rant · moment 8 of 15
You Have to Suffer for Five Years: Bobby Lopez vs. the Rich Kid
from Graveyard Shift At A Bread Warehouse · #87
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim expands into a rant about how most people asking for comedy advice need to grind in poverty and obscurity for years with no guarantee of success, contrasting genuine grinders like Bobby Lopez with dilettante rich kids doing improv for identity, and riffing on offensive-comedy fans who want him to do slurs and Chinese impressions.
- 35:30You need to spend five to seven years in soul-crushing poverty with no tangible accomplishments before comedy matters.
- 35:52The things you do early on—new five minutes at bars—nobody cares; you can't talk about it at Thanksgiving.
- 36:33Tim's friends push him to be edgy and say offensive things, but he doesn't feel like he has anything that extreme to say.
- 37:06Some comics just want him to do racial impressions or say slurs, and they'll claim he sold out when his special drops without that material.
- 37:45Bobby Lopez is a guy who committed to writing musicals from childhood and actually did it, making him fundamentally different from most people.
- 38:21Bobby's a genius, but Tim doesn't know if this particular kid is even funny or has any real talent.
- 38:41People at open mics often have no sense of humor, but Tim has met genuinely hilarious people working blue-collar jobs.
- 39:09Comedy has become a pageant and identity marker rather than something people pursue because they're actually funny.
- 39:31Tim's new response to anyone asking for advice: "Please send me some money and I'll tell you what it's all about."
- 39:47The problem with being established as a clown is that people don't believe you're serious, so you can't con them anymore.