Joe Rogan Experience #1967 — Mike Vecchione Transcript

Transcript

0:00 The Joe Rogan Experience Thank you, man. How long have you been doing it? 23. Nice. Started in October of 2000, did about three and a half years in Philly with DeRosa, Big J, those guys, and then moved to New York at the end of 2003. kids would flip, you know, a lot every day at work with something different, you know? House, which is not there anymore. It's a comedy club on South Street. And I just started going

2:18 So I just kept doing it. I just kind of, it kind of dropped off because I was going through a tough but it used to be, I don't know how much time with Nate and Dustin Chaffin, different comics would run the weeknights. Different time, you know. Yeah. Wow. Or I could do Long Island and Connecticut and Jersey. I always thought that like shitholes working them working them i was the atlanta punchline and this happened where it was a

6:10 and bringing them to you and neutralize her guy looks at me and goes i saw what happened he goes i saw what you did that was great that was What are you doing? gonna be like whoa what is this guy this guy's angry now it's like they kind of don't get the Do you ever stop and think like what if you didn't break up with that girl? I don't I don't have that in the the thing in me to go out and get spots cuz going out and get spot getting spots is like you have to go out and you have to hustle yeah I was

8:55 So I had no ties to Philadelphia. gonna go out and take some chances and do what I really want to do figure my life out you know I describe it to people like making a mountain, Yeah. that it takes and you know as a comic after that like any girl I'd have so Yeah. I dated girls who were like, you don't have to go up tonight i was like oh i don't yeah like yes i do

11:43 You don't really respect it unless someone's just fucking murdering you. I'd go back home fucking massively depressed in whatever shitty apartment I was in going, what the fuck am I doing? It's who's on before you. and then which is a great state we had a great program and then I moved to Florida Train hard. It's the process. And the guys who were successful did that.

14:19 Don't just go cold. What do you think about before you go up? I mean, you're working these arenas now, my set is rock solid. you can't just go up in front of 16,000 people It's a big deal for them. yeah, it's like, Like you said with the high ceilings and it's just it's also you're not connected to them your it's a show you're up there Go up and be playful and be loose

17:41 and be playful and, you know, love them before you go up that always Everybody's got their own style and their own thing. Like if you're a guy with a ton of charisma and no act, This is like this is a fun thing that you're you're doing like you can't get too right and so bad, right? There doesn't seem to be any tension in his body whatsoever. in terms of like public perception there's no real professional avenue other than like mma

20:58 it's like it can be like a standoff that way so i understand why it's not entertaining to the eye. I kind of do, I appreciate it. Yeah. Entertainment I root for all the stand-ups if I'm if a stand-up guy is going against an improv guy for a job Right. What if this guy kicks me? you gonna be able to do that every time? Most likely no. And the really good guys

23:01 that he has wrestling, the football players on the i I thought, are we being Yeah, it was nuts. I hate cutting weight, period. and then you rehydrate like crazy. And it's like, that means, yeah, you got to cut a lot of weight to get that muscle mass fight is fucking huge for 185 like i stand next to him like how the fuck is this guy wow 15 pounds Oh, yeah.

25:51 He's walking around. It's just that power is just such a big advantage for a big guy who cuts a lot of weight to write 35, right? he made adjustments and he had a big 11th round. Yeah. I remember the 11th. He was really putting it on him. right. And Loma takes him two, And then he's just like, oh, I figured it out. Yeah. But there's a lot of guys He's great Mexican style like but he's also a technician. Mm-hmm, and the fight was very close

28:32 Because he just waits. It's like that was very close a very close Pitbull Cruz a tough guy Mexican just staying in the pocket with him or whether or not It's like, you can't rely We'll see because He looked great. Yeah. Not that Tiafemo fought unbelievably. Lomachenko is gonna be very it's a great fight very very interesting very technical fight mm-hmm. Yeah, there's so many good fighters now

30:47 luckily they made it though. they're announcing it, like Usyk and Tyson Fury. where Tyson Fury's like, I want 70%. I'm the fucking a done deal. Like, look, it's happening. And now, you know, it gets to this point where Tyson Fury was like, I want 70%. He goes, nah, I'll take it. So I understand that. Fine. I think that's reasonable. I know he's a huge draw.

32:40 He sings after the... Pacquiao used to fight, Manny Pacquiao's like and never box again, other multiple time world champions and not getting hit yeah is there anything there yeah i You're always going to have casuals like that. But is there a thing in MMA where it's like, they calling stalemates faster you mean getting people back up stalling quick to keep the action moving

35:07 Right. and the crowd would cheer, Like that's your job. even if it's boring. That's interesting. in the face is advancing. find the opening and then you level change you get the shot maybe you switch from a double to a single That guy couldn't get up. We just takes you down and gives you noogies for five rounds. Yeah tough shit The people that stop people and finish people.

38:25 That's my feeling. You're only giving a guy five minutes to work. I fucking hate it. I hate that too. Action movies aren't always action. A lot of people don't agree with me right because they're casuals and if he could just win by taking guys down No against a master not at all. Yeah, not at all. It was great Diego Corrales versus Julio Luis Right.

41:53 and Goosen, he spits the mouthpiece out, They should play the whole fight. Oh, my God. I mean. But you could make an argument that Corrales could have got stopped earlier than that. I think and Deontay's camp was complaining that he wasn't counting whatever but it's like Jack Reese is great And then he rises and wins the rest of the round, which is crazy.

43:53 Yeah. He looks at the referee. I was like, wait, no way. Jesus. I mean, those two punches are unbelievable. Look at this. Yes. Yeah of the ring to come and do it again, and then he moves forward The composure that it takes. He's like, this fight is fucking over. Right. The fight's Tyson Fury and Usyk. They set these fights up. And then they go, well, now we got to negotiate.

48:07 So they announced April 22nd during Javante Davis. But I think if they don't make the fight, then they have to fight, I think it's just money. And also the world needs to know how good Boots Ennis is. But you do run the risk of a guy like that not being recognized because he's in this sort of weird situation where other people are getting shots and he doesn't right but it's a weird situation because i think teddy

50:05 and so it's the organization's the sanctioning body and it's also the promoter right but it does their competitive prime competing against other people in an organization where less people are know three four times a year i mean if you're fighting every two years it's like it holds up Holy shit. And then towards the latter half of the fight, that's traditionally been a problem with Caleb that he starts to fade in the later rounds.

52:47 Walking forward, walking you down. like, man, it's going to be really hard Like, I've never been in a fight camp before, training where they believe that you already have the skill and what's more important than Right. like Diego Sanchez, Sean Shirk, where he was just destroying these guys. But what's that look like? Is that is that like a shark bait type situation?

56:07 But the primary focus was strength and conditioning. Till fail is the key there. And now all of a sudden your threshold bumps up a little more. And at the end you're recovering quicker. throwing one punch no yeah smothers you yeah stays on you and he's a brutal He thinks he could do it better and he thinks he's like, okay the fight starts, and it's just

59:02 What is he, like, 19-0 Fucking crazy. The Anthony Yard0 with 19 knockouts. Yeah. Fucking crazy. Nobody knows who he is. I just like to focus on my family. He's a monster. Well, it's you know, they're coming from a hard world. Yeah. Yeah. That is a fucking hard world. I mean, far more popular because these guys have these guys have uh such impressive stories and to tell

1:02:11 you see what someone's gone through Goggins is my favorite, he's my favorite guy He's my favorite guy man. I watch all this stuff But he's taken his life where he came from, And he also talks about mental toughness When I'm suffering when I'm out there running those miles I get that deep knowledge Yeah. yeah drop me off at the spot where i stopped amazing yeah it's inspiring it's very it's also

1:04:59 It's like social media and all this other stuff that's just not good for you. today in everything right in everything in comedy you're seeing these comedians i'm watching these They have good structure. Yeah. We have to take their phones away when we eat dinner. Let's just do it this way. You'd be surprised how many families don't have those rules.

1:07:15 me I would make excuses like I gotta work I gotta answer these emails I gotta It's a, it's a little vacation, you know, to go and scroll and take your mind off everything. Let me get focused here and there's also plenty of people talking about the dangers of addiction to social media Shit, I got that phone and next thing you know I'm like it doesn't take 20 minutes to take a shit stupid

1:08:55 I was like lying to myself in there. Yeah, man. Do that thing first. Yeah. That cold That cold plunge, you're not thinking about anything else. I do it every day, but I don't want to do it every day. walk toward that thing pick up the lid i'm like oh my god are you really doing this i set the timer We're in here for three minutes no matter what happens.

1:10:46 Yeah, we're gonna do this and I think that lends you power to other parts of your life. Oh, it definitely does I've taken some cold showers in the winter. I want brutal. Every if you watched me you would think oh my god. This guy's so stoic But he just lets you know. tells your body who the fuck's the boss yeah yeah that's really what it is it's a it's a philosophy

1:13:05 That's great. I'm feeling that too If you have the two of them, because they both test injured and i have to take a few days off right i'm like boy do i rely on that for my mood yeah because you're calmer it's like you're taking a drug that allows you to deal with the bullshit That's another big thing Nutribullet. Oh, yeah And that lemon just, like, kicks you, too, man.

1:16:30 eat is just wild game meat ribeye steaks great and fruit that's it what about olive oil I love It just becomes, there's great benefits to it. It really is. We're all addicted to sugar. Yeah. Have you ever seen that documentary King Corn? And your body doesn't do anything with it. Yeah, I'll take some thing about comics is a lot of us are fucking impulsive and you're spending

1:19:56 first place because you didn't want a job you didn't want to grind yeah so you figured out like And you know and maintaining focus and discipline and also you got everybody around you that's kissing your ass Like my father never let me get too out of control. um you know what i mean they push it yeah and make sure that you appreciate where you're coming from

1:22:06 So television changed the game and made these guys international stars. Right. Yeah. I've seen him in a karate outfit doing it And he was training under a legitimate karate guy in Ed Parker. Look at this I'm gonna turn on him real quick By the way, that guy shot you five times already. What are you going to do? especially a famous person he's not doing a menial job but is doing it to

1:25:15 Look. All right, take it easy. Right. Right. ability. And if you could instill that in a kid, Ticket service people, everything he was barely seen walking in and out Yeah, see that yeah, it's like you could just put in a comic different things yeah like david tell yeah every morning that motherfucker gets up with a pack of cigarettes You saw that guy grab that apple. Yeah, that's his Apple right and you know people go

1:29:50 everything about it but if it's something like i kind of remember is our am i remembering that It's a very interesting theory because it's scientific. But there was a video about it and I couldn't remember. And then you got to Google it or figure it out. I'm not even on TikTok, but I'm on TikTok. Just for the weather. They didn't tell him about it because they didn't want Trump going crazy and shooting nukes at the fucking balloons.

1:32:11 the last I don't know how many but the phone itself he told me that there was an original Pegasus application that was invented by the Israelis. He's like, how do you handle that? If they wanted to go through Mark Norman Yeah gangbang like i didn't make it somebody said it it to me. Yeah. And I thought it was funny. Like, kids don't understand that.

1:34:21 I think everybody would have. and another site called The Times. Don't we have satellites? Yeah. It was a push. It was a push to see fucking country. We can do this. I think so too. Yeah. To see what we would do. Beijing obtained So like if you go to where these military sites are in the was it Wyoming is that where it was was explaining to us anytime the united states has an idea they just copy that make it better right and they constantly

1:36:52 They just push stuff to the edge, make the best shit available, I mean, it's a rabbit hole that if you go down to... And it's like, click here to figure it out or to clean it up. I don't know if it's just Instagram. And he like, uh, he's also a comic. So your account's gone? people in the country right but in the world there's oh yeah yeah billions how

1:39:48 Facebook changes elections in places. Yeah, I guess it would be hard for them to field complaints or whatever. Because maybe it is. Well, WhatsApp is a communication app. I think it's on the rise, though. Oh, it's way down there. 430 million. Facebook runs the top five, three of the top five, which is a little strange because they've split them all up and there could just be one app.

1:41:42 What did Zuckerberg say? He was explaining, like, about how the FBI contacted him about the Hunter Biden laptop. You know right some out of years, but he was instrumental in growing it though, too You know as your reality it's going to happen. Yeah, it's going to happen And you're going down dark corridors, and rain's dripping, and another thing just jumps out at you.

1:44:39 Like the old ones, we had the HTC Vive at the studio and it had to be attached to a backpack. It's going to be something that's so wonderful and so exciting that you can't get out of it. Is it 20 years? Whatever it is. down the street. Yeah, real book It's unreal. Right. It's basically a college in your pocket yeah it's unbelievable and and uh people listening might be like what do you you know because people grew up with this but we didn't right like i knew a time

1:47:57 watching television on our own. they get mad because that little dopamine rushes And it's not even a big rush. Anybody? There's millions of people watching. uh, okay, like respond to people as much as I can. Yeah, when I have breakfast I fucking I got this little it's pretty cool this little kickstand thing that sticks up with your phone Why does it do that?

1:50:23 I'll just look at my own stuff. it but there's going to be enough kids that recognize like okay this is just the new reality I don't think that's the way to do it because this is a reality. And I think that if you give the kids the tools and the understanding But you have to understand what that is. Yeah, and it's you're right Right. what they're doing

1:53:02 They don't look good. funny and you're figuring out, you can see Right. looking pretty and there's also a thing with placing undue value on that. Like 45 million, I'm a winner. Yeah. he has in the back of his head and he tells those demons who the fuck the boss is yeah yeah that's It's possible. Yeah. Yeah. And supposed to be a pretty good boxer. Really?

1:56:08 And shredded all the way, always. But the odds are that that's not going to happen. it was like this perfect man who just destroyed things You're not gonna give it the time that it deserves their thoughts it's their them constructing it yeah so there's not not these other people putting Dave's Old Porn, yeah. That's how many fucking things I've done.

1:58:39 Yeah. Did you, if you don't remember doing it, Oh, really? Oh really? And so Kurt is always like chiming in about things trying to push. corruption and this and that and what's happening in ukraine and what's it's a funny it's a comedy a good time because we we sit and watch the think of jokes you know all the jokes about uh this old And because I would do spots late at the comedy cellar,

2:01:58 Really great times man really great time. He's a wonderful guy You know, he came here and, like, he takes care of his mom in New York. I just kind of come in and just work on my new stuff. Right. Nope. Because he just like, when you think you're pretty good. Right. think you're and you you know he's going up to a tired crowd i had a thing And then I'm sitting on the side of the stage,

2:03:46 I think I'm on my way and then I started just listening to him and the laughs he was getting and I was getting laughs And at the end of it, it's like, none of those people in that crowd even remembered who I was. He's like gonna and the crowd was kind of tired, and a couple people went up. And a tell went up, and it was like he plugged the audience back into the electricity

2:05:48 anytime he wants to he likes doing all the sets like he's not a fame guy was there one time. And it's like they sit at the back table and you just feel the energy when how you doing man everybody's like pretty good Yeah, absolutely. He is. Someone who copies your style. rock some of the greats you know but with a tell you go down, if you go down with that mindset, like,

2:08:57 Well, that's one of the best things about those showcase-style clubs is that you do work with these killers, and you have to sort of reevaluate your material Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he emerged like a fucking phoenix from the ashes. and now he's the one who like freaks people out yeah when they know that shane's going up he's So he's setting things up and he's doing it in a fun way

2:10:57 okay, maybe there's probably a funnier way There's guys who get more popular exists in stand-up like if you if you're not funny if it doesn't work nobody cares about you right Right, right. There's a there's a skill set at play And I'd go to, have you seen him? And then you would watch me. And she would tell you in a way that like she wasn't jealous because she wasn't a comic,

2:13:31 And some people, that's like their whole, then I find out someone really good is going on stage, I'm like, I'm gonna stick around. Yeah. I did shows with him in the 90s. Yeah, such a supportive guy. Yeah, Colin Quinn is another guy And I wanted to say, you know, this show is great. And Colin's famous. It's the same kind of thing. And they're not thinking about promoting.

2:15:58 shows like red state blue state brilliantific. Super prolific, man. Always working and writing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hitching. Yeah. That's really great. And then you have the ability to do these door guy showcases where you're going You know what I mean? It's like there's a ladder to climb with your skill set. And then you go with him. skill set because some guys develop like i think shane developed fast he developed very quickly

2:18:28 Yeah, there's a lot of guys who are really funny guys. He has the personality, the charisma, the timing, Yeah. Right. But there's guys that are talented performers that get that gig, and then they get that steady paycheck every week. And then you see these other guys that started even after you, and they're doing arenas. I want to want the world to know how good that guy right but it's the stability versus the you know rolling the dice

2:20:46 And that's hard to do when you're used to those steady checks. and it allows you to like leapfrog everything and then just go straight into big theaters And it's the best. For sure. only two, like okay right yeah you're lost yeah you gotta stay on the path right because those layers don't stay with anything that's hard to do. where people can work hard,

2:22:54 That's very important Big Jay is one you're a young person coming up and someone tells you that your thing is good, like, oh, And I know that if like, if you put together a gym filled with killers, And so it's hard to develop, like, a real act. It's probably with everything else. Yeah, I mean, you came out of Ohio. If I was in a good program, I was tough.

2:25:02 Guys coming out of New York, it's the same in standup. You know, guys coming out of New York, you know, like it's like guys are good. Love him. That's the other thing people don't realize, like how long we've known each other, a lot of us. And everybody in this world wants things to happen quickly. and you want your act to develop, Yeah Yeah. You know, blue collar tour.

2:27:57 at the Vulcan Gas Company down the street on 6th Street. and I wound up not using that place it was like he had electricity coming yeah yeah because that just goes show you, it doesn't matter how much money you have. however you're doing it, writing it out. you're like, okay, I got it. Keep throwing jokes at it. love it do you write in front of a computer do you write on a notebook do you just write on your

2:30:29 bat and this time it was i immediately go nick costas hilarity i immediately give up his name and snitch i'll wear a wire i'll but then I'll take bits on my phone and I'll just Is it really the case you go to jail for a year? it could be a three week trial. So, you know, but they just don't care. it's like, and then you start punching that up and crafting it and then going in there. And

2:33:30 I cannot come back tomorrow. She's like, give me a minute. and I'll copy it and paste it into a new file yeah and then I'll write with that thing that I'm farming premises. Right. computer while I'm writing. Like, oh, there it is. and then i know which ones are in the act right now and then the ones that aren't in the act when Yeah, I don't bring notes on stage.

2:36:52 fingers so I could just look at the screen and in the process of writing like if I'm sitting there That's great. It's a trudge. come to you but if you don't if you don't sit there and summon that muse they're not coming and it's just like use that as a topic. it and like you know when i talked to shane about his act like i'm like dude your fucking material

2:39:18 maybe something else happened. Commit it to thought. I don't know, man. I can't wait to see it, man. and it was produced Oh, were you at Zany's? These guys did a great job. So you can find it on YouTube, Thank you so much for having me, man. All right.