Don't Do Nothing

[00:00:00] Evan: How to get paid gigs. They think, like, the struggle is part of the journey, and they have to keep the struggle 

[00:00:06] Brad: I feel like there’s so many people who are like, “Oh, I’m so funny.” People think they’re so hilarious. Yeah. What made you actually do it? 

[00:00:12] Evan: I even snuck on stage before that somewhere else- Yeah … just to get the awful comedy out of the way as quick as I could.

[00:00:18] Evan: How did it go? Horrible, because- First time on stage … I didn’t have a set list. 

[00:00:20] Brad: I am the New York Knicks of tutors. He’s delivered over 14,000 hours of tutoring. All right, welcome to another episode of the Don’t Do Nothing podcast. Today I have a super fun guest. This is gonna be a fun conversation. Mr. Evan Wexell.

[00:00:33] Brad: Yeah. So Evan is a comedian. Are you a stand-up comedian? Is that what 

[00:00:36] Evan: you’re- Comedian with a guitar. Like Adam- Okay … Adam Sandler-ish 

[00:00:41] Brad: You’re gonna have to explain that to me. I will. I’m super excited to hear about that. Okay. So he’s performed in 48 states, and the two are not, uh, Hawaii and Alaska as you might expect.

[00:00:49] Brad: No, I’ve been there. 

[00:00:50] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:00:50] Brad: It’s Arkansas and Mississippi, yeah? 

[00:00:53] Evan: Yes. 

[00:00:53] Brad: Okay, good. 

[00:00:53] Evan: Yes. 

[00:00:54] Brad: Well, we’ll have to hit those. 

[00:00:55] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:00:55] Brad: Uh, private tutor. 

[00:00:58] Evan: Yep. 

[00:00:58] Brad: You’re a professional private tutor. He’s [00:01:00] delivered over 14,000 hours of tutoring- 

[00:01:03] Evan: Yep … 

[00:01:03] Brad: which is bananas. Uh, podcaster and author, and he ran for California State Senate in 2020, and he was written in, like written onto the ballot by over 800 people.

[00:01:16] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:01:16] Brad: Uh, that’s some serious marketing. And he just so happens to be a Scientologist. 

[00:01:21] Evan: Who knew? 

[00:01:22] Brad: Oh, surprise. 

[00:01:23] Evan: Yeah. Yeah. No, thank you. This is out and out s- I love the show. I’ve been seeing all the episodes. I’ve been doing my research. I feel like I’ve… I’m ready to up to present time now. 

[00:01:32] Brad: Okay, good. 

[00:01:33] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:01:33] Brad: Well, super excited to have you.

[00:01:34] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:01:35] Brad: Um, and so, you know, uh, you know, we were, we were driving over here together and I was like, “Dude, you’re a comedian.” I’m, I’ve been a comedian in my mind for 33 years. I’m 33 years old. So. So what, when you walk into a room and you tell people you’re a comedian- Yeah … what is the typical response that you get?

[00:01:51] Evan: They want me to tell them a joke. But, you know, as a comedian, you’re, you know, you’re a storyteller. The joke I always tell- Yeah … which is not my joke- Yeah … is why did the monkey fall out [00:02:00] of the tree? 

[00:02:01] Brad: I, I don’t know. Why? 

[00:02:02] Evan: It was dead. And as off color, but that’s the one I have, and that’s has like a 78% success rate.

[00:02:08] Brad: Yeah? 

[00:02:09] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:02:10] Brad: I believe it. 

[00:02:10] Evan: Okay. I 

[00:02:11] Brad: thought it was funny. I thought it- I mean, it’s just unexpected. 

[00:02:14] Evan: It is. You wanna, you wanna catch them with something that’ll be like, take– I like, I like the pause. I like the initial, like, catching off guard of, of comedy 

[00:02:21] Brad: sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And then what is your, obviously, you know, thank you for the walk in the room joke.

[00:02:28] Brad: What, like why? Why, like, why are you, why are you actually a comedian? ‘Cause I feel like there’s so many people who are like, “Oh, I’m so funny.” People think they’re so hilarious. Yeah. What made you actually do it? 

[00:02:40] Evan: I, well, actually I, I went to college, uh, Tufts University near Boston, Massachusetts. Went in as a child development major because I had three younger sisters.

[00:02:49] Evan: I’m an excellent camp counselor. Uh, but then, you know, junior year my major changed a little. Senior year, my mom and my dad were like, “Do some economics.” I’m like, “Okay, I’ll [00:03:00] take some econ classes.” And then I graduate, and you know, you get your degree and it’s like, okay, what’s next? Yeah. I got an internship actually with the National Hockey League.

[00:03:11] Evan: I networked and I, it all actually- Oh, nice … worked out. Yeah, I was actually in, uh- 

[00:03:15] Brad: You’re from New York. Are you 

[00:03:16] Evan: a h- are you a big hockey fan? I’m from New York, 

[00:03:17] Brad: Long Island, 

[00:03:18] Evan: New York. Long Island. I was, I was at this internship actually at the National Hockey League during 9/11, so I was, like, in Rockefeller Center, and, you know, I hear the interns yelling, like, “Oh my God,” and, like, it’s like, you know, and we’re all, like- Mm

[00:03:29] Evan: basically the, the office is cleared out within 30 minutes and we’re all going home, and I’m walking 100 blocks that day ’cause of all that was going on that day. But I was, I got, I was an intern. That internship ran out. Um, and then I’m like, “Well, I guess I’ll do this sports marketing internsh- uh, seminar at NYU,” and my last presentation was about the WNBA and artist, uh, agent-athlete representation.

[00:03:54] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:03:54] Evan: And, uh- 

[00:03:55] Brad: Wait, hold on, hold on. I wanna pause you for a second. Yes. So you were in New York City on 

[00:03:59] Evan: [00:04:00] 9/11? On 9/11. 

[00:04:00] Brad: In 2001? Wow. 

[00:04:01] Evan: Yeah, right in Manhattan. I’m, like, walking- What was it- … down the streets and I see the smoke coming up and everything. Yeah. And it was crazy, and it, you know, it’s, um, everyone was…

[00:04:11] Evan: You could feel, like, the group, like, impact in Manhattan those days after it. 

[00:04:17] Brad: Mm. 

[00:04:17] Evan: And everyone was a lot kinder then. Um- Really? … everyone, like, we under- like, we’re all going through it. And this is before I knew anything about Scientology. I mean, I knew, you know, we were heroes at the, at Ground Zero, and the, the rescue workers sweating out the blue sludge- 

[00:04:36] Brad: Mm

[00:04:36] Evan: um, from doing purification program there. Um, but Yeah, it was, it was crazy. And it was like, this was like my second week at the internship, and everyone’s kind of spooked, but- 

[00:04:47] Brad: Wow … 

[00:04:48] Evan: we were… I was there, man. 

[00:04:50] Brad: Dude, that’s wild. 

[00:04:51] Evan: So, yeah, and it’s tough. You know, sometimes, you know, you hear, like, sometimes insensitive jokes.

[00:04:55] Evan: You know, I always like to stem those insensitive jokes. So I’m like, “Dude, I was there that day, so you better [00:05:00] check yourself before you wreck yourself,” because- Oh, yeah … yeah, 

[00:05:03] Brad: yeah. 

[00:05:03] Evan: Yeah. So yeah. I remember, like I, I used to work in World Trade 1. I worked for- Good, I won’t 

[00:05:07] Brad: tell any 9/11 jokes. 

[00:05:08] Evan: Don’t. I was, I worked for the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

[00:05:12] Evan: It’s a joke. I would 

[00:05:12] Brad: never. 

[00:05:13] Evan: Yeah, I worked for this, like, uh, Boomer Esiason was an NFL quarterback, and he, uh, champions cystic fibrosis, and they do amazing work. But, uh, they’re– I was an intern summers in One World Trade on, like, the 101st floor. And, like, his brokerage that donated… The office space was a brokerage that donated space to Boomer.

[00:05:32] Evan: Um- Mm … and they lost, like, most of the people on 9/11. Wow. So yeah, it’s a, it’s a glum way to start our interview. Yeah. But, uh, it was, you know, it was, like, it was quite a, a tremendous, like, impactful moment for, for everyone in Manhattan that day. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:05:46] Brad: Yeah. Wow. 

[00:05:46] Evan: Totally. I don’t know. 

[00:05:47] Brad: Wow, that’s wild. Okay, please continue.

[00:05:49] Evan: Oh, no, that w- that w- On your, on your, on your story … 

[00:05:51] Brad: on 

[00:05:51] Evan: my comedy journey. 

[00:05:51] Brad: On your story. Yes. Yeah, on your comedy journey, yeah. 

[00:05:53] Evan: So I’m doing that internship. The NHL internship runs out. Yeah. So I’m like, “What do I do next?” I take this m- [00:06:00] seminar at NYU for sports entertainment events marketing, and the last presentation I’m, have to talk about the WNBA, and all I’m doing is, like, hand puppets during it.

[00:06:10] Evan: And the professor’s like, “I’m not gonna give you feedback ’cause I just want you to get on the stage.” So as I 

[00:06:17] Brad: started- Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. You, what do you mean you’re doing hand puppets? 

[00:06:20] Evan: I’m, like, doing like, “I’m the agent, and I’m the athlete, and we’re… You know, I’m gonna get what I’m worth.” I don’t even remember.

[00:06:27] Evan: It was all a blur. But I was doing– That was my role in the group presentation to show we could apply the principles of marketing to whatever venue that was. 

[00:06:37] Brad: Oh. Oh, okay, I got it. 

[00:06:38] Evan: Yes. 

[00:06:38] Brad: That was a class presentation. 

[00:06:40] Evan: Yes. 

[00:06:40] Brad: And you decided to do hand puppets. 

[00:06:41] Evan: That’s right. It was an, it was a continued education.

[00:06:44] Evan: So there are people there, like, my age, there are people there 30 years older than me. 

[00:06:47] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:06:47] Evan: And I’m just doing all this in front of- 

[00:06:49] Brad: There are people who are 100 years old there. 

[00:06:52] Evan: 100 years old. But still kicking. Yes. So- 

[00:06:57] Brad: Okay, so the guy says, “I’m gonna get, I wanna get you on stage.” 

[00:06:59] Evan: She’s like, “You [00:07:00] should get on stage.”

[00:07:00] Evan: Lady. Right. So it’s, there was a guy there too. He was actually an, an NFL agent- Yeah … also doing the seminar. But I took classes at the Comic Strip on the Upper East Side, and I would walk there once a week, uh, with my new internship, which was, uh, the New York Road Runners who put on the New York City Marathon.

[00:07:17] Brad: Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. 

[00:07:18] Evan: I clarify a lot. 

[00:07:19] Brad: How did comedy, how did comedy get in? Like, where, you’re just all of a sudden you’re a comedian? I was just always a 

[00:07:22] Evan: goof. Yeah? My, my, you know, my Mount Rushmore of movies growing up was, was Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura- … Happy Gilmore- Yeah … Billy Madison. 

[00:07:31] Brad: Yeah.

[00:07:32] Evan: That’s like the first movies I’ve made my kids watch. It’s the first movies I’ve made my kids watch again. So that’s, those are my defining picks. That’s, my GIFs on my phone will all originate from those movies. 

[00:07:45] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:07:46] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:07:46] Brad: Okay, but the, the teacher says, “I wanna get you on stage.” Was, that wasn’t, like, in a comedy class though.

[00:07:53] Brad: That was in a sports 

[00:07:54] Evan: marketing class, wasn’t it? No, she, no, but she wanted me to go on a comedy stage, ’cause she- Randomly? … she, she saw something You [00:08:00] know, everything’s entertainment. I mean, sports- Yeah … is entertainment. 

[00:08:02] Brad: Yeah, yeah. 

[00:08:03] Evan: So I mean, I was able to captivate the audience. Let’s get on the stage. 

[00:08:07] Brad: Wow.

[00:08:07] Evan: Yeah, and so I’m taking eight weeks of a class- Yeah … and I’m learning it, and I’m gonna get on stage at the end of the eight weeks. Yeah. I even snuck on stage before that somewhere else- Yeah … just to get the awful comedy out of the way as quick as I could. How did it go? Horrible, because- First time on stage

[00:08:21] Evan: I didn’t have a set list. 

[00:08:22] Brad: Mm. 

[00:08:23] Evan: You need a set list. I- 

[00:08:24] Brad: You need a set list of jokes or gags or whatever. 

[00:08:26] Evan: Yeah. I had, like, ’cause I was doing standup only for like, only for the first year, year and a half. Then I started taking guitar in college to apply the theory of my child development major class to a new hobby.

[00:08:41] Evan: So I used the, the professor’s, um, approach of it, what intelligence is as it applies to taking a new hobby. Yeah. And I started taking eight weeks of guitar lessons to cover Bon Jovi songs. Yeah. Really, initially. 

[00:08:55] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:08:55] Evan: But, um, I put the guitar- Wanted. That’s, that’s the only [00:09:00] riff I’ve ever played. It’s the best riff I’ve, the best riff I know.

[00:09:02] Evan: I was printing out Wanted Dead or Alive. Livin’ on a Prayer. Um, a lot of his Destination Anywhere was a solo album that came out when I was learning it. Yeah. Um, but then I put the guitar and the comedy together and I was, it seemed to be great. It was- Yeah … I wrote very twisted songs in the beginning. I stand by those songs.

[00:09:22] Evan: I wouldn’t dare say the titles of them or the content of them. They’ve been pulled down, I’m sorry. But I’m very happy with my current material. And it was a, a great- Too 

[00:09:34] Brad: profane even for the internet. 

[00:09:36] Evan: I, no, no, no. Some of them are very fun. Not profane, but twisted is the word. I just think, like, if I were to, to do something in the, in the public realm again-

[00:09:43] Evan: it’s, it would not be best for me to be calling back to those hidden jewels. Okay. They’re, they’re like in the trunk, you know? Those are songs that just stay in the trunk. You play them for yourselves when you’re, when you’re happy, when you wanna just reminisce. Yeah. But yeah. I moved on. 

[00:09:58] Brad: Okay, so you combined [00:10:00] guitar and comedy and, and is it an oversimplification to say that you wrote hilarious songs?

[00:10:05] Evan: Yes. 

[00:10:05] Brad: That is an oversimplification? 

[00:10:07] Evan: No, 

[00:10:07] Brad: no, no, that- Or that’s pretty accurate … that’s a good, that’s a good 

[00:10:09] Evan: elevator pitch. That’s 

[00:10:09] Brad: pretty accurate. Okay. 

[00:10:10] Evan: I wrote hilarious songs. 

[00:10:11] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:10:12] Evan: Or I could probably describe the sh- my show as a comedy pep rally. Because I’m trying, ’cause I, ’cause it’s not so much about my material, it’s about- That’s what cheerleaders do.

[00:10:22] Evan: It’s about your material. 

[00:10:23] Brad: I like big letters. 

[00:10:23] Evan: Yes, ’cause I- Yeah … wanna go to, like I do a lot of colleges and universities. Yeah. I wanna go to that college and be like, “I could talk about me. I could give you my, my story through my material.” Yeah. “But I want to know what your deal is. I wanna know what’s going on on campus.”

[00:10:38] Evan: Yeah. “I wanna have you guys on stage because I have bits ready to go that look a lot better with you on stage next to me and me playing the material, rather than me just by myself having a conversation with myself on stage.” 

[00:10:50] Brad: Oh, okay. 

[00:10:51] Evan: So I want, I want the students dancing on stage. I wanna do a list about the school I’m at.

[00:10:56] Evan: I wanna push all the right buttons and- 

[00:10:58] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:10:59] Evan: and [00:11:00] get them to yell things at me. 

[00:11:01] Brad: Okay, so is that your m- Okay, so let’s just continue the story- Yeah. … ’cause I think my question will get answered. 

[00:11:07] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:11:07] Brad: So you start in, that was in, where was that? In New York City? I’m doing- Where you just started getting, hitting comedy clubs?

[00:11:13] Brad: I, 

[00:11:13] Evan: I started, yeah, I was living at home with my parents triumphantly, uh, after college. Oh, that’s- Probably would still be there if I never met my wife. Um- And I, you know, I could, I was trying to do spots- Oh my gosh, 

[00:11:25] Brad: I’m sorry. Left that out of the bio. Husband, any kids? I didn’t ask. 

[00:11:28] Evan: Two kids. 

[00:11:29] Brad: Two beautiful children.

[00:11:30] Evan: Two lovely kids. Yeah. Two lovely boys. They’re in a pool right now down the street. 

[00:11:34] Brad: Let’s go. 

[00:11:34] Evan: Yeah. Supervised. Supervised. For the record. There’s lots of kids around right now. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, I… What was the question again? 

[00:11:43] Brad: Okay, so the question, so you’re going around, I assume at this point you just start hitting comedy clubs to start refining the, the, the bits.

[00:11:50] Evan: It was unique- Like the act … because I’m a comedian with a guitar, but also I’m on Long Island, so I’m driving around Long Island at night from like 6:00 [00:12:00] PM to maybe 1:00 or 2:00 AM seeing what’s open where on what evening. Hmm. And then going home late, sleeping 2:00 to 8:00, and then I go back to the internship in Manhattan the next day.

[00:12:10] Evan: Oh. Sometimes I can go to cl- open mics or club spots after work, but I’m cutting my teeth on Long Island stages, which are mainly music venues. 

[00:12:23] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:12:23] Evan: And my first time going up on stage was actually a poetry night. So it’s like- 

[00:12:28] Brad: Dude, was it poetry slam? 

[00:12:29] Evan: It, there was some slamming or there was just some introspective, gothic, sad poetry going on.

[00:12:36] Evan: But I’m like the comic relief that goes on stage, and try as I might, give it my old little engine that could attempts on stage. Uh, and I just kept coming back. And tho- that’s really where, like there were venues on Long Island where like that’s where I was formative, you know? Yeah. 

[00:12:51] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:12:51] Evan: Yeah. So but then, 

[00:12:52] Brad: yeah.

[00:12:52] Brad: What, what do, what do you think was, what do you think was the funniest set you ever did back in the Long Island days? Uh, 

[00:12:58] Evan: I think there was a set [00:13:00] where I went, it was like, it was called The Downtown in Farmingdale. It’s since closed down, but I saw great bands there. Maybe like 1,000 people could get in there.

[00:13:10] Evan: And there was just like a- That’s a pretty 

[00:13:11] Brad: big crowd, isn’t 

[00:13:11] Evan: it? It’s a pretty dec- no, it was like, it was a great stage. Yeah. It was a great sound setup. I’m like, “I’m not worthy of this. I’m just like, you know, like singer-songwriter setup.” 

[00:13:18] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:13:18] Evan: But I come back and I sing like a song about emo. Like emo has- Yeah

[00:13:24] Evan: been a constant presence in my life and my material. 

[00:13:26] Brad: Oh, 

[00:13:26] Evan: really? And about like, just like a mock emo song. Like what emo problems really are about, not like relationship. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re really like- Yeah, yeah … oh my gosh, I’m never gonna own a home. Like that’s emo stuff. So I play this song on stage- Is that true?

[00:13:39] Evan: Play this other song. 

[00:13:41] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:13:41] Evan: And I have, like, my mailing list. I have someone at the venue, like, holding my mailing list, and I’ve had, and I had free, like, burned CDs after my set. 

[00:13:49] Brad: Wait, what’s a mailing list? 

[00:13:51] Evan: The things where you’re like, you want people to write their emails on it. Oh, like physical address?

[00:13:55] Evan: Yeah, like here’s paper- Oh, oh, oh. Got it, got it, got it … and like give me your 

[00:13:56] Brad: email. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 

[00:13:57] Evan: And I had such a rush of incoming, [00:14:00] like, fandom after that open mic set. 

[00:14:02] Brad: No way. 

[00:14:03] Evan: And it was like, I got 40 people that night on my mailing list- Yeah, yeah … just because the songs, like, hit and, like, the host was like, “That, that’s something right there- 

[00:14:12] Brad: Yeah

[00:14:12] Evan: that you just pulled off.” 

[00:14:13] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:14:13] Evan: And so it was amazing to have those kinds of moments. 

[00:14:16] Brad: And that’s back when, like, 40 people on a mailing list was, like, a big deal. Yeah. 

[00:14:19] Evan: Yeah. Like, I wouldn’t even have- Yeah … like, a, a platform. This is probably pre-Constant Contact- 

[00:14:24] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:14:24] Evan: and all that. So I’m just, like, typing them all in and yeah.

[00:14:28] Brad: You just, like, send the emails one by one. 

[00:14:30] Evan: Send 

[00:14:31] Brad: Like, put them all on the CC 

[00:14:32] Evan: line. That’s sometimes what I do. I, I do resort to that sometimes with, with my outreach. Like, I, I always get, like, the replies. I gotta reply to these people. It’s been months. 

[00:14:40] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:14:40] Evan: Because, you know, as a comedian, like, most of my gigs, I’m the hustler.

[00:14:44] Evan: Like, I’ve had agents. Mm. I do it myself. Like, I know who the gatekeepers are- Mm-hmm … so I know who to hunt down and, and make, make connections with. 

[00:14:54] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:14:54] Evan: So yeah, it’s like I’m, I’m 99% of the stuff, it’s all me. 

[00:14:59] Brad: [00:15:00] Wow. 

[00:15:00] Evan: So Yeah. 

[00:15:01] Brad: So, okay, where, where does it go from there? How did, how like… And how- You’ve j- this has just been your career, basically your whole, like, or kind of like on the s- how does it play in with like the rest of your life?

[00:15:14] Evan: I started comedy like a year after college. 

[00:15:17] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:15:17] Evan: And then, and I was, you know, I was a modest, I was a good open mic success. 

[00:15:23] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:15:23] Evan: I meet my wife at the train station. To show how random this is, we went to the same high school, we never met. 

[00:15:29] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:15:30] Evan: She was a year older, higher, better reputation than me. Top of the f- popularity food chain.

[00:15:34] Evan: Yeah. She was- Oh, 

[00:15:36] Brad: were you a class clo- class clown in school? 

[00:15:38] Evan: Ish, but I wasn’t- Ish … that wasn’t my rep. I was probably more just known as being like a, a dork or like- Oh, wow … just like a track, trombone playing- 

[00:15:45] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:15:45] Evan: nerdish kind of thin guy. 

[00:15:47] Brad: Wow. 

[00:15:48] Evan: And um, but I was going in to… She was, she, I met her on the train platform for our hometown station.

[00:15:56] Evan: She’s going in to work out with a personal trainer ’cause I think she was [00:16:00] hungover from the night before. 

[00:16:01] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:16:01] Evan: And I’m going to an, an open mic at a Black poetry club in Lower Manhattan. So the chances of us meeting with those circumstances already in place- 

[00:16:13] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:16:13] Evan: pretty amazing. 

[00:16:14] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:16:14] Evan: And then there it is.

[00:16:16] Evan: Yeah. Like, yeah. So- 

[00:16:17] Brad: Did you tell her where, where you were going? 

[00:16:19] Evan: Yeah, I, no, I told her where I was going. I told her I was a comedian ’cause she’s a funny person. She’s like into all the theater stuff and I gave her- Yeah … my CD and, and I think she called me, and we were both living with our parents like a mile away from each other and- 

[00:16:32] Brad: Gents, the CD

[00:16:34] Evan: the C- Burn no CD. The CD pick-up line. Or the, or at least have the Spotify playlist ready to go, uh, I guess now. But it, it just worked out where we hung out- Yeah … and, you know, she had to have her, her come to, I guess, e- ethical moment because, like, she was going down a certain path and- Yeah … and, uh, I know we’re gonna get into the Scientology part of this, but like- Yeah

[00:16:56] Evan: sh- as a Scientologist, she wrote what was called a condition, [00:17:00] a formula- 

[00:17:00] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:17:01] Evan: for her relationships. And after she did this, she met me two days later. 

[00:17:06] Brad: Wow. 

[00:17:07] Evan: And, you know, even though there were some bumps in the beginning, she, she dumped me two weeks in, but then she came crawling back. 

[00:17:16] Brad: So- 

[00:17:17] Evan: Came to my place of work, wanted to have a conversation.

[00:17:19] Evan: I’m like, “Okay. Hey boss, I need a w- I need an hour.” And then, uh, and then it all worked out from there. 

[00:17:25] Brad: Dude, that’s awesome. 

[00:17:25] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:17:26] Brad: Okay, so let’s, let’s f- kinda like complete the, the comedy story arc. Yes. So where, where did it go from- 

[00:17:34] Evan: Kind 

[00:17:34] Brad: of like the, the intro, like going around Long Island evenings 

[00:17:38] Evan: And starting to outreach for schools, and then this kind of ties into actually how I got into Scientology- 

[00:17:44] Brad: Yeah.

[00:17:44] Oh, 

[00:17:45] Evan: perfect. Yeah … which was, which was through my wife. Yeah. Like, she was volunteering at, uh, Celebrity Centre New York- Yeah … which is a, you know, a building in, uh, Upper East Side, I think a brownstone. And, um, she know, she mentioned it to me. I d- I didn’t know. I mean, I knew she was Jewish, I was [00:18:00] Jewish, and I’m- Yeah

[00:18:00] Evan: I’m a s- I guess I’m a Scientol Jew. But, uh, Scientologist, I don’t know, however you wanna say it. But it’s something I just didn’t know about You’re not 

[00:18:09] Brad: the only one I know. I know. I 

[00:18:10] Evan: know many, actually. Hey. 

[00:18:12] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:18:12] Evan: There are many, there are many Scientology Hanukkah parties I have played Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah song at.

[00:18:18] Evan: Or O.J. Simpson, and then everyone goes, “Not a Jew.” That’s right. So it’s been, yeah. So I, she told me about it. I got an, like a walkthrough of, of Celebrity Centre in New York, and then I knew her brother actually works at the Celebrity Centre in H- Hollywood. 

[00:18:37] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:18:38] Evan: And I was like, “Seems great. I mean, my, my life is kind of m- okay-ish.”

[00:18:45] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:18:45] Evan: Um, but luckily I was able to sabotage myself enough to be able to jeopardize the relationship enough to where I could start doing courses. And as I moved and followed her to Los Angeles- Yeah … in 2005- Wait, 

[00:18:59] Brad: [00:19:00] wait, hold up. 

[00:19:00] Evan: Yes. Can you explain what you just said? I didn’t follow what you just said. So I self-saba- almo- I almost sa- I, like I almost, like, messed around- 

[00:19:06] Brad: Yeah

[00:19:07] Evan: um, on her- Yeah … when I didn’t have to. Yeah, yeah. And I didn’t necessarily, you know, engage in that, but there was, you know, it’s just a bad decision. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A bad decision- Yeah … that I- 

[00:19:20] Brad: Close 

[00:19:20] Evan: call … I’m thankful for. Yeah, it’s a close call. Yeah. Like, I was on the phone with her all night like, “I’m worried about this.”

[00:19:26] Evan: And she’s like, “Just you s- you stick it out.” I’m being very ambiguous. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that’s, I-I’m trying to protect the innocent. 

[00:19:31] Brad: It’s fine. It’s fine. Yeah, it’s 

[00:19:31] Evan: fine. Um, but I, you know, I knew that was, that was gonna be some ditch digging. I was digging my ditch that night, and I’d have to be digging myself out of it ’cause I knew we were getting married, like, a month or two later, or we’re getting engaged a month or two later.

[00:19:45] Brad: Oh, okay. 

[00:19:46] Evan: So now that I have that baggage- 

[00:19:49] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:19:50] Evan: you know, I’m like, “Okay, there’s something I need to kinda fix ’cause of that happening.” 

[00:19:54] Brad: Oh, I got it. 

[00:19:56] Evan: Okay. And this is where the timing of [00:20:00] she’s a Scientologist. Mm. I’m meeting her brother in Hollywood. He’s telling me more about Scientology, and I’m like, “Sure, let’s do a course.

[00:20:09] Evan: Let’s do the, it’s a personal values and integrity- 

[00:20:12] Brad: Mm … 

[00:20:13] Evan: introductory course,” where I basically say it’s- Fantastic course … a course not to do dumb stuff. 

[00:20:18] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:19] Evan: And I tell this too ’cause I even now do seminars at Celebrity Centre where I’m like, “This is the course I did.” Like, I talk to new artists about this.

[00:20:26] Evan: Um, and then from there it was- 

[00:20:28] Brad: The course not to do dumb stuff. 

[00:20:30] Evan: The course not to do dumb stuff. That’s a great elevator pitch for that course. That’s the G-rated description I give of that course. Oh, yeah And then it was overcoming ups and downs. Little did I know that there’s so many tiers of how you can really get into the weeds of how much do you really wanna overcome the ups and downs?

[00:20:47] Evan: ‘Cause you can overcome it at, like, a surface level, or you can really dive in and pull out all the weeds. 

[00:20:54] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:55] Evan: And I was able to, like, to do, to go in the first time. 

[00:20:57] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:20:58] Evan: And from there, while [00:21:00] this was happening, while I was on these courses, I was outreaching with comedy. I was sending my VHS tapes at the tail end of the VHS era.

[00:21:07] Evan: Oh my 

[00:21:07] Brad: gosh, dude. Wow. 

[00:21:09] Evan: And we’re putting, I’m sending them out to New England, all these New England schools. Like, “Here’s my VHS tape.” And I had colleges not just not replying and not just, you know, throwing them out. I had one mail my VHS tape back to me. Like, they invested the money in the postage to just get my material out of their space.

[00:21:29] Evan: I’m like, “Why? Like, I’m 

[00:21:30] Brad: good.” They must’ve, they must’ve really liked it. 

[00:21:31] Evan: I don’t know, man. Or they wanted me to save, I don’t know, save the planet. I don’t 

[00:21:35] Brad: know. They’re like, “This is a national treasure. You need to preserve this.” 

[00:21:37] Evan: Yes, preserve it ’cause we’re not, we don’t want anything to do with it. Yeah. 

[00:21:41] Brad: Oh my God.

[00:21:42] Evan: But as I was walking back to the car after going on course one day- Yeah … I got a voicemail from one of those New England colleges. Like, “Hi, this is Breck at Bryant U- University-” Yeah … “Rhode Island. Um, do you wanna headline?” I’m like, “Yeah.” 

[00:21:54] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:21:55] Evan: So I, I’m like, “Okay, what do you need?” Like, and I, I quoted them really low.

[00:21:59] Evan: If I [00:22:00] could do it over again, I would’ve doubled my price. Yeah. But it’s okay. 

[00:22:02] Brad: What did, what’d you charge on the first one? 

[00:22:03] Evan: Um, 650. 

[00:22:05] Brad: 650 bucks. Which, 

[00:22:06] Evan: which, which is not, I should have done… I try to do probably, you wanna, if you’re gonna play colleges, you wanna go over 1,000. I would say 1,500 is, is middle range.

[00:22:15] Evan: Yeah. If you’re just, like, if you’re not, like, a household name, obviously colleges have budgets for, um, the big names. Like, there’s like, “We need, we have a $10,000 allocation for, like, the headliner, or we have $100,000-” Yeah … “for the person from Saturday Night Live.” 

[00:22:28] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:22:28] Evan: But yeah, I charged low, but it was, you know, still to, like, rent the car and then drive up there and do my set and then have that done and then be like, “Oh my gosh, I can just keep doing this.”

[00:22:39] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:22:40] Evan: And I’d have, like, these five-figure months where I would go, like, I would do four colleges in four states in four days. Yeah. And I was, like, racking up the, the Delta miles, and I was racking up the experience and just seeing audiences and passing out my stuff and Who knew? 

[00:22:57] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:22:58] Evan: And it was great. I was just [00:23:00] climbing that ladder and showcasing at conferences for buyers to see me, and- 

[00:23:05] Brad: Yeah

[00:23:06] Evan: yeah, I, I still do it today. Like, doing shows is like vacation for me. 

[00:23:10] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:23:10] Evan: Like, to be on a stage and be able to uplift and, like, make them happier and, like, have them get, like, stuff off their chest during my show, I also allow that. Yeah. So yeah. Like, I have them write, um, like FMyLife.com- 

[00:23:23] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:23:23] Evan: is like a, was a website which is now, like, you know, on social media where people just, like, vent about horrible things that have happened to them.

[00:23:29] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[00:23:30] Evan: My thing is let me write a song about it, and let me have you guys write your own, and let’s read them on stage and just see who wants to get stuff off their chest. 

[00:23:38] Brad: Dude, that’s brilliant. 

[00:23:39] Evan: Anonymously, voluntarily. 

[00:23:41] Brad: Best user-generated content ever. ‘

[00:23:43] Evan: Cause, like, if the audience is tight- Yeah … like, I know I gotta go to that ’cause that loosens everyone.

[00:23:48] Brad: Mm, 

[00:23:48] Evan: mm-hmm. I know, like, I time out my show where it, it gets better and better. Mm. If, like, if they’re, if they’re with me for, like, the first 15- Yeah … like, great. But I know I’ll get them, like FML will, will loosen them up. [00:24:00] Then all of a sudden I’m gonna do stuff about their school. Yeah. Then all of a sudden I’m gonna bring them on stage.

[00:24:04] Evan: Then all of a sudden I’m gonna write a song with me- Yeah … using Mad Libs. Yeah. So it’s all, it’s all kind of fun stuff. Like- 

[00:24:10] Brad: That’s awesome … 

[00:24:11] Evan: that’s why I say, like, pep rally. Let’s just get them leaving in a better shape than they came in. 

[00:24:15] Brad: Dude, that’s beautiful. 

[00:24:16] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:24:16] Brad: And it’s funny. Okay, so, uh, you said Celebrity Centre a couple times.

[00:24:20] Brad: I think we should define- Yeah … that just, like, as a, as a term. So- 

[00:24:24] Evan: Right … 

[00:24:24] Brad: what, what is, what is a Celebrity Centre? 

[00:24:27] Evan: It’s– Well, there’s lots of churches of Scientology. There’s lots of organizations. But there are some that L. Ron Hubbard dedicated just to artists. So a Celebrity Centre is such a building. Like, there’s– They’re all over the world.

[00:24:41] Evan: There’s one in Paris. Mm-hmm. There’s one connected to the church in Las Vegas. International, like, the headquarters is in Hollywood. I went– I first walked through the one in New York City. 

[00:24:52] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:24:52] Evan: So it’s, like, where– There’s one in Nashville. Yeah. Like, wherever there’s, like, a good hub of artists that, like– It’s the s- It’s like, I tell people it’s the [00:25:00] sanest place for artists in Hollywood.

[00:25:02] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:25:02] Evan: Like, we’re, we’re here to f- Mm … they’re here to foster artists because- My, my brother-in-law always says, “When you shine a lot of light, you attract a lot of mosquitoes.” 

[00:25:13] Brad: Wow. When you shine a lot of light, you attract a lot of mosquitoes. That’s true, and they suck blood. 

[00:25:17] Evan: They suck blood, and they like the- but they like the taste.

[00:25:19] Evan: Yeah So they’re gonna keep sucking. And they can 

[00:25:20] Brad: give you malaria. 

[00:25:21] Evan: They can. They can. You might need the shot for that, I’m not sure. 

[00:25:25] Brad: So you just need a mosquito net. Walk around 

[00:25:26] Evan: with it all the time. You just walk around in the net. But, you know, you have to if you really wanna get your communication lines, your- Yeah

[00:25:32] Evan: your, your voice out there- Mm-hmm … in the world. You’ve gotta be able to walk through the mosquitoes. 

[00:25:37] Brad: Yeah, you can’t retract. Like, that’s not– That will never work for an artist. 

[00:25:41] Evan: Yeah. And I had a show, like a few weeks ago, I like to do even these high school grad parties where I go on at 2:00 in the morning ’cause the parents like- Oh, wow

[00:25:50] Evan: ’cause these kids are up all night, you know, we wanna keep the kids off drink- not drinking and driving, wanna keep them locked into the high school having fun. 

[00:25:56] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:25:57] Evan: You know, and, and I’m– and I did my show at [00:26:00] 2:00 in the morning. You know, they were rowdy, you know, they’re, they’re turning into gremlins, but at the same time they’re digging the show.

[00:26:05] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:26:06] Evan: But I’ve had… You know, I had someone, like, say, like, vile stuff to me right at the end of the show, like, as I was giving out, like, my merch or something I did during the show, and she’s like, “You are a blank blank.” And I’m like, “Well, what didn’t you like?” And then she told me, and I’m like, “Just a mosquito.”

[00:26:23] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:26:23] Evan: Because, you know, you have to have a thick skin. 

[00:26:26] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:26:26] Evan: But it’s okay to, like, be hurt by something, but it’s, like, be able to brush it off and assign it a certain significance- Yeah … to when you en- encounter, like, just, just bad vibes from others. Yeah. Like, you know. And I’m, and I’m training, actually. I’ve been training to be a Scientology counselor, which is an auditor.

[00:26:43] Evan: So, like, I can, I can have someone, like, on the other side of the table from me, and I can actually help them be less, um, aberrated, I guess. Mm-hmm. Where, you know, I know it was my first show as a trained auditor in front of an audience, and just [00:27:00] being able to look at them almost like it was an auditing session, but at the sa- but it’s like comedy.

[00:27:05] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:27:05] Evan: But it’s the same dynamic. It’s like, let me make sure, like, I’m acknowledging what they’re saying- 

[00:27:10] Brad: Mm … 

[00:27:11] Evan: and not labeling them in any way and not making fun of them in any way. 

[00:27:15] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:27:16] Evan: But, but just, like, grant them, like, who they are as an audience. 

[00:27:20] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:27:21] Evan: And it just felt like I 

[00:27:22] Brad: had a- Like, acknowledge them for who they are

[00:27:24] Evan: who they are. Yeah, yeah. Like, “Guys, you guys just graduated high school. Like, you busted your, your chops for, like, four years, and now here’s your penult- This is, like, the culmination of it.” Or 

[00:27:33] Brad: you didn’t- Yeah … and you got through anyways. 

[00:27:35] Evan: Or you’re gonna just hang out here next fall and be, like, the sketchy super senior.

[00:27:39] Evan: Either way- … this night is for you. I’m here for you guys. So it’s just kinda cool, like, to… I felt like I was offering more care to the audience than I had- Yeah … in the past. 

[00:27:48] Brad: That’s beautiful. 

[00:27:49] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:27:49] Brad: Dude, I love the, uh, the mosquito metaphor. It was, it’s a great line. For kinda like, like, it’s be- it’s a, it’s better than, like, um, you know, some people call them, like, energy vampires or something like that.

[00:27:59] Brad: [00:28:00] Yeah. But it’s like mosquito is a better term because it’s tiny, and all it takes is a little, like- And it’s gone or completely crushed, you know? 

[00:28:07] Evan: Yeah, man. And, and like, I’m, you know, I’m on social and I sometimes I’ll see, like, the celebrities I look up to, and they have, like, these- Like, 

[00:28:14] Brad: who, who are some celebrities you look up to?

[00:28:15] Evan: Oh, geez. I don’t wanna na- Okay, fine. 

[00:28:17] Brad: Just name one. 

[00:28:18] Evan: Well, I… So here’s the thing. Yeah. I’m a big Bon Jovi fan, but, you know, and I’m in a very happy place right now. My New York Knicks just won the NBA title. Congratulations. 

[00:28:25] Brad: So this is like- Congratulations. Yeah … 

[00:28:26] Evan: this is, this is heaven. This 

[00:28:27] Brad: is- He, I don’t know if you can see it, he has a, he’s a dedicated, he has a Jets hat on, so.

[00:28:31] Evan: And it’s, it’s in black because I’m always mourning the team and their current state. 

[00:28:35] Brad: He pulled it out of his bag and I was like, “Wow, that’s a bad 

[00:28:37] Evan: team.” It, it’s a, it was- Nice 

[00:28:39] Brad: hat. 

[00:28:39] Evan: Crap team … it was discounted at the NFL store. So you know what? That’s why I’m a Scientologist Jew. I know there’s always a good deal to be had somewhere.

[00:28:46] Brad: Oh my God. 

[00:28:47] Evan: Yes. Challah. Anyway. 

[00:28:50] Brad: Oh. 

[00:28:51] Evan: So yeah, so where were you coming from again? 

[00:28:54] Brad: Uh, I forgot about, 

[00:28:56] Evan: on the 

[00:28:56] Brad: hat. 

[00:28:57] Evan: Me too. I made [00:29:00] 

[00:29:00] Brad: the- Oh, the celebrity- … 

[00:29:00] Evan: the mosquito remark. 

[00:29:00] Brad: Yeah, the 

[00:29:00] Evan: celebrity. 

[00:29:00] Brad: Yeah Yeah. So I got- So what’s a celebrity you look up to? 

[00:29:02] Evan: Well, I mean, I look up, I looked up to… Jon Bon Jovi is my guy. 

[00:29:06] Brad: Yeah.

[00:29:06] Evan: Yeah. And Hu- Hulk Hogan, I never got to meet Hulk Hogan. I know he lived in Clearwater. 

[00:29:09] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:29:10] Evan: I never got to meet him, but- Yeah … he was my guy- 

[00:29:12] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:29:12] Evan: growing up. But, like, I wish, I wish there was a, like, a, an, a, a reality where Richie Sambora could come back to Bon Jovi. 

[00:29:22] Brad: Oh, yeah. 

[00:29:22] Evan: But they’re, they… You know, you keep stoking a fire that, that’s not burning.

[00:29:27] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:29:28] Evan: And I see that stuff on social media, and it’s like, dude, you gotta just, there’s gotta be mosquitoes around you- Mm … if you’re acting out on social and you’re having these, like, reply binges and these- 

[00:29:41] Brad: Oh, 

[00:29:42] Evan: yeah … you know, you’re, you’re acknowledging the n- the nasty stuff online. I mean- Yeah … that’s why, like, to be a celeb, it’s like posting and ghosting, I feel like is the way to go.

[00:29:51] Brad: Mm-hmm. ‘

[00:29:52] Evan: Cause you just never know. There’s always gonna be- 

[00:29:54] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:29:55] Evan: there’s always gonna be just, like, a contrarian- 

[00:29:57] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[00:29:58] Evan: a reactive reply, [00:30:00] and you just, you get it away. 

[00:30:02] Brad: 100%. 

[00:30:02] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:30:03] Brad: Yeah. I, I completely agree with that. Um, for any- anybody that I’ve ever seen where they’re really interested in what the comments say- Yeah

[00:30:13] Brad: I’m always like, “Brother.” Where, like, if, if somebody’s, like, really interested in their own social media and they’re, like, trying to gain a following- Yeah … and they’re, like, really interested in the comments- Yeah … like, I, I have a lot of experience with comments on social media. Like, our, we, for what I do in my private life, we post- Right

[00:30:31] Brad: on every platform six times a day for the- Perfect … for the business, right? 

[00:30:34] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:30:34] Brad: On every platform. Excellent. So it’s, like, an load of content going out, so we got a lot, uh, we get a lot of inflow back. Right. A lot of comments, DMs, whatever. It is literally, the policy is it is ignored. It is not cleaned up. It is, it’s just like, like, just like what you said.

[00:30:49] Evan: Right. 

[00:30:49] Brad: Post and then go away. That’s it. 

[00:30:51] Evan: Yeah. You know? It’s, um… The internet is undefeated in bringing you down- That’s right … if you, if you’re on there enough. 

[00:30:56] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:30:56] Evan: So, um, it’s like- 

[00:30:58] Brad: If you let it use you. 

[00:30:59] Evan: You know? Yeah. [00:31:00] It’s like if, it… No, my, my dad always calls me. He’s like, “Are you following the news these days?”

[00:31:03] Evan: I’m like, “When have you watched the news and ever felt better about yourself and the world- Yeah … by the end of watching the news?” So it’s- Yeah … kinda like that with social. Like, I’ll, I’ll heart and comment on stuff to engage. 

[00:31:16] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:31:16] Evan: But there’s just some silly stuff where it’s just, it’s not worth it. Yeah.

[00:31:19] Evan: Like, I had… Well, I mean, I ran for office in 2020, and once my message got out and, like, the vultures kinda got ahold of it- 

[00:31:27] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:31:28] Evan: like, lot, lots of mosquitoes 

[00:31:31] Brad: at that time. Okay. Let’s, let’s go to that. What is- Yeah. How, 

[00:31:33] Evan: how, 

[00:31:34] Brad: what, 

[00:31:35] Evan: why, who, how, when? Like Uh, yeah. So I was at home- 

[00:31:41] Brad: What made you wanna do this? 

[00:31:42] Evan: I’ll tell you.

[00:31:43] Evan: Yeah. Well, I w- I was at home one day and the landline rings, which I never pick up. 

[00:31:48] Brad: Hold on. Wait a minute. It’s 2020 and you have a landline? 

[00:31:51] Evan: And, uh, we still had a landline ’cause it was like the fax line. 

[00:31:54] Brad: Dude. 

[00:31:54] Evan: It was for faxes, but per- 

[00:31:57] Brad: What’s a fax? 

[00:31:58] Evan: Exactly. So [00:32:00] the phone calls, and I’m, and I’m with my son and I’m 

[00:32:03] Brad: like- Do you, do you receive faxes?

[00:32:04] Evan: Not anymore. Oh, okay. I mean, but, but I, I- In 2020, did you? I think I, I used it for the sake of comedy contracts. Oh, okay. So like if I wanted to send the right paperwork- Yeah … I wanted to be able to like send the W-9- Yeah, yeah … or something, then, then that’s what I do. 

[00:32:17] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:32:17] Evan: But the phone rings. 

[00:32:18] Brad: Your email didn’t work, you couldn’t use a scanner and email a PDF or anything?

[00:32:21] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:32:22] Evan: I, I, yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t have a scanner then. No, I should. I should. Um, but I re- pick up the phone. My son’s with me. I’m like, like, “Answer this. An- just answer this phone call,” ‘

[00:32:32] Brad: cause I didn’t recognize the number. Do people do this to you where they’re, where they’re just like, “Look how funny I am” whenever you talk to them?

[00:32:34] Brad: Like- You, you can. Okay. 

[00:32:35] Evan: It’s okay. Okay. I’ll just consider you a heckler. 

[00:32:38] Brad: You’re a 

[00:32:39] Evan: heckler. 

[00:32:39] Brad: It’s okay. But like a loving heckler. 

[00:32:40] Evan: Yeah, I love it. And so my, I get my son, “Just, just pick up the phone and just, just ask, ‘Are you my dad?’” Just to like have my son just pick up, ’cause I didn’t recognize the number. It was like a random number.

[00:32:51] Evan: And then, and then, then my, my son’s like says that and then he hands me the phone and I’m like, “Hello?” And like, like, “Hi, this is, uh, Ted Brown from the [00:33:00] Libertarian Party of, uh, of Los Angeles. Uh, um, your, your state senator is running unopposed. Would you like to, uh, run against him?” And I’m like- Okay. 

[00:33:14] Brad: All right.

[00:33:15] Brad: I, I don’t know. Evan Wexel, he takes solicitor calls and says yes to what they ask. 

[00:33:22] Evan: I 

[00:33:22] Brad: said yes- Put him on every list on the planet. This is your prospect. 

[00:33:26] Evan: It … I don’t know what exactly. 

[00:33:28] Brad: Dude, that’s wild. And 

[00:33:29] Evan: he- the guy

[00:33:32] Evan: was just going down the- Good on you, good on you for just, like, going for it, dude … he was just going down a list calling people in the area- Yeah, yeah, yeah … and, like, he would’ve found someone after me if I had not called. 

[00:33:38] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:33:39] Evan: So it was g- it was like a three-month cycle- Yeah … like, of me, like, filing the paperwork and running as a write-in candidate.

[00:33:44] Evan: Yeah. And, you know, it, it, it came to … You know, it brought people together in a way. Like, there were just some laws in California that I wasn’t a fan of, and I- Yeah … have made things a little more logistically dif- difficult for me, and I figured, like, “Let me just [00:34:00] give this a shot.” 

[00:34:00] Brad: Like, like the whole can’t leave your home thing.

[00:34:02] Evan: Uh, it was right before that. Oh, before that. So, like, if I had advanced- Oh, my gosh … I would’ve come up against that. Hmm. So this was right up until COVID. But, you know, I raised barely any money. I mean, I … Most of the money went towards, like, yard signs and texting the other libertarians in the- Oh, yeah … st- district about, “Hey, you gonna vote for me?”

[00:34:23] Evan: And- 

[00:34:23] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:34:23] Evan: But, um, 

[00:34:25] Brad: I say, I say to people it was a gr- Do you wanna hear something hilarious- Yes … on yard signs? My dad, uh, back in 2016, 20… No, this would’ve been 2018 probably, he ran for, uh, county commissioner up in- Yeah … Pasco County, which is just … You probably aren’t super … It’s one county north of Pinellas.

[00:34:42] Evan: Okay. 

[00:34:43] Brad: Yeah. So just north of here where I grew up. He ran for county commissioner and, uh, did not win, not even close. 

[00:34:48] Evan: Right. 

[00:34:48] Brad: Not even second place- … which is terrible. Uh, but we ha- we were having yard signs made, and I was like, you know, I’m like, “Okay, these yard signs need to get attention.” Yeah. Like, they need to be different somehow.

[00:34:57] Brad: Like, all of them are kind of the same. They’re all- Yeah … like this, [00:35:00] boom. Like, and then you put your name and some cutesy saying, right? Yeah. So I’m like, “What if we do this?” How do they make the yard signs? So we go to the, the guy’s shop where they, he has the yard signs, and the yard signs come in in this bigger

[00:35:11] Brad: They come in big plastic sheets, and then they cut them. 

[00:35:14] Evan: Right. 

[00:35:15] Brad: Right? 

[00:35:15] Evan: Yep. 

[00:35:16] Brad: So I’m like, wait, what if instead of what if instead of cutting the yard signs like you … They, they’re kinda like long and rectangular, right? I’m like, what if cutting them this way, we cut them this way and made the same number but made them twice as tall- 

[00:35:30] Evan: Oh

[00:35:31] Brad: and put them on a stand, and it’s a giant triangle like this. 

[00:35:33] Evan: Oh, 

[00:35:33] Brad: that’s nice. Like a giant right triangle. 

[00:35:35] Evan: Nice. 

[00:35:35] Brad: And so that’s what we did. So we had these, we had like 600 of these made. 

[00:35:39] Evan: And it stood out visually. 

[00:35:41] Brad: Oh, dude, it was like … I mean, he still lost, so- … don’t take … But this is, this clearly wasn’t effective.

[00:35:45] Brad: Yeah. But those yard signs, you could see them from a mile away, and we had so many of them. Yeah. And they were so, like, funny-looking That’s my yard sign story 

[00:35:53] Evan: It, it was- 

[00:35:54] Brad: I was super proud of those yard signs … 

[00:35:55] Evan: I still have a few in my garage, like, just because. Like, I had a, I had a nice, like, [00:36:00] politically ambiguous slogan to go along with it, like, “Your rights matter.”

[00:36:04] Evan: That was my, that was my slogan. 

[00:36:05] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:36:06] Evan: Um, I found that it wa- it was… I say to people it was a great experience. I learned a lot. It brought people together. Never doing it again. 

[00:36:13] Brad: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 

[00:36:14] Evan: I just thought it was, it was taking away from the good I could do, whether it was… Mostly this was ’cause as a Scientologist, like, we have programs we’re involved in, whether it’s curbing drug use, like letting human rights be known to others- Mm-hmm

[00:36:29] Evan: or just making the world happier. Let’s, let’s bring crime down with the way to happiness. Yeah. And for those months, like, I felt like I was taking away from it. Like, there’s no- Mm-hmm … there’s no, like, reference, like, or there’s no, like, data on, like, you can never do anything political if you’re a Scientologist.

[00:36:48] Evan: Like, we’re not political at all. Like, there’s no- Yeah, yeah … like… And I love- I’ve, I’ve donated to all 

[00:36:53] Brad: parties. Well, individual, individual Scientologists can be po- as political or not as they want. That’s it. Absolutely. Like, if I wanna go run [00:37:00] for president next year- 

[00:37:01] Evan: Sure … 

[00:37:01] Brad: uh, for the Green Party, as a Scientologist, you know, I’m allowed to do that.

[00:37:04] Brad: That’s whatever, 

[00:37:05] Evan: you know? Right. I mean, yeah, we’ve had people… And again, you know, there’s different strokes for different folks. Uh, 

[00:37:10] Brad: yeah, exactly. 

[00:37:10] Evan: And, uh, it’s, I look at it, I look at politics as, like, y- whatever party, I see it as, like, it’s an incomplete cycle- Mm-hmm … because you need the other half. Like, it’s, it’s, it’s, you need the dichotomy.

[00:37:24] Evan: Mm. 

[00:37:24] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:24] Evan: Because if you’re fighting for one side- Mm-hmm … it’s like, what about the other side? Because there’s some things you can do that the other side can’t do, and that’s the good thing. Like, if you’re just investing your time in, like, you know, like, betterment programs to, like, just help your community or, or, like, let…

[00:37:42] Evan: give solutions to politicians of any affiliation- 

[00:37:45] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[00:37:46] Evan: like, I feel like that does more good than being like, “I’m just gonna go hard, hard this aisle or hard that aisle.” Mm-hmm. I mean, I’m also a big wrestling fan. I have a T-shirt that’s like, “Politics is wrestling.” Yeah. So it’s [00:38:00] all just like, it’s all just scripted script writing.

[00:38:02] Evan: It’s 

[00:38:02] Brad: all a fugazi. 

[00:38:03] Evan: And there’s, but there’s just not enough, not enough flips in politics. Wrestling has enough flips. And tables- So if you like, if you like- … and chairs being thrown … the ongoing drama, it’s like, it’s like when you watch the news- What if there were more 

[00:38:13] Brad: chairs being thrown in politics? Would that, like- 

[00:38:15] Evan: I would like 

[00:38:16] Brad: it

[00:38:16] Brad: satisfy you? 

[00:38:16] Evan: I would like it. It would be nice if, like, someone, like, snuck up behind, like if maybe when, uh, when they were coming after, like, getting Joe Biden to step down, if, like, maybe Kamala had a steel, Kamala had a steel chair. Like, “Oh my God, that’s Kamala’s music.” And then bam. New person running.

[00:38:34] Evan: That’d been entertaining. I 

[00:38:36] Brad: think we should just reform all American politics to be like WWE. 

[00:38:40] Evan: Or, or just slap fighting. I think that’s a new thing. 

[00:38:43] Brad: Power slap? 

[00:38:43] Evan: The power slap. 

[00:38:45] Brad: Yeah. Yes. 

[00:38:46] Evan: That can be kind of insane. 

[00:38:47] Brad: Dude, that would be insane. But- You know they wear, uh, uh, mouthpieces ’cause they get hit so hard?

[00:38:52] Evan: Yeah, that’s rough. 

[00:38:53] Brad: Yeah, that’s intense. Wow. There 

[00:38:53] Evan: was a, there was an old, a former wrestler that did that fight and, like, he, he knocked someone right out. Really? Yeah, it was rough. 

[00:38:59] Brad: Oh, [00:39:00] that’s intense. 

[00:39:00] Evan: Dude. 

[00:39:01] Brad: Okay, we should… Man, this has been quite a little whirlwind tour here. Yeah. Uh, let’s, let’s go back to Scientology- Absolutely

[00:39:06] Brad: ’cause you brought it up. Uh, how, gi- give me the, the exact, like, specific detailed mechanics of how you found Scientology. Um- Like, I know it was through your wife, but what, what happened? 

[00:39:16] Evan: Um, I almost, like, messed up our relationship when- Oh, 

[00:39:21] Brad: oh, and one other thing. Had you heard of Scientology before this, or no?

[00:39:24] Evan: Not really. Yeah. I mean, I, I had, maybe I’d heard the name L. Ron Hubbard in passing, but I never really, like, fell into anything where it was in front of me. I mean- 

[00:39:35] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:39:35] Evan: I don’t even know if I knew too much about, like, the celebrities that were Scientologists. Yeah. I mean, I knew there were a bunch, but- I just kind of knew about it through my wife.

[00:39:44] Evan: It was, it was like kinda like, to her it was the last thing she was gonna tell me about her. Oh. She was kind of, she was holding back on it a little bit. 

[00:39:52] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:39:52] Evan: But, you know, I don- that, I mean, to each their own, but I- Yeah … I’m like, I have no attention on it either way. [00:40:00] Like, it was just, “Okay, tell me.” Like, a lot of people are like, “What is Scientology?”

[00:40:03] Evan: And- How 

[00:40:03] Brad: old were you guys when you met? 

[00:40:04] Evan: 25-ish. 

[00:40:05] Brad: And she ha- like, it was a recent thing she’d found, or she- 

[00:40:08] Evan: She’d found it a few years prior maybe. Okay. 

[00:40:10] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:40:10] Evan: Um, yeah, she was, she was, you know, she was volunteering at, at the t- at the time. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and she was, you know, like, it’s like, you know, she… It was in her blood.

[00:40:19] Evan: Yeah. Like, she was, like, hardcore and, like, just like now it’s in my blood and, or, you know. And, um, I don’t know. I just, I just started taking the courses. I’m very practical with it. I’m not overly, like, significant on necessarily, like, the religion aspect of religion and, you know, um… I just, I wanted something that worked.

[00:40:37] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:40:37] Evan: Like, we all wanna just get better and improve, and the fact that I, you know, could spiritually improve as well as administratively improve- Yeah … as well as intercommuni- interpersonally improve- 

[00:40:49] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[00:40:50] Evan: like, that’s what I was going for. It’s like, just like, “What else you got?” It’s like, “Just, just feed me.

[00:40:55] Evan: Just feed me this stuff,” ’cause it’s like- Mm … it’s amazing. 

[00:40:57] Brad: Mm. 

[00:40:57] Evan: And, like, I… You always, you know, [00:41:00] you always come out better than when you started, and I think that’s the best part about it. 

[00:41:04] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:41:04] Evan: So, I just gradually I was taking, doing my, my courses and my auditing at Celebrity Centre, and then I kinda just carried it out from there, and I’ve, you know, I feel like I’ve reached a great, a great stage.

[00:41:18] Evan: And you’re, you know, you’re always looking for more and- Yeah … 

[00:41:21] Brad: yeah. Yeah. So question. Yes. Like, is there a… ‘Cause I actually don’t know the answer to this. Okay. Is there, like, what is the kind of like- What is, is there a requirement for somebody to go do services at a Celebrity Centre? Like- 

[00:41:37] Evan: No. No, you just- 

[00:41:37] Brad: Like, do they have to be an artist, or is there 

[00:41:39] Evan: like a certain- Not necessarily.

[00:41:40] Evan: I mean, in a way, we’re all artists in our life. We’re all creating our lives- Mm … in various ways. We’re all like, you know, painting that canvas. 

[00:41:47] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:41:47] Evan: So it’s n- it’s, that’s not necessarily like, oh, I have to be a singer to go to Celebrity Centre. 

[00:41:52] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:41:53] Evan: Like, anyone can go to Celebrity Centre, like someone who does construction can go to Celebrity Centre, or some- someone who can just [00:42:00] like, is an entrepreneur can go to Celebrity Centre.

[00:42:03] Evan: Yeah. Like any walks of life. That’s actually more 

[00:42:03] Brad: me than the construction thing. 

[00:42:04] Evan: That’s fine. Someone who remodels kitchen doors can go to Celebrity Centre. So it, any- it’s, it’s really welcomes everyone, like because, you know, art and like the idea of creating and like- Mm-hmm … just like having your digital footprint or your artistic stamp in life, like that’s all part of it.

[00:42:24] Evan: Like, you know, a lot of the same courses in Celebrity Centre can be done at any, any church, but we have an art course there where like I was able to take the art course. Um, and I, the music and the f- comedy songs I wrote during those years were like, like, “Muh, like that’s some good pasta. Muh, it was like a great song.”

[00:42:45] Evan: Yeah. ‘Cause like, it was like exactly what I wanted to communicate in the exact tone- Oh, wow … and it broke down just, and that’s for anyone who has messaging, like- Yeah … marketing messaging, public relations messaging. 

[00:42:57] Brad: Mm. 

[00:42:57] Evan: That’s something Celebrity Centre has. But [00:43:00] they also have like a lot of like showcases and, you know, introductory seminars.

[00:43:05] Evan: Like I do a lot of, um, comedians that are new- 

[00:43:09] Brad: Mm … 

[00:43:10] Evan: or comedians that are stuck. 

[00:43:11] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:43:12] Evan: Comedians who plateau. I- 

[00:43:13] Brad: Oh yeah, we were talking about this earlier. 

[00:43:14] Evan: Yeah. Yeah. I’ve done, I’ve done seminars for them where I give my story, I give promotional advice. 

[00:43:20] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:43:20] Evan: But I also give them the basics of Scientology- 

[00:43:23] Brad: Mm-hmm

[00:43:23] Evan: so that this is how you make connections. Like this is how you’re good in an audition. 

[00:43:28] Brad: Mm. 

[00:43:29] Evan: So that, you know, they have something to go off of. 

[00:43:32] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:43:32] Evan: And, uh, yeah, it’s amazing. 

[00:43:34] Brad: What’s, what’s like a p- like if a, if a comedian sees this and they’re like, “I’m stuck,” what’s, what’s like the first thing? Obviously there’s probably multiple things that could be- Right

[00:43:43] Brad: happening. What’s one thing you would tell them? Like, “Hey, look for this,” or like? 

[00:43:47] Evan: Well, I’m finding the button where it’s like where are you withholding? Like, what is it? What are 

[00:43:52] Brad: you withholding? 

[00:43:53] Evan: What are you, like, ’cause I mean, they probably have the material, and a lot of times they’re doing the open mics, [00:44:00] but they’re doing the same shows and the same shows, and they’re not getting paid.

[00:44:03] Evan: And they’re like- 

[00:44:04] Brad: So just so I understand- Yes … you’re saying they have, like, hilarious material that they’re just not using, or they have material that they are using, but- 

[00:44:10] Evan: I feel like they’re withholding in terms of letting their stuff be known. 

[00:44:15] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:44:16] Evan: And a lot of times for them, that means social media.

[00:44:18] Evan: Mm-hmm. Like, they’re just not utilizing social or they’re like, “I don’t want someone to know my material before they see me live.” I’m like, “How many views are you gonna get on your TikTok? 500?” Oh 

[00:44:29] Brad: my gosh. 

[00:44:29] Evan: How many people are there in the world? 

[00:44:31] Brad: That’s totally their consideration, isn’t it? 

[00:44:32] Evan: 8 billion? Yeah.

[00:44:33] Brad: That’s totally it. 

[00:44:34] Evan: They’re afraid they wanna get discovered. I’m like- 

[00:44:35] Brad: Oh … I 

[00:44:37] Evan: know- And 

[00:44:37] Brad: it’s completely reversed … 

[00:44:38] Evan: you want, like, they’re, it- even though, like with an artist, like a singer, like- Mm-hmm … no, I want you to play Living on a Prayer. Yeah. And like with me, it’s like, you should wanna have the top 10 things about your campus because- Mm-hmm

[00:44:50] Evan: I did it for all those hundred places. You, you should want that, too. And then, and I give it to them. 

[00:44:55] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:44:55] Evan: So they’re withholding on social media or they’re withholding [00:45:00] even, like, how to get paid gigs. They think, like, the struggle is part of the journey and they have to keep the struggle. 

[00:45:08] Brad: Oh, the starving artist thing.

[00:45:09] Evan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And you can set yourself up that way, but- 

[00:45:13] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[00:45:13] Evan: I mean, I th- I feel like if you are, um, just, just find out, like, where can you get paid, and that’s where, like, I’m, I’m dropping the websites you can sign up for, whether it’s free or not free, to get listed. 

[00:45:25] Brad: Mm. 

[00:45:25] Evan: Like, there’s websites, like, if you’re an artist, like, The Bash is something I’m a member of.

[00:45:31] Evan: Yeah. Or there’s, like, even, like, Thumbtack, and that’s for all kinds of things. Mm. But I’ve gotten leads on comedy things, and I’ve booked comedy gigs. 

[00:45:38] Brad: From Thumbtack? 

[00:45:38] Evan: Yeah, ’cause Thumbtack’s- Dude, 

[00:45:39] Brad: that’s awesome. 

[00:45:40] Evan: I know Thumbtack’s really good for, like, household stuff- Yeah, yeah, yeah … and, and career stuff and, and tutoring stuff.

[00:45:45] Evan: But- Yeah … but Thumbtack’s really good also, like, there’s em- they’re looking for MCs. You’re looking for musicians. You’re looking for comedians. 

[00:45:52] Brad: Oh, I had no idea. 

[00:45:52] Evan: Yeah, so there’s Thumbtack, and it’s just a matter of, like, do you wanna pay for that or do you not wanna pay for that? So I had an- a [00:46:00] singer that, like- I 

[00:46:00] Brad: mean, if it pays you, it’s probably worth it to pay for it.

[00:46:02] Evan: Yeah, and it’s amazing. Like, I have these, like a comedian that happened to also play, like, 16 dis- different instruments but wants nothing to do with that. Or I have a, or I had a musician that came to a seminar, and she’s like, “I spent $800 on this wedding marketing entertainment thing, and nothing came out of that.”

[00:46:19] Evan: So I’m like, “Like, what’s the point of promoting any further?” I’m like, “That was a good action.” Yeah. Like, I’ve done conferences where I’ve, I’ve shelled out, like, $2,000 and booked a $500 gig. 

[00:46:32] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:46:32] Evan: But again, it’s not the, it’s not the immediate return. It’s the connections. 

[00:46:37] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:46:37] Evan: Like, I have thousands and thousands of connections of where if I need to outreach, I can do that.

[00:46:43] Brad: Mm. 

[00:46:44] Evan: That’s what you need to be successful. I just think… And then people, again, knowing who you can trust. Like, that’s- Mm … an introductory Scientology course literally called Knowing Who You Can Trust. And these comedians just, they don’t trust [00:47:00] people. They’ve, bookers have screwed them over. I’ve had a booker not pay me.

[00:47:03] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:47:04] Evan: And, and then I could have these people also, maybe they’re looking at me, they’re like, “I can’t trust this guy.” I’m like, “Okay. I don’t know. I can’t help you there. You gotta be willing to be helped.” 

[00:47:13] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:47:14] Evan: Be willing to be helped, and be willing to, like, can you learn more? Is, is there knowledge to be attained?

[00:47:19] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:47:19] Evan: Is there a vacuum? Yeah. Like, let’s fill the vacuum. 

[00:47:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:47:22] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:47:23] Brad: Yeah. Wow. And okay, so when you do find that somebody’s withholding- 

[00:47:29] Evan: Yes … 

[00:47:30] Brad: they’re from, you know, from pushing out, like, um, I mean, like, what do you, what do you encourage that person to, like, do or look at? 

[00:47:40] Evan: I don’t wanna overwhelm them because I could- Yeah, of course

[00:47:43] Evan: ’cause I could literally, like, map out their career a year from now. 

[00:47:47] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:47:47] Evan: But that would, like… I would just be like, “Just one thing. Like, just one social network. Like, just Instagram.” 

[00:47:55] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:47:55] Evan: Like, just start putting your stuff on Instagram- Yeah … and see what happens. 

[00:47:58] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:47:58] Evan: Even film [00:48:00] yourself. Just film yourself just talking, no audience.

[00:48:03] Evan: Mm-hmm. Just put it on Instagram. You wanna dub in audience, you wanna dub in laughs, all power to you. But you just gotta just put, put, like, just start planting seeds. Wait, so 

[00:48:12] Brad: they make a video of themselves just, like, saying something, like, somewhere by themselves, and then they dub in, like, people laughing at what they say?

[00:48:18] Evan: If they wanted to. But I mean, like- Oh, okay … but if, like, if you’re in a club and no one’s laughing sometimes, like, I did that actually 20 years ago, one of my YouTube videos. I just- I think 

[00:48:27] Brad: that would be a hilarious video, like, laughter goes here, but then there’s no laughter. 

[00:48:31] Evan: There’s … It’s like the audience is totally, like, misdirected and, like-

[00:48:33] Evan: it’s, like, bizarro, bizarro world. But I had it where I, like, I went, like, iMovie laugh happy on one of my videos, like- … 20, 20 years ago, and I’m like, “Okay. No, not that much laughing, that much laughing.” So there’s, like, five different types of laughing I could’ve- … dubbed in. I’m like, “No, not, that’s, no, not a clap there.”

[00:48:50] Evan: Yeah. So yeah. But just, like, little by little. I, like, I don’t wanna see… You don’t have to change the world, just, like, change, change something, though. 

[00:48:59] Brad: Mm. [00:49:00] 

[00:49:00] Evan: Like, like, you know, a gradient scale. Like, let’s find one thing, let’s get that, and then see what you wanna build. 

[00:49:05] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:49:06] Evan: I, the main thing is if they don’t even wanna– Even if they’re backed off from a website, like, there’s something free you can have, which is a, it’s called Linktree, and there’s other websites- Mm-hmm

[00:49:15] Evan: like this where it’s just like- Mm-hmm … it’s a site where just you list your links. List your video, list your photos, maybe your LA casting for the Hollywood people, or wherever you can have your photos and lists how to contact you and list- Yeah … your socials and, and you’re good. Yeah. Like, that’s it. Just have something, like…

[00:49:32] Evan: ‘Cause these, they’re new artists. Like, you, you have the qual- It’s quality. You have the quality. Your, your, your stuff is there. You have quantity going into quality. You’re viable enough then where you can make some money doing this. Like, there should be some exchange. It may not even be on stage doing comedy.

[00:49:51] Evan: It could be being the voice of something. Yeah. Being, uh, the, you know, the talking head of something or being an influencer, working with a [00:50:00] brand. 

[00:50:00] Brad: Mm. 

[00:50:00] Evan: But there’s always something you can get from being a comedian and being creative and being quick. Uh, it’s like there’s endless… You n- you never know. It’s all connections.

[00:50:12] Evan: Yeah. Like, you never know where the next gig’s gonna come from. 

[00:50:14] Brad: Yeah, well, this is one thing that, uh, Grant Cardone talks about a lot- Yeah … is he, he talks about, like, people wanna make money, but they don’t realize that, you know, money isn’t just, like, sitting on this bookshelf. Like- 

[00:50:24] Evan: Right … 

[00:50:24] Brad: people have money.

[00:50:26] Evan: Right. 

[00:50:27] Brad: So in order to get that money, you have to have connections to people. 

[00:50:31] Evan: Right. 

[00:50:31] Brad: Like, your connections to the people, those are the lines money actually moves on in the society. 

[00:50:35] Evan: And, and that’s 

[00:50:35] Brad: what I got from Cardone, yeah. So if you’re not connected to people How are you gonna get any money? It’s people.

[00:50:40] Brad: You 

[00:50:40] Evan: know? Right. That’s why, and I, I always invoke that from Grant Cardone because it’s like my wife acquired an acting school, and yeah, she has- Oh, she 

[00:50:47] Brad: bought an acting school? 

[00:50:48] Evan: Yeah Or acquired it … like she bought it from the person that had it because- That’s great … he was, you know, he’s actually going to join staff, uh, at an org.

[00:50:55] Evan: Oh, cool. And, um, and so she took it over and the classes and everything, and the set pieces, and the [00:51:00] piano for the musical class. Yeah. But the most important thing she got, I felt, was her, was the email list. Mm-hmm. ‘Cause it’s the c- it’s the 5,000, 10,000 contacts- 

[00:51:08] Brad: Yes … 

[00:51:09] Evan: that you can reengage, reactivate- 

[00:51:12] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[00:51:12] Evan: and use and, and leverage for future success.

[00:51:16] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:51:17] Evan: Like, it’s all about contacts. 

[00:51:18] Brad: Yes, 100%. 

[00:51:19] Evan: Yeah. 

[00:51:20] Brad: Yeah. So, uh- Speaking of contacts, I’m assuming you have a lot of contacts with people you’ve tutored. I wanna make sure we get to this. Yeah. 

[00:51:29] Evan: Yes. ‘

[00:51:29] Brad: Cause you’re, like- 

[00:51:31] Evan: Yeah … 

[00:51:31] Brad: tutor extraordinaire. 

[00:51:32] Evan: I, yes. I mean, I’m a… I’d say I’m a, I am the New York Knicks of tutors.

[00:51:38] Evan: As, as a comedian 

[00:51:39] Brad: m- The, so we should say the 2026 New York 

[00:51:41] Evan: Knicks. The 2026 Knicks. 

[00:51:42] Brad: Depending on when you see this. 

[00:51:44] Evan: As- 

[00:51:44] Brad: The 2026 New York Knicks were fantastic. 

[00:51:46] Evan: Yeah. As a comedian, maybe I’m more like, who’s kinda middle of the road? No, I’m pretty good. I’m pretty g- the Yanks- Yankees are pretty good. The recent, the 2026 Yankees are pretty 

[00:51:59] Brad: good.

[00:51:59] Brad: 2026 Yankees. 

[00:51:59] Evan: Yeah, [00:52:00] they’re pretty good. So I’m a pretty good comedian, but I know there’s something just about tutoring where, I don’t know, my mom’s a math teacher. 

[00:52:06] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:52:06] Evan: So yeah, I have lots of old students that go back years and years, and they come back to me with siblings. 

[00:52:13] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[00:52:14] Evan: Like say I get them ready for a test, then they come back to me for the placement test after they- Yeah

[00:52:19] Evan: get into the school they get into. When, 

[00:52:20] Brad: when did you start tutoring? Had to have been a while ago. I, I- I mean fricking- 

[00:52:23] Evan: No, it’s been like- … 

[00:52:24] Brad: 14,000 hours. 

[00:52:26] Evan: Yeah. I’d probably about 15 or 17 years ago at least. Yeah. Maybe 20 years ago. 

[00:52:32] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:52:32] Evan: Because I was looking for something to supplement the comedy. 

[00:52:34] Brad: Mm. 

[00:52:35] Evan: So it’s like what can I do that’s hourly okay?

[00:52:38] Evan: ‘Cause I was doing these like $10 an hour temp jobs when I first moved to LA, which was the death of me. 

[00:52:43] Brad: Terrible. 

[00:52:44] Evan: Yeah. But um, and I, I got fired from a, a, a mediator, law mediator office at $14 an hour thinking that was the big bucks, but I was so bad at the job. Like just get me out. But you know, and I’m, yeah, the tutoring just, it just, that snowballed like basically [00:53:00] where I’m just, I’m just doing well.

[00:53:01] Evan: I’m raising my rates. Now I’m getting known. I’m getting highly ranked on like a very popular website. 

[00:53:06] Brad: Mm. 

[00:53:07] Evan: And I’m like, “Okay, now my time is valuable,” and I’m just, I get a product. 

[00:53:13] Brad: Mm. 

[00:53:14] Evan: And it’s m- it’s easier to see. 

[00:53:15] Brad: Define, define that phrase get a product. 

[00:53:17] Evan: I am trying to make like my, like what is it that the parent wants me to produce for them?

[00:53:23] Evan: Mm-hmm. The parent wants me to produce the student that gets into the private school they want or get into the college that they want or get them that grade on the test. 

[00:53:32] Brad: Yep. 

[00:53:33] Evan: And I know how to do that. Sometimes, you know, I’ve learned study technology through Scientology- Mm-hmm … which is basically, you know, how to study, study skills, learning how to learn.

[00:53:45] Evan: And actually before study technology, I was very strong in math. 

[00:53:49] Brad: Mm. 

[00:53:50] Evan: My verbal was meh. 

[00:53:51] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:53:51] Evan: And I had to take a full SAT test for one of mo- my tutoring jobs. So I took it. 

[00:53:57] Brad: Oh, you took the SAT 

[00:53:59] Evan: like as an [00:54:00] adult. The, the company wanted me to take it- 

[00:54:01] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:54:01] Evan: as a newbie. 

[00:54:02] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:54:02] Evan: And my verbal shot up because I had study technology.

[00:54:08] Brad: 100%. 

[00:54:09] Evan: And now I can do everything. I can do both sides. 

[00:54:12] Brad: Wow. 

[00:54:12] Evan: And I can even help with essay writing if needed. But- I just, I, I just built, I g- the parent wanted something, they let me know right up front, and some of them, you know, you can have a demanding parent whether you’re charging $50 an hour, you can have a demanding parent whether you’re t- charging $150 an hour.

[00:54:32] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:54:32] Evan: Either way, they want their product. 

[00:54:33] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:54:34] Evan: So that means I wanna make sure that they’re happy by the end of it. 

[00:54:37] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:54:38] Evan: Um, the only times where I haven’t been able to get the product is if, say, the parent accidentally s- or tells me that they scheduled their s- child for a test that I had no knowledge of when they were gonna do it.

[00:54:49] Evan: Because, like, I’m looking at it like I’m training them for a marathon. 

[00:54:52] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:54:53] Evan: So I want them peaking at the right time, and then I want them tapering a little towards the end. 

[00:54:57] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:54:57] Evan: And if the parent all of a sudden, like, as we’re [00:55:00] still climbing up and raising the endurance, and then they’re like, “Oh, I just had him take the test.

[00:55:03] Evan: He’s good now,” I’m like, “Okay, but did he get what we wanted?” Not necessarily. 

[00:55:09] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:55:09] Evan: So it’s like, I, I can see everything. Yeah. I’m a, I’m the oracle of tutoring. Yeah. 

[00:55:16] Brad: That’s awesome though. Yeah. Okay. And so- Just in terms of, like, study technology, how- like, I’m, I’ve always been- Yeah … so curious on how you would apply that to, like, schol- like typical scholastics.

[00:55:32] Brad: Are most of these kids are, are in- 

[00:55:33] Evan: Yeah. No, they’re, they’re s- it’s scholastic based, yeah. 

[00:55:36] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:55:37] Evan: It’s what, public school based. Yeah. 

[00:55:38] Brad: Yeah, that’s what I was gonna ask- Yeah … is most of them are in, are in the public school system or public school-esque- Right … even if it’s a private school, kinda similar curriculum.

[00:55:46] Evan: Right. 

[00:55:46] Brad: Do, like, I, I guess the question for me is like I think back to what I learned in, in public school. I went to public school my whole life. So did I, 

[00:55:55] Evan: and I loved it, but yeah. 

[00:55:56] Brad: Well, I mean, I liked seeing my friends. I didn’t like- Yeah … school. 

[00:55:59] Evan: Sure. 

[00:55:59] Brad: I- [00:56:00] that’s not true. I liked my chemistry class ’cause I had a very demanding teacher who really actually taught, like I actually learned a lot.

[00:56:05] Evan: Mm-hmm. 

[00:56:06] Brad: I liked math class too, ’cause I actually learned there as well. But- 

[00:56:08] Evan: Yeah … 

[00:56:09] Brad: um, well, now that I’m f- damn, I’m, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m like, “I also enjoyed these other classes.” Where I really, like, learned something- Right … and I feel like I really, like, got the, got the concept- Mm-hmm … I really like that.

[00:56:20] Brad: If I didn’t get the concept, I was like, like I did Chinese- Like a 

[00:56:23] Evan: doing-ness kind of with, or- 

[00:56:24] Brad: No, like a, I real- like conceptual understanding- Okay … of what they’re trying to get across. Right. Yeah. Like how to do algebra, right? 

[00:56:30] Evan: Sure. Like- It’s all gradient, you know, ba- like- Mm-hmm … not being too hard too fast.

[00:56:34] Brad: Yeah, exactly. Right. So what, what is, like, I guess in a nutshell, how do you, how do you tutor kids? Like, what do you, what do you focus on? 

[00:56:44] Evan: I have to bring both worlds together- 

[00:56:46] Brad: Yeah, 

[00:56:47] Evan: yeah … which is very, it’s very unique. 

[00:56:49] Brad: Yep. 

[00:56:49] Evan: Um, because- 

[00:56:50] Brad: That’s why I ask, ’cause, like, study technology’s all about, hey, use the, the data.

[00:56:55] Evan: Use a dictionary. 

[00:56:57] Brad: Use it to… Yep. 

[00:56:58] Evan: You know, like look up your words. 

[00:56:59] Brad: Mm-hmm. [00:57:00] 

[00:57:00] Evan: And, and, you know, demonstrate it if you can in some way physically. 

[00:57:05] Brad: Yep. 

[00:57:06] Evan: And when you’re taking a test that’s timed, you can’t do that. 

[00:57:09] Brad: That’s right. 

[00:57:09] Evan: So it’s like- 

[00:57:10] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:57:11] Evan: it’s like anti-study tech. 

[00:57:12] Brad: Yeah, 

[00:57:12] Evan: in a way. Yeah. It’s like I have to- Yeah

[00:57:14] Evan: and it’s like how do you hack that? Yeah. I can give them the hacks in that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, like there’s obviously- You know, you take the SATs, all it really shows is how good you are at taking the SATs. 

[00:57:24] Brad: Hmm. 

[00:57:24] Evan: Because it’s not… I mean, maybe- Yeah … they say it applies to college readiness. Sure, it’s a great test.

[00:57:29] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:57:30] Evan: Um, ACTs, great test. 

[00:57:31] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:57:32] Evan: Um, I look at the SATs as you, someone, whoever did the SATs was maybe out on the quad writing the test. Whoever wrote the ACTs was someone in a room without windows. It’s a much drier test. But, um, it’s in the lessons where I have to give them the study tech. Yeah. Like, and most of that for me is just making sure that they understand the words.

[00:57:53] Brad: Hmm. 

[00:57:54] Evan: Because yes, I can have, if students- It’s the biggest 

[00:57:57] Brad: barrier … 

[00:57:58] Evan: and I’ll build vocab lists, like I have [00:58:00] vocab lists upon lists of, of words and, but I always make sure there’s a sentence there, and I always, you know, you, if you’re a memorizer, fine, be a memorizer. But I’m saying if you know the word- Mm-hmm

[00:58:11] Evan: you don’t have to memorize the word. 

[00:58:13] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:58:14] Evan: So I’ll be like, “We’re making a sentence for this word, but if we run into it again, you’re making me two sentences for this word.” 

[00:58:21] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:58:22] Evan: Or it’s like I’m gonna keep raising the stakes. 

[00:58:24] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:58:24] Evan: So I’ll, I’ll let them have their leeway with what they’re used to. 

[00:58:27] Brad: Yeah.

[00:58:27] Evan: But I, I always tutor as much as I can, and I’m, you know, I’m an, I’m a licensed applied scholastics tutor- 

[00:58:34] Brad: Oh, 

[00:58:34] Evan: wow … which is the educational group that helps get, you know, various curriculums out to schools that, that have it. 

[00:58:41] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:58:41] Evan: Um, which just means I can use study tech and once in a while I’ll break out a full on, like, these are the barriers to a student.

[00:58:49] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[00:58:49] Evan: And I’ll go through it, but a lot of times it’s like, let’s just get your words and I’ll know when they’re confused, I’ll roll them back- 

[00:58:57] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:58:57] Evan: on the gradient. Yeah. And I can [00:59:00] always, like the best thing is all my students are online now. Which is great. Mm. Yeah. Like COVID, you know, I dro- I’ve driven, you know, like hundreds of miles a week just to, from student to student in LA.

[00:59:09] Evan: Do you tutor 

[00:59:10] Brad: via Zoom basic- or not Zoom, but 

[00:59:12] Evan: like whatever. Zoom was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. 

[00:59:14] Brad: Wow. 

[00:59:14] Evan: I started tutoring this one student in like Dubai, other, halfway around the world. Oh, 

[00:59:19] Brad: pro- 

[00:59:20] Evan: And he’s like, “Do you use Zoom?” And I’m like, “What’s Zoom?” ‘Cause I was just thinking of like Skype.

[00:59:24] Evan: Yeah. I’m like, and then he tells me Zoom, and like… And I, and I bought stock in Zoom. ‘Cause I, little did I know I should’ve sold stock in Zoom at the height of COVID, but either way. Um, but Zoom is like, the ability for me to screen share and annotate- 

[00:59:38] Brad: Yeah … 

[00:59:38] Evan: that’s all I need. 

[00:59:39] Brad: Mm. 

[00:59:39] Evan: Because I can immediately provide them the maths- 

[00:59:42] Brad: Yeah

[00:59:43] Evan: of what we’re going over. 

[00:59:44] Brad: Yeah. 

[00:59:44] Evan: So that if they wanna see- Maths 

[00:59:46] Brad: meaning like the reality … 

[00:59:46] Evan: like the stuff. Like r- 

[00:59:48] Brad: like show them what it is. 

[00:59:49] Evan: Right. Even if like we’re doing a reading passage about like Gandhi. Mm-hmm. At least I can show them like who Gandhi was. Yeah, picture of. Or I can show… Yeah, or a lot of times with, you know, like math with shapes and [01:00:00] diagrams- Mm-hmm

[01:00:00] Evan: and graph paper, um, formulas. Like I’ll send off like, “Here, mean, median, mode, and range. This is your, this is your slide. Put it in the folder.” 

[01:00:10] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:10] Evan: So, and they, “Screenshot this,” or, “Save it to your phone.” 

[01:00:13] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:14] Evan: So d- the ability to, to s- to provide maths or provide the stuff of what- Yeah … we’re studying instantaneously, huge advantage.

[01:00:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:23] Evan: And I think people may just like the communication cycle with me. 

[01:00:27] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:00:27] Evan: They may just like, and also, like they find out I’m a comedian. They, they sometimes it’s the students like that. 

[01:00:33] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:33] Evan: That I’m kinda light-hearted. But I’m, I’m pretty, like chilled. I’m pretty laid back. Uh, but you know, when needed, like if it’s like an accelerated, I can feel the intensity on the other side, fine, we’ll get intense.

[01:00:43] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:00:44] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:00:45] Brad: Oh, that’s cool. Like, “

[01:00:45] Evan: You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts.” 

[01:00:49] Brad: Yeah. With algebra. Let’s get 

[01:00:51] Evan: nuts with slope of a 

[01:00:53] Brad: line. With… Derivation. Um, oh my gosh. Okay. So [01:01:00] I, I wanna also, uh, one thing that I know Aaron really loves is Aaron really lo- And I, I do as well. Right. But Aaron, I, I say that ’cause Aaron introduced me to it.

[01:01:08] Brad: Sure. Is, uh, the Stand League. 

[01:01:10] Evan: Yes. 

[01:01:11] Brad: And th- that, that is an organization which puts out a ton of amazing content, basically like calling out religious discrimination. 

[01:01:20] Evan: True. 

[01:01:21] Brad: Essentially. 

[01:01:21] Evan: Yep. 

[01:01:22] Brad: Um, and it’s so, like, uh, it’s, it’s pretty, usually pretty punchy. 

[01:01:26] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:01:26] Brad: And, uh, they, they’ve done some great work, and you’ve contributed as, as a writer, I understand.

[01:01:32] Brad: Yeah, 

[01:01:32] Evan: I’ve been a blogger there for years. I did, uh, the Stand League podcast. 

[01:01:36] Brad: And why don’t you… Oh, y- okay, perfect. So why don’t you give like a, uh You know, an insider’s take on, like, what is the STAND League and what’s its function? 

[01:01:47] Evan: STANDs for Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination. So, you know, that way we, you don’t have to kinda just sit back and take it.

[01:01:54] Brad: Yep. 

[01:01:55] Evan: And it’s not just, obviously, you know, there can be negative stuff in your life that you wanna, like, just, [01:02:00] just ignore the negative stuff, but then it cuts to a point where it’s like, no, let’s really set the information right- Mm-hmm … in the area- 

[01:02:07] Brad: Mm-hmm … 

[01:02:08] Evan: and let’s clear this all up. 

[01:02:09] Brad: Mm-hmm. 

[01:02:10] Evan: And what I did with, with that podcast, I guess I’d kinda call my podcast was kinda like, you know, in ele- in electric car terms, my podcast was like an EV1, which I, it had a good short run.

[01:02:20] Evan: Yeah. I wanted to get Scientologists on just to talk about Scientology, give their wins, and, and that was good for STAND League. We did several episodes. You can find them. But at the same time, like, the blogging really makes a difference. Like, what you guys are doing, you and Aaron are doing is, like, that’s, like, the Tesla of Scientology-

[01:02:36] Evan: podcasting, I think. Oh. ‘Cause you’re just like, that’s, that’s premier. Like, you’re getting the pe- the people that have been successful, that have used it. 

[01:02:43] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:02:44] Evan: And, and what we’re doing in STAND is we’re just trying to, like, we’re trying to, like, slay the negative. 

[01:02:48] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:02:49] Evan: So I’ve blogged a lot. I’ve blogged about, like, why, you know, I’ve heard Scient- uh, comedians make jokes about Scientology, and it’s like it always misses the mark because it’s coming from a place of [01:03:00] disinformation.

[01:03:01] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:01] Evan: So, like, who, who’s laughing at that? Just, like, other l- other, like, weirdos that, like, search for weird st- like, you’re not gonna, like- Wait, 

[01:03:08] Brad: you, so you’re saying when you see comedians make jokes about Scientology- 

[01:03:12] Evan: If they even go there. 

[01:03:12] Brad: Yeah, yeah. It’s like- Yeah … 

[01:03:14] Evan: you’re, 

[01:03:14] Brad: you’re already- But people don’t, don’t typically re- respond well or 

[01:03:16] Evan: laugh

[01:03:16] Evan: it’s, it’s a self-defeating, like- Mm-hmm … mechanism- Oh, wow … because no one’s gonna, no one’s gonna laugh at that- 

[01:03:22] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:03:22] Evan: because it’s like they don’t, they don’t know. Yeah. You know? It’s not based on truth. The, we laugh at truth. 

[01:03:27] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:28] Evan: We laugh at outpoints, we laugh at the… Sorry, which means things that are not as they should be.

[01:03:33] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:33] Evan: Like, that doesn’t make any sense. 

[01:03:34] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:35] Evan: But there’s a truth ’cause we know what it should be- 

[01:03:37] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:03:38] Evan: when we’re doing comedy. 

[01:03:39] Brad: Yeah, yeah, 

[01:03:39] Evan: yeah. But if you don’t know what Scientology is and what it’s really like- Yeah … like, you can’t go there. 

[01:03:44] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:45] Evan: So, I mean, yeah, I mean, I’ve, I’ve done some stand-up a little, but it’s, it’s just like it just never, it, it doesn’t, like, there’s no gain in it.

[01:03:54] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:03:55] Evan: Like, I’d rather just, like, d- do my faith- Yeah … you know, help my, [01:04:00] help my people, help my groups- Yeah … and, and just move forward and do comedy about everything else, and there’s plenty of everything else to do. 

[01:04:06] Brad: So much content. 

[01:04:07] Evan: But yeah, STAND is a great tool, um, to just really, let’s get in there. Um, one thing I did that, that the people producing the content for STAND really liked was, you know, we had, four years ago we had, um, a mayoral r- race in Los Angeles- Mm

[01:04:23] Evan: and we had, we had one person that spoke actually at an org opening and like as one of the speakers, like a public leader- As a speaker … a local leader Opening a Scientology organization And I’m not, and I’m not gonna say the names ’cause they’re- Yeah … they’re not worth 

[01:04:36] Brad: mentioning. Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. 

[01:04:36] Evan: But, um- 

[01:04:38] Brad: But they had actually come, been invited to a Church of Scientology opening by the 

[01:04:41] Evan: church Loved, loved one of the programs.

[01:04:43] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:04:44] Evan: Spoke about it. Yeah. Right? Just like you’d see a building opens, these are one of the leaders you speak about. 

[01:04:48] Brad: These are large recorded events, by the way. Yes. This is like broadcast to millions of people around the world. Right. Yeah. 

[01:04:54] Evan: And then you have the opponent, like campaign manager using that [01:05:00] as a negative- 

[01:05:01] Brad: Hmm

[01:05:01] Evan: in the campaign ad. 

[01:05:02] Brad: Oh, wow. 

[01:05:04] Evan: In Los Angeles, so you have to, so like the per- So the- … that other person- 

[01:05:09] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:05:09] Evan: is already like cr- get- bringing basically a criminal onto his team- Yep … to make, to, to do religious bigotry. 

[01:05:16] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:05:16] Evan: Meanwhile, then you have the candidate who spoke at the event then disavowing and being like, “No, I don’t believe in those practices anymore.”

[01:05:24] Evan: I’m like, “What are you talking about?” Like you know- Hmm … the practices. We, you knew the community prac- programs that we were getting involved in that are helping uplift. We’re, we’re what’s holding Los Angeles together. They’re 

[01:05:35] Brad: like, “I don’t believe in making people understand words.” “

[01:05:40] Evan: I don’t think we should lower crime-

[01:05:42] Evan: or curb drug use.” I feel 

[01:05:46] Brad: like- You know, educating kids on what drugs really are and the effect they have on your body- 

[01:05:50] Evan: Yeah … 

[01:05:50] Brad: I don’t support that anymore. 

[01:05:52] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:05:52] Brad: Like we’re literally spoofing. This is, this is- Yeah … literally us spoofing what that person would be saying. Their 

[01:05:57] Evan: train of thought is. 

[01:05:58] Brad: Yeah. Like that, that [01:06:00] would be what they’re saying, basically.

[01:06:01] Evan: So- 

[01:06:01] Brad: Which is like- 

[01:06:02] Evan: So- 

[01:06:03] Brad: So insane. They s- it sounds so insane when you actually just list off the policies. It’s like, “I don’t stand for people being ethical and staying with their spouse and having a family unit.” 

[01:06:14] Evan: I think human rights is relative.

[01:06:21] Evan: So that ca- that- That was good … there was, there was a big call to action about all that. So everyone got together. They all, I call, as a wrestling fan, I say we’re, we’re cutting promos. We’re cutting promos about this whole situation. So they like the- Is that a 

[01:06:34] Brad: thing they say in wrestling? 

[01:06:35] Evan: Yeah, we cut it.

[01:06:35] Evan: Like, you go in the middle of the ring and you’re on the mic and you say, “I’m gonna get you at WrestleMania, brother.” Oh, 

[01:06:40] Brad: yeah. 

[01:06:40] Evan: Brother. 

[01:06:41] Brad: So, 

[01:06:41] Evan: so, so like we’re all… Like I cut a good promo on that situation to more, I think, the person that invoked that into the campaign ad than to the, the person that was running- Mm

[01:06:54] Evan: who had spoken on our behalf once- Oh, wow … once upon a time. 

[01:06:57] Brad: Wow. 

[01:06:58] Evan: So yeah, we all just like, [01:07:00] we knew there was, that blowback was noted by the “LA Times” and all kinds of publications because- Mm … we have so many allies in the community where they’re like, “No, we’re, we’re the good guys.” Yep. “Like, we’re, we’re here to work with you.”

[01:07:13] Brad: Mm-hmm. “

[01:07:13] Evan: We’re here to like, put on community events like every week, interfaith events-” Mm … conferences.” So that was a nice opportunity that, to be able to help stand in that way and, and at the same time blog and, you know, write great posts about, like David Miscavige was a great po- Like he’s His foresight, man.

[01:07:34] Evan: I got to blog about him on his birthday. Yeah. ‘Cause again, I, I’m very practical, like he did X, Y, and Z to get all the materials, like up to date- Mm-hmm … and now we have like courses for children and- Mm-hmm … the buildings are gorgeous and everything. Mm-hmm. So it’s, it’s amazing, like- Dude, what 

[01:07:51] Brad: a G. 

[01:07:51] Evan: He’s a, he’s the G, man.

[01:07:53] Evan: Yeah. Like a G6. Yeah. Yeah. 

[01:07:55] Brad: He’s amazing. Um, okay, so on the… I’m just so curious. What [01:08:00] the, the politician, we don’t have to say their name. No. What, what program w- did they like? Like what was the program that they supported? Do 

[01:08:06] Evan: you remember? I don’t remember. I would, I would have to, you know, I, I would have to, I would guess it’s Drug-Free World.

[01:08:11] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:08:12] Brad: Yeah, 

[01:08:12] Evan: yeah. That’s my guess. 

[01:08:13] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:08:13] Evan: It probably would be that- Yeah … um, or Way to Happiness. 

[01:08:15] Brad: Yeah. Yeah, makes sense. Yeah. Just, just curi- it’s like, yeah. Man, what a, what a, uh, sad reactive thing. You know what I mean? 

[01:08:24] Evan: Like- And like we have the highest concentration of Scientologists- Yeah, like … in the world in Los Angeles.

[01:08:29] Evan: Like- Oh, 

[01:08:30] Brad: wow … 

[01:08:30] Evan: that’s y- y- may- maybe politicians would look at that as that’s a voting bloc. 

[01:08:35] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:08:36] Evan: But, you know, just, just be an ally and don’t- … don’t be a bigot. That’s basically- Yeah … the one rule to not, just don’t be a bigot- Yeah … and you’ll be all right. 

[01:08:45] Brad: Yeah, that’s 

[01:08:45] Evan: right. But we had, we had like f- new bigot versus current bigot-

[01:08:50] Evan: in four years ago. So that was rough. 

[01:08:54] Brad: Yeah. Bad situation to be in. 

[01:08:56] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:08:56] Brad: The other thing that people don’t realize is like if you take like here [01:09:00] in Clearwater, uh, the, the church is attached to, the big church, uh, down the street is, is attached to a hotel. 

[01:09:07] Evan: Right. 

[01:09:07] Brad: And that hotel has a huge ballroom. Sure. That ballroom is booked from January to December every weekend with local charities- 

[01:09:17] Evan: Yeah

[01:09:18] Brad: that use the ballroom to raise money for their charities, non-Scientology related. Yeah. Christian ministries, Baptist ministries, freaking, I think there’s even Jewish charities who come in- Yeah … veteran charities, just like on and on, the list goes on. The church charges them nothing. That’s 

[01:09:32] Evan: right. 

[01:09:32] Brad: I was just talking to a guy who literally is helping to set up an extra event space in a warehouse that he owns because they don’t have more space, Aaron.

[01:09:40] Brad: Yeah. They are overbooked and have more requests for people to come and do fundraisers to raise money for their charities. So he’s literally setting something up. So I know for a fact right now it’s literally booked 12 months in advance. 

[01:09:50] Evan: That’s great. 

[01:09:50] Brad: And they don’t pay anything. It’s just like, like, “Yeah, come.

[01:09:53] Brad: Let, let us help you.” 

[01:09:53] Evan: At Celebrity Centre International, there’s a pavilion and like- 

[01:09:56] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:09:56] Evan: the types of events that I’ve seen going on there that have like [01:10:00] Like, whether it’s pageants or showcases or all kinds of things. Yeah. Like, it’s just, it’s just a s- it’s just a space for the community. 

[01:10:07] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:10:07] Evan: So, you know, I, I’ve done some of my panels there, and I’ve done, like, a, a comedy thing there, and I’ve also been in a, a charity show at Christmas there.

[01:10:18] Evan: Yeah. So yeah, it’s just like, it’s an op- it’s, it’s, it’s a facility to be used. 

[01:10:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:10:22] Evan: So. 

[01:10:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:10:23] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:10:23] Brad: Yeah, totally. Dude, so in terms of family life, now you’re, you know, you have your marriage, you have your two- Yeah … beautiful boys. Uh, how, h- how would you say that Scientology has affected your life as, like, a husband and a parent?

[01:10:38] Brad: ‘Cause I know that’s a big part of your, kind of your entry in. 

[01:10:42] Evan: Right. Yeah. I, I’m more relaxed with them as a parent. Um, the older one, the older one can get to me still. He can, he can- How old is he? Because… He’s 14. So, so he knows. Yeah. He… But it’s good. Like, he kind of, like, talks sometimes like I talk. Like, if I say my catchphrases, sometimes you have your [01:11:00] catchphrases with your family, and then he’ll say them back to me.

[01:11:03] Evan: But I’ve been pretty good with him. I actually, I did get- 

[01:11:06] Brad: Mine is- Yeah … mine is, “Close the door behind you.” 

[01:11:10] Evan: Like, h- or like, “Hello, friend.” He’s like, “Hello, friend.” Or, you know, just silly stuff. 

[01:11:15] Brad: Oh, I got it. I got it. 

[01:11:16] Evan: Yeah, just, like, silly, like, mannerisms- Yeah … that he’ll mimic. 

[01:11:18] Brad: You leave and you’re like, “Peace.” 

[01:11:20] Evan: Yeah.

[01:11:20] Evan: He says to me. But, but I mean, it’s been helping me in terms of, like- letting him have more participation, give him opportunities to grow, and give him opportunities to, you know, be his own man at the same time and, and do what he wants- Yeah … and measure, exchange how much give and take there is with us, and how much freedom I can give him.

[01:11:42] Evan: Um, I actually did get to audit him one time while I was training, uh- How was that? … as an auditor. It was extremely difficult- Yeah … because it was, um… I think because I was going into it as a dad auditing their son. 

[01:11:55] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:11:56] Evan: You know, auditing your son. Mm-hmm. So you wanna… You know, you’re an auditor [01:12:00] auditing the person in front of you.

[01:12:01] Evan: Mm-hmm. And once I kind of figured that out towards the end, it went, like, super, super easy. 

[01:12:05] Brad: Wow. 

[01:12:05] Evan: Yeah. But before that, it was kind of like a circus attraction- 

[01:12:09] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:12:09] Evan: for everyone. 

[01:12:10] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:12:11] Evan: But, um, it’s been great. The, the Scientology’s helped me become a better parent just because, like, I don’t… I keep his, like, reactivity at bay as much as I can.

[01:12:22] Evan: Mm-hmm. And I don’t, I know I don’t have the reactivity to, to get into him. Um, and the younger one, it’s, is easy. It’s more just, like, I kind of catch when he has, like, little evil things he’s up to, and I can kind of stem tho- like, nip ’em in the bud as they start to percolate. But- 

[01:12:38] Brad: He’s walking up with a bat behind his brother, and you’re just like- 

[01:12:40] Evan: Yeah

[01:12:42] Evan: “Put that down.” To, to a degree. Or he’s like, he’s gonna make sure he, like, trips over at this exact time, and you’re like, “No, we’re not.” Like, throwing myself in the place of the bullet right in time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it doesn’t happen. 

[01:12:51] Brad: I have to do that sometimes with my three-year-old. 

[01:12:53] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:12:53] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:12:54] Evan: But the we- the, the marriage is very good, though.

[01:12:56] Evan: We’re, we’re 20 years next month, and- Wow. Congratulations … and she’s, you know, [01:13:00] she’s here doing some services, uh, for the next month or so. And, uh, yeah, it’s been pretty seamless. Like, we’ve been, we’ve been a pretty seamless marriage and communicate whatever. Even if it, like ticks her off for a day or two, it’s still fine.

[01:13:13] Evan: Yeah. She’s, she ticked me off for a day or two, but then, you know, it goes. You move on. There’s bigger things, bigger fish to fry, but- Yeah … you know, she, she’s, uh, she’s an ideal scene. Yeah. So it’s, uh, great, yeah. 

[01:13:24] Brad: That’s good, bro. 

[01:13:25] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:13:25] Brad: Okay, so question that we ask every guest. Yeah. Uh, in your own words- 

[01:13:29] Evan: Mm-hmm

[01:13:30] Brad: what is Scientology? 

[01:13:31] Evan: I would say, and this is borrowing a little bit of what Erika Christensen has said as an a- the actress. 

[01:13:37] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:13:37] Evan: Um, I’d say Scientology is a playbook of life. I go even further where I say Scientology is the ability to kinda like see the matrix. Like if you know the movie, it’s not just like, “Wow, I know everything,” and all this stuff.

[01:13:52] Evan: It’s more about like you see the code and how the code kinda comes together and builds the scene. [01:14:00] Hmm. So like I can see how situations develop. I can see almost like ahead of time how someone’s gonna react to something. 

[01:14:07] Brad: Oh, 100%. 

[01:14:09] Evan: And I know like th- when things are being dramatized. 

[01:14:13] Brad: Hmm. 

[01:14:13] Evan: And it’s just an ability to kinda like take the pieces on the game board and kind of calm them down if I know they’re getting unsettled.

[01:14:22] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:14:23] Evan: But it’s also a way to be like, allow me to know to stick to what I know, to allows, allows me to stick to my guns, and allows me to like kind of, you know, validate what I already can do and what I wanna be and- 

[01:14:36] Brad: Yeah … 

[01:14:36] Evan: I guess what I wanna have. 

[01:14:38] Brad: Amazing, bro. Yeah. Okay. One, one last question- Yes … just for the, for the starving artists out there.

[01:14:42] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:14:44] Brad: What would… What is your general… Like what do you tell… C- So set the stage. You do, uh, seminars for comedians who are- 

[01:14:54] Evan: Yeah, 

[01:14:54] Brad: it’s 

[01:14:55] Evan: like how to make a living in comedy and entertainment. 

[01:14:58] Brad: Beautiful. Good. So that leads [01:15:00] directly into my question. Right. What do you… Like what do you advise them, and obviously you have a lot of experience in this, what do you advise them in terms of getting a proper exchange, you mentioned this earlier, but getting a proper exchange, meaning getting paid for what you do and- Yeah

[01:15:13] Brad: probably not being in a situation where you’re like, “My gig’s gonna be $10,000,” and you get no gigs versus, “I’ll charge 100 bucks,” and it’s like, dude, you could be getting 1,000 bucks and actually- 

[01:15:22] Evan: Yeah … 

[01:15:22] Brad: feeding yoursel- yourself and your family. W- How do you help comedians navigate then? What’s kinda like your general rule, rule with that?

[01:15:29] Evan: I, it depends on the venue type. Like I know- Yeah … like I know when you’re starting out, you know, fine, get $50 for this thing or get $100 for this thing. 

[01:15:38] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:15:38] Evan: But you know, again, I’m, if I’m doing a college, I know their budget. If I’m, you know, if, if, if Microsoft is gonna bring me in to do an event for them, that’s not what I’m charging Microsoft.

[01:15:49] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:15:49] Evan: Um, you have to just know your audience. Like obviously if it’s a private show, that’s one person’s budget. Hmm. If it’s a company show, that’s a company’s budget that has an [01:16:00] earmarked entertainment expense. 

[01:16:01] Brad: Yeah. 

[01:16:02] Evan: So you have… That, that will come after you get the experience of just being able to get yourself out there in, on avenues that can get you paid.

[01:16:14] Brad: Hmm. 

[01:16:15] Evan: I mean, sure, you could randomly just text people in your phone like, “Hey, you wanna pay me for some comedy? I’ll do some comedy for your fr- for, for friends.” “You want, you want me to try out a roast for you guys? You wanna roast you guys?” No, just like make sure there’s- 

[01:16:26] Brad: Dude, you know what my friends, you know what my friends gave me as a high school graduation gift?

[01:16:29] Evan: What? 

[01:16:30] Brad: A roast. 

[01:16:31] Evan: They roasted you. 

[01:16:31] Brad: We went to an IHOP- Those are great … and they roasted me. 

[01:16:33] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:16:34] Brad: I, it was amazing 

[01:16:36] Evan: Even before I was a comedian, I roasted my college track coach really well. Like, it- there was just something about it. There’s just like a certain structure and you know as you watch, like, the Tom Brady Kevin Hart roasts- Yeah

[01:16:48] Evan: you know there’s like, you follow the formula, takes care of itself. 

[01:16:51] Brad: Yeah, 100%. 

[01:16:52] Evan: Yeah. Amazing. So they got you good? 

[01:16:53] Brad: Oh, yeah. 

[01:16:54] Evan: What was the most repetitive joke they made about you? 

[01:16:59] Brad: Oh, man. [01:17:00] Probably

[01:17:07] Brad: I mean, in high school I was very well-behaved. 

[01:17:11] Evan: Okay. 

[01:17:11] Brad: Like, incredibly well-behaved. 

[01:17:12] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:17:13] Brad: I literally did not miss a single period of class without having, like, an excused, like, absence. Mm-hmm. And I never got written up. I never got a referral. So they probably j- it was pr- it was like, a, some version of like, “You’re a goody two-shoes”- Yeah

[01:17:25] Brad: was, like, kinda like the comm, the, the, the entire, like, the repetitive comm. Right. But they went, they went, like, to the wall with it. I mean, like, obscene, uh- It was ama- it was, it was hilarious. Like, it was literally probably 20 18-year-olds in the back room of a… They lit- we literally got the back room of, of an IHOP.

[01:17:43] Evan: Nice. 

[01:17:44] Brad: Yeah, in New Port Richey, and just freaking went to town- Yeah … for, like, two hours. It was hilarious. 

[01:17:47] Evan: Oh, that’s great. 

[01:17:48] Brad: Yeah, it was so good. 

[01:17:49] Evan: That’s good. 

[01:17:49] Brad: Evan. 

[01:17:50] Evan: Yeah. 

[01:17:50] Brad: Thank you so much for h- being here today, brother. Thank you, sir. This was great. Good times. 

[01:17:54] Evan: Don’t do nothing. 

[01:17:54] Brad: And remember, 

[01:17:55] Evan: don’t do nothing. Yes.