Behind The Scenes Of Comedy With Danny Johnson: Mental Health, Insecurities, & Balance

Today, I sit down with Danny Johnson, a clean comedian whose career spans decades of performing, touring, and using humor as a form of mental health therapy— both for himself and others. 

In this episode, I explore Mr. Johnson’s personal journey into stand-up comedy — from growing up in a loud Long Island household, to battling body image struggles, to discovering that comedy wasn’t just a career but a therapeutic journey. We talk openly about introversion, anxiety, and the healing power of laughter in the darkest moments. 

As the conversation continues, I examine and ask about Mr. Johnson’s craft and the evolution of his material. We discuss the science of pacing, reading a room, and the strange unpredictability of what audiences find funny. He breaks down how vulnerability makes a joke more relatable, why he writes about his insecurities, and how clean comedy forces a higher level of skill and precision on stage. We also look at the balance between social media fame and real comedic skill, and why staying authentic matters more than chasing trends. 

I also explore the intersection of mental health and comedy — a topic that resonates deeply with both of us. Mr. Johnson shares how quitting drinking sharpened his creativity, strengthened his mindset, and improved his overall mental clarity. Together, we talk about addiction, dopamine traps, doom-scrolling, and the importance of reclaiming your time so you can rebuild your life. Whether you’re an aspiring comedian, a fan of stand-up, or someone navigating the hard parts of life, this episode offers connection, wisdom, and practical lessons to help you grow. 

Finally, we look ahead at what’s next for Mr. Johnson — from future specials, to new material, to continuing his mission of making people laugh in a world that desperately needs it. And if you're someone trying to figure out how to blend humor, healing, and identity, this conversation is a roadmap for creating a life built on truth, comedy, and personal resilience. 

Everything Bothers Me: https://youtu.be/3aZgNtk66Q8?si=ivMb1kJ93ZUQ9zXW

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My 1st Performance: https://youtu.be/yCVZJe-L_ek

My 2nd Performance: https://youtu.be/tgg5PZxD604

Podcast Movement Evolutions Talk: https://youtu.be/rd3rShdEDtI

Website: https://coupleonukes.com

Exodus, Honor Your Heart, & Nulu Knives: https://www.coupleonukes.com/affiliates/

Want to be a guest on Couple O' Nukes? Send me a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726279485588093e83e0e007

Sign Up For A PodMatch Account: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/coupleonukes

*Couple O' Nukes LLC and Mr. Whiskey are not licensed medical entities, nor do they take responsibility for any advice or information put forth by guests. Take all advice at your own risk.

Transcript

 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Couple of nus. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and today we're gonna be getting into one of my favorite subjects, which is, you know, comedy and mental health. The fine line between them and the balance and integration of both. I actually spoke at Podcast Movement Evolution Chicago, about integrating comedy into dark subjects to address cancer, suicide, and other related topics.

The delicate balance of it, especially as someone who hosts a show such as a podcast or does comedy, where, you know, reading the room, understanding the crowd, knowing who's listening and what is allowed and not, and what is in alignment with your image is so important. You know, there's a balance in any industry, especially comedy of what you want to do.

And selling out for, you know, fame. And so we're gonna get into all of that today. But one of the things I really like to focus on is the mental health aspect. What got me into comedy was, uh, basically being a involuntary therapist for military members. And, uh, humor was one way to connect with those, uh, closed off soldiers and sailors who didn't want open up as much.

And you build that relationship with that. And, and I got, uh, my comedic shirt. It's Abraham Lincoln shirtless riding on sharks. It's hard to see, but, uh, yeah, I figured wear something funny. But we're here with a gentleman who, uh, similar to me, uh, works in both mental health and comedy, and we're gonna get into his personal journey with mental health and comedy today and cultivate some life lessons for all of y'all.

And, uh, whether you're an aspiring comedian or just want to learn to integrate comedy into your life better, or you just are interested in human stories and connections, uh, this is gonna be for you. So, Mr. Danny Johnson, great to have you here. And could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Hey, thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Uh, I like how you say, I work in mental health, which I guess technically do as a comedian. I mean, it is, it is my therapy up there. And, uh, and, and well, you know, and I do regular therapy too. I'm not, you know, a lot of times men are afraid to say that. Um, but, uh, my ultimate release is on stage.

It is, um, extremely healthy for me, uh, to, that's my main goal, to make people laugh. And we talked a little bit about, in your entry, you talked a little bit about, you know, are people just chasing fame or whatnot now? Um, making a good living at what I do and fame would be okay, but it would really just further my goal to make people laugh.

You know, I'm not looking to be famous, to be famous. Uh, if that's where the road takes me, that's fine. If it doesn't, um, then I'm happy just making a living. Um, doing comedy. 'cause that's my goal. I just wanna make people laugh, whether it's my everyday interactions at the supermarket or on stage. And, um, it's certainly been very therapeutic through my mental health struggles, uh, to get up there and ma and kind of change.

That's really the ultimate goal, right? It's to change the mood of the people that came to see you, um, or didn't come to see you. A lot of times they don't know who I am, right? So they just come to a comedy show to be uplifted. So I wanna bring that, uh, to them and then, uh, you know, hopefully they leave the show in a better mood and that, and that's my main goal, right?

And with YouTube, you know, you really don't know who you're reaching sometimes as a person you've never seen, met or will know about. But it could be someone who's on the brink or having a terrible day and you just, uh, they happen to be on YouTube, put, put on a comedy special just to laugh and, and really think about things.

And, you know, it's funny, you talk about just human interaction at the superstore and, and supermarket and, uh, don't find this guy at Publix. Uh, it's quite the scene and that's a reference to your comedy special, which I just watched, uh, the other day with my neighbors. And it's funny because in your bio, you know, for podcasting it talks about mental health, struggling with, uh, body image and, and other related comp 10.

But having watched your special. To me, and I'm sure everyone watching it would've thought you were extremely comfortable with who you are in your body because of the way you make fun of it. Because most people who are insecure about something in their life are unhappy with something. Uh, don't bring attention to it, especially in a comedic sense.

So I'd love to explore that concept of, you know, I don't like my body, so is making fun of it, or is it kind of an accountability where it kind of, each joke kind of reminds you of what you want to change it. That's a great, that's an interesting question. Um, so how many, you said it was a couple of your neighbors watched it?

For sure. Yeah. It was me and my, my one main neighbor, and then I told a couple other people about it and, uh, you know, we might throw it on again for Thanksgiving night. Who knows? Yeah. And that's sort of the goal of, you know, I, I, my comedy's clean and, and, and, and my goal of wanting to make people laugh, being so broad, uh, that's, and it's just an extension of my personality, so I want you to be able to watch it wherever you are, you know, and that's why I watched it, was because it's clean.

'cause me personally, like mm-hmm. So much of a world, especially on social media, is just inundated with, uh, sexualization, uh, gore racism, hate. Yeah. And it's, it's sad because we're, we've really trained our children to enjoy that. To only enjoy that. Yeah. And I think, you know, the idea, and there's this, you know, stigma almost, I'll say a stereotype that, oh, if you're doing clean humor, it must be Christian humor.

And I'm, I'm not religious, you know, it has nothing to do with that. Right. And I think there are unfortunately a lot of people, both comedians and then, uh, audience and who believe that cursing is just such a great amplification, that it really drives home the joke where it really makes it so much funnier and right.

You know, sometimes an FBO will, will make something funnier, but for me it's unnecessary and, and nothing turns me off more from watching a show or a movie where they just, you know, drop a curse word every five minutes just to emphasize their point. It kind of becomes, when you curse about everything, you curse about nothing kind of mentality, you know?

Yes. I think, and I, I think like, I mean, I li I like all kinds of humor, so I like other comedians, clean, dirty. I just appreciate the, the art of standup. Um, but I, I, what I don't. Get is the, the curse word, just for the sake of it, like you said, right? It shouldn't be your punchline. You know, if you are using it in a way that kind of makes sense to make an a point, that's fine for me to watch.

But if it's just the punchline, I think you can write a little better. But back to your question, so talking about your faults or your insecurities, I think that's what standup is about, is talking about your faults and insecurities. And then if you are a socially conscious comedian, you talk, you know, you could talk about greater society and politics, which I don't, but um, but yeah, it makes me, it, it brings, it's a therapeutic, it's top of my mind all the time, all of my insecurities, all of my doubts.

So I write most about that. And then what can I find funny that people would relate to? In those areas, whether it's seeing a therapist, I talk about that in my professional a little bit. Uh, my journey with weight loss, weight gain, weight loss, weight gain, weight loss, weight gain, my body image. Um, it's nice to hear that I look, that you think I look comfortable up there.

I do feel the most comfortable up there on stage when, when I'm on stage. Um, but off stage, I'm, I'm an introvert. Most performers are, and I'm terrified of public speaking. So I, I'm not terrified to tell jokes 'cause I'm, maybe, 'cause it's, I'm prepared. I know what I'm gonna say. And I have at this point in my career, have, um, enough material to kind of shift gears if I need to.

So I'm not at a lack of material. So, but I find it very therapeutic, um, to talk about, I guess what may or may not be the elephant in the room. You know, whether it's the outfit I'm wearing, how it makes me look, or my, my journey to the gym, stuff like that, you know? Right. No, I understand that. And you know, I don't, I guess I have, uh, even poked at my own insecurities, you know, like I'm five eight, which, uh, to most women that's tall enough.

But, uh, plenty of women that's like, oh, you're short, you know, you're a short kid. And, uh, you know, it's like six foot minimum. And I remember I was joking about, you know, well guess what, ladies? When I was on the submarine, five eight was really tall. I hit my head several times. You know, I was talking about how, uh, how tall it, you know, like I'm a skinny guy, but on a submarine turns down I'm quite heavyset myself.

Uh, 'cause there was parts of the submarine I had to turn sideways too. So like my height and weight would be my, uh, biggest insecurity, you know, my weight gain journey of. So it's the opposite of most people. I was trying to gain weight and I gained weight and I lost their weight and I was trying to gain it back.

So, uh, most people, you know, especially middle-aged women more than anyone else, when they hear about this journey I'm on, they're like, well, here, I've, I'm trying to lose 35 pounds. Take it. You know? Uh, yeah. So I, I get it. Yeah. And that, and that's funny. That's funny. 'cause people dislike people that can't gain weight.

Yeah. That definitely, uh, not genuinely, but they're very frustrated. They're like, oh, you're trying to, you're having a hard time getting, i, I gain weight when I smell pizza. You know? It's, uh, yeah. Yeah. And you're five eight, wake up with that. You're 5, 8, 6 3 with the hat. Right. Well, you know, that's funny 'cause uh, my joke is I'm 5 8, 5 10 with the cowboy boots, so Yeah.

And then add the hat on top. Yeah. Five eight with the cowboy, you know, 5, 8, 5 10 with the cowboy boots. 6, 6 3 with the hat. Yeah, for sure. And it, no, it's, uh, but yeah, you definitely seem comfortable and I, I think, you know, I, the relatability, uh, like you mentioned is, you know, everyone's insecure about something and when they hear you making fun of something about themselves, it kind of allows them to lighten up about what, what they're worried about.

Yes. You know, so I, I think it's, they're thinking about it, you know? Yeah, a hundred percent. And for me, also, just going back to the, I think. Uh, and this is my personal opinion, I think, you know, comedians who are pure clean, um, are more skilled because you have to purposely craft around those, and you can't just use them as, as a filler word.

'cause I mean, mo most people you throw in a curse word and, and, and it will get them a chuckle. So I, I think it takes a particular craft. But on the opposite end too, if you are crafting the curse words in, in such a manner to be, uh, in a, you know, a very certain part of the joke, it also takes a lot of skill.

And, you know, that's one thing I'd love to discuss too, is in inspir, well, let's go back to what got you into comedy in the first place. 'cause I think that's so important. Yeah. I, I don't, um, it's a probably a long jour, I'm trying, I've always tried to make this a short story and it's never works out. Um, but, um, from a young age, I grew up the oldest of five in New York, and, uh, a very loud family, um, from Long Island, New York.

And I, I just remember. Constantly, my mom, mother constantly having children. And that's not obviously a literal statement, but if I was to psychoanalyze myself, I would say, you know, over a good chunk of my adolescence, the, the attention on me was constantly less and less. 'cause we were having more and more right children, right?

So I got into comedy I guess purely by watching tv and then I became fascinated with it. When I was able to stay up late enough to watch Johnny Carson, I'm like, oh, these guys are just talking and they're getting laughs and they're getting attention. So I, family functions, I started to like imitate my relatives.

I found a knack for, although I don't do impersonations in my act now, but when I was a kid I would impersonate my uncle or whoever and get big laughs. And then in my church youth group. There was a talent show and I was a big Saturday Night Live fan, and I would re get my friends and I, we would write original sketches and then we would reenact some Saturday night live sketches as well.

So when I turned 18 and had this notebook full of ideas and material, and I'm like, I'm gonna try standup. So there was a small comedy club on Long Island now turned 18, and um, my buddy and I went up and did a comedy duo, uh, for the first time ever. And I was hooked from that point on. And I say that to say this, I didn't do standup again until I finished college, but I constantly wrote 'cause of my fear of public speaking.

So when I finished college and moved to Florida, um, I happened to move down the street from the biggest comedy club in the city. And they were holding like a workshop for, you know, do you want to be a house mc, do you want to get into comedy? So I joined this workshop and attended it for a couple months before, and then they, they started doing the open mic nights, like a, it's called a booked open mic night.

So you have to, you can't just sign up, you have to be asked. And I, I started doing those and then eventually hired as a house mc. And at the time, back in 99, 2000, 2001, um, that comedy club and most comedy clubs were open Tuesday through Saturday, a show every night, a show or two. So I was house Mc Tuesday through Saturday, at least once, one week a month, if not more.

And from there got to meet other comics and then they started taking me on the road to open for them. And then I would start taking younger comics to open for me. And you kind of move up in the ranks based on how much time you have. And then I started doing commercial work, uh, local commercials, acting stuff.

And then I got on Comedy Central for two and a half seconds for this contest nationwide contest. And that helped me get bumped to Headliner 'cause I had a TB credit. Um, but that's how, that was my journey into it. And then you just kind of keep growing and writing. And then my very first comedy special wasn't until 2019 for Dry Bar Comedy.

I don't know if you've ever heard of them. It's a mm-hmm. It's a faith-based production company out of Utah and they produced nothing but clean comedy specials. So. I got asked to do that in 2019. Did that, it's got millions and millions of views. It ended up getting licensed by this company called Comedy Dynamics, and they put it on Amazon, apple TV, and Peacock.

And then I didn't film my next one until January of this year, which is the one you watch called Everything Bothers Me and I did that through this company, honest Fox, uh, entertainment, honest Fox Media. They, uh, are a social media company and brand company that works with Jim Gaffigan, Leanne Morgan, Brian Bates, you know, some of the bigger Jeff Allen, clean comedy names.

And, um, they put it out just in October, so we're almost at Thanksgiving right now. I don't know when this will be released, but they, I filmed it in January. They didn't decide to publish it until a month ago, and it's already at a hundred and some thousand views, which for a guy who's not a Jim Gaffigan or a Leanne Morgan is pretty, I was, I'm impressed that it has that many views.

But, um, yeah, that's sort of my, how I got interested, how I got broke into the business. And then, you know, from that, that point on, it's all on me to get bookings and whatnot. For sure. You know, I think, uh, it's funny because I listen to, I, I've been consuming more and more standup comedy and comedians, uh, just, I, I enjoy in general, but also just to mm-hmm.

Help me learn and, uh. I think the public scale has been used as a punchline for jokes more than it's actually been used in the store because of, I heard you. And then one other comedian, uh, making fun of it. And it was funny because Making fun of what? I didn't catch it. The scale in Publix. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think more people have used it as a punchline and actually used it. And it's funny 'cause I, I moved down south and discovered Publix and uh, I guess I never noticed the scale. And then I heard you talk about it and I then another comedian I watched also mentioned it. So I'm like, next time I go, I gotta go look for this because, uh, I didn't realize that that happened.

And, um, but yeah, you know, in. Impersonations of people was actually kind of, uh, a big thing I did when I was in the military, because you would, there would just be these sailors that had very unique personalities that seemed very easy to impersonate, but Right. Uh, I guess people just couldn't do it. And I, I would do it pretty well.

And it's, uh, it's easy when they've got their own die. Like I think the military is a great place for impersonations because you have such a diverse collection of people from around the world and you know, you think, you know the average American and then you go in the military and you're like, where have these people been?

These are like comic book characters come to life. You know, you meet some, and I'm sure traveling on the road as you have, you've. Come across some strange and unique and interesting people Oh, yeah. Along the way as well. So it's definitely something that happens. And I think that, um, yeah, I know this will be coming out tomorrow actually as, as tomorrow, as in the day after the recording.

So it's, uh, still, it's still pretty fresh and we're gonna have that special, uh, LinkedIn description below for people to check out And, um, I actually Yeah, like it, watch it, share it. Comments. Yeah, I'll comment back. Um, whatever helps the algorithm. Right. And it's so funny you talked earlier about how, uh, what is popular online and what isn't.

And my most popular TikTok video is me doing what, what I, it was sarcasm and I started the video with saying Car salesman are the worst. And I kind of go into a rant about car salesman and it was okay. It was really just more frustration with the process. You know, I re I, I didn't mean it in a literal sense, that these people were the worst human, you know?

And it got such fanfare and so many comments, hundreds of comments, and thousands of views, and I was like, it so silly. Some of these car salesmen that I was commenting with or DMing with and going back and forth with, ended up following me and I'm following them. It's like, it's a. I'm a comedian. This is sarcasm.

And I was so almost disappointed. Like, oh, I, so some of the jokes I've, I've written and performed for years trying to perfect the punchlines. Didn't get that many views, but because I quote unquote slammed a group of people in an occupation that gets the most, it's so bizarre. Well, it's funny 'cause that, that leads into my next question, no pun intended.

I was gonna ask about the expectations around jokes because I've only performed a, a small handful of times. But what was so interesting to me was the jokes that I thought would be so, so just full crowd laughing, like hooting and hollering, and then the joke that like was my favorite joke. Like, this is my favorite joke.

Like, I'm so excited for this. Just like dead silence or a few chuckles. Yeah. What, like, I thought that joke was the, like biggest joke of the entire performance and um, right. For some reason this little, uh, stupid joke that I made, you know, was, was so yeah. Such, such a reaction. So have you ever, have you had that experience, I'm sure yourself?

Oh, for sure. And it's very weird and, and Jerry Seinfeld said this one time in an interview, if I remember correctly. He said, it's very interesting in this business that we as the comedians are the professional in funny, but the audience is the boss. They tell, they're telling us what's funny, right? But we're the ones creating it.

It's very bizarre. Yeah, so I, I mean, I would encourage you to keep doing all those jokes for time and time again. And you, they'll grow, they'll shrink, they'll get removed, you know, after a certain period of time you give up on it. But I don't give up on a joke for a long, long time. I, I try to find out why didn't it work?

Was it the way I said something? Was it the cadence? Was it the, someone dropped a plate, one of the wait staff dropped a plate? Well, did something happen Like, you know, listen to yourself, watch yourself, but yeah, don't give up on a joke. And then the audience teaches you, you know, from your initial couple of sets, what if it's consistent that a joke is doing really, really well and it's, it's at the beginning and you're really like, oh, I didn't think it would do that.

Well, you can always move it to your closer. That's your new closer, you know? So, 'cause you want to start high end high, right? And you know, crescendo to the end. So they'll help you craft your set, your initial set, and that then that set will keep growing. Or, you know, hopefully, I would think at your beginning.

Level, so to speak, your jokes will shrink. 'cause you're probably wordy and I'll wa I I didn't get a chance to watch your clip. I, I will after this. But, um, most comedians, including myself, when you first start, it's too many words. It's, um, so you'll notice that you'll be able to shrink it, but then you'll start thinking of additional punchlines to add to those jokes.

So they'll shrink it first and grow towards the end when you can be more succinct with it, you know? But yeah, all the time, I mean, I got, I, I, I improv a, I improv a line on stage, um, a couple months back that is turning into a, a bigger bit, you know, it's like I just said this one line, somebody mentioned something about the beach and I said.

My line was, oh, I back to them was, oh, I, I only go to the beach when I have a bunch of straws I need to get rid of. Huge laugh. There's so many layers to that line. Like the, you know, 'cause it's such, it's such an absurd thing to say. I obviously don't save my straws and put 'em in a hefty bag and then wait to go to the beach to dump 'em into the ocean.

Right? So, and that, so, um, and then it turned into me talking about how, uh, I, a woman with turtle tattoos came up to me after a show and she's like, you know, uh, here's my turtle sleeve. And, and I'm huge advocate for, you know, conserving animal life and straws kill turtles. Uh, and I don't appreciate you saying you save all your straw.

You only go to the beach when that was the whole joke is that you were killing the turtles. That's the whole joke. But yeah, no, I know. And I said to her, I was like, look, can't turtles, turtles live to be a hundred years old? You would think at this point they'd learned to drink right from the cup. And, you know, so now I do that whole story on stage.

So it went from one line from some lady, right? Yelling like, welcome to the beach. 'cause I was doing a show right near the beach. I know that pissed her off. Right, right, right. So it's, it turns into a bit like, and if you remember from my special, I, I believe I opened it talk, doing a joke about getting my first and only ever massage, right?

Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Well that started at 60 seconds or less. That, and by the time I perfected it, after doing it for probably two some odd years, it was, it was an eight minute bit close to 10 minutes sometimes. Oh yeah. Depending on laughter. So it, it, it started out with this, just this idea and then I just go, okay, that's really resonating with crowds.

What else happened? How do I go back and dissect? So I remember just writing all this stuff and you kind of pick out one of the things I used to do, and I don't do this anymore, um, in the very beginning was I would literally transcribe my set on paper. Then I would highlight where I thought I would get a laugh, and then I would record my set.

Back in the day, I would have a little mini cassette recorder, you know, handheld and I would record it. And then I would listen to my set that night or the next day with the transcription and then highlight in a different color where I actually got the laughs. Mm-hmm. And hopefully they overlapped and I would find, oh, I'm getting a laugh during the setup and the punchline.

That's something I need to build on. What else can I talk about around this topic? Or, I didn't get any laughs at all where I thought I would. It's an interesting exercise to do. I would, I would encourage you to try, it's a bit tedious, but. Yeah. You know, for, for me right now doing standup, which is just about three minutes on average, uh, it's easy to just mentally keep track of, of where, yeah.

Where I thought, what I find, I guess the hardest part for me right now. Well, three things. So the first was just slowing down. 'cause I'm a fast talker in general in leaving room for laughter. You know, I would just keep going and people are trying to laugh, but then I'm talking, and then you e and then I'm trying to edit the video and I'm got people laughing over my, my next joke.

So I've learned to slow down, which I think, uh, in standup at the open mics in, in three minute kind of timer is, is much more difficult to do than when you have a, you know, a full time to kind of slow down and story tell. Right. So for me it's been, I found that I, like most people kind of. Overestimated what I could do in more than three minutes and underestimated what I could do in three minutes.

And it was about trying to cram too much into the time and actually saying, no, let's slow down, lessen up, and make more impact with what we do have. And so that was hard part number one. Still working on that. But from each, I've only performed three times. So from last year to this year, a whole year went by between my performances.

Wow. Significant improvement. It was just because I've been speaking and hosting events and just doing public speaking, it kind of, they play hand in hand. Right. So it's taught me a lot more about just like stage presence. But then the thing is crowd shifting. So I went from being in the military always with young guys, you know, guys from 17 to 25, 28.

Right. Uh, all certain humor type. And even now knowing that both times I performed, it was. Majority middle aged women and then some middle aged men, all business owners, all in their, between their fifties, sixties and seventies, some on the forties trying to craft toward that. And I, I am not doing the best at it to a degree because like some of the jokes, so I sent, you know, my stuff to some of the young military guys that are still in or are now veterans.

And what they found really funny is what I thought would be really funny, right? That the crowd did not necessarily understand. Um, you know, like I had a joke in my military 'cause I did one last year because it was on a cruise. So the whole, the whole bit was, Hey, I'm on a cruise. It's my first cruise ever.

I bet you most people don't know how to swim. Even when I was in Navy, surprisingly, no one knew how to swim. And the whole thing was just about how the navy, you know, just talking about the reality of the Navy. And I ended it with, um. A Navy suicide joke that, you know, Navy people found super funny, but I think most civilians, they just did not register that it was a, a suicide joke, which is a very military thing to do.

Um, and then this year, like I had a, um, a nuclear bombing joke that, uh, that I thought was more universal, but that was more of a age thing as well. On the other hand, there was stuff that the, the older women in the crown found more funny than the young military guys. So it's just a matter of knowing a crowd.

But I mean, I am unique in that position that I know who's gonna be there when I perform at the work events. But I imagine with you and, and most comedians when you go, you don't know who's gonna show up, right? So how do you, what is like the universal mindset you kind of apply to your craft to, to kind of like, yeah.

Is there a certain demographic that you try to target the most or that you think would most people like this? Like what is the mindset around that? Yeah. Before we answer that, so that was two things you mentioned, right? One was the age thing, two was the pa or one was the pacing. Two was the, what's, what's the third thing?

The third thing. The, the pacing was broken up into two things. Oh, okay. So the talking speed itself? Yeah. And then the room for laughter. Okay. Um, because you can leave room for laughter, but still be talking too fast for people to understand you. Yeah. Always. And that's all stepping on your, stepping on your jokes is when you, you're talking while they're laughing and that's hard to, you gotta get over.

You have to learn to, well, the great thing is you're self-aware, you're, there's not a lot of new newer comedians that are self-aware. They just plow through their set and don't learn anything. So the fact that you're doing it, you're dissecting it is great. Thank you. Don't over dissect it. Second thing I would encourage you to do is, uh, you just do your material.

At this point in stage in your comedy journey, there's no target audience. You're just spitting out what you think is funny. And then those that like you will go with you and those that don't will wait for the next joke. Right? So for me, that's the way I approached it in, in early in my career. So I would just do what I thought was funny and, and some people would laugh, some wouldn't.

And then that audience would then grow because you get to do then more time, more topics, more jokes, hopefully hit the larger group and you can sort of write it, you know, I'll listen to your set, like I said, but you can sort of write it. So it's more generally accepted by different age groups too. So if it's too specific, you know, later in your career you can target a certain audience.

But for me, you know, stepping on your laps is even harder to avoid for me when I do church gigs because. Churchgoers are, I'll use the word trained for lack of a better word, are trained to be quiet when the person on stage is talking. So I would tell a joke, get a laugh, and then go into the next joke and they would immediately shut down.

Mm-hmm. I didn't give enough time for that laughter to kind of, 'cause they're used to the, when the pastor or whoever is the leader of your church speaks, then you be quiet. Right. So, right. How to kind of work on that timing. So I don't know that I have a specific audience type. Uh, definitely. Um, not teens or young kids, although I'm clean.

It's not, I, I don't talk about things that they relate to. So, um, and I'll actually turn down work because of that, you know. Um, I got offered to do a Christmas party comedy show for a group of high schoolers, and I'm like, they, I have nothing to, I. Say to these high schoolers that I'm gonna relate about me gaining weight and getting older and you know, so they speak their own language nowadays too with, you know, all this laying six, seven, sc, wrist sigma.

All they, they had their own alphabet and language. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I would just say, you know, great to see that you're self-aware. Don't step on your laughs then it'll help you do more time too, is you'll do less jokes in the same amount of time you're allotted for these stage time and don't feel like you have to cram in all these jokes.

Um, and then two, just do your, don't worry about a target audience, just you have to find your voice and that'll take years and, and find what topics you want to talk about. You can tweak the writing to make it a little bit more universal. But it all, you just learn as you go. You learn as you do it. It is, I've heard comedians joke it.

It is the only career where you kind of learn by doing. You can't just become a surgeon and then bust into an ER and be like, lemme give this, uh, appendix removal a shot. I wanna be a surgeon and I wanna practice. You can't, can't do with So comedy, I would add it to you what my father always said, which was, uh, the weatherman is the only job you can fail and still get paid.

And I, I think comedy's one of those things too, where, I mean, um, as long as some people in a crowd like it, right, and you get booked again. And what I'm curious about is kind of. I mean, just listening to your stuff, and I think with most comedians, it's all about life experiences. Mm-hmm. But would you say there's anything that is more inspiring, uh, than the others or rest of your life experiences, or what would you say is your biggest source of comedic inspiration?

My fam, my large family and, uh, growing up in that hectic household, and now, I, I told you before, I was, I grew up the oldest of five, but between divorces and remarriages, I have on top of that, I have step and half brothers and sisters. Okay. So I'm the oldest of like 10, I think 10 or 11. And, um. Going back and kind of dissecting my experiences in life, if you, you know, as you get older, you have more, and I would say experience as much as you can and then soak it in and take notes and jot things down.

'cause you never know, as you go back, you can pick it apart, dissect it, or it may relate to a joke that you wrote two years ago. You know, you can bring it, bring it in. But my family and family dynamic for sure is, um, a huge influence on my comedy and, uh, probably my mental health struggles as well. Yeah, no, that's relatable.

You know? Um, 'cause I, I grew up with two sisters and a mom and then my dad, but, uh, I had a lot more feminine influence in my life, which meant learning a lot about Twilight and Taylor Swift and all that stuff, you know? So it, it does, uh, affect how you grow up. And I would say, you mentioned something there, which is soaking in life experiences for comedic entertainment.

And what I have to ask is, this is something I've experienced that a lot of people in our field experience, uh, whether you're a comedian, a podcaster, an author, or a content creator, how do you balance living in the moment and making content? And what I mean by that is how do you, do you find it hard to enjoy life sometimes because you're just constantly making everything into a future bit?

Or are you able to kind of separate Danny Johnson, the comedian, and Danny Johnson, just the, the son, brother, and you know, all that? Yeah, I think. Uh, I don't think I have a hard time, uh, separating the two, but I think that's at a detriment to my comedy because uh, I find that I'll leave a family function and I'll be like asking, you know, my girl or whoever I'm with, like, what, what, remember when I had everybody laughing?

What was I talking? What happened? What was I talking about? So, whereas other comedians might stop in the moment and take a note, I need to do, I think I need to make more of a mental note of those things. So, um, and then maybe the second part of that is sometimes folks I'm with are trying to get me more involved in the moment 'cause I'm soaking in the situation.

And take, I'm like, this is something, this, something about this is going to make it to the stage. And I'm not in the moment, maybe not en enjoying it as much, and I as I should. So I think I need to find a, be selfishly, I want to be less in the moment. I want to take, I want to take notes and mental notes.

'cause I, you know, having content and material for, for stage to be fresh all the time is, is huge in this business. So, uh, I think there's a delicate balance. Um, and then the, maybe there's a third part to that. There are often people in my life, especially that don't know me that well, who are hesitant to do anything around me.

Because they know it might make it to the stage. You know, they're like, be careful with this guy. You know, he's gonna, I'm like, just relax. But yes, they're right. Something may come of this conversation. You gotta get that t-shirt. I, I almost got one for myself because, uh, I, I run a small online ministry of just solo sermons on my podcast, and I saw a shirt that said, pastor warning, anything you do or say may be used in one of my future sermons.

Yeah. And, um, I, I'm sure there's a comedian one, you comedian, warning, whatever you do or say may be in my future set and, um, yeah. Yeah. But I don't wanna warn 'em. I want 'em to let loose. Yeah, yeah, of course, of course. But, uh, I think it's, I think it's funny, may maybe you just have it on your underwear, you know, so like, you, you're like, I kind of warn people, but, you know.

Yeah. Because people are often surprised at that. Me and some other people that they meet that are comedians are actually comedians. 'cause we're not on all the time. We're, it's very, yeah. We're very introverted and we soak it all in. You know, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, these are people that are introverts and they just, they're on for the camera or the standup show.

So we are, you know, just soaking it all in. They're like, oh, you're, you're so quiet. And I'm like, oh, I'm, I'm having, they're like, are you having a good time? I'm like, yeah, I'm having a great time. This is nice. You know, I'm not always like, Hey, look at me. You know, I'm not the life at the party. Um, so that people are like, oh, you do standup?

And they're like, eh, good for you. Yeah. I remember laughing and I, I, I've joked about on the podcast, you know. When I told my grandparents that I had gotten into stand comedy, they just go, you funny. Yeah. And I said, grandma, grandma's supposed to be the number, like the only person in your life who will always support you.

You know, your mom and dad will butt heads with you at some point, but grandma's always just a yes no matter what. Yes, you're handsome. Yeah. All the ladies want you, you're millionaire. No one's as good looking as you. That's supposed to be the grandma role. Yeah. My grandma goes You. Um, but yeah, I, I think it's interesting because so many people, at least in my life, will be like, oh yeah, of course, Mr.

Whiskey, you're, you're funny. You're always, you know, telling stories and stuff. I'm like, but, but comedy is different than storytelling and funny storytelling at family and friend functions. Right. Uh, and it's a lot of, almost, I, I don't wanna use the word crowd work, but when you're at, with family functions and friends, it's really, y'all are bouncing ideas and stories off of each other, you know, pulling from that, you know?

Yeah. They're already on your side. Right. That too, you know? Well, I find it. This is just me personally. I prefer to perform for strangers rather than people I know. Mm-hmm. Because interestingly enough, mentally for me, when I'm performing for people, I know the bar set a hundred times higher. Right. Although people who know me are more supportive and, uh, gimme a much easier time.

Yes. But in my mind, my desire to impress them is much higher because, you know people Yeah. The pressure's higher on the comedian to be for sure because they're the ones gonna be talking about you. Right, right. You know, I know my, my one buddy, Dr. Barrett Matthews, he goes, listen, Mr. Whiskey, I can never do comedy.

I do singing. You know why? Because if I do bad, I won't know till the end. They're gonna be either clapping or booing or be off stage comedy. You know, you say a joke and a room goes silent, you know Right then and there immediately. Right. And, and so I, I have to ask you what. What is a joke that maybe you scrapped because, um, it was just silent, uh, at least once or more than once that really surprised you?

Was there ever a joke that you had to like, get rid of? Ooh, great question. I don't know. Well, yeah, I mean, there's jokes that have not not done as well as I expected, but they, I just keep hammering away at them. Okay. Until they are the way that I want them. And I, I kind of dissect why I'm trying to think.

'cause I don't talk about politics, anything sexual. Right. Um, most of those either love it or hate it. Jokes, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So I don't put people off, uh, you know, so to speak. I'm trying to think what didn't go there. So this would probably be the most surprising to me. There's jokes in my show that I'll do until I film a special.

Then release it. And I may still do them here and there, but I try to retire them. Um, but the, what surprises me most is that jokes that I do that always do well when I hit across that occasional audience that don't get, it, blows my mind. And I'm like, this joke worked the last hundred times. I've told it.

Right? And it's supposed to be eight minutes. I'm gonna make it three minutes, by the way, because you're not get, I don't understand. And I'll sometimes I'll even tell though, I'm like, Hey, this isn't new. I don't know what, I've done this joke for a hundred. So it's really your fault, right. That you are not getting it.

But yeah, there's been nothing lately that's absolutely tanked. I think I have a good beat on or pulse on what, what's, what I can make funny and what I can't, you know? Okay. And then the, the big question, I'm sure you get asked a lot as an interviewee, which is, have you ever thought about quitting? Just leaving comedy?

Whew. All the time. It is. Um, yeah. 'cause it is a pride swallowing business, right? It is based on clicks and likes and shares and social media, which I dislike that. Um, but I do make a living, so I am grateful for that. And, um, people, it's frustrating that people equate fame to level of funny. So sometimes it'll be a struggle for me to get folks, acquaintances to come out to my show, uh, maybe whether it's from church or elsewhere.

And then I see them post online that they spent $200 to go see a celebrity perform in an arena who's filthy. Uh, and they've never seen them before. And it's like, oh, so they're automatically funny, but not your friend or acquaintance, you know? So, um. It is a world in which you'll hear no more than Yes. So as an in in the arts altogether, actors, voiceover comedians, you're gonna hear no, no.

Way more than yes. Um, so I always try to circle back to my goal. How do I make as many people as possible? Laugh. If that's my goal, then I'm successful, um, because I'll just try to reach more and more people. So it's a matter of just obtaining work, keep, keep working, uh, finding new venues to perform in that maybe want comma, you know, I do a lot of neighborhood gigs, you know, there's a lot of neighborhoods.

Especially in Florida where I live, uh, where they have a, an event center in their neighborhood. So I'll contact them or they'll contact me and be like, we want to bring comedy to our neighborhood. People walk from their house to the event center or the take their golf cart or whatever, and I'll put on a show, whether it's me alone or me and a buddy opening up for me.

And, uh, they don't have to leave their neighborhood. So there's all different types of venues to, to approach, um, charity events, you know, fundraisers, church gigs, stuff like that. Um, so, but I do have to realize that, um, you know, I may not be the household name that on day one that I thought I would be right.

Which is sort of a egotistical thing to think, but in the beginning you do think you're gonna be the greatest. Um, because it is all about social media and marketing. So. It's, that's a catch 22 as well. I, I'm sure you've seen people get fame and notoriety from social media then decide to be a standup or try to translate, uh, bring their online persona to the stage and then they may sell out some clubs or theaters, but they won't be back the next year.

'cause they don't have, like, people are disappointed at the show, you know? Mm-hmm. It's, um, where I think is if I ever pop bigger than I have, uh, which is not very big, um, and get the followers and to do these theater gigs and, you know, um, be a draw as they say, I have plenty of, I have hours of material, so I, I have the product.

I just need to get more of the following. One of the things I talked about, I mentioned early in the episode, speaking at Podcast Movement Evolution Chicago on integrating comedy. And one of the things I talked about is I. When you already have an established presence online, specifically, uh, as a podcaster.

So if you have a podcast that is a very serious format, long form, dark subjects conversations, and you decide suddenly you want to try integrating comedy into it, you could lose a lot of people who go there for the serious conversations. Right. On the flip side, if you are a comedic podcast, just a couple of guys joking around, talking about stuff, and you decide, Hey, we wanna start addressing dark subjects, well, people who are going there to forget all that stuff, to escape from that stuff, to have a good time, you're gonna lose that crowd.

Yeah. So I highly suggest like when you are already established online, you have to kind of start. A new account slash branding for your comedy side if it's not in alignment with what you're already doing. And I think it's important to do that, especially if you decide you're gonna try standup. You do it for a little bit, and then you decide you're not gonna do it anymore.

Now you've kind of muddled your already, uh, online account. Your followers maybe lost people in a way. So I think that is an important balance to maintain, is knowing what's in alignment with you. And then, you know what I, I want to circle back to the mental health aspect. What would you say is the biggest mental health lesson you have learned specifically through comedy?

Yeah. I think, uh, the more vulnerable I am to talk about the things that really bother me, the more genuine connection I make with the audience. Um, in the beginning of my standup career, all of my jokes were outside of me. There were funny things that happened that I was around or happened to me or happened that I witnessed.

Um, a lot of my material now is introspective, you know, uh, me seeing a therapist, me being in a relationship, me feeling socially awkward, me having body dysmorphia or, or whatever that's called. You know, just a poor self image it's all talking about. And I found that more people connect to that 'cause I'm expressing my genuine concerns and they may have similar concerns or they know people that do.

So I think by that evolution in material, and I'll still do all sorts of kinds of material, right. Um, but to the, my latest special, the YouTube special called Everything bothers Me. Um, probably talks is a little bit more introspective than, than I have done in the past. So I think that is the, and to, I guess to answer your question.

Was the most therapeutic to talk through, because when I get those laughs I'm like, oh, people get the other people get this. They get what I'm going through and what I'm talking about. And they're, and I think there's more of a connection there. How have you dealt with one of the issues of social media?

That it is a breeding around and a place for hate and for trolling for those who aren't familiar with that term? Just people online, uh, busting your child's, giving you a hard time and hating for no reason. Uh, typically it's no one successful, you know, some guy with a fake name and an anime girl profile picture.

But in general, reading these kinds of things can still be very hurtful. And so how have you dealt with, if at all, these, uh, if you've gotten any hate comments, you know, whether they're death threats or, you know, this stuff sucks, this isn't funny at all. Right? Have you found a mental filter for yourself?

Or what, what do you do to deal with that? Yeah, and in, and in my position unfortunately is, um, one in which I read all the comments. Um, you know, you, you sometimes you hear celebrities say that they don't read the comments. Well they're, that's because there's 10,000 comments and they already have hundreds of thousands of millions of views.

I like to engage 'cause I'm trying to grow my social media presence. Right. And I've, I've been able to grow it organically with, uh, with followers that are engaged, right? So it's not blind follows. So I, it does hurt. It is not very frequent. Um, and typically one of two things happens. Well, one thing happens all the time.

I always respond with positivity, always. You know, this guy's not funny. And I go and I always heart it and then go, thanks for giving it a watch, or I'll try harder next time or whatever. I say, I don't know what I say. And oftentimes they'll come back and go, oh, you're seeing this? No man, I was just playing.

You know, great job. You know, they get embarrassed. Or the other thing is, um, fans will jump in on my behalf half. So on my first comedy special, I talked, uh, on my Drybar comedy special. I mentioned on stage that I used to weigh a 279 pounds and some guy wrote in quotes, used to implying that I still look at right that weight and.

I responded in a fairly positive way, if I remember correctly. But the litany of comments that of fans that came in and, and defended me was, was wonderful. It was 10, 20, 30 comments later. People just, you know, how dare you and body shame, all this and that. And then another thing, I got a, I got a lot of flack about my tattoos in my first comedy special 'cause it is a faith, faith-based, and some woman jumps in and she goes, how dare they use this faith-based platform to have somebody with tattoos on there.

Mm-hmm. And you know, I responded with them, I'm sure you're referring to livid, you know, Leviticus, um, you know, you shouldn't mark your body. Um, but it really is shouldn't mark your body in the worship of other gods. Right. So context, and then I did that one little comment back and then a litany of comments of other people, like how train of religious controversy, arguments.

Yeah. I mean there's so like. And the, the person that made that comment also assumed, let's just say I agree with this person. It was a female, let's just say I agree with her about the tattoo thing. Right. Uh, what if I was saved after my tattoos? Yeah. So the assumptions she's making is are, is ridiculous.

Yeah. So I always respond on positivity and then typically fans will jump in and, and, uh, but I don't get too many. That's good. I don't get too many. And, and it, I do like it when they respond back after I respond. 'cause they don't think I'm gonna respond. And I will if I see it, and most likely I will, I will heart it and I will respond back thanking them for, uh, you know, whatever.

Thanks for giving it a shot. Hopefully the next joke is something you like or whatever. Yeah. I know my one buddy, he'll respond to anything like, um, thank you for the feedback. Have a nice day or something like that. And, uh, yeah, it's just, um. Again, most people just hate to hate for no reason. And there are you, you're right, there are a lot of accounts that their username is like 1, 2, 3, 4, ABC at hashtag you know, it's, it's a, yeah, a nonsense or there's no picture.

One guy made fun of my other tattoo saying it wasn't original and I was like, first of all, I don't do tattoos to be original. I do it 'cause I wanted it for me. Right? Yeah. But I didn't say that. I just said, oh thanks, I'll give it a shot, you know, better next time. Or I'll get a different one next time or whatever.

Well, it's like people will redirect so hard, you know? So like, um, in an episode with Masimo ti, you know, he and I were talking about addiction recovery and he said there are going to be people. Who struggle with addiction or enjoy their, you know, vices that are negative, who will literally detract from this conversation saying, oh, that guy was wearing a cowboy hat.

What would he know? Or, you know, Massimo had curly, messy hair. You know, he said people will try to detract from anything else to not focus on it. So it's like, what do your tattoos have to do outside of the, the faith-based aspect? But in general, let's say your tattoo wasn't original. What does that have to do?

Anything with your joke telling? It has zero, zero. It has nothing to do with your jokes and what's going on in that person's life that they felt the need to point that out. Did they feel better about themselves all of a sudden? You know, did they, yeah. It's just, um, yeah, it's like, you know, one thing about addiction, let me, I wanna mention this before we wrap it up.

I don't know how much time we have, but, um, you mentioned addiction. One of the biggest things that's helped me in my comedy career, probably three years ago-ish, I, I'm not keeping track 'cause I was never. Uh, I guess, quote unquote an alcoholic. But I quit drinking several years ago, and that I wish I'd done that 15 years ago.

Um, it just became, um, too, it was too much. So the, when I think about my mental clarity and how I use my time and how I affect my brain and my thought process and my thinking, probably one of the best decisions ever was just to quit. Quit drinking. Mm. You know, if I want to drink, I'll write a joke. You know, I'm not, um, I, it's not, but I, I, I, I wouldn't classify myself as an alcoholic.

I just thought it got in the way. So I, I just wanted to remove any other, any, what are my mental barriers to being more creative? And that was one of them. Yeah, that's really important. Thank you for sharing that. I agree a hundred percent. And you know, I've had, um, some athletes on the show who said, who were, who were actually full on addicts and they said, you know, I'm performing this well while under the influence or an alcoholic, especially with marathon running, let's sober up, let's like go full throttle.

Like, I, why am I holding myself back in life? Like I can achieve so much. Yeah. And I think that's so important. You know, people don't realize that what a lot of people initially use, not as a coping skill, as a coping method, you know, they end up becoming limiters on our life, distractions and limiters. So it's, uh, I think it's important to take a step back and kind of realize what might be in our way.

Yeah. And even if it's not a physical addiction, I, you know, I started to look at several things like, um, in the beginning or even today, some gigs don't pay all that much. I just do them for the love of the game. Right. And then if I decided to take that gig and then go out drinking with my buddies after.

My profit margin is, is even smaller. So I'm like, if I'm trying to make a living at this, why am I making this dollar amount and then spending 40% of it at the bar. Right. Right. And then secondly, if I decide to have a night of drinking or have a few drinks alone or with friends, um, what could I have created during that time?

What could I have written? Yeah. Um, and even if I was funny or I had some ideas and premises, there's no way I'm remembering them the next day. So, uh, it was just too, it was just too much, too. It was in the way. It's not needed. Um. You know, and, and it's, I would highly encourage if there's any kind of addiction, you know, people are addicted to food, other things, something, some online addictions, you know, uh, that's the biggest thing.

Other substances, TV and social media, you know, I've gotten to the point where if I try to spend time on TV or social media, I'm like, I could be working right now. Like, I could be doing stuff right now, whether it's comedy, podcasting, writing, speaking, like right exercise. I, I, I say, I don't say don't take a break.

You know, definitely allot yourself time to relax and rejuvenate, but, uh. A lot of us lack the, the self-control and discipline to limit our time, especially when it comes to social media and, uh mm-hmm. We all pretty much are all familiar with doom scrolling nowadays with that term and how easy it can be to fall into the trap of one more meme, one more, whatever it is.

Uh, and binge watching tv, especially with streaming services. Oh, just one more episode and, oh, this episode ended up on cliffhanger. Guess what? Almost every single episode's gonna end on a cliffhanger. Uh, that's kind of how they're designed, right? So I think that's, I wonder, I wonder if it's considered hypocritical of me to, I wonder if it's considered hypocritical of me to, to tell people to spend less time online.

But hey, follow me. I got a lot of stuff for you to watch. Yeah. I mean, I, I get what you're saying. I, I, I, you know, the reason I don't feel hypocritical with that is 'cause I feel like, uh, our comedy, uh, especially. For me with my social media is a lot of suicide prevention work, addiction recovery, mental health.

Um, the stuff I'm asking you to spend your time with is meant to cultivate life lessons and improve your life, uh, right. And, and uh, same with our comedy compared to, uh, some of the stuff online. And that's not to say our comedy so different from the memes online, but there is a, a big difference between, at least in my generation, the younger generations, what we find funny online, uh, is again, mostly hateful or it's so.

Stupid. Some of it, some of it is just so stupid. Even like we've got a whole generation that you could, if you put say two, let uh, two numbers next to each other, that the whole room is just loses it. You know? And I won't say those two numbers again because it's just ridiculous. But all, all this stuff has just changed so much.

Yeah, I get it. I mean, my algorithm's probably full of people falling. I get hooked on that. Yeah. Every now and then I go down the, uh, epic fails. Try not to laugh, train in a or. But then again, I do like the one, the videos where you think you're watching an epic fail video, but it's a bunch of great achieve, you know, a guy A BMX are doing six flips and landing it, you know what I mean?

It's, it's one of those I like, those are like, um, luckiest moments or it had, you had to be there to believe it kind of stuff. On, on camera. Like I, those, those are super cool. I, I, especially the sports ones. Yes. Like I've seen a guy, you know, hit a ping pong ball with a golf club and it bounced off 20 different objects into a bottle cap.

It is like, you know, cool stuff like that. But what I'm curious to know, and I'm sure we all are, is, you know, so you just had your, uh, everything bothers me. Special kind of drop now video live on YouTube. We're gonna have to link below for people to watch what is next. You know, we're going into 2026 now. W do you have kind of like a map out outline of what you want to do comedy wise?

Is it like once the new year drops, you're gonna be contacting all these clubs? What's the future looking like? Yeah, I think it's several things. So the, what I'm excited to be working on right now is actually more, uh, family, more content stand up about my family and incorporating, um. A bit of a slideshow.

I have this boxes and boxes of these old photos, and I, I experiment with, experimented with this last year at a, at a small venue in St. Augustine, Florida. And we sold it out. I sold it out. It was only a hundred seater, but I had a six or seven minute portion of my show where I kind of walked through my life from birth to college in pictures.

And it was just funny family photos that I was able, so my experiment was, can I make, is this funny to just my family and I, or everyone? And it turns out it's very relatable and I want to expand on that into later years in my life. Um, and that may be something that'll turn out to be a new, a new special down the road.

I'm in no rush to do another special. Uh, but it is more material, more content creation. Because of the success of the YouTube special. Um, I actually have a meeting tomorrow with a, an agency out in la um, that's potentially interested in managing my career. So, uh, more exposure back to my original goal.

More exposure equals my chance to make more people laugh. Right? So, um, and your folks, your folks here that listen to this, if they can watch and share, um, and comment and like, you know, the more, I would love to reach more and more people, I just want to bring a smile to folks lives in a, on a, a bigger and bigger scale.

So, um, those are the two things I'm, I'm excited about. Um, 'cause now it's now the pressure's on whenever you release a special, it's only my second one. The pressure's on. I constantly feel every gig I have. And I just had a show, um, Friday night. What's today? Sunday? Uh, I. I'm backstage and I'm like, did all these people watch my special And they know everything do, how much new material do I have to do?

And that's a bit egotistical because only a hundred thousand people have watched my specials so far in a month. How many of them are there? Right? I don't know. But sometimes when you go to see a comedy show, the audience will kind of look you up online. And so it, it's very para, I'm very paranoid about people.

What have they seen, what haven't they? And I've come to realize it doesn't matter. Um, so, but I kind of like that pressure. Like you better have some new jokes, new material, new stuff. So, um, maybe a month ago I, I, I did a benefit for this organization that raises money for people that can't, that can't afford a defense.

They're in jail. Claim to be falsely accused, but can't afford to fight it. And this organization raises money to help those people. And at the show was actually three exonerees, like people that were proved innocent through this organization and released and they were there. Um, and I, my special was out and I was like, how many of these people have seen, you know?

And I, I just ended up doing a blend of different material and they loved it anyway. But this guy after the show is like, Hey, this is the third time I've seen you here at this club. And I was like, oh, I hope you've heard some new stuff. And he is like, that's what I love about you. He's like, I feel like I hear new stuff every time I see you.

That's good. And I was like, that was such a relief to me because egotistically or not, you kind of feel like, oh, they, they saw my show. They memorized everything. But they really haven't memorized, you know, um, and they, they enjoyed the show, and, and I'm, I'm happy that I can provide that, that diversity, hopefully.

I think that's super important. And, you know, I think getting around to those different groups, you know, the same thing with me. The reason I do comedy, because I never, you know, woke up and I was like, I wanna be a comedian one day. But the idea was that it helps me to reach different people who need some, some people can only be serious and some people can only be.

You know, comedic and, and you know, being able to reach more people is vital to suicide prevention, addiction recovery, mental health. Right. Having, uh, you know, even like, uh, magic, the Gathering is a card game. And I, you know, I only got into it 'cause if you go to nuke school, you kind of have to learn how to play it if you wanna socialize.

And, um, some of the suicide conversations that we had, some of the people who, uh, admitted to me that they were suicidal, it was because of the, uh, you know, magic, the gathering bomb that we had in, uh, yeah. You know, I only really played it to socialize with people. So you never know what, um, is gonna be an icebreaker, so to speak, in someone's life.

And so I think comedy is, is a great segue. I think it's something that everyone should, uh, work on. Not to a professional degree, but just, um, the art of storytelling, uh, public speaking comedy. I think we've really lost public speaking, you know, the ability to communicate with one another and the tech age is really helping.

That in a negative way and really helping it in a positive way, you know? Mm-hmm. It's, uh, again, it's a tool on how we use it and one of the things is with reusing material, actually, preacher Lawson, are you familiar with him? Mm-hmm. Yeah. For those who aren't familiar listening, preacher Lawson was on a GT America's got Talent almost, you know, very funny guy.

He came to the Nuke school base where I was at at the time during training and performed for free, and I saw him and he actually said. Uh, at the end of his, his performance. Now, does anyone have any jokes they want me to perform that they've seen me do on America's Got Talent or somewhere else? And people were like, the grandma joke.

Do do a joke about your grandma. Funny, you know, exercising the bullets out of you. And, uh, so, you know, I thought that was neat that, um, he asked and, and people wanted to see it live. And uh, you know, to me it was like, I don't know, I didn't care as much. I was like, well, I, you know, I've heard the joke, uh, but you know, I guess to some people like seeing him live do it, it was like, well, it's amazing.

So, uh, that, that was pretty cool. Something. Uh, 'cause that was the first time I ever saw a comedian live and they were like, Hey, any jokes y'all want me to do that you, you know about? Yeah. So I get that sometimes like, um, off stage though, they're like, oh, you didn't do the, uh. Whatever stuff you know, you didn't do.

And I was like, oh. And sometimes I forgot I had that joke. I'm like, oh, that was, that would've been perfect. Yeah, that would've been great. Where were you? I had to put you in a, you know, get a earpiece and you can tell me what jokes to do. Right. Well, that's why I wear the hat. I've got a walkie talkie underneath it, so.

Right. Reading in the jokes. Uh, yeah. Preacher's great. He's, if you, if you like clean comedy, he's very, he's a little bit different than me in that he's more energetic, more, you know, he's, he's, uh, a little crazier up there, but clean. Very dynamic. Very, yeah. Very good comedy. The body language, stuff like that.

Well, I've worked with him before and, uh, he's a Florida guy and, uh, yeah, he's great. I like. Yeah. And then, uh, what I, what I want to leave us with Mr. Johnson, which I, I didn't ask you, uh, initially 'cause I said as, as someone, when people find out I do comedy right, and you already know where we're going with this, they always ask the question, oh, you're funny.

Tell us a joke. I I hate that. Yeah. Say something funny right now, I do have a joke I keep in my back pocket. That's really stupid one. And I, I can share it if, if we want, but, um, I have to ask, do you have like a go-to joke for when people ask you that question? Yeah. Yeah. It's really a line more than a joke and it insults them, which is funny to me.

So sometimes they'll go, um, oh, you're a comedian, say something funny. And then I'll just look at them and go, uh, that shirt looks good on you.

And they're, they're like, what? Oh, oh. And I just walk away. I'm like, you know, I'm not, I'm not a comedy jukebox. People, you know? So, um, why I'm a jukebox. 'cause if you pay me, I will say a joke. Right, right, right, right. I I'm a box if you pay, I'm not a free jukebox. Right, right, right. Yeah. But I think you'll find as a comedian you'll do more free shows than anything in your career.

Yeah. In our careers. And, uh, but yeah, if I have to actually stay in that conversation and I can't walk away, I'll just go, oh, I save it all for the stage. You know, you don't want to hear me. Okay. That's good. And then they'll, you know, I, what I really dislike, not dislike, but I find interesting is people will go, I heard this joke on the internet, you can use it in your act.

It's like, that's not the way. Yeah. And that, to me, that almost comes off as insulting. Yeah. I'm like, no, that's, I'm like, no, it's good. Or I'll just let 'em tell it and then, you know, laugh with them and, and then end it. Yeah. And I mean, I'm sure they have good intentions, but it kind of comes off insulting, like, oh, you know, it's like, oh, you think I can't make my own stuff up?

You know? Yeah. I always assume positive intent, they're not gonna come. Talk to me if they didn't like the show. Yeah. So, yeah, no, a hundred percent. But I, I see how it comes off and I know a few comedians, I couldn't name any personally, but I've heard people being like, oh, you're comedian. Say something funny and the person will say something funny.

Yeah. Like, they'll just, you know, say something funny for me. I, I've got my stupid joke. It's, it's so dumb. I, it's not even mine. I borrowed it from Mike Roth, who was one of the first people I ever interviewed on a show and mm-hmm. Who knows where he got it from. It's nothing special, but Right. Like a straight, it's, um, two blondes walk into a building.

You think one of them would've seen it? Yeah. Yeah. It is so stupid. People don't really make fun of blondes anymore. I feel like that's become politically incorrect, so to speak. Everything is politically incorrect. Yeah. I, that's, everything bothers me. Everything. Yeah. I, I'm the cleanest and most, maybe not the cleanest, but I'm, I'm a clean comic and I'm not offensive, and you would be amazed at what people get put off by.

Yeah, I did a joke. I did, it wasn't even a joke, so I was on stage and I had the microphone in the stand and my ha, I talk a lot with my hands sometimes. Same. And some woman in the front row said, oh, you talk a lot with your hands. And I said, I know I'm not even Italian. And 'cause stereotypically Italians talk a lot with their hands, you know?

Hey. Yeah. And the whole half of the crowd was like, whoa, whoa. And I was like, that's offensive that I mentioned Italians talk with their hand, that you guys need to chill out. I mean, that would ruin half my jokes because I am a talent. And so on the podcast you don't see it. 'cause I've got my lower half cut off.

Right. But, uh, if for anyone who's watched me perform comedy or even just talk at any event, I, my hands are all over the place. And, um, one of the jokes I used to make is bootcamp was so difficult 'cause you gotta keep your, your hands at the, at the side, you know, at attention. And I said, listen, petty officer, this is a little racist and oppressive because I'm Italian, I have to talk with my hands.

You're kind of the diminishing my cultural experience right now. Right. Um. So I always, when people are like, you talk with your hands, I'm like, yeah, I'm Italian. You know? So it's interesting. You, you know, said the opposite. And, um, I've never really had anyone take offense to it. And if they did, yeah. It's very, it was only that one time, and it was like, it, it's like a bad stereotype.

It's true. Right. And then second of all, it's not only true, it's not offensive to anyone other than this group of fools over here. Yeah. And who aren't Italian, but are taking offense on behalf of Italian people in their, in their mind. Right. Because it's usually like, uh, I mean, I've seen with most race jokes, it's not even the race of the joke that is offended.

It's people who aren't that race getting offended. Well, it's like that in society that, yeah, that's just society in general. But the, when the Cleveland Indians change their name to the guardians, you know, ahead of some of, uh, some Native American organizations, were like, what? Why? Why are we doing this? I think that the best was they took the Native American off the land O'Lakes butter or whatever it was, and they said, so cool.

So you kept the land and got rid of the Native American. Right. This is even more racist than having them there. Right. And um, they got, I think they got rid of Aunt Jemima from the Yes. They got rid of her picture. And I was like, she was like a famous entrepreneur. Yeah. I don't, I don't get it. Uh, people, it's white people overcompensating for whatever, you know, for their guilt.

Yeah. It's so stupid. Yeah. I, I think actually wearing this, uh, shirt let's Abraham Lincoln riding a shark sometimes I feel like I might get stopped on the street for, I've got a Uncle Sam dabbing shirt. Um, but you listen, just being a veteran, I've had young, uh, quote politically correct women call me Baby killer and stuff like that for being in the military.

So, uh, you know what, big cult cultivation here with both comedy and life in general. You can't please everyone. Yeah. I mean, you just can't, it's impossible. Yeah. I've just learned to find my audience. Yeah. I'm not gonna convince you to follow me or just if you like what I'm doing and you think it's funny, then follow.

And I'm not going to chase you down and, and convince you. No, no, no, no. You know, I'm funny. Really just so you just have to find your people and, um, and cultivate that crowd, you know? Yeah. So this has been great. I found it insightful and for everyone listening, you know, all the advice that Mr. Johnson gave me is, is also for you.

You know, whether you, I thought you call me Mr. Johnson. I I'm already way older than you, but I don't, you can just call me Danny. That's fine. Dan making me feel older. Mr. Johnson, thank you for being here with us today. Yeah. But, um, you know, it's, it's, it's for everyone who's thinking about getting into comedy.

It's, you know, they're pretty much, every city has an open mic somewhere. Yeah. Where are you based out of? I'm in Savannah, Georgia, so I'm actually right down the street from you. I'm gonna connect you two you after this about some stuff. Yeah, yeah. They have the Savannah Comedy Review. I've done that before.

Yeah. They've got a couple things here, but in, in general, almost every city has something. Just do your research. Uh, talk to, I would talk to honestly the local bartenders and owners, uh, probably know the most, but, uh, Facebook groups. There's also some online forums, Facebook search, like your city and comedy.

Yeah. And there's pretty much a Facebook group for every city. Yeah. So I would, uh, highly encourage y'all to get out there, but um, if that's too intimidating, you could always start online. Uh, you know, I'll caution you with social media is different. I think in person you get reactions in a different way than online, so you should, yeah.

Live is the best. Yeah. But if you gotta start, you know, in the shallow end of the pool, so to speak, by all means. But yeah. And a great way to start is by checking out Danny Johnson's, uh, comedy special. We're gonna have that in the link below Yeah. For you to check out. And, uh, I just wanna thank you for your time today and I look forward to whatever you have coming out this year.

You know, be sure to send it my way and I'll promote it here and we will, um, next time you do another special, I'd love to have you back on the show and talk about that experience. Yeah, absolutely, man. And I'll, I'll give your, um, your set a watch and good luck to you and, uh, shoot me a message if you ever have any questions or, uh, uh, want to, you know, talk about comedy, man, I'll help you out as best I can.