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<p>« Julie and Jackie, LOLing With the LGBTs | Main| Action News » Friday Aug 17 2007  Character Sketches | Mindy Raf By: Neil Padover</p>
<p>Friday, August 17, 2007 at 7:44AM It wasn't hard to pick Mindy Raf out of the crowd at Mo Pitkin's the other night at the Stripped Stories show as she sauntered in with a guitar on her arm. She is tall and slim and enters the room with a noticeably focused expression on her face. When she passed by my table, I briefly introduced myself as the guy who would be interviewing her after her set. She squinted as if to make sure it was me, comparing my visage with her memory of my little picture on the Internet, as she put it. The introduction was a little awkward, but mostly an honest admission that we had both already searched through the catalogues of one another's online identities before reaching this moment.</p>

<p>The interview went something like that. As I prodded about her background Mindy would often take two steps forward and one step back. I think she told me three times during the interview that she "tends to ramble." Of course, I couldn't blame the performer for being self-conscious during what she told me was her first real interview. After being kicked out of the Mo Pitkin's show room we were forced to move to a vacant staircase--maybe not the ideal locale for a comedian to discuss her career as a performer.</p>

<p>Mindy graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in theatre and while there found time to perform sketch comedy and music at open mics in the area. After a number of "off-Broadway times a hundred" stints as an actress in New York, Mindy made a return to comedy. It seemed like the natural progression for her as she was perpetually being placed in the comic relief role during her high school and college years. "Even if I auditioned for serious roles I was always being cast as the kooky neighbor type."</p>

<p>If her time in Michigan served as any inspiration for the performer she would become it most directly manifests in her character Leibya Rogers. Leibya (pronounced like labia), a vegan/musical poet/activist, is a composite of the girls Mindy used to run into at open mics "who took themselves way too seriously." It is clear, however, that Leibya's purpose is not to satirize the likes of Ani DiFranco or Jewel as much as it is to make fun of "how ridiculous their fans are." Don't misunderstand, though. It isn't any major indictment against faux feminism either. "It's just fun," Mindy says.</p>

<p>Leibya's lyrics are a study in fast paced, chick-rock hyperbole so much so that they border on the absurd. Keyword border. The anthem "Leibya Spells Freedom" reads like the poetry of a anguished teenage girl who just picked up "The Feminine Mystique": My long armpit hair says 'Fuck you all you pretties'/And my body odor's like my fingerprint I.D./And my heart and mind won't go soft like an erection/And my my my... my tampon smells like freedom.</p>
<p>But that's what makes Mindy such an enjoyable performer to watch. In her song, "What Was Going Through My Head As You Were Attempting to Pleasure Me," it's sometimes difficult to distinguish crafted lines of comedic gold from thoughts she (or anyone else in the audience for that matter) may have actually had during sex.</p>

<p>Mindy admits that it is "hard to find the discipline" needed to write new material every day, a fact I found hard to grapple with considering she writes for two websites, maintains a blog, contributes to WABC Radio and VH1's Best Night Ever podcast and is currently working on a novel.</p>

<p>Perhaps her best known pieces of writing can be found on CollegeHumor.com. Woven somewhere between the pictures of girls making out and videos of dramatic chipmunks is a weekly featured article about everything from the infamous walk of shame to a hopeless, freshman virgin who doesn't understand why guys aren't calling her back. It seems an unlikely place for a sex column but CollegeHumor readers love Mindy, who has been writing for the site for almost three years. The key to her success is the attitude with which she approaches her audience. While she admits to "college-ing [herself] up" with a lot of the subject matter, Mindy explained that writing for guys isn't all that difficult once you remember that "all humans are in relationships [even 18-25 year old college guys]."</p>

<p>When I mentioned that it seemed like much of her material deals with sex Mindy got bashful. "I mean, I am a female comic but as long as it's funny it shouldn't matter." It does matter though--to a lot of people it seems. Readers email Mindy asking for relationship and sex advice even though she's a self-professed non-expert in both areas. When Mindy left the stage at Mo Pitkin's a woman sitting next to me stopped her to tell her how helpful and informative her song about how to give oral sex was. Although the chorus is Never suck cock on an empty stomach, the woman seemed deadpan when she spoke. Mindy indulged the fan who got fairly graphic about her own experiences. It seemed like the type of interaction Mindy must have often. Mindy makes the audience feel so comfortable that they end up revealing intimate details of their own sexual lives in an effort to connect with the performer. Still, Mindy always readily gives her fans and readers the disclaimer that she's "not a physician, a trained psychologist or a dermatologist." "I just want to have fun on stage and make people laugh," she says.</p>

<p>Image created from a photo by Anya Garrett</p>

<p>The Apiary | 2 Comments in EXCLUSIVELY at The Apiary Reader Comments (2)</p>
<p>From my experience from meeting Mindy, I don't remember her being all that tall, unless you consider 5'4-5'6 tall. August 17, 2007 | Kaet Short or tall, Raf's got it all! Wot?! August 23, 2007 | Carolyn Post a New Comment</p>
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