Periel Aschenbrand is a force to be reckoned with. She has penned two savagely funny and revealing memoirs, The Only Bush I Trust Is My Own and On My Knees. She recalls her Jewish upbringing in Queens, with a neurotic Israeli mother and laid-back dad, who played old-timey stand-up comics on vinyl records.
Aschenbrand was always a rebel, sneaking out to party in Manhattan from a young age. Obsessed with the comedy world since her adolescence, now as a published author and producer, Aschenbrand co-founded a stand-up comedy series with Iris Bahr (Curb Your Enthusiasm) called “Just the Tip,” which lives up to its raunchy, raucous name, at Gold Bar in New York City.
She also produces Live from the Table, the Comedy Cellar’s podcast. “They usually only let comics sit there, but I get to sit there,” says Aschenbrand of recording live from The Comedy Cellar’s table, which has seated such comics as Sarah Silverman, Marc Maron, Nikki Glaser and Chris Rock.
We spoke with Aschenbrand about her life-long love affair with cannabis and comedy, being a rebel with purpose, anxiety, youthful drug smuggling, and the thrill of tackling her fears of stand-up.
Q
Tell me about the comedy you’re producing right now.
A
I’m producing a podcast and Sirius radio show series for The Comedy Cellar. I book guests and produce the whole show. I’m on air, so I’m super involved. I’m just happy to be in the room. We record it from the table, which is why it’s called Live from the Table. In the back of The Comedy Cellar, there is something that among comics is extremely legendary, which is the comic’s table. I get to be around some of the most truly brilliant comics who are alive and performing today.
Q
Where does your interest in comedy come from?
A
My interest in comedy started when I was 14 or 15 years-old. I grew up in Queens, and much to my mother’s chagrin, when she would drive me to school I would force her to listen to Howard Stern. My mother is so not that person, she thought he was the most offensive. But he rocked my world. It was the ‘90s. Andrew Dice Clay was becoming huge. I was 15 years old and suddenly, it was the first time I felt connected to anything. I always loved to read, I was obsessed with books and would perform stories. I once dressed up as Madonna and drew armpit hair on and danced to “Like A Virgin.” But the first time I remember being, like “Holy shit! I’m not a total lunatic” was with comedy that really spoke to me.
Q
What has your relationship with cannabis been through the years?
A
I started smoking pot when I was 15 years old.
Q
So as you’re getting plugged into Howard Stern and Andrew Dice Clay and sneaking into comedy clubs in the city, you’re smoking too.
A
I guess I never really thought about it, but the answer would be yes. Interesting. I immediately developed a love affair with weed. I was a real tomboy, I hung out with guys in the park. That was what we did, smoke blunts in the park. Anxiety definitely runs in my family and a lot of us, myself included have really bad anxiety. Also, I’m Jewish so I’m predisposed to anxiety to begin with. I wonder if somehow, I was inherently trying to combat that.
Q
So, from a young age you started using cannabis to self-medicate against anxiety?
A
Yeah. I don’t think until I had this conversation, I ever realized that…I used to sneak out to the public phone booths in my school and beep this guy. He would drive up and I’d buy… I’d go to this Rasta store in Jamaica, Queens. I took pride in being a huge pothead. I moved to Tucson, Arizona for college because I heard the weed was really good there. I really became a very snotty expert in various strains of bud because there was this hippie scene going on with Birkenstocks and Grateful Dead shirts.
Q
What do you think of the transformation of cannabis now as something that is much more accessible and has less stigma around it?
A
I think it’s great. I don’t think there should have been any stigma around it. It’s ridiculous. What I think is really criminal is that you have a bunch of black and brown people in jail for these ridiculous “offenses”. They should be released from prison immediately.
Q
Have you seen any changes in the comedy world in terms of cannabis related comedy? Back in the day it was Cheech and Chong, or Dave Chapelle’s Half Baked that were very stoner centered. Now, I feel like you have comics like Sarah Silverman, who’s a huge cannabis advocate but her comedy isn’t all about being stoned.
A
I think Cheech and Chong were edgy because they were doing something you weren’t really supposed to do. Now that it’s not a big deal, there’s nothing to joke about. One of the things that comedy does is it bumps up against the system, it questions authority, it begs to differ, it takes you to task for all sorts of assumptions.
Q
I know you lived in L.A. Have you been back since cannabis became recreational and there are dispensaries everywhere?
A
No, I haven’t.
Q
Are you excited to?
A
For sure. I’m a huge proponent for cannabis, for medical marijuana, there’s just endless evidence showing the benefits of it. I couldn’t support that more strongly.
Q
What’s next for you?
A
Doing stand-up was the only thing that ever scared me. I’ve always been attracted to it and always really wanted to do it, but it was the one thing that really terrified me. Not public speaking, but specifically stand-up. It intimidated me and that was just the antithesis of my personality. Now, I’ve been performing stand-up comedy for about a year. It’s really been a thrill doing it. Follow your dreams, kids.
