His new CD completes a trilogy.
Ed Hill cut his first comedy album, Canasian, in his birthplace of Taipei, Taiwan. Next came the Weirdo Whisperer from Seattle, the first city where the Port Coquitlam resident performed as a touring comic.
And, this month, the Pinetree secondary graduate ventures into the Havana Theatre in Vancouver to bring it all home.
Speaking from Arizona today (Friday), where he has weekend dates at the Stir Crazy Comedy Club in Glendale, Hill said he’s been working for two years on his material for the upcoming recordings.
“I’m ready for the tapings,” he said of his four gigs, on Feb. 22 and 23, which will be emceed by fellow comic TJ Wharry. “I’ve been running parts of it here and there, and just doing some last-minute tweakings.”
His narrative for Son of Smiley — the show title — will focus on relationships, starting with general friendships and continuing with romantic liaisons and familial bonds especially with his father, a retired doctor.
In the end, the 35-year-old man realizes how much he’s grown to be like his dad, a Coquitlam resident, who now keeps busy with artistic endeavours.
“I’m really becoming my father. This is what I’ve been trying to escape my whole life but it’s inevitable, I guess,” Hill laughed, adding, “His whole life he’s been doing things for other people. I hope to also connect with people and, with my comedy, make their day.”
Still, the recording will be a transition for Hill as, like most comics who cut albums, it signals a milestone and a move to get on with other material. “It’s what comics do: you have to start all over. It’s part of the exploration.”
• Tickets for Son of Smiley on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 (7:30 and 9:30 p.m. shows) can be purchased via kingedhill.com/son-of-smiley-album-recording. The edited versions will be released this spring on Spotify, Pandora, Amazon and other digital channels.
