What's up boys? It's Jacob back again with another blog post, and I wanted to do something a little different for this one. Don't get me wrong, you're going to get plenty more posts about comics you need to follow, but this one's going to focus on us. Call it manifesting or whatever you want, but I'm going to go over my top ten dream guests to interview on the podcast. Many of these are people that I look up to in comedy, and a lot of them I've even contacted before to try to get on the show, so it's safe to say that I would be ecstatic to talk to any of the people listed. There are a lot more I could have put on this list, but I'm excluding the comics that have given us a solid "no" before (Ari Shaffir, J0e DeRosa, Ms. Pat), as well as people who follow us on social media (Rachael Wolfson, Ralph Barbosa), and focusing on some of my dream interviews who either haven't gotten back to us or haven't been contacted at all. Let's get it.
1. Mark Normand
At the end of the day, do you really have a comedy podcast if Mark Normand hasn't been on it? It seems like Mark has done every major comedy pod, and it's almost like a rite of passage for him to christen your show with his insightful riffs and hilarious one-liners. Just since we've started this podcast, Mark has gone from an up-and-coming headliner doing every podcast that he can, to a name in comedy who is selling out theatres over seas and theaters at home with live shows of Tuesdays with Stories. I personally look to Mark Normand as the gold standard of modern stand-up comedy, and it would be amazing content to talk to him about his time doing open mics in New Orleans.
2. Joe List
It's pretty obvious that I'm a huge fan of the Tuesdays with Stories podcast, and fans of that show seem to not show love to Joe List the same way they do to Mark Normand. Since I've started listening to their pod, Joe List has truly become one of my favorite comedians, producing some of the funniest material and actual jokes I think I've seen in the last 5 years. It would be very interesting for me to go through Joe's start as an East Coast comic, as well as his time opening for Louis CK and becoming a bonafide movie star. Having just put out another fantastic YouTube special he's trying to promote, I really think we could pull an interview with him now before he gets outrageously famous.
3. Steve Byrne
I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've contacted Steve Byrne close to ten times over three years to get him on our podcast, and for good reason. Everything he does is a hit, from his hilarious podcasts Comedy Pinata and Two Cool Moms, to his litany of edgy and original stand-up specials, and even the most underrated sitcom of all time in Sullivan and Son. I personally admire Steve Byrne and consider him a major influence in my stand-up, so it would be a true honor to be able to interview him and ask him our usual dumbass questions. Has he ever shit his pants in a suit? We'll only know if he comes on Open Mic'ers Podcast.
4. Craig Ferguson
We talked about this recently on our episode with Caleb Synan and again with Dave Stone, but Craig Ferguson is an underrated influence for a lot of current comedians. There's a stark difference when it comes to the kind of late night that Ferguson did and the kind of late night that's being done now, and it comes down to him being a respected comic who was always pushing the envelope. He had the kind of show where you didn't want to skip through anything, because from the beginning theme song to the last awkward silence/mouth organ was constant jokes and tomfoolery. Ferguson's specials are some of the all-time greats, and I know that he has some great stories about starting comedy in America that our fans would eat up.
5. Matt McCusker
I'm a huge Shane Gillis fan, so like a lot of other people, I started listening to Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast and quickly became a Matt McCusker fan as well. Matt is known widely to hardcore comedy fans as "The Shaman" for his insights into spirituality and psychology, but also he's one of the best comics in the world that the general public has yet to discover. I've truly enjoyed watching his first special skyrocket past a million views on YouTube, and we would love to have him on to talk about selling drugs, starting comedy and then all of it culminating into one of the top specials of the year so far.
6. Are You Garbage? (H. Foley and Kevin Ryan)
Comparisons of me and Jason to the Are You Garbage? guys comes pretty naturally, with people calling us the Wish version of them in the past. I'm not going to lie and say the parallels between our shows end with the co-host dynamic either, as our latest revamp of the show has been heavily inspired by the structure and theme of AYG. Personally, I think that Kippy and Foley have built one of the most fun, inventive comedy podcasts of the last several years, and their unique blueprint to success is so inspiring for podcasters like us who are in the same position that they were not long ago. We would love to hit the dirtbags with some Open Mic'ers style questions, and it would be a dream come true for us to answer some garbage questions with the boys.
7. Bobby Lee
MADtv will always hold a special place in our hearts, and that was more than likely the beginning of everyone's infatuation with Bobby Lee. Bobby has always been the underdog that you can root for, whether it's rebuilding his career after drug fueled meltdowns or getting toxic people out of his personal life in pursuit of his own happiness. He's always seemed like a genuinely lovable human, and despite his public temper tantrums and reputation of being difficult to work with, he's always owned up to his mistakes and given a lot of younger comics a shot when he didn't have to. You already know Bobby has some wild stories about his start in comedy and television, and I'm certain that we could pull even more crazy stories out of him with an appearance on our show.
8. Ryan Sickler
Ryan Sickler has garnered fame through opening for Tom Segura and appearing on all of the Your Mom's House podcasts, but has separated himself in recent years with the success of The HoneyDew Podcast and his special Lefty's Son. I've fallen in love with Sickle Cell through his many podcast appearances, and those in the know regard him as a podcasting legend thanks to his iconic laugh and many viral clips of him trading barbs with Joey Diaz and Segura. We have a lot of people in common in the professional world, with him interviewing Raelyn Nelson and being good friends with Daniel Van Kirk (whom I've opened for), and I'm not lying when I say I've tried just about every avenue to get Sickler on our pod. Being such a craftsman of a storyteller, I think our podcast has the perfect format for him to shine and share some of his unheard comedy beginnings.
9. Brian Quinn
This is a big one for both me and Jason, as we would love the opportunity to interview any of the Impractical Jokers. However, Jason absolutely loves Q from his podcasting career, and I have to admit that he's my favorite Tenderloin as well. This interview would have to be different from what we usually do as Q doesn't do stand-up per se, but we would have so much to talk about when it comes to his beginnings with podcasting, live stage shows, improv and television work. Seeming like the nicest guy in the world who kind of flies under the radar outside of his life as a comedian and actor, I think a lot of our fans and people beyond our pod would be interested to know where Brian came from and what his answers are to some of our usual Open Mic'ers type questions.
10. Steve-O
