Woodstock FAS Exclusive: Comedian Gary Gulman Offers Farmtastic Eco-Ideas
Filed under: events, events: nyc, green and famous, interviews — Michael Parrish DuDell @ 12:50 pm
February 13th 2009
Today we continue our exclusive coverage of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s second annual Komedy for Karma event.
Regrettably, I knew less about Gary Gulman then some of the other comedians at the show that night. Sure I knew that he hates Grapefruit and that he would never consider Pepsi “The Cola,” but I hadn’t ever seen him around the green/animal scene and was totally psyched to hear what he had to say. Check out the interview below and see why Gary is not only hysterical, but super eco-friendly!
Ecorazzi: Hey there! So how did you get involved with Woodstock?
Gary Gulman: A couple years ago a friend of ours brought us up to the ThanksLiving event in Woodstock on their farm. So we set up chairs in the freezing cold in November. I’ve loved animals since I was a little kid and I was feeling particularly altruistic at that time in my life. I mean it was freezing setting up chairs in that tent, but it felt really good.
When they asked me to do the show last year I was honored because the other comedians in the show were amazing. I was so flattered when they asked me to come back.
E: In your set you mentioned that you had given up bottled water for the environment. Tell me some other ways that you consider yourself green.
GG: Well I have four sets of recycling bins. My community that I live in now makes you bring your own trash to the dump. It used to be that you would just see it go away and you didn’t know where it ended up. But here you can see that the magazines go here, the bottles go there. It feels like an accomplishment. I admire their outlook up there.
E: If you could offer others advice on how to get a little greener, what would you tell them?
GG: Maybe eat meat two or three days less than they do now.
E: Do you eat animal products yourself?
GG: Occasionally I will have eggs or something like that. I have a puppy and when I met the chickens up in Wooodstock I realized there wasn’t much difference between a chicken and a puppy. And I would never eat my puppy.
E: So would you consider yourself vegetarian now?
GG: I would never eat meat, but I used to eat too much chicken. So I don’t like that anymore. I’ve really reduced my intake.
(At this point Gary’s fiancé, Daniela Walls joins the conversation and I tell her all about what we do at Ecorazzi.)
Daniella Walls: That’s awesome! We have a fruit farm and we sell the fruit to people in our community. Well we’re not really selling it, we’re basically giving it away free.
E: Tell me more about the farm.
DW: It’s a berry farm. We’re known for our blueberries — in fact we have enough blueberries that we can supply the whole town. We also have apples, pears, peaches, we have a cherry tree, raspberries, blackberries, a grape vine.
E: What made you decide to buy a farm?
GG: Well it was her idea and my credit. You know when the housing and stock market fell apart she wanted to buy something so that we actually had something for our money.
DW: I said, “Why are we putting our money in the stock market?” If you had this amount of money would you let some asshole gamble with it? I mean at least now we can see what our money has bought us. So now we have a farm. But the farm has pulled us in — now we’re like farmers.
GG: That’s why we went to the dump yesterday. I think if people had to bring their trash to the dump themselves it would change everything.
DW: Here’s the thing: everyone’s so disconnected about what they eat to where their trash goes. Once you start to get connected you have a whole different relationship with it.
GG: Can you maybe say that I said that? It was really good.
DW: I mean if you have to look at a chicken everyday and see its face, it’s like a whole sad thing to kill it. And we have deer in our yard and people shoot them. I mean hunting is bad, but you see people who kill one deer and they keep the meat all year and freeze it and it’s a whole different relationship. I mean it’s better than factory farming, right? If you have to grow or kill your own food you have a whole different relationship with it. Everyone’s so far away from that.
E: I agree! Gary, what projects are you working on right now?
GG: I’m working on stand-up right now. My website is the best way for people to find out about what I’m doing next. I have a newsletter. I think I’ll be in New York next weekend.
A big thank you to Gary Gulman and Daniela Walls for taking the time to chat with us. And of course, to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary for arranging the evening!
Related Posts
Share
|
Tagged: daniela walls, gary gulman
While I think that Gary Gullman’s commitment to the ecology is commendable, I’ve had the displeasure of meeting Daniella Walls his girlfriend at Stand-Up New York comedy club in Manhattan. I find it hard to believe that she would be interested in anything that didn’t involve commerce, or personal gain. I remember her drunken flirting with “headliner” Gary Gullman”. I was a fan of his, but now it’s hard for me to watch his act knowing that he’s that subseptable to manipulation.
dear first guy,
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man (or woman) who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Teddy R
People make all kinds of personal and business decisions that others can’t fathom. If they are happy and don’t harm others then let it be. It obviously works for them. I have met Gary and enjoyed his gigs. He is a smart, well mannered, easy going and conscientous person and that says alot.
Manipulative “farm girl”. Ooohh all the “personal gain” from giving away fruit and saving animals. Someone lock that b@#$h up!
Must be hard to hear about two good looking, sucessful people in love living on a farm.
Get a life.
Good looking? Who are you kidding? Him with his bad haircut, receding hairline and goofy glasses? The only thing missing is a pocket protector! And her with the overprocessed bleach blond roots showing hair? And let’s not forget the endless variety of baseball caps she dons. Wonder which one she’ll wear to the wedding if she can ever get divorced from her first husband!
As far as Gary’s Eco tips – eat less meat and recycle- wow, groundbreaking! What will he say next-separate your paper from your glass items. As imaginative as his jokes. Looks like even Daniela’s comedy classes and grad degree couldn’t improve his act!
Wow lola the cyberstalker. You gotta feel sorry.:)
Lola, Lola, oh so sad. Gary who did you sleep with, and not call! Hmmm or Lola is a man? That Daniela didn’t call!
I saw Daniela she is seriously hot. Not impress her girlfriends hot. Hot.
Baseball caps? Cool. A sexy girl who doesnt obsess about her looks. Very cool. And a husband, extra hot.
I am a fan of Daniela’s husband/exhusband? He is an amazing english rocker. I want to be that guy. James Maddock.
Lola, Lola.
“Everything is the opposite of what it appears”
John Lennon
Nobody on this comment board really knows anything, including myself.
Time to go back to planet earth.
This is all irrevelant as they broke up a few months ago. But so unnecessary to go down such nasty paths. Grow up!
wow. someones really bitter. let me guess a comic that hasnt made it very far in life and has more time just to hate. I smell jealousy. Spend more time writing your material than on “poor little me, I’m better than her” . anonymously of course. coward
I have also had the pleasure of knowing Gary and Daniela for many years. Gary is old enough and intelligent enough to know a good think when he sees it. While you sit around thinking of mean spirited things to say and pollute the world with anger, Gary sits around with an intelligent,creative, well educated, witty women having fun. Who’s manipulated?
What does that mean – well educated, witty? How about crafty opportunist? According to her myspace page she has had some college. That is hardly well educated. Gary is a liberal leaning marginal comedian who has gotten by on some talent and better looks. (After high expectations my friends and I have seen him in numerous gigs that were embarrassingly substandard.) He is from the poor side of the Peabody tracks who has hang ups with how much money he makes and his lower middle class Jewish identity which is why he calls Jewish women Jewbroads. He dates Gentile women because Jewish women wouldn’t put up with his lazy ass bullshit. (this can all be found in numerous radio interviews on the Internet). His last girlfriend April Macie dumped his cheap ass because on her 30th birthday she accompanied him to a gig in which he flew first class. She however had to fly coach because he wouldn’t pay for her upgrade from coach. Some birthday!!! Daniela is an unknown hippie (Gary’s words) “comedian” who saw an opportunity for a deep pocket and took advantage of it; Gary is not enough of a grown up to figure it all out. No anger here, just observation.
Ha Ha! I love all this internet gossip. It is insane. I especially love the “some college” touch. I was in graduate school with Daniela.
One Love
Sam