GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii-born comedian Kermet Apio performs tomorrow at the Hawaiian Hut.

Comic’s back home

SAILING THE high seas, shuffleboard and stand-up comedy -- just another day at the office for Hawaii-born Kermet Apio.

"It's the one place in comedy where it's actually good to grow older," the 37-year-old comedian said after arriving in the islands via cruise ship last week. "Nobody calls me 'son' on land!"

Kermet Apio With local openers Stan Egi, Shawn Felipe and Elroy Where: Hawaiian Hut When: 8 p.m. tomorrow Tickets: $17 in advance at Cheapo Music, Jelly's, Hungry Ear; $20 at the door Call: 545-3642 or connect to www.ikerm.com

WITH MORE than 40 appearances on National Public Radio and another five on national television shows, Apio has forged a respectable name for himself on the mainland.

After moving to Washington state for college, he ended up discovering that his hobby of performing at open mic nights had the potential to become something bigger.

"Seattle was great, because it was such a big city," he said. "There were amateur nights about five or six nights a week."

But a full-time job as an airline employee squashed his initial thoughts of making stand-up a career. For the first few years, Apio still thought the goal was to make enough money to pay for school and complete his degree.

"It was a beautiful plan until comedy got in the way," he said with a laugh. "I had a great hobby, and all of a sudden people were offering me money."

When he was given the opportunity to take a month off from his job and concentrate solely on comedy, returning to the airline turned into the last thing he was thinking about.

"It was so much fun," he said. "When I came back ... work felt different."

FOR THE past 14 years, Apio has traveled around the country to share his experiences of being a local boy on the mainland.

Half-Hawaiian, a quarter Chinese and a quarter Portuguese, it's a bit odd at first to hear someone who grew up in Ewa Beach use nothing but proper English during casual conversation.

But listen to the way he talks about visiting the world's largest ball of twine while in Minnesota, and it becomes evident that his travels are just as important as the people who come to see him perform.

"It's pretty cool to think that I've actually traveled to places that people wouldn't go to," he said. "I'll never take it for granted."

Family is another source of inspiration for Apio -- with a wife of four years and a 2-year-old daughter waiting at home, his perspective has changed drastically compared to his first few years in the business.

"For a long time, you're trying to learn the mechanics of comedy, so whatever you observe becomes a bit," he said. "I decided to dump a lot of that and just focus on stories about me and my life.

"I'm from these little, tiny islands ... and yet you somehow relate to the fears, and the embarrassments and the disappointments that I have. It's pretty amazing when you see it happen."

APIO ALSO finds time to visit with friends and family in the islands a few times each year, and often visits local comedy shows to catch a glimpse of Hawaii's next generation of comics.

"Every time I come here, I'm meeting comics I don't know," he said. "Those same people who are the backbone of local comedy, they're going to get the lion's share of gigs.

"But what's really cool about what they're doing now is that they're involving every level of comic."

Pointing to weekly gigs by Andy Bumatai, Lanai and Augie, Frank DeLima and other established acts, he truly believes that Honolulu is starting to build a solid reputation as a place where newbies can hone their skills.

"And that only happens because they're being nurtured, they're being helped along," Apio said. "You didn't get that sense a few years ago."