When The Kids in the Hall reconvened for some writing sessions in 2007, the veteran sketch-comedy troupe wasn't sure if the creative juices would flow. However, the aging Kids, which include Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald, were inspired enough to write more than three hours of new material. At least half of that will be showcased on the band's current tour. Foley recently called from Los Angeles to discuss the troupe's first national tour in six years. — Ed Condran

What led to the reunion?

We always enjoyed working together. We thought it could be a great deal of fun. It's always been fun working together. We just gave it a try to see if we came up with anything.

What was the vibe like?

We were pretty low-key about it. We didn't come in with these huge expectations. If it worked, great, if not, we could live with it. We looked at it as an experiment. We weren't sure where it would go. But it went so well. Our goal was 90 minutes of new material, and we went well beyond that.

How much of the material will be new and how much will be classic Kids in the Hall?

Get ready for lots of new stuff. Ninety percent of what we do on this tour came out of what we wrote last year. I think our fans want to see us do something different and that's what we're going to give them. But we're fine with having some new scenes with old characters like Cathy and Kathie. We'll go back a little bit with some characters. I understand why people want to see a bit of that. As a fan of comedy, if I saw Bob Newhart, I would love it if he did his classic driving instructor bit. We'll mix it up but we challenged ourselves to come up with new material and we did it. We're proud of it. It's going over well and we're having so much fun with it. It's great to know that we can still do this. We didn't lose it as writers and what we do is just as natural onstage as it was when we started out. We still have that connection. We were all relieved that was still so.

What skits won't you do?

You can count on me not doing "Simon and Hecubus" again. I'm too old to wear those tights. I wouldn't feel right.

Much like SCTV, your television show still holds up remarkably well.

Since we're not political comedians, a lot of the social stuff we did a decade or so ago still holds up. It's great when the material can last longer than in that moment. Looking back, we're thrilled at the level of success we attained. We didn't take any of it for granted. We came up with some very good material. I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that.

Your 1996 film Braincandy is a cult classic. But it didn't get much of a push when it was released.

Without a doubt. That movie never got the support it deserved. We shouldn't have made it with a big film company. There's a possibility that we'll do another film. If that does happen, we think we'll go the independent way. We don't think the studio way is the best way for us. Now I think we know what's best for us. We've been around the block a few times.

If you're talking about a possible movie, it sounds as though there's a future for Kids in the Hall. What's next?

I don't know. What I do know is that we don't have anything to prove. What makes me proudest is when people mention us with Monty Python and SCTV. That's just amazing to me since I've always been a big fan of the work both of those [sketch] artists did. We've come up with some really good stuff. What's really nice is that we really enjoy working together again. Years ago, we stopped because we got sick of each other and that can happen after you work together for so many years like we did. But we stepped away from each other and now we're back and we're thrilled to work together again. It'll be interesting to see where this all goes.

Kids in the Hall: 8 p.m. Saturday, May 31 at the Playhouse Square's Palace Theatre, 1615 Euclid Ave., 216.241.6000. Tickets: $39.75.