Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published September 13, 2019.

Where are you from? How did you end up in Rochester?

Maddy: We’re both from Syracuse. Gracie went to school at Geneseo and her husband went to RIT. 

Gracie: After college, I felt like I would rather die than move in with parents, so I stuck around Rochester. For the first couple years, I badly wanted to move to Portland, Oregon. But I had made no effort to explore what was going on in Rochester! I decided to stay and give it a try. After putting in about two seconds of effort, I was like “omg, this place is kind of amazing.” 

Maddy: About two years ago, Gracie got pregnant, and it lined up with when I graduated from Cortland. I moved in with Gracie and was really enthralled by how much there is to do in Rochester. I started working at Bitter Honey. The industry here is so fun and cool. I just stuck around ever since.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

Maddy: The arts community and the food and drink. It’s all so good. There’s a show every weekend, whether it’s a concert or a comedy show. We’re very involved in the DIY comedy scene. There are so many talented people in it. 

Gracie: I do more during the day now than I used to. We have a zoo membership and a Strong Museum membership. There’s so much to do every day. It’s not 24 hour stuff to do like NYC, but few places are. We’re never bored. 

Maddy: If you’re bored you’re really not trying. There’s so much to do.

What's the best place to get a garbage plate?

Maddy: Red Fern

Gracie: U-hots in Geneseo. Their double grilled cheese plate is the best.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather?

Maddy: HappyLight, the butterfly room at the Strong Museum, and saying “I’m going to Florida” and heading to Lamberton Conservatory.

Gracie: Genrich’s Garden Center in West Irondequoit--it’s this family-owned, old-school greenhouse. I like to go see what plants they’ve got. A lot of their plants are imported from Florida and lizards will be hiding in them. It makes me feel like I’m somewhere warm. 

What's one memory you have that captures what Rochester means to you? 

Maddy: Friends of mine went to Genesee Brew House and we got a couple beers. Afterwards, we walked across the bridge. There’s a spot you’re not supposed to climb out onto, but you can pretty much be right next to the waterfall. It was really really cool. 

Gracie: Walking through Highland Park in spring, right before the Lilac Festival, is one of my favorite things. The smell of the air, all the different flowers--that’s Rochester.

If Rochester was a person, who would it be? 

Maddy: Lizzo--an underdog who deserves all of the self-love and support. 

Gracie: With Lizzo, there are a lot of comments like “oh she’s beautiful, even though she’s a certain way.” But there shouldn’t be a qualifier! There shouldn’t be a qualifier with Rochester, either.

Tell me a little bit about your comedy band, Saunt Yubear. How did you get started? 

Maddy: The Spirit Room when they first opened had an open call for people to do a show. Gracie and I were both feeling manic at the same time. We were like, “We can do it!”

Gracie: We signed up and had no plan for what we were gonna do. They asked our stage name and we offered Saunt Yubear up--it’s Saint Hubert with a crazy French accent. 

Maddy: We had the idea to write a song and make it funny. At that show, our now-friend Woody Battaglia asked Rachel McKibbens of the Spirit Room for our contact info. He has a radio show that I occasionally contribute to now, “Almost Tuesday” on WAYO. He had us on as a guest, we wrote a few more songs, and it just kind of kept going. 

Gracie: There was an unexpected interest in what we were doing right away. We wrote a lot of songs in the first six months.

Maddy: Gigs started picking up a lot. We thought we needed new material every time we performed, which was stressful at the time, but it pushed us. 

Were you musicians before starting Saunt Yubear? 

Maddy: We were both in chorus in high school. I had previously only been messing around with a couple things, I played a couple times with people. 

Gracie: I took piano lessons for a long time when I was younger, and I taught myself to play guitar in high school. I’d written songs before, but just to make something. I never took music seriously enough that I thought being in a band was possible. It just ended up being nice to have someone to write and harmonize with. 

When you’re doing comedy you can be profound if you want to, but it’s not like we’re trying to be the voice of our generation. You can just make a funny observation, and that’s enough. For a long time, musically, I wanted to take myself very seriously...

Maddy: But we’d have to be more talented to take ourselves seriously. We’re trash.

Gracie: We’re garbage plates. We’re a local delicacy.

What are some of your most popular songs? What topics do they cover?

“Hardly Working” is one we try to play at every show. It’s about how when you go into an office, no matter where you go, everyone is saying the same shit to each other. We won an award for that one at the NYC Comedy Music Festival! 

“Blog Post” is about when you’re trying to read a recipe online and you literally just want the instructions, but it’s a long essay before even preheating the oven, and the site crashes four times and won’t load. It’s probably our most punk rock song.

What makes a song funny?

Maddy: I really like having a surprise ending to a song. It’s like a punchline, and that’s what makes everyone really laugh. 

Gracie: The audience decides what makes a song funny. Relatability is a big part of it.

What advice do you have for up-and-coming comedians in Rochester?

Maddy: There are so many open mics around here. Within each, there’s a network of people who are very dedicated. If they see you and they like you, they will book you. It’s a great way to get started. 

Gracie: Just start. If you feel like you’re too old or too inexperienced, remember that the only way to get more experience is to just do it. You can start whenever you want. Just start writing. 

What's next for Saunt Yubear?

Maddy: We’re going to Arizona for Big Pine Comedy Festival. 

Gracie: We’re going to be recording an album soon. We hope to have it out by early next year!