Pittsburgh comic is comfy in Valley

March 29, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Make no mistake about it, the life of a comedian isn’t easy.

For every Dane Cook or Louis C.K., there are thousands of comics who spend endless days in their cars traveling the country from one gig to another. Over time, say 15 years, it can wear down even the most optimistic of comedians, which is kind of where Pittsburgh-based funnyman Bill Scott finds himself these days.

“Since 1997, I was doing nothing but comedy, but then in the middle of 2010, I started working at a casino as a poker dealer,” said Scott, calling from the Steel City. “ It was the idea of being able to sleep in my own bed every night, work three miles from my house and actually not have to struggle to pay my bills. I was working at least 40 weeks out of the year, and now I’m working a week a month. It’s not that I’m leaving comedy, it’s just downshifting a little bit. Now I get to do the stuff I want to do rather than having to do everything that comes my way.”

Admitting it was easier than expected to step away from the life, Scott, who appeared on “The Bob and Tom Show,” as well as opened for comedy heavy hitters such as Chris Rock, Bill Maher, Lewis Black and George Wallace, believes his time away from the grind actually has sharpened his skills.

Audiences attending his upcoming Youngstown shows Friday and Saturday at the Funny Farm locations won’t be hearing any funny stories about dealing poker. Instead, he said his topics include the upcoming presidential election and anything else striking him humorous that day.

In fact, Scott, who considers the Funny Farm his home club away from home, finds there’s something about performing in Northeast Ohio that allows him to go off book.

“I never think of my set list before I go on,” Scott said. “I try to pick a starting point, and wherever that takes me is wherever that takes me. I’d say a quarter of the show is kind of goofing off and having fun with the audience or just ranting on a subject I may have in my head that day. For some reason, whenever I’ve worked in Youngstown, I’ve done shows there where I’ve gone a half-hour without doing a joke that I’ve written. It’s just always felt really comfortable for me there, and it was like being in my own living room.”

Don’t worry, he won’t be wearing his underwear and eating ice cream straight from the container. In fact, this funnyman prides himself on not being a prop comic. Instead, he believes his material speaks to people of all ages. And apparently, it better.

“I always felt like the first rule of comedy was to keep it general,” Scott said. “If there’s an 80-year-old woman sitting two rows back from a 19-year-old, you have to be able to make them both laugh. I’ve always been really good at keeping it so general that they’ll both be able to be in on the joke.”