Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of Maximum Fun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye. I'm Jesse Thorne. Jimmy Pardo is my first guest this week. He's a veteran

stand-up comedian. He cut his teeth in Chicago. Fellow Chicago and Bob Odenkirk actually encouraged

him to go to his first open mic night. At the time, Jimmy had a real job. He was working at a record store. Eventually,

he parlayed that into becoming a sales rep at MCA Records. For context, this was like the end of the

80s. And if there was a better time to work for a giant record company in the history of America,

I don't know it. That was a pretty good life.

I mean, hanging out backstage with Tiffany and then racing over to the comedy cottage to do a set.

But Pardo wanted more. So he quit his big fancy job. He hit the road and eventually he landed here

in Los Angeles.

And let me ask you, have you ever seen Jimmy Pardo on stage?

It is the best.

Jimmy is small, trim, athletic, handsome with a brush haircut.

He talks a mile a minute.

He does maybe five or seven minutes of material in an hour.

He just talks to the crowd and goes on tangents and, again, like maybe two jokes.

Anyway, he is one of my favorite stand-up comedians in the world, and he is also the ideal podcast host.

Just as he would put it, a funny talker. In 2006, 20 years ago, before the invention of the iPhone,

Pardo launched Never Not Funny. Like Pardo's stand-up act, Never Not Funny is loose. He and his producer and co-host Matt Bellknap talk about life

and music, chat with a guest, usually another comedy person. And they just kind of let it ride.

I have been a listener to Never Not Funny for literally as long as it has existed since it was Jimmy

and Matt at Jimmy's dining room table. I'm so thrilled to

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