We got into the holiday spirit with Avery Pearson and Jordan Baum, the co-writers of our for-charity song "Christmas Magic," to discuss what it was like to co-create this magical tune.
You can download/listen to "Christmas Magic" here, all proceeds go to Comedy Gives Back programs for comedians like crisis and mental health services.
What line from the song still makes you laugh when you hear it?
Avery Pearson
So let's join hands and stand in a circle around a tree, we got one planet, so let's cut down all the trees and put them in our houses
Jordan Baum
My favorite line to this day is “In every mall around the world, the Santa smells like lunch meat”. It just really rings true for me.
Is there a line you wanted to include but it didn't quite work?
Avery Pearson
I think we put in every line that was ever thought into the song, it's like seven minutes of fat santa jokes; it's our magnum opus.
Jordan Baum
Honestly we jam packed every line we could think of in there. We pitched some other ideas for Nick Swardson’s bit but he had us dying in the studio so we just kept it.
Which participating comedian surprised you the most?
Avery Pearson
There was a really beautiful moment between Jackie Tohn, Doug Benson, and Steve Byrne. Jackie tells steve he's gotta drive Doug home because he's too high, Steve doesn't wanna, and Doug buttons the moment in a perfect I'm Doug with High - it's not that far. Those three are all brilliant comedians and it was just awesome to see them come together and play off each other in a wonderful meta moment. I also got a chance to write with Richard Lewis. He was insistent on being part of the writing process and wanted to work with me directly. This was pretty surreal and the most fun thing, the guy is a funny machine he just kept peppering me with new lines and alts, in the end we settled on an old guy can’t pee joke.
Jordan Baum
Honestly Richard Lewis surprised me with the amount of energy he still is able to bring to the table at 74. Still a force of nature. One of the best moments of my life.
Did any comedian refuse to do a line?
Avery Pearson
We gave Nick Swardson some borderline funny line about eating pie, and he just flipped it on us and came in with this line about the smell in the air around the Christmas dinner table. Nick is one of the most naturally funny and great writers ever, and the way he delivered it, just reminded me how grateful I was to be working with the funniest people in the world.
Jordan Baum
As far as refusals go- Nick Swardson refused our pitches like I said but he was right, his bit was funnier we just couldn’t see it on the page the way he had it in his brain.
Did any comedian improvise during the song?
Avery Pearson
Ron Funches went a magical riff run at the end of the song; he notices that there's a real live baby in a manger, and as the other 60 comics outro the song, he keeps asking about the baby, 'who's kid is that', 'is someone gonna save that kid?' 'Someone call child services!'. Ron's humor is so endearingly hilarious, it was just awesome to watch him do 15-20 throw aways about this live baby in a manger.
Jordan Baum
Ron Funches improvised a ton at the end and we kept a lot of it. That was really special to watch.
Anything else you'd like to add about making Christmas Magic?
Avery Pearson
Yeah, so many things. This was the last project I did before the pandemic. Every single comic came through and spent time indoors with us in a studio and gave their time, talent, writing, and funny to help other comics in need. I can't think of a better way to end normal life. This song means the world to Jordan and I, it was one of the best days of our lives. I can't thank the women of Comedy Gives Back enough for being so excited and giving partners to make this dream happen. I always thought that We Are The World was ridiculous, and I'm just so happy that we could be even more ridiculous.
Jordan Baum
Honestly just as a fan of comedy and growing up the son of a stand up comedian (Lisa Ann Walter), this was just such a dream come true for me to be a part of. To this day, that recording session and overall process stands as one of the best days of my life. Getting engaged, Christmas Magic, and the day I discovered Oreos were vegan.
Thanks for chatting with us Avery and Jordan!