Kelsey Cook
Appearances
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
An IUD can stay in you for eight years. So after they're done, the nurse hands you a sticker with a date on it of eight years from that day so you know when to replace it. So I just pop that on my windshield next to my oil change sticker. Where else am I going to put that thing? I got one that says Valvoline, one that says Vulvaline. Just keep an eye.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Like, do I want the biggest amount of fame, the whatever, all that stuff. And knowing that with that can also come a lifestyle that I also don't really want. So kind of trying to find that balance of like, I, of course, want to just keep getting better and better at stand-up and growing my fan base.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
But knowing that I like... I mean, I love living in Minnesota and having this very normal life when I'm not on tour and playing pickleball with my boyfriend during the day. I like... the balance I have in my life. And so, yeah, just trying to figure out, like, what I ultimately want, I guess.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny because I, uh, had looked up to my boyfriend for so long in comedy because I just so admired that he had achieved the goals he wanted to and stand up without having to like live a life that he didn't want to, you know, he, he didn't come up in LA, didn't come up in New York. He has stayed in Minnesota. There's a whole time where he's from originally. And, um,
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
had his netflix special come out last year like he is and now he's like selling all his shows and i uh just was like wow that's such a cool life and i was like well no i'm yeah i'm with him forever so it's great it's like the best they they're like a little incubator over there in minnesota oh i know i have family up there in minneapolis my husband's brother and his family live up there and
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah. I mean, it's exactly what you said. The winters are insane. Yeah. And like... Make you feel like I can't be alive right now. This is like minus 18 feels like minus 26. I can't even step outside. Yeah, your eyelashes just like snap off. I mean, it's like not normal living conditions for a human being. Our poor dog when he has to go outside. To shit in that weather. It's like a power poop.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's like you've never seen a dog poop so fast. It's like sprints, poops, sprints back in. It's just insanity. So, but yeah, and it's like also such a great city to tour out of. If like touring is your primary thing.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
thing in your career it's like Minneapolis is very central it's a lot of non-stop flights the time zone change isn't crazy either way and so yeah I never thought that that would be like a smart move you don't think like you go to Minneapolis and your career flourishes but um LA is like a very hard city to tour out of it's you're so far in the corner going to New York is like a five-hour flight it's miserable it's a miserable flight
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah, three hour time chain. It's just a lot. So it's weird that you don't think of Minneapolis as being this like glitzy place for a career, but it actually like... Hey, Prince.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I haven't been, but I've been told I need to go. She's living here, so.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah, you know, I am mild mannered. But it's kind of like what I said in the joke that it wasn't until my 30s that that switch kind of flipped. And I don't know if it's like a primal change. caveman thing where once I was with Chad and you know it's like you get a little bit older and I think you you can tell that like death is not this is dark to say but like death is not it's not this like
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Thing that you're just like, oh, yeah. So it's like you get a little older and you meet the person that you're like, oh, this is this is my forever person. And then there is, at least for me, something set in of like, I need to like, again, mark my territory, like guard this person.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And, uh, and of course, because he's also like a touring comedian, he has tons of fans. Women love him. I, you know, talked on the special about how I had that crowd rec clip go viral of this woman who was like, Oh my, he's your boyfriend's my favorite comedian. He's so hot and all this stuff. And, uh, it's like, it's hard. You, you want your boyfriend to be desirable, right?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Cause that's a nice feeling. And like other women find him so attractive, but like,
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I do, too, which I think is like a very good sign that I'm like, no, like this is I love him so much. I care so much about us and him that I don't want anything getting in the middle of it. Yeah, I just Yeah, it's like a good sign. I think it comes from a place of passion. I mean, it's not like a psycho place.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's just more of a like, oh, this is a feeling I like didn't know that I was going to feel so strongly.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
A bloody knife. Yeah, I just... I do think you get older and it changes.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
You know, here's the thing. Don't apologize for her.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It was a bad thing. I learned more about her afterward because, you know, when I had posted that clip, and it has like 15 million views. It's like insane. And she had commented being like, you know, I truly meant no disrespect. What she had meant by all of that... was that she went to one of Chad's shows and her mom had passed away shortly before she went to one of his shows.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And in, like, the merch line afterwards, she had told Chad, like, how much that show meant to her. Like, it might have, I think, maybe been the first time she had laughed since something like that had happened. And that he was just like, oh, I'm so sorry that you've gone through that. Thank you for telling me that. And so that was, like...
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I think a lot of where her, her love for him was coming from. But she, you know, I think had probably had some drinks at that, at my show and just was like getting pretty excited. But again, it's like,
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
it's like that old Patrice O'Neill joke where it's like, you don't want to be with somebody who you, like, could send down the back alley in the middle of the night and, like, not worry about anybody, like, hitting on them or whatever. It's like, there is part of you that wants your partner. Yes, of course, of course. But yeah, she.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
There was zero ill intent. I mean, her husband's sitting right there. Also, like, I don't know what it's like to be an audience member and have a comic talking to, I mean, it's like a lot of adrenaline, I'm sure. And it's not planned.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And you're just kind of like going with, I'm sure if I was in like the reverse situation, I might at some time in my life say something where I like put my foot in my mouth. We just, it's hard to be on the other end of it, right?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Right. Yeah. But yeah, I think also part of like feeling more protective of him and us is like, I moved to Minnesota in the month of January to live with this man. Like, we have life insurance. We bought a house together. The taxes? Oh my God, the state taxes or something. It's like, there is, it's just a different level of protection. of seriousness, I guess. And like, yeah, I don't know.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
No, we do want to get married. We've just done everything so backwards that it's... I mean, which we've loved and it's been fun and great. But we bought a house, then we got life insurance. And it's kind of fun to know that this is it forever and know that we do want to get married. But like... There's still some fun things left that haven't happened yet, right? Yeah.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I'm excited for us to get engaged and get married because we have already checked off some of the big things. And once you do them, it's kind of like you checked it off. Buying a house together is such a fun, cool thing to do. And once you do it, you're like, okay, we did it. And I think having those things to look forward to is kind of like a fun, healthy thing. Oh, definitely.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
We're locked up. But yeah, it is exciting to think about that happening.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I shot it in Madison, Wisconsin at Comedy on State.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah, we did one night and two shows in that night.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
So I have also never done this before. And I think it's something pretty new that Hulu's trying. There are pros and cons to it, right? If you have something come out on one platform, every audience member that's watching it is going to that one place, right? Like the views aren't getting divided up. So that is one downside is like, you know, the Hulu views aren't public.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Like even I don't know what the views are yet now that it's been out for a couple weeks.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
But the upside is if you are putting a special out exclusively on YouTube, there are a lot of like bigger press outlets that wouldn't have you on to promote it if it's just a YouTube special. But as soon as a streamer is involved, then people go, okay, like, well, now we'll have you on.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
The commercial break, you guys were like, look, we like you. We can't have you do this YouTube thing again.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
So, like, it's been a little bit of a learning process of seeing, okay, like, this is something I like about doing it like this. This is something I kind of don't like. But I can't say yet what I'm about to do, but I'm about to do a big press thing in, like, a week and a half that wouldn't – It wouldn't have been possible if we didn't also have it come out on Hulu the same day. So, yeah.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I feel very, very fortunate that that's been the case. It's just really nice to read such nice things. And yeah, that's, again, put that in the column of...
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
upsides for putting it on youtube is that you do get to see positive feedback and you do get to interact with the people who are watching it and uh that means a lot to me so yeah it's like it's ultimately you just want as many eyeballs on it as possible because i think most of us comics the thing we want uh at the end of the day is for people to come see us on tour.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
So it's like, whether you watched it on a Hulu or YouTube, if you watched it and you were like, oh, I want to see her live, then we're like, great, that's a win.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Right, exactly. Yeah. So it's, like I said, been a learning experience. What a weird world we live in.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah, exactly. Because again, it's not like a Netflix deal where you're getting this big paycheck up front, or even like a Hulu exclusive deal where you're getting a big paycheck. It is like a... you know, a situation where they are licensing it, they're putting it up there, but you're also putting it on YouTube.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
So you're mostly in this particular situation, like, okay, how do we get it seen by a lot of people and then drive ticket sales? But, you know, my last special, The Hustler on YouTube, it only went on YouTube to start and it has almost 4 million views now. It's like crazy what YouTube- And I had like no expectation. You know, it was my first special. I was like, well, I've been on YouTube.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Let's see. That changed my life. It completely changed my touring. It's just nuts what the power of YouTube is now.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, tell me some places. I would maybe tell you a couple.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Do you really want to know places I don't like to be?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Well, the... I will say one place that I like, I truly was like, you know what? I don't think I could go back here. This was just like a very tough experience. But I think understandably that I wouldn't want to go back. I did the Syracuse Funny Bone. Gosh, this is like maybe two, three years ago. And it's in a mall. And right before the show was about to start, there was a shooting in the mall.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And the manager came back to the green room and was like, okay, there's an active shooter in the mall. And when you hear the words active shooter.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
you picture trench coat like yes that like there's no in particular target that like it's just you know what i mean and so i i start crying there i'm terrified i'm like this is these are the things you read the news in and you go i just hope i'm never in that situation and there's somebody telling you like you're in the situation right now like there's a you're in the mall there's an active shooter oh my god and so um
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
The mall got evacuated. Show got canceled. We found out later that it was like a gang shooting. It was targeted. It wasn't like active shooter was a little bit of this.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And I was just like the place where the shooting happened. I was just walking in that area of the mall like 30 minutes before that. And so it's this is not like a dig to the people of Syracuse because I am sure like the crowds there would be fun. I think I had done like maybe two shows the night before that. And I think I had a fine time.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
But I looked online after the shooting and turns out like there are shootings in that mall like every month. And I just was like, yeah, you know. Yeah.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
i just i can go to twin falls sure yeah it's like buffalo maybe i'd go back and do a different venue but that was when i was like that i just yeah not too much to worry about anyway i don't want to go to a place where there's like you have ptsd yeah and and i think it doesn't matter whether or not it was a targeted shooting it to me it wouldn't matter or not i don't
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
You know, I could probably be a little more strategic about that with my agent.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
This was my first winter in Minnesota that it really felt like what people describe as a true Minnesota winter. Those temperatures, I just didn't believe that that was happening in the U.S. Wasn't it minus 20 or something?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah. Chad is from Fergus Falls, which is this town. I love the name Fergus Falls. Fergus Falls. So cute. It is very cute.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Chad from Fergus Falls. It sounds like something from like Schitt's Creek, right? It's very wholesome sounding. So it's in northern Minnesota. And I guess a while ago, there was a polar vortex there where it was like minus 50. It's like something crazy. And he said that if you touch the doorknob of your house, but from the inside that it would burn your hand. Oh, my God. From the inside. What?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's yeah. Spokane is very seasonal. It gets cold in the winter. We have snow, but not, not like that. It feels like minus 26.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yeah, the timing of this actually worked out really well where once Mark Your Territory came out a couple weeks ago. it had been 10 months since I shot it. And so it gave me that amount of time to get a new hour put together.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And so the hour I'm touring with right now is all completely different from the special, which is nice to be able to tell people when they comment like, Oh, like I want to watch the special, but I have tickets to see you. Can I watch this special? And I'm like, yes, you can watch it and you can see me. It's totally different. So that's,
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's hard sometimes when you shoot a special and you're like, oh, my God, I want it out right now. But then you you probably would not have a new hour ready. So it's kind of like finding that perfect spot strategy.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
it's really yeah and i don't think it was always like this i feel like this has been a really big shift in maybe the last 10 years where it became this expectation that you're putting out a new hour every like one to two years and it's like you're right i feel like that's been a change from the days of eddie murphy or different other comedians from back in the 70s 80s could do the same thing a lot i know
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Like some of our favorite artists, like Rihanna's been talking about putting an album out now, and I think it's been like eight years, maybe longer, like a decade. You're so right. Yeah. Like Justin Timberlake put his album out last year, and that had been, I think, almost a decade or something. It's just crazy. Like, that's...
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
what is expected that they get this time to like be inspired and live life. And comics are just like desperately trying to like scrounge up material where we can find it. And, uh, but you know, it's kind of, I think it's like a muscle that if you have that pressure and expectation in your mind, you do kind of somehow come up with it. And I don't know. We're all just doing our best, I guess.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
My stairway to heaven, my black dog. You're so right that it's social media too, where our specials, we end up like kind of cannibalizing them and turning them into clips immediately because we're trying to get people to watch the special and we're trying to get into the algorithm and push tour tickets.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And so you can take like an hour special and essentially turn it into 60 clips, you know, that would be kind of a lot. But, but once you run out, you're like, oh, I need to shoot another special because I don't have new clips.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's like that's also a really big part of it is unless you're relying heavily on like crowd work clips or podcast clips, having new special clips really like infuses your channels with like new lifeblood. Like, oh my God, yes, I have something new to post. More, yes. Yeah, I mean, it's a sickness. It's like, it's...
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, I just say Chad and I have a few tour dates together in April.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
That we're doing for the first time. So we'll be in Long Island, Montclair, New Jersey, and Philly doing a couple theaters and a casino. So, yeah, please come see us there. We're really excited for that.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, thank you. We're boring now. We've both been sober for like almost a year, but... We talked about this the last time you were here. Congratulations. I bet you feel great. We do. I mean, it's... You get older and you're like, it's too much. I can't. I'm already just tired from not sleeping right anyway. It's hard to add hangovers to it.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Yes, totally. I feel the exact same way. It's hard to actually be like, okay, am I really going to stop doing this completely? But it does feel so good that it's, I don't know, it hasn't been quite as hard as I thought.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
You guys are so nice. It's always really nice to talk to you, truly. Thank you for having me back on.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, thanks, guys. Thank you. Thanks again. Yeah, have a good one, okay?
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I told my dad about the sticker thing, and he goes, well, that's interesting. I wonder if it works the same way as a car where it goes by either the date or the mileage. Yeah. On this episode of The Commercial Break.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Kelsey, welcome back. Yay. Hi, guys. Thanks for having me back.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Starte dein Test nur heute für 1 Euro pro Monat auf shopify.de slash radio.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Kelsey, welcome back. Hi, guys. Thanks for having me back.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
That's a good question. I'm trying to stop and smell the roses and all of that because, uh, this business is really that way where if you don't, it's like once you get there, there disappears, right? It's like you get to where you're trying to get to and then you're like, okay, now what? And you're always just looking for the next thing.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
But it's just, that's such a slippery slope into not being happy because, uh, there is kind of no limit in this career. It's like you see the people at the top of the mountain and stand up and it's like, oh my God, it's such a different thing now. It's like you become a full rock star, essentially. And so I think it's really easy to feel like you're never doing enough.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And I have really been trying hard to be like, okay, this is so cool. Like, Especially if there are bucket list things happening. I'm like, I need to really stop and appreciate this because this is a really great feeling.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Absolutely. Yeah, I have to just because I'll feel like gross if I don't correct you. We didn't sell it out. But a lot of people came and it was great. But I can't just be like, yeah, we sold out. We didn't sell that one out. But there have been a lot of sold out shows on tour so far, which has felt great. But yeah, getting to do the Wilbur was awesome.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
I mean, that's just such like an iconic venue. And, um, the last time I was in Boston was at the comedy club and we had sold out that whole weekend. And so I think that was a really great feeling of like, okay, I did kind of the best I could do at the club. And now because of that, I'm getting to do this bucket list thing.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
And that like when you can see those changes in your career, uh, like getting to do theaters has been the coolest feeling.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
Oh, my gosh. There's plenty of shitty people who succeed in this business. Don't you worry about it. Thank you. Don't worry.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
They're at the top of the hill. They're really crushing it. I mean, a couple people that come to mind right away are obviously like Taylor Tomlinson, who's one of my best friends, and Nikki Glaser, also one of my friends, having this massive moment right now. And Seeing the level of work that those two put in is truly mind-blowing.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It's like, you know, I look at Taylor, who's hosting after midnight during the day, right? And then touring on the weekends, and it's like, she actually does not have... Free time. It is like... She doesn't have a light. She is constantly grinding, and it's just so impressive, and I'm so proud of her because it does... I don't know.
The Commercial Break
TCB Infomercial: Kelsey Cook Returns!
It just makes you go, oh, wow, that is possible to be excelling at that level. So... And I think that's what I mean before where the sky's the limit now in stand-up. People are doing so much beyond just touring. And I think I've had to... maybe like recalibrate my goals a little bit and be like, okay, what is actually important to me?