Unknown Speaker 0:03
It's a daily talk show, Episode 712 and it is Georgie boy here. I'm here all week. And I hope everyone has recovered from the 24 hour marathon that we did on Friday. I'm feeling good. And I'm putting together all of the interviews that were recorded that day and releasing them as individual episodes. So later down the week, you'll get to hear Christian howl and Steph and Laura the kick girls, Ron Shelton. It's gonna be amazing. To start with, this is Brad blanks. It was recorded at 8am on the Friday and a really fun chat. We love Brad blanks. So I hope you enjoy this one. Brad,

Josh Janssen 0:42
here, give me a second. I'm just gonna turn on your on your mic, Brad. How are you bro?

Unknown Speaker 0:54
inspired by your your magic of what you're gonna put out for the next 23 hours. So

Tommy 1:01
I'm just glad that you said that you What time is it where you are bread?

Unknown Speaker 1:06
Six daily 6pm. So yeah, okay over preparing dinner. Yeah. all that sort of stuff. But yeah, I'll continue to check in over the next 23 hours and make sure everyone's upright and staying spot on and on the ball. So

Josh Janssen 1:20
have you done anything outrageous. I mean, Brad, you've been an Elmo once. Which, yeah, can you tell that story? Yeah, that

Brad Blanks 1:29
was 2007 and it was one of those deals. Yeah. Look, I was a sidekick on a morning radio show. And I you guys have been there before. Tommy, I you're a host of the show. I don't know if you've ever assigned to me. It all

Tommy 1:43
depends on you.

Unknown Speaker 1:47
individually.

Unknown Speaker 1:48
Yeah.

Brad Blanks 1:51
Yeah, so every year I do one big stunt because I just didn't want to be the stunt guy. Yeah. But I will. I will The stunt guy so on the Scott and Todd show and WP Lj so they dress me up as Elmo and it was a beautiful Elmo probably the most expensive Elmo suit you could get you know fibreglass head Hessian suit with redness on the outside, it was perfect. And they had me do a 21 miles through New Jersey, the suburbs of New Jersey. The first seven miles was about a kid's baby BMX. The next seven miles were on a scooter and the final seven miles I was jogging, and that was my stunt to finish that through. And we are in for about four counties and with counties it's like the old Dukes of Hazzard where police aren't allowed to go from county to county. And um, the police gave me an escort like they love to roll on board right. But as we get to a county border, that was like a full police car cavalcade and me in the middle Elmo dress. Yeah, and the police would fan off and the next set of cars would join me, Elmo as we keep travelling through New Jersey. I think I cost about three traffic accidents as well and shut down the whole of North New Jersey. Yes, but not nothing is wild as a 24 hour broadcast. This is a very commendable fellas.

Tommy 3:21
We feel that more physically. more physical exertion we're doing what do you think more physical or the mentally that we're doing?

Brad Blanks 3:31
Ah, equally important in life. Mental will be tough.

Unknown Speaker 3:37
smelling the smells that you all will.

Brad Blanks 3:42
Like, you're in different locations. So that's good, right? Yeah, we're all split up, I guess. Oh, yeah, we have a good, but yeah, I meant there'll be a lot of sweating moments. There'll be interviews that will go sideways and blood will run to all parts of your body. Yeah, you've been there before. Guys. You

Tommy 4:00
Well, I mean, I feel like you've been there more than what? Something's going. When something's going sideways. What do you do? Especially, I mean, we don't have the likes of Ricky Jabez or Jennifer Aniston on the show today, but close. Close, guys. Yes.

Brad Blanks 4:19
You actually have really good looking people come on your show. It's a good looking show you put out there. One when the when it really went sideways for me once was I was hosting a live event with about 300 people. And it was Coldplay. So it was called playground status little intimate club. It's called the China club. And it had every music executive from every different label, always all radio executives in there. And I was, you know, the man in the crowd doing interviews, interviewing them up on stage trying to get everyone involved. And I asked Johnny, Chris Martin was calling I shouldn't call it a sidekick, but Johnny Are you gonna host a cigar night when Chris has his next baby? But and Chris stopped everything and said my that's a personal question you can ask that in this environment Chris Martin said that to me. And I was and the blood just rushed it actually goes to your bottom first. Things just tightened up and the sweat started pouring down and and I was crossed and someone else quickly took up and then moved on to the next topic. And the only way you can come back is come up with a funny question or something entertaining, two minutes later and if you can get that happening, you can get back on track quickly but I'm even just talking about now I'm sweating. I'm perspiring. The most painful experience of my my life will happen to you guys today. I really

Josh Janssen 5:51
feel I know that it's going to happen. Read the when we spoke to that was sort of early ISO up Finding a group nothing's going yet.

Brad Blanks 6:04
Yeah, it's a mental it's it's mentally wild, isn't it? Because you first you guys are ambitious guys you want to fit a lot into your day you talked about Tommy Was it your missus that's gonna do the 530 get ups in the morning is that is that there yet so we all want to do all these things and the big depression that's when you start not getting stuff done. Yeah in this sort of cheese. This was gonna be my moment too right there right war and peace. This is my moment to write the

Josh Janssen 6:36
novel. When do you realise? Is there a specific moment where you're like, Fuck this. This is not happening. Yeah.

Brad Blanks 6:43
Yeah, when your actual day job really kicks in and my day job being on radio and then the day job asks more and they want more and more in your day jobs actually quite hot, you know, um, and and so it's sort of exploded the job in terms of zooming People and doing interviews and then you when you want to do something for yourself you kind of a bit lazy I'll go have a beer early beer or try and do 20 sit ups

Unknown Speaker 7:12
sorry, Brad.

Josh Janssen 7:15
Three minutes late 23 hour mark it took me actually sorry. Sorry to interrupt you halfway through I felt

Tommy 7:37
like what you feel I felt like in that interview I just

Josh Janssen 7:45
felt quite good with with four minutes like on the on the hour thing, we'll try to do that every single hour so

Tommy 7:54
it's probably fair Josh, we probably went about four minutes late or minutes late to the to the 7am start. So Yeah, I mean,

Brad Blanks 8:01
I got a question for you guys. Yeah. Okay, so I missed the 97th become a legend. Yo, yo, when I so comes down and he fires up his Tinder it's gonna be an avalanche. He doesn't

Tommy 8:25
this is what happened on the red carpet what we're saying

Unknown Speaker 8:33
you've been snagged?

Unknown Speaker 8:35
Yeah, well, I mean grace who who listened to the show we we started messaging and Yes, she's she's great. She's so much fun so we're gonna girlfriend now so

Unknown Speaker 8:49
geez Tommy and Josh. Are you doing live?

Unknown Speaker 8:55
Yep, yeah, it was all on

Unknown Speaker 8:59
me Yeah, the guy that you've added to the show, yeah. Give me a rundown of this fella.

Josh Janssen 9:05
Yeah, so this, George. So George is great. He's He's an epic editor. He's very good at putting together he reminds me of you remember it like Ryan Shelton would do those great rove segments or whatever. He's just gonna get right. sense of timing and comedy and all that sort of thing. So yeah, George, he's actually editing right now. He's doing highlights of all the 24 hours, which will come out next week.

Unknown Speaker 9:31
That's fantastic. I said, George, was there a video of him sleeping in like a sleeping bag or somewhere and then you woke him up or something?

Unknown Speaker 9:40
That might have been

Josh Janssen 9:42
the hump day replay. And that was I did not drink.

Unknown Speaker 9:45
Yeah. Rob

Unknown Speaker 9:49
Kassar. Anyway, Mr. 97 George.

Josh Janssen 9:55
Charles is helping us it's great. And so you're gonna Join us in the middle of the night. I think I can't remember the exact time was the time that we.

Unknown Speaker 10:04
So it's 4am 4am your time 4am Our time is good.

Josh Janssen 10:11
Yeah. And then after that we have Hamish Blake, who I believe is joining us on a training bike. About I said, Hi, we're thinking like it'd be great for solty on bikes. The only thing is we haven't been able to organise bikes. I don't know if it's a bit of a stitch up if he rocks up in lycra and sort of ready for a ride on camera.

Unknown Speaker 10:30
But um, what time do you have 440

Josh Janssen 10:35
so you, yes, so we can do that. You can do the handover. You can do that.

Unknown Speaker 10:40
Yeah, to the high five.

Josh Janssen 10:42
Oh, that'd be wonderful. Have you been to Manhattan at all since all like,

Brad Blanks 10:47
No, I haven't. No, that's that's Yeah, it's crazy. I heard from a friend of mine who was in the epicentre of all that queens disaster that we spoke about with the Elmhurst hospital. You know, just a couple of months. Out of Manhattan. And he said, he lost a lot of people in the neighbourhood which is very sad but and he his words were it was the epicentre of it all and but that hospital now is is relatively calm. So, unfortunately a lot of people passed but they got over that they've got over that hump but yeah, yeah, New York still. Yeah, Ghost Town, huh?

Josh Janssen 11:23
guys getting back things opening and shit now or

Brad Blanks 11:28
m long island there's movement. Yo, yo, it's all we want restaurants and bars, but that's never not never gonna happen. But that's not going to happen. And yeah, we're, we're at near a war your beach. And so that's sort of a festive area. Who knows what summers going to bring? You know, like his summer. Might be like previous summers, obviously. So yeah, we're not we're not sure.

Tommy 11:53
Where did you take us for lunch break when we were in New York City. We went somewhere. uptown. Was it If we place a

Josh Janssen 12:03
lot of seats

Unknown Speaker 12:06
did we go to the coffee shop? It was the

Tommy 12:11
same fancy. I mean, I was I Oh, yeah, this joy This is this looks fancy. I thinking like

Josh Janssen 12:20
do you have sort of a calendar? Brandon? Oh,

Unknown Speaker 12:22
yeah, I'm gonna find that.

Josh Janssen 12:23
I really yeah, I'm gonna look that up.

Tommy 12:27
I'm gonna fit. I feel like you just did a Waldstein It was like lunchtime. It was just it was a real New York experience. I felt like it all the dude it really sort of just LinkedIn. I mean, you are in New York. You've been there for what nearly 20 years or something.

Unknown Speaker 12:40
2001

Tommy 12:42
October Oh, one. But the seeing the people out in New York like just lunchtime. These busy restaurants like, I feel like for to switch back to that straightaway. He's gonna be super hard than you think. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 12:55
you you've nailed it. No, no, it's super hard.

Brad Blanks 13:00
to unpack this is craziness because you sit I've gone to New York because I want to be around the people the excitement the buzz everything you read about like I was you know Woody Allen fan and Seinfeld fan and then I want to be there and and everything I'd love that drove me to get there and then then I get there and I sort of live like a normal person who says I'm living like Woody Allen But anyway, that's a whole nother story. But yeah, but it's a city where stories are developing every day in your life and literally bumping into will and it's all about bumping into or crashing into people. Is that crashing into effect that makes it such a glorious place to live in going to be there and you have three children. We've stayed in the city. We have a small apartment there that we love. We have a great, great building and a good area and you like what's the Yeah, we had a stage where we see We have to move out or and that's Yeah, we haven't started asking those questions but it's along those lines.

Tommy 14:06
Yeah, right you your wife's from London isn't your England,

Brad Blanks 14:09
doesn't she England That's right. Yep.

Tommy 14:12
Yeah and certainly your and Ozzy what accent your kids have

Unknown Speaker 14:16
grown up Ah,

Brad Blanks 14:18
remember when Elle Macpherson Got that? Like hold up the transatlantic accent?

Unknown Speaker 14:26
international school?

Brad Blanks 14:29
Yeah, it's all screwed up. Yeah. The big Elvis person Colleen Menard. Oh got those weird accents. And I have that but then then I I say Manhattan like that. Which is funny because we live on the east side of Manhattan. And that is a very, that is a very long island. It's really interesting how you can live on one side of your skinny skinny Island. And I sound like Lindsay Lohan from you grew up in the middle of Long Island. So I always say, don't use sound like Lindsay Lohan coming from me, obviously. the broadest country accent you can have, but anyway, yeah, weed exits for my kids.

Josh Janssen 15:11
How do you like Brad, you've got great access to people that you had Ricky device or whatever you've had the tiger King guy. Do you have any tips for securing great guests?

Brad Blanks 15:24
Great. Yes. Good. Good question. And as I said before my day job has exploded. Zoom has been good for me. Yeah. People are wanting to chat and you guys are probably finding that and, but secure. Like, if you're dealing with a publicist or a team, I always say it's going to be fun. It's gonna be easy, and it'll be quick. Yo, you can save all the dirty jokes around in the setup I gave you then.

Unknown Speaker 15:53
So that you want to provide yourself with

Unknown Speaker 15:56
Mr. 97

Josh Janssen 16:00
Got a nightclub?

Brad Blanks 16:08
Yeah, sorry. You want to put the look, it's all a publicists game, right? In terms of what I'm chasing Yo, I like and you've got a and then it's their reputation with their client, they're being paid by the client to get the right people to know him. So, um, but it's, it's, it's over years of, you know, hopefully coming across as that you're not in the gossip and you're not trying to set them up or you're just trying to have a bit of fun. And, and, and, and this environment has really nailed that down and look, my interviews have always come from doing phonons you know, the old school phone or for radio, and then you know, the quickfire stuff on red carpets because I do I love that, you know, explosive, minute and a half of the first 30 seconds of a celebrity. Yeah, going Who the hell is this animal, semi bald you sweaty guy.

Josh Janssen 17:03
Have you ever had one where it's like, going in for the fun, freaking easy and it turned into a two hour sort of

Brad Blanks 17:14
like 2003 I think it was the red carpet but analyse that which was the sequel to analyse this with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro and and I was always I called Brad blanks at the end of the red carpet. I was a radio guy, and I was the only radio guy there and I didn't have a camera, and I'm at the end of a little microphone, and a mini disc recorder. they'll explain that to you later. Mr. 97 What a mini disc drive and I'm standing there and Billy Crystal came out. It was freezing cold night and everyone was wrapping up. Yeah, that's where I was with it with all the other crews are wrapping up into the last one standing there. And he stopped in talk. And he and I loved Billy Crystal but he was just He was pissed off that he had to talk to me. I'm kind of like, well, you're pissed off. So I don't really want to talk to you. I love you. But you're being a prick. Yeah. And and we're chatting, sorry, language back. And I don't mean, but the interview kept on going. And he wasn't being good. It wasn't like a loving you know, it was freezing cold. We're all wrapped up in December night. And in New York, and I'm interviewing him and the interview just wouldn't stop. But I'm telling you waiting

Josh Janssen 18:30
for a cue from him like surely you just say thanks so much. That was great. We've got everything we need.

Brad Blanks 18:35
Yeah, but but the other side of me is like, Billy Crystal, he's talking but he's not talking. Nice loving stuff. Yeah. So that was always an interview that just didn't naturally end even though it probably should have. Yeah, so But look, I spent my whole career is built around interviewing people that don't really want to be interviewed by me. And then hopefully, as it's saying that people's open up Expand with a little bit of happiness about the 42nd mark. And as you can see on my, you'll see on my YouTube page you'll see them when they finally get these guys actually are and then the guy's not that bad. Yeah, he looks like a doofus. But we'll continue chatting to him now we know what's going on. But look, the whole game's changed again in interviews. Yeah, you've got that. The likes of your talk show hosts now like Fallon and Corden. They do the more personal style of interview now. Yeah, like, carpool karaoke. I look at that and I say we'll Ozzy's an English talk show presenters have been doing that style of interview. What Corden does for 30 years it's just the Aussie an English personality just called and managed to package that up and put it in a car. You know, that works fantastically. Don't get me wrong, but that instal a personality is very different. To what happens in interviews in the United States. The

Tommy 20:05
you gotta go to question Brad. Just if you like if I put you in front of us, now you don't know who they are use your eyes and you have to ask something. What do you what do you start with other than

Brad Blanks 20:16
start and start? Yeah inspirational stuff isn't this all is and that

by the time they get to that then another thought will come in my head but my like, go to, like go to questions probably at the end getting to the end, where I'm like, gonna finish on an up I've got to finish on a lot. I'm gonna finish on something upbeat. Yeah, positive, you're gonna get a laugh. You're gonna get some because it's gonna be going badly at the moment. And I always ask them to give me advice. Yeah, and and 85% of the time it works. Yeah. Do you have any advice for me a six foot five, Goofy, semi balding, sweaty guy, and that will get something big hopefully. Yeah. But there's still sometimes there's dead fishes I interviewed last year. And I quickly realised that to the so then being dead fishes because I love these two ladies Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. It was the afternoon of a junket was for the morning show. I go in there, all the celebrities, all the actors in a part of that show are on high alert because it's you know, all about, you know, sexual harassment in the workplace. And I just come off the Harvey Weinstein and the Ronan Farrow book and it all been happened in Matt Lauer. You know, with the today's show, it was all within five days of each other, all those stories sort of re bubbling up, and I go into the junk at the interview with with them and, and I just want to have a bit of fun. I'm not going in there to talk about, you know, like the sexual harassment No getting you in trouble in the workplace and all this. And, and they were it was like it was like a legal interview. It's like as a lawyer, I was like, I was like I like Solon Better Call Saul. I was like, come on. I have fun with Jennifer Aniston and race and they were just giving me cold, cold and I tried it he said that interview I am sweating like the Coldplay story I told you before I am melting down in the interview and I'm throwing everything I can to say get some laughs and they and they just weren't

Unknown Speaker 22:33
going yeah, how

Josh Janssen 22:34
many times? How many times have you had Ricky device? How many times have you spoke to him?

Brad Blanks 22:39
Yeah, I think I'm up to 19 times.

Josh Janssen 22:43
And so at that point, like what's the what's the relationship? Are you like, way, way, way friends now? Do you want to hang out?

Brad Blanks 22:56
I think we're professional mics. Yeah, I'm fine. Perfect yeah it's nice you

Josh Janssen 23:03
got a very professional shirt for yeah

Unknown Speaker 23:07
I've got the

Unknown Speaker 23:10
the cabinet next door for

Unknown Speaker 23:14
the last seven weeks

Brad Blanks 23:19
waiting for you sleep profusely isn't the excitement of talking to you guys but but device I'd love to Yeah, I'd be great to have a few beers and talk. But look, I think he's a he's a I think he's a bit of a recluse I think he's just a chill sort of guy. And you know, and he's been interesting to watch and was interesting to talk to him during this whole period. I enjoyed these. He did a 1pm or 6pm British time 6pm where we do a stream on Twitter and it was good getting an insight into his life and he seems pretty relaxed and does a bit of writing he he like he he watches are much television and in this period, you think everyone's busy. I'm not busy. Enough, I need to binge more I can't actually find time to binge. But But anyway, he's a good good guy. And he's been very good to me and but it started in the early days where no one would interview him in the United States. And I'd be the only one interviewing Ricky and, and that was in 2005 2006. So he'd have like, his first comedy special and HBO would call me in to interview him. And we do these like 25 minute sessions on a couch and I'd say about a mate of mine hold a little camera and we do these interviews with Greg Carlin. And it's, it's built a fun relationship which which is great.

Tommy 24:42
Brad, you pretty, you're pretty high energy. I think it's definitely something I noticed when I met you. And every time I've spoken to you or send you since still high energy, I guess. Still you definitely would have to have unless you're a robot. Take it take your head off now. Sit, let's see Brian if it's real, no, but have you um, what do you do when you get a bit low energy and you're on a red carpet because it is work, sometimes you don't want to work. And I gotta find something. What do you do?

Brad Blanks 25:11
Yeah, no, no, great question. It happens a lot more happens. Like, we're in this game, right? We, it's only up to you. And in your like, for you, Josh and Tommy, you get to bounce it off each other, I maybe get to talk to some people at the radio station or work out or make more mates that aren't even in it. But you're constantly you're playing with yourselves where you're at. So you can live off and you can never get ahead of yourself because you don't know where you are, in what your career is or your ambition. You just got to wake up every day and sort of chase that, that that thing you're never going to catch and it's hard when no one tells you you're never going to catch it but you got to keep on driving. So an example of that would be to go to a red carpet. Well, I don't know if I'm gonna get anywhere gotta stand there and you kind of competing against your people standing next to you on either side and, and yeah, like, but I've gone around campus where I've been totally flecked on what am I even doing here and, and keeping myself open minded enough where I might not get the star of the movie and they might just brush me and walk straight but but I'll get some reality star from a show that hasn't broken yet and it breaks the following week and that shows huge yet I've turned up just and I've done this goofy interview where I really don't know anything about this person. And we've turned it into two minutes of gold just yeah, and I'm flat leading into that and and I have something so it proves that you've just got to keep turning up even when you're not flat. And even if you think you're not going that well. You know, you're not getting ahead or you're not improving or whatever it is good. You know it's a cycling game that sells cycling, going to keep on pushing

Josh Janssen 26:59
and A bit of a deep one to end on. What do you dream about? What do you what do you dream of? What do you think? Not as in like when you go to sleep, but what do you when you Daydream when you think about the future? Where do you go?

Brad Blanks 27:12
Yeah, it's really good because I think as you're married kids, you know, if life's worked out good in that regard, but you want to keep on improving in your jobs, or you know, and what, you know, our jobs are our passions in a way and what we're doing and so you sit there and go, well, what's the perfect scenario? And maybe that is the issue that I haven't figured that what is the perfect scenario what is perfect anyway, and, and from a dreaming point of view is, I still love the moment of having a great chat and like right now I'm loving talking to you guys. You know, we became friends and I love that moment of having a connection of someone that can create that sort of explosiveness and just gets back to, you know, having a beer in the past. with you as an 18 year old and Cobra, and I'm sitting there talking to the 76 year old guy, and he used to play for Ford for Cobham, and we chat about how he was a good football. And that feeling then is the same feeling I enjoy today when I interview people.

Josh Janssen 28:17
Yeah, I think like it doesn't even matter who it is. Whoever's met you, that they always they always mentioned your energy because Pete Shepard, a mate of mine, who you caught up with is the he is the head coach at an MBA in Seth Godin sort of programme. And you caught up with Pete and Pete described it as extremely high energy. Yeah, I think you'd have six coffees. Like

Brad Blanks 28:56
I was, I was, what had happened to me is I stopped Drinking. And I think I got about three weeks into my not drinking and I and I was running, I was training for the New York Marathon. So I was like, on for this whole stage of like jacked and the poor guy got me at 100 miles an hour, and I was excited to meet him and I am a fan of Seth Godin like you guys and and I don't want to hear everything about that. But But stuff going on in my head to the point we're in a we're in a diner and we didn't eat anything. The waitress was so pissed off like you're yelling

Josh Janssen 29:29
and yelling a bit like he

Unknown Speaker 29:33
was yelling and I had to catch up mine. I'm sorry. And what a great guy. He's He's like Nana, bring it on.

Brad Blanks 29:44
Periscope. Yeah. Exactly. Good boy, and he was due to come over. he emailed me a few months ago and said, I'll be in New York in April and I was excited again, I was hoping to have a few beers with him which hopefully would be a more subdued version, then As

Unknown Speaker 30:01
a fat guy training for a marathon last about 10 kilogrammes. Yes. It was

Josh Janssen 30:09
like it was a highlight of like it. You know, I think that's what makes that's what makes troops right meeting people and you know, you'd rather be memorable then they sound like a

Brad Blanks 30:25
big, big pain, big pain again. Well, I hope you guys are fine. I hope I've been like a fluffer definitely. Yeah. Good, good. Good. Well, I commend you what you're doing. Fantastic. Yes. And it's wonderful and Salah George as well. Yeah, all the bed look forward to meeting him and Mr. 97. You're a champion and the young bloke,

Josh Janssen 30:49
Charles

Unknown Speaker 30:51
Charles H. O jump

Josh Janssen 30:52
to Charles he's in. He's in the grant. We've set up a virtual Green Room. So yeah,

Tommy 30:58
it did definitely come through. YouTube just pay yes because it did a shot on CP from quad lock. He took a photo of the screen. He was just loving it. I really I definitely saw a child there.

Unknown Speaker 31:11
That's interesting.

Tommy 31:13
Unless that was child I unless it was Charles taking a photo of his own screen. I that could have been.

Josh Janssen 31:17
Anyway, I've pushed him away. So there we go,

Tommy 31:20
Brad. Thanks, man. I'm looking forward to can you be nice to us when you come back on in like 20 hours or something? Can you? Yeah, very nice campus up. Can you interview? Me we'd

Unknown Speaker 31:35
love you guys. I will ask you

Unknown Speaker 31:39
to pm

Brad Blanks 31:41
bit of bit of New York news, what's going on in the world? Yo, what's happened and be a good time. Friday afternoon. We'll do a stock market report. Something like that.

Tommy 31:51
I'll be I'll be talking more about that man.

Unknown Speaker 31:56
Wonderful. Good luck.

Unknown Speaker 31:57
Go get awesome. Thanks, buddy. Thanks.