Podcast Summary: takin' a walk: Jeremy DeBardi from Steel Beans — How a Performance Artist Blends Music & Comedy

Host: Lynne Hoffman (iHeartPodcasts)
Guest: Jeremy DeBardi (Steel Beans)
Date: December 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and heartfelt episode, host Lynne Hoffman talks with Jeremy DeBardi, the charismatic frontman of Steel Beans—a project fusing music, comedy, and performance art into an unpredictable, deeply entertaining live experience. Together, they explore the profound role of humor in performance, how laughter and authenticity create lasting connections, and Jeremy’s unique path as a “one-man band” whose shows are as much about joy and absurdity as they are about musicianship. For anyone interested in how comedy, chaos, and creativity can save both artist and audience, this episode is full of generous insights, memorable anecdotes, and genuine warmth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Blurred Lines Between Comedy, Music, and Authenticity

• Jeremy’s Unique Stage Persona:
  Jeremy describes his show’s blend of planned and spontaneous theater, music, and “sketch comedy.” He explains that a lot of his humor isn’t so much about telling jokes, but rather about the “absurdity” of what ends up happening onstage.

  “Half the stuff… I like to think I’m a funny person, but also with me, there’s this blurry line of what I’m doing to intend to be funny and what is just funny by the sheer absurdity.” — Jeremy (02:30)

• Always “On”:
  Jeremy talks about being the same person offstage and onstage. The unpredictability isn’t an act; it's who he is, whether driving in the tour van or in front of a crowd.

• Audience Energy & Risk:
  Jeremy highlights the importance of risk and improvisation:

  “There’s this constant balance… if something goes too deep or emotional, I have to offset that by doing something silly… The solo show, I think the presence of it itself is… confusing and almost intimidating because… this could go off the rails at any second. And it does.” (06:59)

Connecting through Vulnerability, Laughter, and Resilience

• Making People Feel Safe to Laugh:
  Jeremy compares performing to walking a tightrope—audiences are nervous but want to see the performer succeed. He’s mastered flipping mistakes, failures, or “bombs” into the highlight of the show:

  “…If I die trying, doesn’t matter if I rip my pants or I mess up a part…I’ll just turn that into the part of the show, flip it on its head, and then make that the joke. And it’s like, that’s just worked for me.” (09:09)

• Origins of Performing & Joy:
  Jeremy reflects on starting young, playing drums at age three, but emphasizes he’s never been an “attention whore.” He was just “off in [his] own world, doing [his] own show by [himself] anyway.” (10:46)

• Using Humor to Cope with Hardship:
  Laughter isn’t just for the stage; it’s a coping mechanism:

  “Life is so silly. And no matter how hard your times are… you have to be able to laugh at it. Otherwise you’re done. Because sulking about it… it’s not going to do anything for you.” (22:26)

The Artistic Process: From Bedroom to Stage

• Inadvertent Inspiration: Jeremy recounts how his self-driven art has inspired others:

  “No one else is here to say it for me. But I have changed some people’s lives… [they] have gone and formed their own bands years later… I feel like it has brought some people up.” (11:50)

• Songwriting as Therapy:

  “My defense mechanism is like, it’s like self-numbing to a point where I may be still figuring out how terrible my life actually was through writing songs about it… all of my strengths are built out of weaknesses, whether I realized it or not.” (32:28)

• Not Taking Himself Seriously:
  Despite deep topics, Jeremy resists “serious musician” tropes, instead embracing imperfection and even seeking out the comedic in failure:

  “I take the craft of music really seriously…but I never take myself seriously. No, I mean, I think I look pretty cool, but I’m not really trying.” (55:57)

Influences, Philosophy, & Artistic Identity

• Musical Inspirations:
  Discusses artists like Steely Dan and Zappa as formative:

  “The jokes aren’t always literal or verbal. There’ll be a joke in the arrangement or the notes, and they’re like, ‘oh, man.’… Zappa…doesn’t take himself seriously at all…That kind of steered me in a direction… I don’t have to be that deep or serious all the time. I can just have fun.” (19:09, 19:51)

• Wearing ‘Failure’ Proudly:
  Jeremy recounts tales—from prank bookings (posing as a fake country band: “Runny Nose Bros”) to wild, impromptu performances involving mannequin heads and rubber iguanas—showcasing a creative philosophy centered on using whatever’s at hand and never letting inhibition kill spontaneity.

  “…You become an executive producer for everything around you… you’re all in my play… quit being inhibited and just fucking get weird.” (27:13)

Comedy & Music: Inseparable Elements

• “Is It Comedy or Music?”
  On whether they’re different skills:

  “For me, they’re inseparable. I don’t even really think about it… sometimes the joke is within a song… Other times it’s in the notes or the performance.” (18:02)

• The ‘Enemy’ Audience & Winning Them Over:
  Jeremy describes developing a habit of treating inattentive bar crowds as the “enemy,” playfully roasting inattentive listeners until fans respond—then rewarding their focus:

  “…by default I do these shows… to pay my rent… So many people are just eating a burger, drinking, not even paying attention…that I kind of learned to… the audience is the enemy and they’re the target. And so that became kind of like the default of the show… until people are paying attention.” (47:35)

Humor as Medicine—for Audience & Artist

• Role of the Entertainer:
  Jeremy articulates the ancient, essential role of performance:

  “I think that the role of the artist is the same as it was in the medieval days of jesters and muses… While you’re on, they can forget about their problems if you’re doing it right. And I think that’s the role of any performer.” (51:53)

• Comedy as Salvation:

  “Did comedy save you?”
  “Oh, yeah. Comedy has saved me, and it saves me over and over again. If you can’t laugh, then you’re down bad.” (56:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Not Overthinking the Bit:

  “I can hardly take credit for [the comedy], ‘cause I’m like that in the van driving to the show.” —Jeremy (01:48)

• On Embracing the Ridiculous:

  “You become an executive producer for everything around you… Quit being inhibited and just fucking get weird.” —Jeremy (27:13)

• On Handling Mistakes:

  “I’ll just turn that into the part of the show, flip it on its head, and then make that the joke.” —Jeremy (09:09)

• On the Power of Laughter:

  “If you can’t laugh, then you’re down bad.” —Jeremy (56:20)

• On Artistic Motivation:

  “At the end of the day… I want to be proud of myself and impress myself by coming a long way and being good at what I do. But I want, I want to create something…” —Jeremy (51:53)

• Absurd Live Show Anecdote:

  “I got a text in the middle of a show that…my girlfriend was going into labor. So the whole venue rushed up and all grabbed my stuff… and went to the hospital…and it was like a false alarm.” —Jeremy (40:11)

• On Raising the Bar:

  “Go in your basement for another 5, 10 years and come back when you’re Hendrix.” —Jeremy (46:22)

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------| | 02:30 | Jeremy on being authentically funny | | 06:59 | What happens at Steel Beans shows | | 09:09 | Turning mistakes into the show | | 19:09 | Steely Dan & subversive comedy in music | | 22:26 | Philosophy on laughing through hardship | | 27:13 | The “executive producer” approach to art | | 32:28 | Using music and humor to process hardship | | 40:11 | Absurd show anecdotes and spontaneous bits | | 44:42 | Band impersonates “country duo” for gig | | 51:53 | The deep purpose of live entertainment | | 55:57 | Comedy as a life-saving force | | 56:20 | “Comedy saved me” — Jeremy’s testament |

The Host’s Takeaways

• Hoffman repeatedly remarks on Jeremy’s unique ability to disarm, inspire, and surprise both audiences and collaborators.
• She celebrates his insistence on merging silliness with sincerity, calling his act “rare and unique and fun.”
• “If people think that you— hear there's a point of macho where I'll connect and then it falls off...” —Hoffman on Jeremy’s blend of sensitivity and “classic rock-and-roll” energy. (39:21)

Where to Find Jeremy/Steel Beans

• Instagram (primary)
• YouTube: youtube.com/salmonellarecords
• Other platforms: Twitch, plus actively working on new material, aiming to tour the UK, Europe, and East Coast soon.

“Do yourself a favor. Follow me on all platforms. I’m mainly on Instagram, but I’m trying to get people on the YouTube channel…Get on socials and see me do something over the next month before I smash my phone and get back on the road.” (59:07)

Closing Thought

Jeremy DeBardi’s approach to performance—where laughter is both shield and sword, where failure is just another note in the music, and where art is as much about healing others as healing yourself—offers a reminder that comedy truly can save us, again and again. His shows, like this episode, are celebrations of spontaneity and the courage to be joyfully weird.