Neal Brennan

“I get music from odd places that I assume are fairly typical at this point. I'll just go on iTunes, go to EDM and just look at the Top 100, or I'll go on the Beats app and look on the playlists that are sort of curated.”

“I just realized at a certain point that no matter how much writing I did, I'm still a gym rat for comedy clubs.”

“I think anyone can write about anything that they have knowledge of and exposure to.”

“With '3 Mics', there's nothing I'm talking about that's too hot button.”

“'Jersey Shore' is one of the best shows of all time. They had so many hooks.”

“I think the thing I had going for me is a good pedigree and joke-writing ability. But a good pedigree, for the audience, doesn't matter past the first 90 seconds.”

“I love doing stand up. I think it's a really worthwhile art form. It's so unique in all the things it combines, in terms of it being philosophizing, preaching, speaking truth to power and basic communicating. It's a good way to talk back to the world.”

“I love the fact that I can make a podcast in my house and tens of thousands of people will hear it. I also like that it's gotten rid of a lot of gatekeepers.”

“I get that money is important, and it's scary to think that you won't have enough. At the same time, we can set up reasonable social safety nets and take care of everybody.”

“With most specials, even the best comedians will tell you they could have cut 15 or 20 minutes out of it.”

“I think anything is possible if the jokes are good.”

“The thing about comedians is, we're generally pretty smart. So, if we can be smart and funny, that is the victory.”

“Being able to write jokes is great, but you still have to get used to performing them and being on stage - and enjoying being on stage, not just like tolerating it.”

“If somebody says my ideas aren't good in the afternoon, I can go to a club that night and try to prove them wrong.”

“I think being honest on TV is pretty rare. So if I can be that, I would like to be.”

“Like, your body has to get used to being in front of people. Like - and you have to be like - you have to be kind of a ham, you know? Like, the thing about writers is they're generally self - comedy writers - self-loathing, sort of play small. And as a, like, performer, you have to think like a comedy writer but act like a performer.”

“I know from doing stand-up, I don't want to do a joke that I don't trust.”

“Comedy's the only job I say where you wake up and you're like 'Can't do it!'”

“Black audiences are probably the toughest for me to make laugh. I've gotten pretty good at performing for them, but it's still a challenge.”

“3 Mics' has gotten me fans who actually like me. Now they have a sense of what I'm like, so I get to talk in a way that I really want, and it's fun to go on the road.”