Q: Where’s your hometown?
Morgan Jay: Mahwah, New Jersey
Chase Anthony: Atlanta, Georgia and Minneapolis, Minnesota
Q: What’s social media do you use far too much and what’s your handle there?
Jay: I’m addicted to Instagram for sure, and it’s @morganjay
Anthony: @chasecomedy, and I had to go Instagram and get off Snapchat.
Q:What do you each want your audience to take away from one of your shows?
Anthony: You can get fired, a lot, and still be successful. It’s all about trial and error, you don’t want to peak too soon.
Jay: I always end my sets with this song that’s like I mean, honestly it’s like-just to love yourself. When you watch a full set of mine you go through a lot of emotions. We’re gonna laugh, we’re gonna cry, we’re gonna fall in love, we’re gonna make love. But for real, to love yourself.
Q:What is something you’ve learned in your profession that is something you can take into your daily life?
Jay: You don’t deserve anything and nothing is promised. I know that sounds negative, but it’s important. Often times in our industry people are like, “I’m gonna get this and I’m gonna get this and I’m gonna get this…” and I mean I’ve auditioned for stuff and thought, “this is it, I’ve got this!” and nothing happens. So you just got to enjoy the work and find things that work.
Anthony: I would say that silence is ok. It took me awhile to get comfortable with that, it made me uncomfortable in so many forms.
Jay: And yeah you feel like you gotta fill space.
Anthony: Exactly, just don’t force it you know?
Q: What are some misconceptions people have about you or your work as a comedian? What do people get wrong?
Jay: People think I’m funny all the time. Like you do a show and people expect you to be that way all the time and it’s very exhausting to be that way.
Anthony: I actually like what you said that you can’t be on all the time.
Jay: Yeah, how long you been doing this?
Anthony? eight, almost nine, years.
Jay: So when you started, were you the funny guy growing up and really like a goofball?
Anthony: I think I was in a group of funny guys, and when you’re that age you kind of dumb yourself down, cause you don’t want to peak too early, but you should be trying. But I don’t think I was the funniest in my group.
Jay: But did you act out a lot? Cause I know when I was younger I was like, “pay attention to me!” And when you get into this career you learn how to focus your talent, kind of like an X-Men, so that when you’re not on stage performing you save the juice.
Anthony: But then at family gatherings they’re like, “Ok Chase is here! Everyone was sad but now you’re here! Cure our depression!” And it’s like, “Uhhhh….” So again I totally agree with you. I can’t be on all the time.
Jay: That and everyone thinks we’re sad all the time.
Anthony: Wait, you’re not?
Jay: Well you know what it is, the sadness I get is just from being an adult and being alive.
Q: Morgan, when was the first figure out you could mix music and comedy?
Jay: I always played music my whole life, but I would only mess around with it myself. Then about five years ago, a friend of mine was making fun of people with the guitar and he said you should do that on stage. Obviously, you see people do it, but part of me didn’t want to do it because it’s kind of looked down upon in the comedy community.
Anthony: On the side of that, I go on the road and I open for Sinbad, and since I’ve been on the road with him, I’ve played a trumpet, trombone, saxophone, bass, acoustic and electric guitar, a harmonica, a triangle and maracas.
Jay: Does he have a band with him?
Anthony: Sometimes, but what he let me know is that at the end of the day we’re entertainers, and once we start taking ourselves too seriously, we’ve lost. So the fact you were willing to introduce this in your comedy, and it’s just going up, because at the end of the day people just want to see a show.
Jay: We are just one person up there trying to entertain a group of people. Comedy is really the few art forms that is defined by the outcome and reception.
Q: Besides you guys obviously, who are some comedians that everyone should know?
Anthony: Morgan Jay, no but real life, I am a fan.
Jay: Thanks man. As far as comics, I love Rory Scovel and Reggie Watts, they’re like stream of consciousness and can improvise a whole set and its very inspiring.
Anthony: Bro, I’ve never seen Sinbad do the same set, I’ve been on the road with him for three years, and have never seen him do the same set. Then he tells me to go out there and do what he does and like how?
Jay: Do you know who else is an inspiration to me, and this is going to sound weird, but R.Kelly. Despite all the weird sex cult stuff that’s been happening, he’s been making funny music for years without irony.
Anthony: For me I would say Owen Smith, James Davis, Syndey Castillo, Tony Roberts, and just a lot of different comedians for lots of different reasons.