Tim Hawkins takes comedy to church Thursday

Stand-up comedian Tim Hawkins and his “clean” jokes are coming to Monroe’s Stewart Road Church of God at 7 p.m. Thursday.

General admission, early entry and meet-and-greet tickets with a photo are available online at tinyurl.com/THawkinsMonroe413.

The “Cletus Take the Reel” performer will launch his new multicity “Tim Hawkins Live in Concert” tour in Roanoke, Virginia, in August.

He refers to himself as a rare breed of comics – his jokes are “clean.”

When asked why he decided to make a career in comedy, he said it was out of desperation.

“I had tried everything else,” he said. “I just kind of found it. I knew how to do it and I had a passion for it. I just kept wanting to do it.”

Growing up, Hawkins could do different voices. He could sing and perform. His parents would have him go into the living room when family was over and they would do lip-syncing.

Hawkins was shy so comedy was a way to break the ice.

He said telling clean jokes is who he is.

“I never wanted to be edgy. … You have more opportunity if you can work clean, especially when you’re doing corporate stuff and when you’re in churches,” he said. “You just have more opportunity, and I’m doing all ages so it just lends itself for that. You can be really funny and do a clean show. It’s been a fun ride.”

His act combines funny storytelling with high-energy musical parodies. He writes his material based on his upbringing and married life in rural America.

The 55-year-old has established a career at poking fun at things in his world through silly songs like “Cletus Take the Reel” – an ode to fishing loosely based on Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Made 15 years ago, it’s still a fan favorite on YouTube with more than 8.5 million views.

Hawkins said music brings more energy to his shows. He grew up in Missouri listening to rock ’n’ roll and loving Led Zeppelin. He plays guitar and piano, instruments he learned to play while spending so much time on the road.

“I do both original songs and parody songs,” he said. “There’s a lot of variety in the show. There’s music and straight standup comedy.”

When it comes to funny guys that have inspired him, Hawkins credits Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Regan, George Carlin, Jerry Lewis and Flip Wilson as big influencers.

“I used to write what I thought was funny but now my mantra is 'Live life, take notes and tell strangers,'” he said. “I’ve found the funnier jokes are the ones that are true. The funnier stories are the ones people can relate to and they laugh harder at.”

The singer/songwriter has released eight full-length comedy DVDs and five albums. He’s recorded more than 100 episodes of his popular “Poddy Break” podcast, and currently hosts “The Tim Hawkins” podcast, released every week, featuring his wife Heather, daughter Olivia and son-in-law Luke.

More information on Hawkins and his spring tour can be found on his Facebook page facebook.com/timhawkinscomedy/

— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri Bowling at LVidaurriBowling@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Tim Hawkins takes comedy to church