Dam Yankee

Dam Yankee

An NL Times podcast featuring English speaking entertainers about their experiences performing in the Netherlands.

  1. Tom Cotter on America’s Got Talent, Cancel Culture and Why Comedy Is a Dream Job

    2d ago

    Tom Cotter on America’s Got Talent, Cancel Culture and Why Comedy Is a Dream Job

    Tom Cotter has been doing stand-up for 40 years. He is the rapid fire comedian who made it to the AGT finals, lost to a pack of dogs, performed with Joan Rivers in what turned out to be one of her last national television appearances, did eight years on cruise ships, and once had to run out through a kitchen because a heckler wanted to kill him. He is now on his first tour of the Netherlands with his touring partner Ray Allen, and he has a lot of thoughts about Dutch audiences, cancel culture, corporate gigs, and what it actually costs a comedian to appear on the highest rated show on American television. He also talks about being married to fellow comedian Mary-Louise Cotter for 25 years, why two comedians in the same house is both the best and worst idea, and why his father, a World War Two era neurosurgeon who paid for six kids to go to private school, did not fully understand what his son did for a living until he saw him on The Tonight Show. Timestamps: 00:00 - The Restraining Order Joke 00:39 - Rapid Fire Comedy in the Netherlands and Slowing It Down for Foreign Crowds 02:02 - Why Tom’s Style Was Perfect for America’s Got Talent’s 90 Second Format 04:07 - Being Married to a Comedian and Who Is Actually Funnier 05:35 - Women in Comedy and the Double Standard Tom Witnessed Firsthand 08:14 - Joan Rivers, Cancel Culture and the Comics Who Said Screw It 10:00 - Growing Up Sneaking George Carlin and Richard Pryor Records 10:19 - Joan Rivers on AGT and Her Last National Television Appearance 12:06 - Comics Never Retire and Why Tom Hopes to Keep Going Until the End 13:08 - Cancel Culture, Free Speech and Why He Gets Branded as Conservative 15:11 - Baby It’s Cold Outside vs WAP and the Video That Made Him Go Viral 17:30 - Seinfeld and Bill Burr Have the Luxury of Pushing Back. Tom Doesn’t. 18:33 - How Divided America Has Become and Thanksgiving With His Siblings 20:01 - Corporate Gigs, What You Can’t Say and Why Self-Deprecation Is the Entry Point 21:14 - Michael Richards, Smartphones and You Are Never Not on Camera 23:32 - Low Give a Shit Factor and the Comics Who Fill Arenas Anyway 27:26 - Eight Years on Cruise Ships and Why He Did Not Love It 29:36 - Performing While People Vomit Around You Is Not the Worst Gig He Has Had 30:46 - The Cancer Benefit Show That Was Impossible to Dig Out Of 32:19 - The Heckler Who Tried to Kill Him and Running Out Through the Kitchen 33:11 - The Prom Cruise From Hell With a Dead Mic and No Way Off the Boat 35:35 - Writing Material at Sea and Why Cruise Ship Jokes Don’t Work on Land 38:08 - Money, Growing Up With a Neurosurgeon Father and Six Kids 39:18 - Telling His Dad He Needed to Get Comedy Out of His System 40:16 - His Dad Finally Got It When He Saw The Tonight Show 42:31 - His Mother Died When He Was in Eighth Grade 43:46 - How He Met Mary-Louise and Getting Permission From His Roommate First 45:38 - 25 Years Married to a Comedian and Every Celebrity Couple They Looked Up to Fell Apart 48:30 - Writing Together and Why Their Comedy Styles Make It Complicated 50:08 - George Carlin Did 14 HBO Specials and Tom Still Has Stuff in His Phone 53:22 - Dutch Audiences and Why Smiling and Not Throwing Things Is a Good Sign 55:06 - Silence on Stage and Why He Has Never Experienced It 56:16 - Punching Up Each Other’s Work and Why He Refuses to Sell Merchandise 57:52 - The Comics That Make Him Want to Throw Away His Material 59:16 - Mentoring Young Comics and AGT Questions Every Year 01:00:43 - The AGT Contract and Turning Down Big Money to Do a Vegas Residency 01:02:35 - Where to Find Tom and His Two Specials on YouTube and Amazon Prime Follow Tom Cotter: Instagram:  @tomcottercomic   Website: tomcotter.com Specials: Rapid Fire (YouTube) and Nantucket Nights (Amazon Prime) Follow Dam Yankee:  Instagram: @damyankeepodcast     Website: https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/ Connect with me:   LinkedIn:  zacharynewmark     This podcast is produced and recorded by 301 Studios in Amsterdam.

    1h 4m
  2. Kevin Fraser Went Viral, Toured the World & Still Can't Figure Out Amsterdam

    May 21

    Kevin Fraser Went Viral, Toured the World & Still Can't Figure Out Amsterdam

    South African comedian Kevin Fraser is celebrating ten years in comedy with his Decadence tour  and he is doing it the hard way, with sold-out shows across South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and now Europe. Known for his viral observational comedy and character work, Kevin brings something most comedians do not, twelve years as a professional DJ before he ever picked up a mic for a punchline. That background shaped everything about how he performs, from the pre-show DJ sets he runs before every gig to the way he weaves music, dance and physical storytelling into his stand-up. In this episode Kevin talks about what ten years of touring actually costs you, why Amsterdam is one of the strangest cities in the world if you have never been here before, and what happens when you go from being Spin Doctor the DJ to just being Kevin Fraser starting over from scratch. He also opens up about losing his father in 2014, the DJ year that nearly broke him with 49 gigs in two weeks, and why he is launching an entirely new wellness and entertainment platform called Jim and Tonic on September 1st. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction & Ten Years as a Comedian 00:32 - The European Tour Dates & Why Amsterdam Is Always Weird 01:59 - How Being South African Shaped His Observational Comedy 03:38 - Replacing Middle East Tour Dates With Europe in Three Months 05:16 - Almost Getting Killed by Amsterdam Bicycles & Tiny Cars 06:27 - How Do People Get Furniture Into Amsterdam Apartments 07:33 - The Decadence Tour: Celebrating Ten Years in Comedy 08:28 - From Character Based Content to Finding Himself on Stage 09:17 - 12 Years as a DJ Before Comedy & Starting Over From Scratch 11:41 - The Emotional Difference Between a Dance Floor & a Silent Room 13:02 - What the DJ World Brought Into His Comedy Show 14:20 - Robin Williams, Jim Carrey & Eddie Murphy as His Comedic Influences 16:15 - Kevin Hart, Michael McIntyre & Learning What Polished Really Means 19:09 - What It Feels Like to Play 2500 People & Dreaming of Arenas 21:11 - The Pre-Show DJ Set He Runs Before Every Performance 23:49 - Using Music & Nostalgia to Support a Live Comedy Show 25:29 - Building an International Audience Beyond South Africa 27:11 - The Melbourne Train Ride: His First Viral Video 29:00 - How a Comment on a Stolen Video Changed His Career 31:29 - The Transition From Long Form Videos to Instagram Reels 33:14 - Comedy During the Pandemic & the Rise of Keyboard Warriors 35:22 - How His Gogo Shaped His Characters & Voice Work 37:03 - The Honorable Teletubbies & South African Parliament at Its Finest 39:00 - K December: The South African Month That Lasts All Year 40:12 - What the Decadence Tour Actually Covers: Old Hits & New Stories 43:14 - 22 Years of Gigs & Whether He Is Ever Going to Slow Down 46:52 - Jim and Tonic: His New Wellness & Entertainment Platform 50:24 - Low Rocks, Two Left Feet & Making Fitness Fun 53:38 - 49 Gigs in Two Weeks, Drinking Too Much & Getting Seriously Sick 55:28 - Avicii, DJ Culture & Why Comedy Requires a Clear Head 58:58 - Was He Always the Funny Guy in the DJ World 01:01:19 - His Sister in Amsterdam & How She Made Him Funnier 01:04:45 - His Father Naming Him Spin Doctor Off a Microsoft 98 Printout 01:07:01 - His Father Passing Away in 2014 & What He Would Think Today 01:09:40 - His Father's Comrades Marathon Gold Medals & Being a Machine 01:10:37 - Personal Life, Touring & Why Cape Town Will Always Win 01:12:52 - The King of Clubs Tattoo & Creating Your Own Luck Follow Kevin Fraser: https://www.instagram.com/kevinfraserofficial/ Follow Dam Yankee:  https://www.instagram.com/damyankeepodcast   Website:  https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/ Connect with me:   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark   This podcast is produced and recorded by 301 Studios in Amsterdam.

    1h 15m
  3. Gregory Porter on a Mother's Love, a Brother's Death & the Music in Between

    May 14

    Gregory Porter on a Mother's Love, a Brother's Death & the Music in Between

    Two-time Grammy winner Gregory Porter is known for Liquid Spirit, Take Me to the Alley and No Love Dying. Behind those songs is a story that most people have never heard in full. In this episode Gregory goes back to the beginning, growing up in Bakersfield, California, with a minister mother who dragged her church to the streets, a brother who believed in him before he believed in himself, and a community shaped by both extraordinary hardship and extraordinary love. He talks about how those early experiences became the emotional foundation for everything he has ever recorded, why Liquid Spirit is really a sermon his mother used to preach, and what it feels like to sing a song live when the person it was written for is no longer there to hear it. He also opens up about losing his brother Lloyd, the depression that followed, and how he has learned to keep Lloyd alive not by writing an anthem for him but by letting him show up quietly in the music, the way he always did. Timestamps: 00:00 - Gregory Porter 01:17 - Why Amsterdam & London Are His Two Biggest Spotify Cities 03:57 - What Gregory Porter Is Actually Selling: Units of Love 06:21 - From the Beer & Hot Dog Stage at North Sea Jazz Festival 10:22 - The Moment He Knew He Could Fill a Room That Size 13:45 - Growing Up in Bakersfield 17:44 - His First Audience, People Nobody Else Would Sing For 19:02 - School Cat, Frenchie & the Street Characters Who Shaped His Music 20:09 - What Don't Kill Me Has Made Me Hard Really Means 23:13 - Growing Up as One of Two Black Families in a White Neighborhood 25:23 - Being Stopped by Police at Eight Years Old 28:36 - The story of his brother 29:17 - How His Mother Ruth Kept Him Standing Through All of It 30:13 - Her Last Act of Kindness 31:26 - How She Compared Him to Nat King Cole at Age Five 32:50 - Mahalia Jackson and Nat King Cole Shaped His Sound 36:33 - Why Liquid Spirit Is Really About His Mother's Sermons About Water 38:15 - Being Present at Births, Deaths & Weddings Through His Music 40:17 - How Jools Holland Changed Everything in the UK Overnight 45:21 - His Brother Lloyd: The Man Who Pushed Him on Every Stage 50:27 - Lloyd Saved Him From Disappearing Into Heartbreak  53:11 - Losing Lloyd & the Depression That Followed 55:17 - The Last Texts From the Hospital 57:15 - How Lloyd Lives on in the Music 01:01:32 - Building a Legacy on Vinyl 01:03:34 - The New Album & Working on It Between Shows in Amsterdam 01:04:18 - Why He Will Only Ever Perform With Live Musicians 01:06:09 - See You at the Olympic Stadium on June 29th Follow Gregory Porter: https://www.instagram.com/gregoryportermusic https://www.gregoryporter.com/tour Follow Dam Yankee:  https://www.instagram.com/damyankeepodcast   Website:  https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/ Connect with me:   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark   This podcast is produced and recorded by 301 Studios in Amsterdam.

    1h 7m
  4. Jiaoying Summers - Stop Being a Victim, Start Being Funny

    May 7

    Jiaoying Summers - Stop Being a Victim, Start Being Funny

    Jiaoying Summers is one of the most fearless comedians working today. She owns two comedy clubs, runs a production studio, hosts the Tiger Mommy podcast, and is currently on her first European tour. She is also 35 weeks pregnant and has not slept properly in weeks. Success has come far faster than happiness for comedian Jiaoying Summers. In just a few short years, the Chinese immigrant went from hosting open mics on Zoom to starring in a Hulu special, buying comedy clubs, and selling out international tours. But years of harsh parenting and cultural clashes still fuel a relentless search for self-worth. Fresh off sold-out shows in Dublin, London and Amsterdam, Jiaoying sat down with Dam Yankee host Zack Newmark to talk about growing up in China with a drunk father and a tiger mom who still cannot say she loves her, moving to Lexington Kentucky at 18 without speaking a word of English, and building a comedy career from scratch after a director told her to get out of his office but also maybe try stand-up. "She doesn't think happiness is a factor for human beings," Summers says of her mother. "She think happiness come with success, but it doesn't. So I spent my whole life trying to value myself." She also opens up about the painful side of her ambition, the feeling that her self-worth is entirely tied to what she produces, the difficulty of feeling happiness even when everything she ever dreamed of has come true and why she bought her own comedy clubs rather than wait for someone to book her. Recorded in Amsterdam during her Lucky Pony 26 European tour, Summers opens up about the deep emotional wounds that shaped her dark, unfiltered humor. She recounts traumatic memories of her alcoholic father, including a chilling incident where she was left "floating in the pool until they closed the pool" while he drank, only to face her mother's wrath alone. Summers also confronts the jarring realities of Eastern beauty standards as she prepares to welcome a child with her American fiancé: "And it's gonna be a white boy," she notes of her mother's reaction. "The darker your skin means you are poor, you work at a farm. The lighter your skin means you are royalty, so." From setting up a satirical "rehab fund" for her son's stand-up ambitions to combating generational trauma, this is a raw, hilarious, and unforgettable interview. Watch the full episode on YouTube, or listen to the Dam Yankee on all major podcast platforms.   Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction & A Power Outage in Amsterdam 00:57 - Touring Europe at 35 Weeks Pregnant & Why She Did It Anyway 02:27 - Her Mom's Reaction to the New Baby & Chinese Beauty Standards 04:28 - Tiger Mom vs Loving Mom: Breaking the Cycle With Her Own Kids 05:31 - Self-Worth, Achievement & Why Success Never Feels Like Enough 06:54 - Two Comedy Clubs, a Production Studio & a New Special 08:09 - Writing Her Second Hour, a TV Show & a Book While Making a Baby 11:26 - What Species Are You: Her First Special  12:05 - How a Hollywood Director Told Her to Get Out & Try Stand-Up 13:38 - Growing Up in China & Never Knowing Stand-Up Was a Career 15:19 - Landing in Lexington Kentucky & Being the Only Chinese Person 16:51 - Working in Restaurants, Getting Bullied & Going Back to Headline 18:41 - Using Success as Power & What She Does With It 20:13 - Her Kids, Her Ex & the Private Jet Dream 22:20 - The Back Injury in Vegas That Almost Cancelled the Whole Tour 26:00 - Performing in a Wheelchair in Madison Wisconsin & Killing Anyway 29:12 - The Influencer Attack, TikTok Censorship & Her Grandmother's Curse 35:22 - Why She Bought Her Own Comedy Clubs Instead of Complaining 38:00 - Woman of Color in Comedy & Why Victim Mentality  43:29 - Nikki Glaser, Margaret Cho & the Comedians Who Have Her Back 46:18 - The Comedians She Wants to Elevate: Charlene Kaye 49:12 - Asian Beauty Standards, K-Pop & Why It Is All Toxic 54:20 - Her Father's Sobriety & What Made Him Stop Drinking 57:35 - Most Awkward Christmas Dinner Ever 59:06 - Where to Find Her, Tiger Mommy Podcast & the Fall World Tour Follow Jiaoying Summers: Instagram/TikTok/Facebook/YouTube: @jiaoyingsummers Tour & Tickets: jellyandcomedy.com Podcast: Tiger Mommy Podcast Connect with me:   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark   Follow Dam Yankee:  https://www.instagram.com/damyankeepodcast   Website:  https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/ This podcast is produced and recorded by 301 Studios in Amsterdam.

    1h 5m
  5. Comedian Greg Shapiro on Trump Tribunals, his viral "Netherlands Second" video

    Apr 30

    Comedian Greg Shapiro on Trump Tribunals, his viral "Netherlands Second" video

    ... and how Seth Meyers outed Shapiro on stage as someone who likely has ADHD. In this episode of the Dam Yankee podcast, host Zack Newmark sits down with comedian, voice actor, and American Netherlander Greg Shapiro. Best known across the globe as the voice of Donald Trump in the viral "America First, Netherlands Second" video, Shapiro gets real about the high stakes of modern politics. He doesn't mince words about the future of the U.S., warning, "We assume that this, crazy Trump, you know, project 2025, now in 2026, you know, this won't last forever. And, I think someone said, we'll see you at Nuremberg 2.0, yeah". Beyond the political satire of his upcoming ninth solo show, King Me: 250 Years of Donald Trump, Shapiro opens up about the personal costs of his 30-year comedy career. He shares the painful reality of moving to Amsterdam in 1994, which fractured his relationship with his family back in Chicago.   It took 20 years for his father to finally say, "...when you moved away, and I understood at some point, oh, you're not coming back. And I guess I thought, good for you. And, proud. You know, I'm proud of you". Shapiro also gives a fascinating look inside his neurodivergent brain, explaining the "back pocket" technique he uses to manage his ADHD on stage. Tune in to hear the unbelievable story of how the "Netherlands Second" catchphrase was a last-minute afterthought, and why Shapiro thinks America might be due for a new revolution.   Watch the episode now on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more services.

    1h 7m
  6. Mosimann on Dream Tracks, Viral Fails & Selling Out a 19,000 Seat Arena

    Apr 23

    Mosimann on Dream Tracks, Viral Fails & Selling Out a 19,000 Seat Arena

    Swiss-French DJ, record producer and #dreamtrack inventor Quentin Mosimann sat down with Dam Yankee host Zack Newmark fresh off a sleepless night after announcing a sold-out show at the Accor Arena in Paris for 19,000 people.  After 15 years as a DJ, something shifted in the last two years. The social numbers went up, the gig requests went up, and suddenly Quentin was playing 150 shows a year while trying to figure out how to handle worldwide agency requests with a team that was never built for that kind of scale. He talks about the viral Dream Tracks series he created with Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson and Edgar Wright, why his worst dream track got millions of views, and why he once walked away from a million euro deal and a Universal contract to start completely from scratch. Timestamps:  00:00 - Introduction & The Paris Arena Announcement 01:58 - 5,000 People in Line & Why He Can't Believe It's Happening 03:17 - 15 Years as a DJ & What Suddenly Changed in the Last Two Years 05:14 - Paradiso Amsterdam vs a 19,000 Seat Arena 07:19 - Why One Hour as a DJ Is a Disaster & Why He Needs to Tell a Story 09:20 - Producing His Own Shows for the First Time & the Risk That Paid Off 09:58 - Dream Tracks: The Concept, Hugh Jackman & the Wolverine Scream 12:35 - When Dream Tracks Become Real Releases 13:03 - Edgar Wright, The Running Man & the Dream Track That Shouldn't Have Existed 16:18 - How Dream Tracks Became the Concept for His Entire Live Show 18:38 - Building a Track Live on Stage by Sampling the Crowd 21:14 - How He Opens & Closes Every Show & the Eric Prydz Outro 23:08 - What It Means to Be Aligned as an Artist 24:20 - Star Academy France: Why He Did It & What He Had to Lose 26:12 - Winning a Million Euros, a Universal Deal & Walking Away From All of It 30:36 - Quitting Universal, Signing to Sony RCA & Trusting His Team 32:28 - Paying Off His Mother's 145,000 Euro Debt 34:21 - Swiss-French Identity and Dutch Directness 38:07 - Working 24 Hours a Day & Watching Other People Drink Beers 40:15 - 150 Shows a Year, No Alcohol on the Road & One Cigarette a Day 42:04 - Hotel Rooms, Netflix, a Dog & Waiting for the One 44:00 - Why Being Aligned Is the Only Thing That Matters 46:10 - Why He Started Bringing Live Instruments on Stage 48:00 - Playing Underground Techno at Fuse Belgium: A Childhood Dream 49:07 - Checking Off Bucket List Milestones & Amsterdam Dance Event 50:52 - Four Seasons as a Judge on The Voice Belgium & Why He Stopped 51:13 - What Opened the Door to Big Name Dream Tracks 52:03 - The Dream Track He Still Wants: Jimmy Fallon & a Dutch Artist 53:35 - The Full Dream Tracks Process: From Pre-Interview to Final Edit 57:04 - The Two Hour Remix That's Now Everywhere on French Radio Connect with Mosimann:   https://www.instagram.com/mosimann/ https://quentinmosimann.com/ Connect with me:   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark

    59 min
  7. Iconic musician Femi Kuti hides bitter truths in his biggest upbeat hits

    Apr 16

    Iconic musician Femi Kuti hides bitter truths in his biggest upbeat hits

    Join host Zack Newmark on this unforgettable episode of Dam Yankee for a profound and deeply personal conversation with six-time Grammy-nominated Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti. Currently traversing Europe on a massive tour to support his introspective new album, Journey Through Life, Femi stops by to reveal the complex man behind the roaring saxophone and pulsating rhythms. In a raw, highly vulnerable interview, Femi explains the ingenious, culturally rooted way he tricks listeners into digesting difficult political realities. "The way I see my music is they should be in malaria tablets," he explains. "It was the worst tablet you could take. It was so bitter... So you can still dance. You can still party. So consciously or subconsciously, the lyrics hit you." Despite decades as a global music icon, Femi pulls back the curtain on the intense, unseen pressure of touring, confessing to Zack, "I'm always scared of about the next day. I'm always scared." He also addresses the darkest psychological moments of his youth, detailing the agonizing, deeply misunderstood choice to leave his father Fela Kuti's band. "I didn't want my father to die. I loved him too much," he reveals, reflecting on the heavy, terrifying burden of musical inheritance. From sold-out crowds in the Netherlands to the legendary stages of the New Afrika Shrine, discover the joy, the fear, and the unyielding passion of a musical titan. Don't miss this incredible episode—tune in now to hear the rest of the story. This episode of the Dam Yankee podcast is now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more services.

    1h 4m
  8. Randy Feltface is still funnier than terminally-ill Teletubbies

    Apr 1

    Randy Feltface is still funnier than terminally-ill Teletubbies

    He’s the world’s most famous purple philosopher, but even global icons get tired of living out of a suitcase. In this milestone 50th episode of the Dam Yankee podcast, host Zack Newmark sits down with the one and only Randy Feltface for a raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly vulnerable look at the fabricated man behind the comedy. The show is out now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more services. Fresh off a string of sold-out Dutch shows and a high-profile appearance on Arjen Lubach's show, Randy is gearing up for his new YouTube special, "First Banana" (dropping April 1). But beneath the manic stage energy lies a performer who is fundamentally burned out. "I got a lot of, you know, rejection in the early days," he recalled, dropping his manic energy for a moment of grim reflection. Promoters would dismiss him outright with incredibly specific insults. "A lot of 'we'll call you when we need someone who looks like Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies with a life threatening autoimmune disease. We'll get on the phone when we need that, Randy.'" From the grueling physical toll of his "Buster Keaton" performance style to his 20 years of nonstop touring, Randy pulls no punches about the reality of the circuit. "I'm sick of it," he confessed. "I want to do some laundry. I want a washing machine. That's too much to ask. I want a goddamn washing machine and a bookshelf. Oh, and a cup. I want a mug." Feltface admits there is a unique energy he finds when performing for audiences in the Netherlands. The connection with Dutch crowds is part of what keeps him going even when he feels he’s "evolving the wrong way". The thrill of the live environment as something that can’t be replicated, noting, "I love touring, I'm... perpetually grateful for the world that I have created and that I get to exist in". This full episode of Dam Yankee can be seen on YouTube, or listen to the Dam Yankee on all major podcast platforms. Randy Feltface is currently on tour with comedian Brodi Snook in the United States, which continues through the end of May. The duo then head back out on the road for more North American tour dates in September. Follow Feltface on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for updates.

    44 min
5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

An NL Times podcast featuring English speaking entertainers about their experiences performing in the Netherlands.

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