Comedian Chris Gethard has released a surprise new album of stand-up. Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese: A Comedic Tribute to New Jersey is out now on Don Giovanni. The release is composed entirely of Jersey-specific material. Give it a listen below.
Taylor Ham, Egg, and Cheese was recorded live at the Asbury Park Brewery. “I’ve made an album that, by definition, will only be fully enjoyed by people in New Jersey,” Gethard said in a press release. He continued:
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.
Back in June, Gethard launched Chris Gethard Presents following the end of his cult public access program The Chris Gethard show in 2018.
Read Pitchfork’s 5-10-15-20 interview “Abbi Jacobson on the Music That Made Her.”