Jim Farrell Interview, Comic & Wine Specialist Show #129

This interview with Jim Farrell is interesting because after a 10 year career in standup comedy, he went through some very difficult and lengthy training to become a world class Sommelier. Going from comedy writer and performer to one of the few sommeliers on the West Coast, is an interesting story. Plus we share some new material by Jim with an in-show version of "An Audience of One". Grab a glass of wine and enjoy this show!

Hosted by: R. Scott Edwards

Transcript

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Scott Edwards: 0:00

Hi, and welcome to this week's show. Hey, before we jump into the podcast, I wanted to share some new news. I just finished writing a book and it's out on Amazon, be sure to look for it. It's 20 questions answered about being a stand up comic. Once again, it's available both for Kindle or for softcover on Amazon. So go check it out. It you can search for the name of the book 20 questions answered about being a stand up comic, or my name are Scott Edwards and get a copy. Okay, here's this week's podcast enjoy.

Announcer: 0:41

This is another episode of stand up comedy, your host and emcee celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and MC, Scott and words.

Scott Edwards: 0:59

Hello, and welcome to another great show. Stand up comedy hosted MC man, do we have a fun interview for you today? This young man and I have worked together off and on for over 30 years at least he has been in comedy, and then out of comedy then back into comedy. And he's got a great story. He is a regular on stages around the country. He used to help with my open mics and MC my shows. And just a great guy. So let's let's get him on here. Ladies and gentlemen, please a big round of applause. My comedy friend Jim Farrell. Jim, so good to have you on the show. Finally, we have known each other a long time, but it took a while to get this interview set up because you're a busy busy guy. Jim, how are you today?

Jim Farrell: 2:00

I am fantastic. I got a day off. And yeah, I got a pretty, pretty hectic schedule. But yeah, this is fun. I'm looking forward to.

Scott Edwards: 2:08

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Jim has been part of my comedy life for since back in the 80s. Well, maybe you should tell that into it. What kind of got you into comedy? Jim, what? What drove you to the stage?

Jim Farrell: 2:23

Well, I always I was starting off as a fan of comedy. I always, always loved it. I remember back even when I was a kid, like in high school, we'd be out in the front yard playing football. And then I'd have my mom, you know, when she was watching the old Mike Douglas Show or Merv Griffin. I said when the stand up comic comes on, come out and get me and I'd run in the house and watch the comics. And back then it was Franklin Zhi and George Miller, and, you know, obviously, George Carlin and Pryor, all those guys. And then once they were done, I'd go back out and play. Start playing football again. So I was always a fan. I came down to your club, many, many times before I started doing it. And I just wanted to try it one time. And you know, at some point, I got the got the courage to do it. But I wasn't terribly confident. So the first couple of times I went on stage, I actually did juggling.

Scott Edwards: 3:13

I don't remember that. And also, I didn't know that you were a customer. Before you were a comic get the club. I know you're from this area. But that's interesting. Well, I happen to live in a house that comedy belt. So thank you for your small part of my house. So what year would that be? Well, when I started, yeah, that you were coming to the club, and then and then the courage to get on stage. And when did you appear at one of the open mics or take one of the comedy schools that was being run by Karen and Delve and I

Jim Farrell: 3:48

know this was long before that I started I think I think my first set was probably around 87 down at the old Metro. And I did that for a couple of years. And then I did your contest one year, where I actually did juggle, and I got fourth I was one place for moving on to the next round. And boy, I was pissed at you.

Scott Edwards: 4:13

Well, I wasn't the judge per se. But what he's referencing is we used to do a regular competition called the Great Northern California comedy competition. And it was really a cheap way for me as a producer to see a lot of different talent because people would come from all over the state to perform in this because we had cash prizes and more work for people. But I were you juggling for a long time before this. Was that something you did in school or something?

Jim Farrell: 4:42

Yeah, I guess you know, I I was in high school and I went down to Fisherman's Wharf one day and saw the guys and so I figured I just spent one summer doing it and I figured this is going to be a great way to get girls didn't work didn't work. You know, my friends were giving me a bad time. like juggling and juggling, well, it's kind of gay, isn't it? And I'm like, oh, good juggling school. And then I remember my, one of my first patterns I learned was a four ball shower. And I thought, Well, okay, maybe

Scott Edwards: 5:13

a bum bum. There's a little joke there. Well, that that's interesting, you know, doing juggling to meet girls. I think that's very funny. When you went down to the wharf, you probably saw some of our old friends. Fred Anderson was irregular down there and others. So you, you did comedy now, it was not just juggling. I'm sure you did some material.

Jim Farrell: 5:34

Yeah, there was some material. And I think my philosophy at the time was, you know, the jokes don't work, at least, you know, they're being entertained somehow. So I did that for a while. And then I kind of slowly got rid of the props and started doing stand up. And I don't know if I did a second competition, because eventually I got booked by you. I did a lot of the emceeing on the weekend. Classic Scott story. You know, I'd get $20 for each show that I hosted. And on the weekends, I hosted two shows, and I got 20 for the first show, and 15 for the second. never figured out your math, but

Scott Edwards: 6:13

Well, there's a bit of a reputation for me being cheap, but I treated you well.

Jim Farrell: 6:18

You did absolutely. No, it was luck. Your your club in the heyday was I mean, I didn't play every club in the country. But my gosh, that old sack location was had to be one of the best clubs in the country that that place on early show Saturday, and you know, every night, but you know, it was just incredible. It was pretty amazing.

Scott Edwards: 6:38

Yeah, we were pretty lucky we got a chance to design that room and had a low ceiling. We had people right up against the stage, we had three tiered seating. So everybody, it was like arena seating. Everybody had a good view, it was a really a jam on the tours. I'm proud to say it was fun to work. But as a your right as a opening act emcee, you could get a lot more work from a producer like me, because one you are good to you are clean. And three, you are consistent, which for a producer is so important. And I'm sure getting all that work on stage helped you hone your act.

Jim Farrell: 7:18

No, yeah, no, absolutely. And I remember, you know, you're young, and you're doing comedy. And you're, you're the problem is, when you're first doing comedy, you're thinking about your set, right, and you're not performing it. So there was one time where I got three weeks of comedy back to back and the last week was at your club I was at. And I look Turkey to Mexico. And then I was in Tucson, Arizona, and then middle third week, I was at your club. And I remember by the time I got to the laughs I had my act down. So good that I didn't even have to think about it. Now I could perform. And now I can write on stage and actually not worry about what the next joke was. So. So stage time is, you know, incredibly important for for that reason, amongst many others, but that to me was the big takeaway.

Scott Edwards: 8:07

Yeah, it gives you the confidence, I think, to play on stage because you know, you can bring the audience back. And that's something that's just so valuable. And you can't just buy that you have to earn that with time and hard work. I'm glad that worked out in a you were a regular road comic for how long, Jim?

Jim Farrell: 8:32

Well, I after I was with you, I'd moved down to LA and was writing for about I was down there about two years, I guess. And you know, a good buddy of yours, De Bruyne, er, he and I did a lot of freelance writing together. And so when I was in LA, I did mostly local stuff down there. But then when I moved to San Francisco in 93, then I was doing a lot more road work. I was there for nine years. And I was doing emceeing a lot of the showcases a covs. I was, you know, I was opening at the Cubs two to three times a year punch line a couple times a year for RoosterTeeth feathers, and then I would go do the road up in Oregon and Washington. So that was probably, you know, close to nine years.

Scott Edwards: 9:20

Yeah, anytime you commit a decade of your life to something that makes you a professional, you were obviously making enough money to get by and working all those different stages, all those different audiences are was really what, you know, chisels that coal into a diamond when it comes to comedy entertainment. Congratulations on that. You also I know had a chance to work with some pretty amazing people not only at my club, but other clubs. Who was it that stood out? Or was there anybody that you really look to? That gave you an idea of the right Have to take your stand up comedy.

Jim Farrell: 10:02

No, I don't know that there was I certainly had people that I looked up to in the early days it was you know, I, one of the one of the coolest things about one of the weeks with you is I was at at the birdcage or citrus club and it was one of those weeks where you had three different pretty big headliners and I want to say, I was hosting that week and there was Pat Paulsen, Pete blur beauty and Bobby Slayton was, in fact, then, you know, when you were when you're starting out, it was a big deal to have that that resume and have who you worked with, and I got to add three names just in one week. And that was, you know, people our beauty was, I just remember watching him in the crowd watching them and going, I don't know about this guy. But if you're older people are beauty had been on this night show countless times. I think it was on the sin nature like 20 times. And he was definitely an old school comic. And he was a classic and he was he was really fun to watch. But I had more fun watching the crowd try to figure out what he was doing.

Scott Edwards: 11:06

Well, people like soupy sales Pat Paulsen peep our booty, I used to like to bring in what were kind of Catskill type comics, old school comics, because they were the foundation of this industry that was really taking off in the 80s and 90s. But these guys were working back in the 60s and 70s, when you know, was all strip clubs and jazz clubs. And it was always fascinating to me, to see how they had developed and how it's different than it was in the 80s. Of course, it's way different now, but what a great experience. I'm sure you got a chance to meet some other pretty amazing acts. What was some of the great memories you have of work in the road at the time?

Jim Farrell: 11:54

Well working, I worked with George Lopez a couple of times. And he you know, he was he's a interesting, interesting guy, pretty amazing comic. You know, and hanging out and partying with him was, was interesting. We were, we were at, I think the Walnut Creek punch line one time, and he was he bought the crowd, all a shot of whatever they wanted. It was a slow night, apparently, and there wasn't that many people and that got a little bit out of control. And so that I that was kind of a odd one. One of the best things I ever did was I got I was working with Brian Regan and Brian Riggins, one of my, I think he's just one of the funniest comics I've ever seen. Funny. And I've got to play golf with him. And he was equally as funny on the golf course. I mean, he was he was horrible. But man he was, it was the best.

Scott Edwards: 12:54

Good comic.

Jim Farrell: 12:57

I mean, it would have been completely unfair. If he's that funny and a great golfer.

Scott Edwards: 13:01

That's too much.

Jim Farrell: 13:03

But But yeah, it was, you know, I worked with, you know, obviously with the bobby Slayton, Brian Regan dynamite RERA. Back in the day, Dana Gould. I would host cops. And that was a great gig because you actually got money, right? You got $1 for every person that came into the room, and I think that room probably held about what 175 Would you say? I know, You've been there many times. Yeah. And so you know, you've made some pretty good, you know, pretty good night clothes, it was a lot of fun. And three of the nights, I was there, Robin Williams came in. And one of the nights I was now my wife, she was with me when he was early in our dating cycle. That's what you want to call it. And so she's at the show, and we're watching the show, and I'm trying to impress her, and all of a sudden, Robin Williams walks in. And so after the show, he was back at the bar area hanging out with me and me and Suzanne. And, you know, she was just like, Holy Toledo. This is unbelievable. And so, you know, I bought myself a path for about six months. And I couldn't do any wrong, because if he got mad at me, I said, Look, I introduce you to Robin Williams. So

Scott Edwards: 14:14

Well, I think one of the That's very funny on a very marriage level, right? That that it's always good to get a few extra kudos in the bag for when we we eff up like we do like men do. But one of the things that's interesting about being in any fringe part of show business is the personalities that we get a chance to interact with. And you know, Robin worked my stage twice. There was a lot of other people were talking about Pat Paulsen and in others and just the opportunity to breathe the same air as these, you know, comic geniuses and people that really took this craft in and honed it into something special. I mean, it it, it can't help but rub off a little bit in and learn something from watching that. And I think what you're saying is all that work at Cobbs and all the people you got a chance to work with over the years had to help you develop. I mean, you had a decade of professional comedy work. I mean, that's a real success. Jim, congrats.

Jim Farrell: 15:26

Yeah, thank you. Yeah. And I think that was, the big takeaway for me was, you know, just the competence. Because I think if there's one thing that, you know, probably I lacked a little bit is just confidence. And then you know, and I was doing comedy, and I was having some success, but it was never big on like, self promotion. And I just remember looking back and thinking about it the other day. And so I was in San Francisco and I, I got an opportunity, and it didn't pan out. But you know, when the Lehmann I worked with her, that, gosh, what is it nice Bay Tommy T's? And she came up to me afterwards, and she goes, Oh, my gosh, are, you know, I think you're really, really funny. If I ever get a sitcom, I'm gonna hire, you know, call you to write for me, or whatever. It's just, you know, people being nice. I didn't think anything of it. And like three weeks later, she calls me she goes, guess what, I got a development deal. Can you work on a pilot for me? Like, Holy Toledo. So yeah. A couple of weeks later, she called and said the deal fell through. But But yeah, I mean, I, it was weird. You know, I had opportunities. I think I was better than I gave myself credit for. I got a call from Senator Nightline. They wanted me to submit jokes to Norm Macdonald. And, you know, like, we talked about, you know, kind of in the, when you saw me the other night that that was a true story. I was just like, Man, I just got to a point where I was done. And I'm probably jumping ahead a little bit in the conversation. But But yeah, I mean, I, I just had a lot of really nice opportunities. And I wish I would have taken advantage of more of them. But I had to do what was right for me at the time.

Scott Edwards: 16:59

So stand up comedy did open up some doors, give you some opportunities, but it at a certain point, after 10 years, and not really getting that maybe career level, especially financially, it's difficult. Only a handful of people really make a full life's career out of comedy in and make enough money to raise a family and stuff. Now, I alluded it a little bit earlier, but you transitioned into wine and became a wine expert, you're a high level Samaya Why don't you walk us through real quick? How that happened? What What got you interested in wine?

Jim Farrell: 17:44

Well, when I moved to San Francisco, you know, you know, Rick play, right? Yeah. And so, you know, we were we were, you know, casual friends at the time. And he was like, Oh, you got to come down to San Francisco. If you want, I can get your job and my liquor store. And I said, All right, well, yeah. When I went down there, I started working there. Well, this liquor store turned out to be big K and L wines, which is, you know, one of the top wine stores in the country. And so they were really cool about let me do the road, if I needed to take a week or two off, I could do it. They were really flexible, working around my comedy schedule. So it was just perfect. I got to, you know, keep the proverbial day job. But still do you know, as much comedy as I want it, so but yeah, I just started there. And, you know, I never really had a huge interest in wine, but it paid the bills and, you know, picking up some stuff along the way, and got pretty good about, you know, with wine without really trying. But when I moved back up here, you know, I had to figure out what I was going to do. And, you know, I thought you know, I'm making a lot more money, selling wine than I was selling jokes. So I decided I'd better get serious about wine. So what I did at that time is I just started taking some courses and went through the quarter Somalis and then went through the society when educators and just did a lot of home study, and took the tests and I got to certified wine educator through the society when educators in the first two levels of the court of Somalia. So yeah, I know, more than most not as much as some and if you never want somebody to come to your party and shut it down early, invite me and I'll start talking about wine and

Scott Edwards: 19:27

it's so funny because you're breezing through it and about a minute and a half of conversation. But really, you pivoted from stand up comedy to selling wine to becoming a wine expert. It took years and a lot of hard work and study. What can you explain to the audience briefly what it takes to become a Somalia?

Jim Farrell: 19:50

Yeah, there's the test involves three different components is a theory, which is basically a written test questions. Um, there is tableside service and you also have to open a bottle of champagne and not make any noise when you open it and then pour, they just give you instruction so so basically what I've done is read my materials make flashcards study might tail off for the theory part. I remember my wife getting very irritated because on my kitchen table I had 2000 flashcards. You know, I have a pile called France and then a pile called Bordeaux, you know, sub regions of France. And then I had an Italy pile and then I had an Australia, South of Chile, Argentina pile, Germany pile and all these were, were what grapes grow in certain areas? And what are the regulations? And you know, what are the grapes of Burgundy? What are the five major regions of Burgundy, what are the 13 sub regions of Costa boning the 17 sub regions of Kota Nui and all this stuff that just, you know, it's fascinating to me, but boring, right? So yeah, I study for that test for nine months. And then so you sit down, and the first thing they do is they give you a couple lines and one white one red, you have a sheet in front of you, where you have to and let me see if I can remember this right. This was many years ago when I took the exam, but the sheet has you have to identify the tannin levels, the alcohol levels, the sugar level and the acidity level on a like a one to five scale. And then you have to identify three fruit descriptors, three wood descriptors, and three Earth descriptors. So, you may be having Chardonnay, or you know, if it's a Chardonnay, you got to figure out, okay, the acidity level is probably I'm gonna say it's, it's pretty high. It's I want to give it a four tannins are going to be really low because there's no tannins white wines, except for what might come from the barrel. Then you got to figure out the, the sugar level, okay, it's dry. And then you know, and then you move on to the different types of fruits. And then you have to kind of your, your final conclusion where you have to say, old world versus New World, country, and then great, Brian. Wow. And so you do this kind of by deduction, right? It's not so much that you taste this wine and you know exactly what it is. And that certainly can happen. But knowing this is where the theory part comes in, is I'm gonna say this wine is got really high acid, it is tree fruit, you know, you might get some, some apple, he might get some pear, the alcohols a little low. So I'm gonna say this is an old world wine. Okay, so now you've eliminated half the world, right? So now you're just wine has to be from somewhere, you know, blah, blah, blah. Well, now you got to figure out okay, maybe this is a Chardonnay. Well, where in Europe the Chardonnay grow? Well, Chardonnay doesn't grow everywhere in Europe. So now you're thinking, Okay, this has to be, you know, burgundy is going to be the obvious choice, because, for the most part, the only white wine that they grow there. So you might say, old world is your conclusion. It's going to be some far from France, it's going to be from Burgundy, and it's going to be a Chardonnay. And it's going to be a 1919 or 2008, you know, a couple of years old, it's not an old one, as you can tell by the color. So yeah, that's basically how it works. And now,

Scott Edwards: 23:42

you know, I'm gonna interrupt you're basically a wine detective. So it's not so much memorizing each and every wine because there's 1000s of them, but what you're doing is breaking down the what created the wine. And then as a detective, you're searching out which each wine the properties it has, and that helps you become the wine expert that you are.

Jim Farrell: 24:10

Yeah, it's kind of what they even call it a deductive tasting. Right? So, yeah, so you're basically you're, you're gonna figure out what the wine is not. And then you almost kind of go through your head you eliminate Okay, so you get a white wine. Okay, well, I know it's not Cabernet. I know it's not mirlo Alright, so now you're thinking it's gonna be Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio 70 belongs to VO and EA Russa and Marsan. You know the major grape varietals and they're a nice test. They're not going to give you some goofy wine that no one's heard of, but they're going to keep the wines to classic varietals. Classic regions. You're not going to get a you're not gonna get a Cabernet from Fresno, right? I mean,

Scott Edwards: 24:50

well, so. So you you've learned there's this education aspect. Did you learn to be to enjoy wine? I mean, is it something You would have been drinking anyway or did all this knowledge kind of take you down that path of enjoying wines, various types.

Jim Farrell: 25:11

Now, I think I think just what I did took me it took me down that path and I really enjoy it. I still do. I mean, you know, there's a there's a famous quote by somebody, I don't remember his name, but he said wind does not grow in ugly areas. So you know, usually if you're in a wine growing region, you're in a pretty cool place. Unless of course it's you know, Fresno, but

Scott Edwards: 25:34

you know, all of our international listeners, Fresno is exactly as he states.

Jim Farrell: 25:43

No, I mean, I might, you know, this just wind thing has taken me to Europe, a couple different times. I've been to Germany, I've been to Portugal. I've been to Spain. I've been to France. I've been to Italy.

Scott Edwards: 25:55

That's so cool. I didn't know you got all that travel out of it. That's amazing.

Jim Farrell: 26:00

Yeah, no, and we spent, you know, we spend, you know, 1617 hours a day at wineries and eating and tasting wine. And it's, you know, it's an amazing trip. It's a bit much to be honest with you. Because they, you know, they figure Hey, we're paying Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna get you know, the money out of you. And but, but it's obviously an amazing experience. Well, you gotta be,

Scott Edwards: 26:23

you didn't stay with K and L wines you you developed as a Samaya. You got your knowledge levels up, you've actually move your way up the corporate ladder. Who do you represent now?

Jim Farrell: 26:37

I work for retailer coats, total wines and more. There is about 250 stores throughout the country. And they're, they're basically like, Costco of wine we have the stores are about 30 to 40,000 square feet, we got 8500 different wines. Wow. We have probably 4000 spirits and like 3000 beers.

Scott Edwards: 26:59

How many Somalia's would a company like wines and more have?

Jim Farrell: 27:07

Not necessarily a lot, we have our own in store program called the Total Wine professional, this a series of seven exams. So although there are plenty of people in the company who are certified Somali A's, there's a lot of people who kind of just started with not a ton of wine knowledge and to work their way up and are working through the in house. Program. So it's seven taps that consists of a California tap Washington, Oregon, and then there's a France test. And then there's a Bordeaux test. It's its own thing. There's a southern hemisphere test, there is a dessert wine and champagne test. And then there's, I think, Italian test. I don't know if I mentioned that already. And then the rest of them. So it's, it's a pretty intense program.

Scott Edwards: 27:55

Well, I think that that's a great opportunity for the employees of the company. But I also was trying to get to the point that this large, successful corporation that sells wine looks to somebody like you, as the education leader, I mean, there's not a lot of world class tamales working for this company. So you you become a very important part of that industry. And that is has had to have brought you a lot of financial and personal success.

Jim Farrell: 28:31

No, yeah, no, it's, it's been, it's been great. I mean, I'm the trainer for this region. So whenever there's wine and spirits classes, I'm the one that does the education for it. financially. It's been, it's been good. And you know, a lot of the a lot of this when I first started, because there was a gap in between p&l and total wines, where it worked for Bevmo. And, and, you know, there was a point where I decided to do all this stuff, because I wanted to make myself very, I wanted to make it hard for them to get rid of me. So I figured I'm going to kind of create my own path here, and, you know, become a wine specialist become a Somalia and that way the company is going to think long and hard about who they're going to get rid of.

Scott Edwards: 29:18

Well, you made yourself valuable to the company. And you improved your own education, your own level of expertise. So it really was a win win. And I think most of people, at least in Northern California have heard of Bevmo. And of course, total winds and more is is where Jill and I shop, you know, having that background and having that career line. Here we are a couple decades later, and you've built quite a successful career. Yet, you've pivoted again. And I know that you've been doing some writing classes with our friend Steve Bruner. You've been performing, I just saw you Sunday at the punch line is you're back on stage and performing. So what brought you back to stand up comedy because you have a nice 10 year career, then you've had a couple decades as a successful wine expert, what's bringing you back into comedy?

Jim Farrell: 30:20

I think I think the bigger question was what got me out of comedy. Because I've always loved writing. And I loved performing, but I just got to an age and a place where when I was in San Francisco that I was like, Okay, I need a move. And, you know, I've done San Francisco, right, and I need to move to LA or I need to move to New York, or I need to go, you know, move back to Sac and I had, I bought a house up here, a few years prior, my girlfriend was up here, and she was wanting me to move. And you know, I was just kind of tired of San Francisco, I had done everything I could do there. And so I just said, Yeah, I need to go, I need to grow up in being a starving artist. And 24 is cool. It's 34. It's a little sad, but at 44. Dreadful, and I was, you know, approaching 40 At the time, so I just said, I'm gonna move back up the stack. And it's comedy is meant to be, I'm gonna probably do it at some point. But I need to get established, I need to get I need to get a career basically a career and then that

Scott Edwards: 31:27

led to you being a Somali A, but how now that you've been that, what what's pulling you back on stage, just that enjoyment of writing and performing?

Jim Farrell: 31:37

Yeah, yeah, I'm enjoying myself more than I ever have, you know, that confidence that maybe I didn't have enough of when I was younger, I have plenty of it now. And I think it's just you get to an age where you're like, I don't care if they don't like me, I'm gonna go home to my night. And, you know, I got plenty, you know, I'm not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but I just don't have the fears that I did when I was, you know, 32. So and

Scott Edwards: 32:04

so just to capsulate, that what you've done is you've reached a point in life by age and financial security, that playing with stand up comedy, which was a first love is something you can go back to without the strains and stresses of money in time. And you've always enjoyed writing and performing, are you planning to follow the path of getting back on stage and performing live? Or do you want to stay doing more writing and stuff

Jim Farrell: 32:38

I want to perform, you know, and I'd like to write too. So I mean, I have, you know, what I'm doing is I'm putting together, you know, I don't want to get together and 45 minutes that I'm working on that now. And I have a three year plan. Because, you know, in three years, I'm going to probably cut the part time work. And at that point, I want to be in a position where whether I have a strong enough to get on Sirius satellite radio, or, you know, start traveling a little bit. But I right now, I'm just having, I'm just having fun. And I do want to keep performing. And I don't really have any expectations. You know, like I said, everything, all my basic needs are taken care of. So you know, when in so yeah, I just want to have fun. I'm gonna like more competent than I've ever been.

Scott Edwards: 33:25

That's so important. And congratulations on not only your decade of communist success back in the 80s, and 90s, but the what you've done the work and effort that you put into become a wine sommelier and have such a great career with total wines and more. And I want to support you, as I did, coming out and seeing you Sunday in getting back into comedy. And it is nice when you reach our age that you can start focusing on what you enjoy. And for me, it's stand up comedy, and that led to this podcast and reconnecting with friends like you and I can tell that you've got that itch again, to get back on stage. Kind of sharpen your comedy chops in and have some fun with it. And I think that's so important. So congratulations and all that. Now we're going into the end of 2022 and into 2023. You mentioned that you have kind of a three year plan. Do you have any special shows coming up or anything that you're looking forward to? As a comedian?

Jim Farrell: 34:35

Yeah, I'm actually going to be on April 1 I'm going to be working with with you on a fundraiser up in Placerville. And then I also will be if the punchline on the sixth. And right now that's about the only things I have on the books other than doing another one of those classes in May. But yeah,

Scott Edwards: 34:58

well that's terrific. And I'm so glad that we got a chance to share your story I, I've kind of followed your career, both in comedy and in the wine world. And it's always fascinated me one because I enjoy a good glass of wine. And two, because you were able to really have two strong careers, one in entertainment and one in retail sales in wine. And that's not something that everybody can successfully say they've done in their life. So congratulations on that. And congratulations on getting back on stage and having fun with it. That's so important to enjoy yourself. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been great hearing Jim's story. Keep an eye out for him. Jim Farrell will be live on stage in a club near you soon. And hopefully, there'll be some writing in your future.

Jim Farrell: 35:53

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm writing almost daily right now. So

Scott Edwards: 35:57

that's great. All right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this great interview with Jim Farrell. Stay tuned next week, we'll have another wonderful show. And thanks for listening. Jim, thanks for being on the show.

Jim Farrell: 36:09

Now, thanks for having me. It's a lot of fun.

Scott Edwards: 36:12

Hey, I hope you enjoyed that interview with Samaya. A Jim Farrell, but he also I want to do to get a little bit of his stand up comedy. So here's Jim sharing some of his recently written material just to the we have a little stand up on this interview show. And here comes Jim Farrell, sharing some of his comedy. Enjoy.

Jim Farrell: 36:34

Hey, thanks, guys. So I moved from San Francisco to Sacramento to get married. And I married into a family that's a little more conservative than I'm used to. But a lot of things for the first time I went to see my first country music show got the love that

Scott Edwards: 36:50

that's funny.

Jim Farrell: 36:51

I you know, I don't know if you guys love country music or not, but I hate country music. It contributes for one reason. And that's because it all sounds the same. That's why I listen to reggae. I'm no dummy. I got both the album's so my brother in law took me shooting. He's a big gun guy. And I don't really want to get into big gun debate right now. But I will say I'm against guns for home protection only because I don't want to spend $500 on something I hope I never have to use. I spent $500 on a gun. I'm shooting somebody. I want to spend a lot of money on something I'm not going to use I'm buying a book. Yeah, I'm buying broccoli, and I'm buying running shoes, so you get the idea. But yeah, moving into a nice neighborhood was a little bit different. In San Francisco, the neighbors were friendly enough, but we just kind of say to ourselves, now I'm in the suburbs, and everybody wants to be your friend and I got one neighbor who is constantly bringing me fruits and vegetables. And you know, I'm leaving on my porch every day I come home and there's a pile of zucchini. It's like what you couldn't throw it away. Thanks for giving me a tour. So

Scott Edwards: 38:10

what our neighbors for right

Jim Farrell: 38:13

now actually married a Hispanic girl and probably not the most traditional Hispanic woman I've ever met. She's got one kid. She doesn't speak the language. And the house is a mess. And cleaning women in California and I get the one of the Queen.

Scott Edwards: 38:39

All right, right. Oh, I got it. And Suzanne, I'm sure loves that joke. Oh,

Jim Farrell: 38:45

yeah. She really enjoys it. You know, happy to be with Suzanne because she's wonderful. Because I was younger. I really wasn't that. And you have a lot of competence. When you're getting the girl's phone number. It was like playing the lottery. The chances of all seven numbers being right, were about one and 20 million.

Scott Edwards: 39:07

Well, that's great. Well, ladies and gentlemen, there was a little stand up comedy by Jim Farrell. Thanks, Jim.

Jim Farrell: 39:14

Thanks. Good.

Scott Edwards: 39:17

All right. Well, we've had a good interview and a little bit of comedy. Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks for joining us for this week show. And next week, another great show for you. Hey, thanks for listening. Be sure to share and rate when you can. We'll see you soon. Bye.

Announcer: 39:33

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