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The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan Experience #1604 - Jamar Neighbors

Jamar Neighbors is an actor and stand-up comedian.

Jamar NeighborsguestJoe RoganhostGuestguest
Jun 26, 20242h 47mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Jamar Neighbors, Comedy Store Memories, And Building Comedy’s Next Home

  1. Joe Rogan and comedian Jamar Neighbors reminisce about their years grinding at The Comedy Store, including getting passed, bringer shows, and the unique ecosystem of LA standup. They dive into how Roast Battle and The Wave were created as a chaotic, creative “laboratory” for comics, and how clowning, characters, and physical performance shaped Jamar’s style.
  2. The conversation shifts into COVID-era comedy: underground apartment shows, outdoor and drive-in gigs, and why Rogan wants to build a comic-run club in Austin as a new hub while LA struggles. They also touch on crime, lockdown rules, unemployment, and how economic pressure is pushing people toward both scams and risk-taking.
  3. Across the episode, they explore how adversity, rejection, and industry gatekeepers sharpen comics, why true freedom on stage is essential, and how standup needs spaces that tolerate wild experimentation—from dirty material to full-on clown characters.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Adversity and gatekeeping can sharpen comics—if they stick it out.

Jamar’s long struggle to get passed at The Comedy Store, including Mitzi calling him a “pig” and walking his set, forced him to level up, keep returning, and eventually become undeniably strong on stage.

Bringer shows and weak audiences can stunt real growth.

LA bringer shows often force comics to perform for friends and family instead of real crowds, limiting honest feedback and preventing them from learning how to work tough, anonymous rooms.

Small, late‑night “laboratory” rooms are where innovative shows are born.

Roast Battle and Kill Tony both emerged from The Comedy Store Belly Room, illustrating that experimental, low-stakes spaces are crucial for creating new formats and developing comics’ voices.

Chaos and playfulness on stage can be as vital as written jokes.

The Wave’s physical bits, costumes, and improvised “palate cleansers” during Roast Battle, plus Jamar’s clown training and characters, show how performance, commitment, and silliness amplify the impact of standup.

Comedy needs independence from corporate and network constraints.

Rogan argues that late‑night TV and network-driven comedy neuter comics, while club environments with free speech—where you can even joke about “grandma’s stinky pussy”—are where real, boundary-pushing work happens.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Getting your name up on the wall of that place…for a comedian, that’s the stamp.

— Joe Rogan

I walked Mitzi, and that’s one of the reasons it took me forever to get passed.

— Jamar Neighbors

You need a Belly Room. You need a little laboratory…just to fuck around.

— Joe Rogan

All that mattered to us is that we were having fun and that we got to do this.

— Jamar Neighbors (on The Wave at Roast Battle)

For it to create, you need freedom. You need to be able to talk about your grandmother’s stinky pussy.

— Joe Rogan

The Comedy Store history, Mitzi Shore, and getting passedBringer shows, open mics, and early-career grind in LARoast Battle and the creation of The Wave performance groupCOVID’s impact on comedy: underground shows, outdoor/drive‑in gigsAustin as a new comedy hub and comic-run club visionClown school, characters (Dino Stampinopoulos, Crack Baby), and performance styleEconomic stress, crime, unemployment scams, and changing attitudes toward work

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