Beards of Comedy

Beards Bid A Fond “Farewell”

beardsofcomedy — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:47:25 +0000

After more than four years as a touring comedy collective, the Beards of Comedy – Andy Sandford (Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Rooftop Comedy’s Silver Nail), Dave Stone (Adult Swim’s Squidbillies, LA Weekly’s 12 Comics to Watch), TJ Young (UCBLA’s Comedy Death-Ray, “Stand Out Stand-Up” Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival) and Joe Zimmerman (Timeout NY, Laughing Skull Festival Finalist) – have decided to draw the curtains on their impressive group run in favor of pursuing new collaborations and individual projects. The Beards of Comedy part ways on good terms and with fond memories and gratitude for all they’ve managed to accomplish together.

Since forming in Atlanta, Georgia in 2008, The Beards of Comedy have performed hundreds of shows all across the country, bringing their mix of stand-up, sketch, music, and improv to countless comedy clubs, music venues, and theaters. Between performances at large colleges and headlining some of the country’s best clubs and comedy rooms, The Beards also released two albums (2009’s “Comedy for People” for Rooftop Comedy Productions and 2011’s “Cardio Mix” on Comedy Central Records), created and released several viral sketches on YouTube and FunnyorDie.com and their most recent web series “Beards Across America” (on MSN.com) has received over 1,000,000 views and counting.

The Beards of Comedy would like to thank all of the friends and fans who provided support and encouragement throughout this incredible journey.

Beards farewell tour dates, May 2013…

May 7th – Charlotte, NC
May 8th – Athens, GA
May 9-12 – Atlanta, GA

College Video for 2012 NACA submissions

beardsofcomedy — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Each year we submit a new 3 minute video to NACA conferences so that colleges programmers and activity directors can decide if they want to have us (like there’s any good reason NOT to, right?).

We’re all very proud of this year’s submission:

Beards hit the Gym – A New Video Short

beardsofcomedy — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:57:49 +0000

Our second album “Cardio Mix” with Comedy Central Records

beardsofcomedy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:01:55 +0000

Here at the offices of Beards & Sons Inc. we are quite pleased to announce the release of our second album, “Cardio Mix” with Comedy Central Records. Comedy Central is a great company, which has of course been dying to work with us for years, and finally we have relented, to their great relief. It was recorded at the Laughing Skull Lounge in Atlanta this past July (2011), with 100% different material from our first CD “Comedy for People.” We believe it is the perfect comedy album to work out to, and unlike “Comedy for People” we believe dogs and buffaloes and other mammals can also get some laughs. We would like to point out, that the Laughing Skull lounge is the world’s smallest comedy club, with a fire code of 74. This means, if you only hear 74 people laughing, that means 100% of the crowd is laughing. We chose to perform at such an intimate venue, because we believe it is the closest we can get to performing for one person – you. That’s right, we recorded this album specifically for you. So it would be quite a shame if you didn’t listen.

The critical reviews have been very positive so far. Nerdist.com gave us a great review here (thanks Nerds) and we have another good review from “Under the Gun” here and then Ed Placencia gave us a killer review on his Comedy Review blog here.

Oh, and this is exciting – Cardio Mix was the most popular of all comedy albums on Rdio.com last week, and #4 of ALL overall albums (including music), coming in just ahead of Belle & Sebastian, and right behind Bell & Sebastian’s other slightly more popular album. Suffice it to say, when it comes to Rdio.com, we are both more popular and less popular, than Belle & Sebastian.

Comedy Central has written up a release to the press, which you can read with your eyeballs here.

Still not excited? Well Crave named it one of the TOP THREE comedy albums of November. WOH!

I think the point is clear – if you are a fan of the Beards of Comedy (us) then this is a must have album. If you are not a fan of the Beards of Comedy, than this is still a MAYBE have! And just remember, for each purchase of Cardio Mix on Itunes or Amazon, a baby seal in Africa is given a month’s worth of smiles. That’s a literal true fact.

You can get it on Itunes here or Amazon here . Just click on the purple “here’s” and you’ll go right to the right place.

Due to living in the future, physical copies are only available at live shows, so if you’d like to give physical copies for Xmas, you can always get it on Itunes and burn it to a physical CD. Or, you can come to a live show! We just finished our first CD release tour hitting Atlanta, Athens, Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Charleston. It was great, thanks for asking, and thanks to all of the wonderful folks who came out and brought us pumpkin pie (you know who you are Kelly). We’ve always wanted to receive pies from fans, so it was a dream come true. A CD release tour for the northeast is set for the last week in January, and midwest and west coast tours are currently in the works as well. If you would like the Beards in your home town, just organize yourself, and 5,000 of your friends, and march down your town’s main street, demanding your mayor’s head on a pike, unless he brings the Beards to your town. That’s how grass root movements work, yes?

Finally, if you are a hard core Beards of Comedy fan, and you are asking, “Hey, I love you guys so much, how can I share this with my friends?” Well, we’ve made it easy with a public Facebook event here, that is available for sharing through December 30th. Just click “attend” and you can click on the “invite friends” button, and invite as many friends as you want. Remember, everyone who shares this with a friend, receives two smiling baby African seals in the mail.

p.s. TJ did the artwork for the cover, which we here at Beards & Sons all agree is beautiful. We’re very proud of TJ, who continues to draw artwork, against all odds, and despite many setbacks and failures:

CD Cover

In closing, we would like to thank everyone who helped make this CD possible, who we have already thanked more specifically in the liner notes. Also, if you’ve already forgotten where you can get “Cardio Mix”, it is at Itunes here and Amazon here.

Video Short: “Breakfast Banditos”

beardsofcomedy — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:56:35 +0000

Video Short: “The Stain”

beardsofcomedy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:08:16 +0000

Upcoming Tour w/ Ticket Links (NC, SC, GA, KY, NE, MO, TN)

beardsofcomedy — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:23:38 +0000

3.22 – Asheville, NC
The Magnetic Field (beautiful new venue in the River District!)
8 PM Show / 7 PM Doors – $10 Cover
Reservations at 828 – 257-4003, or stop by the Field in person.
Special guest is Asheville Comedian and Disclaimer humorist, Cary Goff!

3.23 – Greenville, SC
The Coffee Underground (back in the Acoustic Room)
8 PM – Doors at 7:30
$5 Advance Tickets / $8 at the door

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158917

Special Greenville guest Charlie Grey, no way!

3.25 – Augusta, GA
Sky City Music Hall
9 PM Show/ Doors at 8 – $10
Advance Tickets: https://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1453322&cobrand=skycity
Special Augusta guest Brian Supan!

3.26 – Wilmington, NC
Nutt Street Comedy Room
8 PM Show/7 PM Doors
$10 advance through e-tix / $12 day of

https://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1410202

Special Guest Timmy Sherrill from Nutt Street Comedy & the Cape Fear Comedy Fest!

3.27 – Athens, GA (Tickets going fast for this one)
Merj Presents at The Rialto Room
8 PM show – 6 PM doors for Dinner/Drinks
$8 Advance / $10 day of
Advance: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158918
Special Guest Atlanta’s Jack Storz!

3.29 Frankfurt, KY
The Dragon Pub
$10 Cover through the Dragon Pub

3.30 Omaha, NE – Side Door Lounge

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158059

3.31 Kansas City, MO – Czar Bar
Ticketed through venue

4.1 Columbia, MO – Cafe Berlin
Free show! Reserve your spot at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158067

4.2 Saint Louis, MO – Pops Blue Moon

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158068

4.4 JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158071

4.5 Zanies – Nashville, TN
Ticketed through Zanies ($5)
Special Guest Chad Riden!!

4.6-9 Atlanta, GA – Laughing Skull Comedy Festival
SkullFestival.com

Kennewick, WA with special guest, Brian Regan?

beardsofcomedy — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:33:13 +0000

Posted by Joe

They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, because inevitably you’ll be disappointed. That could not have been further from the case last night with Brian Regan.

He had a show across town at a hockey arena, and came over to hang out afterward. TJ made the connection a few weeks ago, when Regan stopped in to the Laughing Skull, after a Maria Bamford show. TJ even told me we’d be in Kennewick on the same night, and that maybe he’d come hang out again, or even do a guest spot. I was just like, “Yeah, okay TJ. Brian Regan will do a giant sold-out arena, and then drive over in his tour bus to our little show and do a guest spot? Right.” Being “realistic” isn’t always realistic, because that’s exactly what happened.

I had just gone on stage when he walked in and sat down in the audience. It was 9:30, and we were expecting him at 10:15, so I was not mentally prepared for him to see my set, and I felt a noticeable “gulp” sensation from my heart region. I tried to be present, but my brain just went, “Holy shit, there’s Brian Regan!”
“Don’t botch it!”
“Quick, what are your best jokes?!”
“Brian Regan just clapped at something! That’s good right?!”
“Or is he just being nice?
“Should I cut my set short, since Brian Regan is here? He probably doesn’t want to watch comedy.”
“Or should I go long, since Brian Regan is HERE, watching comedy?”

I have no idea if I did well, or terribly. For all I know I spoke in tongues for fifteen minutes.

TJ asked him if he wanted to do a guest set and he did. He opened perfectly with some hair humor, and commented on the convex stage stool at Jack Didley’s, ” could they find a more difficult stool to balance a beer on? Maybe next time they’ll just put a little PYRAMID up here.”

It was amazing to see him live, and performing for a small crowd – several of whom didn’t necessarily know who he was. At one point, a phone from the bar rang loudly, and you could almost see him laugh at the memory, “Oh okay, comedy club.”

We sat in the audience and laughed extremely hard. He broke out into some of his classics and did his spider web joke, which is one of my favs, and frequently quoted.

Just to see him live for the first time would have been enough to make my night, let alone be on the same show. But then he proceeded to hang out and buy us drinks. When one of your heroes starts sending Patron your way, it’s a fun way to fall off the wagon.

He cracked us up for an hour, and then invited us back to his tour bus. I think we all battled the urge to go into fan mode and blurt, “Oh hey Brian, did you know that you’re the best?!”

At one point I let slip a question that was too serious for the situation, and I realized as it came out of my mouth:
“Do you run into challenges with giant theater crowds, that are different from the club challenges?”
In a completely sincere tone he said, “Well, you know, it’s hard when they sing ‘for he’s a jolly good fellow’ and carry you off on their shoulders all the time. Sometimes they aren’t listening, or they might drop you…”
Everyone laughed at my face.

Me getting owned

TJ had given him a Beards CD in Atlanta, and it was surreal to see it sitting there on his bus. Toward the end of the night he asked us to sign it.

It seems like stars often become stars, because they are stars (i.e. magnetic, talented, hilarious, etc). People with star power have the ability to give people around them a great experience, and a memory they’ll never forget, and it was nice of Brian Regan to be so generous in that regard.

Meeting your heroes is awesome.

————————————————–
If you’re not familiar with Brian Regan (I’m talking to mostly my Mom here, and perhaps my Dad), he’s one of the most successful and well respected comedians in the world, and one of a very select few without a TV show, who can consistently do arenas, based solely on their stand up. Many of his jokes and mannerisms have made their way into pop-culture, and even some common parlance (“you too” and “take luck”). Most likely, you’ve heard him quoted in conversation without knowing it.

If you feel like laughing, here is a famous bit he does on the emergency room:

Great Review from the Meltdown Show in L.A.

beardsofcomedy — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 01:28:15 +0000

To see the whole review, complete with pictures go here: http://www.thecomedybureau.com/post/2967452657/beards-amongst-beards
Written by Jake Kroeger / the Comedy Bureau
“Beards Amongst Beards In a many parts of this vast disconnected metropolis populated by the phenomena known as “the hipster” (many of the male form sport an unruly beard), there is a thick haze of cynical intellectualism that has seeped into the cultural DNA of Los Angeles. Even within comedy and the intention to bring levity to a group strangers, an air of pretension precedes many jokes with obscure references and abstract irony. Again, many of these male “hipsters” take on the growth of a beard almost as a uniform of their general disdain for the main stream.

Though they have some mighty thick beards, the Beards of Comedy hardly come within a ballpark of the above description as they have an approach to comedy that, I believe, is welcoming to all (well, mostly all as long as you like your comedy leaning on the smarter side of the fence). As they have an album called, “Comedy for People”, the quartet of Joe Zimmerman, Andy Sandford, TJ Young, and Dave Stone collectively bring a take on America and “the South” that’s both charming, yet highly satirical much to the delight of the tight crowd at Meltdown Comics.

The comedic balance struck between the four who carry many comedy accolades with them all from Rooftop Comedy to being Atlanta’s Best Comedian via AtlantaStandsUp.com was so great that the show moved forward quite effortlessly even with the amazingly hilarious musings of comedic genius/special guest Kyle Kinane. With the fresh goofiness of TJ Young, the clever conciseness of Andy Sandford, down-to-earth truthful observations of Dave Stone, and the joyful absurdities of Joe Zimmerman (pictured at top), The Beards of Comedy put on such a damn fine show, I could have sworn that the crickets outside shut up.

Together, as hinted above, they bring a hope about “the South” that there are people, thinkers if you will, that defy the dreary stereotypes constantly made fun of by several comics including themselves and unfortunately played up by the “Blue Collar Comedy Tour”. At one part of the show, Joe Zimmerman took a guitar and TJ Young took a bucket and played a “Sad Emotional Song”, which, to me, a self-loathing hopeless romantic, was a pitch perfect barb on the popular singer/songwriter music that overwhelms indie film soundtracks today. Though being a far cry from “Git R’ Done”, I hope the Beards’ brand of comedy experiences a similar meteoric rise.

Currently on tour throughout the West Coast, the Beards of Comedy will helpfully extend their tour or simply go another one to stop by Los Angeles. In the meantime, you can purchase their album, “Comedy for People” here and stay tuned to the Comedy Bureau for what is sure to be a date with destiny back in LA to be beards that stand out from the madding crowd (of beards).”

West Coast Day 7: Update from Andy (from Santa Cruz)

beardsofcomedy — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:11:54 +0000

So here’s the thing: Beards Joe and TJ have been doing the blogging thus far. They are hoping that I won’t notice, and that the public will look at Dave and I like we’re assholes. Well I am not an asshole; and even if I were an asshole, Dave is a way bigger asshole. He probably won’t do one blog entry this whole trip. What an asshole.

I think this is day 7 of this tour: the quarter-month mark. Only a little over half of a quarter-month left to go. The time has flown by in a slow and grueling sort of way. As I sit now, being handsome in a hotel room in Santa Cruz, my burp conjures flavorful memories of the delicious dim-sum dinner Dave and I devoured delightfully in Dan Frandisco’s “Dina Down District.”

…Sorry, I just got a little carried away with alliteration and may have skewed some facts. But facts are secondary. What is important that is that The Beards of Comedy are getting super rich off of this tour.

At any rate, I suppose you guys want to know how the show at Purple Onion went. It was really fun. Dave ate this peanut butter cookie…I think something was wrong with it. Shortly after eating the cookie, he appeared glassy-eyed, and hungry. It was some kind of strange food poisoning that makes you really hungry. Dave said he’s dealt with it before, and thank goodness he pulled through in time for the show. There were, however, some lingering effects from the poisoning: slight delirium, laughing at his own crowd work, punching a heckler in the face…ok, the last one didn’t happen, but you were about to get really excited about this blog entry.

I told every joke that I have the funnest time doing. The crowd was basically like: “we love you no matter what, so we want you to do that thing about killing the girl with the shovel” …you know without saying it. I have an album on vinyl, “The Smothers Brothers: Live at the Purple Onion.” It’s one of ma faves, and it was cool to know that I was standing in the same spot they were making people laugh not quite as much as they did. All the Beards had a great time at the Purple Onion and Chris Garcia, our special San Fran guest spot, did a wonderful job.

After the show we trucked on over (with our feet) to Punchline, where our good friends and great comedians Karl Hess, Grant Lyon, and Sean Patton were performing. Unfortunately, I missed Karl and Grant’s sets, but I caught Sean’s and he did not disappoint as he always manages to not do. We spent the rest of the night hanging in an amazing city with friends from the small comedy world.

Before we left for Santa Cruz, we stopped by the Rooftop Headquarters and enjoyed free pizza from Ed’s birthday. They begged us to sign our album, and we obliged.

Last night’s show in Santa Cruz was also super-fun-goodtime. It was at Don Quixote’s, which had an impressive showroom. Rooftop connected us to Andy Wood from the Bridgetown fest, who was in town on some sort of surfing/soul-searching stop off before his move from Portland to LA, so we asked if he wanted to be our special guest spot and he enthusiastically said “ok.” He did great, and I was impressed by the raucous laughter that emanated from the chill beach people of Santa Cruz.

Today: a day off. What?! I know! We are going to find a laundromat near the beach or something. Who knows what could happen…probably laundry. Laundry could happen.

-Andy
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Next stop is Portland on Wednesday at the Beauty Bar. It’s the only free show of the tour, and it’s at 8 PM, with special guest Richard Bain. It’s not “free” like a free car wash either. It’s real free. Seriously, you can walk in the door without paying anything.