Our friend Ron Tijerina talks about being a man of honor. Anyone who has spent any time with Ron knows that he is definitely a man of honor.
Check out their great work at http://www.theridgeproject.com/
And their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/theridgeproject
We recently had the opportunity to interview Bob Smiley who is a Christian, a Comedian, and a Father (not always in that order). He answers some questions for us and then we were able to interview him on our radio show as well.
Check out the podcast of part of his interview.
Name and Title: Bob Smiley/ Male Model
Occupation: Comedian
How long have you worked at comedy professionally? 15 years
How does being a father provide you with material? I have to work not to make my entire show about my kids. I spend most of my down time hanging out with my kids. So, they provide so much material that I have to limit how much I talk about them on stage so I dont alienate those that dont have kids.
What is off limits for your act according to the kids and mom? Anything that isn’t funny is off limits. Other than that, anything is fair game. My wife said a long time ago, “Talk about anything you want as long as we can afford a big house.” So far she’s happy. And the kids like being the star of my show or my youtube videos. Their friends all think its cool so they spend a lot of time trying to do stuff that will end up in my show or on youtube.
What has been one of the most important things you have LEARNED from being a comedian and a father? Being a father is way more important than being a comedian but being a comedian has helped me be a better father. Humor is a great tool to be used when raising your kids.
What are a couple of ways that you have balanced your family life with travel and work? I put a limit on how many shows a year I do. I could do way more shows in a year but its not worth it. I want to balance my schedule so that I’m home more than most fathers or husbands. I also try to get my work done on the road so when I’m home I’m just a dad and a husband. I see so many dads drive home from work and disappear into their house to crash for the night. Meanwhile, I’m in my yard playing kick ball with the entire neighborhood of kids. Its sad to see a kid shout out to their dad, “Come play with us!” and he just walks in the front door without even answering his kid…I’ve seen that happen way too many times. So balancing your work with your family could be easy if you are willing to realize that your family is more important than your job…. no matter how tired you are.
Do you get a chance to take the kids with you? yes
Do they want to go? Yes…especially if I’m gigging at Disney land, any theme park or on a cruise.
Do your kids ever write jokes for you? They are starting to write some stuff…mostly funny stuff for my twitter and facebook but I dont tell them I use their stuff because they want to be paid.
Do they design merchandise? No…but they do pack and do inventory for me. Its like a sweat shop only we have air conditioning.
How did your father feel when you told him you were pursuing comedy as a profession? He was actually really supportive.
Now that you are a huge star, how does he feel now? He continues to ask me for money.
