Lake Bell Explains HBO Hit The Chair Company As I-95 Morning Show Recaps A Wild Year Of Celebrity Interviews

Actress Lake Bell recently joined the I-95 Morning Show to talk about HBO’s comedy hit The Chair Company, setting the stage for a look back at a packed year of conversations with comedians, rock legends and TV icons. The station also highlighted a long list of interviews from January 2024 through December 2024, each packed with very specific behind-the-scenes stories.

In February 2024, Sheryl Crow talked about her album Evolution, explaining how she unexpectedly wrote “a whole bunch of songs” in a month, then handed them to producer Mike Elizondo, known for working with Dr. Dre, Eminem and Carrie Underwood, because she wanted her “mind to be totally blown” by fresh production.

She said the title track “Evolution” is about A.I., asking where it is taking us, what it means for artists and for kids who will grow up with it feeding them information, and she reaffirmed her belief that music is a physical, elevating experience for outsiders like she once felt she was.

In May 2024, comedian Cedric the Entertainer recalled the original “Kings of Comedy” tour with Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac and D.L. Hughley, saying he and Steve were “more of the leaders” because of their existing partnership. He described backstage life as friendly and luxurious once the money came in, with “everyone in separate Rolls” but everyone hanging out in his room, which he called the party room because he was single and had the drinks and party-favors.

In August 2024, Fred Armisen confirmed he really did go to high school with Jim Breuer on Long Island and that they used to go to Sunrise Cinemas at Green Acres Mall. He joked about how he and his punk-rock friends claimed to hate malls yet still rode their bikes there, and how he barely hears the word “mall” anymore.

In February 2024, Robby Krieger of The Doors revisited a 1967 concert at Danbury High School, saying he can never forget the night Jim Morrison was maced backstage by a cop who thought he’d snuck in. That incident led to Morrison ripping the cops from the stage during “Back Door Man”, until officers came up, shut down the show and announced, “Mr. Morrison, the show is over and you are going to jail.”

In April 2024, comedian Bert Kreischer told a graphic story about fellow comic Ari Shaffir having a fissured, prolapsed butthole that bleeds and needs a cork of toilet paper after using the bathroom, something Ari publicly talks about himself. He added that his brother-in-law recently had an anal fissure and learned how extremely painful those injuries are, while Ari has casually dealt with one for about nine years.

In June 2024, Chris Kattan said there were no truly difficult Saturday Night Live hosts during his time on the show and that the often-cited Steven Seagal drama happened before he joined. The only negativity he recalled was Jamiroquai once calling the show “rubbish.”

Rock legend Don McLean in June 2024 dismissed the idea of basking in his own greatness despite writing “American Pie”, inspiring Greenpeace and scoring multiple hits, joking that he mainly wakes up thinking, “Oh I’m up, I can’t believe it.”

In January 2024, comedian Kathy Griffin detailed how Jerry Seinfeld wrote a Seinfeld episode where her character becomes a comedian who only makes fun of him after she roasted him in her first HBO special. She also recalled appearing on episode 1 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, calling Larry David a natural and “ridiculous” talent and saying being on those sets was an honor.

Actor Alan Ruck in March 2024 explained that he played Connor Roy on Succession by never “winking” at the audience and instead building a full backstory of a lonely child with ADHD, a mentally ill mother in and out of institutions, boarding schools and an absent billionaire father. He said such dynastic families push the not-so-shiny kids out of the picture and throw money at them, which in Connor’s case let him create his own parallel reality as a buffer from a lack of love.

In April 2024, T.J. Miller cited Deadpool and Silicon Valley as surprise smash hits, saying the cast assumed no one would care about tech people or a niche, R-rated superhero based on a comic only hardcore fans knew. He credited Mike Judge with being “two years ahead of the game” on tech culture, and said both projects became unexpectedly huge.

From there, the article races through dozens of 2024 conversations: Tony Orlando talking about retirement feeling like “every day is Saturday,” Dave Coulier describing how he started dating Alanis Morissette after a Heroes of Hockey game and a food-poisoning weekend, Lisa Lampanelli explaining why she prepaid her funeral and adopted a third dog, and Carlos Mencia dissecting his public feud with Joe Rogan and the “participation trophy” generation at comedy clubs.

It also covers Bronson Arroyo sharing his top five rock songs as a musician and Red Sox pitcher, Sal Vulcano and James “Murr” Murray revealing wild punishment ideas on Impractical Jokers, heavy-metal singer Chad Gray saying metal “saved his life,” Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe talking about doing radio in Grand Rapids, and Paula Poundstone admitting she loses all sense of time on stage without a visible clock.

The recap continues with Lenny Clarke naming Bill Burr, Louis CK, Dane Cook and Joe Rogan on a Boston comedy Mount Rushmore, Robert Kelly joking about search results being dominated by R. Kelly, and Ben Bailey noting that Cash Cab ran 16 seasons and nearly 700 episodes before quietly disappearing after 2020. It closes on a long list of other guests, including Jim Florentine, Jackie Martling, Jim Norton, Kevin Farley, Martin Barre, Rich Vos, Mudvayne’s Chad Gray, Randy Bachman, Don Wildman, Mandy Rose, Jon Anderson, Donnell Rawlings, John Early, sports journalist Armen Keteyian, David Koechner, Aries Spears, Andrew Dice Clay, Warren Haynes, Jamie Kennedy, Michael McDonald, Vic Dibitetto, John O’Hurley, Anthony Rodia, Moon Unit Zappa, Jay Mohr, Howie Mandel, Dave Pirner, Adam Ferrara, Jim Breuer, Mark Farner, Darby Allin, Tim Matheson, The Office producer Ben Silverman and Brian Baumgartner, David Annable, Kevin Cronin, Tommy Shaw, Don Felder, Steve Schirripa and Jim Belushi, making 2024 an exceptionally crowded year of candid, very detailed interviews on the show.