“What if Led Zeppelin decided to sing Dr. Seuss?” “What if I tried to trick the people that are listening to me play my guitar right now, to see if they’re really listening?” “What if, I don’t know, Tom Petty was a country singer?” These are the burning questions that fuel musical talent Mike Rayburn, “The world’s funniest guitar virtuoso.” On Monday, June 23, I had the chance to check out the comedian/musician at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. The setting was an intimate one, the room was small and hosted no more than 30 or 40 people, at best. It was the perfect venue for this masterful guitar wizard and jokester to showcase his unique take on entertaining a crowd.
Hailing from Virginia, Rayburn has been classically trained in the art of playing guitar and attended college to perfect his craft. He’s certainly not what you would think a serious, classically trained guitarist would behave like at all. Far from it. In fact, Rayburn is like no other in the industry and I think that’s what makes him so successful. What I saw that night at Rockwood Music Hall was like nothing I’d ever seen before. His philosophy is something along the lines of this: “What if?” It’s that simple, yet that complicated.
Mike draws inspiration for his act from all aspects of his life, from his children to the drunken patrons that he plays for at bars around the country-some of his best work has stemmed from a drunken bar crowd yelling out absurd requests at him that he was actually able to bring to life. You see, one of the biggest themes of his performance is the art of imitation. It all lies on a steady foundation of that one question that drives him to create, “What if?” For example, while driving in the van one day with his children, to whom he frequently reads books by Dr. Seuss, a Led Zeppelin song came on the radio. A rocker at heart, Mike said to himself, “What if Led Zeppelin was a child entertainer and sang Dr. Seuss?” From this unsettling thought came Rayburn’s version of Green Eggs And Ham, now the song, sung by Led Zeppelin-it’s hysterical. And he doesn’t stop there. I’m not sure if this is a true story or just a great way to introduce another bit, but Mike claims that he had a friend named Felipe who was waiting on news of whether or not he had fathered a child. When it turned out that he didn’t, Mike, in a way only he can, came up with this little diddy for the father-not-to-be, “Felipe’s Not A Dad.” Just think for a second. It’s pretty good!
Mike Rayburn is a funny guy. There’s really no better way to say it. He hams it up on stage for a living-could there be a better job? The great thing about him, though, is that he’s not just some “Jack” off the street who’s kind of okay at playing guitar and has made a few friends laugh and then figured he’d cash in on his God-given talent. Rayburn is a serious guitar player, he’s got impeccable skill and takes pride in his craft, so much so that he’s come up with some of the most interesting and wildly entertaining pieces of music that I’ve ever heard or seen played live in my life. He concentrates a lot of his playing on the frets, which I’ve never really seen done before. It allows him to play quick and concise tunes, and has even aided him in coming up with a great bit featuring battling banjos, a crowd request, as mentioned earlier, that he took home with him and perfected. “I’ve got too much time on my hands,” he said after the duel. Well, Mike, all that time has paid off, because I was laughing my ass of for the entire hour-long show, so much so, that my face actually hurt a little after, seriously, because I was smiling the whole time.
Now, he doesn’t just do covers, although he could thrive on them because they’re so damn funny, he’s actually got some original work that hits just as hard as his swapping stars bit, such as the song, “Bad Luck.” When introduced as a love song, you think you’re going to hear the same old tune, be told how much he loves this woman and so on, maybe actually have a moment of seriousness in the show, but that’s not the case at all. Instead, whatever poor soul this song is about, is torn apart, in a nice way (if there is such a thing), and told how much she just, well, sucks. Like a typical guy, Mike blames all his life’s ailments on her with lines like, “Girl, you know you’re just bad luck.” I hope this is a fictional character that he speaks of, because he’s got the masses pumping out belly laughs at her expense-poor girl. He also rips on his dear mother. The shame! Mike’s got this song called “Tattoo,” and I have to say, this was one of my favorites because my mother, young as she is at heart, inspired the family to start getting inked when she came home one day, in her 40s, with a brand new tattoo. Now, I don’t see anything wrong with this, you only live once so enjoy yourself and do what you want, but Mike’s take on it was just too much! He comes up with these ridiculous scenarios and visualizations of his dear old mother getting tattooed and he sings about it with such seriousness, as if he’s really trying to relay this message home. That’s the other great thing about Mike’s act, he chooses topics and ideas that are relatable within the crowd to which he’s playing. Everything he mentions is something that at least a few people in the audience could share an experience with, and that’s part of what makes him so good at what he does, he’s making the run-of-the-mill, everyday things that we all know and see, funny! Really funny!
Rayburn has been performing for a while now and averages about 120 shows per year. You can catch him all over the country, not only doing his comical guitar act, but also as a motivational keynote speaker at corporate events and such, where he relates the skill and dedication that it took him to get where he is, and applies it to whatever the topic of discussion is for each event. He recently played Carnegie Hall, a venue size which he seems to prefer because, “It’s easier to make 300 people laugh than it is 30.” The show was recorded and is now available on his CD that just hit stores, Mike Rayburn Live At Carnegie Hall and I strongly recommend picking up a copy.
For more info about the performer and for tour dates you can check out his website at mikerayburn.com.
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