I think you can easily label Dave Hill a Renaissance man. He seems to succeed at everything he applies himself to. Dave is a gifted musician and was a member of the 90’s alternative band, Sons of Elvis, the Cleveland-based band Cobra Verde, and Uptown Sinclair. Dave also fronts for the band Valley Lodge, an NY power pop band whose song “All of My Loving” is used for the theme song of Dave’s podcast, “Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident”. But his accolades don’t stop there. Dave is a talented writer, comedian, and actor. He has hosted the “The David Hill Explosion” show in New York and Hollywood and appeared at the Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. Dave starred in the popular “King of Miami” program now airing in the UK on Film24. You may have seen him on Fuse’s “Hoppus on Music” show and other wonderful TV channels like MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Adult swim, Sundance Channel, TLC, Current TV, Spike and BBC America. Good Grief! Take a breath. Dave has written for the New York Times, Salon, HBO, Blender, The Huffington Post, FHM, Guitar World, Guitar Player, and so many other outlets, it’s mind-blogging. Mr. Hill recently published a book called Tasteful Nudes, which is a comedic, autobiographical journey. A master storyteller, Dave Hill leads an amazing life worthy of re-telling. Meet the bonified cosmopolitan, velvet wearing ladies’ man who makes us all chuckle. You will be happy you did.

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Serial Optimist: Hello Dave. Do you know how many Dave Hills are listed on Wikipedia? Too many. Do you ever think about changing your name?

Dave Hill: I’m with you. There are definitely too many Dave Hills. However, I like to think of myself as the definitive Dave Hill. Well, me and Dave Hill, the guitar player from Slade. He is the only other Dave Hill I sanction using my name. Slade are one of my favorite bands; I even have a T-shirt with Dave Hill from Slade on it that my friend Margaux gave me. It rules. To be honest, there are days when I sometimes defer to Dave Hill from Slade as being the definitive Dave Hill. But then I’ll take a good look in the mirror and think, “Nope, I got this one.”

As far as changing my name, I thought about changing my name to Bushwick Bill at one point, but it turned out that was taken already too.

SO: I think you made the correct choice. “Bushwick Bill” sounds like a serial killer. What was life like growing up in Cleveland? What are your most precious childhood memories?

Dave: Cleveland is great. Most people who’ve never been there assume Ohio is mostly farm country, but Cleveland is pretty much the Paris of Ohio, sort of like a mini-Chicago or a slightly more glamorous Detroit if that’s even possible. Also, the Cuyahoga River is made of chocolate. I never realized it until I moved away, but the weather is pretty lousy in Cleveland. It’s overcast about 300 days a year- kind of like London only without all the stuff. Other than that though, it’s a pretty magical place full of great people and really cheap drinks. There’s a sort of weird inferiority complex about the place though. Growing up, I had cousins living on Long Island and I pretty much decided that they were instantly cooler because they lived closer to New York City, the center of the universe.

I had a nice, pretty normal childhood, I guess. Other than getting bitten in the face and scarred for life by the family dog at age eleven, it was pretty smooth sailing. Also, I had to take group tennis lessons instead of private lessons at one point but I think that sort of sacrifice builds character. As for memories, there was a man-made lake/waterpark called Holiday Sands about 45 minutes from our house, out in the sticks. They played loud rock music on the jukebox all day and there were older girls in bikinis walking around. “Someday I will rock and date girls in bikinis,” I thought. It gave me something to aspire to. Another nice memory is finally learning to drive and going to Mexican and Chinese restaurants and stuff like that. Up until that point in my life, I don’t think I’d eaten anything that wasn’t just boiled or microwaved. A whole new world opened up to me. I couldn’t believe there were other spices besides salt and pepper.

SO: We all know flavor is tantamount to living a colorful life. You have been referred to as a “comedic Cthulu”. Do you think H.P. Lovecraft would be rolling over in his grave if he knew his “Great Old One” was associated with humor? How would you describe your humor for those unfamiliar with your work?

Dave: Dammit, I just had to look up like three things because of this question. But I’d like to think H.P. Lovecraft would approve of my exploits.

I’ve been told my humor is absurdist and cerebral, which in my weaker moments I think might be another way of saying “not funny” (I hope not though). But I’m just trying to have fun, be silly, and entertain the 15 year-old me. I tend to filter my comedy through a dumber, more confident version of myself and see where that gets me. I’m not really into making fun of stuff or being cool in any way (well, except for maybe with some of the outfits). I like to just be as foolish as possible. That’s the most fun for me.

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SO: And that’s what makes you so endearing. Your book, Tasteful Nudes, is a collection of autobiographical essays, which has a 5-star Amazon rating and its own Tumblr page. Are you happy with the reviews so far? Is your book the first to have its own music video? I must say it is some clever marketing to promote your book this way and incorporate fireworks, nunchunks and mini MJs.

Dave: The reviews of my book have exceeded my expectations. I had expected at least a few reviews to just tell me to go fuck myself, but so far I haven’t seen anything terribly negative- most of the reviews have been good to great, which makes me feel good.

My book is the first I’ve seen with its own music video. I watched a few other book trailers to see what else was out there, and decided that nunchuks and Little Michael Jackson was probably the best way to crush the competition. Let’s see Rushdie try that shit.

SO: It would just incite another juristic ruling. Was it difficult writing about some very personal experiences? How did you come up with the title?

Dave: Writing about some topics- the death of my mother and my ongoing experiences with depression and anxiety, for example- ended up being a lot more draining than I anticipated as I found myself pretty much reliving the experiences, which wasn’t a whole lot of fun. But the bigger challenge was finding a way to talk about those subjects and hopefully say something new. I’m certainly not the first person to experience those things, so I didn’t want to write about them unless I could do something different with the subject. Hopefully I succeeded on some level.

As for the title, I originally had another title for the book but then one day I told my friend Meredith Scardino, a writer for the Colbert Report, that it was going to be called Tasteful Nudes just to make her laugh. She loved it and told me I should really call it that, so I just started telling everyone that’s what it was called. So it started off as a joke, but then it began to make sense both literally, because there are a couple chapters that deal with actual nudity, and figuratively because I hopefully managed to reveal things about myself through storytelling.

SO: There’s nothing like some good ole clever wordplay. Has anyone reported any” severe hydration and occasional groin pull” after reading Tasteful Nudes?

Dave: Countless. I’ve really had to “lawyer up” as they say. I don’t even like to think about how many injuries have taken place as a result of reading my book. I picked up a copy in my apartment the other day and got a horrible paper cut. Blood everywhere. It looked like a crime scene.

SO: Oh dear. What do you think about folks making comparisons between your book and David Sedaris’ Naked?

Dave: I’m honored. Hopefully it’s not just because both titles reference a lack of clothing. Oh, and we have the same first name.

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Dave Hill’s Author-on-Author With Dick Cavett & Malcolm Gladwell

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SO: Ira Glass, Dick Cavett and you at a roundtable. Who do you think would win a storytelling contest? Don’t worry; it always pays to tell the truth.

Dave: That’s a tough one. I fear I would be trampled. Ira is a master of the craft and Dick is a showman with an arsenal of incredible stories. I’ve known him for about six years now and he’s yet to repeat himself even once. Whatever happens, I would hope that they would both at least laugh politely when it was my turn. The weirdest thing about this question is that I think I could actually arrange this meeting pretty easily. Life is crazy.

SO: You do choose your friends wisely. How did you get interested in music? You’ve played for a number of bands, including Sons of Elvis and Cobra Verde. Was your first love comedy or music? Do you consider yourself foremost a comedian, musician or writer?

Dave: I’ve been into music for as long as I can remember. At first, it was just pop music, whatever I heard on the radio. But then my dad bought Led Zeppelin IV when I was seven and I was blown away, changed forever. It sounded so much bigger than anything I had ever heard before. I couldn’t believe it was just four guys. It actually scared me at first. I have been a slave to rock ever since.

I’ve always loved both comedy and music, but I never expected to go into comedy, at least not as a performer anyway. It just sort of happened by accident. I tried it, didn’t end up getting pelted with anything, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to try again. And then it kept growing from there.

I don’t really think of myself as any one thing any more than the other. I tend to just jump around between all three most of the time and the line between them seems to keep getting blurrier, which I really like. For example, I’m forming a band with Tig Notaro and some other comedy friends right now. It is going to be the biggest band of all-time basically.

SO: I can’t wait to see the band outfits. How would you describe touring with a band to us bunch of groupies? How does Dave keep up with his throngs of lady fans? What rock and roll stories will you be passing down to your progeny?

Dave: Touring in a band is pretty much like one big roving sausage party. I guess it would be different if there were women in the band, but so far I’ve only toured with all-dude bands. Also, it’s been my experience that everyone’s intelligence gets cut about in half as soon as the van door closes. Farts become even funnier and there is a dick joke pretty much every other sentence no matter what anyone is talking about, even the death of a loved one. Almost all of the touring I’ve done in recent years has been in Europe, the UK, and Japan, which have made it a lot more fun because I’m seeing new things. Also, the truck stops are much better abroad- especially in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. You can get much better food than you can in America. And, of course, you find tons of weird stuff everywhere. The amount of penis and testicle-related novelty gifts available at German truck stops alone is staggering.

SO: Impressive! How would you describe living in New York to an intergalactic alien?

Dave: I would just put on an old episode of “Friends” and say “That. It’s just like that.”

SO: Many were unaware of your world-class athleticism. You tackled sports like Rugby, Gymnastics, Boxing, and Rowing for your coverage of the 2012 London games for BBC America. Are you still limping from any of the events? Will you be competing in the next winter Olympics?

Dave: Even I was unaware of my world-class athleticism. I guess you never know until you try. I did actually sustain a ton of injuries while shooting that stuff. It was mostly bruises and some light bleeding. But on the last day of shooting, I tore my hamstring trying to sprint. I was limping for weeks after that. Adding to the difficulty of the shoot was that I went out drinking and eating fried foods pretty much all night, every night for the entire week we were shooting. The director said he thought it added to the authenticity of my struggle, so I decided to just go with it.

As for the next winter Olympics, I’ve got my eye on the luge, mostly just for the outfits.

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Dave Hill Talks/Shreds At The Bell House In Brooklyn

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SO: Of course. Which do you enjoy more, hosting your podcast “Dave Hill’s podcasting Incident” or being a guest on other podcasts? What kind of behavior do you expect from your podcast guests? Can we safely say Tig Notaro is your favorite guest?

Dave: I like both, but I like being a guest on other podcasts a bit more because it takes me out of my comfort zone (which is to say my apartment). As for my guests, I just expect them to show up with an open mind and not be nervous about sitting on my bed. Also, they have to be comfortable with the fact that I really have no format at all- it’s just someone coming over to hang out and we tape it. That makes some people nervous, but it seems like people like and listen to my podcast a lot so I guess I’m doing something right. Or people have low standards. Maybe it’s a combination of both.

Tig Notaro is my favorite everything for the most part, but I have been very pleased with all my guests (with maybe one exception who will not be named). Tig is the only person to do it more than once. We just taped her fourth appearance this past weekend. I might have her on again next week. She just moved to New York and we hang out all the time anyway, so I figure I might as well just tape it.

SO: Tig is quite the lady. Being a very dapper dresser you, of course, attended NY Fashion Week this year. Can you tell us who really missed the mark on the runway? What’s your wardrobe advice to fashionistas out there? What article of clothing can you not live without?

Dave: I tend to only like English designers very much, so pretty much anyone who’s not English blew it big time in my book. As far as wardrobe advice, when in doubt, go tighter, I always say. The article of clothing I can’t live without is a nice velvet jacket. It wraps you up, hides your flaws, and women can’t help but touch it. I really end up doing most of the work for me in the end.

SO: Who doesn’t like to be ensconced in velvet like George Costanza? Vlogging, Twittering, podcasting, writing, performing, is there anything you don’t do?

Dave: I suck at basketball. It’s actually weird how bad I am. I’m not sure what happened because- as you know- I am pretty incredible at every other sport ever.

SO: Where will Dave Hill be invading next? Any secret projects we should know about this instant?

Dave: My book comes out in the UK soon, so I will go over there and attack those people for a while. Also, I am hoping to tour Japan with my band Valley Lodge next year at some point, but we’ll see. Other than that, I will probably go hang out with my dad in Cleveland, which will be awesome even though he makes me pay for everything, which is bullshit.

As for secret projects, there has been some interest in adapting my book into some sort of TV show or another, so hopefully that will go somewhere. And, as I mentioned, I’m forming a band with Tig. It’s going to be a lot for people to handle. I don’t even know if I can handle it to be honest.

SO: Good luck with everything and hopefully your dad picks up the tab this time. Smiles.

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SO Note: Make sure and get yourself a copy of Tasteful Nudes here, stay up to date on all things Dave Hill at his website here, and follow him @mrdavehill!