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"I remember being a kid and always wanting to sell electrical supplies," says Bill Conway.
The local jack-of-all-trades comedian is now "north of thirty," and he's living the dream. After escaping the Bay's tech takeover and fleeing to the green hills of Portland, Conway is again proving himself a pioneer by becoming a local career comedian.
His new bi-monthly A.C.A.B. punk comedy show—which opened to an overflowing audience on January 13—is at Kickstand Comedy Club. It's inspired and presented by the The Hard Times, the satirical punk news site he co-created, which pokes fun at the overly serious punk image in a way only someone with a Gorilla Biscuits shirt would understand.
We decided to follow him around for a day to figure out how he does it all:
A regular at local open mics at Helium and the Brody Theatre, Conway hosts his own show at the metal venue Blackwater Bar and also has a new podcast venture. Edgeland isn't exactly breaking ground—podcasts and comedy have been conjoined twins since Marc Maron picked up a microphone in his garage. But in the way Maron spews out his tales of failed relationships, Conway's Edgeland makes you feel shitty about the straight-edge promises you made to your early high school self. His interviews center on the straight edge lifestyle made popular by Minor Threat, promoting Conway to invent the hashtags #mtm and #minorthreatmondays.
And he's a professional skateboarder.
GO: A.C.A.B.,Kickstand Comedy Club, 315 NW Davis St., Wednesdday, Feb 10. 7pm. Free.
Willamette Week