November 29, 2023 • 34 mins
Eric and host of "Hot Ones"/friend of the show Sean Evans discuss a bombing they experienced together at a video shoot. They talk about the early stages of "Hot Ones" and how test runs would make participants throw up instantly. The sauces were too hot, and the milkshakes were a-plenty! They both discuss comedy outings together and the most wasted Sean has ever been on the "Hot Ones" set. Let's say it's with a Rock 'n' Roll Legend and a bottle of Crown Royal.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, do you know where you are? I? Sure?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Do you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Listening to another episode of Bombing with Eric Andre, where
I talk with friends, comedians, musicians, and other creative people
about their worst moments on stage. We're talking about the
spiciest moments. So today it felt right to sit down
with the host and creator of Hot Ones, Sean Evans.
Dear friend, we both took a trip down memory lane
about a bombing moment. We experienced it together. As always,
(00:24):
Please subscribe to the podcast to get new episodes every week.
RTED five Stars and an Apple Podcasts subscribe to Big
Money Players Diamond to get exclusive clips plus ad free
episodes weekly. Let's get into it, Bombing.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
B with Aeric Andre.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
All right, well, so what's a bomb for him? Just
a shitty interviewhitty interview. When you said that it clearly
hates white people.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
When you said that, that was immediately the thing that
I thought about. You know, it's like about bombing because
you know, you think how ones would fly off the
rails all the time, but it's usually a very positive
shoot experience, you know, like, no matter the emotional roller
coaster throughout, it usually ends in a hug. So I
don't really have that many sort of this is uncomfortable
(01:12):
kind of interviews when I look at the.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Cattle the Hot Ones catalog.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, but that one with you me and Yeah, if
I look back on the hundreds of interviews that I've
done in my life, that's the one that crystallized is
maybe the most.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, he clearly doesn't like to do press. I was
kind of like I would have turned to him and
be like, you don't have to do this, Like this
is just to promote your stuff, Like none of us
have to be here. You don't have to be here, right,
If you don't want to promote your stuff, just go
or go away here, like go somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
In his defense, though, I remember the whole conceit for
this thing was so stupid.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So I think what was happening he was confusing, was
super confused. I didn't really know what it was. What
were we used to do? What the purpose together? So
here's what I think happened.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Wece used to do those interviews whould be like Mac
DeMarco talking to a sap Rocky or something. You're like
two musicians talking shop. So I think complex saw that.
I was like, Oh, we need to do our version
of that, but we should leverage our hosts and blah blah,
you know, like it's when people start making decisions that
have nothing to do with making a good interview or
making a good video. It's motivated by other things, you know. Yeah,
(02:18):
but or like just we're going to put our hosts, like,
leverage our complex brand, put our like we're going to
take the magic of this thing, but insert a certain
like this is ours, and who knows what that means.
They can spin it off, sell it different ways or whatever,
you know. But I remember thinking that's so stupid, because
the reason the Vice thing kind of works is it's
(02:38):
two musicians talking shop or two comedians talking shops. Right,
introducing a host, it's like putting pickles on peanut butter
and jelly sandwich.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
It makes no sense, and.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It actually flies in the face of like the exact
thing that makes that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Work, right, and it it inserts just.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
A distracting element to the whole thing. So I remember
thinking on its face that this is dumb, that this
is purposeless. And then even the sets like all space
shipped out weird, like it made no sense. So I
actually I maybe even like kind of understand where he's
coming from. But I almost like barely, Like I remember
three minutes into that being like, oh, I can't wait
to get in the car.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah I know.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I was like, this is tense and he clearly doesn't
want to be here. But you know what, before the
cameras turned on, he was like sweet as pumpkin pie.
When I was just talking to him, like before we
started shooting, he was like, I was like, what are
you listening to lately? He's like, oh, Joni Mitchell. I
was like what, And then like as soon as the
camera started there was like a one eighty c change.
It was like very tense and like but I could
(03:38):
tell he was also like it was like shtick, like
he was trying to be like edge Lord, kind of
like you in a way and like militant, but like
not in a comedic way. So I was like trying
to like cut the tension. And then I was like
but then I think I was like what is this?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And then I think in the YouTube kind of ended up.
I felt like kind of trading some things too, and
so then I kind of like I was in the
middle of something.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, you know, well I was like, shit, am I
in like I feel like I was in the principals office.
I was like, what am I in trouble for? That's
a good way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I was like, I'm here to promote like a dumb
eleven minute talk show idea, but.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
What you but what you said is something that I
always think about.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Like if I don't, I don't think I ever watched it.
Neither did I I didn't, I don't think it or whatever.
I was like, oh, that sucked. And I was doing
like a few things press wise that my publicist this
is like in the beginning, you just say yes to everything,
and there was a few things I did that I regretted,
So I was just it was in that era in
(04:40):
the early stages of the show where I was like
I did something it was like nylon or Neon or
one of these like fashion kind of and they like
there was like a fashionista kind of Bruno character there,
like dressing me up in some like thing. And I
was like, I don't really, I don't model or wear
this ship and they were like, oh, just do it.
And I looked my publicist. I was like, can I
(05:01):
do it? Like ironically, but then you don't get to
pick the pictures. Yeah right, you don't select the pictures,
so you better enjoy what you are wearing and what
you're doing because you don't get to pick. There's no editor.
You're not in the edit. So, uh, it was around
that era that I did that, and I was like,
I gotta like be careful about saying yes to everything
(05:22):
because that was a fucking bummer. What was your takeaway
from it? And have we given enough context as the
audience on what the fuck we're talking about?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah? I think we kind of set it up. It
was just it was trying.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It was trying to be actors on actors, but they
inserted a host for no reason and then it went sideways,
which of course it was going to do, you know,
But what you said, I do kind of I think
about that sometimes when someone comes in, because you never
know what they're gonna come in with, you know, like
they can be you know, like, oh, I'm in a.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
New phase of my like artistic.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Journey and I'm come in like you know, and sometimes
I'm like, dude, I'm just trying to do a commercial
for you.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, totally. Yeah, Well it felt disingenuous because I saw
how he behaved before the cameras and on and then
he like put on a put on an act, and
I was like, no, you're way more interesting. You're way
more intriguing and likable and relatable being yourself. Like when
I was talking to him off camera, I was like,
(06:16):
I was leaning in. I was like fascinated, and then
he was. So it was a bummer, you know. It
was like rebel without a cause. Though it wasn't like
it wasn't it wasn't activism. It was just like nihilism.
It was nihilism. What was your takeaway? I didn't I
(06:38):
didn't have I don't want to watch it again. It's
probably not that when you watch it. It was just
a feeling in the room.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah yeah, it was probably more yeah, like less tangible
than But but I don't I mean philosophically the way
I look at interviews the same way as movies, like
they should either be good or really bad, you know
what I mean, Like the middle of the Road doesn't
do anything for me. So like sometimes those things are uncomfortable,
but I never when I walk away from them, I'm
(07:05):
always like, well that's you know, it's compelling, you know. Yeah,
So and then I try not to take myself too
seriously or like whatever when I walk away from those things.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
So that's just like kind of fine. But is that
the worst did I experience your biggest bomb?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm telling you, I think that's That's like if I
look back while it was happening, the feeling that I
had where I was almost I barely remember because I
was just kind of like disassociated the whole time.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
But fine, I was like, oh this thing. But thinking
about getting in the car, you seem just like, huh
great anyway, And I was like, maybe this is like
every other day for you, getting like curmudgeon. Well sometimes
because musicians in it happens, yeah, because like, uh, celebrities
are lunatics, like the majority of them. They're like severely
(07:55):
mentally ill.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And just doing an interview so bizarre because then you
meet people for the first time, and then you have
to create this trust, this rhythm, this energy, this chemistry
in this ridiculous context, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
That's what makes it so.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
But you always walk away with those things learning something
like even walking away from that, you know the same
way that you were talking about putting yourself in a
bad situation with.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
The nylon thing, like same with me.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
It's like, oh, well that was a bad situation. I
could see it coming from a mile away. I did
it anyway, and it went as badly as I thought
it was going to go. So then that makes you think,
all right, in the future, I can if trust your
instincts on something like that and you can't exactly and
if you can't see the concept clearly, then don't do it,
(08:38):
you know what I mean, Like if it's if it's
messy at all, and so then you start to think about,
all right, well, I need to control these things a
little bit more so you can walk away from those
things with certain lessons and but overall, I just think,
you know, try your best to research somebody, put it,
put together an interview that you hope works, and I
always stay true to that process. So then if it
doesn't go according to plan, then that's okay. I did
(09:01):
my best, you know, and go on to the next one.
There's always the next one.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, yeah, there's always something new, And yeah, I guess
failure is the greatest teacher. But uh yeah, just say no.
Crust your instincts and just saying no, and like that's
not just for career stuff. It's like throughout life. Yeah,
you know, I'm such a people pleaser and I just
go yeah, yeah sure, and then hey, you want to
go to this? Yeah yeah sure, And I don't know
why the fuck I did. I learned it from my parents.
(09:26):
But like even if you want to say yeah, yeah sure,
I have to like practice like just like not saying
anything at first, right, and then saying something a vague
in between, so I can sleep on it, really check
in with my gut and see how I feel.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
What do you see the What do you see is
the value of a promo cycle, you know, like the
value of even doing press, of even sitting down and
like doing interviews with people, especially back then.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
There's a million show. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Like you're like, what's even Like, Oh I get on
this and somebody's gonna see me and actually go to
the show.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Do you think that that yeah happens? Yeah, yeah, I
mean without marketing. Look at Barbie. Look at the Barbie movie. Right,
it's a fucking genius, But they did two things that
was brilliant with the marketing. Hey, Barbie, is this like
tried and true intellectual property that's been around for one
hundred years. That's controversial. So controversy brings media attention and
(10:19):
internet attention to it, and it's already like this established brand,
and they could combine forces for some reason, for a
very smart reason. With the Oppenheimer marketing, there was like
all these like conjoined memes and they both you know,
they're both making two billion dollars at the box office.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So I think.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Marketing is crucial inundated with so much media.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah, but it's such a fractured media landscape, you know
what I mean. Like back in the day, there was
like a couple a handful of shows, you know that people.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Are tuning into TV channel exactly. Now there's like a
million that yeah, thousands harder than ever, I guess. Yeah,
it's a volume game.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
With Aricodre, with Arecdre.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
What about like up and coming when you were like
a young journalist.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, well, I actually I liked my gigs before I
ever had something like this. I was, you know, I
worked for the park district when I was in high school,
just slinging gatorades and like hot.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Dogs at slow pitch like rex softball leagues. You know,
that was awesome.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Yeah, yeah, And then my other job after that in college,
I do architecture tours of the Chicago River in Lake
Michigan is like a dosin with like the Chicago Architecture
as a tour guide with the Architecture Foundation, and this
boat company called the First Lady, and that was sick,
Like I love doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
To do you ever get fired from anything? No, I
don't think I've ever been fired or.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Should lists experience all the way through, but I do
remember when we first started doing hot Ones, it would
be kind of an embarrassing show to do before anybody
had ever heard of it.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Start set is so bare bones, just the black curtains hanging,
and then it would have you know, like the wings
and just me sitting there.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I like that. It's like Charlie Rose with Chi. That's fine.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
But as you start to like kind of grow and
break through, eventually you find yourself, you know, like renting
a suite at like the Beverly Hills Hotel, hanging those
hanging those black things from like you know, the room,
and then having like Charlie Staring come up from a
press junket to like us with like the bedly you know,
like smashed up against the wall and all the all
the sheets hanging down, and then her being like giving
(12:45):
that same look to the publicist. You know, like that
ended up being fine, but you have to like win
people over, and that was like always a struggle. Nobody
had heard of us or like knew anything when they're
getting themselves into it, and then you have this ridiculous
on its face, ridiculous concept, you know what I mean.
So I always felt and I remember for years doing
the show, I'd have a feeling of embarrassment before starting.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, yeah, no, no, it's great. I mean you do
get thrown a lot of fucking wacka do bullshit when
you're doing press sometimes, and you do have to like
constantly check in with your pubblices, be like what am
I doing? Like like especially like there are like people
that pitch you like wackado games, like you're like, this
is you're gonna play the selfie Olympics and the funk up.
(13:28):
I don't want to do that. Just go see the
movie I did and whatever. But uh so I understand
their apprehension. You got to kind of check in with
each especially when we tossed around those hotel rooms. You're
like yeah, yeah, yeah, like, what is this but uh
game show? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Was What was the.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Highs and lows of the Game Show? Was that stressful?
Is it still going?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
No?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
No? No, here's how I here's how I look back
on that.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
The pop positives on it were, uh, you know, it
was fun to do it like in a big studio,
you know, they're nerve wrecking.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
No.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I kind of liked it, you know because when you do.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Stress of it, I kind of like the performance of it,
you know, I kind of like, you know, you're so
in the studio doing the interview show. There's not many
people on set. You know, it's very closed and quiet,
and that felt like a chance to like, you know,
it's like kind of doing something in the studio and
then you get to do a concert.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
That's kind of how I thought of it, And it was.
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
In Atlanta was a fun city to do it. They're
not normal seat filler people, you know, they're like fun
and having a great time and it's so that always
felt awesome. And then you'd be like around fans and
signing hot sauce bottles and stuff, so it felt real
to the show.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
How did the game show work? What was the premise
of it, like people had to eat hotter and hotter, Like, yeah,
it's not celebrities.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah, contestants, right, So it just be like these rounds
of either like a game or trivia, but before each
round they're eating this scorching hot chicken wing.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
But I do remember not having not having.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
The greatest experience going having a TV adaptation of it
or taking notes from like a network about what this
should be, you know what I mean. So I think,
but I think sometimes they're just like, oh, it's like
celebrities and hot sauce, and that's what like makes it
such a hit, you know what I mean. So they
it would be very celebrity driven kind of trivia and stuff.
But I'm like, I know, my audience, they're not this
(15:20):
kind of dumb, you know. So I felt like the
trivia was dumb. I felt like the games were dumb.
Like I kind of wanted it to be a little
more cash cab kind of thing, you know, like something
that I know people can play along to.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But then they'll like mark, you know, they'll.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Focus group test something and then with whatever the demographic
is for the advertisers that they have, and that ends
up like dictating the show you know, they.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Run creativity like a accountant. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
So I saw that and then and then the output
from that, I'm like, I know why people like hot
ones and no hot Ones fan is going to see
this and be like, oh, yeah, this is an amazing
game show, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
So I knew that.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
And while you're doing something, it's exciting, and especially at
that time, it was super exciting. But then when I
was on the plane home, you know, it's such a
whirlwind because you shoot like twenty five episodes and ten
days or whatever. And then when I was on the
plane ride home, I remember being like, a.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What's that going to look like? You know? But I thought,
you know, working with the contestants is great.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
The other thing was the wings were way too hot,
you know, because that's like spicy. Wait, just way too spicy,
is like just way too way too impossible to deal. Oh,
you were like chilling killing them. Because the other side
of it is the people. I think there was puking,
and I think there was there.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Was Pukingmber from Massachusetts or whatever doing it. There was
puking in every single episode.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know. I was like, I was like, this needs
and then the way that they would be explained to me.
I'd be like, you know what, how ones would kind
of work them up to crazy were starting out, Yeah, yeah,
no one's going to watch to the first commercial break
if they're just kind.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Of you know, like that.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So the first one was like worse than the bomb,
and then it goes from there.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
They're just getting getting rotten movie hard exactly.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
It's way too hot. And I remember because I don't
really like puking. I don't like when people puke around me,
and like this, oh yeah, every o, my god, there's
like puke buckets behind everything. I was like, I was like,
I get wanting reactions.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
You don't want people puking.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
You don't want deep, you don't want deep guttural tramps,
dark dark. Yeah, And because you know, like on the
show and people are like, it's screaming, that's fun. When
people are in a k hole guttural like shutdown thing,
it's just uncomfortable and then they can't. So I remember
even early on and that being like these are too hot,
but we always make it to the first commercial break.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We smoke them out.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So I remember like I'm not, uh, it was I'm
happy I did it. It was a good experience, and
the people in Atlanta and uh people at Turner and
everybody was like super awesome to work with. But looking
back on it, like I understand completely wide failed, you know,
like it had no chance murdering. It was not.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, they're just like medical attention, yeah was there.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, Yeah, we had medics on set and we put
them to use. I remember there was like somebody who
had to get some sort of attention for it. But
it was uh insurance to cover the show, and I
remember there was They'd always want to like update all
the time, so they always have me checking in, you know,
but how are you doing after the constrictor wing you know,
(18:44):
and doing and I'm like and they'd just be in
my ear being like checking with Derek, checking with Derek,
ask the constriction stuff like that. It was just I
know I should have, but but I think that's what
ends up happening though, Or what I think is interesting
is you walk into something and you see the level
of success of like all those people, and you're like, well,
I've only done one this is the first show.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Now I look at those people like, who the fuck
are any of the exactly exactly at the time written
a script. They've never hosted, done anything on camera? Who
are they? But that was the learning experience for me.
So I was like, oh, they get fired all they
get fired and the revolving door, they've any of their asses,
They're going to be fired in like a week exactly.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And then so I felt like, oh, I've only done
one show that's worked ever. You know, this is my
first show, Like what do I know? I would be
going through the same thing, but then now walking out
of it. That was another learning experience of like, no,
I shouldn't let any anyone talk. I know a Hot
Ones fan better than anyone was a Hot Ones fan.
No one should tell me exactly what the one. That
was an experience, so.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You got to push back.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
You just be like, hey, I know the fan base,
and this is you just got to tell them why
they're wrong over and over again. And then also like
half of what their their notes are is just like
performative bullshit to justify their job, like self centered and
self served.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
That's what I thought too, even like the decision being
so risk averse, and you know.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Like they just don't want to get fired from whoever
their bosses and their bosses some other schmuck and it's
just like a fucking ladder of schmucks to the top
of exactly mountain. But you learn, yeah, yeah, you live
and learn. That's so crazy. Fucking rocking people to like
god five levels spicy, Get them like a medium spice
(20:27):
at first, so that you could tell their their sweating.
They're hot, but they're answering the question, and then you
go up. Then then you build towards act three. You
get you can't, I get you don't want to start
out with like Taco Bell mild, but you gotta, you know,
the craziest ship by the balance, the craziest.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
This is just now coming back to me, But before
the game show started, there'd be a time where we'd
go to the production house that was doing it and
they'd have a room like this, They clear everything out
and you'd just be drilling all the games. So then
when you actually start shooting shows like the games are
our second nature to right. But then what they would
do is they'd hire I think like just day act
like day rate actors, you know, people that would otherwise
(21:03):
just be extras in a TOOTHPACEE commercial or something to
come in and they'd be drilling the games, but actually
eating the wings for real. And I remember thinking at
the time, like, why do they even need to eat
the wings? Like this is mostly just about drilling it
for me?
Speaker 2 (21:17):
May die?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Wait this was what what was this? This was like
a rehearsal Yeah, like in rehearsal kind of situation. And
this wasn't for on camera or it wasn't it wasn't. No,
they were just they were just this wasn't for the show.
They were just drilling the things.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
But I guess they probably had to lock in the
spice to you know, they probably had to lock in
how hot these things was.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Like, so there's like background actors getting rocked like a
lab rat kind.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Of setting, dude, like a documentary and no, it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I remember at one point being like, we.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Need to get the milkshakes because they'd be like they'd
be like they'd be like Sean Hey, on that last read,
you called it the two hundred dollars question. It's not
the two hundred dollars question. It's a question for two
hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So let's reset new wings like blah blah blah, like
these people just I mean like and then like I'm
like we can't.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
No, no, no, we got to get them some milkshakes
or something. This isn't and they'd be like, oh yeah,
you can tell they wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Even like, weren't even thinking about that. God, all right,
get some milkshakes.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So anyways, but so that was a short lived but
pretty wild experience.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
It's wild.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
That's wild ship.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Could you update? I guess you don't need to, but
could you do a half hour version for television hot ones? Yeah? Yeah,
I mean I guess it would be almost Yeah, it's
almost the same. Ain't broke, don't fix it. That's I mean,
that's vision all up. That's how I think, exactly, And
you got a good thing going exactly, change the formula.
(22:48):
That's that's what I say.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
It's just like, if this is where people get it,
and this is how they like it and they know
how it's delivered, why mess around with any.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
So I've never really like you can monitor you. You're
monetizing YouTube right like you're monetizing yeah, I mean yeah,
I mean it's not like you know how much you
got liquid? Right now, let's go to your three hundred bucks.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
With aer codre.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
With aer codre, what's the worst bomb you've ever seen
live nothing that's super crystallized or any like any other
thing you've seen in Like I've been to some Killed
Tony shows or whatever, you know, but that's just like
I haven't gone to those.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
I want to go to those.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the show.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Und so here's how it works as me to do it,
and I just no, you should do it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It's fun. It's fun. It's a fun show.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So basically what it is is just pulling out of
the hat like total amateurs to do a minute on stage,
you know, and then they it's kind of.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Like a minute of regular written material or you have
to improvise your material.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
No, you could do it's it's people want to be
comedians or whatever putting it, but it's not somebody that's
actually working, like not somebody who's like work and coming.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, like not amateur in a bad way, but like.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It's like an American Idol audition for comedians basically.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
And then it's just rapid fire called Kill Tony. I
don't know why it's called kill Tony. Tony Hinecliff does it,
So maybe there's some but do they have to like
go toe to toe with Tony? At the end of it.
I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Actually, I just I just accept. I just accepted at
face value and walked in and sit down. But I've
gone to a couple of them, and that'll be like
a rapid fire bomb, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
So it'll just be like it's just one of the
first time er is like getting up there. Yeah yeah,
and it's eating it.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
It would be like just kids from high school trying
to fill a minute or something, you know what I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
The longest minute of their life. Yeah. Yeah, so you've
seen some panic attacks there, Yeah, definitely, Yeah, Yeah. I
love that shit. I love, I love I'm such an
anxious person. I like relish and people's like nerves and
anxiety because it makes like nothing's more likable. If I
see you like you've monetized that. Yeah. Yeah, if I
could like bring you down to my level of misery,
(25:12):
like they make her click my heels, constant fucking medical
misery of anxiety disorder. What's the most wasted you've been
at work? So Dave Grohl came in, Well, whiskey in
my mouth it's said, buckle.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Up, butter goodly literally, so he he brought a bottle
of Crown Royal and he's like, I'm gonna go wing
for He's like, I'm gonna go wing for wing with you,
and you're gonna go shot for shot with me.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Oh, he two shaded you shot for shot.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
He was disgusting.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
We cleaned out an entire bottle of Crown Royal. And so,
you know, a hot one shoot is like an hour
forty five minutes to an hour. Yeah, No, I rallied through.
I rallied through, and it was like a ten am shoot.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I remember, you know, I walked. Do you have other
things to do that day?
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No? I had the schedule clear, but I remember kind
of stumbling out. I don't even smoke cigarettes, but I
was just smoking SIGs with Dave outside and it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
It was it was actually that sounds like the best
day of your life. It was awesome. You were hammered.
So this one, yeah, yeah, you can watch it. You
can watch it. Amazing girl drinks like that. He could
put it down. Yeah, yeah, that day sober for some reason,
not that day, not that my friend worked in radio.
(26:26):
He said. David Girl was the nicest. He is the
nicest interview he's ever done in his career. He said
he interviewed everybody. I agree with that, he said, out
of everyone I've ever interviewed, David Girl, Yeah, like hands
down champion to interview. He said, he's like super open,
you can ask him anything, so down to earth.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
But I find that to be the case of a
lot of people that have been in the game a
long time, you know, that have come out the other
side of that. Those are kind of my favorite people
to interview.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
But I think they've been in the game for a
long time because they're easy. Yeah. Actually that's a good point.
I think when you're playing so you become so difficult
to work with. It doesn't matter how famous you are,
how success are, people are like, yeah, yeah, you're a monster.
Everybody is replaceable. So I think that, uh, I think
I think somebody was talking about that. I think Samuel
(27:16):
Jackson was talking about that. He's like, even at my level,
I can't start being a fucking total asshole.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Gun be a little bit of.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
An ass Yeah, just a little bit, a little sprinkle.
People could be a little bit of a curmudgeon. But
if you're monstrous, that's your point.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
You know. I won't name names.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Well, Sean Hey said it could have been done, and
we did it. I should have done something like in hindsight,
I was not prepared. We should have done I don't
know what the equivalent of Hot Sauce or Crown Royal,
but I should have done a dating role to you.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Well, you know what it was like we were talking
before when you're like, oh, can't I just like talk
about my movie or whatever? You know, sometimes there's no
need to overproduce, you know what I'm saying. Put put
a concept to it. Like last night I was watching
the football game. They had this pregame show where it
was like Patrick Mahomes getting interviewed, but they like they're
like having a catch and they were like throwing a
football around and I was like, and it and they
(28:09):
have to like yell at each other like while they're
doing the interview because they're playing.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And I was like, what happened to just people sitting
and sit down and talking? Did I ruin? This? Is
this my influence? You know what I mean? That's when
I feel like maybe I'm leaving the world the worst
place when because your your thing has it's not rigid
like that feels very like tossing the ball and yelling
feels very like they're overthinking. Yeah, yours has like a
(28:33):
there's no rigidity to it. It feels like it feels
like a casual hang because you would eat hot chicken
wings with your friends, you know what I mean. So
that's relatable. That's not like, hey, what's up man, indoors?
Father and son fucking ball catching indoors to grown man?
(28:54):
What could I have done? That was like a hot
hot wing challenge?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
What is? What is?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
What causes you discomfort in a challenging way, like whiskey
and hot sauce. Yeah, but they also kind of air
and nice, you know they do? Because does an alcohol
cut the cut the little bit heat? Because I think
it was it was either Jamie Oliver or or Alton Brown.
That was like the only thing you can do is
animal fat or booze, right to get the heat. It's
(29:19):
either got to be milk, butter, buttermilk or or ice
cream some animal fat to cut it, or alcohol, right yeah,
because water doesn't cut it. No, it just kind of
moves it around. It just moves around the heat. Yeah,
it's got to be milk like milkshakes, right, yeah, and
go to for for heat reduction.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
As our guests have gotten more and more famous over
the years, the milks have become more and more exotic,
you know, and then now.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
People are like substituted in milk that's you know, not whole.
You know, it's just crazy la milks, you know, and
without animal Yeah yeah, almond and might as well be
drinking water. Yeah yeah, Wait a minute. What's your most
successful hot ones?
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Gordon Ramsey by far, I think Billy eil Like Billy
Eilish is our second biggest episode. It has like half
as many views as that thing has like one hundred
and thirty million views or something like that. But I
think what it was is when we first started doing
the show, he was the most requested guest by far.
You know, I almost felt bad for when we started
putting out episodes because it's be like on the show
(30:16):
this week, Eric Andre and all the comments back, word's
Gordon Ramsey? When's Gordon Ramsey?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (30:20):
I felt like almost impossible to do the show until
we got him in. And I think it makes sense.
You like the food component. I think people want to
see him like yell at us about the quality of
the wings. Like I think he just naturally fit that
chair so well. And so then when it finally happened,
it was like an internet fever dream coming together.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Hot blooded guy. People wanted to see him. Yeah, yeah,
how did he do? Awesome? And he's he took wings down.
Yeah he's actually and he came back and did it again.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Actually we did a holiday special tailor and I've had
dinner in Hell's kitchen before.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
No, he's he's Dave roll off the camera y. Yeah, yeah,
there's no way that he that's got to be performed. Yeah. Yeah,
he's a I met a bunch of those reality people
that are like as sweet as pie, and I'm like,
why did they make you do this? This like Simon
Cowell model of like I guess you gotta put you
got to inject trauma.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Conflict.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah, conflict. Maybe that's what I trying to do.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
The whole time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Maybe maybe he has a three dimensional chest kind of
attitude about it and he's trying to inject some conflict. Yeah.
I really actually do believe part of that because he
was so sweet off camera talking about Johnny Mitchell or whatever,
and that he was like doing this stick. I can
see that if I was like twenty two years old.
And also it felt like nervous. He felt nervous. He
felt like it felt like this, like anxiety to deliver
(31:38):
something edge, lordy and controversial. And I was like, all right, man,
you're bumming everybody out. Even his manager was like, fuck Sean,
thank you man, thank.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
You with a recondre.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Hey, before you go, I want to let you know
I got a new book out that I wrote with
my friend Dan Curry. It is gold Dumb ideas behind
the scenes, expose I'm making pranks and other stupid creative
endeavors and how you can also too. It's out now
and you can get it anywhere you buy books or
audio books. Now, here's a special clip from the audio book,
just for you. I always dreamed of being arrested while
doing comedy. Then I finally did. During Season one of
(32:15):
The Ericndra Show, I went to a town all meeting
dressed like a frat boy. While the mayor of this
pode in California town called Rancho Cucamonga No Joke, was
babbling on about god knows what. I dressed like a
frat boy, ran up to the podium and said, hey,
y'all vote for me for class president, and I'll put
beer in the water fountains and cameras in the girls'
locker rooms. Woo go, Bobcats. This half baked character was
(32:39):
inspired by any Porky's loving dipshit from my first high
school kinda. If you read that last sentence and got
the porky reference, give yourself a pork sandwich, then poke
a gloryhole in your own shower. That movie didn't age well.
This evening town hall meeting was attended by the mayor
and twelve sheriffs. These municipal hot shots didn't share my
sense of humor and promptly detail. The sun was setting,
(33:01):
the air was thick. I was on a high. The
sheriff's escorted me outside of the parking lot and kept
asking for my name. I told them my name was
John Coltrane. They kept trying to look me up in
their cop car laptop and they would lament, you're not
coming up in the system, Coltrane. This one cop came
up to me and went how many drugs are you on?
And I was stone cold sober, so I self cued
(33:23):
the classic sobriety test and started nailing them. Still in character,
I leaned my head back and started tapping my nose
and saying the alphabet backwards flawlessly, ze why XWVUT. Then
I walked in a straight line, over and over again.
These sheriffs were beside themselves. This is the most sober
idiot we've ever seen. Finally, the head boss sheriff softened.
(33:46):
I don't want to arrest you, guy, but I just
have to arrest you since you made such a scene
in front of my boss. Poor guy, he just had
to arrest me. I can't imagine the emotional pain and
trauma he suffered while cuffing me. Ill with Eric Anddre
Bombing with Eric Andres brought to you by Will Ferrell's
Big Money Players Network and iHeart Podcast. Executive produced by
(34:09):
Han Sani Olivia Aguilar, edited and sound designed by Andy Harris,
and our art is by Dylan Vanderberg. If you want
to confess to your own bombing moments or give us
a shout out, go rate us five stars and drop
a review on your podcast app a choice, write about
your own stories of bombing at life and if you're
on Apple Podcasts, you can also subscribe to Big Money
Player's Diamond to get exclusive bonus content with every episode,
(34:29):
and listen to all my episodes at free.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Hey bye.
Hey, do you know where you are? I? Sure?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Do you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Listening to another episode of Bombing with Eric Andre, where
I talk with friends, comedians, musicians, and other creative people
about their worst moments on stage. We're talking about the
spiciest moments. So today it felt right to sit down
with the host and creator of Hot Ones, Sean Evans.
Dear friend, we both took a trip down memory lane
about a bombing moment. We experienced it together. As always,
(00:24):
Please subscribe to the podcast to get new episodes every week.
RTED five Stars and an Apple Podcasts subscribe to Big
Money Players Diamond to get exclusive clips plus ad free
episodes weekly. Let's get into it, Bombing.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
B with Aeric Andre.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
All right, well, so what's a bomb for him? Just
a shitty interviewhitty interview. When you said that it clearly
hates white people.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
When you said that, that was immediately the thing that
I thought about. You know, it's like about bombing because
you know, you think how ones would fly off the
rails all the time, but it's usually a very positive
shoot experience, you know, like, no matter the emotional roller
coaster throughout, it usually ends in a hug. So I
don't really have that many sort of this is uncomfortable
(01:12):
kind of interviews when I look at the.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Cattle the Hot Ones catalog.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, but that one with you me and Yeah, if
I look back on the hundreds of interviews that I've
done in my life, that's the one that crystallized is
maybe the most.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, he clearly doesn't like to do press. I was
kind of like I would have turned to him and
be like, you don't have to do this, Like this
is just to promote your stuff, Like none of us
have to be here. You don't have to be here, right,
If you don't want to promote your stuff, just go
or go away here, like go somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
In his defense, though, I remember the whole conceit for
this thing was so stupid.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So I think what was happening he was confusing, was
super confused. I didn't really know what it was. What
were we used to do? What the purpose together? So
here's what I think happened.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Wece used to do those interviews whould be like Mac
DeMarco talking to a sap Rocky or something. You're like
two musicians talking shop. So I think complex saw that.
I was like, Oh, we need to do our version
of that, but we should leverage our hosts and blah blah,
you know, like it's when people start making decisions that
have nothing to do with making a good interview or
making a good video. It's motivated by other things, you know. Yeah,
(02:18):
but or like just we're going to put our hosts, like,
leverage our complex brand, put our like we're going to
take the magic of this thing, but insert a certain
like this is ours, and who knows what that means.
They can spin it off, sell it different ways or whatever,
you know. But I remember thinking that's so stupid, because
the reason the Vice thing kind of works is it's
(02:38):
two musicians talking shop or two comedians talking shops. Right,
introducing a host, it's like putting pickles on peanut butter
and jelly sandwich.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
It makes no sense, and.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It actually flies in the face of like the exact
thing that makes that whole thing.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Work, right, and it it inserts just.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
A distracting element to the whole thing. So I remember
thinking on its face that this is dumb, that this
is purposeless. And then even the sets like all space
shipped out weird, like it made no sense. So I
actually I maybe even like kind of understand where he's
coming from. But I almost like barely, Like I remember
three minutes into that being like, oh, I can't wait
to get in the car.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah I know.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I was like, this is tense and he clearly doesn't
want to be here. But you know what, before the
cameras turned on, he was like sweet as pumpkin pie.
When I was just talking to him, like before we
started shooting, he was like, I was like, what are
you listening to lately? He's like, oh, Joni Mitchell. I
was like what, And then like as soon as the
camera started there was like a one eighty c change.
It was like very tense and like but I could
(03:38):
tell he was also like it was like shtick, like
he was trying to be like edge Lord, kind of
like you in a way and like militant, but like
not in a comedic way. So I was like trying
to like cut the tension. And then I was like
but then I think I was like what is this?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And then I think in the YouTube kind of ended up.
I felt like kind of trading some things too, and
so then I kind of like I was in the
middle of something.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, you know, well I was like, shit, am I
in like I feel like I was in the principals office.
I was like, what am I in trouble for? That's
a good way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I was like, I'm here to promote like a dumb
eleven minute talk show idea, but.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
What you but what you said is something that I
always think about.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Like if I don't, I don't think I ever watched it.
Neither did I I didn't, I don't think it or whatever.
I was like, oh, that sucked. And I was doing
like a few things press wise that my publicist this
is like in the beginning, you just say yes to everything,
and there was a few things I did that I regretted,
So I was just it was in that era in
(04:40):
the early stages of the show where I was like
I did something it was like nylon or Neon or
one of these like fashion kind of and they like
there was like a fashionista kind of Bruno character there,
like dressing me up in some like thing. And I
was like, I don't really, I don't model or wear
this ship and they were like, oh, just do it.
And I looked my publicist. I was like, can I
(05:01):
do it? Like ironically, but then you don't get to
pick the pictures. Yeah right, you don't select the pictures,
so you better enjoy what you are wearing and what
you're doing because you don't get to pick. There's no editor.
You're not in the edit. So, uh, it was around
that era that I did that, and I was like,
I gotta like be careful about saying yes to everything
(05:22):
because that was a fucking bummer. What was your takeaway
from it? And have we given enough context as the
audience on what the fuck we're talking about?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah? I think we kind of set it up. It
was just it was trying.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It was trying to be actors on actors, but they
inserted a host for no reason and then it went sideways,
which of course it was going to do, you know,
But what you said, I do kind of I think
about that sometimes when someone comes in, because you never
know what they're gonna come in with, you know, like
they can be you know, like, oh, I'm in a.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
New phase of my like artistic.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Journey and I'm come in like you know, and sometimes
I'm like, dude, I'm just trying to do a commercial
for you.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, totally. Yeah, Well it felt disingenuous because I saw
how he behaved before the cameras and on and then
he like put on a put on an act, and
I was like, no, you're way more interesting. You're way
more intriguing and likable and relatable being yourself. Like when
I was talking to him off camera, I was like,
(06:16):
I was leaning in. I was like fascinated, and then
he was. So it was a bummer, you know. It
was like rebel without a cause. Though it wasn't like
it wasn't it wasn't activism. It was just like nihilism.
It was nihilism. What was your takeaway? I didn't I
(06:38):
didn't have I don't want to watch it again. It's
probably not that when you watch it. It was just
a feeling in the room.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah yeah, it was probably more yeah, like less tangible
than But but I don't I mean philosophically the way
I look at interviews the same way as movies, like
they should either be good or really bad, you know
what I mean, Like the middle of the Road doesn't
do anything for me. So like sometimes those things are uncomfortable,
but I never when I walk away from them, I'm
(07:05):
always like, well that's you know, it's compelling, you know. Yeah,
So and then I try not to take myself too
seriously or like whatever when I walk away from those things.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
So that's just like kind of fine. But is that
the worst did I experience your biggest bomb?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I'm telling you, I think that's That's like if I
look back while it was happening, the feeling that I
had where I was almost I barely remember because I
was just kind of like disassociated the whole time.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
But fine, I was like, oh this thing. But thinking
about getting in the car, you seem just like, huh
great anyway, And I was like, maybe this is like
every other day for you, getting like curmudgeon. Well sometimes
because musicians in it happens, yeah, because like, uh, celebrities
are lunatics, like the majority of them. They're like severely
(07:55):
mentally ill.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And just doing an interview so bizarre because then you
meet people for the first time, and then you have
to create this trust, this rhythm, this energy, this chemistry
in this ridiculous context, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
That's what makes it so.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
But you always walk away with those things learning something
like even walking away from that, you know the same
way that you were talking about putting yourself in a
bad situation with.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
The nylon thing, like same with me.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
It's like, oh, well that was a bad situation. I
could see it coming from a mile away. I did
it anyway, and it went as badly as I thought
it was going to go. So then that makes you think,
all right, in the future, I can if trust your
instincts on something like that and you can't exactly and
if you can't see the concept clearly, then don't do it,
(08:38):
you know what I mean, Like if it's if it's
messy at all, and so then you start to think about,
all right, well, I need to control these things a
little bit more so you can walk away from those
things with certain lessons and but overall, I just think,
you know, try your best to research somebody, put it,
put together an interview that you hope works, and I
always stay true to that process. So then if it
doesn't go according to plan, then that's okay. I did
(09:01):
my best, you know, and go on to the next one.
There's always the next one.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, yeah, there's always something new, And yeah, I guess
failure is the greatest teacher. But uh yeah, just say no.
Crust your instincts and just saying no, and like that's
not just for career stuff. It's like throughout life. Yeah,
you know, I'm such a people pleaser and I just
go yeah, yeah sure, and then hey, you want to
go to this? Yeah yeah sure, And I don't know
why the fuck I did. I learned it from my parents.
(09:26):
But like even if you want to say yeah, yeah sure,
I have to like practice like just like not saying
anything at first, right, and then saying something a vague
in between, so I can sleep on it, really check
in with my gut and see how I feel.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
What do you see the What do you see is
the value of a promo cycle, you know, like the
value of even doing press, of even sitting down and
like doing interviews with people, especially back then.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
There's a million show. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Like you're like, what's even Like, Oh I get on
this and somebody's gonna see me and actually go to
the show.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Do you think that that yeah happens? Yeah, yeah, I
mean without marketing. Look at Barbie. Look at the Barbie movie. Right,
it's a fucking genius, But they did two things that
was brilliant with the marketing. Hey, Barbie, is this like
tried and true intellectual property that's been around for one
hundred years. That's controversial. So controversy brings media attention and
(10:19):
internet attention to it, and it's already like this established brand,
and they could combine forces for some reason, for a
very smart reason. With the Oppenheimer marketing, there was like
all these like conjoined memes and they both you know,
they're both making two billion dollars at the box office.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So I think.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Marketing is crucial inundated with so much media.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah, but it's such a fractured media landscape, you know
what I mean. Like back in the day, there was
like a couple a handful of shows, you know that people.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Are tuning into TV channel exactly. Now there's like a
million that yeah, thousands harder than ever, I guess. Yeah,
it's a volume game.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
With Aricodre, with Arecdre.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
What about like up and coming when you were like
a young journalist.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, well, I actually I liked my gigs before I
ever had something like this. I was, you know, I
worked for the park district when I was in high school,
just slinging gatorades and like hot.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Dogs at slow pitch like rex softball leagues. You know,
that was awesome.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Yeah, yeah, And then my other job after that in college,
I do architecture tours of the Chicago River in Lake
Michigan is like a dosin with like the Chicago Architecture
as a tour guide with the Architecture Foundation, and this
boat company called the First Lady, and that was sick,
Like I love doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
To do you ever get fired from anything? No, I
don't think I've ever been fired or.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Should lists experience all the way through, but I do
remember when we first started doing hot Ones, it would
be kind of an embarrassing show to do before anybody
had ever heard of it.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Start set is so bare bones, just the black curtains hanging,
and then it would have you know, like the wings
and just me sitting there.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I like that. It's like Charlie Rose with Chi. That's fine.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
But as you start to like kind of grow and
break through, eventually you find yourself, you know, like renting
a suite at like the Beverly Hills Hotel, hanging those
hanging those black things from like you know, the room,
and then having like Charlie Staring come up from a
press junket to like us with like the bedly you know,
like smashed up against the wall and all the all
the sheets hanging down, and then her being like giving
(12:45):
that same look to the publicist. You know, like that
ended up being fine, but you have to like win
people over, and that was like always a struggle. Nobody
had heard of us or like knew anything when they're
getting themselves into it, and then you have this ridiculous
on its face, ridiculous concept, you know what I mean.
So I always felt and I remember for years doing
the show, I'd have a feeling of embarrassment before starting.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, yeah, no, no, it's great. I mean you do
get thrown a lot of fucking wacka do bullshit when
you're doing press sometimes, and you do have to like
constantly check in with your pubblices, be like what am
I doing? Like like especially like there are like people
that pitch you like wackado games, like you're like, this
is you're gonna play the selfie Olympics and the funk up.
(13:28):
I don't want to do that. Just go see the
movie I did and whatever. But uh so I understand
their apprehension. You got to kind of check in with
each especially when we tossed around those hotel rooms. You're
like yeah, yeah, yeah, like, what is this but uh
game show? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Was What was the.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Highs and lows of the Game Show? Was that stressful?
Is it still going?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
No?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
No? No, here's how I here's how I look back
on that.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
The pop positives on it were, uh, you know, it
was fun to do it like in a big studio,
you know, they're nerve wrecking.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
No.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
I kind of liked it, you know because when you do.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Stress of it, I kind of like the performance of it,
you know, I kind of like, you know, you're so
in the studio doing the interview show. There's not many
people on set. You know, it's very closed and quiet,
and that felt like a chance to like, you know,
it's like kind of doing something in the studio and
then you get to do a concert.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
That's kind of how I thought of it, And it was.
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
In Atlanta was a fun city to do it. They're
not normal seat filler people, you know, they're like fun
and having a great time and it's so that always
felt awesome. And then you'd be like around fans and
signing hot sauce bottles and stuff, so it felt real
to the show.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
How did the game show work? What was the premise
of it, like people had to eat hotter and hotter, Like, yeah,
it's not celebrities.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah, contestants, right, So it just be like these rounds
of either like a game or trivia, but before each
round they're eating this scorching hot chicken wing.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
But I do remember not having not having.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
The greatest experience going having a TV adaptation of it
or taking notes from like a network about what this
should be, you know what I mean. So I think,
but I think sometimes they're just like, oh, it's like
celebrities and hot sauce, and that's what like makes it
such a hit, you know what I mean. So they
it would be very celebrity driven kind of trivia and stuff.
But I'm like, I know, my audience, they're not this
(15:20):
kind of dumb, you know. So I felt like the
trivia was dumb. I felt like the games were dumb.
Like I kind of wanted it to be a little
more cash cab kind of thing, you know, like something
that I know people can play along to.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But then they'll like mark, you know, they'll.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Focus group test something and then with whatever the demographic
is for the advertisers that they have, and that ends
up like dictating the show you know, they.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Run creativity like a accountant. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
So I saw that and then and then the output
from that, I'm like, I know why people like hot
ones and no hot Ones fan is going to see
this and be like, oh, yeah, this is an amazing
game show, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
So I knew that.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
And while you're doing something, it's exciting, and especially at
that time, it was super exciting. But then when I
was on the plane home, you know, it's such a
whirlwind because you shoot like twenty five episodes and ten
days or whatever. And then when I was on the
plane ride home, I remember being like, a.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What's that going to look like? You know? But I thought,
you know, working with the contestants is great.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
The other thing was the wings were way too hot,
you know, because that's like spicy. Wait, just way too spicy,
is like just way too way too impossible to deal. Oh,
you were like chilling killing them. Because the other side
of it is the people. I think there was puking,
and I think there was there.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Was Pukingmber from Massachusetts or whatever doing it. There was
puking in every single episode.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
You know. I was like, I was like, this needs
and then the way that they would be explained to me.
I'd be like, you know what, how ones would kind
of work them up to crazy were starting out, Yeah, yeah,
no one's going to watch to the first commercial break
if they're just kind.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Of you know, like that.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So the first one was like worse than the bomb,
and then it goes from there.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
They're just getting getting rotten movie hard exactly.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
It's way too hot. And I remember because I don't
really like puking. I don't like when people puke around me,
and like this, oh yeah, every o, my god, there's
like puke buckets behind everything. I was like, I was like,
I get wanting reactions.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
You don't want people puking.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
You don't want deep, you don't want deep guttural tramps,
dark dark. Yeah, And because you know, like on the
show and people are like, it's screaming, that's fun. When
people are in a k hole guttural like shutdown thing,
it's just uncomfortable and then they can't. So I remember
even early on and that being like these are too hot,
but we always make it to the first commercial break.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We smoke them out.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
So I remember like I'm not, uh, it was I'm
happy I did it. It was a good experience, and
the people in Atlanta and uh people at Turner and
everybody was like super awesome to work with. But looking
back on it, like I understand completely wide failed, you know,
like it had no chance murdering. It was not.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, they're just like medical attention, yeah was there.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah, Yeah, we had medics on set and we put
them to use. I remember there was like somebody who
had to get some sort of attention for it. But
it was uh insurance to cover the show, and I
remember there was They'd always want to like update all
the time, so they always have me checking in, you know,
but how are you doing after the constrictor wing you know,
(18:44):
and doing and I'm like and they'd just be in
my ear being like checking with Derek, checking with Derek,
ask the constriction stuff like that. It was just I
know I should have, but but I think that's what
ends up happening though, Or what I think is interesting
is you walk into something and you see the level
of success of like all those people, and you're like, well,
I've only done one this is the first show.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Now I look at those people like, who the fuck
are any of the exactly exactly at the time written
a script. They've never hosted, done anything on camera? Who
are they? But that was the learning experience for me.
So I was like, oh, they get fired all they
get fired and the revolving door, they've any of their asses,
They're going to be fired in like a week exactly.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And then so I felt like, oh, I've only done
one show that's worked ever. You know, this is my
first show, Like what do I know? I would be
going through the same thing, but then now walking out
of it. That was another learning experience of like, no,
I shouldn't let any anyone talk. I know a Hot
Ones fan better than anyone was a Hot Ones fan.
No one should tell me exactly what the one. That
was an experience, so.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You got to push back.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
You just be like, hey, I know the fan base,
and this is you just got to tell them why
they're wrong over and over again. And then also like
half of what their their notes are is just like
performative bullshit to justify their job, like self centered and
self served.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
That's what I thought too, even like the decision being
so risk averse, and you know.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Like they just don't want to get fired from whoever
their bosses and their bosses some other schmuck and it's
just like a fucking ladder of schmucks to the top
of exactly mountain. But you learn, yeah, yeah, you live
and learn. That's so crazy. Fucking rocking people to like
god five levels spicy, Get them like a medium spice
(20:27):
at first, so that you could tell their their sweating.
They're hot, but they're answering the question, and then you
go up. Then then you build towards act three. You
get you can't, I get you don't want to start
out with like Taco Bell mild, but you gotta, you know,
the craziest ship by the balance, the craziest.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
This is just now coming back to me, But before
the game show started, there'd be a time where we'd
go to the production house that was doing it and
they'd have a room like this, They clear everything out
and you'd just be drilling all the games. So then
when you actually start shooting shows like the games are
our second nature to right. But then what they would
do is they'd hire I think like just day act
like day rate actors, you know, people that would otherwise
(21:03):
just be extras in a TOOTHPACEE commercial or something to
come in and they'd be drilling the games, but actually
eating the wings for real. And I remember thinking at
the time, like, why do they even need to eat
the wings? Like this is mostly just about drilling it
for me?
Speaker 2 (21:17):
May die?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Wait this was what what was this? This was like
a rehearsal Yeah, like in rehearsal kind of situation. And
this wasn't for on camera or it wasn't it wasn't. No,
they were just they were just this wasn't for the show.
They were just drilling the things.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
But I guess they probably had to lock in the
spice to you know, they probably had to lock in
how hot these things was.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Like, so there's like background actors getting rocked like a
lab rat kind.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Of setting, dude, like a documentary and no, it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I remember at one point being like, we.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
Need to get the milkshakes because they'd be like they'd
be like they'd be like Sean Hey, on that last read,
you called it the two hundred dollars question. It's not
the two hundred dollars question. It's a question for two
hundred dollars.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
So let's reset new wings like blah blah blah, like
these people just I mean like and then like I'm
like we can't.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
No, no, no, we got to get them some milkshakes
or something. This isn't and they'd be like, oh yeah,
you can tell they wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Even like, weren't even thinking about that. God, all right,
get some milkshakes.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So anyways, but so that was a short lived but
pretty wild experience.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
It's wild.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
That's wild ship.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Could you update? I guess you don't need to, but
could you do a half hour version for television hot ones? Yeah? Yeah,
I mean I guess it would be almost Yeah, it's
almost the same. Ain't broke, don't fix it. That's I mean,
that's vision all up. That's how I think, exactly, And
you got a good thing going exactly, change the formula.
(22:48):
That's that's what I say.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
It's just like, if this is where people get it,
and this is how they like it and they know
how it's delivered, why mess around with any.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
So I've never really like you can monitor you. You're
monetizing YouTube right like you're monetizing yeah, I mean yeah,
I mean it's not like you know how much you
got liquid? Right now, let's go to your three hundred bucks.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
With aer codre.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
With aer codre, what's the worst bomb you've ever seen
live nothing that's super crystallized or any like any other
thing you've seen in Like I've been to some Killed
Tony shows or whatever, you know, but that's just like
I haven't gone to those.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
I want to go to those.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the show.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Und so here's how it works as me to do it,
and I just no, you should do it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It's fun. It's fun. It's a fun show.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So basically what it is is just pulling out of
the hat like total amateurs to do a minute on stage,
you know, and then they it's kind of.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Like a minute of regular written material or you have
to improvise your material.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
No, you could do it's it's people want to be
comedians or whatever putting it, but it's not somebody that's
actually working, like not somebody who's like work and coming.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, like not amateur in a bad way, but like.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It's like an American Idol audition for comedians basically.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
And then it's just rapid fire called Kill Tony. I
don't know why it's called kill Tony. Tony Hinecliff does it,
So maybe there's some but do they have to like
go toe to toe with Tony? At the end of it.
I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Actually, I just I just accept. I just accepted at
face value and walked in and sit down. But I've
gone to a couple of them, and that'll be like
a rapid fire bomb, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
So it'll just be like it's just one of the
first time er is like getting up there. Yeah yeah,
and it's eating it.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
It would be like just kids from high school trying
to fill a minute or something, you know what I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
The longest minute of their life. Yeah. Yeah, so you've
seen some panic attacks there, Yeah, definitely, Yeah, Yeah. I
love that shit. I love, I love I'm such an
anxious person. I like relish and people's like nerves and
anxiety because it makes like nothing's more likable. If I
see you like you've monetized that. Yeah. Yeah, if I
could like bring you down to my level of misery,
(25:12):
like they make her click my heels, constant fucking medical
misery of anxiety disorder. What's the most wasted you've been
at work? So Dave Grohl came in, Well, whiskey in
my mouth it's said, buckle.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Up, butter goodly literally, so he he brought a bottle
of Crown Royal and he's like, I'm gonna go wing
for He's like, I'm gonna go wing for wing with you,
and you're gonna go shot for shot with me.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Oh, he two shaded you shot for shot.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
He was disgusting.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
We cleaned out an entire bottle of Crown Royal. And so,
you know, a hot one shoot is like an hour
forty five minutes to an hour. Yeah, No, I rallied through.
I rallied through, and it was like a ten am shoot.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I remember, you know, I walked. Do you have other
things to do that day?
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No? I had the schedule clear, but I remember kind
of stumbling out. I don't even smoke cigarettes, but I
was just smoking SIGs with Dave outside and it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
It was it was actually that sounds like the best
day of your life. It was awesome. You were hammered.
So this one, yeah, yeah, you can watch it. You
can watch it. Amazing girl drinks like that. He could
put it down. Yeah, yeah, that day sober for some reason,
not that day, not that my friend worked in radio.
(26:26):
He said. David Girl was the nicest. He is the
nicest interview he's ever done in his career. He said
he interviewed everybody. I agree with that, he said, out
of everyone I've ever interviewed, David Girl, Yeah, like hands
down champion to interview. He said, he's like super open,
you can ask him anything, so down to earth.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
But I find that to be the case of a
lot of people that have been in the game a
long time, you know, that have come out the other
side of that. Those are kind of my favorite people
to interview.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
But I think they've been in the game for a
long time because they're easy. Yeah. Actually that's a good point.
I think when you're playing so you become so difficult
to work with. It doesn't matter how famous you are,
how success are, people are like, yeah, yeah, you're a monster.
Everybody is replaceable. So I think that, uh, I think
I think somebody was talking about that. I think Samuel
(27:16):
Jackson was talking about that. He's like, even at my level,
I can't start being a fucking total asshole.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Gun be a little bit of.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
An ass Yeah, just a little bit, a little sprinkle.
People could be a little bit of a curmudgeon. But
if you're monstrous, that's your point.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
You know. I won't name names.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Well, Sean Hey said it could have been done, and
we did it. I should have done something like in hindsight,
I was not prepared. We should have done I don't
know what the equivalent of Hot Sauce or Crown Royal,
but I should have done a dating role to you.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Well, you know what it was like we were talking
before when you're like, oh, can't I just like talk
about my movie or whatever? You know, sometimes there's no
need to overproduce, you know what I'm saying. Put put
a concept to it. Like last night I was watching
the football game. They had this pregame show where it
was like Patrick Mahomes getting interviewed, but they like they're
like having a catch and they were like throwing a
football around and I was like, and it and they
(28:09):
have to like yell at each other like while they're
doing the interview because they're playing.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And I was like, what happened to just people sitting
and sit down and talking? Did I ruin? This? Is
this my influence? You know what I mean? That's when
I feel like maybe I'm leaving the world the worst
place when because your your thing has it's not rigid
like that feels very like tossing the ball and yelling
feels very like they're overthinking. Yeah, yours has like a
(28:33):
there's no rigidity to it. It feels like it feels
like a casual hang because you would eat hot chicken
wings with your friends, you know what I mean. So
that's relatable. That's not like, hey, what's up man, indoors?
Father and son fucking ball catching indoors to grown man?
(28:54):
What could I have done? That was like a hot
hot wing challenge?
Speaker 2 (28:58):
What is? What is?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
What causes you discomfort in a challenging way, like whiskey
and hot sauce. Yeah, but they also kind of air
and nice, you know they do? Because does an alcohol
cut the cut the little bit heat? Because I think
it was it was either Jamie Oliver or or Alton Brown.
That was like the only thing you can do is
animal fat or booze, right to get the heat. It's
(29:19):
either got to be milk, butter, buttermilk or or ice
cream some animal fat to cut it, or alcohol, right yeah,
because water doesn't cut it. No, it just kind of
moves it around. It just moves around the heat. Yeah,
it's got to be milk like milkshakes, right, yeah, and
go to for for heat reduction.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
As our guests have gotten more and more famous over
the years, the milks have become more and more exotic,
you know, and then now.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
People are like substituted in milk that's you know, not whole.
You know, it's just crazy la milks, you know, and
without animal Yeah yeah, almond and might as well be
drinking water. Yeah yeah, Wait a minute. What's your most
successful hot ones?
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Gordon Ramsey by far, I think Billy eil Like Billy
Eilish is our second biggest episode. It has like half
as many views as that thing has like one hundred
and thirty million views or something like that. But I
think what it was is when we first started doing
the show, he was the most requested guest by far.
You know, I almost felt bad for when we started
putting out episodes because it's be like on the show
(30:16):
this week, Eric Andre and all the comments back, word's
Gordon Ramsey? When's Gordon Ramsey?
Speaker 1 (30:20):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (30:20):
I felt like almost impossible to do the show until
we got him in. And I think it makes sense.
You like the food component. I think people want to
see him like yell at us about the quality of
the wings. Like I think he just naturally fit that
chair so well. And so then when it finally happened,
it was like an internet fever dream coming together.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Hot blooded guy. People wanted to see him. Yeah, yeah,
how did he do? Awesome? And he's he took wings down.
Yeah he's actually and he came back and did it again.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Actually we did a holiday special tailor and I've had
dinner in Hell's kitchen before.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
No, he's he's Dave roll off the camera y. Yeah, yeah,
there's no way that he that's got to be performed. Yeah. Yeah,
he's a I met a bunch of those reality people
that are like as sweet as pie, and I'm like,
why did they make you do this? This like Simon
Cowell model of like I guess you gotta put you
got to inject trauma.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Conflict.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah, conflict. Maybe that's what I trying to do.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
The whole time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Maybe maybe he has a three dimensional chest kind of
attitude about it and he's trying to inject some conflict. Yeah.
I really actually do believe part of that because he
was so sweet off camera talking about Johnny Mitchell or whatever,
and that he was like doing this stick. I can
see that if I was like twenty two years old.
And also it felt like nervous. He felt nervous. He
felt like it felt like this, like anxiety to deliver
(31:38):
something edge, lordy and controversial. And I was like, all right, man,
you're bumming everybody out. Even his manager was like, fuck Sean,
thank you man, thank.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
You with a recondre.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Hey, before you go, I want to let you know
I got a new book out that I wrote with
my friend Dan Curry. It is gold Dumb ideas behind
the scenes, expose I'm making pranks and other stupid creative
endeavors and how you can also too. It's out now
and you can get it anywhere you buy books or
audio books. Now, here's a special clip from the audio book,
just for you. I always dreamed of being arrested while
doing comedy. Then I finally did. During Season one of
(32:15):
The Ericndra Show, I went to a town all meeting
dressed like a frat boy. While the mayor of this
pode in California town called Rancho Cucamonga No Joke, was
babbling on about god knows what. I dressed like a
frat boy, ran up to the podium and said, hey,
y'all vote for me for class president, and I'll put
beer in the water fountains and cameras in the girls'
locker rooms. Woo go, Bobcats. This half baked character was
(32:39):
inspired by any Porky's loving dipshit from my first high
school kinda. If you read that last sentence and got
the porky reference, give yourself a pork sandwich, then poke
a gloryhole in your own shower. That movie didn't age well.
This evening town hall meeting was attended by the mayor
and twelve sheriffs. These municipal hot shots didn't share my
sense of humor and promptly detail. The sun was setting,
(33:01):
the air was thick. I was on a high. The
sheriff's escorted me outside of the parking lot and kept
asking for my name. I told them my name was
John Coltrane. They kept trying to look me up in
their cop car laptop and they would lament, you're not
coming up in the system, Coltrane. This one cop came
up to me and went how many drugs are you on?
And I was stone cold sober, so I self cued
(33:23):
the classic sobriety test and started nailing them. Still in character,
I leaned my head back and started tapping my nose
and saying the alphabet backwards flawlessly, ze why XWVUT. Then
I walked in a straight line, over and over again.
These sheriffs were beside themselves. This is the most sober
idiot we've ever seen. Finally, the head boss sheriff softened.
(33:46):
I don't want to arrest you, guy, but I just
have to arrest you since you made such a scene
in front of my boss. Poor guy, he just had
to arrest me. I can't imagine the emotional pain and
trauma he suffered while cuffing me. Ill with Eric Anddre
Bombing with Eric Andres brought to you by Will Ferrell's
Big Money Players Network and iHeart Podcast. Executive produced by
(34:09):
Han Sani Olivia Aguilar, edited and sound designed by Andy Harris,
and our art is by Dylan Vanderberg. If you want
to confess to your own bombing moments or give us
a shout out, go rate us five stars and drop
a review on your podcast app a choice, write about
your own stories of bombing at life and if you're
on Apple Podcasts, you can also subscribe to Big Money
Player's Diamond to get exclusive bonus content with every episode,
(34:29):
and listen to all my episodes at free.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Hey bye.
Host
Eric Andre
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