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“Comedy is tragedy plus time.” |
Finally, for those out there that don’t like to laugh, they might be best served by a quote from another lady of show business, Julia Roberts:
“Show me a person who doesn't like to laugh and I'll show you a person with a toe tag.”
As a comedian, I have gotten used to people forgetting the names of performers and resorting to a rudimentary impression or vague retelling of jokes to explain who they enjoyed seeing. “He was like an angry ranty guy.” “Kind of a stoner guy with a beard” “ That sarcastic girl that had a nice smile”. It is almost always the most fun to hear people try to take on the task of explaining that they enjoyed watching Simon King.
It usually goes something like: “He talked really fast and he made a goat noise…”
I remember the first time that I met Simon King, it was backstage at the old Yuk Yuks comedy club that used to be in the Plaza of Nations. He had just left a day job and was going to put his full energies into stand up comedy. As I soon found out, Simon’s full energy would be the comedy equivalent of a cartoon barrel of dynamite.
If you’ve never seen Simon on stage, he is fast, loud, surreal and urgent. He jumps from impressions to animal noises to outrage in the time it would take most to start building up steam. King is also visually unmistakable in that he has a hairdo reminiscent of the Big Boy burger mascot.
Simon hits the stage a lot here in Vancouver. I don’t exactly know how many times a month but I know it’s more than a calendar has days. Simon’s hard work here in town led to an appearance at the prestigious Aspen Comedy Festival a few years ago. His act brought him to the attention of management in L.A. and consequently Simon started splitting his time between here and there. All this exposure lead to him releasing his debut album, Unfamous, last year.
For now, Vancouver is lucky to have Simon at least some of time, and should he ever leave, I will gladly entertain any questions like “who was that force of nature-y guy with the big boy hair and the goat noise?”
If you want to know more you can go to: http://www.thisissimonking.com/
Simon was kind enough to answer some questions for Vancouver Is Awesome.
When was the last time you laughed until you cried?
I was having lunch recently with some friends and one of them mentioned a particular interview with Tracy Morgan of 30 Rock fame. Apparently when asked what he was up to Tracy replied (now make sure you say this in Tracy Morgan fashion for maximum effectiveness) “You know me, just doing Karate and impregnating white women.”
I almost passed out from the bliss of it.
What is one myth about live comedy you’d like to dispel?
That it’s generic. There seems to be this sort of pervasive attitude amongst entertainment seekers that live comedy is all kind of the same. That’s why they usually just advertise it as “comedy” when in fact the spectrum is highly varied. There are so many different unique kinds of comedy. In just the stand up vein alone there are a litany of different styles and forms that to label all of it with a sort of bulk “comedy” tag seems at best unfair and at worst ridiculous. It’s kind of like going to see a band. Very rarely do people just go and see “music” because you don’t know what you’ll end up with. You could spend ages getting your Mohawk all sprayed and dyed to perfection and when you get to the venue, much to your chagrin you’re surrounded by cowboy hats and jean shirts. People should know what they are looking for and then go and find it.
What would be your idea of a perfect venue?
I think because of the speed at which I go and the way I like to connect to an audience a venue of five hundred seats or smaller is probably my best fit. I know that a lot of comics can’t wait to play huge houses in the thousands and although that’s fun (I’ve only had the luxury a few times) there is something more grass roots about a smaller house. It’s pretty cool being a few feet from the audience. All this is academic though because to me it’s more who than how many. Give me thirty people who want to be there over three hundred who are killing time until they can go to the dance club any day of the week.
What do you think is a comedy premise that needs to be retired?
I must say I have a hard time with all the “dick jokes.” Specifically blue humour for the sake of being blue. It’s easy. It’s kind of universal and although I know how much audiences tend to dig it I am personally getting a little tired of the same jokes about genitalia and what goes where etc. Look, no one is saying don’t do those jokes but I think that doing the same joke over and over may not be the best way to express yourself. Come up with some new way of tackling the topic of what goes where and who has to clean their glasses afterward, well then there you go. We’ve all got some schlock that helps us make a living but it always confused me that the guy doing the Nicholson impression (don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending it) gets called hackneyed as opposed to the fifth guy that night doing a “hey man porn is weird” joke. I’m just saying that numbers wise there are a lot more jerk off jokes than Nicholson impressions. Now, if you did a Nicholson jerking off joke… well my friend you may just have something.
You have done comedy in America and Canada, what are the main differences in those experiences?
American’s by enlarge are more expressive. Typically Canadians, Vancouver audiences are an excellent example of this, don’t tend to jump to their feet or scream at the top of their lungs. They sort of politely look around to see if it’s okay to be having a good time. It’s pretty much a cultural thing. If you ask a Canadian what their favorite ice cream flavour is they’ll usually hum and haw for a minute or two and then quietly ask if it’s alright with you that they just like plain vanilla. Then they’ll apologize for taking up your time. If you ask an American the same question they’ll tell you, loudly and unapologetically that if you don’t like Chunky Monkey you’re probably either stupid or a threat to freedom. That may be a bit over the top but you get the idea.
What do you get from road work you cannot get from work in the city?
Probably the most useful thing is how thick your skin gets. You can play so many different types of rooms in this city and its great, don’t get me wrong. There is however something you learn from nine hours in a car driving through a snowstorm performing at a bar that is trying comedy on what is usually their wing night that you just can’t quite get from taking a cab ten minutes to the bar you usually drink at but they set up a stage tonight. I know I am more an urban center comic, I lean left and sometimes have a hard time seeing life through the eyes of someone who works an oil rig and came into town for the “comedy” show. However, knowing your strengths is great but letting go of the edge of the pool and hitting deeper water is the only real way to know you know how to swim and not just think you know.
What is the most difficult obstacle to overcome in starting stand up comedy?
Stand up comedy has pretty much an open door policy and that’s great. The problem is so many people try it that setting yourself apart from the pack is hard. People used to say that every time a mill closed there would be ten more people at amateur night. I think the problem is that in order to gain validity in the eyes of the comedic community you need to really be around and be around a lot. It’s like World War One France; no one learns the new kid’s name because he’ll probably be gone tomorrow. Just being seen as an actual comedian can take many years and that can be so disheartening. The good news is we all went through it and if you put the work in it does get better.
Is your comedic voice more the result of looking inward or outward?
For me it’s outward. I never really found myself that interesting. Certainly not in comparison to the insane circus that is the world. There’s so much going on and so much insanity that I just can’t find what I had for breakfast that exciting. Having said that, I truly admire comics that are able to look inward and make it work.
Why is Vancouver a good place for comedy?
In short because it’s really hard. Vancouver audiences can be extremely aloof and hard to motivate (perhaps with comedy clubs as an exception) and very hard to get to venues. They expect a lot from you and often have very sensitive triggers as to what they do and do not find appropriate. The other thing is the community of comedians here is very good. There’s a really great depth of talent both professional and up and coming. I tend to perform at least six times a week and the amount the audience and type of comedians varies through those shows is phenomenal. Starting out as a comic in Vancouver is like learning to run with weights on. When you get to other comedy scenes you often find the weights are gone but your muscles are really strong. I love this city and owe it a lot for helping to make me the comic I am.
Who is one performer/group of performers you think everyone should see at least once?
More than an individual(s) I would encourage people to go to live shows in the city. If you’re a comedy fan there are lots of great shows in this town and as opposed to me telling people who they should see I highly recommend people go and discover for themselves.
What is your favorite joke (street of otherwise)?
I couldn’t answer that but I bet it has Nicholson jerking off in it…
Every article about comedy has to have a pun in the title. What would you like yours to be?
I am not aware of, nor have I ever heard, any word play using the name Simon King.
