#387 ON LIFE AND COMEDY WITH COMEDIAN DUSTIN NICKERSON
My guest this week is the hilarious Dustin Nickerson, a comedian from Seattle now suffering in Southern California. In 2020 he released his debut comedy special Overwhelmed, which is currently one of the highest-rated specials on Amazon Prime.
His humor has graced the screens of Comedy Central, Netflix with Kevin Hart, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Fox, and Hulu, and his stand-up clips have garnered tens of millions of views. Dustin is also the author of How To Be Married To Melissa and co-host of the podcast Don’t Make Me Come Back There.
If you want to laugh today, this is the episode for you! I have been a long-time fan of Dustin’s work and I’m so excited to have him on the show today to share his perspective on life, marriage, comedy, and more. You’re going to love this one!
12:07 – Dustin 101, Toby Keith, and Bojangles
Dustin’s Twitter bio
Molly’s first date at a Toby Keith concert
Bojangles Biscuits
Dustin’s fan base
21:46 – Set Bedtimes and Mouthguards
Adult parties need bedtimes
Middle-aged friendships
The beauty of marriage
27:40 – If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry
Dustin and Melissa’s viral video
Dustin’s relatable humor
Evolving as a comedian
33:44 – Finding Your Funny
Authenticity in creativity
Bombing in stand-up
Understanding your audience
41:41 – The Solider Dog, The Late Late Show and Dustin’s Book
Dustin’s memorable career moments
The dedication behind success
Connecting with Dustin
FEATURED QUOTES
“The only way to get good at stand-up comedy is to do stand-up comedy.”
“No comedian is beloved by everybody. You’re not trying to get everyone to love you. You’re trying to get the people that do love you, or will love your stuff, to find you.”
Learn more about Dustin:
Dustin on Tour:
https://www.dustinnickerson.com/
Dustin’s Comedy Specials:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2QQYow6VX9nDpDwCspiqQ
Dustin on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/dustinnickersoncomedy
https://www.instagram.com/dustinnickerson/?hl=en
How To Be Married To Melissa:
Don’t Make Me Come Back There Podcast:
Melissa’s Target Outfit Video:
Connect with me:
http://www.stillbeingmolly.com
http://instagram.com/stillbeingmolly
http://instagram.com/canilaughpod
http://twitter.com/stillbeingmolly
http://facebook.com/stillbeingmolly
http://facebook.com/canilaughpod
http://tiktok.com/@stillbeingmolly
PREORDER MY BOOK – IF I DON’T LAUGH, I’LL CRY TODAY:
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/IIDLICbn
Amazon: https://amzn.to/48VYFkG
ChristianBook: https://bit.ly/IIDLICcb
Target: https://bit.ly/3Shh3Q2
Walmart: https://bit.ly/3MmGVpJ
Indie Bound: https://bit.ly/IIDLICib
About Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?
Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder? Podcast is a weekly podcast where we have honest conversations about faith, business, life, and everything in between. Hosted by speaker and author, Molly Stillman, her mission is to make you laugh, cry, and laugh till you cry. She wants to create a community of people who are unafraid to be themselves and have honest conversations about the things that matter most. Her vision is to create a safe space for people to explore their faith and share their stories and gifts with the world.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Molly Stillman (00:01.199)
Oh, this is going to be so fun. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. Dustin Nickerson, welcome to the show. Thanks for being here.
Dustin Nickerson (00:08.578)
Thanks for having me, Molly. I appreciate this.
Molly Stillman (00:11.395)
I, like I told you before we started recording, we’re probably just gonna do bits for 45 minutes and that is, I’m okay with that. No, well, I, okay, so as somebody who used to do comedy but did never, I did stand up like twice and I was like, this is not my jam, I would prefer to just do improv and sketch, but who was in the comedy world for a long time, it’s interesting that when I’ve,
Dustin Nickerson (00:19.338)
Fantastic, deal.
Molly Stillman (00:38.355)
since I started hosting a podcast, you know, seven and a half years ago, anytime I have a comedian on, I feel this like strange pressure within me. I remember when I had your friend, Kevin Frederick’s, Kev on stage, I had him on the show a few years ago and I had never been more nervous to do an interview. Where.
Dustin Nickerson (00:49.118)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (00:54.433)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (00:59.742)
And he’s like the nicest, kindest human. We are literally, literally the last text I said before I got on here was to him. He’s just, yeah, he’s the kindest, most supportive guy in the world. But I get it, there can be a pressure to be like, be funny, but I will tell you, like, there is nothing comedians like less than people trying to be funny. Yeah.
Molly Stillman (01:11.012)
Yeah. Yeah, I know.
Molly Stillman (01:17.403)
Oh, 100%. Again, like when people find out that I used to do comedy, they’re always like, ah, tell me a joke. And I’m like, not at all how this works.
Dustin Nickerson (01:26.77)
I’d rather not. No, I do that at night. I can’t just be funny at the track meet at three. It’s nothing about this is funny. I shower, I have caffeine, I go to the club, and then everyone sits down, ideally as quiet, while I tell them what I wrote in advance. It’s a very different thing than like yuck yucking it up at a party.
Molly Stillman (01:30.443)
Ha ha ha!
Molly Stillman (01:46.204)
Exist.
Molly Stillman (01:50.454)
100%, 100%.
Dustin Nickerson (01:51.862)
But improv is more like that. In my experience, improvisers are much more traditional life of the party extroverts. Like you just saying you’re doing seven interviews and you’re getting like near the point of not wanting to talk to anybody. That’s my baseline of not wanting to talk to anybody. This is all I have today.
Molly Stillman (01:55.166)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (02:12.853)
Well, let me tell you something coming from the improv world. So here is a common misconception and then I promise we’re going to get into the actual interview is that I am actually.
Dustin Nickerson (02:21.958)
I would rather not get into the actual interview, by the way. I have no interest. I have zero interest in any pre-thought out questions. Great. Yeah, that’s yeah, because they’re all the same. But you know that.
Molly Stillman (02:25.871)
No interest. Done. Oh, I don’t have any pre-thought out questions. This is not how I roll. Yeah. No. Oh, look, my computer even just gave me the like automatic thumbs up. It thought I was giving you a thumbs up. So I agree. I don’t know. You have to hold it up. We have to test it out.
Dustin Nickerson (02:41.258)
Oh, that’s fun. Do I get one of those? No? Which fingers does it give me that one? Does it give me a hang loose? Does it, only you apparently, I don’t get any of the fun stuff. It’s for the best. If somebody had ADHD, that would be the rest of the, I would be like, which things am I allowed to do? That would be.
Molly Stillman (02:48.711)
Yeah, there is actually we’re just you can do a down a thumbs down I think it You don’t get any of the fun
Molly Stillman (03:04.031)
So I think, okay, let’s see if it does it. Hold on, if I do two thumbs up, I think it gives me fireworks. Yeah, there we go.
Dustin Nickerson (03:09.554)
What? That’s unbelievable. Do you have to pay?
Molly Stillman (03:12.747)
I know. And then if I do two thumbs down, hold on, it starts raining.
Dustin Nickerson (03:18.822)
Oh, I got nothing. Well, I don’t know if that’s your host or because you paid for Riverside, but there you go. That’s the, like, we can give you some emojis.
Molly Stillman (03:21.092)
I don’t know.
Molly Stillman (03:25.487)
No, no, so it’s apparently, it’s, it’s apparently a Mac feature, like a new Mac, like programming feature, but I don’t know how to turn it off. And so it keeps happening during interviews. People who are listening right now to not the video version of this are like, what are they talking about? You’re just gonna have to go to YouTube and watch it.
Dustin Nickerson (03:41.648)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (03:47.842)
Yeah, it would be funny if you had to do like an apology video and it happens. Like I just want to apologize to my wife and my kids. My comments were absolutely unacceptable. And then the rain falls. But I’m trying to do better. I just thank you to the fans. Thank you. It would be amazing. It would really add really, I think that’s how Gen Z is going to apologize. They’re just gonna, you know.
Molly Stillman (03:52.907)
Thanks for watching!
Molly Stillman (04:01.844)
Ha ha ha!
Molly Stillman (04:14.443)
Yeah, they’re just gonna do like interactive emojis in all of their videos. Oh my gosh.
Dustin Nickerson (04:19.326)
Yeah, it’s all gonna be via Twitch. They’re all gonna have to thank you for the tip. Thank you, you know.
Molly Stillman (04:25.379)
Yeah, exactly. Well, okay, so anyway, before I got both of us apparently ADHD, totally distracted by emojis on the screen. A common misconception is people always think I’m introverted. I am the epitome or an extroverted. I am the epitome of an introverted extrovert, if that makes sense, or an extroverted introvert.
Dustin Nickerson (04:44.618)
Yeah, that’s what extroverts call themselves. I’m not gonna give you this at all. There’s no such thing. Nope, no, no. Any true introvert hates you, and even the concept of calling yourself an extroverted introvert. It’s okay to not be either of them, by the way. I’m not either of them. I have…
Molly Stillman (04:51.555)
No, I’m telling you. Yes, I’m telling you. Disagree, Dustin.
Molly Stillman (05:07.503)
I mean, I’ve been… ..interesting.
Dustin Nickerson (05:12.69)
It just depends. I don’t… It’s okay to not be an extreme. It’s okay. I’m an, I am an issues voter. I do not, I do not come in saying I’m team extrovert. I’m team introvert. I come into a situation and I go, how do I feel right now? Who’s here? If it’s the right people, I’m the life of the party. You know, so it really, what it comes down to is…
Molly Stillman (05:13.843)
You’re like the independent. You’re like the registered independent. Yeah.
Molly Stillman (05:36.231)
Yeah, that’s true.
Dustin Nickerson (05:40.59)
how I feel physically and mentally in that moment, and also who we’re talking about. Because if I don’t like the person, yeah, I’m an introvert, and it’s just I don’t wanna talk to you. But it’s more, it’s nothing to do with me, it’s everything to do with them.
Molly Stillman (05:43.39)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (05:54.159)
Okay, Dustin, you have now given words to something that I’ve never, I’m now going all neutral because I think you’re right. I think it just depends on who I’m around, the situation. I don’t, do not put me in the middle of like a social gathering with a bunch of people that I don’t really want to talk to, like don’t make me do a small talk. That is where my soul goes to die.
Dustin Nickerson (06:02.398)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (06:13.502)
Yes. No.
Exactly. Yeah. That’s exactly it. It’s okay to not be one or the other. It’s okay to just be I’d lean introverted. That’s where I say I lean this direction, you know, um, It also depends how much alcohol I have in me. Let’s be honest. I don’t you know, because that’s uh, That can tip the scales one way or another. Yeah
Molly Stillman (06:25.77)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (06:29.181)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (06:32.427)
Thanks for watching!
Molly Stillman (06:38.047)
tip the scales. Oh my gosh. Okay. But you know what, but all that to say is over the years with all of the improvisers that I did shows with and got to meet, so many of them are incredibly introverted. And it’s like their personalities come out on the other side. I think the only person that I ever got to meet who I think is legitimately as extroverted as you can imagine is Rob Riggle.
Dustin Nickerson (06:55.017)
Mmm, interesting, yeah.
Molly Stillman (07:07.139)
Um, I remember I was at a, at an after party at a comedy show in the, in the upright citizens brigade theater in New York. I was in the basement of the grocery store and I was standing like kind of in the back and Rob Riggle and I don’t even really, I mean, he just towered over me and just like, boo, bellowed words into my face, you know, just one of those situations I’m like, yeah, this tracks, this tracks. Um, but anyway. Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (07:07.91)
That checks out.
Dustin Nickerson (07:27.211)
Yes.
Dustin Nickerson (07:31.826)
Yep, some people it legit gives them life. That’s they, they love it. Yeah. No.
Molly Stillman (07:36.519)
That is not me. But let’s hear about you. So give us the Dustin 101. So tell us who you are, what you do, other than obviously you’re a comedian and how you got to where you are today. I know. It’s not.
Dustin Nickerson (07:47.054)
Oh, Molly, this is so boring. Oh, it’s… I don’t know what, I never, it’s just, it pains me every time to say these words a little each time. He’s like, okay, so I’m, I don’t know. I’m a state of comedian. I’m a husband. I’m a father. I’m from Seattle. I live in San Diego. I, it’s, I have a book. I have a podcast.
I was raised by a single dad. I, that’s, I got one sister. That’s the basics. That’s my Twitter bio. That’s it right there. Those are like, the factual, the top of the resume right there.
Molly Stillman (08:22.98)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (08:26.879)
you know, faith, family, country. I think that that’s definitely what it’s.
Dustin Nickerson (08:29.714)
Yeah, there you go. RIP Toby Keith. What a legend. Yeah, what a legend.
Molly Stillman (08:33.504)
Oh man, I don’t want to, it’s still tender, okay? I love Toby. My husband and I, our first date was to a Toby Keith concert, Dustin. Are you saying that in a judgmental wow?
Dustin Nickerson (08:43.978)
Wow, that’s incredible. Oh my gosh. No, no, no. Are you kidding me? No, well, I will judge you based on what year it was. Great, there you go. That’s a good time. Where’d you see him?
Molly Stillman (08:55.673)
2010.
Molly Stillman (09:01.253)
at, well, at the time, I think it was called Walnut Creek. Now it’s like Coastal Credit Union Park or whatever in Raleigh. But here’s the other piece of it is it, he, we, he didn’t really know it was a first date. It was me and nine and him and nine of his friends. No, John.
Dustin Nickerson (09:07.255)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (09:15.342)
Toby Keith didn’t know? Okay. Toby didn’t know you were on a first date though. Toby didn’t know. How did that not get to him? That’s one of my favorite things when people message me and they’ll be like, it’s my birthday, can I get a shout out? No, you cannot. I cannot accommodate any of these things. Oh, it’s my brother’s bar mitzvah. What? It’s not an all-age show. So you get a first date at, you’re in Raleigh.
Molly Stillman (09:21.843)
Hope he did not know. He didn’t know.
Molly Stillman (09:37.975)
I know.
Dustin Nickerson (09:44.57)
back when the venue had a personality in its name. And then how was the show? Yeah.
Molly Stillman (09:47.506)
Yeah.
Oh, it was awesome. You know, so here’s you’ll maybe you’ll appreciate this. So we were like, we worked together at the time and I had a crush on him and I like, wasn’t sure how to get him to ask me how, because he, I had basically come to learn that he’d never had a girlfriend and so he was clearly like, not gonna make the first move. And so I was driving into work that day and I heard that Toby Keith lawn seats were going to be 10 bucks for the Saturday show.
Dustin Nickerson (10:18.495)
Whoa.
Molly Stillman (10:18.543)
And I, so I go in to work and I was like, hey, did you hear that Toby Keith lawn seats are 10 bucks? And he’s like, really? And he immediately starts texting all of his friends, Dustin. And I was like, well, this plan is backfiring. And so I was like, well, if you need anybody to go with you, I’ll go with you. And he’s like, oh, you wanna go? And so it ended up being me and him and eight of his friends. And we met in the parking lot of a Bojangles.
Dustin Nickerson (10:24.971)
Hmm?
Dustin Nickerson (10:28.77)
Hahaha
Dustin Nickerson (10:33.844)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (10:48.394)
Yeah, this is a North Carolina story. Oh my gosh. The amount of Bojangles in the Carolinas, it’s insane. It’s everybody, every fourth family in North Carolina has franchised a Bojangles. Everyone there is in the Bojangles franchising business. It’s Bo time.
Molly Stillman (10:49.357)
to tailgate.
100% Yeah.
so many board angles. Every exit.
Molly Stillman (11:06.431)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (11:11.471)
It’s bow time, baby. It’s bow time. And here’s a thing that you might not know. When the North Carolina Tar Heel men’s basketball team, if they get 100 points at home, then the next day you can go to Bojangles and get two sausage biscuits for a dollar. And it’s happened four times this season. And I tell you, the line at the drive-through at Bojangles the next morning, and I go.
Dustin Nickerson (11:30.77)
Unbelievable.
Molly Stillman (11:41.163)
I go, I take my kids and we go get our two sausage biscuits for adults. Cause it’s a big savings. Cause now with Joe Biden’s inflation, it’s like 450 for two sausage biscuits.
Dustin Nickerson (11:42.118)
Oh, that’s hilarious.
Dustin Nickerson (11:50.834)
Oh yeah, you’re right. 100% his fault. Yeah, yeah, he didn’t have to recover. He didn’t have to recover from a pandemic. 100% his fault, you’re right. That’s hilarious. See, I’m in the opposite camp now where I am like a nearly 40 year old man who’s very content and grateful for, you know, I like to say this, I’m not rich, but I’m the richest Nickerson ever. Like I’m like.
Molly Stillman (12:00.371)
No, no!
Dustin Nickerson (12:17.81)
And as far as my family chain goes, I’m doing pretty good. And I see those big lines and I’m like, you know what kids, we can afford full price biscuits. We can do it. We can do a full price biscuit tomorrow or tonight or anything like that. So I respect the hustle there, but I have no interest in it. That being said, we will sit in an outline for 45 minutes if it takes to, you know.
Molly Stillman (12:35.125)
Really splurging.
Molly Stillman (12:45.253)
Yeah, 100%. I love it.
Dustin Nickerson (12:46.318)
Because it’s so cheap, you can feed the whole family for like $30. Yeah, it’s great.
Molly Stillman (12:49.687)
Exactly, exactly. I mean, and I remember like the days of, you know, I could go to Wendy’s and I could get a bunch of stuff off the dollar menu, you know, and have like a full meal for $3.25. And now, now it’s like… Exactly, it’s all…
Dustin Nickerson (12:57.523)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (13:01.502)
Yeah, but now Joe Biden, huh?
Joe Biden called, he resurrected Dave from the grave and he said, raise your prices, Dave, the founder of Wendy’s. How dare you? How dare you provide its savings to? I was good. I was, you know, I’m three blocks away from the White House right now. So I was hoping we would talk mostly about politics.
Molly Stillman (13:12.243)
Yes, that’s exactly it.
Molly Stillman (13:25.691)
Yeah, I was really doing it in honor of the fact that, as we are recording this, you are in DC doing shows. And I also have to just call attention to this because it’s too funny that this happens to you regularly, that you will sell out a bunch of shows, but your late show never is because your audience is middle-aged parents who are like 9.45 is far too late for me to be doing the comedy show.
Dustin Nickerson (13:32.329)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (13:43.298)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (13:50.594)
Well, parents don’t have like weekends. It’s not, it’s like not a real thing to us, you know? Like oftentimes, Saturday is the day you get up the earliest. That’s your earliest call time is on a Saturday. So the idea that you would go like tonight is a good example. Like I have a 9 45 PM show tonight and it’s not even kind of sold well. I mean, and I told the club this, I was like, guys, I’m telling you, I know my fan base. They don’t.
Molly Stillman (13:56.169)
Right.
Dustin Nickerson (14:20.306)
It’s not even like asking a parent to go to a 945, some of these shows start at 1030. It’s like asking a comedian to get like a 630 a.m. breakfast. You’re like, what? That’s not even really an option for us. So we are making the adjustments finally, but it is. And I, every time I get on stage, I’m like, I don’t wanna be up right now either. I’m this age. I like, I, you know, I spend my.
Molly Stillman (14:27.15)
Oh, hard pass.
Dustin Nickerson (14:48.158)
I get up and take my kids to school and help get the house ready. Like I know that grind as well as they do, you know? So it happens almost every city that I go to. And it’s so funny, because we talked to the DC Improv and they switched tomorrow’s show, Saturdays, to six and eight thirty. Normally the shows are like seven and nine forty five or seven thirty and ten or something like that. And they switched and the whole staff loves it, by the way.
Molly Stillman (15:15.234)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (15:15.326)
Like, I’m like a pioneer, I think, in early shows. I think people are like, the whole staff’s like, you mean I get to go home earlier? I make the same amount of money. The club makes the same amount of money. And like, I’m like, oh my gosh, to do a two-show night when I’m done by 10? A dream, a dream in my world. Ugh, can’t wait. I’m so excited to do two shows. If I want the show to be starting while the sun is still up, that’s a good show time for this guy right here. And my…
Molly Stillman (15:18.408)
Yes.
Molly Stillman (15:21.821)
Right.
Molly Stillman (15:26.015)
So win-win.
Molly Stillman (15:31.407)
A dream! A dream.
Molly Stillman (15:40.139)
I’m sorry.
Dustin Nickerson (15:44.726)
parents, middle-aged parent fan base. I had someone last night, they came to the Thursday show and they said, they’re like, we feel your pain, we’re volleyball parents, all this is, and I was like, oh yeah, you can’t come to a Friday show because you gotta get up early. And they’re like, yeah, we don’t even know what time the tournament is. Yeah, it’s like, that’s exactly it. What time do you get up Saturday? You still don’t know, and it’s Thursday night. Welcome to Parenthood.
Molly Stillman (15:48.008)
Yes, exactly.
Molly Stillman (16:10.567)
Right. Yes, exactly. Exactly. And also just coupled with the fact that like, I don’t think I’ve gotten up past, you know, uh, 7 a.m. in a decade. Like, you know, now there may be days where I will wake up and I will have to do what life requires me to do. Put my children on a bus. I live on a farm. So, you know, feed animals, stuff like that. And then there will be times where I will look at my husband and go,
Dustin Nickerson (16:24.187)
Hahaha.
Dustin Nickerson (16:35.15)
Mm-hmm.
Molly Stillman (16:39.831)
I’m going back to sleep. You can do what you want, but I’m going to, I’m going back to bed. I don’t have anything till 10 AM work wise. I’m going, but I’ve, I’ve still been up. Like I’ve, I’ve showered, brushed my teeth.
Dustin Nickerson (16:41.546)
Right. Night night. Yeah.
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (16:50.578)
Yeah. That’s my, that’s my Mondays usually, because I usually get home on Sundays. And then Monday, I it’s kind of a just an ongoing thing with me and Mel. I’m like, because we record our pod on Tuesdays. And then Wednesday is a lot of time I last day before it let’s have to go to bed early on Wednesday. Monday is my day where I’m like, Hey, everybody’s out the door. Good night. And Mel like goes in like grocery shops or something. And then
knocks on the door when it’s time. So it’ll be like 11 and I’m like, we’re lugging the groceries in, taking my first sip of coffee. It’s great. I love it.
Molly Stillman (17:27.847)
Yes, yeah, but you know, almost like the, you know, just the late night thing, I was, we had, we’d celebrated some friends last month who turned 40, we did a surprise 40th birthday party. And we had, you know, all just people we love here in our house, and I love hosting, like especially when it comes to just people I care about, you know, just celebrating somebody I love. But we were all laughing that I was like, we started the party at five.
And I was like, and everyone should be out by nine. Like I would, I just love you all so much. Also, can you leave by nine? And everybody was out by like 840. And it really, it required nothing of me. It was just, everybody was like, okay, it’s about 815, 830. Like it’s time to go.
Dustin Nickerson (17:55.962)
Mm-hmm Yes, hundred percent. Yep. Yep
Dustin Nickerson (18:05.291)
Mm-hmm
Dustin Nickerson (18:11.91)
Yeah, yeah, I do think that like adult parties should go back to like little kid parties where there’s a hard end time You know, and just so you know, like you’re not You’re not welcome past this hour. It’s this is no longer this business is closed. This was a party business for three hours Get out of my house. That’s
Molly Stillman (18:19.592)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (18:25.565)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (18:33.198)
Because when they leave, then there’s still work to do, and you got to clean up. I mean, that’s one of the great things about leaving a party at somebody else’s house. Can I do anything? Which I’m not actually going to, but I’m being polite. See ya. Ha ha ha.
Molly Stillman (18:46.111)
So are you not, okay, all right, here’s a question. If you go to a party at somebody else’s house, do you make rounds when you leave or do you do a good old Irish goodbye?
Dustin Nickerson (18:57.226)
Well, it’s very unlikely that this premise even happens in the first place. I- I’m full disclosure, Molly. I cannot remember the last time I went to a party. It’s somebody’s house?
Molly Stillman (19:11.468)
That’s true. Why am I asking this question?
Dustin Nickerson (19:15.494)
I really want to know. I can’t think of it. It’s been years. I mean, I’ve gone to plenty of places for kids’ birthday parties, and that doesn’t count. No, you know what? I can’t, I don’t even, I don’t do an Irish goodbye. I do an Irish hello. I’m never there. I was never there in the first place. I didn’t make it. I can’t, yeah.
Molly Stillman (19:26.744)
Oh yeah, for sure.
Dustin Nickerson (19:44.906)
I didn’t leave without saying goodbye. I didn’t come without saying hello. That’s what I did.
Molly Stillman (19:48.979)
Exactly. I love there’s, I mean, obviously, you know, we could talk stand up bits all day long, but in Nate Bargatze’s latest special, his whole bit about your 20s, 30s and 40s, where like in your 20s, you’re like, I’ll go, I’m down, like I’ll set my apartment on fire, I’m down. And he’s like in your 30s, you’re like,
Who’s going to be there? Can I drive separate? Like, I don’t know. And then in your 40s, you’re like, I’m offended you even asked me. And it’s the most true thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Dustin Nickerson (20:19.43)
Truly. Yeah. Yeah, I don’t I just don’t even I’m surprised that people really like still have friends at my age. Like you have friends? Somebody told me like oh, that’s my best friend. I’m like best friend? Grow up. We don’t have best friends anymore. How do you cultivate? You cultivated a best friend? This is embarrassing. You guys write letters to each other? Grow up.
Molly Stillman (20:46.347)
Thanks for watching!
Dustin Nickerson (20:48.346)
Are you gonna have matching Halloween costumes? I don’t, yeah, I don’t get it. I was like, I got a lot of people I know. And some of them I’m friendlier with, but I don’t, yeah. Somebody that’s like, to me, that’s like a such a little kid question. Who’s your best friend? Okay, do you wanna know my favorite color? What’s my favorite animal? Who’s your best friend? I felt like I had a little get to know you sheet in second grade.
Molly Stillman (21:19.339)
Well, it’s a shame because all of my
Dustin Nickerson (21:20.926)
No, our four, no, what we’re filling out now is like, what was your income this year? These are the way we, what’s your tax ID number? Oh.
Molly Stillman (21:25.158)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (21:29.131)
Yeah. Have you had any surgeries in the last three to five years?
Dustin Nickerson (21:32.202)
Oh, exactly. Yeah. Does your family have a long history of heart disease? Yes. Are you depressed? Yes. Why? See the heart disease question. That’s why. Read this. They shouldn’t even have to ask about anxiety, depression. They should just read your physical conditions and like your family history. And they’d be like, yes, it’s like a math equation. AI should be able to figure that out based on these stats about his health, his bank account.
Molly Stillman (21:41.362)
I’m sorry.
Molly Stillman (21:59.095)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (22:01.842)
and his family history. Get him some meds. This guy has a hard time sleeping, I bet.
Molly Stillman (22:09.735)
Oh my gosh. Oh, it’s the truest, the truest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s there been, and man, we could talk, I just, I love talking about growing old in that, you know, more middle-aged getting old. I’m just, I’m just slightly your junior at 38. I’ll be 39 in August. My husband just turned 40 this year.
And there have been multiple times, we’re in the last year or so, I’ll be getting ready for bed, and it’s like, I’ve got my eye mask, and my nose strip, and a mouth guard, and nine pillows that I have to strategically place on my body, and I’ll look at him and just go, is this what you pictured? Like when you asked me to be your lawfully wedded wife, like, is this what you envisioned?
Dustin Nickerson (22:47.543)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. How do… Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (22:58.347)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (23:02.924)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (23:05.199)
And meanwhile, he’s like getting into bed laying on an acupressure mat.
Dustin Nickerson (23:05.25)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (23:10.702)
100%, yeah, yeah. And the reality is it’s better than you imagined. You know, that’s, yeah. Now my wife and I will cheers our mouth guards before we go to bed. Good night.
Molly Stillman (23:15.359)
Oh, 100%.
Molly Stillman (23:19.699)
Yes, yes, it’s, you’re right. It’s, you know, we can laugh about it. But you’re right. It’s like marriage was 100%. It’s 110% better than I could have even possibly imagined. Okay, so we have to talk briefly about the video of yours that has recently gone viral of your wife.
Dustin Nickerson (23:25.302)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (23:43.628)
You mean the video of Mel? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Molly Stillman (23:47.487)
So for some context for our listeners who have not seen it, and I will be sure to share it in the show notes, because the laugh I laughed, the scream I scrumped, as the kids say, when you shared that in your stories, made me laugh so hard, share it for those that have not seen it.
Dustin Nickerson (24:00.299)
Hehehehehehehehe
Dustin Nickerson (24:08.638)
Well, yeah, I mean, Mel, we had just recorded our podcast that day. And so she was like dressed nice. She was in full makeup. Uh, she had a cool outfit on. Um, and she had to do, I went home to do some work after the pod and she went to go, she wasn’t originally going in. She was originally just going to do a target pickup. And then she remembered she needed a couple things. So she walked around target for a bit. She came home.
Molly Stillman (24:18.428)
looked great.
Molly Stillman (24:31.54)
Right.
Dustin Nickerson (24:37.998)
and looked in the mirror and just started laughing because she realized that her body suit or like had not, yeah, wasn’t tucked in the back. It had become undone. So she just had like an outer thong. She had a loose whale tail just hanging over her trousers. And she showed me and I laughed and I was like, got the phone out. I was like, retell this story. This is unbelievable. And it’s so.
Molly Stillman (24:44.715)
Yeah, it’s a body suit.
Dustin Nickerson (25:07.146)
Well, what I like about it too is like, A, it led to the discussion of would you have told somebody? But B, I just, I told her, it’s like you’re just so wonderfully endearing in this video. Your face is red, you’re blushing, you look good. I talked to my sister about it. She’s like, when it pops up, she was like, when I saw this video, she was like, oh, there’s Melissa.
Molly Stillman (25:18.622)
Yes.
Dustin Nickerson (25:29.938)
looking gorgeous with a cool outfit. Oh, like what is she doing? Some show off my outfit thing, which Mel never does by the way, but, and then to turn around, it’s the reveal that she’s embarrassed and she’s laughing about it and has such a good sense of humor about it. It’s, I can see why it went so viral because it’s not just the moment, it’s her reaction to it of just being like embarrassed, but not like shamed or mad. Just like, if you don’t, you know, I always say like, if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.
Molly Stillman (25:50.201)
Yes.
Molly Stillman (25:54.697)
Right.
Dustin Nickerson (25:58.594)
That’s what I always say. That’s been my motto. You think I didn’t know that? You think that was just a happenstance that I just said that?
Molly Stillman (26:00.703)
Literally the title of my book.
Molly Stillman (26:09.031)
No, I know. No, it’s so, it’s so true. And I think that that’s what, what I think your comedy in general, like it’s just that video, I feel like is a microcosm of your comedy of just it’s, you know, it’s the little bit of a self deprecating humor alongside just the real aspects of life. And it’s that stuff that we just all relate to, like we were talking about doing the bit about, you know, just our
our health history and how every person listening to this podcast over the age of 35 is like, uh-huh, yep. As you’ve been doing comedy as long as you’ve been doing, have you found that you’ve really honed your niche? Has your comedy changed more as you’ve gotten older than when you first started? How has it really evolved in that same realm?
Dustin Nickerson (27:02.846)
Yeah, well, I mean, you just get better at it because you just do it a lot. Like I was, somebody asked me that recently, of just like, you know, how did you get good at it? And I was like, I mean, I’m 12 years in and I do 250 shows a year. That’s it. I mean, there’s no trick, the only way to get good at standup comedy is to do standup comedy. And the longer you do it, the just,
Molly Stillman (27:06.035)
for sure.
Molly Stillman (27:19.742)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (27:29.818)
What it is you get better at having the ability to tell the stories and jokes and have the point of view that you want to have. Like, Cat Williams talks about how, you know, like your first seven years, like, you realize you can be funny, and then you realize, after that you realize that you are funny. And then you just go up and you just, you kind of start to figure that out. Like, um…
Molly Stillman (27:48.7)
Mm.
Dustin Nickerson (27:54.746)
it becomes much easier to take your point of view. Now there’s certain bits that are harder to do and they’re more of a, you know, a tight wire act because you know you’re dealing with delicate topics and stuff like that, but it just becomes much easier because it’s just kind of like a muscle that’s honed of like, oh, I know how to write this bit, I know how to do these things, I know how to tell these stories. And I think the longer you get, you just start talking about the things that you wanna talk about. Like if you look at my first special, Overwhelm, I think it’s good and I’m proud of it, but it’s…
It’s 50 minutes of the best bits that I had written and it feels like that. You know, like it’s just like, this is the good bit. And then runs in the family. My last one, I was like, this is a more cohesive hour. It’s actually much more coming from, I talk more about my dad in it. I talk more about our, like, not just like parenting bits, but about my particular family and our struggles and things we laugh and.
Molly Stillman (28:35.807)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (28:51.07)
laugh about and then even this new hour, even more so, it’s like, these are literally, it’s just, these are my day-to-day experiences. Here’s five minutes on me, like forgetting my passport, like just stuff like that where you’re like, oh, this becomes significantly easier. And also as you cultivate, like the goal as a comedian is to make people laugh obviously, but no comedian is beloved by everybody. You’re not trying to get everyone to love you. You’re trying to get the people.
that do love you or will love your stuff to find you. And that’s kind of what’s happening right now for me. And I’m very grateful that like the people who really resonate with my comedy and what I’m going through, they’re like, that’s our guy. We will go see him before 10 PM.
Molly Stillman (29:26.068)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (29:36.143)
Yes, and then we will all go home and we will lay it on our acupressure mats with our mouthguards and our nose strips. Yeah. Well, I love, I love exactly the melatonin key. Well, I love that perspective because I, yeah, you know, you’re not trying to, and I mean, I think you could really apply this to any, you know, career that is in any way, shape or form creative podcasting, writing a book, writing a blog.
Dustin Nickerson (29:42.866)
100%. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. Night night. Take our melatonin and go to bed.
Molly Stillman (30:05.075)
like comedy in any way is gonna, you’re just not gonna create something that everybody’s gonna like. And I remember early on in, like when I first started doing improv, I remember like I would watch some of these just brilliant improvisers and I’ll be like, I wanna do that. And then I would do a show and I would basically just be trying to emulate what I had just seen and it would just bomb.
Dustin Nickerson (30:25.963)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (30:32.046)
Mmm.
Molly Stillman (30:33.567)
because I’m trying to be somebody that I’m not. But then as soon as I started to, and it actually wasn’t until I got, I started an improv group with my best friends and we just kind of had our own brand of improv. And it wasn’t until we did that I was like, oh yeah, this is what we’re supposed to be doing because we’re just being ourselves and we know each other and we know each other’s character strengths.
Dustin Nickerson (30:47.597)
Right.
Dustin Nickerson (30:52.179)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (31:01.915)
and things like that, you know, so I’m not going out, I’m not trying to be improvised Shakespeare, even though improvised Shakespeare is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, I could never do that. And so, yeah, honing that in and then realizing who your audience is so key. That’s a word for somebody right there.
Dustin Nickerson (31:10.194)
Mm-hmm. Right, right.
Dustin Nickerson (31:17.834)
Well, and if you’re not, yeah, well, I found, like as somebody who, it’s always been important to me to be able to perform anywhere, like versatility. Whatever the crowd is, young, old, white, black, like straight, gay, rich, poor. Like another thing Kat Williams said was like, you don’t know what joke’s done until you’ve told it everywhere in the country. And I do believe that. You’re like, does this work everywhere? Like…
Molly Stillman (31:28.373)
Right.
Dustin Nickerson (31:46.262)
That’s an important thing for me. And I’m sure there’s the same thing. Like audiences are very smart. And if you are trying to be somebody that you’re not, they sense it immediately. They will 1000% like this person is still trying and they’re not authentic to who they are. And that’s it. Like that’s how I, that’s how.
Molly Stillman (32:00.299)
immediately.
Molly Stillman (32:07.465)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (32:13.262)
crowds feel it and we feel it when we’re watching entertainers going like, ah, this isn’t your wheelhouse. You’re trying to be something you are, you know, aren’t.
Molly Stillman (32:21.075)
there’s nothing more painful, like the secondhand embarrassment I would get, because so often when I would travel and do improv shows, there was almost always like an opening standup show. And there was nothing more like painful than just really bad standup. Like just really, where it’s just the, from the moment the comic would step out on stage, and like I…
Dustin Nickerson (32:46.039)
Have you not seen really bad improv? Oh my gosh, give me the worst stand up comedian in the world and the worst improv. I’m not gonna take that kind of shade on my art form.
Molly Stillman (32:48.332)
Oh, really bad improv too. Oh, for sure.
Molly Stillman (32:56.032)
Oh, for sure. Oh, yeah, no, I’m not comparing.
No, no, no. I wasn’t shading it. I was also saying that yes, a very bad improv is also very, very bad. No, I meant, I meant, what I meant was, is, no, all bad comedy across the board is just very painful. But it was like, there would be somebody who would come out and just immediately start berating the audience. And then there was just like, you have set no one up for success this evening.
Dustin Nickerson (33:07.878)
Okay. But yes, I agree with you.
Dustin Nickerson (33:25.802)
Yes, yeah, yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (33:30.978)
Yeah, it is a really amateur move and I’ve done it before where you’re not getting a response and you blame them, right? But it is like, it’s just a survival instinct that you’re just like, oh no, I’m bombing and I know it. And blaming the, like, I get why it happens, but you’re right, it’s very painful to watch, especially when it was like someone who like
Molly Stillman (33:31.976)
I’ll-
Molly Stillman (33:37.835)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (33:43.124)
Oh, totally.
Dustin Nickerson (33:57.486)
It’s like I had someone recently do that. It was kind of bad mouth in my crowd. And I was like, you’re just not good. Like this is a sold out show of people who like standup comedy. They want you to be good. They, you, this started in your favor. So, oh man, that’s.
Molly Stillman (34:10.868)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you know, that was a life-changing thing for me, too, when I would go out to do a show, especially like, yeah, oh, yeah. And because I’ve been a part of really bad improv shows that where it’s just like, Lord, can we just end scene? Can we just cut this now? But having the mindset… Yeah, no more yes-men-ing. No, no but, please. No but.
Dustin Nickerson (34:27.115)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (34:31.942)
Yes. No more yes ending. Someone say no to an and. Finally. Oh, hold on real quick. I need to turn off this air. It’s so loud. It’s the it’s the loudest. It just kicked on. I have like I’m in staying in a hotel that’s like was the nicest hotel in 1988. You know what I mean? You’re like, yeah, exactly. They’re like, oh, this is like really there’s a lot of gold.
Molly Stillman (34:43.012)
Oh, you’re fine.
Molly Stillman (34:54.963)
Watergate?
Molly Stillman (35:00.671)
Oh
Dustin Nickerson (35:00.99)
Anytime you walk in, you see a lot of gold. You’re like, this was a five star eighties hotel. So.
Molly Stillman (35:05.687)
Oh yeah, a lot of gold and a lot of like brocade chairs. Yeah. Paisley. Paisley carpet.
Dustin Nickerson (35:10.058)
Yes, yes, 100%. Yeah, it’s all, you know, like, okay. They’re like, no, it’s modern and updated and all that means is they put in a Keurig.
Molly Stillman (35:20.704)
that hasn’t been sanitized in, you know, six weeks. But yes, one of the things that was life changing for me was to know, like going into it, the audience from the get go, from the moment you step on stage, they are rooting for you. Like they do not want to see you fail. They do not want to be a part of this. Yeah, well, improv stand up. Any I mean. Really?
Dustin Nickerson (35:24.47)
Hahaha
Dustin Nickerson (35:39.247)
It you saying an improv?
Dustin Nickerson (35:44.89)
Oh, I don’t think that’s true in standup. No, no, no. I think a crowd is, Seinfeld said this, like they’re not your enemies, but they will turn on you. And I think that all the time. I don’t think that a crowd in standup is necessarily rooting for you. I think that they’re very nervous. I think a lot of standup crowds are very nervous because they’re putting themselves in that situation. And that’s like everybody’s number one fear is public speaking.
Molly Stillman (35:49.281)
Tell me your thoughts on this.
Molly Stillman (35:54.811)
Oh.
Molly Stillman (36:11.005)
Mmm.
Dustin Nickerson (36:15.102)
I don’t think that there’s a rooting interest in you necessarily. Now, if they know you and they like you, then yes, then they’re rooting for, but if you’re anonymous, I think they could go either way. They’re a little more caesary, you know? And then they will turn bad on you too. If they’re, you know, a crowd will absolutely turn on you.
Molly Stillman (36:19.435)
That was fascinating.
Molly Stillman (36:26.931)
That’s fascinating.
Molly Stillman (36:33.679)
Okay, that’s fascinating. And I love that perspective. That’s really interesting.
Dustin Nickerson (36:38.986)
I think people that go and see improv and standup are different people though, just like improvisers and standups are different people. I think that there’s, cause the other thing is like, the difference between improv, improv in my experience lies somewhere in between standup and magic. And that there is an element of what is so impressive about improv is the trick of it all. Not that it’s
Molly Stillman (36:42.367)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (37:05.35)
Mm-hmm.
Dustin Nickerson (37:06.37)
It’s just so fast. There’s a reveal. What’s amazing about improv is how fast they can be funny and how quickly. So it is like part of the excitement is like the trick of it all. Like, oh my gosh, that’s a skill I don’t have. Whereas stand up, everything, not everything, but majority of stuff is pre-written. And there is some improvisation that happens in it. But the reason, part of the reason they’ll turn on you so quickly.
Molly Stillman (37:12.712)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (37:20.724)
Mm.
Dustin Nickerson (37:34.41)
is you’re giving a point of view that they could just straight up disagree with and get mad about. Like if you’re sharing your thoughts on relationships or religion or the military or the police or the president or whatever it may, race, like they can just, you might just hear something that you straight up disagree with. And that does stuff like that can happen in improv, but that’s obviously gonna be a lot less likely than like this is one person.
Molly Stillman (38:02.482)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (38:04.35)
And I think some people, that’s part of the reason some people don’t like standups is that they’re just like, who does this guy think he is? And they’re right. They are right to think that because who do we think we are?
Molly Stillman (38:11.101)
Hahaha
Molly Stillman (38:16.259)
Yeah, and except, you know, jokes on them because they paid to come to the show. So, you know. Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (38:21.066)
Yeah, I mean, now they do, but early on they don’t. Early on, there’s so many free shows and comp tickets or bar hijack shows where someone was just enjoying their night at a bar and you’re like, stand up starting, and they’re like, what? I didn’t want this. And you’re like, no, I get that, I’m so sorry.
Molly Stillman (38:26.169)
Oh yeah.
Molly Stillman (38:34.879)
Hahaha!
Molly Stillman (38:39.599)
Okay, well, I have to ask this question then because we’re talking about it and I love funny stories. Can you share a story? And I think Jerry Seinfeld to speak to that, he asked this question of Steve Martin on comedians and cars getting coffee. That episode of comedians and cars getting coffee is probably the funniest episode because he asks this question. He asked Steve Martin, what is the worst…
show you ever did. And Steve Martin proceeds to tell this story about how he was doing. Stand up in the lobby of a hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. And it was like there was just massive like glass behind him. I’m paraphrasing the story. There’s like massive glass walls with like the port behind him. And like the day before, this part is not funny, but somebody had like
committed suicide by like rolling their wheelchair off a dock. And so he’s doing standup and a crane is like pulling a wheelchair out of the water behind him. And Steve Martin is having to do a show while all of this is happening behind him. And he’s recalling this to Jerry Seinfeld. I’m clearly not doing the story justice. So everyone just needs to go watch it. But.
Dustin Nickerson (39:52.864)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (40:03.446)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (40:03.983)
He just talking about, he’s like, there’s nothing worse. Like you could never, that is the rockest of rock bottom.
Dustin Nickerson (40:11.218)
Yeah, yeah, there is. I mean, listen, I don’t have one there because there’s a million. There’s just, there’s so many bad shows. Trying to think about ones I haven’t told before. Like, yeah, well, I mean, that’s what I’m saying. It’s such a, it’s such a, there’s such a long list of them. Like, I don’t think that people realize, now I don’t have anything that catastrophic. I had one where I actually.
Molly Stillman (40:24.267)
Just one that like really when you tell it, you’re just like, if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. What am I telling this one?
Molly Stillman (40:36.605)
Thank you.
Dustin Nickerson (40:39.274)
I’ll tell this one of it was a, it was a crisis averted show where I got there. So I was doing a fundraiser for, um, uh, vets, uh, with PTSD and there, it was a big fundraiser. It was in Charlotte actually. And, um, it was like a high end affair or there was like multiple politicians and professional athletes. It was one of these type gigs.
Molly Stillman (40:42.813)
Oh.
Molly Stillman (41:07.529)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (41:08.186)
And the way that the event happens is that a soldier, not, it wasn’t PTSD, it was the wounded warriors. So there was a, they, the big, what it is they raise money to pair these wounded warriors with, not seeing eye dogs, but the service animals.
Molly Stillman (41:35.104)
service animals. Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (41:38.45)
And they do one at the end where a guy, a soldier, who’s been waiting for his service dog, meets his service dog. And exactly. And I get there and I’m all like happy and smiley and you know, I was like, hey, you know, what’s the program? They’re like, so you’re gonna go on after the dog. And I spent the next half an hour, Molly, pleading with them. Please let me go before the dog.
Molly Stillman (41:46.947)
Oh my gosh, so like tears for everyone.
Dustin Nickerson (42:08.166)
No one can follow Soldier Dog, no one. And they’re like, I don’t know. I know it’s our first time doing it, but I just feel like everyone’s gonna be in a good mood. I’m like, yeah, they’re gonna be in a great mood. And not, let’s go hear this guy monologue. Nate said this too. Like, if you don’t know stand-up’s happening, it just sounds like a mean speech. And that’s, and I pled with them for like 30, and the last thing that I said to them, and this is how I convinced them, I said,
if you make me go on after that dog and go up for 30 minutes after that, I’m gonna be in such rough shape, you’re gonna need to get me a dog. And they like, that made them laugh and they’re like, okay, we’ll switch to you before the dog. I’m like, thank God, I can’t follow soldier dog. And it was exactly like I expected. I went in, I had a great set, everyone’s bawling. Like people are weeping. Like…
Molly Stillman (42:52.447)
No!
Molly Stillman (43:02.635)
calling.
Dustin Nickerson (43:04.134)
I, Molly, a woman fainted from it. It was such an emotional scene that a woman, and I was like, you’re gonna make me go talk about, like, I got kids. Like, what are you thinking? So it was a huge crisis averted. I thank the Lord for that, probably once a week, that I was able to convince them out of that.
Molly Stillman (43:26.587)
Gosh, that is a fantastic story. And I honestly, I mean, I’m really glad for you that they listen to you. I’m actually very sad for us that you don’t have the story about doing stand up after soldier.
Dustin Nickerson (43:29.836)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (43:42.41)
No, yeah, this story is a celebration story. It’s one that has a happy ending.
Molly Stillman (43:48.599)
I just, I can’t imagine. I cannot imagine.
Dustin Nickerson (43:52.362)
Well, I could, and that’s why I was like, put me before the dog. No one can follow the dog, man.
Molly Stillman (44:00.699)
No one. I mean, in anything, just if there’s anything that we take away from this podcast, is dogs and military servicemen and women trump all things. Like, there is nothing that can top, like, a military reunion, a dog with a military person, any of it.
Dustin Nickerson (44:19.756)
Yeah.
Yes. No, you combo that, you combo Wounded Warrior with dog. You’re like, I mean, what are we doing here? Well, I mean, there’s nothing, nothing can follow this. Yeah.
Molly Stillman (44:29.905)
You
Molly Stillman (44:35.755)
Correct. That’s where you go, and scene. And we’re done.
Dustin Nickerson (44:39.678)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (44:44.466)
Yeah, plus that’s when they cut their checks by the way too. So you’re like, you’re going to have them, no, absolutely not. I’m going to go up here and like make fun of people and make myself and just, I’m some random dude talking about marriage.
Molly Stillman (45:00.359)
Oh my gosh. Oh, that is amazing. Okay, well then on the flip side, I mean, that was a celebration story. Do you have like, what’s the most memorable, like positive show that you’ve done that you’re just like, for the rest of my life, I will remember this?
Dustin Nickerson (45:16.494)
Hmm, I mean, when you’re a comedian and you get your first late night set, that’s, that’s so when I did the first time I did James Corden show, which would have been two, two June’s ago, it was when the book came out. That was awesome. And it went as well as it could have. And it was, yeah, it was great. Now, like late night sets, they don’t like mean what they used to as far as like exposure goes. I mean,
Molly Stillman (45:35.015)
I remember that. I saw that.
Molly Stillman (45:42.303)
Hmm. Interesting.
Dustin Nickerson (45:44.554)
Well, yeah, they just, I mean, not many people watch TV, you know, and like they don’t necessarily get like a ton of views, but they’re still just very validating as a comedian because, you know, they’re just like a stamp of approval. It feels like, wow, I’m like a real boy, you know, I’m a, I did it. Like the curtain came out, yeah, and I went and I told my jokes and people laughed and, you know, like, the second time I did it, like,
Molly Stillman (46:02.392)
You’re a real boy now.
Dustin Nickerson (46:10.702)
Kevin Bacon’s there, you’re like, this is surreal. You know, so it’s, I’m a lot of people’s quiz. Exactly, people play that game, they’re like, what’s your connection to Kevin Bacon? I was like, I’ve been on television with him. I’ve met him. I think I win. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you’re two degrees. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was probably it. The funny thing about late night is,
Molly Stillman (46:14.147)
Now you’re one degree of separation to Kevin Bacon.
Molly Stillman (46:24.807)
I mean, this is amazing. Now I feel like I can, now I can say I’m two degrees separated. I’m two degrees, Kevin Bacon, I win.
Dustin Nickerson (46:38.746)
I know that people kind of know this, but it’s in the middle of the day that you tape those things. So you do that and then you walk out and it’s like happy hour. Like, oh my gosh, so bright. I just was preparing. I just did television on the Late Show. So yeah, that was probably, I mean, I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve done a lot of shows and I’ve had a lot of like, somebody asked me last time, like, what was the biggest like?
Molly Stillman (46:42.718)
Yeah.
Dustin Nickerson (47:06.626)
bump in your career. And I was like, I don’t have one. I have like a lot of little ones, like a lot of monumental ones, you know, that I’m very grateful for. And that was one of them for sure.
Molly Stillman (47:16.859)
Well, I think it’s cool, especially just, you know, having followed you for a few years and knowing, you know, a bit of your backstory. And I did I did read your book, How to Be Married to Melissa, which is just the title of it made me laugh so much. It’s so good. No, it’s so funny. Both my husband and my husband and I read it. And but I just love hearing more of your story and especially
Dustin Nickerson (47:33.978)
It’s all downhill from there, but the title is great.
Molly Stillman (47:45.095)
you know, I think it’s so easy to look at people who, you know, especially in the comedy world or in the acting world or the entertainment industry in general, and you know, you see somebody once they’ve become quote unquote successful, and you think like, oh, it was so easy for them to get there, but then you actually don’t see the, you know, decade, 15 years, 20 years worth of work on the front end to get to that point, and it’s that commitment that, you know, that same just…
Dustin Nickerson (48:06.655)
Yeah.
Molly Stillman (48:14.795)
grind every single day working towards the thing. And you just, you never gave up. You never gave up. And that’s, I think, really encouraging and inspiring for people.
Dustin Nickerson (48:21.83)
Yeah, I still might though. I still might. It’s, you know, it’s, uh, we’ll see. We’ll see how that I got a weekend in Syracuse in the late and late April and that looks like a potential give up weekend. So, you know, sometimes there’s time to there’s still time. Don’t, you know, don’t write the biography yet.
Molly Stillman (48:39.891)
Well, hey, you gotta come back to Durham, North Carolina. Because, yes. All right, and maybe, yeah, I’ll be there for the early one. Yeah, that’ll happen. Dustin, this has been so much fun just hanging out and doing bits. So for people that want to connect with you and all the things, plug all the things, your podcast, your book, your standup shows, where can people find you?
Dustin Nickerson (48:45.174)
I’ll be there in the fall. I’ll be in, yeah. And we’ll do early shows. You know it.
Dustin Nickerson (48:53.306)
Yeah. Great. Me too. Yeah, thanks for having me, Molly.
Dustin Nickerson (49:08.594)
My wife and I have a podcast called Don’t Make Me Come Back There. It’s a funny podcast about family where every listening to this, you will be able to listen to it there. I also got a book called How to Be Married to Melissa, a couple comedy specials on YouTube, Dustin Nickerson Comedy, and my tour dates are at DustinNickerson.com. Come to that, come to that Syracuse weekend. So I don’t quit.
Molly Stillman (49:28.303)
Awesome. Dustin? Yes, exactly. Everyone listening who is in the Syracuse area, go get a ticket to Dustin’s show and help him keep going. You’re awesome.
Dustin Nickerson (49:44.83)
Thanks, Molly.