Claws Out Comedy Gives a Platform to Comedians Who are Hurting, and Hilarious

There's an old trope that to perform live comedy, you have to be emotionally broken or damaged in some way. It refers to a comedian's willingness to be daring and completely open to an audience while dodging whatever an audience throws at them, which 9 times out of 10 is just figuratively and not (we hope) literally.

But the businesses of being funny can take a real unfunny toll on comics. This is why comedian Monna and her crew of comedians took the time to build Claws Out Comedy however they could. More than three years later, the record label and comedy community produces full-length albums and inclusive live shows with the aim of making mental health issues more normalized while embracing the light and dark sides of them through comedy.

"Mental health was always something that's important to me and I've talked about it in my comedy," says Monna. "It was just a natural integration, especially when the pandemic hit."

Monna's comedy venture started with a show spotlighting a roster of female comedians that gained some steam at the end of 2019 with more shows booked in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin. The following year, she challenged herself to record her first album around March. That eventually became her hit record Unstable, which premiered on the top of Apple Music's comedy charts — though not on the timeline she planned because, well, you probably know what happened next.

So far, Claws Out Comedy has produced albums for comedians Latrice Wilkerson, Kris Gardner, Steve Gammil and Trever Carreon, with three more scheduled to come out in the coming month, including Monna's third album Unfiltered, Kim Wadsworth's No Contest and Alvin Newsome's Somebody's Husband Somebody's Dad.

"All of it's real funny," says Monna."The people we choose to work with are very funny and wholesome. It's not that it's clean content but they are wholesome, good role models and trustworthy people. These are people who you want to grab a beer with but you could also leave your kids with, just good human beings and talented artists."

Claws Out Comedy also produces live specials with names such as Aaron Aryanpur and Wadsworth, comic showcases paired with drag shows, such as the Off the Cuff show at The Cicada in Fort Worth, and open mics such as the weekly STFU Open Mic night on Wednesday at the Twilite Lounge in Fort Worth.

"Claws Out has always felt strongly about amplifying diverse voices when possible, and one great way we've been doing that is through producing these comedy albums," says comedian Ruth Banks, who performed at the first Claws Out show and released an album with the label called Screwed that was No. 1 on Apple Music's comedy charts in the week of its release. "Technology and social media have made it so much more possible to put your art out there, and Claws Out is trying to lead by example on that."

The comedians featured in Claws Out shows are fearless — or at least they seem that way. When Monna went on her Sorry for Your Loss tour, in which she played a string of shows from Fort Worth back to her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, she was also struggling with a "horrific" legal situation with her stepmother. But she says the tour helped her "have a positive experience in the midst of the chaos of life." 

"This new album I'm doing on Unfiltered really focuses on domestic abuse and violence, but it's fun," Monna says. "It's a very heavy album but I think it's funny and the most powerful thing I've written and done so far."

Monna says that even though live events are a huge part of Claws Out, the record label is just as important in the digital media landscape that makes it harder for comedians to monetize and own their material.

"It's a big deal for me, because in a world that is wholly shifting to digital creation being a real job opportunity, artists are still being exploited," Monna says. "These albums are not only a good way to protect content but continue monetizing, find fans and plan tours out, and I wanted to help my friends reach that platform as well."

That's especially important when comedy is more personal and observational. For instance, Banks suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic group of disorders that can weaken connective tissue affecting the skin, bone, muscles and more. She had to have back surgery in college that required drilling 16 screws into her spine and wearing something called the "bone stimulator" that would beep loudly in classes when the battery drained.

Banks says she'll need another operation on her spine soon, but the struggles, embarrassment and pain she went through also pushed her to record Screwed even though she felt out of her comfort zone. In turn, her comedy may do the same for the medical and emotional struggles she'll soon endure.

"When it was first suggested that I should record an album, my instinct was to say I wasn't ready or I hadn't earned it, but one of my philosophies has always been to take opportunities as they come because I have no way to know if I'll be healthy enough once I've 'earned' it," Banks says. "On the album, I talk a lot about my experience with chronic pain and weirdly that pain played into my willingness to jump at the opportunity despite my insecurity."