You know that feeling when you just hear one track of a comedy album and you know the rest is going to be fantastic. That is the feeling I had listening to MIKE BRODY’s new album SELL ME A BRIDGE, out today wherever comedy is streamed and sold. The album, taped in Minneapolis at Sisyphus Brewing, is the end product of years of struggle in Brody’s life. If this is the light that can come out of those dark times, then that struggle was most definitely well-rewarded. Sell Me A Bridge covers everything from Brody’s bouts with addiction and mental health issues to stories of pet dachshunds and traveling out West for the first time. There’s really something for everyone on this album and Brody’s storytelling style is truly contagious. In this interview with the Minneapolis-base comedian, who has appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Bob & Tom Show” and is the official event comedian for the SyFy Channel’s TV show “Ghost Hunters,” you will learn what inspired the Brody’s second album, his paranormal interests, his motivating canines, and what he hopes you’ll take away from listening to this inspiring album. Jeez, are we glad Brody decided to pursue comedy instead of journalism. Enjoy!
COMEDY CAKE: It’s been a couple years since you’ve recorded a comedy album. What inspired you most putting together the upcoming album?
MIKE BRODY: A few really rough things happened in my personal life in the time between my last album and now. I had a relapse that almost cost me my marriage. Within a 5 month period my best friend died very tragically and my wife’s father died. I had a major period of depression surrounding around all that. Of course, my full-time job being stand-up meant that I was still performing, but I was mostly just staying afloat and wasn’t generating new material. Slowly but surely, my depression started to turn around with the help of a good therapist, medication, AA, my wife and friend’s support and better self-care. I was finally able to stop and think clearly and I realized I had become unbelievably bored with what I was talking about on stage. My delivery had gotten really sharp, but there was a disconnect between the kind of random generic dude stuff I was talking about and this more mature, focused (yet still extremely weird) person I had become. So I set a deadline for myself in January 2017 that I would record an album in mid-August and that I wouldn’t shy away from any topic. It put a lot of pressure on me, but I found myself revitalized and ended up writing what is the best material of my career so far.
CAKE: My understanding is that “Sell Me a Bridge” is a more personal project for you, was it difficult telling the darker stories of your life to a live audience?
BRODY: Yes, it is…or it was. But now I’ve had so many people come up to me after the show to say that they related to a certain topic, or that they appreciate the honesty, etc. I’ve enjoyed connecting with people on that level, so any discomfort is a small price to pay.
CAKE: On the album you discuss subject matter like sobriety and depression. What do you hope folks will take away after listening to your personal battles with these common life obstacles?
BRODY: I believe that we all go through dark times and it always helped me to hear stories of people coming out the other side of it, so I hope that’s what my stories do for others. The dark stuff is mixed in with other ridiculous stories from my life and that is something I very consciously did. I wanted to put out an album that was genuine and relatable but also, above all, made people laugh and even if they see themselves in my flaws, they can walk away feeling light and not weighed down by it all. Despite all my addiction issues and mental health struggles, I’m an optimistic guy at the end of the day.
CAKE: My favorite track off the album is “Mike Brody Goes West” where you tell the story of moving to Los Angeles for the first time and living in a crack house. How on Earth did you make it through that time?
BRODY: Lots of crying. I was just so hideously unprepared and too stubborn to immediately admit it. I checked my lock 10 times a day and luckily my window had bars on it. But for all the weird people there and horrible lows, there were some strangely beautiful moments too. When I finally decided to pack it in and move back to the Midwest, this woman in the lobby grabbed my hands and made me pray with her for my safety for the 2000 miles drive home. I barely knew her and I’m not particularly religious, but it was actually kind of sweet. So those little moments got me through. Also, did I mention crying?
CAKE: Before you tried your hand at comedy at that fateful open mic, how did you spend your time?
BRODY: I started comedy in my last 6 months of college. I was a journalism major at the University of Iowa, which I really wasn’t super passionate about as a career path. I was and still am extremely into music, so I organized a lot of punk and hardcore shows at small venues in Iowa like VFWs and at one point I had my own punk zine. But mostly I drank A LOT. I drank for the first five years of my comedy career too. Really between 16 and 27 I just drank and did very little of note besides stumbling through college, but the second I did my first open mic I was hooked. I called my parents that night wasted at 2am to tell them I was going to be a comic instead of a journalist. I’m sure they were thrilled.
CAKE: It’s been a blast reading your old ghost hunter confessionals. How did your gig as SyFy Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” official event comedian happen? What do your responsibilities entail?
BRODY: I was on Myspace, if that gives you a timeframe, and had one joke about ghosts because I have a lifelong interest in the paranormal. I posted it and sent it to various groups in the midwest hoping I’d get to do the Wausau Wisconsin Paranormal Xmas Party or something. But I got a message from Amy Bruni, who at the time was the producer of their radio show and later a cast member on the Ghost Hunters tv show, asking me if I could do 45 minutes on ghosts and host their events. And I was like “YEP! I have TONS of ghost jokes!” I did not. I had one. But I frantically wrote a sets worth of paranormal material. They’ve had me back dozens of times now. The events are now through Amy’s company Strange Escapes and her show is now Kindred Spirits, but many of the faces are still the same. The paranormal crowd is a very interesting, tight-knit group. Basically, I do 45 minutes of paranormal jokes, host/MC the event over the weekend by bringing up their speakers and then help lead ghost tours where I stay up late in crazy haunted places with people from various ghost shows like Kindred Spirits, Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, etc. I’ve met amazing people and gotten to stay in some of the world’s most haunted places like the hotel that The Shining is based on. I even spent the night in a cell in Alcatraz.
CAKE: You’ve worked with comedy greats like Jay Pharoah, Dave Attell, Patrice O’Neal, Emo Philips, Doug Stanhope & more, what upcoming comedians have you watched that have the potential to rise to stardom?
BRODY: Oh man, it’s so hard to say. So much goes into comedy other than being funny: luck, work ethic, etc. I think on a bigger level, someone like Aparna Nancerla is on the verge of becoming a superstar. Also Cy Amundson, who is a very close friend, so don’t tell him I said that. On a smaller, more local Midwestern level there are great people like Mike Cronin, Courtney Baka, Mike Lester, Chloe Radcliffe, Ali Sultan, Ben Katzner and many, many more who could definitely make big waves if they hang in there. Minneapolis grows great comedic talent, I have a lot of pride in my city.
CAKE: One of your claims to fame is the viral video “Kevin Love Jersey Burning – MN Nice Style.” Do you have any aspirations to make more sports related videos like this or was this just one particularly special passion project?
BRODY: I would definitely make more videos, either sports related or any topic really. I’m a huge Timberwolves fan and I just had the premise in my head one day, even though I really had almost zero experience making videos, but I was hellbent on making it. My wife Zan helped bring it to life by editing down hours of footage, which had both lines written by me and stuff improv’d by local comics. We have tossed around a few other ideas for videos, so I’m sure one of these days I’ll get the itch to create something like that again.
CAKE: On the album you talk about your pet dachshunds. When are Daisy & Frosty getting their own sponsorship?
BRODY: In so many ways my dogs have surpassed me in fame. I have an instagram for them daisyfrostyandmoe and they are pretty accustomed to coming on the road. People can often catch me walking them around after shows. I don’t take them with as much recently because we got a third dog, Moe. Moe gets carsick which is sort of endearing, but also a nightmare on 12 hour drives. I think every comic should have a dog because they give you unconditional love and constant validation which all comics are desperate for.
CAKE: Any upcoming projects you’d like to mention?
BRODY: My new album “Sell me a Bridge” is out October 27th. I am already working on my next hour and I have a strong vision and direction for it, so I’ll be hitting the road this winter to tighten up that material.
Mentions: Pick up digital and physical copies of the album at www.mikebrody.com.