Artist of the Day | KATHLEEN McGEE
ARTIST OF THE DAY
09.02.2021
KATHLEEN McGEE
LOCATION
Edmonton, AB, Canada
GENRE
Stand Up Comedy
CURRENT MEMBERS
Me, myself and the warped voiced in my head.
With the current pandemic, the state of the music and touring industry has dramatically changed. Where were you when everything was brought to a halt?
My last show was on March 14th in Penhold Alberta. I was supposed to be on tour in the Okanogan the weekend after and rumours were swirling around that we were headed into a lockdown, what ever that meant. I was in Calgary getting my hair done on March 16th and that’s when I found out everything was shutting down. All my shows and tours were canceled and I was laid off from my serving job. I was sure it was only going to last a week. I was really really wrong.
How has that affected your plans for the coming year? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
Stand up comedy was in a different situation than music. My first show back was at the end of May and I toured for most of the summer. Alberta opened faster than most provinces and I was pretty busy through the summer. Shows were weird though. Small spaced out crowds which were the opposite of what a good stand up crowd is usually like. It was strange but not as strange as doing comedy on Zoom. Zoom shows, for me, were awkward and not fun. You couldn’t hear laughs it felt like you were doing stand up for yourself and I had heard all my jokes. I was lucky to work throughout the summer and I even taped a tv spot for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival that will be airing on CBC this year. Festivals are usually a lot of fun, but I literally was in my hotel room and then my taping. There were no after parties and there was a weird feeling in the air. Even with all the weirdness I’m grateful that I got to get on stage more than I thought I would in 2020.
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home? How are you supporting your mental health through all of this?
I have been doing two weekly podcasts over zoom. Dead Baby Bear with Sean Lecomber, the most underrated comedian in Canada and Anything Goes with Darren Frost and Dave Martin out of Toronto. It’s been interesting seeing how artists are adapting to the times. I prefer podcasting to zoom stand up shows because it’s just a conversation and you aren’t waiting for laughs or worried about timing. My mental health has had a lot of peaks and valleys throughout all of this. In May I was tired of sitting on my couch so I announced on social media that I was going to walk 100km in one week. I had no idea how hard that would be, but I did it and I would never do it again. I don’t know why I thought it would be easy. I’ve never been good with numbers.
How are dealing with the Covid second wave?
These last few months going into lockdown again have been harder. The news has been so bad and I couldn’t stop reading about all the bad things that were happening in the world. It was really hard to find humour in everything. I was having panic attacks regularly and it was absolutely because I was spending too much time on social media. I cut back and it really helped me get out of that hole. I really can’t wait till I can hang out with friends and family again because not being able to socialize, especially over the holidays was really depressing. I think for a while I was feeling like there was no end to this in sight but I can see a light at the end of this stupid tunnel. I have a show booked in Calgary on February 13th in a socially distanced Valentine’s event put on by Plain Jane productions at Hotel Arts that I’m really looking forward to. Knowing that I’m going to be getting on stage again soon really helps with having a bit of hope again.
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Last January I was lucky enough to open for Brian Posehn at the Winterruption festival and it was such a great show. I felt like a rock star because everyone was standing just like they would for a band. I think every comedian wants to be a rock star and I think a lot of rock stars want to be comedians so it was really cool to feel a music crowd. The renovations at Starlight Room are amazing I love that the stage moved to the other side of the room and I am really looking forward to going to shows there again.
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Support artists anyway you can. Steam their music or comedy albums, my first album Deliciously Vulgar is out now. Listen to podcasts from local artists. One of the cool things about the pandemic is that the borders are closed and Canadians are really discovering Canadian artists. Seek us out. Americans often overshadow us and this has been a great opportunity to discover homegrown talent.
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
JEN@CONCERTWORKS.CA
