Latest / Corpus Christi Originals Podcast / EP106: Corpus & Coffee | Miguel(ito)

Transcript

EP106: Corpus & Coffee | Miguel(ito) · Corpus Christi Originals Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Nice, what's going on, y'all?
0:00
SPEAKER_01: Corpus Christi Originals here, just trying something different.
0:02
SPEAKER_01: We got Miguelito with us having coffee.
0:05
SPEAKER_01: I think I'm gonna call this the uh Corpus and Coffee Edition.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, man, so we're just talking about uh comedy and stuff.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: So you've been doing comedy for five years?
0:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, starting year five, uh right now I started in like in late October of uh 2021 and been rocking it ever since, man.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun.
0:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh so why why comedy?
0:27
SPEAKER_01: Like what what what made you what made you take this desi comedy?
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh uh honestly, I've always been doing comedy in some kind of capacity, right?
0:36
SPEAKER_00: Like uh whether it was like in theater arts, like in high school and stuff.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh whenever I did speech and debate in high school and college, I'd always try to like do like funny presentations.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: So uh as far as stand-up goes, that was just because uh another local comedian rolled at Navanese heard about an open mic at Sal's uh way back in the day.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: And we went to it.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh I remember it was like a 20-minute drive from like the west side to Sal's.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: And uh when I first was asked to go, I thought it was just to go support because I was like, I don't do stand-up.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, but then he like hesitated to sign up.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, dude, I didn't drive all this way to see something.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: So I signed up first.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: Crazy.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: And then uh what's it called?
1:21
SPEAKER_00: And no idea what I was gonna say.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: It was bad, it was not good, right?
1:26
SPEAKER_00: But the only thing that I got as a compliment though from all the comedians were like, dude, was that your first time ever like on stage?
1:32
SPEAKER_00: I was like, technically, no, right?
1:35
SPEAKER_00: I've done these other things really good stage presence, right?
1:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: But it wasn't very funny.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's like the equivalent of saying, like, you're pretty for a fat girl, right?
1:45
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
1:46
SPEAKER_00: And it was kind of a low background.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: It was like, thanks, man, but I know what you're really trying to say, right?
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, so yeah.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: So how do you so how'd you get funny?
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh uh work, man.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: I just think that like uh it took us a couple times to like get back there.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: Like we didn't go right away, right?
2:03
SPEAKER_00: It's like uh I got work, I got this, I got that.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, so eventually I was like, you know what?
2:09
SPEAKER_00: No, let's go.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's try it.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: And this time let me actually go with real material.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I got like maybe one or two laughs.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: And I'm the kind of person that if I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it like well.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: So uh it was just kind of focusing on, you know, trying to improve on my writing specifically.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: I'd look up uh anything I could about how to like write for comedy online.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: I could find stuff like that and just refine over time, right?
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so crazy, man.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: So obviously you you you had learn how to write and stuff like that.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh dang.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: Cause I because I'm trying to figure out like how do you get from here to here?
2:46
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
2:47
SPEAKER_01: And I guess stage stage is stage time is part of the writing process, would you think?
2:52
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because uh it's uh I think one of the only art forms that you absolutely need on audience some kind of capacity, right?
3:01
SPEAKER_00: Because you have to gauge that it's funny to somebody else, right?
3:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, because think about it this way like we do we do that everywhere, even online, right?
3:10
SPEAKER_00: Like we see like a funny tweet or like a funny Facebook post, right?
3:14
SPEAKER_00: You're posing it so other people can see, and you gauge it off of reactions if people enjoyed it or views or however.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, same thing in like stand-up.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: The only way you'll know it's funny is if someone else laughs that isn't you, right?
3:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: So um that's like your confirmation.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: So you have to kind of think about that whenever you're writing.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Not to mention some comedians prefer writing on stage, like in the moment, being like, okay, let me feel it out right now.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Is this going to work or is this somewhere I could take it?
3:43
SPEAKER_00: Or did I lose them here, right?
3:45
SPEAKER_00: So Yeah.
3:46
SPEAKER_01: So how do you how do you how do you change gears as far as uh being in front of a uh open mic audience compared to like a paid audience or something like that?
4:00
SPEAKER_00: Dude, oh man.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: Um think of open mics as uh a gym.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: That's the way I think, right?
4:06
SPEAKER_00: You're trying to work out, you know what I mean?
4:08
SPEAKER_00: And uh uh your paid shows, the the big shows are like uh a bodybuilding contest, right?
4:17
SPEAKER_00: So that's where you get to flex and show all of your work, right?
4:20
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: But the boring part is lifting the weights and doing it.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Whatever.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
4:26
SPEAKER_01: That's not the fancy part that everybody won't know yet.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: Definitely not, right?
4:29
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's honestly I'm kind of getting back to basics.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you said that because I'm such a perfectionist and I'm so meticulous that uh I fall into the trap of treating mics too much like Mr.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Universe, you know what I mean?
4:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh and so I I don't get to have fun anymore.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't get to, I don't get to work out, right?
4:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to be like, all right, my form is so perfect, but I've only done like two freaking goers, you know what I mean?
4:54
SPEAKER_00: So I'm trying to be like, okay, it's cool, relax, you can be messy.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: You don't always have to be 10 out of 10, right?
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, you know what I mean?
5:03
SPEAKER_00: But like, yeah, once uh the the mic work is done and you've like really like uh sharpened the material that you have, then when you try it at a show, I personally feel like it's so much easier, right?
5:18
SPEAKER_00: Because the psychology is I paid for this, I'm expecting a certain kind of quality product, and yeah, and I get to have fun with that versus like an open mic, you know, if it's not at a comedy club specifically, yeah.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: You're almost having to like like random people.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, random people at, you know, this bar, this coffee shop or the basement of a restaurant, right?
5:38
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
5:39
SPEAKER_00: Because they're all real places, right?
5:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh that I performed at.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh, you have to convince them, like, okay, this isn't usually what you see here, but if you just trust me for a few minutes, like I got you, and then we'll have some fun, right?
5:52
SPEAKER_00: And then once they're on board, the rest of like uh your set will probably be good.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully the night, right?
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Because it's more comics after you or whatever.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what do you mean?
6:01
SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
6:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you said you're gonna you want to get back to basics.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: So you got to a point where you felt like you got away from that and it's it's not working.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: Like what why did you decide to go back to basics in the first place?
6:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, man.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: I I think uh uh well because now I have expectations to live up to, right?
6:19
SPEAKER_00: So I think it was different when I first started out, it was proving to people that I was somebody funny, right?
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Now it's a new kind of pressure where I think I have to prove that I am still funny.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: It's a different kind of pressure entirely.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, especially because I think there was uh uh the Rock Hart show at House of Rock in November.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: That was like a big wake-up call for me to be like, dude, you need to get together.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Because when they called me out, oh, it's Miguelito, there was this enthusiastic applause and like uh, you know, hooting and hollering from the from the crowd.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, that doesn't sound like just a casual, like, oh, you know, I'm doing this because it's a formality.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Like they were really excited to hear me.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: And I went up there uh and uh for for reasons I got given more time for that show.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh when I was only planning on doing like two minutes worth of like brand new material, right?
7:16
SPEAKER_00: But I I got like three times as much time.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, let me just do like the the jokes that are bangers that I know always work, right?
7:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh and they didn't get as big of a laugh.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh and I realized it's because everybody, like I saw people were like mouthing along to my material.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh no, these are all like people who've seen me before, which is again like a good problem to have because they know you, they like you, they're invested.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: And then everybody laughed hard at the new stuff, but it was like, I need to start writing more.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: Like I've I've been too like focused on this or that or or what have you, that like uh, you know, people are starting to want more, right?
7:56
SPEAKER_00: They're they they get tired of the same old, same old, right?
7:59
SPEAKER_00: And uh I think I've amassed about like 25 like solid, like top to bottom minutes of material, right?
8:07
SPEAKER_00: But it has been like again, so meticulous.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: This word, this phrase, this then it's this, that, the other dude.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, I got notes on notes on like sets.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: So is your is your like traditional setup punchline storytelling?
8:21
SPEAKER_01: Like what feature your style?
8:24
SPEAKER_01: That's a good question.
8:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, how did you start?
8:26
SPEAKER_01: Did you start up setup punchline stuff?
8:29
SPEAKER_00: So uh I guess I didn't really think about formatting as much as uh a point of view, right?
8:36
SPEAKER_00: So when I first started, I'm so glad that you asked, uh when I got like serious and when I felt like there was a change in in the in the way that I performed on stage, I asked myself a a question inspired off of uh the Johnny Cash biopic.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've ever seen, right?
8:52
SPEAKER_00: Where they're playing uh Folsom for the first time.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: He he asked them, like, I don't believe the you and the song that you sang or something like that.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: And he goes, What's wrong with it?
9:01
SPEAKER_00: It's like, so you're gonna that's the song that you're gonna play.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: If you had like like a few minutes to tell God, like what you thought of your time on the earth, that's what you're gonna play, how it's gonna be like great, and you're gonna sing his praises.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: It's like, or you're gonna play him something real, what you really think of your time here, right?
9:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, because that's what people want to hear.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, Okay, if I had five minutes to tell the whole world who I am, what I believe in, what I'm about, what I'm not about, right?
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, what do I want them to know about you?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: About me, yeah.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: So if I had a five-minute introduction to the world, what do I want him to know?
9:33
SPEAKER_00: And so I talked about, yeah, like who I was, my name, where I'm from, right, what I was doing for work at the time, uh big struggle uh that I have, right?
9:44
SPEAKER_00: Like uh, and it had to be like with a broad theme of like masculinity, right?
9:49
SPEAKER_00: And like and culture and stuff like that.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: And so when I found like a like a point of view that was a little bit more like targeted and like specific, then writing got a lot easier, right?
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Because I think sometimes when it comes to joke writing, especially when you're talking about like this format or whatever, a joke can be anything, but because it can be anything, it's almost overwhelming, right?
10:11
SPEAKER_00: When you narrow down, like, okay, this is what I want to talk about, then that anything turns into like hundreds or dozens of uh potential things, right?
10:21
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot more manageable to work with that way than it is like we'll see what happens or whatever, right?
10:27
SPEAKER_01: So is it like something that's all that's funny to you automatically?
10:31
SPEAKER_01: And then okay, let's I can make this into a joke, or is it like pulling an idea from thin air, it might be funny, it might not be funny.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: I think and then make that funny?
10:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's I think it's evolved.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: So I think I started so the opposite.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: I s I I was trying to think of what uh what how do I feel about something, right?
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't, I don't I try to make something funny second, right?
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Like the first thing is just being honest with how I'm feeling about something, right?
10:58
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of my comedy came from like really angry places, right?
11:02
SPEAKER_00: So I have uh jokes that like I literally talk about like growing up and you know, some talk like a subculture or like a subsection of the machismo material is like how people used to think I was gay growing up, right?
11:16
SPEAKER_00: Because I was a theater kid and uh I was had a little bit of you know pep in my steps away that you know guys don't really do, right?
11:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that was real.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: That was like I got bullied for that kind of stuff, I got made fun of for it, right?
11:29
SPEAKER_00: And so um when I was writing it, it was like I'm so mad and this and that and the other, right?
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Like, screw those guys and very, very MM eight mile, right?
11:39
SPEAKER_00: Like, I do kind of got a little sissiness to me, like, you know, like uh and and then then I made that funny, right?
11:46
SPEAKER_00: So it was real, like it was real, authentic emotions, you know.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: So I never had like a hard time remembering those jokes because they're they're real to me.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: These are just thoughts and feelings that I've always had.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Now we kind of put them through like a funny lens, right?
11:59
SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, people have uh a fun time with it, right?
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Because they either see themselves as somebody who's like, I know exactly what you're talking about.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: That's so funny.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or the opposite was like, I have no idea what you're talking about, but that is hilarious.
12:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: So like when you're doing those jokes, are they are are they far enough away from the heart that you can tell them?
12:22
SPEAKER_01: Or like, cause I don't know, like, can you tell it if it's too like if it just happened like that?
12:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, totally.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that varies from comic to comic because I've had really good conversations with uh with other comedians or even friends just in general, where we might be talking about stuff just life or whatever, and because some people are just funny, yeah, right.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: We can't help but always like interject with that should be a bit, or you should tell that on stage, and you get a mix of people who say, I don't know, it's still a little too raw, a little too close to home.
12:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, you well, well, I mean, I get I'm thinking that the audience can tell that too, right?
12:58
SPEAKER_01: Like if it's too close, like maybe you shouldn't.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: So I I don't know if you if you gauge that by like have you ever had a joke like that to where it was too close that you told it on stage and you're like, okay, maybe not right now.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, definitely.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: Um what's it called?
13:17
SPEAKER_00: Really, like early on, I think I had to learn, right?
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, and at the time I was trying to think of uh like taking the power back, so to speak, right?
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Like if I can make fun of myself when I can make fun of this or whatever, then I'm then I'm good, then I'm over it, right?
13:34
SPEAKER_00: But I tried and I was like, nope, still not good, still not over it.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: I have some work to do on myself or whatever to really like own this and and share it with people, right?
13:45
SPEAKER_00: In such a way that we all get to have a good time, right?
13:48
SPEAKER_00: Because uh there's like a concept in in performing with uh what is called uh joyous communication, right?
13:56
SPEAKER_00: So like I think it's kind of what we were mentioning earlier.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: I think you you particularly have this air about you, right?
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Like you when I've seen you on stage a couple of times, uh you have this like happiness about you, this this energy that I'm like, who is this guy?
14:12
SPEAKER_00: I want to know his deal.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: What's his story?
14:14
SPEAKER_00: What's his what's his vibe, right?
14:16
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, you know, so people can feel that on stage.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, when it's just you in a room of people, you know, you recently had your your uh show at Mesquite, right?
14:29
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I don't know if you want to elaborate on it a little bit, like having all those eyes on, right?
14:34
SPEAKER_00: You could feel that, yeah, right?
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Uh and and and the same way goes for them.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: They could feel you looking at them, they could feel your feelings, the energy that you radiate.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: It's not just me, right?
14:46
SPEAKER_00: So you know what I mean.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: I think you can speak off that.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: Definitely, yeah.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh like it's different from open mic, and I wasn't even it wasn't even my show, like I wasn't even being featured, I was just a host.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: Right.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: And just telling like two jokes, like it was totally different from open mic.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: You had like you had all their attention.
15:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it and it's not just it, and it's like the room, like the light was on me, everything else was dark, like that setting in in itself has its own energy, you know what I mean?
15:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, totally.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then um when I after the second joke, I was telling you, like, man, I I was like afraid at that point, like uh nah, yeah.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: Let me give it to the actual guys in here to make y'all laugh, you know.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it was definitely an interesting, uh, interesting uh to tell those two jokes that I had told.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: Um uh as far as like like stage presence and stuff like that.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: I mean I mean I know that I I that I that it's there and now it's now like if I decide to continue going doing comedy, right?
15:50
SPEAKER_01: It's like how okay, how do I use that as a use that that that's that's a tool in the toolbox.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: Now I need to figure out which other tools that I need for sure to continue to be you know funny or whatever on stage and stuff like that.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: So I don't know, it was it was a cool experience, pretty cool experience.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean you mentioned hosting too, right?
16:09
SPEAKER_01: Like uh you know, hosting, love hosting.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um but yeah, definitely, man, just being on stage.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh I like being on stage.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: I I played classical guitar for years.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: Um I used to I performed at like at the Performing Arts Center at AM at Del Mar.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: And it was solo guitar, you know, classical guitar.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: So I think that like a lot of that carried over to that.
16:33
SPEAKER_01: Um in school, I was always like trying to make people laugh.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: And it was more so like because people were making fun of me.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, okay, let me beat them to the punch before they get there, you know what I mean?
16:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that way they don't it takes their power away.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
16:51
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's where that's where I was when I was a kid in middle school, elementary school, and stuff like that.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: And and then like even like later on in my in life, I would be smiling at work, just joyful.
17:05
SPEAKER_01: They're like, why you all laughing?
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Why are you smiling so much?
17:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm just like, why not, bro?
17:09
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, you know, you want to be mad all day, you know what I mean?
17:13
SPEAKER_01: It's it's bad for you, you know what I mean?
17:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is it is bad for you, you know.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: So sure, yeah, sure, man.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, people will clock that on stage immediately.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: So weird, bro.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, I wanted to mention like the all three comics that were there on Mesquite last night, uh-huh, they had a confidence, like in in their I don't know what it is, if there's confidence in their jokes or or or in knowing who they are, you know what I mean?
17:42
SPEAKER_01: But you can tell, like, I'm gonna tell these jokes like you're gonna laugh or you're not gonna laugh.
17:46
SPEAKER_01: Either way, I'm still gonna be who I am.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
17:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's that's huge, uh, especially for me.
17:54
SPEAKER_01: That's when I said when I got afraid, I was like, damn, like confidence was just like out, you know what I mean?
18:00
SPEAKER_01: Um so I don't know, maybe trying to more practice on my jokes.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how to.
18:05
SPEAKER_01: I mean, how do you how do you do you develop that type of confidence?
18:08
SPEAKER_01: Because I've seen you at open mics, I've never seen an actual show of you're, but when you're up there, you're just like, this this is this is what I'm gonna tell.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I I don't care, you know what I mean?
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Which is cool.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you develop that?
18:20
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think um this is I can't, I'm so mad I don't remember his name, but he's a comic from Austin.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: Um I'm gonna butcher his name, but I think I remember his name is Raza Joffrey.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: I think he runs uh East Austin Comedy Club out there.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh I was following his socials for a while, and he had posted a reel on Instagram talking about his mindset with uh with open mics and the audience and stuff like that.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh where it turned into a moment of like practicing gratitude, right?
18:55
SPEAKER_00: So it's something that like when I was a coach for speech and debate, I tried to teach like my students, and this is the same concept that he had, right?
19:04
SPEAKER_00: Where it was like uh it it changed from I'm gonna about it's me versus the audience, right?
19:10
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm gonna go mess them up, I'm gonna go da-da-da, right?
19:13
SPEAKER_00: Like this and that and the other with my jokes, right?
19:15
SPEAKER_00: Like and instead he changed it to I am so grateful I get to share this comedy with people, right?
19:23
SPEAKER_00: So crazy.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, and he said we'll kind of full circle, right?
19:26
SPEAKER_00: Like he could see that the audience felt almost the maybe hostility is not the right word, was the only one I could think of.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: The hostility of being like, I'm about to, you know, freaking mess y'all up or whatever.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: And then the I'm so grateful to be here.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm so grateful to tell these with y'all, right?
19:42
SPEAKER_00: So for me, uh I tell my students, be excited.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: Don't don't worry about the competition, don't worry about the trophies, don't worry about nothing.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Get excited about man, I've worked so hard on this.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: And I get to share it with other people, right?
19:58
SPEAKER_00: And then get excited that they've worked hard on what they're bringing and and celebrate that too, right?
20:03
SPEAKER_00: And it completely like changes like how you approach open mics or even shows, right?
20:09
SPEAKER_00: Because now I'm like, especially getting back to basics and really looking at like my writing and trying to improve that, right?
20:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, like I'm just like, yeah, I'm just so grateful that I get to do this because you know, I come from a place like where free speech is is a uh not a right, bro, right?
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know what I mean?
20:29
SPEAKER_00: You can you can like mess with the wrong person and literally lose your right?
20:35
SPEAKER_00: You can talk about the wrong person the wrong place, bro.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: That's where I come from.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, it's free, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Like in some neighborhoods, no, yeah, for sure, man.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Maybe discounted, but not for entirely, man.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: For real.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, man, like uh, and then when it doesn't work, it's just like, eh, okay, then that's not it.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Back to the drawing board, right?
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Oh, sure.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: So um I I almost forget that uh I'm still new to comedy and knock on wood.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't bomb that often.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: I kind of forget what it's like to embrace bombing and embrace like making those mistakes and kind of falling flat on my face, right?
21:15
SPEAKER_00: Because you, you know, as cliche as it sounds, you do learn a lot more from failure than you do anything else.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: So definitely, man.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it when I saw your last open mic, like you were talking about getting back to basics and stuff like that.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: It was at the artesian.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: Um like some of your lines I could tell, like you rehearse.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: You rehearse, right?
21:37
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: You can tell, like you like you worked on that specific phrase.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: Is that what you absolutely have to because um what's it called?
21:49
SPEAKER_00: For me, uh uh word choice is so, so uh Do you think that's important?
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely, yeah.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: Cause um what's it called?
21:59
SPEAKER_00: I uh There are just some words that evoke feelings from you.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Like uh I'm trying to think of a really good thing.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, what if the audience member doesn't doesn't value words as much?
22:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, no, I get you.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh if they're not like a if they'd that's an awesome question, dude.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
22:23
SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you give it to them?
22:24
SPEAKER_00: How do you um you know what I mean?
22:26
SPEAKER_00: So my like speech and communication background, I have probably have a good guess, like an educated guess.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: If they're not word people, they're action people, right?
22:38
SPEAKER_00: So think about like um have you noticed like Latin comics and even like um specifically, like I don't know if you've ever seen like any Spanish comedians, right?
22:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh my parents love watching a lot of like Mexican comedians growing up, they're very physical along with like their jokes, right?
22:55
SPEAKER_00: So they make faces or use their whole body, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Because I think culturally, uh, you know, Hispanic Latinos, we are physically the same way, right?
23:04
SPEAKER_00: Like that's how we communicate.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: And so when we tell jokes, it's the same thing, right?
23:08
SPEAKER_00: I've had Theos when they talk and they're they're using their hands and all their body and stuff like that.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: They really put themselves in there.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: So if uh but at the same time, I've heard in other cultures, I had a friend uh who lived in Canada for a bit, she's a San Antonio comic, uh, talk about how in Canada they might like a little bit of like that physical stuff, right?
23:30
SPEAKER_00: But in Australia, uh another comic told me, like, if you do that stuff, they're gonna look at you like crazy.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: They they don't they're not really crazy about that sort of stuff, right?
23:40
SPEAKER_00: So um there is something to that, right?
23:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's something that like you're not gonna think about at your local open mics, right?
23:47
SPEAKER_00: Like, because how often are you gonna be performing in front of New Zealanders out here, you know what I mean?
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, or other parts of the world, whatever, right?
23:56
SPEAKER_01: I mean, well, we're on the internet now, like yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: Could go, you know what I mean?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: Could get could reach somebody over there, and maybe they'll look at it and maybe maybe not think it is funny, you know what I mean?
24:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you how do you switch that up?
24:09
SPEAKER_01: That's that's interesting.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I I noticed that I do that myself.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: Body movements and even not even comedy, just talking to talking to people.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I guess I makes me think about like how our sometimes our vocabulary is limited, maybe in our culture.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
24:25
SPEAKER_01: Then we use this to be able to express totally what we're saying.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: That makes a lot of sense.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: I've seen some comedians who and the pros, especially, like people who have come through Mesquite Street, uh whether it's like the big stage or the club upstairs or something like that, or maybe even visiting from a city, they checked out the open mic, right?
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it's really humbling to see like them come through and remind me that I ain't all that, right?
24:54
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know what I mean?
24:55
SPEAKER_00: Because they'll tell jokes without saying a single word, right?
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And it's all in their face, it's all in like not saying anything and playing with those partners and stuff like that.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I'm only thinking about what's on the page, right?
25:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm only thinking about uh why did the chicken cross the road, right?
25:13
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right, but some of these people will show you, you know, shoes crazy to me.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: Yo, so that's what I love about comedy though, man.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: There's this is so many of those things that you have to think about.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: And the ones who do it well, it's like an another language, right?
25:28
SPEAKER_00: It's like the back of their heads, they don't have to think about it as often, right?
25:31
SPEAKER_01: Who's some who's some of the the ones that you think do it well?
25:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh as far as what?
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Comedians like who's somebody that you're like, damn, I wish I could maybe like somebody that influences you as far as like him.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: I think I really enjoyed um Looney Tunes.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Looney Tunes Looney Tunes is a huge huge inspiration for me.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, yeah.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: Physical comedy.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: Physical comedy, yeah, absolutely.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: Those are the kinds of shows that I would watch like with my family growing up.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: And well, you know, when they're when their English wasn't great, we would watch Looney Tunes, and even if they didn't understand the dialogue, they understood like the over-the-top mannerisms of facial expressions and what that, right?
26:09
SPEAKER_00: Like, uh, you know, and they would crack up watching that sort of stuff, right?
26:13
SPEAKER_00: So cool.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: Like uh, I I'd like to think of myself as like a real life bug spunny.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Like whenever I'm on stage.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: Yo, yo, yo.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Uh so like I I know it's like a cliche to say, but like those are the people that I think of when I think of it.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, I saw you.
26:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I saw you at an open mic uh uh Mesquite Street.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Um I don't know, I don't know if it was you because it seemed like maybe the audience wasn't laughing.
26:44
SPEAKER_01: Right, right, right.
26:44
SPEAKER_01: And like you're trying, like, you're like, I it seemed like I don't know if it was if it was me or if it was you as well, but it you like it seemed like you were frustrated, like, dude, laugh.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is some this is funny.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: No, I know what like you're talking about.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: That's not funny, yeah, dude.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: No, oh so fun fact, like I know exactly the night you were talking about because that was actually the second thing that made me be like, you know what, it's time to get back to basics.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: I was uh at the time, I was so frustrated with myself and my writing, and I just hated, like, I was like, I can't come up with anything.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: I hate the stuff that I'm writing, and a comedian wow out in San Antonio, really funny dude by the name of uh Deece Cacias.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: Um I did a show with him years ago, and I was starting to have that problem of I hate everything I'm writing, I don't like new stuff, and this and that and the other.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: And he said, It's because you're growing, he says, It's because it's because you're gonna hate every I I'm paraphrasing him, but he's like, you're getting the suck out, you're getting all the bad jokes, all the bad stuff right now.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: It's like growing pains.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Because the comic that you are now is not the writing that you are now, right?
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Like you recognize this isn't it.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: No, this isn't it anymore.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: This isn't up to the level that I can do.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: But you have to train your brain, right?
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Like I'd like to think that there in comedy, there are joke writers and there are joke tellers.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's people who are really funny when they write, but when they tell their jokes, you know, it's a little weird, you might miss a little bit.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: And then there's people I'd like to consider myself a joke teller.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: Where I could take something that's kind of funny and make it funnier just because of the way I say it or the face that I make or whatever, right?
28:16
SPEAKER_00: But my writing isn't as strong as other comedians that I know.
28:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Even locally, right?
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Uh the ones who I think have longevity managed to kind of mold the two together, right?
28:26
SPEAKER_00: But I think just inherently, like you either fall under one or the other.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: I might be like oversimplifying it a lot, but that's kind of how I've thought about it or whatever, right?
28:34
SPEAKER_00: So that night, I did want to go up, I didn't want to tell any jokes.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: It's that same thing of like, I just I just don't want to do it.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm so angry at the world and angry at myself.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: So a couple of comments were like, dude, you already drove all the way here.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you're you already signed up, you might as well do it.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: The last guy, too, was like, uh, dude, like, there you're about to get called up.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Just just let whatever happened happen.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: I went up there and I'm dude.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: I told you I'm so meticulous.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: I have a plan, right?
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, never and just a bunch of never do this, never do that.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Oh shit.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, don't antagonize the audience.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: Always have a plan B if this doesn't work, right?
29:19
SPEAKER_00: But I was like, no, no net, no plan, no nothing.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: Just go over there and be raw.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, screw you guys, I mean all of you.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: You want to laugh at me for being fat and kind of gay looking and like turning the finger around.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: And some people immediately like, this is hilarious.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: And then there's other people who was like, is he okay?
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Oh, damn.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: Does he need a hug?
29:41
SPEAKER_00: Like, what's wrong with it right?
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Wait afterwards, after I was like, Man, I feel so bad.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: Like, because I've never done that before, and it goes against everything that I am in comedy as of right now.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: That went away, and I was like, but I feel so liberated.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: I feel so like good.
29:57
SPEAKER_00: And I know it came at the expense of the audience that night.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: And I'm such a big like uh proponent of like if it's the same thing.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: If I don't do good, especially at those open mics, yeah, Corpus is so unkind to something starting up like this that I want to do my part to be like, no, we are legit, we are talented, we are hardworking, this is going to be something big.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: But that night I was like, look, man, I didn't, I'm not clocking in today.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: This is you're just gonna get what you're gonna get out of me, right?
30:27
SPEAKER_00: It was a little selfish, but in the in the big picture, like I think it was something that kind of shake me up and be like, maybe I can be a little bit more assertive, not aggressive, but like assertive.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: It would be like, okay, like, but why can't I laugh at you now that you spent 20 minutes laughing at me?
30:47
SPEAKER_00: Like, can we turn the mirror around, right?
30:50
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and and the comics that I look up to can do that, right?
30:55
SPEAKER_00: Like, crazy, yeah.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, nice, man.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Very rare moment on stage of Miguel doing a no-no, right?
31:07
SPEAKER_00: Like it had to happen.
31:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I saw I saw that movie, uh the one about the comedian just recently came out.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh oh, I don't uh forgot the name of it.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you're talking about.
31:19
SPEAKER_01: It's the one by Grat Bradley Cooper, he produced it.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna be like Joker.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: Nah, but but but there was a scene where he he was like so pissed off and he went on stage with that.
31:29
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: He was just he didn't get any laughs, like he bombed.
31:32
SPEAKER_01: No, no, yeah, and he just like went off on the crowd.
31:35
SPEAKER_01: I was like, dang!
31:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right there.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, that happens a lot.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, then I got off really, really easy because I would up a couple of audience members.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yeah, I'm sorry, because we have regulars, right?
31:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I promise you, next time I'll go back to old me, I'll give you my best, I'll do all this stuff.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: And they're like, no, that was great.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: That was uh we've never seen that side of you before, right?
31:58
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, wow, you guys are so kind, you guys are so nice, right?
32:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, like ordinarily that's not how crash outs might work or whatever, right?
32:09
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
32:10
SPEAKER_00: Like it felt good.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: It felt like again, raw, honest, like you know.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
32:17
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have to we're gonna end it today.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you guys listening.
32:20
SPEAKER_01: This is Miguel.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: How do you say your last name?
32:22
SPEAKER_00: Porfidio.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: Porfidio.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's why I go by Miguel, bro.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: Miguelito.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: I've I've given up on people trying to get that.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you, man.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: Of course, man.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: This is fun, dude.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: See y'all later.