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Promotional art for And I Am Not Lying
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

And I Am Not Lying

Jeff Simmermon

Comedy Dynamics · Album · 2017

A dry comedy debut about cancer, divorce, and musical chickens.

Jeff Simmermon lives in the overlap between traditional stand-up and public-radio storytelling. His debut album, recorded live backstage at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., plays less like a series of setups and punchlines and more like a collection of strange, self-deprecating memoirs. The centerpieces of the set are highly specific, deeply weird personal trials, including his brief tenure in an art-rock band where he and a bandmate backed two live chickens improvising on toy pianos.\n\nSimmermon, a Moth GrandSlam champion and contributor to This American Life, was working as a digital communications director for Time Warner Cable before pivoting more fully to performance. That polished, conversational capability shows. He recounts losing a testicle to cancer, slaughtering kangaroos in the Australian outback, and a deeply embarrassing grocery-spill-turned-screaming-match over a container of Ben & Jerry’s on a New York subway.\n\nComedy Dynamics released the album in June 2017, which debuted at the top of the iTunes comedy charts and was eventually pressed onto hot pink vinyl by Dischord Records. Reviewers noted that while the hour favors slow-burn narrative tension over rapid-fire punchlines, Simmermon’s performance succeeds on the strength of his highly visual point of view.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Playing typewriter percussion in the art-rock band Royal Quiet Deluxe alongside two chickens playing toy pianos.

    Recounts performing in Virginia, hopes of touring Japan, and having to explain the concept of the chicken band while seated next to Reverend Al Sharpton at a formal dinner.

  2. Losing a testicle to cancer.

    Approaches the diagnosis and surgery as a Cronenberg-style body-horror experience while reflecting on life as a survivor.

  3. An empathetic screaming match on a New York City subway train.

    Details a grocery bag disaster that escalates into an intense, unexpected moment of communal and furious empathy.

  4. Working for a kangaroo hunter in the Australian outback.

    Shares the visceral, unglamorous reality of collecting, slaughtering, and gutting kangaroo carcasses.

  5. Dating after seven years following a surprise divorce.

    Examines the awkwardness and disorientation of re-entering the dating scene after years out of circulation.

How it plays

Tone
Ludicrous yet whimsical, fluctuating between disgusting, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny.
On stage
Charming, candid storyteller with an uncommon perspective who takes full personal responsibility for his bizarre predicaments.
Pace
Long-form narrative pacing that unfolds like music, focusing on rhythmic phrasing, emotional resonance, and consistent chuckles rather than standard setup-punchline standup cadence.
About
Cancer survival, Absurd musical ventures, Dating after divorce, Australian outback misadventures, Public transit empathy

What the critics said

Praised as an entertaining and charming storytelling debut that will appeal to fans of shows like The Moth, succeeding through well-crafted narratives and nuanced emotional arcs rather than traditional rapid-fire standup punchlines.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: jeffsimmermon.bandcamp.com, dischord.com, comedydynamics.com, blackcatdc.com, popculturebeast.com, washingtonpost.com, washingtoncitypaper.com, jeffsimmermon.com.

Backstory

Simmermon transitioned his background in storytelling (featured on This American Life and The Moth) and his monthly NYC variety show 'And I Am Not Lying' into a full-length recorded album, incorporating deeply personal life events such as a cancer battle and a surprise divorce.

Details

Released
Taped
Black Cat, Washington
Where
Comedy Dynamics (album)
Honors
#1 on the iTunes comedy charts
Topics

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