NO HARM-STON. Tim Harmston’s album recording for The Whim Of Tim took place at The Plus in Eau Claire.

In March of 2015 Clear Water Comedy launched its Thursday night standup comedy show, and in all that time since, the only weeks to pass by without comedy at The Plus have been those with holidays, inclement weather, or Packers games (never try to compete with the Packers). That is, of course, until a global pandemic broke out. Thanks to you-know-what, the local comedy crew celebrated its big anniversary while on indefinite hiatus. Since then, there’s been a palpable absence of sufficient laughter in the Valley.

But Tim Harmston is here to help. On May 1, the comedian and Menomonie native released his second album The Whim of Tim, which was recorded live right here in Eau Claire at The Plus and released by Grammy-winning record label Stand Up! Records. It’s available in video form to buy or rent via Vimeo, and the audio version can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.

Harmston was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about his new special, comedy in the time of quarantine, and what the future of standup looks like in this new world.

Volume One: How do you decide it’s time to record and that the material is ready to be put out as a special?

Tim Harmston: I think you are ready to record when you are sick of telling the jokes and you don’t think you can take them any further. However, jokes are like a painting, you could work on it forever if you wanted to!

In the new special, you acknowledge some of the current divisiveness in the country but keep it pretty light-hearted overall – is it hard to find that balance?

Well, the challenge for me is to tap into the political anger the audience might have and see if I can harness it for laughter. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it’s an awfully long ride home.

Why did you choose Eau Claire and The Plus for the recording? What’s special about the feeling here?

Three words: Clear Water Comedy. They tapped the Eau Claire artistic tradition and made a great comedy scene with a smart audience in a really grassroots fashion. EC has always been a great melting pot for creative people and it’s cool that stand-up is alive and well there.

What are your grand hopes for the special?

In a sea of content, I just hope my fans watch it, then share it. I just want to grow my audience.

What have your experiences been thus far performing online shows in the midst of this shutdown? Being a comedy veteran, what do you think the future holds for standup in general and for you specifically?

I have done a few online shows and it’s surprisingly fun. It’s never going to replace live standup, but it keeps the humor muscle in shape a little. When there’s a green light for public gatherings I don’t see comedy changing too much – obviously comics will have to figure out how much pandemic material to keep or throw out. I think most people just want to forget 2020 and move on, to be honest. My hope is that we support music/comedy venues like The Plus even more so than we did before. Personally I will never take for granted another live show again. Cliché, but you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

Find Tim Harmston – and his new album – online at timharmston.com.