Yes, you recognize Bil Dwyer as "that guy" from TV. And he has stories to tell you about it.

He's been recognized for everything from Battlebots to Last Comic Standing to VH1's ubiquitous I Love The... series of shows and has appropriately hilarious tales from all of them. He also has jokes, great ones at that, but mostly he's got a lifetime's worth of memories from the many roles he's played over the years: Family Man, Television Personality, Game Show Host/Addict, and, of course, Traveling Comedian. And Bil (that's with one "l") has got lots to say about all of them.

Sitting down with Bil and listening to his stories, his comic sensibilities are always on full display. He's simultaneously a warm and commanding presence, and he smiles an awful lot, even when proclaiming an exasperated "Really!?" or "Jesus Christ!" (Which he does. A lot.)

And while his sharper observations are capable of an almost caustic level of inciciveness, there's also a very genuine and undeniable sweetness to his sarcasm. In fact, Bil's perspective on life often makes a convincing case that the only natural response to the sheer ludicrousness of the world is to be constantly bemused by and at least a little bit in awe of it. Need examples? Read on (and come to Cap City this weekend to hear more stories, unabridged).

Bil on cynicism:

Cynical, I think, is kind of easy. Conan O’Brien, on his last Tonight Show, said, “Don’t be cynical, don’t be cynical...” And then he goes out on tour singing all these songs about how he doesn’t have a TV show! Really? Oh, I feel so bad for you and your $40 million payoff!? Oh my God I feel so bad for you! Geez, really!? Look, I understand how you would be hurt. I mean, I get it man. But don’t expect a lot of sympathy from us, you know? People lose jobs. That happens!

Bil on persistence:

Me and Chuck Woolery… I think it was two Type-A personalities clashing when I was on Scrabble. I was a contestant on Scrabble when I was, what, twenty-two? Well I go on and I’m Mr. Scrabble. I watch it at home and I kill. I’m great with words. I love letters. I know the sequences and alphabetical orders- I get it. And I was planning on winning twenty thousand dollars and being set for the year. And I’m like, “Yeah? So this is what’s it’s gonna be like, huh? For my $20,000? ‘Cause I’m gonna be here for a while, Chuck!”

Bil on standards:

I remember at Cap City a couple of years ago, we had a very small crowd on a week night in the front room, the lounge area. And there was a… "special" intelligence group there. And that's “special” intelligence not being “super” intelligence, but the other side of the spectrum. And one of the guys, I got into it with him. This guy had been hit by a train, apparently, at some point, and that kind of fucked him up. And also I kind of wonder about how sharp he was before he got hit by the train. And I actually got into a tête-à-tête with him from on stage. And you would think that I would have just rolled over him, but… it was much, much closer than it should have gone. It was still fun. But I believe that I did call him the “C” word at some point.

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Bil Dwyer is headlining at Cap City Comedy Club through Saturday, October 1, with shows at 8 and 10:30 pm.