Comedian, writer, lover I think we all know which skill set really won Graham Clark the votes in the Westenders Best of the City poll this year.
Clark is perhaps best known for his award-gobbling podcast, Stop Podcasting Yourself, which he puts on weekly with co-comedian Dave Shumka and guests.
Its funny. Hes funny. When I emailed him to set up this phone interview, his one line reply had me laughing out loud.
Interviews with comedians are funny things though (pun intended), and instead of trying to spin straw out of gold, Ill turn it over to a Q&A with the man himself:
KK: You do incredible paintings with your beard (aka beard paintings) for charity. Whats one of your most recent?
GC: Im actually working on one thats taken me a couple months to do. A friend of mine wanted a painting of his two kids. Its very hard to paint somebodys children because you want them to look really nice.
Wouldnt your paint brush change in that time?
No, never. No, no. I trim off split ends and stuff, but I dont trim up the beard at all. Its always just there.
Graham Clark's depiction of Frankensteins monster taking a self portrait with a phone. "All proceeds from the sales of these paintings go to charities including Megaphone Magazine, Downtown East Side Womens Center and Small Talk."
What does it mean to rank in two comedy categories in a city whose comedy scene is booming?
It was very surprising! Because theres some phenomenally talented people here in town. Im humbled by it.
Why do you think you won this year?
I dont know I mean, your guess is as good as mine. I wish I knew, cuz Ive been here a long time. [chuckles]
How long have you been here?
I moved to Vancouver in the year 2000 from Calgary.
What brought you here?
Uhh It doesnt snow?
It does! It was snowing this week
I know! But it didnt stick around. You get to see the pretty part where it falls, without the after-effect where its all over everything. I came out here to visit my uncle; it was February and there was no snow anywhere, and I thought, This is it. How the hell is everyone in Canada not living here? I still dont understand how people voluntarily live elsewhere.
It might be the cost of living.
Oh yeah! Absolutely. I figured this out It would be cheaper to rent a one bedroom in Paris, France. I could live like a king in Paris! Thats how crazy its gotten here.
Do you think you would have won Best of the City: Paris?
Definitely. They love a guy with a pot belly and a big beard. Its a French thing.
Where can people see you perform live?
I host a show every Monday at Havana on Commercial called the The Laugh Gallery. Ive been hosting the show itself since 2002. Its been a long time. It was started by my friends Dylan Reimer and Aubrey Tennant and they handed it off to me.
How do you measure success?
Thats a really good question, because it really depends on the person. If youre in the States, getting on a show like the Tonight Show or the Late Show would be a good indicator that youre doing okay. There isnt a ton of that stuff in Canada, so its a bit weirder to try and figure out if youre a success in Canada. If youre able to carve out some kind of career in any artistic pursuit, then I think youve won big time.
Is appearing on CBC kind of like being on Canadas Tonight Show [Clark has guested on CBCs The Debaters]?
For a long time there was a show, and I guess it still airs, called Comedy Now and that was like the Comedy Networks standup-dedicated show. So that became a milestone; if you did one of those you were of a certain legitimacy. Now, I think if youre on Just for Laughs, that means youre kind of legit. But theres a lot of things that comics can appear on in Canada. Its just not all of them pay very well. Or at all. [laughs]
Is making it in the States a common Canadian aspiration, or is making a living at home good enough?
I think everybody has to look South at some point or another. Thats where the entertainment industry lives. Tons of people that I know go down for pilot season, or go down to do showcases to maybe get a writing gig on a talk show, so its up to the person. Everybody has to decide if America is their path or not. I dont think theres any exceptions to that.
What is the most broke youve ever been, while trying to make a go of this?
Ohhhh, theres too many stories. Starting out, I worked a job at a coffee shop that started at 5am. I would go out all night and do shows and then be back the next day at five in the morning to open up the shop. And then on the days off, I had a friend who did a lot of human guinea pig sort of stuff for different companies, so we tested out emergency systems for ships and for skyscrapers and things like that. They needed people like us to go through these things to make sure they were safe for people. I cleaned restaurants at night just to make ends meet. I did a lot of stuff. The first decade was pretty lean living.
When did the tide turn?
When I won a comedy competition out in Toronto that was held by the chain Yuk Yuks. And it was a cross-Canada competition. It came with a cash prize. I was working at a warehouse at the time, and that allowed me to not have to do that.
How has the internet model shaped your career?
I dont know. When I first started, Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, and even podcasts, didnt really exist. So I started before all that stuff, but really I dont remember what that world was like. I dont remember how you got your name out there. Television, I guess. The internets better? I think... Because you can find your audience. Its amazing to be able to see where people are listening and what theyre paying attention to, but it doesnt ever answer the question of why they like a thing. So I always have to go with just what I think is good or funny. Even if a bunch of people respond to something, it doesnt necessarily mean it was the best thing. In fact, probably, especially with Twitter, a lot of the things that are the most favourited are just things that fell out of my head. You know? And the things I actually work on? Nothing. Not a sniff.
Whos one of your dream guests to have on the podcast that you havent had yet?
It just hasnt worked out timing-wise, but Ive always thought Patton Oswalt would be a great guest. Weve had a lot of people on, over the years, who we didnt know if theyd be good or not, and they turned out to be great. And then some people that we thought would be great, and were just okay. So a lot of times its hard to even guess just from a persons act. But Patton Oswalt is so familiar with the format and so natural at it. Theres also Tom Scharpling from New Jersey, whod be great.
How much prep do you do for a podcast?
We record them at Dave Shumkas house; we have a whole studio set up there. Its every day. Youre always taking stuff in and hoping that it will be good for the podcast. Dave rather painstakingly goes through every episode and takes out the ums and ahs and sniffs and coughs so it sounds really smooth. I dont know how many podcasts do that.
Best word: There's this weird political term argle-bargle and I love saying 'argle-bargle'. It sort of means political nonsense.
Best comedy group other than yours: Right here in town theres a great group of guys and gals called The Sunday Service. Theyre kind of a must-see.
Best brunch spot: I really like Slickity Jims. And theres a place at Yukon and 6th? I can't remember the name of it... You have to know its there.
Best comedy show to binge watch: Peep Show.
Best decision youve ever made: To finally just commit and grow a beard. I wasnt working at the time and I had the opportunity to grow a giant beard, so I did it.
Best bathroom: Hotel Vancouver. Those are, like, immaculate. And it has marble and really nice faucets. Its very well maintained. Hotel Vancouver: treat yourself.
Best thing you've ever read about yourself: Somebody in Edinburgh wrote on their blog that I was like a male Ellen DeGeneres. I thought that was just the highest praise, because I was such a big fan of Ellen growing up.
According to Wikipedia, you dont yet exist, but eight other Graham Clarks do, including an English jazz violinist and an Irish hurler from County Down. Whos the best other Graham Clark: Its funny, theres a Graham Clark in Toronto whos a lawyer. I cant remember how we came across each other, but I think he has the email address that I wanted. Anyway, he would always get messages meant for me. He seemed like a really cool guy. Ive never met the jazz violinist or the hurler. I hope to some day meet all the Graham Clarks.
There seems to be quite the accomplished group of Clarks of Graham out there: I used to have a joke that I would do on stage where I would say, Sometimes, when you Google your own name, you realize there are people out there that are doing a lot more with it than you are. And I feel like, Wow, there are some real Graham Clarks out there gettin shit done.
