The Dan Potacke Show drives forward without thinking

The pitiful, defeated vision of Dan Potacke first appeared to Decider a couple years ago as part of now-defunct sketch-comedy group Public Drunkards' show. In a video screened that evening, Potacke (group member Alan Talaga) appeared in an ad for his travel agency. As he plugged local-centric vacation packages to Janesville and the Middleton Cheeseburger In Paradise, Potacke tried to mask his despair with an exaggerated heave-ho of Wis-kyaaan-sin cheer:

It was easily among the funniest parts of the Drunkards' act, but like most local-comedy things, the group hung around for a while then dropped off the radar. But Potacke, always ready to feign optimism in the face of failure and his "crushing financial debt," is plotting his comeback with The Dan Potacke Show, which will take place selected Mondays at The Frequency starting Feb. 23. He says this "live talk show" will come complete with monologues, sketches, and guest appearances from local figures and musicians. For the first edition, he's invited Jesse Russell, editor of Dane101, and Jessica Witham of burlesque troupe Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies. (Potacke, in his man-child innocence, has mistaken the group for some kind of baking concern.).  Potacke donned his olive-green sport coat this past week and met up with Decider to discuss the show. We'll be running a longer feature closer to the show date, but for now, here's an audio excerpt from the interview, in which Decider asks Potacke how he'll go about preparing his opening monologues (apologies for the background noise):