âWe always underestimate it,â Justin McElroy says of his upcoming Portland showâa live recording of the popular advice podcast he performs with his brothers, Griffin and Travis, called My Brother, My Brother and Me. Theyâre all a little sorry because the show sold out in 15 minutes. âWe overestimated it once,â Griffin chimes in. âWe booked a venue that was enormousâover 2,000 seatsâand there was a windstorm that knocked out the power in most of the city. So because of the venue and that windstorm, the auditorium wasnât full up and I think weâre all a little gun-shy about overestimating it again.â
The McElroy brothers arenât on tourâa possible reason for the extreme run on ticket sales. Portlandâs their first live show since September. âTimingâs been rough with live shows âcause the boys had babies last fall,â Justin explains. Griffin and his wife, Rachelâwho host a hilarious Bachelor commentary podcast called Rose Buddiesâand Travis and his wife, Teresaâwho also do a podcast together, a charming history/etiquette show called Shmannersâhad babies approximately one month apart. âI think I do six podcasts now?â Griffin guesses. âAdding my son into the mix means that basically everything is on the back burnerâwhich Iâm more than happy about.â
âWeâve been so fortunate with the podcast, the tours, and the TV show, but it kind of crept its way into our schedules,â adds Justin. âItâs not like this all came at once. Itâs like John Proctor in The Crucible. Just pile another thing on there! It doesnât feel overwhelming day-to-day but when I list out what I do for people it does seem like a lot.â
Despite their schedules, the Portland show made sense. The brothers love it here (weed) and it gives them a chance to promote their newest venture, a TV show on comedy streaming website Seeso. The showâalso called My Brother, My Brother and Meâfeels like an amped-up version of the podcast. They do follow-up questions with their advice seekers over video calls, and they get out there and try to talk to professionals. In the third episode, they rebrand and throw a parade to boost the public image of tarantulas (âranchosâ on the rebrand).
MBMBAM (pronounced muh-BIM-bam) is much more improv comedy or âgoofingâ than an actual advice opportunity. My favorite aspect of their inventive riffing is the fascinating English language grinding that the boys employâeven in the way they call themselves âboys.â All except Griffinâwho was actually included in this yearâs Forbes â30 Under 30â listâare in their 30s. I would liken the boysâ âbrotherismsâ to the awkward manner of speaking popularized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer that has completely integrated into modern American Englishâespecially among fantasy/sci-fi fansâdespite the show being over for more than a decade.
âI think that the usage of the word âboyâ has increased roughly 300 percent,â Griffin says. âEspecially, âGood, good (fill in the blank) boy,ââ adds Travis. Theyâre all too humble to accept my theory, but they donât immediately deny it.