Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend XX
[0] Conan O 'Brien needs a fan.
[1] Want to talk to Conan?
[2] Visit teamcoco .com slash call Conan.
[3] Okay, let's get started.
[4] Hi, Eiffa.
[5] Welcome to Conan O 'Brien needs a fan.
[6] Oh my goodness.
[7] Hello.
[8] How are you guys?
[9] Ifa, how are you?
[10] Overjoyed.
[11] I'm very excited to see you and hear you.
[12] How are you?
[13] Well, it's very nice to see you.
[14] Ifa, tell me, where are you right now?
[15] Well, I am on the very west coast of Ireland in a beautiful place called.
[16] it's Connemara.
[17] Oh, Connemara.
[18] Beautiful.
[19] Gorgeous.
[20] And Ifa, the Irish, love to spell a name strangely.
[21] How do you spell your name?
[22] Is it the way it's, is it phonetic?
[23] Is it E -E -F -A?
[24] Or have you done, have you Irish done something crazy to it?
[25] We've done our usual.
[26] So my name is spelled A -O -I -F -E.
[27] Oh, for God's sake.
[28] Wow.
[29] No. It's every vowel except you, and it's a lot of work.
[30] It is a lot of going anywhere outside of Ireland.
[31] It is, yeah, I get called all sorts things.
[32] Oifee, a oafi, but it makes more sense if you read it backwards.
[33] That's usually what I tell people.
[34] Yeah, I don't know what it is about the Irish, but my daughter has an Irish name, Nev, Nev O 'Brien, or Neve.
[35] But the correct spelling in Ireland is akin to, I'm not even exaggerating N -I -A -H -M -F it's madness.
[36] It's Niam -Fa.
[37] Yeah, that's actually that's my sister's name.
[38] Is it?
[39] Yes, yes, she's Niaz.
[40] You guys have like a letters quota that you have to use?
[41] Yes.
[42] Penalized or something?
[43] Absolutely, it's part of our agreement with the European Union.
[44] You need to like just get all those vowels in there.
[45] It goes back to the 17th century.
[46] The British said you've got to have 35 vowels in your name or we'll seize your farm.
[47] And so it's a very painful history.
[48] But yeah, we just spelled it N -E -V -E and thought, just screw it.
[49] It's just Neve.
[50] Just get over it.
[51] I think that was wiser for Nev, you know, living in the States when she might be called Niam -Ha or Niam -V -N -A -M -Bah.
[52] I think that was good parenting.
[53] I think my real name, probably in Ireland, I don't even know what it would be, Ifah, but it was Probably like, Khanya, you know, y 'an.
[54] It was spelt C -I -O -V -H -A, I -M -H -E -N, yeah.
[55] Yeah, very good.
[56] And Sona, Sona is S -I -O -N -V -H -A.
[57] Oh, my God.
[58] There you go.
[59] Sona has deep Irish roots.
[60] They do.
[61] Very deep Irish roots.
[62] Can you tell?
[63] Yeah, oh, I can tell.
[64] Incredible rageaholic.
[65] So, Ifo, let's talk about you.
[66] first of all I very much like the shirt that you're wearing it's cool it's got it's got um I want to describe it to people it's got like epaulettes on the side but then a beautiful like pink pony hair hanging down from the epaulettes gorgeous yes what is this you're wearing so this is actually my work uniform this is a boiler suit so it's a full uh you know don't point your butt at the screen I get it I've gotten in trouble asking people to do that online Oh, my goodness.
[67] But, no, so it's, you're wearing, yeah, it's a full, we would call it maybe a body suit or jumpsuit, jump suit.
[68] You would call it a boiler suit.
[69] So it looks like, yeah, you're here to repair a boiler, but you're also having to be an admiral in the French Navy.
[70] The French tickler navy.
[71] Thank you so much.
[72] Okay, you take it easy, buddy boy.
[73] I like the pom -poms.
[74] Yeah, the pom -poms look good, too.
[75] Thank you so much.
[76] Yeah, it is amazing what you can do with a glue gun.
[77] So, yeah, my official job title is, and this can really get lost in translation, but I'm a crack mechanic.
[78] So my job is to, and that's spelled C -R -A -I -C, so basically my job is to go into spaces and help loosen up people's joints and help them unleash their inner crack.
[79] But yeah, I wear a boiler suit because, you know, it's dirty business.
[80] I have to, yeah, help people to have a good time.
[81] Are you a masseuse then?
[82] I'm really trying to understand.
[83] Like a chiropractor.
[84] You're a chiropractor.
[85] Yeah, yeah.
[86] No, what I'll tell you, honestly, is I'm a wedding DJ and that's good.
[87] Ifa, you are so Irish because there's so much deflection going on that I don't know what you're talking about.
[88] And this happens whenever I talk to anyone in my family.
[89] Well, I help loosen people's back.
[90] up.
[91] Do you really?
[92] Yeah, I'm a wedding plan.
[93] Then you're like no, of course I don't do that.
[94] Yeah, I know.
[95] So what you're saying is you're, oh, when you say you loosen people up, you mean you entertain them.
[96] So what I meant is, I'm a wedding DJ.
[97] And my job title is I'm a crack mechanic because I have an events company called the Sing Along Social and basically we do singing parties for people who can't sing.
[98] So that's our whole vibe.
[99] But basically, when I first started, DJing, I have to say that I wasn't the best DJ.
[100] And so what I decided to do was I decided to distract people and deflect in my very Irish way by bringing props and bringing the kind of songs to life.
[101] So I would build, I'd make signs, bring kind of like inflatable guitars for different moments or basically, yeah, trying to animate the songs.
[102] Yes, I completely understand with what you're talking about because throughout my career I've tried to deflect and distract from my lack of ability using wild gesticulations, body motions, pumped up hair, and lots of props.
[103] And it's worked fine.
[104] I've gotten away with it, but I know exactly what you're talking about.
[105] I'm curious.
[106] You say that you lead people and sing -alongs and your specialty is helping people who can't sing.
[107] I always think of the Irish as being able to sing well.
[108] Is that not?
[109] I know that's a huge generalization, but are there many people in Ireland who don't know how to sing?
[110] So, of course, even on our most talented island, there are people who can't sing.
[111] But what's amazing to me is you can get a hundred terrible singers into a room.
[112] And when they all start singing together, it sounds really beautiful.
[113] I don't know what that is, but like the individual is like, that's called alcohol.
[114] That's a good being.
[115] That's your perception.
[116] After a few drinks.
[117] But basically, it's for people, you know, I actually love singing, but I've always kind of struggled a little bit with remembering lyrics, okay?
[118] Also, and I also struggle with a bit of performance, like feeling a bit frightened of being on stage, singing specifically.
[119] So then those kind of things, and I'm not great at being on time, so those things all stop me from joining a choir.
[120] So then I had no real outlet for singing.
[121] And this, my event, the Sing -Long Social, it happened totally by accident.
[122] I wanted to invite some friends over to my house for brunch to listen to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Borset, the whole way through.
[123] It was like the 20 year, this was about eight years ago, it was the 20 -year anniversary.
[124] I was like, let's just like come around, press play, see what happens.
[125] And then basically the guests got a bit big and I called a friend who has a pub and said, you know, let's, why don't we just do it in the pub?
[126] And he said, yeah, why don't you put it up on Facebook?
[127] Like maybe a couple of people want to come.
[128] And by the next day, like a thousand people wanted to come and we had to like create tickets and stuff.
[129] But it was just like this hilarious night where we just pressed played on the album and it just like started.
[130] It was like, do I stress you out?
[131] And literally like everyone in the bar is like screaming.
[132] That's amazing.
[133] Screaming.
[134] Good for you.
[135] So you turned this kind of fun idea into a business.
[136] This is now your business.
[137] And what events do you do funerals or no?
[138] Oh, no. Well, the Irish love a funeral.
[139] We have a good time at a funeral.
[140] I've had more laughs at an Irish wake than any other event.
[141] Or is it weddings mostly?
[142] We mostly do weddings and we do music festivals as well.
[143] So we've just finished a busy summer season.
[144] But we also do kind of tours around the country and we've done some festivals in the UK and Europe too.
[145] And we tend to pick a theme like it might be an album like Rumors by Fleetwood Mac.
[146] But we love doing that's a route.
[147] Was that you, Matt Gurley?
[148] Yeah, I love that.
[149] Yeah.
[150] He also just had an orgasm.
[151] Good to know.
[152] Thank you for clarifying.
[153] But yeah.
[154] So and then sometimes we do themes.
[155] Oh, come on.
[156] That was Gorley again.
[157] Garley, stop it.
[158] That one was real.
[159] So you love time.
[160] So you'll do a whole album, but sometimes you mix it up, right?
[161] It won't just be one album.
[162] Yeah, so we might do themes like we're doing, currently we're doing a Britney versus Beyonce tour, which is really exciting because.
[163] Doesn't Beyonce win that one?
[164] Yeah.
[165] Yeah.
[166] Okay, this is what's really interesting about the battles that we do.
[167] So it's always the underdog that wins.
[168] for some reason.
[169] So everyone's like, Beyonce is obviously going to win this one.
[170] And then there's something about like sometimes.
[171] So for example, with Brittany, you kind of forget the absolute bangers of songs that her repertoire has produced.
[172] And also just, I suppose, our events attracts a very lovely vibe.
[173] It's, and it's a, it's a, we are, it's a, because there are a few of us that as, that work is crack mechanics, and we love to support women and pop, and we make a point of celebrating Brittany for her talent, I suppose, and maybe not focusing on some of her troubles, or maybe sending her out some good vibes as I suppose what we're trying to say.
[174] Who among us hasn't had their troubles?
[175] That's what I like to say.
[176] I've never said that.
[177] I've never heard you say that once.
[178] No, no, no, no. I'm understanding now that crack, know in in the UK means like joking around right crack that's what you meant by crack mechanic that that the crack when people want to get together and have great conversation at a good time they call it the crack what's the crack remember what's the crack a guest on this show explained yes yeah so um yeah and it's uh not to be confused with the crackin oh that's i was confusing it with the cracking or crack cocaine yeah or crack cocaine okay so um we're clearing a lot of things up for our listeners.
[179] This is so important.
[180] Well, yes, my job is to untangle the Christmas tree lights sometimes.
[181] Oh, okay.
[182] Make sure that everything's clear.
[183] If I can get back to you and away from Sona, which is, you know, is that an order?
[184] I'm sorry.
[185] Sonas driving me crazy.
[186] I didn't say anything.
[187] Just your presence.
[188] Oh, man. Ifa, this sounds like you have a great business going and you're bringing a lot of joy to people.
[189] Now, do you think that I would.
[190] fit into your organization at all.
[191] I'm being honest.
[192] I would be delighted to see you at one of our events.
[193] All three of you and the whole team, the whole amazing team.
[194] I can't sing.
[195] I'm a terrible singer.
[196] I would fit in.
[197] That would be perfect for you.
[198] So the only thing, so I think what we like to do is what all the crack mechanics do is that C -R -A -C.
[199] I'm sorry I didn't explain that very well.
[200] But they, so we, we like to, sometimes we create moments for people, like, we love to turn people into boy bands and we'll like give them like big boy band white shirts and then we'll get them to sit down and then we'll like count to three for them to stand up at a key change.
[201] That's really fun.
[202] But I think Conan for you, there's a moment that I might get you involved in, which would be there's, we love playing like, don't stop me now, by you.
[203] queen and there's a bit where it's like don't stop me don't stop me oh oh oh oh and then there's a guitar there's like a shredding guitar solo after it and i would love to like get you like give you a guitar for that moment and just let you like an inflatable guitar which i feel is you know what i thought it was a real no no no i'm actually much better on an inflatable guitar okay uh that's so um you don't see any singing role for me in this group i'm i mean it's just it's just not it's not you it's it's us Excuse me, it's not, what are you talking about?
[204] Do you want to hear a little something I've got for you right now?
[205] Want to hear a little?
[206] They want you to come to Ireland to play with a toy.
[207] Yes, that would be great.
[208] You would love that.
[209] You want me to come to Ireland to pretend to strum a blow -up guitar.
[210] At the very most.
[211] For a brief moment.
[212] You can play a real guitar.
[213] Can I just say something?
[214] It's 30 seconds.
[215] I'm a terrific singer in the old Irish style and you're missing out.
[216] Let's hear some.
[217] I know.
[218] As a young boy in Killarney, so many years ago, My mom would sing a lullaby.
[219] See, you can do funerals.
[220] In tune, so sweet and low, so sweet and lo.
[221] Tu al -a -lu -a -lu -a -lu -a -la -la -ha.
[222] Come on, come on, this is good stuff.
[223] It's beautiful.
[224] Is this thing still on?
[225] Hello?
[226] It is beautiful.
[227] No, but I have to.
[228] The application for an Irish passport was just shredded.
[229] Citizenship, everything.
[230] Everything was just shredded.
[231] Can I be real for a moment, actually?
[232] Not allowed on this thing.
[233] Yes, please.
[234] Wrong podcast.
[235] No, just do you remember your interview with John Lithgow?
[236] And you sang earnestly then.
[237] You sang authentically.
[238] And it was so beautiful.
[239] It really, really, really was.
[240] That's nice.
[241] It was just, I was happy for you that you got to sing that way.
[242] And I suppose I related to it a bit.
[243] Obviously, we're on a slightly different scale of what we're doing.
[244] I don't think so, actually.
[245] I think you are my doppelganger in so many ways, Eva.
[246] We are not on different levels at all.
[247] I'm proud to be, yeah.
[248] But just that, you know, you have, it's a beautiful thing to sing with loads of people, but it can feel a bit inaccessible if you're not.
[249] talented or if you're afraid to be able to just get into a room and just like roar along to Brittany, Beyonce, Whitney, Shania.
[250] And like, so I bring a lot of like those people with me. So this is Shania.
[251] Oh, I know.
[252] I have the same cutout at home.
[253] Oh, God.
[254] Exactly.
[255] It's like a what, three foot tall cut out of Shania Twain's head?
[256] Just her head.
[257] Yeah.
[258] Yeah.
[259] You know, no, what's very nice about what you're doing, Ifa, is it is so many people limit themselves because they think, you know, I'm not an expert at this or I don't do this well.
[260] And singing and comedy, both of those things are things that everyone should, you know, should plant both feet and go for it and just have a good time.
[261] That's what it's about.
[262] You know, it's not about, I mean, in my case, it was for many years.
[263] If I don't do it correctly, I'll be murdered.
[264] But I'm so glad you're doing that for people.
[265] That's a nice, that's a nice gift you're giving people.
[266] Oh, no, it's a, it is a gift that I get to receive because it happened by accident, kind of.
[267] I accidentally created my dream job and it's gotten, you know, I know exactly what you're talking about.
[268] I'm serious.
[269] I accidentally created my nightmare job.
[270] I know.
[271] Hey, do you want to meet this guy Conrad Brian?
[272] Sure, I'll give it a shot.
[273] How mean could he be?
[274] there are microphones he wouldn't truly be cruel to me when microphones are going I think that's cool so you work a lot of weddings and it sounds like a yeah it sounds like and I do think I think you're I do think you're selling me a little short I think if I worked with you guys and you saw what I could do eventually you'd give me more responsibility than strumming an inflatable guitar during a brief queen solo You could possibly be the first straight man to be a crack mechanic wearing a boiler suit because we are a female led and run company.
[275] Well, we work with drag queens, of course.
[276] But, yeah, so that could be a big of you.
[277] So far, I think I fit right in.
[278] There's a place with a picture.
[279] Yeah, I think it would be lovely.
[280] I would love to do that.
[281] Do you have a question for Conan, Eva?
[282] Yes, I do.
[283] So I have a pretty vicious inner critic.
[284] I don't know if you'll be able to relate to this kind of.
[285] So basically, just despite all of the privilege, the support, the love that I've had from my family, my friends, everything, I've just always had this voice that says, you know, you're just your garbage and everything that you do is nonsense.
[286] And she knows she comes in and she goes and stuff like that.
[287] But a couple of years ago, my therapist said, you know, why don't you give that voice a name?
[288] Give that voice a name.
[289] So I decided to call her Aunt Linda, which is not based on any real aunt.
[290] It's actually based on Kristen Wigg's Saturday Night Live character, Aunt Linda from Weekend Update.
[291] I don't know if you remember her.
[292] I'm wondering, what have you done to work with that inner critical voice?
[293] Do you have a name for yours?
[294] How are you supposed to put yourself out of your comfort zone and still not feel like you're going to have like a heart attack every time?
[295] Well, you know, I take...
[296] Makes sense?
[297] Yeah, yeah, it makes absolute sense.
[298] I wish it didn't, but it makes absolute complete sense, IFA.
[299] And I take these things really seriously, and I'm glad that you told me that because I have, all joking aside, a very strong critical voice, and I've done a lot of work on it over the years.
[300] And I believe in that because I think, unfortunately, it's the flip side of, you seem to me like someone who has a lot of energy and creativity and you're very giving.
[301] And then there's a flip side to it, which is the counterbalance, which is the negativity.
[302] And that waits.
[303] And I tell my daughter all the time, it waits, it waits, it waits, and then when you're vulnerable, it attacks.
[304] And you're no good.
[305] You're terrible.
[306] You made this mistake.
[307] You made that mistake.
[308] So I think the best thing you could do is make it in other.
[309] I think it's a great thing you did, which is you gave it a name and you made it a different person.
[310] And that's very smart because the voice is incorrect, the voice is wrong.
[311] And the other thing you can do that I think really helps, again, I'm not kidding, is journal it.
[312] Write down every negative thing that Aunt Lenda says and walk away, this is an actual technique in cognitive therapy, walk away, go do something else, 20 minutes later, come back and read that list and it's going to look absurd to you.
[313] It is.
[314] Once you give yourself a 20 minute break, you're going to come back and you're going to read, I'm a terrible person, I'm not helping anybody, I'm no good, my boiler suit is awful.
[315] You're going to read all this, you're going to read all this stuff and you're going to say like, no, that's just not true.
[316] I don't think she had a problem with her boiler suit.
[317] Oh, well, trust me. Okay.
[318] Aunt Linda, you know, has a big, no, but I mean, that's the that's that's a well -known technique and it really does work and just remember you're not alone it's so true so many people do this and it's always people you don't suspect because most people looking at you would think you've built this great company you've got this great life you're bringing joy to all these people you wouldn't have a negative thought in the world and they have no idea so you've got good company all right and just remember just write it down and aunt linda I don't understand why these voices exist.
[319] They do provide, they actually do something.
[320] I don't know what it is.
[321] They're there.
[322] They probably exist as evolutionary beings.
[323] They helped us at one point avoid the woolly mammoth that was around the corner.
[324] But they're useless now.
[325] It helps me to think of Aunt Linda as a member of my family, you know, like she is, I thought maybe I could get rid of her, but actually she is here to stay.
[326] So it's just about how can I like see her and not like, you know, be completely triggered.
[327] every time I see her.
[328] You know, it's just like, and really, the main thing she is just, she just really doesn't want me to, she just really wants me to be safe.
[329] She's just like very toxic about it.
[330] So I think that's kind of what I. That's the weird thing.
[331] Linda loves you.
[332] It just doesn't know how to show it.
[333] Does your inner voice have a name?
[334] What's that?
[335] It's called Conan O 'Brien.
[336] And it's an external voice.
[337] It's an external voice.
[338] It usually doesn't go after me. It goes after goarly.
[339] Yeah.
[340] That's the funny thing.
[341] That's why I've given the name of Conan O 'Brien.
[342] O 'Brien, my internal voice.
[343] Well, I'll say this.
[344] You are a lovely person, and I love what you're doing.
[345] And thank you for sharing that tidbit about yourself, because I think just other people are going to hear that and go, oh, my God, if Eva has that problem, and if Conan has that problem, this is just pretty common.
[346] So, and please, when I do show up, give me a chance to sing.
[347] Please, I can do it.
[348] I tell you, I can.
[349] if this podcast thing doesn't work out for you there's always a job for you oh trust me it's already not working I'm losing two of my staff members right now yeah oh my god could I just say just a really heartfelt thanks to the three of you and everyone working with you it's for getting me and I think millions of others through the pandemic it was such a lifeline to be able to laugh with you and to kind of even go through the process of like trying to figure out what the fuck was happening and, you know, hearing you guys, like, adapt to it all and, like, figuring out how to produce this, you know, it was, you really worked really hard to help us laugh.
[350] And I just, that was the main reason I wanted to come on and meet you guys and just say, thank you so much to Sona and Matt, especially.
[351] But I'll, and Cic Conan, too.
[352] Well, we're out of time.
[353] No, we're out of time.
[354] We're just getting started.
[355] Completely out of time.
[356] In fact, we're going to have to edit that last, those last.
[357] us two names outside.
[358] You can head out.
[359] We can hang out with you.
[360] Well, Ifa, that was really sweet of you to say, and it's nice for us to know that you're out there listening.
[361] And you never know.
[362] Our paths may cross.
[363] So inflate that guitar.
[364] Be delighted.
[365] I will.
[366] It's, it's, it's, I have it here.
[367] It's getting ready.
[368] I'll get it.
[369] I'll get it.
[370] I see a lot of props back there.
[371] I broke into Gallagher's warehouse.
[372] Hey, Ifa, you take care and, uh, and, and all the best.
[373] Take care.
[374] All the best to you.
[375] Thank you so much.
[376] Bye, guys.
[377] Bye.
[378] Thank you.
[379] Conan O 'Brien needs a fan.
[380] With Conan O 'Brien, Sonam Obsessian, and Matt Gourley.
[381] Produced by me, Matt Gourley.
[382] Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Nick Liao, and Jeff Ross at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson and Cody Fisher at Earwolf.
[383] Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino.
[384] Supervising producer Aaron Blair.
[385] Associate talent producer Jennifer Samples.
[386] Associate producers Sean Doherty and Lisa Burm.
[387] Engineering by Eduardo Perez.
[388] Please rate, review, and subscribe to Conan O 'Brien needs a friend on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.
[389] This has been a Team Coco production in association with Earwolf.