Today we’d like to introduce you to Emerson Dameron.
Hi Emerson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a writer, podcast host, producer, satirist, and performance artist who lives in Venice Beach.
I grew up near Lake James in Western North Carolina, which at the time was the outskirts of nowhere. Very few people anywhere had the internet, and my family didn’t even have cable TV, so I did a lot of worldbuilding and developed a rich inner life.
A big turning point was discovering the syndicated radio show of Joe Frank (http://joefrank.com) when I was 13. Frank was a once-in-a-lifetime master of dark, absurdist humor with a heavy dose of adult themes. It felt like my on-ramp to the grown-up world, and I immediately wanted to do something like that.
I went to college in Athens, Georgia, at a time when its music scene was exploding. Spending some formative years in that world convinced me that not only was I *allowed* to make art, but I had a *responsibility* to make art. I was a radio host for many years, with my most fondly remembered stint being four years at my college station WUOG. I mostly spun records but also mixed in my personal brand of strangeness, which gave me a strong hit of that “this is exactly what I want to do” feeling.
Since then, I’ve always looked for opportunities to share my stories, jokes, and ideas, including radio, writing, live storytelling, videos, and whatever else you’ve got. The job of the artist is to provoke, and if I get an idea that makes me uncomfortable, that’s a big, flashing green light.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve had severe chronic depression most of my life. It’s something I’ll probably never get rid of and will always have to work around. And I’ve had comorbid issues involving addiction, toxic relationships, and that whole constellation of misery.
During COVID, I went through a soul-wrecking divorce, followed by an extremely confusing breakup and the cascading financial, social, and psychological challenges that sometimes follow such upheavals. Having developed some trust issues, I became much less gregarious and spent more alone working on audio and video projects.
If you’re talking to a depressed person, it’s tacky and insulting to suggest every bad ending is really a good beginning or every curse is a blessing in disguise. But between you and yourself, such assumptions can be useful as a thought experiment.
For instance, chronic anger isn’t sustainable as a lifestyle, but it can be an amazing place to write comedy from.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I host Emerson Dameron’s Medicated Minutes, a radio show that runs on KCHUNG (kchungradio.org) on the first Wednesday of the month and then becomes a podcast episode (medicated-minutes.com). It is, broadly speaking, a dark satire of self-help and postmodern spirituality. It includes a salty life-coach persona I made up who is essentially an extremely arrogant and confident version of me, the photo-negative opposite of my brutal internal monologue. Other running gags include three made-up quasi-religious movements, Bite-Sized Erotic Thrillers, and an advice columnist whose entire worldview is just Philosophy in the Bedroom by Marquis de Sade.
I’ll always be the first to admit that the show can be hit-or-miss, and some episodes, especially the earlier ones, are borderline unlistenable. The best introduction is this collection I put together that can be had via Bandcamp. (https://emersondameron.bandcamp.com/album/an-emerson-damerons-medicated-minutes-reader).
I also post short, satirical, experimental videos about sex, drugs, power, Satanic Buddhism, etc. They mix cynical humor with wounded romanticism and seek salvation through surrealism and play.
Here’s a sample of those:
https://youtu.be/tIApp7chYUY
I used to do live storytelling around LA. I’ve performed on Risk (https://www.risk-show.com/podcast/love-hurts/) and have lost over a dozen Moth Story Slams. I might get back to that one day.
And! I’m a Top Writer in the Satire category on Medium. (https://emersondameron.medium.com/) For good reason!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Ask if you are happy, and you cease to be so.
I don’t have extensive experience with happiness. I’m suspicious of happiness as a goal.
But I still get a thrill from certain works of art, combinations of words, makeout sessions, or anything else that makes me feel connected with another person or a wider collective intelligence.
The work of the experimental local theater company Public Assembly is one of my consistent delights, as is the album Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? by The Soft Pink Truth.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://medicated-minutes.com/share
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/emersondameron
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/emersondameron
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDtt4X-ATSo6N6jPCXhVa4w/
- Other: http://levitysaveslives.com/
Image Credits
Clockwise from top left: Boujee Bunbun Boujee Bunbun Emerson Dameron Glen Dunzweiler
