Comedian Sam Morril just kicked off “The Errors Tour” and is bringing his act to Memphis. A native New Yorker, Morril has been doing stand-up for 20 years. Last week, he talked with the Flyer about the tour, Bodega Cat Whiskey, and that one time he forgot his pants.
The slight wardrobe malfunction occurred last time Morril came to Memphis. “I forgot pants. I had to wear baggy Nikes.” He tried searching for alternatives, but only found cowboy jeans, which don’t exactly fit his style: “I’m gonna look dumber in this than sweatpants,” he says. That was two years ago, and, luckily, it wasn’t bad enough to keep him from the Bluff City. Since then, Memphians may have seen one of Morril’s six comedy specials, his recent Netflix performance, or his YouTube podcast.
Morril co-hosts the We Might Be Drunk podcast with comedian Mark Normand. Morril explains his role in the podcast as “the straight man,” meaning he maintains some composure while Normand can lean into his jokes: “Mark is literally farting on guests. … I kinda have to pull back a little bit.” The comedy duo started We Might Be Drunk roughly three years ago, and, with guests like Blake Griffin, David Spade, and Hasan Minhaj, have since amassed millions of views and nearly 200,000 subscribers.
Last December, Normand and Morril took part in Netflix’s Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year, sharing the stage with Jeff Ross, John Stamos, Tim Dillon, and Ms. Pat. Morril and Normand cracked jokes about Luigi Mangione, Jeffrey Epstein’s pilot, and Ross’ unlikely resemblance to a fat Jewish dictator (Benjamin “NetanYoo-hoo”). Morril’s on-stage persona at this event seemed less of “the straight man,” but the duo’s banter was still on point. Evidently, Morril’s podcasting and stand-up roles are different. “On stage,” he says, “it’s my show and I can control the tempo.”
Morril’s most recent solo work, You’ve Changed, premiered on Amazon Prime last summer.
He’s been described as “reliably funny,” but what’s more distinctive is his genuine passion for the art: “I love stand-up. I love writing jokes. I love writing scripts,” he says. And he’s made this more than clear. Back in 2020, Morril released his second comedy special, Up on the Roof, which was shot during the beginnings of the pandemic. The special was quite simple, really. All Morril needed was a roof and some New Yorkers in need of surefire comedic relief. With just an amp and a mic, Morril is good to go. “That’s the beauty of stand-up,” he says. “I can go on stage drunk and pretty much be the same. I really just need a mic and a crowd and I’ll be good.”
Despite his podcast name, Morril isn’t known for being a stage drunk (he prefers “stage-whore”), but he and Normand did recently launch their own brand of whiskey: Bodega Cat Whiskey, named after the feline population of New York’s iconic bodega stores. It’s not yet available in Tennessee, but Morril says, “It’s coming.”
Clearly, Morril is a busy man. Specials, whiskey, podcasting, touring, writing, the list goes on. This level of work can come along with the big stage of comedy. But Morril still reflects on his early days as a comedian (before people hit him up to do podcasts): “I do miss how much I was able to give to stand-up. … There’s something really cool about those low-stakes shows.”
Despite his packed schedule, Morril’s game has never been stronger. His relatability hasn’t dwindled with his rise to fame, and neither has his material. He talks about his motivation as a young comedian: “No one knowing who I was … was kinda cool. … Having a chip on your shoulder as an entertainer or a writer is a good thing. … It pushes you.”
Sam Morril’s The Errors Tour comes to Minglewood Hall, Sunday, February 16th. Hopefully he remembers pants.
