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00:00Look at that.
00:01Look at that.
00:02Huh?
00:03Look at that.
00:04Look at that.
00:05You're a Canadian.
00:06Oh, yeah, I am.
00:07So I'm required by law to take 25% off all of my questions.
00:11So first question.
00:12What was your experience like doing?
00:13OK, I'm going to have to also retaliate with tariffs on my answers.
00:18So, yeah, my experience was really.
00:21Perfect.
00:22We got it.
00:23Yeah.
00:24But maybe maybe both administrations seeing a Canadian and American shake hands.
00:29That was it.
00:30That's all they need to see.
00:31We solved it.
00:32Yeah, that was a beautiful moment for democracy.
00:34Your album is tremendous.
00:35Thanks.
00:36It's beautiful.
00:38I was thinking you're a comedian.
00:41Yes.
00:42I was thinking that too.
00:43It's beautiful.
00:44You know how to sing.
00:45You know how to play instruments.
00:46What the **** is going on?
00:47Thanks.
00:48Thanks.
00:49I am a comedian.
00:50Yes.
00:51OK.
00:52Yeah.
00:53Yeah.
00:54I've always wanted to.
00:55I've always, you know, played music in my bedroom.
00:56You have?
00:58Yeah.
00:59I've been really emo.
01:00But yeah.
01:01Yeah.
01:02How does a comedian.
01:03By the way, May is a comedian, but the music is real music.
01:07This is great music.
01:09It's not like, oh, it's a comedy music.
01:12It's a real music album.
01:13I want to make that very clear.
01:14And it's great.
01:15My family was listening to it.
01:16We were listening to it.
01:17Thanks.
01:18It's annoying.
01:19It's annoying.
01:20I even have to say that.
01:21Well, no, it's a good thing to specify.
01:25People will be pissed if they wanted punchlines, you know.
01:28You're going to do a show from here.
01:30I'm racing to do a show.
01:31Yeah.
01:32Right after this.
01:33Do you have to make it very clear that jokes will not be told?
01:35I do.
01:36And I have to.
01:37Well, I mean, I chat a bit between songs, but I definitely have to unlearn the muscle
01:42memory that, like, if people are just listening and not laughing, I'm bombing.
01:46Yeah.
01:47Because I'll be playing a sad song or something and I'm thinking, oh, I'm bombing.
01:51No one.
01:52Yeah.
01:53Yeah.
01:54Yeah.
01:55It's really nice.
01:56I remember starting out doing open mic as a comedian and I would bomb and it was so
02:01silent.
02:02Right.
02:03Then I would watch shitty musicians go up.
02:05Yeah.
02:06And they would bomb, but there's noise.
02:07There's noise.
02:08And I was envious of musicians in that regard.
02:10Well, it's also nice not to be alone because there's a drummer and, you know, I have a
02:15whole band.
02:16And so, yeah, it's nice to have that support.
02:19When you're writing music, are you naturally trying to not find a punchline?
02:25You know what I mean?
02:27The world is not that funny right now.
02:29So it's not it's not hard.
02:30Yeah.
02:31Yeah.
02:32No, no.
02:33I mean, I'm really enjoying the opportunity to be earnest.
02:35And yeah.
02:38What inspired you to make the album now?
02:40I guess I just I'm Canadian, as we as we established, we're going to get a Nobel Peace Prize for
02:46that beginning.
02:47Yeah, exactly.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Yeah.
02:50Yeah.
02:51Yeah.
02:52Right.
02:53That's an applause.
02:54You're welcome for that.
02:55Yeah.
02:56You're welcome for us shaking hands.
02:57Yeah.
02:58You're welcome for that.
02:59I've been living in England for 12 years.
03:00And then I like three years ago, I moved to L.A. and so I was reconnecting with my earnest
03:05North American roots, I guess.
03:08And I was feeling good.
03:09I had just three years ago, I had top surgery and started testosterone.
03:13And I was feeling very happy and confident.
03:15Thanks.
03:16Yeah.
03:17Yeah.
03:18Who knows how their albums will be?
03:22Yeah.
03:23Yeah.
03:24Yeah.
03:25So I think I was feeling good or feeling more comfortable because it is vulnerable.
03:28It's super vulnerable.
03:29So yeah.
03:30But comedy is vulnerable.
03:31So I know.
03:32But are you telling me that this is more vulnerable to put out music?
03:35I think in this moment, I feel that.
03:37Don't hold back.
03:38Now, this is where you hit me with the truth.
03:40Is making music more vulnerable than well, pouring your heart out to strangers through
03:45spoken word?
03:46I mean, Michael.
03:49You're special.
03:50You know, it's fantastic.
03:51You're talking about your family, your experiences, your parents.
03:53That's so vulnerable and personal.
03:54For sure.
03:55But I guess with stand up, you can you can bail halfway through a joke, right?
03:59Or you can pivot.
04:00You can lie.
04:01That's what I do.
04:02Yeah, man.
04:03Yeah.
04:04Am I right?
04:05Yeah.
04:06And you can't pivot with music.
04:07No, you have to.
04:08You can't be halfway through a song and be like, no, never mind.
04:09That's true.
04:10So you have to.
04:11Yeah.
04:12So it does feel exposing.
04:13Yeah.
04:14One of the songs I love is called Big Bear.
04:16I've been to Big Bear near L.A.
04:18I got stuck in traffic.
04:19But you sing a beautiful song about it.
04:22To me, it feels like you're trying to escape something.
04:25And then I'm thinking, maybe that's me.
04:28Right.
04:29Saying I want to escape something.
04:30Well, that's the great thing about music.
04:31You can project all your own shit onto it.
04:33That's right.
04:34Yeah.
04:35But yeah, for sure.
04:36Tell me about what inspired you to write that song and what it means.
04:39I went again.
04:40I just moved to the States and I I went for the weekend to Big Bear.
04:44It's all mountains and the lake and just outside of L.A.
04:47And I felt I didn't I weirdly didn't tell anyone I was going.
04:50It's so rare that no one knows where you are.
04:53Yeah.
04:54This sounds dark, but it was just nice to be alone and and walking through the woods.
04:59And yeah, so that's why I wrote that.
05:02I think it's awesome.
05:03Not time.
05:04Especially now.
05:05You have a family.
05:06You can't be doing that.
05:07Do that.
05:08No, no, no.
05:09That's not funny.
05:10Yeah.
05:11That's why it's so good.
05:12Right.
05:13Right.
05:15It feels so good.
05:16But if I didn't have a family, that was just it's a lot of pressure to be loved.
05:20Man, did you did you just say what's in my soul?
05:26I sort of thought it would get a laugh, but it was deadly.
05:29So like everyone was like, yeah, I'm a TV.
05:36That's it.
05:37My friend said, what?
05:38Yeah.
05:39What does it mean?
05:40It's in it's in one of the songs.
05:41Show away.
05:43I'm just a TV talking to you.
05:45You thought I could remember that, but I had to read it just to make sure I got it.
05:48Sure.
05:49I'm glad you did.
05:50Yeah.
05:51Where does it come from?
05:52Titles are really hard.
05:53And yeah, but I think it was for for me about there's so much noise and static electricity
05:58and and sometimes I wonder if our whole personalities are just like a sort of combination of other
06:06people's projections and stuff we consume.
06:08And so it was the album was kind of stripping that away.
06:11But then a friend of mine was like, does it stand for I'm a transvestite?
06:13I was like, no, but if you wanted to, you know, that's the great thing about music.
06:19Another example of maybe what we're externalizing is on the inside.
06:23Yes, exactly.
06:24Right.
06:25Right.
06:26You have TV tattoo.
06:27Is that right?
06:28How do you.
06:29Yes, I do.
06:30Well, I think I'm pretty.
06:31Let's hope that that's public information.
06:32Yeah, I do.
06:33Is that connected to this?
06:36No, that was just an ex.
06:38I bought a tattoo kit.
06:39Yeah.
06:41I don't buy that.
06:42I won't.
06:43Yeah.
06:44Yeah.
06:45Man, you bought a tattoo like a stick and poke kit.
06:46I don't know.
06:47Yeah.
06:48And so an ex of mine one night, we'd had a few drinks and she tattooed TV on my I guess
06:52I've always liked the feeling of the word in my mouth TV.
06:55Oh, interesting.
06:56Yeah.
06:57But I think I put the emphasis on the TV.
07:00What do you say?
07:01I say aluminum.
07:02That sounds very different.
07:06That's funny that you just said don't buy a tattoo kit.
07:08I didn't know that was the thing you could even do.
07:10And certainly don't do it with your partner.
07:12May Martin, thank you so much for being here.
07:13It's called I'm a TV.
07:14It's available now.
07:15Check out tour dates at maymartinmusic.com.
07:16May Martin.