Chris Gethard Releases TAYLOR HAM, PORK & CHEESE: A COMEDIC TRIBUTE TO NEW JERSEY Comedy Album (Don Giovanni Records)
Chris Gethard is a self-proclaimed "comedian, author," and... "telephone call enthusiast," who was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey. You may know Gethard from his podcast, Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People (Beautiful/Anonymous,) his books, Lose Well and A Bad Idea I'm About to Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgement & Stunningly Awkward Adventure, or roles on The Chris Gethard Show, Parks & Recreation, The Other Guys, or Broad City. Little-know fact: Chris Gethard is, also, a wrestling super-fan and was once a staff writer for Weird N.J. He was even interviewed as part of an installment of the RTF WRESTLING FANZINE! a few years back, as well. Gethard now resides in Queens, New York, but has decided to return to his roots for his latest Comedy album, TAYLOR HAM, PORK & CHEESE: A COMEDIC TRIBUTE TO NEW JERSEY. Full Disclosure: for those who may not already know, I, too, was born and raised and still reside in South Jersey with my beautiful wife, in Bridgeton/Hopewell, to be exact.
TAYLOR HAM (no, not "Pork Roll!") EGG & CHEESE consists of 14 tracks composed entirely of New Jersey-centric material. It was recorded at The Asbury Park Brewery and aside from a few tracks, this was the first time Gethard performed most of these tracks live in front of a room-full of people, specifically, New Jersians—or is it spelled "New Jerseyans?" "I've made an album that, by definition, will only be fully enjoyed by people in New Jersey," Chris Gethard explained within a press release, as quoted by Pitchfork. Having listened to TAYLOR HAM, EGG & CHEESE a few times through by now, at this point, I can fully attest, about 99.99% of this material is true or, at least, familiar to myself or people I know. "We, also, have a hunch that this is the last comedy album that will come out this decade, which is neither here nor there, but sounds like a pretty cool thing to say," Gethard continues. Chis Gethard's TAYLOR HAM, PORK & CHEESE: A COMEDIC TRIBUTE TO NEW JERSEY is now available to purchase, stream, or buy, via Don Giovanni Records.
"There are a handful of tracks that anyone anywhere will find funny, but a solid 50% of this album will be unfunny to people unfamiliar with Jersey and may, actually, not make sense. There are certain jokes about specific landmarks or directions or behaviors that will sound like utter gibberish to people not from my home state. Most of this material was recorded the first time I ever said it out loud into a microphone. It was impossible to practice any of this before recording, since the only context where it makes sense is at a taping, specifically, for all-Jersey material. You can't go up at a club and workshop your bit about The Evil Clown of Middletown, you know? There were only three tracks that I was able to practice before recording: "Medieval Times," "Great Adventure," and "New Jersey Discrimination." Outside of that, all of it was Hail Mary passes the night of the taping. We, also, have a hunch that this is the last comedy album that will come out this decade, which is neither here nor there, but sounds like a pretty cool thing to say."
- Chris Gethard (@ChrisGethard)