I’ve known comedian JR De Guzman for about seven years now, so it was both weird and fun to interview him for this article. I’ve seen him evolve from a quiet kid who’d pop into an open mic, to the seasoned pro rocking a full house at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium last year, to performing his own 15-minute special as part of Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup. In a world where success of this sort is hard to come by, it’s refreshing to see De Guzman do so well.
De Guzman writes some damn funny jokes, and adding a guitar to his performance arsenal has created a magic blend of musical comedy that has proven to be an entertaining formula. In 2015, a 15-minute clip of his performance at the Crest Theatre was uploaded to YouTube, and quickly became a viral sensation, garnering more than 250,000 views to date thanks to some love from folks on Reddit. He went on to win the 2016 StandUp NBC Award (won by local comic Kiry Shabazz a year later, giving Sacramento back-to-back victories in the competition).
De Guzman’s comedy album Dual Citizen was released by 800 Pound Gorilla Records in February 2017, and it debuted No. 1 on both the Billboard and iTunes comedy charts. With the debut of his Netflix special, it seems as if there’s no limit for this talented comic.
Well, the limit may be in his ability to come up with a good name for his pug, which he not-so-cleverly dubbed Pugsy. Despite his hacky approach to naming canines, his on-stage comedy is funny where it counts.
Photo by Tim Cruz
Was music a part of your comedy when you first started?
I did stand-up without music for about a year. I was still at UC Davis, and I took a comedy class that had you do everything. I took any class related to comedy. I went to a theater class that taught sketch comedy, improv comedy, stand-up and musical comedy. When I did the musical comedy thing, I did that song on my act. It was a song about the phrase “No Homo.” I don’t do it anymore; I did it for about a year, but it was the first comedy song I wrote and it was for a class assignment, and I started closing with it in my act.
Was it a song where you’re saying “No Homo,” but everything you’re saying is contrary to that?
No, that would have been a better song. It was making fun of rappers for using that phrase. It was like how all of the dance songs of the time were just commands that were easy to shout out.
Who were your earliest influences?
The first two were Dave Chappelle and Zach Galifianakis. I almost feel that today what I do is just a weird mix of what I like best of them.
I hear comedians talk about “Guitar Comics” as if that’s some less than acceptable or pure form of stand-up comedy, derisively.
You sure it’s not the most respected one [laughs]?
Well it’s interesting that some of the most respected comedians in history use music. You’ve got Steve Martin, Bo Burnham and Adam Sandler’s new Netflix special is amazing. Do you just take the criticism in stride, or does it bug you?
I was hanging out with another musical comedian yesterday and talking about this. Even the words “Guitar Comedian” sounds so bad.
Yeah, it’s almost like “Prop Comic.”
There’s a stigma behind it. I don’t even want to say it. I just say that I do musical stand-up, then they go, “Oh yeah, you’re a ‘Guitar Comic.’” There was a comic right in the beginning, when I first started doing the guitar, he pulled me aside and said, “You know, man. That guitar is cool, but it’s kind of a crutch. You’ll get over it. You’ll get past it. Once you drop it, I think you’ll be an amazing comedian.” I never forgot that. I remember being so heartbroken, thinking I had to stop doing it. I was so new and he was headlining shows and really looked up to him. But it stuck with me.
Then maybe three years in, at a time when I wasn’t sure where my stand-up was going, doing shows for no money, and my brothers had careers in dentistry, so I had to decide if I was going to keep doing it or not. That’s when the YouTube video of me performing at the Crest started getting some hits. If I started conforming my act to “The Hack Police” or whatever you call them, then a lot of stuff would have never happened for me. All of the things that have strengthened me on this journey have been the things where I have committed to what I am, what I do and what I like. There were a lot of people that I looked up to that said heartbreaking things when I was starting out. I just thought that people I like don’t like my shit. But I knew that it was something kind of different and it was true to me at the end of the day.
Comedians are less than a half a percent of your audience. It’s a gift you have, and it’s stupid to tie an arm behind your back just because they can’t play the guitar.
I think at the end of the day, if it’s good, it’s good.
Tell me about that YouTube video that became a viral hit.
I was in a weird place and did a stand-up tour of Asia. When I was traveling there were no more “Hack Police.” In Asia and Europe, they love musical comedy, they love character comedy and they love everything. I saw some of the best stand-up out there, because there were no rules. I saw this really unique Mitch Hedberg-style stuff from an Asian guy in Singapore. So that encouraged me to do musical comedy even harder.
When I got back I’d do these Tribble Runs [a string of comedy shows over a long distance] where I’d get like $300, but after buying food and gas, I’d end up not making any money. I had no money left on the way home. I had to be one of those guys at the gas station with a made up story, but it was real to me. I ended up exchanging my comedy CD with someone for $20. It was a really shitty CD, but now I have a less shitty one out.
I put together 15 minutes to perform at the Crest Theatre to tape and give to agents and managers to get into to the college circuit. My friend saw it when it had 30 views, and he posted it to Reddit, and that’s where it went really big to 30,000 the next day. It’s since got over 200,000. But it gave me a good tape that gave me an agent and manager.
You’ve got some funny little jokes as asides in addition to your songs. When you’re approaching this how do you divide your comedy writing between the music and the jokes?
When I started out, I just wrote jokes, but songs helped me stretch to 30 minutes so I could start making money. Even now when I start writing, I just do a ton of joke writing; out of 100 maybe one is good. But I try to write a good song for each good joke. I don’t think I could ever be a pure musical act, though.
Tell me about performing at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium opening for Nick Offerman.
They gave my tape to Nick Offerman and they picked mine. Luke Soin [Sacramento-based comedian] taped my set. The show was so amazing with that energy. It’s something I’ve never felt at any other show. It was such a drug. It was the perfect show. I would do it every night if I could. There’s a sense when you’re opening for someone that you really have to prove it. That’s the tape that I submitted to Netflix, and that’s how I got my special.
My favorite moment of that performance was when you just killed it, then walked off the stage to a near ovation, then Nick Offerman walked out on the stage with a guitar, and you could just see the look on his face was like, “Goddamnit!” He had so much respect.
He said, “What a fine young gentleman. I’m sad to have to follow him!” It was really cool. For all the times comedians gave me shit, that made up for it.
So the Netflix special came out about two months ago. What does it feel like a few hours before it’s coming on?
I got to see it a week before it dropped, but after watching it I just got more nervous. I wondered how the rest of the world was going to see it. I wasn’t really thinking about it that much an hour before it dropped, because it was my girlfriend Chelsea’s birthday. The best thing is hearing that “Da-doom” Netflix sound before it starts. Once people started responding to it on social media it really felt real. I was so nervous because it’s the biggest platform I’ve been on so far.
People were messaging me from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and saying really nice things. Somebody from Brazil was like, “I’m in med school and watching comedy is what gets me through it, and this is one of the hardest times I’ve laughed in a long time.” It was so encouraging. As much as you need to do it with intrinsic motivation, that stuff really validates what you do.
I remember setting a goal during the Netflix taping to be a positive light in comedy for people. I’m not very political, but I kind of want to be a break from all the shittiness of what the news is portraying. This can just be a reminder to be silly. So to hear that from people is cool.
JR De Guzman will be returning to Sacramento’s Crest Theatre (1013 K St.) on Wednesday, Nov. 28 with Jimmy Earll, Diego Curiel and former Submerge cover model Lance Woods. Tickets start at $20, and doors open at 7 p.m.
**This piece first appeared in print on pages 16 – 17 of issue #278 (Nov. 7 – 21, 2018)**
Comedian Glory Magaña (pronounced like lasagna) used to live a double life. A couple of times a week, she would leave her hometown of Modesto and drive to San Francisco. Her family always wondered where she would take off to, and Magaña would tell them, “I’m off to see this guy. I have a boyfriend.” That was a lie. Magaña would commute to the city to take comedy classes, something that she knew her super traditional Mexican family would be opposed to. Her mom would say “Comic?! You mean like a clown?” when she would try to entertain the idea of following her comedic dreams.
Upon completion of her comedy classes, Magaña was to perform in a concluding showcase. As the show approached, she grew nervous and couldn’t stand not having the support of her family in the audience. She came clean to her mother with what she had really been commuting to San Francisco for. Magaña remembers her mom being very upset and having no choice but to go to her big show solo.
She recalls arriving at the venue that day and the ticket-taker telling her, “You packed out the house!” Confused, Magaña told him, “That can’t be right. I have no one coming.”
When she looked out from the stage, Magaña saw the face of her mother in the crowd. She held back tears of joy and went out there and gave one of her best performances.
“My mom came up to me after and was like ‘You are funny! You are good at this. You can’t quit. Pursue your calling,” Magaña warmly remembers.
Since then, she has had some really great shows and some really not-so-good shows. Magaña said her worst was at a show in San Francisco where she opened for comedian Adam Ray. She will never forget how horribly she bombed. Her best show was in Stockton, where she was initially very afraid to perform. The day had started off incredibly, because her mom, who had been battling cancer, had learned she was in remission. With her mom and brother in the audience to support her, Magaña said she brought the house down that night and left her mom and brother in awe. The crowd was totally feeling it, and it was one of the first times she truly felt like a comedian.
A few years ago, Magaña’s mom passed away from cancer. Whenever she is faced with challenges she thinks she is not strong enough to overcome, the voice of her mother resonates within her. In a sweet twist of irony, her mother is the number one force that continuously propels her to pursue her comedic dreams.
Magaña is known for her clean-ish jokes that involve ethnicity, love, family and chubby boys. Magaña loves chubby boys. Growing up, she would watch a Spanish soap opera called Carrusel de Niños and be totally captivated by the romance between two of the portly kids on the show.
“The chubby little girl was a hopeless romantic … just like me!” says Magaña. “And I also though the little chubby boy was soooo cute. After that, the rest was history. Not to mention I feel like a skinny little thing when I’m around bigger men. Beats going on a diet!”
In her routine, she can be heard talking about her type of guy like they are the finest wine made of the juiciest grapes.
Magaña herself towers nearly six-feet tall, and played basketball and volleyball in college on scholarship in Iowa.
“Everyone in Iowa thought I was Samoan. There aren’t many Mexican girls who are almost six-feet tall. I was tight with all the Samoan athletes, too, so that probably fed into it,” she says. People always confuse her for different ethnicities, but Magaña says she rolls with it.
“My Samoan girlfriends would urge me to use my ethnicity mix-ups as a part of my routine,” she says. “They cry laughing when I act like I am one of them.”
She often uses the enigma of her ethnicity as a core part of her routine.
“No one ever knows what I am,” she says. “I make fun of the stuff people come up with.”
As a Mexican-American woman in the world of comedy, Magaña says that people have welcomed her and that she has learned there are a lot of hilarious women of color out there.
“Every time I perform, I meet all of these fellow woman comics and damn they are so funny,” she says. “I sometimes feel a little insecure they are so funny. A lot of ethnic women [are] holding it down and showing true talent.”
For some comedy showcases, you have to pay to apply to perform, sort of like applying to college. Magaña thought about applying to compete in the Women in Comedy festival in Boston, but was always told that it was extremely difficult by comedians she looked up to.
“Women I thought were absolutely hilarious, maybe even funnier than me, were constantly rejected, so I questioned if I had a chance,” she says, “but I applied anyway and got accepted!”
Performing in that festival and mingling with other powerfully funny women has been one of the highlights of Magaña’s career thus far.
A few months ago, Magaña was asked to perform at the Crest Theatre for the upcoming Cap City Comedy Slam. In addition to Magaña, the lineup includes headliner Kirby Shabazz and performers Kabir “Kabeezy” Singh and Ellis Rodriguez. Singh was named “The next big Indian comedian by India West newspaper and has opened up for Dave Chappelle and Dane Cook to name a few. Shabazz is known for his relentless attempt to kill health food stores via jokes and poking at the racist connotations of the Home Alone franchise as well as winning last year’s StandUp NBC comedy competition. The Cap City Comedy Slam is meant to showcase the unique perspectives and diversity of the region’s up-and-coming comedians. This showcase will offer perspectives in how really hilarious minority comics see the world around them.
Magaña is excited to grace the historic Crest Theatre stage for her first time, and to be joined by such great company. The self-proclaimed “tall drink of horchata” is gonna make you laugh, make you love the chub and make you feel susceptible to being dunked on at any moment.
Don’t miss Glory Magaña at the Cap City Comedy Slam on Friday, Mar. 2, 2018, at the Crest Theatre (1013 K St.). Doors at 7 p.m. and show at 8. Tickets are $25. Check out Crestsacramento.com for more info on the show.
**This piece first appeared in print on pages 18 – 19 of issue #260 (Feb. 26 – Mar. 12, 2018)**
We all look for different things in live music. Some want a full show—blaring speakers and bright lights behind a pop star flanked by a fleet of dancers or backup singers, the kind of high-energy performance that’s nothing short of exhilarating. Then there’s the other side of the spectrum: the sweet and sacred intimacy of a solo performance. That vulnerability is a hook, an alluring fragility. José González is a quintessential artist of the latter camp, a man who’s spent more than a decade captivating giant rooms—sometimes festivals—with stark, solo performances of quietly finger-picked arpeggios beneath a tenor delivery of cyclically sung verses. His live performances evoke the kind of soothing quality akin to rustling leaves or babbling brooks.
“Intimacy can be something that happens in a small space when people are close, but it can also be a loud and clear volume that sounds like you’re really up close and people are quiet,” González said. “It’s happened many times in 2,000 [person] capacity venues, just the fact that it’s very quiet, people are very attentive.”
It’s a rare thing to have a small group of listeners, let alone 2,000 people, transfixed by a minimal setup. But that’s the power of González wielded and kept listeners’ attentions back in the early 2000s with his airy, delicate (and wildly popular) cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats.” Since then, González has for the most part stayed in the same sparse acoustic wheelhouse, but the effect never dulls. Years later, these songs remain timeless and genuine.
“Many people that listen to my music like the authenticity of it, or the feeling of authenticity, so I try to focus on my guitar playing and hope that will be enough,” González said.
There’s a light fluidity to González’s gentle melodies, the kind that feels like it comes easy, which might not be far from the truth.
“Some songs really take a lot of attention, and others like ‘Heartbeat,’ it’s a really easy song to play and one of the favorites for the audience, so I can just relax,” González said. “I notice with all the tours I’m doing, especially toward the end of the tour, I’m able to think about other things—things I’ve been doing during the day or the next day, a bit of daydreaming while I’m playing.”
That tranquility can even bleed into the writing process for González.
“When I’m writing or rehearsing, I get soothed by the repetitiveness,” González said.
For his last record—2015’s Vestiges and Claws—González took the reigns on production, working primarily from his home in Sweden. The result was a minimalist, well-crafted group of songs with standout moments like the enticing bossa nova sway of “What Will,” or the serene closer, “Open Book.” The solidity of songcraft is undisputed, but not far off in sound and style from his previous work, an intentional choice on González’s part.
“The way I did it on my own was actually similar to old albums,” he said. “I’m sort of still doing the same thing I’ve been doing for a while. Guitar, vocals—keeping it simple.”
Even with its simplicity (and maybe sometimes because of it), the smallest variations feel amplified. On songs like “Stories We Build, Stories We Tell,” the slightest grit comes through in a cautious dose of overdrive; as González skips through his guitar lick, you can hear slight splits of distortion, like a frayed tear in well-worn denim.
To be fair, the live delivery of these songs isn’t always soft and solo. González has toured with a five-piece ensemble—guitars, percussion, three vocalists—and even spent the end of 2017 touring with a 20-piece orchestra. As he returns to his tried-and-true solo form, it’s both a challenge and a retreat.
“It’s pretty hard to try to fill out the room on my own again,” González said. “Now I’m going back to basics, to my original style. I get tempted once in a while, whenever I’m about to go out on tour, to add more stuff. Then I sort of relax a bit when I start and stick to just guitar and vocals and foot tapping.”
Though the solo performance is minimal, similar to the recordings, those subtle flourishes or sonic expansions have defined strength. González percussively peppers the rhythmic low-end of his tunes with a small stomp box, giving the songs understated urgency, or simply defining their shape with a sweet little groove. It’s even carried over a bit into reshaping older favorites.
“I’ve changed a few old songs like ‘Down the Line’ and ‘Killing for Love’ to get a bit more action,” González said.
González will be working on a new solo record this year. While touring alone might give some artists space to write new songs, he prefers to keep that work at home.
“I’ve had some tours where I try to write on tour and I usually get frustrated because usually there’s something to do. You’re in a new city, you want to have a coffee or a beer, you’re around people who want to hang out; you don’t want to do homework, so to speak,” González said. “The best thing is to be home and have many weeks in a row where I can sit down a couple hours a day and just write and record.”
For now, as González stays on the road for a while longer, there are a few alternative releases on the horizon.
“This year I’ll be releasing an EP with a live band, and also a live recording of the orchestra,” González said. “They’re all old songs but they’re different versions.”
Once he’s back home, González will pick up on his writing, and spend time with his new three-month-old daughter, one of the few not immediately soothed by González’s song.
“I was really excited to start playing music for her. The first time I picked up the guitar and started tuning, I was tuning too long so she started crying,” González laughed. “It was a moment I’d had anticipation [for]. But since then it’s been really fun, she likes it.”
See José González and his guitar live at the Crest Theatre (1013 K St., Sacramento) on Jan. 30, 2018. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets start at $35. You can purchase them online through Crestsacramento.com.
**This piece first appeared in print on pages 20 – 21 of issue #257 (Jan. 15 – 29, 2018)**
After premiering to rave reviews and selling out dozens of screenings in the Bay Area, director Corbett Redford’s documentary Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk is screening right here in Sacramento for one night only this Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, at Crest Theatre. Pulling from nearly 200 interviews with members of bands like Green Day (who co-executive produced the film), Rancid, Neurosis, Operation Ivy, NOFX, Primus, Metallica, Bad Religion and many others, plus footage from hundreds of shows and more than 35,000 archival photos and flyers, Redford gives viewers a full-ride scholarship to punk rock university, chronicling the 30-plus-year rise and worldwide impact of the East Bay’s punk scene. Before the screening, local band Destroy Boys will play in the theater’s lobby at 7 p.m. Following the film (which, did we mention is narrated by Iggy Pop? Because yeah, it is) there will be a Q&A session moderated by one of the local music scene’s most valued musicians and punk rock expert, Danny Secretion. He’ll speak with director Corbett Redford, camera operator and story editor Melissa Dale, local punk legend Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds and Robert Eggplant of Blatz and Absolutely Zippo. It’s a night that will go down in the Sacramento punk rock history books. Learn more about the film at Eastbaypunk.com. Buy tickets for just $9.50 in advance at Crestsacramento.com or call (916) 476-3356. Check out the trailer for the film below.
**This write-up first appeared in print on page 13 of issue #247 (Aug. 28 – Sept. 11, 2017)**
Capital Dance Project is a dancer-run collective of some the most talented dancers in our city, who formed a company where they have free reign to imagine innovative programming. A nonprofit, they seek to collaborate with one another while making dance at once edgier and more accessible to our community. In their third annual Behind the Barre, the theme is Made in Sacramento and promises to be a sight to see at the Crest Theatre the weekend of Aug. 25–27, 2017. In partnership with the Sacramento Kings, Friday night’s performance will be the first local Sensory-Friendly Dance Performance, designed to meet the needs of individuals with sensory disorders. Then on Saturday and Sunday, C.D.P.’s Behind the Barre will blow your mind with their nine different creative dance works that will be premiering. New Helvetia Brewing Co. sponsors with tasty pours, and local musicians have been hard at work collaborating with dancers and choreographers to create a one-of-a-kind, can’t-miss performance experience. Learn more at Capitaldanceproject.org or purchase event tickets at Kings.com/capitaldance.
**This write-up first appeared in print on page 11 of issue #246 (Aug. 14 – 28, 2017)**
Is Mike Judge a filmmaker or some otherworldly seer who can read signs and portents and know what the future holds? Well, he’s most likely just the former, but once you see his 2006 film Idiocracy, you may be convinced he’s the latter. Starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph, Idiocracy depicts a dystopian future “has gotten progressively less intelligent as it moved so far away from natural selection, and relied upon machines to think,” according to Crestsacramento.com. Sound familiar? Though Idiocracy was a financial flop when it was released at the box office, it was still positively received by critics and, of course, has since become a cult favorite. You can see it on the big screen in Sacramento on Jan. 13, 2017 for just $10 ($8 for children and seniors) by ordering your tickets in advance at the Crest Theatre’s website. Idiocracy was co-written with Etan Cohen, who also co-wrote Tropic Thunder. Crest is located at 1013 K Street in downtown Sacramento.
Geeks will have plenty to be thankful for this year. After you awaken from your post-Thanksgiving food coma, you should head over to the Crest Theatre for an anime feast that will be a treat for your eyes. You’ll have two chances to see Hayao Miyazaki’s classic Nausicaä on Nov. 26 (dubbed in English at 1 p.m. or in the original Japanese language version with subtitles at 3:30 p.m.). Other films include Rintaro’s Metropolis (based on the 1927 German silent film of the same name) on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.; Steamboy, a steampunk action-adventure story by Katsuhiro Otomo, on Nov. 27 at 4 p.m.; and Miyazaki, once again, with Castle in the Sky, on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. Any one of these would be a great introduction to the rich and diverse world of Japanese animation, but if you’re looking for something truly outside-the-box, check out Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, this writer’s personal favorite, which will be shown at the festival on Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. This wonderfully surreal film is a perplexing and beautiful dreamscape that will warp your sense of reality. Seeing it on the big screen is an opportunity that doesn’t come around often, so don’t miss it. You can purchase an all-weekend pass ($35–$40) at Crestsacramento.com.
Ski and snowboard season are rapidly approaching, and you can get yourself hyped for your impending trips up the mountain at the Crest Theatre for the debut of Warren Miller’s 67th annual film, Here, There and Everywhere. Warren Miller Entertainment has been a pioneer in the field of action sports cinematography since 1949, and their latest film hopes to push the envelope even further. Here, There and Everywhere features prominent skiers and snowboarders, including Truckee, California’s own Jeremy Jones, who you’ll often find on the slopes of Squaw Valley; but it also showcases “a progressive side of snowsports,” according to the film’s press release. You’ll get a glimpse of fat biking, backcountry snowmobiling, pond skimming and other things that we’re probably too afraid to try ourselves. But hey, that’s the best part of films like this: you get to live vicariously through others! Go to Crestsacramento.com for tickets, which start at $15.
Tracy Morgan is back, and he’s not afraid to let you know. “Still pickin’ up the pieces, man!” he shouts into the phone while driving about New York City after a national television appearance, courtesy of The View. Those “pieces” he’s referring to were of course scattered on June 7, 2014, in a horrific auto accident on the New Jersey Turnpike involving a limousine and a Walmart truck. The incident ultimately left Morgan on death’s door, while taking the life of close friend James McNair. Now, more than two years later, the man you came to love as Brian Fellow on Saturday Night Live and Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock—or perhaps just as the outrageous stand-up comedian that he is—returns to the stage for a highly anticipated 22-date national tour. And as dumb luck would have it, his very first stop is right here in Sacramento at the Crest Theatre.
So what can you expect from Tracy Morgan and his rendezvous with the brick wall? Will he still be the same old “Tray-Bag” after going through such a traumatic, life-changing event? Well, if his personality over the phone is any indication, I would expect nothing less than the same loud, proud and hilarious man that brought you to tears as Spoonie Luv, or pushed the envelope with characters like Uncle Jemima and Dominican Lou. I will also say this: In all my years of interviewing bands, artists and actors of all types, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken with somebody more true to perceived form than Tracy Morgan. What I mean is that if you imagine in your head what it might be like to talk with T.M. on the phone for 15 or 20 minutes, it is in fact exactly as you imagined it. Charmingly brash with a New York accent so thick it’d make Method Man blush, you might even say he comes as advertised.
So you were on The View this morning. One of the longtime hallmarks of SNL is making fun of the daytime talk show medium—how’d that go for you?
It was great, man. I was hanging out with Walt [Barbara Walters] and Joy [Behar] and all the ladies, and just feeling the love from the audience. To spoof it, we get to do our favorite talk show hosts the way we see them, but when you’re there you’re free and doin’ your thing. And I always liked The View. To get to do Star Jones, that was one of the things that put me on the map. So I had a good time and got to thank her personally.
And there were no hard feelings.
Nah! It was funny! Like I said this morning, as long as we do these things in the spirit of comedy, like the Lucille Balls, the Richard Pryors, the George Carlins—so long as we do them in the spirit of those that came before, people will laugh, they won’t cry.
You just had your one-year wedding anniversary. Congratulations. What’s it been like when you reflect on a year gone by?
Thanks, man. My wife’s sittin’ beside me right now. What it is it’s like Chaka Khan says in the song, it’s just goin’ “through the fire.” That’s how you forge hard steel. Me and my wife are closer than ever now. “The fyyyyyyyah.” Remember that song?
Can you imagine the recovery process without your wife?
I wouldn’t have made it, wouldn’t have made it. My wife was always right there, man. We been together five-and-a-half years. My wife, my daughter, my son—they gave me motivation to keep doin’ it, keep goin’. I coulda gave up. Sure. Sure I coulda. We have our ups and downs like every couple, but I think [the accident] got us closer. When you go through something like that with somebody? It’s gotta make you closer.
Is it safe to say you’re an emotionally stronger person now?
Yeah but I had to go through things—like I said, goin’ through the fire. You know what that wreck did to me? It turned me into an emotional wreck, man. It scared the shit out of me. So yeah you gotta pick up the pieces … what you think this tour is made for? Still pickin’ up the pieces, man! My fans are picking up the pieces! You heard about it, you was kinda shattered. It’s not like I made you cry, [but] that connection is there that put me and you over this phone! So yeah I’m pickin’ up the pieces—we pickin’ up the pieces! And that goes for anybody. If I can inspire people to pick up the pieces in [their] life? I don’t care what happened—if your life has been shattered, at some point you gotta begin to pick up the pieces and put ‘em together! And that’s wassup.
You talk often about your relationship with the “comedy gods.” Could you expand on that?
Those who came before me, paying homage. Comedy in the spirit of Jackie Gleason. Watching Silver Streak. Watching The Jerk. Watching Lucille Ball. Watching The Honeymooners. Watching Moms Mabley. Studying, doing my own work, knowing who I’m doin’ it for, know who I’m representing. It is bigger than me. Making those out there who have nothing to laugh [about] laugh. Doing my part to make this a better world than the world it was before I got here.
You’re nominated for an Emmy for your return to hosting SNL last year, which is kind of a big deal. What would it mean to actually win?
It’s a big deal but it ain’t bigger than me walking away from that accident. It would be nice to win an award for your sense of humor after being on TV for 23 years—it would be nice. But when I look at footage of that accident … that was bad, know what I mean?
Obviously Saturday Night Live is still important to you, or you wouldn’t have gone back and hosted. Does it still make you laugh?
I had to start from where it started from. They inspired me to go get the world. [And] hell yes, hell yes. Isabel [Sanford] is hilarious. The Family Feud and all that? It’s hilarious. You got a great, brilliant cast out there. Young.
When you look at all that’s going on in the country from a political standpoint, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the election, how do you view the role of comedy, not just a stand-up, but as a black man?
Comedy’s got no color, man. I understand what’s going on in the world, I get that. But Richard Pryor wasn’t about that. He talked about the human condition. In my comedy audience, all lives matter. ‘Cause we leave all that shit outside when you pay for a ticket to come see Tray-Bag. ‘Cause what’s funny is funny. When you step onstage there’s something that blacks, whites, Puerto Ricans, Ecuadorians—everybody—can relate with: It’s called the truth. People don’t laugh at lies. Lies hurt. As long as I’m telling truth, as long as I’m doing it in the spirit of those that came before me, the comedy gods, I’m protected from all that nonsense.
How has the experience you’ve been through the past two years affected your routine as a comedian?
It’s changed. After you experience something like that, of course it’s gonna change. [But] the funny hasn’t. The funny never changed. God is not an Indian giver. The gift was funny, not material. It’s like Bruce Lee said in Enter the Dragon: It’s like a finger pointing away at the moon. Don’t focus on the finger, or you’ll miss all that other heavenly glory. I don’t focus on material. I focus on the funny. “From Hollis to Hollywood, but is he good?” When we do our comedy thing, everything wrong in this world we make right with it. We make repair with it with our sense of humor. ‘Cause if you don’t laugh about it you gonna cry about it. And all of us tired of cryin’. You don’t got a sense of humor you doomed. Eddie Murphy once told me, “Don’t take life so seriously. You’ll never get out alive.”
Check out Tracy Morgan live at the Crest Theatre on Sept. 22, 2016! Tickets start at $45 and can be purchased through Crestsacramento.com, where you can also check out the historic theater’s upcoming calendar of events.
The number of records that 2015’s Star Wars: the Force Awakens shattered is simply mind-boggling: It’s the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Avatar; it was the fastest film to gross $1 billion (it took just 12 days!); it had the biggest worldwide opening weekend and single weekend gross ($529 million!); it had the widest worldwide IMAX release (937 IMAX screens!); it’s the highest-grossing Star Wars film of all time; and the list just goes and goes. And it’s no surprise, really, it’s an amazingly entertaining piece of cinema best viewed on a large screen surrounded by friends and fellow Star Wars fans. Luckily for us here in Sacramento, the beloved art house Crest Theatre is bringing this bad boy back to the big screen on Friday, Sept. 2 for one show only at 7:30 p.m. So if you somehow missed it in a theater the first time around, or just want to see it on a big screen for the 12th time (hey, we’re not judging!), snag your tickets starting at just $8 now at Crestsacramento.com. There will also be a fun costume contest with great prizes so bust out your best Kylo Ren, Han Solo or Rey outfits and dress to impress. Crest is located at 1013 K St. You can reach them by phone by calling (916) 476-3356. Their box office is open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased during this time as well as on any event night.
