#122 Comedian Paul Mecurio is Inside Out

Announcer 0:00

Looking to sound like you know what's going on in the world, pop culture, social strategy, comedy and other funny stuff. Well join the club and settle in for the Jeff Dwoskin show. It's not the podcast we deserve. But the podcast we all need with your host, Jeff Dwoskin.

Jeff Dwoskin 0:16

All right, Jay, thank you so much for that amazing introduction. You get the show going each and every week and this week was no exception. Welcome, everybody, to Episode 122 of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show. As always, I am your host, Jeff Dwoskin. Great to be back for another amazing episode. This week. We're bringing the laughs with comedian Paul Mercurio. Do you love them on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Late Show with Stephen co bear amazing podcaster host of Inside Out With Paloma curio, maybe you caught his one man show off Broadway permission to speak with Paloma curio, or maybe his Comedy Central special or though CBS Late Late Show or the tonight show is a million places you probably have seen and loved and adored Paul Mecurio, and now we can add to the list. This podcast live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show to his extensive credit list. Excited to share my conversation with Paul with you. And that's coming up in just a few minutes. I do hope you're doing well. I'm still recovering from my nerdgasm of having Wil Wheaton on the show last week. It was so much fun talking to Wil Wheaton about Star Trek The Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory and all the amazing things that he's done. He shared so many great stories. Oh my goodness, I think the episodes an hour could have gone a million hours long. He has that many amazing stories to tell. I hear even if you have listened to it once that it's therapeutic to listen to it five or six more times. It's it's not documented. Anyway, I appreciate everyone who reached out I got really excited when we'll put my Instagram stories into his stories a couple of times. It is always a thrill even for me to be shared and liked by my guests on social media so much fun. Oh, news alert. Oh, what's this say? It says my friends Jeff zonder and Howard Rosner have challenged me to an axis and allies rematch after I be searched their good names and my Wil Wheaton episode where I disclosed a 90 minute victory and access and allies over both of them. Well, well. I'll have to take this into consideration and keep all of you updated. If all of our wives even let us attempt a 10 hour rematch of access and allies until then. Never let it be said I do not use sound effects.

Jeff Dwoskin 3:02

I haven't mentioned it in a while but check out Jeff is funny.com That's home of live from Detroit. The Jeff Dwoskin show on the web. You can buy me a coffee sign up for my mailing list. Also on YouTube are all the back episodes of crossing the streams our weekly live show that we do every Wednesday at 9:30pm Eastern Time on youtube, twitter and facebook where we discuss the TV shows you should be binging also if you keep your ears peeled right here to this podcast feed I throw in bonus episodes that have highlights from the live show. So if you can't catch his live, it will be delivered to your ears. At some point. I'm excited to share my conversation with Paul Mecurio with you. We worked together in 2012 and Mark Ridley's comedy castle. He was amazing. We talked a little bit about that. Paul shares his amazing journey from corporate life to following his calling as a comedian. All that's coming up in just a few minutes.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:02

But before that I do want to thank everyone in advance for their support of the sponsors. When you support the sponsors you're supporting us here at live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show and that's how we keep the lights on today's interview sponsor downtown Beirut 2 bringing you the best in slashings. muggings and stand up comedy there is no better place in downtown Beirut 2 to see all the famous people away before they're famous because let's face it once they're famous, they won't come to downtown Beirut to get the last rather cheap and be able to say you say them when come on down to downtown Beirut 2 today. All right, what sounds like a very inexpensive way to see stand up comedy check that out in your area.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:49

In the meantime, I'm excited to share with you my conversation I have with Paul Mecurio enjoy.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:56

Alright everybody, I'm excited to introduce my next guests to the show comedian podcast. You love them on The Daily Show regular on Stephen Colbert, an Off Broadway sensation with permission to speak. Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Mecurio, How are you, Paul?

Paul Mecurio 5:13

Good man, how are you? Good to be with you. It's been a while since we, we work together at the Comedy castle in Detroit.

Jeff Dwoskin 5:19

It's been a while it's 2012 we graced the stage together, I was always amazed by how you started off your act. At the time, at least you went into the audience, it was almost like all kind of improvised right? In the very beginning, very engaging. It was I always thought that was just so brave and amazing,

Paul Mecurio 5:42

nor stupid, one of the two. But I But uh, yeah, like, I liked sort of talking to them. I think people have really interesting stories. And that's actually was the is the basis for my one man show, which is just getting people to, you know, it's not making fun of them, or, like a reckless kind of thing. It's just more like, talking to them. And then them revealing, like, these crazy facts about their lives, and you realize just either how your life is just as crazy as somebody else's or not as crazy or whatever. It's just like, so it's hard not for me not to walk in a room and do that. You know what I mean? Like, it just feels natural to me to do it that way. Sometimes they don't I just jump into my act, but eventually do find myself talking to them at least a little bit, you know?

Jeff Dwoskin 6:24

Yeah, I was, I was inspired by it. I thought it was great. Because I'd never seen someone do it to that extent before you walked into the audience. I mean, you literally became part of,

Paul Mecurio 6:34

yeah, like that room. And I like going in and playing. And, you know, you get stories like I'm my one man show, which is I bring people on stage. And they just tell stories from their act and the premises, the show is, you know, if we talk we connected if we connect, you know, maybe we're, it's not a heavy theme thing, where like, I'm hitting you over the head with anything like touchy feely, but like, you know, if we talk, we connect, and then maybe we realize where we have more in common than we think. And so it's really like, the comedy finds itself in the conversation. So I'm not driving the funny like, trying to make fun of somebody's glasses or whatever. But the stuff they reveal, like, I had this guy on stage who must be in his 20s with his mom and his dad, and he's gay. He said he was gay. And I said, Well, do you remember when you came out of the closet to your parents? And he started laughing. And his mother started laughing as I remember. Yeah, he was. I think it was like 19 or something. And she said, he said to his mother, I just want you to know, I'm gay. And she said, I have work in the morning. It's 1030 at night, why are you telling me this? Now? That was her response, like, and if we expected that it would seem okay plausible and a script. But if you it just is so not believable, but it's happens in real life, you know, and so, and then we had this other couple in their 70s. And they met through an s&m website, and they are into dominance in that way. They look like your grandmother and your grandfather, like and they're legit like and it just in people's jaws are on the floor, like, Oh, my God. Again, it's like if you wrote it in a script, we'd go like, I don't know if people would believe that to 75 year old people are in s&m. It's like, no, they're right there in front of me. They are.

Jeff Dwoskin 8:09

That's awesome. I totally understand the mom's reaction. I'll talk to my wife. And it's the reaction is why did you think I would be able to process and react to this appropriately at this exact moment?

Paul Mecurio 8:21

My my wife of white sort of give me a lot of precursor rambling. Like she had to look up the price of a flight from me that I had to go somewhere. So what I did was delta, they have miles, but then they don't do miles. And I'm just like, can we just get to the punch line? How much is it? How much is and it's sort of so much information I'm trying to process when all I need is like one number from her, you know, but yeah, so anyway, if the show has been really fun, the one man show kind of been able to do that and frame it. And I got this Frank cause helped develop the show within the set director, designer for the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And the Daily Show on The Colbert Report, Jim van Hagen is his age 27 Emmy Awards, he designed the set, and we take pictures of people in the lobby, who are going to be in the audience. And through this technology we developed, we digitally map their faces on the set. And so they can see themselves on the set during the show, because it's really the show is about the audience. So so it's been really cool. Keep doing it. Keep getting these amazing stories. It's crazy.

Jeff Dwoskin 9:20

That's awesome. So you, you started that in 2018 just kind of probably slammed into the pandemic with it.

Paul Mecurio 9:26

Yeah. And then I kind of had to stop and we're going to take it on the road too. But yeah, you know, there's just, there's this other guy is 25 years. Yeah, I broke up with my girlfriend, his wife because I taught her how to shoplifting. She wouldn't listen to me and I got fed up. And like what because yeah, I taught her how to shoplift and she wanted to go shop with the CVS and I'm like, you want to shop with the CVS not worth it, and go way way back up and doing illegal stuff. I mean, stealing bikes since I was 12. And you know, I just That's how it is. I stopped now I clean up but I can steal anything. And he got mad at his girlfriend because he taught her how to shoplift, but she wouldn't listen to him. He And she went to CVS and he goes, Don't go to CVS you're gonna get and the crowd is like, and the thing that was crazy was, he was not self aware he wasn't putting on an act. And he didn't realize just how effed up this was like how he, he was legitimately he thought he had him teaching her to shoplift was normal. And then his reaction to her getting mad at her that she got arrested at CVS, not because she got arrested, but she got caught. She was mad that he got caught. You were listening, he'll thought that that was normal. And that was the beauty of it. Right? Like he was in his own world. The everybody else in the room was like, this is really screwed up. And this guy, so he goes, Yeah, I told her to go to CVS. And we're going to do see like lipstick and like, like some pens. It's not worth it. You gotta go to a place where you could steal a jewelry. Sure enough, she was CVS gets arrested. She's in the cop cars, because I'm not bailing out and I just walked away from it. Like, like, your heads like what just happened? Like so anyway, it's been really fun to get these crazy stories from very normal people.

Jeff Dwoskin 11:01

That is really funny, but I can see his point.

Paul Mecurio 11:04

Great. Yeah. It's like, what you if you're not going to listen to me go to jail. And maybe you'll learn a lesson that way. Okay, because this isn't working. I can't say like, I'm talking to myself. I'm trying to teach you how to steal for God's sake.

Jeff Dwoskin 11:16

Right? Yeah. You don't want to go down for stealing, like extra strength? Tylenol?

Paul Mecurio 11:20

Exactly, exactly. And then, you know, we're putting it on the road, too. So we're putting dates together to do that. And so I really want to go to other parts of the country with it, you know, because I have that experience through stand up. So I know, the stories are out there, you know, and I was getting people from all over the US and all over the world, because, you know, become the New York, they go to Broadway, you know, and everybody, like some old couple older couple living on a boat, and just create great stories from that. So you know, we're gonna take it around, and I just, we feel like we hit on something that nobody else is really doing. You know, I mean, it's not like traditional crowd work. It's framed with a point of view and a theme and there's, you know, there's some technical aspects to it to kind of really give it some little bit of a life on stage. You know, it's not just the guy going What do you do? Where are you from? You know, kind of thing. Nice hat, buddy. You know, that kind of stuff?

Jeff Dwoskin 12:13

No, it sounds great. There's gotta be some niceness to the having it just in New York, though not like it almost like a Vegas residency. But in New York on On Off Broadway, the family? Yeah. Like,

Paul Mecurio 12:23

it's, you know, run from the Late Show, and then do that. And, and I think people when they're visiting another city, they're a little bit more loose. Like they're not, they're not working. You know what I mean? Like they're on vacation. So I think you got to get a little bit more stuff out of people when they're kind of in this relaxed state of mind, you know?

Jeff Dwoskin 12:41

Yeah, absolutely. Right. Because they're on vacation. There's like, there's no way the other 100 people in this room know who I am. Yeah, exactly. I go into my cloak and dagger routine because I'm not in my own city or my entire subdivisions. gonna know about it by Tuesday.

Paul Mecurio 12:56

And I'm not thinking about, you know, this report that I'm that I do tomorrow that I have to get home and do as soon as I'm done at this theater. You know, I think there's a benefit to that to you know, just having somebody in another city in like New York and energizes people and stuff. You know, that another guy that his wife was cheating on him with a minister in Czechoslovakia. The reason he figured it out was his what his mother died because she was Czechoslovakia. They went there for the funeral, his wife is pre started hitting on his wife. And then he realized that the priest was sleeping with it, because the guy was a fat, you know, troll, which is the way he described him. And his wife stayed there for a while and would go hike and this guy was hiking with her and losing weight. So he realized that he was sleeping with this woman because this woman was helping him lose weight. And, and yet, they're still living together here in Brooklyn. It just the stories just gets so thick and rich. And like they go all over the place. It's really great.

Jeff Dwoskin 13:51

Anyway, no, that's, that's awesome. That must be such a kick. What story did you hear? And it just kind of stopped you like you're like, I don't even I don't even know where to go with.

Paul Mecurio 14:02

It was actually that one because there was a whole other level to it, because he's his wife. And he are still living in Brooklyn, in the same house. But they're getting divorced. But she's still flying to Czechoslovakia to have this relationship with this minister priest, and the guy knows it and the guy's letting it happen. And it's just like, everybody and the people literally were yelling from the Iranians. Why don't you just leave her like they started to give him like Maryland vice. And I had another one was because yeah, I'm kind of heroine. I go Yeah, I'm kind of off. She had a friend. It was close. Both of them are heroin addicts and one is off but the other one is kind of washed because yeah, go off and I go on, but it's the kind of thing you say like when Yeah, I'm eating bread but then I'm not eating bread like I eat bread and then sometimes I lay off bread this is like she was talking about heroin like it was like it was a you know coolly you know I sometimes I drink Kool Aid sometimes. It's friggin heroin. Like it's, it's like you know that was stopped me in my tracks because it was sort of like, Am I happy for you? Or is it sad, pathetic, that is not off of it or you're kind of like, it's like I'm sort of not murdering anymore embroidery a little bit, but not as much as I used to, like, that's kind of how I didn't know how to react to it.

Jeff Dwoskin 15:15

It's amazing how many versions of normal exist in the world, like everyone has their own, like, however they are, they think that's normal. I did jury duty once. And it's amazing when you do jury duty, because you're sitting there, and you all watch the same exact thing. And then you go into the jury room, and you start to talk about it differences, because it's not as crazy as the way the country is now. But like, you know, way everyone can see the same thing, and then have completely different versions and takes on it. I was like, I can't believe this. How is that even possible? But then everyone had like this different point of view. And I was like, Oh, I grew up really sheltered.

Paul Mecurio 15:53

It's like 12 Angry Men, but like, you're right. I mean, I never thought of it that way. But you're absolutely right. People do look at their version of normal like, like this woman with a gun kind of weaponry that was normal to her. And then I know there are people in the audience, like, never even did a drug, let alone heroine. And so they couldn't get their head around it. But the thing that I liked about it is that afterwards, people would come talk to each other in the audience and go, I thought that was really interesting. I never did that. Or I always wanted to, you know, say around the world, in a boat like it there it was sort of, it does bring people sort of together to do their thing, you know, to kind of have this engagement that they wouldn't have otherwise,

Jeff Dwoskin 16:31

what sounds amazing, it sounds like, it sounds like what's so cool about it versus like doing a stand up act or a play or anything like that. It's different every time.

Paul Mecurio 16:41

Yeah, it really is. That's what I really love about it. And I just love how honest the people are, as long as they know you're not going to compromise them and be mean, they'll give you everything they'll give you the world you know? That's okay.

Jeff Dwoskin 16:54

Yes, I want to see the show, though.

Paul Mecurio 16:58

I won't charge you the ticket. You come in for your my friend.

Jeff Dwoskin 17:02

Thank you, Paul. Thank you. That is so lovely. Awesome. I got like 10 Friends I didn't mention that are coming to I love when someone's like, we're eating sounds like I got it. I gotta go. Oh, hang on a second waiter.

Paul Mecurio 17:18

Exactly. Bringing a cheesecake. Bring me three pieces. I'm gonna be hungry later.

Jeff Dwoskin 17:22

I think a lot of people probably know you from various things, but specifically probably The Daily Show, but I kind of want it you have a very unique kind of story that kind of leads up from what you I know you call it kind of an original double life that kind of then broke off into comedy full time, but you were an investment lawyer on Wall Street.

Paul Mecurio 17:43

I was a lawyer did invest in m&a transactions, mergers and acquisitions at a big corporate law firm went to Georgetown Law School and ended up in New York. And then I was doing m&a, mergers and acquisition deals as an investment banker, which is similar to what you do as a lawyer. It's just a different focus. It's like the investment banker does the business analysis of the companies and then sets a price and negotiates the terms and then the lawyers negotiate the documentation or lawyers paperwork and stuff, legal paperwork and stuff. So and then I was writing jokes as a hobby for some reason. And I made some short films and one of them got into the Aspen comedy festival and I lied work and said my mother was sick. And I was sitting there in a theater watching my short film in a big Comedy Festival and Aspen took us to lunch at some big weeks house, they put us in a van and drove us into the woods. And then in the woods, we changed out of the van until like a horse transplant. I thought well, I'm gonna get raped in the woods. I don't know what this is. But this is not like this is a shade in New York or like, and then we get to this clearing and there's this massive house and going to the lobby and there's Brooke inside the foyer of the house and actual not a manmade Brooke like the guy so rich. He just built his house over a natural Brook. And there are pictures of this guy and like every major story, you could think of Paul Newman and Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep and it turned out to be Peter Guber, one of the big Hollywood action movie producers in there's a luncheon that the young short filmmakers were invited to at the luncheon was Spike Lee, the huddling brothers and Albert Brooks and Woody Allen. And I'm sitting there having lunch with these guys. And I'm like, I'm supposed to be back there in an m&a deal in New York, and they think my mother's sick and like so I started to really get into this world. And then I started writing jokes and I had these all these jokes amassed and Jay Leno was the private entertainment at this function my firm was invited to so I just thought, Well, I gotta I was working all nighters like was 24/7 and I was like, okay, you know what, I'm going to just go and give myself a break for an hour and watch them and then I went up to him afterwards and said, I got these jokes and I don't know what I'm going to do with them. But if you don't have new jokes, you can have him and he's like, okay, which was really blew my mind because like he really We did like, like somebody who's letting helium out of a balloon.

Jeff Dwoskin 20:06

That is a great Jay Leno. And

Paul Mecurio 20:09

it's basically like a baby crying and also shitting at the same time. And then he calls me back. And he goes, Wait, you might want to put your name and your phone number on. Yes, I know how to reach. I was like, I'm so nervous like I've even. And then he called me a couple of days later because everybody jokes about how are you sending jokes for the Tonight Show? And then he goes, by the way, what do you do? I go, I'm a lawyer. He goes, I knew it. I go, why? Because you write like a lawyer. You're too wordy, because get to the punchline, because you get four sentences to get the punchline and you don't need to tell me when to make a funny face. I've been doing this a while I know what I'm doing. And then a few days later, he called me and first time we call me my phone ring is like it's Jay Leno, his father and I thought it was my friend, David like pulling a prank and doing Jaylon repression because I thought there was no way Jay Leno would be calling me and I'm like, yeah, really funny, David and he goes not really a shoe and I go Yeah, right. And then I actually said to Jay Leno, you do a lousy Jay Leno. I think I do a pretty good me. That's when he said we'll hire I'll hire you. And then he called me a few days later, and he said, I'm gonna do one of your shows Tonight Show and blew my head off my shoulders. And then I that's when I started to live live this like secret double life and I was leaving Wall Street that was working during the day and into the night and I was leaving my Wallstreet job at night, turn around at work, dive bars in New York City and do open mic nights, which you've done in any comic we know is done. And they're usually hellholes and dive bars and drunks. And one of the places I worked was actually called Downtown Beirut to and had been number two. So like, either they were franchising the shitholes or, you know, somebody blew up the first one, I don't know. And they were poets and folk singers and comics and hooker worked out of there, John worked out a pimp work out of there took drugs and out of the plane, which I and so just imagine like, a guy, Wall Street suit, nice white, whatever, in a stroll into that place, and I must have really wanted to, because boy, I put up with some crazy, crazy shit. Like I remember one night, I was waiting to go on stage. And there was a folk singer before me and blowing in the wind, like badly like, yeah, it's really just bad. And all of a sudden, there's this fight at the pool table, and one guy runs out of the bar, and another guy grabs the size, and he starts screaming, he caught me a motherfucking company, and it was a drug deal. And they had a disagreement, to say the least. And the guy come across the side of the neck with a box cutter, he runs out of the bar, and this guy's bleeding, like a lot from the side of his neck. You come in, and the girlfriend's crying, like, Oh, my God, look at my boyfriend, he can't make the answer. Or the guy just keeps flying. Like he's not getting off, right? Like he doesn't even stop for any of this. And then I think the show's over and I start to weave and then I hear the emcee, go up and go, all right, I'm gonna ask for John, whatever, you guys ready for some comedy now? And I'm like, what? And I was next. And I was doing it. You know, like, you don't realize when you first start out, or if you know, like, you don't have to go on if you don't want to go on and you just say like, I run, and I go on, because I didn't know better. And I said, Nice to be here, downtown Beirut to I always wanted to follow a slashing, which I thought was a pretty good line. Thank you for laughing. But apparently the guy who got slashed didn't think it was a good like, because he heard me and he had all these bloody napkins at this point. He was drunk and wandering around, like screaming, I'm gonna get him I'm gonna get him. And he heard me go you make fun of me. And he throws all these bloody napkins at me and they hit me in my shirt and they stick to my shirt, like right in the ribcage and they make this big blood stain on my white Brooks Brothers shirt. Now I'm like, fuck this guy. I'm staying up here. I don't care for you. I'm gonna stay up here long enough to eat. He bleeds to death. Right? And turns back to me about two minutes later. And he goes, Hey, what do you do? And anyway, go kind of tell jokes. He goes, Oh, yeah, it goes. I like jokes. You know, nobody's listening to you hold on a second, he turns back to Vegas, everybody shut the hell up. This guy's trying to tell jokes in the hole. Please shut up. I had like the best two minutes of my life. I go back to the firm I had work to do that night and I'm all dressed in them. And now I'm like a 12 year old trying to hide this blood stain. So I got this big file folder that I have in front of this blood stain and I'm walking around the law firm and I walk into the conference room and everybody's in the conference room and the senior lawyer from my firm's there and he's never there late and he was really pissed because he couldn't find me for like three hours because I was in doubt. Tell me where

Paul Mecurio 24:27

to where to go through. Have you been what have you been doing? And he goes, Why do you have a blood stain on your shirt?

Paul Mecurio 24:32

I thought okay, well, I'm dead. Because I was keeping this a secret from everybody at work and he's and I'm like, I'm dead. This is I'm dead and to myself and then all of a sudden, I don't have an answer and a guy the other way goes what kind of shirt is it goes through Brooks Brothers sure why he goes on. I know how to get blood out of a Brooks Brothers shirt. What? Another guy goes no, no Armani when I get blood on my shirt. And I'm thinking like, are you guys remaking American Psycho in your spare time? Why do you know so much about blood on work shirts, and I got bailed out, you know, by that moment, and then that's when I realized like I either got to shit or get off the pot and do this full time. And so I unraveled my life and I sold my apartment in New York and I moved to a rooming house where I was living with several different people in this old rooming house, including a 300 pound phone sex operators sold Herbalife diet products door to door. That was one of my neighbors. And I started living away from them. Yeah. And I and I married her no. And so then I got really disenchanted, though, like six months and I'm like, this sucks. What have I done? And I went, I got tempted to go back to Wall Street and I did I went did an interview. And I said, Okay, I'm gonna go back swearing off comedy, and I moved back into the city recreated my life nice apartment, my sous and move my girlfriend back in with me swore off comedy. And then six months later, I was back in the clubs doing comedy, like an alcoholic with them for a drink. And that's when I realized, like, I really didn't don't have a choice in this. Like, it kind of picked me. You know, the straw that broke the camel's back was during that second stint on Wall Street. I was doing a deal. And we were working in Arizona and this senior older guy from the company, the client comes out that I see on TV last night and I had shot like a TV set, but they didn't tell me what was going to air and I forgot about I go no goes Oh, yeah. So you're like telling jokes and stuff. You're being funny. And we got on I go, yeah, oh my God, God, and then it hit me. I'm like, Yeah, and I thought I'm gonna be in trouble when he goes,

Paul Mecurio 26:26

it was great. He goes, Hey, everybody, my investment bankers, a comedian. What

Paul Mecurio 26:30

do you think of that? Hey, why don't we all go down to downtown Phoenix? We'll go to a comedy club tonight. And Paul can perform for us. I'm like, no, no, I'm good. That's okay. Right. And it turned out that the guy liked it. And I became like, his favorite person on the deal because of the fact that I did comedy like humanize me to him. I wasn't just this like, money grubbing Wall Street guy. And not that all people on Wall Street are but that's like the perception right? Of some people so that's it was really like it was like I needed his permission that it was okay to do it. And then I felt more free to go and do it full time.

Jeff Dwoskin 27:00

That's awesome. It's it's it's interesting how the universe kind of sends you things when you Yeah, you know, the randomness of him. Have you not even knowing when that's gonna be on TV, the randomness of him watching it when you're there? It's just it's that's a crazy series of Yeah, that's really really cool. It's a good way

Paul Mecurio 27:16

to put it. I never thought of it that way. There's a there is a randomness to it and the universe kind of like, coming together. And I was fighting it and it was just it was I was kind of obsessed with doing it. But I think I had convinced myself at one point, this is just a hobby. I won't do it. But it was really it really took hold of me so I wasn't I wasn't being realistic with myself about it. You know that how deep in I was with it?

Jeff Dwoskin 27:40

It's a drug once you start doing it. There's nothing better than that. I'm sure the money was as an as a banker on Wall Street doing m&a deals was insane. But yeah, but yeah, I mean, but you always had to kind of follow your love and passion. You got to be happy. Yeah, with what you're doing every day.

Paul Mecurio 27:56

You want to look back and say I should have and I just want to figure out a way to piss off my mother and I think that was really a perfect way of doing it. Like you know, I'm leaving Wall Street to be a comedian what but yeah, it and you know, then you've got all these health gigs that you've had, you know, we go work with jerks and obnoxious people and all that other stuff, but, but the core of it was that pull. I was really torn. Should I say should I go? Should I stay? Should I go? Because it was a really scary decision. You know,

Jeff Dwoskin 28:26

is it had to been horribly scary because at this point, you've got you're married right? Do you have a kid yet? Or not yet? And

Paul Mecurio 28:32

yeah, but on the way you know, so yeah, and there's certain expectations you know, from that other person in your life and then just really working everything it's it's a lot. You know, it was a lot

Jeff Dwoskin 28:43

thank God for Jay Leno and that guy who saw you on TV Yeah, exactly.

Paul Mecurio 28:48

For not getting I ended up leaving that job. I didn't get along with my boss and my second stint on Wall Street he was he was kind of obnoxious, so I was kind of happy to be out of there. He didn't get it at all and but I would get good material from being on Wall Street. So that was good, but like Yeah, the whole thing was just so then the phone sex operator and she wouldn't want me to come and listen to her calls. They're in the room and I'm like, No, I'm good. And then you know, I I could picture what you really look like and throw up in my mouth. And you know, like all I was just like, I was in this bizarro world for a while

Jeff Dwoskin 29:21

it is and for those listening have never done comedy can understate when Paul says shit gags he means the worst

Paul Mecurio 29:29

is like, why am I here? Why am I doing this? Nobody's paying attention. But you give that one laugh and that sustains you. You know, I was doing a gig and then the partners wife came in from the firm and I didn't want it if she knew me and I I ducked behind the bar and I said to the emcee, introduce me as Paul Winmill. He goes what I go, Paul windmill windmill was the street I grew up on. So that's like a poor name. And then I pop up and I spent the whole set like basically with my back to the audience like, like looking to the side in the back so she wouldn't see my face is somebody who's like turn around. I'm like, Nah, I'm good. Like it was like I was getting heckled to turn around on stage. It was just ridiculous. It was ridiculous.

Jeff Dwoskin 30:08

It's so funny. It's are doing comedy in front of people. I had work come to one of my shows I was doing in October and it was kind of split. There were some people that just thought it was the greatest thing they ever saw. And then some people I don't know that ever felt comfortable looking me in the eyes again. Exactly, just because of the material and stuff like that. We could do an entire episode just on shitty gigs. But but let's talk about a good gig. So the Daily Show, let me say something real quick. I watched your Comedy Central presents and then I watched a bunch of the second opinion clips on Comedy central.com So you change your name at some point from ver curio to

Paul Mecurio 30:46

Mercuria very observant. Yeah,

Jeff Dwoskin 30:49

combination of being observant slash accidentally spelling it wrong on Comedy Central and getting it to competence search once and then 15 times spelling a correct word din and then realizing what I did. So but what I was gonna say is you should probably call Comedy Central and have them put your new way you the current spelling in the database. So when people search, they can find you.

Paul Mecurio 31:11

Oh, they have it as M er cure.

Jeff Dwoskin 31:14

Yeah, yeah. Because on The Daily Show your PA Michael Mercuria. Yeah,

Paul Mecurio 31:19

well, I had this the this Australian actor named Paul Mercurio, who is in strictly ballroom and Exit to Eden and he was in the actors union before I was and so I had to change my name. So for awhile, I was going with three names and guide, but people were just butchering it and couldn't remember the third name Paul, Michael. Michael McCary. Oh, like really? So I ensured that backed upon the curio and I dropped the first time my name that way I was differentiate it from the guy technically in the Union was in before I would this guy, he was a ballroom dancer, and he was, you know, really tight pants and like, he's got these, he's gonna use a dancer's body. So he's got like, he's, you see his picture, we kind of look alike until you go from the neck down or neck down. He's got like a white tank top. And he's really tight pants with a bowl and it's all wet, wetting himself with water and we get that's not my headshot. That's me. So that's why the names been spelled differently to kind of try to accommodate all that. But yeah, I guess I got a quote Comedy Central, but I couldn't figure out who I would call him and I may have my agent call somebody over there.

Jeff Dwoskin 32:21

Have your people call there? Yeah, exactly. Talk about like, how did you How did you land the gig at The Daily Show? You were there for many years. And you were your writer and your correspondent?

Paul Mecurio 32:30

Yeah. And I was doing stand up in the city and Liz ones that knew me one of the Create co creators, her and Madeline Smith Berg created the show and asked me to submit some stuff and they liked it and hired me and then we would just be doing this new show and they're just leaving us alone witness to all sorts of crazy stuff. And sometimes we get in trouble and get yelled at by the President of the network. Like we wrote this piece like about the Disneyfication of Time Square was for the porn shops were gone and now replaced by all these young themed stores like Disney and aquarium going and go but is it really? Is it is it really any different? Or is it just the front and then like pick up a doll and go this is a deal though. Like the mermaid doll like all the Disney classic the middle though they'll though and then they put the pieces together. And then the Friday we'd have a meeting and the President that looks like just you idiot dad screaming at you like he's he's like blind with anger. He's like, you

Paul Mecurio 33:28

can't say deal though. 12

Paul Mecurio 33:30

times in two and a half minute feel peace. Like we didn't know there was a dildo rule he goes Don't be advisors. Like how many times can you say deal though he's like four you can say go for you just made up a number right? And then he became known as the four dildo Doug after that, but he wanted us to go cross the line and then pull us back. And so we were just writing what we you know, wanted to write and they were really good about like witness giving us a long leash to kind of just do our thing and and that's kind of how that started. And then you know, that'll better open up the door for me to go and do panels on like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, you know, as like a political satirist, and CBS Sunday Morning I go on there as a commentator and so so it wasn't just good for that it was just kind of open and like opportunities for me other places because of the kind of stuff we're doing. And then when John came on board, he narrowed the focus more to like, politics and the media stuff like that.

Jeff Dwoskin 34:25

It's funny watching the second opinion pieces now because Jon Stewart's kind of back again with his apple show. Problem with it's so young, you bought such such babies just in terms of like, looking so young John, yeah, John's still looks good, but very, very gray. Now their

Paul Mecurio 34:47

beard doesn't help him either. I'm like he should shave the beard if he doesn't want to look so the big gray beard is like, you know, he wears it well, but like, but yeah, it was good. It was it was great. You know, we got to go to travel and go to These different towns and do we would do midterm election shows and like universities like Ohio State, George Washington University and stuff like that. Oh, I

Jeff Dwoskin 35:09

you know, I totally left out the very important, but now's a good time to mention it. Emmy and Peabody Award winner mCherry Oh, boom, Big

Paul Mecurio 35:18

Shot. Yes, there you go. I got I got the hardware baby. I got the hardware. I just gotta get the Tony Oscar and that's the and then I can retire. And retire means stop begging for money and time square. Yeah. So it it was really a great gig to start out doing and I didn't really plan on doing and actually it was initially it was not going to do because I was wanted to do stand up. But you know, it just opened the doors and like we were just, you know, we get yelled at for doing inappropriate blowjob jokes on the air they cut on somehow and with graphics with like, shots of stuff on people's faces and my drummer late we get yelled at and they pull the show and and then you know the time but they really wanted us to cross the line sometimes and then pull us back because they wanted it to have an edge.

Jeff Dwoskin 36:03

Ya know, it's it's so cool. I mean, the daily show like launch so many people. I mean, in addition to you, you know, Stephen Colbert, I know you're good buddies with John Oliver came from there, Lewis black. See if corral Yeah, man. It's just

Paul Mecurio 36:17

great. The Lewis black segment, myself and my writing partner, were the ones that really pitched Louis to be a part of that show. And we would write that segment with him back in black, we would have so much fun because we would just get it was always like the sort of odd little stories that we couldn't do in the other part of the show. And it was always like a Florida man thought that that meant it was like some crazy batshit crazy thing. That's somebody in Florida, he sees a version of the image of the Virgin Mary and an oil slick in his parking lot, like you know, just and so we would just sit and that's when you could smoke inside. I wasn't smarter, but Lewis black and the producer really changed focus would be like a room full of smoke, and we would just be 80% of what we were saying in the riff of the video. We're looking we couldn't put on the air. But the 20% we could was really pretty good. It was fun. It was really fun.

Jeff Dwoskin 37:04

This is where you became buddies with Steve Colbert. Yeah,

Paul Mecurio 37:07

we wrote together on that show, format that show and then he went to Colbert Report. And I worked on that show for a while on the Late Show, Stephen Colbert. And but yeah, it was just an odd collection of misfits that came together to make that show. You know, that's so

Jeff Dwoskin 37:21

cool. So I do want to make sure that we cover one other big thing. I got to check out the movie, chuck that you were in with, with leave Shriver? Yeah, about the real life rocky Bell bow I Chuck Wepner. That's pretty cool.

Paul Mecurio 37:35

It was just up in 70s. It was like a little Guido from the 70s.

Jeff Dwoskin 37:40

And the one thing I noticed, like when I was watching some of the previous Gaffigan and Ron Perlman they did, it was a hell of a makeup job. And those two were almost unrecognizable. So cool. Let's talk about your podcast. So you have you have an awesome, awesome, awesome podcast with a guest list that very, very mpsf. So originally, it was called two chairs and a mic. At what point did it become the PA on the curio show,

Paul Mecurio 38:07

she switched it over? I don't know, maybe it was a couple of years ago, I just, I just wanted something that kind of frankly, just branded My name more and was you know, people, some people said people know you, so why not put your name in it, as opposed to this sort of clever title. So that was it. But you know, it's always been one on one just I have this slight kind of eclectic interest in different things. And so I didn't want it to be I didn't want it to be like a couple of comics hanging out. I didn't want it to feel like a morning radio show kind of thing either. I didn't want it to be stand up specific because that's already a big part of what I do. So I wanted and I wanted to be able to talk to really interesting different people that I wouldn't normally get to talk to in my everyday life or in my other parts of my entertainment life. So entertainment is this that's kind of was just the straightforward

Jeff Dwoskin 38:56

you don't get to talk to Paul McCartney in your normal daily entertainment life.

Paul Mecurio 39:00

He's actually in the other room right now and we're having dinner in an hour but but that that was that's it that one was getting him was you know, Cole bears on it. Bryan Cranston, you know, I have wrestlers. I have Stone Cold Steve Austin. I have boxes here related authors

Jeff Dwoskin 39:17

Kevin Costner and Neil deGrasse Tyson Bill Barr Rob Reiner. Artie Lange,

Paul Mecurio 39:23

Christian champion, Lewis black, Brian Regan. So you know, for comedy fans. There's literally something for everyone. Jon Meacham, the story and I was working at the Colbert Report and Paul McCartney had just finished rehearsal. He was a guest that day and around the corner and in the hallway all alone is Paul McCartney. Like with nobody just like standing there alone, which threw me more than anything. And like, my whole world just slowed down. And I was like, Oh my God, it was like one of those moments and then I I basically said, like, should I say hi? Should I not say hi. And then I'm like, Yeah, you know, he's alone in the house. Oh, he's like a gazelle on the Serengeti plains unattended. And I'm like a lion. I'm going to go up for TAC right? So I just want to real quick. I just said, honor me, I'm really excited to see you perform this. And I started to work where you guys now come back. And he goes, What's your name? I go, Paul. He goes, Oh, Paul, that's a good name. And I'm like, alright, I'll do the jokes. But he's just play a little guitar and make a billion dollars. Right. And then he goes, what do you do I go on stand up. And I work on the show the deletion of of line czar when the shows and starts talking about stand up and use Robin Williams and Richard Pryor. And because you got a kid Yeah, I got a kid. Yeah, it's hard when you're on the road, right? Five or 10 minutes go by and I'm just talking to Paul McCartney wake up target to view like just to average person conversation like normal, but everyday life. And on the inside. I'm like, I'm trying the outside. I'm like, really cool. I'm like, hey, you know, I'm just keeping it on the inside. I'm like, Oh, my God. I was like those girls, Shea Stadium, I was like, screaming and throwing myself at panties out of whatever, as I'm talking to him getting closer and closer to his face, like the close talker and Seinfeld, because he's Paul McCartney. And I couldn't believe that I was looking at him. And I was like, so close to his face. Like, he's like, bending backwards to avoid me. And I realized, Okay, I gotta leave this guy alone. So I leave, I go to the bathroom. I'm hyperventilating call my wife from like, You're not gonna believe a sensible Maccarone. And then I get this thought he should do my podcast because I'd like to talk to him. Like, That's literally how my brain works. Because I like to talk to musicians or having makes music. So I go and I knock on the dresser door, and I go, I know, this is crazy. We do my podcast. He goes, Yeah, sure. Just like that was awesome. And it threw me because, you know, it was like, it's a Kindle. Uh, you know, I don't know, in your high school or college is a really hot girl or guy. You want to ask him out, but you think oh, they're way hotter than I am. They'll never say yes, but I'm gonna ask him anyway. At least I know that they have said yes or no, at least I asked. But you and you don't. But I don't have a chance. Instead they say yes. And you don't have a plan. That was me. Because he goes, Yeah, sure. How are you doing? And I start, this is like, this point, seasoned performer. Nothing really throws me this is me in a dressing room with Paul McCartney. He was Yeah, sure how we do it. I'm like, ah, ah, and I'm like, rubbing my thigh like Rain Man, like, nah. And then I blurt out, I'll come to London. And he's like, we're in a room in New York together. Why would you come to London? And I go, I don't know. Is it easy to do? And I actually said to Paul McCartney, well, yeah, it's really easy. I don't want to be bothered. You could do it on your phone naked from your toilet. I'm like, Oh, my, what do we say? Right. So now like, look, I'm gonna leave you alone. Or I really screw this up. I'll talk to one of your assistants who will set it up. And then this is the kicker, right? Here he goes, now you and I'll do it. Like, what do you mean, he goes, you and I will exchange phone numbers. And when I call you, you gotta be ready to do it. So now I'm handing my post it note of my phone number to him. He's giving me his phone number. My hands shaking. Like I'm like, I'm not going to sleep with you. Oh, man. And then I'm like, You're Paul McCartney. I will sleep with you in a minute if you want me to now I take the number and I leave and I think he just gave me a fake number right and blew me off. So he does a show at the leak at the at the Colbert Report. And now I'm also working on The Daily Show that time so I'm running to get to that taping and my phone rings and I don't recognize the number and I let it ring the voicemail. And this is the message on my phone

Unknown Speaker 43:22

broadcasting John, so John, your copy

Jeff Dwoskin 43:33

of wind and it's awesome that you missed the call because now you have that on tape. I guess you have the whole interview on tape now too. But I wouldn't be probably he

Paul Mecurio 43:40

needed to. He needed to identify himself as Paul McCartney like that was really led this server to say that when I retrieved that I was in the middle of Manhattan. And I just I put the phone down and I took my head a backpack with me. And I just threw the backpack on the ground and started screaming

Unknown Speaker 43:56

work. Screens call Paul McCartney like,

Paul Mecurio 44:01

I look like one of those guys that are talking to a voice in their head because I was just reading these random words that no one could figure they met. And I calmed down and I ran through the Daily Show. And we had a private, like a private phone with me private calls. And I dial them up and I got them on the phone. And

Jeff Dwoskin 44:16

that's so cool. And cool. Yeah, so

Paul Mecurio 44:19

anyways, we just talked about music was not one of these, like, did you hear Yoko blah, blah, blah, whatever. I did ask him why he would marry one with one leg. And then he hung up on me. No. Now he was really great. And we just talked about making music and what it was like early the early like The Beatles, but yeah, but thanks for asking that because I'm a little bit. I'm a little proud of that one. You know, I think I'm more proud that I had the guts to ask him than anything else, you know, and then I didn't get my head handed to me. And I think I think he said yes, because I never bothered him for an autograph or picture. When I was talking to him in the hallway. I was just talking to him like a regular person and I heard he gets you know, hit up a lot for autographs, stuff like that. So he maybe he appreciated that For me, it was my hands to make.

Jeff Dwoskin 45:01

I'm sure it was a combination of both of those things. But that is that is so cool that but that's it right? You just got to ask if you didn't if you would have just if you didn't ask, you would have just assumed he would have said no. And your life would have gone on, and it just wouldn't exist now.

Paul Mecurio 45:17

Right? And we wouldn't be talking because you'd be like, why would I want to talk to this guy? He didn't. McCartney, because you'd be looking for that guy with you, Paul McCartney. I know how you are. I know you're shallow in that way.

Jeff Dwoskin 45:27

Oh, yeah. Oh, Paul Mecurio was the guy who talked to Rob Reiner Artie Lange, Lewis black Bob Costas. Adam McKay. Judd Apatow No, thank you. Good boy.

Paul Mecurio 45:37

I should throw those names around my house. I get a little bit more respect than I have. This is fun, man. You're good. Interviewer.

Jeff Dwoskin 45:44

Thanks, Paul. Do a lot of research is a high compliment coming from us. I appreciate that very, very much.

Paul Mecurio 45:51

Good to hopefully we'll see each other when I come back to Royal Oak. That would

Jeff Dwoskin 45:55

be amazing. In the meantime, everyone listening check out the Paul Mecurio show. You can get it on Apple podcasts everywhere. It's any podcast app. It's there. Look for Paul's permission to speak one man show either in New York or coming to your town. Hopefully one day what's your website?

Paul Mecurio 46:14

paulMecurio.com and I'm on Instagram Tiktok Facebook, Twitter. I'm on every social media and I'm already on ones that don't exist. I've already put my name on a list to be on anything that does not exist yet but will so it's at home curio MEC. Why are you one on my last name? I hope my name changes in holding my career back do you think it

Jeff Dwoskin 46:37

is I think only for people who are trying to search you on Comedy central.com

Paul Mecurio 46:41

Okay, good. I feel better than. Thanks, man. This has been fun. Yeah,

Jeff Dwoskin 46:45

thank you so much.

Jeff Dwoskin 46:46

This was a blast. All right, everyone. How awesome was Paul Mecurio? I told you I built it up and boom we delivered so during the conversation Paul and I talked about him changing the name of his podcast. Well he's changed it since then. So if you're gonna go search out that Paul McCartney episode search for Inside Out with Paul Mercurio on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast. Same place you find mine you'll find Paul's and when a nice little treat that was on extra Paul on the podcast as Sir Paul McCartney. Kinda indirectly via Paul ipso facto, Paul McCartney has been on my podcast, maybe not really. I have to look up the rules. If Paul comes to your town either Paul Paul McCartney or Paul Mercurio, for two different reasons. Go see both both amazing. All right.

Jeff Dwoskin 47:38

Well, with the interview over I can only mean one thing. That's right. It's time now for a trending hashtag and the family of hashtags at hashtag roundup. That's right follow hashtag roundup on Twitter at hashtag roundup and download the free hashtag roundup app at the Google Play Store or iTunes App Store. The app is free totally free, download it get notified every time a hashtag game starts tweet along with us and one day one of your tweets will show up on a future episode of live from Detroit the Jeff Dwoskin show fame and fortune awaits you this week's hashtag of course inspired by the conversation I had with my guest Paul Mecurio and his amazing one man play permission to speak where he brings people on stage and they bare their souls well would you believe at hashtag round up Matt answer and it's a struggle challenge Twitter name the world with #MyMostBoringConfession. These are probably some confessions, Paul hopes would never make the show. But yet here we are with some #MyMostBoringConfession tweets. Tom confesses I wear shoes in the house. Don't do that. That's supposed to be really bad. Craig Shoemaker. I hate people who aid people and hate that hating those people make me one of those people. As Craig Shoemaker. You may recognize them from Episode 14 of live from Detroit the Jeff Dwoskin show on oh, gee interview. Check that out and you get a chance. Elaine confesses I cannot sleep with my closet door open not even a crack because you know, monsters. I hear you Lynn. I hear you. Loud and clear. Jeff knows what the Hokey Pokey is all about. Keep that to yourself. Jeff Baker's has a problem mixing up east and west. I gotta confess myself, I never knew which was which. And then I worked someplace and the address was West 12 mile. So anytime I had to figure out east and west I just pictured where they were in relation to who I was and then could figure out whether I was east or west of where I needed to be Jan confesses that she lathers and rinses but does not repeat. That's pretty brave Jan. pretty brave. Rick confesses he's walked on grass despite what the signs hold Hold him. I'm guessing that science said don't walk on grass and Rick said Not today. Not today I'm walking on this grass. These are some #MyMostBoringConfession. If you're like I got one more boring than all these you had the Twitter right now and you tweet your own. I'll show you some Twitter love just tag us at at Jeff Dwoskin show we're not done here Tomas find swift ring to be exhilarating. He loves swift ring. You should come to my house. My wife could use a break. Debbie confesses that she said she sent thoughts and prayers, but she actually didn't send them guilty. I've done that. Dan confesses he wants to hold the dead guy he restarted his computer but hang on to your hats everyone. Dan did not really restart his computer. Thank you Dan. I hope you feel better from that confession. Acidic blonde admits she let the dogs out. We knew it. I knew it was you. I knew it was you the whole time you just sat there with

Jeff Dwoskin 50:58

in the ruins confesses fruitcake isn't all that bad, who? Who hurt you who hurt you? And finally the other and confesses when eating Pringles. He often exceeds the suggested serving size. Oh, we've all been there. All right, those were some exhilarating #MyMostBoringConfession tweets. Again. Go to Twitter. Tweet your own tag us at Jeff Dwoskin show. All the tweets I read will be retweeted at Jeff Dwoskin show head on over there. Follow us show those tweets some love. Well, can you believe it? The hashtag game is over and the interviews over I can only mean one thing. Episode 122 is coming to a close. I want to thank my special guests Paul Mercurio. And of course, I want to thank all of you for coming back week after week. It means the world to me, and I'll see you next time.

Announcer 51:54

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Jeff Dwoskin show with your host Jeff Dwoskin. Now go repeat everything you've heard and sound like a genius catch us online at the Jeff Dwoskin show.com or follow us on Twitter at Jeff Dwoskin show and we'll see you next time

Transcribed by https://otter.ai