Multi award-winning Canadian comic Brent Butt is a happy guy who will share his hilarious take on life at the Salmar Classic on Monday, Oct. 5.
“I always try to look at the bright side; it’s always been my default setting,” says the creator of the wildly popular sitcom Corner Gas, who finds many things funny. “I’m a pretty eclectic guy with a diverse taste in comedy – goofy things, physical things, word-subtle – anything that kind of catches me off guard with a smart, clever twist.”
Eclectic comedy was the hallmark of Corner Gas, which ran from 2004 to 2009 in the sleepy town of Dog River, Sask.
“We didn’t really censure what kind of comedy we were gonna do; if the writers came up with funny word joke or something physical, we included it,” he says, pointing out it didn’t matter if it was broad or subtle, if it was funny, he wanted to find a place to put it in the show. “Authenticity is the key to everything, especially comedy.
Corner Gas took home three Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television awards, two Geminis and several Canadian Comedy Awards for Television.
Asked why he thinks the show became a worldwide sensation, Butt says when the writers and stellar cast were first making Corner Gas, they assumed it would be a fun summer – end of story.
“We felt we had somehow tricked the network,” he says, pointing out nobody worried about a second season. “We only focused on doing a show we liked, and we were proud of…”
Whenever the show went on hiatus, Butt was back on the road doing stand-up routines, something that earned him the Canadian Comedy Award for Live/Best Male Stand-up.
“Stand-up has always been my thing; the thing I wanted to do from the time I was 13 and before Corner Gas came up,” he says. “I don’t know why but it’s where I feel the most at home. For whatever reason, it’s the place I feel most myself. It’s the other 23 hours a day I don’t know what I am meant to be doing.”
Inspiration comes at many times and in many places so Butt has learned to carry a small notebook in which he jots down ideas.
“I shudder to think of the times I didn’t write it down,” he says noting that over his long and successful stand-up run, his eyes and ears have become trained to differentiate between what will work and what won’t.
Butt says each show is fresh thanks to the changing audience dynamics.
“When you get hundreds of people in the same room, there’s no way for it to be the same every time,” he says. “You have to think on your feet; there’s no way to not be present. That’s one of the things I love about it.”
Looking ahead, Butt says, as always, his company, Sparrow Media has a few different things percolating.
Comedian Jamie Hutchinson will be Butt’s special guest.
Tickets are available at the Salmar Grand and Classic theatres.
