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How many times have you gotten in your car or even at work and you sit there and you say,
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I don't know what to listen to on a podcast because the choices seem to be so limited.
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Well, not on arrow.net, arro.net, 20 different podcasts to choose from.
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What are them being beyond the calling, the men and women who serve this nation?
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What are they doing after they come home? We've got the stories beyond the calling only on arrow.net,
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arro.net. Enjoy your exploration. Jeff, you're right there in the studio. Boy, not too many people
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get to sit in that chair, buddy. Well, I, uh, I'm honored. Thank you for having me.
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Well, no, thank you for sharing your gift with us because I, I honestly, I wish I could have
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traveled up into the Broadway area to see take a banana for a ride, but now you're really reaching
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out to us with what you're doing with Netflix. Man, this is what it's all about because I'm one of
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those people. I will watch something over and over again because I just love comedy.
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Well, that's the idea. I mean, we don't laugh. We cry, right? Life's tough.
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But how do you deal with that transition, though? When you're, when, with everything that you're
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putting inside this, I don't want to call it a variety show, but it, but it is in its own way
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because you, you involve so many different levels here. Music, comedy, roasting, rejection,
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set design. There's a lot happening here, but you know what? I got a lot of help. I can't take
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all the credits. So when you, when you have good collaborators, almost anything is possible.
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When did you realize that it was time to grow this thought? Because I've always been inspired by
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that, especially with comedy is that it starts off as just a wild whim and then it has feet on it
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and now you're running the path that you're on right now making your way to Netflix.
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It's kind of hard to believe. Like I started to show in the mid 90s doing short monologues
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about my family, about my pop jack, my grant, my grandfather and that became 30 minutes and
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then that became an hour and over a couple of years. And then I, I didn't have the strength,
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the emotional strength to keep it going. So I put it away for decades and became the rose guy,
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took a different path altogether. And then stuff happened in my life. Circumstances changed.
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I lost some good buddies. Bob Sagit, Gilbert Godfrey, Norm, Norm McDonald. And I was like,
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let me go back and think about what I was talking about as a young man. Now here I am with all this
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life experience and I go, I think this would be valuable to others. My experiences could probably
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help other people deal with their lives a little bit better. So I feel like it's a, it's a mission
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for me. And teaming up with Steven blows me away because this way that now expands the creative
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level and stuff. And what was that journey like for you to be able to, I always call it relinquishing
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control because I could never relinquish control in Morning Show radio. It was always about, oh,
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one man, one man, how are you able to work with so many people with harmony?
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I like to work with people that are smarter than me. You know, people that bring new ideas.
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You know, I can admit that my expertise is an insult comedy. But if I want to start putting
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choreography and sound design and set design and custom design into something, then I need other
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experts. I need people that are great at what they do. And I think that's why overall the show
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is a stand up at its core is stand up, but it's elevated to a theatrical event.
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See, and one of the, the attractions for me on it is the fact that I'm one of those
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freaks. I will sit there on antenna TV and watch old Johnny Carson episodes. You've now given
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me something to watch over and over again in the way of studying your art, but also understanding
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where you're growing as a creative mind. That's quite a compliment. Thank you.
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Just watch it once. The fact that you're going to watch it over and over really excites me,
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because, you know, that's how Netflix works. What is that like as a business man to be thinking
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about that? Because we all think that comedy, you know, oh, there's Jeff. He's up on that stage
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tonight. He only has one thing to think about. I'm not thinking that's true about you, dude.
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I'm very lucky in that I also have great business people around me who make sure,
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who make sure, you know, I'm doing everything in the best way, most efficient way possible.
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The truth is, I don't think about the business too much. I think about the creativity part of it
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and let others handle the business part of it. Like to me, just getting on stage and entertaining
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people, that's enough for me. Please do not move. There's more with Jeff Ross coming up next.
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Now on Netflix, take a banana for the ride. We are back with comedian Jeff Ross.
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Well, I love the idea that you embrace showmanship. And to me, that's the pages of those
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earlier generations of comedy where you're bringing this show to us now. I mean, just like what you're
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doing with this on Netflix, take a banana for a ride. You're giving us the full show.
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Yeah, it's an hour and a half most stand-up special or a tight hour. This is a full meal,
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breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And that's kind of what I wanted to do. I wanted it to feel like a
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Bruce Springsteen concert where at the end, you've earned, born to run. You've earned the
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sing along. You're just like, it's a thorough, full, satisfying experience. I wanted to feel
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cathartic at the end. Can you feel that up there on that stage because I've been up there to
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silence? And I know what silence has done to me on that stage. You know, I play the
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silences. This is a dramatic show and a comedy show. So let this silence is okay. You get credit
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for the pauses as much as you get the laughs. Do you want the door to open up for Netflix to say,
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hey, look, Jeff, why don't you come back for at least two or three specials a year and do this
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variety exploration of comedy as well as music? Well, you know, they've been very good to me.
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I'm also producing right now the Kevin Hart roast, which will come out in May on Mother's Day.
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So they they have been open to my ideas, different variety show ideas. So I think I'm good there.
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It's very lucky partners. Yeah, because there's a side of me and this is a compliment.
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Hopefully you'll take it that you're almost like PT Barnum in the way of, come on, everybody,
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come on in one for all. I'll bring you a show that you'll never forget.
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Yeah, that's it. You want to be a big tent producer. I want everyone to enjoy my shows.
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You know, you know, 18 to 80, you know, it's young, old, no matter where you're from,
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there's something there for you. And I always love that kind of comedy. The roasts are that way.
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There's a lot of multi-generational plenty of kids tell me, I watch my dad or I watch my mom,
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you know, like that's the best.
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Did you have a personal favorite? And I know everybody in the world is going to ask you that
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because I mean, now inside my mind, I can still see you with Bieber. And it's just because it was like,
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wow, because that to me was the coming out of Bieber. That's when he became a man on your roast.
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I ran into him the other day and he hugged me and he did say, you know, that roast changed my life,
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man, it really did. It was like a reset button for him. My favorite roast is whoever's next.
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That's right. That's what I love about you. That's Super Bowl. So whoever's next, that's my,
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that's always my favorite. Okay. Speaking of next, are we going to see you on another one man show?
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Is it in the works? Not yet. I got to finish this one first. Yeah. This one is still this one is
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still warm. I was going to say you just told me you've been working on it all over all these years.
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That's what I love about comedy is the crafting of the show, the skillsmanship that goes into the show.
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It doesn't just happen. No, no, I worked on this like, like I was building a, a, a skyscraper. I
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wanted this to be undeniable. 90 minutes. It's not one wasted moment. It's funny. It's healing.
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And I think ultimately it'll be a cathartic experience. People will watch it and go, wow,
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I think I feel better about what I'm going through now because I saw how Jeff got through all that
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so now with, with you doing what you're doing, you're talking about skyscrapers. Of course,
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my mind goes, oh, he needs his own library like a president then. Where would you put your,
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your presidential library at of comedy? Newark, New Jersey, brick city, where I'm born, baby,
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build it. Come on. I love that question. Where can people go to find out more about you, Jeff,
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in the way that you continuously travel as well as create new things? Oh, I love it. Go to my
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Instagram, the real Jeffrey Ross on Insta. And if you watch the show, whoever's listening,
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if you watch it, write me a little review in the comments. I love hearing from the fans.
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See, and that's why you're still here, dude. That's why you keep pumping up the volume because
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you understand who's on this side of that microphone. It's all about the fans, all about the people.
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Maybe yep. That's why we do it. Please come back to this show anytime in the future. The door
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is always going to be open for you, dude. Hey, man, I really appreciate that. Thanks for getting
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the word out. Will you be brilliant today, okay, sir? You got it, baby. That's a promise.