Comedian Bill Squire is a man of his word

February 5, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Funnyman Bill Squire is one of those people who not only makes New Year’s resolutions but actually completes them.

Take for instance last year when he created “Bill Squire’s [Perfect] Ten.” The Web series required the Cleveland-area funnyman, who can be heard afternoons on WMMS-FM’s “The Alan Cox Show,” to write, perform and film 10 new minutes of stand-up every month for an entire year.

“This was something I did to keep myself from getting lazy and not writing new stand-up material,” Squire said. “So I challenged myself to write 10 new minutes of stand-up every month for an entire year and also film it. Basically, they were little comedy specials every month last year.”

Apparently, the move paid off for Squire, who said the bulk of his current set, which he’ll be bringing to the Comedy Cellar at Mojo’s Pub in Austintown Friday and Saturday, was created for the Web series.

So what was his New Year’s resolution for 2015?

“To take it easy because that was really hard last year,” Squire said, laughing.

As far as the material he’ll be discussing at his upcoming shows, Squire said it ranges from his daughters becoming teenagers to marriage and social media.

“I talk about the state of the world right now where people are trying to get everybody to be on their side with social media,” Squire said. “Like, ‘Hey, I’m so important.’ It’s just so ridiculous, this me-me-me culture we live in now.”

He added, “It would annoy me if I wasn’t such a hypocrite and a part of it.”

Squire is no stranger to the Mahoning Valley and its many different comedy-club locations over the years.

“I had some great times at Youngstown from the Funny Farm at the MetroPlex to the Funny Farm at all of the 900 other locations it’s been at,” Squire said. “I’ve done theater shows there with Drew Hastings. I’ve had a lot of great sets there that were a lot of fun.

“I love the blue-collar towns. Those people like to laugh. They just want to be in the moment and aren’t easily offended.”

The funnyman admits his comedy often comes with a price, which is offending an audience member here or there. That said, Squire swears he’s not out to divide a room or incite protests. Still, what kind of offensive material are we talking about?

“I can’t rank my offensiveness,” Squire said, laughing. “If you’re going to get too sensitive about religion or sex, then probably stay away, but even then I’m not trying to destroy anybody’s belief. I’m just trying to be goofy and silly.

“I can’t go up there and be George Carlin. I can tell stories about how I used to try to skip out on church classes and things like that. There are usually some people who are not thrilled with my set. But most people are. I’d say it’s an 80/20 split. That’s pretty good.”

Regarding that 20 percent Squire is comfortable offending, is it the religious or sex material?

“It’s probably 15 percent religion and 5 percent sex,” Squire said. “We haven’t got the official numbers back.”