Brandon Ivey of JIMES

Brandon Ivey lives in the wealthiest city in the wealthiest county in the USA where he works as a reporter at a newsletter company that covers the mortgage industry.

He is also in a band called Jimes, and occasionally rocks the D.C. Improv with his brilliantly original stand-up comedy.

According to Brandon, "Life is good."

What is Jimes?

Jimes is a band. My band. I do not know how to play any instruments, but I am the only constant member of the band. Jimes is also another way to say James, in addition to Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo, Jimmy-James...I made Jimes up to add to that list.

Wait so you don't play any instruments? How exactly does that work?

I write the lyrics to my songs and for some reason I have friends that encourage me to perform by offering to play instruments on my songs. Jimes has always been me and whoever wants to play with me at that moment.

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Most memorable Jimes show to date?

I don't have such a good memory, so probably the last show I played.

In that case, the last show you played what was that like?

I just got back from a show in Brooklyn. It went pretty well until this girl passed out right in front of me. I might have been singing (aka yelling) in her face a little, then she fell face first onto the floor. I kept on going, you know, because "the show must go on." Maybe that was a mistake though.

You've been rocking the DC Improv as of late, doing your stand-up comedy. What is the golden rule of stand-up, and when do you know to break it?

As far as I can tell, if you are following ANY rules when performing stand-up, whats the point? I just try to be funny. Wait, is that the golden rule of stand-up? To be funny? In that case, NEVER break golden the rule.

Whats funny? I mean, what makes you laugh?

It's like pornography, you know it when you see it. Pornography makes me laugh.

Your song "Bunk Bed"... true story?

Yes, all my songs are non-fiction.

When you're writing lyrics, are you writing about something that "struck" you that day? Life experiences? Or are you just getting yourself off?

Since I moved from Bellingham in 2004, I have only written one song. I think that whatever encouraged me to write was related to the friends I had then. Now I am just coasting.

What're you up to these days?

I've got a stand-up comedy CD/DVD coming out this fall. It's called "This Thing Is On" and is being released by Casanova Temptations Edutainment Concern.

I should probably also write/record/perform some new Jimes songs because people are going to get sick of seeing me do the same six songs. It's been a year and it has not happened yet, but it is only a matter of time before I do not get invited back somewhere due to a lack of originality in my song-selection.

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Balls, eh? Did the idea for that comic come to you in a dream?

I rarely ever dream. And if I do, it is usually a nightmare.

What did you eat for breakfast today, if you even ate breakfast at all?

That's the most important meal of the day! If you skip breakfast, you might as well not eat at all. I had some generic corn flakes.

Downloads

Ants-studio-Seattle.mp3
Jimes-Busted_My_Chin.mp3

brandon_ivey_dc_improv.mp4

Websites

http://jimesisonline.googlepages.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jimes

Photos

Mrs. Jones, Silver Springs, MD
Others, Brooklyn, NY

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