I'M ANTHONY QUINN

The Josh Wells Weekly, Episode 210

Most weeks I grovel up top and ask for whatever gratuity you find appropriate for this here free newsletter and give you the handles for my Venmo and Cash App. This week I ask that you donate instead to the Gofundme of a family of a fallen friend and fellow comic, Anthony Quinn. Thank you.

https://gofund.me/f93ef2ed

On with the newsletter.

HE’S ANTHONY QUINN! A bit he used to like to do was take a selfie during everyone else’s set with you in the background. Here we are performing under a tent behind a strip club during the pandemic. I love comedy. I love Quinn. Gonna miss that dude.

Random Thought

How do you pay tribute to a man when you went to a tribute event for him just a few nights ago and it was one of the most beautiful, bittersweet nights of your life? How do you tribute a man when it feels like everything there is to be said has been said? The tributes have flooded my social media. The mark this man left on his friends, family, and a comedy scene are undeniable. I’ve heard and read some of the most beautiful words in his honor from people I’m accustomed to hearing talk about dicks and farts for five minutes at a time. With each new paragraph, the sadness was renewed but underneath it somewhere was an odd sense of gratitude to have known Anthony Quinn and to have considered him a friend.

I’ll try my best to speak from my own personal viewpoint. Maybe the most amazing part of the tribute I went to this past Monday was hearing 64 different comics share their thoughts and putting the pieces of the puzzle together and seeing Anthony Quinn in an even more beautiful and complete way. All we can know about a person is based on our own relationships with them. But when we start to see how others saw that same person, it’s like we get to zoom out and further appreciate the parts of a man we may have missed along the way (the biggest example probably being that I don’t smoke weed. So many good weed stories. I don’t have one).

I was at a concert on Saturday night (Gov’t Mule doing Pink Floyd covers) when I found out Anthony Quinn had passed. Someone messaged me and I was far from sober and when I read the words I was hit with shock, sadness, and an urge to not look at my phone again for at least 20 minutes. Because I knew this was just the beginning. Soon my phone as well as the phones of any of Anthony’s other friends would be blowing up and it would be all-consuming and undeniable that Anthony Quinn was no longer with us.

As I put my phone away, deep down inside I wanted the concert to stop. I wanted the people to stop having fun around me. My two friends who I was with didn’t know Anthony Quinn and I felt like I was surrounded by hundreds of people who didn’t understand my sudden sadness. I felt alone. My friends were supportive when I tried to explain to them what was going on but I couldn’t shake the isolation.

And then something odd happened and I don’t believe in fate, serendipity, or whatever else… but about five minutes after finding out the sad news, Gov’t Mule started playing, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond.’ And just for a sec, it felt like the universe understood. Anthony was gone. Quick, queue a song that could very well be about him. Anthony was certainly a crazy diamond who knew how to shine.

But the song ended and the sadness remained and here we are five or so days later and it still hurts. But it’s been a relief to get out to the tribute and to other open mics and shows and hang with other comics and share the heavy load that is grief. For a few days, the love and camaraderie is thicker in the comedic air, or at least it is in New Jersey.

I met Anthony Quinn five or so years ago at an open mic (of course). And we kinda hit it off right away. He hadn’t fully found his, “I’M ANTHONY QUINN!” thing yet (for those that don’t know, Anthony Quinn would shout, “I’M ANTHONY QUINN!,” throughout his sets and even in casual conversation). He was just a new dude on the scene and I don’t remember a lot of the specifics but we talked music and Bad Religion came up and I knew right away that AQ had strong opinions on music, especially of the punk and alternative rock variety and I almost automatically knew that I had a new homie on the scene.

He’d become something of a distant big brother character, or maybe a cool, older cousin who taught you how to like the music you like. Anthony still called people posers, especially me. I openly like Nirvana, think the Pixies are better than Frank Black’s solo stuff, and have a Red Hot Chili Peppers tattoo. AQ had no problem calling me a poser. A thing he used to like to say to me was, “Life’s not a Nirvana album, Josh.” To be honest, I’m not even sure what that’s supposed to mean but I know AQ crafted it just for me. It was special. It wasn’t bullying, it was how we show love in the scene (comedy and underground rock scenes too I guess).

I loved AQ for all of this. He was 7 years older than me. I was a teenager when it first became easy to like alternative rock music. It was on MTV and the radio and in the malls. AQ was a class ahead of me. When he was a teenager, you still had to work hard to like alternative rock music. He put in the work and like many others of his specific era, they helped create the wave that would make alternative music blow up whether they were ready to share it with the rest of the world or not. I’m forever grateful that it was easier for me, forever grateful, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ was played ad nauseum on MTV, and forever grateful of the AQ’s of the world who supported those bands when they played in basements and lived in vans. When I think of the difference in terms of struggle, I give AQ all the props and he can call me a poser all he wants because I knew deep down that we were of the same ilk, just separated by a few years.

I don’t know this for certain, but I’m pretty sure AQ knew when I was sad or down in the dumps. He could read me like a book. His tone would change. He’d be less jokey, more open to a serious conversation. It’s hard to be vulnerable with your friends in comedy but AQ would let me open up with no shame when the mood was right. We’d also have great convos on his podcasts. One of them was a conspiracy podcast but it’d be so free wheeling that we’d get off of conspiracies real quick and start talking about some real heavy life type stuff. He could be so silly and unserious most of the time, but I was always amazed that if I needed someone to talk to, AQ was able to switch it up and get into therapist mode effortlessly.

There’s the few times I’d do a sober month and AQ wasn’t drinking and we’d pal around and hit Dunkin before or after mics and shows and drink coffee together and that helped so much. Being sober can be so lonely when I’m out and about. But AQ was there and made me feel like it was okay to hang out and drink coffee and still have a good time.

In fact, AQ was a great friend to help you feel less lonely in general. I don’t know if this is unbeknownst to some, but AQ had feelings like a mofo. He understood what it felt like to be sad or lonely or deal with existential dread. He’d hold it down and give you a comforting, “been there, done that, everything’s gonna be okay.” And the best best best thing about Anthony Quinn was if you asked him how did he know everything was gonna be okay, he’d answer:

“I know things… I’m Anthony Quinn.”

I’m gonna miss that dude so much. I wish I’d hugged him more. I wish I’d said more loving things towards him when he was alive but we’re comics and sometimes it’s hard to be vulnerable like that. I wish we didn’t beef when we did but in a way I sometimes feel like that made our friendship stronger. I suppose I could allow myself to get chewed up by regret but the big, bright bottom line is that I’m filled with gratitude and love that I knew and got to be friends with Anthony Quinn. His presence is going to be missed so much.

I hope that I and the rest of his loved ones can carry on and keep a little bit of AQ in all of our hearts and spread that joy for the rest of our days. Be silly. Be loud. Eat that pizza. Call people posers. And when push comes to shove, be there for people when they really need a friend. I’ll never forget and always love Anthony for that.

For anyone that’s interested, this is the info for his visitation and funeral mass.

A part of me wanted to title this week’s issue, “Only posers die,” or somehow shove that quote into the random thought above but I just couldn’t do it. It’s a quote from one of my all time favorite movies, ‘SLC Punk,’ and I think Anthony would’ve appreciated it but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was slightly concerned that others might find it ugly. But I’m sure if I could write AQ his own personal issue of this week’s newsletter, he’d get a kick out of it.

Movie I Watched Recently

She’s Gotta Have It

(Netflix)

This was Spike Lee’s directorial debut. This movie is indie AF. It’s in black and white (and predates Clerks by 8 years) and feels low budget, but in a good way. None of the actors are famous. And even though the music is cool, it’s all jazz music that I’m pretty sure was created or written by Spike’s dad, Bill Lee, especially for this movie (who also plays a small role in the movie AND played bass for the likes of Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin).

The story is about Nora who is in three different relationships with three different men. She’s extremely open about it to all three of them and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks or feels about it. The three men sorta battle it out and get in their own feelings about Nora seeing the other two dudes. Instead of dumping her though, they all just keep their relationship going hoping she’ll realize he’s the one and drop the other two.

There’s definitely something symbolic about the three men. Greer is vane and in great shape and thinks the other two are beneath her. Mars (played by the man himself, Spike Lee) is the funny guy with no prospects but knows how to make Nora laugh. And then there’s Jamie who is probably the most serious of the three. His love seems the most genuine but he’s also kinda boring.

For a lot of this movie, I was kinda bored. But once it was over, I appreciated it more in hindsight. I couldn’t understand how all three of these dudes could keep pursuing Nora knowing the other two guys were in the same situation. But that’s Nora. I kinda find it funny that the title is, “she’s gotta have it.” It seemed more like it was the fellas that just HAD to have it. Nora seemed like she could take it or leave it at times with all three of them.

There’s one wild scene where Nora invites all three of them to Thanksgiving at her place. I can’t believe they all showed up for it. That’s crazy shit.

TV show I’m currently watching

Shameless

(Netflix)

I thought I’d be done with Shameless this week but I was wrong. I didn’t get to watch a lot of it. Anyways, here comes some “very close to the end of it all” spoilers…

-I thought it was kinda funny that Lip and Brad were scared of the mobsters who secretly financed the new Born Free and when the mobsters kidnapped them, it was all just to fix one of the mob dude’s daughter’s mini motorized car. This is probably as touching as a mob dude is allowed to be.

-Frank has some kind of heist in mind but when he goes around to get his “gang” back together, he finds they’re all old and not up for the task. The episode ended on a cliffhanger (don’t most of them do?) but it looks like maybe Frank pulled it off solo? He wants the money to buy the house back so that it can be his. It remains to be seen where we go from here.

-Will someone pay attention to Liam? He thinks he’s gonna be homeless when/if they sell the house. It was kinda touching when Lip finally told him he’d have a place to stay with him and Tami (although I get the feeling that he and Tami haven’t actually had that convo and this is Lip making plans without her consent again).

-Veronica went to Louisville to help her mom move and her mom loves it (so far) and I don’t really know what to make of this arc. V says out loud that her mom will get bored with it and move back to Chicago. But a part of me wonders if V might be falling under the spell of Louisville herself?

-Touching moment when Mickey “cremated” his dad’s remains. His dad’s body wasn’t claimed in time by anyone so it was set for a mass burial with other unclaimed bodies. Mickey and Ian found out just in time and went to the site and burned him and his box before they had a chance to bury him.

Maybe next week will be the week I get to say:

Album of the Week

Magic 2 / Nas

Nas is insanely prolific. This is his second album this calendar year. It’s like he just has to keep reminding us that he’s around and he’s still the greatest. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again just because, Nas is probably the best rapper of all time. No one should be this good for this long and drop albums this frequently. And it sorta blows my mind that I don’t hear more people talking about this album (or many of his latest releases) more. Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s me and Nas just still sounds like the best example of hip hop I grew up with and for all I know, that doesn’t translate to the youth. Or maybe people are talking about it and I’m just out of the loop.

It’s a good album. All of his albums are at least good. All of his albums are worth a listen. I sometimes wonder how much more he can rap about himself and how great he is but when you’re top of the hip hop food chain, what else can you do? There were a couple lines in here about Nas turning 80 and still doing this and I can only say, I hope so. And I hope I’m still doing the newsletter and writing about it.

Nas is 49 and still looks like the coolest dude on the block.

Book I’m Currently Reading

The Flamethrowers / Rachel Kushner

I’ve gotten a little more into Reno’s background. The year is 1975 and she moved to NYC to pursue art. She was lonely at first but ended up falling into an artsy-hipster crowd and met a man (Sandro). He’s really into motorcycles (his dad's the famous owner of a big European motorcycle company). She ends up getting this idea to go to the Utah Salt Flats and drive a motorcycle in these speed trials (Sandro helps her out by getting her a cool motorcycle) for an art project where she would take a bunch of pictures of the line her motorcycle drew.

Reno crashes and injures herself but comes to and hangs around a bit for the remainder of the speed trials. Sandro got her in with a pro team and they’re trying to convince her to drive this fancy built-for-speed capsule type vehicle for a speed trial because they’re convinced they can break the speed record for females.

The book bounces back and forth and we get some background on Valera, Sandro’s dad, who created a motorcycle and tire company and gets rich in the process. Sandro seems to distance himself from his dad and doesn’t want anything to do with the business. I’m slowly waiting for worlds to collide in the book.

I like when a book has multiple covers because then it doesn’t make me feel as bad for taking a long time to read it.

Random sports thought of the week

Preseason for football is such an exciting time. It’s all possibilities. For some, it will be the best part of the football year. There will absolutely be a few teams who will let their fanbase down in Game 1 and set the tone and let everyone know this isn’t the season. But until then, that disappointment isn’t concrete or real. Also, if you want to go see a football game live, this is a great time to do it. The weather is pleasant. The prices are cheaper. Less people go so there’s more space and less traffic. And you won’t have to deal with the pessimism of a negative football fanbase yet. Take it from a dude who’s been to a ton of Jets games… that pessimism can dull the air around the stadium and have you wishing you opted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with your friends instead. But not in August. In August, everyone’s gonna win the Super Bowl.

The beer also helps.

Random pro wrestling thought of the week

Rest in peace, Terry Funk.

The legendary Terry Funk passed away this past Wednesday at the age of 79. Funk had an amazing career that spanned decades. He’s been a top guy. He’s been a hardcore guy. He’s been the old guy who won’t give up and still do a flip off the top rope.

I was a late bloomer to Terry Funk. I got into him when he had his run with ECW. He was the old, rugged vet hanging tough with the cool, wild, young wrestlers who were damn near creating a wrestling revolution. Funk helped write the rules of how to be a tough, old wrestler and keep up with these young cats. He was gritty, rugged, and experienced. His character was real, tough as nails, and possibly a little psychotic, a perfect mix to make him a believable victor in any match.

I’d eventually go on to learn where Funk came from before that. He’d been a top guy and gave Ric Flair some of his best matches. He was big enough in wrestling that Hollywood came calling and he found himself in a few movies (like when he was the bouncer in Road House).

He was also a wrestler’s wrestler. There’s a good chance he could be your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler. He put in the hard work. He put on the good matches. He did all the right things.

Terry Funk was the real deal and wrestling always needs more of that. I do find it kinda humorous that he’s one of the wrestlers in the, “it’s still real to me, damn it,” viral video because if anyone could convince you that what was going on in the ring was real, it was Terry Funk. He was the best at that.

RIP Bray Wyatt

I usually write this thing on Thursdays and by the time I’m done, I’m tired of looking at it so I’ll save it till the next day, read it over and send it out on Fridays. So I’m currently writing this part on a Friday because I found out about the passing of Bray Wyatt shortly after completing this week’s newsletter and I feel compelled to not leave this out.

Bray Wyatt (real name- Windham Rotunda) died unexpectedly at the age of 36 and it is a big shock and major loss for all of pro wrestling. He was out injured but rumor had it that he’d be back in the fold at WWE soon and as always, fans everywhere were looking forward to seeing Bray return and what that possibly might look like, since every return of his has been unique whether it be a new character or a new dimension to his current character.

Bray Wyatt was first and foremost one of the most, if not the most, creative and innovative pro wrestlers on the planet. His characters were spooky, well thought out and written, and most importantly to me, fucking cool. A lot of wrestlers try to pull off spooky but it often comes off corny. That was never the case with Bray Wyatt. The presentation was always amazing. Bray Wyatt and whatever character he was portraying was always one of those parts of pro wrestling that I would’ve absolutely shared with non-fans because it felt that cool to me. The original Wyatt Family run on the main roster is still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen as a wrestling fan. From that point on, Bray was a made man with fans. He’d always be over.

It’s hard as a wrestling fan sometimes because wrestling can get real corny. Bray Wyatt was the complete opposite of that. I was always locked in, never tuning out, always convinced that Bray was gonna be the coolest part of the night (although I wish they didn’t have Mountain Dew sponsor his last PPV match but that’s a gripe for a different time).

I also ran into Bray Wyatt once. I wouldn’t dare say I met him. We just walked by each other. It was at a bar in New Orleans during Mania weekend. There were a bunch of wrestlers there actually. But Bray happened to walk past me and for whatever reason, we locked eyes and he said, “what up, dawg?” in that slight cool Southern drawl of his. It’s a small, dumb moment but I would tell people that’s the moment I was officially in the Wyatt Family (haha, I wish).

But damn, this one hurts. Gone way too soon. We had many more years of cool, spooky, imaginative shit to go. There’ll never be nothing like it again but there will be a lot of pretenders, that’s for sure. I got a feeling we’ll be seeing Bray’s influence on wrestling for a long time to come.

Follow the buzzards.

Top 5 Poser Bands

1- Nickelback

2-Staind

3- Godsmack

4- Goo Goo Dolls

5- The Monkees

Weekly Quote

“I’M ANTHONY QUINN!”

-Anthony Quinn

Thanks for reading!

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