CHRIS FAIRBANKS IS TOTALLY KEYTARDED
Chris Fairbanks left the scenic comfort of Big Sky Country Montana a few years ago for the big city lights of Los Angeles, California, and he’s never looked back. In a relatively short amount of time, he’s performed at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, starred in two reality television shows, earned first runner-up in Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots Contest, and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Comic Standing, and Premium Blend. Not too shabby for a country boy.
Chris took a moment to talk to us about his upcoming live album, which he’ll be recording for Rooftop Comedy Records on Wednesday, September 30th and Thursday, October 1st at the The Punchline Comedy Club in San Francisco, Ca.
ROOFTOP: What can we expect from your new album, my man?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: Mostly funny jokes, a few stories about my life, three awkward moments, one really sad moment, and of course, a lot of keytar driven jazz-metal fusion.
ROOFTOP: Walk us through the process of creating your upcoming album. Did you get to point in your act when you decided, “Man, my act is really tight right now, I need to get this down on tape”, or did you set a goal to record an album by a certain date, and work towards making that happen?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: I never wanted to, or put pressure on myself to “drop” an album. I only started thinking about doing it when people started asking for one after shows. It’s definitely high time though, I’ve been doing this for over ten years and have yet to record. I’ve tried in the past, but a large part of my act is often unscripted and I rarely just stick to my jokes. I’d like to, but my brain always takes my mouth on little detours. I’d like my CD to just be of my material, so I’m going to try to curb the improvisation a little bit for this recording.
ROOFTOP: So, how have you been preparing for the recording?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: The only way to prepare is to perform as much as possible, and that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve seriously gone up about 25 times in the last month.
ROOFTOP: Of all the clubs in the country, why did you pick the San Francisco Punchline to record your album? Of all the labels, why Rooftop?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: Well, I only know of three comedy labels that even exist, and Rooftop approached me first, which kind of made it easy. I think with anyone else, I’d be completely on my own with any kind of promotion, and self promotion has never been my strong suit. The Punchline in San Francisco is undeniably one of the best in the country, and Rooftop is able to record there, so that was that. I’ve actually never really hit it out of the park there, which is good. I think the crowds there are pretty smart and savvy and you need to sort of earn their laughs – they don’t just hand them over. Knowing this will make me work harder to have a better set because I always like to do well at that club.
ROOFTOP: Aside from being a hilarious comedian, you’re also quite the artist. Will you be doing the artwork for your record?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: Yes, for either the front or back cover, I drew up a keytar smashing through a brick wall. It looks like an Iron Maiden rock concert t-shirt had a baby with a Pink Floyd album cover, but the baby was born with an interest in hip-hop and techno, disappointing both of its parents. Does that make sense? Also, I just had some amazing photos taken by Robyn Von Swank with some smoke machines and crazy lighting. I very well may use one of those as the cover. I’m oiled up and naked in a few of them.
ROOFTOP: Do you have any interest in showing your artwork anywhere other than www.chrisfairbanks.com? Any plans on releasing a book or showing your work at a gallery?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: First of all, my new website is “dropping” in like a month. As far as a book, I’ve been thinking about writing/drawing a graphic novel illustrating my jokes and stories. The only obstacle with that has been my laziness. In order to get something like that published, it has to be at least 150-200 pages, which would take me a year at least. My drawings are just too detailed. I think that’s something I’ll do when and if I take a break from stand up. Just in general, I plan on painting a little more. We’ll see about a gallery. My past experience has been, it takes more time and hustle than with stand up to be a successful artist, so I’ve laid off it in the past couple years to focus on comedy. But it’s been my dream to have those two things intersect.
ROOFTOP: Once the record is in the can, what’s next for Chris Fairbanks?
CHRIS FAIRBANKS: Now I’ve gotta book some road gigs so I can sell the thing. I’ve kinda been flying solo with that lately. A few months ago, I had pneumonia for weeks and it made me crazy. One night, in a fit of sweaty fever dreams, I fired my manager, agent and girlfriend all within an hour. None of them were working hard enough. So, for better or worse, I’m dealing with a clean slate for getting my own gigs, and I feel like it’s for the better. But, I miss the girlfriend.
Posted: September 28th, 2009 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Interview, Shows. Author: Chris G .
Comments: none
Write a comment