ANNOUNCING A NEW COMEDY ALBUM FROM BRIAN PARISE
'LAST WISHES'
OUT NOVEMBER 3, 2020 ON 800 POUND GORILLA
Pandora: 10/20 | Pre-order: 10/27 | Worldwide: 11/3
*Advance album stream available by request*
Listen to the tracks "This Land Is Your Land" and "Us Human Beings" now
800 Pound Gorilla is pleased to announce the November 3, 2020 release of Last Wishes, the new full-length comedy album from comedian and writer Brian Parise.
On this debut album, Parise finds humor in some dark places. The first 6 minutes of the album are all about murder and death, "ya know, just to ease people into it." says Brian. According to Parise, "One of the ways I cope with my anxieties is writing material about it, and since fear of death is one of my jams, you’re gonna hear jokes on it." While 2020 has been a dark year, Last Wishes was recorded a week prior to COVID shutdown, before we knew what was coming. In fact, the live recording of Last Wishes was made under aggressively celebratory circumstances, Parise had to personally eject two drunk women from the front row, and another guy in the back was so drunk he fell asleep, which wasn't a problem until he started having audible night terrors. Two bouncers had to help him out of the venue like a ball player that just tore their ACL. Parise’s material covers a wide range of subjects. Avoiding topical politics that get stale quickly, he explores themes with a political streak, like immigration, racism, homophobia. Parise's father is an immigrant. "I think when you grow up and half your family is from another country, the issue of immigration is a lot more personal to you. These are people I love, and if they didn’t come here on a boat, I wouldn’t exist." His barometer for material about race: "I’ll do race material that offends people, as long as those people are white people in a rural bowling alley. (Yes, old lady from Fredericksburg, this is about YOU)", religion: "I have a lot of personal experience with it, and that’s where the material comes from. Any God worth believing in would have a sense of humor." and gender roles: "I spent the first half of my life trying to prove that I was manly enough and it was exhausting. Luckily, I gave up on that trash and started allowing myself to have pink cocktails and emotions.” and “I find selling out my gender to be much funnier than defending it. I’m a comic first and a man second." ABOUT BRIAN PARISE:
Brian Parise is an Emmy-winning late night comedy writer and stand-up comedian who has written for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. As a stand-up, he’s been selected for the New Faces showcase at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, and (when possible) performs regularly in NYC and on the road. Brian also hosts and produces The Pasta Show, a long-running Brooklyn stand-up show where he indulges his Italian side by personally cooking pasta for the entire audience. Brian showed a love of comedy at a young age. For a 7th grade talent show, he wrote and starred in a Judge Judy sketch, crossdressing and all (he hopes that VHS tape has been erased). Later, he ran for Class President solely because it was an opportunity to give "speeches" (aka he could do 5 minutes of material in front of the class). According to Brian “Comedy is an incurable disease that often strikes people young.” He got his proper start in stand-up right after college at an open mic at a comedy club inside a Best Western in DC. According to Brian: "If you did well enough at the open mic they’d eventually let you host which included working the cash register, seating guests, fielding complaints about chicken wings, hosting the show, and bussing tables. That was my first real stand-up gig. You’d get $10/hr (so $15) and you clocked in with a timecard like a Best Western janitor. I loved it."
ABOUT 800 POUND GORILLA RECORDS: 800 Pound Gorilla Records was founded in 2016 with a clear vision for helping comedians reach new career levels. The name may have started as a joke, but it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even amid the current boom, most comedy record labels utilize an outdated approach. We take pride in forward-thinking strategies combining sophisticated digital marketing strategies with traditional PR, satellite and online radio play, multiplatform distribution, and analytic optimization. The result? Quality comedy albums that enjoy the maximum potential exposure, revenue potential, and audience growth. Building a great stand-up set takes time, hard work, and unwavering determination. When comedians put an album into the world, they deserve a label that meets even their most unanticipated needs. A well-executed release doesn’t boil down to sales numbers alone. It converts new fans, increases ticket volume, and expands a performer’s brand far beyond the parameters of a stand-up stage. Standing out from an array of comedy options is only the beginning. The modern media landscape requires cultivating attention across all sectors of the entertainment industry. With unparalleled tools, digital resources, and cutting-edge experience, 800 Pound Gorilla Records ensures albums don’t just make a big impact…they expand the power of comedy as a whole. www.800poundgorillarecords.com www.twitter.com/800lbRecords www.instagram.com/800poundgorillarecords www.facebook.com/800poundgorillarecords
LAST WISHES track list:
Premeditated
With An Ax
The Victim's Family
My Funeral
She Moved Out
Trust Issues
Couples Counseling
Role Playing
Fixing An Office Printer
Daddy Dom
The Devil's Threesome
Amateur Porn
Cutie with a Booty
Patriotic Yelling
We're the Problem
Law Without Order
Zombie Movies
Gun People
A Racially Tense Time
Too Many White People
White Happy Birthday
Italian Immigrant Rant
This Land is Your Land
Italian Stereotypes
Unhealthy Choices
The Broke-Mart
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Unregistered Nurse
The Wine Store
Us Human Beings
How Christian She Was
Babysitting
Men Wrote the Bible
Old Testament
Growing Up Catholic
www.brianparise.com www.twitter.com/bpcomedy www.facebook.com/bvparise www.instagram.com/parisecomic