Jo Koy bringing sneak preview of new TV special to Cedar Rapids

During the rare times Joy Koy is home, the veteran stand-up comic just relaxes.

“I’ll just be here resting,” Koy said while calling from Los Angeles. “I don’t do anything, since I’m always out on the road — and I’ve seen more cities than anybody in this country because I’m out working so hard.”

Koy is constantly writing new jokes and performing. He’ll preview material for his forthcoming fifth special Friday, Dec. 8, at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids. His hourlong Netflix special will drop in January.

“The people who come out and see me in Iowa will see the material from the special before it airs,” Koy said. “They’ll get to know what’s up with me at this age, and what’s going on in my life, and my take on things.”

The observational humorist will riff about life at the midcentury mark, his relationship with his 20-year-old son, and his view of the world.

“It’s wild being 50,” Koy said. “I’ll talk about being at this point, and I’ll have more on my son, and the state of what's happening around us. My son hasn’t moved out and he works for me handling my merch and stuff. A lot of what I talk about is sharing life on the road.”

Koy is at his best when he’s spinning humorous yarns about his family.

“I like talking about what I know because it’s authentic,” Koy said. “I really love it when people come up to me after a show and tell me how much they relate to what I go through. They tell me they have the same experience with their kids.”

When Koy was coming of age during the ’80s, he was disappointed with sitcoms that didn’t feel authentic.

“There were shows with a character who was the tool guy (“Home Improvement”) and a guy who was a doctor (“The Cosby Show”) and it just didn’t look like my family,” Koy said. “There weren’t usually characters like my mother, and when they were, they were offensive.”

Koy’s Filipina mother hoped that her son would follow a pragmatic career path while he attended college in Las Vegas.

“The only problem with that, was that college was just horrible for me,” Koy said. “I’m just not a student. I wasn’t having the best experience in college, but when I discovered the club across the street, that’s when I went to work. That club was my school. The club was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Koy’s mother begged to differ.

“When I told her what I wanted to do, she said, ‘What is comedian? You don't want to do that. You need a job with insurance and benefits.’ ”

It’s been life without a net for Koy and it’s been just fine. The comedy club on the Vegas strip and a live performance by Eddie Murphy in Seattle inspired him.

“When I saw Eddie Murphy live back during the ’80s, that changed my life,” Koy said. “When he would talk about his aunt and other people in his family, those were people I could relate to.”

Now Koy jokes about his relatives, who appreciate his career.

“It all worked out because I’m making a living doing what I love,” he said. “All I want to do is make people laugh. I remember my father’s smile when he went with me to ‘The Tonight Show’ and he got to watch me (perform.)”

Koy grew up on comedy from a generation ago, but he realizes he must be careful what he delivers since the world is a very different place.

“Guys like Sam Kinison got away with so much because people had no platform to respond when they heard material from comics like him,” Koy said. “If you step over the line like Kinison did back then today, well, a million people will respond. So you have to be careful about what you say, but you can still be funny. It’s a challenging time.”

Apparently Koy is up to the challenge since he’s headlining big halls and arenas.

“I've worked hard to get here,” he said. “I’m thrilled that people want to come out to hear what I have to say.”