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Bill Hicks: Works
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The death of the outspoken comedian Bill Hicks, in early '94, tragically foreshortened a career in which Hicks had proved himself as one of the most distinctive voices in the comedy world. In fact he was the Lennie Bruce of his generation. This 'Prince of Darkness' was a sex drugs and rock 'n' roll comedian! He could be loud and he could be outrageous but on stage he ... exposed a creative imagination and a vision of the world which sometimes took him closer to the role of prophet than comic. Winner of the Edinburgh Festival Critics' Award in 1991, Bill was driven by a distinctive passion in his work, a comedy built on conviction, that set him apart from other stand-ups.
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BILL HICKS: Sane Man (RykoDisc) Recorded at The Laff Stop Austin, TX on July 14, 1988, Sane Man is the first complete Bill Hicks’ show recorded. The show is classic Hicks, but is not as tight as his later work, which is to be expected.
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Bill Hicks started writing jokes as a young teenager, sitting in his suburban bedroom in Houston, taping Johnny Carson and other comedians on television. Forbidden by his parents to perform in clubs, he sneaked out the window, climbed down a drainpipe and met his friends to drive to Houston’s comedy mecca, the Comedy Workshop. By the time he finished high school, he was already a headliner, attracting a line down the block.
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Bill and Dwight had a lucky brick in 1978 when the Comedy Workshop opened in Houston in 1978. Kevin Booth, their best friend drove them there, and sometimes Bill was allowed to perform. Steve Epstein, the manager of the club was impressed with the sixteen year-old Bill's wit and confidence. Unfortunately, to be able to perform, Bill had to sneak out of his house at night, fooling his parents by playing Elvis Presley or Alice Cooper at high volume in his room. At one club, Bill was landed on by the anarchic comic, Sam Kinison, who jumped onto the stage wearing red panties on his head. Kinison became one of Bill's greatest influences, his anger, and some of his political philosophy featuring strongly in Hick's acts, if with a more metaphysical approach.
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[I]n June, Bill learned he had cancer. Choosing to keep his illness a secret, he told his family, a few close friends and went straight back to work. In August of 1993 Bill’s brother Steve flew to LA and together they packed Bill’s belongings into his jeep and drove to LittleRock, Arkansas where Bill moved into his parent’s home. He had already recorded both Arizona Bay and Rant In E Minor, with ambitious plans to mix music that he had recorded into the performance to compliment the comedy themes. He described the conceptual Arizona Bay as his Dark Side Of The Moon built around the theme of LA falling into the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the year, Bill underwent chemotherapy on a weekly basis.
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After Letterman, Bill continued his touring lifestyle, playing gigs, taking drugs and generally having fun. During this time, Hicks was spending a lot of money on a variety of substances, still using the experiences for his acts, unfortunately in 1986 his was forced to cut back a little due to the fact he was completely broke. To pay his way, Hicks gigged relentlessly, even using his lack of money as a source for routines in his acts. In 1987 Rodney Dangerfield saw a tape of a show Hicks had performed while desperate for cash and, more importantly, the experiences cash buys. The tape won Hicks a place on "Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special," this coincided nicely with Bill and Kevin's formation of Sacred Cow Productions, to work on albums and film and the two ventures together allowed Bill to move to New York City, later that year.
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