Joe Rogan Experience #1335 - Jim Gaffigan

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   Dun-dun-dun. Ladies and gentlemen,…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      Dun-dun-dun. Ladies and gentlemen, (claps) one of the greats, Jim Gaffigan.

   2. JGJim Gaffigan0:06

      Oh.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      How are you, sir?

   4. JGJim Gaffigan0:07

      Thank you, thank you. It's great to be here.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:09

      Great to see you, man. I'm excited that you're doing a special on Amazon.

   6. JGJim Gaffigan0:12

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:12

      I think it's important that there's a, a bunch of other platforms for all of us-

   8. JGJim Gaffigan0:16

      Right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      ... to do specials on. And when a guy like you goes over to Amazon, legitimizes it, makes it a big deal, it's exciting.

   10. JGJim Gaffigan0:23

       Yeah, and it, it's, uh, it's fascinating how the, the outlets for specials has changed so dramatically.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:30

       Yeah.

   12. JGJim Gaffigan0:30

       'Cause when we were, when we were kids, it was just HBO.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       Yep.

   14. JGJim Gaffigan0:35

       And then Comedy Central, when, uh, I released Beyond the Pale, it was, uh, that perfect moment where, uh, in every dorm room in America, Comedy Central was on.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:48

       Yep.

   16. JGJim Gaffigan0:48

       You know, it w- it had shifted from MTV to Comedy Central bec- probably 'cause of Chappelle and, and Jon Stewart. And so, but it shifts. You know, it's like, then Netflix was big, and, um, and we see these other platforms coming out. So it'll be, it'll be interesting. If I can convince people, 'cause everyone goes to Amazon.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:10

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JGJim Gaffigan1:11

       Or someone in their family does. So if I can convince them the next time they're buying paper towels-

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:16

       (laughs)

   20. JGJim Gaffigan1:16

       ... and socks-

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:17

       (laughs)

   22. JGJim Gaffigan1:17

       ... to just go over to Prime, 'cause they, everyone has a Prime membership.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:22

       Yeah, that's a weird part about it, right? It's like-

   24. JGJim Gaffigan1:24

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:24

       ... it's shopping, but it's also, like, the same as iTunes.

   26. JGJim Gaffigan1:28

       It, y- yeah, people have asked me, they're like, "What if, uh," you know, well, one person asked me, they were like, "What if someone doesn't have a Prime membership?" And I'm like, "Then they're-"

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:36

       Who are you?

   28. JGJim Gaffigan1:36

       "... probably not on the Internet."

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:38

       Yeah, who are you?

   30. JGJim Gaffigan1:39

       Right? They probably can't afford even, uh, you know, high-speed Internet.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Wh- …

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      sure, and also zero promotion of it. I never promoted it at all. I never did any television shows to promote it or took out any ads or did other people's podcasts to let people know about it. I just kept doing it.

   2. JGJim Gaffigan15:12

      Wh-

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:12

      I just felt like, "Let me just keep doing it. I enjoy doing it, just keep doing it." And then it bec- totally 100% built by word of mouth.

   4. JGJim Gaffigan15:19

      And so what, articles that are written about it, do you read those or no?

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:23

      No. No.

   6. JGJim Gaffigan15:23

      Nothing.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:24

      I don't think it's wise.

   8. JGJim Gaffigan15:25

      Because also, like, even, generally when there are articles written about comedians, uh, you're kind of... There's always like, "All right, let's see what this half-day of research-"

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:38

      (laughs)

   10. JGJim Gaffigan15:38

       "... how they interpret it." Do you remem- I remember in the-

   11. JRJoe Rogan15:41

       Your entire body of work, right?

   12. JGJim Gaffigan15:42

       ... in the '90s there would be like, New York Magazine would be like, "The end of standup comedy."

   13. JRJoe Rogan15:46

       Yes. (laughs)

   14. JGJim Gaffigan15:47

       And you'd read the article and you're like, "Well, I guess, oh, they followed that person. They don't even really even do standup."

   15. JRJoe Rogan15:53

       Yeah.

   16. JGJim Gaffigan15:53

       Um, so it is, there is no point behind it, but I'm just kind of a sucker for trying to understand where the zeitgeist is trying to steer things. But in the end, I think comedy, you know, Seinfeld describes it as like, it all comes down to butts in seats.

   17. JRJoe Rogan16:10

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JGJim Gaffigan16:11

       Butts in seats. Like, they can kind of promote, uh, you know, like the new best thing, but, you know, those people, uh, show up to shows. They, you know, they're not told where to go.

   19. JRJoe Rogan16:24

       Y- I think what's also important to note is that the narrative's no longer being controlled by media. Like, you, you can't... An article in Newsweek or, uh, uh, on a website or an, uh, uh, some YouTube piece, it doesn't define things anymore.

   20. JGJim Gaffigan16:39

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan16:40

       The, the landscape is too big. Not, no media outlet has any sort of monopoly on how to define someone or something. The, the people decide now. It's really a meritocracy in that way.

   22. JGJim Gaffigan16:52

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan16:53

       That if you, if you have something that's good, people find out about it and they like it. And you can write all your hit pieces that you want, they don't work anymore.

   24. JGJim Gaffigan17:01

       No.

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:01

       It doesn't work.

   26. JGJim Gaffigan17:02

       But-

   27. JRJoe Rogan17:02

       You know, you'll, you'll change a few people's minds, 'cause they'll buy into it, but then if they investigate themselves, they'll feel, "Oh, you're a piece-of-shit journalist. This is a terrible article about something."

   28. JGJim Gaffigan17:11

       It's... You know, it... But I sometimes think, well, like, I have two theories on this. O- one, I sometimes think, "Was it always like this and I didn't see it?" Or here's my other theory. My other theory is that in the collapse of traditional media, meaning the collapse of newspapers and, and just, uh, you know, television news bureaus, that there, because there's no money to pay, uh, someone to be, say like, a, a movie review. My wa- my, uh, father-in-law is, he used to write movie reviews f- in Milwaukee, and he would review the movies, and that was his job. And that job is really only present in, in very rare situations. Otherwise, it's just the opportunity of someone that does it out of a passion thing, meaning someone who has a blog, or it's someone who is, doesn't need a financial incentive. So, in other words, they're like, "You got 50 bucks to write a review of this thing." Or, so it ends up not being...... close to objective. Does that make sense?

   29. JRJoe Rogan18:23

       Hmm. Yeah, no, it does. And I, I think if you're gonna really study something, like if you, if you want to know about a person, you know, say if it, it's a politician or, you know, an actor or comic or whoever you're writing about, the idea that you're gonna figure them out with just a, a few hours of Google searching is kind of crazy. Like-

   30. JGJim Gaffigan18:43

       It's absolutely crazy.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Right. …

   1. JGJim Gaffigan30:00

      The Cellar, I don't want to bump some of my friends that I started with.

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:03

      Right.

   3. JGJim Gaffigan30:04

      And I also don't want to get bumped by somebody else.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:06

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JGJim Gaffigan30:07

      It's like I- you know, I- you know, I'm not gonna abuse doing a set, but I'll go in and I'll do 15 minutes. It won't disrupt anyone's night. But I also know that at The Cellar, you- you know, there's gonna be people that show up. Sometimes there's a pack of three or four people that are gonna do sets, and everyone's kind of off, uh, for that night. But also, it's-You know, it goes back, like, 20 years ago. I'm a low energy kinda comedian, and, uh, it used to ... You know, I used to put in avails at The Cellar, and it would kinda determine ... I would get, you know, like, "You get a spot Wednesday at 1:00 AM." And so, like, I would be bummed for the week.

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:48

      (laughs)

   7. JGJim Gaffigan30:49

      So I don't wanna, I don't wanna give my power away in those situa-

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:53

      Yeah, I see what you're saying.

   9. JGJim Gaffigan30:53

      I just wanna do standup.

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:55

       So you'd rather just do good spots-

   11. JGJim Gaffigan30:56

       I'd rather go to Gotham.

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:57

       Yeah.

   13. JGJim Gaffigan30:58

       And, and also-

   14. JRJoe Rogan30:59

       Gotham's great.

   15. JGJim Gaffigan30:59

       And I, and I ... Look, I love The Cellar, but I feel like that's also, uh, the, the layout of the room is far more interactive, whereas I wanna try out material. Um, but I don't know. It's shift- it's shifted, because The Cellar is ... It's a great club with a great complex. I mean, there's three rooms.

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:18

       Mm-hmm.

   17. JGJim Gaffigan31:19

       So ... But some of it is I'm now at the point where I just wanna do one set, and I also don't wanna, like ... I don't want a friend like Todd Barry looking at me like, "You're bumping me?"

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:30

       (laughs)

   19. JGJim Gaffigan31:31

       You know what I mean?

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:32

       Do you call in, or do you just show up?

   21. JGJim Gaffigan31:34

       I call in.

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:35

       Yeah.

   23. JGJim Gaffigan31:35

       So I'll call, but, uh, sometimes I'll decide at, like, 8:10. I'll call Gotham and I'll go, "Is it okay if I come in?" And they'll say, "Yes. It's better if you come in at 8:40 or 9:10, just so that I don't-"

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:48

       Yeah.

   25. JGJim Gaffigan31:48

       "... screw anyone up."

   26. JRJoe Rogan31:48

       Yeah.

   27. JGJim Gaffigan31:49

       And then, you know, but, like, at Gotham, Seinfeld always goes there too, so it's like ... I'm like, "I gotta get there before Jerry."

   28. JRJoe Rogan31:55

       (laughs)

   29. JGJim Gaffigan31:57

       (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan31:57

       Well, that's the beautiful thing about a big city like New York, particularly about New York. There's so many different options.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      sure. The road is so critical for that.

   2. JGJim Gaffigan45:01

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:02

      You get a sense of how people... And especially when you do in clubs.

   4. JGJim Gaffigan45:04

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:04

      I found that the road, when you're doing clubs, you really get a sense of, like, the feel of a city, whether it's Cleveland or Columbus.

   6. JGJim Gaffigan45:10

      Oh, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:11

      Or, yeah.

   8. JGJim Gaffigan45:11

      I mean, I love the fact even, you know, how, uh, you know, doing, uh, talking about... You know, I make a point of not doing too much material on having, uh, five kids, but, like, I'll do... Like, if I talk about having five kids in New York City, uh, in, at a show in New York City, people are like, "You're crazy." And then if I talk about having five kids in Boston, uh, and I'm generalizing, people in Boston might be like, "You're crazy. I came from one of those families." And if I do it in Utah, people would be like, "Yeah, we are crazy for having five kids." So it is the same joke, and it's the same point of view, but it's tweaked a little bit.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:53

      Mm-hmm.

   10. JGJim Gaffigan45:54

       And it's so fun kind of traveling around and learning that material, and learning the impact and how it's digested.

   11. JRJoe Rogan46:02

       Well, comics have a unique perspective on America because of that, because we don't just go to these different places, but we also perform material-

   12. JGJim Gaffigan46:09

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan46:10

       ... in all these different places. So I think, like, we've... I've been talking a lot with comics lately about, like, "What was your reaction to Trump winning the election?" Comics saw it coming more than-

   14. JGJim Gaffigan46:21

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan46:21

       ... most people who live in LA, 'cause most people who live in LA are very liberal-

   16. JGJim Gaffigan46:25

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan46:25

       ... very left-wing, convinced that, you know, this is... Even it did- didn't matter who you voted for, Hillary was gonna win California no matter what.

   18. JGJim Gaffigan46:31

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan46:31

       Like, we were... Th- this was a pro-

   20. JGJim Gaffigan46:34

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan46:34

       ... Democrat state, and when Trump won, I, I ran into people that were shell-shocked. They couldn't-

   22. JGJim Gaffigan46:40

       (laughs)

   23. JRJoe Rogan46:40

       ... fucking imagine.

   24. JGJim Gaffigan46:42

       I mean, I think, uh, I mean, I was surprised.

   25. JRJoe Rogan46:44

       Were you, man?

   26. JGJim Gaffigan46:44

       I was def- I was definitely surprised. But that being said, I wasn't surprised by, um, the, uh, the logic behind some of the people that voted for Trump last time that are sheepish to admit it now.

   27. JRJoe Rogan47:02

       Yes.

   28. JGJim Gaffigan47:03

       Um, I understood some of that logic, but I thought it was fascinating 'cause there was a time for me... 'Cause I tour with, uh, Ted Alexander a lot, and he's like an o-

   29. JRJoe Rogan47:13

       I love Ted.

   30. JGJim Gaffigan47:14

       He's like, he's like an Occupy Wall Street guy. Like, he's, like, uh, very, uh, progressive. And we would tour, and he would have... During the election, he would have some material on Hillary and some material on Trump, and it worked everywhere. It worked in Texas, worked in Tennessee, which I think is the most conservative place-
5. 1:00:00 – 1:11:23

   The wrong people. …

   1. JGJim Gaffigan1:00:00

      age where ... Like, there used to be comedians, and I think it's inhibited some people's success, where, like, if it's ... Like Bill Burr, one of the best comedians today, and I think people are ... Sometimes people in the media are like, "You know, uh, the wrong people might like his material." And you're like, "That doesn't-"

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:20

      The wrong people.

   3. JGJim Gaffigan1:00:20

      Do you hear what I'm saying?

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:21

      Yes, I do now.

   5. JGJim Gaffigan1:00:21

      Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm like-

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:23

      No, I get that from this podcast.

   7. JGJim Gaffigan1:00:25

      It's, it's a very strange ... It's, it's, it's almost kind of a, uh ... You know, and I, and I don't know if I've talked about this, but, like, I ... You know, like, there's this cultural revolution that is occurring that is ... It's well intended, but it's almost, it's almost puritanical. And it ... And by the way, I'm not somebody ... Uh, I'm against any form of censorship, but I'm also somebody that believes that if we can articulate, uh, transgender terms that make people that are transgender feel comfortable, there's, there's nothing wrong with that. We can adjust our language. We do it all the time. But I do think that there is kinda this almost puritanical thing that's ironically happening on the left that is what we, uh, uh, you know, as comedians, we used to make fun of the right for. Does that make sense?

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:01:20

      Yes, 100%.

   9. JGJim Gaffigan1:01:20

      It's a very strange kind of like, "Wait, you guys are doing what you accuse these guys of doing forever."

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:01:28

       ... but they don't see it that way because they feel like they're right. And if you're right, then it doesn't matter if you're a zealot.

   11. JGJim Gaffigan1:01:32

       And I do think it's well-intended.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:01:34

       Yes.

   13. JGJim Gaffigan1:01:34

       I do think it's well-intended. I don't question someone's motives. Like, I don't think that, like ... I remember, and I'm gonna get blowback on this. Like, I don't think that W, uh, w- had malicious intent. I think he was well-intended. You know, he failed at things, but I think he was well-intended.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:01:51

       I think that's probably a logical perspective, and I think Dick Cheney's probably Satan.

   15. JGJim Gaffigan1:01:55

       You think so?

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:01:56

       I think Dick Cheney was running, running the show-

   17. JGJim Gaffigan1:01:57

       (laughs) I mean-

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:01:58

       ... straight from hell. That's why he had that bunker deep, deep down under the-

   19. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:01

       But I think that bunker existed.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:02:02

       He was right next to hell.

   21. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:03

       It wasn't like he was like ... It's not like he was like, "I need a bunker."

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:02:06

       He had a straight shot, straight to hell. That's what it was. There was a elevator-

   23. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:10

       It was down there. That's how it was heated.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:02:12

       Yeah, that's why it was so warm. That's what he would ... Remember when he was in the bunker after 9/11? There was like, Dick Cheney's in a bunker. How come George Bush is playing golf? W's out there with like-

   25. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:20

       Well, because he was in DC.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:02:21

       ... a big target on his forehead. Yeah.

   27. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:23

       He was in DC, and there was a separation of ...

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:02:27

       Of powers.

   29. JGJim Gaffigan1:02:27

       I don't know. And then we all saw-

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02:28

       The high of Dick Cheney.

Episode duration: 1:43:57