Jessica Delfino (born June 8, 1976, in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

) is a controversial singer, songwriter, and comedian based in New York City. Her songs tend to ridicule

taboos A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

and typically include jokes about

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

s and other sexual or dark topics. In her act, she plays an assortment of instruments including guitar, flying V

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

and a rape whistle. She is also an illustrator and attended Philadelphia's Art Institute, as well as the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

. She has won numerous awards, including winning the Holding Court comedy contest at Camp Out in the Poconos, beating out

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comed ...

to win the Best Musical Act at the 2005 ECNY awards, and a 2005 Village Voice "Best of" Award, in which the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

declared her to be "fall-off-your-chair hilarious." She has appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''"The Vagina Dialogue"
The Philly Edge, March 6, 2007 as a finalist in a national comedy competition. She has also won many other competitions, some of them unusual, such as The Stoned Spelling Bee in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the Madagascar Institute's Catholic high school talent competition and the

Arlene's Grocery Arlene's Grocery is a bar and music venue located in the Lower East Side district of Manhattan. It is located at 95 Stanton Street between Orchard St and Ludlow St. The venue was opened by Shane Doyle and two partners in 1995. Shane Doyle was als ...

"Gong Show," which later became

The Gong Show with Dave Attell ''The Gong Show with Dave Attell'' was a revival of the 1970s Chuck Barris comedy game show called ''The Gong Show'', hosted by comedian Dave Attell. The show premiered on July 17, 2008. It was produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happy ...

on Comedy Central.

Music and Performance

Jessica Delfino's first CD, ''Dirty Folk Rock'' came out in 2004 on the Soundcakes International label. It received excellent reviews all across the United States, including in ''

Jane Magazine ''Jane'' was an American magazine created to appeal to the women who grew up reading '' Sassy'' magazine; Jane Pratt was the founding editor of each. Its original target audience (pitched to advertisers) was aged 18–34, and was designed to appe ...

'', ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

'' (Best "unsigned" Act of The Week), ''Arthur Magazine'' (in a fawning review by

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

) and ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...

'' (describing her as "Redd Foxx meets Jewel"). Delfino's second CD, ''I Wanna Be Famous'', came out in June 2008 on the Loudmouth Records label, and was officially the first CD ever to be released by that label. It has received praise from Time Out New York, Time Out London, and

Blender Magazine ''Blender'' was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities. It compiled lists of albums, artists, and songs, including both "best of" an ...

's Rob Tannenbaum, who described Delfino as "The Joan Baez of the Vagina Song." Animator Nick Fox-Gieg's video for the title cut of the song, ''I Wanna Be Famous'', has been viewed more than one million times on YouTube. She has appeared on

Opie & Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

's radio show, UK comedian

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

's radio show, the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) * Sundance Channel (Iberia) * Sundance Channel (Asia) Sundanc ...

, BBC's Loose Ends Radio Programme, the Montreal Comedy Festival, the (Scotland) Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Galway (Ireland) Comedy Festival, the Bud Light Comedy Festival (Dublin, Ireland), the NY International Children's Film Festival and toured the US with Lisa "Suckdog" Crystal Carver,

Dame Darcy Darcy Megan Stanger (born June 19, 1971, Caldwell, Idaho), better known by the pen name Dame Darcy, is an alternative comics, alternative cartoonist, fine artist, musician, cabaret performer, and animator/filmmaker. Her "Neo-Victorian" comic boo ...

, The

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie-rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their only child, Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason T ...

, and

Corn Mo Corn Mo is the stage name of Jon Cunningham, an American, Brooklyn-based musician. Corn Mo sings, plays the accordion, keyboards, and sometimes performs as a one man band. His music style is a mixture of circus music, glam rock, and humorou ...

as their opening act. She has also appeared on the Fox News Channel show, "Red Eye" with Greg Gutfeld. Delfino, together with ''

Meat Cake ''Meat Cake'' is a comic book series written and drawn by Dame Darcy. Originally published by Caliber Press, ''Meat Cake'' was published by Fantagraphics in the United States from 1993 to 2008. ''Meat Cake'' has been described as "neo- Victorian, ...

'' author and fellow musician

created ''Naughty Nautical Nite'', a monthly maritime-themed cabaret show at The Slipper Room in New York City, which showcases off-beat acts from around the world, such as ventriloquist

Carla Rhodes Carla Rhodes is an American wildlife conservation photographer. Formerly a ventriloquist, comedian, and musician, Rhodes was mentored by Shari Lewis as a teenager.Pamelia Kurstin Pamelia Stickney (formerly known as Pamelia Kurstin) is an American theremin player. She has performed and recorded with many artists including David Byrne, Yoko Ono, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, David Garland, Seb Rochford, Otto Lechner and ...

. In September 2008, she appeared in sold-out performances of her show, ''Dirty Folk Rock'', at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

in London, for which she received a "Critics Choice" from Time Out London. Delfino is also known for performing as various unusual characters, including "Bilge Baron" in her histrionic fear-metal band Haunted Pussy and "T-Top Trans-Am" (her white-trash burlesque act) amongst many others, some of which appear in "Skits N Tits" the monthly sketch comedy show she co-produces in NYC with Diane O'Debra Langan and Steph Sabelli.

New York Annual Funny Songs Festival

In June 2012, Jessica Delfino organized the First Annual Funny Songs Festival in New York City,"The NY Funny Songs Festival"
Time Out New York "a four-day event that bills itself as the city's first comedy music festival,"
The New York Times featuring performers including Rob Paravonian, Jen Kwok, Ben Lerman, Soce the Elemental Wizard, Mindy Raf, Carolyn Castiglia, Myq Kaplan, Micah Sherman, and Jessica Delfino herself, among many others. The festival occurred from Thursday, June 7, 2012, through Sunday, June 10, 2012, in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood, and Delfino and the festival were the subjects of feature articles in The New York Times, Time Out New York, and numerous other publications.

Politics

Delfino managed the 2005 mayoral campaign of

Christopher X. Brodeur Christopher X. Brodeur is an artist, writer, and musician. Brodeur has been acquitted and found not guilty after being arrested and spending time in jail for harassing members of New York City's mayor's press office staff. He ran for mayor of N ...

, and she was featured in the 2009 documentary, '' The Promise of New York''.

Writing

Delfino wrote for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's game show, ''

I Bet You Will ''I Bet You Will'' is an Internet webcast, and later a show on MTV that paid people to do outrageous things for money. In 2008, reruns of the program began to air on Spike. It was created by Morgan Spurlock. The show was hosted by Spurlock, mu ...

''. Later, Morgan Spurlock hired her to write songs for his 2007 documentary film, '' What Would Jesus Buy?''. Delfino writes a blog that

Wil Wheaton Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...

called "the funniest thing I've ever read." Her blog has since been moved to her website. She has also been a regular contributor for

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

's '' Saving Grace'' television series blog. In 2016, Delfino wrote a weekly cannabis-themed

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

round-up column for ''

'' called ''Toasted Tweets''. Through 2017–2020, she went on to write about parenting and cannabis for ''High Times'' and pen pieces about parenting for ''The Atlantic'', ''Huffington Post'', VH1, and ''The Week'', and satire for ''McSweeney's Internet Tendencies'', ''Working Mother'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''The New York Times''. She also was a contributor in the writer's room on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

's ''Mr. Punk Goes To Washington'' and for

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

Controversy

On December 19, 2006, Catholic League president

William A. Donohue William Anthony Donohue (born July 18, 1947) is an American Roman Catholic who has been president of the Catholic League in the United States since 1993. Life and career Donohue was born in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New Yor ...

publicly attacked Delfino's act, asserting that it "provides ammunition" to Muslim terrorists by "harboring a depraved understanding of liberty." In response, Delfino stated, "I was brought up Catholic, and I was also brought up to believe that it isn't anti-Catholic to celebrate the life-giving and life-nurturing parts of a woman's body. I don't know why William Donohue hates women's bodies. I don't know why he is afraid of refocusing attention on humanity's true source of creation, the mysterious and magical womb. But I do know that William Donohue is a hypocrite and a bigot, who has publicly made outrageous and highly-offensive anti-Semitic, and now anti-Muslim statements. And that certainly doesn't make him a better Catholic than I am. William Donohue does not speak for all Catholics. He doesn't speak for me." On the day after Google announced its purchase of YouTube, YouTube removed a popular video of one of Delfino's songs, the subject of which was that her vagina was magic. On October 11, 2008, that same video was featured as the top pick on

playboy.com ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

's "Video Hotlist," and was featured on the main front page of

's website.

Discography

Albums

*'' Dirty Folk Rock'', 2004 *'' I Wanna Be Famous'', 2008 *'' Perfect Holidays'', 2010 *'' Songs To Make War To'', 2012

Songs

*" My Pussy Is Magic" *" I Wanna Be Famous" *"Jewish Boys""Jewish Boys"
The Fump, December 16, 2014

References

External links

Jessica Delfino official website

Jessica Delfino Twitter account

''I Wanna Be Famous'' video

Instagram account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delfino, Jessica 1976 births Living people American comedy musicians American women singer-songwriters American folk singers American multi-instrumentalists American stand-up comedians Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut Singers from New York City American ukulele players American women comedians 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American people of Italian descent Guitarists from Connecticut Guitarists from New York City 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from Connecticut Lincoln Academy (Maine) alumni Comedians from Connecticut