Dave Hill: A renaissance man

The multitalented Dave Hill hosts a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade, performs standup, acts and plays in several indie rock bands.

He also wrote a book, contributes to The New York Times and NPR's "This American Life" and has performed comedy shows in prisons.

Thursday night, Hill presents "The Dave Hill Explosion" at UCB. He spoke with amNY.

How did you get involved with doing shows in prisons? That's been an interest of mine. I've done some comedy shows at Sing Sing and hope to do more of that. It started off as a joke with my friends. Then I actually did it and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've had.

What makes those shows an amazing experience? In many cases, the thing that landed someone at Sing Sing can be one crazy minute of their lives or something as simple as an argument where there happened to be a gun nearby.

How do your music and comedy careers complement each other? They're starting to complement each other and blend together. When I first started, I kept them very separate because I just love rock music and had never been into comedy rock. Weirdly, one of the ways I got into comedy was through music. I liked talking onstage between songs and thought, "Oh, maybe I'd just like to talk onstage.

If you go: Dave Hill hosts "The Dave Hill Explosion" Thursday at 9:30 p.m. at the Upright Theatre, 307 W. 26th St., 212-366-9176, $5.