I am Marc Maron, the guy from the thing. What's up?

We good?

eh

I watched Louis CK's show and the episode you were on featured almost an exact exchange of words you had on your podcast, only you said what he said and vice versa. Why do you think he did this, and how is your relationship with him now?

He did it to erase me. We're good.

Hi Mark,

How did it feel to get cut out of Mighty Ducks 2?

still pissed

Hey Marc! What's the worst experience you've ever had with a fan?

living with one

Hey Marc, you ever try to get Springsteen on WTF? That'd be a hell of a show.

It would be. I'll try.

Jon Stewart on WTF. Could it ever happen?

not a chance

Hey Marc,

I am an illustrator graphic designer, and I've always had something on T. V. playing in the background while I work. Recently, I've started listening to podcasts, and WTF is my favorite to listen to while working. As a way of saying thanks, here is an illustration I made for you. If you'd like to Private Message me an address, I'd be happy to have a 1 of 1 print made and ship it to you.

Now for my question: How hard was it to watch all of your friends become successes before you? Did it make you want to work harder, or quit trying altogether? I've been playing music in bands around my town for ten years now, and in the past year, I've watched two different people that I've either jammed with, or been in bands with play on David Letterman. It left me with the weirdest mix of pride and jealousy (we'll call it prealousy). As somehow who has made it through something similar, any advice?

bitterness is amplified self pity. Their success has nothing to do with you. learn that. live that.

What podcast guest were you most surprised by?

Ru Paul

Hi Marc, tonight I'm doing 45 minutes of stand-up at my college. I'd be nervous about that already, but I'm also going to do some new jokes about things like mental illness that I've had trouble talking about before. Do you have any advice?

Put the new ones in between ones that work good

Hey Marc!

Have you ever considered interviewing Kanye West for WTF? I feel like you and him would have a fantastic dynamic.

Sure. Would be great.

Did anybody remember to lock the gates?

Shit. No...

Hey Marc. I recently quit drinking and wanted to say I appreciate having a sober voice popular in the media. Did it take awhile for you to get comfortable talking it?

yes. I will be second nature eventually. stay with it.

Any plans to have Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer on the pod?

Yeah, Have to watch the show first

Have you gotten any progress on getting Lorne Michaels on? It seems like every SNL cast member says they'll talk to him about it when they're on your show. At possibility after SNL's season ends this week you may have an opportunity?

I'll get him

If you could have any 3 people on your podcast otherwise not available to you due to status, death, being cunts, or generally not available...who would they be and why?

Pryor, Vonnegut, Emily Dickinson

Marc, WTF’s original theme music was AC/DC’s Down Payment Blues. Can I assume you’re a fan of Bon Scott era AC/DC, in particular the Powerage album?

YES! LOVE THE ORIGINAL ACDC!

Hey Marc,

First of all, thank you for doing what you do. Your stuff is great, and I really love how passionate you are about music. That being said, I have two questions:

1. What type of guitars and effects pedals (if any) do you use?

2. Have you ever reached out to Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon), David Bazan, or Kevin Devine for interviews on your podcast? This is my own bias but I think you'd have really awesome convos with them, especially in terms of music.

I've been in touch with all of them. We'll see.

Hey Marc,

Could you shed some light on your beef with TJ Miller? Seems to be some genuine animosity between you 2.

Thanks

I have nothing against that guy. I don't know what his problems is. I just said he was a good actor and I didn't like his comedy that much and he got all worked up

Hey Marc,

What was the worse case of heckling that you've encountered? And how did you handle it?

I guy came out of the audience and tackled me. We wrestled.

Marc are you going to see the Stones in SD? And is Dean going?

We're planning on it.

What do you think about Bernie Sanders?

Love him

Hi Marc! What was Fiona Apple like and are you secretly in love with her like I am?

She's a genius.

Hey Marc, Great set in SF on Sunday. Me and my friend have decided to add "Marc Maron- type" to our online dating things. tinder etc. Have you ever tried the online dating scene/What advice might you give to a twenty something woman giving it a go?

I have not tried that. Have fun. Try not to pick a vampire.

Pow!!!! Hey Marc! Big fan of the podcast and the TV show. I'm really looking forward to season 3.

I wanted to ask if you've ever gotten in touch with Adam Sandler since that thing between you guys in the 90s and if he'll ever be on your podcast? And what's the deal with Jerry Seinfeld, why the fuck doesn't he want to do your show? Thanks dude.

Boomer Lives!!!

I'd like to have him on. Haven't gotten in touch. If he's reading this, 'Adam lets be friends'

Hey Marc. I'm a fan! I just checked out Thinky Pain after finishing Maron the IFC series. I enjoyed it a lot, even though it wasn't like... traditional jokes. It was almost like a humorous version of being your own therapist in monologue.

What made you realize that getting up on stage and verbally abusing yourself can be comedy?

I don't think that's all I do but I wanted to do it from a very young age

Can jet fuel melt steel beams?

Ask Ed Asner

If you could live in any city in America other than LA, where would it be?

Outside of Seattle somewhere

Do you like dogs?

Edit: This is a joke from Marc's stand up 21 years ago.

Yes, I do like dogs!

How do you feel about Devendra Banhart?

know nothing about him other than we are eskimo brothers

Thanks for doing this AMA! What was doing the Friars Club Roast of Chevy Chase like?

worst night of my life

Off stage, who is the funniest person you've ever been around?

steve pearl

Where should I start if I want to get into Beefheart?

AT THE BEGINNING

When are we going to get a David Bowie interview?

Would love to

Any chance of a new Marc & Tom episode? It was basically my favorite podcast ever.

Yeah.

Hey Marc, we good? What's going on with your Vice show? Any new details?

Still happening

Marc,

I don't have a question. Just wanted to let you know that I love your comedy. I love listening to you talk. What you say really reaches me on a personal level.

I'm not going to pretend that I have the experience to understand what you talk about, but I "get it," if that makes sense. The bitter, angry, self-loathing really resonates with me. I listen to your stand up sometimes, and while I recognize the humor, I can't laugh, because it feels too real to me. You have a bit about how if everything goes wrong, if everything goes to shit that plan B is just to go ahead and kill yourself. For years, I didn't know this was one of your bits. I thought this was just something that I felt. Then I heard you say it, and it was so weird to me that you had my exact thoughts about it. Every episode of your show feels very "real" to me, but I feel so fake for thinking that I understand. I don't have any of this experience! Where the fuck do I get off thinking that I understand, that I know what you're going through?

I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish with this. I wrote this out beforehand, and still couldn't actually come up with anything to say. Just want you to see this and maybe acknowledge it. I'm a big fan. Can't wait for season 3.

relax

Hey Marc, big fan of the podcast and show. On your show when the woman who played your mother said that you have all these intimate conversations with strangers on WTF but not with people close to you, did you pull that directly from your own life? Why is it that you find it's easier to have long, deep conversations with people you peripherally know but not family (assuming this is something from your own life)?

Less risky.

Who would you rank as the top five comedians of all time?

Pryor, Newhart, Rodney, Rickles, Hicks

Did you ever have to conquer stage fright in the early days of your career? How did you get to the point where you're comfortable on stage performing, or were you always?

took 25 years

Any chance we might see you on Comedy Bang Bang anytime soon?

Love the show and Podcast!

ask scott

Hypochondriac fan here - Mouth cancer episode in Season 2 was my favorite. If you got diagnosed today with terminal mouth cancer with one month to live, how would you spend it?

Eating!

Hi Marc! I’ve listened to WTF for a while now, and one of my favorite parts of my experience with the show is that I associate a few episodes with very specific places. I started listening when I lived in Le Mans, France for a year and I was training for a half marathon, so you accompanied me on a lot of my long runs. I remember listening to you speak to Bryan Cranston running around Avenue Rubillard, and to Penn Jillette in a neighborhood across from Université du Maine. You and Amy Poehler spoke to me in my little apartment on Avenue du Général Leclerc. I was on a train between Paris and Lyon when I listened to the live episode with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, and I had to pause during the segment where Odenkirk talked about the funny extra eating because I was laughing too hard for a public place. So even if you’ve never been to those specific places, in a way you have.

Having listened to so many episodes, I feel close to you as though you’re a friend even though we will probably never meet. I would imagine that my experience isn’t uncommon, so what is it like for you knowing that many strangers feel so close to you?

If you read this, thank you for your show. It’s really wonderful, and I’ve felt both joy and heartbreak listening to it. And I think that’s the mark of something good.

I try to be gracious and respectful. Not be a dick. I appreciate my fans.

Marc! I love reading your Twitter, mostly because I can relate to your random tweets. You're like a funny friend: random yet witty.

Random question for ya: I know you like coffee, do you like pastries or anything sweet with coffee? If so what's your favorite?

Fucking love anything sweet. I like almond croissants and old fashioned buttermilk donuts and chocolate and....

Are you looking forward to the new Vice series? How will it be different from WTF? Do you use Vice regularly anyway?

Yes. It will be long form interviews out in the world. It will be different because it will be on TV.

Is Norm MacDonald a jerk in real life?

nope. good guy. thoughtful

Hey Marc! I discovered your podcast recently and upgraded to premium after only my second listen.

How do you prepare for your interviews? Do you have pre-made questions written down or you just kind of wing it?

Boomer lives! Greetings from Panama, Central America!!

I get a sense of the person and then wing it. Try to be aware of major achievements.

Maron, I need some guidance.

I can't choose between an black ES-335 and a burst Telecaster with some upgrades. I really only play blues and Zep riffs. Which one would you get? I'll tweet a pic after I get it.

Love the show, love the podcast, love the books. Thanks for all of it. Boomer lives, man.

335

Hi Marc. Love your stuff. I'm researching an article on Jewish comedians and ran across a Pew Research study that found that “sense of humor” is an integral part of Jewish identity for a great number of American Jews (just 1% less than “love of Israel” in the survey). Have you found that to be true? And, if so, is there a typical Jewish sense of humor? (I'd love to talk to you more on this, but don't want to spam it up here)

Yes and yes.

I just came here to tell you I LOVE your interview style. WTF is my favorite podcast, by far.

Who was your favorite person to interview? And why?

So many good ones. Hard to pick. Really.

Hey Marc, I find your story incredibly inspiring. You consider yourself a lone wolf and you've succeeded at doing what you love mostly on your own terms. Do you have any advice for artists, musicians and comics who are struggling to reach that first rung?

Do the best you can and maybe you'll catch a break. You gotta do it because you love it though. Because you have to inside.

How actively are you pursuing Lorne Michaels to interview on WTF? As a true fan of comedy, I feel that a two-parter with you and him will be an amazing and fulfilling experience. Your interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Jonathan Winters were the best - thank you.

Also, I'm a huge WTF and Maron fan. Boomer LIVES!

very actively

How involved are you in choosing what music goes in the show?

Mostly my producer, Brendan McDonald

Any tips for an amateur writer?

take risks

Hey Marc!

Great show on Saturday at the Vogue in Vancouver.

Can you tell us what you really thought of that baby's name?

Crazy right?

I think I expressed what I thought. Weird ass name.

What made you realize that you had a problem and needed to get sober? How have you stuck to it for so many years?

It was ruining my life and I thought I would die. It gets easier to stay sober

Hey Marc!

Just curious, where do you see WTF going in the future? You recently achieved 600 episodes and that's not nothing. Do you plan to stay the course and bask in your radio roots until the end of days? Or is there something bigger for the fate of the garage?

Congratulations on the immense success!

I'll keep going

Hey Marc - I used to enjoy your show on Air America!

Do you think Jeb Bush will be our next President?

God I hope not

Marc, What do you consider to be one or two of your most underrated interviews? A lot of people acknowledge how profound and monumental your interviews with Louis CK, Artie Lange, Carlos Mencia, and others are. What are some that you feel should have taken off that haven't?

Big Jay, Todd Hanson, Norm

What advice did you get from people in the podcast world when you first started your show?

What is your favorite memory from throughout the show's history?

Did Gallagher ever reach out to you after his walk out?

Never heard from him again. Tried to get him on the tv show but he didn't want to die which I wanted him to do

Hi Marc, I'm a big fan. I'm always very interested in how you talk about hearing voices after quitting cocaine and hanging out with Sam Kinison. Was there ever a point where you seriously doubted your sanity and considered possibly quitting?

Yes. I lose my mind every once in a while but it usually comes back

I see you mentioned Vonnegut in one of your responses. How old were you when you first encountered his stuff, and how did it affect you?

Same question for Zappa.

They both grow in you as you get older

Hey Marc, when are you going to invite Harland Williams or Ricky Gervis to the show?

eh

Hi Mark. I love you. Did you ever do coke with Andy Kindler? I can't imagine that guy on it.

I did not.

Marc,

Huge fan of the show and podcast. Do you have any advice for someone who is less than a year sober off heroin? Is there anything you wished someone had told you about recovery when you were first getting clean?

Go to meetings everyday. Make the program your own. talk to other sober people daily.

how is your relationship with Louis C.K. now?

great

Thanks for doing this AMA, man. Moreover, thanks for everything else you do. WTF and Attempting Normal changed my life in a lot of ways, and that's not an exaggeration. I just have a few quick questions.

1) What's your best advice for making it as an aspiring comedian?

2) What's the rawest, most emotional interview you've ever done?

3) How long do you see yourself doing WTF? I hope you say forever haha.

Thanks in advance for any answers. Keep doing what you're doing and keep being awesome.

Just get on stage and figure it out. Todd Hanson I will do it until I can't

How do you think success has changed your candor and focus on WTF?

I'm less likely to interrupt with my problems

Do you remember a story you told on your episode with John Oliver when you guys were talking about sports?

In this story, you talked about when you played Little League, how you hated it, and they always put you in left field. Finally, one game, someone hit a pop-fly right to you. It was finally a chance to easily do something good for your team, for once! But as you backed up to get right under the ball, you tripped and fell. Moment ruined. You say that you had tripped on a sprinkler, but that might have been your brain making excuses. The crazy part is, this exact thing happened to me. All of it. Every detail exactly the same. Hating little league, being in left field, finally getting an easy catch hit to you, tripping on the sprinkler that may or may not have been real. As I was listening to you tell this story, I was freaking out, as each further detail matched exactly with my experience.

My question is: what does this mean? Am I you? What should I expect in the coming years?

It's got to be a pretty common experience that separates sports people from others. fuck sports

In the Maron episode where you meet with your agent and he treats you like crap, it's based on how Dave Becky treated you before you fired him right?

yes

Marc any plans for the following? Blues guitar comedy album, Book about the Alpha Doormat Syndrome, Self help guide to taking in stray cats?

Also after listening to most of the WTF collection on the premium service I'm sad I've never heard "what the fuck-o's" or "what the fuckies".

I'll get on those

Hi Marc: Was the Margret Cho live podcast about u 2 having sex your weirdest WTF moment, or does it get weirder?

That was pretty weird. Morgan Murphy did it too.

Is there any project you've been wanting to do for years, but haven't?

a music record

Hey Marc, Do you still believe in marriage as an institution? After what happened with Jess, do you think you would ever get engaged/married again?

probably. I'm stupid.

Marc, I'm a new fan and love your work on your show and the podcast.

What dead comedian would you love to interview for your show?

Rodney

Pryor

Lenny Bruce

Hey Marc!

The Joke episode of Maron you directed was my favourite of season 2, do you have plans to direct any more episodes of the show?

I did one this year too called 'Ex-Pod'

Marc, what kind of set up would you suggest for a guy looking to get into vinyl?

Thanks, love the podcast

One you can afford

Marc, Did you really key Dane Cook's lambo on last night's Best Show?

hah. no

Hey Marc, out of all the comics on Conan in the 90's you were my favorite. I've been doing stand up for a little over a year now. I am curious what your thoughts are on open mics? Go to everyone you can? Only go when you have something new? What are your thoughts and what did you do when you were starting out?

I did open mic when I started. Brutal. You have to go.

Marc, I love WTF and your standup. If you're ever in Louisville, KY you are welcome at my place to meet my cats.

You are a phenomenally talented interviewer and comedian who I know has struggled with this, and I am going through similar things but in my own line of work, so here's my question: do you have any helpful tips on how to move from being bitter about your peers' success to a more constructive acceptance and love of your own talents?

know that their success has nothing to do with you in any way

Hey Marc. It was great meeting you in Philly in April. What was the most important thing that you learned from working on this third season of Maron? What did you do differently?

We were all more comfortable with each other so everything went smoother and more funny

Do you pull most of your material from your tv show out of your stand up sets or do you try to separate the two?

Not really. Sometimes from stories on the podcast

Hey Marc! Love your show.

is Louie as awesome in real life as people make him out to be?

Sure

Marc, what's been the biggest change on the comedy scene since you got into the business. Has that change been positive or negative?

More outlets. Goes either way.

Hi Marc, love your podcast/comedy/the show. Saw you in DC, you were fantastic! Im also a fan of Gavin McInnes and he said you guys recorded a podcast, any plans on releasing that episode?

nah. It's no longer relevant.

You're a wise man and seem to have a lot of experience, how do you get over "The one who got away?", it's been years and she's still showing up in my dreams and junk like that.

Yeah, me too. It fades. I think that's the best we can hope for.

Thanks so much for doing this – you're the best.

Given how personal WTF and your stand-up is, I know that people often share intimidate details of their lives with you (for example, my gf of 5 years dumped me on my birthday in 2010 and for some reason I wrote you an email about it that night. Sorry about that – but it was pretty cathartic).

What is the most memorable instance of unsolicited over-sharing that you’ve gotten from a fan?

I don't know but I think it involved cancer and a car accident

About your experiences with drugs: How much did cocaine influence of affect your work?

Just made everything worse and faster

Which guitar of yours is your favorite?

the 335 right now

Hey Mark !!!! Big Fan of the show!! I was wondering how was it like working with Danny Trejo on the show? Is he really as threatening as he is in the show? Also where did you get the boots as seen on the opening of the show? Ive been trying to look for some ever since your show has aired on IFC. Thanks so much for doing an IAMA

They're Urban Outfitter boots. Trejo is a great guy. Solid. Not mean.

Marc, sorry, but another guest question: Dick Cavett? I know he must be on the radar.

yeah. maybe

Hey Marc,

It seems like the podcast varies between your good friends, people you've sought out that you find interesting, and people you have very little history with or background on. How do you choose your guests? Do you cater to people who may be pushing a new movie or show?

we don't really do junket promo interviews. I pick who I'm interested in talking to