Bill Bellamy talks booty calls and cheesesteaks

Bill Bellamy knows a thing or two about “booty calls” — the veteran comedian and former MTV VJ coined the term on live television during a standup routine. This week, he’s back in Philly to give us a megadose of comic relief — performing three back-to-back nights at the newly opened Punch Line Philly comedy club in Fishtown for his Ladies Night Out Tour. But for all the dudes out there — don’t worry. Bill says you can come, too.

So are you on tour right now?
Yes, I have been all over the place. I’m getting excited about Philly. I love Philly. I got family there — my aunts and cousins.

I didn’t realize you had family in Philly.
Yeah, my mom’s sisters and my cousins. I used to come to Philly a lot as a kid. I love Philly.

Do you have any favorite spots?
I used to go down where they have the cheesesteak spot.

Oh Pat’s and Geno’s?
Yeah. Those are the ones I remember most. We used to go there and the line would be around the block.

How do you get your cheesesteak?
I like mine with peppers, onions, ketchup and mushrooms. Let’s go! [Laughs]

When was the last time you’ve been here?
I was there two years ago. I played a different club — I think it was Helium. But this club is new and we got an all-star line up. I think we are going to have all of Philly down there.

Live Nation has really gotten into comedy lately, which is great.
Which is dope because people still like to laugh. That’s one of those things you can’t change. Music and people loving to laugh I think are American pastimes.

What do you think accounts for the popularity recently in live comedy shows?
One of the things that I feel is helping us is the internet because people are putting up such funny stuff now. Before, we weren’t doing it and now a lot of comics are posting stuff and engaging their audience. So now they can touch you every day on the internet and then come see you live. I think that is big.

Now this is something I did not know. You coined the term “booty call”?
Yes and everybody has been using it ever since!

If you had a penny for every time someone said “booty call”…
I hear it every day. I hear it on the commercials … [Laughs] Oh my God!

Should have gotten it trademarked!
Goddamn. It is actually interesting how you can say something that is so simple. That’s why I think it works. It’s not a derogatory thing — it is just something funny. As soon as you say it, you know what it is. You don’t even have to explain it. Done!

How did it come to you?
It came to me in a joke about how, on Friday nights, dudes want girls to come to their apartments. It was basically me and my life — when I was single and had a new place. You get excited when you have a new place. It’s just about the excitement you get when a girl is coming over. You start doing the “Risky Business” dance. You start sliding all over the kitchen all excited. So when I did the joke on “HBO Def Comedy Jam,” that is when it blew up because everybody saw it in joke form.

It just came to you in the routine?
Yeah. It was just all about what guys do on a Friday night. Trying to get that booty. And girls make booty calls too!

The beauty of the “booty call” phrase it that it goes both ways.
Absolutely.

So what can we expect from your routine this week?
It is going to be absolutely exciting. It is going to be irreverent cause I say a lot of stuff that you can’t believe. We are saving relationships one joke at a time. And it isn’t just for the ladies!

Do you think Philly is a particularly tough comedy crowd?
Philly is just real, man. Real people. It has always been like that. If Philly loves you, they love you forever. You would think I was from Philly because of my fans in Philly.

If you go:
Bill Bellamy Live
July 14-15, 8 p.m.; July 15, 10:15 p.m.;
July 16, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Punch Line Philly
1004 Canal St.
$25-$35, 215-309-0150, ext. 2
punchlinephilly.com