Hey everybody, I released a comedy album today! Liner notes aren’t really a thing anymore so I thought I’d share my thoughts and feelings on the whole process here. Links to where you can buy or stream it are at the bottom.
This recording is the culmination of 5 years of late nights, strained relationships and oh so many nervous breakdowns. The journey of translating what is funny in my head to something that is relatable to other folks has been one of the greatest challenges of my life and This Was A Bad Idea stands as just a snapshot at a weird roadside attraction along the way. I like to think that in another 5 years I’ll be so good at comedy I find this whole thing embarrassing, but for now, I’m really fucking proud of it and I hope others will have as much fun listening to this album as I had making it.
I recorded This Was A Bad Idea in a basement in front of about 40 people at a show I put on with my friends. There are audio imperfections and spontaneous moments that probably wouldn’t make it onto a professionally produced product. I’m never going to have the type of speaking voice that commands a room, but this album is full of jokes I believe in and performed to the best of my abilities. No record label asked me to record it, and I don’t have a huge following waiting with bated breath to release it. In this sense, This Was a Bad Idea is a punk rock album, made with the ethos I discovered as a teenager, an ethos I still believe in today. It is exactly the album I wanted to make.
There are so many people to thank, Jonathan Bataille, who runs the Gallery Below and had enough faith in me and my show to let us push through the lean times. Soda Pop, probably the most talented songwriter I have ever met, produced this album and won’t let me pay him for it. “Thanks,” just doesn’t seem to cut it, my friend. Megan Jean, George Wagner, Ryan Pacheco and Caesar Gonzalez all performed with me on the show that night and I could not have asked for better support. All of you killed it. Comedy doesn’t work without other people in the room and the folks who showed up to watch me make my stupid make ‘em ups were, with no hyperbole, the best audience I have ever performed for. A special thank you to my parents, Jeff and Nancy Ingram, who sat through the whole thing even though I’m sure they didn’t expect their oldest son to grow up to talk about dicks nearly this much. And finally to my wife, Brittney, who’s put up with so much artsy, angsty bullshit from me since we first met, thank you for being there, thank you for supporting this very dumb dream of mine even when I don’t believe in it. I love you and nothing I’ve accomplished would have happened if you hadn’t had my back every step of the way.
Alright guys that’s it. Please go listen to my album. I worked really hard and I really hope you’ll like it. Even if you don’t… just lie. My delusions of grandeur won’t disappear if you’re honest, they’ll just be harder to live with.
You can find This Was A Bad Idea at all of these cool websites that totally aren’t keeping most of my money:
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/this-was-a-bad-idea/1490359687
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1TalJpuEWimoQ6GgJI3tHN?si=TIc3dsuVS9muy8flerz0zA
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXNkkRXtVv5hnPLj2f1NduGwQj8gJBY_g
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/andrewingram
Thanks for reading about my album! If you’d like to check out more of my weird stories and musings about life, the universe, and the meaning of existence, then subscribe to mindful of madness. You can also find me on twitter @drewjokeringram or on Instagram @andrewingram88. Thanks, my self-esteem depends on you.
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