Dispatches from the Head

It Was a Privilege and an Honor. Hello, Fellow Americans!



As some of you may know, last Friday, June 19th, 2015, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, came to my house to talk to me in my garage for today’s episode of WTF.



YES! It really happened. I sat with the President and talked to him for an hour. IT WAS INSANE! The conversation wasn’t insane. The reality of the situation was. I still can’t really wrap my head around it or believe it happened. I have moments when I’m just doing something during the day and a shudder runs through me in flash of excitement over the monumental fact that I hung out with the President and had a conversation with him in my garage. I shake my head and well up with emotion. It was an amazing and a completely bizarre experience.



I would like to say this: Whatever your politics are or whatever your opinions may be and however you think you would have handled it, I just have to tell you it is an overwhelming and beautiful experience, as an American, to meet and talk to the President of the United States. It was a privilege and an honor.



I kept it together the best I could.



We will post the entire interview with the President today. On Thursday my producer, Brendan McDonald, and I will share our reactions to the event and talk about how it happened and the lead up to the interview. I will talk a bit about the aftermath, both immediately following the talk with Obama and after it posted.





Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Saw turtles. Aloha, People!



I am on vacation. I’m not sure I feel like doing this right now. Maybe I won’t. I’m having an amazing time. I hope to see some of you in Red Bank, NJ, Huntington, NY, Port Chester, NY, BAM Opera House BKLYN, Boulder and Denver,CO and the shows in Portland, OR. Check out wtfpod.com/calendar for dates and times.



Okay, okay. I’ll tell you a little bit about my vacation. I’m in Kauai, which is were I always go. I’ve snorkeled, hiked, eaten, freaked out, been blown away, napped, read, recorded on the beach, saw turtles, almost threw up, took a few pics (check marcmaron on Instagram) and basically tried to level off a bit. It’s been a crazy few months. I think that’s it for now.



Next week is a big week. More later.



This week is fun. On Monday I finally sit down with Godfrey. He’s been bugging me for a while and we just couldn’t get it together. It’s a funny talk. We have a thing we do. On Thursday I have a rare return guest for the whole show in Judd Apatow. He came by to do a short one to promote a couple of things and we ended up doing a long one. So it goes. Good to talk to him.



I think that’s it. Did I mention next week will be massive?



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

It’s Going to Look Great.



The taping of the EPIX special went amazingly well at The Vic Theater in Chicago.



Before I get into that whole story I want to make sure the people of Red Bank, NJ, Huntington, NY, Port Chester, NY and their surrounding areas know that I am coming their way toward the end of this month. Please check the



So, this process of moving toward the special has been relatively fast. We chose to shoot in Chicago after the tour dates were already in place. In other words, it was kind of an afterthought. I could’ve waited and done it after the tour proper but we just made it happen. Bobcat Goldthwait was available to direct and we got on it. I had never been to The Vic but I knew that people had shot specials there before. It is known to be a good venue. EPIX hired a set designer, Bobcat got a crew together and it all came together in a matter of weeks.



I was in NYC shooting the pilot for the VICE Portraits series I’m hosting. I interviewed John Cameron Mitchell. Then I started to panic about the special. I flew to Chicago on just to do a walk through of the venue because I had never been there. It’s a beautiful old theater. Lot of ghosts. Good ghosts. Ate some heavy deep dish pizza, crashed, then flew to Cleveland. Had an amazing show at Playhouse Square and ate some very rich food at The Greenhouse Tavern which was also amazing. It was good to stretch out and do the hour plus again. I felt ready. I felt gross because of all the food but I think I need a little self-hate to fuel the machine. I flew to Chicago the next day and spent the day doing soundcheck and interviews and gearing up.



The night before the special Bobcat asked if he should reach out to Joe Swanberg and see if he wanted to come. I said not only should he do that but he should ask him if he wants to grab a camera and shoot backstage. We hadn’t really conceived of a way to bookend the special and we thought that would be amazing if he wanted to. He did. I love that guy. It was really just me and Joe wandering in the basement/dressing room area before both shows. It was great to have him around and shooting and talking before the show. It was calming. And he’s going to edit the stuff he shot. What a beautiful thing to have two great independent filmmakers working on my special.



The audiences for both shows, give or take a drunk lady, were amazing. I love Chicago crowds. I’m so fucking glad I shot there. It’s going to look great.



I think I nailed it first show and the second show was pretty free form. Of course Bobcat liked the second show. All I know is we’ll have a lot to choose from. Not that I paid very much attention to continuity issues that second show but we’ll see.



Today on the show I talk to the wonderful Constance Zimmer who played my girlfriend in the premiere episode of ‘Maron’ this season. She’s a pip. On Thursday the highly anticipated Mike Watt talk will post. He’s a genius. Look him up.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron Well, people. We did it.The taping of the EPIX special went amazingly well at The Vic Theater in Chicago.Before I get into that whole story I want to make sure the people of Red Bank, NJ, Huntington, NY, Port Chester, NY and their surrounding areas know that I am coming their way toward the end of this month. Please check the calendar for exact dates and come see the show!So, this process of moving toward the special has been relatively fast. We chose to shoot in Chicago after the tour dates were already in place. In other words, it was kind of an afterthought. I could’ve waited and done it after the tour proper but we just made it happen. Bobcat Goldthwait was available to direct and we got on it. I had never been to The Vic but I knew that people had shot specials there before. It is known to be a good venue. EPIX hired a set designer, Bobcat got a crew together and it all came together in a matter of weeks.I was in NYC shooting the pilot for the VICE Portraits series I’m hosting. I interviewed John Cameron Mitchell. Then I started to panic about the special. I flew to Chicago on just to do a walk through of the venue because I had never been there. It’s a beautiful old theater. Lot of ghosts. Good ghosts. Ate some heavy deep dish pizza, crashed, then flew to Cleveland. Had an amazing show at Playhouse Square and ate some very rich food at The Greenhouse Tavern which was also amazing. It was good to stretch out and do the hour plus again. I felt ready. I felt gross because of all the food but I think I need a little self-hate to fuel the machine. I flew to Chicago the next day and spent the day doing soundcheck and interviews and gearing up.The night before the special Bobcat asked if he should reach out to Joe Swanberg and see if he wanted to come. I said not only should he do that but he should ask him if he wants to grab a camera and shoot backstage. We hadn’t really conceived of a way to bookend the special and we thought that would be amazing if he wanted to. He did. I love that guy. It was really just me and Joe wandering in the basement/dressing room area before both shows. It was great to have him around and shooting and talking before the show. It was calming. And he’s going to edit the stuff he shot. What a beautiful thing to have two great independent filmmakers working on my special.The audiences for both shows, give or take a drunk lady, were amazing. I love Chicago crowds. I’m so fucking glad I shot there. It’s going to look great.I think I nailed it first show and the second show was pretty free form. Of course Bobcat liked the second show. All I know is we’ll have a lot to choose from. Not that I paid very much attention to continuity issues that second show but we’ll see.Today on the show I talk to the wonderful Constance Zimmer who played my girlfriend in the premiere episode of ‘Maron’ this season. She’s a pip. On Thursday the highly anticipated Mike Watt talk will post. He’s a genius. Look him up.Enjoy!Boomer lives!Love,Maron

No pressure. Hey, Chicago (and everyone else),



I’m doing a few dates this weekend but I will be taping my special in Chicago this Saturday. June 6th. 7:30 and 10PM. Look, I know there’s a hockey game but it’s the second game in a best-of-7 series. It will be okay if you miss it. Or, better yet, just come to the late show. It’s at The Vic Theater and it will be good. I’d like to see you there. I expect to see you there. Just come. I don’t want to have to bring people in that don’t know me as well as you. I’m relying on you. I need you there. No pressure.



I’m heading back out to do some dates. If you live in Cleveland, Chicago and Minneapolis, I will be there this weekend. Check the calendar for the dates.



I get a little panicked when I have to travel. It’s not about the traveling so much as the shift. I just got my home legs back and I was feeling grounded. Getting into a routine and now I’m going out. My cats freak out. Well, Monkey does. LaFonda doesn’t seem to give a shit. I freak out. Even though I have someone taking care of shit at the house it’s still a source of panic. Maybe I like panic. At the very least I’m comfortable with it. I am tired of it though. Jesus, life is short. I guess I like to get as much worry in as possible.



Speaking of panic I was out of the prescription food that I feed Monkey. He has the bladder thing. I called my vet and they were out. They weren’t getting another shipment in for a week. I asked them if prescription food is like a people prescription and could they just call it in to another vet. Could I get the script and bring it to be filled by another vet that might have the food? They said that is exactly how it works. Now, mind you, we’re talking about food, not narcotics or even medication. Food. Look, I’ve had issues with my vet. Hell, I’ve talked about them on the show. Sometimes they are great, sometimes not so great for different reasons. The one thing I have always felt about my vet is that they care about people and animals. It’s about money to a certain degree and I have called bullshit on them but usually the do okay by me. So when I reached out to another vet just to fill a food prescription and they tried to play me I got a little furious. I had heard that The Village Vet was a good vet. When I hear "good" I take that to mean they give a shit about animals. I was in a bind. I called to see if they would fill the FOOD script and they said they couldn’t without seeing the animal. I told them I had a vet and the script and they said no. I was livid on principle. It reeked of a cash grab. Los Feliz Small Animal Hospital filled it immediately and said they would keep me on record if it happened again and they are right down the street from my vet. That’s good business and a good vet. Thanks for that.



Anyway, on today's show I talk to my pal Jerry Stahl for a bit and then me and Haley Joel Osment get into it about the child actor thing and surviving that. On Thursday the hilariously opinionated Kurt Metzger and I push the envelope a bit.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Just Ask Mick.



I’m about to get ready to go see the Stones in San Diego. I know you all heard Mick personally invite me to the show but it doesn’t seem like I’m getting any special treatment. I didn’t think I would. I’m getting tickets, which is great, amazing. That’s special. I hope they are at least great seats. I really wanted to go see them at The Fonda, a nightclub here in LA. That would’ve been amazing. I made a nuisance out of myself pestering every contact I had for ONE ticket. They got back to me but could not get me ONE ticket to go see them in a rare club appearance. So, I’m just going to the stadium like everyone else. I’m no Nicholson. I didn’t make a complete naïve fool out of myself and say, “Just ask Mick. He WANTS me to see them.” No, I just stomped around my house wishing I had more pull but kind of happy I don’t because then I would be one of those people. I was almost not going to see the show in San Diego because I felt dissed and bitchy about The Fonda. Dean Delray snapped me out of it. “Dude, did you see that set list?” We’re leaving here in a few. I’ll let you know how it was on Thursday.



Trying to get back in sync with my life. I actually love being on the road. I like hotels. I like new places. Hotels are peaceful and I don’t have to clean up. I do like be grounded in my life though. It takes a while to get back into life. Mounds of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, going through mail and packages, re-introducing myself to the various animals indoors and out. I’m trying to exercise. I don’t want to believe that after a certain age you just never feel that great. I’m not sure I have ever felt ‘that great.’ I’ve felt amped up and manic but that didn’t seem organic or sustainable. I’d like to at least feel physically ‘pretty good.’ I just feel beat up a bit and never quite right. I’m trying not to assume the worst. I’m running up and down hills and eating my vegetables and taking my vitamins not in hopes of eternal life or even longevity. I just want to feel pretty good. That’s all I’m asking for.

These guys showed up while I was away and now live here. I think this is my third or fourth skunk litter I’ve seen up here.







Some people think they are pests. I think they are so cool looking. I just have to make sure the cats eat. They move on pretty quickly in my recollection.

On Monday I talk to my first ‘In Living Color’ cast member. Tommy Davidson and I chat about him coming up in comedy and how that show changed everything. The radio veteran Phil Hendrie also stops by to talk about what he has going on. On Thursday Kevin Corrigan hangs out in the garage. We talk movies, Scorcese, music and New York. He’s in the new Andrew Bujalski film ‘Results’ which is great. I loved it.



Enjoy!



Boomer Lives!



Love,

Maron Rock and Roll, People-I’m about to get ready to go see the Stones in San Diego. I know you all heard Mick personally invite me to the show but it doesn’t seem like I’m getting any special treatment. I didn’t think I would. I’m getting tickets, which is great, amazing. That’s special. I hope they are at least great seats. I really wanted to go see them at The Fonda, a nightclub here in LA. That would’ve been amazing. I made a nuisance out of myself pestering every contact I had for ONE ticket. They got back to me but could not get me ONE ticket to go see them in a rare club appearance. So, I’m just going to the stadium like everyone else. I’m no Nicholson. I didn’t make a complete naïve fool out of myself and say, “Just ask Mick. He WANTS me to see them.” No, I just stomped around my house wishing I had more pull but kind of happy I don’t because then I would be one of those people. I was almost not going to see the show in San Diego because I felt dissed and bitchy about The Fonda. Dean Delray snapped me out of it. “Dude, did you see that set list?” We’re leaving here in a few. I’ll let you know how it was on Thursday.Trying to get back in sync with my life. I actually love being on the road. I like hotels. I like new places. Hotels are peaceful and I don’t have to clean up. I do like be grounded in my life though. It takes a while to get back into life. Mounds of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, going through mail and packages, re-introducing myself to the various animals indoors and out. I’m trying to exercise. I don’t want to believe that after a certain age you just never feel that great. I’m not sure I have ever felt ‘that great.’ I’ve felt amped up and manic but that didn’t seem organic or sustainable. I’d like to at least feel physically ‘pretty good.’ I just feel beat up a bit and never quite right. I’m trying not to assume the worst. I’m running up and down hills and eating my vegetables and taking my vitamins not in hopes of eternal life or even longevity. I just want to feel pretty good. That’s all I’m asking for.These guys showed up while I was away and now live here. I think this is my third or fourth skunk litter I’ve seen up here.Some people think they are pests. I think they are so cool looking. I just have to make sure the cats eat. They move on pretty quickly in my recollection.On Monday I talk to my first ‘In Living Color’ cast member. Tommy Davidson and I chat about him coming up in comedy and how that show changed everything. The radio veteran Phil Hendrie also stops by to talk about what he has going on. On Thursday Kevin Corrigan hangs out in the garage. We talk movies, Scorcese, music and New York. He’s in the new Andrew Bujalski film ‘Results’ which is great. I loved it.Enjoy!Boomer Lives!Love,Maron

It happens. Hey folks!



I'm writing this on my phone because apparently I am not keeping my shit together in these last few days of this leg of the tour. Somehow my computer is dead. I thought I plugged it in. I know I did. See, I'm losing it a bit.



I wrecked a rental car Saturday on my way to the gig. Not good. I'm a bit shook up. Everyone is okay. Barely made the show. It's was fucked up but Hertz was cool, the cops were cool, the guy whose car I hit was cool. It happens. It's sucks, but it happens. That feeling of knowing you are going to hit another car is one of the most present, awful moments you can experience. It feel like time just bends and stretches before the sound of crunching metal and plastic. I feel that feeling when I wake up sometimes. I open my eyes and come up on the day too fast and just plow into it, wrecking it, and spending the rest of it all jarred and sketched out.



I love the South more and more every time I come down here. The shows in Asheville, Charleston and Atlanta were all great. The people were nice everywhere and the crowds were just awesome. I don't like using that word but they were. Thanks for coming out if you were among them. I'm writing this in route to New Orleans, the last show of this part of the tour. In a couple of weeks I start up again.

Check wtfpod.com/calendar for new dates in Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, New Jersey, New York, Boulder and Denver!



Very exciting shows this week! On Monday we'll post my conversation with David Byrne. The former frontman of The Talking Heads had always been an artist I respected and it was amazing talking to to him. On Thursday we will post the live conversation I had with NPR's Fresh Air host, Terry Gross. She is the industry standard of what an interviewer should be. Terry is the best and she wanted me to be the one to interview her at the RadioLoveFest event at the BAM Opera House in Brooklyn. It was an amazing night and truly an honor to talk to her.

Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Season 3 premieres. Hi, Folks



I’m letting myself get pudgy. Just wanted to let you know. I’ll focus on unpudging when I get off the road. Just can’t worry about it or I’ll beat myself into a pudgy pulp.



Season 3 of my IFC show ‘Maron’ premieres this Thursday! Yay. Watch it on IFC if you can.



I am just a bit worn out from all the traveling. Something happens on the road, some kind of stupor. It requires donuts and sugar and bread so it won't crumble my disposition. It has to be stopped. I need to make some vegetables and run. I know I could do that on the road but I am not in the routine and it is hard to establish a routine. I am now exercising my ability to rationalize and justify my heart clogging behavior. I don’t want to live like this, but god, it is so good to eat donuts.



Seattle was amazing. Thanks to all who came out to The Neptune Theatre. They were loopy shows. It felt like everyone was loopy. There was a lot of riffing. Things happened that will never happen again. That’s the way I like it.



I am leaving Vancouver as I write this. I decided to take the train up because I thought it would be pretty. It was. It was still a train though. I wanted it to be relaxing but like any mode of transportation, eventually you just want to fucking get there. I am happy to report there were no problems at customs and the weather was beautiful but things go a little weird at the show at The Vogue in Vancouver. As I was walking to the show I ran into a pleasant young looking family who were on the way to see the show. The parents were excited to see me and introduced me to their teenage boy and girl. Apparently all shows in Vancouver are all ages. I didn’t know that. It shouldn’t matter except I get a little filthy on the road. I have reintegrated a bit of honest filth into the set. I like it. It feels good to be filthy. When I was talking to the nice family I told them I was happy they were coming but it will be filthy. They said what all parents say who take their kids to things that might be inappropriate, “I’m sure they’ve heard it before.” Well, I’m sure they haven’t. As they walked, the mom looked back and said, “How filthy?” And the dad said, “Clean it up, Maron.”



I did not. I wrestled with it but I was not going to change a club act to accommodate teenagers. ‘They have to hear it somewhere’ was my justification to me, my rationalization.



The bigger issue about the ‘all shows are all ages’ idea is that at some point in the first 25 minutes of my show a women with an infant sat up front. AN INFANT! It was astonishing and amazing. It made me uncomfortable and weirdly excited to deal with a situation I had not dealt with. I had an exchange with her. Asked her why she brought the baby. It was funny. Then the kid started making baby noises and she left. I thought. From the back of them room, sporadically throughout a good part of the show, you good hear gurgling baby noise from the back of the room. I was being heckled by a baby. That was a first. Thanks for that Vancouver.



Check the new tour dates on the schedule. See I’m coming to a town near you. Don’t bring your babies.



On Monday I talk to another SNL person. Kenan Thompson and I talked in NYC about the SNL stuff. I show him some video I acquired of Lorne Michaels on Canadian TV in the early 70s in a comedy team. Mind blowing. Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster also stop by the garage to chat about the stuff going on with The Best Show. On Thursday I do kind of a double header with Greg Proops and Richard Lewis.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

The 600th episode is upon us. Yes, People, I’m in NYC.



I hope you are all not offended that occasionally I don’t tell you exactly what I am doing at every moment. I don’t mean to leave you out but there are some things I just want to experience privately and then share them. Is that okay? It’s going to have to be.



First off, there are tickets available for all of the shows I added to the tour. Click here for cities and links.



Secondly, I will be interviewing the amazing Terry Gross at a live event at BAM for Radio Love Fest. She should be interesting. She is the preeminent interviewer of our time. She is the inquisitive voice of NPR’s Fresh Air. She is the industry standard of modern interviewing and she has agreed to have me interview her. Should be interesting. I’m curious. You? I don’t think anyone knows much about her. It’s actually very exciting. We will post it as a WTF episode.



Thirdish, our 600th episode is upon us. This milestone will be marked by a standard WTF interview with a guy who was there before the beginning, Sam Seder. Sam and I were hosting a doomed streaming video show at the last incarnation of Air America when we were fired. They didn’t kick us out of the building and Brendan and I started doing WTF in the studios after hours. I’ve known Sam a long time. He’s really one of the funniest people I know and one of the most difficult to work with. Needless to say he wasn’t part of WTF, thank god, but he was there at the beginning and this interview was a long time coming. Sam will also be appearing on an episode of Maron on IFC this season playing himself. We have a pretty set dynamic. It’s not for everyone but it’s definitely a thing.



Fourthster, the third season of Maron on IFC premieres on May 14th. I don’t mean to offend any of you radical cord cutters when I ask you to get IFC for the run of my show. Watch it however you want. I’m very proud of this season. I think it’s the best one we’ve done and I just want people to watch. Ratings mean something to the network. I mean, I know you are going to watch it however you are going to watch it: iTunes, DVR, BitTorrent, Netflix next year, etc. BUT if you watch on IFC you get counted and I’d like the numbers to be good. So, if you can, do it. If not, no big deal. Just watch it. It’s good.



Lastly, the other reason I came to NYC is for the VICE newfronts. I will be doing a show for the new VICE TV network. It will be called VICE Portraits with Marc Maron. It will be an interview show. It will be shot out in the world. I will be talking to the type of people I talk to in environments that are either important to the subject or challenging to them. We will also be shooting the journey to and from the talks. Should be exciting. I’ve been looking for a way to try to do what I do in the video format and this feels like it. I will let you know more details like when and where you can watch when I find out.



Today on the show I talk to the amazing Parker Posey in my hotel room in NYC. On Thursday I talk to Sam Seder on our 600th episode.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

All meated up. Howdy, Folks!



I’m in Texas. I’m all meated up.



I have a growing love for this state the more I come back. I grew up with a Texas aversion because I lived in New Mexico and there was some kind of unspoken tension. It’s all going away. The more time I spend here the more I appreciate the terrain and the people. There is nothing like the country of Texas.



The Moontower Comedy Festival show at the Paramount was amazing. Filled it up. The crowd was great. I did a nice, long, weird set. Felt good. I was also working on a belly filled with Opies BBQ. I went out there during the day with some comics. We had a full clown car going out there with me and Kurt Metzger and Todd Barry and Nate Bargatze. It a blast. I’ve said this before but the greatest thing about being a comic is hanging out with other comics. To be around people who are professionally funny and can’t help but be funny and brilliant is the best. The following night I had dinner with Blaine Capatch and Dana Gould. Again. Hilarious. It’s always great to spend time with friends you’ve known for decades but don’t get to see that much. I also caught Maria Bamford’s show. I hadn’t seen her stretch out for while. It was amazing. I can’t always sit through an hour of comedy but I didn’t want to get up AND I had to pee. That’s a great show. She is by far the best and most interesting standup performer out there. It was a real pleasure to watch her, except it makes me want to stop. She’s that good.



I’m adding dates to the Maronation Tour. Here they are. Tickets go on sale later this week.

June 5th - Cleveland at the Playhouse Square

June 6th - Chicago at the Vic Theatre

June 7th - Minneapolis, The Pantages

June 25th - Port Chester, NY at The Capitol Theatre

June 26th - The BAM Opera House in Brooklyn

June 27th - Huntington, NY, The Paramount Theatre

June 28th - Red Bank, New Jersey at the Count Basie Theater

July 10th and 11th - Portland, Oregon, the Aladdin Theatre and Revolution Hall, respectively

July 24th - Boulder, Colorado at the Boulder Theatre

July 25th - Denver, Colorado at the Paramount Theatre

I’ll keep you informed about ticket sales!



Today on the show I talk to Zach Woods. He is a brilliant comedic actor and improviser that you may know from The Office or Silicon Valley. Amazing talent.On Thursday you’ll her the conversation I had with the inimitable painter, Robert Williams, in the office of the Gallery at the Barnsdall Art Park where a retrospective of his work was hanging. Great talks this week.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Out doing the shows. It’s growing back, folks.



My face is almost, once again, properly hidden by hair. Actually, it’s very covered. I will have to trim and carve out the configuration that has been established over the last few years. I kind of want to rock the full beard for a while though because I’ve put on a few pounds of road weight and maybe I can do the burly bear look for a while. Well, not that much weight. I’d be a slightly emaciated bear but a slightly chubby bearded me. We’ll see.



I’ve been out doing the shows on the tour. They are going very well. It is interesting to me to feel how it goes venue to venue and what makes one feel different than the other. Like I said, they are all going well but some are kind of magic and it’s hard to tell whether it’s me on a given night for whatever reason or the venue or the audience. It's probably some mixture of the three.



The best thing that can happen from where I am standing on stage is something that’s never happened before and probably won't happen again. I like to improvise and reach a level of stream of consciousness that is completely without obstacles I put there or the audience puts there (although that is really my projection, usually). It’s a comfort thing. Honestly, I can’t always get a crowd of 1000 or so people to come into the type of intimacy I really love to perform in. I can get them there 80 percent of the time but the other 20 I have to fight a little and push. I know that’s part of the gig and I’m not sure the audience would know that I am going through these deliberations unless I mention it, which I do sometimes. It’s probably all on me, right? There are no bad audiences. Hah. What a bullshit line that is. I’ve been lucky there haven’t been any bad ones on this tour! Some are a little more amped than others and some have intense expectations but none have been bad---quite the opposite. Some of the venues have been a little challenging sound-wise but we transcended. I really appreciate you all coming out for the shows! Madison was magic, Pittsburgh was haunted and magic and Detroit I had to rock hard. Writing this from Toronto. I’ll let you know how it goes.



Today I talk to my old friend Kevin Pollak for a bit about his new documentary, ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ which I am in. I wouldn’t talk to him otherwise and that’s why he put me in. Kidding. I would talk to him even if he didn’t put me in solely so I would talk to him. Also, the lovely Rose Byrne hangs out for a while to talk about acting and Australia. On Thursday the guitar virtuoso Blake Mills give me a lesson and talks music for a while. Wizard. For. Sure.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Patent Trolls.



The Maronation Tour has commenced. I did a show in DC, two in Philly and two in Boston. They were amazing. I’ve got a newbie, Ashley Barnhill, opening and the show is killer. I believe it’s the best hour or so I’ve done. If you don’t have tickets for one of the shows check here if there are any for a city near you.



I have to be honest. It is staggering, humbling and awesome to return to cities I have played in the past in smaller venues—sometimes poorly attended and rough—and do these bigger venues to full houses of people that dig what I do. I really never thought it would happen and it is. I’m fucking thrilled and beside myself that you folks are coming out. It’s a blast. I’ve put almost three decades of my life into this calling and it is being answered. I hope to see you out there.



Big ass news! As many if you recall I couldn’t shut up about podcasting being under attack by a patent troll that went by the shell company name of Personal Audio LLC. The patent they had was basically a schematic drawing of a nonexistent machine that they tried to retrofit onto part of the technology that facilitates (in a fairly removed way) the distribution of podcasts. They claimed they invented podcasting before it existed. They came after us. I got letters that implied future lawsuits if I didn’t cough up a licensing fee of their choosing. They were suing Adam Carolla and they were using him as the example in their shakedown scheme.



Patent trolls are an ongoing threat to businesses of all kinds. Podcasters rallied. We reached out to the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and gave them the heads up. We reached out to each other to try to figure out how to fight this threat to our medium. We didn’t have lawyers and we were scared. The EFF found it appropriate to file a re-exam of the patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). We put out a battle cry for funds to make the re-exam happen. It was funded overnight because of your support. We encouraged Adam to fight and he did. We put out a battle cry for his fight and many of you responded. Ultimately they laid off Adam, half-promising to leave us alone, too. It was on paper but the language left the door open for them to bring it all back up again. Well, last week the USPTO ruled in our favor.



“In petitions filed with Patent Office, EFF showed that Personal Audio did not invent anything new before it filed its patent application, and, in fact, other people were podcasting for years previously. Earlier examples of podcasting include Internet pioneer Carl Malamud's "Geek of the Week" online radio show and online broadcasts by CNN and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).”



See the entire article and ruling



We did it with your help! Thank you for supporting podcasts. Apparently a WTF listener, Jeff Haynes, supplied some of the ‘prior art’ necessary to take the patent down. Thanks, Jeff. Thanks again to everyone who was with us in this fight.



On Monday I have a beautiful chat with The Fonz, Henry Winkler. On Thursday’s show Spoon’s Britt Daniel talks about the evolution of his band and the struggle of music. Also on Thursday the brilliant Jon Ronson talks a bit about his new book, ‘So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.’ Great week of talks.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron It is happening, People!The Maronation Tour has commenced. I did a show in DC, two in Philly and two in Boston. They were amazing. I’ve got a newbie, Ashley Barnhill, opening and the show is killer. I believe it’s the best hour or so I’ve done. If you don’t have tickets for one of the shows check here if there are any for a city near you.I have to be honest. It is staggering, humbling and awesome to return to cities I have played in the past in smaller venues—sometimes poorly attended and rough—and do these bigger venues to full houses of people that dig what I do. I really never thought it would happen and it is. I’m fucking thrilled and beside myself that you folks are coming out. It’s a blast. I’ve put almost three decades of my life into this calling and it is being answered. I hope to see you out there.Big ass news! As many if you recall I couldn’t shut up about podcasting being under attack by a patent troll that went by the shell company name of Personal Audio LLC. The patent they had was basically a schematic drawing of a nonexistent machine that they tried to retrofit onto part of the technology that facilitates (in a fairly removed way) the distribution of podcasts. They claimed they invented podcasting before it existed. They came after us. I got letters that implied future lawsuits if I didn’t cough up a licensing fee of their choosing. They were suing Adam Carolla and they were using him as the example in their shakedown scheme.Patent trolls are an ongoing threat to businesses of all kinds. Podcasters rallied. We reached out to the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and gave them the heads up. We reached out to each other to try to figure out how to fight this threat to our medium. We didn’t have lawyers and we were scared. The EFF found it appropriate to file a re-exam of the patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). We put out a battle cry for funds to make the re-exam happen. It was funded overnight because of your support. We encouraged Adam to fight and he did. We put out a battle cry for his fight and many of you responded. Ultimately they laid off Adam, half-promising to leave us alone, too. It was on paper but the language left the door open for them to bring it all back up again. Well, last week the USPTO ruled in our favor.“In petitions filed with Patent Office, EFF showed that Personal Audio did not invent anything new before it filed its patent application, and, in fact, other people were podcasting for years previously. Earlier examples of podcasting include Internet pioneer Carl Malamud's "Geek of the Week" online radio show and online broadcasts by CNN and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).”See the entire article and ruling here We did it with your help! Thank you for supporting podcasts. Apparently a WTF listener, Jeff Haynes, supplied some of the ‘prior art’ necessary to take the patent down. Thanks, Jeff. Thanks again to everyone who was with us in this fight.On Monday I have a beautiful chat with The Fonz, Henry Winkler. On Thursday’s show Spoon’s Britt Daniel talks about the evolution of his band and the struggle of music. Also on Thursday the brilliant Jon Ronson talks a bit about his new book, ‘So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.’ Great week of talks.Enjoy!Boomer lives!Love,Maron

Not in a million years. Rock and Roll, People.



I haven’t talked to you all since the things happened. Since I talked to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Since I talked to my childhood heroes. Is my life different now? Well, yes. I talked to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on my home phone in my garage. The both called my house. Did I ever think that Mick and Keith would call me at home ever, for any reason? Was it even imaginable? No. Not in a million years.



So, that happened. It was amazing for me. I hope that someday I will get to sit down with Keith for a long conversation. I don’t think it can happen with Mick because from what I understand he is a very private person. I think Keith would like to talk. We’ll see what happens. In the mean time I guess I’m going to San Diego see the Stones as Mick’s guest. That is, if he is a man of his word. Which I assume he is.



I’m sick of being sick. I just got over that nasty snotty cold thing that I was fortunate enough not to have in my lungs. I had a good week of feeling good. I took a run the other day and after it I felt knocked out. It thought maybe I gave myself heat stroke or something. Then I was a little feverish and now I just feel buggy for the last couple of days. I’m kind of achy, little tightness in the chest and my tummy hurts. What the fuck is that? Some vague, not all-consuming but nagging bug? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad its not worse but it is annoying.



The Maronation Tour starts in earnest this Thursday at The Warner Theater in Washington, DC. This is the first time I’m doing big rooms for an entire tour. It will be my task to make a big room fit me. Bring it in. I’m excited about. A little nervous. Not too bad. If you live in the Bay Area and want to come to the show you should get tickets. I’ll be at Davies Symphony Hall on May 10th. It’s really the biggest room I’m playing and it's about half sold. So, just a heads up that I will be there and I could stand to move some seats. Those who bought tickets will definitely not be alone. There are over 1000 sold but might be nice to have some more company.



Today I spend 10 minutes talking to Keith Richards. I don’t think I could’ve emotionally handled anymore. It was amazing. Also, on Monday I talk to actress and poet, Amber Tamblyn about her new book, Dark Sparkler. On Thursday I have a fun chat with record producer John Agnello and a short talk with Maz Jobrani about his new book.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

Keep up the good luck. It’s happening, People-



The Maronation Tour is going to start in earnest on April 9th at The Warner Theater in Washington DC. Please check the schedule for your city. Some shows have sold out and some shows have been added. I feel good about it.



I just spent the day cleaning the garage or at least moving some shit, cleaning under it, re-stacking it and putting it back. It is so hard for me to throw stuff away. I get a lot of stuff. I like all of it, for a while. I guess there is no shame in getting rid of books that I’m just not going to read as long as they weren’t and sent to me by the author and signed. I learned that lesson. I had to move some books out of the garage so I brought them down to the local bookstore to see if they wanted them. Thought maybe I could get some trade at least. One of the books was a signed book of poetry by a guy. They put that book up online and the guy who signed must have a Google alert on his name because he alerted me that the book was up for sale and maybe I didn’t realize I did it and might need another one. I felt shitty.

Now I just try to give stuff to Goodwill. Same thing happened. A guy sent a print of a piece of art that I just had no room for but I thought someone might enjoy it so I brought it to Goodwill. Someone did find it, loved it, told the artist they picked it up. Busted. He was happy that the piece landed in good hands and seemed to have a journey. I felt bad.



I don’t really know what to do. I live in a small house. I guess I could rent a storage locker for stuff. I now keep all the personal art and signed books and records and just move stuff that comes through labels and publicists if I’m not going to need it for research or don’t necessarily enjoy them. Damn. I still have a lot of stuff. I like stuff. I am not a hoarder. I am going to get to all of it and get all of it up on the damn wall. I just need another lifetime and more walls.



I forgot to mention this thing that happened in NYC that I thought was beautiful. I was in a coffee shop with my producer Brendan and I noticed a guy giving me that look that he knew who I was and liked what I did. I know the look. I do it to people. It’s hard to know what to do in that moment because you want to say something but you don’t usually know what to say. I generally don’t say anything because I just don’t want to feel weird. As we were walking out he was looking at me and I said, ‘Hey, man.’ He said. ‘Hey, I really like your stuff.’ I said, ‘Thanks. What’s your name?’ He told me. I don’t remember but I wanted to. As I was walking away he said, ‘Keep up the good luck.’ It was a brain fart. He obviously wanted to say ‘Keep up the good work.’ It was genius. We laughed about it. It was one of the greatest sentences I’ve heard.



On Monday I talk to Michael Imperioli. Great talent. Great guy. I miss seeing him in stuff. Fuck, I miss The Sopranos. It was nice talk. On Thursday I talk to the amazing cartoonist and artist, Drew Friedman. I’ve been a huge fan of his work for years. I was thrilled to talk to him.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!



Love,

Maron

It is coming back. Hey, Folks-



Don’t have much to say today because I’ve been traveling and I completely spaced writing this until the middle of the night.



I had great shows in Rochester. The crowds were amazing and The Comedy Club is a great room. I managed not to eat a Garbage Plate but that did not stop me from eating garbage. The crazy must stop soon. I think I am over compensating with food for what I have lost when I shaved my mustache and beard. It is coming back. Slowly I will regain my strength and my will to exercise. I’m really exhausted and I’m just not going to write a lot right now.



Know that all is well and I am out of my mind but I know it.



This week on the show I had an amazing talk with filmmaker Joe Swanberg. It is really one of the best conversations I have had on the show in a while. That happens on Monday. On Thursday I will air my talk with Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth.



Enjoy!



Boomer lives!





Love,

Maron