It's no joke-Philly bred NYC transplant Joe DeRosa may be one of America's most in-demand stand up comics, but with partner James Pinkstone he's rocking hard and serious as Funeral intheMirror. They performed tracks from their debut collection at CD release parties at Ochi's Lounge in New York and The M Room in Philadelphia.

Comedy fans familiar with DeRosa from his thousands of performances across the U.S. and appearances on "Comedy Central Presents," HBO, NBC, Fox News' "Red Eye" and "The Opie and Anthony Show" on XM/Sirius might be surprised to learn that the multi-talented performer originally pursued a career in music before finding his niche as a funnyman. Ironically, he found his pathway back towards those musical dreams through making people laugh. He and Pinkstone had been writing and recording tributes to, and parodies of, "sex rap" acts such as 2 Live Crew for years. In the Atlanta recording studio that Pinkstone managed, Staff engineer Kris Sampson and Producer Don McCollister liked what they heard and suggested the duo record them. Music executives were giggling their heads off, but most balked at releasing the songs because of the racy content.

Frustrated and feeling that their stuff was "so good, yet they had nothing to be proud of," the two fused their wide ranging musical passions and launched what they dubbed a "computer rock duo." DeRosa's strengths were singing and creating and producing beats; Pinkstone's were singing, playing guitar and writing lyrics. Named after a line in the Leonard Cohen song "Dress Rehearsal Rag," Funeral intheMirror-whose name is also a nod to Shudder To Think's 1991 album Funeral At The Movies--evolved into an entirely joint effort in which the duo both play guitar, sing and orchestrate the programmed rhythm sections.