PODCAST: Laughter is Good for your Health with Scott Edwards | THE INTERVIEW ROOM | Episode 037
LISTEN
WATCH
Laughter is Good for your Health with Scott Edwards | THE INTERVIEW ROOM | Episode 037
Scott Edwards
Host of Standup Comedy “Your Host and MC” and Comedy Appeteasers
Meet this Weeks Guest: Scott Edwards
As a Business Entrepreneur, Scott Edwards opened over a dozen companies in his lifetime. From a small construction company to owning a Submarine & Beach Shack to a Disco producer. His Lifelong love of comedy led to producing Live Comedy Shows, TV Series, Concerts; and in no time he opened his first comedy club, Laughs Unlimited.
He built this into a chain of the most successful comedy clubs in America. He brings his vast experience working with some of the most famous names in comedy: Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Saget, and Dana Carvey, to you the listener.
Show Notes from This Episode
START at www.OnTheBlueLine.com
SUPPORT this podcast: www.OnTheBlueLineApparel.com
CONNECT with Scott:
WEBSITE: http://www.scottscomedystuff.com/
LINKEDin: @RScottEdwards
PODCAST, Standup Comedy “Your Host and MC”
PODCAST, Comedy Appeteasers
LINKS mentioned:
Scott’s Book: Be a standup comic (or just look like one)
AFTER the episode:
LEAVE US AN iTUNES rating and review! [This is a HUGE help]
VISIT OUR Website.
On The Blue Line was founded and is operated by active-duty law enforcement to fulfill the mission of providing guidance, resources and community for law enforcement officers, first responders, and military personal in their off-duty lives.
HONOR | EMPOWER | EDUCATE | DEFEND
Listen and subscribe wherever you prefer to Stream your Podcasts!
Get every Podcast and Blog delivered to your inbox.
TRANSCRIPTION OF EPISODE. Please note this is a new service we are offering and there will be spelling, grammar and accuracy issues. This transcription is offered as a convenience to our listeners, but at this time it is not guaranteed to be accurate.
00:00:03:20 - 00:00:35:49
Wayne Mulder
And that it is right The On the Blue Line podcast is back. I am your host, Wayne Mulder, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to sit here. Whether you're watching this on YouTube or you're listening to it on the radio or onto one of the podcast streaming devices, I have a treat for you.
00:00:36:12 - 00:00:56:46
Wayne Mulder
This week's guest you are absolutely going to love. I had a great conversation with him. It was a lot of fun hearing his stories. A lot of fun hearing his experiences. And I know that you are going to enjoy them as well. So the interview room, as you've noticed, is back today. This is the 1st of September and it is Thursday at zero five.
00:00:57:01 - 00:01:16:45
Wayne Mulder
So depending on when you're listening to this, it really doesn't matter. It's all evergreen content. However, it released on Thursday the first, which means the interview room will be back every Thursday at zero 500. Like it always was. So I'm thankful that I am able to sit down here and talk to some of these great guest again and we have some great ones lined up for you.
00:01:17:02 - 00:01:42:35
Wayne Mulder
But to kick it off is Scott Edwards not a comedian, but a comedy consultant? He's got a fascinating experience, fascinating people that he's met over the years. He was a business entrepreneur and opened over a dozen companies in his lifetime from a small construction company. He owned a submarine and beach shack. Yes, you heard that right. He owned a submarine and he was a disco producer.
00:01:42:48 - 00:02:12:41
Wayne Mulder
But his lifelong love of comedy led to producing live comedy shows, TV series, concerts, and in no time, he opened his first comedy club, Laughs Unlimited. He built this into a chain of the most successful comedy clubs in America. And, by the way, it is still in existence. In fact, you can check out the website yourself. But he brings his vast experience working with some of the most famous names in comedy Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Saget, Dana Carvey, and many other names that you are going to recognize throughout this episode.
00:02:12:42 - 00:02:35:32
Wayne Mulder
And it's fascinating to hear his story here, what he's doing now and then be introduced to his podcast where he brings some of this comedy and history to you so that you can enjoy that. So I had a great time sitting down with Scott. I know you're going to enjoy this as well. So without taking any more time, here is this week's guest, Scott Edwards.
00:02:39:38 - 00:02:42:33
Wayne Mulder
All right. Well, welcome to the show, Scott. How are you doing today, sir?
00:02:43:11 - 00:02:59:53
Scott Edwards
Oh, hey, man, I'm so excited to be here. Wayne, I've been listening to your podcast. You are such a great connection for those on the blue line people that put themselves out there for the community each and every day. I'm just thrilled to be here and sharing this moment with you.
00:03:00:18 - 00:03:13:32
Wayne Mulder
Well, Scott, I appreciate that. Yeah, I've seen some of the stuff that you've been doing, and I know that the listeners of the show are going to love it. So I guess we'll kind of start like where I always do, you know, I got these like break the ice type questions I like to throw out to people.
00:03:13:50 - 00:03:17:37
Scott Edwards
Oh my gosh, questions. Okay. I'm a little nervous, but whenever you're ready.
00:03:17:37 - 00:03:19:30
Wayne Mulder
Why don't I put you on the spot or anything?
00:03:20:01 - 00:03:22:12
Scott Edwards
But I'll step up, man.
00:03:22:46 - 00:03:25:48
Wayne Mulder
Well, I'll start. Very difficult here. Coffee or tea?
00:03:26:35 - 00:03:49:55
Scott Edwards
I it's very funny you ask that I am a tea aholic. I don't drink coffee, but I probably put away a couple of gallons of iced tea each and every day. And then I follow that with a couple of gallons of fresh water every night. But anybody that knows me, in fact, when it was in my wedding vows that my wife had to provide iced tea on a daily basis about.
00:03:50:08 - 00:03:50:48
Wayne Mulder
That's so.
00:03:50:51 - 00:03:54:02
Scott Edwards
Crazy. Everyone's got a Picadilly. That's mine.
00:03:54:14 - 00:03:57:49
Wayne Mulder
There you go. Yeah. And you want to codify that early in the relationship?
00:03:57:58 - 00:04:03:24
Scott Edwards
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I know. She was aware, but I put it in the vows. Damn it. I wanted to make sure I'm.
00:04:04:12 - 00:04:13:53
Wayne Mulder
Not being iced tea. Typically, when I ask this question, it's coffee, it's hot tea. And then my follow up is, where's your favorite place to have that drink? But I would say with something like iced tea, it's everywhere, right?
00:04:14:20 - 00:04:33:50
Scott Edwards
Well, actually, you're not correct because so many restaurants let their iced teas sit around so it gets stale or they insist on putting a damn slice a lemon in. And I have nothing against lemons, you lemon lovers. God bless you. But the restaurants will cut up the lemons early in the morning and then let them just sit out.
00:04:34:17 - 00:04:54:38
Scott Edwards
And so by two in the afternoon, lunch time and worse in the evening, you order an iced tea and they automatically put this old moldy, you know, half rotted piece of lemon in your tea and it ruins it. So I always order a plain iced tea, no lemon. And then here's a little secret for your health, because you do a lot of health stuff.
00:04:55:19 - 00:05:19:22
Scott Edwards
Being healthy is important, especially for officers, as risking their life for everybody, which, you know, we. So thank you for your service, by the way. Thank you. But I drink a lot of tropical flavored teas because I was able to eliminate adding sweetener to my teas some, you know, it's probably been two decades ago, but that in itself has made me strong and stealth.
00:05:20:04 - 00:05:25:28
Wayne Mulder
I can see that I may have take a page out of your book and try that myself.
00:05:26:49 - 00:05:30:45
Scott Edwards
Well, it it there's still tasty. In fact, I have one now.
00:05:31:01 - 00:05:38:33
Wayne Mulder
Oh, perfect. Well, and I. As if you've been a listener. I am a coffee drinker, so of course I have my coffee. But we all have our vices, right?
00:05:38:52 - 00:05:45:03
Scott Edwards
Right. And my wife's in law enforcement and she could not start her day and deal with the public with a little bit of coffee.
00:05:45:28 - 00:05:54:53
Wayne Mulder
Yes. In fact, when I was on patrol, that was pretty much around the clock. There was a little bit of coffee involved. So let me ask you, do you have a best or worst travel story.
00:05:55:58 - 00:06:27:59
Scott Edwards
Best or worst travel story? Oh, that's one I wasn't prepared for. No. Okay. No, I've I've not had any, you know, you know, everybody gets caught in an airport for a delay or something. But I've not had any bad travels, you know, really, you know, tragic travel situations. I will share a fun story. Okay. Back in the mid-eighties, I was I own a chain of comedy clubs and a couple of restaurants and a couple art galleries.
00:06:27:59 - 00:07:02:00
Scott Edwards
And I was doing pretty well and I was recently divorced and single and I just thought, hmm, this would be fun. And I chartered a Learjet and I filled it with young women. And I flew to Vegas where we got a chance to see a couple of shows, do some gambling. And then a day later, we flew to Hollywood, California, where because friends of mine were the host on the shows, we were able to go to the Tonight Show and some of the big clubs and hang out with some people that I work with.
00:07:02:20 - 00:07:25:16
Scott Edwards
And and then flew back and though I don't do that on a regular basis, I've done it twice in my life. But when you charter a private Learjet, it's your jet for that time period. So I got to sit up in the cockpit and see the curvature of the earth from, you know, they fly pretty high. And that was really an exhilarating experience.
00:07:25:45 - 00:07:30:13
Scott Edwards
Very cool. The four or five women in the back had nothing to do with the fun I had.
00:07:30:26 - 00:07:34:07
Wayne Mulder
Yeah, exactly. That's just.
00:07:34:07 - 00:07:41:27
Scott Edwards
I don't want to give anybody the wrong impression. This was a, you know, post marriage, pre-marriage. That was that little gap in between.
00:07:41:50 - 00:07:50:28
Wayne Mulder
That's awesome. Yeah. You know, that actually is probably one of the best travel stories I've heard from the guy that had no travel stories to tell. But that was like.
00:07:51:24 - 00:07:54:28
Scott Edwards
Well, I been a blessed man.
00:07:55:31 - 00:08:06:20
Wayne Mulder
Well, Scott, let's start with you mentioned the comedy club, which we're certainly get into because that has a lot to do with your story. But you were also pretty much a serial entrepreneur right from the beginning, correct?
00:08:06:56 - 00:08:32:24
Scott Edwards
Yes, sir. Wayne, that's a great question. I you know, like a lot of young people and I was born in 1955, in the sixties as a youth, money was a little tight. I was, I would guess, lower middle class, maybe higher underclass. But we you know, we grew up with a pretty strong work ethic. I was mowing lawns, babysitting, you know, do whatever around the house, paper route.
00:08:32:24 - 00:09:04:30
Scott Edwards
I had a great paper route with the San Francisco Chronicle and man, you don't want to deliver that on a Sunday. But when I was 17 years old, I started my first small construction company, and then it went to a portable music slash disco company just to age myself. And then at the young age of 24, in 1980, I opened the 12th full time comedy club in the United States, ran it for 21 years, but I sold out.
00:09:04:30 - 00:09:14:13
Scott Edwards
It's still operating. So it started off as one of the first in the country, and now it's one of the oldest, longest standing comedy clubs in the country. Laughs Unlimited.
00:09:14:55 - 00:09:23:12
Wayne Mulder
That is great. It's hard to believe that it was number 12 back in 1980. That's I don't know. I, I get that. That was a while ago.
00:09:24:51 - 00:09:49:43
Scott Edwards
Well, what it was, was standup comedy wasn't really an accepted artform yet. There was a couple of clubs like The Comedy Store and The Improv in L.A. There was Catch a Rising Star in The Improv in New York and a couple other clubs sprinkled around in 1980 when I opened, however, much like Starbucks, by 1985, all the discos converted to comedy clubs and they were on every corner for a while.
00:09:49:57 - 00:10:00:52
Scott Edwards
So I was able to get on to standup comedy as an entertainment before the big wave. And then I rode that wave and thus the Learjet.
00:10:00:52 - 00:10:06:32
Wayne Mulder
I love it. What was the draw to comedy for you?
00:10:06:32 - 00:10:35:40
Scott Edwards
It was really a fluke when I was selling life insurance, you know, 23 years old and absolutely hated it. When you're young, you don't understand. You can't relate to dying someday and selling insurance. But I'm a salesman at heart and I was pretty successful all. And I was on vacation with my then girlfriend, soon to be wife, soon to be ex-wife, and went to a satellite version of the Comedy Store in Westwood, California.
00:10:35:40 - 00:11:04:08
Scott Edwards
Yeah. And my father, who has a great sense of humor, said, you got to go check out this club. It's amazing. And I go in, I think it was a $2 cover and I'm like a Wednesday night, and Dave Coulier, Sandra Bernhardt, George Wallace and a number of other comics were there. And I had so much fun. And again, I've already been an entrepreneur and started a couple companies, so I stayed till after the show and I'm picking the brain of the comics.
00:11:04:08 - 00:11:26:22
Scott Edwards
I met the manager and I was talking to them on the six hour drive back to Sacramento. I decided that that was my future. Got home, quit my job, went bankrupt, which was really stupid. I think I owed 20 $800 and ruined my credit for ten years, but I wanted to lay the groundwork so that I could go into this industry I knew nothing about.
00:11:26:54 - 00:11:47:25
Scott Edwards
And that was standup comedy. I went back down to L.A. That's when I met Bob Saget, and he and Dave Coulier were real mentors, along with George Wallace, who is out of Las Vegas, to kind of tell me what needed to be done, how to operate. I went to some of the clubs and talked to other club managers and just picked their brain.
00:11:47:25 - 00:12:07:01
Scott Edwards
That's how I did all my companies. I always talk to those that do it and learn from their mistakes. And then I in August of 1980, I wheeled and dealed my way into the banquet room of a restaurant without any lease. It was a trade off and opened my doors, my very first show. Your audience might enjoy this.
00:12:07:01 - 00:12:20:47
Scott Edwards
Anybody over 40 should know this name. My opening act making $100 a week. His first out-of-town gig out of his hometown of Phenix, Arizona, was Garry Shandling. Wow.
00:12:21:17 - 00:12:32:11
Wayne Mulder
That is amazing. And that's really what I'm thinking of as you're talking here. We're talking the early days of the careers of a lot of these comedians. I mean, this is pre full house and pre for Bob Saget.
00:12:32:11 - 00:12:59:57
Scott Edwards
Right? Right. No, no. I had the pleasure to help develop and work with I mean, I don't want to do too much obvious name dropping, but Bob Saget, Dana Carvey, Garry Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, they all work for me. Paula POUNDSTONE really got her start. She she came out of Boston. She sucked. And I let her work week after week until she developed an act and made a relationship with Robin Williams.
00:12:59:57 - 00:13:12:44
Scott Edwards
And then he took her under his arms and help made her who she was. But no, I had a chance to work with all those people and was it was great. Ray Romano Will Shriner There was a dozens of them.
00:13:13:06 - 00:13:17:59
Wayne Mulder
Wow, that's, that's really pretty cool actually. Now I do have to ask because I've heard that.
00:13:18:06 - 00:13:34:04
Scott Edwards
We're way away. Wayne Pretty cool actually. Now come on, this was before they were famous. I saw their talent. I saw that raw piece of coal I knew would be a gem someday. You just knew. I just.
00:13:34:54 - 00:13:35:35
Wayne Mulder
I had no.
00:13:35:35 - 00:13:37:20
Scott Edwards
Frickin clue what I was doing.
00:13:37:54 - 00:13:53:25
Wayne Mulder
That's the beauty of it. You know, like, in those days, I would imagine that for a lot of these guys, like you say, with Garry Shandling, 150 bucks a week or whatever it was, I mean, he's just getting started. He didn't know the Hollywood career ahead of him and so forth. It's just such a thing.
00:13:53:26 - 00:14:17:24
Scott Edwards
He ended up being right. He ended up with the Larry Sanders Show, The Garry Shandling Show. He was in over 50 movies in one way or another. Very, very talented guy. We're so sorry he passed. YOUNG But Garry Shandling was one of those guys that helped. Not only did I help progress his career, but he was a real asset to me as a young entrepreneur and what it takes to operate a club.
00:14:18:06 - 00:14:27:35
Wayne Mulder
Well, now I do have to ask it. I've heard that you may have a picture of him in women's clothing. I mean, you opened the door, but.
00:14:28:05 - 00:14:50:19
Scott Edwards
Yeah, so it's kind of a funny story. My club was in an area called Old Sacramento and Central California, and it was a it's a tourist area that was built in the 1800s. And around the corner from my comedy club was one of those places where families can go in and do portraits. But wearing the clothes of the 1800s and, you know, this and that.
00:14:50:46 - 00:15:20:37
Scott Edwards
So one day Gary comes in and he hands me this gift that was autographed to me. And it's a picture of Garry Shandling all done up. He's got the the long Lacey dress. He's got the big sunny sun bonnet and a fan. And and he was just decked out in this women's attire from the 1800s. And it was he was just doing it as a lark and gave it to me as a gift.
00:15:20:37 - 00:15:43:14
Scott Edwards
And we immediately put it up on the Wall of Fame and the Comedy Club. And what's funny about that story, Wayne, is that not three weeks later, a good friend and very talented comic, Bob Saget, was working for me. He saw this and didn't want to be outdone. He went over to the same place and he went that extra step.
00:15:43:14 - 00:16:03:52
Scott Edwards
I mean, he looked like a schoolmarm right out of 1820 and came in and he had a picture of flowing dress and the I don't know, the corset and the whole I mean, he was just decked out, autographed it to me. And I put that up next to the Garry Shandling picture. And those two pictures stood at my club for over a decade.
00:16:03:52 - 00:16:10:33
Scott Edwards
But it was really an honor that they thought that was funny and that they, you know, gave it to me as a gift. That was really special.
00:16:11:00 - 00:16:25:37
Wayne Mulder
I'm sure. I love it. So any stories or anything other than obviously that one, which is wonderful, but anything from those early days, the grind kind of, you know, you're getting started and you're getting acts in there in any stories from those days, maybe something a little crazy or.
00:16:26:08 - 00:16:37:23
Scott Edwards
Well, there's there's, of course, probably too many. And it's hard to to narrow it down. And I know that makes me a horrible guest. Wayne, I'm not sure why I'm here on the blue line, but well, we could.
00:16:37:23 - 00:16:40:42
Wayne Mulder
Go on for hours. I mean, if you want this part one 500, we could sketch.
00:16:41:04 - 00:17:04:42
Scott Edwards
But and for your audience, I did spend two years writing a book on my, you know, experiences and stories from my 40 plus years on what I call the fringe show business, because Sacramento was certainly not a hotbed for entertainment. But when I finished the book, my wife took a look at it and said, No one's going to read this crap, do a podcast.
00:17:05:15 - 00:17:31:02
Scott Edwards
And so I put together my podcast and launched it just right before COVID, coincidentally called Standup Comedy, your host an emcee. And on that show I share actual material from Saget and Seinfeld and Shandling from back in the eighties and nineties. And then also I do interviews with current celebrities like Will Shriner, Kelly Monteith out of England. John Amazing.
00:17:31:02 - 00:17:52:10
Scott Edwards
Jonathan out of Vegas. And so that's a great place for your audience to go to to get the straight poop. As far as a quick story, I think that one of the things that is interesting, Wayne, if I may extrapolate, is that my father, as I mentioned, had a great sense of humor. And I wanted to you know, I think we all do.
00:17:52:10 - 00:18:24:08
Scott Edwards
We want to please and make our parents proud. And so I had the opportunity to book, for example, Pat Paulsen, who was a regular on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and ran for president a couple of times. And we became very good friends. I also had Soupy Sales, and for those of you out there over 50, you know that I had a pie thrown in my face by Soupy Sales, which was quite an honor because he did that to presidents and astronauts and famous people, celebrities all through his TV show.
00:18:24:26 - 00:18:43:45
Scott Edwards
And but what the comedy club did and the reason I brought it up, Wayne, is that it allowed me to interact with not only my generation and the next generation of comics, but I reached back and was able to work with some of the celebrities of the past and that was really cool. Wow.
00:18:44:37 - 00:19:01:31
Wayne Mulder
I agree. I think that's really neat. And some of these names, of course, now I'm going to irritate you by saying these are names I heard from my dad. But but yeah, I think I think that's awesome. Kind of bridging the gap between those two times of comedy. It let me I want to go down real quick. You mentioned your book.
00:19:01:42 - 00:19:05:03
Wayne Mulder
That would be a stand up comic or just look like one.
00:19:05:36 - 00:19:27:06
Scott Edwards
Well, actually, no, the book the book I wrote that my wife openly mocked, never got a printed. I went to the podcast, but you are correct. I've written two books back in the eighties when comedy was really this hot wave and everybody thought if they could do 5 minutes on stage, they'd make The Tonight Show, right? So we wrote a book.
00:19:27:06 - 00:19:50:55
Scott Edwards
My partner and I, Bob Stoner, called Be a Standup Comic or Just Look Like One. And it was really the first half of the book is talks about all the nightmares of the show business side of standup comedy and then we figured people kept reading the last half of the book as a true training and advice book on people that want to get into the industry.
00:19:50:55 - 00:20:19:50
Scott Edwards
And now I'm kind of as I'm semi-retired, getting back into this area I love called standup comedy. I wrote another book, came out in December. It's on Amazon Go today called 20 questions answered about being a standup comic. And it's a shorter version of the first book only there's none of the negativity. It's really just quick advice with illustrations that would help somebody that's an amateur go pro.
00:20:19:50 - 00:20:20:15
Scott Edwards
Okay.
00:20:21:47 - 00:20:47:19
Wayne Mulder
Curiosity question and I know some listeners. One thing I find interesting, I've listened to some of your other shows and some of the other things that you've been on and spoken about. And one of the things that I find kind of me is how you draw this line between a stand up comic, but then also other arts where people speak and they have to talk to an audience and you have to you know, there is some performance in a lot of different things and then you kind of draw that.
00:20:47:19 - 00:20:54:15
Wayne Mulder
So let me ask this question then we can go down that road a little bit. What do you what is the biggest mistake that new comedians or beginners make?
00:20:55:28 - 00:21:23:17
Scott Edwards
I think that a good question, Wayne. I think that the mistake that people make is that they forget that the stage is for the audience and not for themselves. I've seen a lot of amateurs and even a few pros, meaning they've gotten paid by somebody to do their their bit, their comedy show. Forget that it's an entertainment format and that they're there to entertain the audience.
00:21:23:17 - 00:21:55:48
Scott Edwards
They're there for the audience. Some entertainers or beginners especially think the stage is for them. It becomes a therapy session or it becomes a rant. Right. And if it's not funny, I mean, everybody knows Dennis Miller and his famous rants, the political rants. But but Dennis Miller is funny and and is is trying to rant about poignant topics, whereas a lot of these amateurs just want to go up and yell at the world.
00:21:55:48 - 00:22:03:14
Scott Edwards
And I think they're forgetting the first rule of entertainment. And that's you're there for the audience. Yeah.
00:22:03:47 - 00:22:20:54
Wayne Mulder
And I think that's true. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's true in other pursuits as well. Whenever you're speaking, whether it's in a podcast format or public speaking and so forth, a lot of times people are worried more solely about the message and about their what they're trying to convey, rather than what the reason why the people are there in the first place.
00:22:21:29 - 00:22:48:21
Scott Edwards
Exactly. And that's a good point. To reiterate, Wayne, I also want to add to that as a lifelong salesman, huckster, showman, whatever you want to call me. The other thing that I learned early in life that is would be good advice for anybody out there that's in sales or wants to get in entertainment is you have to listen to your customer or listen to your audience, right?
00:22:48:34 - 00:23:31:11
Scott Edwards
A lot of people just talk and talk and talk and never shut up and listen. So, you know, when I'm selling something, I ask a question and then I listen because it's what the audience wants to hear or what a client or customer wants and needs. That is the key to that engagement, to that connection. Now, obviously, there's a difference between selling insurance and selling comedy, but the theory, the overall overriding basis is the same in that you have to be able to engage with either that potential client or that audience or it doesn't work.
00:23:31:49 - 00:23:32:04
Scott Edwards
Yeah.
00:23:32:38 - 00:23:36:32
Wayne Mulder
No, I agree with that and that makes a lot of sense. That's really good advice.
00:23:37:35 - 00:23:38:43
Scott Edwards
Oh, that's one for me.
00:23:40:26 - 00:23:44:40
Wayne Mulder
There's been several nuggets, I must say, Scott. They're really good. I'm enjoying it.
00:23:45:10 - 00:23:47:07
Scott Edwards
Oh, good, good, Wayne. Because you're the boss.
00:23:47:16 - 00:24:02:39
Wayne Mulder
Well, appreciate that. Let me. And before I forget, because we're at that midway point, so I don't want anyone, you know, in case they decide they have to go get the kids or whatever the best place that they need to go to look at that book and so forth. Is Scott's comedy stuff. Scott Correct.
00:24:02:57 - 00:24:32:16
Scott Edwards
Yeah, really fancy name. I know. Wayne I don't want to confuse the audience, but Scott's comedy stuff Tor.com does have access to not only my online comedy course, my books, my podcast, but also I have a great archive of videos of people like Bob Saget, Ray Romano, Paula POUNDSTONE and many others performing on my stages. Dana Carvey was came to me as an opening act and we got a chance to work with him many times.
00:24:32:59 - 00:24:59:49
Scott Edwards
I have a great video I can send you of him with his brother's band performing Chopping Broccoli, his famous Saturday Night Live song. But this was two years before he got the show. That quick side story way that your audience might enjoy. Dana was a regular at my club, but he quickly moved from opening act to headliner. And there was a Friday night that we were hanging out in the hot tub, having cocktails after the show.
00:25:00:04 - 00:25:16:47
Scott Edwards
So we're talking two in the morning or so, and that's when he shared with me. He had just had a call from Lorne Michaels asking him to come out that next Monday to New York to try out for Saturday Night Live. Of course, he ended up getting the job and was a big star on that show for several years.
00:25:17:14 - 00:25:33:22
Wayne Mulder
Yes, he was very cool being a little side note on I enjoy that at its ScottsComedyStuff.com because I heard it previously may have been like stand up comedy your host and MC.com and I appreciate you taking a few words out of there. So for the listener.
00:25:33:44 - 00:25:34:01
Scott Edwards
It's.
00:25:34:31 - 00:25:35:53
Wayne Mulder
Scotts Comedy stuff dot com.
00:25:36:08 - 00:25:48:42
Scott Edwards
The other ones still out there, standup comedy or hosting them, sitcom. But that was a that's a website based on the podcast. And I decided to try to, you know, tighten it all up. But thanks for pointing that out.
00:25:49:13 - 00:25:54:13
Wayne Mulder
Well, I enjoyed it and I made sure the URL worked before I brought it up on the show. And I'm still and I'm still learning.
00:25:54:13 - 00:25:58:23
Scott Edwards
So you know, it my tenure, young age, there's always a lot to learn.
00:25:59:01 - 00:26:15:44
Wayne Mulder
For all of us, Scott. For all of us. Let me you know, we talked about kind of what I considered the some of the best years of comedy, but that may be a little one sided because born right before the eighties in 79, I kind of grew up through the Saturday Night Live of the nineties and so forth and were born.
00:26:15:44 - 00:26:16:32
Scott Edwards
In the seventies.
00:26:16:32 - 00:26:19:18
Wayne Mulder
I'm 79. Barely, barely.
00:26:19:18 - 00:26:24:49
Scott Edwards
I'll talk slower. I don't want you to miss anything, though. There was a lot of drugs going on with your parents at that time.
00:26:25:29 - 00:26:32:33
Wayne Mulder
Well, maybe not my parents, but. Yes. And the era there. Absolutely was.
00:26:32:33 - 00:27:01:01
Scott Edwards
But you you had it. You have a different generation of entertainment. For example, I am a guest on several podcasts and people will ask me who's out there? That's funny now, but I'm actually more disconnected with the industry. I still produce about four fundraisers a year, but I still use the guys that I used back in the eighties, in the nineties, because they're clean, their professional and they've got 30 years experience, right?
00:27:01:01 - 00:27:34:14
Scott Edwards
They're pros. I'm not really up on who's hot today. I think one of the great success stories is if anybody ever watched the TV show The Big Bang Theory. One of their costars is Brian P.O.S., who plays the gemologist or something like that on the show. But Brian P.O.S. came to me as a as an emcee opening act and got his start in stand up comedy right here in Sacramento on my stage.
00:27:34:32 - 00:27:51:52
Scott Edwards
And now he's a very successful actor. So there are even and I'm mentioning that because that happened late in the nineties as opposed to the Bob Saget and Garry Shandling's and stuff. So there was people constantly coming through the club that had that opportunity for success. Yeah.
00:27:52:46 - 00:28:10:59
Wayne Mulder
One, one thing that I was going to kind of segway to and I'd be curious your thoughts on this is because there is somewhat of a controversy these days when it comes to comedy and we've seen in the last few years, we saw it with the Netflix controversy, with a couple of comedians, Dave Chappelle and so forth. And there seems to be this whole thing with the cancel culture in comedy.
00:28:11:20 - 00:28:13:37
Wayne Mulder
Does comedy survive cancel culture, in your opinion?
00:28:14:18 - 00:28:42:07
Scott Edwards
Well, I think it will, but it is very, very challenging. I mean, first we were all put out of business during COVID because there was no stages of theater, music or comedy anywhere. And then we come out of that in this crap woke stuff happened. And it is very challenging for young entertainers to bridge that gap between standup comedy, which is the last bastion of free speech.
00:28:42:32 - 00:29:02:07
Scott Edwards
In other words, you should be able to go on stage and say anything you want. Now, as a producer, I want it to be funny. I prefer to be clean and it has to relate to the audience. But honestly, there's plenty of entertainers that don't follow those rules, and yet they still have a right to share their voice on a comedy stage.
00:29:02:07 - 00:29:27:48
Scott Edwards
That's what it's all about. Freedom of speech. And this new woke environment is a huge challenge to that. And I, for one, don't like it and am somewhat fearful of what it'll do to the industry. However, as an older gentleman, I will say that I've seen the pendulum swing back and forth and right now it may be very leftist.
00:29:27:48 - 00:29:50:14
Scott Edwards
In woke ish, but I think already the general public is getting tired of that and it's starting to come back and that hopefully in the coming years we'll have a little bit more normalcy and acceptance of each other without these weird, you know, restrictions and rules. You know, he she them, you know, brick and frack. I'm not going to.
00:29:50:43 - 00:29:52:56
Scott Edwards
And don't get me going on my soapbox.
00:29:52:56 - 00:29:57:53
Wayne Mulder
Wayne Well, I was trying, but you won't take the bait.
00:29:57:57 - 00:30:01:18
Scott Edwards
Well, how was your vacation to Maine and everything? Did you get a good break?
00:30:01:38 - 00:30:18:59
Wayne Mulder
I did. I did. I have had the opportunity to go up there. That is a part of the country. I'd never really been to before. And growing up in the Midwest, I was a midwest boy and then I'm currently in Florida, so the Northeast is a different world. Yeah, if you're from Indiana.
00:30:19:20 - 00:30:41:14
Scott Edwards
I was curious if you had like normal vacations I was sharing with you before we went to the recording that my wife is in federal law enforcement. She happens to be an agent with the National Park Service. She's an intelligence analyst, which your listeners would know the difference between that and an actual agent. But she works crimes in the national parks from coast to coast.
00:30:41:32 - 00:31:08:44
Scott Edwards
And I only brought it up because we recently went on a couple of vacations during COVID one to the south. We went to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon and one to the north. We went to Custer State Park and in Yellowstone and places like that. And I got to tell you, Wayne, I don't know what vacationing with you is like, but when I'm vacationing with my wife instead of, Oh, look at that shrine, or, ooh, look at that beautiful mountain, and here's the history.
00:31:09:01 - 00:31:25:31
Scott Edwards
She's like, Oh, hey, there was a murder right over there. And oh, and four years ago there was a rape and kidnaping over there and oh, they found some bones under this, you know, I mean, it's a whole different vacation experience. Please help me.
00:31:25:31 - 00:31:26:23
Wayne Mulder
Well, in not.
00:31:26:23 - 00:31:27:38
Scott Edwards
Being and.
00:31:27:38 - 00:31:55:52
Wayne Mulder
Of course, we're analysts, it's different because they're looking at all these cases and, you know, anyone in the intelligence side, they're looking at everything that they have that general knowledge of what occurred everywhere. So I can just imagine, especially someone tied to the national park side, we have that same issue at home every day. When you're with a county or a city or it's like, yeah, I found a guy, he was deceased in the Publix parking lot at the grocery store or hey, I saw, you know, and everywhere you walk in the town, it's kind of like that.
00:31:55:52 - 00:31:56:32
Wayne Mulder
I know. Oh, that's.
00:31:56:32 - 00:32:28:00
Scott Edwards
Interesting. Yeah. So it's the same idea on a smaller scale. My wife, coincidentally, is the single and only intelligence analyst for the National Park Service. So she's involved and involved in every major crime that happens in any of the national parks across the country. So her depth of and she's brilliant and smart and great memory, it's and I'm not sure why she's with me but she you know, so there's a story attached to almost any case to every national park, which is fascinating.
00:32:28:14 - 00:32:50:22
Scott Edwards
But I think you're right as a local beat cop. And again, thanks for your service. It's got to be interesting that, you know, you're with your family, it's your day off and ooh, you know, that that place got robbed, you know, last week or, you know, see that burn out building, you know, that was arson, you know? I mean, you do have kind of the behind the scenes secrets of the town.
00:32:50:42 - 00:32:54:13
Scott Edwards
Yes, you did it. What a powerful thing.
00:32:54:13 - 00:32:55:05
Wayne Mulder
I agree.
00:32:55:05 - 00:32:59:08
Scott Edwards
Starving or disturbing? I don't know when we should ask your audience.
00:32:59:44 - 00:33:17:37
Wayne Mulder
And they can be both. And I think you're going to hear both because that's one of the negatives of fact. A lot guys will talk about not wanting to live in the same area that they work for that. Oh, that's interesting because you never know who you may run into. I mean, you go to a store or whatever and it happens to be the guy you arrested in a domestic couple weeks ago.
00:33:17:37 - 00:33:20:49
Wayne Mulder
I mean, there's all these factors from interesting.
00:33:20:49 - 00:33:33:54
Scott Edwards
Yeah. I wouldn't even think you can run into the people you arrested. Well, if that was the case with my wife, I guess we'll be moving to Australia because if we got away from that where she works right, we'd have to leave the whole country.
00:33:34:14 - 00:33:39:52
Wayne Mulder
Exactly. I had no idea there was an analyst tied to the National Park Service. That's pretty cool, actually.
00:33:40:28 - 00:34:04:50
Scott Edwards
Well, her job, of course, is in the support role. She's not an officer, but she does all the work for the agents behind the scenes. So somebody, as you know, an agent is assigned to a particular case there as their work in the case. They need somebody to support them that runs the background checks can run the the DMV information, can run the connections.
00:34:05:09 - 00:34:14:38
Scott Edwards
You know, what's her car, what's her license plate? Who are their relatives? You know, who are their friends and that's her job, is that she supports the active agents.
00:34:14:51 - 00:34:32:02
Wayne Mulder
Scott Yeah, that's one of the things that I was thinking about, you know, when it comes to the analyst and so forth. And I know that's a support position for the National Park Service, but a lot of agencies, both federal and state and I talk about this a lot on my show because it's kind of specific to law enforcement.
00:34:32:22 - 00:34:56:54
Wayne Mulder
But I'm very fortunate to be at an agency that is different than a lot of other agencies. And we're very forward thinking when it comes to such as analysts. So we have I'm not even going to guess dozens or more analysts and we're not that large of a department, but that's such an important part. So I find that interesting that something like the National Park Service would need someone that is doing the analysts work.
00:34:56:54 - 00:35:02:16
Wayne Mulder
And I can just imagine the neat things that she can do to kind of help support in that role.
00:35:02:52 - 00:35:29:43
Scott Edwards
Yeah. And let me give you and your listeners a little back information and I don't think that's any secret or anything, but there's two things that make it difficult. One is that to Congress and to the government and to the National Park Service Administration, there there are no crimes in the parks. They're a place of joy and wonder of wildlife.
00:35:29:43 - 00:35:53:07
Scott Edwards
There is we do not have a crime problem. And, of course, which is all bullshit, because Yosemite itself gets, you know, a million plus customer excuse me, visitors a year. You can't get a million strangers in one location and not have issues just as an example. The other is because they don't see crime as an issue in the National Park Service.
00:35:53:07 - 00:36:22:20
Scott Edwards
It's also not a priority. So that's why my wife is a single and sole support person for the entire country and she would rather have some help there. There are other people that she supports and that support her in other ways, like the tip lines and stuff. But it is really that the it would take an act of Congress to create it.
00:36:22:20 - 00:36:38:36
Scott Edwards
She doesn't have an actual job with the Park Service. That's where she's works. But because they don't have money for this and a lot of your listeners may know what this is, she also is a intelligence analyst for Haida.
00:36:39:13 - 00:36:39:40
Wayne Mulder
Okay.
00:36:39:42 - 00:36:40:45
Scott Edwards
You ready with I.
00:36:40:45 - 00:36:41:05
Wayne Mulder
Am.
00:36:41:14 - 00:37:09:08
Scott Edwards
Yeah. So for those that aren't, it's high intelligence, drug trafficking, enforcement. It's every county in district in the country will have a office which helps coordinate between the various departments, whether it's sheriff, city police, National Park Service, Forest Service, even the Coast Guard, anybody that might get involved in drugs. Ooh, I wonder if that's an issue.
00:37:10:20 - 00:37:12:08
Wayne Mulder
On the national park land, nonetheless.
00:37:12:26 - 00:37:41:01
Scott Edwards
Yeah. So Haida oversees all that. Well, my bride actually works for both because one doesn't have a position for her and the money for her, and the other has the money and the position. But, you know, there's several analysts on the high side. Yeah. So they literally share her with the National Park Service and that's how she's the lone intelligence analyst for the Park Service.
00:37:41:01 - 00:38:03:13
Scott Edwards
But it is fascinating. I think that there are some things I just share that, you know, explain a lot about our the operation of our government. But, you know, that it is what it is and she's good at her job and and help solve some very big crimes. If you see anything TV or in the news that involves a national park.
00:38:03:38 - 00:38:29:49
Scott Edwards
She's been involved and I'm very proud of her. I will say that your listeners who are on the blue line, thank you for everything you guys do. But as her support person and to all the wives and husbands of law enforcement out there, our jobs are difficult to we have to be there for our spouses that are in law enforcement because they need it.
00:38:29:49 - 00:38:43:45
Scott Edwards
They need that support. They need that balance in their lives. And a great example is my wife's job is is top secret. Top secret, you know, so she'll come home and I go, Hey, honey, how was your day? She goes, Hey, sorry. Can't tell you.
00:38:45:31 - 00:38:45:49
Wayne Mulder
No.
00:38:45:59 - 00:39:07:35
Scott Edwards
And right. So I'm sure you've been there. So, you know, there has to be a balance of spouse that can offer an escape and support to the people on the blue line. So for everybody out there, thank you. But also remember the support people in your lives. It's very important.
00:39:07:35 - 00:39:26:42
Wayne Mulder
I'm so glad you touched on that, Scott, because that is an important, if not sometimes forgotten part is the spouses and the support system for the law enforcement officer. I mean, even like you said, you know, there's times you come home, you can't talk about it. And then there's times like you send a quick text because you're going to be hours late and be like, if you see this in the media, just know I'm okay.
00:39:26:42 - 00:39:30:14
Wayne Mulder
And I could tell you anything about it. And most of what they said is wrong, you know.
00:39:30:14 - 00:39:51:50
Scott Edwards
But that's exactly I mean, the press is is is famous for not getting things right. So. No, no, that's exactly true. And that's why I wanted to bring it up, is that I couldn't be prouder of the work my bride does. But I take seriously and comically at times my role is the balance in her life.
00:39:52:30 - 00:40:12:39
Wayne Mulder
Yeah, that's that is extremely important. And that is, of course, kind of the whole premise of what on the blue line is all about. So let's segway into your story a little bit further. You already talked a little bit about moving into the podcasting, so you did the stand up comedy, your host and emcee podcast. What kind of brought you to that?
00:40:12:39 - 00:40:18:46
Wayne Mulder
What was the draw that made you want to go to that forum besides the book and being told Don't write?
00:40:18:46 - 00:40:21:45
Scott Edwards
Yeah, I was worried that you weren't listening to me, Wayne. Come on. Well, I.
00:40:21:45 - 00:40:23:13
Wayne Mulder
Was sleeping a little bit during that.
00:40:24:10 - 00:40:44:45
Scott Edwards
I know. So. So I wrote a book. I've had some amazing experiences, gotten a chance to work with some amazing creative people in my life and been very blessed and the book was a way to celebrate that. And it is true in this day and age. I could have put the book out there and nobody would read it by doing a podcast.
00:40:44:45 - 00:41:06:37
Scott Edwards
I know not only get a chance to share those stories, but it also allows me to share actual recorded material of people like Bob Saget and Dave Coulier on stage, which you can't do in a book. And then also I two, that's from the eighties and nineties, but to keep it fresh every other week I interview a professional entertainer or a club owner.
00:41:06:37 - 00:41:33:06
Scott Edwards
I just interviewed Bob Fisher, who owned the Ice House for 40 years. Neil Houseman, who's a manager of talent. Ed Solomon, who started off as a stand up comic and became a writer and wrote Bill and Ted's excellent adventure series All the Men in Black Movies, very, very successful movie writer. And I got a chance to interview these guys and reconnect.
00:41:33:06 - 00:41:55:29
Scott Edwards
And I think that's what's important to me is that I'm able to reconnect to a part of my past that I thoroughly enjoyed and value and and then sharing that with the audience. I don't have, you know, a massive audience. I get, you know, maybe 250 downloads a week or something per show, but it's not it's not about that.
00:41:55:29 - 00:42:18:12
Scott Edwards
It's that there's a connection that is bringing me joy and and I get to share that. And so I just again, I was blessed in my youth. I feel blessed and in my semi-retirement and thank you for mentioning it and plugging it and everybody out there, if you get a chance. Standup comedy. Your host and emcee has a lot of valuable content.
00:42:18:33 - 00:42:46:04
Scott Edwards
But let me extrapolate a little bit, Wayne. You mentioned in earlier, before we started, I'm working on some special projects and in that I took all the bonus shows. We're talking 3 to 5 minute comedy bits, jokes and stories that are new, that are that are recorded within the last couple of years and took them out of the original podcast and created a new podcast called Comedy Appetizers.
00:42:47:21 - 00:42:57:53
Scott Edwards
And that's a name my wife came up with. Comedy Appetizers is short form comedy entertainment that comes out each and every Friday to start your weekend with a smile.
00:42:58:25 - 00:43:19:41
Wayne Mulder
And I love those and I encourage the listeners definitely there's going to be a link in the show notes, the Spotify and Apple Podcast and all the places you can go to get it. But those are enjoyable. Like you said, they're short. They're something that you can just enjoy if you're around your squad car here, there, wherever, you're out for a little walk on Friday morning or whatever, just take a listen to a Bud comedy appetizers.
00:43:19:41 - 00:43:22:09
Wayne Mulder
I really enjoyed those. And that's part of why I wanted to have you on here.
00:43:22:32 - 00:43:47:19
Scott Edwards
Oh, thanks, Wayne. Well, it is a little bit different format. Sometimes it's a comedy bit, sometimes it's just jokes. But the idea is to share something in short form and new. It's not from the eighties or nineties, it's fresh. That gives the audience an opportunity to. Take a short break from whatever's happening. Let me give you a little bit more on that, Wayne.
00:43:47:42 - 00:44:17:39
Scott Edwards
One of the reasons we as human beings enjoy entertainment is it's a break from our regular lives. You know, everybody goes through, especially law enforcement. You have a lot of challenges and risk and you've got your bills, you have your family. There's all these stresses that we deal with in entertainment, whether it's a music concert, a play, and especially in a comedy show or comedy, it's a little bit of a break from the pressures on our shoulders in life.
00:44:18:02 - 00:44:46:39
Scott Edwards
And my regular show, which is anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour, is a hour break, too, so that you're not thinking about whatever else is stressing you. What's great about comedy appetizers is that we don't always have an hour, sometimes we just have 5 minutes, and it allows you to take kind of like a deep breath and relax and let it out slowly and give that tension release in a short format.
00:44:46:57 - 00:45:00:43
Scott Edwards
And I'm very proud of it. And I'm glad that you caught it and had me on your show. So plug, plug, plug, comedy appetizers, check it out. And it just launched two not even two weeks ago. So this is brand new. This is new. Just for your listeners.
00:45:01:03 - 00:45:15:47
Wayne Mulder
I love it. And they can easily catch up because there's only a handful on there. You can get started and that way you never miss one. Coming up, you answer it being the professional that you are, sir, you answered my next question already in that answer. So excellent job we'll just go on either.
00:45:15:47 - 00:45:18:00
Scott Edwards
That or I'm just long winded the Wayne.
00:45:18:45 - 00:45:42:14
Wayne Mulder
I'm going to bring it up though because I want to frame the question that you already answered because when I say and this is where we're narrowing down to the last couple of questions I have for you and I was sitting down because it's kind of like you and I had talked off air when we were starting. Whenever I have a guest on that's not in law enforcement, I often ask myself why I bringing this person on and what do they have to share?
00:45:42:14 - 00:45:59:18
Wayne Mulder
I had at the time no idea that your wife was in law enforcement, but what do they have to share with this community? And so forth? And then piggybacking on that, one of the themes of a lot of what I talk about is what's going on, the divisive times that we're in, you know, the separation that we have and so forth.
00:45:59:36 - 00:46:13:49
Wayne Mulder
So it kind of led me to a why of, you know, how is it that or what is it about comedy that makes it so important? Why is it so important? And I liken it in some ways, if I may, expound to to.
00:46:13:55 - 00:46:15:21
Scott Edwards
How damn it, go for it.
00:46:15:59 - 00:46:24:36
Wayne Mulder
To how sports is sometimes that, oh, you know, sports is supposed to be one of those escapes. And sadly, a couple of years ago it became the opposite of that.
00:46:24:36 - 00:46:49:37
Scott Edwards
So that's so funny you mention that. And I have to really work hard not to get on my soapbox, but my wife and I enjoy the Sacramento Kings, one of the worst teams in history is here in Sacramento. But we used to love going to the to the games. And then politics worked its way into basketball and they had slogans on their shoes and defund the cops and stuff.
00:46:49:37 - 00:47:12:15
Scott Edwards
And it's like, what the frick, you know, sports are supposed to be an escapism, like I was just talking about, you know, it's not as bad in baseball, but the the guy that's in charge of the league is is making bad choices when it comes to China and other places. And it just like basketball and it just it taints it a little bit.
00:47:12:33 - 00:47:23:43
Scott Edwards
I think that football, which is interesting, went through this several years ago with I think Kaepernick was his name. Is that right?
00:47:23:43 - 00:47:24:12
Wayne Mulder
Yeah.
00:47:24:21 - 00:47:46:18
Scott Edwards
On the Niners. I thought he sucked anyway. But anyway, and I used to be a Niners fan. But the point is, is that it it got too much attention. It was taking football down that political path. But unlike basketball, the football owners realized they were alienating a large part of their audience and they kind of backed off it.
00:47:46:18 - 00:48:05:05
Scott Edwards
You don't see like there might still be some a whole I don't want to be wrong on your show, but, you know, taking a knee for the National anthem or something. But the football owners won't let that be seen on TV. They're not allowed to share their personal points of view because you know what? Nobody gives a damn.
00:48:05:25 - 00:48:25:40
Scott Edwards
You know, we want to watch football. We want to watch sports is escapism to enjoy something that's different than our regular lives where we have all this stress. So the last thing we want to do is politicize it. And sadly, what you brought up earlier, this woke society. It's creeping into education, it's creeping into entertainment. It's creeping into sports.
00:48:25:40 - 00:48:53:44
Scott Edwards
And folks, put your foot down. It's got to stop. You know, politics belongs in D.C. with the circus, you know, and the clowns there. It doesn't belong in basketball, baseball, football, tennis, soccer, you name it. It doesn't belong necessarily on comedy stages, although if some guy wants to go up and rant about the ridiculousness of the woke society and and everybody being ultra sensitive, I mean, imagine Don Rickles.
00:48:53:44 - 00:49:20:26
Scott Edwards
I know you're young, but Don Rickles, in this day and age would have been tarred and feathered. I mean, he was a comedy classic that his whole point of view was, I'm picking on everybody because we're all in this together. And by picking on everybody, it makes us through engagement, you know one unit, human beings. Yeah, but today's people are so, you know, they got the blinders on.
00:49:20:26 - 00:49:43:12
Scott Edwards
They only see and hear what they want to see. And, and it's an insult. And it's and it's a oh I'm sorry I got on the soapbox anyway, didn't I? But the problem is, the point is, is you are correct that today's divisive society. Now, I got to say one more thing. They it's so funny because they all want to blame Trump.
00:49:43:12 - 00:50:04:50
Scott Edwards
And the only reason Trump pissed off so many people was he was a businessman, not a politician. So he didn't play by the swamp rules and he stepped on massive amount of toes. And I wasn't even a big fan of Trump as a person, but as a leader of this country. He did everything right and was really taken us in the right direction.
00:50:05:24 - 00:50:30:52
Scott Edwards
Now we've got Mr. Fluffy Pants in there that can, you know, barely conceive of a concise thought and the woke people that are pulling his strings. And look what's happened to the country. I mean, we're literally falling apart. And I am a patriot. I love my country. I pray every night that the people in government get their head out of their ass and realize where they're taking us.
00:50:31:30 - 00:50:57:02
Scott Edwards
But, you know, who knows? And I'm sorry to get opinionated on your podcast. I'll talk about comedy and and all the people out there that are risking their lives for all of us. And I don't mean to get on a soapbox, but it is just sad. I mean, it's it's so funny. Let's defund the police. Well, now crime's through the roof, and there's the highest murder rates and towns all over the country.
00:50:57:20 - 00:51:15:39
Scott Edwards
And the Democrats, or at least the liberals, are kind of going, well, what happened? You know, it must have been Trump's fault. I mean, it's just frickin ridiculous. Did you hear that in a small town? I'm not even sure where it was. I think in North Carolina, the entire police force just quit. Yep. That was a small town that was.
00:51:15:39 - 00:51:16:51
Wayne Mulder
In North Carolina. Yeah.
00:51:17:00 - 00:51:43:49
Scott Edwards
Yeah. And they had only, like seven officers, 2000 people in the town. But the whole department just quit because some woke H.R. sorry person. He. She took charge and was making their jobs undoable and just good for them. You know, I almost wish, you know, law enforcement, all these people that we've seen retire and get out of this wondrous giving.
00:51:44:27 - 00:52:11:54
Scott Edwards
I mean, when you're a police officer, whether you're an intelligence analyst or on the line, you're risking something. You're there for the public. You know, as they always say, like firefighters, it's the cops that run toward the gunfire. You know, they're not running away. Firefighters run into a fire. And I know there's a little competition there, but The point is.
00:52:11:54 - 00:52:13:33
Wayne Mulder
Somebody has to be second. But anyway.
00:52:15:23 - 00:52:44:58
Scott Edwards
The point is those people should be idolized, not defunded, not picked on not have stuff thrown at them, not disrespected. And I think if we're some way to get through to the young, especially male part of our humanity, that feel that their rights outweigh the rights of everybody around them and their disrespect of law enforcement is what leads to the problems.
00:52:45:12 - 00:52:47:11
Scott Edwards
Right. All right. I'll shut up on that.
00:52:47:11 - 00:52:49:49
Wayne Mulder
Let's go. All right. I'm well.
00:52:50:36 - 00:52:51:34
Scott Edwards
Ladies and gentlemen.
00:52:52:08 - 00:53:14:05
Wayne Mulder
And I think that's, you know, kind of like how we started the Segway is how important comedy and sports and these things are to this society of kind of giving us that escape. And I but let me quickly say and preface that I don't disagree with anything you said. And I think it's important, in fact, here in recent episodes and some of the new ones that are coming out, I've talked a little bit more about politics.
00:53:14:05 - 00:53:16:35
Wayne Mulder
It's not a political show and I'm not trying to become political.
00:53:17:14 - 00:53:18:46
Scott Edwards
I apologize to your listeners.
00:53:18:46 - 00:53:35:47
Wayne Mulder
No, no, no, not in any way, Scott, because I think one of the things law enforcement officers need to understand this, some of the things that are going on right now, defund the police movement and so forth, we're not talking about simply a differ different ideas. This isn't like classical liberalism where you and I just agree to disagree.
00:53:35:47 - 00:53:53:48
Wayne Mulder
But we agree on the fundamentals. We agree on the Bill of Rights, we agree on the Constitution. We agree on what made this country what this country is. And we just disagree on big government or whatever the situation may be. That's perfectly fine. What we're seeing now, though, is very destructive ideologies, and sadly, it's affecting law enforcement officers.
00:53:53:48 - 00:54:12:03
Wayne Mulder
And that's what I keep bringing up on the show is, hey, you know, this re reaction to this shooting or this reaction to this event or these sad situations that have been in the news recently with these young, young children, like cursing and throwing things at cops. I wrote a blog on it that's going to be coming out here in a couple of weeks.
00:54:12:03 - 00:54:21:29
Wayne Mulder
And we're seeing a trend that is only going to make the jobs of law enforcement more difficult and less safe. So I appreciate everything you said.
00:54:21:53 - 00:54:51:55
Scott Edwards
Well, I just think it's a and it may and you're right about young people. There's an overall sense of disrespect for authority, which when it comes to your teacher or your governor or your senator, there needs to be not a disrespect, but a questioning of that opinion or authority. But when it comes to law enforcement, you should not disrespect what they're doing, which is it's like our military.
00:54:51:55 - 00:55:13:38
Scott Edwards
They're risking their lives for our benefit. And it's so this is kind of a side point, but there's so many people that all they want to do is tear down this country and complain about it. And I'm like, okay, leave you know, the thing is, we're still the best country in the world. We have the most freedom. We have all this.
00:55:13:54 - 00:55:42:58
Scott Edwards
And yet people want to tear it down. I go go live in Mexico or or even Europe or even Canada. I mean, they're there. You have a dictator there. Yeah. Socialism doesn't work. And you think the police are tough here or disrespect your rights? You know, try living in Argentina or Chile, you know, but they won't because they know yet.
00:55:42:58 - 00:56:02:44
Scott Edwards
They they still want to complain and tear down this country and the people that protect it. And I, I, again, I got back up on my soapbox, but it does frustrates me and it irritates me. And I'm an older guy. I'm 67. I've seen a lot this this country has gone through a lot during my lifetime. I was in the draft for Vietnam.
00:56:03:18 - 00:56:27:43
Scott Edwards
God bless. I didn't have to go, but I was in the draft for two years. I knew some people that were lost during that war. My father was in the Korean War. You know, we feel a pride in this country, which means you have to respect and have a pride in the military and the law enforcement that keeps our society as safe as possible.
00:56:28:05 - 00:56:49:43
Scott Edwards
And it is just frustrating that what you're mentioning, that lack of respect, is not being utilized by adults, but worse, it's being taught to our next generation. And that's that's just going to lead to more trouble. And I don't have the simple answer, but but I hope somebody wakes up and starts some changes.
00:56:50:22 - 00:57:06:57
Wayne Mulder
Absolutely. No, I think that's powerful. And coming full circle, it really is what makes and made everything that we're talking about, you know, through the eighties and the nineties and some of the best years of comedy and really everything that this great nation has provided comes out of these fundamentals and the people that have protected it.
00:57:07:26 - 00:57:28:10
Scott Edwards
Yeah, and I think you're right, there are fundamentals, but you're right. You know, there was a lot going on in the sixties and there was a lot going on in the seventies. And guess what? This country, because of its foundation, has survived it. I think we'll survive this. I just think it's sad that it's so funny because we don't learn from history.
00:57:28:48 - 00:57:53:51
Scott Edwards
And, you know, we went through this in the sixties and and here it's coming back. I mean, I try very hard not to watch the news, but just in the last week, there's been several fights and many riots and family operated amusement parks. And it's like, you know, you don't go to Disneyland to have confrontations. You're there to what we were talking about.
00:57:53:51 - 00:58:14:45
Scott Edwards
Escapism should be family fun, it should be enjoyable. And people don't respect that and it's just damaging. But I'm glad you brought up sports and and we shared a little political opinion. And please send all your cards and letters to Wayne Mulder. And we and I do like.
00:58:14:45 - 00:58:27:20
Wayne Mulder
Opinions and I do like the feedback. So definitely you guys know the social media and it's all in the links. So definitely let us know what you think. Well, within reason, I guess, right? No.
00:58:27:50 - 00:58:32:59
Scott Edwards
No, no. It's okay. We could take it. We're we wouldn't be where we were if we weren't thick skin, right?
00:58:33:14 - 00:58:52:22
Wayne Mulder
Absolutely. And I wouldn't be who I am and believe as strongly as I do about the things that you're bringing up. If it wasn't that I 100% believe in free speech and the differing of opinions, E Pluribus is really we've got to get back there out of many one. So we all have different walks of life, different places we come from.
00:58:52:22 - 00:58:56:29
Wayne Mulder
But at the end of the day, we're all Americans and if we can get there, we have a chance.
00:58:57:14 - 00:59:19:31
Scott Edwards
Yeah, yeah. Well, may not happen in what's left of my lifetime, but you're a young man. Let's hope it happens anyways. So comedy comedy. Let's get back to that yeah I podcast comedy appetizers and stand up comedy hosting emcee are both a great escape from all the crap that I was just talking about. So forget what I. You know what?
00:59:19:31 - 00:59:46:18
Scott Edwards
Don't forget. But, you know, pass on what I just shared. Go listen to some comedy. Give yourself and your brain and your stress levels in your your self. A break and have a laugh. And I got to tell you, Wayne, laughing is healthy. It's been medically proven that laughing out loud it releases endorphins that not only make you feel good, but are healthy for your body.
00:59:46:40 - 01:00:05:41
Scott Edwards
So just like people that are dealing with disease or cancer, they watch, you know, old Laurel and Hardy movies or Charlie Chaplin and some of the classics or listen to stand up comedy. Today, it's not only good for your stress levels, it's good for your mental and physical health.
01:00:06:24 - 01:00:07:34
Wayne Mulder
Absolutely it is.
01:00:07:58 - 01:00:11:43
Scott Edwards
And I'm Dr. Edwards.
01:00:11:43 - 01:00:28:58
Wayne Mulder
I like it. Well, I was going to say when I was doing some research, it looked like you've done all sorts of things. But anyway, I digress. Let me go down this road. What next for you, sir? What is on the horizon? Obviously you've got the podcast, but anything else that you're working on, any other projects the listeners should be aware of?
01:00:29:21 - 01:00:56:41
Scott Edwards
Wolf. Thank you, Wayne. That's the perfect question. And yes, I kind of alluded to it. So I have my one podcast. I just created Comedy Appetizers. I'm in the process of recording and about to launch a third one called The Magic Hat, a comedic comedy magic discussion where I interview some professional comic magicians about why they added comedy to their magic and how it affects their interactions with an audience.
01:00:56:41 - 01:01:47:01
Scott Edwards
It's very fascinating. Spent ten there about 20 minutes long each, and I did ten of them with Larry Wilson, who has had over 100 TV shots done, big stage shows in Vegas and Reno and currently he's doing cocktails and conjuring at high end hotels around the country. But that was great. But the reason I'm doing all this and here's the next secret for your listeners coming out in September, I'm launching a standup comedy podcast network, so there'll be a one spot location where right now I have seven podcast, there'll be a joke of the day, they'll be access to my online comedy course, access to my videos, and it will continue to grow and more
01:01:47:01 - 01:02:16:25
Scott Edwards
if it starts in September. But I'm hoping within a year it'll be massive. And and not only is it a website, but it's an app, Wayne, that people can go on to. Officers on patrol that are looking a little break, you'll find comedy appetizers. You'll find standup comedy hosted and emcee. You'll find the magic hat and many others a place you can go, your phone or on your personal device that will lead you to all kinds of standup comedy entertainment.
01:02:16:25 - 01:02:19:25
Scott Edwards
I'm very excited about it. It launches in September.
01:02:19:25 - 01:02:35:44
Wayne Mulder
That is a great project and I will be sure. In fact, this is perfect timing. It's almost like we planned all the scut. It's perfect timing. So I will be sure to have that in the show notes because when this comes out, that will be coming out. So everyone be sure to check it out and I will have those links for you.
01:02:35:55 - 01:02:57:54
Wayne Mulder
One last question for you, Scott. Ask everyone some derivative of this question. It is my distill. Distill here. I can't say the word. We're going to take everything that we just talked about and we're going to distill it down into one final question. Typically, the question is, what is the one take away the one thing that law enforcement officers can do that's going to make a difference in their personal lives?
01:02:58:17 - 01:03:10:50
Wayne Mulder
But we've talked about a lot of different things. So what is the one take away from what we've talked about or maybe something we haven't yet, that that's actionable, something that someone can do right now that's going to help them in their personal life, their life away from the job.
01:03:11:33 - 01:03:33:59
Scott Edwards
Well, as you mentioned, I'm a serial entrepreneur. I've had a small construction company, the chain of comedy clubs. I've had restaurants. I even owned a submarine for a number of years. I had a beach shack in Hawaii for five years. I recently just sold and retired from having my own insurance agency for 15 years, a quite a breadth of experiences.
01:03:34:17 - 01:04:16:37
Scott Edwards
And I was always the entrepreneur and the in the mind, the man behind the business. And it's very stressful. And luckily I have a bride that's gone along with the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. But the one thing that and we've already touched on it, but this would be a great way to Capsule8 this whole podcast is that my basis is in entertainment and connecting with people and whether it's an audience or my clients and customers in the customer service I provided them, or it was the restaurants and the comedy clubs and it was my clientele, my customers that were there.
01:04:17:02 - 01:04:48:15
Scott Edwards
It was always a joy for me to be there for those people and give them something they couldn't get somewhere else. Is that a little too vague? My point is, as I mentioned earlier, whether it was my restaurants, my comedy clubs, my insurance business, my construction company, the Beach Shack in Hawaii, people had a need. And I tried to listen to that need and then fulfill that need.
01:04:48:15 - 01:05:24:26
Scott Edwards
And even though I was doing something for them, it was fulfilling to me. It made me feel like I was giving back, I was doing something for them. And that's kind of been much like a police officer. Yeah, right. You're you're you're there for the people around you. You try to make mankind just a little bit better, a little bit easier, and I take some pride that I've been able to accomplish that in several different ways, but always to the value of those around me.
01:05:24:26 - 01:05:29:48
Wayne Mulder
I love it. Yeah, and you're absolutely right. I say all the time, we're in the people business and that's exactly what law enforcement is.
01:05:30:01 - 01:05:32:00
Scott Edwards
Well, see, you got it down to three words.
01:05:33:17 - 01:05:37:36
Wayne Mulder
Which made it not nearly as good as yours.
01:05:37:43 - 01:06:00:44
Scott Edwards
Well, Wayne, it's been a real honor to be on this show. I think your listeners and the people out there in blue and those around the blue line need people like you to share stories, share advice. And as I mentioned, the important aspect of sharing entertainment so that people have an opportunity, get balance in their lives. So thank you for what you do.
01:06:01:05 - 01:06:14:43
Wayne Mulder
Thank you, Scott, and thank you for coming on one last time for the listener. Make sure you go to Scott's comedy stuff dot com. Follow that link down there and we're going to link up both the stand up comedy, your host and emcee and comedy appetizers. Scott, thank you so much for your time.
01:06:15:17 - 01:06:21:42
Scott Edwards
Oh, it's been a blast. And Thank you, everybody. And everybody, be safe out there.
01:06:25:47 - 01:06:42:38
Wayne Mulder
And that does it for this week's The Interview Room. I hope you really enjoyed it. Another great guest will be with us again next week. We have a great lineup for you here over the next few weeks and I'm through the rest of the year, so you're definitely not going to want to miss a single episode. We also have Morning Roll Call, which typically comes out on Monday mornings.
01:06:42:38 - 01:07:00:44
Wayne Mulder
However, I may change my mind and who knows? They could come out on different day of the week, but morning roll call, check that out as well. That's just me talking to you. And it gives us a few minutes to go over something, anything from news or something actionable that matters, hopefully to you. One last favor, please. Please, please.
01:07:00:44 - 01:07:19:14
Wayne Mulder
Whatever service you are looking at or whatever service you are watching this on, you're listening to this on, please leave us a rating and review five stars. That would be the appropriate number of stars if for some reason it's not five stars, in your opinion, or if it is, tell us why we would love to hear it. I would love to get your feedback.
01:07:19:14 - 01:07:36:18
Wayne Mulder
In fact, I'm going to start reading some of these reviews on the air. I been looking at some of the ones on Apple Podcasts and thank you, thank you, thank you for the phenomenal reviews and thank you all for taking the time to listen to this. I hope you're really enjoying it. You all have a safe week out there and I will see you next week in the interview room.
01:07:36:20 - 01:08:00:41
Wayne Mulder
I will see you next week in Morning Roll Call. But in the meantime, I'll see you on the blue line.