and had some drinks at the desk you know like what an insane thing to decide to do but yeah that was just the kind of thing it was just like the kind of thing you could uh you could do and was so was still because yeah we I mean like we didn't break in you know there's always someone there you know there's always a security person there we're like oh we're going up to the locker rooms like all right and uh yeah like it but but okay you walk into like I uh I haven't been out there for a year now it was a year ago October actually that um I was out there uh for for for Rupert's retirement and and and and that was in the lobby of the theater well like when you when you walk into the actual theater itself even though it's now Co Bears it's changed completely it's it's all you walk in there though there's an energy on that stage there's a there's an energy that's there um and and and I think I think it has I don't know if if if how energy works and how it collects and all sort of stuff but there's a definite energy in that place there's no question and it culminates towards the stage there's there there's no question about that Elvis yep The Beatles yep Justin Bieber just to name a few hey were you there when were you there when he gave Bieber the snake bite when he probably I was definitely there like when Justin Bieber was becoming very popular and actually I do remember one uh one of the girls that work there being like Justin Bieber like just hit on me you know like and he was like a child at that time hitting on a 25y old woman yeah no I mean yeah it's what you end up with those stories you know you done up with like Justin Bieber hit on me you know okay my favorite bit I don't know why this reminded me of that but uh my favorite bit that Dave would do at that time is he would get like a phone call like his phone would ring at the desk and he pick it up and it was just like some random person like had dialed the wrong number gotten Saed was like this old confused man absolutely and I there was one he was like like guess who I saw the dunky he would say he would call Things by the wrong name he's guess what I saw the Dunkey Donuts was what the guy said and he said Justin Bieber tried to piss me it's like I loved that bit I don't know I love that bit too that was one of my favorite bits I I at the end at the end when that would happen um and there was also times where he would he would throw stuff through the glass and and like a CB call from a from a from a from from an emergency service or or something like that would would then happen it was just I I loved I loved how they were still tinkering and experimenting with things uh right up to the end like Lyall the intern I love Lyall the intern I I I just you know the [ __ ] you guy uh who's been on this show well I I loved that stuff and how up to the end they were still doing odd things that would just they were just playing with things still yeah and and Alan calter by the way he did yeah so we we every they would uh I don't know quarterly or maybe every half a year they would have one of the people that like you know had one of the higher up jobs at the show would come and like do was called a page talk where they would kind of tell us like you know how they got to where they're doing and whatever and Allen did one when I was there and he was so n he was also just like one of the nicest people in that building you know worked on that show always said hello to the pages um always like would stop talk like just just one of the nicest guys ever and yeah he did and so he came and did a page talk and so and like I had already done some voiceover work before I started before I was there and you know and so he was really cool and like given advice about that kind of thing and I I still do Voice work today so yeah just I was hugely appreciative of like I mean I took notes I mean I have like I have like a notebook of like notes that I took from him um fastic what an unbelievably nice guy yeah everybody talks about how uh Allan was and and and uh um you know we had alz on and and he would talk about you know he would go golfing all the time with uh with him and Anton and and and and chz and they would all you know just just the Allen cter stories are just they there everybody's got one and and and his kindness uh usually has something to do with the story he just he was just fantastic he had this really funny bit he I I I can't imagine it was the only time he ever said this but he was like he was like yeah you know it's this is a good job you know you come in it's just kind of 9 to5 and then at the end of the day I go home and me and my wife take our makeup off he well and and actually the last time I saw him it was after Eddie had finished his run uh uh warming things up Allan was at the end warming up the crowd as well oh really wow yeah yeah the last time I saw him yeah he warmed up the crowd and and and was so comfortable and and and uh and familiar and and just uh but funny he's just he's just yeah so unbelievably naturally funny Alan couter yeah just like he had a real like oldtime TV it's like the kind of person you could see Conan really liking and and you know because he has such an appreciation for that like he like walks by the control room and like hey how you do you know he's like always saying hello he's got his jacket on the whole time he's just he was just so a piece of television history man was it was so fun absolutely well I love the reverence that Conan has for this too you know talk about the stage you guys drinking at the at the desk there's an old story there's an old story of Conan working for Saturday Night Live who would be writing sketches and he would go down two floors to sit at then Late Night with David Letterman's desk and he would sit at Letterman's desk and he would write sketches at the desk you know everything's everything's closed off and all that stuff right these things have they got juice to them they just they just do and you know I never I I probably should have tried to figure out where they take the chair the chair would never be left there the chair that he sat in would never be left there but they would have like a folding chair there because they knew people would want to get the pictures there so what an interesting like foresight to have to be like all right people shouldn't be just hanging out here but like we know people are gonna hang out here yeah yeah so we're gonna we're gonna give them we're going to give them the chair to sit at but yeah I I never did see where they take the chair when at the end of the day you get how'd you get that piece of the set by the way the the bridge yeah the the bridge was um so somebody okay so how I know some people with other pieces ah yes he was one of those people who wanted to remain uh he wanted to remain anonymous as as to as but he yes he he grabbed it um didn't know what he would do with it when he found out that the show was happening he's like well let's figure out a way to get to get it in use again to get it used right so so yes um very impressed by it I'm like how how'd you get that very grateful I got a few things around here that uh that are that are one of oneof a kind and and from the show in part of the history and stuff and and hopefully there'll be more of that coming yeah I have a few scripts uh you know yeah obviously you know whenever you could take a piece at the it's so funny too how I'm still it's been 15 years and I'm still like a little afraid I'm gonna get fired and like I haven't worked there like what like it's they can't fire me I've been assured that the uh the uh what do they call that the um oh man my vocabulary is not where it needs to be this morning and I'm not sure exactly why but the uh the statute of limitations has expired been assured on almost everything um oh okay well I trust you enough then I'll name some names you yeah that works oh yeah like no I'm it's funny that I'm still like kind of careful like I'm like oh wait I shouldn't say what that you know the what you know I'm I mean I'm telling you a lot but I'm also holding back I just don't need you know and it's weird like I'm not there's no trouble you know you're not GNA get trouble No One's Gonna I just don't need Vinnie coming kicking my ass nobody needs that um no it's it's true though that like it's um I call it the circle of trust I've got a lot of stuff the circle of trust you know there's been a lot of stuff that that gets said you know after the record button goes shecky before he passed like the whole reason that this show started and I got connected with it actually has to do with Allen um so I was I become friends with Shey during the pandemic and you know he realized that uh I I'm I'm I'm an Enthusiast but I'm not I don't want to say I'm not too crazy I'm not too crazy I'm not one of the bad crazies you know but but I go deep and I was just I was beside myself that there wouldn't wouldn't be a letterman podcast that this show kind of wouldn't not not this show I mean a version of it that's really good uh would didn't exist and and where where people would talk about this and and chy would he would tell me all of these stories and these stories are going to go to my grave like some of the stories he told me are like whoa but in any office if you if you're in an office with more than 50 people you are going to see every Behavior known to man happen in that office if you have a family with more than 40 or 50 members you're going to see or hear within that family of any Behavior ever there there there's nothing new Under the Sun but it becomes elevated when you realize well this workplace happens to be you know one of the greatest shows ever put on TV but really at the end of the day it's nothing that is that new or or or or or or whatever but there's a lot of that and and and the thing that strikes me so much about the pants family is how loyal and and that's that's the one thing that I I I I take from it and and and it's so precious to me um at Rupert's uh uh retirement party they did a they did one of the big group shots and I'm sure you were involved in in one or more of the the big group shots I got to be in that and I'm standing beside Steve O'Donnell as I'm in this shot and it's like oh my God and and and even after you know at that point it was nine years these people coming back together same thing for she's funeral um or his memorial I should say shefest which was so so beautifully um produced and executed it was just this thing but watching it's a family getting together yeah and and and I want to create uh again like like like I've got some ideas where we could create some of these events where people could get together not when somebody dies you know because it is a family like you talk about all these relationships that you still have oh yeah after 15 years and you still have them in your life and these are people that you met back day yeah I mean like that's yeah these are some of my closest friends were were made at that show you know going like uh some of them have kids now I've been to their weddings you know all this so um you you you mentioned earlier though you were like I oh also they they did used to have paig reunions but then like the person who was in charge of those moved away but we have to elect a new leader or your lynchpin yeah you need one of those you need one of those people who can kind of gather the cats because those were so fun and uh yeah all right maybe we should try and have those again but yeah please let me know if you you get do any of the if you want to become that I don't know but yeah I would I would vote for you man oh I appreciate that yeah I would call elderly Floridians get see if they need a vote for you I would I would 100% do that um but you talked a little bit about the uh you're not crazy which is good to uh but like there were people he had stalkers I don't know if you if you if if this has come up but there we had to have the pages had to have uh all the names memorized of each one and there was like 20 names there was uh and one of them had like five names uh so that was kind of a difficult one to remember one individual had five separate names well they had like a bunch of clearly like stage names added to their name I guess and and definitely this I definitely cannot repeat um I mean I can tell you what I'm telling you yeah yeah yeah but there there was like 15 women and five men on this but they couldn't ever print it it could not be printed you had to just we had to like every so often and we had to have it memorized and prove we had it memorized and I met one of them because they came up to me to try to get in one time when I was standing out at the front it wasn't Steven Baldwin by the way I'm not outing but uh but yeah I was like kind of a similar thing I was just kind of standing there and they're like can I get in and I'm like no who and they were and they're like well tell Dave you know such and such says hello and I'm just like you're one yeah holy [ __ ] oh that's unsettling oh yeah yeah it's rough yeah you know um yeah I mean well I mean that was that was um it's unfortunate that that's a thing that happens with like with Fame you know like you you get these I mean because there was the one who like broke into his house right and killed herself was she she was a punchline for years and years and years and then it ended you know and then and then part of it too is the part where Dave understood that she has you know got some some some imbalance issues some mental issues and whatnot and didn't you know Flex what he could have when it came to options as to as to you know charges and things like that and then unfortunately yeah I mean you know really um uh you know it didn't end well you know and she took her own life um people always people would always ask me they would be like you know do did you meet Dave did you talk to Dave and like I mean he would he said hello a couple times the merry Christmas thing uh but he you know he said hello a couple times and was like nice you know but like no like people you know by that point you know he he his he had to he had to close his Circle in a little bit you know especially with all the stalkers and all that stuff so like by that time yeah he wasn't really like coming and hanging out you know with with the pages certainly but like he was nice he was very nice he you know the Christmas gifts had a note in them like he was he was very and you'd hear stories about him like taking care of someone's like medical bills in a way that like yeah he didn't have to do that but like you know did and like so very nice guy many of those circle of trust stories I I I have um are are are stories about Dave's generosity but it's like with the caveat but don't ever say this don't ever repeat this particular instance or this story because he did it for the right reason and I mean and you think the generosity he has is absolutely astounding but does it for the right reason does it to help people does it to not doing it for any self iing tactics of any sort yeah the stories I know about it are like from people not from like reading about it in the news or anything exactly exactly there was never any attempt to like gain any sort of like a good look about anything you know it was always like you said for the right reasons so yeah uh the other people by the way who who who um saw the the edge of the kind of icky stuff uh where where were the folks in charge of like many times writer assistants um their their deal would be to to to look at the mail to go through the mail and the mail every once in a while you see something that's uh that's a little unsettling or or or you know a couple yards across any line of decency of any appropriate things and and and and you know because they're looking for gold they're looking for comedy for the mailbag right and and I mean it's such a stable part of the show um you know they're looking for these things well when you're sifting through you're going to see some of this other stuff as well that gets you know obviously well he got a lot of he got a lot of threats after that like joke about uh Sarah Palin's kid was kind of misconstrued um but yeah I I think I was there for that and yeah I mean they had to put up they're still there they had to put up the uh what do you got there oh oh well I've got uh this is the uh to the Letterman podcast good luck with this and this is there's emphasis on the uh Shey would Shey would oh God I miss shy I miss him every day he would get so mad every once in a while I would I would I would throw it in he watched every show he gave me notes he gave me like the show wouldn't have started without shie and and his his Blessing every time I had this on the set he was just when I met her and told her who I was and got that he was absolutely astounded by I would love to have her on the show because that was a huge moment when that happened um in in in pop culture as far as I'm concerned anyway I'm sorry I stepped on your story I didn't mean to I'm so glad you you you have that because the background on my phone is me with Sarah Palin uh and I'm wearing a no snow no snow no show t-shirt which was popularized uh by um by Eric Clapton would wear that shirt in the 70s it's a it's a cocaine reference cocaine reference of course I was gonna say sam Kennison okay anyway yeah I'm sure he had the shirt too uh but yeah so I uh she was at a comedy show um that a friend of mine was on and I I had heard she might be there her nephew W might still be a standup he was very funny actually I quite enjoyed his stuff but he was a standup in New York and yeah and his politics weren't the same as Sarah Palin as far as I could tell but um but uh so I I I heard she might be at this show so I was like I got to wear this coke shirt and try to get a picture with her and so I went and you know she was there and I was like oh man this is going to happen and I uh I walked up to her afterward and I I did a little bit of kiss ass I was like Governor I called her I addressed her as Governor pal I did the exact same thing when I met her oh anyway keep going y yep I was like do you mind if I get a picture and she was like oh sure and then but she was like but what does your shirt mean which like smart of her to ask yeah smart of gotta give some credit or credits due there absolutely she say what does your shirt mean and I just immediately I don't know how I was able to do this but I immediately thought of this I just said oh it's a Game of Thrones reference like at the time was like you know John snow was maybe dead like this was around that time period so uh and she was like she goes I knew that and got the picture and she was actually very nice in person by the way to me she was absolutely a doll she was so and and extremely like it's weird you know there's certain people that you get in the same vicinity and you can kind of feel sort of a like there's a Charisma that is there and an energy that is there with her that I was like oh um because she I actually I have a picture with her after she had just signed this and I'm wearing my Late Show with David Letterman for purchase from ruperts uh you know shirt but I had got into the conversation with her I did the same thing with her I said Governor Palin um I said I was a great admirer of Senator McCain and and she just went oh and and and immediately just disarm and and uh and and I said yeah I I just you know I didn't agree with everything that he said but I just I appreciated his uh you know who was as a Statesman and and and all of these things and I just and and and and so we start talking and then I see her and she's looking down at the t-shirt and she's looking back up at me she's looking down at the t-shirt and she and uh I said I have this photo of you um I'm the host of the Letterman podcast and I was really hoping that you might give a personalized message to the Letterman podcast oh my God that I could maybe put it up in the studio and she looks at me for a second and she goes you're bold and I was like no she goes and then she looks at me like with all seriousness and she goes Mike they're gonna throw rocks at you and I said no I don't think so I said number one first off Canadian I said second off the dust stop that that that moment to me transcended it was a moment of Pop Culture where these things clash and it was such a cool thing and I said one day I would love to have you on the show and she goes I'd consider that and I didn't get her I we didn't get contact info and whatnot there was people all around and all that but I do feel like I would love to have her because the way we talk I mean you know this I mean there's so many times where politicians they get a sound bite put on them or whatever but then you meet them in person and you know clearly this is a person of of of of of gravity and intelligence and all it was very it was fun but I'd have her on in a second and again that's something where shecky would be like don't you dare don't you dare have her on that show don't you and it was just I love to rib shecky with this picture so anyway I appreciate you bringing that up because anytime we can talk about Rick I uh I I I I appreciate that very very very much we're just two long-hair beard guys who have met Sarah Palin that's that's right oh man we're connected and and address as Governor Palin uh I love I love that you're like hey I like this person who's not you like that's that to her to get into to get in man that's that's that's so funny um yeah I mean like I mean you saw yesterday with the at Jimmy Carter's funeral to date when we're recording this yep uh when uh Trump and Obama sitting next to each other and I guess Trump is talking to Obama and Obama like laughs and smiles and people are like how the hell what like what how could this happen and it's like you know I think a lot that's a lot I saw someone else put this on on Twitter like you know to people who are introverts that might seem odd but like I mean Obama's a politician like he's you know he's gonna he's maybe he's got a higher threshold for like [ __ ] and terrible people than most but like he you know he's going to be personal he's going to be uh Charming he's going to be cordial you know yep even with someone that the rest of us would be repulsed by I mean he's probably privately repulsed by him oh but yeah but like you know it's like you and I can I you know we're of similar we're just like Obama uh that we can be nice you know oh so many similarities uh yeah I that's exactly right and and again going back to the Leon part of it like I would love when Bill O'Reilly would come and sit down with him or or or or Ron or ran Paul uh would come down and sit beside beside Dave or some of these these bigger personalities um and and and you know who would who would have these opinions but then okay wait we can kind of normalize things as as well like like you talk about podcast and what seeing Trump go on Rogan and they just kind of had a regular discourse for a long period of time nothing really outrageous that was you know I me I'm sure the fact Checkers would disagree with what I'm saying here but but you know like there's a reason why these people get to the position that they get to and and many times Charisma and the things that you're talking about are top of the the list of their skills their skill set and who knows maybe maybe Obama has found some way to like trick Trump into doing like not terrible things who knows like I mean that's that's kind of a thing that there's philosophy among a lot of like comedy people where it's like you know if we just if we if we're just nice to him for like a week we could get him to do what we want instead you know like it would just take Oprah being like hey Donald I saw you on that show you look great anyway uh could you not criminalize gay marriage this time around that'd be great like so maybe maybe that's what's going on maybe Obama's playing some 3D chess there I don't know to bring it back to Letterman again you know uh uh uh one of the things that I love about my next guest is um when he goes long form with somebody and introduces that person to a new audience he did that like I'm a huge music guy but but I'm also an old man now and and and so the threshold for new artists being able to jump over the fence and allow themselves to collect in in in where my favorite artists are is is pretty darn High it it doesn't happen as much it does happen but it's it's it's tough to do I am totally a billy ish guy now I get it like I get her I get it and she's in my rotation now and it's because of her interview that she did with Letterman on on on my next guest I think the same thing about Kim Kardashian I was you know I was literally what I knew about Kim Kardashian was what would hit me from the world which was quite a bit of stuff it was everywhere but the moment he had her on and they were talking about stuff the moment he said hey who who you who you voting for with her then husband in the audience that was so funny and and but then talking to her about her going and spending time in the Oval Office with Trump and her taking this stand saying look I don't care who it is if I can go to this place and this place can help the people that I'm advocating for these wrongfully convicted or these these these people who are convict you know the the things that she's advocating um she's going to go and do it and and I just thought that was such a cool moment that it was her saying that about President Trump because she is you know she's got that crazy Vortex of people who assume things about her as well and one thing that Dave is so good at is humanizing these people and and and perhaps even uh creating Food For Thought yeah I kind of wish he hadn't humanized a lot of people but uh here we are uh I mean Kanye was a really interesting episode yeah because like you can kind of tell they're editing around some real nutty [ __ ] [ __ ] you know it's like Jesus uh but yeah I mean I I'm sure they I'm sure all of the the guy like I'm sure Stern and Letterman probably have like weird regrets about how often they would have Donald Trump on um you know and like helped build him to what without them you definitely don't have him uh getting uh The Apprentice or and and then you know what ended up being way worse than The Apprentice his presidency so yeah it's tough like it's got higher ratings um yeah well he has broken 50% yet but yeah I mean uh it's tough I think Seth Myers Seth Meers is the guy who gets the the the blame I think we've all collectively agreed that if it wasn't for him at the correspondence dinner yeah that's insane by the way like that's insane that that what happened that this is the in the bizarre world that we live in um man it sure is uh it sure is a a very very um strong argument for the idea that we're a simulation of some sort CU it's like it's it's some of these things that happen are you you can't write this stuff um you know we had Gulf of America like in invading Greenland like what is what are we even doing anymore I mean like I mean Seth Meers doing that and then Jimmy Fallon playing with his hair it's all those NBC bastards I tell you that's and his onc stick with CBS folks yeah CBS the Tiffany Network um I uh this is this is so like we oh man next time I'm in I'm in New York I want to hang and I want to I want to come to one of your shows I want to um you know you're again I've used this phrase a lot with with some of my previous guests uh at this point brother from another mother there's no question about that uh are are there any other Letterman memories uh that you thought about for today that we didn't get to that you want to throw out there or are we going to save them for maybe the next time where I have you and maybe one of your cohorts on here and just let you guys go you know well actually all right I I'll still save some but so there was and this maybe isn't the one to end on but it's the one we're going to end on all right there was this guy when I started working there there was this there was this homeless guy who was like just kind of lived around there uh or actually maybe he was just he was just always walking around and say and like kind of yelling at people and he just kind radio man was it uh oh maybe it maybe so no no no maybe like maybe it is so like when I started there he like he was clearly getting his clothes from you know like a shelter or something like donated clothes and it was all like he had like Yankees Yankee stuff he was always wearing Yankee stuff yeah but I guess before then before I started working there he it was around when Obama won his first election you know like oh not so like he had before then he was always just wearing Obama gear you know that so they called they their everyone's nickname for him was Obama man that's what like everyone called this guy and so but by the time I started he was no longer wearing Obama gear and he he happened to be black and I'm like wow my new co-workers are racist and like not creative ones either they're just this black guy we call him Obama man what uh but then I found out why they called him for context makes sense now okay you guys are not terrible people as I thought no wonder they got Trump on all the damn time but uh but they so so one one time I'm like I'm standing there at the door as they're leading all the uh audience members in and I'm just supposed to stand there to make sure like it's everyone has a ticket and whatever yeah and they're they're walking by pretty fast and Obama man just decided to stand there next to me for some reason and he's calling every one of them a [ __ ] as they go by just like [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] and they're looking at me confused like is this part of the show is this like some bit that is happening oh man Obama man I hope he's still around and doing okay he was it was quite an entertaining like Street character from from that time period but yeah he would just just say the weirdest things he would just walk around and be like uh he would just say the Yankees like the Yankees and also he would say Obama too just like Obama like it was the weirdest I never understood what the hell was going on with that guy but one of the like just I I don't think that makes anyone's book about Late Show yeah but the characters who were around you know the characters who were you know it attracted characters of all ilks of all sorts of every level and every everything you can think of um we are gonna we are going to talk about one other uh individual because I've be I believe that you'll have something when I say this because I finish every show talking about I I talk about in the intros as well and uh it goes it's no secret that the Letterman podcast has only one sponsor it is intentionally like this uh because when he offered it it was it was too good to be true uh and he's become a good friend the only sponsor of the Letterman podcast is hellodd deli.com used to be the hello Deli and then rert sold the deli last year now it's hellodd deli.com the only place or one of the only places that you can get official Late Show with David Letterman merchandise worldwide pants has their own store now which is also great uh but rert is just uh he's one of my favorite people on the planet I assume you've got a rert story so I don't sadly really yeah I mean he was always very nice but I don't have anything like nothing crazy happened with rert that's the thing about rert nothing crazy did he was kind of eating Keel he was the he was who he was for you guys I would occasionally just go into his store to get like a coffee is was just about it and like I was always Star Struck by him still like I even though like you know I would see him be like holy [ __ ] rer and he's just trying like he's just trying to sell a cup of coffee man like he didn't care like it was he was he was just nice guy and like but yeah nothing nothing too crazy with rert u his girlfriend Irene and I are are tight and and they just spent some time in Greece I can say this now because they're home and and all that but um they go to Greece to this little island like like like the they've invited candy and I to come come and hang out with them this Summer and literally the process of it is like it's a 24-hour deal to be able to get to this little island in Greece where she has a house and and and and and they hang out and it's just this beautiful Piece of Heaven on Earth so they get they go they they do this journey and and they finally get there and they go to this uh local eery uh on the island and one of the first things that happens is there's an Australian person that's like I think that's rer G that's right there oh that's so funny the show was so popular in Australia as you know and so they would be work in box office in these like Australian would come in and just be like in love with what was going on you know they're just like such huge fans it was so funny and I guess what it was is that was like one of the American shows they got there yeah like so it was just someone someone else was like you know what the Letterman will be on in Australia and like that just it created this entire section of the fan base that was always such an intense like they they had such an intensity like and you couldn't have too many in the audience or it' be out of control you know you really had to be all right have like 30 Australians we're going to separate we're going to separate them a little bit we're going to can't have too many of you [ __ ] people in here you know because they're always they've always had a few to drink before they show up too I don't want to generalize a people but no the Australians they're a Fun Bunch you know so they we're always thing about being Canadian that's why I like being Canadian we blend in we blend in a little bit better yeah um Eric this has been so much fun yeah thank you so much Mike thanks for having me man I really genuinely appreciate it it was fun man and and hopefully it's the first of many I I I want to get into your uh you your friend group when it comes to these these guys I'd love to have you and and maybe some of the other members on or definitely some of the other members of the group on um you know this is what keeps that Spirit Alive and it's so good talking about this stuff uh talking Schmidt is the podcast yes sir talking Schmidt's the podcast live snakes is the show the is the standup show and uh so that's going to be January 30th of J in January it's a monthly and uh February 27th and then starting in March it's every first Thursday of the month uh at uh 9 yeah almost forgot the start time man it's nine o'clock and my friend Greg berme is does music uh and he was a page as well and he but he does music he does live musical intros uh I didn't get the bottom there we go there yeah there you go people get played on and played off yeah yeah yeah had to get the hand strumming there but yeah so he uh so he does that which is super fun and um yeah and then you can find me on uh on Instagram talking Schmid and then Twitter the same thing so M DT yeah I know the X the Twitter whatever um do you have a a regular play on playoff music when you uh when you go up uh I do Ramon's um uh Blitz Creek bot oh fantastic fantastic fun one to walk on and off stage too so yeah that's my go-to even though my favorite of their songs I think is Rockway Beach actually that's their record right there over my shoulder oh there we oh there we go right on got the vinyl copy of that hard to find by the way got it anyway yes thank you so much Mike really genuinely appreciate it man oh man uh so much fun you know what I'll do the outro right here because we've covered everything including rert and all that um this is exactly why we do the show Eric I can't thank you enough for coming on thank you for being a part of this uh uh you know you're a piece of the puzzle of this amazing tapestry that we that we know and love of the greatest body of broadcast work in history that of David Letterman and Company this has been another episode of the Letterman podcast with Mike Chisum coincidentally I am Mike Chisum thank you and good night overcoat and Underpants