Eric Andre takes the Marketplace Quiz
Eric Andre takes the Marketplace Quiz
No matter who you are, you’ve probably had a rough day at the office that changed your perspective, or maybe you made an impulse purchase you really, really wish you could take back. This week, comedian Eric Andre took our money-inspired personality questionnaire.
Eric’s show, The Eric Andre Show, airs on Fridays at midnight on Adult Swim.
Fill in the blanks money can’t buy you happiness but it can buy you ____
PIZZA-A-A-A-A-A-A
Next question, what is something you bought that you now completely regret buying?
I’ll tell ya, I bought a house, a year and a half ago. Right after I bought it like few months went by and I was like “I want to move back to New York City, why did I buy an L.A. house?” and it was a lot of money and I was like, “I don’t live here anymore.”
You know it’s funny, almost every comedian that I started out with move to L.A., except for my two friends Hannibal Buress and Amy Schumer. And my two friends that are doing the best in comedy, the most successful friends I have are Hannibal Buress and Amy Schumer. They were just both like, “no, I’m not gonna move to L.A., I love New York, I’m saying in New York.”
This was years ago and I was like “you got to man you’re not gonna make it out in New York, you gotta move to LA.” And they were both like “No, I think I’m fine, I think I’m going to do fine sticking it out in New York.” I was like, “man, you two don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Now they are millionaires.
I was like huh, maybe they’re onto something. I think New York as a comedian is just healthier for you, it keeps your edge. I was planning to move back to New York, that was my plan and then I just got stuck here.
When did you realize comedy could be a career?
I think a few weeks ago. I’m always afraid that it’s going to end or that I’m going to mess something up, or fail. It doesn’t feel secure. This is the most job security I felt since I started and I still feel like I got to continue pounding the pavement or it’s just going to vanish and dry up so …
Do you remember your first paying gig?
First paying gig I got 20 bucks. I played at some really weird venue. I don’t remember the venue, I just remember it was the last stop on the A train it was like the Far Rockaways, Queens, and it was an audience of like three people. I think they give me a check and I thought about framing the check and I never did, because I needed twenty bucks, so I was like this is like three meals right here.
What is something everyone should own no matter the cost?
I bought this book, called “Healing Back Pain,” that kind of saved my life, by Dr. John Sarno.
Basically you have all these physical ailments: Back pain, colitis, ulcers. Your body manifests all these physical symptoms because it’s trying to create distractions from unwanted repressed emotions in your subconscious mind. It’s like a defense mechanism.
So, through therapy and journaling, basically taking all the repressed anger and rage and upsetting emotions that you kind of, you’re always playing on a loop in the background in your unconscious mind. Voluntarily bringing those to your conscious mind through therapy and through journaling, your body no longer needs to create defense mechanisms because you’re coping.
[It] changed my life. I had like horrible back pain from when I was eighteen to, a year ago. It also helped with my work. I think journaling is a key to success. You can set clear goals for yourself. You can start noticing repetitive behavior patterns, and see the type of things that keep bothering you, and then you can have a birds eye view of it. Yeah, it’s just totally in all aspects of my life has bettered my life.
What advice do you wish someone had given you before you started comedy?
To not be so hard on myself and embrace the process, and realize that a career in comedy is like learning how to swim. You know in the some instructor just throw you in the pool as a little kid and you had to like fight for your life to get out of the water and breathe air?
That’s kind of what comedy is like. It’s a ton of failure and rejection for like the first ten years.
It’s what makes you a professional, it makes you able to cope with any crappy situation. But I was miserable for the first ten years doing this. It’s just really hard. I’m shocked that I got anywhere because I was so broke and so confused and depressed, and anxious.
Well you made it…
I made it out alive. Hopefully. I think, I think I did.
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