I’m Tim Ross. A stand up comedian who is independently releasing my debut album at the end of next month! AMA!

Does it bother you that a fucking unfunny hack like Brandon Schaub gets time at the comedy store because of his connection to Joe Rogan?

I haven’t seen his act but these sorts of things don’t agitate me too much. The guy has an audience from MMA and Rogan. Comedy clubs are a business and as much as I’d like to see a bigger focus on the art form I have to realize that they still need to put butts in seats to keep functioning. It’s a frustrating part of doing comedy but it’s something you gotta take with a grain of salt. Reality stars and wrestlers and folks of that ilk are gonna get time on stage regardless of their comedic skills because they have the name recognition it takes to sell tickets.

Do you know any jokes?

Ya why do seagulls fly over the sea?

Cuz if they flew over the bay they’d be bay-gulls!

Haha!

Hi Tim, where do you find the time to have it all?

I have negative three dollars in my bank account lol.

Have you ever thought of going to either NY or LA to improve your shot at getting big? Do you think you can make a big leap from Pittsburgh? What's your end goal in comedy?

I’m not really sure. I’m fine with the small town near Pittsburgh I live in for now. I get to hang out with my nephews and work in comic books and do comedy. I’d like to make a move but probably not for a couple years.

Been wanting to do an open mic. Never done comedy on a stage before, but I've worked up what I see as a solid few minutes. I'm still a few months away from actually doing it.

What should I expect? Do I just walk in and put my name on a sheet? How much time should I expect to get?

Don’t wait! The only way to get better at stand up is to get on stage over and over and learn the craft in front of an audience. It can be brutal and disheartening when you’re just starting it out but it’s so rewarding to trudge through the muck and finally get to a place where you’re regularly performing for good audiences and getting paid to do it.

Some cities do online sign ups! Check local comedy Facebook groups. Get to a mic and do the stuff you’ve written as soon as you’re able to!

How’s your day bud?

Good! Just moved a bunch of long boxes of silver age stuff!

How are you able to turn you're confidence on, once you are on stage?

I actually wrote a thing about this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Standup/comments/d0pumm/wrote_this_on_facebook_for_younger_comics/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

What's the funniest joke you wish you had come up with?

Shane Torres Guy Fierri Joke. https://youtu.be/JK6zuii2OLI

It’s such a great joke from a perspective most folks hadn’t considered. I love it. I opened for Shane a while back and did a newer joke at the time I was nervous about but I thought would be good for that crowd. After my set Shane complimented that joke specifically and it warmed my heart haha.

Are there any regular good-selling titles at your comic shop that aren't superhero/franchise based?

Gideon Falls is great! It’s a horror comic. I don’t know about sales but I wish people would branch out into stuff like it and Mountainhead and Southern Bastards and Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated to name a few.

Hey Tim. Congrats. And southern bastards is the shit. Have any other recommendations for similar books?

Have you read Jason Aaron’s Men Of Wrath mini-series? It’s dark and gritty and fucking wild. It’s so good.

Just ordered it. Thanks man. He’s my fave. I’ll be coming back through pgh in April.

Just read your username! Where ya gonna be at? Been a while since I’ve been able to see ya perform so I’ll try to be there for sure.

where do you get your ideas?

It all depends. Sometimes it’s a concerted effort to try and generate material. Sometimes it’s just writing. Sometimes I’ll just say something funny and make a point to jot it down and try to build off of it.

How often does someone confuse your name for Tuvok? (Tim Russ)

It’s happened a few times I know it’s a Sci-Fi thing is that Star Trek? (Sorry if I’m wrong I’m more of a Fantasy guy)

Is there any theme that you cannot joke about? I'm asking this because I'm a fan of black humor but my friends always seem sickened by it...

My approach is this:

I don’t do political comedy. My intent as a performer and an entertainer is to provide a respite from the stress and chaos of today’s world. To bring people together and have a good time and enjoy an evening. So with that in mind I don’t wanna ruin anyone’s night.

I had a joke in my act a while ago that went like this:

I always seem to approach the one woman in the bar who sounds like she started smoking in the womb. I’m like “what’s your name?”

And she’s like (gravelly voice) “AMANDA”

“Whoa...you got the first four letters right.”

Now it’s a silly joke but one day I got to thinking about that joke. And thinking that inevitably I’ll play to a crowd with a transgender woman who is feeling insecure about the way her voice sounds. And hearing a crowd laugh at that joke would put a microscope on those insecurities and fuck up her night.

And I’m just not there to ruin anyone’s night. So I dropped the joke. But I am still a comedian and I’m friends with comedians so we privately joke about killing ourselves on a daily basis. So there’s that.

What questions are you dying for someone to ask, just so you can answer with a good story?

Oh I dunno really. I’ve got some fun stories about hell gigs and eating shit on stage.

Does anyone still call you Time?

A handful of folks from the hxcboards. My login handle at work for our time clock is “timeross”

Who's the coolest person you've ever met and why is it that guy who multiplied two three-digit numbers in his head at Purple Door?

Wait the answer is someone I met at purple door and it is Aaron Weiss also hi Matt ilu

I've been trying to find good names that will be tougher for school-children to make fun of for my future kids.

Tim seems like a good one.

But kids can be cruel -- did kids ever make fun of your name?

Not Tim! But when I went by my first name in school I got called Fat Phil a lot. But it grew to be a bit of a term of endearment over time.

Any relation to Bob Ross?

If there is it’s unfortunate cuz I can’t draw for shit

Who is your favorite comedian?

Of all time? Mitch Hedberg.

Well this is fantastic. I am happy you did this AMA. I understand your Youtube is pretty old (minus the new thing you put up) but I recommend continuing to put stuff up. You are Good!!!

Backed in KS, new YT subscriber, and new digital friend! (I'm totes gonna stalk you cause I'm bored here in Arizona... Maybe I'll wait til it warms up again.)

Besides working on the stand up routine, have you written anything or want to write anything and put it out in the world?

I really really wanna write a comic book. If I could find someone to collaborate with I’d love to give it a shot. I’ve got a couple ideas I’ve been tossing around for a bit.

Thanks for subscribing. I just got a new phone recently so I’ll be able to put up more digital content!

Dude! Same! I'm a comedic novelist. And I spent a long time trying to find an artist. It's difficult. So instead I am trying to get my novel out to a publisher. Get some cred to then pursue comic books and other writing.

Good luck! DM me if it works out and I’ll check out the novel!

Hey man congrats as usual but real talk what’s your favorite track off of Limp Bizkit’s landmark sophomore release, Significant Other?

Break Stuff

Will there be a hidden Fear takes flight track on this album?

I have my doubts.

What is your writing process before you perform a bit for the first time? What’s your process for refining and polishing?

It used to be a bit more rigorous. A lot of prep and repetition and re-writing. These days I mostly have a framework and some punchlines and I write more on stage than when I first started out.

What's your favorite Non-PGH city to perform in?

I love Ohio and Michigan in general. Knoxville and Chattanooga are a blast. Love the south. Love New England. Hartford and Portland Maine were great. I’ve always had fun shows and fun times drinking in Ohio and Michigan tho. Am I supposed to say Cleveland? I do like Cleveland. But you’re in Colorado now right?

Do you get told: "Nobody laughs at you"? If yes, how do you make clever answers?

Nah honestly. Sometimes people on here don’t like me but they mostly talk about me being fat and say how and why they hate me.

Still got the Beard??

Yup!

Do you include the democrats in your act?? Because they have been providing great material this year!

I don’t do political humor.