Name: Michael Che Talks About His Show 'That Damn Michael Che' & Finding His Voice on 'SNL Weekend Update'
Uploaded: 2021-06-14T14:31:44.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Michael Che Talks About His Show 'That Damn Michael Che' & Finding His Voice on 'SNL Weekend Update'' from Bob Saget on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-06-14. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Michael Che Talks About His Show 'That Damn Michael Che' & Finding His Voice on 'SNL Weekend Update'' from Bob Saget on Comedy Buff. Published 2021-06-14. Transcript available.

Michael Che Talks About His Show 'That Damn Michael Che' & Finding His Voice on 'SNL Weekend Update'

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Happy Father's Day, everybody.
Hey, everybody.
It is me.
It is just I, and it's Bob SAGET's here for you.
A podcast that I am almost at 100.
I'd call it 100, but not if you don't include the opening preview promo that I
did a year ago.
Is it a year?
Anyway, today's guest is, to me, one of the most creative, intelligent,
funniest people that does comedy, Michael Che.
I do a benefit for Scleroderma for the Scleroderma Research Foundation.
I lost a sister to it.
I asked Michael to do the benefit, and he did it three times.
And this was years back.
He had already been on SNL, but just began.
And I adored him from the moment he started.
He is, he's been nominated, of course, for four Emmy Awards.
You have to say this stuff, because it's actually pretty damn cool.
He hosted, co-hosted the Emmys with Colin, and he has two Writers Guild Awards.
Those are actual awards.
And he has a show, That Damn Michael Che, on HBO Max, which I recommend
everybody see.
He is incredibly funny.
He just got back from Dave Chappelle's amazing comedy world in Yellow Springs,
and we'll talk about that.
And don't forget to, you know what you do, you subscribe, and you can download,
and you listen.
Subscribe and listen, you know, whatever.
On all the podcast platforms, and I am just really honored to have this guy
here.
And, you know, this was recorded just a couple days ago, so here he comes, Mr.
Michael Che.
Oh, Bob, can you hear me?
I can.
All right, man.
What's up?
You are, you are, I've never told you this before, but you are handsome.
Me?
No, man.
No, you are, you are.
I'm not hitting on your nothing.
I mean, I'm, you know.
Oh, it's surgery.
Well, me too.
I mean, I got a paper clip holding back all the neck flab.
I've been, I'm so happy for you.
I've been watching.
First thing, thanks for doing this.
Yeah, God, thank you for having me.
Well, I, I, we met just when you, I think you started SNL.
Yeah, maybe.
And you were kind enough to come to Caroline's and do that benefit I do for the
Scleroderma
Research Foundation.
Oh, did I ever tell you this?
Um, that I had actually, before I met you, I bought a shirt and I, I don't know
where
it is, but I might be like in a box somewhere, but I bought this shirt and it
was like a
sweatshirt and it had your face on it.
Like literally from like shoulder to waist and it was your face and I just had
it.
And I was like, it would be so funny if I just showed up to the show with the
shirt on.
I didn't even know you that well.
So I was like, I don't want to do that.
And then he thinks I'm like, you know, I laughed my ass off.
Yeah.
I thought it was funny.
I shouldn't trust my instinct, but I, but I always wanted to wear that shirt
and at least
show it to you.
But I was like, I don't think I'm a jerk.
I saw no merch from that.
Nothing.
Do you have shirts with your face on them?
I hope not.
Sometimes though, sometimes you'll see like, um, like I don't have, I don't
have
merch, but sometimes I got a show.
You'll see like, you know, fans will just have them made and you're like, how
did you
get to this?
I was like, they'll just like, very strange.
It'll be like obscure photo shoots where you're like, where'd you even find
this
proof?
It's really weird.
One time years ago when I was doing standup, I wanted to do a t-shirt.
So I did it because all my friends said, you got to do it.
And like Louis Black, he sells everything.
He sells bobble heads and crap.
Yeah.
And I went, okay, I'll make it.
So I made the shirt, but I made my picture the size of like a lizard on an Izod
shirt.
You know, the alligator.
And nobody bought it.
You couldn't see that.
You have to go up to someone's nipple basically to see it.
That's actually a great idea.
It was an idea.
That's all.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But that's actually kind of cool though.
No, yeah.
I could never do merch.
It always just would be like, I got to lug that shit.
Yeah.
I would have it sent there and then I'd go, we didn't sell them.
All right.
Send them back.
And then you find out it's all shipment costs.
Yeah.
It seems like more trouble than it's worth.
But some people, they make, they do great with it.
They, they get rich on merch.
That's not my dream.
Maybe it is.
I don't know.
I mean, I'll take it, but it's just, I'm just thinking about it.
Like, even like now, like everyone's like, you got to get into Bitcoin.
I'm like, I don't know what that is.
I don't know where to start.
So I just let, that's someone else's thing.
And there's all these other ones.
I said to a friend, are you in Bitcoin?
And he went, no, I'm into, I don't know what he said, flambe or shawami.
I don't know what he was.
I'm in shawarma.
I don't know what he was saying.
I got it.
First thing you're, you're so damn busy.
And, and, and so I watched literally all the shit you've been doing everything.
And it's so great.
I'm so happy for you.
What is it like?
Are you like tired all the time?
Cause you got like rockets strapped to your butt promoting that damn Michael
Che.
I've been practicing.
Damn Michael Che.
Damn Michael Che.
Does anybody go that damn Michael Che?
Does anybody?
No, not, not, not that, but I have gotten a few that damn Michael Che, you know,
like,
it's like, it means it's not so bad.
You know, I can tell how they like the show by how they say it.
It's that damn Michael Che.
But if they say, eh, that damn Michael Che, that means they probably, you know,
it's okay.
It's not bad.
It's been, it's like crazy.
I'm always uncomfortable doing press.
Like anything that's like actual press.
Like I'll talk to a buddy anytime, like, you know, like I'll do this show, I'll
do like Seth, I'll do Jim.
You know, like those guys, like, you know, like those guys, like, you know,
then you can kind of talk to them and have conversations like this.
But, um, actual press stuff really like freaks me out.
So I don't, I try not to do as much, but, you know, as far as comedy, you, you
know, how it is.
It's like, even if you're not doing comedy, you're thinking about comedy.
And so you just end up doing comedy.
So if I, my time off is just me at home writing, you know, running to the club
and then trying it out.
And the next thing I know, I'm booked.
Did you always just write?
I mean, I know your background.
I know you went through a lot, you know, you, you, seven siblings, you came out
of the projects.
You, were you writing when you were a kid?
No, no, I didn't know anything about it.
I, I, um, I really didn't know how to.
Do that.
Like, you know, it's a very, you know, unless you rap, unless you're like a
rapper, writing isn't the most macho thing in the world.
You know, you can't say, I'm going to go home and journal, you know, unless it's
a song, you know, but, um, and I wasn't a good singer.
So I never really did it until, um, I got older and when I started comedy, then
I just, I fell in love with the writing process almost as much as the
performing.
Cause you're, one of the things that I loved about you.
First time I saw you was how prolific you are and, and how you, it was the
truth.
And your take on stuff is so, that's why the show is so good.
That's it's cause good comedians are the protagonist for, and they represent
themselves and you're doing that, but you're also representing a huge amount of
people and how the world looks at people.
It's such a good show.
Congrats on it.
Thank you.
I, you know, I always feel like, um, if you're most honest with yourself about,
you know, you're never alone in this world.
You're never really alone.
There's always somebody that's kind of going through or trying to see these
things where you see it, who has had that feeling and maybe can't articulate it.
So if you just say what's actually there, somebody is going to connect with it.
You know, it might not be a, it might not be mass, but it would be somebody, it
would be just like a little cult following of people who are like, Oh yeah, I
know what that feels like.
And he's not, he's not lying.
And also feel like for what we do and the type of shit we say, if it's true,
you don't get in trouble as much, you know, people might get mad at you for
saying that it's true, but time is, time is kind to the truth tellers.
So I try to like, remember that part and stick to the stick to the map.
You're cutting a lot of good stuff out of your way.
Cause I didn't go that path when I started, it was like, I was just talking to
Nikki Glaser about it.
You know, just joke, joke, joke, Rodney Dangerfield said, just go joke, joke,
joke, and don't stop.
And then a lot of those jokes were skirting the real issue, you know, jokes
about things now that you would never say, I would never say, cause they're
hurtful to people.
But the joke was meant to say, this is how upsetting I find how people are
being treated.
So you're making that bad joke that, but, but you still find a way to do that.
Cause it's true, even on weekend update, that writing can have a, a funny cynicism
to it.
Oh yeah.
That's, that's, I love right.
Rodney is one of my favorites for that kind of reason, you know, and, um, uh,
Dave Attell, the same kind of thing where I, I know that for hours and hours.
I love watching them.
Um, and I think it's, they just hit it a different way.
You know, they talk about the same frustrations, which so exaggerated, but at
the core, Rodney Dangerfield is talking about a guy who feels insecure.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like it's like eve