Summer S’pouses Episode 3: Tak Boroyan

Some are spouses with Conan O'Brien Sonom Obsession and Mac Corley, and Eliza Powell O'Brien, Tak Baroyan and Amanda Lund. How many years have you been there right now? It's been 10? Where are you being serious? No, no, no, we got married in 2019. No, 2018.

Yes. So that let me do my math. We're going to round this up. We're going to wrap this up. We've been together for 10. I feel like Chuck Woolery right now. Wait, wait, O'key's eight years old. So eight years. You're going off of O'key's eight?

“That's how many children you have. Well, let's see. There are two little beds.”

Okay, I'm going to start this off by saying that Tak Baroyan is one of the cooler people I've met in my life. And I will kill T.S. Charge. We're going to give you the evidence. It's guys, super handsome. Cool graphic artist. Okay. You've worked for Tim and Eric's company. Absolutely. For 14 years. You are a sick guitarist. You've been in a bunch of bands. Okay. Toward this guy emigrated in 1989 from Soviet Armenia, where you either did or didn't

cause the plant, the power plant. We talked about this. You told me not to bring it out.

No, and you know what you said? You said I never said he was responsible for Chernobyl.

I never said that. Yeah. Oh, I quit. This is the way I had always heard the story. Tak was on a school trip. They went to Chernobyl to see the plant. They said, don't touch anything. Tak said, what's in this room? They said, Tak, you irrepressible scamp. You stay out of that room. Tak went in there, removed an important cooling rod, and walked out of the reactor. It exploded,

creating one of the worst nuclear disasters ever, after which Tak fled the Soviet Union. Came to America, married you, and then you said, maybe we should get a microwave and he said, who needs a microwave? Watch this, and he just put his hand over the food. Okay.

“Okay. Look, maybe I said that. But you emigrated from Soviet Armenia 1989. How old were you at the time?”

I was 11. That's a tough time to emigrate. Your whole world changed. Yeah. I was like, I was somewhat of a child, and then I was still a child when we came. And I didn't speak any English. And I think it's a hardest thing in the world to do. What? They're imaginable. I'm still struggling with that. Sure. Now to completely, especially at that age, or any age, uproot and come to a different country and need to learn the language, the customs, everything.

Yeah, those stuff. That was not easy at first, but, you know, when you're young, you would just really easily. So did you make friends pretty quickly? Oh, yeah. Did you? Yeah. I want to, because I still haven't. I still haven't. That's a couple. Yeah. So we were a cool kid. Were you pretty cool? No. Oh, God. No. I only became cool when I started marrying Sona when I started marrying

“Sona. Yeah. It's a lot of processing. It's a lot of processing. Yeah. That's why he doesn't”

know how long you've been married. It's not just Julia. Here's what I've been said. Still a

judge. Here's what I remember very clearly. Okay. I don't know how much you know, but Sona was a, you know, it's a wild tornado at the show. Oh, yeah. And she was a force of nature. I love Sona, but she was always getting mad at me for different reasons. And we would becker and she would say, well, I'm not going to give you your messages, because you need to know. I mean, crazy stuff was happening. Sure. And then one day, she comes in and she's the happiest person in the world.

And she was like, I met this guy. We used to do shows at Comic Con. She said, I met someone at Comic Con. And the next thing I know you're in the picture. And you she was immediately over the moon, happy. And then all of us were like, this guy tack is the coolest guy ever. Then you guys get engaged. You have this wedding and went to the wedding. And I watched you guys come out. And I was like, that is the, that is the jack, Kennedy and Jackie, you know, like you're just like the high praise.

Sure. So you're like, there's like tower couple. When you threw us an engagement part. Yeah. That's right.

100 amazing of our closest friends. That was fun. That was fun. That was never seen so many

moustaches in my life. And eyebrows. Yeah. So nice of you in life. I realize they all had one eyebrow.

like these guys all have to go in one car. Well, we better go now. Yeah, just just have been a delight. And then you have the coolest, give these, these twin boys. And they're super cool. Good looking. They're just going to lay ways to the world. They are my case Shirley. A lot of energy. A lot of energy. It's a lot. They're handful, but they're so cute and they're so sweet. They are really sweet. Yeah.

It's just the fighting, the kind of thing. My god. It's good. I always say I feel like I'm refereeing

half the time at the house. I'm just like, ah, yeah, you go there. You go there. You go there. Yeah, are you a cool dad or are you a dad that loses, it gets his loses tamper? What would dad are you? I try not to like lose my shit, but I do, right? Yeah, it's hard. But yeah, I try not to do it.

“It's just like, so frustrating at times. Just got to remember that they're little and don't”

take everything personally. Wow. Yeah. Again, these are skills I've not mastered. Yeah. English. Having friends. Not taking things personally. I think I need a lot of work. Tell me about the music because you're really into punk music. Yeah. What are your inspirations? Who do you love?

Oh, man. There's so many. Everything from like, you know, old school like British

punk, like, you know, Cox Byr, the clash, expostyl stuff like that. Yep. Yep. And then like American bands, rancid, the dropkick, where fees, you know, that sort of thing. They're the one you show. Yes, yeah. Yeah. And so, and you shred. Yeah, you do. You shred. You're too modest. No, you're modest. T shreds. All right. I do a good guitar music. I do. Okay. Yeah. But in like, compared to like metal guitar players or, you know, that whole circle I don't. Now, I'm told that when you go check out a punk band,

you'll jump in the mosh pit. Yeah. Yeah. I do sometimes. When do you, I took Sona into the mosh pit, right? Yeah. Oh, wait. How did that go, Sona? We went to Sea Cox Byr in Santa Cruz. They don't come to LA, right, because someone got stabbed. Yeah. What happened? Yeah. It's people. Yeah. It's written on the Cox Byr ticket. Yeah. He will be stabbed. And then he, uh, there's like a code with mosh pits, too. Like, they're not. It's, like, violent, but also if someone falls, they create like a barrier.

Am I doing this right? Mm-hmm. And then, uh, but so like, tack just like kind of grab me and like, took me in there and then the crowd of people just threw me around like a doll. Yeah. And then I got out. And it was intense and scary and really fun. It looks violent and crazy, but there is like a method to the madness. Like, people watch out for everybody, at least when I was going to shows, you know? Right. Um, soon as somebody falls down, that's like everyone sort of just jumps in

and pulls them out. Right. Or not. And then stabs them. Yeah. Yeah. You stabbing only comes with. You start mosh pits, don't you? I do. I love starting a good pit. Have you ever started a mosh pit and realize this probably isn't the environment for it? We're at a bar mitzvah. You're wetting. This is a brist. Where is the moil is being fumbled around? He's still working on the kid.

“I think I got it. I was, I was wanted to start a mosh pit at a comedy show that like,”

oh, that's a great idea. Yeah. So you're at Comic Con. Yeah. How did you, were you wandering around and you saw Sona? Yeah. After we had finished the shows for the week, I went back. You said, I'm going to stick around, you know, and check out some of the venues at Comic Con. Is that right? I went to the actual convention. Yeah. I was walking around with my friend David. He was walking around with his friend Katie and they knew each other. David and Katie. Just by chance. Just by chance.

And we just ran into them by chance. And did you know who Sona was in terms of the Conan? I seen the Armenia episode like a few months ago before that. And then I was like, where did I know this

brought from? You know, she's so familiar. Yeah. And I thought she was somebody's cousin at first.

I was like, I, uh, it's like, you're still in Sona's cousin. And she's like, yeah, I am. And then it clicked. And then we started talking and I, uh, told her where a good job she did on the episode. That was her lovely episode. It was. Is it a matchmaker? I took you to a matchmaker and little did we know that it worked, right? And it, in a way, it did because you were on television with a

“matchmaker. We couldn't find you a good match. I think most of the people that the matchmaker was”

showing us, she was on her computer, uh, where she said, we have to wait for him to get out of prison. They were all, they were all 40 years older than you. And they all looked like, uh, they had been,

good episode. Yeah. That was a great episode. It was great. It was. And then because of that episode, because the matchmaker, I got a lot of random requests, friend requests from guys. I was one of them. And he was one of them. And so the next day, because we didn't exchange information the next day, stocked him on Facebook. And then I found him, he had requested me as a friend like months earlier. Yeah, it was more of a thing like, I was like, how do I, how do we not have any mutual friends or

relatives? Because we're in the same business. We're like, we're the same age roughly. I'm a little older.

And I was like, how is this possible? We don't never met. Right. Yeah. And then I sent a friend of

“her request and I heard back. And then we'll get back from Comic Con as like, will he knew? And then I think,”

Eric, I named it it. So I think, I think, Swept you off your feet. He's very gallant. Well, you, you met a lot of the guys I had dated before attack. No. Yeah. It was not that my standards were low. I'm not saying that. But I'm going to say that when the tax showed up. I was a miracle. It was fantastic. What was it? What do you mean? It was a real cold. It was fantastic. Why? Because he's like this, you know, dashing cool guy. You can do everybody's, you know, I don't know. I just say it was,

and, and, and, you know, some of the other guys I didn't like. That's all I'm saying. You know, you know, I mean, like the guys. Yeah, I'm not talking. Yeah, but one of them had an air mattress - I was a video game guy. - Why did you drop their mouth at the methadone planning? - What are you talking about? - What did you say? - The guy from the, it was playing video games when you showed up. - Oh, yeah. - Oh, yeah. - Oh, yeah.

- But I was like her, I was the father figure. - Yeah. - So, I would say, she'd come back from one of these dates. And I'd say, well, how did it go last then? She went, um, it was okay. I mean, I went to his house. He entered the door in his underwear, he said, I'm not ready to go out yet, because I'm still playing, I'm on a new level of my video game. Can you just chill and she said, okay, and he gestured to a beanbag chair, and I sat in that.

“And he played his video game in his underwear, and then said, well, should we just walk to like the olive garden and then we can split the check?”

- Yeah. - And I was just like saying, no! - He would me, like the, uh, your wooer. - Yeah, how did you come away?

- How did you come away? - What did you guys do for your first date?

- Uh, first date was at Citywalk. - Is that what you know? - That's like Amanda and me. - Yeah, it was an ironic Citywalk date, right? - Yeah. - We went to, we went to Hard Rock Cafe, and then we went to see a horror movie, and I did the movie, you know? - What was the movie? - This is a couple of movies. - Lighter, that's just one of them. - Lighter, I think, was it? - It was lights up. - Lighter, which I, and I, I hate horror, and I told you I hate horror, you're like, this one's good.

- And I was like, all right, I don't care. - All right, I'm in charge. - I know, there's this video game. - There's two of the hard rock cafe, yeah, it was fun. It was really fun. Obviously. - That was good. - Mary and him, had babies with him. - It all right. We did okay. - We did okay. Yeah, and are you, how are you adjusting to, to Sona's family? Let's talk about that. You've got Gill, who I love Gill, love Gill. - Uh, yes, you're dad, of course. - Yes. - Don't do it! - Oh, sorry, Gill.

- But everyone, you know what I love? When I do my Gill, I put it here. This has got to pronounce mustache. I put a fingerprint on my nose, and what I love is I blow on this. - On this corner of the finger to make it lift up a little bit. - Um, love Gill, not yet.

- You know what? - No, you said to me when she first met me in 2009. She said, Conan Rock USA.

- You rock USA? - She said, you rock USA. - Yeah. - And I said, fantastic. - Yeah. - Send me to me too, for some reason. - Yeah, I guess that's right. But you do rock USA.

“- Yeah, so, you know, and you guys do have any questions, Matt. - Do you remember, I pitched that you and I do a podcast together one time?”

- Yeah, called Paris. - Paris. - And we were just talking about the toys from our youth, mine in America, and yours in Soviet Union. - Oh, but you know, don't you have some old Soviet toys from here? - Yeah, I mean, yeah, we bought some for the kids. - We bought a Cracadille Gannon and Chiburashka. - Oh, who, can you tell us, you don't know who those are? - Oh, you know, you know, you guys like it. - This is a rough, it's right in Vinypur. - Vinypur too. - They're like, you know, Vinypur is, we need to pull, but the Russian version. - Right.

- And this is Vinypur, and he's got a smoker's voice. - Yeah, that's like that. - Yeah, that's it. - Yeah, that's it. - Yeah, that's it. - Yeah, that's it. - Yeah, that's it. - Yeah. - That's one of the prove, but instead of like the hundred acre wood, he's in a line.

- What's the wolf one that one's weir? - Oh, Nupagaddi? - Nua, yeah.

“Yeah, that's like the Tom and Jerry of Soviet animation. It's like a wolf and a rabbit always tries to eat him. - Right. - And, you know, Nupagaddi goes. - I know how it goes. - It's in scratchy.”

- It's actually in scratchy. - Yeah, but it's fascinating to me that it doesn't matter what the culture, kids are going to want the same kind of stuff. - And the culture will provide that for them. - It will look different to us, it will sound different, but we want two characters that are trying to kind of kill each other. - That's it. - Yeah. - One, yeah, one, crazy, ugly one and one, cute one and that's it. - And your kids like these toys? - Yeah, I think so. - No, they will play with them anywhere. - They sing, so he press a button and they sing the songs from the cartoon. - Did they look? Because these were made a long time ago. - No, these are like remakes. - Oh, they're remakes, okay.

- Yeah, yeah. - Which is song Crookie Deal, again, our sings? I want you to sing that. - I'm not gonna sing that. - Good thing and rush, let's go on for fun. - Okay, all right.

- All right, well, we've all had childhood toys. I had, I had a Mrs. Beasley doll. - Mrs. Beasley. - Crazy reference family affair. - Family affair. - Family affair. - Listen, you can, that'll come right out.

- What? - And snip. (laughing) And we're back. - Family affair. - Yeah. - That'll, that'll help.

(laughing) - We're talking about Mrs. Beasley? - No, that's okay. - No, we, we cut that out. - Oh, and... - I know.

- We didn't. - We didn't.

“- It's so, and stuff that, stuff that, stuff that, stuff that.”

- What am I gonna play music with you? And what would I do? - What time you want to play? - What I fit into, because you know my vibe is sort of more rockabilly kind of thing.

So I don't know, I've never really tried to play punk

all the way, love the clash. - And love my punk or kind of adjacent. - They're kind of adjacent. - They're kind of adjacent. - Yeah. - I mean, it's funny. I play rockabilly so fast that it might sort of,

it's actually a genre, something I'm called, it's called Psychobilly. - Psychobilly, yeah. - I'm kind of a Psychobilly guy. - Yeah, are you really? - Well, a little bit, and in my youth,

I was more Psychobilly, because I was just more insane. I believe it or not, I have mellowed. - To me, Psychobilly is like communism. Like, sounds good on paper,

but for some reason, when I, (laughing)

I hit together, like, I still think it could work. And we're gonna find out in Manhattan, where he'll soon. - There's a joke, they say, like, rockabilly's like the retirement plan for punk rockers, you know, 'cause they get older and they go there here.

- Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. - Well, maybe, maybe that's me. - Maybe that's me. - There you go. - Maybe after all I am punk. Now, Sonya, is there anything,

or grievances you'd like to air here or maybe tack, you'd like to say, something, come on, is there something that Sonya's doing around the house that you'd like maybe for her to alter her behavior a little bit. This is a safe space.

We can talk about it and proceed. - How much time do we have? - Oh, yay. - Yes, yes. - Oh, let us take me back.

- No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

- It's the one that I love like F-bombs in it. Like it was the one who just the guy, the Irish guy who died, like a couple of years ago. - Oh, the Pokes? - The Pokes. - Oh, yeah. - Oh, shave it going. - Oh, shave it going. - Oh, shave it going.

- They just got a run. - They got a run. - They got a run. - They got a run. - They got a run. - You could barely make out what he's saying. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. - I mean, shave it.

- I'm not going. - I'm not going. - I'm not going. - Couldn't understand shave it. - Yeah, no. - No, it's just like, I don't know what that is. - I don't know what that is. - They're saying RIP. - There's a lot of like, not age-appropriate music he puts on. He's just so eager for them to have the same music taste. I'm like, they're five. - Are they, do you think they're going to be interested? They, oh, I've seen.

- You guys used to put on some music and then when it jumped in, it got fast. - Yeah. - They would both, I mean, they were like two at the time. - Yeah. - They would sort of, yeah. - They were sort of, uh, gyrating a little bit with the music and then the minute this fast part would come, uh-huh. - They would both spring to life. - And I was so good to see. - It started a mosh pit at home. - No, it's, it's not even that. It's like, I'll play a little bit of like country music or something in the car and she gets mad at me.

“- It's like, what's wrong with country? - It's, it's not fun country, like, you know, dolly or would you?”

like redneck country. And I don't like redneck country. And I don't like redneck country. And I I've said I don't like don't play Walmart country in a car. I play like like grand Parsons, you know, like cool Mike. Yeah, one of my favorites. I got a lot of horses. I don't know. I don't know. I'm going to say this. I love tack. And don't get mad at him ever so never. I ever. Yeah. He can do no

He's crowd surfed before. You know, people who just are like on top, they always wanted to do that.

“But I've never done that. But he's done that. Yeah. One of your wishes. We can make that happen.”

Yeah. I want to crowd surf. Yeah. We'll use everyone who works for the podcast company. You'll be free people to show them. Concert. Fishbone. Really? At Crunchau High Auditorium.

Oh, that was that you crowd surfed at a Benny Goodman tribute concert. But it went on so long.

They passed me into the fishbone. It's awesome. But not pure of a cold when the wind rose free.

“And he's jumping. Woo! It was just lightly massaging you. A bunch of 90-year-old women holding you up.”

It's like stage diving. This is pitch. This hurts.

Yeah. Oh, Bo Solo. It's just tossing out Shakespeare T-shirts.

It's like a whole tie with a cannon. Tack. Thank you so much for coming in. You are a superstar. You're one of my favorite people. And also I love Sona. And you made her, and continue to make her so happy. You're such a good guy. Such a great dad. Such a great husband that I'm delighted. I'm delighted that you could come in today. So you heard it, folks? Yeah.

Yeah. Knowing endorsement for a man himself. Yep. We all know that Conan only says reasonable things. Better beyond dispute. Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Sonom of Sessian and Mac poorly. Produced by me, Mac poorly. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Leo. Theme song by The White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy.

Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair, and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Sambles. Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista and Britcon. You can write and review this show on Apple

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