User:Cerebral726/sandbox/James and the Shame

James and the Shame is the stage name used by American musician and entertainer Rhett McLaughlin of the comedy duo Rhett & Link for his solo music project. McLaughlin released his first album in September 2022, titled Human Overboard, discussing his departure from and criticisms of Christian evangelism.

History
Rhett McLaughlin has become known for his work with comedy partner Link Neal. Together they host Good Mythical Morning, a daily comedy, talk and variety show on YouTube. They have also recorded three comedy music albums together, and written numerous comedy songs. Rhett & Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy in 2001, and ''I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room)'' in 2005. In 2009, they released an album titled Up To This Point through DFTBA Records.

McLaughlin and Neal were both raised as Christians and previously worked as full-time missionaries while attending college. In 2020, both men described their changes in faith in separate episodes of their podcast Ear Biscuits. Both said they are no longer evangelical Christians, with Rhett saying he would call himself "a hopeful agnostic". McLaughlin later expanded on his faith deconstruction and his criticisms of Christian evangelism, purity culture, and his previous and current self.

In July 2022, McLaughlin released a single titled "Believe Me" under the name "James and the Shame", his first non-comedy and first solo song he had released. At the same time, he announced he would be releasing a full album titled Human Overboard. On August 19, a second single titled "Where We're Going" was released, with the music video being released a day earlier. The song is a duet with his wife Jessie. The full album was released on September 23, 2022. The album was recorded at Finn-land Studios in Burbank, California with Derek Furhmann producing. The album is a country music album, with McLaughlin citing Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson as sources of inspiration.

McLaughlin is set to perform live at his and Neal's 2022 fan convention, Mythicon.

Personnel

 * James McLaughlin – vocals, acoustic guitar
 * Gunnar Olsen – drums
 * Alex Strahle – acoustic guitar, electric guitars, pedal steel guitar
 * Derek Fuhrmann – bass
 * Jessie McLaughlin – additional vocals (track 5)

The album was produced by McLaughlin and Fuhrmann.