Comedian Bill Engvall Joins!

**Nigel Jason Hammer** (0:00)
You're listening to The Hammer and Nigel Show. Hello, my name is Nigel Jason Hammer, right over there with a very special guest on the hotline.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:08)
This dude has been funny for a long ass time, and he's coming to Indy June 27th at the Old National Center. Bill Engvall joins us. Bill, how the heck are you?

**Bill Engvall** (0:22)
I'm good, guys. How are you doing?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:24)
Man, we're doing good.
I was telling my co-host Nigel here during the commercial break. You're kind of like the Doseckis guy of comedy. You're the most interesting man. Like 40 plus years of like stand up shows, selling out arenas. You've done Dancing with the Stars. You've done TV shows. And I believe there are some parts of the internet that view you positive in the Bigfoot siting community. Like that's a pretty interesting rundown, Bill.

**Bill Engvall** (0:55)
Yeah. You know, the old saying, if you throw enough stuff against the wall, something's got to stick.
But, you know, thank you for that, by the way. That was very nice of you. It has been an amazing career.
To be honest with you, when I started this, I thought this thing will last about a year, and then I'm going to have to go find a real job. But it just kept rolling and I have such a great time, especially like there in Indy. I go all the way back to the Crackers Comedy Club days back then. And so now to be performing again, it's a real treat for me. And I'm really enjoying the show now. As I kind of tried to retire, because like I said, I've been doing this for four decades. And then one day, I caught myself sitting in my bin on my chair watching Salt Lake City Housewives and I knew their name.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:52)
That's how you know it's time to get up.

**Bill Engvall** (1:55)
That's right. And I knew I had to get back out on the road.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:57)
That will do it. And man, I'll tell you what, like Indy has changed like over the last five years. I'm sure you've probably seen this when you've been out on the road.
You know, five years ago, everybody was wanting to cancel comedians and it was the cancel culture. Five years ago, Indiana University was a basketball school. Fast forward five years, I used the National Football Champion and it feels like the crowds are ready to just have a good time again. Are you seeing that?

**Bill Engvall** (2:27)
Yes, I am. And I'm happy. Nobody's happier than me to see that change. You know, comedy is cyclical. It's, it's, and now we're back on the upswing, which I think is great.
And yeah, I got to tell you something. I have no connection to Indiana football, but buddy, I watched every minute of every game that they put on TV. I, that guy is, he's amazing to me. I wouldn't, I don't know.
I love to see him smile once. That would be nice, but he's whatever he, whatever secret sauce he found, man, that was, that was amazing. Even my wife's like, why are you watching Indiana football? This is like history being made right now. And it turns you, and then thank God that it ended. You know, I always hate when I see a story, it's a great story. And in the ending, you go, oh damn, right. This story ended the way it ended, the way it's supposed to end.

**Nigel Jason Hammer** (3:28)
Bill Engvall, old national center on June 27th, was a long time comedian, the first time you heard the words blue collar comedy tour. I mean, the chemistry between you and Foxworthy and Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy was, it worked so well. But do you remember the first time you heard about this idea and your initial reactions to that idea, the first times you heard the words blue collar comedy tour?

**Bill Engvall** (3:55)
Well, I will tell you this, and I say this real honestly, I had a feeling it was going to work even before we set foot on stage for the first time. Just because, you know, guys like Foxworthy and Ron and Larry, you were getting four headliners for the price of one, you know, and I always laugh at and tell people, I go, the one thing about that tour that nobody knows was you had to show up every night with your A game, because if you didn't, you were going to get buried between Ron and Larry.
We were like four brothers. And if you can imagine being out on the road with your best buds and you're selling out arenas, and, you know, they're throwing stupid money at you, nobody's going to go, nah, I think I'll pass on that, you know? Right, right.