Steve Soelberg performs in Idaho Falls, more to come in comedy series
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IDAHO FALLS — He had a packed venue wheezing, laugh-crying, and catching their breaths during his gut-busting performance at The Dec Thursday night.
Steve Soelberg doesn’t swear, or even say ‘butt,’ and he held his own during his family-friendly performance.
Soelberg has been a comedian for the last 12 years but gained more popularity as he’s performed on VidAngel’s Dry Bar comedy tour. His videos have gone viral thanks to the Dry Bar Facebook page.
Soelberg sat down with EastIdahoNews.com reporter Natalia Hepworth to give us look into his hilarious mind and take us down the winding path that led to his full-time career as a comic.
Did you ever envision yourself becoming a standup comedian?
Soelberg: No, definitely not, I thought I would be… Well, I’d studied biology in school. I did pre-med so I like to say that I was going to go to medical school to become a narcissist. I thought I would go to medical school but I didn’t.
Although he didn’t attend medical school, he worked in a lab and then as a dispatcher for medical helicopters.
At one point, Soleberg says he dreamt of becoming an artist.
Soelberg: That’s sort of what ended up creating the comedy was wanting to draw cartoons like Gary Larson did the Far Side. I loved that growing up, so I thought, I’ll do that. And, I started drawing and telling jokes.
You seem to wear graphic t-shirts in a lot of your performances. Do you sketch the designs on your shirts?
Soelberg: No. There’s a website that I love called Threadless.com that I use a lot. But, it’s all independent artists so that’s why I like promoting it.
Give us a hint of what you’ll be sharing tonight in your performance.
Soelberg: This is my first time in Idaho Falls at The Dec so tonight’s show is going to be a fairly clean show. I think we’re going to cater to that audience. All my shows are clean actually. I want my shows to be such that my parents could come.
When you tell people that you’re a comedian for a living what’s their initial reaction?
Soelberg: ‘Tell me a joke!’ Always. And you always feel so stupid because sometimes it doesn’t work.
Has creating jokes come more naturally as you’ve performed?
Soelberg:It does take a while to get a joke engineered, I think. Writing a joke usually takes anywhere from a few months to a few years, but you’re always adding and tweaking and finding things that pace differently.
How do you cater your jokes to a variety of audiences?
Soelberg: I think the trick is to try to make yourself laugh and if you find it funny then maybe other people will find it funny. I used to worry a lot about the audience. Don’t worry about what they think is funny – just worry about what you think is funny.”
What experiences will you be tying into some of your jokes tonight?
Soelberg:I’ll definitely be doing a joke about a visit to a hoarders house, and it’s probably my favorite joke to tell.
Soelberg is one of many more to come in The Dec’s new comedy series. Join them for live comedy every first Thursday. Get tickets here. Find Soelberg’s comedy special on VidAngel or on Amazon Prime, find his performances on his website or Facebook Page.