Edgy and clever Sam Morril returns to the Spokane Comedy Club

Sam Morril is cut from the same cloth as the edgy and iconic comic Sam Kinison.

Morril, who will perform Friday and Saturday at the Spokane Comedy Club, delivers deep and uncompromising comedy.

“Comics often come from a dark place,” Morril said while calling from New York. “Chris Rock talks about some upsetting subject matter, and he makes it hilarious.

“Comics often come from a sad place. Look at Rodney Dangerfield. It was always about how he doesn’t get any respect.”

Morril, 35, is reminiscent of Louis C.K., Bill Burr and Dave Attell.

“All of those guys make dark things funny,” Morril said.

Such taboo subjects as racism and pedophilia are grist for Morril.

“Life is hard and it’s weird,” Morril said. “I can’t ignore that stuff. There’s so much to joke about.”

The road is good for Morril’s creativity because there are fewer distractions.

“I’m working on material here in New York, I’ll see friends and get drinks,” Morril said. “You only have so much creative energy in a day and it gets drained. You think I would be more productive at home, but it’s the road for me. It’s a funny thing, but I’m better off on the road.”

Morril is graduating to theaters after being a stand-up for half of his life.

“I can’t express how thankful I am for the support I received from people like Amy Schumer and Dave Attell,” Morril said. “I was lucky to have some great comics mentor me. It’s a tough business, but I’m all about paying it back. I try to help out young comics. Paying it forward is very important.”

Burr once offered Morril some valuable advice.

“Bill told me to never let people see you bitter,” Morril said. “He was absolutely right, but many people let everyone see them in a bad light all of the time and it amazes me. People go off on Twitter and they look so bad, and I don’t think they even realize it. Bitterness is not becoming. Everybody has their bad days. You go off and vent and then you come back and do your thing.”

The common denominator that connects Morril to Kinison is that he has no fear of failure. Much like Kinison, who died in 1992, when Morril was 5, Morril is about walking the high wire as opposed to repeating a list of greatest comedic hits.

“I’m not afraid of bombing,” Morril said. “It’s part of the process. I would rather write new material and possibly fail than rather do the same old thing. It also goes back to writing is more fun than editing.”