Steve Patrick Adams is an observational and absurdist stand-up comedian known for blending jokes with elements of ghost stories. His humour navigates social phenomena, personal struggles like gluten intolerance, and the joys of fatherhood. Beyond stand-up, Steve creates animated shorts and writes show concepts with a whimsical, philosophical flair. In essence, Steve Patrick Adams is a unique comedic talent whose blend of absurdity and insight continues to captivate audiences.
How would you describe your comedy style?
My style is observational and absurd. Many of my jokes daringly blur the line between stand-up and ghost stories. Too many if you ask me, which, in a way, you have.
I largely speak to my processing of social phenomena and personal struggles, such as tattoos, ethical eggs, my miserable gluten intolerance and, of course, my feelings. I’m also a Dad–one of my clear and distinct roles in society–so I talk about that here and there.
Also, I create crudely drawn animated shorts and write show concepts in the hopes of turning them into full-screen affairs–– with some progress on this front. I write these as absurdist, philosophical explorations, like if Aristotle got into some catnip.
Who are some of your influences?
My influences come from all over the comedy world, starting with the comedic timing of slapstick actors/comedians such as Leslie Nielson (Naked Gun) and Peter Sellers (Pink Panther). However, animations have always been a big influence, with no show imparting the tools of misdirection and surprise more than The Simpsons.
I attribute my occasional turn towards dark humour to Adult Swim’s crass programming, such as Frisky Dingo and Metalocalypse.
Growing up, I didn’t have a strong sense of the full-length stand-up comedy special, so I mostly took in Just For Laughs and Comedy Now broadcasts. I distinctly remember Elvira Kurt, Mike MacDonald, and Ryan Belleville.
Later, I would watch and love Hannibal Burres, Tig Nataro, and Toronto local Tim Gilbert. As I started comedy, these comics instilled in me a sense of what I wanted my comedy to be, even if it was ultimately very different and disappointing by comparison.
Who was your favourite comedian growing up?
I always looked forward to seeing more of Norm MacDonald, from his SNL weekend update to his film Dirty Work, the numerous TV shows, and eventually, his stand-up specials.
I loved his daring, mischievous look when he delivered a dicey punchline. In general, he was great at delving into taboo subjects.
He cared a lot about joke structure but avoided sounding rigid in form.
Who is your favourite comedian now?
I’m in between favourite comedians, but acknowledge that there are many great ones out there.
What is your pre-show ritual?
Step 1: Assume the show is going to be terrible. There will be just enough of an audience to avoid cancelling the show but not enough to make it feel worthwhile.
Step 2: Right before every set, I typically talk myself out of doing a new joke I carefully wrote in favour of an idea that just popped into my head.
Step 3: I look at the audience to gauge whether they will appreciate my comedy stylings. I usually decide they won’t and am often pleasantly surprised that the few people who came are amused.
What is your favourite place you have performed? Why?
I have always loved performing at the Rivoli on the ALt Dot Comedy Lounge in downtown Toronto.
It was a hard show to get on early in my comedy career and a challenging room to win over, but I seemed well-suited for the space and the people who attended. The stage is very elevated from the tables below, giving it a unique feeling—like you’re a god or at least keeping the space warm for someone more important, an ambassador perhaps.
It also reliably made me a bit nervous before every show, making the experience more rewarding. Unless my performance went poorly, then it sucked—terrible room.
What is your favourite bit you have written and why were you proud of it?
I really value repetition in comedy, whether that’s running gags or the intentionally redundant use of words in a joke. I think Norm MacDonald once said that the perfect joke would be where the setup and punchline were identical. While I don’t think there’s such a thing as the perfect joke, I do believe this level of repetition can be very satisfying.
Anyway, enough comedy waxing. My favourite joke of mine is where the first punch line and the follow-up tag/punch line are only different by one word. The joke is that my friend had a really thoughtful explanation for a tattoo he was going to get, but the only significance behind my peregrine falcon tattoo was that it’s “just about the fastest goddamn bird there is.”
Then I questioned whether I should get a more meaningful tattoo, like one that represents my father, who died from a struggle with pancreatic cancer. If you don’t know anything about pancreatic cancer, you should know that it’s “just about the fasted goddamn cancer there is.” Anyway, you had to be there.
What is your favourite medium for listening or finding new comics/comedians?
YouTube. Lately, I’ve been checking the Don’t Tell Comedy channel to discover new comedians. I don’t bother with comedy podcasts because life is short.
Tell us a joke about your city.
I have a whole one-line-drawing animation about Montreal and Catholicism here (don’t worry, it’s short)
Do you have anything to promote right now?
I’d like you to check out @speedpadams on Instagram to see some recent animated meditations (philosophical reflections) and some upcoming show concepts. I’m working on squigglevision-style animation right now, which hopefully doesn’t cause you motion sickness. I also post about my stand-up shows from time to time.
Also, I just finished developing a show concept with an animation studio that may or may not be picked up–we shall see.
Where can we follow you?
I deleted my Twitter account like a good citizen of the world, so I’ll push my Instagram account again, @speedpadams.
PAY IT FORWARD: Who is another local comic/comedian we should know about?
