Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally. As well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca. 

Rockin Rhonda & The Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missing spinning tails in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. Alright, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Dave Graham: Hold up. What's up? Well listen up. It's a fresh episode of The Pulse Podcast with Peter and Dave. He is Peter McCully.

Peter McCully: And he's DJ Graham. 

Peter McCully: And on this episode, we'll be chatting with Jeremy Hotz, the standup comic famous for being miserable. He'll be playing three shows in B.C. in January, and that includes a stop in Victoria. 

Jeremy Hotz: There's not a better audience for me in the world than a Canadian audience, obviously. And to be brutally honest with you, I don't have to tag anything. They get it. They're smarter. I'm sorry. They are. Or it's my sense of humor that they get. I don't know, but I don't have to tag anything. They get the whole joke right away. 

Dave Graham: We'll also talk phone and email scams with Staff Sergeant Travis de Coene of the Oceanside RCMP.

Travis de Coene: They'll call and they'll say they're a police officer or a lawyer or they'll say a loved one's in jail, you need to transfer money for bail, it's all legit. They'll even provide you with a number you can call them back. And they'll say, oh, you've reached the Delta Police Department or whatever. It's never going to happen.The government, the police, your visa, your bank, any of your institutions that you deal with, they're never going to call you and request money transfers. That is just never going to happen. 

Peter McCully: Congratulations to Dale Halstead of Qualicum Beach who won a 25 gift certificate from Thrifty Foods for guessing correctly where the tickle trunk was.

Dave Graham: The clue was, this is a recent addition to the PQB area. You can go round and round it. But if you look in the middle, you'll see the tickle trunk sitting next to it. 

Peter McCully: And the answer was, the new illuminated artwork piece designed by Jesse Rekalma, which is in the middle of the roundabout. Now, here comes another clue for you as to where the tickle trunk is.

Dave Graham: Correct guesses go in the draw for a 25 gift certificate thanks to our friends at Thrifty Foods. Here's the clue. Where in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area can you have your picture taken with Bigfoot? 

Peter McCully: You're pulling my Bigfoot, right? Is there a place in PQB where you can have your picture taken with Bigfoot?

Dave Graham: Oh yeah, I have one on my phone right here. 

Peter McCully: He's not kidding, folks. Why are you wearing an Easter bonnet in this picture? 

Dave Graham:You make dressing up for a picture with Bigfoot sound strange. I don't know where you're going with this. 

Peter McCully: You always dress up for pictures with Bigfoot? 

Dave Graham: Doesn't everyone? 

Peter McCully: I suppose. If that's what he wants, then that's what you do, right? So, email us your answer folks at contest at thepulsecommunity.ca. You'll find our contact information in the story notes and on thepulsecommunity.ca website. 

Dave Graham: In our last episode, we asked about the best concert you ever saw and why, 

Micki Findlay: Hi Dave and Peter. You asked us to share a story about our favorite concert. I love listening to Valdy. When I was a teenager, I was asked to house sit for our neighbors. They had a Valdy record, and his music struck a chord in my angst filled teenage heart. Now skip ahead 50 or so years. It was my birthday, and I was driving alone through Oak Bay, wondering what to do.

I spotted a bulletin board and stopped to look at it. Immediately, I saw a Valdy poster. He was playing that night at the Royal Conservatory building in just 15 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea how to find the concert, as I didn't even have GPS, so I just started driving. Suddenly, somehow, I found the building and ran inside as fast as I could, hoping I wouldn't be late.

The concert was 25 bucks, and when I went to pay, the ticket agent said they could only accept cash. I said, that's too bad. Well, thanks anyway, it was worth a shot. And I started to leave. The ticket agent said, wait a minute, do you have any cash? I said, yes, but only 10. She said, good enough. Enjoy the concert.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I slipped quietly through the back door, just as the music was starting. I sat in the back row, as tears streamed down my face, because it felt like this was God's way of telling me He cared about me. And with everything going on in my life at that time, it was exactly what I needed.

And a moment I will never forget. 

Peter McCully: We would like to send a shout out to Mickey Findlay, who, in addition to taking the time to speak with us, is now a supporter of the Pulse podcast. Muchly appreciated. 

Dave Graham: Mickey, by the way, I know her personally. She is one of those multi talented artistic types. There are a few of those in this area. Mickey is a musician and a writer and a materials and visual artist. On top of that, just an exceptional human being. Thanks for your support, Mickey. 

MN Furniture: The Pulse Community Podcast is brought to you in part by M& M Mattress and Furniture Gallery. All mattresses at M& M Mattresses are made in British Columbia. The latex comes from rubberwood trees in Sri Lanka. Take the 60 second rest test to parksvillemattress.com. Visit the showroom at 291 East Highland Highway in Parksville. 

Thrifty Foods: At Thrifty Foods, we love to help nonprofits, charities, and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card Bulk Program allows organizations to immediately save up to 6 percent on the purchase of smile cards in bulk, allowing you to keep more money in your organization's pockets. Ask for details at Thrifty Foods in Parksville, a proud sponsor of the Pulse podcast with Peter and Dave. 

Peter McCully: If you're interested in joining our growing family of sponsors for The Pulse Community and Skookum Kid Stories podcasts, let us know. You can mail peter at thepulsecommunity.ca. 

Dave Graham: Okay, it is time, finally time for our first guest. Oh, Marilyn, who is in the green room? 

Marilyn: The Staff Sergeant of the Oceanside RCMP Detachment is Travis DeCone, and he is waiting patiently in the green room. Travis will talk about the various scams that are circulating in the area online and by telephone. 

Peter McCully: Thanks for joining us on the podcast today, Travis.

Travis de Coene: Thanks very much for having me. 

Peter McCully: We very often read in the police update in the paper and online that someone's been taken advantage of in some sort of a scam. I wonder if you could tell us what we should be looking for when someone is trying to take advantage of us because I'm sure that this happens when we least expect it.

Travis de Coene: It certainly does. The police are always doing the same thing. We're trying to keep up with these scam artists, and they come up with new scams day in, day out, and there's always a new one around the corner. One of the easiest ones to think of, if it's too good to be true, it's probably too good to be true.

A lot of people fall for the fact that, you know, it's your bank calling, or it's, you know, it's the police calling, or it's some government agency calling. Generally, Your bank, the police, a government agency will never be calling you, asking for any type of money. They will never be asking you to pay in Bitcoin, gift cards, or anything like that.

At any time, if you have any concerns, simply say, just remove me from your call list. Let me consult a friend. I'll get back to you. Leave me a number. Do not click on anything. Don't click on any links. Nothing. Leave it. Go talk to a friend, go talk to your son, your daughter, notify the police, let us know. By all means, do not be clicking on anything, responding to anything.

If it's your bank, you can go into your bank and ask them directly. If it's a government agency, go in and ask them directly. If it's the police, go in and ask them directly. Do not deal with anybody online or on your phone, cell phone, text, or anything like that at all. 

Peter McCully: Could you tell us in particular about the scams where folks get instructions to allow access to a residence device, whether it be a phone or a computer? 

Travis de Coene: A lot of times they'll pretend to be the bank, calling to say, Hey, you missed a payment or a visa or something like that. And they'll ask, Oh, we send you an email. If you just click on the link, we can help walk you through or something like that.

And a lot of times by clicking on that link, you've really given them access in the background of your computer. So you may not even see what's going on. If you happen to do it by mistake or anything like that. The best thing you can do is shut your computer down, unplug the internet, and take it in and have it serviced at a computer place.

By all means, definitely let somebody know, make sure you go let your bank know if it's your bank or call Visa directly, the number on your card. Let them know that, hey, I got this call, this is what happened, and that way at least they can put a stop on the card right away if there's going to be any issues.

And somebody can clean up your computer if there is that bug or that virus in the background that's potentially They can even get as technical as like recording your keystrokes. So they're just simply, when you type in your password, they're recording the password, they now have access. So just be very skeptical about anybody that calls you asking for anything for money, bill payments, government, anything like that.

100 percent back off, say you'll get back to them. Talk to a friend, talk to the police, reach out to the institution that alleges they're calling you. Just keep yourself safe. Don't fall for it ever. 

Peter McCully: In my instance, when my card became compromised, it was my own fault. I was looking for technical assistance with one of the big behemoth digital companies, who you can't reach any other way, and I thought I'll be smart. I googled and found a technical number, which was a 1 800 number. I called it, and it took me to somewhere in Europe. A little ways into the phone call I realized what was happening, but it could happen to the best of us. 

Travis de Coene: Oh, it definitely can. My own credit card has been been compromised. We were away and on a trip and we used one of those ride service. When it was years later, that's how it got tracked back. We were actually real time watching my visa being charged in China and in Philadelphia. So we obviously put a stop on the card immediately and they were able to trace it back through visa, trace it back to, they believed it was from a time we were in Las Vegas and we used the credit card and it got compromised that way.

So people are keeping some of that information and they're just simply randomly Selling this information as not even the individuals are taking it. They're simply just selling your information to somebody else Who will then use it potentially years down the road. What can happen to anybody is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

If it does happen, these guys are, they're smart. They're very intelligent individuals and they're going to come up with new and improved ways to try to get your money to them. So talk to somebody, report it to the police, talk to your banks, know, how do I turn my credit card off immediately? Who do I call right away?

If I do feel like something's been compromised, bank account information. Monitor your bank account. Look at it monthly. Just like back in the old day where we used to manage the checkbook. It's no different anymore, even though it's all digital now. Have a look at that. Make sure you're monitoring that once a week, just so that you know that there's no charges.

And if there is any sort of charges or anything that you're not sure about, ask. That's what the tellers are for. I know we've got to wait in lines nowadays. But it's better to be safe than to be sorry later on. 

Peter McCully: Travis, I noticed when I was reading one of the local reports from the Oceanside RCMP that a resident of the area reported being scammed out of some money, about $6,000 I understand, responding to an unknown text number requesting money that'd be sent by e transfer. Could you give us some of the details on what this scam is about? 

Travis de Coene: I don't know about that specific incident, but they'll use all kinds of ideas. They'll call and they'll say they're a police officer or a lawyer, or they'll say a loved one's in jail. You need to transfer money for bail.

It's all legit. They'll even provide you with a number. You can call them back. And they'll say, Oh, you've reached the Delta Police Department or whatever. It's never going to happen. Like the government, the police, your visa, your bank, any of your institutions that you deal with, they're never going to call you and request money transfers.

That is just never going to happen. And just say no, absolutely say no immediately and say, I will reach out to the institution. Thank you very much. Follow up that way. Nobody will ever ask you for gift cards. Nobody will ever accept payment legitimate companies in Bitcoin or anything like that. Again, just stay clear of it.

You're better to be more skeptical now than to just be like, Oh, okay. I owe 20 bucks. They do that scam 20 bucks, hundreds of times. They're making a fortune. Forget it. Make it a big deal. Go talk to the institution themselves, find out who it is, talk to your teller. And again, talk to a friend, talk to somebody that you trust and say, Hey, your son, daughter, again, whoever it happens to be.

And find out, Hey, this is what happened. Here's the text. Here's what it is. Learn how to block numbers on your phones so that they don't call back. You can report them a lot of phones, both the Apple and the Google phones. They'll have a, Hey, you can report this number. There's an issue and block it so that they can't call you back.

Be safe. If it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. And nobody's going to phone you and ask for money over the phone, or through an email, or texting. Guaranteed. 

Peter McCully: I want to go back to something you mentioned. People posing as law enforcement, and that takes a lot of chutzpah. 

Travis de Coene: It certainly does. We've had incidents, it's reported in the country, that people have called and said, Oh, your son or your daughter, your mom or your father has been arrested. There's a bail charge. Just email transfer the money to this account, and then that way we can get them processed and get them moved along. We have an incident where it's happened locally, they may pose as a police officer or a clerk of the court or a lawyer or something like that. Again, that would never happen. In no situations in this country will you ever be canvassed from police, the courts, the government, anybody requesting money to be e transferred. Never. 

Peter McCully: And that probably goes as well for people that you meet online in a relationship. Certainly, like anything, it's become a thing now, right?

Travis de Coene: Absolutely. People used to meet in the bars, used to meet at church, used to meet all over the place, and now that online dating in these situations, it's commonplace now, and there's been long lasting relationships from that. But if you've met somebody online, and they're requesting, oh, some financial assistance or something like that, They're probably not the one for you.

So steer clear, block that number. Most of these apps have ways to report these individuals. I encourage you to report them through the app itself. If you have a user or something that's requesting money or requesting anything from you, definitely make that report. If you fail for it or whatever it happens to be, again, don't be worried about it.

It happens all the time. Do report those to the police. There is the Canadian anti-fraud. That's always something you can go, you can actually Google that online and it'll give you the the latest frauds, things that are happening scams. You can just check it out on the website, and you can also report these incidents right online there.

Peter McCully: Travis, it's also the holiday season, which is upon us pretty quickly here. The RCMP always brings a message of being extra careful when you're driving and attending holiday celebrations. 

Travis de Coene: This is away from the fraud stuff, but just like anything, we're out there, we're buying stuff for our friends and family and loved ones.

Keep your vehicles locked. Don't leave things that are visible in your cars when you're parked in the parking lots and the sides of the roads. The weather has changed. There are certain areas on the island that you have to have as of October 1st. Make sure you have the appropriate mud and snow tires.

You want that snowflake on there to be safe. And we will be out this year, just like we are every other year, doing street checks, road checks in the evenings. We want you to go out and enjoy yourself, but please be cognizant of the fact that the police will be out there. Zero tolerance on impaired driving or drinking and driving.

Get that person to drive you. Use cabs. Use ride services and friends. Please do not put yourself and the public at risk. And have a few too many celebratory drinks and then head home. 

Peter McCully: Thanks for your time today, Travis. 

Travis de Coene: Thank you very much. Hopefully we'll have a chance to talk about another topic down the road.

Peter McCully: That's Staff Sergeant Travis de Coene of the Oceanside RCMP. 

Dave Graham: That's so timely and it can happen to you. It almost happened to me once. I was almost a victim of a phone scam. Boy, these people are so slick. They were claiming to be Revenue Canada. I didn't know at the time, this is not a thing that Revenue Canada does, but nonetheless, they had me thinking I had somehow made a mistake with my taxes.

And when I started to resist, because I was thinking something's kind of inky here. They arranged to have the police call to threaten me with jail. So I see the phone ring. I happen to know the detachment number. I recognized it. My caller ID was showing that the police were calling me. So they had spoofed the number.

It wasn't, of course, the police. When I asked this so called police officer on the phone a question specific to the local detachment and he was unable to answer me, I then knew that this was all a ruse and I said goodbye, take care, very politely, but he had me going for a while. I was really stressed out.

I'd somehow screwed up. 

Peter McCully: Dave, the Speak to Us line is gaining popularity. We had a voice message from Jeff or at least it's someone on the phone. Who says he's Jeff who sounded completely like someone else. 

Jeff Dutton: My name is Christopher Walken, and I got a very special surprise for you. I'm gonna do a reading of my favorite Christmas story, The Night Before Christmas.

It was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, a creature was stirring. Not even a little mouse. Stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. When out of the lawn there arose such a clatter. I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash. Tore open the shutters. And threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Gave the luster of midday to the objects below. When what to my wondering eyes should appear But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny little reindeer He whistled, He shouted and he called them by name.

Now Dasher, now dancer. Now pr. Hey, Vixen. Come on. Comet on Cupid, on Donna and blitzing to the top of the porch to the top of the waf. Now Dashua dashua actu arms as they drew in my head and was turning around down the chimney. Say Nicholas came with a pound. He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot.

His clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. He had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right old jolly old ass, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work and filled all the stockings.

Then turned with a jerk and laying his finger on the side of his nose and giving a nod up that chimney he rose. I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight. Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night. Thank you for listening. It's my favorite. Merry Christmas, everyone. 

Dave Graham: Our thanks to Jeff Dutton for his contribution to the podcast. You know, we'd love to hear from you if you happen to have an ability to mimic someone. You'll find a link to speak to us on this page. Click on that, you'll have up to five minutes to show us your best stuff. 

Peter McCully: Do you do any impressions, Dave? 

Dave Graham: Well, currently, no, I suppose would be the best answer. I was thinking about this, those impressions that I did manage to master, I thought, were really of characters who were not famous. So, really, what was the point? I mean, do you remember Mr. Snuffleupagus? 

Peter McCully: On Sesame Street? Sure. 

Dave Graham: That's the one. Well, there was a brief time in my life where I could do a pretty good Mr. Snuffleupagus. Or there was a stand up comic from decades ago, and his schtick was playing a funny drunk. His name was Foster Brooks. I did a pretty good Foster Brooks, but you don't want to hear me pretending to be a stand up comedian. Instead, he segues, let's hear from a real one. Marilyn, tell us who's waiting in the green room to talk with us next. 

Marilyn: Waiting patiently in the green room is Jeremy Hotz, actor and stand up comedian. You know him best from his many appearances on the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Jeremy won a Gemini Award for his role on the television series The Newsroom. His dog, Shackleton, is featured prominently in his comedy routines and social media posts. 

Peter McCully: Thanks for being with us today, Jeremy. Really appreciate your time. 

Jeremy Hotz: Good to be here. 

Peter McCully: Your delivery style is very distinct. It's nervous energy, side glances. Did you develop that naturally or is that something that you consciously crafted? 

Jeremy Hotz: No, I didn't. That's generalized anxiety disorder. That's what happens to me, unfortunately. And I found out the hand in front of my face and I was covering my eye and my face from other comics. You know, you're covering your face with your hand most of the time. And I went, really? Cause it doesn't really register to me. When I watched the tape of me, I go, I should move my hand away from my face. I don't do it. That's what happens. 

Peter McCully: And when and how was that generalized anxiety disorder diagnosed? 

Jeremy Hotz: I did a whole bunch of tours across Canada with Just for Laughs before I became a solo artist.

And I was always last. I was always the headliner. So you wait and wait and wait and wait. And the nerves got to the point where I was really sick before shows and stuff and paranoid, and it gets to the point where you. are physically and mentally in another place completely. And the other comics used to laugh and go, look at how crazy and nervous he is.

But it's actually the horrible thing that I had, and it was diagnosed later. And it's amazing that I can get out there and do stand up comedy. And the only reason is because of adrenaline. When you walk out on stage, there's adrenaline and it completely goes away. So I'm actually more comfortable on stage than I am off, which is so bizarre if you think about it, right?

Most people would be completely nervous about going on and I'm the opposite. 

Peter McCully: And that was going to be my next question, actually. How does a guy with anxiety get up in front of the cameras and the crowds?

Jeremy Hotz: With adrenaline. He's got inside that he didn't even know about until another psychologist told him about that and the effects of it. So there you go. 

Peter McCully: And how has the anxiety influenced your comedy and your comedy helped you cope with it? 

Jeremy Hotz: I can't think about shows before I do them, things like that. It's very difficult to be my manager because you tell me I've got a gig at the last second. Sometimes they fool me and they're just walking down the street and then they'll point and I turn right and there's the stage and I just walk.

Peter McCully: Jeremy, your dog is featured in some of your material and all over social media. Which I, I really love your Facebook page and your, and your posts. And so how has having a pet influenced your perspective on life and comedy and helped you with your anxiety? 

Jeremy Hotz: Oh, he changed my life. My anti anxiety dog. Yeah, he doesn't remove my anxiety when I look at him or anything. It's not really like that, but he gives you stuff to do. And one of the problems with GAD is that I have a bit of agoraphobia from it when it gets really intense, which means I will not go out. But if you have a dog, you have to go out, or he pees all over the house. You see how it works? 

Peter McCully: And the dog's name is Shackleton. So who or what is the dog named after? 

Jeremy Hotz: He's named after the explorer, obviously it's Shaq for short, so he's a tiny little eight pound dog, so people think that it had a double sort of thing there. It had the Shaquille O'Neal, the big guy, and of course it was Shackleton, the explorer who led a whole bunch of people into the Arctic. And got them lost, and then led them out, and somehow he's a hero. They got him in trouble in the first place! 

Peter McCully: Your stage act was awarded the Dave Broadfoot Comic Genius Award of the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards. And that's pretty much the most prestigious comedy prize in the country. 

Jeremy Hotz: I think it's the only one they have.

Peter McCully: And you were named best comedy performer at the Just for Laughs festival four times. 

Jeremy Hotz: Yeah, they were really good to meet the Just for Laughs. I'm really sad that they went away. It's really a sad thing. And I know that there's a new group coming in to revive and I really hope they do. that they do a good job with that because for Canadians like me to have a real career like internationally, that is an extremely important festival. Please don't keep that out of the country because I, I shouldn't be one of the few that got the opportunity. It should be all the young comedians coming up in Canada cause they're really good and you should check them out. Some of these kids coming up are really good and I've worked with them because they open for me on these theater shows. You would be very surprised. They are not bad. They're really good comedians. And the crowds in Montreal are great too, I understand. Some of the best in the country. When they love you, I got so lucky because that's Quebec, and I'm an English speaking performer, and they embraced me. And when they do that, Still, to this day, every tour, if I don't include Montreal, boy, do I hear about it. Which one? Why is it? Oh my God. 

Peter McCully: Can you walk us through your process for developing new material? Like how do you transform everyday observations into comedy? 

Jeremy Hotz: I walk outside with the dog and stuff happens to me. I'm a magnet, bad stuff. And then I find the humor in that immediately because that's the way I cope with my anxiety disorder. So you can see how it has affected and in some ways helped my stand up, but in other ways ruined my life. So there you go. That's the trade off. 

Peter McCully: Many comedians today, Jeremy, are navigating the challenge of political correctness and changing social norms. How has that affected your approach to comedy over the last few years?

Jeremy Hotz: No, I don't do that. I'm too caught up with myself. I'm not interested in what goes on in the rest of the world. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm an extremely selfish performer. I can always go if I say something that is inappropriate that people get mad at me. Hey, it's not me. It's just the character. There we go. 

Peter McCully: And your comedy material is based on the premise of you being constantly miserable. Your new show is Très Miserable. 

Jeremy Hotz: Yeah, it's a hard word for English people to pronounce. They really sound non French. It's a wonderful word, isn't it? Très Miserable. No, you've never spoken a word of French in your life. They say it way better. 

Peter McCully: Or you can just shorten it to Très Miz. 

Jeremy Hotz: Très Miz, that's what everybody calls it. Nobody wants to say the whole thing, but I do that with my shows. There's miserable in it. There was the magical misery tour. There was there's always miserable in it. One of the best one was what was the best one? Oh, what was it? Oh, the marquee just sad. And it was S A D. That was a really good one. We dropped the E and just called me the king of sad, which was really good. I like that. 

Peter McCully: I asked Siri to look you up on Google here just a little bit ago before we connected through the interweb. And she showed me a video of you as a guest on Jay Leno's garage. 

Jeremy Hotz: Yeah, I did an episode because jay was really good to me I did five of those when he was the host of the tonight show as a comic And then when he went off and did the car show, he said, Hotz, I know you're not a car guy.

And I went, yeah, I'm not a car guy. And he goes, come and do an episode and we'll just do comedy. It'll just be a fun thing. And I did that with him. It was one of the funnest things I've ever done. Cause it was like acting with a friend. It was fantastic. And when did you first cross paths with Jay Leno?

When he booked me on The Tonight Show. Here's the story. I knew the guy that wrote the opening monologue from the Tonight Show later, and he was sitting there watching, and I was on Letterman that night, and Jay said to him, Hey, how come we can't get a guy like him? And Jimmy, the guy that writes it with him, said, I could ask him.

I work at all the clubs with him because he was a comic, and he asked me, and I went, Yeah, I'll do that. And I did the Tonight Show. That's how that happened. 

Peter McCully: You're starting a Cross Canada tour shortly in British Columbia, heading across the country all the way to Halifax. Do the crowds across the country react differently to the same material?

Jeremy Hotz: In Canada, there's not a better audience for me in the world than a Canadian audience, obviously. And to be brutally honest with you, I don't have to tag anything. They get it. They're smarter. I'm sorry. They are. Or, it's my sense of humor that they get. I don't know. But I don't have to tag anything. They get the whole joke right away.

Peter McCully: Being a live performer means there's constant work to polish the routine and create something that you say connects with the audience. So you cut your teeth as a writer, And you've had some great gigs over the years. Tell us about some of the fun writing teams you've worked with. 

Jeremy Hotz: I did the Jon Stewart show for Paramount, which was a lot of fun. That was the show before the really free and open show before the daily show. It was on paramount for two years and I got to do that. And that was a lot of fun because I got to be a performer, which is what I like to do more, that's how I figured all that out. I like to be a performer more. Cause I realized, hey, I'm not writing a lot of these sketches, but the other guys are putting me in theirs all the time. That's funny. 

Peter McCully: You've worked with numerous comedy legends throughout your career. Who's had the biggest impact? 

Jeremy Hotz: One time I ran into Jerry Lewis. He came to the Laugh Factory to see shows and he saw me perform after a show. And they said, You can't ask him anything because he can be very mean and he saw my show and he walked right up to me and pinched my cheeks and said, Oh, that face. And I said, can I have a picture with you, Mr. Lewis? And he said, yes. And a guy took a photograph. He was the nicest guy to me I ever met. 

Peter McCully: You perform on both sides of the border. You've lived on both sides of the border. Something came out in the news just very recently. I thought perhaps we could get your thoughts on since you're straddling the border, so to speak. Donald Trump thinks that Canada would be a magnificent 51st state. 

Jeremy Hotz: The guy, like, he's not even in office yet, and he pisses off the country right next door. Of course he said that. Ready for the next four years, there's going to be something like this every day. Get ready, you remember. 

Peter McCully: He likes to control the news cycle, there's no doubt about that.

Jeremy Hotz: Hey, makes my job easier, man. I don't care. You can stay in for the rest of your life. You're an easy target. Why don't you build another wall that never gets built? 

Peter McCully: What are your observations on the differences between Canadians and Americans? Are there any? 

Jeremy Hotz: It's getting closer, I must admit, and I guess you can feel it too, right? The nice Canadian thing is going away, hey? Yeah, the rest of the world's figuring out that we just pretend we're nice. Deep down, we're vicoius people. Have you not seen hockey? 

Peter McCully: The comedy industry has changed dramatically with social media and streaming. It gives you a way to get out there and be there all the time. What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities?

Jeremy Hotz: It's a really good thing, social media, and it helped me immensely grab a new audience because I was able to show my comedy clips to a younger crowd that I wasn't able to get to before because there were so many gatekeepers in show business stopping entertainers from getting what they have rightfully deserved. And guess what the internet did? It opened it up, took you to the fans, you can get your own fans now. 

Peter McCully: The comedy scene has evolved significantly since you first started. What advice would you give to new comedians trying to break into the industry today? 

Jeremy Hotz: It's easier. They go, it's harder, but guess what? It's so wide open and they're so willing to accept anybody now that everybody has a legitimate chance. So shut up, get out there and go on and on. And then guess what's going to happen when you get good enough? People are going to start going, Hey, you're funny. But until that happens, it's not going to. It takes time.

Peter McCully: Jeremy, we look forward to seeing you in British Columbia. 

Jeremy Hotz: Thank you. 

Dave Graham: Jeremy Hotz. Great stand up comic. There's a job hardly anybody wants really. Although, you know, I kind of get it. I've been an emcee enough times in my life to have experienced the thrill of getting a room full of people laughing. So I kind of understand that attraction at the same time, though, I also know the feeling of having a joke fall flat and that is really not at all fun. Jeremy probably doesn't have to deal with that very much. We'll be back after this word for Ian Lindsay. 

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally. As well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay. ca. 

Peter McCully: I was wondering, Dave, what the heck the smell was in here. Johnny the janitor tells me you've got some old socks hung on the window ledge. 

Dave Graham: With care. 

Peter McCully: I hope Santa brings you some odor eaters, man. Oh. Dave, the Skookum Kid stories are garnering lots of eyeballs and listens. Delightful, original stories about a boy named Peter and his Eskimo dog, Gracie. They're always finding adventure.

Dave Graham: As are the stories of Captain Dave of the Mellow Submarine in Deep Bay. He and Larry the Lobster find excitement above and below the waterline. 

Peter McCully: You'll find those Pulse podcasts and Skookum Kids stories on the Pulsecommunity. ca, our website. You can also go to Skookumkids. com, Pulsecommunity. ca, Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, and yes, YouTube, 

Dave Graham: Two new podcasts. And if you would like to contact us about suggesting guests for the podcast, or to send us comments or voice messages, you'll find our contact information and links on the website and in the show notes. 

Peter McCully: Okay, Dave, let's head down to the cafeteria and see what Mabel has on for the special today.

Dave Graham: All I have is American bills. Hey, I guess that means we'll be able to get 30% more Kraft dinner. 

Peter McCully: That's really cheesy. 

Rockin Rhonda & The Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missing spinning tails in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. Alright, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.