SCOUT DURWOOD
Comedy Electronica
As much as this is a story about a comedian, singer, and actress, it really starts with a kid who wore a tiara to school every day…
That kid grew up to be Scout Durwood. Many years before she made audiences laugh starring on MTV’s Mary + Jane and Oxygen’s Funny Girls, she knew that being different was her greatest strength. That free spirit continues to shine in her newest EP Comedy Electronica Vol. 1, set for release later this summer via Blue Élan Records. The EP will be preceded by a series of companion music videos premiering on YouTube beginning June 26th with Steal UR Girlfriend.
After meeting and collaborating with Dave Darling (Def Leppard, Queen Latifah, Tom Waits, Brian Setzer) on her debut album, Take One Thing Off, the duo rejoined in the studio last summer to record the follow-up, Comedy Electronica. “I knew I wanted to lean more into pop sensibilities with this album so Dave and I imposed a hard rule of ‘no real instruments,’ explained Scout. “We only broke that rule for a theremin and I think there’s a little bit of guitar mixed in somewhere.”
First single, “Steal UR Girlfriend,” is a hilarious but all too accurate portrait of life as a lesbian. “I've always been interested in gender roles and how we alter our behavior to mimic ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ roles, so of my three ‘bros’ in the video, one is a gay cis man and the other is non-binary. I love drag in all directions. Whenever I put makeup on, I consider it getting into drag even if it's intended to make me look more like a girl. We shot the video in a day in a warehouse in Inglewood. Keva Walker did the choreography and was incredible to work with on set.”
“Growing up, I was painfully weird, but blissfully unaware of it,” she smiles. “I was everybody’s lovable little weirdo. After college, I moved to New York. I knew I wanted to be in show business, and in my mind, the way to make it was to be the most original, most creative, and most outside-the-box.”
She went way outside-the-box, spending nearly five years as a draw in New York’s burlesque scene: named as one of the Huffington Post’s “20 Burlesque Stars to Know,” to boot. With this unforgettable experience under her belt, she traded the Big Apple for Los Angeles in 2012. After multiple starring roles, her thirty-minute comedy special was released in 2018 on the Epix series, Unprotected Sets.
Also in 2018, her musical debut Take One Thing Off accompanied a twenty-two episode digital series of the same name. The digital series was included as part of the 2020 Slamdance lineup as well as nominated for Best Indie Series at the 2019 YouTube Streamy Awards -- an annual awards ceremony which recognizes and honors excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. Scout is also an accomplished cabaret singer and nationally touring stand-up comedian. She currently has a scripted half-hour comedy series in development with Sony / Freeform Entertainment, and hosts a monthly live variety show, Everybody GoGo, in Los Angeles.
“I think I’m still that girl in a tiara who doesn’t know she’s weird. That’s become the heart of my comedy. I’m happy to be different, and I hope other people feel the same way. It’s about letting your freak flag fly, and if that isn’t reason enough to dance, I honestly don’t know what is.”
