Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Jay.
Morgan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started doing stand-up comedy in NYC. I was performing there for about 6 years working on my craft and developing my material. About a year after moving to LA I took a risk and threw all my old material away and started music comedy. The response has been tremendous and now it feels like I’ve been gaining momentum ever since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The path to becoming a professional comedian or entertainer is rarely smooth. The biggest hurdle was starting from scratch. It felt overwhelming and I had no idea how audiences would react to my music. The first couple months performing I would shake. The other struggle was and still is the stigma surrounding music comedy which is that it’s seen as hackneyed or “hack”. Often times after a show the feedback I get is, “When you walked on stage with your guitar I was ready to really dislike you but I actually really enjoyed you set.” That really does happen quite often so I’d like to think I’m blurring the line between good music and good comedy.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Morgan Jay the performer – what should we know?
As a musical performer, I do many things. Primarily the business is me as a musical comedian where I get to perform my original music and material at live shows and events. Writing custom songs for people is my other specialty and what I’m known for. If someone has a wedding, birthday, anniversary or any other occasion I can someone can give me details about the special person and I put together a tune unique to them. I also write songs and stories for children which bring me a lot of joy.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I don’t think there is one person I can pin down and say, “He/She is responsible for this” I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far without the encouragement of friends, family and my peers. Several of my influences include Rory Scovel, Reggie Watts, and Karen Kilgariff. She’s actually someone who made that switch from straight comedy to music comedy and a lot of the things she voiced about the transition really resonated with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: morganjay.com
- Phone: 9144268016
- Email: morganisethnic@gmail.com
- Instagram: morganisethnic
- Facebook: morganisethnic
- Twitter: morganisethnic
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/morgan-jay-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Callie Biggerstaff
AJ Bleyer
Mandee Johnson
