Encore Episode-Laughter as Therapy: Jeremy DeBardi Shares Heartfelt Stories of Resilience and Connection Through Comedy

What happens when a musician decides that making people laugh is just as important as making them move? Today's guest proves that sometimes the best performances are the ones that don't take themselves too seriously, as I'm watching my guest. Jeremy DeVarti is the front man of steel beans, a band that's as much about entertainment as it is about music. And while Jeremy may not have a Netflix comedy special yet, Jeremy brings a comedic energy to the stage that transforms every show into something unpredictable and joyful. And he's a performer who understands that connection happens when you're willing to be playful and spontaneous, but most importantly, completely yourself. Today we are talking about how humor shapes his performance, the moments when laughter pulled him through and why sometimes the best medicine comes from a killer guitar riff. Welcome to Comedy Saved Me, I'm Lynn Hoffman and this is Jeremy DeVarti, Jeremy from Steel Beans. Welcome to the show. That intro puts a lot of pressure on me, but I appreciate it. That's amazing. I don't know if I've already went and articulated it like that, but yeah, absolutely. Well, you're very special. You are a man who's most known for a song called Molotov Cocktail Lounge, which I just love. Right. And you once referred to yourself when you were completely solo and playing every instrument yourself, which I have such mad respect for. You are a self-indulgent, arrogant, one-man band comedian. You do know I have a music podcast as well, so this is a little confusing because we're going right down the middle on music and comedy. Yeah, I would say that's an apropos description of what the solo show is for sure. But I think it just comes down to people that some people are on when they're on stage and some people are always on. And I think that's just my case, it's just my personality. A lot of the things that people will compliment me on, I can hardly take credit for because I'm just like, oh, I'm like that in the van driving to the show. That's really special though, really special. And also the fact that you're so, I mean, you don't even know what it is, you just do what you do and people love it. Yeah, that's just it. Like half of the stuff, like I like to think I'm a funny person, but also with me there's this blurry line of what I'm doing to intend to be funny and what is just funny by the sheer absurdity. People will get the laugh and it's not even the joke, it's just the fact that I happen to be going so far out on a limb. And that's what it's like to be in the band is the band is constantly in some situation where like, you know, the first take is funny, the 10th take, it's not as funny. And then the 20th take, it's like, all right, what are we doing? Like people are sweating and going, okay, we're doing this again. And I'm like, yeah, and then it becomes funny again because you're wearing like a child size Telemundo superhero outfit and you're in public in front of people doing something dangerous or illegal or there's like cars honking and I'm actually blocking traffic to get this take where I'm like pretending to get hit by a car or something. It's like, it's never short of it gets absurd really quick here, you know, the band doesn't know that when they sign up because it's not like I pitch it to him like, well, it's a band, but it's also you're going to be doing like theater performance art. Sometimes there's also some sketch comedy. They just show up and then I put them through hell and you can't help but laugh in the end because I don't know what he's doing, but he's doing it. I love that. And I think that's the best thing about being in any chance that you could do that for a living is gotta be like a dream come true. And I would love to be a band member even if it was just shaking a tambourine. I want to get into this more detailed with you. Oh, thank you. Let's find out what my job will be when we come back right after this with Jeremy DeBarty from Steel Beans right after this. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Do this. Comedy saved me. Welcome to Comedy Saved Me, Jeremy DeBarty for people who haven't experienced steel beans, your incredible bands live. How would you describe what happens at one of your shows and what is the energy like? Not just from the stage, but also the audience. For almost 20 years, when I when I get up with the band behind me, it's kind of an it's more of an orchestrated thing with the band. It's song after song and there may be a theatrical bit. I have planned or I don't have planned that ends up happening. But in my solo show where I'm by myself, it's completely, you know, like sometimes 30%, sometimes 60% of it is totally freeform and anything can happen. And there's just this, like, one of my favorite things in the last couple of years has been taking the solo show in front of audiences that only know me from the internet and then finding out really fast. Like, damn, this is such this could go off the rail that any second. And it does. I take enough risks that it does fall on its face. And you know, I'm not doing just solely stand up, but there are times where I'm improvising long enough that it's riding high and then it kind of it kind of starts to bomb a little or drag. And then I went everybody back by twisting the energy and bringing up the tempo or doing something. And I feel like there's this constant balance where anytime something goes too, it gets a little too deep or emotional. I have to offset that by doing something silly or something funny to take the light. It's almost like getting everybody to go. Because, honestly, the solo show, I think the presence of it itself is like kind of it's confusing and almost intimidating. Because I get into it, I'm slamming the drums. And then when I'm done, I'm like, so anyways. And that's the dynamic I'm constantly playing with and I'm toying with people the nervous system for sure. Oh, absolutely. Because you know that the audience feels for you while you're up there. So they want to support you. But if they feel like that you're seemingly bombing or going some awry place that they would, when you give them the OK to laugh at it, they feel like, thank goodness. It's like watching somebody on a tightrope. You're so worried for them. You're like, oh, this is going to go wrong. He's going to drop a stick. He's going to do this. But really, I'm just making it look harder than it is because it's what I do. And it's actually pretty effortless for me or pretty, you know, I'm locked in. I'm in a flow state. If something does go wrong, they find out that I'll just make that part of the show. No matter what, if I die trying, it doesn't matter if I rip my pants or I mess up a part or something goes terribly wrong. I'll just turn that into the part of show, flip it on its head and then make that the joke. And it's like, that's just worked for me. And it's from like, you know, going on 20 years of stage time. I did these shows with Tanisha Stee and then Tool a couple of years ago. First, I went from playing to 20 people or 100 people to like 16,000. And dude, I never once fazed me. I just walked out there and I felt as comfortable as I would have here in my room at my house. Yeah, that's what you're making me. You made me feel comfortable like I was at your house immediately when you popped on the screen and I've never met you before. And you also have a very playful energy about you with comedy and not just with your performances, but just in your personal interaction. So it's very disarming. So I can only imagine because I haven't seen you live what it's like in that type of setting. And you painted quite a picture. Was this always your plan or part of your musical identity or did this develop for you over time? Do you mean? Because you started with music very young, right? You started like when you were three playing the drums. I was banging on pots and pans and my grandparents put buckets in front of me. And then when I played the buckets, they put a little drum set in front of me. And I never had any lessons. I wasn't no prodigy. Now on the Internet, you see kids that are three and they're like, I wasn't like that. I was like, boom, chat, boom, chat. I was having dinner with these people a few weeks ago and my grandpa was there and I was just, I just being the 16 year old, 37 year old that I am. And they looked at him and they joke, has he always been like this? And he goes, yes. I would go through my grandma's closet and put on like these little, I call them my tappy shoes. I don't know what they were, but they're like these elastic ankle band shoes. And I would tap around and like, I'm always trying to put on a show or something. But not into like, I was never an attention whore. I just, I'd be off in my own world doing my own show by myself anyways. So did you like making people happy and feel good? Is that sort of a thing for you? I think that that is one of the meanings in life, if there ever was one. But also again, like so much of, so much of my story is like inadvertently doing things, you know, like I feel strange to say this, but no one else is here to say it for me. But I have changed some people's lives in the local art community and the people that have been in my band now, which is almost 50 people. I've seen some of those people go off with a fire under their ass to really get their thing together and people that used to be in the band have gone and formed their own bands years later. And, and yeah, I feel like it has brought some people up, you know. Well, that's that's very, very cool that you're not only you're doing it, but you're inspiring others to do it as well. Yeah, I I try not to soak in it too much because it'll choke me up. It puts a lump in my throat to think I'm having a positive impact on anybody because I've just been sitting in a bedroom writing songs as a totally self-serving addiction for so long now that when anybody messages me or like, I met a guy at a show in Boston, I met a guy in London. He's lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, sold his drums, and then he saw my video. He started watching my videos and he said, I finally got a prosthetic and bought drums again. And I'll cry just talking about it. But that's the craziest thing you never imagine when you're sitting in your bedroom just going to that that that you'll go out and somebody will hit you with that bomb. You know, that's not an easy thing to take. I mean, when someone tells you that, what do you even say? I mean, I try not to tear up and I, I don't know. I don't know. That's such a that's such a heavy thing to say that, man, you know, I I could only feel this shift in what was the thing that I do in my basement or whatever is now the people to some extent. And if somebody somewhere is in traffic and I make them smile, it's like, damn, that's just such a higher purpose for all of this rather than just amusing myself. It's pretty awesome. You know, a lot of musicians take themselves very seriously. Yeah, I've interviewed many of them over the years. But but but on stage, mainly even more so. What made you decide to lean in on the humor part and entertainment side of performing? Because I've really never witnessed anything other than maybe like a weird owl or, you know, a tenacious D that kind of thing. That's an interesting question because for me, I've never like I've made some silly songs, but really, I've kind of like separated the or at least over time, I've separated the songs aren't inherently silly. I'm just silly. And I think that in the early stages, like 2005 or in the early 2000s, I was playing house shows or my first shows playing in bars. It kind of takes the pressure off of like, what if I fuck up? Yeah, I know everybody I know. I got everyone to come out. My folks are here, you know, I think that you just kind of start to you got to lighten it up. And and it's if you mess up, it's not the end of the world. And having a sense of humor on stage really bridges that. But it's a lot of people never get that comfortable. You know. No, and that's extremely comfortable to be able to show your weaknesses, like just. But but it's it's got to be so inspirational to see someone almost appear to fail, but then turn it around and rise like a phoenix. It's it's like that old story that but you do it all in one show as opposed to an entire movie where the good guy wins. Yeah, in the end, you know, I mean, here's a major shift for me is that when I had a trio in 2006 or seven and I was first doing these shows, I would tell jokes and joke with the audience in my talking between songs and the rest of the band would be kind of like adjusting their the knobs and kind of like, all right, we're going to play a song and they'd get frustrated. And that would really piss me off because I'm like, it's like, come on, just let so the pressure of them like, come on, let's play a song. Well, when I started doing the solo act, I was like, oh, I can just do whatever I'll stop in the middle of the song because someone's doing something distracting and then just rip on them or whatever feels like it's going to be fun. And I felt that freedom like, oh, in the solo show, I can just do whatever I want. There's no pressure of the band going, come on, man, let's play a song. Also a good, a good side note here. And I think that every comedian can relate to this is that I struggled to get the band in front of audiences and to get us gigs for so long that when I started doing the solo show, it was kind of immediately really loved like 12 years ago. And I kind of hated that even though people, I liked that people liked it. I was like, well, I've been trying to do the band. What the fuck. So then I leaned into that and abused that. And I kind of went Steve Martin like, athole alter ego, like, oh, you guys didn't pay enough to see me. And I kind of leaned into that. And it was kind of funny because I could get away with anything. I could get away with murder. I was late. I was having balloons on stage. And some of them were helium. Some of them were nitrous. And I'd huff those and then play a song. And there was this show at Tim's Tavern Seattle. I'll never forget. I go, and everybody be sure to tip me, be sure to tip the bartenders, but tip me first because I'm playing drums and guitars singing at the same time. They're just pouring liquid into a bottle. I could do that. I could do that all day. So tip them, but not before you tip me. And the people at the bar were like, I love this guy. I was like, God, I could get away with anything. That's so fun. I am jealous. That is the coolest thing ever. Do you see comedy and music as separate skills that you're combining because of what you sort of created? Or are they totally intertwined for you at this point? Music and comedy? I don't know. That's a good question. For me, they're inseparable. I don't even really think about it. But sometimes there's just so many different kinds of humor. And I really love all of them. There may be a couple that I lean into or something, but I really, I like all the different forms of comedy. And sometimes the joke is within a song. Like if you get into full nerd level, like Steely Dan, for example, or Zappa, the jokes aren't always literal or verbal. There'll be a joke in the arrangement or the notes. And they're like, oh man. Wait, wait, wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Yeah. I'm interrupting. Steely Dan is one of my all time favorite bands. And you're telling me there was comedy mixed in with Steely Dan? Absolutely. It's very dry. Get out of here. Yeah. No, I think that Donald is throwing in little dry, sardonic kind of, you know, what's the word? What the British fucking say, cheeky little things all over the place. And if it wasn't in the, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Now I gotta listen all over again. I can't believe that. I mean, it goes as stroud as songs like everyone's gone to the movie, which is like dark humor. I never knew, never even picked up on it, not once. Just love the melodies, the harmonizing, the songs. Yeah. They've got all kinds of shit. I mean, the more you dig into it, he's kind of, he's a funny guy, but I think those guys take themselves pretty seriously. And that's fine. They should. They're incredible. But I've always really gravitated towards, I'm a person, I totally separate the art from the person. You could be the worst person in the world. But if you make art, I'll be like, ah, that's great. Because they're totally different, you know? Yeah. I love that because he's a guy that's so qualified. But at the end of the day, he doesn't take himself seriously at all. And he'll do something jazz. And then two minutes later, he'll do a doo-wop song. And then he'll do, he'll do a heartfelt, like love song, ballad, and then something extremely silly right after that. And that's like, that kind of steered me in a direction. It's like, okay, I don't have to. When I was in high school, just learning how to write songs, I looked into like Echoes by Pink Floyd. And I go, damn, how do I over head the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air? How can I ever be that deep or poetic? Or that's so cool. And it just kind of stunted me like, I don't know what to do now because I'm, you know, this is like, that's so good that it actually kind of, it fucked me up. But, but then I downloaded, I downloaded some Zappa songs and I just heard how like serious the music was, but un-serious the lyrics were. And I was like, oh, I don't have to be that deep or serious all the time. I can just have fun with this. And not, you know, not every song has to be some tear joker with crazy level lyrics. So that was very freeing. To Lost Souls, Swimming in a Fishbowl. Yeah, that's insane. You're not the first person to blend music and comedy, but the way you're doing it is very rare and unique and fun. And I can't wait to come through town so I can come see your show. I have a lot of songs out there that are released that are silly, but I'd say now as I'm like, you know, approaching 40, I've never written more mature, heartfelt songs in my life. But if you see me live, you're getting those songs. And some of those songs are I hold very dear and I'll choke up and try not to cry during some of those songs. But you're getting the songs, but you're getting me. And that's like, I'm going to dick around and do something silly. I can't help myself. I've had critique over the years from so many people that'll see the show and go, you know, maybe you should just do songs. And I'm like, yeah, but I'm not doing a, it's not that I'm trying to do a bit. I'm just being myself up there and it comes out silly sometime. That's all right. Yeah. Jeremy, I ask a lot of comedians this question and you just hit on it. I'm going to ask you the same one. Do you think more of us need to laugh at ourselves? Is that an important thing for us to be able to do as humans to not only look inward, but to laugh at ourselves? Yeah. Life is so silly. And no matter how hard your times are, it's like, that's kind of my thing. And I think that I saw that from my dad and some of the people that inspired me is that you could be having the worst day of your life. You have to be able to laugh at it. Otherwise, you're done because sulking about it and all that is not going to do anything for you. And that's my way. And if I'm ever around the band or anybody that gets to see it firsthand, I'm kind of proud that they get to see fucking how to really do it. Because I'll be with the band or anybody in the wheel fucking come off. Like, could be literally. And I'll like, go, yeah, we're making damn good time though, or whatever. It's like. And I'm gonna work with a lot of, I'll work with people five, 10 years younger than me, and I'll see them get so worked up and go, man, I'll go, hey, it's fine. It's fine. And they're like, oh, no, but this went wrong. And that's fucked. And we're late. And I'm like, we'll get there. It's going to be the best show you've ever played, or it won't. It's still going to be fun. I just tell people have fun. I work the band and I go, they'll go, hey, all right, so I'm leaving at 10. Well, midnight comes and I go, you got one more in you. And these guys are like falling over sleepy. And I go, let's run it two more times. I build it all up. But then when the show actually comes, I'm like, whatever, dude, doesn't matter. You know, like, I, I just, I want them to do their work and feel comfortable so that when they're on stage, they're not thinking about everything they do. And it just, they get in that flow state and just do what they're not stressed about it. But it's the hardest switch to turn off for people, I think, is to not worry. If you're self aware enough to not take yourself seriously and be able to laugh at yourself, I think that's the thing that will really carry you, especially in comedy is like, although I think that there's nothing funnier than like, guy that thinks he's the shit kind of comedy. I think that like, Kenny Powers is like a good example of that kind of brain of comedy is somebody that doesn't laugh at themselves, they take themselves seriously, they don't have that awareness. And then you watch them fall on their face. It's like, that's a timeless device right there, you know, tilting them is where all that guy and you're What you're saying is you're an optimist, eternally, and also looking inward doesn't just help you as a musician or a comedian. It can help you in life. Yeah. In anything in life. Absolutely. Yeah. And I think that where I rest in like the craft of songwriting, which is truly my life, you know, I consider myself a writer before anything else. I write songs every day and the science and the craft of that and the spiritual nature of that is like, I live for it. I'm like a junkie for it. It's literally can be problematic. But I think that a comedian or a writer, the line between these two, you know, forms of art is that you're figuring yourself out all the time. And then you put her under a glass case and you move on to the next thing. And I'm finding out all the time that the better I get at my craft, the more I can articulate something that maybe I never vented that was from 30 years ago. And I think that comedy is the same way. There's a certain vulnerability to it all that vulnerable vulnerability. Nice job. I'm not usually I'm not usually awake at this hour. That's why this is my seventh shot of espresso. Well, that makes sense. Comedians usually are working late into the night, especially musician comedians. You got a lot going on. You don't just walk on stage. You got to bring all the instruments and the tech and the gear and the awful thing. Let me tell you that's a lot. It's crazy. It's crazy. All these years, like, sometimes the best idea, I don't want to discredit all the stuff I do that I plan out and put a lot of work into. But some of the things that people still bring up, the memorable moments of past shows, was an idea that I'm an hour late to the show. I forgot I even have one or I'm driving there. I open the trunk, I start to unload the gear, and I see a mannequin head or rubber iguana, an old deflated birthday balloon, and some a bag of novelty casues. And in the time that I've carried my stuff in, I go, I'm going to bring the iguana out to the audience, and it's going to be his birthday. We'll have the birthday balloon, and then I'll have everyone play happy birthday with those cheap casues while petting it. And then I always go, I'm going to need those casues back, by the way, because I got an AIDS clinic I do on Thursdays where we use those. Or something, that was the thing I used to do. You just came up with that when you pulled that out of the car as you're walking in to the show. Yeah, every day. Like, I had some jumper cables in my trunk and some mannequin head, and I did a show that, like, I have no set list a lot of the time in the solo show. And so, I was like, I'm going to hook the jumper cables up to the front of the bass drum, and then to this guy's head, and then at some point in the show, improvise a bit where, I don't know, it's like, yeah, it's what can I make out of what I have with me? And I think that if you expand on that, that's kind of the perspective of like, that's how I see the world, is that you become an executive producer for everything around you. Every single thing in this room, every human, this is my world, you're just living in it, and you're all in my play. It's like, what do I decide is art? It's not just paint and a palette and a canvas, it's like that iguana head, this melody I've been kicking around, and a catchphrase I learned on a construction site 10 years ago. It's like, all of these are all elements and odds to be combined into something. And that's how abstract people should look at art, but instead they're like, well, I gotta watch a how-to video, and I gotta buy a guitar, I gotta do open mics, it's like, no, you don't, just quit being inhibited and just fucking get weird. Do it, do it, get in touch with your weird side. Everyone has to be a little bit weird. We'll be right back with more of the Comedy Saved Me podcast. Welcome back to the Comedy Saved Me podcast. Now I'm going to change the subject a little too a little more serious. Can you think about maybe because you seem so happy and fun loving, but I can't imagine that there hasn't been strife in your life. There is in everybody's life at one time or another. Can you think about a time in your life that was a little bit difficult and how humor helped you get through it? Or when you're going through something heavy, like, you know, how do you process it? Does it through music? Is it through writing? Is it comedy? Is it going for a bike ride? Well, I think like any American man, I shove it down and not face it whatsoever. But that's where art comes in because 10 years later, I can make a song about it. And as I'm getting older, I feel more and more comfortable with talking about anything and kind of venting. And I'll sit down at the piano and make something. And then when it's done, I'll go, man, like, I can't believe I wrote that. Like, I think the reality is, is the way that my body works is my defense mechanism is like, it's like self-numbing to a point where I may be still figuring out how terrible my life actually was through writing songs about it, you know? I think that's the thing is all of my strengths are built out of weaknesses, whether I realized it or not. My parents split up when I was two. So my inner voice is still intact from being a child because I'd be off dancing to Jungle Book or something, listening to my inner voice and creating and making life fun. I didn't realize what I was doing, but I was creating this independence that it's still what I live by, you know? And I've never lost, at least not in the last 10 years or so, because music and art always guides me back, you know? It's a really round, about long way to answer the question. But, you know, I look at a lot of people I know and people that I see out there and I go, my life has been way harder than that guy. And he sure complains a lot more. I just, I feel like I try not to talk about it because I don't want to be a downer, but it's, you know, people got to see the other side of the token. Like, I'm such an optimist and I'm such a, I want to be happy because my shit has been so rough, honestly, you know? And there's a lot of people that grew up in a suburb in the middle of nowhere that their life had been perfect. They all write the saddest music because in fact, they want the pain. But me, man, I want the right happy music. I've already, I've already seen sad shit. Like, there's already enough sad music in the world. So whenever I write something deep or emotional or kind of sad-ish, I want it to have an impact in a meaning that's, that's not shallow. Like, it has to be, it has to be timeless in a way that I can feel like it's not a wussy saying it, you know? A lot of emotional music out there, they're just wussies. And I want to write stuff like I, I was sitting here in this room and I just thought a few years ago, I thought, man, there's going to be a day where I die and my son is left without me. And then just as like a paralyzing thought. So, you know, I wrote some songs in that mindset, you would never know because they don't sound as sad as that would imply. But that's the whole thing is, is finding you a way to put sugar on the medicine of life. And that's where comedy brings all this stuff together. It's like, if you can't laugh or you take stuff so seriously, I live like I could die next week. So what am I going to do? Save my money? No, I'm going to buy that guitar. I'm going to buy that keyboard. I'm going to drive around with no real aim of where I'm going just to listen to music. And I think that the only way to really live is to, to live by that, you know? It's a great, first of all, it's very selfless the way that you attack writing songs. But I would like to coin a new phrase with you. Maybe you can use it. The Steely Dan effect. You hear something you think is so serious, but you don't realize it's actually, or the opposite, comedy. And it's actually really telling the truth. I think that it speaks volumes to the fact that Steely Dan were masters of music and their craft and of jazz. But as people, they were silly. So it's like, where does the personality peek through in the music? What we go as far back as Cheech and Chong and then Fire Sign Theater. And then for me in the 90s, in grade school, I was listening to the Adam Sandler records. We're amazing. I just went and re-listened to They're All Gonna Laugh At You. Honestly, some of those bits hit way harder now. The thing is, there are people that write really heartfelt songs. But I'm not always convinced that it's sincere. And if they take themselves really seriously, that's kind of a giveaway. I listen to Mark Lanagan and when it's a really deep, profound emotional song, I really feel it. And I'm like, I believe it. And when somebody's singing on stage, I like to know that guy's been through hell. I think the emotional music, emotional music that's written by a diverse person, I think that the future of man on earth is going to be a guy that can run a chainsaw and kick your ass and is masculine, but is also completely emotionally like, no, I feel youth. Yes. The soft muscle heads. I don't know what it is, but I've never felt more in touch with that in my life. And it's like, I'm an artsy, fimmy, weirdo. But dude, I also mow lawns and pick up a mower. The older I get, the more comfortable I am with being masculine. It's like, that's okay. But never just don't be a dick. No, it's, you know what, you're so right. I think it's like you're going at it from the opposite way, but it makes perfect sense either way. Because women do need some type of depth in there so that you can have a conversation because we like to talk about deep stuff. But we also want the guy who can pull the chainsaw and go take care of business. So it's a wonderful combination. And funny enough, now in 2025, it's actually okay to talk about your feelings if you're a guy. And it's not a turnoff, I don't think, from women. Not on the construction site. I think there's still maybe a little behind out in the general world of man. But I always live this dual life because I'd be at home writing songs and like I'm practically Shakespeare in my basement. And I'm like, I've been with like 10 people in my life and I've always just been in relationships. And I'm like, this romantic, I want to shove all this stuff on the counters of the kitchen, shove that under into the cupboards, make it look nice and then go use my food stamps to get like some kind of a pasta thing. And then I'm like, playing acoustic guitar, you know what I mean? That's the life I'm leading. But then I also go to work on a construction job site in a flannel and I'm lifting the shed. And you're like kind of with the boys and everyone's really vulgar. And I can connect with that. But there's also part of me living this dual life where I'm like, yeah, I know what you mean. But I don't at all. Like, you know, you have no idea about you just, but it looks good and it relates. I mean, if people think that you hear, there's a point of Montia where I'll connect and then it falls off where it's just like kind of, you know, farts and womanizing or something. And then I'm like, all right, that's, but I grew up with a single mom and a little sister. And, you know, so it's like, there's also that side too, you know. Well, what can I ask? What was the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened during a steel beans show? Oh, oh, you're rubbing your hands together. You got a good one. It's so it's so vast and nebulous. I honestly, God, the most absurd thing to happen in my show is like, what's the windiest wind at a hurricane or something? I mean, there's been some crazy stuff. The windiest wind of a hurricane? There's one time when this is not even that crazy, but for the people that were there, it was, I got a text in the middle of a show that, and by the way, this is like a small venue where I get two, three hours to do whatever I want. So it's not like a 30 minute set, whatever. But I get a text that like, I thought that my girlfriend was going into labor. And so I go, I think we're having the baby now. So the whole venue rushed up and all grabbed my stuff and we all crammed it into my little Saturn Ion. It's like drum set, keyboard, all this stuff. And then I roaced over and I went to the hospital and it was like a false alarm. Oh no. But I've also done, here's the thing is like, people told me for years back in the day that like, kind of remind me of Andy Kaufman a little bit. Oh yeah. I didn't really see that at the time. So I was like, huh, I guess. Thanks. I love Andy, but I didn't see the connection. And now years later, I kind of get it. It's pretty in your face that steel beans or salmonella records, which are kind of like synonymous. It really is such an inside joke that sometimes the, it's only inside to me. And now I realize like what they meant by that. Like I've done shows where I, I responded in email one time. No, I'm not available. This guy offered me a gig. I looked at the bill. It was like country, American artists. And I said, I'm not available, but these guys staying in my house from Nashville are a legit country duo. I'm sure they'd love to do it. This is perfect. So then my friend, Zach and I, who's a great comedian, a great songwriter, we both went as these characters from Nashville and talked in an accent. We came up with our whole back store. We wore our western best and we went in there and like maintained it the entire night telling everybody there. We're from Nashville. The owners of the place, whoever it was, are like, well, thank you kindly. And it's called the, we called it the runny nose bros. You are killing me. Did you come up with that on the spot when the call came in and literally went with it from that minute on? Yeah. That is insane. We carried this on the whole time. And there's even a moment that we're talking to somebody. She's like, Oh yeah, I'm from down by wherever. And we're like, what area? And we, we, we looked up in a neighborhood. So we're like, yeah, he's actually born in bowling green, but like we were practicing our access three in the morning, we get into his little tiny car and we close the doors and we go and we're just dying because it's like, we just have this, you know, but it's always been something like that. I'll call the baseball stadium and just make some shit up and pretend I'm some other dude and go, yeah, we really want to get this steel beans group in here to just perform something in the center of the field. It's like the inside joke is it's, it's such an onion layer. I do joke all the time that are relative to something we've been joking about in the van. Yeah, I do this all the time. And I'll throw it out there. And I know that a couple of people laugh just because it's silly, but the van, they're getting it. I'm like playing to them and that happens all the time. Anyways, I'm going to stop talking about that. No, it's awesome. I mean, it's like, you know, that's like a letterman. I was trying to figure out, was it a letterman or a Seinfeld thing where you can bring it back like the initial joke and then you can bring it back around in the end to and everyone gets it. Right, right. I think those call those those callbacks are great. And throughout my solo show, I kind of do that a lot. If somebody, if somebody does something that stands out or I'll do these, I'll build a song from scratch and I'll ask for people to call out the weirdest thing they can think of. And they'll be like Centaur, platypus tits, tractor. And I go, what kind of song is it? They'll go, it's a reggae, it's a metal. And I'll go, okay, it's a reggae song that turns into a metal solo and it's about a Centaur and a break of that. And I'll kind of like fire on these cylinders and hammer back all these things they just said. And I'll even impress myself if I can pull it off. But then 40 minutes later, I'll like bring it back around to the Centaur and tell a story about them or something, you know, it's, and the plan, it always feels like bonus points. It's awesome. I mean, I've never heard, did first of all, can we just rewind real quick from that last question I asked you, you said they called you to book you and you said, no, but I have a country band here. And then did they know that was you coming to the venue who booked you? Or did they think you were you were the Nashville band? No, dude, it's always something like that with us. Let me tell you, we just recently went on a tour down the West Coast. And I go, guys, I took my bassist, Sean, and a new drummer we've worked with, Wes. And I go, here's the thing, we're going to wear the red of our dogs beetle suits every day, not on stage, but on all of our off days. So we drove 14 hours to San Francisco from here, we're wearing black to black tie and aviators, walking into a gas station in the middle of nowhere. And we kind of look at each other and people are like, what the who the fuck are these guys? So every single day off days, travel days. And even when we load into the venue, we'd be dripping sweat loading the shit. But we're in our black ties in our in our matching black dark aviators, just looking like secret service everywhere we went. But then before we go on stage, I would change into the other clothes. So people like they couldn't figure us out. Oh, I brought all my fake plants. So I bring all these fake plants with us a lot of the time. So they can see us coming in with fake plants, a leaf blower suitcase, we're in the suits. They're like, what the fuck band is playing tonight? You know, that is so awesome. I can't even imagine anyone listening this who's not waiting to find out when steel beans is going to be playing at a venue near them, because you just don't know what's going to happen next. I need to know now. Two questions. And then I think I might let you go. No, I have three more. But what do you think music and comedy have in common at their core? Well, of course, they're their forms of expressing yourself. And I think that there's something that it takes a lot, it takes a long time to really get good at it. I see a lot of musicians or comedians kind of learn the beats or the form, and they can imitate a song. But it takes a long time to get good at it where it's like, oh, this is real. This stands up there with the greats, you know, it's like, I see this in comedy a lot now too, because of the internet, we have so many people getting videos or on stage, and they kind of know the timing and the phrasing, but their writing just isn't there. And I'd say the same for a lot of young bands that black their heart, like I don't want to discourage anybody. But there are a lot of bands that I'll see, and I'll go, all right, I really wish these guys well, but you know what, go in your basement for another five, 10 years and come back when you're Hendricks. That's the self awareness that a lot of people are lacking because it's that dudding frugor effect. You don't realize how good you are, because you're not qualified to understand what the quality is, you know, and how to even achieve it. You know, I think that's the real correlation between comedy and music is that you have to work on this a lot and you have to write all the time, you know, like the old saying, and this is one of my favorites is help me with this if you remember, but it's like, if I don't write for two days, I notice. If I don't write for a week, the audience notice, I'm messing that up. I believe it's Steve Martin, but like, I really think like that. It's like, you got to stay sharp and stay up on this. And I think comedy is really hard because that's like my solo show, I cannot practice it at home. I don't sit and play drums and guitar at the same time ever. The last time before this tour was almost two years ago. I may do it here and there, but it's never my goal, because it's a show that relies on having the people there. It's like trying to do a standup set in your bedroom. You can stand there and practice the things, but you got to read the room and like, in real time, kind of carry it a little bit. Make it do it for yourself and stick to what you like, but you also have to kind of keep everybody in it. And it's this person's this perfect balance between like, selflessness and narcissism or something where you got to believe in yourself so much. I know I'm good, but then you also have to connect just enough to keep people, keep people in. But it's a slippery slope to be in the arts, because everybody is really right on the edge of being called that. But one thing that happened to me over the years for sure, and I mentioned it earlier, is that switching to the solo show and getting a good reaction. I played to empty rooms for so many years. I started getting a little bit of that loathing for the audience. And so by default, I do these shows in the middle of nowhere to pay my rent, like $150 for three hours at a bar in the middle of the country. And so many people are just like, eating a burger, drinking, they're not even paying attention to the music, but I kind of learned to like, load the audience and the audience as the enemy and they're the target. And so that became kind of like the default of the show is kind of not trashing the audience, but like, I'm against them. They're the enemy. Until people are paying attention, there'll be three people over here that are paying attention. I start playing to them and like talking them up and I'm like celebrating them. And then I'm just ripping like, oh, fucking guy over here. And then the rest of the audience kind of pulls in with, you know, when they go, oh, wait, something's going on over here. You said narcissism. I think it's just a, you have to have a healthy ego. But I don't think you have to be a narcissist, by a healthy ego. And also, what else did you say? Oh, the enemy. What a great idea. You know, if they're the enemy, then how can you fail because that, and you also have to deal with all the things that are happening that are unknowns at the same time. I think that, you know, Bill Hicks and George Carlin, two of my all time favorites, they kind of displayed this for us in such a classy way that like, they clearly are exhausted with the human race and they're just over it. And they have such a good way of painting that. And I like really connect with that because I love people and I'm fascinated by them. But like, God, you know, these days, it's like a comment section is what will, like, I'll look at my comments on Facebook and it'll be like 50 subtract, subtract 50 from the IQ of what the comments would be elsewhere. And it's like, oh my God, it's like, you guys are the reason I go on stage and my default is ripping the audience, you know, and you deserve it. The keyboard cowboys who are fearless because they're nameless and faceless. In a world that can feel really, really heavy, speaking of which, because that really does add to it, which is why I try to stay off social media as much as possible, because I do believe it is really the worst version of yourself. It's great for business, but not for humans, for people. I don't know anything. But in a world that can feel really heavy, what role do you think entertainers like you play, you know, people who are deliberately, you're deliberately going out to try to make other people smile and heal. You're, you're sure on time, but you're hitting me with these really profound questions that are, I can't answer that without giving deep, but on a personal level, our role is to fulfill our own journey to be the best artist we can be. And that's the end of the story. But when it comes to being public, and our role is to uplift people. And it's, it's, you know, I'd love to make some money someday, but that's really not it. I can make money a lot of ways. At the end of the day, it's like I want to be so, I want to be proud of myself and impressed myself by coming a long way and being good at what I do. But I want, I want to create something. This is a tricky question, because I, I make everything for myself. But I know that there is an audience of like-minded people where that overlaps and they'll enjoy it. I think that the role of the artist is the same as it was in the medieval days of gestures and muses or whatever is that I have my problems. You have your problems, then I have these songs I worked really hard on. And there's these business and all this bullshit of the booking and the loading. But then once I get on stage, or any band gets on stage, you know, the people in the audience for a good 30 minutes or an hour, they, they forget all their problems. And they shut them off. And you're the distraction to, you're reminding them what life is really about. It's like smiling like there's no tomorrow and having a good time. And that's like the, that's the deepest end of public performance is that people got a babysitter, they went and sound parking, they slept all the way into your place and did all this stuff. And then while you're on, they can forget about their problems if you're doing it right. And I think that's the role of, of any performer. If someone's going through a rough patch right now, what would you tell them about the power of laughter? Go ahead. I feel like it's a game show now all of a sudden. You are on the East coast. Yes. You said, go ahead. Go ahead. And I'm from Boston originally. So I'm surprised it didn't, you know, I love Buffalo 66. Because one, two, tree, tree. And now, and now I love counting to tree. Remember to be able to laugh at yourself. You know, it's like, yeah, again, there are some moments where I'll be like, I'll be committing to some premise that is so ridiculous and not worthwhile or wearing something hideous and ridiculous. And I'm dragging the band or the audience along with me to make this big leap. And it's like, I could take it so seriously. But then at some point, I laugh or the audience laughs. And it's not even because of the joke. It's because of how far I'm trying to go to make this thing work that is just such a long shot that's not really worth it. And it's like being able to find the humor in anything is that's always been one of the things for me is you don't, you don't always know where the joke is. Because some like, I put on, you know, like, for example, the silver spandex onesie, the silver face paint and that wig, like, that's not that crazy where I come from. Like, in fact, that's my go to when I can't think of what to wear. I have those. And the silver is like a metallic powder, and it takes two minutes, I go, I don't know what to wear. So I'll default to that. And I kind of forget what I'm wearing, right? I'll forget that I'm even wearing that. And I'm up there and I'm doing a drum solo and a guitar solo at the same time. And then when it sits over, then I'll make a joke. And then I'll remember what I'm wearing. And it's just layers of now taking yourself seriously upon layers. It's like, I take the craft of music really seriously. And I take the, in the face of music, and all who stand before me, I want to create something that stands up to that and honor the seriousness of the craft. But I never take myself seriously. No, I mean, I think I look pretty cool. But I'm not really trying. Well, if you want to know what he looks like, go to silvertoneguitars.com because there's a picture of you. Oh, really? In that outfit you're describing online there. Yeah. So you didn't, you didn't know. Oh yeah. Oh, thanks guys. It's Silver Tone. No problem. Did comedy save you? Oh yeah, comedy has saved me and it saves me over and over again. If you can't laugh, then you're down bad, you know. At this point, it is really hard to get me to physically laugh. I feel like a stone, you know? I mean, I've just like seen a lot or something, but it's got to really tickle me in the right ways. I'll make a comedy sketch or a promo video for a show that's funny. It doesn't physically make me laugh because I'm experiencing my own thing. But as soon as I show it to somebody else, I'll kind of laugh when they laugh for some reason. It's like contagious like that. Yes. It's strange about your own thing that you're creating and then like studying where people laugh and what they find funny about, you know? I think that every comedian probably suffers from that because you can't, you can like be aware like, oh, that's funny, but it doesn't like make you laugh, gut laugh, you know? Totally. I mean, I, but, and can I give you a quick example? My best friend, Scott, would tell me a story about something that happened to him in his childhood that was horrific with like his dad or his mom and the way he would tell the story. I would burst out laughing in the end and then he would laugh, but then he would go, no, but that was serious, you know? Yeah, Jeff, I love that. Like, you know, I was climbing up a tree to get away from my father and you think this is funny? This scarred me for life, you know? That's the thing. That's the key right there is being able to laugh at all of that stuff. It's like, you know, everybody, when they grow up, they reach a certain age where they take mushrooms and they think about everything their parents ever taught them and they go, my parents were literally like, I'm in my 20s and my parents had me what I was like me right now. Like they hardly know what the fuck they were talking about. That's just shit that other people told them. And you kind of reevaluate everything you've been told and you're like, all right, half of this stuff is maybe not correct. So I'm going to rebuild and be my own person and just kind of take the good and then, you know, filter out the shit that maybe people were just making it up and going along, you know? Yeah, that is in a nutshell what we're supposed to do, right? Take all the best qualities and then leave all the worst and there's no book written, so everyone's practicing. Most people do the opposite. They're like, okay, so I'm going to drink heavy Smokopiant amounts of marijuana. Oh my goodness, Jeremy DeBarty, I don't want to let you go. Give me one more question. What's next for steel beans? Where can people find you, see you, experience you, immerse themselves in all things you? Well, do yourselves a favor, follow me on all platforms. I'm mainly on Instagram, but I'm trying to get people on the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Salmonella records. I'm on Twitch or whatever. I'm not really good at it. Get on socials and see me do something over the next month before I smash my phone and get back on the road. You know, I just set out an album. I'm working on the next one. We're going to be getting back on the road soon, trying to get out to the UK and Europe and the East Coast as soon as possible. So really right now, we're just waiting for the time where it's safe in my rear wheel drive van because in the, you know, it's kind of random. The mountain passes will get snow, so I want to be safe. But thank you so much for having me. It's been such a pleasure to have you here, really. I mean, what a refreshing conversation with like just such a real human being, but who's also going out there and actually you're saving people with your comedy, not just yourself. Oh, thank you. I hope so. And yeah, if not, that's okay. But I think anybody paying attention, it'll find the right people. And yeah, man, thank you so much for having me. I will keep talking forever. Jeremy DeBarty, Steel Beans, Comedy Saved Me, thank you and all the best to you and yours. Thank you so much.