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This week on Long Time No See: The Podcast we delve into the world of stand-up comedy and creative vulnerability with the immensely talented Moses Storm (Half Baked 2, Players) and Mike Falzone (Surrounded, Adult Swim’s Final Space). When the blindfolds come off, the duo immediately recognizes one another and start cracking jokes. Throughout their conversation they share stories about what it was like growing up looking like “a little lady,” performing for girls with jealous boyfriends, and why they wouldn’t want to take any historical figures on tour — all with a healthy amount of self-deprecation.
Despite their different backgrounds, one thing they both agree on is that crowd work has taken over the comedy scene. “If you’re 22 and you just found stand-up, you think that stand-up comedy is just crowd work,” says Moses. Mike thinks it’s less fun when comedians perform mean crowd work and roast the crowd. He explains, “When the whole show is based on how nice your interaction is and the magic that can come out of two people interacting for the first time, it’s going to be ruined if you’re like ‘Fuck your shirt!’”
Then, Moses opens up about the defensiveness he developed from being “a straight man that’s gay presenting,” and how he was frequently misgendered as a kid — or as he puts it, “I was a little lady. I have very soft features, and my mom made us have long blonde hair because she thought that was attractive on men.” Without going too deep into the Freudian aspect, Moses describes her line of thinking as simply “being a loving mom — I’m making my son’s hot!”
So now, imagine this “little lady” playing outside linebacker and tight end in peewee football. Shared as a fact people wouldn’t believe was true about him, Moses recalls how he never got cut from the team despite constantly “f*cking up” — and comes to a shocking in-the-moment conclusion: “Coach would yell at me, big, red face — but he couldn’t, like kick me off… Oh, I think my mom might have been with him. Oh, I think I’m realizing something for the first time. We’re finding out in real time.”
Later on, they discuss how comedians only present their best selves on stage, and why that’s better than approaching girls in bars. “The best part is the mad boyfriends that reluctantly shake your hand after the show,” said Moses. “The girl will come up to you and be like ‘Oh my God, you’re so funny,” he says in a high-pitched voice before switching to a deep, dumb tough guy voice: “I don’t usually laugh, but you’ve kinda gotten it,” he says mockingly. Mike chimes in with a similar voice, “Not to be gay, but I thought you were really funny up there.”
Hear all this and more on the latest episode of Long Time No See: The Podcast above or via your favorite podcast platform. Show your support and keep the comedy coming by liking, following, and reviewing — especially on Apple Podcasts.
Long Time No See: The Podcast comes from Wes Brumbaugh and Jack Fink’s Long Time No See Comedy showcase series. The podcast was created in partnership with and is presented by Consequence Podcast Network and Los Angeles’ Gold-Diggers, which recently launched the Gold-Diggers Media production entity.
