Delco Proper’s Tim Butterly Tells Us Why Philly Is Like Sweatpants

Tim Butterly on Delco Proper. Photo provided

The first episode of Delco Proper opens with three friends in a car, about to go to a funeral. Tim Butterly’s character is itching to beat up a guy they knew in high school, for reasons unknown, but he’s quickly admonished by fellow Philly comic John McKeever: “Izzy, we talked about this. No fighting at a funeral.”

Tommy Pope chimes in from the passenger seat: “You’re right. He’s gotta wait for the wake.”

And so we’re introduced to the very recognizable, NSFW world of the Delaware County-set Comedy Central web series.

Butterly, who says fans will definitely see Izzy in his stand-up, performs at MilkBoy (1100 Chestnut Street) tonight for the first in a new monthly comedy showcase, Laughs On Philly: Unpasteurized. We caught up with him to ask about Delco Proper and what to expect tonight.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
Born, raised, currently living in, and will most likely die in the Harrowgate section of Philadelphia. If you aren’t familiar with that part of the city, it’s because local news stations have a habit of calling it Kensington or Port Richmond whenever they report on whatever murder happened that day. It’s lovely.

Now that you have a series on ComedyCentral.com, aren’t you too good for Philly?
Ha! I don’t know if I want to be too good for Philly. We catch a lot of shit for not being quite as first class of a city as, say, New York, but who cares. I’d compare Philly to sweatpants. You’re not impressing anyone when you wear them, but you miss that comfort when you wear something “nicer.”

What comes to mind when someone says “Delco”?
When someone hears “Delco” they should immediately conjure an image of a dude who mixes concrete for a living screaming at a dude who swings a sledgehammer for a living over a very complicated parking situation where they’re both wrong. But then you talk to both of those dudes and it turns out they’re pretty solid people and you actually went to Our Lady of Loretta with one of them for one year (second grade.)

Tim Butterly, Tommy Pope and John McKeever on Delco Proper.

What can people coming to Laughs On Philly expect from you? Is your stand-up similar to your Delco Proper character?
My stand-up is almost indistinguishable from Izzy. I would understand if that’s a hard sell because a live audience might not be into someone delivering what is essentially an aggressive, vulgar motivational speech, but I’m just one guy on a lineup of absolute studs for this show so I won’t feel that bad about it.

Which do you prefer: Being part of a group of comics doing a showcase, or is it better to be on your own?
Up to this point it’s been mostly local showcases for me. We just did a Delco Proper show at Helium the other weekend and it was nice to feel sort of front and center with the whole thing, but I also still love being a part of the talent pool of comics we have in Philly. I still look up to people on this Laughs On Philly show. It’s still a big deal for me to be included on these kinds of lineups.

Who’s your favorite comedian right now?
This gets back to my last point about still looking up to Philly talent. Mary Radzinski. Watching her stand-up makes me want to do more stand-up myself and she’s one of the few reasons to even open up Twitter. Also she’s on the [Laughs On Philly] show, so I realize it looks like a cheap, promotional answer but, whatever, I don’t care.

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