Shirley Gnome is aware that comedy musicians have a slightly tarnished reputation. For every successful example like Weird Al or Flight of the Conchords, there are a dozen acts that flounder, either from poor songwriting, poor jokes, or some hellish combination of the two. But with a string of accolades to her name — including back-to-back Canadian Comedy Award nominations for Best Variety Act — and her signature bright pink cowboy hat in tow, Gnome has hit the perfect note. Read on to learn about how she first got involved with comedy, the live album she recorded earlier this year, and why country music and comedy can be a difficult hybrid to sell to an audience.
How would you describe your comedy to someone who’s never seen Shirley Gnome?
I sing country songs about the stuff that women talk about in living rooms when they’ve had too much wine. The comedy is about being honest about a lot of things involving love, sex, relationships, and desire. I would describe it as very X-rated, very explicit, super honest, sometimes very silly, sometimes thoughtful comedy. Honestly I usually just tell people they have to see it. The live show’s kind of an experience, so you have to see it to believe it.
Have any family members seen your show before?
Yeah, my parents, my brother, my grandma, they’ve all seen it. They all think it’s awesome. My parents are actually very strong supporters, they’ve helped me out a lot. My mom even came to the Montreal Fringe this year. She handed out flyers, helped me sell merch, and sometimes even carried my guitar. Everyone was calling her roadie mom. So yeah, they get the jokes, they get the cleverness. They think it’s funny.
Has music always been so interwoven into your comedy?
I consider myself a musician before I consider myself a comedian. I love all kinds of music and I didn’t even know there was a stand-up scene in Vancouver until somebody invited me to do it. It wasn’t something that was actively part of my life, but music always was. I don’t think I would do comedy without music.
When did you first get into comedy?
I mostly did music and burlesque shows for two or three years. It was just sort of a joke side project and then my friend, who was bartending at a restaurant that had a comedy night, asked me to come and play his favourite song. I was weary about it, but then he offered me free bourbon if I showed up, so I thought, “Worst comes to worst, I get a bunch of free bourbon.” I went down and that night there were a bunch of great comics and everyone asked me where I had been hiding and they told me about all of these other comedy rooms. From there, it just took off.
Country music especially seems really polarizing; people either love or hate it. What’s been your experience with that?
There are two things that work against me when it comes to getting on stage: country music is one, because people have an aversion to it, and the second thing is, unfortunately, musical comedy often has a bad rep. People have seen enough bad musical comedians that they assume you’re going to be bad. Ask any musical comedian, they have to fight the first five or 10 minutes because they have to prove to the audience they’re not going to make them feel shitty. It’s always this upward climb. Musical comedy’s hard because you have to be a good comedian and you have to be a good musician. Most people will assume one of the elements is going to be off and it’s not going to be enjoyable.
What can you tell me about your latest release, the live album Lady of the Night?
That one was a reflection of me, being a part of the comedy world. The last two releases were studio albums with full bands, and this one was the act that I’ve developed from being in the comedy scene, so it’s just me and a guitar and an audience — that’s what my show’s turned into, in a sense. That’s why I decided to do a live album. Plus I had all of these songs I hadn’t recorded. Basically I was like, “Oh shit, I need to get all of this recorded so I can make room for more stuff.”
You’ve already done one set of Fringe shows, and you’re slated for two more this year. What can you tell me about the show you’re performing?
Fringe audiences are amazing. They just sit there and watch and they’re quiet and you can do whatever you want and they’ll go with you wherever you go. So what I’ve done with my material is taken all of my songs and woven them into an arc of a story that I tell. I change up the first half of the show sometimes, changing what songs I play, depending on the crowd. Sometimes I’ll go on a random tangent. There’s usually a variation, and then the second half is set as a mini arc with some darker themes. I get to play with a few stage conventions, like lighting cues, in a way that I don’t get to do at comedy or music shows.
If someone was trying to break into the Vancouver comedy scene, what would be your advice to them?
Someone was just saying this to me, about how they always wanted to give comedy a shot. Honestly, there are so many cool little rooms where you can try and most of the audience will be comics anyways. You can just get up there and people are pretty supportive. It’s not hard to start, but the thing is you have to keep with it. That’s trickier than just starting; it’s not stopping. Sometimes it’s frustrating. You’ll bomb at the beginning and it’s not a nice feeling, so you have to persevere. Get advice from the pros. When they’re there, ask them for feedback. It’s a great city to be in to try out comedy, so take advantage of that.
