 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Personal Publicity")
For Gabriel Iglesias, getting left behind in the comedy world is not an option.
From high-pitched voice impersonations to spot-on sound effects to unique stories, Iglesias has been a mainstay, drawing laughter from audiences for more than a decade.
And by the looks of it, he doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.
Iglesias said there’s more to him than his most common jokes, which are mainly about “partying, getting drunk and waking up in places I wasn’t supposed to be,” as he puts it.
But now, as he prepares for his third Comedy Central special that airs Sunday, Iglesias said he has seen a “growth” in his comedy thanks in large part to having a stepson and becoming more of a family man.
“It’s one of those things where you have to adjust and you have to change with the times,” he said. “If you stay stuck in the same situation, then you’re gonna get left behind. That’s why there’s some comics who have managed to stay ahead like Chris Rock, Lewis Black, even with George (Lopez).
“You gotta change it up. It’s not the same. If you stay the same, you’re only as good as your last special.”
And one night before his next special, Iglesias will give Lubbock fans and Texas Tech students a look at just how different his routine is with a show at 7 p.m. Saturday at City Bank Coliseum.
The Daily Toreador caught up with Iglesias and asked him a few questions:
•How much of this “growth” in your comedy has to do with having a son now?
It has everything to do with it. I can’t be doing that, waking up on the grass. That’s not cool.
•Do you pull material from situations with your son?
Absolutely. If I’m not hanging out with my friends and I’m hanging out with him, then guess what? He’s gonna be the story. It’s a big change for me. I went from having no family to now I have one. He’s my stepson, but I claim him as my own son now. There are a lot of stories: how I’m adjusting to it, how he’s adjusting.
•Do you enjoy sports?
I like watching football, especially during football season. I like bowling. Every Monday night is bowling night for the family and myself. We like going to the movies and everything. We’re real simple. We just like hanging out.
When I’m not doing comedy, I like playing video games. I’m a big “Rock Band,” “Guitar Hero” kind of guy. Like I said, we’re off bowling. We’re off eating. We’re at the movies. Keep it simple.
•Are you a good bowler?
I’m a fair bowler. I’m a fair bowler. I look like a pro bowler. I’m a simple dude.
•What are you saying about pro bowlers right there?
What, that most pro bowlers are big guys? Yeah they are. If you watch ESPN, dude, it’s like a buffet line. They don’t look like bowlers, like athletes.
•You’ve talked about labeling comedians; can you talk more about that?
I say that I don’t like that title of “Latino Comedian” because I feel like just putting that in there almost seems like you’re using your own ethnicity to hold you back.
Like if you talk about Seinfeld, you don’t say Jewish comedian Jerry Seinfeld. If you talk about Cedric the Entertainer, you don’t say African-American comedian Cedric the Entertainer. They’re just comedians.
Whenever they put that on me, it kind of sucks because it makes it sound like I can only perform for Latinos. Don’t get me wrong. I do perform. If I’m in a show and it’s a majority, I’ll mix it up and I’ll make sure there’s quite a bit of Spanish thrown in there.
I perform anywhere and everywhere. I go coast to coast. I perform in Canada. I’ve performed overseas.
•You’ve dropped jokes about getting out of trouble with the cops. Do you have any advice for college students on how to get out of tickets or trouble with police?
Don’t get caught. That’s my advice. Me getting out tickets and getting out of everything that I’m doing is because I was funny and because they recognized me.
•So that’s the only reason why?
Oh yeah, usually you’d get popped for it. What’s funny is because of all those cop stories, I started getting requests to do police functions. It’s like every other month I’m doing police functions.
Even in like December I have like eight Christmas parties. Whenever they have banquets or award ceremonies or Christmas parties. Like promotional events, guys that move on from whatever rank to the next rank. They’ll throw parties. They’ll have singers. They always want to have a comic. I’ve been asked to do quite a few of those.
•I’d imagine you don’t really hold back on those shows, am I right?
Absolutely. You would think with the type of stories that I had, that they wouldn’t want me there. It’s the opposite. They love it when it’s just them in the room and not the whole public.
They laugh. They high five. I take pictures with everybody. Then I get a bunch of cards. They always tell me, “If you ever get into a jam, give us a call.” So I have a stack of business cards at home from different police departments.
•What was the “Last Comic Standing” experience like?
That was a little uncomfortable for me because you’re basically confined to quarters that they had. I don’t want to compare it to jail, there’s a huge difference, but not being able to leave. Not being able to make a phone call when you make a phone call. Not being able to eat when you wanted and then to ask to go to the bathroom. It was kind of like a little boot camp. It could’ve been a lot more fun, and it should’ve been a lot more fun.
I didn’t take it serious and I snuck in a cell phone and I got caught. The cool part is that that happened almost four years ago and people are still talking about the fact that I got kicked off the show, but nobody remembers the winner. I think that made my presence felt and it was very memorable.
•Do you Twitter?
I tweet. I’m always updating, my Twitter is FluffyGuy. For me, I’m all about social networks. I’m all about putting my word out there. For me it’s great. Sometimes people have no putting their business out there.
The craziest one I saw was, “I just got back and I had an abortion.” I was like, “Whoa, you’re gonna put that out there?” Sometimes people get carried away. There’s certain things you should keep to yourself.
