Artist Scooter LaForge is a delight. To be honest, I somehow felt like connecting with him on this show was healing for me-now who’s the shrink!?

Scooter’s work is amazing and so instinctual- he cannot not do it. Even though he’s worked with big names like he is as humble as can be. So much to learn from his perspective—growing up as a gay man in a tiny town in Arizona. I have to say I was envious hearing of all the free-range outdoor time he had, but alas the town, it’s sounds really small and devoid of gays which means a pretty homogenous group of people (boring!)

Scooter is the best of what an artist is—someone fueled by their work and satisfied because of it. He complimented me a lot, so I’m going to give him an A as a guest rating.

Follow and learn more about Scooter HERE: https://www.scooter-laforge.com/ Instagram @scooterlaforge @scooter_laforge_a_life_of_art/

BIO: Scooter Laforge began his love affair with art at a very young age while growing up in the small town of Las Cruces, New Mexico. His burning desire to render things beautifully began with his singer/songwriter mother, and his landscape painting father; both equally inspired his creativity and lust for art.

Laforge’s work can be characterized as Pop Art partnered with abstract expressionism and Dutch classicism. His paintings and drawings are portraitures, landscapes, and objective subject matter, utilizing his special painting techniques and incorporating his homoerotic, in your face, non-apologetic lifestyle.  Like Golden Books on acid, his work employs a 50’s illustrated storybook technique, modernized by 70’s color palettes and are influenced heavily by gay pornography, cute fluffy animals, and sometimes iconic cartoons (i.e. SpongeBob Square Pants, The Cookie Monster, and Popeye and Brutis) which are reoccurring characters and themes within his work. 

LaForge earned his BFA from the University of Arizona in 1993,[5] and began his career as a painter in San Francisco.[6] He moved to New York City in 2001,[3] where he attended the Cooper Union School of Art under a fellowship.[8] His art is in the collections of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art[9] and Beth Rudin DeWoody.[10]

LaForge has a line of hand-painted, unique clothing items that are sold through fashion stylist Patricia Field.[11] He has twice collaborated with Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck.[12][13] His clothing has been worn by Susanne Bartsch,[14] Sandra Bernhard,[15] Beyoncé,[8] Miley Cyrus,[6] Boy George,[3] Debbie Harry,[8] Nicki Minaj,[3] Madonna,[8] Iggy Pop,[3] Rihanna,[6] and Lil Wayne.[3]

Joe Kelley has a very long, successful career in the music business, both on air and off. Currently he runs his own management company, Black Jeans Management which represents bands such as @houseofharm, @socialordermusic and @rosegardenfuneralparty Joe is also a fellow host with his own radio show on, Fascination Beat, live every Thursday, 4-5pm on @radiofreebk

I note in the beginning of this session with Joe Kelley is that a first impression presents as a physically large, outgoing, charismatic person who is going to just through his natural vibe likely more often than not becomes the focus of many of the rooms he enters. It's a natural gift that he has. I ask him about it, and in this session we find out if's a double-edged sword and also in the ways that it is. Joe had a traumatic experience with his group of friends in high school. The residue of it is evident today. Does Joe's large personality and physical appearance make people jealous? its seems thats something that his mother and I agree on.

About Joe Kelley

Joe Kelley is a seasoned music industry professional with over a decade of experience in artist relations, booking, and concert and content production. Since 2010, Joe has been actively involved in the music scene, making significant contributions to the industry.

Joe's passion for promoting talented artists led him to manage the internationally renowned online performance platform, BalconyTV, in New York. During his tenure, he played a key role in discovering and showcasing emerging artists, helping them gain exposure to a global audience.

With a strong focus on fostering talent, Joe joined Billboard as the head of artist relations. In this influential position, he oversaw most of Billboard's artist bookings across all departments, showcasing his extensive expertise and network within the industry. Additionally, Joe created and curated the long-running BillboardLive series, which became a highly acclaimed franchise showcasing exceptional live performances from renowned artists.

Following his success at Billboard, Joe joined Magus Entertainment to work alongside a small team as management for Duran Duran and other acts. In this role, he contributed to the production of Duran Duran's 15th studio album, Future Past, and was instrumental in coordinating a series of festival appearances and a long-awaited tour. His work with Magus Entertainment underscored his capability to manage high-profile artists and navigate the complexities of the music industry.

Kambri Crews is an extraordinary woman. Not only in her notable achievements (NYT bestselling author, QED comedy club founder/owner, just to name a few), but also how her hard-to-imagine childhood as the only child of 2 deaf parents, growing up between a shack and a trailer in rural Texas, having a father in jail because of violence against his girlfriend that she witnessed. 

As a performer, club owner, publicist, writer, producer, Kambri has a full pedigree in the comedy world, as well as being married to comedian Christian FInnegan, Comedy Central, James Corden”, “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show”. (And even Dr. Lisa!—episode 291 + episode 314.

It's a joy to have Kambri on Dr. Lisa at this particular moment in time. She's concluding an 11 year stint of owning/creating a beloved (voted #1 venue in NYC by TimeOut New York readers 2022) comedy venue and is turning the reins to a hand-picked, new owner, comedian and friend, Hannah Lieberman, who is eager to embrace her new mantle as owner of

QED. Kambri will still be involved though, she's not going anywhere!

It seems like this is perhaps, the first time in her life, Kambri feels she has

finally accomplished enough that she can take her time deciding on where to put her

focus next. In the meantime there's always ice skating and watercoloring to do...

I've known Jane Mogel since we were freshman in college—50 years!!! And her smart, funny, charming husband, Peter Pitts for almost as long. I went to their wedding in the mid 80's. Jane has a successful business as an interior designer and Peter has a global trotting business as the co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. His research, reporting and public appearances range from the New York Times to The Daily Show with John Stewart.

Though I don't usually have close friends on, (I'm trying to be a real shrink, remember?!!), I make an exception here so Jane and I can exchange some college stories and we can talk about Jane and Peter's parenting adventures with their two boys, Jeremy and Ben, now both in their mid-thirties and doing well.

Jane would invite me to stay with her family in New York City in the later 70's and her parents were a big influence on me. They were very sophisticated for a young person like me and they opened my mind to a lot of new things. Her father, Len Mogel was the publisher of the National Lampoon in it's heyday, so some fun stories from that time too. I moved to the East Village right after college and Jane had her own place in the city by then, so we had a lot of fun running around NYC in those years too!

Miller is a comedian that exudes positivity. He has OCD and has struggled with depression which led him to ocd eating and at one point at 6'1", he was 400 lbs. In 2020, he suffered a series of strokes and took charge of his health—he's close to 1/2 the size he once was.

Art is healing. Millers journey through comedy has made him a happy man. He has a close circle of comedy friends and is producing a show of his friend @tahaakahn Halalarious It's coming to the @sohoplayhouse May9, 2025 Sohohttps://ci.ovationtix.com/35583/production/1228838. 

Follow Miller HERE: @themillermark

Miller is obsessed with sports! Listen to his podcast HERE: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/miller-mark3

Originally from Morocco, Layla is a lovely young lady who recently moved to Bushwick from Park Slope a few months ago to find and nurture her creative side which she is pursuing seriously. We talk about the how's and why's she moved to NYC to Morocco, mostly through her career in finance.

She is thinking of playing in a black metal band eventually and as a trans woman, finding photographers and fashion designers to collaborate with and explore different sides of her identity in including androgyny. Personally I loved hearing Layla describe her hometown in Morocco surrounded by the beach.

Roman is 18 years old lives w his mom in Stuyvesant town. 

He’s studying sociology at Pace university and he also founded and fronts a band, Holiem. Roman is all about his music and his band. Dr. Lisa is a bit verklempt listening to a young person who has found his true love - and his excitement of starting out on his journey in music. He is also in love with his girlfriend-personally - I had a little counter transference of envy witnessing his excitement of the world that’s open to him at this phase in his life. He’s humble and grateful to his folks, his 2 brothers and his girlfriend. 

Listen to his music on Spotify HERE: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5HQOT0L9FSN2ek1xiVJHpM?si=oiDsRZlBQy-Sx-G_XMvGig

Follow Roman on Instagram HERE: @holiem__

Nick Viagas is very talented comedian. You can hear me say in the beginning of this session that he is handsome, which he is. He also stutters a bit. That combo of funny, attractive and vulnerability (a stutterer!) makes him appealing to the ladies. It seems he doesn't have to try too hard to get their attention and truthfully, they mostly take the initiative with Nick.

Nick enjoys this of course! but he has reservations. Is he spending time (euphemism, you know what I mean) with them because it's what he wants or is it more that he's just not turning it down?

Nick talks about his childhood and his family (challenging) and where he is now. He is extremely forthcoming and if I wanted to I could make this summary into lascivious clickbait but I have too much integrity for that! Damnit!

Anyway, Nick is very articulate and self-aware with a great heart. You can learn a lot about how men see women from this session and maybe even a sexual health session. I know I did!

See Nick perform! Feb. 15, 7pm https://www.secondcity.com/shows/new-york/struggle-bus-nyc

Follow Nick @nickviagas

Yoshi Sakai is a super talented artist who is showing at my gallery, @Dog_House_Gallery for funny artists at The Brooklyn Comedy Collective. She was here all week and we sort of worked together since I have to manage working with the BCC inside of their busy space.

So it was super cool to have gotten to know her and her work process before she came on the show. Yoshie is the first artist in her family and also (first) second generation. Yoshie trained as a professur in great and Latin, but at 30 took a turn and discovered art.

Yoshie is very self-effacing, but in my fake-shrink opinion—I think shes self-effacing mostly because she cant quite grasp how successful she is at something so unusual and personal.

I also think her humility is part of the secret sauce which makes her work so good.

See Yoshie's work and more HERE

Follow Yoshie on Instagram: @yoshie_sakai_studio

Yoshie's Artist Statement:

I create characters that respond and negotiate contemporary social issues of cultural identity, gender roles, and familial and personal relationships. As a subtly transgressive undercover cultural agent, I expose the absurdities of manipulative social structure while humorously struggling and reveling in those structures as a participant.

By staging my videos within intimate installations that become psychological and imaginative playhouses, I give form to our vulnerability and evoking, sometimes, nervous laughter. My sculptures are created from found objects and composed into imaginary characters and interior sceneries grounded in both tangible and fantastical domesticity. I use tropes including East Asian soap operas, Hollywood musicals, and the wellness industry to expose the anxieties of aspiration, model minority myths, and filial piety through the lens of the longstanding, yet under-represented Japanese American community in South Los Angeles.

My ongoing project has been an East Asian/Asian American hybrid soap opera video installation series called “KOKO’s Love,” where I challenge the “model minority” myth to reveal the guise of superficial “perfection” of being a 1.5 generation Japanese American woman—the “.5” feeling of not belonging to either the first generation or the second. Loosely autobiographical, I felt it was important to write, produce, direct, and play every character as a performative process.

My work is about accessibility while nurturing human connection. I plan to focus on grandparents and the challenges within a family structure of varying generations in order to encompass a wider audience beyond “KOKO’s Love.” My work can function as a a critique of capitalism’s production of space and ways of being, while also drawing on popular forms of entertainment and media to engage diverse audiences, especially those historically devalued, ignored, and seen as burdens.

People often ask, “Why are you so happy all of the time?” and my response is “It’s better than crying.” Ultimately, in my work I would like to continue the exploration of humor as a complicated intersection where hope, happiness, anxiety, and darkness reside much like our society, a tension-filled existence of both criticality and complacency.

I had the great fortune of meeting Claire at an open mic in Bushwick. After they called my name she came up to me and asked me if I knew her parents. I did.

Claire Pelllegrino has known of me since she was born because I am a leading character in her parent's, Jean Galton and Ron Pellegrino's origin story.

I was really close to her mother bacaue we both worked for the same difficult boss at our first jobs in advertising. And I met her Dad while I was working at other agency freelance. I dated him for about 6 months. And as Claire already knows, they met at an apartment party I had. Ron and I had broken up by then and were good friends, and as was Jean and I, even though we were no longer working together. It seems like Jean and Ron were a case of love at first sight. And in my very own home.

And as I tell Claire-he traumatized me once on a date for not letting me to get off a bus in New Jersey to the bathroom. Looking back I'm glad he dissuaded me—we'd still be wandering around NJ.

Even tho I had nothing to do with shaping her now, I do take pride in her report that her parents were a good match and me cause of me. The weird thing for her I think is that even though, she's never seen me interact with her parents, I knew so m much about them. It made me so pleased to hear Claire discuss how happy and grateful for her parents doing such a great job in raising her which she describes beautifully.

Claire is a super talented comedian. Check her out on Insta! @pellegrino_claire