Tag: stand-up comedy

  • Bumperpodcast #289

    Bumperpodcast #289

    Bumpercar talks about shows and opportunities and stretching thin and stuff on this week’s episode …

    Do you stretch? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    The Bumperpodcast is an oftentimes hilarious weekly romp around Headquarters, in Coffee-Can Alley, with Natty Bumpercar and his entire gaggle of pals! 

     


    About This Episode

    In episode 289 of Bumperpodcast, Natty Bumpercar returns solo after the popular Ollie episode to share tales from a wild comedy weekend. After accidentally putting flour in his tea instead of sugar, Natty recounts performing three shows in three days, including hosting at Pennsylvania's oldest operating movie theater and bombing at a show with only three people in the audience. He celebrates finally connecting jokes that have been in his act for years and discusses exciting opportunities to develop kids' shows, though he's struggling to learn guitar for the performances. Natty hilariously wrestles with balancing family life, show business, and whether his multiple creative pursuits are spreading him too thin.

    Memorable Quotes

    “Let me be the tester, let me take the heat, let me take the bad stuff and you stay away from it. You don't need that flour tea at all.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “There were three people in the crowd and I'm like, is it a good dream? And I'm like, I don't know. Yes it is a good dream, you know why? Because I get to talk and make people giggle giggle giggle.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “I've been trying to figure out how to play guitar for decades. I can't even say the word 'guitar' – that's how bad off I am.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #comedy #stand-upcomedy #performing #kidsshows #guitar #work-lifebalance #parenting #theater

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: good morning bumper podcast that was so fresh and happy and energetic good morning it might not be morning where you're listening i don't know hey good day to you bump good evening to you this is hard this is harder than i expected it was gonna be good good good good times do you bumper podcast it's me natty bumper car and it's the bumper podcast and hooray for that unfortunately there's no ollie here today because everybody loved the ollie episode episode they're like oh give me more of that ollie give me why isn't he there every week i wish it was the ollie podcast well it's not it's still the bumper podcast and i'm natty bumper car and today today i was making some tea some lovely tea and uh the containers were switched and i accidentally put two scoops of uh of flour uh all-purpose flour ap flour they call it into my tea two scoops and uh instead of sugar and no no no no nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope not good i mean i didn't taste it i mean i knew immediately like the second i was like and i looked at i was just like like for a tenth of a second in my brain i was just like maybe it's powdered sugar maybe i've maybe i've invented some sort of powdered sugar tea thing because it's weird powdered sugar to me does taste different than sugar sugar how can sugar taste different it's all the same thing how can potato chips taste so different from mashed potatoes i don't understand oh what's that potatoes on grass oh that tastes totally different than my french fries my friend what about those pierogies or those latkes huh potato pancakes oh well those taste totally different than my uh my uh hischbruns i couldn't think of any other potatoes no but so uh yeah it it it just tastes like flour tea it's just it's not it's bad don't do it don't make that mistake let me make bumper podcast here's the thing i feel like we've been friends for a long time and i feel like i share and i feel like you know you listen which i appreciate and uh here's the thing let me be the uh the tester let me you know take take the heat let me take you know the bad stuff and you you stay away from it you don't need that you don't need it at all just let me you know do it and then complain about it and then it's a shared experience and you can go and you can talk to your friends and you can be like bro i totally blur blur blur like that um and then you don't have to worry about it so good good made your life easier that's what i'm doing that's what we're here for to do for do that's what we're here for do we're here to make your life for easier i um i had such a great weekend man i had man i did uh i had i had show friday and uh it was at a hotel like in a room and like 70 people it was just it was good it was fun and then the very next night um i opened i was uh but i was hosting at a theater in pennsylvania and it was like this old theater uh someone told me it was the oldest operating movie theater in the country it's called the new town theater and there's like i don't know the seats 320 and i think we had around 270 to 300 something like that i don't really know um and i mean it was it was great i don't get to do a lot of theaters and so it's a totally different experience like you go on stage and you're i don't know 10 12 whatever feet away from the crowd and you're elevated and the lighting is different and the sound is different and sometimes it's it's hard to hear them uh the the laughs come in if there are any which unfortunately yes fortunately uh there were there were laughs thanks for laughing uh and then um you know it was just it was a great night the rough part it was about an hour and a half away uh so to get there was i was just like oh tired and then you got to go up and do a show and then you got to drive home and it's late like i pretty i think i got home at around two and then uh i think i slept until like six so that's a big four hours of sleep for you and the night before uh i think the kids had gotten up at like 5 20 or something like that why uh and then sunday night had another show so it's three in a row boom bam boom and uh sunday night no it didn't work out so well there were three people in the crowd three people there was talks of uh the show but that's hard to do because all the comedians have come out you know and those three people are there um and so we kind of just turned into a loosey-goosey open mic-y type thing and had fun with it and then two people showed up like halfway through the show and watched um but you know you have good things you have bad things you know things happen it's it's all good fun it's all good times and you know everybody needs a stage time everybody looking at me needs the stage time so it's good to uh to get up there and bibble babble oh and this so uh at the uh the saturday show uh i had done a bit so so i was doing i was hosting so i was up front and then i was in between the comics and so and in between a lot of people got up to go use the restroom or whatever and so i had to um kind of stall for time a little bit to make sure they could all get back and sit down before the headliners start right makes sense so i did some stuff up front and then when i hit the middle i found connective tissue between what i was doing in the middle and the stuff that i had done up front so i could call back to it and i was so happy because i've been doing these jokes for a long time and it's just weird like for they just had never connected and then on this night it was like boom so then sunday uh i think i did i only did like four minutes because i wanted to get up and see if if it worked together and i wish i could i wish i could remember what it was uh but you know so i just quick ran through the setup and then uh the initial part and then went to the second secondary part and then did the little connection and i was like oh i'm so happy it works of course the three people in the crowd were like does it work though and i'm like i don't know they're like this is your dream and i'm like sure this is my dream they're like is it a good dream and i'm like i don't know yes it is a good dream you know why because i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to talk and i get to make people giggle i make them giggle i make them giggle giggle what i make them giggle like it i giggle giggle and the cool thing is lately i've had several people come to me and talk to me about doing kid shows hey maybe you want to do a kid show here hey do you want to do a kid show here and i've done a few kid shows and um in the past but they're talking about like hey it's going to be your show you're going to be the main guy you're going to be the headline or whatever which i don't know if there's a headliner in kids shows i'll take it sure i don't know if it is uh and and so what i gotta do now is develop specific material for a kid show because i i tried some of my normal stuff and it doesn't always work and so i've been trying to learn how to play the guitar i have my guitar and i've been pulling it out and trying to and it's hard i'm not i don't know why ever since college i've had guitars and i've tried to figure them out and i think it's not a figuring out thing it's just a matter of um actually working on it and i've been trying to figure out how to play the guitar and i've been working with it a lot and i've got like i think my fingers are too big or my guitar is too small like i've got it's it's kind of a tiny guitar i can't oh it's upstairs i was gonna tell you what it was and i love how it looks and it's so fun and cute but i think it might be too tiny for me and all the guitar lessons that i look at online the uh there's like a little circle thing that they're using as a uh visual point to a reference point and it's just mine's in a different place and i don't know what to do i don't know i feel like if i uh sat down with somebody who can play and they showed me things then maybe i could figure it out but it's not true i mean i've really for a long time decades been trying to figure out how to play good car good car i can't even say the word that's how bad off i am good car um but i want to so i want to have songs and i want to have visual stuff and like figure out little games because with kids you can't just tell jokes because they're going to be like nope sucker so i need to figure out how to play guitar and i've been trying to figure out how to play guitar now we're doing this now we're doing this and still have it be quick and moving and keep them engaged and here we go over here and now we're over here and now this thing is happening now that thing is happening oh now there's pig and everything oh and now we're singing a song um and i think it'll be great and i think it'll be great fun the only downside the thing that freaks me out is the kid shows are going to be during the day during the day on weekends um i'm pretty busy on weekends you know why because i've got kids okay i've got two kids i don't know if we have them before if i've ever mentioned them but i do i have kids and um so that'll be a bit more juggling um but then i was thinking about it and i was like oh well maybe you know they're getting a little bit older maybe they can come and help out or something and i can quote them a couple bucks but then i was just like oh i don't want them to get involved with show business ah so it's kind of a up and down debate so what i've decided to do Come back after a 10-year hiatus. The cartoonist, animator, that guy's going to be here. The writer, that one's going to be there as well. And, you know, probably the one who goes to the gym so he can look fit, so he can look good. You know what I'm saying? And then there's the one who cooks a lot, like a good cook, cooker. And there's the baker. There's a lot of bumper cars is what I'm saying. That's a lot of stuff. I don't even know if that's a lot. I mean, it feels like a lot of stuff. Is that too much stuff? Am I stretching myself too thin? Is that the whole point of everything?

  • Bumperpodcast 203: What is it?!

    Bumperpodcast 203: What is it?!

    Natty Bumpercar keeps it simple today on the Bumperpodcast – with an explainer. Then, he talks about an open-mic that he went to.

    What is it? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.


    About This Episode

    Natty Bumpercar kicks off 2015 with episode 203 of Bumperpodcast, offering listeners a meta look at what the show is all about. After visitors from the future crashed last week's year-end wrap-up, Natty uses this episode to explain the podcast's format and philosophy. He discusses the rotating cast of puppet characters including Pig, Doodle Poodle, and Robot, shares insights from a recent comedy open mic performance, and reflects on the improvisational nature of both stand-up comedy and the podcast itself. It's a lighthearted, stream-of-consciousness episode that perfectly captures the show's spontaneous spirit and Natty's comedic approach to making listeners' weeks "awesomer."

    Memorable Quotes

    “For breakfast I did have a couple balloons so I'm trying to keep light for this year. The helium from the balloon makes me lighter.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “That's what the bumper podcast is about, just putting as much stuff out there as you can and hoping that you enjoy it and hoping it makes your day awesome and your week awesomer.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “Ladies and gentlemen tonight at the restaurant we'll be having a fine pairing of cheese and crackers for you and some huawei which is what we call water around here.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #comedy #podcastintroduction #improvisation #openmic #newyear #stand-upcomedy #metacommentary

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: it goes a one it goes a two it goes a one two three four like i mean that's how you count that's how it goes hey everybody it's me your best pal and the whole town of coffee can alley uh netty bumper car uh why is my voice so high today i don't know you know for breakfast i did have a couple balloons so uh i'm trying to keep light for this year the helium from the balloon makes me lighter no um welcome to this show this is the bumper podcast it's the year two thousand one five and this is the first show of the year uh we did of course do our year-end wrap-up last week which didn't work out quite as i expected because i had a visitor from the future actually two visitors from the future uh one was me from the future the other was of course big from the future um so what i wanted to do was use this episode as kind of an explainer an explanation of what is the bumper podcast because a lot of times people say uh you know uh why do you do that show why do you do that every week what is it why do you why you know why should i listen to that what is it why do you do that every week why do you do that every week why do you do it as always they always end whatever question they're asking they always end with uh kind of an angry uh what is it what is it like that and uh well you know it's a podcast it's the bumper podcast uh by by myself natty bumper car recorded here in headquarters um and sometimes a cavalcade of pals will come by we got uh we have uh pig of course you you know him from you can find that at natty bumper car uh there's a doodle poodle uh he's got a twitter account i don't know what it is i can't fathom what it would be it's probably at doodle poodle if i was to guess uh robot comes by he he also has a twitter i think it's awesome robot maybe at awesome robot you can find all these things if you just go to uh at natty bumper car uh and and and so here in headquarters who else we have sometimes some of the kids stop by uh we have two of those and they'll come and they'll say strange inane things into the microphone which is not very different from what i say into the microphone so it works out well it's a good uh pairing kind of like a fine cheese and whatever you eat with fine cracker and a fine cracker ladies and gentlemen tonight at the restaurant we'll be having a fine pairing of cheese and crackers for you and some huawei which is what we call water around here uh is it a funny podcast i don't know you know sometimes it is sometimes it ain't uh last night i i had an open mic which is what you do you go for comedy you go to these rooms and it's open mic anybody can just put your name down and come up and tell some jokes and so i did that and uh because you gotta otherwise you get rusty and that's the weird thing with comedy is you get rusty fast you haven't done it in a week that's too long get get back on stage and you know you gotta you gotta you gotta work work the instrument is is not what i want to say you gotta you gotta you gotta be good that's i don't know what i'm trying to say you gotta work out a little bit you know you gotta stretch the old muscles and say the old words and put them all together and say what happens so i i i went up uh with a blank piece of paper i didn't really know what i wanted to do so much it had been the holidays and a couple weeks had gone by and here's what happened is i was excited to be there and then i got you know you're there and it's hours are going by and you're having fun you're laughing whatever you're enjoying the night and then it's your turn and you're like oh wait i gotta go up there and talk and there was no structure uh it was just it was like this avalanche of of uh premises and uh semi-formed things just exploded out of me and uh you know it was fun it was fine you got because the things get in your head and then they all have to get out of your head and you see what what happens and what happened last night was a lot of words were crossed out on a piece of paper and and that's what the bumper podcast is about just putting as much stuff out there as you can and you're like oh my god i don't know what there as we can and hoping that you enjoy it and hoping it makes your day awesome and your week awesomer

  • Bumperpodcast #181: Fingers

    Bumperpodcast #181: Fingers

    Natty Bumpercar is excited to talk all about something – but then gets confused about fingers … This is something that happens often – as you may imagine.

    Do you have fingers? Let us know by sending an email to bumperpodcast@nattybumpercar.com.

    I get so confused – sometimes!


    About This Episode

    In episode 181, Natty Bumpercar explores the existential question of pointing in this characteristically rambling solo episode. He contemplates whether you can point with fingers other than your pointer finger, debates the hierarchy of being pointed at with different digits, and gets lost in a philosophical tangent about finger names. Natty ponders whether thumbs count as fingers and realizes the middle finger is only truly 'middle' if you include the thumb. He also briefly shares contrasting recent comedy experiences—his worst show ever with a terrible headliner, followed just days later by one of his best performances in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd. By the end, Natty decides that talking about fingers has made everyone best friends.

    Memorable Quotes

    “You got to feel like if you're getting the pointer finger you're at the top of the charts. But you got pointed at with a thumb? You shouldn't even acknowledge that.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “The middle finger is not a middle finger unless you include that thumb because if you just go pointer, that one, that one, pinky, there is no middle finger because there's four.”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “Now that we've all talked about fingers this whole time, I feel like we're all best friends too, right?”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #pointing #fingers #anatomy #comedy #stand-upcomedy #friendship #philosophy

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: bumper podcast bumper podcast bumper podcast it's me your best pal and uh i have got i'm i'm pointing at you right now and you i'm pointing at a couple people i well let's think of something really quick here uh so if you got pointer fingers right does that mean that you're limited to only pointing at two people at a time like can i be like point point or are you allowed to point with other fingers like can i pinky point so like you got your uh your pointer finger over here and then my pinky finger boom across the room i got you too and then look at this uh-oh here comes another finger coming up and another one and a and a thumb who wants a thumb point and this is i mean like you got to feel like if you're getting the pointer finger and you're pretty you're feeling like you're at the top of the ladder there you're at the top of the charts you're like he just pointed at me with his pointer finger it actually has the word point in in the name of the finger so he clearly thinks more of me than the person that he pointed to oh with his thumb you got pointed at with a thumb what you shouldn't even acknowledge that you shouldn't even recognize just act like the because the thumb you just act like it's there don't act like it's pointing at you don't like because you know like when somebody will point at you sometimes you'll have that look in your face like you'll raise your eyebrows and you're like oh oh oh are you i think he's pointing at me i think i'm being pointed at right now it don't you know your brow furrows a little bit you maybe get a little little glow in your eyes because you're it's just like you're on deck you've been pointed at you are it's official that you you're part of there's communication happening you're in the inner circle you're uh you're you're mount everest somehow uh but then somebody's gonna throw their their stubby meaty little thumb at you yeah that's not a point that's not even a half point that's just like oh you're an afterthought you didn't make now i'm looking at my fingers do they all have a point? names i mean like so you got your thumb you got your pointer finger uh is it just middle finger i don't know and then i guess it's ring finger but i don't think it's ring finger if it's on your right hand and then it's definitely pinky i've got thumb and pinky and pointer i've got i know those names does any can can everybody out you got fingers everybody listening how many fingers do you can you tell me what the uh the two fingers in between the pointer and the pinky are is the one next to the pinky always a ring finger and then is that one just the middle see but that's the thing too all right look at this now i'm looking at my hand and if this one is if this one's called the middle finger right then that's saying the thumb is a finger because sometimes i hear like the thumb's not a finger it's thumb and i'm just like but i i think it's i think it's just like a little finger right it's used for gripping thing i don't know it's it's fingerish it's got finger like qualities so and the middle finger is not a middle finger unless you include that thumb because if you just go pointer uh that one that one pinky there is no middle finger because there's four you know there's no middle and four and uh i really feel like i was going to talk about other things today i was going to tell you guys that in the last couple weeks i last week and a half really i had uh the worst comedy experience that i've ever had uh it was terrible i i had i was um the i was the host of a show and and the headliner couldn't have been a worse and i don't speak ill of people but he could not have been a worse uh human being to me uh and he he kind of sabotaged i felt and wrecked the show and i did not enjoy my evening at all but then let's blink our eyes uh fast forward a mere one two three four days and i had one of the best nights that i've ever had like the most fun in front of a lot a lot of people like a like a like a hundred but more and they were all my best and now that we've all talked about fingers this whole time i feel like we're all best friends too right

  • Bumperpodcast 40 – Kneecaps

    Bumperpodcast 40 – Kneecaps

    I like to go on stage and tell little jokes to people . . . but – now – people expect people to come to my shows . . . and I don’t know people – and people – and people – and people.

    I may lose a kneecap . . . aaaaaiiiiiggggghhhh!

    [Click the title to get to the episode!]


    About This Episode

    In this episode of Bumperpodcast, host Natty Bumpercar shares his anxieties about returning to stand-up comedy in a new city. Natty explains the challenges of booking shows when you don't know anyone locally, from cold-calling venues to meeting the dreaded audience quota requirements. He recounts a recent show where he talked about camels and expresses his mounting panic about a performance scheduled for that very night. With not enough people committed to attend, Natty humorously worries about potential consequences ranging from being turned away at the door to getting kneecapped. It's a relatable and funny look at the unglamorous side of pursuing comedy in unfamiliar territory.

    Memorable Quotes

    “I talked about camels sometimes you have to talk about camels you just have to”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    “Are they gonna break my knees are they gonna turn me away at the door are they gonna kneecap me i don't want to be kneecapped i just want to go up and tell some silly stories”

    — Natty Bumpercar

    Topics: #stand-upcomedy #performanceanxiety #comedyclubs #makingfriends #audiencerequirements #storytelling #camels

    Featuring: Natty Bumpercar

    Full Transcript

    Natty Bumpercar: oh bumper podcast i have to tell you that i am in a fizzle today an absolute fizzle i'm fizzling out of my seat i can't stand it i i don't know if you guys knew this but i like to go on stage and tell jokes to people i like to go up and tell little stories little funny anecdotes little non sequiturs little uh asides and uh so i've been i've been lining up these shows up here where i live here in this place and it's different when i used to do these shows a long time ago not so long ago uh people would call me and they would say hey come to this place do some jokes and i would say of course and then i would get terrified my nervous uh stomach would get nervouser more nervous more nervouser is what it would happen uh but it was great because you know i it was the legwork was done for me here where i live i don't know people and so uh i have to go out and talk to these these people i don't know which means leaving headquarters and having to go and and meet people which is terrifying yes it is absolutely is that's fine because i've done it and i've i've i did a show a few weeks a while ago and it was great fun for me i don't know if anyone else enjoyed it i loved it i talked about camels sometimes you have to talk about camels you just have to uh and then after that i decided well i'm enjoying myself the ball is rolling so i start uh emailing people and calling these places and uh hey how do i get into your show i want to be on your show now and then shockingly these people they start they email me back and they say oh well natty bumper car we'd love for you to come to our show but you have to bring x number of people x being an integer i think it's called an integer i don't really know x being a number and so then i have to oh i gotta find people and then people to come to where i live is difficult and so now i'm having i'm emailing people back and i'm saying i all my people fell through what do i do and and then they i don't know what's gonna happen there's a show tonight this very night this very wednesday bumper podcast night that i'm supposed to do and i don't have enough people what's gonna happen are they gonna break my knees are they gonna uh turn me away at the door are they gonna are they gonna kneecap me i don't want to be kneecapped i just want to go up and tell some silly stories bumper podcast