Interview // The 2 Johnnies becomes a Spotify exclusive

Popular musical comedy duo The 2 Johnnies, AKA Johnny McMahon (Johnny Smacks) and Johnny O’Brien (Johnny B), are well known for comedy sketches that capture the uniquely funny side of all things Irish. In 2018, they launched The 2 Johnnies Podcast, which has since become Ireland’s fastest-growing podcast. Now, they’ve made the move to Spotify.

The 2 Johnnies Podcast has been exclusive to Spotify since Monday 14th June, and continues in it’s mixture of comedy, current affairs and sport, – as well as an array of guests – hosted in their very own studio in the heart of Co. Tipperary. We asked the Johnnies a few questions about how they find podcasting, and their move to Spotify.

Can you tell us a bit about your show and yourselves?

We are the 2 Johnnies, we’re a musical comedy duo from Ireland. I guess we started off as “internet sensations” in 2016 and began to become well known for our comedy sketches and songs, which capture the uniquely funny side of all things Irish. Then in 2018 we launched the 2 Johnnies Podcast and it has since gone on to be Ireland’s fastest-growing podcast.

The podcast is a mixture of comedy, current affairs and sport and we try as best we can to bring together a wide range of Irish themed topics into an hour-long episode. Previous guests include Tadhg Furlong, Tommy Tiernan, John Kavanagh, Eddie Hearn, James Haskell and more. We’ve also been on a world tour with the podcast and are gearing up for our biggest ever live podcast, which will be a record attendance for a live podcast in Ireland. We sound like we’re blowing a lot of smoke up our own arse here but really we are sound and we’re just happy to not have real jobs.

We’re planning on taking over the world haha. It’s great to be teaming up with Spotify its always been our dream to become bigger worldwide and hopefully that’s going to happen off the back of this deal. On the guests front, we want the big fish – Joe Rogan. He’s welcome to 2 Johnnies HQ in Cahir, Ireland for a cup of tea anyway or a keg of Guinness, whichever he prefers.

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

We were putting out a lot of content on Instagram stories and even snapchat when that was at its height, but we kept getting caught for time. 15 seconds isn’t much time to tell a story. We both went away on holidays and really got into podcasts and had a bit of a lightbulb moment and thought  “we should do a podcast” and so The 2 Johnnies Podcast was born – on a beach in Lanzarote. Pure glamour.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy it more, at times we’re so busy we don’t get a chance to really enjoy what’s happening to us or take it in. So now we’re off for a pint to soak it all in.

With 172 episodes – an immense back-catalogue! – ate there any episodes that stand out or mean the most to you?

We really like the ‘only fans’ episode. We were the first in Ireland to really dive into the whole phenomenon and it really made a stir and got people talking. We’ve also dealt with serious topics like a guy who wanted to come out as gay to his team mates at his local football club and more topics like male body image, polyamory or living with your parents. The joys of podcasts is that you can vary it up, that way there’s a bit of something for everyone.

Which podcasts or podcast hosts inspire you most?

It’s hard to look past Joe Rogan, he’s been so consistent and probably paved the way for podcasters all around the world. Adam Buxton too, he’s like the godfather of podcasts. Jack mate is killing it too at the moment. They’re all different but definitely people we look up to.

Finally, can you recommend a podcast our readers may not have heard of?

We both love totally different podcasts but some of the ones we recommend at the moment are Broken Record by Rick Ruben and Three Castles Burning, which is about the history of Dublin. Quickly Kevin – will he score the 90s soccer podcast is a go too at the moment if like us you like 90s soccer. If you don’t well… unlucky. Try the Wolf and Owl podcast with Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis, it’s a great laugh.

Listen to The 2 Johnnies now, exclusively on SPOTIFY.