Between Take My Wife—her first TV series on the NBC streaming channel Seeso—a web series on Amy Poehler's Smart Girls network, and appearances at SF Sketchfest, 2016 is shaping up to be an enormous year for comedian Rhea Butcher. As one of a growing number of stand-ups signed to Portland's Kill Rock Stars label, Butcher records her debut album at Mississippi Studios this Sunday. Here's what she told the Mercury about the rise of streaming content, Instagramming her sweater-wearing dog, and the little Portland in her heart.
MERCURY: You've got roots in Akron, Chicago, and LA—what made you choose to record this album in Portland?
RHEA BUTCHER: Portland has played a very large role in my life so far... I visited many times before I started doing stand-up. In some ways, I feel like I have a little Portland in my heart that I carry around with me. I'm really stoked to be recording my album there because not only are the audiences amazing, the label that is putting out my album, Kill Rock Stars, is headquartered there and played a huge role in forming my artistic soul. It's also at Mississippi Studios, which is an amazing venue and a lot of other [Kill Rock Stars] comedians [Kurt Braunohler, Ian Karmel, Cameron Esposito] have recorded there, so it's awesome to be part of the comedy energy in that space.
