Toronto born, Avery Pearson has been living and working in the US for more than a decade, developing his signature blend of comedy and music. He’s bringing a show north to Toronto for a live appearance on July 10.
He’s also got a special airing online as of June 26. We talked to Avery about the shows, and how he got into his specialty.
Avery Pearson
A native of Toronto, Avery’s had a busy career in Los Angeles and New York City mixing music and comedy. His music was featured on SNL in the “Angelo” Sketch that featured Aristotle Athiras, Cecily Strong, Daniel Craig and Rami Malek. He also wrote the opening songs for the 2022 ESPY awards show, featuring Stephen Curry and Jay Pharaoh. Other notable credits include, among others:
- He wrote and performed comedy music for the Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show (Netflix);
- Historical Roasts with Jeff Ross (Netflix);
- Becky G on Olympic Highlights;
- Back That Year Up 2024 with Machine Gun Kelly;
- Avery co-wrote and co-directed the song and music video Christmas Magic, featuring 60 all-star comics (Howie Mandel, Adam Devine, Nick Swardson, Richard Lewis, and others) to benefit the charity Comedy Gives Back;
- Appearances include, ‘The Hall’ (Netflix), ‘Bill Burr’s Friends Who Kill’ (Netflix), ‘Masters of Sex’ (Showtime), ‘Suits’ (USA), ‘LA Complex’ (CW);
- Avery was featured on NPR.
- His music video “I’m Not Equipped To Be A Father” with Tiffany Haddish & Chris Redd was featured by Funny Or Die.
Avery Pearson: The Interview
How did he come to this mix of comedy and music that has become his signature practice?
“I think I always loved it,” he says. “I grew up in Toronto. My buddies were always sort of comedians. We were joking around always. We’d hang around in the park and make up dumb songs. One of us could play guitar,” he recalls.
“I was always the worst one. My friends were so funny.”
One day, he heard an Adam Sandler song, and it came as a revelation.
“I thought, omigod, is that a thing? You could do both?”
The idea of being able to combine comedy and music in a career seized his imagination. He eventually moved south to the United States to pursue show biz.
“When I moved to Los Angeles about 11 years ago, I got a job as a tour guide,” he says. It was meant as a stop gap until he could get on his feet as an actor or performer. At one point, the tour led to a studio that was largely taken up with a grand piano.
“I was the only one who could play it,” he says. Avery had studied classical piano… to a point. “I failed my Royal Conservatory tests in the eighth grade,” he says, but admits it was probably his fault. “The other kids had gloves on to keep their fingers warm, and I had barely practiced.”
Back in Los Angeles, he began to play piano between shows at a comedy club. It wasn’t long before the comedians were asking him to play during their act. He made a connection with Jeff Ross, aka the Roastmaster for his barbed styled of comedy, and played for his local shows. “The place is full, and here’s this comedian I’d idolized growing up,” he recalls. “He told me, just play something sexy. I just played jazz 7s,” he laughs.
The Piano and Comedy
“I think there’s just something about stand up comedy and piano that works really well,” Avery says.
From backing up comedians, Pearson began to develop his own shows, as well as writing the music for other artists.
“I developed my own show at the Improv,” he says. His show came after a comedian’s two-hour set, and before another performance slot. His job, he says, was to keep people in their seats during the break, but comedians began to drift into his set too.
“It just kind of grew. It was a very natural progression for me,” he says. “This was something where I was just having fun.” After a time, it began to take on a life of its own. “I think I did 10,000 hours.”
It was far from where he’d anticipated ending up when he first moved stateside. “I just wanted to be an actor,” he says. “I wanted to be Mark Ruffalo.” He spent some time in New York City, and had an upward trajectory of off-Broadway to Broadway to movies all set up in his mind.
“Then I met my wife,” he says. As a good and observant partner, she steered him in a more realistic direction.
Comedian Rhapsody with Avery Pearson & The Greatest Concert of Comedy Songs of All Time, Ever!
Avery’s Comedian Rhapsody show blends original comedy songs with stand up. The comedians deliver a quick set, then join Avery on the keyboard for an original song. The series had an eight year soldout run at The Hollywood Improv, with featured performances at Netflix is a Joke Fest, Moontower Comedy, and New York Comedy Fest. Today, the series has found a new home at New York Comedy Club.
The list of who’s jammed along with Pearson include a who’s who of the comedy world, such as Sarah Silverman, Tiffany Haddish, Keegan-Michael Key, Machine Gun Kelly, Jelly Roll, Iliza Shlesinger, Judd Apatow, Jay Pharaoh, Seth Green, Atsuko Okatsuka, Aisling Bea, Jamie Kennedy, Dulcé Sloan, J Chris Newberg, Drennon Davis, Chris Porter, Jeremiah Watkins, Erik Griffin, Wolves of Glendale, and many others.
“It’s a really fun night,” he says.
That’s the format he’ll bring to his July 10 show in Toronto.
Along with the live show, he’s got a special airing on June 26.
“Then I have a special coming out June 26,” he says. He describes it as “the greatest rock concert of comedy songs ever”.
The idea began to build. “Let’s just do a great concert, and see what happens,” he says. “We filmed it.”
He called on friends in the comedy industry, who came out in force. He was looking for a theme, and re-examining where he’d been.
“It’s tough to accept you have to do other things,” he says, noting how many restaurant servers in Los Angeles would rather be doing something else. “I was an awful server,” he confesses. “I sold tickets in Times Square. I’ve done absolutely everything.”
What is success? Is it just… being happy? Or something else? The musing led to the theme of the special.
“I should do a special and make it like The Last Waltz,” he says. “I did this special where I quit. I’m going to give it up, and just fade away. I really found it quite therapeutic,” he adds.
“But then at the end… I don’t want to ruin it, but I’m still here,” he laughs.
Of course, his live Toronto appearance comes a couple of weeks after the special.
“I’d love to keep coming back to Toronto,” he says. “It’s really special,” he says of the experience.
And, there’s another bonus for comedy and music lovers this time of year.
“There’s air conditioning at the theatre,” he notes.
Show Details
There are two ways you can check Avery Pearson’s comedy and music performances.
On June 26, The Greatest Concert of Comedy Songs of All Time, Ever! — a special that features, along with Pearson, comedians Jay Pharoah, Arden Myrin, Adam Ray, Beth Stelling, Luke Null, JR De Guzman, Jeremiah Watkins, Josh Adam Meyers, and special appearances by Lisa Ann Walter and Jackie Tohn — will be available online to watch live or restream.
- Details and info [HERE].
On July 10, he’s bringing his Comedian Rhapsody show with Filipino-Canadian comedian Keith Pedro and Unionville native/Humber College School of Comedy grad Adam Risbridger to the Comedy Bar.
- Tickets and info [HERE].
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