The Afterlaugh w/ Bill Dawes

Tommy comes by the yard to talk about his depression and fear of death, and Bill decides to snap him out and talk about one of the few things they completely agree on: smooching ladies is fun and men need to be better getting there. Bill brings up an old cult indie classic, "The Tao of Steve," which details a systemic way to get a woman interested in you; and he mentions dubious advice about kissi...

Bill's long-time friend, comic-actor-writer extraordinaire Brian Scolaro stops by the yard to tell some stories from his remarkable career and reminisce about the heyday of standup comedy in New York City during the late-90's.  Considered by many to be one of the funniest comics alive, Brian's career has not been without adversity, including his very recent diagnosis of MS (discovered onstage...

EXACTLY 3 YEARS AGO, Bill set up a fire pit on some astroturf and offered free booze and weed to snag comics coming out after shows next door at the Laugh Factory. Even though the podcast was originally about getting stories from comics, it slowly morphed into hearing voices from all areas of the industry -- from showrunners on hit shows and award-winning movie and tv stars to open mic comics and...

Natallia Nemes is an interesting person. After going down the "career path" and graduating from a good school, Natalia lived in NYC as a corporate raider, where she simultaneously developed an eating disorder and a severe cocaine habit. Thinking Los Angeles might offer a better way, she found her addiction to toxic substances and toxic relationships only grew worse in LaLaLand. Without the social...

Bill has an "emergency landing" in LAX with a TMI pilot with a lisp, and Tommy comes by the yard to talk about his recent trip to Dallas where he reunited with his middle school sweetheart to see about the possibility of a love connection and a future together (as discussed in episode 198). After an amazing weekend with her, Tommy is met with "news" that is life-changing, to say the least. Because...

For a change of pace, Bill stops by the trailer of TV star Matthew Del Negro (West Wing, Wind River, Goliath) while they work together on Season 3 of "City on a Hill," to discuss his incredible career after their first terrible experience working together, the Off-Broadway debacle that was "Burning Blue" (CLICK https://nypost.com/2007/12/25/naked-aggression/ for details). To say the least, Matt's...

THROWBACK THURSDAY EPISODE: Influencer Jessica Vaugn comes by the yard to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from the pandemic to the UFC to cryptocurrency and how the events of 2020 caused a shift in her mindset, both personally and politically. While most people became further entrenched in their political beliefs, Jessica -- like many others in LA - found herself shifting to a right of cent...

For a very special 200th episode, friend from New York Erin O'Brien swings by the yard to catch up with Bill after a hiatus of several years. Bill met Erin on the set of a Foo Fighters video for the song "Arlandria." In the middle of the shoot (which his ex-girlfriend was in), Bill's ex DUMPS him in what came to be his most painful breakup, and Erin got to be there for the fallout. Yay! Erin also...

Bill is in Austin interviewing new transplant and friend, Tony Casillas, who details his journey from film school to standup comedy. Tony talks about his humble beginnings doing open mics in Dallas with 50 comics signed in PER SHOW to touring with some of the biggest headliners in the country. Bill and Tony also talk about the new nature of political comedy, and why it's sometimes best to stay awa...

After declaring a moratorium on "politics," Bill and Tommy (with the help of neighbor Mia Mars) settle on a subject everyone has interesting stories about: FIRSTS. Bill and Tommy both talk about losing their virginity late and dealing with the almost inevitable first-time premature ejaculation. Bill talks about the paternity test he took that led to the discovery of his amazing daughter Olivia. Fi...

Dan Green is Bill's neighbor, friend, and works security at the Laugh Factory. Dan is ALSO a new comic (who will doing November shows with Bill in Dan's previous home, Houston!). Recorded months ago, Dan and Bill talk about the re-opening of clubs in LA and how things have changed. Bill presses Dan for stories of questionable legality and morality about his past, since Dan was a "Fixer" back in th...

Tommy comes by the yard to talk about the recent news in the comedy community regarding the passing of Norm Macdonald and two other comics in the LA after ingesting a bad batch of cocaine. Bill defends Kate Quigley and her PTSD reaction to post-OD life and how it relates to his experience being in Manhattan on 9/11. To lighten things up, Tommy talks about moving on from his relationship (finally)...

Bill heads to the Austin home of one of the hottest comics in America today, Rocky Dale Davis ("Bring the Funny," E's "Dating No Filter, "This Week at the Comedy Cellar") to talk about his meteoric rise in popularity after catching the attention of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on social media, and how Instagram subsequently shadow-banned him for referring to himself as "white trash." Rocky talks the...

Bill and Joey Medina (Original Latin Kings of Comedy, Latinpalooza, Real Rob) met at the Hollywood Laugh Factory about 12 years ago during "Latin night," but didn't really closely work together until lockdown, when Joey set out to make a short film which confronted racism, mortality, and "the N-word" in a dramatic and original way. Joey ended up writing "Beautiful Violence" and cast Bill, as well...

The Austin comedy scene is exploding right now, mostly because of recent LA transplants like Joe Rogan, Tony Hinchcliffe, Brian Redban, Tim Dillon, AND "Big Laugh Comedy" co-founder Brandon Lewin. 6 years ago, Brandon moved from Chicago and went from being an open mic comic to the foremost producer, promoter, and booker in the burgeoning Austin comedy scene. Brandon is a smart and driven guy and t...

Matthew Vaughan comes by the yard late one night to drink a little, smoke a little, and reminisce about his chance meeting with Bill at the Laugh Factory in 2008 when Matt was a noob from North Carolina in LA for the first time. That meeting has resulted in a friendship over a decade and has seen Matt become an important curator of the comedy world with his company "Rotten Science," which has been...

Good friend Shaan Joshi (Laugh Factory, "Doomed Tonight" series on Youtube) FINALLY finishes an interview with Bill without a fight. Shaan is a comic and intellectual, having once run a newspaper in Prague. Despite his jaded, doomsday attitude, Shaan is also a humanitarian who created an educational foundation in Haiti this is running to this day. Shaan believes that FOX NEWS has created a near ir...

Tommy Wakefield comes by the yard after a long hiatus, where he and Bill get into it about the intersection of science and politics regarding COVID and particularly the new and improved strain, the Delta variant. They also talk about the jokes they got out of the virus and the lockdown, and how standup comedy is really a life for silly weirdos pretending to be something more. Plus, they discuss th...

Nacya Marreiro (making her debut at the World Famous Hollywood Laugh Factory) sits with Bill to talk about her journey from Southern Portugal to Austin and how her passion for standup came about after her time as a flight attendant with United Arab Emirates. In a short time, Nacya has built a name for herself in the burgeoning Austin comedy scene, with a popular show at the new Creed & the Cav...

Mel Shoshahi (Laugh Factory, Laughs on Fox) has interesting story - a female comic with Persian immigrant parents who have always been supportive of her comedy career. During the LA lockdown, Mel needed a creative outlet and started writing and shooting sketches based on different characters in her life - sketches which began to generate traction on social media and changed the course of her caree...

Old friend from Broadway, 2021 EMMY-NOMINEE Chris Sullivan for Toby on "This is Us," comes by the yard to discuss the stratospheric rise of his acting career, and the progression from blue-collar Chicago theatre actor to starring in one of the biggest hits of the last decade on network television. He also performs an acoustic version of one of the songs from his new album, "SIX FEET FROM UNDER," a...

Tommy comes by the yard for a free-wheeling discussion on how comedy is evolving and being received in a Post-Trump Los Angeles, and whether or not certain offensive words can EVER be said onstage anymore, and if so, WHO can say it. Bill and Tommy also discuss times in their life where they were CONNED and tips on how to avoid it happening to you! ENJOY!

Kym Kral comes by the yard to discuss the release of her new memoir, "Confessions of a Recovering Party Girl" -- NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON -- and the wild stories captured within. Kym also details the delicate process of telling a "true story" without setting yourself up for the potential of libel lawsuits. Bill discusses his experience working with Tucker Max and the lawsuits Tucker me...

Fan favorite Tommy Wakefield comes by the yard to talk about the comedy boom in Austin, the latest developments in his relationship, and is it possible IN GENERAL to go from a committed relationship to an OPEN relationship without things going tits up in a ditch? All of this is interrupted by a naked homeless woman and call to the cops. ENJOY!

Jaime King (Hart of Dixie, Sin City, My Bloody Valentine) has had a wild life. Growing up with very little money in Omaha, Nebraska, Jaime was discovered by a modeling agency at age 14, and became one of the youngest supermodels ever at 17. Her ensuing story about the abuse in the modeling industry in the 90's and her subsequent addiction to heroin serves both as a harrowing warning about the dang...