Maybe it’s harsh to talk shit about New York City right after it gets pummeled by a snowstorm, but—it also snows in March here in Chicago, and you don’t hear us whining about it. Yeah, we said it! Come at us! And if a little gentle ribbing on the self-proclaimed “greatest city in the world” gets a sideways grin and a vigorous nudge in the elbows among Chicagoans, imagine how they must have eaten it up when comedian Jim Tews went back to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to record his new album, I Was In Band. There, he made the bold statement that “New York Is Ok,” a track that we’re premiering exclusively below.
Even if he doesn’t always return the sentiment, New York has actually been pretty good to Tews, giving him the inspiration for Felines Of New York, the Humans Of New York parody site that got Tews a book deal back in 2015. When he’s not writing droll captions for pictures of cats, Tews has appeared on Last Comic Standing and Louie, created a web series about a sociopathic Weezer cover band, and directed a documentary on the Cleveland comedy scene. And don’t worry—he knows very well how ridiculous that all is.
Tews’ comedy album I Was In Band, tracing his evolution from Salt-N-Pepa-loving awkward teen to cat-loving awkward adult man, is due out April 14 via Rooftop Comedy.