In or around 2011, my friend Brad introduced me to Robert Kelly’s You Know What, Dude podcast. I was aware of podcasts. I knew that they were a fast growing and increasingly popular form of media. In the age of smartphones, the idea of an on-demand radio program that could be accessed anywhere was practically a slam dunk. Podcasts had none of the restrictions of terrestrial radio, such as required content, format, or censorship. Plus, there was a podcast for virtually any topic. Some people prefer news, some storytelling, and some comedy. You Know What, Dude, or YKWD, fell firmly in the comedy category. In its early days, it was primarily the host, Robert Kelly, and fellow stand up comedian Joe DeRosa. These two complemented each other well since they came from the same world of entertainment, but often had wildly different views on topics. Many friendly, and some not so friendly, arguments were had. Eventually, DeRosa moved on to his own podcast and various acting roles. The show remained good, but did lose some of its consistency. There were different guests each week and it turned into, as Robert put it, a “comic hang.” The idea was that anyone listening to the show would catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at a comedy show, when the performers are hanging around backstage awaiting their turn to perform. Some guests would do a show and never return. Some would come back on occasion. Some, in a sense, took the place of DeRosa. Over the next few years, a group of regulars began to take shape. These regulars consisted of Dan Soder, Luis J. Gomez, Joe List, and Kelly Fastuca. Many fans of the show consider this period to be the high point of the show. This group became friends on the air, with all of us fans listening. They experienced struggles, both personal and professional, and talked them out on the air. The show became a sort of therapy session for them, and by extension, for the listener. We would hear the group discuss interpersonal politics, the struggles of their profession, entertainment and other entertainers, or any other subject that came up. Nothing was off limits and nothing was censored. At the center of it all was the one constant, the ringmaster of this proverbial carnival, Robert Kelly. To Brad and I, Robert became the cool uncle who would dispense life advice free of sugarcoating. He was blunt, vulgar, and sometimes rude, but always fair minded. He had no time for the pitfalls of a polite society, but he loved and respected his friends and family and would do nearly anything for them. As with any form of entertainment, this was a one sided relationship. Brad and I would often jokingly refer to the guests on YKWD as our “fake friends.” We always said that we would jump at the chance to see any of them in a live setting, never really expecting to have the opportunity. These were mostly New York based comics and they typically only performed in local comedy clubs. Then, in March of 2015, Robert posted tour dates. The closest one to us was Washington, DC. A five or six-hour drive was a fair price to pay to see one of our favorite performers. This is the story of how our trip to this comedy show began a series of events leading to my working with the East Tennessee Comedy group in order to bring this kind of comedy to our area.  
