149: Ring Pop with Chris Lamberth | Soder Podcast | BONUS

I am on the road building this new hour this weekend. I am in Spokane, Washington at Spokane Comedy Club. I'm in Portland, Maine, September 10th through the 12th at Empire Comedy Club. The early shows are sold out, but we still have late shows with tickets available. Those are at dancer.com, and then if you're in Hartford, Connecticut, my birthplace. I will be there on Thursday, September 17th, Friday, September 17th, and Saturday, September 19th. Dancerter.com. There are going to be a lot of fun shows. Also, just go to my website. All the dates are there through the end of the year, and check out punchup.live. Got movie watchalongs. You can also sign up for my mailing list. So when I come to your city, you already know. And these little intros don't mean jack squat. Do you still hate dance nighter as a as a commander? Yeah, because based on everything that's been going on with how galvanized this city is, the whole area, or as we say in Maryland, the area. The area, Bolmore, Merlin. The mid, what is that? The Mid-Atlantic? Mid-Atlantic. Yeah, you guys are similar to a Philly. Yeah, yeah, Philly. Yeah, yeah, don't get in there. Yeah, it's a little like from where like Stavros is from, like an hour away. Okay, I'm an hour south of where he grew up. So you clear the cloud? Yeah, but it's a little like I've kind of lost it a little bit, but it's like the the vows sounds like instead of party, we would say party. Yeah, we're about to go to the party at Dan's house. People losing their accents to me is crazy because I grew up in Colorado where everyone's like, "Holo, how are you doing?" And then I see people, Katie is from Framingham, Massachusetts, and she does not have a Massachusetts accent. And then I saw an old video of her in her 20s, and she has an accent. Absolutely has a Massachusetts accent. It sounded like Amy Poehler, one of those things. She's like, "I'm going to go down at the end of the bar, having a drink." Yeah. And you're like, "Jesus." So it's crazy to me that you like train your mouth not to, you know? Yeah, and then to her in her defense, like she's a broadcaster. Sure. And then I was a I'm a theater guy. Yeah. And there's a where you're from is kind of they would call that standard American dialect. Broadcaster acts. Yes, stage standard. And then if there's the lit, like when 40 winters have the seed side ground, it do time it. Yeah. So it's a little different. As a theater guy, when Timothy Chalamet talks all that shit about, it was, but what was it about the ballet and opera and opera? But that's like, those are your siblings. He kind of fucked up. His mom, his mom, he's from that. His mom is a ballet dancer. I think his sister was in. Oh, really? Yeah, like so it was kind of weird that he said that, but like. So he's just trying to get into a fight with his family. Maybe. And he ended up catching, fucking everyone else by surprise. Because they're saying McConaughey was like, no, no, don't do it though. He's trying to stop. He's like, hi, buddy. No, I don't think you should go down there. He's like, I'll say fuck the ballet. What are they going to do? Kick me in the head. Yeah. It's, it's one of those things like I'm, I'm taking my girlfriend to the ballet in a couple of weeks down in, isn't it? In J Packs for a birthday. It's a great date activity. Yeah. If you can get theater is something you appreciate when you get older. Or for young kids, if you're a theater kid, I mean, like I love stand up. Sure. And like when I was a kid, you know, Martin Lawrence was a god to me because he's from PG County. Oh, yeah. When I'm from and like he I'm so you had one of the guys from your neighborhood. So it was like, I mean, he was much older than me, you know, but like I remember my late great dad taking me to see talk to see you so crazy in 94. So I would have been like 13, 14. Taking me to that his, his album talking shit, listening to it all the time, driving around Paul Mooney, Def Comedy Jam, watching that like, like cartoons, you know, like so that's I completely, yeah, I think a problem with the internet is that boys at 13 or 14 now are seeing manosphere guys. Yeah. Who when you're older, you realize they're just either broken or insecure. Mm-hmm. They're never like happy. Yeah. They're not like, you know what I do? I go home and I enjoy myself to like every moment I'm making wealth, every moment. Yeah. I'm making sure that I take something fundamental and I turn it into gold and go, brother, relax. Yeah. I was a kid. My my first off the book's job was cutting grass. Like I cut grass. My dad would edge edge up the lawn and then I take that money and you put it into a, yeah, baseball and football cards. All the all that. Yeah. But basically my point was that at 13 or 14, it was great that our manosphere was stand-up comedians because it was funny and they were like smart. So you're like like the way that what breaks my heart is the way that young guys right now are influenced by dipshits. They don't have like good comedy. They know well they have like, that's why I love seeing Shane have like my little cousin was like, do you know Shane goes and you're like, yeah, buddy. Yeah. You're like, if you feed that, tell your friends to go watch stand-up. Right. Watch something funny. It's a weird thing because it's not weird, but it's interesting because I think back to being such a fan of Martin Lawrence and seeing that he was like a rock star. Then he also had that vulnerability where he would say, oh, I fucked up here where that that bit that he had crazy deranged in you so crazy where he's like, oh, I'm kind of flawed. I'm not perfect and I'm this way. I'm, you know, vulnerability. Well, also there was this ownership of kind of his actions, even in the sentence where he's like, it's my life. I'm going to talk about the way I see it and you're like, that is such a good thesis statement from Martin Lawrence where he's just like, this is how I experience it and I'm realizing I'm wrong. Yeah. What's interesting is is there was like a lot of accountability in that kind of stand-up where you're like either like what I loved about killing him softly is every joke. There's like this accountability for somebody, whether it's like, you know, getting high and asking the cops for directions. Yeah. And he's like, you're on third street. There's all this like different stuff where when, you know, when the Sesame Street starts because Shapel's showing his nephew funny things on television. Right. And he runs into Pepe La Pue. And that's why it's so funny because he goes, now I'm seeing it and I'm like, kind of for the rapist, this guy. And you're like, it's so perfect because there is this like this humanity in it and it isn't like easy like, this side does this and they're all wrong about this. It's like this like humanity thing of like, oh shit that I love turns out I might have been wrong about a lot of it. And I think that's a great lesson for teenagers to learn. Right. When you're like, you know, you don't have to drunk drive accident to have that moment. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, accountability. Maybe I can. Yeah. And I think when you're from our generation, I think I'm a couple years older than you. Yeah. Like, but it's, it's like, you just kind of think about, um, God, where was I going with that? I don't even know. We're talking about accountability. But it was, it's like, you show like the cutics the fuck out of you. No, no, he's so good. You think about like, you're, it's a human experience. And like, what I appreciate about your standup is about, it's autobiographical. It's not all of it. But sure, which does lend itself to feeling a little gay. No, it feels a little one. I think I think our, but I don't care about that. But it's a taste thing for me. For sure. It's a taste thing. Absolutely. So it's not, it's not funny. It's funny, no matter what it is. But for me, it's just like, oh, I kind of have an idea of who Dan is as a person. Yeah. I love that about you. It's just like, after you leave stage, it's like, oh, I kind of understand who that dude is. Yeah. I remember one of the first times ever being in a social situation with Bill Burr and I'm a huge fan. And I'm watching him. And I was just kind of like, oh, yeah, you've informed me that this is how you are. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I watched it. Yeah, but I watched a guy that we both knew back in the day go up to him. And he was a little drunk. And he in like bill, but it was about to be the Celtics Lakers finals. And he was a Lakers fan. And he went up and he was like, my Lakers are going to beat your Celtics in Bill Burr. I was like, who the fuck are you? And you're like, you had no previous information that was going to be his reaction. I was in a situation like that within one time where it was, it was just, we were just talking about normal stuff. Sure. Kind of like sports stuff in the pocket, but not like, it was just like, oh, I think this guy was who was your favorite blah, blah, blah. And then another guy came in and just kind of ruined it and made him a little upset. And then, and then when I was leaving the event, I was just like, good to see you, Burr. He's like, hey, man, sorry about that. It's really funny. Everything holds out there. Yeah. You really do like hanging out with professional fighters. There has to be that thing where you're getting them to round up. Like a guy like Bill Burr, you're like, don't get in there. Or like someone comes over with like, pack you out and they're like, they're on him. He's like, hey, he's going to start throwing punches. You might fuck you up. You might break your face. You might slip into fight mode and just fucking, like I do this for real. Yeah, that's what I mean. Like you're trying to bust balls with Bill Burr. He might say something that really hurts your feelings. Where you go? I didn't even think about it like that. Yeah. That's the way you eat celery. It fucking bugs me. And they're like, oh God, well, now I can't eat celery ever again. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't know, man, I think the internet and it needs to be shut off. I think we need to take the giant switch. - Just for like a year. - Touch some grass. - Everyone needs to chill out. If not, I mean, I think the easiest fix is outlawing social media. For kids or just in general. - Everybody. - Everybody. - I can see them. - I don't think humans are built for it. I think we're too jealous. I think we're too insecure, too angry. I think we're too fucking bored. That it's like, you know, Yannis Papis used to have this incredible bit about boredom and like how important it was just to like sit there 'cause then you would think of things. And I'm like, man, I think about that bit once every three months where I'm just like, more boredom in this world and we'd just be, a lot more shit would be working better if people were like, yeah, I gotta fucking do that. 'Cause I do it and I'm just as guilty as anybody. I'll catch myself scrolling where I'm like, what was I doing? - What was I thinking about? - I like what's going on. - I'll like look and I'll be like, oh, I have like 15 minutes until I have to leave. And then there's a party of me. It's like, ooh, I get to scroll. And then I start scrolling and I look up and it's 20 minutes later and I'm mad. I'm like mad about it. - It's wasted time. - Yeah, oh my God, I'm reading articles that by the way, check one source most of the time they're not even real. - Yeah. - That's what's crazy. - Well, like some random people think about it as in data and the drama. - Yeah, or the new Spider-Man trailer. - A Spider-Man trailer. - And you're just like, oh fuck, I'm in here in the comment section, watching people battle it out. And it's doing nothing for me. - Sometimes it's fun though. I'm not gonna act like I'm above it 'cause like my algorithm is. - What's popping up now on your algorithm? - God, sneakers, video games, celebrity gossip. - That's fun. I'm getting a Chinese lady that sings. - Okay. - I don't know if you've seen her. - No, it's like a voice thing like where this lady is good. - No, I'm gonna tell you right now, this is exactly what I want out of the internet. It's a lady in China. Just got a fucking iPhone and just singing. - I hear I should. - She make you cry. - No. - Did it? - No, not cry, like, oh, this is the cry. - I got some of those. - No, this is just straight like. - Oh, she just saying, okay. - It's just a bomb, dude. She's just got it. All right, this lady just knows what she's doing. Let me play her for you. - What kind of stuff is she singing? (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) - Yeah. - All right. (singing in foreign language) - Hold on a right back. Do you think I won't write a winner right back on it? - Somebody's gonna chop that up. - Oh, no, no. - Oh, yeah, I mean, people do like. (singing in foreign language) - Did you ever see that guy that on TikTok would sing where he'd be like, "Today I look like the prince of the jungle." - You ever see him there? - No. - He's 50, 60, 70, yeah, yeah. Do you know what I'm talking about? ♪ Today I look like a prince of the jungle ♪ ♪ I build a scheme to princess ♪ ♪ Lost in the forest ♪ - Yeah. - No, I've thought you were gonna show me like some Asian dude or somebody in the Philippines. - Those things. - They're like on some, they're singing the shit out of the Angelo or something. - All right, now that is what I do have is, in my algorithm is Filipinos doing creed. - Okay. - Because there's guys in there, fuck, I wish I could find it. I might have it saved, but there's one where he's just, I mean, they fucking can nail creed. I guarantee I have one of these saved. Do you watch that? Is that come over on your feet? Is like, 'cause I want, I mute anything that I'm like, this is really bumming me out. - Yeah, I'm kind of like a, I used to do radio in college. And so I like a good like R&B. - Yeah. - Like a mellow, like a jam, like a mid-tempo jam. - Yeah, so you're trying to watch? - Yeah, like everything that I have right now is just stuff that makes me go like, yeah. - So it feeds me stuff, so I just make a playlist on Apple Music. And just like, - Oh, well, if I like it, I'll just dump it in there. And then while I'm driving or something, I'll do a shuffle. - Yeah, that's the way to go, because all my shit I'm looking at that I have saved is either like Old Nor Mcdonald clips. - Okay. - But I'm trying to find, also there's one where there's people trying to learn Mandarin and reverse. Where like trying to say hippopotamus. - Oh shit. - But then there's like other, it's like the other way where people, we'll probably out of that part out. - Yeah, that's fine. - But I get fed like, oh, these girls, these twins. - I've seen them before. - Lip-sinking videos, it's all I want on my feed is just like shit that I'm like. - It's just funny. - Yeah. - It's cool, chill, recipes. - Yes. - I'll send stuff to my girlfriend. We should make this. - Yeah. - Yeah. - And there's people that like, you'll start to follow that, there's like a, I mean, he's Dressling fan. There's a father daughter duo and she's deaf. And he signs, he does ASL. And then she's like really big in Dressling. And he took her WrestleMania. And she's really cool. He likes to see her. And she's like loves it. And that's the kind of shit I showed Katie and I was like, this is like the heartwarming shit that the internet can provide. - Yeah. - And then it's like you could see your algorithm if you're having a bad month. Trickle into shit and you're like, why am I, why is this coming up? What the fuck's going on? - Yeah, did you watch the Hulk doc yet? - I watched the first episode. - So you're on three? - Yeah, I just finished three. - It's four? - Yeah. - I'll get there by the end of the weekend. - Yeah. - I, because I've only watched episode one, I don't have enough sample sizing to know if it's a puff piece or not, because I think it's gonna be, but also, 'cause it's pretty spread the WWE, so they don't really want to hit the shit. But the thing that was surprising me in episode one of the whole Cogan documentary was Bret Hart talking shit. - Yeah. - Where he was just like, it all he could do was a bear hug. All he could do was a bear hug. He wasn't shit. And then he was like his promo was 10 out of 10. And so he was giving him compliments. So that, again, I only watched episode one. And that's the rise. So it's hard not to look like a puff piece when they're doing the ascension, creating the character. Whole-community of three, you know, a WrestleMania three, whole-community run and wild. I'm interested to see what it looks like by episode three. - Yeah, I won't, I won't spoil it. - As a black guy, how do you feel about watching that? - Well, it's a part of the '80s. And when I was a kid, I did watch, I liked him. - Were you a whole-communiac when you were a kid or were you ultimate warrior kid? - I'm like Hulk. I mean, I remember those, is that the galube one? - No, galube was WCW, the little rubber one. - Which ones were the big ones? - J, this is J-L, this is that. They're called like J. - What do they call it? - I had the wrestling fans at home. They're like, "J-B-J." - No, they're fucked. - The galube were the size of the Hasbro. - Okay. - But they were rubber and they were all WCW. - Oh, okay. - I really know my wrestling figures. - 'Cause there was something. - I'm pretty lame. - No, I have, I can blame Greg Stone for the-- - Shout out. I love the Greg Stone for getting me addicted in action figures. - Great, it's very fun. Yeah, he's addicted. - And then I got Transformers and those are even more. - That's what, but wrestling for me, for it was either X-Men, but it peaked for me with Hasbro, W-W-F. - Okay. - That was like, probably my main shit that I was like. - Yeah. - That was some shit that if you ran it, bumped into 10-year-old me, I could talk about Hasbro, W-W-F figures for like seven hours. - Okay. - Maybe like, there was a series where there was an Owen Hart, was he supposed to come out as a high energy Owen Hart? - Was he supposed to come out as. - What was it like for you? 'Cause I don't know if anybody from my generation is, if I've ever talked about this on a podcast, really. What was it like for you going to Toys R Us as a kid? - Dopamine hit. So reason I'm an alcoholic. - Okay. - The only feeling that comes close to walking into a Toys R Us as an adult is going into a bar and going to get black out drunk. - You wouldn't say going into a comedy club or a theater? - It's a rock that, nah, nah, nah, okay. Toys R Us to me was like, I need that dopamine hit. I need a big one of it. Phew, dude, I mean Toys R Us. See, I was like, you know, I'm a child of divorce and my dad used to action figures his currency. - Okay. - So I had a Christmas where he gave me a hundred Toys R Us bucks. - Oh shit. - And he had him there, made me shit come. He had my balls drop, he had my balls drop that day, dude, it was crazy. He was like, we were visiting my great uncle in like Orange County. - Okay. - So my mom and my grandma, my dad came down from the Bay Area. I met him in Orange County and my dad was like, he was Christmas and he's just a shitty dad so he didn't buy me Christmas gifts. But he had cash and he was like, I got you a hundred Toys R Us, which, you're giving me a hundred dollars and I get to pick, versus what you gave me at seven or eight years old. That's not a difference to me. That's like, this is unbelievable. You know what I dropped? 40 of the $60 or 60 of the hundred on? Starting line ups. - I love those, dude. - I bought so many starting line ups. I bought a Barry Sanders Lions, Joe Montana. I had a fucking Lawrence Taylor. I had just like unbelievable, 'cause to me they were sports action figures. - Of course they were. - So I was like, and the helmet came off and on and my dad was like, don't open though. Those would be worth money as he's saying. I got the Deon Sanders Falcon one and out. So I loved it. So that's the closest I've ever felt is doing drugs. Maybe getting pussy is close to Toys R Us. Like when you know where you go, like, oh fuck, I'm about to get it, so pussy. You're like, it feels like Toys R Us. - I feel bad for him. - You want that giraffe. - Yeah, 'cause you just go to Target of Walmart. It's so sterile. - It's so sterile. That's such a good point. I have this like, have low-vian reaction. If you live in Aurora, Colorado, by the Aurora Mall, there is a highway 225 in Mississippi, right? Mississippi is the cross street 225. There used to be, that's where toys are used to be, on this corner. And it's now a storage place. And every time I'm driving to my mom's house, from the airport on 225, I look, hoping it's gonna be a Toys R Us again. And it's not. It's still a storage unit place. And you're like, that was the place, when I was driving by and I'd see those, I'd do to make me want to do my chores. You would make me want to fucking get good grades. It would make me, I would be like, I'm trying to go to Toys R Us. My stepdad would take me, oh my God. - The ceremony of it, 'cause you'd be in school, and I would be thinking about my going at the end of the day, and as a, I wasn't not as big as I was then, but like as a big kid, you go to the store and you get the toy, and dad would be like, you wanna go to McDonald's? No, no, I just wanna go play the game or whatever it was. And the ceremony, maybe you can remember this, you're a gamer when you're a kid, right? The ceremony of, you go to, you go, say it's NBA live. - Sure. - I don't know, when we were kids, Bulls versus Lakers, Bulls versus Blades. - There was NBA live though, too. There was NBA G, so I was like 15 when I was in high school by the time. - How's point of NBA live in '95? - Okay. - Yeah, I was too. - Yeah. - Genesis or Nintendo? - Genesis. - Yeah, Genesis, Nintendo on that. - Yeah, I went Genesis then N64. - Yeah, okay. - That was the big jump. - Okay. - And then PS2. - Right. - Yeah. - So I never fucked with PlayStation 1. - Oh. - I mean, I did when I'd go to my friend's house. - Yeah. - But I never had it. - Genesis 64, and then I had two jobs in high school, so I bought a PS2. - My first on the book's job was what used to be a six flags. - Okay. - It was a great adventure, but that's when I got my PlayStation, my dad worked as Sears, so we got the discount. So, but see how much, listen, billionaires that are draining all their money. See what you can make fun. Commerce can be fun. It doesn't feel lay on your bed and just click and then it shows up in the house. That is cool. - Yeah. - That is cool, but the idea of you sitting in class, being like, here's what moves I'm gonna make. And I mean, dude, that's how I spent my allowance. - Yeah, me too. - My mom was always like, if you want to call 'em guys, if you want a guy, you got to save up. - Do you remember the game when you get a game in Toys and Russ, you see, like say, it's like the NBA live. And it's the ticket. You get the ticket. - Yeah. - Your mom pays for it. - And then they go in that little cubby. - Yeah, and you'd see him open it. To me, that was the first time I thought about robbing a place. (laughing) 'Cause you see him open the thing and you see all the games and it's like opening of the vault or like, everybody get the fuck down on the ground. (laughing) I'm like a little kid. You don't know who I am, you don't know what I'm capable of. Put all the NBA 95s on the fucking bag. - You know what it was? And older millennials and Gen Xers will remember this. This sliding glass door, the automatic door, you walk in and you get past the shopping carts and you're like, get all the baby stuff out of the way. But I would hit that action figure aisle and it was like boom, boom, going through stuff, knocking it over, learning how to hook back on. All of it, the entire dance of Toys and Russ. And the best part was when you thought they didn't have what you wanted and then you went down like, and then you would just find the toy in the back and you were like, you were afraid someone was gonna steal it from you. - You should've had Toys. - Yeah, to come back, 100%. 100% Wolverine series two of X-Men. I fucking climbed up and put them up in like a barbie section and shit 'cause I knew like my stepdad did this really smart thing. Now here's my question, do you ever fuck with KB Toys? - Yeah, yeah. - KB was, if you were a real action figurehead, what you would do is you'd spend a majority of your money at Toys R Us but then you'd go to the poor mall, shout out Buckingham Square, you'd go to Buckingham Square and you'd go to the KBs and you'd be like, oh they got a whole different, 'cause it was different companies. Now you know how capitalism works. You know that like Hasbro and them had to deal with Toys R Us while Glove had to deal with KB. So you could buy the WCW guys. I knew that and I recognized that. I recognized that pattern when I was a young kid. I was like, oh you could only buy WCW Toys at KB. And I remember I wanted, there was a tag team called Doom who was a buttree and Ron Simmons in WCW. - I tapped out around like nine, oh God. 'Cause when I was looking at that doc and what was that WrestleMania? I don't even remember but I was just like around 94. - Yeah I was 11. - I was into like football basketball cards. - I mean great year. - More into like music. - Yeah last year 49ers won the Super Bowl 94. - Yeah. - And I, you know what that is? That's like you graduating. 'Cause what happened with me is I liked wrestling but wrestling matured with me perfectly where it became the attitude era. Because of ECW they started showing tits and ass and I was pubicent so I was like, oh this is a one stop shop for me. I could still like wrestling and it's not gay. - I'm not gay no more. (laughs) - I'm not stressed. - I love it, I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. (laughs) - Oh my God. It's over and fell with the attitude era here. You know like dude I fucking show it like sable. Oh my God. - Yeah they're hot. - I mean I just-- - It was awesome. - I think I was playing, I was playing maybe stop playing sports. When high school came my dad, 'cause around that time I switched junior high schools, I switched schools. And the big thing was like the theater. And like if you were in the drama club you got to go to Bush Gardens Williamsburg. - That's pretty big. - And I'd never been, we'd go to King's Dominion, Wild World, Adventure Road, what it used to be. And I secretly, I had a reverence of the theater or like wanted to do it but was afraid. - What got you into it? - Bush Gardens Williamsburg. - You should go there and watch plays. - So what got me into theater? Well we used to go, I went to a school, the Catholic school in DC from like, well from like preschool to sixth grade. - Okay. - And then like we would go to plays, go to Smithsonian museums and-- - Can DC does have that thing better than anybody. - Yeah. - So like you want to go see a museum. Like we're in Denver and they're like, here's a dinosaur. - There's still like art stuff there, right? And that's where it used to be. - The Denver Performing Arts Center is fucking incredible. And my mom was a theater kid. So my mom was very big on like, I'm gonna take you to shows starting sixth grade. - Yeah and that's around the time and we would do that stuff. And I liked that stuff. And then I remember the Bush Gardens Williamsburg, the play was the King and I. - Okay. - And I was kind of afraid to audition to play Anna's son, which is the lead woman's son. But I remember the audition. And the audition you had to sing in front of everybody. - Can you sing? - Yeah. And I used to listen to like, so my dad and I are driving around the car. Boy, some men, cool, high harmonies. - Yeah, man, you can sing. - Listen to the radio. - Oh man, that was some fun fucking R&B. That was a fun honor here. - So I don't know if you remember a lot of harmonizing. Do you remember this album up MTV on Plug? Like, so Casey and JoJo sang in that cover and Stevie Wonder's lately. - Absolutely, this is after Joe to see broke up. You have Casey and JoJo doing their own thing. - Yeah. - The fucking mammoth. - So yeah. - And they did it where like, they did a great unplugged. - So I don't know if you used the fucking rule. - Yeah. - You could put on the bands. This is why everything's broken now. - Right. - I mean, I guess Tiny Desk concert was the one that- - That's what we, that's one of the best creatures. - Yeah. - But it was so much better. 'Cause it was like done well and lit well and shot well and fucking, they like had performance. Alison Chains unplugged is one of the greatest albums of all time. - So I studied that song. So lately they covered lately. And so Kate, so it would be JoJo was start off as Lailia. - Yeah. - And JoJo wore his hat baseball cap like straight forward. - Sure. So the part for KC, the thing is KC singing. - Yeah. - I turn my hat backwards and started singing like KC. That's all the stuff I knew. - You got, did you get the sitcom moment where everyone- - The girls, like the great girls that were super hot. They were like, oh my god. - You know the moment where the live audience goes, oh, I'm sick of them. - Yeah. - Where it's like, you just fucking take it up and out. - Yeah. - I loved that. - So that was like, and I was like, I was hooked. And then the, so I played like the- - Dan, did you get a girl from that? - Not from that, but like, but I did get a girl like, laid her on, but like it was like, and then eighth grade was a sound of music. - Okay. - So I don't know if you remember that show. I played Max, like the guy that got the Von Trapp's out of, he got them away, helped them escape the Germans. - Yeah. - So he was fun. I had two songs and I was like, - This is like a handful of black kids in that school. and like the black parents were like, they were looking at me like I was like fucking, I don't know, Sydney Portia or something. And they were impressed and my dad said, I think my dad unintentionally like kind of sparked that flame 'cause he was just like all the parents were like, Chris was really good, the way you were singing and dancing and I had to do announcements at the end of the show and we were awarding the director and everybody. And I remember playing baseball like that same year and then I struck out, I remember striking out and one of the parents and one of the black dads was just like, "Hey man, that's all right, Hollywood." You'll be all right, because he's like, you're not a baseball player. - Oh, that's great. - He's like, you're not, that's a very important thing to have because when you have a skill like that, you do go like, I am valuable in a way that is it stereotypically high school. - High school. - Yeah, so this is what I was gonna say is like, good for you for even doing that because I remember, I got in trouble a lot 'cause I'm allowed mouth. I interrupt on this podcast, nothing's fucking changed. - Still a great show. - I'm just fucking it. - I think what your fans or listeners they might say that, but I think it's because you're engaged and you're excited. I don't think it's of like any ill intent. - No, I don't think it's ill intent. - I think it's pure obliviousness and stupidity. - But I used to always get kicked out in school or whatever and then my guy, I almost failed, it's great and had to repeat. I remember they were meeting with my mom and they were like, he's very funny, he should do theater. You should put him where he can exercise his creative imagination and I remember being like, that shit's gay as fuck. Get out of my face. I was like the kid that was like, because I was insecure and I was so insecure that I was like, no, I'm fighting. I'm like clawing tooth and nail for my friends respect. I don't have a dad. So I'm just like, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. I'm not gonna be mommy's little sissy fucking theater. Here's where I fucked up. I would have got so much pussy. I would have gotten so much pussy in high school that I would have been like, big guys. Have fun getting CTE for fucking three and seven record. I'm getting fuck getting it. Now I didn't, you call me fucking ring pop dude. I would have been fucking all over that place. Oh my god dude, if I was in the theater, I would have been a fucking problem. I could have been in fucking choir. Oh, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo, and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm just gonna be on a boyfriend tonight. Oh, bo, bo, bo, bo, bo. And instead I'm like playing outside linebacker, just getting ran over every fucking practice. Did you play against anybody that became famous? - A couple guys that we went to the NFL. I mean, the most famous person that I played with was Mike McDaniel, who's just my friend. - Yeah. - He was just an undersized wide receiver who had hands, it could run routes like a motherfucker. So they don't come at him. And it's not the guy from the internet that everyone thinks. Where they're like, McDaniel looks clean and it's that white guy in the rain running routes. I don't know if that comes across your feed. Where they're like, no pads. They're just like running routes in the rain. And they're like, you dolphins, Mike McDaniel running routes and you're like, that's not him. But you ran clean ass routes. - Well, I know about that. Like I, you wouldn't appreciate this. Julian Peterson is my cousin. He's really, his mom and my mom grew up, like grew up together. - Julian Peterson. - That's one of the, like, I mean, Julian Peterson. - He's a fucking man. - He's a monster. - Number 98. - He taught me 49ers. - He taught me how to play Tecmo Bowl. - That's crazy. - Very first Tecmo Bowl. - Him going to the Seahawks was one of my biggest heart breaks. - Yeah. - Julian Peterson was a 49er when they sucked. Where'd he go, Michigan State? - Michigan State. - He played Juco then, and when he, - I still got that shit under that later resin. I know where the 49ers all went. - Yeah. - And that's my autism. - Yeah. - I have 49ers Autism, dude. - I agree. - Julian Peterson's the fucking man. - He's a monster. - He was a badass. He was that, you know what he was? He was that, like, hook too. - Yeah. - Played basketball at Michigan State. But he, he was that archetype of long and fast, in an edge setter, which, like, redefined the NFL. It was Javon Curse, was the first one out of Florida, and then he did it with the Titans. But then you watched Julian Peterson come out of Michigan State and ended up on the 49ers. When we had those shadowed numbers and those dark gold pants. Ah, dude, that 49ers fit was bringing those back. But I love that, dude. Yeah. So he was your, so did you play football? - I did as a kid, but like I kind of got burnt out. My dad wanted it more than I did. - It'll burn out any kid. - And I think, and I think my dad to his credit, you know, when you're a kid, you think your parents are superheroes and then when you get older, you're just like, oh, that was just a guy. - But, well, that's, yeah. That's what I'm trying to figure shit out. - You know, it's funny, that's how the Hogan doc feels. - Yeah. - Where you go, oh, I remember that moment of thinking you're a superhero. And now I'm watching you and I'm like, oh, you're like an old guy with a, yeah. But then, but then when you realize, oh, because he was just a guy, he was, my dad was pretty fucking remarkable. - Great. - So I missed, I missed him every day. - Yeah. - But he would, he would say, it's kind of like a sitcom dad in a lot of ways. We said, yeah, maybe I did push a little bit too hard. - Yeah, 'cause he was like, I kind of wanted it. - Well, you were a bigger dude. - Yeah. - You have a dad there that wants you to play football. - Yeah, 'cause it's two big things. - So I was a big kid and I was playing, I was in his fifth or sixth grade playing against eighth graders on my team. It was one kid that would always like give me trouble and we got into a fight and practice and they try to break it up. And my dad was like, no, no, no. - That's good. - Let 'em go. - Yeah, let 'em get that dog. - Look, disaster. - Well, you know, but he, my dad was like, no, no, no. - Yeah. I mean, I think it is, you know what's funny is like, I was the inverse of your dad. I didn't have a dad and I wanted it more than he did. - Yeah. - So I'd be like, dad was the point football, he's like, all right, how do you have my number? And you're like, I don't know, I'm just like, try and roll hard out here. I'm wearing number 42. I'm like, and he's like, okay, I'm gonna go get a truck. - But to your point about like being insecure about the theater stuff, it would have been great at it. - Oh, I think I would have had a very good fucking time and I enjoyed theater. - And it's like, and then I liked the dancing. - I'd like to think I would be like a marginal college athlete, maybe did it a couple years in pro, have a dealership or something. - Oh, dude, the kid that hates me. - Dealership, you gotta have a conference title. - But to your point, we were of the age where, yeah, that was kind, people did consider that gay. And then maybe around 2003, when I was in grad school, I was in Chicago, I was in grad school and I was teaching during the summer at a theater camp. Around that time, high school, high school musical was there. - Oh, I bet that show the kid. - So it was just like, everybody, it was okay. - And now they're doing national theater competitions where gay, straight, everybody's doing it. - Yeah, I mean, I do think it is one of those things where you're kind of so stupid as a kid that you just follow with the brightest lightest lightest. And I mean, I love football, I still love football a lot, but I knew I wasn't good. Second, I put first football. Second, I put first football, I was like, damn, but the thing that I loved about it, what was the camaraderie? - Yeah. - I could hit people really hard, so that was really fun. So I was getting really, I was getting hit really hard at home. So it was nice to hit people really hard on the football field because you know, at least you could give it back a little, but I mean, I'm just kidding, I wasn't getting hit. I was getting yelled at. I was getting verbally hit. I got hit, but I ain't getting hit all the time. But football to me was just something where it was like, that's where I knew I was funny. - Yeah. - Because I could make all those guys laugh. I was making like seniors laugh when I was a sophomore and you're like, oh shit. - You're like, damn, do you remember a bit, like just like anything you said that you're like, fuck, I kinda. - I remember I used to like, very random, but I used to, when I would lace my cleats, I would like make fun of techno and I'd be like, lacing up my cleats and I'd be like, or putting my pads in my pants and I'd be like, I wanna see some boobies, boobies. I wanna see some boobies. I wanna see some boobies, boobies, boobies. And like they'd be like, you know, what the fuck? But then they would like, start singing it along and we'd be like, just like joking around and have like, boob, boob, boob, boob. Oh, or she's so boobies. And then like, I was silly. Yeah, yeah. And then I, and they thought it was like, it was pure silliness. - Sure. - So you just have like a silly goose outbreak. - Yeah. - You know what I mean? But then like, I would blow cover too. And someone would pick up-- - Soda! - Yeah, someone would pick up a 15-yard gain on a fucking, on a slant. - Can I make you laugh in the locker room? - I mean my best friend laugh. He was like a three-year letter. He was like her captain, starting left guard. Shout out, Carepe. He's still one of my best friends. He was really good at football. He was like really, he was like, he was like the kind of kid that freshman year you show up and you go, we're not the same age. He was like doing bench press with like 225 pounds. When we were like 14 and I was like, I was struggling to hit the bar with like two tens on it. I was like, yeah. - They built different, yeah. - Me and McDaniel were so small we're gonna out and Carepe is racking it. Dude, I remember he had a fucking 45 and a 35 on and he's just fucking banging out of set and I'm like, there's zero chance we're both 14. Like you're a fucking man, but he ended up becoming one of my best friends in our junior year. We were doing first team defense, first team offense, scrimmage, like at the end of practice. And I was playing outside. My backer and he was like, he was like gonna pull. So he was like, I'm gonna come get you, sonner. I'm coming to get you. And I had a cowboy collar and I like bumped it up with my helmet and I went, you sounded like a big chit-chit train from Water Boy and he lost it. I just remember him losing it. Like him holding his three-point stance being like, I'm going down the ground and I was like, you sounded like a big chit-chit train. And I was standing like Bobby Boucher and it was just like, by the way, I think they probably got seven yards on the sweep that played on my side. I didn't fuck a check for a crack block, but it was, God damn it sonner! That's all I heard. But the moment that makes him laugh the hardest, I think this is, and Shane fucking loves his moment, was I was on kickoff team. You know, I played, I was a special teamer and wedged Buster. And I like fucked up in our second week and I was like, let it kickoff return for a touchdown. So our coach Anderson was like kicking people off. The kickoff team. And he kicked off most people and I thought I survived. And then he gets to the end of the line and he goes, "Sotter, you're off!" And I go, it's soda. (laughing) I'm done with kickoff team. Dude, to this day, two of my best friends, Chad and Danny. Chad and Danny think that is one of the funniest moments of our high school football career. - Kid my name right. - Yeah, I was like, but I was so defeated. I went, it's soda. (laughing) I was like, oh shit. So I knew I was never gonna be shit playing football, but I just loved, all of it. I just loved playing it. I loved, like even though I sucked, I was like, dude, let's do hit and drills. Let's play fucking 7v7. - Yeah. - And I also, at that time, like, I think when I could have gotten good at it, I got real into drugs. - That's nice. - That's like the other way you go, where you go. You know what's cooler than playing Will Linebacker? Get in stone. (laughing) - Waaah! - But I was, 'cause I started smoking cigarettes when I was 12, and I quit for football every year. - Okay. - I don't know why, but I would. - See, that stuff was a deterrent for me 'cause my dad used to drink, he stopped, and he stopped smoking. - Oh, that's big. - And then I had, like, 'cause I don't know, I was like, Dad, why did you stop drinking, and he was like, well, I was supposed to build a swing set for you, and I overslept 'cause I drank too much. And I was like, I probably-- - Yeah, and your dad really did, your dad really did take shape of the counter. Like, damn, I'm like, I'm not even, I'm not even jealous you had a dad. I'm more jealous that he took accountability. (laughing) - I'm like, very jealous that he was like, you know what, that was my bad. I'm like, whoa, whoa, you told me you didn't gaslight you for 14 years of your life, and then you fucking dies and you're left with this? - It's like that Louis bit where he's like, you get one good parent, and it's like one parent. My mom, my love, my mom, 'cause I love her so much. - I'm alive 'cause of my mom. - I was with her this week, like I drove down to Maryland to take her to their doctor's appointment. - You're a good son. - She complains a lot. She's, then I took her to McDonald's, got her fish sandwich and an ice cream cone. She loved it. - Dude, I'll tell you right now that fish, if you get a, you get a flay. - Yeah. - I love it. Dude, I can't do it wrong with Katie 'cause she is too good of a sense of smell, but I fuck a flay. - That'll flay up. - Not a double. I'll do a single without her sauce. But I'll do it as the second sandwich next to a Big Mac. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, my mom might have to get McDonald's. - But it's like that parent that like pushes you. - Sure. - And then he's like, my dad used to say, he was like, you know, if you played football, girls will like you. And I was like, well, there's girls in the drama club. - I mean, you were right. - And he was like, oh, okay, you're not gay. - Yeah. - It's still from born in 1941. - Oh, dude. They were all, by the way, the boomers. - Yeah. - They all did that check. - Yeah. - They all did the gay check. We want to care how fucking progressive your parents are now. They didn't vote for Trump. - I don't give a fuck. In the '90s, they were doing a gay check. - You started to say, you can't say that. - Yeah. - Is that teacher of yours is a, you can't say that. - Yeah. I remember, I remember my mom was like, I was pretty young. She just caught me looking at her ladies' tits and she was like, yeah, you're fine. (laughing) She was like this kid. Yeah, I don't know. - Yeah. - There is like a thing of, man, I'm gonna think about that toys or us thing for a while. I really feel bad that kids don't have that. - It's so, it's just not, I mean, it's so sterile, it's so cold, even sometimes looking into a Walmart. And just like, it's just, eh, yeah. You order them online, like Greg was my pusher 'cause like, he, I was trying to-- - Greg, by the way, he's been on the road with me and he's been recently being like, I have to reform, I have two children. But he's getting them in a transform. - Tell them I said hello. - I will. - 'Cause he's done my show a couple of times in like, because I was like, oh, there would be cool to get a black Panther action figure. - Sure. - When the Civil War came out. And I could not find one. And then I remember one time getting a text from him at like six in the morning and he was like, it's right here on this link from the Hasbro site. And I got it. And I was like, that was your plug. - Yeah, and then ever since then, it's been like, did that give you a little Toys of Rust nostalgia? - A little bit like getting it. 'Cause that's the high now when they drop, it's just like sneakers or anything. It's just like, that is how buying is where it's like, it's unaffordable and then you can't afford it than it is and you're like, drug, I love the drug. Well, that's what's awesome. I think about kinda to echo what we were talking about how I was so insecure with like the theater stuff. When I moved to New York, it started doing stand-up. That was when I noticed that a lot of guys loved wrestling, played with action figures like in their life, had a lot of similarities where I was like, oh, so I can just be that. And they're like, yeah, and that's why my bookcase, 'cause there's people that come in here and they're like, was this your bookcase or whatever you go? It's probably a pretty accurate portrayal. And also a lot of this is from fans. So to me, the coolest shit, you told me I wouldn't have had a job where the makers of these new like Hasbro style toys, I did a voiceover thing for them and they sent me a box. I told Katie, they sent me a box of action figures and I was like, I gotta find kids to give them to. - Yeah. - But it was like 10 year old me was blown away. You were like, well, you made it. Yeah, I'm not fucking front page of the Hollywood Reporter who gives a fuck. I'm getting a box of fucking Legion of Doom and Steiner Brothers, like check out Matt classics. This isn't even a plug. But they do like, nerd closet. They do like, there's like a bunch of guys that make cool shit. - Yeah. - I like all that stuff. I mean, I'm a big fan of the last of us. I think that the games are incredible. - Can I tell you something's gonna make you very angry at me? - Let's see. - I played last of us part one. - Amazing. - It was during the pandemic, right before the pandemic, stopped playing it for a little bit during the pandemic, completely forgot where I was in the game. I was swimming looking for something, completely forgot the controls. Restarted it, played it, loved it. - Yeah. - Part two came out, got halfway, got to part two of part two, like the middle when you're in Seattle. - Yes. - Stopped playing, forgot the controls. I'm gonna have to run it back. I haven't finished it. - Well, didn't Katie finish it? Didn't she-- - Katie got it. Katie got it way before me. - She more of a gamer than you or no. - Depends on which game. - 'Cause I-- - She'll go hard on a game and then get me to do it. - Okay. - She got me into God of War. She got me into last of us. I got her into Ghost of Tsushima. - I just finished that. - It's fantastic. Did you play the second one? - I won it. - I wanna get it. - It's-- - No. - While you're riding the high of the first one, play the second one. Don't put too much time in between them. It's a very, a little bit of a letdown. Ghost of Yotae was-- - 'Cause she's got more shit, like she's got a gun more-- - Got cool stuff. - She's got a wolf. - Yeah. - Cooler weapons. - Yeah. - You start with all your shit. I found Ghost of Tsushima to be a much better game. - Okay. - Front to back. Like greater story, greater highlight. I liked Ghost of Yotae. - Yeah. - Felt too much like a quick. Have you ever played the game Sifu? - That's hard. - Yeah, dude, that's my shit. - You beat it. - You wanna beat it, brother. That's fucking staying in it. I fucking, I've beat it on my system. I've beat it on my Steam Deck. I've unlocked most of the arenas. - We gotta talk about the Steam Deck. - It's fantastic. - Okay. - If you travel and you play video games, owning a Steam Deck is necessary. He's got one. - Okay, really? - They are just like, you can get them modded. My mod crashed. So my buddy Joe, who works at a comedy club, I won't say which one. But he helps me mod my Steam Deck and put on Sega. I put on all Sega, Super Nintendo, Nintendo, N64, PlayStation 1, and then a bunch of PlayStation 2 games. I put like NBA Street Volume 2. - Oh shit. - Def Jamf Vendetta Fight for New York. Which I'm probably gonna replay this weekend. But there is like games where you can just go back and be like, oh, I remember I loved that game. Let me end the emulator, usually works pretty great. Steam Deck is the shit. But Sifu is one of the best beat 'em up games of all time. - That stuff is tempting. I mean, it's like, I think they like, you can find them refurbished for like 300 bucks. - I love 'em. When I was doing the play on Broadway a couple of years ago and I had a Nintendo Switch. - Great. - And I had Metroid Dread. - Great. - It was amazing. But now it's like, you can't use it anymore. - Mm-hmm. - It's a whack, 'cause now the two is out. And nothing works. - That's what I mean. It's all a grab steam deck. What's great about it is? 'cause I've never been a PC gamer, 'cause of real gamers, and everyone knows that. I'm a little console bitch. - I am too, I mean, it's nothing wrong with that. - This is the closest you'll get to being a PC gamer. - Okay. - 'Cause it's got the tech of PC games, so they can't really fuck with you on a lot of shit. So you can, like, the community's really big. They'll, like, tell you how to download stuff. It is, I mean, dude, I played Spider-Man, the recent ones. - Yeah. - One and two on my team. - What do you think it to? - One of the best video games of all time. - Why does everybody hate that shit? - They're fucking smoking. - I thought it was fun. - They're smoking rocks of dickhead, 'cause it's great. Wolverines coming out this September. - Yeah, September. - Insomniac did, or not Insomniac, whoever did, uh. - It wasn't Insomniac, they did it. Same studio. - Oh. - I want the bond. See, I'm-- - Bond is gonna be the third person, right? - Yeah, that's what all the things I like. - Earn the double dose, you, like, earn the number in this one? - Yeah, it's like, you're a third person. - You're a third person, gotcha. - I'm only a third person, yeah. I can't do the, like, that new game that's supposed to be hot with the, that's like the Mickey Mouse animation. - Oh. - That shit, it's a shooter. Everybody's raven about it. - I haven't even seen that. - It's like, all the, I forget the name of it, but people are going crazy over it. - Yeah. - I was like, ah. - The John Wick is coming out, and that's third person. - That looks great. - Yeah, but third person. - By the way, if John Wick is even half of a good video game, third person, people keep asking me if I'm back. (laughing) - I'm thinking about it. - I'm back. - That's not gonna happen. - Absolutely fucked it up. - For me, it's like speaking to KB Toys, like the last memory of KB Toys was 96, my dad bringing Tomb Raider home to me. The very first-- - Yeah, in PlayStation 1, dude. - PlayStation 1. - Boxy Asteroid Craf. And then that big-ass dinosaur coming. It was like the biggest team we had in the house was like a 32-inch at the time. And it was, I was like, oh shit, it was amazing. - Are they completely gone? - Like, last time I remember, and I'll tell you what, the only time in my life I've ever gotten political was when I found out that Mitt Romney owned the company. - Idos? - That was a prominent American mall-based toy retailer out of business February 2009. - Oh, okay. I thought you were talking about the company that-- - Yeah, they liquidated them, and I think it was like some, but they had, dude. - Yeah, that came. - I mean, KB Toys was, it was a shit, that Broadway Tomb Raider, that reboot in 2013 brought me back to gaming. - Yeah, it's interesting what games can bring you back in after a while. - 'Cause before it just sports, right? Like, I'm just a sports guy. - That was me up until college. I played, I mean, I would play like Bond or Perfect Dark on 64. But, or like Metal Gear Solid. PlayStation 2 got me a little bit, but then PS4 and PS5 have just completely gone into full gaming. - Yeah, it's like a dope, very adult gaming. - 'Cause that college football game. - I still play it. - I'd like-- - You're gonna leave here, and I'm not joking when I say I'm gonna play UMass versus University of Washington in the playoffs. - I've ran a 30-year dinosaur. - How good are you, with level? - All American, I don't-- - Really? - Yeah, I don't play on Heisman. - I suck. - But I do sliders on all Americans, so I up the AI on all Americans. - I suck on varsity. I played one season with Colorado last year. I had bought 26 for cheap. - Oh, yeah? - I was trying to-- - 25. 'Cause 26 is the newest one. - That's, I bought that for cheap, and it was kicking my ass. - Oh, I love it. - I don't know. - I'm finishing a 30-year dynasty. - Jesus Christ. - I think I have like 22 titles. - Wow. - Started at East Carolina, moved to Minnesota, moved, moved to Colorado, moved to Syracuse, and then to UMass Amherst, 'cause Katie, I was like, Katie's in that room, I was like, how shitty is UMass? And she goes, they suck. And I went, I'm taking that head coaching job, and she's like, let's fucking go. We're fucking UMass Minuteman. I can't even tell. - That's good to have a game and I'm a national champion. - That's good to have a partner. That's like that, 'cause-- - Yeah, I love my girlfriend, but we're like nine, 10 months in as of this record. - Okay, so it's new. - So yeah, so it's new, but I downloaded that cosmic, Marvel Cosmic. - Okay. - That was fun. - Sure. - The new he-man I want when that comes out. - Oh, that's a beauty. - It's a beat 'em up coming out next week, I think, in 27, or something like that. - Dude, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude. - In 27, for all, like, you know, like PlayStation, you could download it, you know? - Yo! - Master of the Universe or something. - April 28th. - Okay, yeah. - For PC Switch PlayStation Xbox. - Mm-hmm. - Yo! - Yeah. - What the fuck, dude? - So I want to play that. - I'm a up, and Master of the Universe is coming out. - Yeah. - I think that's why. - Yeah, it does look really good. - Dude, what an nostalgia trip. - Yeah. - I'm going to go open a Toys R Us. - Chris Lamberth is special. Killing in obscurity is on YouTube right now. The link is down below. Click it, he's fucking hilarious. I've known him forever. Watch your special and enjoy it. - Thanks, guys. - Thanks for having me, man. - Absolutely pleasure. And, man, let's go open that. - Let's go open that. - We should, man. - Let's go into business. - Yeah, let's do it. - When the internet shuts down, let's open a Toys R Us. - Sounds good. - Sounds like a plan. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)