We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ben Baldwin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ben below.

Ben, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Times are tough. Our money is being inflated like a deployed airbag, blasted into your sternum. If I can’t get a callus corporation to pay me what I’m worth, I’m starting a business of my own design. I’m taking fate into my own hands and looking around at what I have available, literally in my yard right now as I look up from my CRT. And what I’m seeing is the succulent Texas Antelope Squirrel, the local Bluefin Tuna, Chicken of the Tree, just waiting for someone to create a market with it’s juicy hindquarters. And that someone is me, today, in this very moment. That is until the omnipotent TABC stepped in and said we couldn’t sling this delicacy in front of the most convenient gas station in Briggs, the only one as far as I’m concerned.

This was the premise for the latest animation from Amateur Night at Club Stupid. “Business Proposal” follows a few rugged Texans with blessed hearts as they roughly approximate how an entrepreneur would hack their way into the middle class; with a dead squirrel and a court summons.

This project was most meaningful to me in the rowdy comradery of my friends who leant their voice acting talent: Craig LeMay, Eric Haugh, and Derek Bossert, along with a few others who wish to remain anonymous. It also has the likeness of my friends Matt Fox and Dillon Minacci of the Double Heads who host the popular radio show on KOOP 91.7fm in Austin.

To me, great voice acting is the centerpiece for entertaining animation, and their humor has transformed the work into something capable of growing a cult following. We have screened this animation locally in Austin five times at the end of 2025 at venues like We Luv Video, Austin Beerworks Sprinkle Valley, and the Highball, and are in the process of submitting to festivals internationally.

Ben, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Ben Baldwin, animator and musician based in Austin, TX. I used to play in bands and now I make cartoons under the name “Amateur Night at Club Stupid”. I’ve screened my work at The San Francisco Indie Fest, winning best US Animation for the cartoon “Hootenanny in the Void of Space”, and am looking to screen the latest animation “Business Proposal”. I draw inspiration from enigmatic animators, jazz pianists, and outsider artists. Canvas Rebel was kind enough to do a write up on me a few years ago, and I wanted to take the opportunity again to talk about my latest work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of creating any work of art is making something that doesn’t exist, by delving into your subconscious and finding something that is unique, presented in your own perspective. To quote Arthur Rubinstein, “Nothing in art can be the best, just different”.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish we had the YouTube of today before I went to college. It would have saved me a lot of money.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @amateurnightatclubstupid
• Youtube: @amateurnightatclubstupid
• Other: Patreon / amateurnightatclubstupid