That one time I interviewed Maria Bamford

When my editor contacted me and asked if I wanted to interview Maria Bamford, I just stared gape-mouthed at my phone trying to understand what was happening.

My answer was obviously an enthusiastic, “HECK YEAH.”

>>>>FROM THE DDN: My preview story for Maria Bamford’s Dayton appearance

If you are not familiar with Maria Bamford, we really can’t be friends anymore, and that’s OK. Friends are overrated. For those of you who know her comedy, you know how amazing this opportunity was for me.

The first time I discovered Maria Bamford it was 2009 or 2010. When her Netflix show “Lady Dynamite” debuted, I binge watched it with my husband. You might even remember the blog I wrote for my Laugh Riot Girl blog about the show.

>>>>BLOG: My first Maria Bamford blog from Laugh Riot Girl

Maria’s publicist emailed me and we set up a time for me to call. I called Maria while she was driving, which seemed fairly appropriate. It’s always great to be unable to hear your interviewee.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from my conversation with Maria, but I can now say that the way she appears in her stand-up comedy is exactly how she is in real life. She was up. She was down. She didn’t finish sentences. She got excited about little things and all of this made me smile.

I asked all my questions and got some amazing quotes from her. She threw in a lot of jokes as well. I guess with some, maybe most, comedians, the comedy never stops.

My favorite part of the interview is when she found out I was a comedian. She said, “WHAT?! Well you already know all of this.” She sounded relieved like she could now be comfortable talking with me about anything. And we did talk about a lot. Her pups, her husband and her mental health.

She was also very intrigued by the city of Dayton because her stop here on June 7, 2019 was her very first trip to Dayton. She wanted to know where to eat and what to do. She asked me about the comedy scene here. She also commended me on working at VFWs.

Overall, the interview was a dream and while I have interviewed some pretty famous comedians, this might be one of my favorites. It was real, raw and sweet. Just like Maria.