Q&A: Bruce McCulloch touches on Albertan roots and upcoming 1-man show in Edmonton

Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame will be headlining the Grindstone Comedy Festival in Edmonton July 6 and 7.

He joined CTV Morning Live's Kimberly Wynn to talk about the upcoming show and settle the debate on which Alberta city he calls home.

Kimberly: Your show is called An Alberta Punk and Son of a Salesman, what's that all about?

Bruce McCulloch: Well, it's my one-person show. It's just all the stories of all the weird things I've done in my life, and the situations I've gotten myself into and how I got out of them.

And probably, at the base of it, it's also how we're all in this together, and how we've been through a lot of tough times. So, it's a comedy show and it's also a theatre show.

Kimberly: You've also done a series Young Drunk Punk based loosely on your life. Why do you keep returning to youth to mine for comedy?

Bruce McCulloch: Well, I had a terrible youth. No, it was a really exciting time when I grew up in Edmonton and Calgary, and I was just trying to start to find who I was.

And I think the part in someone's life when they're trying to figure out who they are, and they actually figure it out – and I guess I found comedy – I think is pretty fascinating.

Kimberly: Do you consider yourself a Calgarian or an Edmontonian?

Bruce McCulloch: I'm from Red Deer, the halfway point, because that's where I get all my A&W.

Kimberly: Were you cheering for the Edmonton Oilers or no?

Bruce McCulloch: Of course. I'm an Edmontonian. I was born there in a hospital no less. And yes, of course, I'm an Edmontonian, but I have deep roots in Calgary as well.

Kimberly: A couple years back, Kids in the Hall reunited for a new series. Any plan to reunite again?

Bruce McCulloch: We're talking about it. We're on the cusp of it, which is a word I like to use. But not exactly announced yet, but we're getting close.

Kimberly: You've been in some of the best comedy shows around: Kids in the Hall, Schitt's Creek, Arrested Development. Do you have a number one career highlight?

Bruce McCulloch: The most joyful thing I did actually was direct Trailer Park Boys. Like that was just the sheer 'How many times today did we laugh, and what crazy stuff did we get into?'

So, just for fun, it was Trailer Park Boys. But also, having said that, the most interesting thing I do – the most exciting thing I do – is be able to meet people and commune with people from another city (hopefully this time Edmonton) and tell my stories and my jokes and react and hear them respond.

Kimberly: What should fans expect when you are in our town?

Bruce McCulloch: I don't put a cabbage on my head or any of that sort of stuff. It's a comedy show, it's a night of my weird world view, some music, some observations, storytelling.

And then of course there's sort of a human spine to it, which is we're all in this together. So people who know me just from TV kind of go, 'Oh, I got to know you better, and parts of it were really moving.'

Kimberly: Edmonton is known for its improv … do you ever get a chance to just sit in and watch some of the improv in Edmonton and Calgary?

Bruce McCulloch: I started in Loose Moose in Calgary, so especially when I go back to Calgary they pull me on stage at Loose Moose. There's some great stuff that's coming out of Alberta, and maybe perhaps it's underrated nationally, but I think a lot of people know about it.

Tickets for McCulloch's show are available online. For more information, visit the Grindstone Comedy Festival website.