People We Love

Today's guest is podcast producer and sound guru, Lee Nason, who has helped me launch video episodes of this podcast. Growing up in Massachusetts and spending time in Portland, Maine, this well rounded guy has been a musician and a lifeguard. From orchestra to pop punk bands, we cover a lot, including the big influence the Warped Tour had on him back in the day. But throughout his journey, mom has...

Washington's own, comedian and musician, Yaki Margulies grew up an introvert who who discovered both songwriting and the theater in his teens -- and this 4.0 student actually graduated high school after his sophomore year! He enrolled at the University of Washington, where he thrilled his parents by becoming a theater major. Well theater led to improv, and to standup, but having written some 400 s...

Today author, motivational speaker, trainer, and consultant, David Richman tells me all about his challenging upbringing, as we dive pretty deep into some of the bad luck as well as poor choices he has made over the years. But sometime after his sister became terminally ill, he decided it was time to make some changes. So an overweight smoker became an amazing athlete. Along the way David dove dee...

Comedian Genesis Sol was born and raised in Dallas, TX, and she tells me all about being a childhood performer -- singing, dancing, and beyond. Never shy, she recalls always receiving support from her mom and dad, and how her younger brother and sister followed in her footsteps and got into performing as well… at least for a little while. But we cover a lot in this epic one. Rage rooms, emo music,...

Comedian Chaz Carter was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and this quiet, smart, and introverted kid started to finally come out of his shell in high school when he got into theater. He recalls watching Def Comedy Jam as a kid, and after moving to Los Angeles at 19 to pursue acting training, it wasn't until a little later on when standup became his life, essentially. Chaz's journey has had some...

California's own Rey Cabato's parents divorced when he was very young, but it sounds like it was for the best, and Rey ended up with really great step-parents. And Rey, a comedian and photographer, is also a drummer, and a FORMER pathological liar (his words). And we cover it all... Family, friends, and of course Rey's journey into standup comedy. https://www.instagram.com/remcreate/, http://insta...

From Ohio to college in Northern Michigan to Montana, finally to Steamboat Springs, CO, comedian Kyle Ruff's journey has taken him from class clown to comedian and comedy show producer. Along the way he discovered Ron Paul and eventually comedian and podcaster, Robbie "The Fire" Bernstein, who Kyle's really enjoyed getting to know better while doing a few shows together on the road. https://www.in...

Comedian Ben Herwitz is originally from just outside San Francisco and grew up an only child whose main focuses in life were sports and academics. He wishes he would have been more involved in creative endeavors as a youngster and read more. But throughout his childhood, one particular late night host made a big impact on Ben. The one and only Conan O'Brien. We talk Conan, family, college, and of...

Comedian and writer Wally Baram split her time growing up between Southern California and New Jersey, and recalls being "into bugs" and watching The George Lopez Show on Nick at Nite as a kid. But by high school she kinda knew she had an itch to try comedy, and performed at her first open mic during her senior year. Wally is still in the very early stages of her career, but there's no doubt some o...

Sacramento's own, comedian Steve Furey grew up an only child of loving, albeit divorced parents. Eventually Steve found his way into selling weed first to his high school classmates and later their parents. He thought his path would take him in to a career in physical education, but stand up was always his true calling... We talk mom, dad, weed, cooking, and more. And Steve especially shows his ap...

Current computer coder and former Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party, Alex Merced has done much more beyond those jobs, and we get into all of it. Growing up, Alex was inspired by his hardworking single mom and that is clear by the person he's become today. And we for sure talk music, economics, Ron Paul, and more, but Alex is man who truly values patience, kindness, empathy, and forgiveness, and...

Podcaster and producer, Marc Clair was born in Buffalo and mostly raised in Connecticut. And this Penn State alum and I talk a little politics and libertarian stuff, but this one's really about Marc's relationship with his father, Alan Clair, a man who always stands up for justice and fairness. And this was never on display more than when Marc recalls when a harmless high school prank that led to...

Comedian Rachele Friedland was born and raised in Long Beach, California as a young girl into ballet and horses. But it wasn't too long before she moved on from those things into her primary role as a sarcastic teen. Later on though it was her mom who actually suggested stand up comedy. But years before Rachele found the stage and was performing at comedy festivals and beyond, when she was a ripe...

Today's guest is my friend and former college roommate, fellow Long Islander, family man, cancer survivor, and much more, Doug Druckman. And he tells me all about high school football's positive impact and how he made lifelong friends. Myself, Doug, and others lived in a house of legendary partying junior and senior year of college in Syracuse, before Doug eventually found his way to Chicago. Alon...

Producer and comedian, Redd Jefferson stubbornly disliked school as a teen and only cared really about comedy and becoming a professional wrestler. The legend, Mick Foley was always Redd's favorite and not just for being a great wrestler, but for the person he is and how well he treats all the fans. Mick Foley has never let Redd down, but Redd's journey took him away from his wrestling pursuits an...

Comedian Irene Tu grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but really got more hardcore into comedy at Berkeley and while living in the Bay Area. This former kid basketball point guard has gone through at least a couple of identity crises in her life, and tells me all about her journey of self discovery as a person and as a comedian, and all about the influence and inspiration of one particular comedian...

New Jersey's own, comedian Jason Redlitz is a former middle school basketball shot blocker who tells me all about his large family, where EVERYBODY's names start with the letter J. We also talk about how Jason loves doing bits and characters, his love for the legend Andy Kaufmann and also for his talented comedian brother, Redd Jefferson. And Jason and Redd now work together on TOO CUTE BROTHERS,...

Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, comedian Aaron Mliner recalls dad working at Caesar's Palace, playing soccer in the heat, and being a breakdancing kid and a hip-hop music lover. But soccer turned to into theater and improv, which led to moving to LA to pursue acting. And one day a comedian friend, Steven Randolph was wondering and asked Aaron, "Hey, why don't you do standup?" https://www.aaronmli...

Long Island's own, comedian Jared Goldstein actually recalls phasing out his Long Island accent as a young child actor. And besides that it wasn't always easy growing up for Jared, as he dove into all things Pokemon for an escape. But soon enough, acting led to stand up and NY led to LA. Along the way, Jared has had some amazing experiences in the entertainment business, including as a youngster a...

Monroe, Michigan's own, comedian Brad Wenzel grew up a WWE wrestling fan who wasn't particularly athletic, but it wasn't long before he discovered Saturday Night Live and stand up, and made his way to an open mic to perform for the first time at age 16. But besides talking about comedy in college and beyond, and even his sets on Conan O'Brien, Brad also tells me all about his strong Michigan conne...

Florida's own, comedian Mandy Martino grew up an active kid who was a "just-get-by" student, and she recalls being surrounded by a funny family who loves all things comedy. Whether it was SNL or classic comedy films, the impact of these was strong enough that Mandy knew she wanted to pursue comedy and move to LA after college. So she did just that. But along the way she has been super inspired by...

Jacob Helzer is a cook and aspiring chef, but as a kid growing up in Oklahoma, he tragically lost his dad at 14. This sent Jacob into depression, substance abuse, and trouble with the law. But fast forward, overwhelmingly Jacob has turned things around. We recently connected in the Facebook group Liberty Memes $5 Dollar Charity Club, a group for helpers who want to make the world a better place by...

Comedian Gena B. Jones was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. A quiet, high achieving kid, it wasn't really until high school and joining theater that she started to come out of her shell. In college Gena found her way into a music/comedy sketch group, and from there the path to LA and eventually into stand up was forming. But way back when, Gena recalls her family planted a seed, as they...

Comedian Sean White grew spending time in both Huntsville, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. As a kid he got into trouble, but also eventually got into theater acting. Sean's journey from the theater into comedy has been quite the odyssey, filled with lots of loss in his always supportive family. We cover a lot, including Dad's time as a lawyer who found himself working in Petco of all places, and mom...

Comedian Vinny Fasline grew up in Youngstown, OH then Pittsburgh, PA, and was always a silly kid who loved sports. But when he was 13, doctors found he had a brain tumor. Vinny is doing just fine today, but those years were not so much fun for him. But it was during his recovery when he was nudged into taking a stand up comedy class by his always supportive and encouraging mom, and the rest is kin...