Hawaii is a dream vacation destination for many people, including musical comedy duo, The Jasons. The pair — featuring Stony Brook alum, Jason Bader, and childhood best friend, Jason Blackmon — were so excited about their trip, they made it the subject of their most recent comedic music video, “Hawaii.”
The video starts with a chipper tone but soon starts taking twists and turns and The Jasons’ trip doesn’t go quite the way they had planned. The pair use the upbeat attitude of the song for a hilarious effect and it will certainly bring a smile to your face.
Well-shot and well-edited, the video thrives on the strong comedic timing of the duo. “Hawaii” is the type of piece that can genuinely surprise and open people’s minds to the potential of musical comedy.
The two have been tackling comedy together with an unusual but funny act. Their unique brand of musical comedy often meets resistance from some crowds when they first get up on stage, but The Jasons say that’s their favorite part of the gig.
“Our favorite thing is seeing those people with their arms crossed not wanting to like us going right to laugh-out-loud belly-laughing and just having like the best time,” Bader said.
“And that happens like every show,” Blackmon added. “And it’s so great to see that, that’s where we get real fans and people who will come up to us after the show.”
Bader — who graduated from Stony Brook in 2012 — has had a variety of jobs, including working for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as a producer and currently working for the new social media app TikTok. Yet among it all, Bader says he loves being a part of The Jasons the most. Blackmon, who also worked on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as a writer, says that The Jasons is his favorite thing he’s ever done. “When it comes down to it, everything I do outside of the Jasons is to support the ability to still do The Jasons,” Blackmon said.
The pair have worked with a variety of different comics, including Adam Sandler, Whitney Cummings and Ray Romano.
Bader, who studied film at Stony Brook, said he enjoyed his time at the university, even though he was one of only a few film students. “I think, as a lot of people know, Stony Brook is not like a big film school. All my friends were in like a business program or they were becoming doctors,” Bader said. “It’s a very small community of people doing film there, but I think it’s a strong one and they have a great program. It was really great to be a part of that.”
Bader and Blackmon also say they’re interested in returning to Stony Brook to perform as The Jasons. “We’ve just started to do shows at colleges, and I’d love to reach out to somebody there and see about that,” Blackmon said.
