Great Falls, MT - Fast Times, Post-Punk Weirdos and a Tale of Come Home Again

- Reggie Watts

Quote takeaways:

'So far in my life, I'd always been able to develop hacks to deal with all my problems. Clever ways to game the systm, to short-circuit the simultation I was stuck in to make sure the odds were constantly in my favor. It turned me into what I liked to call a "practical optimist." Life would always serve up obstacles, of course - that was the nature of existence. But if you tried hard enough, if you acted smart enough, I believed you could always find a solution. Real life really could be one long summer at a friend's house on the shores of a Montana lake. You simply had to make it happen.
. But my worsening situation with my dad, the alienation I experience in Cleveland, it all made me start to question that faith. What if some problems were too big to solve, too intractable?
What if some barriers were so high you didn't even want to overcome them?'

'But I understood something else too. From here on out, I wouldn't run from the darkness in life. I would embrace it. Reality wasn't all summers by the lake. It wasn't all smiles and positivity. Sometimes there was no good solution. But that was okay.
In fact, it was that darkness that made life more interesting, more compelling.
Darkness, sadness, disillusionment - there was a power to it. A strength that came from simply embracing the role of the outsider.
I had never shied away from being different. If anything, the opposite. But I had typically tried to be the goofball, the entertainer, no matter which clique I was embracing. My new understanding of what it meant to be odd had a depth to it, a thoughtfullness, an openness to fiscord and disharmony. And a growing confidence in myself.
Perhaps in my excitement to try all those different groups at school, I had forgotten just how much I savored being the other - all its shades, light and dark. But now I was ready to finally find my true home in Great Falls High. A real family of friends.
A bunch of weirdos like me.'

'I have no idea. But I do know that I just discovered my two favorite drugs.
Weed and tongue.'

I really love Reggie's musical interludes (like 'She Stands', included in his novel!

'I accept my first recurring role on TV, playing the bandleader of a spoof late-night show called Comedy Bang! Bang!, and a couple years later, in 2015, I'm invited to be the real late-night show. And I'm skeptical, because I hate schedules and I'm excited about pursuing my solo career, but before I know it I'm in Los Angeles sitting in a business meeting across from a guy I just met.
He has blue eyes, dirty-blond hair, and this purs, youthful, innocent face. He's almost cherubic.
"Hey, man," I say. "You want an edible?"
He doesn't even hesitate. "Absolutely. Thank you."
He takes the weed chocolate right out of my hand and plops it in his mouth. And that's when I knoe I'll be moving to LA and working with James Corden on The Late Late Show.

From Reggie's 'Thank You's': Conan O'Brien, thanks for taking a chance on me to open for you on your Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. I loved getting to know you and bonding with you, and I feel like we made history together. You are a good king.
Thanks to Jimmy Fallon for my first big TV appearance. You didn't know what I was gonna do, but you were cool with it, and I'm happy I didn't fail you. And a huge thanks to Toddy Levin for convincing Jimmy's show to take a chance on me.
To James Corden, thank you for trusting your instincts about hiring a Muppet for a bandleader. People were uncertain, but you let me do whatever I wanted to do, so I did, and it all worked out. I'll always remember your incredible generosity.
Special thanks to Ben Winston, the show runner of The Late Late Show for being cool in the presence of madness.
Huge thanks to Karen , my Late Late Show band: Guillermo, for being a dynamic and powerful, jovial, rhythmic force; Hagar, for your incredible musicianship and your uncommon brilliance as one of the best bass players I'll ever play with; Tim, you already know how I feel about you, but just so everybody else knows, you are one of the greatest ever; and Steve Scalfati, for taking a chance on moving from Seattle to LA for an unknown television gig. Your abilities are limitless. Thank you for being a great longime friend.
Last of all, I'd like to give a special shout-out to all the artists out there struggling and striving and thriving through it all. This book is especially for you. I know how it is to put yourself on the line for your work, and that perspective is something I'll always operate from.