- He is an actor, musician, songwriter, and podcaster.
His new podcast network, yes, an entire network,
not just a show, is called Audio Up,
and it's streaming right now.
Please welcome Dennis Quaid.
(upbeat music)
- Hello.
- Come on, I can't hug you.
(laughing) (audience applauding)
- I love your outfit.
- Hello virtual people.
- Yes.
- Oh my gosh I love your boots.
You walked out, and I was- - Thank you.
- My eye, well my one eye. - What do you think
of my socks?
- Oh my gosh, I love that.
Is that Harry Potter?
It almost looks like Harry Potter.
- That's Elvis. - Oh no, it isn't.
- Yeah. - Oh yes it is.
I couldn't see the other side.
I have one eye.
Usually, I don't look like a pirate, Dennis, so.
I hurt my eye.
- You're the most beautiful pirate
I've ever seen. - Thank you.
Thank you. - I have to say that.
- Good answer.
(laughing)
So you actually recorded a podcast.
Was it with Billy Ray Cyrus in my green room.
- Yes, it was the first podcast of my show,
"The Dennissance," and yeah, we did it right.
thank you so much for the space, by the away.
And I'd been doing people that I've known in my life,
throughout my life, and Billy,
Billy Ray and I had just gotten to be friends,
and he was a good first guest.
I just did Jim Brown yesterday, a football player.
Was also an actor.
And did Tanya Tucker.
Just did a lotta people, and I approach it like,
I approach doing the show
like I'm doing an acting role
'cause research is my favorite part.
I've played a lot of real people,
like Gordon Cooper the astronaut
and Doc Holliday or whatever.
And I research these people
to find out what makes them tick.
And so I bring that same process to doing the interview.
- Yeah, I imagine, though, it would make you more,
it would make me more nervous if it was a friend.
Like every time I have a friend sitting on the couch
that we like hang or I know well,
I'm like, that makes me nervous.
People I don't know as well, I'm fine.
But if it's a friend, I'm like, they're judging me.
(laughing) - Yeah.
- It's like, no, but congratulations.
Also, you got married this summer, right?
- Yes, I did. - A lot of people
canceled their plans this summer 'cause of COVID.
- Yeah, well we were supposed to be married April 4th and-
- It kinda sounded like you said buried.
(laughing)
And I was like, wait, you got married.
- But we got married April 4th.
We were supposed to be in Hawaii.
And then we had to cancel that, of course,
because of the lockdown.
And June 2nd, we went up to a San Ysidro Ranch
and got married there.
- Were you able to have a honeymoon?
- That was, that was, that was kind of difficult as well
with the lockdown.
But we finally had one a couple of weeks ago.
We went to Alaska.
- Oh, I love Alaska.
Where'd you go?
- Well, I had gigs up there, actually.
And so we went to the island of Kodiak
where they have the largest bears.
I think you got some video playing.
And one of the big bears started chasing
one of the younger bears that was getting a little too close
to his fish and chased him up,
and the bear, the young bear,
I guess he was more worried about the big bear.
He didn't see that he was actually coming right towards us.
And you're just out there.
There's no fences or anything like that.
- Oh I know, I've been there.
- Finally he got up on us and he just like stopped,
and like,
he looked kinda like shocked,
like in the way that he'd walked in
on somebody taking a shower.
So it was kind of excuse me. - And it didn't look good.
(laughing)
But I can never remember,
So what do,
what do you do if bears approach?
It's different for brown bears and grizzly,
or grizzlies and black bears, right?
- Yeah, well, the difference between
a black bear and a grizzly bear
is a black bear will just kill you
and a grizzly bear will eat a little bit of you
and then he will kill you.
But- - Super, super.
- There's that,
what you're supposed to do is just,
just stand still.
And then- - Which I won't do.
- If you're on the trail you kind of just,
kind of, just, just kind of-
- You just like,
that Homer Simpson GIF. - Move off the trail.
- He goes back into the bushes.
- And then if they actually start running at you,
you just gotta make yourself, like, hey, bear.
- My thing is just. - And then after that,
you're just like.
- My thing is, don't be the slowest one.
(laughing) - Yeah.
I can run faster than you. - Whoever you're with,
just find the person you're gonna beat and run with them.
(laughing)
- Right.
- Your son Jack was just here.
He is lovely.
He's so talented.
- Yes he is, isn't he?
- Doing so many things. - I'm so proud of him.
- Man, I'm so happy for you, too,
because I have kids, and even my little girl,
she's six, and she wants to be a singer.
And I'm just like, I want that.
I want her to do whatever she wants to do,
but I get a little worried,
'cause it's a hard industry,
and I just wanna to make sure she's prepped for it,
but he seems so chill.
- Jack was pretty much the same thing.
Even from just a very, very young kid.
He had a video camera in his hand
when he was like four years old,
making his own videos and stuff.
And it was just a natural thing that he did,
wasn't anything we pushed him towards.
His mom is Meg Ryan.
But ever since he was a kid,
it was kind of obvious that he was gonna do that.
And we didn't,
he went through high school drama and stuff.
He didn't work as an actor.
And-
- Did he ask you for advice?
- Yeah, he asked for advice,
but my agent wanted to represent him,
and he said, "No, I wanna do it on my own."
And then of course he gets an agent on his own,
and then he gets, his first movie is "Hunger Games."
And then he gets in Scorsese's "Vinyl" on television,
which was the hottest show there was,
and now he's doing "The Boys,"
which is the hottest thing on streaming
and it's a great show.
And so I'm saying like,
"Hey, how about a little help over here?
"I don't care."
- Like, what are you doing?
It's awesome, though.
That kind of is cool for him to,
'cause I bet if you're a kid of someone so super famous,
they're always like, "Oh, your parents got you here."
It was probably nice that he got to do it
kind of on his own a bit.
- Yeah, I mean, he's just,
he's just a really, even more than an actor,
he's just really turned out to be a really fine man.
- I am very excited because Dennis
is actually gonna perform with my band later this hour.
So what kind of music are you working on right now?
- It's American.
- Amurican, America. - I guess it would be,
it's American music,
I guess it would be like, Americana,
and I grew up in Houston and there's so many influences,
down there and with blues and Elvis
and Hank Williams and of course the Beatles came along,
and yeah, I got my first guitar when I was like 12,
and I started songwriting just like right off the bat
because I knew I was never gonna shred a guitar up and down.
- In my dreams I do.
- I just was never gonna be that guy.
So songwriting was kind of a defense.
I'm a rhythm player.
- Okay, I cannot play at all.
I play enough to write, but I suck.
I can't sing and play at the same time.
But did you have time while in quarantine?
Since you're a musician,
I know a lot of us- - Oh yeah, that's what.
- I've been writing like crazy.
- Well, the piano,
I learned piano when I was like 33,
and I got, I played Jerry Lee Lewis, The Killer.
And I had a year to prepare for it.
So I was basically chained to the piano for 12 hours a day.
- That's incredibly cool that y'all,
you're so into the character,
you're not faking it,
that you really do devote yourself to learning that craft.
That's really, that's a lot of work.
- Well, like I said, research, that's the-
- That's your thing. - I have the greatest,
this is the greatest job in the world.
I'm so grateful to be able to do it.
- Not everybody would be good at that, though.
- Just to figure out what makes a different people.
And you get to figure out how so many different
kinds of people live.
Like I got my pilot's license
when I played an astronaut, and I fly jets now and stuff,
and all these things you played make believe as a kid,
you get to do.
- You like got to do in real life.
That's awesome.
Well, growing up, did you ever wanna be anything
other than a musician or an actor?
- I would you say a veterinarian.
I was gonna be a veterinarian slash musician.
- That's a, so you love animals.
- Yeah, and I was gonna go to Texas A and M.
- Aggie. - Which has a great,
be an Aggie and have a,
there was a great vet school,
and I was a veterinarian's assistant for,
in Jacksonville, Texas.
You ever go to east Texas? - Yes.
Little town,
and for three summers I was doing that.
- So, speaking of animals, though,
I hear that you brought a special little friend with you.
- Yes, I have Dennis Quaid the cat.
- Dennis Quaid is here.
(laughing)
- Dennis Quaid the cat is here.
- I love this.
You have a cat. - Or I call him DQ, the cat.
♪ The wonderful wonderful cat ♪
- So wait, so how did you and Dennis the Quaid cat meet?
How did you get him?
Did you name him? - Well, he's a rescue.
- So you didn't name him?
(laughing) - No, I didn't.
He was in a shelter in Lynchburg, Virginia.
And he was on death row because that's
the reality of what happens to so many strays and lost pets.
And they named him Dennis Quaid, just as an aside.
And somehow that got out,
and we went and rescued him.
- So you went- - I didn't go personally.
- I know, but you went and got it-
- My cohost on the pet show, went, Jimmy Jellinek,
and he brought back Dennis Quaid.
- [Kelly] Oh my gosh, how perfect are you?
- He's such a sweet cat.
- So I mean, by the way, actually, thank you.
That footage is from our friends at WSLS in Roanoke.
They helped get the word out about DQ,
that's what we're gonna call him,
during Clear the Shelters.
Thank you so much guys (indistinct).
Speaking of animals,
we were just talking about this in the break,
but especially in this pandemic,
I feel like everybody we've been quarantined,
to have a little animal and lovin' on
this little animal in your house,
it's so good for you, everybody.
You should really adopt.
And do you wanna put him down?
- [Man] Just bring him down,
he's coverin' the mic.
- Oh you're coverin' the mic.
- Of course he's- - He's trying to hold-
- That's what he's doing.
He sees- - Trying to hold him.
- Yeah, well that's what
Dennis Quaid does. - I think that we should
get all- (laughing)
Dennis Quaid hogs the mic. - Hogs the mic.
- Hogs the mic. (laughing and clapping)
No we should, we should,
all pet shelters start naming your pets after celebrities
so people will start adopting them.
- That's right. - It's a clever plan,
Dennis Quaid.
- We've gotta rescue Kelly Clarkson.
- Yes, I would.
Oh gosh, don't tell my children.
Oh, we have so many.
We have bunnies.
We have dogs.
We're good.
But so you have, I love that you don't just have a podcast.
You have an entire network called Audio Up.
- It's called Audio Up.
And we started it two years ago,
my partner and I had Jared Gutstadt,
we did a podcast called "Bear and a Banjo."
It was a story around a record of songs.
That was the first record to be released through a podcast.
We did it with Bob Dylan and T Bone Burnett.
- Oh T Bone. - And Poo Bear.
And we got the idea.
So rather than just do one podcast,
which is "The Dennissance," we have a whole slate.
We're like a movie studio for your ears.
We have 18 podcasts in production right now
across all genres.
- Wow, I think he's over it.
Dennis Quaid is like- - I think you're over it.
you're taking up my time.
- Could somebody take Dennis Quaid?
(laughing and clapping)
Dennis Quaid, Dennis Quaid needs a carrier.
(indistinct)
Oh yeah, sure, that'd be great.
Thank you so much.
- I do wanna add,
it does remind me my favorite "Frazier" episode.
- There we go, baby.
(cat meowing)
- Oh my gosh. - There you go.
- [Kelly] Get in there, get in there.
- All right, this is live TV, right?
- Yeah, yeah. (laughing and clapping)
(upbeat music)
- [Dennis] Oh yeah.
- I got him, Dennis. - Thank you, Scott.
(upbeat music)
Everybody give it up for Dennis Quaid.
(clapping) - Yes, Dennis Quaid.
- Yes. (clapping and laughing)
I like the old idea that that's a throwback
to how they used to do whole shows.
- Yeah, the old radio theater basically.
We have another show, it's called
"Scripts From the Drawer,"
or if we can come up with a better title,
but I have a script on Spade Cooley that I did.
Billy Bob's go one on Floyd Collins who was,
it was the biggest radio news item of the 20s,
after Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic,
a guy got stuck in a cave for two weeks.
And it was, the whole world was there.
They lowered a microphone down to him and he could talk.
And we've got that going on.
And we've got, we just, it's just,
we're busy over there. - It's kind of
something for everyone.
I love though that it's called Audio Up.
So it's a streaming service
and it has a little something for everyone then.
That was kind of all over the, I love that.
All right, well check out "The Dennissance"
and all of Dennis's new Audio Up podcasts
wherever you get your podcasts, y'all.