Gareth Reynolds [Interview]
July 3, 2017 Leave a comment
Happy 4th of July weekend Everyone! It’s that time of year we take a moment to look back on just how awesome it truly is to be an American. Because if you are like some of us, you probably spend the rest of the year being shamefully reminded of some of the truly fucked up shit we have done. Especially if you are a fan of the brilliant man we are going to showcase today!
Late last year, I had a great interview go live with a man I admired for his work on one of my favorite television shows in recent history called Maron. His name was Dave Anthony. He was a funny guy, and gave a wonderful interview. And in that interview, he happened to mention that he has an American history podcast entitled The Dollop. I had not heard of The Dollop for some dumbass reason, so I decided I would check it out. And wouldn’t you know it, I began proverbially kicking myself in my own ass for having checked out this beautiful godddamned podcast prior to interviewing Dave. It has since become my hands down favorite piece of media available right now. And I have vowed to get revenge on myself for making such a stupid, stupid, stupid mistake. It was a torturous winter that led into a hellish spring….but now summer is here. And vengeance shall be mine…..
Today we have a wonderful interview with Gareth Reynolds…..Comedian. Writer. Actor. Producer. Buzz Lightyear Impersonator. Flappers Cat Wrangler. And most importantly…Podcaster. Yes, Gareth, or Gary as some would incorrectly call him, is the amazing other half of the duo that makes The Dollop so incredible. For those of you who are not familiar with The Dollop, the premise is simple, yet crazily perplex. The aforementioned Dave Anthony tells a story to Gareth from American (mostly) history, the kicker being that Gareth has no idea what the topic is going to be about. And that is almost specifically what makes this podcast so damn amazing. Gareth’s reactions to some of the most fucked up events in American history is absolutely priceless and pure gold.
And through The Dollop, I have actually become a huge fan of Gareth’s entire body of work. He is a brilliant stand-up comedian and actor. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including Quick Draw with our old friends Bob Clendenin and Alexia Dox, and the previously mentioned Maron with Dave Anthony and another old friend Troy Ruptash. And while The Dollop may be the finest podcast I have ever heard, Gareth also happens to have another podcast that is almost equally amazing entitled Point Vs. Point, with former bar soap-rape victim Evan Mann, where Gareth takes a somewhat different approach than the Dollop playing the frantic and hyperactive character next to Evan’s straight man character. It is absolutely hilarious and another must listen.
So, why don’t we just get right into it, shall we? Ladies and Gentleman, co-host of two of the finest podcasts and one of the finest stand up comedians of our time, Mr. Gareth Reynolds!
When did you realize that you were a hilarious human being, and you owed it to the world to make them laugh whenever possible?
Well, I just realized right now when you told me that! Honestly, I guess when I was a kid I quickly found out I could make other kids laugh and that was fun. When I was 6 I did goldylocks and the three bears in French. A must see, I know. I don’t know what I was doing as the baby bear but I was adding looks and other things that got laughs. I knew it was either making people giggle or professional hockey. So around then. And then as I got older I found ways to use it to delay classes starting if I had teachers laughing. I was hooked! Laughter is addictive but making someone laugh is heroin. It’s my favorite.
I am always curious to know what stand up scenes are like in different, and maybe not so obvious, regions of the country. So, what was the stand up scene in Milwaukee like when you were first starting out? And when you occasionally go back around, has it changed much?
Well, I actually really started in New York for a half year or so and never really experienced the milwaukee scene stand up wise. Improv was what I did in Milwaukee and I loved it. I worked at a place called comedysportz and was around really really funny people all the time. I listened to them about what I should do after high school and generally sponged up their humor. Like in ‘Space Jam’ but with comedy in place of basketball. I’ve done stand up in the Midwest since and there are a ton of funny comics. I love doing shows in those parts.
Well, like with the internet there are good and negative aspects. Someone who is talented can now get their voice out there so much easier than a decade ago. You used to have to move to LA or New York to get noticed but now you have people gaining followings and making money from all over the country and world. The downside is that a lot of it sucks and it clogs the market. Like vine stars. Sure, some were funny but for crafting comedy and making something valuable doesn’t seem like it can have an 8 second cap to it. God I sound old….and music is too loud!!
I appreciate it! Well, it still interests me I guess is the answer. History in school was never enticing to me, but the stories we cover on the dollop are so layered and crazy. I always think Dave will run out of tales but he has a deep bench. There are also so many parallels to our society today. We feel like we have come so far, and yet, we still have many many issues that have plagued us for years. It’s genuinely shifted my perspective on my day to day excitence. I can’t get enough.
Gareth Reynolds & Dave Anthony of The Dollop
I think because we are different honestly. Dave is teaching me and I am a class clown in his class. Sound familiar?(I am referencing an earlier answer, this is a ‘callback’) But I now have a cool teacher! We know going in that it will be fun. I don’t know what he is going to say and he doesn’t know what I will say, but he has a road map that I trust. Also we now have such a shorthand with what the other is saying or doing. I am not sitting there dying to make jokes necessarily but what he lays it out he leaves me no choice, dammit! We get along great and both like to laugh. So it just has kind of worked out well. Thank god because I used to dress up like superheroes at kid’s parties and that wasn’t going great.
There’s some, yeah. I mean whoever is the focus of the story will get hit and others take some shrapnel. There have been some people who get upset from time to time but also some who are happy they were involved. We did one on a guy who lost both of his arms on a farm and iced the torn off appendages himself before getting them reattached at the hospital. He was great. We did an episode on it and the guy reached out to us! He said he was “pissing” himself. That was awesome and surreal. I do feel like Lenny Dykstra may murder sometimes, sure. But who doesn’t?? He’s the Dykeman!!
Oh wow. Probably the rube or the lobotomy doctor. Or rainbow man. All three are such lunatics in their own right. The rube needs to be a film. We are starting to think we may have to write the thing!! But if I got any of those parts I would be “pissing” (this is another one of my classic ‘callbacks’).
I am writing on Arrested Development currently, so people should watch the new season on Netflix when it comes out. Or drops, as the vine stars say (third callback and also employing the rule of 3 here). I’ll be putting out a stand up album soon and have dates coming up! Join me! The dollop will be touring Australia in the fall. Oh and we have a dollop book called ‘The United States of Absudity’ that people should check out.
I watched a video of a dog jumping on a guy’s back into a pool and riding him like a surfboard. The dog was so god damned happy about it. Hard to not crack a toothy grin at that!
R.I.P. Jose
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