Remember Jason Schwartzman Being The Absolute Best? (with Jason Schwartzman, Part 2)

Published Apr 8, 2024, 7:00 AM

On today's episode we're sharing Part 2 of our epic conversation with actor and musician Jason Schwartzman! We're talking about nostalgic record and prank stores, digging through our parents' basements and all the "Over the Hill" merch the Bayers' mom got for her 40th birthday. Plus, is Jason's mom the most intuitive gift giver ever? Or is he the most creative and artistic castmate ever? We also all workshop our Muppets impressions and talk about the evolution of Kermit The Frog from Muppet Babies to adulthood. Finally, in a rousing game of CHANGE.DORK, the trio debate the merits of vegan options at a prep school, moving all major holidays to Fridays and putting Animal on the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine. Trust us when we say you don't need a Staples "Easy" button to know that checking out this episode is a no-brainer!

Hi.

I'm Vanessa Bayer and this is my brother Jonah.

We're two siblings who love to talk about our childhood in nostalgia and how it shaped us into the people we are today.

Who are so excited for today's guests that we talked to him for a really long time and then split our convo into two episodes.

Welcome to How did We Get Weird? With Jason Schwartzman Part two.

But have you been to the new Amiba location the second one?

No?

I have, not great. Yeah it's great.

Yeah, yeah, I for some reason never had. I didn't really go, hadn't gone to it since the other location closed. And then when my friend Ben was in town, we went over there and it's like, I love, It's a great space and it's laid out. It's amazing, and I realized, like my kid, what a fun place it is actually for like kids, or at least my kids to go. It's like it's shirts and giant posters everywhere. Like you know, I think when I was a kid in La there was a store that I loved so much that's gone, but it was at this Century City mall and it was called Heaven Whoa. That's where I spent my first dollar. Wow, actually I my first dollar from my allowance. I got a candy and I remember like feeling terrible about it after I spent it, because I was like, I just spent this thing on something that's just gonna vanish in my mouth. But Heaven and and speaking me, which I'm realizing now that my sister Stephanie sent me a photo of her she found her old Heaven bag. But Heaven was the best store. It was the kind of story you'd go in and like the I just remember that the well maybe it was just because I was little, but it felt like the cash registers like they were up on like a on a step or something, because what was in front of you, it was just a wall of candy and that was the registers were on top of that and they were looking down at you. But you get like, you know, like posters and goofy pranks and things. I'm just thinking now, like for my kids, like when when I've taken them to Amoeba Records only a few handful of times because whatever, But I think that maybe that's what it's appealing about it too, is like it's like that kind of a place where it's like, whoa, look at that poster. I don't know if I am I supposed to see that image or like yeah, but uh yeah it's great, but that place is packed all the time.

I mean it, Yeah, my goodness.

Gracious, well there's not many places like that in the country anymore. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, it's yeah, it's crazy, but it's great.

We had stores like that in Cleveland growing up that had sort of had like obviously we had record stores, but we also had stores that had like stuff in it that you sort of like kind of like prank stuff and like whatever like stuff.

Yeah. The thing that my.

Friends and I got so into, and this is what I was thinking about this earlier today that we thought was so crazy, but like we had to get like every time we saw this, we had to buy it. Where we got really into earrings where like the two the things on each earring was different, so it would be like a camera and film or like or like you know, like I'm trying that's the only example I can think of, because that's a real one that I remember we bought. But like you know what I'm saying, like it would be like.

Yeah together, like yeah, like a shoe.

And a sock earring or like whatever. And I remember us being like this is crazy, Like I can't believe that, like these earrings don't match, but they go together, like and I remember us we were just to the point where we started sort of making our own, Like we would go to this crab store can dance and we would buy like little charms and like make our own earrings that didn't match. But to us, like that was the ultimate thing to buy. I was ear rings that didn't match. It was like that themed earrings was like what look at us, We're like such rebels, Like we don't arm. Earrings don't have to be the same, you know what I mean.

That's cool. That's a great feeling.

It was a great feeling to just walk around and go like, yeah, sorry, my earrings are different. Get over it, you know.

Yeah, sorry, Now I'm already ten feet past you and you're just realizing that you just saw.

Yeah.

And the other thing that I just thought of that they would sell a lot at those kind of prank stores that we thought were so funny, and these were just an absolute ripoff that we didn't realize were Remember, they would sell little bottles of chill pills that were just candy. Did you ever buy those?

I think I've seen them.

Yeah, they were just like little They were like like basically like mic in X or something. I mean some generic form of those in them, yes, but on the bottle it said chill pill, chill pills, and so you would just take it, and they said on them like intended to like make you like chill out and whatever, like it was all a joke. But I remember us like thinking like, oh my god, this is so great. I have to spend like fifteen dollars on this or whatever, and then like pass these out at school.

Oh my god, oh man, I love that. I mean, are there's what stores does that?

Right? Now? What place would you get.

It with that?

Now?

Well, unfortunately, I'm sure you could get them on Amazon, you know what I mean, Like you could just like look up chill pills. But yeah, what it used to.

Be OZ, but I don't know if OZ is open.

There was like Spencer's Gifts. I don't know if those are still around.

Bourbons.

Maybe it's sort of where you would find like a toilet bowl, pencil sharpener, yeah, or something like that, or like yeah, pickle like chapstick that's a pickle.

Yeah, exactly.

I love that.

I love I have such a soft spot for those shirts, you know, all those kinds. I love those shirts growing up, you know, just have funny sayings on them and yeah, yeah, to this day, I just have such a weakness for like or like it was always so envious of people that had like a really funny mug.

Yeah, like how do they get that?

And like we got a mug I remember for our dad and it said like this mug. I don't know if you remember this, Jonge, It said, like this mug is for lefties because our dad's a lefty. I have like a hole in it, so.

Like if hole in it, Yeah, if you drank something with your right hand, it would kind of spill all over.

Yeah, which seems like why would we buy that because it's like it feels like hazardous kind of like.

Yeah, you know, but I to avoid using that one.

We thought that was really funny.

And then a hole on the top part of it, you mean, so if you grab it from this side, it.

Would spill on you.

Yeah. And then and then it's so mean because it's probably hot coffee.

Yeah, it's like a maybe we didn't buy maybe someone, because.

The other thing I remember, I remember us having it for sure.

Yeah, maybe someone bought it Fridad for his birthday because I remember remember we've talked about this on here before our dad through a fortieth birthday for our mom, which seems so young. Yeah, but I remember our babysitter telling us about it while they were at the party, and her being like, she didn't they didn't want you'd have to keep the secret, but it's going on right now, And I remember being like, this is fucked up, like ah, like so like I could have kept this secret, like they're out there having her fortieth birth party. I didn't know about it. But anyway, I say all that to say, I remember after that party there was so much stuff in our house about being over the hill.

Yeah yeah, I remember she had a candle or a card that said forty and then I had it crossed out and it said thirty nine forever. And I was so confused about it. I was like, no, you're forty, Like it's your birthday, this is cool. Why do you not want it to be your birth like because I'm my mom's thirty years older. So I was like nine and I could not at my head around why there was like all this negativity about it.

I was like every year i'm older, it's like exciting.

I remember there was a lot of stuff with like graveyards and on it, like a grave, like a like a tombstone, like a tombstone on the top of a hill that would like just pass the Hillmet's like, well you're officially over the hill. And I remember being like, what.

This is so worse, It's so crazy. Yeah, thirties.

Yeah, it was like, so we have like so much like forty forty year old merch in our house.

I love the idea that you guys had it all after that night, just around your house, just like all this weird.

It was really weird.

It do with it?

Good question?

I know, that's such a good question. Like I feel like when we go home and visit them, now, there isn't all this like we're thirty nine.

I get rid of it. Yeah, there.

Really no, there isn't like I don't know where.

I don't know where.

I don't know where it. I mean they might have been in the basement. I was them, I'd be like, let's get rid of this stuff.

You know, yeah, well on your show.

But when you go back.

How much investigating do you do, like just kind of like archaeological digging. Yeah, do you do when you go home? And and and and is it tolerated or is.

It's it's not only tolerated, it's it's was lightly encouraged. And now it's sort of like mandatory, Yeah, because we all do. Yeah, we have a lot of stuff in the basement, and there's some work that needs to be done in the basement, so they want to get us out of there, get it out of there, and it's very hard to go through. I have like all the CD I have all stuff I can't get rid of. But I also like don't really want to. I don't really space for my house or with it. So we're very songly encouraged. But yeah, then I'll go down and just start digging through a box and it'll like spend an hour looking at old like zines or something and not get anything done.

So how do you and then how do you decide what you want to keep and not keep?

Yeah? I usually just say I want to keep everything and just get rid of like there's some there was like some keyboard, there's some stuff. If I know I can, I'm never going to use it or it has no value. I'll just be like, we can get rid of this. But it's tough. It's not it's not easy. And the CDs are tough because, yeah, I think a lot of that music I can never find again, but I also don't really miss it, and I haven't had it for so long.

I I here to I've never gotten rid of any of my CDs. Really, where do you keep your CDs? They're in storage.

They're in storage.

Yeah.

See, I We're at.

My mom's house for a long time and then I got them out of there. And because I don't want to feel like, you know, I owe or anything.

Yeah, yeah, no, I know, you know. You know I'm keeping your CDs here, So least you could do is come over and right right, No, I get it, I get it.

I like just I like to be my own man with that. Yeah, my god, I'll keep my CDs myself. But yeah, I know what you mean. It's like, what are you supposed to do with so much of that stuff? And it makes you think about you know, I mean, it doesn't make you think about because I'm just thinking that now and I don't know.

But it's just like.

As stuff as we get less and less as our lives become, you know, increasingly in the box of you know what I mean, like photos, are you.

Know less still photos?

Right?

What will you? What will kid?

Like? Like, what will the basement be full of?

Right? Yeah?

Now it's digital.

Oh here's this is a great time for Joan to make a gen z joke he loves. Well, no, I'm sorry, I set you up?

What a gen z? Yeah?

Yeah, to feel like, check out my old hard drive or something, I'd be like, okay, yeah you're old, Like yeah.

What did he chext the person? What's the text?

Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's interesting. And yeah, they're just having less physical media just because it's like what what do we own? Like if like you're streaming everything and then those sites go to business or something, and then what do you have?

I don't know, like what will I'm just trying to think of, like what the there is like to hold on to when so much of it now is yeah it's rented or yeah or borrowed or streamed or yeah, any of these these objects.

It's like what do you keep?

Like and I I I it is fun to go I go to my mom's house all the time, and I like to look. You can't help but look through stuff. Sure you know it's fun. But she yeah, I think it makes her a little bit like, you know, don't go through everything, like what are you taking?

You know what I mean?

Because even though she probably doesn't know where, what, what everything is, I think that I love taking stuff from her house. I mean I'll say that now it I get made fun of for it by her. Like Jason comes over, I don't know what he leaves, but it's true that I will just like find like, oh, I'll take these photo albums, thank you very much, because I feel like I'm rescuing.

Them in a way.

Yeah, like I'll take these before anything happens. But the truth is that I'll lose stuff here too. But like I loved finding stuff and taking it. And my mom is the best because she loves buying arts and craft supplies online to have for all the grandkids around the house and it's just like the best. Like you go over there and there's just like glue and canvases and glitter, and so I just end up like taking like I have outside, I swear to God, Like she's like, do you want these like you know, like air drying play, Yeah, air dried clay, just like play.

Do you want these boxes she gave me.

I have like five giant chunks of clay just sitting up.

Oh my god, but I love it. I love all these My mama.

She has a weird we I think that she is somehow hacked into my because she has I will be interested in something or mention something, and then a version of it will arrive as a present to me. She likes to buy me presents through on on on Amazon, and I always know that from her because she puts a different name on them.

Wow, like a nickname for me on them. So like, oh my god. But I have no no idea like how she knows or what's coming.

Like I'll just go like packages and be like I'll open it and I'll be like but it'd be wonderful and there'll be things that I'm you know, But like, for instance, she's like plugged in a weird way where like I watched this, this, that that thing masterclass and I watched this one with this Ron Finley who's talked about gardening, and he talks about sugarcane and he's saying sugarcane is a great thing to have in your yards.

Easy to grow and you could.

Wow and anyway, it's just talking about sugar, and I kept thinking, I gotta get some sugar cane. I would like to buy sugar cane and plant it in my yard and just start growing. It grows quickly and then I could cut it and make things out of it with my kids.

Yeah.

The next day my mom, a box comes from my mom. It's just a giant cocoa bean.

Wow?

Is that with a raw? Giant to plant? Wow? And I was like, what is this?

Because I just I thought you maybe want to coat a life plant like a cocoa bean and grow cocoa or.

Something that that's amazing.

Yeah, I know, I thought that was really weirdged in it's weird.

Yeah, it's very weird.

Did you also get sugarcane ever?

Well?

I did, but I I ordered like I misordered, and I got like seeds, like so excited, like three more days until it comes. And I came to like this little bag can with like these little things and I've lost I mean they're in some pair of pants that I was wearing that day, I'm sure, but.

Yeah, it wasn't what I was expecting.

But I also don't know if I trust you know, if you type in like buy sugarcane.

Like, yeah, is that really sugarcane?

I don't know.

It's weird, Like, yeah, it's weird. I feel like I got to look the person in the eye that I'm buying my shoes. Yeah, and go to a store and that makes sense. Yeah, that makes total sense anyway. But I will say one last thing too. It's just that one thing I will say is I do love ordering. You're talking about ordering stuff in I really did get into ordering. I do like like ordering art supplies.

Oh I when you started saying the thing about Clay, I had this flashback to being a kid and we would get so many catalogs and one of them art supplies, and it was like you could order like Clay and like pastels and stuff. I just remember being like, I want to order everything in this catalog.

Yes, it's it's honestly, it's it's wonderful and you can. I will often like get like like I'll go on app that you know you can get it, like you can order some stuff like people would order a meal.

But I'll get like like.

Art supplies, but like I'll get I'll like qua like to qualify for like the free livery. You know, I try to like get to like this spend seven more dollars. But what's so fun is like you can.

See just seeing it.

I mean, I love going to the store, but in a way it's almost kind of like more strange, Like I do it when I get If I get to like a town for work, I'm gonna be there for like three weeks. The first thing I'll do is like go on and look for like like a nearby art supply type place and just get tons of like paints and fake glass and beads and string, like just get it all and then try to figure out what we're going.

To do with it.

Yeah, that's so fun.

And I remember so fun. I don't know why.

I remember when we were doing the Polka king. You made me some you had market Oh yeah you were making and I was like going through my stuff and I found some of this stuff. Yes you had drawn and stuff, and yeah you were always like drawing and stuff. It was so fun.

It's and it's not like to like make art, like I'm not interested in. It's just like fun because now you find that people like, you know, I really got into this thing of like because of not you know, when you're not meant to have your phone on on set or at least, yeah, and so always trying to find like, well, what is something that you can you know, And I found that like having I would get clay that kind of like non air drive, like clay that never drives, like sculpie. You get like a hunk of it and give it to all the actors and it's so neat because like you're just like look and all the actors like just talking and like making things nice.

It's kind of like, you.

Know, it's like a parallel play thing. Like I just feel like when you're doing these little activities or you start to just open up more and yeah, I don't know, it's kind of fun just to like just be making things with people and just to make each other laugh or like take playing like whatever. It is, like, yeah, I don't know, Yeah, it's really I'm sure this is where my wife would have stopped listening to this. It is pretty boring, but it's true she would be listening right now and if she is, well she still is.

I'm sorry I said that a few seconds ago.

Okay, well, we're going to take a quick commercial break, but I bet she's going to keep listening until them right back with our friend Janse and Shortsmith.

That's hot.

And we're back. Can you believe it?

I love it.

I love those commercials so good.

We're going to play a really fun game with you right now, if you feel ready, Yeah, I am. Okay. This game is called change dot.

Door change dot door otherwise.

Notice, let's make fun of people who don't know how to use change dot org. And we're going to bring up three different petitions that people created unchanged dot org, and then at the end of it, we'll vote for which one we would sign if we had to sign one. Okay, okay, Jonah, do you want to take this first one?

Sure?

I can kick us off. This one is called have more Vegan and Vegetarian options for hot Lunch at balor mine?

Prep and answer your question? Are these games that you would typically play? Like? Have you always played games? I was wondering this the other day, Like interesting, did you always play these games in some form or another to make yourselves lack growing up?

Like I forget what episode it was, but you were like reading like from like a thing in your old yeah paper, like the old newspaper of like like you're onto something yeah.

Or bored or snort or something.

And and it was like, would you do that kind of stuff, like play games like in the car, like with found objects, like reading and finding things that already exist and then kind of playing it making up a game around them.

I think we would make fun of stuff a lot, And particularly you're referencing Monday Moaning, which was this now defunked column in the Dealer.

Yeah, on this grown legit moan or unces their grown Yeah, we a problem doing that game because we've done all of the ones we can.

Find right right.

When we were younger, we used to read that column and make fun of it. So that so that is inspired by something we would do. It's fun it, make fun fun with it, make fun with it because sometimes they have legitimate complaints, you know. I think a lot of the games that we play here are sort of us commenting on funny cultural things, and I think that is definitely rooted in our tex Yeah.

I think I could see myself being like I would go and change that organ like what pop tart petitions are.

Also is like someone who will like write letters to companies if he either wants to become an ambassador, such as he is for Go Macro, or if.

I was a while ago somehow the box. Yeah, they sent me like cases of that and that's this weird like them.

Yeah, and then those are great, but they're expensive. They're expensive.

If you're an ambassador.

Yeah, I haven't gotten anything from them in about four or five years, but I wasn't in this email list where when they had a new flavor, they'd be like, we got this new flavor. If you want a case, let me know and I would email them.

But your feelings if you're in the market and you're like that one, it's kind of a shitty thing that the ambassador has to see it in public.

I know, I know, I know. Yeah, it's it's it's a little bitter sign.

Yeah, so Jonah, I feel like the change dot org, et cetera. The petition making also relates to when you've been unhappy with your customer excers.

I let them know happy when I'm unhappy. Oh yeah, oh yeah, I've noticed that. Uh, not to get too far off track.

Here, corporation, how's it off track?

I think they've gotten much less forgiving from their end. I feel like now they're much less apt to kind of give you stuff. I think they're a little more strict with stuff I've noticed recently. My go to move used to be like subscribing to things and then canceling after the first one to get the discount. And I tried to do that with something last week and they were like, if you cancel after before the second installment, will just charge you the difference. Like they're cracking down on this stuff, and they sort of yea, and yeah, and the subscription stuff is tough because they have your info and you forget about it and then yeah.

Yeah it is. Do you remember that seeing the movie.

Summer School. Do you remember that movie Summer School? Mark Harmon and uh many actors and that. But in that movie, he's like a summer school. He's a teacher who has to stay at each Summer School is one of my favorite movies, and he teaches the kids how to write letters to their companies and get that complain and they each get like full freak glasses and stuff.

And favorite movie.

But yeah, don't have to check that. I'm going to watch it this weekend.

Yeah, but wow, that's so cool that you write I've done that.

It cool, it's amazing. I'm glad that you're impressed with that. I am impressed with it, I am you know. Yeah, well thank you.

I'm impressed with anyone who does anything after the moment is over right, you know what I'm saying, Like, yes, upset up, I'm una set about something. But now it's a day later or whatever, and I'm gonna keep looking up for the email address and I'm gonna write the thing. I'm gonna get the address and I'm gonna sit and write this thing, a delayed thing.

I love that. The passion of that is yeah, it's a passion, you know this.

The secret is like not to get too attached to the outcome because it's like, you know, you're not necessarily going to get the response you want, so you can put it out there. But then I feel like you can't get too fixated on it or can just like take things over.

Do you relate to when you see bad reviews of products? Do you go, I understand, I see my I understand that person's upset about and like when you get the product and you're upset about it and they write back something like we're very sorry. Do you do you change your feeling about the company or or like does it does it go? Yeah, that was nice of them to do that, Like, yeah, yes, for sure, for sure.

And I've had a lot of experiences like that, And then I've had experiences like we tried to buy this electronic cat litter that cleaned itself and it was like, took me hours to get through the company. Nothing worked, I had to ship this thing back and forth and so that, and then after that, I was like, well, I'm just like never going to try to buy something from them again because it's just too So it goes both ways.

But they tell them that I will never buy something from you again. No, maybe I don't think so.

I think I this was a long but there have been companies where I've said I'm never going to buy something from you, and then eventually it was on sale and I did buy right.

So it's it's sometimes it's short lived. Okay.

But my last question is, Vanessa, is that is that an affordable steamer to your left?

You're right, Oh, that hose? What is that thing? Oh this is Oh it's a microphone. Oh it's a pop But you. But you do have a steamer, right, I have?

Not only do I steamer farther away. It's weird.

I know it looks it's it's actually behind it.

Yeah, okay, sorry.

Not only do I have a couple of portable steamers, I have a full size steamer. I don't iron clothes. I just steam them. Really, and I find it to be you know that I'm not going to burn it. It's it's gentler, it's I love steamers. Yeah, I'm all in on the Steam game.

Hell ya, who is it? Are people not into it?

Yeah?

I know people not into it?

Okay, I'm just going you think I'm going to iron that?

No?

Thanks?

Uh huh.

I don't even own an iron, believe it or not.

Yeah yeah irons. Yeah, that's not what we do anymore. Yeah, that's right, idiot. Why I'm gonna bring us back to this first petition? Okay, petition it's easy.

You have more vegan and vegetarian options for hot lunch at bal Or mine prep. And this is a short one says recently, I've no s there not a whole lot of lunch options for student at Balor mind who that? Who are vegan or vegetarian most of the stuff all they can need for lunch if they want to buy it at school, or snacks like chips. Obviously, this is unhealthy. Getting a vegetarian vegan option for hot lunches at school make a huge difference. If this petition gets enough signatures, I hope the school will help to change the lunch options and make it easier for vegan and vegetarians to have lunch options at school. Jason, what do you think about adding more vegan and vegetarian options to this hot lunch at this school, this prep school?

I think that's a great great And myself I am a vegetarian vegan. Yeah, but even if I wasn't, in a way, I think that the nutrition going back to craft service, it's just like the nutrition of.

Kids and students. To be eating well and have good food that's healthy for you will also just make.

Your learning better and yeah, just overall mental state and body feel better.

And I think you, yeah, it's not.

And I also think that just because you don't eat meat shouldn't make it where you can't have any nutrients at all.

Yeah, are there not that hard to that hard? Are there vegan options at your kids' schools.

Yeah, yeah, great, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, absolutely, I mean I agree. I agree with Jason. I think this should be an option. We sort of picked it knowing that you were vegetarian vegan, you know, so we thought you it would be weird if you didn't land on that conclusion.

But we don't know you surprise. I agree with this one too.

I mean, we had like cheese, pizza, buttered noodles, that kind of stuff, but not a lot of veggies.

But yeah, we all do agree on this.

Okay, good, Yes, I agree.

Here's this next one. It's called move all major holidays to Fridays. This person writes, I propose that we move several major US holidays to Fridays instead of being on a particular date. Several holidays are already operate this day, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, and Father's Day being scheduled on Sundays, and many others on Mondays. Moving major holidays to Fridays will ease events, scheduling, and travel for a majority of Americans. Blah blah blah blah blah. Moving holidays is not unprecedented. We have moved Thanksgiving more than once to accommodate the shopping season for Christmas over the years. Okay, Thanksgiving is already based on a day of the week versus a particular date. However, Friday is a better fit for the holidays, so it should move one more time. Okay, So this is this person. This is this person's holiday proposals. Their holiday proposals are Valentine's Day, second Friday in February, Independence Day, first Friday in July, Halloween, last Friday in October, Thanksgiving third Friday, and Christmas Day last Friday in December. So I guess they're saying it just This person closes it up by saying, it is my sincere belief that any holiday that rises to the level of businesses closing or large groups of people gathering to celebrate should be scheduled on a Friday or Monday. If you agree with this idea, please help me spread the idea.

Hmm, yeah, Jason, what do you think I mean?

I don't want to get in the way of I mean, more power to the person, but I think that it's asked. It's a little bit uh selfish to try to change everything just for your own uh to make it more scheduled. Yeah, I think it's like it's pretty like, uh like to just be like, let's change everything just to yeah, make it better.

I think that's yeah, a change.

And I also think that that it's that's what makes it fun when the holiday does line up to be on a Friday after the round of a year, You're like, it's on a Friday this year.

If it was always on a Friday, then it would you wouldn't have that enjoyment.

So I think it's worth I like the carousel aspect of it, and I think that, yeah, it's ridiculous to try to change a holiday to make it better for your travel for most Americans.

Yeah, yeah, and yeah, I agree with Jason. I think it's then everyone's traveling on Friday. You know, it's still going to be busy, you know, and I work, you know, kind of like a day job, and if holiday falls on the weekend, then we get Monday off, you know, so it all evens out. Yeah, And imagine the logistics if you're like, oh, Thanksgiving, No, thanks Giving not on Thursday more, it's on Friday.

Like it to me, that's bizarre. But you know what, you know, it'd be really weird.

Is like if let's just say, uh, they're just that that really did happen, that this petition, this did happen. And then in seventy years they were saying, do you remember, did you know there was a time before Thanksleaving Friday when Thanks Sleeping was actually on Thursday? Yeah, yes, it actually took someone wrote it, didn't you still always be on the third Friday of November? And neither was Valentine's too. They used to just be on different days of the week. You're kidding me, No, no, no, this is a new thing. It didn't used to be like that. So yeah, imagine that became like someone hearing about how didn't used to do Yeah.

Yeah, Well this has sixteen signatures and it's made out to the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, So.

We see, how many do you need to get up there? How many? Well it's this one.

I think it would take a lot.

Yeah, the goal here is twenty five. Once you get twenty five, it'll be one hundred. So but to really, I think you knew a lot, a lot. Yeah, there's only six media attention.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And by the way, I just want to say I agree with both of you. I think that this almost seems like it's some kind of CEO or something writing it because it's like Thanksgivings on a Friday. Then, like you know the cool thing that Thanksgiving is when it's on a Thursday. Yes, you generally get Friday to keep moving things closer and closer to the weekend, you get less and less time off. So I would say to this person, maybe focus your energies elsewhere.

Okay, fair enough, all right, I'll get into this last one. This one is called get Animal. The Muppet Animal on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine. Yes, okay, already on board in honor of Ronnie Verrell. Honor the man but behind Animal. Muppet drummer Ronald Ronnie Thomas Verrell passed away in two thousand and two. He was a drummer for the UK and I guess he performed on The Muppet Show and played drums for the show's manic puppet drummer Animal. When American drummer Buddy Rich, one of Verrel's harrows, guested on the show as Animal, had a drumming duel with Rich one after Animals smashed the snare drum over Rich's head. So yeah, I didn't realize actually Animal had this kind of actual, you know, pedigree, and they're saying put him on the cover of Modern Drummer. Jason, what do you think you're into this one? Well, you got you got some snares right there.

Little Animal up right here. Yeah, I ordered these. Uh, I would say yes because.

Animal is a great obviously a great drummer and man a great character by the way.

I love his eyebrows, by the.

Way, and and also and there's different animals, but like even like the Muppet Baby's Animal is really funny because his shirt is like really short, he has like really tight jeans, and his little belly sticks have.

But I love Animal.

Because he he's kind of like you like, if you watch him when he's watching other people, he's like looks like he's kind of smiling, like he's just wonderful. And uh, yeah, he's drumming is amazing. Apparently I don't know if this is true, but that it was like based on Keith Moon. Really I don't know, but I love Animal, and uh.

And I think that he believed it or not.

I bet you came to be and I bet you he was an influence on a lot of drummers. Yeah, in probably just as influential as other people who have been on the cover of Modern Drummer, Right, so why not, Like I think a lot of kids first like, uh, introduction to drumming, especially with such flair as Animal. Yeah, you know, and so I mean hell yeah, I mean the fact that he hasn't been is shocking to me.

Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree.

I mean, we got I'm looking at this month, they got Mikey d from the Scorpions, which, yeah, I'm sure he's a great drummer. I think he might have been a motorhead. But but yeah, Animals should be on there. I think. I'm sure they have a lot of the progressive musicians. All these were the technical guys. There's a place for that. But I think you're right as far as influence, it's.

That there hasn't ever been one that would.

Yeah, I mean, I even not to get not to look back, but like even just as a promotional thing for those movies, I can't believe they didn't, Yeah, get some more of the drumming demographic.

Yeah, it seems like a missed opportunity for modern drummers. What do you think I agree.

I agree. I mean this is probably one of the drummers that I'm most familiar with. Ye, so I would say for sure, I think you know, I love, I love, And also, you know, we're big Muppet Babies fans over here. We watched a lot growing up, and yes, yeah, I love that little Muppet Babies animal so cute.

Don't you love that Muppet baby? You know, because I spent a lot of time with the different babies. And there's a new Muppet Babies.

You know, Oh, we're aware. We did a whole episode about it. Yeah, right, and they have like a their song is like updated.

Yeah yeah, And Jenny Slade is the voice of the she's the grandma or the Renna.

We did know that.

Yes, yeah, that's incredible. But I love I'm really interested. I'm kind of fascinated by it because the Kermit the Frog that's on it, it's a different feeling Kermit the Frog to me, And I'm curious, like when you're doing like a prequel, like because it leads into like Kermit from the Muppet Show is like very much kind of like trying to keep this show together, right right, you know, and he's very much But then this one is a bit more like kind of like you know, he's he's nervous in a way like well, I don't want to like he's more you know, it's just like oh what if what the lights don't come on?

Well then what am I gonna do?

Like you know, it's like a little bit more nervous and and like I'm you know, I'm sorry, like I shouldn't have given up to you.

What am I gonna do now? Like and I'm like so like you know, he's like animal, you know, but like but it's yeah.

I actually my daughter, my little daughter Una was like obsessed with the Muppet baby's and we have Kermit Muppet Baby, and we had the Muppet Baby Kermit doll, and we'd go on walks and she would want me to talk as you do Kermit. Yeah, and so I would go around and but to give a tour of my neighborhood. Like I don't know how we fell into this thing, but like I would give a tour of my neighborhood as Kermit. I was like, oh that just when I went to school. But it was that would be like be like that little pond. There was a tadpole man, there was my friend, like Laurio is like it would always be about like reptile or like little other frogs and you know what I mean, like and and it was highly like my voice be so trashed at the end of some of these walks, like I was like, I cannot keep doing this voice anymore.

And then why they she just stopped linking Kermit.

Yeah, okay, well you do a very good impression in Jonah, do you want to do your current I.

Have the opposite issue of I have a Kermit impression, and my wife hates it so much that whenever I do, she's like, please stop and get away from me.

Yes, yes, yeah, can I hear it? Yeah? One here. Yeah.

It's more just like, hey everyone, I'm Kermit the Frog. Yeah that's great. Yeah, yeah, thank you. But yeah, but I start to do it, or I'll do like we'll hear a song, I'll be like, what if my impression of Kermit Frog doing an impression of Billy Corgan singing.

That song and it's yes, you know my rage, yeah exactly. I am still just an animal and can you.

Yeah, yeah tonight, But like, oh this army was a smile okay, but but uh the uh.

But what I was gonna say is, well, then my wife started to do it when I would go out of town. I was kind of giving her like the Cliffstones, like when you do it, this what I'm thinking about. And then there it became this time when like my daughter started like my wife's kermit more than mine, okay, became a bit and then sometimes like we're both trying to get our kids attention, and we're both talking to each other as permit, like do you like and we would not I don't know why we would be like we would continue having like an adult conversation like.

Have you seen my shoes? I don't know where the held you put them?

I thought I put them out of the fucking bed, like shit, oh Jesus, oh no, when I'm swearing like an asshole again, where are you sure?

Why do you have to ask me all the questions all the time.

I don't know where you put your shoes, jeez, man, Like, but they're always mupp at baby kermit.

It's never the other one is like mister Eldon John, you know.

What I mean, Like it's not like that one.

It's it's the other one. But it's the latter.

Wait, I kind of want to try and do it.

Well it's the other yeah, go ahead, no, go ahead, well no, no, no, I'll just say one for a fun thing that was real. I had this amazing not that amazing, but so are old, many many moons ago. The car that we had had a DVD player in it. Ironically, the only DVD player it was in our lives was in our fan and but I had all my Muppet DVDs Muppets, so what I would drive around and they would watch Muppet Show, my kids, And it's interesting to listen to.

The Muppet Show as opposed to watching it.

Yeah, And what I thought was what I what I took from it was that there's really so little you know, it's.

Only a handful of people doing the voices.

Yeah, there's really such a there's not that much of a difference between like ms Piggy and and and you know and Fozzy better. But yeah, it feels like there is when you're watching it, because there's such distinct characters. They're so different. And but when you're driving, you're like and you you know, you'd think like when someone's like even any parent like reading a book to their kids, like they go like, oh, why can't I be able to think of It's like I've been evil, like your voice, you go to these different extremes as a character for characters, you know, it's like I'm the evil doctor of the thing. Like but like, really, when you're listening to these different characters, they're not very different vocally, they're just nuanced enough and letting the puppet the puppetry and the the look of the puppets and do so much of the word too, And it was such a fascinating like it's like, wow, it's very it's just a little, one little thing that's different about these and they're totally different characters and you don't have to do much if you can find that thing, you know, or I guess that's the genius of what they were all doing. But it's like, you know, it's like Miss Piggy is just like I don't know, you know, she.

Gets so angry. I love it she gets so angry.

She gets angry. Yeah that's true.

Yes, she gets still in that And I love I love I've really come to love like Rover because I realized he is a thing where he doesn't use any contractions in his grammar. That's like I think. I mean, I'm not positive, but like I think he's like you is like.

There will not be anymore of this.

Because I cannot go here.

I am like they are there, like there's no couldn't like right, this could not be any more worse.

He doesn't use any contractions. Oh god, I love it these guys. I love his sons of bitches.

Now, okay, wait, let me try. If you wait, I'm trying to do Kermit.

Do it?

If you had to be yes, pick one of these petitions.

You're there one.

Of these petitions to sign. I'm really bad at it, tried before.

But I've seen a lot of people try it, and for for that's that's really good for a first, You're you're so close.

You are so close because you have it inside you.

I guess you had to sign one of these petitions.

Which one would you sign?

Well? Are you you want to do Kermit from the show? The kids Show?

I'm not I'll take either. I don't think I'm covering either.

Maybe maybe yeah, I said one thing. I think it's like sometimes that's really kind of fastic that like if you if you have I'm sorry, like if you have a sign right, like would you if you had to sign one of these petitions.

These petitions, which one maybe be better at Miss Piggy, right, he says a lot.

She's the best, She's the best. But wait, your kermit was keep going.

Okay, wait, I I will review with the three petitions and can pick one which you would sign. Yes, have more vegan and vegetarian options for hot lunch at beller Mine prop move all major holidays to Fridays, or get animal on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine.

It's a freaking bad no.

I love it.

If you did have to choose one of these, which would you choose? It's hard to choose, isn't it. You can sign more than.

One, well, I would sign. I think ultimately i'd sign for the vegetarian vegan because you know, I think the nutrition is a big, huge heating But the one I realized, the one I love my passion project would be to be working on the animal thing Animal because it seems like such a no brainer.

It seems like such.

A missh Yeah, yeah, it seems insane. I believe you'd be the biggest selling issue they've ever had.

Yeah, that was easy.

Just for listeners who don't know Jason has a button, an easy button from Is it from Target? That's right, of course.

Sorry, I'm gonna I'm gonna agree.

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Kermit get Animal on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine and honor of Ronnie Verrell. Yeah, I think that's I'm signing this one for sure. About you.

I'm gonna do the I'm kind of with j Yeah, the vegan and vegetarian options obviously I would sign that's imported. Yeah, I agree, but also the animal one based on, you know, our love for icon animal iconic, animal iconic. Yeah, so I think we're both good with both of those. The Friday one's the only one.

Yeah, Friday one is is tough. That's a complicated tough.

The Friday one is a real I hate to make the person feel terrible. Yeah, but I think the longer I think you should, you're going to enjoy the holidays more if you stop fighting them.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's it's a big Yeah, it's a lot of energy of like make the world fit the way.

Yeah.

I would say let go and just yeah, yeah, I would just say let it happen.

That's what's fun about the holiday. I suppose yeah.

Yeah.

I picture this person goes to a restaurant, they order and like five minutes later they're like, where's the food? I have to be somewhere later. Well, everyone doesn't work around your schedule. Maybe have come sooner, maybe understand.

It's exactly what about you? Yeah, sorry, Vanessa, what about you?

No, I think I answered already and I said, yeah, I said I would pick the I would pick the vegetarian, vegan food at school and also the animal and the I know, for our listeners, I know that's bad. I know I don't do it good. I know I do other good impression six to your good ones, Vanessa. But the point is you have to experiment that stuff and ASTs how you get better.

You do such incredible stuff I love. One of my favorite things of the one of my favorite parts of my day, if if, if the day allows it is to get in bed with my with my thirteen year old at the end of the day and I show her different SNL sketches. Oh and you're Miley said, I mean she the tears of joy coming down her face is just the great, Like it's just like that's it's the great and it's so good and it's like just just.

You know, I love watching just sing like what now this is just funny like theirs it was funny then and now look it's happening on this screen. It's shoot through the air.

And my daughter, who's like says going like is like in bed and it's like and it's doing the thing too, that's so great, which is like.

Really saying tension of the day before.

Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. Nice and it's the best. It's the best. I also just that's really nice. I also love how she talks. And I noticed I was doing this yesterday. When I see her on something, I do it back to the like screen sometimes. Yeah, like she was doing something yesterday she's.

Like, thank you all so much for voting for flowers for uh for my like it's it's so cool to be here and everybody voted for me for flowers for the British like something of words I don't remember, and she was like, she's like, it means so much to me that like y'all like like the song so much and I think it's really cool, like and she probably didn't say it's really cool. That's probably my own thing, but I just let she has the most unique speech pattern, and I love it so much.

I could like to listen to all that.

Sometimes I just impersonate it back, okay, Like I just say the same thing back to see, like if I can do it, I do it with There's certain Real Housewives I do impressions of two, which which I started doing post SNL. So I'm really doing these ones to the TV screen and the few times that I go and watch what happens live. But but like I will say it back to them because I'm trying to see if I can do the thing. It's honestly, if I did that with Kermit, I'd probably get a lot better at it.

Absolutely, you are great at it.

Yeah, you could definitely do it.

Thank you well, Jason, speaking of seeing of great, it was great having you on the podcast today and we had so much fun with you, and thank you for doing it. And where can people find you? I know there is pretty easy, but.

Yeah, I'm just going to say in Studio City. But people can find me, Like what does that mean?

It's anything promote.

You're probably not big on social media. I don't get to say.

No, yeah, but I'm not and I'm not like against it. I just don't really know how to do it. But any projects I have, no I've done, I'm coming out.

I guess this summer.

I have a film coming out called Between the Temples, which I which I think is really good and I hope people go see.

It's really fun.

I got to do work on it with Carol Caine wow. And Robert Smigel, Oh my god. And I got to just sit and talk to Robert Smike. I mean that was like amazing. It was like amazing. Yeah, so what a brilliant person. Yeah yeah, so yeah, that that's the I think the most next thing that's coming out. And then in the meantime, I'm just going to try to write some music and organize things and try to find another job because it's hard to find.

Yeah, it's hard to come by.

But it seems like you're doing pretty good, pretty well with that.

That.

Yeah, when that and that, when that movie comes out, maybe we'll be able to catch you on some doing some press, doing some interviews.

Well I'm doing it here.

Oh yeah, that's right, that's coming here.

This is where I'm coming off the cycle. Perfect cycles kicked off and we're honored.

Would that be called part two or would that be just number another one, like would that be called our interview Part two or is it just no part two? Is if it was one thing split.

And one thing? Yeah?

Right, yeah, but we can re air this. You could split this one. We could split this one and then play that one later. We could replay it.

We figured out that split could conversation over the course of a year. And just like hear, how weird, like how many things change?

Like gosh, I can't believe he says that something like that so sensitive considering all that's happened from the world.

It hadn't happened yet eight months ago, right, Or you could just come back on the podcast.

Yes, we'd have you back anytime, and you could say, yeah, and I'll happen.

I'll come up with that nostalgic thing.

This was perfect.

Yeah, this is perfect, Jason. Thank you so much for coming on. You guys are the best. You guys are the best.

Thank you for being here, and to our listeners who enjoyed that, please subscribe the podcast and keeping it for next week's episode, please of how do we get where? We will discuss more stories from our childhood and cultural touchdowns.

A w W exactly right.

You want to press that easy button one more time, just to it was easy.

Four

How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer

Before sibling duo Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer took the comedy, music and general world by storm,  
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