Retrospective: Jeff Simmermon

"I feel like storytelling shows get real sweater vesty, like if you have too many people, like, talking about their difficult childhoods at a time, my ass starts to hurt pretty fast--my mind's ass starts to hurt. Then, burlesque shows--you get too many of those folks in the same room and it gets skanky after about an hour. And then comedy shows can get too mean. I want to take all that and mix it all up." --Jeff Simmermon

Jeff Simmermon is a live performer whose hallmarks are originality, daring and heart. In this conversation, Jeff shares about:

• what he learned from having a ska metal band as a teenager
• the performers who inspired him
• creating since toddlerhood
• love in his 30s, and
• what no one told him about hosting a live show.

You can read one of my favorite posts by Jeff here:

One Year After: When the Curtain Calls for You

JEFF SIMMERMON is a writer and storyteller who regularly appears at shows around New York. He has written for Vice Magazine, appeared onstage at The Moth's GrandSlam, on the Moth's podcast, and on This American Life. He produces, hosts and performs in And I Am Not Lying, a comedy storytelling burlesque sideshow that has appeared around NYC, at SXSW 2012 and most recently at the Black Cat in Washington, DC. The show is based on a blog packed full of stories, art, and other weirdness at www.andiamnotlying.com. And even though he's been writing for years, he never gets any better at doing these bios.

​Click the link at the top to listen, or listen in iTunes.