Bill Engvall Headlines New Comedy and Music Fest

June 12, 2015

Texas native Bill Engvall never meant to be a comedian. The ambitious comic – best known for his Blue Collar Comedy Tour alongside Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy – actually had aspirations of becoming a teacher.

YOU REALLY LIKE ME!

"I really did want to be a teacher!" Engvall insisted. "Teachers make such a difference. I had a creative writing teacher, Mrs. Brown, who taught me how to be unafraid and to perform, and I think that’s where this all started. So I might go back and become a teacher when this is all over."

Teaching, he pointed out, is quite a bit like comedy.

"You have to take a subject that people don’t know and make them like it," he said.

Engvall has certainly mastered that craft. From his standup routines to his appearances on The Tonight Show to his acting work in the sitcoms "Designing Women" and "Delta," the selfprofessed "redneck" has a lock on the nuances of that particular character, drawing from, and exaggerating, his own life experiences to add to the funny. Though, he explains there are marked differences when expressing his comic talents through standup verses acting.

ON TOUR SINCE THE "˜80S

"Stand up comedy and sitcom acting, they’re just so different," he said. "Being on TV’s great – same time every day, here’s your parking space, here’s your coffee just the way you like it – but with TV, I can do the best performance I can do, but for all I know, there’s a guy sitting in a La-Z- Boy chair somewhere going, "˜this show sucks!’ There’s an immediacy to live standup that I love. The laughter and applause are right there."

That instant feedback is why Engvall’s stayed on the road as a comic for so long; he’s been doing live shows for 35 years.

"I’ve been on tour since 1980," he laughed, "but the travel really takes its toll, both physically and mentally."

The time on stage, he said, is "awesome." "But then you’re left sitting in a hotel room.

People don’t see the other 22 hours where you’re in a strange town with nothing to do. For 90 minutes, you have several thousand new best friends, then they go home and you’re alone again. That’s the downside."

OUT OF THE WHEELHOUSE

Periodically, Engvall steps off the road to take on other projects. He’s set to appear soon on "Celebrity Family Feud" and on talk show host Craig Ferguson’s new game show, "Celebrity Name Game."

He’s also recording a new comedy album this August called "Just Sell Him For Parts," on which he’ll discuss his kidney stones and other "growing older" hassles.

Speaking of hassles, "break a leg" took on a whole new meaning for Engvall during one of his other side projects: his recent stint as a competitor on "Dancing with the Stars."

"That was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done, but also one of the toughest," Engvall said. "I danced six hours a day, seven days a week, for 13 weeks. I lost 35 pounds, but I also pulled my hamstring and had to have my knee replaced!" With Emma Slater as his dance partner ("we had a blast!" he enthused), Engvall’s team made it to the final four couples on the dance show, quite an accomplishment considering dancing was far from Engvall’s wheelhouse.

DANCING AND DE-CRAPPING

"It wasn’t just doing the Texas two-step or something," he said. "These were complicated dances with flips and spins, and it was really difficult. I only got to the end [of the show] because I have great fans; it sure wasn’t because of my dancing ability. I was like the wounded gazelle at the back of the herd that somehow managed to keep going."

He did the show to refresh himself, he explained, and to let people see a different side of him, and his agent was inspired to start investigating new acting roles that may let him expand his talent even further. For his upcoming show at Traverse City’s Wuerfel Park, though, he’s just going to be himself.

Back in Los Angeles, Engvall and his wife are in the process of what he calls "de-crapping" his house for a big move.

"I mean, where did we get all this stuff?" he exclaimed.

So, the Traverse City show will actually be something of a break.

Porterhouse Productions’ Sam Porter, who booked Engvall at the venue, is equally excited, explaining that shows like Engvall’s are helping create momentum to get more big national acts to Traverse City.

"Wuerfel Park wanted to build up their entertainment offerings," Porter said, "and Bill is a great choice because, while this is an adult show, his comedy is still family-friendly, so everyone can attend. And he’s hilarious. This will be the biggest comedy event of the summer other than Weird Al at the Cherry Festival!"

The latest on Bill Engvall can be found at billengvall.com. For tickets, visit traversecitybeachbums.com.

FAST FACTS:

- The Comedy and Music Fest will take place Saturday, June 20 at Wuerfel Park, 333 Stadium Drive in Traverse City, 231-943-0100

- Tickets start at $30 and are available at traversecitybeachbums.com

- Doors open at 6pm for a pre-show of local and Michigan-based comedians on a second stage hosted by Short’s Brewing Company

- Bill Engvall’s show, prefaced by a warm-up comedian, starts at 8pm

- A post-show concert by Ann Arbor blues musician Laith al-Saadi will kick off after Engvall’s set wraps, accompanied by fireworks

- This is only the first of several special events set for Wuerfel this summer. Watch for Baseball, Bands & Brews on Saturdays, and more.