It is completely true that Scousers are inherently funny, but to be a Scouse comedian, now that takes comedy genius. The Mumble has just had the pleasure of talking to one such legend…
Hello Adam, so where ya from and where ya at, geographically speaking?
ADAM: Liverpool and Liverpool. I keep getting told I should move to London, but I’d really rather rub special parts of my anatomy on a cheese grater.
When did you first realise you could make people laugh?
ADAM: Well, where I’m from, you have to be funny just to survive school. You’ve got to be able to have to piss taken out of you and then give it back, or you’ll be eaten alive – so definitely at school. Being in my school was essentially training for a gig where you’re being constantly heckled by people who’ve thought about their insults.
How did you get into Stand-Up, & why?
ADAM: I’ve always just been obsessed with comedy; my mum was a huge comedy fan and that definitely rubbed off onto me. I initially just did it for a laugh and to see if I could do it, I never intended it to be a career. Now, however, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Which comedians inspire you, both old skool and on the scene today?
ADAM: My early inspirations were Jason Manford and Kevin Bridges – they were the two acts who made me think I could do this – and I think that was quite apparent early on in my work, but not anymore. I’m a huge fan of American comedy and I feel myself being more & more influenced by that all the time. Bill Burr is an absolute hero of mine, also a friend recently introduced me to a New York comic called Andrew Schulz who’s unbelievably good. Check him out if you haven’t heard of him, he has a lot of stuff on YouTube.
How would you describe your comedy?
ADAM: On the face of it, it’s probably quite aggressive, opinionated and basically me trying to justify my opinions on things or my actions in certain stories. If you look a little deeper though, it’s more about my insecurities and the issues I have that I’m well aware of. It’s basically me trying to be as funny and honest as possible, without being enough of a dick to alienate the audience. “This is something that is going to make you guys not like me, but please don’t not like me.”.
What does Adam Rowe like to do when he’s not being funny?
ADAM: I’m a huge football fan, so I’m usually either watching a Liverpool game or looking at transfer rumours or tweeting about Liverpool FC. I’m quite a simple guy tbh, I just want to have a pint, watch the match and then do a gig, that’s my perfect day.
This is your third year at the Fringe, what’s this year’s show about?
ADAM: It’s an hour of stand-up comedy that I’m really proud of. I think it’s definitely the best show I’ve written by quite some distance (then again if you seen my first show, that probably won’t seem like a massive achievement). It’s about how i conduct myself and why that might be, I talk about my working class background, growing up with an alcoholic single mother and the last year of my life. I’m basically trying to work out who I am, through a stand-up show. God that sounds so much more pretentious than I wanted it to, but sod it, it’s done now.
What will you be doing different in your third year to when you were popping your Edinburgh cherry in your first year?
ADAM: Working harder. I was lazy in my first year and as a result my numbers were up and down, last year I worked my socks off and sold out every single day in a 60 seater room. This year my room holds 150 people so I’ll have to work three times as hard as last year to fill it and that’s what I plan to do. That means hours of flyering, loads of interviews, loads of extra shows where I can jump on and do ten minutes to promote the show – whatever it takes.
What will you be doing after the Fringe
ADAM: I’m going on tour! I’ll taking a week off, then be doing regular club gigs again from the second week of September, then the tour kicks off in late October – I can’t wait.
Photography : Steve Ullathorne
Adam Rowe: Undeniable
Just the Tonic at The Caves
August 2-26 (19:40)
Buy Tickets Here
Mumble Comedy 