Derek Seguin has spent 20 years in stand-up comedy, and he’s celebrating the occasion with a new tour. The Juno-nominated comic and fan favourite from CBC’s The Debaters will be in Prince Albert on Thursday, Jan. 9 for the first stop on his My Life of Leisure Tour.
Seguin was in Barbados on Friday getting some sun, but he took some time away from the beach for a phone interview with the Prince Albert Daily Herald. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Daily Herald: You’re doing the Life of Leisure Tour to celebrate 20 years in comedy. Does it feel like it’s been 20 years?
Derek Seguin: It actually doesn’t. I was doing quick math because my kid asked me about something and I was like, ‘oh my God, I’ve been doing this 20 years?’ Honestly, sometimes I still feel like the new guy. I show up and I’m like, ‘hey, where do I stand? Where do you want me to go?’
DH: Is this your first time performing in Prince Albert?
DS: I want to say yes, but I often do that and then people are like, ‘what are you talking about? We saw you here four years ago.’ I’m like, ‘oh, right, sorry.’ I’m not much of a geographologist. I don’t remember where I’ve been. (Laughs) Maybe when I get there I’ll be like, ‘oh yeah, I totally know this place.’
DH: Your known for your work on SiriusXM, Just for Laughs, and the CBC among other places. What has the journey been like?
DS: Honestly, it’s not lost on me. I feel so lucky. It’s just been the best thing. I only discovered standup in my 30s, and to be able to make a living doing something that I so love to do has been such a blessing for me. It’s given me opportunities to spend time with my kids that a lot of dads miss out on, say like volunteering for field trips and things like that. Not having a day job has got its perks. It’s pretty good.”
DH: I chuckled when I read a summary of your show which said people are surprised by how short you are in person. Do you get a lot of comments about your height?
DS: (Laughs) My height and just the way I look in general. People often say they didn’t think I’d look the way that I look when they’ve only heard me on the radio. I guess, short, I don’t love it when they say that. I’m not that short. I’m like 5’8 and three-quarter, something like that.
DH: I read an old article about a deal you made with two other comics at the SiriusXM’s Top Comic Competition where the person who won the top prize would give the other two $1,000. One of those two comics was Prince Albert’s Kelly Taylor. Do you still keep in touch with Kelly?
DS: I do. I talked to him today, actually. He was kind enough to do a little shout out because he is a local Saskatchewaner. He shouted out to his followers to come and check me out, which I thought was very sweet of him. We’re kindred spirits. He’s a guy that I love to spend time with. We’re very fortunate in this business too. You make friends that you sometimes see once or twice a year, but (when you do) it’s right back to ‘let’s have some drinks and let’s hang out.’ There’s a kindred nature to comedians. If you find out someone’s a comedian the ice is broken. You don’t have to be uncomfortable, so Kelly is one of my all-time favourite hang-outs, for sure, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. (Laughs)
DH: Can you describe what it was like winning SiriusXM’s Top Comic and the lead-up to your deal with Kelly Taylor and the other comic?
DS: The other guy was Matt Billon, who sadly we lost a couple years ago. I was like, ‘these are two monsters of comedy,’ so I was just like, ‘you guys are so good. I’m totally willing to make the deal,’ and whatever, we all end up winning. Those are two of my close friends. At the end of the day, we all end up winning a little something. It was a no brainer. Then I found out after the fact Matt Billon had actually done this at two previous contests. That was his third time getting a prize he didn’t win. (Laughs)
Those two guys, we made that deal, but that contest was actually where my career changed forever. I think it was actually 2016 and for the last eight years I’ve been making a really decent living doing comedy, and that was probably the catalyst, so big props to SiriusXM who is always doing good things for Canadian comics.
From there I went and did the Nasty Show at Just for Laughs and then I did the Nasty Gala the year after that for HBO and things just started getting bigger. Now to the last four or five years I’m doing theatres. Theatres! I was the last guy I ever saw doing theatres and touring on my own. I was perfectly happy going to comedy clubs for a living wage, and now the fact that people come to see me because my name is on the marquee, it’s not lost of me. I appreciate every single soul that comes and wants to share an hour or two and have a couple of drinks.
DH: For people who have never seen your show in person, what can they expect?
DS: Because it’s been at least eight years since I’ve been to Saskatchewan you can expect the first 15 minutes to be me talking about my journey—the airport and the cold—but other than that, I talk really just about my regular life. I’m going to be coming off 10 days in Barbados so I’ll probably talk a little bit about that. I’ll talk about my kid and my wife, my penchant for finding ridiculous things in society and how annoying that is, and a lot of swearing. If you’ve only heard me on CBC radio, buckle up for some swearing. There’s a lot more swearing in my live show than there is on CBC.
DH: Thanks for your time Derek. Anything you want to add before we let you go?
DS: All I can say is every time I step on stage, it doesn’t matter who the audience is in front of me, I always do my absolute best so that every person in that room is having the best time ever. If you’re worried about me saying too many bad words, I can get a sense after four or five f-words that the room doesn’t like it and I’ll tone it down. My goal is really, honestly, always to make those people who are in that room have the best time that they possibly can.
Derek Seguin begins his Life of Leisure Tour at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre on Thursday, Jan. 9. For the show time and ticket prices, call the E.A. Rawlinson Box Office, or visit www.earc.ca.
