Chapter 1: What unique challenges does Phil Hanley face with dyslexia?
What do you do, sir? You got a great smile. You're so handsome.
I'm a forensic analyst.
A forensic analyst. Okay, cool. I dabble a little bit. I watch the show, right? How long did you go to college? Four years. Four? That's it? I thought you'd have to go back from, you know what I mean? You're like a doctor of the dead, dude. Not that kind of forensic. No? What kind of forensics? Audio, video. Oh, shit. Never mind, dude. All right. I thought it was, you know what I mean?
Audio forensic, someone's like, this radio's not working. Don't worry, I aced my finals.
It's unplugged.
on this episode of The Commercial Break.
That's a real hurdle in life, I can imagine. And so what gets you through that when you're young?
I'm sure that that's like a... It was like, I had the best, like, childhood, kindergarten, just killed it. Unbelievable.
kindergarten was your that's your high water mark and then i arrived in the first grade and and yeah like everyone started reading and i was just like so like it was like all of a sudden from like the first grade it just became like this like dickens play where it was like oliver it was so dark and um no now i mean it's like completely it's like a positive thing to be dyslexic
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Chapter 2: How did Phil's early experiences shape his comedic style?
He is also an advocate for mental health and specifically dyslexia, which I'd like to talk to him about. Also, he's got a book. It's called Spellbound, My Life as a Dyslexic Wordsmith. And so if you want to check that out, please do. I'll put all of the social handles. Also...
Phil is going to be somebody you recognize because I think he has made the art of crowd work very popular on social media. He's like one of the original people doing this in the current format that we're all so familiar with. Like, crowd work is social media stand-up. If you're not doing crowd work, you're not doing social media stand-up, I guess is the best way to put it.
It's so popular, and it gets all the clicks and all the views. I mean, there are certainly stand-up comics who put just their stand-up comedy out there, but that crowd work, people love it when the crowd gets involved.
Oh, yeah. It's kind of part of the show.
For a lot of people, it is. And Phil is so good at this. It's like he's working a muscle that is bigger than the rest of ours. And I don't want to be specific about which muscle because we can all point that out on Brian. Okay? Shut up. Anyway, all of Phil's information down in the show notes below. We're going to talk to Phil about all of it.
But first, Chrissy, and unfortunately, we have to do what we always do, which is take a short break. And then through the magic of telepodcasting, Phil Hanley will be right here in this studio, on our television, a thousand miles away from some exotic location. Calling it just to talk to you and I. Doesn't it make you feel special?
It does.
Yeah.
It gives me a little pep in the step.
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Chapter 3: What role does crowd work play in Phil's comedy?
You're working different muscles just because one area. Listen, I'm weak in most areas of my life, but I excel at putting mediocre comedy podcasts out four days a week. Do you make the connection that dyslexia in some shape or form? pushed you toward comedy? Like, was it a defense mechanism? Comedy became your thing.
100%, like everything in my life, including my relationship with my mom or everything that I'm grateful in my life, my love for the Grateful Dead, everything is because I'm just like, I credit dyslexia with everything positive in my life. I'm from a small town, kind of like a mini Detroit in Canada. Mm-hmm. Now I live in New York City because I'm dyslexic.
All these things are because I'm dyslexic. And yeah, comedy... Yeah, because I was so stifled in school. You're like, okay, read 10 pages and then you don't and then talk about it and you have nothing to say, you know, from first grade to grade 12. So recess and any opportunity that I did have to communicate, it was like, you know, my first set on The Tonight Show.
I was just ready to rock and really wanted to express myself and let people know because I was so stifled in other areas.
And you... You're really quite brilliant. I've been following your comedy for a long time. And I think I really started to enjoy your comedy on social media during the pandemic. You're brilliant at crowd work. I think it's one of the things you probably would be known for, at least on social media. But one of the things that impressed me when I started doing homework about you, Phil, is that...
There are so many other comedians who have said such wonderful things about you, like other legendary, you know, John Oliver and Jon Stewart. And they say and Sam Murill, who we've had on the show, Mark Norman, they say such wonderful things about you. You're a comic with a point. Right. And that's like some people. I think Amy Schumer said that's desperately needed.
Could you have imagined in your wildest dream? When did you start comedy?
I started comedy. Uh, I started in Vancouver. Yeah. Like a couple of decades ago. Yeah. And with the dream of like Vancouver so far from New York city, but my goal was comedian had come out the documentary, the Seinfeld documentary. He hangs out at the comedy cellar and he's hanging out with Colin Quinn and working on jokes. And that was like my dream. And, um, Yeah. So it seems so far away.
So, yeah, you didn't I don't think I'd let you finish the question. But, yeah, it's so surreal that I get to work with these people and that, you know, I get to perform in the comedy cellar every night and stuff like that because it was so far away. And it's really hard for Canadians to immigrate to the States and all that stuff. Yeah. Go ahead, please.
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Chapter 4: How does Phil balance comedy and mental health advocacy?
Some people, you know, people are coming to my shows and stuff like that more and more. But for many, many years, I, you know, I would just go and it would be, you know, people would get free tickets or, you know, I'd have six fans or whatever. It feels nice to get those compliments from, from other comedians.
Cause for, it takes a long time to be recognized in the sense that, you know, people are coming to your shows and stuff.
Yeah. You're like a true journeyman comic. And do you, do you credit social media with this new fan base? Like the ability to connect directly with people?
Yeah. I was, I was so, my goal was to play the comedy seller and I did it. And then for 10 years, I was just like, and I was watching a lot of my friends like Sam and Mark, you know, geez, Started playing theaters and all this stuff. Make their own gin? Yeah, yeah. Bodega Cat. Bodega Cat. Yeah, I was just really content writing. And then I finally started posting online. And I post...
Crowd work clips because then I don't burn material, right? Oh, that's smart. Then when I try to sell a special, they'll be like, oh yeah, we've seen, this has all been posted. So improvising, part of my love for the Grateful Dead, and I think their influence on me, I want every show to be different each time. So I improvise, you know, in my jokes and in between my jokes.
And then we just cut up those. I tour now with like a videographer. Yeah. Cut up those chunks and then post those. So then when people come to my shows, they haven't heard the jokes and then crowd work is going to be different each time. So yeah, that really helped me, but I was so reluctant for social media.
Yeah. You know, one. Yeah. Every so many comics we've talked to.
Yeah, it's tough.
It's tough. Yeah.
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Chapter 5: What influences did Phil have growing up in Canada?
And I think the, if I may, the type of comic you are is you're, you're funny, but then also you can make a point. And I think that's when comedy is like a noble profession, right? When you make a point. Oh, thank you.
Yeah. It's, it's, it's funny that you say that we, yeah, not that, not that just comedians get to go out, but like we have to, like, I was thinking this, and this is such a crazy thought, but I was like, I'm working on a new hour and then I'm already planning that I have to record that in time because every two years you go back to the next city, right? Sure.
You need a new hour than you had two years ago type thing. Right. I was walking down the street and it just popped in my head. I was like, I got to have a kid. I need a kid.
Right. That provides material, right?
Yeah. You just need to change. Something needs to change in your life. Like I just moved to a completely different neighborhood. I lived in East Village forever. I moved to a new neighborhood, new building, different type of building. Because I'm like, you just need to... you know, you can't be a certain age and talking about sexting still. Like it's like something else.
I mean, you can, I mean, I would love to hear a comic that's 70 years old. For me, you just don't want to have, I had those jokes last time. You need kind of new stuff.
Let me give you that comic's name. His name is Eddie Brill. Do you know Eddie Brill?
I know Eddie. I haven't seen Eddie in a while, but I do know Eddie from when I first moved to New York.
Yeah, he's still out there. He's still he's really, really very, very funny. He's still out there doing his thing. He used to be, I think, the Letterman talent coordinator.
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Chapter 6: How does Phil describe his relationship with the Grateful Dead?
I think people who like my comedy are cool. But I'll meet someone after the show and he'll work for the FBI. Some job so far. I'm like, whoa, I watch movies about it. Yeah.
My favorite television show is about a guy like you, and I don't like that guy on that show. Who are the comics that you are bringing on the road? Who are the up-and-comers? Who do we need to pay attention to? Who do we need to invite onto the show?
One of my openers is Ana Bianco. And she's based in New York and super, super funny. And then I also bring someone named Michael Myers, who's a really cool dude. He's based in Chicago. And we have very similar taste in music. And the Green Room is playing great tunes. Yeah, it's great. So that's really nice. And that's something that I never had before, you know.
Well, that backs into a question I like to ask every comic of note on this show is who when you were growing up, who were you watching and who do you consider some of the best comics doing it today or doing it in the past?
Um.
When I started, I loved Seinfeld. I used to watch Seinfeld all the time with my mom. I loved Mitch Hedberg. When I was in Vancouver, when I was first starting, Zach Galifianakis was filming a television show there. And he would do stand-up. He was famous. And he would play these open mics that we would do, these alternative rooms. And I'd never seen...
anyone's so confident and so kind of, um, just like he take the mic and walk outside of the club, just so cool. And so, uh, original, um, those are guys. And then there's, there's like local guys in Vancouver that, you know, really influential as a Canadian comedian in Brent, but that's great. Uh, Graham Clark is a local comedian in Vancouver. That's still there. That's amazing.
He does this, this, um,
tell it to raise money he does like 24 hours of stand-up comedy oh shit no yeah it's insane and um is that where you got the idea that's where i got the idea we did 12 hours i had an idea to do 24 hours of podcasting for mental health awareness but i decided that it was bad for my mental health so i did 12 hours yeah When did you do that? Just about four weeks ago. Yeah.
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Chapter 7: What insights does Phil share about the evolution of his comedy career?
And I thought, what in the world is he? And then I read about it, but I've been meditating for years and years. And it can be really difficult to get to that place, to quiet the mind, to be in the spot, to get in the flow, whatever the fuck you want to say. Yeah. But creatively, when we're in the room and something's hitting, I know it. And it's like I'm just tuned out.
It's like I can watch myself from the top of the room just, you know, rolling and being funny. And unfortunately, most of our listeners don't think so. But I think so in the moment.
We laugh at each other.
We laugh at each other. Yeah. OK. One more question. Do you enjoy. So you saw Jerry and you saw the original lineup of the Grateful Dead. I meant the original, but you saw a lineup of the Grateful Dead with Jerry. Yeah. Do you enjoy the new version, the new rekindling?
Oh, the one with OTL.
Yep. I do immensely. I go into it not comparing it. Jerry Garcia was such a gifted – person that it's not, he was his own thing. Yeah. And, um, yeah, no, I, I, I'm, I'm going to see a dead and co to celebrate the dead 60th anniversary in San Francisco.
You're going to that. That's going to be big.
Yeah. I can't wait. And I, but I go to, yeah, I see the dead. I go with my best friend from high school and sometimes other, other people from high school. And yeah, we, you know, I, I, I see them every year, whatever, whatever, whatever the, the, it is.
Cause it's iteration.
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Chapter 8: Why does Phil believe live performances are essential for connection?
They did their version of that version of throwing stones and training. And Bobby are like squaring up and pushing each other. And yeah, it was phenomenal. Bruce Hornsby. I love Bruce Hornsby. I got me to Hornsby with the dead. Yeah, it was really that was really, really, really a special weekend in Chicago when you ordered an Uber instead of like, you know, it has the car arriving.
It was a steal your face. Yeah, it was really that was really, really special. And I and I'm assuming that. This weekend in San Francisco, and I guess it's like almost a month to the day, will be equally special. I get so much inspiration from the dead and the idea that, like you said, there's no mistakes. Because if you make a mistake, then you just... Yeah.
It's just, it's, you know, you want to call it mistakes, warts, whatever it is, the good, the bad and the ugly, it all just rolls into this big, beautiful thing that's constantly growing and shrinking at the same time. I mean, I could get, we could do this all day long.
Honestly, I just, I love talking about this because music, comedy, art in general, like it's just a, it's a, it's a godly pursuit. It's a way that God comes through you. I'd rather go to the dead show than church any day of the week. And anybody who doesn't say that, I don't know if I want to be friends. It is church for a lot of people. It's just a magical, magical thing.
And when done right, it can lift you to a new place. It can open up dimensions. And you don't even have to be high to understand that if you've ever been to a dead show or a fish show or a Hispanic show or whatever it is you're into. Deaf punk, who cares? Music and comedy, they kind of take you to the same place. And Phil, I think you're one of the better ones doing it out there today.
And I hope all of our listeners, if they haven't, go and check out your material. And go see Phil when he comes to your town. That's right. Because he will lift you up like a Grateful Dead show whip.
Thank you. Well, again, thank you guys for having me. Sorry for extending that. No, we got all the time. You got to catch the train. You go do your thing. Well, thank you guys so much. I was really honored to be on your podcast and I can't wait. I don't know if you do people in the studio, but we should do a dead episode next time I'm in Atlanta.
That's a great idea. That's a great idea. We have this studio, which is in my personal home, but then we also have a studio with our network and we just started doing in-person interviews. So when you come to Atlanta, done deal. We'll sit in the studio and I'll break some copyright laws and we'll play some.
My husband will come down for that too.
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