Joe Rogan Experience #1868 - Sam Morrill

1. 0:00 – 1:30

   Rising comedy cohort & what makes a bit great (Shane Gillis)

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drum roll) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. SMSam Morril0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (instrumental music) What's happening, brother? We're up and rolling.

   4. SMSam Morril0:14

      Thanks for having me.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      Pleasure to meet you finally.

   6. SMSam Morril0:16

      I know. This is, uh, I'm excited to be here.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:19

      You're one of my favorite guys.

   8. SMSam Morril0:20

      Really? Thank you.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:22

      Yeah. You're, there's this group of guys that are coming up that are so good right now. I feel like this is a great time for, like, fresh, up-and-coming comedy talent. It's like there's so many guys who've been doing comedy, like, 15-plus years who are just fucking starting to crack, you know?

   10. SMSam Morril0:39

       Yeah. Our group is, like, really, you know, my closest friends are ... They work their ass off, so that makes me work my ass off.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:46

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   12. SMSam Morril0:46

       I love it.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:47

       I love it too. That's, that's so important. We were talking about Shane Gillis. Shane Gillis has this fucking bit last night about George Washington that's so good.

   14. SMSam Morril0:56

       (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:56

       It's so good. Like, I was watching, I was going, "Goddamn, this is great," 'cause it's like a perfect bit that combines his love of history-

   16. SMSam Morril1:05

       Right.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:05

       ... with just, like, Shane, you know? Like, his-

   18. SMSam Morril1:08

       (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:08

       The way he acts things out-

   20. SMSam Morril1:09

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:09

       ... and he's just like, "I don't want to give up, any of it up. It's so fucking funny." (laughs)

   22. SMSam Morril1:13

       There's nothing worse than trying to paraphrase another comic's bit that they're working on, and then they're like, "Why did you do that? You made my bit unfunny?"

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:20

       I would ruin it-

   24. SMSam Morril1:20

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:20

       ... and I'd give it away. And on top of that, it's like, it's very physical. You, you have to see it if you see ... It's-

   26. SMSam Morril1:26

       He's, he's a rare combination of a great joke writer, but also a great performer.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:30

       Yeah.

2. 1:30 – 2:52

   Impressions, crowd work, and the myth of “hack”

   1. SMSam Morril1:30

      I mean, when he did Trump speed dating in that sketch?

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:33

      (laughs)

   3. SMSam Morril1:33

      That was like ... I was like, I'm, I don't like Trump impressions. I think they're kind of an easy impression.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:38

      Yeah.

   5. SMSam Morril1:39

      And I was like, "That's a great Trump impression."

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:41

      It's amazing, but with great lines.

   7. SMSam Morril1:43

      That's what I mean.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:43

      Yeah.

   9. SMSam Morril1:43

      Impressions, I don't like when people write off impressions, 'cause impressions crack me up, if they have good writing.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:49

       Right, right. That's the thing. It's like, it's like crowd work. Like, you get, like, an extra bump off the fact that it's all happening live.

   11. SMSam Morril1:56

       Of course, yeah.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:56

       Like, whoa, this is crazy. But if someone's good with it, and they've got good lines, it's fun to watch.

   13. SMSam Morril2:02

       Yeah, nothing is in ... And that's a mistake a lot of comics make, was like, "This is hack," or th- It's like, nothing is inherently hack.

   14. JRJoe Rogan2:08

       Right.

   15. SMSam Morril2:08

       You know, things can be ... Like, I love, like, Kyle Dunnigan's impressions. I love his Bill Maher impression.

   16. JRJoe Rogan2:13

       (laughs)

   17. SMSam Morril2:13

       I love, like ... I, I think imp- if, if, if you nail it in a unique way that hasn't been nailed-

   18. JRJoe Rogan2:19

       Yeah.

   19. SMSam Morril2:20

       That's what Shane did with Trump.

   20. JRJoe Rogan2:21

       Yeah, yeah, exactly.

   21. SMSam Morril2:22

       It ha- uh, uh, to have Trump win, was-

   22. JRJoe Rogan2:25

       (laughs)

   23. SMSam Morril2:25

       In the sketch, as funny.

   24. JRJoe Rogan2:26

       Yes.

   25. SMSam Morril2:27

       'Cause if you just had, like, women being like, "You suck," that's not funny.

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:30

       Right.

   27. SMSam Morril2:30

       But the fact that Trump (laughs) in the sketch is, like, just calling them ... Like, the way he turns on them, it's perfect.

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:36

       (laughs) As soon as they don't like him anymore. (laughs)

   29. SMSam Morril2:38

       It's, but 'cause it's Trump. That's, he's nailed Trump.

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:40

       That's what he does. Yeah, that's what he does. And also, Shane actually likes Trump.
3. 2:52 – 4:43

   Roast-battle escalation & comics oversharing on stage

   1. JRJoe Rogan2:52

      Right, right, right. Yeah, the roasting thing is weird. I mean, when I first went back to, uh, The Comedy Store in 2014, I, that was the first time I ever saw a roast battle, and I was like, "Yikes." Like, these fucking people go hard and they're painting at each other.

   2. SMSam Morril3:07

      It used to be, like, "You look weird." Now it's like, "This guy got raped in seventh grade."

   3. JRJoe Rogan3:12

      Right. (laughs)

   4. SMSam Morril3:12

      And you're like, "That's the joke?"

   5. JRJoe Rogan3:14

      Your wife and kids left you, you're like, "Whoa, hey."

   6. SMSam Morril3:17

      I s- I saw one where the guy's like, his wife had a miscarriage, and I'm like-

   7. JRJoe Rogan3:20

      (inhales deeply)

   8. SMSam Morril3:20

      ... "She's here."

   9. JRJoe Rogan3:21

      Jesus Christ.

   10. SMSam Morril3:23

       (laughs) Can you imagine being that wife? She's like, "I didn't sign up for this shit."

   11. JRJoe Rogan3:26

       Exactly.

   12. SMSam Morril3:27

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan3:27

       I had to tell this to a comic the other day. He brought this girl as a date, and he was talking about all the stuff they did. I go, "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. You just started dating her, and you're talking about her blowing you on stage, and then she has to see all these people."

   14. SMSam Morril3:42

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan3:42

       I'm like, "Don't do that."

   16. SMSam Morril3:44

       Not the best intro.

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:45

       It's not, and, and you just started dating her.

   18. SMSam Morril3:48

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:48

       Like, this is terrible advice.

   20. SMSam Morril3:50

       There's some people that, like, wanna be a, a part of your act, and there's other people that are like, "Can you not?"

   21. JRJoe Rogan3:54

       Yeah.

   22. SMSam Morril3:54

       "Can you give it a few months?"

   23. JRJoe Rogan3:56

       Yeah. Most people don't wanna be a part of your act.

   24. SMSam Morril3:58

       There was a roast joke. My, uh, Dina Hashem, who's a really funny comic, great writer, and she opens for me a lot on the road, and she did a roast against, uh, this guy Dave Kenny, who's really funny, and they were roasting each other, and she had the most savage line I've ever heard in a roast. It's ve- His mom died in a car crash, in a motorcycle crash, and she goes, "Dave lives where his (laughs) mom died, an unrecognizable road feature." (exhales deeply) You can't knock the structure though.

   25. JRJoe Rogan4:25

       It's a great joke.

   26. SMSam Morril4:26

       It's a great joke, but I'm like-

   27. JRJoe Rogan4:27

       It's a great joke. (laughs)

   28. SMSam Morril4:30

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan4:30

       But that's fucking harsh.

   30. SMSam Morril4:31

       That's harsh. That's what I mean. Like, did you s- I thought, I thought, like, I'm expecting people to tell me I have one eyebrow.
4. 4:43 – 7:58

   Porn, parenting, and talking to teens about drugs

   1. JRJoe Rogan4:43

      It's like everything else in the world. It just keeps getting more complex and harder and more biting, and cars get faster. Phones work quicker. Like, everything-

   2. SMSam Morril4:54

      Oh, what you jerked off to as a kid is different than what I jerked off to, and then versus someone ten years younger than me, what they jerked off to.

   3. JRJoe Rogan5:00

      Yeah.

   4. SMSam Morril5:00

      Everything ramps up to a point where you're like, "This i- Th- Is this good? Probably not."

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:04

      Well, porn for kids is a real problem, because they get access to it almost immed- Like, ten-year-olds get phones.

   6. SMSam Morril5:12

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:13

      So, they're immediately watching people fuck.

   8. SMSam Morril5:15

      I know.

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:16

      Yeah.

   10. SMSam Morril5:17

       It's pretty, it's pretty intense.

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:18

       I don't even go through my kids' phones, like, to look at their history, of what-

   12. SMSam Morril5:21

       Why would you want to?

   13. JRJoe Rogan5:23

       (sighs)

   14. SMSam Morril5:23

       It's not gonna be good.

   15. JRJoe Rogan5:24

       They ask me questions sometimes though, and I'm like, "Oh, Jesus Christ."

   16. SMSam Morril5:27

       (laughs) What (laughs) kinda questions?

   17. JRJoe Rogan5:29

       Well, they, they ask me questions about me, which is a problem, because, like, kids from school, like, uh, talk to them about stuff.

   18. SMSam Morril5:36

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan5:36

       So they ask me questions about drugs.

   20. SMSam Morril5:38

       Mm.

   21. JRJoe Rogan5:39

       You know, which is, uh, interesting to talk to a 14-year-old about drugs.

   22. SMSam Morril5:42

       But you're, like, a responsible-

   23. JRJoe Rogan5:43

       Yeah.

   24. SMSam Morril5:43

       ... drug user.

   25. JRJoe Rogan5:44

       Well, I say you g- First of all, don't do anything that's dangerous and addictive. Like, they're not worth it.

   26. SMSam Morril5:51

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:51

       You know, I, I talk, like, there's all these different drugs that can literally ruin the rest of your life. And then there's stuff like pot. You know, it's like-

   28. SMSam Morril5:58

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:58

       ... it's not good for you, because you have a growing mind. Like, your mind is developing. Like, you shouldn't do anything until you're, like, 25, really.

   30. SMSam Morril6:05

       Yeah.
5. 7:58 – 8:57

   Judging art vs judging artists: Woody Allen, Polanski, and the ‘creeps are talented’ problem

   1. SMSam Morril7:58

      Mat- ... It's like anytime a comic's ... Or like you judge a comic's character based on the content of their material, it's like you're- you're missing the big picture.

   2. JRJoe Rogan8:06

      Well, it's like the only time when the material is supposed to actually truly represent how that person feels about a subject.

   3. SMSam Morril8:16

      Right.

   4. JRJoe Rogan8:16

      Like, you never see a Quentin Tarantino movie and go, "Oh, he supports murder."

   5. SMSam Morril8:21

      But he got shit. I mean, he definitely got shit for stuff. I mean, I don't think deservedly so, but he's definitely ... Movies, there's always a slight difference 'cause you're playing a character.

   6. JRJoe Rogan8:30

      Right.

   7. SMSam Morril8:30

      I do think it's hilarious that he cast himself to do the dead N-word storage character in the movie.

   8. JRJoe Rogan8:34

      Oh, yeah, in Pulp Fiction.

   9. SMSam Morril8:35

      I mean, that would've been weird-

   10. JRJoe Rogan8:36

       Yeah.

   11. SMSam Morril8:36

       ... as hell if you had people reading for that part, you know?

   12. JRJoe Rogan8:39

       Yeah.

   13. SMSam Morril8:40

       He's like, "I have one scene in a movie." "What do you do?" "I just say the N-word 400 times."

   14. JRJoe Rogan8:43

       It didn't make sense-

   15. SMSam Morril8:45

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan8:45

       ... like why he was saying it the way he was saying it.

   17. SMSam Morril8:47

       And to Samuel L. Jackson, I'm like-

   18. JRJoe Rogan8:49

       Yeah.

   19. SMSam Morril8:49

       ... "I wouldn't have the balls in any scenari- ... There's no world where I could pull this off."

   20. JRJoe Rogan8:54

       (laughs)

   21. SMSam Morril8:54

       So, you know ... But great mov- ... I mean, Tarantino's-

6. 8:57 – 16:32

   Film-buff detour: Tarantino, classic directors, and road-life viewing habits

   1. JRJoe Rogan8:57

      He's a wizard.

   2. SMSam Morril8:58

      ... body of work is insane. Yeah, Ja-

   3. JRJoe Rogan8:59

      He's as good as anybody ever.

   4. SMSam Morril9:00

      Jackie Brown is the most underrated one, I always said. I- I think it's such a great movie.

   5. JRJoe Rogan9:04

      It's a great movie.

   6. SMSam Morril9:05

      It's so ... A great soundtrack.

   7. JRJoe Rogan9:07

      He doesn't have a bad one. He doesn't have one movie where I didn't like it.

   8. SMSam Morril9:10

      Yeah, he's- he's one of the best. It's like Tarantino, the Coen brothers-

   9. JRJoe Rogan9:14

      Yep.

   10. SMSam Morril9:14

       ... I mean, like, who- who can top ... Obviously, like there's ... Scorsese, a little older, but-

   11. JRJoe Rogan9:19

       Yeah.

   12. SMSam Morril9:20

       ... I mean, I grew up loving Woody Allen and- and that's a tough ... As a Jew from New York, that's a tough one to swallow right there, you know?

   13. JRJoe Rogan9:25

       It is now.

   14. SMSam Morril9:26

       Try rewatching Manhattan and if you're comfortable watching it, you're probably a pedophile, you know?

   15. JRJoe Rogan9:31

       I don't remember Manhattan.

   16. SMSam Morril9:32

       It's incredible, but it's fucking weird.

   17. JRJoe Rogan9:35

       What year was that?

   18. SMSam Morril9:36

       It's in the '70s, it's, uh, black and white. It ... My friend, Raanan Hershberg, has a great line about that movie where he said, "It's basically a romantic comedy for pedophiles," 'cause the end of the- the end of the movie is not like, "I fucked up. I dated a high school girl." It's that he's sad that it didn't work out.

   19. JRJoe Rogan9:53

       Really?

   20. SMSam Morril9:54

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan9:54

       I- I might not have ever seen it.

   22. SMSam Morril9:55

       Mariel Hemingway. Uh-

   23. JRJoe Rogan9:57

       Oh, you know what? I n- ... I definitely didn't see it.

   24. SMSam Morril9:59

       It's, uh ... I mean, it's-

   25. JRJoe Rogan10:00

       So she's in high school?

   26. SMSam Morril10:01

       The ope- ... She's a ... Get this. She's 18 at Dalton, which is where Jeffrey Epstein taught, and, uh, this is the '70s, that's when he taught there. Allen and Epstein are b- ... This is my ... I mean, uh ... (laughs) It's a little weird, right?

   27. JRJoe Rogan10:15

       Yeah.

   28. SMSam Morril10:16

       I mean, here's the fucked up part though. The opening is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in a movie. It's just his like love letter to New York. It's gorgeous. And I- I grew up like worshiping Woody Allen. He's done some weird shit.

   29. JRJoe Rogan10:29

       (clicks tongue) He definitely has.

   30. SMSam Morril10:31

       Yeah.
7. 16:32 – 19:45

   Specials, content strategy, and the pressure to write the next hour

   1. JRJoe Rogan16:32

      ... with how much you put out. You put out so much. And you're one of those guys that if, if someone follows you on Instagram, you're constantly uploading content, which I think is so smart.

   2. SMSam Morril16:40

      I just have people film the shows, because I figure like some cool moment will happen. I don't wanna burn material until a special comes out, so I like to just post like a, like a topical bit or a crowd work moment, because, uh, y- you know, the special is like, that's the material. That's when I'll give-

   3. JRJoe Rogan16:55

      Yeah.

   4. SMSam Morril16:55

      ... the material. But God it's stressful.

   5. JRJoe Rogan16:56

      The special that you have out now-

   6. SMSam Morril16:58

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan16:58

      ... that's coming out?

   8. SMSam Morril16:59

      Yeah, yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan16:59

      Is it out or is it coming out?

   10. SMSam Morril17:00

       It's out, uh, September 1st, so ...

   11. JRJoe Rogan17:02

       And what's it on?

   12. SMSam Morril17:03

       Netflix.

   13. JRJoe Rogan17:03

       Nice.

   14. SMSam Morril17:03

       Same time tomorrow.

   15. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       Nice. Nice.

   16. SMSam Morril17:06

       On Netflix. It's, uh ... Yeah, man. It's, it's tough to even... Uh, people are like, "This is cool. It's on Netflix." And I'm like, "I gotta write a new fucking hour, dude."

   17. JRJoe Rogan17:14

       I know. It's so stressful.

   18. SMSam Morril17:14

       I know. You don't even feel good. I don't feel ... I'm so terrified.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:17

       (laughs)

   20. SMSam Morril17:17

       And then I talk to comics who are like, like, "Oh, you can't tour til you have a new act." I'm like, "Well, that's not what I do." I, I need a workshop on the road, so I do the, I do the road every week to just ... I need an hour. I can't write for 15 minutes.

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:30

       At a chunk?

   22. SMSam Morril17:30

       No, I can't.

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:31

       Yeah. Well, Louis was telling me the process that he did for his last special. And, uh, he said he had to put together a whole new hour in two months.

   24. SMSam Morril17:39

       Jesus Christ.

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:40

       I know. And he goes, "I've never done that before." He goes, "It was really hard. But what I did is I, it kinda had 20 minutes, and so I went up with that 20 minutes and I got it to where it works." And I, and then he said, "Okay, now I can't do that 20 minutes anymore. And then I started with a whole new 20 minutes and I did that til it worked, and then I put that aside. I didn't touch that. And then I had another 20 minutes and I worked on that." So, he, in two months, put together a full hour of comedy.

   26. SMSam Morril18:04

       He's ruining comedy for us, because he did this with the-

   27. JRJoe Rogan18:07

       (laughs)

   28. SMSam Morril18:07

       He did this with the year and a half model, where I'm like-

   29. JRJoe Rogan18:09

       Yeah.

   30. SMSam Morril18:09

       ... "Oh, fuck. Louis is doing an hour and a half. Now we all have to work at that clip." And now, now Louis is gonna do the two-month, uh, turnaround for a special.
8. 19:45 – 22:56

   Pandemic rooftop comedy: bombs, drones, and capturing a moment in time

   1. SMSam Morril19:45

      I did a special during the pandemic. In New York, no clubs were open, so I was like, "I'll do a special on rooftops."

   2. JRJoe Rogan19:50

      Yeah.

   3. SMSam Morril19:50

      You know? And it was like (clears throat) in my head, I'm like, "Well, this is, this is a new feature." But also I'm like, "But the fucking bombs on rooftops."

   4. JRJoe Rogan19:57

      (laughs)

   5. SMSam Morril19:57

      You have never felt anything like it. There is something about bombing (hands slap) an open air by the Hudson, where you're like, "This is, this is like a cry for help. This is mental illness that I'm here."

   6. JRJoe Rogan20:07

      Yeah.

   7. SMSam Morril20:07

      I was like, "If you have beer and White Claw and a mic, an amp, and friends, I will come on your roof." I was doing it like every fucking night for months, 'cause I was like, "Th- this is the only place to do..." And it was an amazing thing I never ever wanna do again.

   8. JRJoe Rogan20:20

      But it's a great moment in history. Like, when people look back and they see that special, they go, "Oh, that's the pandemic."

   9. SMSam Morril20:26

      It was crazy. It was, uh... (sighs) My cameraman, uh, th- the guy who directed that special, Matt Salic, he s- nearly fell off a roof trying to get a cool shot. And I'm like, "If you die while I'm doing a jack off joke-

   10. JRJoe Rogan20:39

       Oh, Jesus Christ. (laughs)

   11. SMSam Morril20:39

       ... it's the saddest... What am I gonna say at your funeral?"

   12. JRJoe Rogan20:42

       (laughs)

   13. SMSam Morril20:42

       You know what I mean?

   14. JRJoe Rogan20:42

       He died doing what he loved.

   15. SMSam Morril20:45

       (laughs)

   16. JRJoe Rogan20:46

       (laughs)

   17. SMSam Morril20:46

       He was, uh... No, he did such a cool job with that. Like literally just showed up on a stranger's rooftop and, uh, his friend, Dominic Mull, shows up with a drone camera. I'm like, "Are we really doing this? This is insane."

   18. JRJoe Rogan20:58

       Vroom.

   19. SMSam Morril20:59

       Yep. Yeah, you have to address it. (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan21:04

       Vroom.

   21. SMSam Morril21:04

       It was, it was that weird moment five minutes in where I had to be like, "Yeah, we're doing this, guys." And they were like, "All right." You know? It was crazy.

   22. JRJoe Rogan21:11

       Yeah, but it's, it's... Historically, it's gonna be really cool. Like when you look at your-

   23. SMSam Morril21:14

       It'll be cool in 10 years, yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan21:15

       ... your body of work. You know, the, this... The... I think the pandemic, it, it was great for comedy. I really do. I think 'cause it made people realize, first of all, how special this thing is that we get to do.

   25. SMSam Morril21:26

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan21:26

       And how it can just go away.

   27. SMSam Morril21:29

       It was horrible, yeah. I mean, I... You're right. I, I, I remember I put out a special right before it hit, (sniffs) uh, and it was like, you know-

   28. JRJoe Rogan21:36

       There you are.

   29. SMSam Morril21:36

       I did the... Oh yeah there... Look at that shot.

   30. JRJoe Rogan21:37

       Up on the roof.
9. 22:56 – 24:37

   New York identity: venting culture, subway therapy, and growing up unable to drive

   1. SMSam Morril22:56

      New York's a city of hypochondriacs.

   2. JRJoe Rogan22:58

      Yeah.

   3. SMSam Morril22:58

      You know what I mean? We're, we're a nervous city.

   4. JRJoe Rogan23:00

      It's built into the, like, the whole idea of a city, like you're on top of each other.

   5. SMSam Morril23:05

      Oh, oh, New York, there's no city where you're more on top of each other.

   6. JRJoe Rogan23:07

      Mm-hmm.

   7. SMSam Morril23:07

      I mean, like, you think about that, like, you have to be kind to your neighbor when you're this close-

   8. JRJoe Rogan23:13

      Yeah.

   9. SMSam Morril23:13

      ... at all times.

   10. JRJoe Rogan23:14

       And there's also, like New York has this kind of like complain-y, nervous energy to it.

   11. SMSam Morril23:19

       Just say Jew. Just say it. I'm kidding.

   12. JRJoe Rogan23:21

       I'm not gonna say Jew. I'm not gonna say Jew.

   13. SMSam Morril23:23

       (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan23:23

       It's got... But you know what I'm saying? New York people complain.

   15. SMSam Morril23:25

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan23:25

       Even it's not... non-Jewish people. Like, "What the fuck with this fucking place?"

   17. SMSam Morril23:28

       No, it's, it's... You're right. It's cultural.

   18. JRJoe Rogan23:29

       Yeah.

   19. SMSam Morril23:29

       It's, it's, it's venting. It's not even... We don't call it complaining, we call it venting.

   20. JRJoe Rogan23:33

       Yeah.

   21. SMSam Morril23:33

       We-

   22. JRJoe Rogan23:33

       'Cause there's constant stress and tension-

   23. SMSam Morril23:35

       For sure.

   24. JRJoe Rogan23:36

       ... when you're around that many people.

   25. SMSam Morril23:37

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan23:38

       Like venting is some... it's a, it's almost like a communal thing.

   27. SMSam Morril23:40

       It's therapeutic.

   28. JRJoe Rogan23:40

       Brings people together, yeah.

   29. SMSam Morril23:41

       It's 20 minutes of like, "Can you believe this shit?" Followed by, "But life is good."

   30. JRJoe Rogan23:45

       Yeah. (laughs)
10. 24:37 – 47:43

    Road-war stories: bad clubs, wild owners, hecklers, and getting chased off stage

    1. SMSam Morril24:37

       I can't drive. So, I remember I did a road gig with Joe List in, like, 2011. We were co-headlining, and it was a terrible gig. It was one of those gigs where, uh... I- it was like a g- we had to drive from one casino to the next. It was a casino run, and I was like, "We'll split the driving." You know, I was very confident in the time, and, and Joe's like, "Cool, cool." And first off, we flew into the wrong state on the wrong day. It was all my fault. I was a total just mess. I was an idiot. So we fly into, like, Michigan. They were like, "No, the first gig's in, uh, Wisconsin." And List was like, "I'm gonna fucking kill you." We're here a day late. We got docked in pay. We're driving around, and then Joe realizes I can't drive on top of that.

    2. JRJoe Rogan25:17

       (laughs)

    3. SMSam Morril25:17

       'Cause I started driving. He was like, "What the fuck are you doing?"

    4. JRJoe Rogan25:19

       (laughs)

    5. SMSam Morril25:20

       And (laughs) , and I was like, "I'm driving." He's like, "This isn't driving. You're gonna get us killed."

    6. JRJoe Rogan25:23

       (laughs)

    7. SMSam Morril25:24

       And then I say, "Well, I'm just not that good at turns." He was like, "You're not good at... Turning is part of driving, you idiot."

    8. JRJoe Rogan25:28

       (laughs)

    9. SMSam Morril25:29

       So we're complete idiots. We're, uh, you know, we're, we're bombing these fucking horrible gigs. I remember we show up to one casino in Milwaukee, and, uh... Ah, this is, like, such a comedy moment where you're like... First off, List had been doing comedy longer than I had, and we were co-headlining, but for some reason my picture was giant, and it was, like, a little tiny Joe List picture, so he was furious when we got there. We're in this casino. The band Cheap Trick, I guess their, uh... The music room was under construction, so they put Cheap Trick in the comedy club, which mean- yeah, I'm sure they're not thrilled. They're in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They're playing, like, a shitty-ass comedy club because of this, which moves us to the bar. So Joe and I are doing jokes during the Milwaukee Brewers playoffs in a bar. We're like, "Can you at least put the game off the TV?" And they're like, "No, it's the playoffs."

    10. JRJoe Rogan26:17

        (laughs)

    11. SMSam Morril26:17

        So we have to, we have to do a show while the Cardinals are kicking their fucking ass.

    12. JRJoe Rogan26:22

        Oh, no.

    13. SMSam Morril26:22

        And, and List is on stage bombing, and he, and he's one of the funniest dudes to watch bomb, 'cause he's so self-deprecating already. But he just turns to them, and he goes, "Fuck the Brewers. Go Cardinals," and they're booing him.

    14. JRJoe Rogan26:33

        (laughs)

    15. SMSam Morril26:33

        And then, and then he goes, "All right, guys, Sam Morril." I'm like, "Dude, what the fuck?"

    16. JRJoe Rogan26:37

        (laughs)

    17. SMSam Morril26:37

        So I have to go into that, you know? We would swap who would close, and then, you know, we both bomb. Horrible gig. And I remember Joe, uh, the next day was like, "How the fuck did we get home last night?" And I was like, "You drove us. What do you mean, how did we get home?" He's like, "Dude, I blacked out." And I was like, "You seem fine."

    18. JRJoe Rogan26:52

        (laughs)

    19. SMSam Morril26:52

        I didn't know he was sneaking drinks all night. He was an alcoholic. And then he was like, "But in my defense, I'm a better blackout driver than you are a sober driver." And I was like-

    20. JRJoe Rogan26:59

        Ah.

    21. SMSam Morril27:00

        ... "I can't argue with that. That is true." That was one of those gigs where you're like, uh, "Wow, that's, that was a painful week." But fuck, I'd still love, I'm, like, in love with the road for some reason. I, uh, something about it, like, it's... I romanticize the road.

    22. JRJoe Rogan27:14

        It is romantic.

    23. SMSam Morril27:15

        Yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan27:15

        It's... Some of my best moments have been on the road. There's something about the road. It's like you're doing it. You... The thing that we always wanted to do when we were open micers was be a professional.

    25. SMSam Morril27:24

        Exactly.

    26. JRJoe Rogan27:24

        Be a professional comic on the road. Here I am, I'm in Tampa. Here I am, I'm in Wichita. Here I am-

    27. SMSam Morril27:30

        Tampa's an underrated comedy city.

    28. JRJoe Rogan27:31

        Tampa's a great fucking city to do comedy.

    29. SMSam Morril27:33

        Tampa, Tampa crowds... I have a, uh... My friends always say, like, you know, "The best crowds are a blue city and a red state 'cause you get a good mix."

    30. JRJoe Rogan27:41

        Mm.
11. 47:43 – 51:35

    Whiskey brand launch (Bodega Cat) and drinking culture in comedy

    1. SMSam Morril47:43

       But hot chick is offensive, apparently. I don't know. Can I open this, by the way? This, this bottle?

    2. JRJoe Rogan47:47

       Yeah, open it.

    3. SMSam Morril47:47

       I brought our whiskey here.

    4. JRJoe Rogan47:48

       This is yours.

    5. SMSam Morril47:48

       This is me and Marc Normand's-

    6. JRJoe Rogan47:49

       We had some of this, uh, the other day.

    7. SMSam Morril47:51

       ... Whiskey, Bodega Cat. I love it. I'm very ha- happy with it. It's on bodegacatspirits.com if you wanna get a bottle. It's, it's very good.

    8. JRJoe Rogan47:56

       And this is... You guys developed it?

    9. SMSam Morril47:58

       Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

    10. JRJoe Rogan47:59

        How did you do that?

    11. SMSam Morril48:00

        Well, this distillery, uh-

    12. JRJoe Rogan48:01

        Cheers, brother.

    13. SMSam Morril48:01

        Cheers. Thanks for having me again. This is fun.

    14. JRJoe Rogan48:03

        My pleasure. Thanks for being here. Been wanting to have you on for a while.

    15. SMSam Morril48:07

        Um, ah, I love it. Uh, yeah, well, we, uh... It was basically a whiskey, uh, they ma-... They... It's rye. They make it in, uh, Indianapolis. He's based outta Houston, Chris Hart. And, uh, it's just a really good rye. We sampled, we sampled, like, nine different ryes, and this was far and away our favorite. But I'll tell you, sampling nine ryes, like, we're not... We don't know wh-... Like, you're not supposed to swallow it. We're just getting fucked up trying it.

    16. JRJoe Rogan48:32

        (laughs)

    17. SMSam Morril48:32

        We're not classy enough to be like, "Oh, you spit it out. That's how you sample it." We're just... Marc and I are just wasted, you know? But it's... Yeah, this is the one we liked, and, uh, Bodega Cat just felt very New York to us.

    18. JRJoe Rogan48:42

        Yeah.

    19. SMSam Morril48:42

        We tried to do Fat Cat originally 'cause that... 'Cause of the double meaning. You're like, "Oh, it's, like, upscale classy, but also it's a fat c-" Who doesn't like... Who doesn't like a fat cat? They're fun, you know?

    20. JRJoe Rogan48:50

        I like Bodega Cat. It's a good name.

    21. SMSam Morril48:52

        It's a good name. And, uh, people are liking it. I'm, I'm pumped. I can't wait to get it served at the Comedy Cellar. That, to me, is like, "Oh my God."

    22. JRJoe Rogan48:59

        Right, to see it on the shelf?

    23. SMSam Morril49:00

        Yeah, Liz, the manager of the Cellar, who just gives me endless shit, is like, "We're gonna serve it here." I was like-... wow. You're gonna serve it? And she's like, "It'll be our, like, Manhattan old-fashioned."

    24. JRJoe Rogan49:09

        Oh.

    25. SMSam Morril49:09

        And I was like, "That's fucking exciting."

    26. JRJoe Rogan49:10

        That's nice.

    27. SMSam Morril49:11

        So I'm pumped.

    28. JRJoe Rogan49:12

        Yeah, I, uh, b- sampling alcohol, you ever see how they do wine tasting? They have, like, a spittoon?

    29. SMSam Morril49:17

        Yeah.

    30. JRJoe Rogan49:17

        They just spit it out. And it just seems so fucking weird.
12. 51:35 – 1:36:01

    Bourdain, fame, and the need for community—plus Sam’s path from Comic Strip to the road

    1. SMSam Morril51:35

       I mean, Bourdain go- Bourdain is, like, how I live life on the road. I'm like, "I will make Kalamazoo, Michigan great."

    2. JRJoe Rogan51:41

       Yeah.

    3. SMSam Morril51:42

       I like his philosophy of just, just making every city count.

    4. JRJoe Rogan51:45

       Yeah.

    5. SMSam Morril51:45

       I fucking loved that dude.

    6. JRJoe Rogan51:46

       Oh, he loved th- he loved to travel and to go to these little, small dives and talk to the owner and see how they made the fish and chips, and he loved it. Yeah. He-

    7. SMSam Morril51:56

       He was so cool.

    8. JRJoe Rogan51:57

       And his narratives, like his narration, his monologues were so fantastic.

    9. SMSam Morril52:02

       He's a great writer.

    10. JRJoe Rogan52:03

        He was such a good writer-

    11. SMSam Morril52:04

        Yeah.

    12. JRJoe Rogan52:04

        ... and a great orator too. So he was great at telling stories, and, like, his real love for, like, what these people are doing in these cultures and these communities. And he would just go out and, like, "Hey, uh, sh- show me. Take, take me around."

    13. SMSam Morril52:16

        I loved it.

    14. JRJoe Rogan52:17

        It was, it was amazing.

    15. SMSam Morril52:18

        He could kick it with Michelin chefs. He could kick it with a street chef. I loved that.

    16. JRJoe Rogan52:21

        Oh, yeah.

    17. SMSam Morril52:22

        And I loved that he, uh, he, every once in a while, he would be like, "Hey, man, Detroit's fucked up. This is America. We gotta f-"

    18. JRJoe Rogan52:28

        Yeah.

    19. SMSam Morril52:28

        Like, I liked that he would kinda take a stand every once in a while too.

    20. JRJoe Rogan52:32

        Mm-hmm.

    21. SMSam Morril52:32

        He was just-

    22. JRJoe Rogan52:32

        Yeah.

    23. SMSam Morril52:33

        He was just cool.

    24. JRJoe Rogan52:34

        He was a very moral and ethical guy.

    25. SMSam Morril52:36

        Yeah.

    26. JRJoe Rogan52:38

        (sighs) He was a tough one.

    27. SMSam Morril52:39

        Yeah.

    28. JRJoe Rogan52:40

        When he died, I, I was fucked up for a while.

    29. SMSam Morril52:42

        You guys were close.

    30. JRJoe Rogan52:43

        He's just a, he's just, like, a guy that I, I was so excited that he was my friend.

Episode duration: 3:11:21