Joe Rogan Experience #1305 - JD & John Witherspoon

1. 0:00 – 0:47

   Father–son dynamic and how Joe met JD (and realized who his dad is)

   1. JWJohn Witherspoon0:00

      ... one take.

   2. JWJD Witherspoon0:00

      I do this all the time.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:02

      We're live, ladies and gentlemen. What's up?

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon0:03

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      It's hilarious seeing the two of you guys together.

   6. JWJohn Witherspoon0:06

      (laughs) Yeah, my boy.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      When your son told me, when he told me he was your son-

   8. JWJohn Witherspoon0:08

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:09

      ... first of all, he instantly became my friend.

   10. JWJohn Witherspoon0:10

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:11

       And then, the second of all, I was like, "What is it like having John Witherspoon as a dad?"

   12. JWJohn Witherspoon0:16

       (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:16

       That has gotta be crazy.

   14. JWJD Witherspoon0:17

       But mind you, I only told you 'cause he was asking me, 'cause I go to the clubs all the time, hanging out and what not, you know, just kicking it with friends. And he said, "Who, who's at the club now, Baby?"

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:26

       (laughs) The impression's perfect.

   16. JWJohn Witherspoon0:28

       (laughs) He's like, "JD," he, he's g- he was telling, he's like, "JD, who, who is it that, uh..."

   17. JWJD Witherspoon0:31

       (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       "Who's, who's, who the bringer there? Who the funny one? Who the one's..."

   19. JWJohn Witherspoon0:33

       (laughs)

   20. JWJD Witherspoon0:33

       (laughs) And I was like, I was like, "I mean, there's a bunch of 'em." He's like, "You know, Brennan, this, that and that." I said, "Joe's always there, he's got a bunch of people that comes to his show." He's like, "Joe Rogan?" I'm like, "I know Joe, that's my man, my man, Joe."

   21. JWJohn Witherspoon0:42

       We used to, I, we worked together when I was at the Comedy Store.

   22. JWJD Witherspoon0:44

       And then, yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:44

       Yeah.

   24. JWJD Witherspoon0:44

       And he told me to say hi.

   25. JWJohn Witherspoon0:45

       Many years ago.

   26. JRJoe Rogan0:46

       Yeah.

   27. JWJD Witherspoon0:46

       Yeah. So I-

2. 0:47 – 2:03

   New York comedy clubs: Caroline’s vs. classic NYC rooms

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:47

      Last time I saw you, I think it was Caroline's in New York. We were doing-

   2. JWJohn Witherspoon0:51

      Oh, yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:51

      ... I was doing like the 8:00 and you were doing a 10:00 or something like that.

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon0:54

      Oh, it di-

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:54

      We were back to back.

   6. JWJohn Witherspoon0:55

      No, I was doing two shows, uh, but it probably wa- on a Thursday, you know, you probably did...

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:59

      Something was happening.

   8. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00

      We were doing it close to each other. It was a long time ago.

   10. JWJohn Witherspoon1:02

       Yeah, oh, a long time ago.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       It was a long time ago. Like maybe, maybe 15 years ago.

   12. JWJD Witherspoon1:05

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon1:05

       Yeah. Oh, yeah, 'cause I haven't been there in a while and I work... I haven't been to New York in a while. I stopped going to New York for about five-

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:11

       Caroline's is a weird one.

   15. JWJD Witherspoon1:12

       Mm.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:12

       Have you done, have you done Caroline's?

   17. JWJD Witherspoon1:13

       I haven't done Caroline's.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:14

       It's like a touristy place.

   19. JWJohn Witherspoon1:16

       All tourists and foreigners.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:18

       It feels like you're doing s-

   21. JWJD Witherspoon1:18

       Well, it's right, right in Times Square, right?

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:20

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   23. JWJD Witherspoon1:20

       Yeah, yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:21

       It doesn't feel like you're doing standup in New York. It feels...

   25. JWJohn Witherspoon1:23

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:23

       It feels weird.

   27. JWJD Witherspoon1:24

       Yeah.

   28. JWJohn Witherspoon1:24

       Oh, yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:25

       It feels like what people want New York to be, but they're from somewhere else.

   30. JWJD Witherspoon1:28

       Yeah.
3. 2:03 – 3:10

   Life on the road: relentless dates, airport fatigue, and why travel is the real grind

   1. JWJohn Witherspoon2:03

      I li- I like New York. I just haven't been back since Letterman, uh, gone, I don't go do his show anymore. I haven't been to Caroline's in about three years, four years.

   2. JRJoe Rogan2:12

      But you d- you do a lot of clubs...

   3. JWJohn Witherspoon2:13

      Oh, I've, I do 40.

   4. JRJoe Rogan2:14

      ... on the road. We were talking about that before.

   5. JWJohn Witherspoon2:15

      40 something clubs.

   6. JRJoe Rogan2:17

      Wow.

   7. JWJohn Witherspoon2:18

      You know...

   8. JRJoe Rogan2:18

      40 clubs a year?

   9. JWJohn Witherspoon2:19

      You know, my agents come to my house in January and they tell me all the clubs I got that year. They tell you what date, we go over, we go over every one of 'em. "All right, June 15th, okay, you're gonna be in so-and-so and doing it then. Y'all like the money we gonna get?" "Yeah." "Okay, that's good. That, that's a go, that's a go." So we do 40 something clubs. I say, "Man, this is too much work. Ain't but 52 weeks in a year."

   10. JRJoe Rogan2:42

       Yeah, that's crazy.

   11. JWJohn Witherspoon2:43

       "I gotta have some time off."

   12. JWJD Witherspoon2:44

       (laughs)

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon2:45

       (laughs) "What about me? Y'all worry about this money."

   14. JWJD Witherspoon2:48

       But when you have time off, all you do is complain about not being on the road. (laughs)

   15. JWJohn Witherspoon2:52

       I complain about, um, y- uh, people telling me what to eat, what to drink.

   16. JWJD Witherspoon2:56

       Oh my goodness.

   17. JRJoe Rogan2:57

       (laughs)

   18. JWJohn Witherspoon2:57

       I like to get me a little taste every now and then. (laughs)

   19. JWJD Witherspoon3:01

       (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan3:01

       (laughs)

   21. JWJohn Witherspoon3:01

       Everybody need a little taste.

   22. JWJD Witherspoon3:03

       Mm-hmm.

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:03

       That's what I'm saying.

   24. JWJohn Witherspoon3:04

       Everybody need a little... To keep the wolf off your back.

   25. JRJoe Rogan3:06

       That's right. (laughs)

   26. JWJD Witherspoon3:08

       (laughs)

   27. JWJohn Witherspoon3:08

       So I get me, uh, I get me a little taste.

4. 3:10 – 7:31

   Plane safety, software failures, and cockpit security (MAX crashes and beyond)

   1. JRJoe Rogan3:10

      The real problem is that travel, though. That's what we're talking about.

   2. JWJohn Witherspoon3:12

      Oh, that's too much.

   3. JRJoe Rogan3:13

      It's just, it's too... The, the air travel over and over...

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon3:15

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan3:15

      ... and over again. And then we were freaking out about A37s, and you were explaining to us...

   6. JWJD Witherspoon3:19

      Yeah.

   7. JWJohn Witherspoon3:20

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan3:20

      ... that mostly they use 'em in overseas and some southwest.

   9. JWJohn Witherspoon3:22

      Oh, yeah. In, in African countries, they use... And, well, if... And in, in, uh, Asian country, they use 'em.

   10. JWJD Witherspoon3:28

       Well, they had like two planes that just got lost, right?

   11. JWJohn Witherspoon3:31

       Yeah.

   12. JWJD Witherspoon3:31

       One from...

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon3:32

       You know, but that, that's...

   14. JWJD Witherspoon3:32

       ... from Malaysia and all the other ones.

   15. JWJohn Witherspoon3:34

       I think that's all... I think that's all pilot, pilot doing all that.

   16. JRJoe Rogan3:36

       Lex, Lex Friedman is a software engineer and uh, uh, he's, he specializes in AI, he's a professor at MIT.

   17. JWJD Witherspoon3:42

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JRJoe Rogan3:42

       And he was explaining to me, it's basically the software glitch was making it nose dive.

   19. JWJohn Witherspoon3:46

       Yeah.

   20. JWJD Witherspoon3:47

       Yeah. (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:48

       What?

   22. JWJD Witherspoon3:48

       That's not, that's not something I would wanna hear.

   23. JWJohn Witherspoon3:50

       Not when I paid 2200... 100 to get in my seat.

   24. JWJD Witherspoon3:53

       Well, you, if you're a software engineer, you have to... You would have to up the pilot or copilot to let them know like, hey, someone has to... Obviously, they all know what they're doing in the cockpit, but does someone know what to do if the computer's going down? Like...

   25. JRJoe Rogan4:05

       That's a really good question.

   26. JWJD Witherspoon4:06

       You know?

   27. JRJoe Rogan4:07

       Like, do they have any training in how to reboot computers or...

   28. JWJD Witherspoon4:10

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan4:10

       Or is there a bypass or a workaround for the computers?

   30. JWJD Witherspoon4:12

       Yeah.
5. 7:31 – 12:01

   Airplane etiquette and conflict: overhead bins, seat recline policing, and booze in the air

   1. JRJoe Rogan7:31

      I was on a plane once, and two dudes almost got into a fight.

   2. JWJD Witherspoon7:34

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:34

      The lady stopped serving them. One guy was putting-

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon7:36

      Oh.

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:37

      ... he was putting his luggage in a spot above another dude's head. And the guy said, "That's for my stuff." And he said, "No, who, whoever gets there first is the one who gets it."

   6. JWJD Witherspoon7:45

      Mm-hmm.

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:45

      And he's like, "Bullshit." And he's, like, grabbing his arm and, like, you know, it got-

   8. JWJD Witherspoon7:48

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan7:48

      ... like, physical for a second.

   10. JWJD Witherspoon7:50

       Yeah.

   11. JWJohn Witherspoon7:50

       I had, I had a, um... You know, I took my bag off to get something out of my bag. I, I'm on the plane first. Some guy walked past me, I said, "Oh, excuse me." And then I'm looking for my stuff, he gonna put it... I said, "Hey, hey, hey, bro, you see this bag here?"

   12. JWJD Witherspoon8:05

       (laughs)

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon8:05

       "That going up there." He said, "Well, d- d- you sh- you shoulda had it up there." So, um... I, I looked at this sucker, he just, "Sorry, sir."

   14. JWJD Witherspoon8:13

       (laughs)

   15. JWJohn Witherspoon8:13

       And he got in his seat. Now, he's sitting next to me too.

   16. JRJoe Rogan8:16

       Oh, no.

   17. JWJD Witherspoon8:16

       For the rest of the flight?

   18. JWJohn Witherspoon8:17

       Whole flight. He didn't say-

   19. JRJoe Rogan8:18

       You shoulda...

   20. JWJD Witherspoon8:18

       (laughs)

   21. JWJohn Witherspoon8:18

       ... nothing. I said, "Man-"

   22. JRJoe Rogan8:20

       Shoulda hauled it up there.

   23. JWJohn Witherspoon8:20

       I tell you, man, get the hell out of my way.

   24. JWJD Witherspoon8:23

       (laughs)

   25. JWJohn Witherspoon8:23

       Take that crap outta here. He thought I was a crazy man.

   26. JWJD Witherspoon8:25

       Tough guy, huh?

   27. JRJoe Rogan8:26

       (laughs)

   28. JWJohn Witherspoon8:27

       I wasn't tough, I just didn't know I had... One more... The plane is full now.

   29. JWJD Witherspoon8:31

       Yeah.

   30. JWJohn Witherspoon8:32

       He... One seat next to me open, he gonna put his stuff down. I'm getting my stuff, trying to find my, my, uh, earphones.
6. 12:01 – 14:09

   Cologne, pimps, and Detroit street memories (style as survival)

   1. JWJohn Witherspoon12:01

      Think about it. A- And, you know, I had... You can't have ounces, three ounces liquid in your bag. So, I had a three-ounce bottle of my expensive cologne, but I used half of it, so I ain't got no three ounce. I got, I got one and a half now. They said, "Well, you gotta take the whole thing." I said, "No, you... What? You gonna take all of my cologne? That cologne cost me about $300."

   2. JWJD Witherspoon12:25

      (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan12:25

      (laughs)

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon12:27

      "Sir, I'm taking $150 discount." (laughs) 'Cause you got... They took my cologne.

   5. JWJD Witherspoon12:32

      Did you spray it on yourself before getting on?

   6. JRJoe Rogan12:34

      One more pump for the road.

   7. JWJohn Witherspoon12:35

      Yeah, I, I sprayed this on everybody else too.

   8. JWJD Witherspoon12:37

      (laughs)

   9. JWJohn Witherspoon12:38

      That was, that was... But they serious about that.

   10. JWJD Witherspoon12:40

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan12:41

       Some dudes still rock cologne-

   12. JWJD Witherspoon12:43

       ... heavy.

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon12:43

       I wear cologne.

   14. JWJD Witherspoon12:44

       Heavy.

   15. JRJoe Rogan12:44

       Like it?

   16. JWJohn Witherspoon12:45

       I like... Oh, I get it from Bergdorf Goodman. I get this stuff. See, where I grew up, it was a lot of pimps around the neighborhood, and they wore the best cologne. Them dudes was sharp, boy, their hair be sh- their hair be shiny.

   17. JRJoe Rogan12:57

       (laughs)

   18. JWJD Witherspoon12:58

       (laughs)

   19. JWJohn Witherspoon12:58

       (laughs) They had that cologne on, and they hit themself like this. So when I got old, that's what I would do. I'd get the cologne like this. (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan13:04

       (laughs)

   21. JWJD Witherspoon13:04

       You would start smacking yourself with it?

   22. JRJoe Rogan13:06

       (laughs)

   23. JWJohn Witherspoon13:08

       Pimps, them pimps used to crack me up, boy. They would be so sharp. Yeah, shoes be so shiny, and they'd get that cologne. I'm there, I'm smelling, and he talk to me. He said, "That boy smell good." I'm broke, I got about three cents in my pocket and holes on the bottom of my shoes and them pimps be like, "Yeah, little fella." Yeah. "Yeah, you're gonna be all right one day." Yeah. "Just hang out. You keep doing what you're doing. (laughs) Keep doing what you're doing." Oh, boy.

   24. JRJoe Rogan13:30

       You ever see Pimps Up, Hoes Down?

   25. JWJohn Witherspoon13:32

       Yeah. Oh, yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan13:33

       The docu? Yeah.

   27. JWJD Witherspoon13:33

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan13:33

       Crazy.

   29. JWJohn Witherspoon13:34

       I know what's the name-

   30. JRJoe Rogan13:35

       See the, the real life? It's like-
7. 14:09 – 19:36

   Detroit: boom, collapse, cheap houses, and signs of a comeback

   1. JRJoe Rogan14:09

      Back then Detroit was booming, right?

   2. JWJohn Witherspoon14:11

      Oh, yeah. Oh, oh, yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan14:12

      Not like... Detroit fell off quicker than any city-

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon14:15

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan14:15

      ... in the western world-

   6. JWJD Witherspoon14:17

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan14:17

      ... in terms of, like, it was w- the richest city in the world during-

   8. JWJohn Witherspoon14:19

      It was.

   9. JRJoe Rogan14:20

      ... the height of the, the car-

   10. JWJD Witherspoon14:21

       Murdered, yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan14:21

       ... Motor City.

   12. JWJD Witherspoon14:22

       Mm-hmm.

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon14:23

       Yeah, because the people, the factories closed.

   14. JRJoe Rogan14:26

       Yeah.

   15. JWJohn Witherspoon14:26

       And when the factories closed, people had put their money into the house, the car, factory money.

   16. JRJoe Rogan14:32

       Yeah.

   17. JWJohn Witherspoon14:32

       They got that loan, see? 'Cause you got that... You've been here 15 years, you've got a good record, you got a good things. They, they give you a car, and give you an a, and a home.

   18. JWJD Witherspoon14:41

       Mm-hmm.

   19. JWJohn Witherspoon14:41

       But when that cycle fell, boy, them people, "Oh, my God, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?"

   20. JRJoe Rogan14:45

       What caused it? Do you know? I mean, obviously-

   21. JWJohn Witherspoon14:48

       Factories move. For pr-

   22. JRJoe Rogan14:48

       ... manufacturing moving to Mexico and other-

   23. JWJohn Witherspoon14:51

       All that stuff.

   24. JRJoe Rogan14:52

       ... third world countries.

   25. JWJD Witherspoon14:52

       Yeah.

   26. JWJohn Witherspoon14:53

       All that stuff, people-

   27. JRJoe Rogan14:54

       A little bit of that.

   28. JWJohn Witherspoon14:54

       Everybody but for themselves.

   29. JRJoe Rogan14:56

       Yeah.

   30. JWJD Witherspoon14:56

       But s-
8. 19:36 – 22:31

   Fight fandom: John’s love of MMA highlights and Joe’s invitation to a live event

   1. JRJoe Rogan19:36

      I wanna go to the cage when you, uh, when you commentate.

   2. JWJohn Witherspoon19:38

      Anytime. Anytime, you tell me. Man, I wanna see them people knock the crap out of those fighters. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan19:43

      (laughs)

   4. JWJohn Witherspoon19:43

      I said, damn. Damn.

   5. JRJoe Rogan19:45

      Let me know. Any, anytime you wanna go. There's gotta be some fights in California and Anaheim.

   6. JWJohn Witherspoon19:50

      I wanna look through... I wanna look through the, the, the screen like this.

   7. JRJoe Rogan19:52

      (laughs)

   8. JWJohn Witherspoon19:53

      "Get that motherfucker!"

   9. JRJoe Rogan19:56

      (laughs) .

   10. JWJohn Witherspoon19:57

       Oh, man. (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan19:59

       We can get you pretty close.

   12. JWJohn Witherspoon20:00

       Oh my God.

   13. JRJoe Rogan20:00

       We can get you right up there, where you can hear the smacks.

   14. JWJohn Witherspoon20:02

       Oh, I'd like to, I'd like to get real close and take a look at this boy.

   15. JRJoe Rogan20:05

       (laughs)

   16. JWJohn Witherspoon20:05

       I can't believe that dude... Ah. That head do like this.

   17. JRJoe Rogan20:10

       (laughs)

   18. JWJohn Witherspoon20:10

       (laughs) That's... You got to knock the fuck out. That... Really serious about that. I like-

   19. JRJoe Rogan20:15

       Have you ever gone to one of them live?

   20. JWJohn Witherspoon20:16

       No.

   21. JRJoe Rogan20:17

       No, never?

   22. JWJohn Witherspoon20:18

       Never.

   23. JRJoe Rogan20:18

       Oh yeah, let's hook that up.

   24. JWJohn Witherspoon20:20

       Oh, I-

   25. JWJD Witherspoon20:20

       Yeah, it would be funny.

   26. JWJohn Witherspoon20:21

       Oh my...

   27. JRJoe Rogan20:21

       Just imagine. You should film him.

   28. JWJD Witherspoon20:22

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan20:23

       You should film him.

   30. JWJohn Witherspoon20:24

       (laughs) I'll tell y'all.
9. 22:31 – 30:15

   JD’s impressions, career path, and building John’s social media after a fake death trend

   1. JRJoe Rogan22:31

      How do you feel about your son's impression of you? It's really good.

   2. JWJohn Witherspoon22:34

      (laughs)

   3. JWJD Witherspoon22:35

      He doesn't, he doesn't think it sounds like him at all. He doesn't. It's, uh-

   4. JRJoe Rogan22:37

      All right, give me something.

   5. JWJD Witherspoon22:38

      Uh, well, well here, I only know it because this is how he talks to me all the time. He'll always be like, "Um, hm, JD, uh, what you, what you, what you do when the day? You got work, hm? You gotta go, uh, sit back and talk to all them people, ha? Hm?"

   6. JRJoe Rogan22:52

      (laughs)

   7. JWJD Witherspoon22:53

      Yeah. He does all-

   8. JWJohn Witherspoon22:55

      I ain't never... (laughs)

   9. JWJD Witherspoon22:55

      ... all the noises, you know. Like, he's, he's, he'd be... Hey, you'd be perfect for ASMR. I, we should just make that type of stuff.

   10. JWJohn Witherspoon23:02

       That's funny.

   11. JRJoe Rogan23:02

       Yeah, it's like...

   12. JWJD Witherspoon23:02

       Like him, him just breathing. (breathes heavily)

   13. JWJohn Witherspoon23:05

       (laughs) I was in line, I was in line, uh, at the airport coming from, I think I was in, um, uh, uh, St. Louis or something like that. And so I'm behind this lady. Anybody in line, but two or three pe- people in front of her and I'm behind her. So I'm, I'm back there waiting, making my little noise. "Um, what? Um."

   14. JRJoe Rogan23:26

       (laughs)

   15. JWJD Witherspoon23:26

       (laughs)

   16. JWJohn Witherspoon23:28

       She, she... (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan23:28

       (laughs)

   18. JWJD Witherspoon23:28

       She looks back. She was like an, uh, old, old Latino woman, Spanish woman. And she looked back and she went back, back to loo- looking forward and then she... I said, "Um, what? Um."

   19. JRJoe Rogan23:40

       (laughs)

   20. JWJD Witherspoon23:41

       And I don't care, whatever.

   21. JRJoe Rogan23:44

       (laughs)

   22. JWJohn Witherspoon23:45

       (coughs)

   23. JWJD Witherspoon23:45

       (laughs)

   24. JWJohn Witherspoon23:45

       She said, "You make a lot of noise." (laughs)

   25. JRJoe Rogan23:47

       Wow.

   26. JWJohn Witherspoon23:48

       I said... She said, "You make a lot of noise, sir."

   27. JRJoe Rogan23:52

       (laughs)

   28. JWJD Witherspoon23:53

       Mm.

   29. JWJohn Witherspoon23:53

       I said, "I don't re- remember making any noise."

   30. JWJD Witherspoon23:55

       That's funny.
10. 30:15 – 35:48

    ‘Get that money’: John’s blunt motivation, early standup origins, and the Vegas detour

    1. JWJohn Witherspoon30:15

       ... see Pops. "Oh, man, this is legend coming in." And so I'm, "I ain't no damn legend, I just needed some money."

    2. JWJD Witherspoon30:21

       (laughs)

    3. JWJohn Witherspoon30:21

       That's why I'm, I'm a comic, I'm... I go out and work all the time 'cause I'm, I need money.

    4. JWJD Witherspoon30:24

       Definitely explain that, 'cause I did have a question when I first started doing standup, and I was like, "Hey, Dad, I..." (laughs) From a, from a motivational standpoint, I was like, "Hey, Dad, what, what got you into standup? What is it that, like, motivated you to wanna do it?" He looked at me and said, "Motivated me? Uh, I was broke." (laughs)

    5. JRJoe Rogan30:40

       (laughs)

    6. JWJD Witherspoon30:40

       He's like, "I was broke, and someone told me I was funny, so I went to California and got on stage and just started making dollars." I was like, "So then what are you doing here? You don't even like this?" And he's like, "I mean, it's aight. I, I do my thing, you know?"

    7. JWJohn Witherspoon30:50

       I'm not, I'm not a comic who just loves to make people laugh. I, I'd rather be a-

    8. JRJoe Rogan30:55

       What do you love to do? What do you love to do?

    9. JWJohn Witherspoon30:57

       Count that money.

    10. JWJD Witherspoon30:59

        (laughs)

    11. JRJoe Rogan31:00

        (laughs)

    12. JWJohn Witherspoon31:00

        (clapping) Count that paper.... my god, let me tell you about ... Sometime, sometime-

    13. JRJoe Rogan31:07

        Oh.

    14. JWJohn Witherspoon31:07

        ... on the way home, see, if I had a good week, 'cause some of them clubs pay a lot of damn money. They pay over $30,000 for six weeks, six nights, four, I mean, four, six shows on, uh, a weekend. And I don't count the money. But I, when I do one-nighters, they, you know, they have to pay you half of the money upfront and, and give you money just before you go on stage. So I, some night I might have $14,000, $15,000 in my pocket. Brother, I'll be on that plane feeling that, feeling that money. (laughs)

    15. JRJoe Rogan31:37

        (laughs)

    16. JWJohn Witherspoon31:37

        Ah. I get me a glass of wine. I get me a-

    17. JRJoe Rogan31:39

        These-

    18. JWJohn Witherspoon31:40

        ... tall glass of that there.

    19. JRJoe Rogan31:41

        These are his passions. These are his passion projects. (laughs)

    20. JWJohn Witherspoon31:43

        And I'm having a good time.

    21. JRJoe Rogan31:44

        (laughs)

    22. JWJohn Witherspoon31:45

        I'm doing it and I be getting the count- ... I, I call the Bank of America to check out my account, 4:00 in the morning. I punch in my thing, punch in this and then they say, "You have ... Your balance is da-da-da-da-da-da." I say, "Ha ha ha ha." (laughs)

    23. JRJoe Rogan31:58

        (laughs)

    24. JWJohn Witherspoon31:58

        (laughs)

    25. JRJoe Rogan32:02

        That's so ridiculous.

    26. JWJohn Witherspoon32:03

        Ha ha ha.

    27. JRJoe Rogan32:04

        We got, we gotta get you, we gotta get you the app. (claps hands) We gotta just get you the, the Bank of America app. You save the phone call. (laughs)

    28. JWJohn Witherspoon32:09

        Well, I don't, I, I don't mind. I rather, I rather go through the motion.

    29. JRJoe Rogan32:12

        (laughs)

    30. JWJohn Witherspoon32:12

        Hit your-
11. 35:48 – 53:40

    The Comedy Store in the ’70s: Mitzi Shore, hustling the door, and legendary comics

    1. JRJoe Rogan35:48

       Where did you, uh, start out doing standup here?

    2. JWJohn Witherspoon35:50

       At The Comedy Store.

    3. JRJoe Rogan35:51

       The Store?

    4. JWJohn Witherspoon35:52

       Yeah, I was the first one. I was there when Mitzi.

    5. JRJoe Rogan35:54

       Wow.

    6. JWJohn Witherspoon35:54

       I was there when Mitzi first started.

    7. JRJoe Rogan35:56

       Really?

    8. JWJohn Witherspoon35:56

       Sammy had the place. Sammy and Mitzi breaking up. Mitzi ... Sammy used to ... Sammy went on the road. Sammy was a big, he was a big time, uh, comic. He working for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, all the ... He opening for them. Mitzi needed somebody to ... And I needed a place. So I'm, I got a job. Mitzi gave me a job as a emcee. Lat- Dave Latimore was the emcee the first show, I emceed the second show. He didn't have no money then either. He had a wife, he had a red truck and a dog named Bob. That's the only thing he came to LA with. And I just had this blue, uh, I had this blue, uh, Mustang I bought for about $150 to drive to LA, you know? $150 car, I drove to L- all the way to LA.

    9. JRJoe Rogan36:40

       Wow.

    10. JWJohn Witherspoon36:41

        You know, I was determined to get out there and get me some of that money. (laughs)

    11. JRJoe Rogan36:45

        (laughs)

    12. JWJohn Witherspoon36:45

        I was determined. (laughs) That car, that car leak- leaked oil and transmission fluid. I had to get off every 200 miles to fill the car back up with oil and transmission fluid.

    13. JRJoe Rogan36:53

        Every 200 miles?

    14. JWJohn Witherspoon36:54

        Every 200 miles. I'd be out there at night, man. You hear the (imitates tire screeching) Oh! Oh! You hear that shit. (laughs)

    15. JRJoe Rogan36:58

        (laughs)

    16. JWJohn Witherspoon36:58

        You know what? And it's only, only light you see are the-

    17. JRJoe Rogan37:02

        Woo!

    18. JWJohn Witherspoon37:02

        ... headlights on the car.

    19. JRJoe Rogan37:04

        Ah.

    20. JWJohn Witherspoon37:04

        I had to get out there. I got my stick. I had a stick with me. And put the ... Had a little funnel, put that oil in that car. Looking around, you know, I'd be doing like this. (imitates oil pouring) (laughs)

    21. JWJD Witherspoon37:13

        (laughs)

    22. JWJohn Witherspoon37:15

        Uh-huh. And got to California. No, I actually went to Las Vegas first and then... Oh, fuck.

    23. JWJD Witherspoon37:20

        You got stuck.

    24. JWJohn Witherspoon37:21

        I got stuck in Las Vegas.

    25. JWJD Witherspoon37:21

        Yeah, he told me about that.

    26. JRJoe Rogan37:22

        What happened?

    27. JWJohn Witherspoon37:24

        I, I-

    28. JWJD Witherspoon37:24

        Blew his money. (laughs)

    29. JWJohn Witherspoon37:25

        I got... The man... I had a guy tell me-

    30. JRJoe Rogan37:27

        Try to keep this thing in front of you. Can you grab that?
12. 53:40 – 59:37

    Clubs then vs. now: fewer showcases, long booking horizons, and touring burnout

    1. JWJohn Witherspoon53:40

       Oh, what time, JD, what time you gotta go?

    2. JRJoe Rogan53:42

       I'm hanging. (laughs) We're chi-

    3. There's Bob Woods.

    4. Yeah.

    5. JWJohn Witherspoon53:44

       Oh, where?

    6. JRJoe Rogan53:45

       Right there.

    7. JWJohn Witherspoon53:46

       Oh, no, I didn't know him.

    8. JRJoe Rogan53:46

       Oh.

    9. JWJohn Witherspoon53:47

       No.

    10. JRJoe Rogan53:47

        Yeah, he was a Long Island legend.

    11. JWJohn Witherspoon53:49

        Really?

    12. JRJoe Rogan53:50

        Yeah, it was like back in those days, like, uh, Long Isl- there was a like, he was a legend in Long Island around the same time like those Boston guys, like Lenny Clarke and-

    13. JWJohn Witherspoon53:58

        Right, they were all, um, they were all, um, s- big time in Boston back then.

    14. JRJoe Rogan54:03

        It was a weird place.

    15. JWJohn Witherspoon54:04

        I knew all the, I knew all the Boston guys, they were tough. They don't have a club there anymore.

    16. JRJoe Rogan54:07

        Not, well, they have LAUGH BOSTON.

    17. JWJohn Witherspoon54:09

        Yeah.

    18. JRJoe Rogan54:10

        Th- they do local headliners and they have Nick's Comedy Stop.

    19. JWJohn Witherspoon54:12

        Yeah.

    20. JRJoe Rogan54:12

        You know, LAUGH BOSTON does-

    21. Mm-hmm.

    22. ... the guys that tour there go there, too.

    23. JWJohn Witherspoon54:16

        Right.

    24. JRJoe Rogan54:16

        But I mean, they, they s- still have some like good local talent.

    25. JWJohn Witherspoon54:19

        Yeah.

    26. JRJoe Rogan54:19

        And then they do like The Wilbur, but it used to be there was like 10 fucking clubs.

    27. JWJohn Witherspoon54:23

        Yeah, I don't like The Wil-

    28. JRJoe Rogan54:23

        You know, like The Wilbur.

    29. JWJohn Witherspoon54:23

        ... but yeah, the seat's too fucking close, people be-

    30. JRJoe Rogan54:25

        Really? That's what I like, just-
13. 59:37 – 1:11:20

    YouTube projects and the lost special: ‘Cooking for Poor People,’ shelved footage, and wine debates

    1. JWJD Witherspoon59:37

       And I was like, "Well, what do you like doing?" 'Cause you asked that earlier. And like, the one thing that we've made between like him doing comedy and now is, uh, we created a YouTube channel for him where he does like a cooking show, right?

    2. JRJoe Rogan59:49

       Oh.

    3. JWJD Witherspoon59:49

       So he has, he has his own YouTube channel. 'Cause I do YouTube and all this stuff. I do like gaming videos and a bunch of other random stuff, sketches and vlogs. But, uh, he was like, "Well," he's like, "Well, I guess I got a little time off, we can do something random." He's like, "Maybe we can do this cooking idea I got." And I said, "Sure, let's do it." We create the channel, we make it, and it's called Cooking for Poor People.

    4. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:07

       Cooking for Poor People, because when you're hungry, everything tastes good.

    5. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:10

       Yes.

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:10

       (laughs)

    7. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:10

       And his channel is, uh, TheJohnWooden-

    8. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:13

       So I eat a bunch of crap.

    9. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:14

       Yeah.

    10. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:14

        I, I cook a bunch of crap.

    11. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:15

        But he, yeah.

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

        Like what kind of food?

    13. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:16

        Chicken feet and rice. (laughs)

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:18

        Chicken feet?

    15. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:18

        Chicken, we did chicken feet, pig feet, ox tail. Uh, it's-

    16. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:22

        Oh, I've had, um, uh-

    17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:23

        Chicken feet? What is chicken feet like?

    18. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:26

        Tough. Uh, you, you got to be, you got to be ... But, you know who eat it?

    19. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:29

        He tried to- (laughs)

    20. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:30

        Asian people eat it.

    21. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

        Do they?

    22. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:31

        Chinese people eat it, eat it every day.

    23. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:33

        He tried to feed it to our dog and our dog ran away from him. So that's like a clip from the video.

    24. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:36

        He don't know what a delicacy it was. That's what that was.

    25. JRJoe Rogan1:00:39

        (laughs)

    26. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:39

        Yeah.

    27. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:40

        And then I recommend wine. I had wine, a tall glass of Mad Dog 20-20 with the chicken feet. (laughs)

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:00:46

        (laughs)

    29. JWJD Witherspoon1:00:47

        (laughs)

    30. JWJohn Witherspoon1:00:48

        With them chicken feet.

Episode duration: 1:44:53