Joe Rogan Experience #1874 - Dave Attell

Dave Attell is a stand-up comic, actor, and writer. He can currently be seen in the series "Life & Beth" on Hulu, "Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell" on Netflix, and "Crashing" on HBO. When not on the road, Attell makes regular appearances at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. www.daveattell.com

Dave AttellguestJoe RoganhostGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)guest

Jun 27, 20242h 36mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

150 min read · 30,028 words

0:00 – 2:02
Back in Texas: Cap City’s comeback and legendary road clubs
1. DADave Attell
  (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) Ladies and gentlemen, David Attell.
3. DADave Attell
  Hey, Joe. Thanks for having me on the show.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Good to see you, my brother.
5. DADave Attell
  I was telling your guys before you showed up, I was like, "Uh, I'm hoping there's other guests besides me 'cause I don't really think I'm interesting enough to hold the whole show."
6. JRJoe Rogan
  We can do it.
7. DADave Attell
  You think so?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes. All right, I believe in you.
9. DADave Attell
  I have, I have zero worries.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
11. DADave Attell
  I'm glad you brought your straw.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Thank you.
13. DADave Attell
  And I'm also- (laughs)
14. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) I'm also glad you brought your hobo sack. (laughs)
15. DADave Attell
  I'll show everybody.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  He's a comedy nomad.
17. DADave Attell
  That's how you travel, people. (laughs)
18. JRJoe Rogan
  That's all he brings, fresh underwear and socks. That's it. Let's go.
19. DADave Attell
  Good to be back in Texas.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Good to see you. How was the Cap City? Did you enjoy it?
21. DADave Attell
  It was awesome. I mean, you and I back in the day played the old Cap City.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. DADave Attell
  And, uh, that was definitely an iconic club. And this is the, uh, I guess you can say the, um, the reimagining of it.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  This is, uh, the, the helium folks who do an amazing job.
25. DADave Attell
  Exactly.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Helium folks are great. They-
27. DADave Attell
  They really are.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  That fucking place in Philly is the shit. The one in Portland is the shit. The other clubs are fucking locked down. They're all solid as a rock.
29. DADave Attell
  I totally agree with you. And they put a lot of work into it.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
2:02 – 3:39
The Laugh Stop mythology and what makes a club ‘magic’
1. DADave Attell
  Do you remember, uh, c- um, the com-, uh, what was it called? Uh, in Houston, uh-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Laugh Stop.
3. DADave Attell
  The Laugh Stop. That's-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  That was the best.
5. DADave Attell
  That's where I learned to be a headliner. That's what I always think.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
7. DADave Attell
  That was the club where I really got it together and I was like, "I can hold an hour," you know, right here.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
9. DADave Attell
  You know?
10. JRJoe Rogan
  I did my first CD there.
11. DADave Attell
  Oh, you did?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
13. DADave Attell
  Well, there you go, man.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, that place is magic. That place was magic. I, I heard that, that, that spot is still there, which I was like, "Jesus Christ." If that's the case, once we open up in Austin, I would love to open up a mothership in, in Houston.
15. DADave Attell
  Oh, absolutely, man.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  If that place is still there, holy shit, that place is amazing.
17. DADave Attell
  Yeah, it's always been like, uh, you know, what... Uh, I remember it was like me, Hedberg, and, uh, Patrice. Like-
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
19. DADave Attell
  ... we would all, like, rotate through there.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
21. DADave Attell
  And it was always like, if you ran into him, like, "Oh man, I was just, uh-"
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
23. DADave Attell
  "... at the stop." It was like, "Oh, it must have been awesome." And you know, you'd be jealous, you know.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Crazy ass Mark Babit ran a hell of a club.
25. DADave Attell
  He really did.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  He really did.
27. DADave Attell
  Visionary.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh my God, he loved comedy. That's all it takes. Takes a crazy person that loves comedy who's willing to, like, go all out.
29. DADave Attell
  When the, uh, owner of the club, you know, or the manager gets it, you know?
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
3:39 – 5:32
Building a new comedy hub in Austin: community, locals, and open mics
1. DADave Attell
  For sure. That's why your club... And you're real close now.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Real close, yeah.
3. DADave Attell
  Like, that's gonna... Honestly, that's a game changer, especially for this town and for, uh, you know, for all of us road people. You know, I'm a club guy. That's what I do.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
5. DADave Attell
  I do clubs. So I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to get on that stage, if I may.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  You 100% will be one of the first people on that stage.
7. DADave Attell
  (laughs)
8. JRJoe Rogan
  I'm gonna put up the bat signal.
9. DADave Attell
  Oh, that would be awesome.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  I'll send you in. Uh, I, it's, uh, it's exciting to be able to do. It's exciting to be able to do it with no stress too, to be able to do it the right way.
11. DADave Attell
  Right.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  And just have an, an amazing club set up for comics in the audience. And just make it, make it so that, like, we do our best at, in every corner.
13. DADave Attell
  Uh-huh.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Not fuck with people, appreciate 'em, treat 'em with respect... Uh-oh, the mic's falling apart.
15. DADave Attell
  I'm good.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Appreciate 'em, treat 'em with respect. Like, encourage people to, to work and give open mic nights and have-
17. DADave Attell
  Yes.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Have things like that where you have plenty of, plenty of time, and Kill Tony and that kind of shit. You know, where you really encourage the community.
19. DADave Attell
  Definitely. You gotta, um... You know, when the club also supports the locals, it's not just, like, for the headliners.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
21. DADave Attell
  That's when you know it's like a real deal situation because, uh, you know, these local scenes... Like, I was just in Nashville. That, that scene is popping. Here, of course, it's outta control. And, uh, you know, it's getting the locals, you know, on stage in front of a big crowd, you know?
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. DADave Attell
  That's important.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Getting them on stage in front of... Giving them those spots, like the Kill Tony spots. And I've had a few of those guys, like Hans Kim and William Montgomery and David Lucas who, you know, started in LA but he's out here now too-
25. DADave Attell
  Right.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  ... doing those shows with, with us there too. They're, they're exploding.
27. DADave Attell
  Well-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  And there's also a lot of room for other clubs too. There's a lot of room. There's so many comics here, man. Everybody who goes to these open mics out here, these guys who come, they go, "Dude, these kids are good." They're good in their writing and they're energized. It's like, it's an exciting time. And people are, like, really fired up about... And you see, like, a real clear path to being a professional, which was always weird for us.
29. DADave Attell
  Right.
5:32 – 10:09
Starting out in the ‘no map’ era: bombing, day jobs, and old New York rooms
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, you remember the early days of open mic? There was no help.
2. DADave Attell
  None.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  It was-
4. DADave Attell
  I mean-
5. JRJoe Rogan
  ... strange.
6. DADave Attell
  I don't know about you, like, your, your, uh, you know, I guess origin story. But like, I had a job for like the first five or six years of comedy and, like, I was such a bad comic that, like, I would sometimes go like, "Oh God, I can't wait to get back to my day job." (laughs)
7. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
8. DADave Attell
  "Oh man, I can't wait to eat a muffin at my desk." You know, it was like that kind of a thing.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Ah (laughs) .
10. DADave Attell
  So yeah, I know what these, these people go through and even though there's, like, all these platforming and all that stuff, it'll always be the same, like, you know, basically, uh, you know, whatever. I guess you could say the journey, the, uh, the...... has many roads, many twists and turns, so, you know.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  The journey does, but at least, uh, uh, this way, I think, there's a map of the landscape now.
12. DADave Attell
  For sure.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Whereas when we started, it was just you, you were hoping that someone would take you on the road, or you were hoping that you'd get a road gig. You didn't know, like, how to... And you're doing, like, five, 10-minute spots in the beginning.
14. DADave Attell
  Mm-hmm.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  If you're lucky, you get 10 minutes, right?
16. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  So then someone says, "Can you do 20?" And you're like, "Yes." But you really can't, you know?
18. DADave Attell
  Right, of course.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  It's like... (laughs)
20. DADave Attell
  Yeah. (laughs)
21. JRJoe Rogan
  So it's like you're opening in a bar with, you know, at least 10 bullshit minutes.
22. DADave Attell
  And when you're in a town like I, you know, started in New York, Long Island and all that stuff, there was, there was a lot of open mics.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
24. DADave Attell
  So I was lucky where you can go to one place, you know, like, bomb, and then skid mark your way over to the next one-
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
26. DADave Attell
  ... and, you know, like, suffer there, and then the next one. So you got, like, a whole, like, night of sadness, whereas some kids, it's like, you know, especially, uh, West Coast, l- it's like, "Oh, I got a spot, you know, one a week," and then they gotta live with that, that kind of, like, trauma for a whole week.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  It's better there now. It's better there now-
28. DADave Attell
  Oh, it is?
29. JRJoe Rogan
  ... for the LA guys. The... You can actually develop in LA now. Um, but i- in the early 2000s and the '90s, it was real hard.
30. DADave Attell
  For sure.
10:09 – 13:28
Writing, late-night work habits, and the fear of getting “used to not going out”
1. DADave Attell
  Do you, uh, like, you know, you got a family and everything, do you still like having the time to go out every night and, like, you know, work on, work on an act? Like-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, my kids are young, so they go to bed right around-
3. DADave Attell
  Uh-huh.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  ... the time I'm leaving.
5. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Which is nice. So, uh, I'll, like, I'm leaving, like, an hour before they go to bed.
7. DADave Attell
  Okay.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  So it's... There's a benefit in that, and that was a st- at the Store, it was even better 'cause at the Store, most of my spots were after 10:00, so I was leaving, like, they were well asleep-
9. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  ... by I'm leaving the house. And it's, it's like I could come home too and write when no one's awake, which-
11. DADave Attell
  Oh, that's good.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  ... for me is come home, spark up a little-
13. DADave Attell
  Mm-hmm.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  ... sit in front of the computer, and just sit there, and just think when-
15. DADave Attell
  Wow.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  ... everyone's asleep and the world's quiet. Like, that's my favorite time to write.
17. DADave Attell
  You know, during the, uh, you know, when everything was shut down, you know?
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
19. DADave Attell
  Like, the scariest thing was, like, I miss being on the road, you know?
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
21. DADave Attell
  I miss being out there, like, you know, headlining and all that stuff too, but what I really miss was, like, going to the Comedy Cellar in New York and going on and doing a spot, and whatever version of comedy they had, the outside, the behind the plexiglass, of course I did it. But then there were times when everything was shut, and I was like, "Uh-oh-"
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. DADave Attell
  "... I'm starting to get used to not going out," and I got really scared. It was like one of those, like-
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
25. DADave Attell
  ... where you're like, you know, "Maybe I don't need to go out anymore." You know?
26. JRJoe Rogan
  I was gonna do that-
27. DADave Attell
  "I've been doing this a long time, I'm an old guy," you know?
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Ron White went through that.
29. DADave Attell
  Did he?
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
13:28 – 16:06
Crowds, ‘no sides,’ and navigating modern sensitivity in comedy
1. DADave Attell
  I don't know if you've seen me lately.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
3. DADave Attell
  I, uh, that's very kind of you. Yeah, no, I would say that I'm in that moment now where it's like my crowd is so good, like, uh, the people who have been, like, coming to see me for years now, like, they are so good all the different ways you want them. Like, they love jokes. There's no line for them, you know?
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
5. DADave Attell
  They don't want it, they don't want it dumbed down, they don't want it ne- They know I don't pick sides. And they know that it's, it's about the joke, and that I'm trying to bring them new material every time. And they drink and they tip hard and they're good to the staff, so what more can I ask for, you know?
6. JRJoe Rogan
  That's the best.
7. DADave Attell
  I'm a lucky guy. I'm very lucky.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  The best.
9. DADave Attell
  And anybody who works with me, they always say the same thing, they go, "Dave, your crowd is awesome." So ...
10. JRJoe Rogan
  That's beautiful.
11. DADave Attell
  You know, it's a great compliment.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, it's because you're doing all the right things. You're doing comedy just for comedy, you know? You're just having fun. And some of us d- that fell apart-
13. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Some of us fell apart in this wonderful world of, like, what's okay to talk about, what's not okay to talk about, what's a joke and what's not acceptable. It's like, come on.
15. DADave Attell
  It- it seems like you and I have both done the West, you know, West, East Coast kind of like, uh-
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
17. DADave Attell
  You, you do your r- your show on the road, and you're like, "There is no wrong." And then you hit, like, a, a showcase show, like New York or whatever. And I'm, I'm old. I mean, I'm 57 years old.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
19. DADave Attell
  And I am so- I never try and be relevant, but irrelevant is the word. Like, they kind of go up there and it looks like I'm about to lead, like, a, a, a ghost hunting tour, you know?
20. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
21. DADave Attell
  They're like terrified. But like, the moans and the groans and all that kinda stuff, I'm kinda getting used to it, you know, the choppy sea as I call it, you know?
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. DADave Attell
  The, the little like whimpers and like, you know, cries of foul play. I mean, it's like, okay, that's, that's how you guys react? I gotta just deal with that. But it's nothing like them back in the day when you knew immediately when you were, uh ... (laughs) I mean, there's no, there's not a plate of chicken wings coming at you, you know?
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
25. DADave Attell
  It's like, I mean, you know, like let's take it for what it is.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  For us-
27. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  ... for r- d- people who have done, uh, those prom shows at Dangerfield's.
29. DADave Attell
  Yeah. Well, that's the thing. It's like, you know, the, the reaction, the reaction is, is different, you know? But I would say the, and this probably scares you too, is the cold silence of a young crowd. (laughs) You know?
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
16:06 – 19:16
Checking jokes, accidental premise overlap, and the new ‘superfan’ archive
1. DADave Attell
  I, I, I know what you're talking about. And like I, I'm always like, you know, it's the joke. And like I really, you know, put a lot of time into material, so like, uh, anybody who knows me is like, I check a joke. I wanna make sure that like, um, I'm doing it, you know, it's my joke.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  You've called me several times.
3. DADave Attell
  Yeah, I have, right.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Several times saying-
5. DADave Attell
  That's a weird call, isn't it?
6. JRJoe Rogan
  No, it's a good call. It's a good call because it's a call from an artist, you know? You're like, "Hey, this seemed like it came to me too easy. Have you heard this?"
7. DADave Attell
  But uh, but that, but my friends, uh, you know, I include you in this group, always go like, you know, your calls are almost cryptic. Like ...
8. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
9. DADave Attell
  Do you say-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  I take those calls.
11. DADave Attell
  (laughs) Do you say antelope in a, in a joke?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
13. DADave Attell
  Do you have a joke that ends with Froot Loops? I'm like, uh, you know, what- who is this? You know, that kind of thing.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  It's so funny because Santino called me up the other day in a frenzy. He's like, "I- do you have a joke on this? I feel like you have a joke on this. I had a nightmare that you had a joke on this in one of your old specials." I go, "Nope, definitely don't."
15. DADave Attell
  Right.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  I definitely don't. If I do, I forgot it, so ... (laughs)
17. DADave Attell
  And then, and it-
18. JRJoe Rogan
  It's fair play.
19. DADave Attell
  Luckily there's all these super fans now where like-
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
21. DADave Attell
  They start quoting-
22. JRJoe Rogan
  They'll find you.
23. DADave Attell
  ... your old material after.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
25. DADave Attell
  I'm like, "Who is that guy? Oh, that's me."
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
27. DADave Attell
  Oh, I forgot. (laughs)
28. JRJoe Rogan
  I know what someone will bring up a joke and I don't even know how it goes.
29. DADave Attell
  Mm-hmm.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  'Cause I, I have to abandon them. We all have to aba- do you smoke cigars?
19:16 – 24:48
Gilbert Gottfried memories and the strange economics of Cameo
1. DADave Attell
  You gotta give a lot of yourself for that. I'm not really like a, um, a, you know, like... I, I have trouble talking about myself. And I like talking about comedy, and like, uh, you know, we were talking about this outside in the hall about, like, uh, there's a lot of dead, uh, friends of ours, you know, out there and stuff like that. And, you know, if I could bring one up, would be cool. Uh, Gilbert, you know?
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. DADave Attell
  Who I was there when he went down, you know. Uh, Jeff Ross and I were both really close friends with the family and Gilbert, and, uh, we had both been there, like, day of. And, uh, I was there in the morning when he went down, and I was thinking, like, you know, here's a guy who generationally, like, for, since the '80s, you know?
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
5. DADave Attell
  Has been famous, infamous, famous, all that kinda stuff. And we all knew him in the comedy world, like what he was about, or at least I did.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
7. DADave Attell
  You know, I was always a huge fan of his. He always made me laugh, always made me laugh. And it's great when you get a guy that you know and he makes you laugh. And, uh, I was like, you know... Social media for him was easy. Like, he loved it. He loved Cameo.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. (laughs)
9. DADave Attell
  He was, like, the biggest Cameo guy in the world. Like, he's-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Happy birthday.
11. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
13. DADave Attell
  You cocksucker. I hope your anniversary... You know, like-
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
15. DADave Attell
  ... just these, these, like a, like a troll-
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah.
17. DADave Attell
  ... sending out, you know, like, riddles.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
19. DADave Attell
  But, but like, he loved it, he loved it. And it's like, it's amazing how, like, you know, here's a guy, he's older than me, but he somehow took to it, and it worked for him, you know?
20. JRJoe Rogan
  It just naturally fit his personality.
21. DADave Attell
  For sure.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  He was a funny fucking dude, man.
23. DADave Attell
  He-
24. JRJoe Rogan
  I was so happy to get him in here and get a chance to talk to him, and, you know. 'Cause I never really had that much time talking to him. It was just like saying hi at a club here or there. But to sit down... That's the thing about, like, a podcast that's different than any other kinda conversation, you get to really know someone over hours and hours of time just shooting the shit about stuff.
25. DADave Attell
  True.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  It's like, how often do we get a chance to do... Like, some of the best conversations I've ever had with my friends have been public.
27. DADave Attell
  Everything has... Ev- we're all different places, different times.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
29. DADave Attell
  All that kinda stuff. But with Gilbert, I was gonna say that, you know, here's a guy who, like, when I would go, "Hey, you're in town. Come down to the Comedy Cellar and do a set, or I'll bring you on stage and we'll, like, do, like, a little something." You know?
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
24:48 – 33:50
Nature is a horror movie: crocs with bodies, rats with plague, and urban wildlife
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Jamie, did I show you the video of the crocodile that's swimming with a body in its mouth, a human body in its mouth? Did I send that to you? This one's rough. Um, I, someone sent, sent this to me on Instagram. Um, it's a, uh, crocodile, and it's swimming up to this boat, and it sounds like they're from Australia or South Africa. It's hard to tell, but, uh, they're, 'cause I don't, I'm not good at accents.
2. DADave Attell
  (laughs)
3. JRJoe Rogan
  But they're, um, they're trying to, uh, figure out what it is, and then they realize it's a human.
4. DADave Attell
  Oh, no.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, dude, it's rough. It's rough. I'm gonna try to find that.
6. DADave Attell
  Okay, this is the kinda stuff...
7. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  You think this is it?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Uh, it-
9. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  I'm waiting for the video to load, but-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Could be it.
11. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  ... it's not.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Could be it.
13. DADave Attell
  Yeah, that's a crocodile, right?
14. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  Oh, there it is, down there. No, that's not it.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  No, that's not it.
16. DADave Attell
  That looks-
17. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  Yeah, I think, I think they're just showing croc videos.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  They're not gonna show the video?
19. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  I don't think so. Let's see. Maybe.
20. DADave Attell
  This guy's fighting him off with his-
21. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  This guy just took a video-
22. JRJoe Rogan
  I have-
23. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  ... and posted on Twitter. You want it?
24. JRJoe Rogan
  I guarantee you I have it in here. If you just-
25. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  Wow.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  ... give me one second, I'll find it.
27. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  Extremely graphic footage. Here, this?
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Is this it? No, that's another one.
29. GFGuest 2 (unidentified friend/producer)
  Oh, no.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  That's another one with a body on-
33:50 – 45:49
Dog stories and the detour into the ‘Russian werewolf dog’ (Caucasian Shepherd)
1. DADave Attell
  I loved when I went to your old house out in, uh, in LA, right? The dogs you had, those big, big dogs.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Which ones, the pit bulls?
3. DADave Attell
  The ones that were outside-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Was it the pit bulls or the, um, or was it the, um, the mastiff that I had?
5. DADave Attell
  The, the mastiff, yeah.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, the mastiff was a sweetie.
7. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  He was the best. That was Johnny Cash.
9. DADave Attell
  Man.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  He was so sweet.
11. DADave Attell
  I love that dog.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  He was so sweet. Those dogs, man. The big dogs, when they get older, it's rough on them, man.
13. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  It's, I used to have to carry him to take him to the bathroom. Like he would, he couldn't walk anymore.
15. DADave Attell
  How, how, how long did he, uh-
16. JRJoe Rogan
  He lived to be 13, which is old-
17. DADave Attell
  That's, that's amazing, yeah.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  ... for a really big dog.
19. DADave Attell
  That's amazing.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  But it's so sad, man.
21. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  You have them from the time they're a puppy-
23. DADave Attell
  Mm-hmm.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and then all of a sudden they're 13 and they can't walk. And like, "You're just a little boy." Like, "You're, you're my little buddy and you're 13." So I used to... He was like 140 pounds. I used to have to carry him outside.
25. DADave Attell
  Wow.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  I used to have to pick him up, take him outside to go to the bathroom.
27. DADave Attell
  Yeah. But you gave him a great life though. I mean, what an awesome setup you had for him.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, it was a good yard.
29. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  He was, he was a smart dog too. He was the one that... But he got honey potted into killing the chickens-
45:49 – 50:18
Road life, late sets at the Cellar, and learning from killers like Richard Jeni
1. DADave Attell
  Well, you know, being on the road, I can't have a dog, so I have to kinda live-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. DADave Attell
  ... vicariously through you guys with your dogs.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  How often are you on the road? How many, uh, days a week?
5. DADave Attell
  I'd say, ugh, I kinda stepped it up. You know, I got a lot of bills, so I've been stepping it up by trying to do like at least two to three week- weeks on the road, like of, you know, full til four to fi- four days, you know? And, uh-
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Every month?
7. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Wow.
9. DADave Attell
  And, uh, you know, like we were talking earlier, like the comedy boom is there. There's definitely like, like, uh, Cap City added a show, late show on a Sunday. Who would do that?
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, that's amazing.
11. DADave Attell
  Why not, you know?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Why not? Fuck yeah.
13. DADave Attell
  And, uh, everywhere I go, like, you know, it's like, "Oh, c- cool. We're close to Seoul. Let's add a show." You know, I'm like-
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Beautiful.
15. DADave Attell
  ... "I'm up for it. I'm already there, you know. Why not?" What else am I gonna do?
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Boy, your machine gets greased when you're doing that many shows too?
17. DADave Attell
  Yeah. But towards the end of the week, it does become this whole like-
18. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
19. DADave Attell
  ... 'cause I know people are coming to see multiple shows. So I'm always trying to mix it up for them.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Right, right.
21. DADave Attell
  And sometimes that falls apart on me. It's like a fucking ǀɹr, you know?
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, but people that are coming to see multiple shows appreciate that too, that you're out there-
23. DADave Attell
  I guess so.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  ... fucking around. And-
25. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  ... you know? I mean, that's half the fun for, for real comedy nerds, is to watch a guy like start a bit, and (laughs) then you see where-
27. DADave Attell
  It crash?
28. JRJoe Rogan
  ... that bit becomes in six months.
29. DADave Attell
  (laughs) Oh, that's true.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, how many, how many bits did you start out with a, in the first couple times you did 'em, they were like, you know, like, "Ugh. Might have to abandon this one"?
50:18 – 1:14:13
Comedy artifacts: albums, vinyl, bootlegs, merch kings, and pandemic-era innovation
1. DADave Attell
  Uh, the whole idea of the album now is so different than it was back in the day of like, you know, this is my album-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. DADave Attell
  ... because it's all at the show and all that kinda stuff, so yeah. I think-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Physical copies of things.
5. DADave Attell
  I still feel like that's the best way, even though like, that's what I grew up on, like, listening to Carlin, you know, and all that.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, Skanks For The Memories was a masterpiece.
7. DADave Attell
  I don't... I-
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Skanks For The Memories is a a all-time classic comedy album. I know you fucking hate compliments. (laughs)
9. DADave Attell
  No, but I, I, I really don't... wouldn't even put it in like-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  It's very funny.
11. DADave Attell
  A lot of people come up to me and they ask me about it and all that kinda stuff, but I, I, I do know that like... I haven't put out a lot of stuff, but that was one of the things that definitely did click with the comedy audience and-
12. JRJoe Rogan
  It was fun.
13. DADave Attell
  You guys have always been pretty cool with me about that too, but do you feel like, um, vinyl is like the future or the past or... 'cause there's a lot of vinyl talk out there.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, the vinyl talk is fun 'cause it's like someone who's an actual enthusiast, who wants to sit down with a physical copy of something.
15. DADave Attell
  Mm-hmm.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  And it's so much better than owning a CD, right? 'Cause if they're both obsolete, which they kinda are-
17. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  The thing about vinyl over a CD is you get a dope cover.
19. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  That was always the thing, like Kiss-
21. DADave Attell
  Yeah.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  ... Alive 2, you know-
23. DADave Attell
  (laughs)
24. JRJoe Rogan
  ... where they're on the cover like, "Fucking yeah." You remember that? Double platinum was all silver. This is wild. Pictures inside. You would roll joints using the album. That's how people would roll joints.
25. DADave Attell
  When I would go to Tower Records, you know, and like, uh... they would have like the comedy section, it was always like the Steve Martin-
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
27. DADave Attell
  And, uh, you know, Richard Pryor, of course.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
29. DADave Attell
  But then there was like all the weird stuff, Dr. Demento and all this like-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.

Episode duration: 2:36:44

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Back in Texas: Cap City’s comeback and legendary road clubs

The Laugh Stop mythology and what makes a club ‘magic’

Building a new comedy hub in Austin: community, locals, and open mics

Starting out in the ‘no map’ era: bombing, day jobs, and old New York rooms

Writing, late-night work habits, and the fear of getting “used to not going out”

Crowds, ‘no sides,’ and navigating modern sensitivity in comedy

Checking jokes, accidental premise overlap, and the new ‘superfan’ archive

Gilbert Gottfried memories and the strange economics of Cameo

Nature is a horror movie: crocs with bodies, rats with plague, and urban wildlife

Dog stories and the detour into the ‘Russian werewolf dog’ (Caucasian Shepherd)

Road life, late sets at the Cellar, and learning from killers like Richard Jeni

Comedy artifacts: albums, vinyl, bootlegs, merch kings, and pandemic-era innovation

Get more out of YouTube videos.