Richard Stainbank: The Wilderness Years
I released an audio album version of my 2016 stand-up show 'The Wilderness Years' last week, because I suppose we all need a lockdown project. It is probably a consequence of wearing headphones everywhere for the past 20 years, but I'm a big fan of comedy records and prefer them to video specials. Having been an enormous fan of his for many years, I was delighted when Daniel Kitson started releasing some of his shows on Bandcamp, allowing me to relive his live work all over again. So I was excited by the idea of doing my own one.
It is the first time that I've revisited the show in depth for three years. It reminded me of the things I used to do on stage that I had totally forgotten. For example, I used to sigh a lot. I did occasionally get laughs doing it but it strikes me in retrospect as a strange performative decision. Probably a coping mechanism of sorts. As someone who constantly battles with self-loathing, I was surprised by the amount of material that still holds up. It does run out of steam towards the end admittedly and I would have favoured a punchier ending. Of course, about three months after this recording, I thought of the perfect closing line for the show. Such is life.
There is a moment where I reveal a very personal detail that I'm still somewhat conflicted about. It provides a lead in to two of my favourite jokes in the show and a follow up near the end which hopefully distracts a bit from what performers describe as The Forty Minute Lull. That is probably vindication enough. But I regret that my discomfort is quite so apparent. I think that it's something that would have improved had I performed it more. Sarah Millican once quoted a comedian (who annoyingly I've forgotten the name of) telling her 'you need to give them something'. That section of the show is my attempt to give the audience something, for good or for ill.
The recording is basically a bootleg of the YouTube video of the show, edited via Audacity. A friend of mine asked me if I was tempted to edit out any of the material that was less well received. I would be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind*, but I think it would have been dishonest to do that. There are some very minor edits for pacing reasons but other than that, it's a faithful reproduction of the show on the night.
I am not an expert in audio recording by any means and my friend Bobby Davies (who had recorded the show originally) had already done everything he could to improve the sound. I think the show is perfectly listenable but there are bits with varying quality which obviously isn't ideal.
I would definitely like to release more stuff on Bandcamp in the future, although I would like to produce something of a more professional audio quality that I can justify charging for. Anyway, it's rough in places but an honest piece of work that I'm proud of. DOWNLOAD IT NOW.
The Wilderness Years is available on a pay-what-you-want basis at richardstainbank.bandcamp.com.
*I would happily banish one of those tracks to the depths of hell. Guess which one and you will not win a prize.
It is the first time that I've revisited the show in depth for three years. It reminded me of the things I used to do on stage that I had totally forgotten. For example, I used to sigh a lot. I did occasionally get laughs doing it but it strikes me in retrospect as a strange performative decision. Probably a coping mechanism of sorts. As someone who constantly battles with self-loathing, I was surprised by the amount of material that still holds up. It does run out of steam towards the end admittedly and I would have favoured a punchier ending. Of course, about three months after this recording, I thought of the perfect closing line for the show. Such is life.
There is a moment where I reveal a very personal detail that I'm still somewhat conflicted about. It provides a lead in to two of my favourite jokes in the show and a follow up near the end which hopefully distracts a bit from what performers describe as The Forty Minute Lull. That is probably vindication enough. But I regret that my discomfort is quite so apparent. I think that it's something that would have improved had I performed it more. Sarah Millican once quoted a comedian (who annoyingly I've forgotten the name of) telling her 'you need to give them something'. That section of the show is my attempt to give the audience something, for good or for ill.
The recording is basically a bootleg of the YouTube video of the show, edited via Audacity. A friend of mine asked me if I was tempted to edit out any of the material that was less well received. I would be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind*, but I think it would have been dishonest to do that. There are some very minor edits for pacing reasons but other than that, it's a faithful reproduction of the show on the night.
I am not an expert in audio recording by any means and my friend Bobby Davies (who had recorded the show originally) had already done everything he could to improve the sound. I think the show is perfectly listenable but there are bits with varying quality which obviously isn't ideal.
I would definitely like to release more stuff on Bandcamp in the future, although I would like to produce something of a more professional audio quality that I can justify charging for. Anyway, it's rough in places but an honest piece of work that I'm proud of. DOWNLOAD IT NOW.
The Wilderness Years is available on a pay-what-you-want basis at richardstainbank.bandcamp.com.
*I would happily banish one of those tracks to the depths of hell. Guess which one and you will not win a prize.
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