Comedian is hot(z) stuff
by Blaine Meller
Photo courtesy of Vanessa Andres Funny man, Jeremy Hotz, makes his return to Canada headlining the Just for Laughs Comedy Tour which hits Calgary's Jack Singer Concert Hall Nov. 7
There are a lot of things that make Jeremy Hotz laugh; politics, universities, Sarah Palin, the Saddledome and ointment.
Ointment? “You can’t be a big tough guy, walk into a store and go, ‘yeah, I need some ointment.’ You’re going to get laughed at right there,” joked the affable comedian.
Hotz, who grew up in Ottawa, but currently lives in Los Angeles, is headlining the Just for Laughs Comedy Tour 2010, which hits Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall Nov. 7. Also appearing on the tour are Frank Spadone, Robert Kelly, Gina Yashere, Ryan Hamilton and Bob Arno.
“Calgary is one of my better markets. I’ve really been supported here,” said Hotz in an Oct. 15 telephone interview. During the interview, Hotz has his serious and genuine moments, but mostly, he’s funny, especially when it comes to trying to explain his popularity. “I don’t know what it is. Pretty much everything I do is shit, and I have five or six reasons to explain why it’s shit,” he laughed. In 2008, Hotz received the Dave Broadfoot Comic Genius Award at the Canadian Comedy Awards, the most prestigious comedy award in this country. The following year, he was awarded Best Male Stand- Up 2009. He’s appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, five times on the latter. He said that performing is almost a refuge for him. “There is so much freedom being on stage. It really burns when you have to fit in,” he said. “On stage, it’s easier to spout off on things that I think are wrong.”
Watching Hotz perform live, you might notice he often looks as if he is laughing at his own material. This is, in fact, exactly what is happening. The reason?
“I don’t sit down in front of a computer and write jokes, soalotofwhatIsayonstage I’m hearing for the first time,” he said. “It’s almost natural. I just walk out on stage and shit comes to me.”
You might also notice Hotz’s repeated use of the word “miserable.” He laughs at the explanation. “I was really saying ‘shit’ a lot, and then people wanted me to start doing t.v.. At that time, saying ‘shit’ on TV wasn’t looked at very well,” he said. But in his live act, the restrictions of television censorship are gone, something that is reflected in what he calls the best joke he’s come up with: “I go to a psychiatrist now. She hates my guts. She says I suffer from delusions of sexual superiority.
“She just wants to fuck me.” Hotz first appeared at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal in 1997 and has subsequently performed there five times since.
Hotz loves returning to Canada for many reasons, but me mentions on in particular. “The women. Canadian women are sweethearts, if you can get past the whole you don’t exist thing,” he laughs. “But their sense of humour is great. They really do recognize what’s funny.” For more on Jeremy Hotz, check out www.JeremyHotz. com or www.facebook. com/jeremyhotz. For more information on the Just for Laughs Comedy Tour ’10, go to www.hahaha.com/comedy” www.hahaha.com/comedy tour.
