Don’t Tell Comedy(Hour 2)

Broadcasting live from the Civic Media Studios in Green Bay.

This is Night Light with Pete Chwaba.

Your inside source on everything entertainment from Wisconsin to Hollywood.

And now a man barely six feet tall, but a mountain of muscle.

Pete Chwaba.

Welcome

back.

I am Pete Schwabble, ladies and gentlemen.

Todd Michaels does not lie, and he just read the spring into the break into spring thing.

Should I repeat it again?

Do you think?

Yeah, why not?

Let's do it.

Yeah.

It's our break into spring text to win statewide contest, and guests are eligible.

So Bob Chiquini is here.

He could probably do this if he wanted to, even though he's in the...

Los Angeles.

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Plus, every entry puts you into our grand prize drawing of a brand new Queen mattress set from Verlo that includes a mattress sheet set, mattress protector, and pillows.

Time for the text to win.

Times for the text to win are 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.

So you have to use the app, folks.

If you haven't downloaded the Civic Media apps, go ahead and do that, and then you just click on the little text icon, and it's the daily word, right, Conn?

Yep.

Text in the daily word, and you are eligible for the daily and the grand prize.

Good luck, everybody.

We have Kristen Lighty coming up at 7.20.

She'll be here in the studio talking about several shows she has coming up.

Right now, we have a few more minutes with our friend, Bob Giacchini.

Bob, do you have a role that you... Oh, let me ask you this first.

What are your favorite kind of roles to play?

I think roles that contain the...

the full dimension of what a human being is.

So

we talked earlier about stereotypes or about cliches.

And so even if you encounter a role that just feels like it's one thing, as an actor, you're always trying to fill that person out.

That person is somebody's kid.

You know

what

I mean?

somebody somewhere probably cares about that person, even if they're this like irrefutable villain.

So, you know, I look for parts that just have that full breadth of humanity, you know, and not just centered on one aspect of their personality, their occupation.

You know, it's fun to play villains.

You know, maybe more fun to play villains than it is to play heroes.

And usually when it's fun to play a villain, it's because that villain is also charming.

Right.

You know, it's less fun to play a villain who's not.

That's a great answer.

So we've established you have over 100 credits, most likely.

You've been in some great films, War of the Worlds, Primary Colors, Dreamgirls, Godfather 3, you've done TV, theater.

What is the role you've enjoyed playing the most?

I think that's an impossible question to answer.

Well, give me one of, you

probably have several, but...

Yeah.

I mean, because acting experiences aren't just about the role, you know?

It's an experience that involves a teamwork, you know?

Sure.

And in theater and in film, there's lots of other people involved, you know?

And that experience invariably...

affects and becomes part of your performance or your experience of the performance.

So when you're asked, you know, what did you, so, you know, so for instance, the Godfather, you know, that, that, that's a legendary franchise, you know, and many of the legendary people that made it so were a part of that production that I was in.

And so that, that, that was amazing.

where we shot was amazing.

When I did War of the Worlds, I only shot for about a week or so on that film.

But what was most memorable about it was working with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise and getting to experience firsthand what all the commotion is about, what all the praise is about.

because for me, that became unmistakably obvious and visceral.

That it's not, well, I mean, this is an understatement, but it's not an accident.

Why people feel the way they do about those artists.

But there are other like straight up parts that...

I played, I got an opportunity to play Hamlet.

I mean, that was, you know, an amazing experience.

I think I mentioned earlier, we were talking about the passion of Dracula, that part of Renfield is hilarious to play.

I've played, there's a playwright called Shem Vitterman.

He's a screenplay writer and a playwright.

He's written a couple of plays that we did premieres of here in LA and New York that most people haven't heard of, you know, but

I really, really enjoyed working on the roles that Shem wrote.

And I've done like three, three or four of his plays.

One was a hard driving Uber liberal journalist who worked for like The Guardian.

Another guy was a high ranking fixer operative for the Republican administration.

They're just really fun.

roles that that encompassed like I said like a kind of a well-rounded aspect of you know what a human being is regardless of you know what occupation they fill um so I guess I haven't really answered your question

no you listen you you absolutely did because

You're an actor who finds those things.

So you kind of presented that in a way like where you'll find something great about the role.

And that's what you have to do.

That was actually a great answer.

Thanks.

Bob, I'm a huge fan.

Thank you so much for your time tonight.

I hope we could do this again.

That'd

be great, Pete.

Anytime.

When you book your actual 100th IMDB credit, we'll have you back on it.

You could talk about that.

But keep up the great work.

We'll be watching.

You too, Pete.

Thanks so

much.

Thanks so much, Bob.

Have a great night.

All right, that's Bob Schenie.

Check him out in The Cleaning Lady, folks.

Very popular show, and Bob does great work.

I've seen him in so many roles, and he just brings his A-game.

I'll have to ask him next time about directing.

I wanted to get there, but we were running out of time, so.

Kristen Lighty will be here in a few minutes in the studio.

Todd Michaels checks in on the stream and says, rat tail.

There

you go.

Okay.

If you have a rat, but that immediately makes me think of County Fair.

That's the only place I see rat tails anymore.

Because a rat tail is just like the single thing going down.

It's not

like a

full-blown ponytail.

Yeah.

Oh, man.

Those should be retired forever.

So we were talking about Snow White.

And this is incredible.

This is one of the lowest-rated movies ever on IMDb.

And I almost wonder if that's some kind of campaign that people, like, it got a mid-40s on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics don't love it.

did okay at the box office, underperformed slightly, 75% of audiences like it, but a 1.8 user rating on IMDB, that is incredible.

And did you see how many people voted for a one star on there?

It was 86,000 people voted one star on that.

I can't believe 86,000 people go to IMDB.

A lot of people I talk to still don't even know what it is.

Yeah, I've never seen... That's amazing.

I've seen my fair share of bad movies.

I've never seen him rated that bad.

Well, I pulled up a list and I would be like the the lowest rated movies.

There's a hundred titles.

Disaster movie one point nine.

Super babies, baby genius is two one point five.

Kirk Cameron's saving Christmas one point three.

And these are thousands and thousands of votes, not quite eighty six thousand.

House of the Dead, Son of the Mask.

Oh, Son of the... Oh, God.

I have a story about Son of the Mask.

Jamie Kennedy decided he was gonna follow Jim Carrey in that role.

Jim Carrey was in the mask.

Jamie Kennedy, we sold... Greg Glanna, who has been on this show, he and I sold a script of Warner Brothers called Dream Girl.

It was like a Notting Hill meets Fatal Attraction, crazy comedy.

We had Jack Black in mind.

Anyway, we sold it and Jamie Kennedy wanted to do it.

But he decided to do Son of the Mask first.

And it kind of, I don't want to say it killed his career, but he had just done Malibu's most wanted, which was a success.

And Son of the Mask was kind of a bomb.

And all I could remember thinking, because I loved Jamie Kennedy, he's so talented.

I'm like, why would you follow Jim Carrey?

He should have done Dream Girl.

But that got a 2.4.

Snow White is lower than Son of the Mask.

That's saying something because that Son of the Mask is terrible.

I know.

It's a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Son of the Mask?

Yeah.

Oh, God.

Oh, that's horrible.

All right, so the office drop this week, back in 2005, I think.

Yeah.

Let's hear some Toby.

I'm in the mood for some Toby.

Can

we play the clip?

Either one of those Toby clips is fine.

I'll let you pick.

Well, this is the one where, you know, Ryan is now the boss of Michael, and he called a meeting, and it's whom or who is the big question.

Awesome.

How long until you actually get this presentation ready?

Why

don't

you do this

presentation?

Because I mean, you know how to do it.

What I really want, honestly, Michael, is for you to know it so that you can communicate it to the people here, to your clients, to whomever.

Okay.

What?

It's whomever, not

whomever.

No, whomever is never actually right.

Well, sometimes it's right.

Michael is right.

It's a made-up word used to trick students.

No.

Actually,

whomever is the formal version of the word.

Obviously, it's a real word, but I don't know when to use it correctly.

Not a native speaker.

I

know what's right, but I'm not gonna say.

Because you're all jerks who didn't come see my band last night.

Do you really know which one is correct?

I don't know.

It's whom when it's the object of the sentence and who when is the subject.

That sounds

right.

It sounds right, but is it?

How did Ryan use it as an object?

As an object.

Ryan used me as an object.

Did you worry about that?

How did he use it again?

It was Ryan wanted Michael, the subject, to explain the computer system, the object to whomever, meaning us, the indirect object, which is the correct usage of the word.

No one asked you anything ever.

So whomever's name is Toby, why don't you take a letter opener and stick it into your skype?

This doesn't matter.

And I don't even care.

Michael, you quit the other job you're fired here.

My two favorite office characters other than the big three or four Kelly Kapoor and Toby

Her and that was so funny if Brian treated me like an

object and then my favorite Michael Scott line maybe ever is When he says he hates Toby so much because Toby is always foiling his jokes or whatever and he says if I was trapped in a room with Hitler

Osama Bin Laden and Toby and I had a gun with two bullets.

I'd shoot Toby twice.

AJ checks in on the text line.

The 608, she says, hello, Pete and Conrad.

Facial hair is great as long as it's clean and works well on your face.

I would love to see you grow a beard out, Pete.

Thank you, AJ.

Just be aware hot weather will be here soon.

Did you ever grow facial hair out that you liked?

Interesting.

I'll answer that when we come back, and we will be back in just a moment, folks.

And Kristen Lighty will join us in the studio.

Northeastern Wisconsin-based comedian.

She's got a lot going on.

We'll talk about it next on Nightlight with Pete Chihuahua.

I'm the Civic Media Radio Network.

It's the one where you're talking about the haunted house for adults.

Oh, yeah.

So we'll talk about that.

Hey, it's Pete Schwab.

And this is Nightlight.

Welcome back.

The voice you hear is that of the very talented and very funny Kristen Lighty who joins me here in the studio.

How are you?

Hey, I'm good.

Thanks for having me.

Good to have you here in person.

Yeah.

What a treat.

Yeah.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic.

No, I'm not.

OK, be welcome.

Because you have that comedian delivery.

Yeah, what a treat.

This is fun.

Our question tonight.

All right, I'm gonna ask Kristen two things out of the gate.

This is just like an icebreaker, because we haven't seen each other in a few months.

I think, not that we need that.

I consider you one of my best friends.

I don't know if I told you that last time.

I brought the

bracelet.

All right.

If you could only have one cocktail for the rest of your life, you have one drink left in your, wait a minute, you're sober, aren't you?

Oh, this is terrible.

I will answer it though.

Like if it was

a

magical world where I could drink, it would be stout beer.

Stout beer, okay.

That was my favorite thing in the world.

I hope I didn't trigger something.

Oh,

no, no, no, no.

It's been seven years.

I'm good.

Two years and three months for me.

Hey, nice

job.

Yeah.

And I don't know that I'll quit forever, but the state told me I had to stop.

No, I have to.

I just kind of did it and I'm like, I'm kind of enjoying this.

Yeah.

It's weird how crazy you feel when you aren't putting poison in your body.

Exactly.

All right.

Our other question is, should I grow a beard?

I'm at that point now where.

I don't mean to ask you for health and beauty tips, but like, I'm kind of, do I shave or do I just keep going?

I'm always pro beard.

I love

a beard.

Pro beard.

So I would say go for it.

And a lot of comics have beards, don't they?

They do, yeah.

You know, we hide our double, double chins.

If I could, I would, you know.

Well, you can if you want.

I don't, every, there was a while, every bar I went into in Wisconsin, I felt like I was drinking with the cast of Les Mis.

They all had the beards.

or like a grunge rock band.

I don't know what was going on, but it was like...

Playmates might be very generous.

Yeah, probably.

Maybe it took Dynasty.

Well, right, exactly.

It's good to have you here.

How are you?

I'm good.

I'm doing

good.

Got a lot going on.

Yeah, I'm really excited about a lot of stuff happening lately.

Let's jump in with...

I'm fascinated by these don't tell comedy shows.

Can you tell us first what that is?

Yeah, so don't tell is actually like a national production team and they've helped local comics really get around all the terrible work of producing comedy shows, which we do not like.

We just want to be on stage

and

joke.

So they've created this magical formula.

where through advertising somehow, they just get sold out shows in almost nearly every night that they're running a show in every city throughout the country.

So it's a nationwide thing.

It is,

yeah.

It's confusing to me because it sounds like don't tell means you don't want people to go or something or you're trying to keep it under the radar.

And a

little fight club for comedy.

Yeah, like, do you know John Egan?

Yes.

Actually, John Egan and I and Trevor Klumpner are the ones who run it together.

OK, because John talks about don't tell comedy.

And I was hoping, I kind of understand it when he talked about it, but I was hoping you could put the nail in even deeper and tell me what it is.

It's something you don't have to produce.

Yeah.

And it's, you know, it's a BYOB comedy experience that partners with local businesses.

So you don't know where you're going as a audience member until the day of the show.

So that's kind of exciting.

People like that.

They do, yeah.

It's

so cool.

And the premise is, you know, you're surprised and delighted then by where you end up.

because it's not somewhere you would traditionally think you'd see a comedy show.

Like we've done them at Safe Haven, Animal Sanctuary, Green Bay UFO Record Store, Blind's Mouth Bookstore, you know.

Wow.

Yeah, pretty fun places.

Have you ever had someone just get there and go, well, this is a bunch of BS, this isn't what I paid for and they could be right.

Well, I

think the BIOB factor really pulls them in and they're

like, you know.

Bring your own.

Fun beverage.

Oh, beer, like that's what I thought, okay.

So as long as they can have their drink, I guess.

That's cool.

Okay.

So you don't know where it'll be.

What's coming up with that?

You said you have a show at the end of March.

Yep.

So we've got shows this Friday in the Appleton area and then Saturday in Green Bay.

Okay.

We've got a headliner coming in from Detroit.

He's very funny.

Oh, nice.

Now, how does that work with getting people there?

Do they find out last minute where it is or is it like a bus trip or what?

Oh yeah.

They get an email the morning of sometimes the day before

that

tells them everything.

Okay.

So it's kind of like a fun scavenger hunt for your night out.

Yeah.

I have a full understanding now.

Oh,

good.

I'm glad.

You're much better at explaining things than John.

I will just say that.

No.

So you've got to let all let's do this.

Let's play the clip Conrad.

This is some of Kristen's comedy.

I love this routine.

This is Kristen talking about haunted houses for adults.

I decided I want to make something truly scary, right?

For people my age, maybe a haunted house for those of us in our 40s.

First room, you walk in.

It's a financial planning session where they tell you how much you should have already saved for retirement.

It's so much,

you

guys.

Next room, it's everyone you went to high school with in their multi-level marketing scheme.

Oh, that was a tempered laugh.

Oh, crap.

Do we have exciting opportunities for me here tonight?

So I want to ask you this because I remember When I when I used to stand up years ago, it's scary.

You don't have a 401k You don't have any of that stuff and that's why maybe I probably like that bit so much But I remember there used to be a group called the National Association for the Self-Employed and they offered you insurance and all that and I was like this is great and it was crazy expensive But how do you do you just have to be?

Sharper about that stuff and more informed as a comedian.

I think a lot of people have rich parents and that I've heard is really helpful Damn, you know,

I'd love to be a trust find kid.

Yeah No, I think you know most of us have day jobs and helps us in this economic nightmare that we live in like I I have a day job that I actually love very much I work for the teachers union and I think

You know, it is hard to be a full-time comedian because if you're depending on jobs to get paid, it can also start to affect your narrative and what you want to say.

And that's something I didn't want to do.

Oh, that's, wow, that's a great answer.

My wife is a teacher, I told you that.

And I thought union membership was down, but you said it's coming back.

And I don't understand teachers.

who vote against themselves.

It is fascinating to me, but I know a lot of them do that.

They do.

I think it's very easy to get caught up in rhetoric that is scapegoating and hateful and it just turns you against your values.

And I think that lately there's been a real push to, you know, really dive into this sense of individualism and ignore the collective.

And, you know, certain things have to exist for the betterment of society, you know, like we need schools, healthcare, education, all these things we need.

to be a better society, and if we keep gutting it, it's not gonna be great to be here.

Every person for themselves, Kristen.

Yeah, I hate that.

I

know, it's kind of selfish, because I know I do fine, because I can kick a lot of ass, right Conrad?

You've seen me out there.

All right, Kristen Lighty is here.

We are gonna jump back more into her comedy.

If you wanna talk more about your day job, we can do that.

Do you ever hire leg breakers as a union person?

And we don't talk about that.

All right, Kristen Lighty is here.

We're talking comedy.

When we come back, we're going to find out where you can see her performing in Wisconsin.

And what else can I ask you about, Kristen?

Maybe we'll talk.

Have you seen Snow White?

I have not.

All right.

We won't go there.

We'll be right back after the news.

Civic Media's news team is waiting.

It's Peach Wabba.

Hey, this is John Gries, also Uncle Rico, and you're listening to Night Light with Peach

Chihuahua.

It

makes me think about white lotus.

It's Peach Chihuahua.

Welcome back.

This is Night Light.

Are you watching?

Um, uncomfortably, yes.

That's what

everybody's saying, and Conrad was going nuts yesterday.

When I watched it on Sunday, I was like, what am I watching?

I know.

I was like, I got a text from my mom.

I'm like, I take it back.

Don't watch White Lowness.

Don't.

We had, uh, John Grison, and I'm trying to get him back on, but maybe he doesn't want to come on while he probably doesn't want to say anything.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, I mean, I think there's, there's maybe two episodes, maybe one left, so.

It'll be over soon.

I'm not watching them till I can watch them all, because that's how I did.

I just finished White Lotus season two before this one dropped.

So I can't watch a show and then have to wait a week.

You don't like to live in the suspense with us?

It's so fun.

No, no, I can't do it.

In fact, I started watching the show called Dope Thief the other night.

I'm like, eh, all right, a drug thing.

So I got into it, and I'm like, all right, cool.

And it's like, I watched three episodes this weekend, and it's just.

Oh, you got to wait till Friday now.

It's like, well, I don't like it that much.

You know, like I would have stuck with it.

Kristen Lighty is here.

Northeast Wisconsin based comedian from here in Green Bay, actually.

She's joining me in the studio.

And did I ask you?

OK, so facial hair, where are you at with that?

I try to shave like once a week.

I

shave my legs once

a week.

So this is working out very well.

I'm pro facial hair.

You're pro facial hair.

That's right.

Barb from Walk-A-Shot says, as far as facial hair, if you're married, then it's not your decision.

Oh.

Just saying I don't I don't know if she means I guess she means my wife's the boss when it comes to facial hair That makes sense.

I don't think my wife cares.

What does that say about my marriage?

Honey do whatever you want grow a curly Q mustache if you want Tom from New Berlin says love Hi, oh hyena by REM hyena I

Thought

we have

what shiny happy people

I played the song, I don't know if it's called this, but it's Fall On Me.

Oh, Fall On

Me,

yeah.

That's the song I played, and that's what he... Tom, I could be wrong.

I don't think that

song is called... I think it's called Fall On Me.

But Tom's a music guy, he might know.

I don't wanna challenge Tom on the airwaves,

because

then there'll be a record of it.

And even clarified Hyena, because he misspelled it the first time.

Steady Eddie will read that text shortly.

Steady Eddie sent us a text tonight that I'm excited about.

And Tom says, Hacks is coming in April, good show.

You fan?

Love that show.

I love that show.

Gene Smart, we've had Rose Abdu on the show.

Great cast, great writing.

I love Gene Smart in everything.

But let's not talk about her.

She gets enough pub.

Yeah, this is my time.

This is Kristen's time.

So let's get

at

it.

You've got a fun tour coming up of Wisconsin.

Tell us where

people can see you and see your comedy like we just heard a few minutes ago.

Yeah, the first week of April, I'm doing a fun little run with my friend Madalynna Martin.

We're going to co-headline some shows.

He's out of Bloomington, Indiana.

And so we're going to be Thursday night.

We're going to be, you know, clear at Clearwater comedy.

Okay.

And then Friday night, we're going to be at the Laughing Tap in Milwaukee, which is one of my favorite rooms.

I love the people there.

Wonderful.

And then Saturday night, we're going to be at the Comedy Cabin down in Jamesville, which I have not done yet, but I've heard great things.

I've heard good things about that, too, from comics

that

have been on the show.

And you must know Greg Bach.

Yes.

Yeah.

Greg is amazing.

And I love him.

He will not book me.

He will not return my emails.

He keeps saying, send me a tape.

I'm like a tape.

What

is this,

1988?

There's a comic from Chicago named Jimmy Higgins who's no longer with us, but he was just hilarious.

And he, he tried to stop drinking and he thought he tied it to comedies.

Like I got to get out of comedy clubs.

So he moves to Omaha, Nebraska and gets a job in a meat, he's trying to get a job in a meat packing

plant.

And he has no resumes.

He's been doing stand-up for 20 years.

And,

The guy says, do you have a resume or whatever?

And the guy says, I've been a standup comic for the last 20 years.

And the guy who runs the meatpacking plant says, do you have a tape?

Oh, I love it.

Do you have favorite rooms to work, Kristen, in Wisconsin or out of Wisconsin?

Yeah, I actually, I really love tea he's in Des Moines, Iowa.

And I love the laughing tap in Milwaukee.

Yeah.

You know and that's a room that's run by comics Greg being one of them Yeah, so I feel like they just really understand how to run a good show.

I also really love the laughing liberally shows I just did one last night in Madison and they had like 50 people packed into a room no bigger than Whoa,

nice.

Yeah, and it was really fun Where is that

where is laughing liberally in Madison

so they do it at?

Min Minakwa brewing company

Oh, yeah, in East Wash.

Yes, they have a tap room there.

Okay, sure.

And then in Milwaukee, they do it at Comedy Sports.

Okay,

wow,

nice.

What

about outside of Wisconsin?

Where do you like to go?

Are there good comedy towns that you found you just kind of connect with the people?

Yeah, well, I started in Chicago, so I always love to go back and visit there.

You know, I go to Austin, but I have a very set...

crew of people that I work with there, mostly through the Altercation Comedy Fest, because there's been an influx of bros to Austin.

Of what?

Wait, influx of what?

Like Joe Rogan bros.

We won't go into that.

I don't want to get you hate mailed.

Listen, this is your dime you're dance floor.

If you don't think someone's funny, I'm fine with it.

And I never thought Joe was a great comic.

I liked him on the UFC.

I thought he was great when he did that.

But

now I

just kind of shake my head when I hear some of the stuff he says is kind of strange.

That's my personal opinion.

It's gotten real weird in

comedy.

So there's an influx of those people in Austin.

Interesting, okay.

There's kind of a, I would say, uprising of right wing comics too, would you say?

Yeah, I would say that narrative is becoming profitable, so a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon.

I know people who don't.

Putting their cowboy hats on.

Yes, and I

know people who don't even believe that stuff.

Who

have podcasts and do this, and I'm like, God, people only knew, but

whatever.

They're just making money, baby.

Gotta

make a buck, right?

And then you have a cool date coming up at the Skyline Comedy Cafe in April.

Tell us about that.

Oh, yeah.

So the second week of April, I'm very lucky.

Skyline is having me host Harlan Williams.

We're doing five shows Thursday through Saturday.

Nice.

I'm super excited.

He's a total legend.

And I just really love when I get to work with people that I want to watch.

Yeah.

You know, like I watch every show.

Right.

I'm a comedy nerd.

Harlan Williams is one of those guys who I think is so fearless on stage.

And he, some of you might remember him.

He was in Dumb and Dumber.

He was the motorcycle cop who pulls over Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey.

And very funny guy, does a lot of good movie work.

But when I worked with him at the Laugh Factory in Chicago in the mid-90s, who was actually out in Aurora, Harlan in the middle of his set sang the song Beth by

Kiss.

No jokes, he just took two or three minutes to sing a song and people are watching him like, and he doesn't care.

I love that he chose a ballot too.

Right, yeah.

Not even like a jam.

Exactly.

He was, I remember him as being a very, a very nice guy.

So that's exciting.

And who else have you worked with like that that you just want to watch?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Brian Postain, I got to work with him two weeks ago in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

And I just love watching him.

He's so friendly and personable.

And like whenever people approach him for autographs and stuff, he's always like so kind and willing to take the time.

He's a really great guy.

And, yeah, John Capurulo is really fun to work with, Bobcat Goldsway.

Oh, wow.

Does he still work

clubs?

No kidding.

He was actually just here at the Epic Center not too long ago.

Oh,

wow.

And Lori Kilmartin was amazing to feature for.

And Kate Willett, I just...

I love watching stand-up from people I respect.

I could do it.

I could do it 24-7.

Who are some of your least favorite... No, I'm just kidding.

That's not what I want.

Kristen Lighty is here in the studio.

She is a Green Bay-based stand-up comic.

Got a lot of dates coming up in April.

You can see her at the Skyline Cafe in April with Harlan Williams.

I highly recommend that show because Kristen's hilarious.

Harlan's very funny.

And then you have, in June...

You said, I'll be on the Warped tour in DC.

What is that?

So the Warped tour is kind of, it got really big in the 90s, and it was like a punk rock music festival.

So they're bringing it back, and honestly, I only recognize two bands, Fishbone and the Axymoron.

Fishbone?

Yeah, I see.

I love Fishbone.

We have a Fishbone song.

Let's play that when we go to break.

I don't remember.

Everyday Sunshine.

Oh, okay.

I love Fishbone.

Yeah, so through my record label that I'm on, I'm on Burn This Records out of LA.

And their whole vibe is sort of, you know, like we want to give working class comics who are sort of like more ulty and fringe, a voice and a way to get into industry.

So Brandy Posey, our record label, I guess she'd be the CEO.

She was in talks with...

Warped Tour and they're gonna have a comedy stage and we're gonna be on it.

How fun.

Yeah, I'm pretty excited.

And

that's in Washington DC.

Yep, Washington DC in June and then Orlando in November.

Look at you making records, going to DC, and

you

got a podcast.

Tell us about the podcast.

Yeah, I haven't done an episode in a while, but it's, I have a guest on and we chat about their favorite horror movie and we talk about the themes in it and how they relate to it personally.

So it's more of like...

you know, personal storytelling as opposed to, like, movie trivia.

And that's called Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary podcast.

I love horror movies, I think.

They're so fun.

Well, we were just talking about that you haven't had a drink in six years, too, and I think it's funny that your podcast is called The Bloody Mary.

Oh, yeah, I did love The Bloody Mary, too.

Although I was trying to figure out, like, did I love Bloody Mary's or was I just poor and hungry?

And it came with all the accoutrements.

Let me ask you this, and I mean this seriously, I know...

And I just talked about Jimmy Higgins, who was a very funny guy.

I know so many comedians that had too much to drink from time to time.

Do you find that not drinking helps your creativity or stunts it at times?

Because a lot of people say, and I remember the writer, Paul Schrader, who wrote Taxi Driver said, drink, no, he said, right drunk, edit sober.

What was your experience from not drinking or drinking to not drinking?

Yeah, I actually quit drinking before I went on stage two years into comedy.

because I was like, I'm slurring my words.

I'm not sharp.

I don't like this.

And I used to be, I still am pretty much someone who writes on stage.

Like I'll have a premise floating around and then I kind of work it out on stage.

So if I'm not sharp, it doesn't work.

And I think, you know, everyone has their own process, but for me, getting sober has meant being really comfortable in my own skin and getting okay with that.

So I think that is my process to just go out on stage and be like, Hey, I got an idea.

Maybe it's good.

Maybe it's not.

Terrifying.

It's fun.

I like it.

That's my high now.

That's what I think.

Yeah.

Oh, that's so great.

How do you write?

Do you sit down and write stand up or do you just jot down ideas when they come to you?

Yeah, I'll usually get an idea of something that makes me laugh or something that frustrates me and I'll make a little note in my phone and then, you know, as I'm kind of going about my day and working and cleaning my house, I'll be like, oh, that's a funny tag.

Yeah.

And I'll kind of like have all these little puzzle pieces and then they just kind of co-mingle in my brain until it makes sense.

Like it's kind of rooting around in my subconscious.

How many times do you have to go on stage with a new joke or bit where you feel like

and it probably varies from bit to bit, but when you really feel like, I've got this, this is now a great joke, from the first time to when.

Yeah,

I would say usually it's about three times, third time's the charm, but the first time it feels so good, because it's like lightning shooting through you, like, ah, it's new.

It's fun to try

something new, yeah.

And now, like all the jokes on my album, I love them, but like they just bore me.

It's like, I know they'll hit, but I'm like, ugh.

I don't want to do them.

How much turnover do you have in your act?

First of all, if you have an album, that's a significant amount of material.

Do you still do that during your shows?

Are you someone who tries to have a new?

45 minutes every year,

20 minutes

every year.

No.

I'll take that as a no.

You know, I have been, since the album came out, I've been trying to do, every time I do a set, at least half of it be new material.

And then I know I can go into the security of the old material that I know will work.

And so like last night, I did 10 new minutes and that felt really good.

Wow.

And yeah, there was just a short little set.

So I actually, I love short sets.

I think they're very fun.

I

think 10 minutes is like, I remember when I did stand up, like there were so few people, like when I was emceeing or middling, I could count on one hand the amount of headliners I wanted to see more than 30 minutes from.

Like honestly, it's like Brian Regan, I could watch him

for

two hours or Ellen DeGeneres or somebody like

that.

But

like some people just, it's like, yeah, okay, it's funny, but I've heard it.

Let's move on.

Yeah,

dating's weird.

We get it.

What is your ideal set length?

I love featuring.

If I could financially feature, I would make that my whole life.

There's no pressure on you.

You get to have fun.

You're not doing the work of hosting.

Do you think every comic thinks that?

Probably,

yeah.

Kristen Lighty is here.

We'll be back.

We'll have a few more minutes.

Maybe she'll help us close this down.

I'm going to ask Kristen.

We'll talk about Glenn Geary, Glenn Ross

and your trip to

New York.

That's coming up.

We'll do that after a very short break here.

Great to have you with me on this Tuesday night here on Nightlight with Pete Schwabba on the Civic Media Radio

Network.

Welcome back.

This is Nightlight with Peach Wama.

Thanks for hanging with me on a Tuesday.

Steady Eddie texted from the 608.

He says, Pete, in 1982, I decided on a friend's dare to grow a beard.

What happened next would change my life.

As my beard grew out, I began to get the urge to spend more and more time in the great outdoors.

Think Grizzly Adams.

I sold my house, divorced my wife.

and abandoned my children.

He's taken this beard thing seriously.

I didn't know that was part of the drill.

In a days for weeks, I wandered amongst the oaks and pines deep in the Chihuahua McGon National Forest of Northern Wisconsin.

Suffering complete exhaustion, somehow a magical giant elk found me and led me the refuge of an abandoned bear den.

I lived there in the Great Forest for 21 years.

Wow.

I am now writing a novel about my experience.

So to answer your question, Pete, should you grow a beard?

Yeah, go for it.

What's the worst that could

happen?

I don't know, man.

This feels like a cautionary tale.

I feel like I was with him until he said, God divorced and abandoned his children.

That's taken it a little too seriously.

I live with the bears now.

And like Conrad, you said you had trouble growing a beard.

You probably wouldn't go to those extremes, but you might like abandon your car.

Well, I don't have a wife or kids.

I don't

have a wife or kids.

I don't have a house either.

So I think I'm just...

I'm good to go, you know.

You

can do

whatever you

want.

I

am good to go.

Yeah.

Thank you, Steady Eddie.

As always, great fun from Steady Eddie.

So Kristen Lighty is my guest.

She is a Green Bay based comedian.

Lots of fun stuff coming up.

You can see her in Appleton at the Skyline Comedy Cafe in April or through, oh, you got Eau Claire, Janesville, Milwaukee coming up.

Where can people find out so they can have your schedule?

Yeah, that's a great question.

At their fingertips.

I

have this website I made

that has