Filipino-American funnyman Jo Koy has made the Pinoy in him a staple of his stand-up comedy act. From his Filipino mom and other relatives, to Filipino culture and idiosyncrasies, hilarious stories about these subjects have not only resonated with Filipinos, but have also found him non-Filipino fans from all over the world, gained especially through his hit Netflix specials Jo Koy: Live From Seattle (2017) and Jo Koy: Comin’ In Hot (2019).
But did you know that it took years for Jo Koy — Joseph Glenn Herbert in real life — to create comedy out of his being Filipino?
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk about it. I just didn’t know how to talk about it and make it funny. So, one important thing that I always want to do is make sure that it is funny. How to, you know, involve my mom and our relationship and talk about Filipino people in a funny way, without making fun of them, or how to tell their story and make it relatable. And that takes a while,” the 48-year-old comedian, who’s in the country for his Just Kidding World Tour, told The STAR in a phone interview on Tuesday. “That alone is already hard, no matter what you’re up to. Just trying to take real life and inserting into the comedy, it’s already hard, you know, and trying to get the mass to relate to a specific ethnicity is even harder. It took me awhile to figure it out.”
How did he finally get to incorporate Pinoy culture into his routine? “The one that really took off, where I really understood what was happening, was when my mom played Nintendo Wii with my son on Christmas,” Jo Koy shared, referring to one of his most popular jokes, titled Mom and Wii, featuring his mom Josie from his 2009 Comedy Central special Don’t Make Him Angry.
He recalled just observing his mother and son playing, and finding out how competitive she could get. “Then I went onstage and impersonated her playing it. That joke just took off and it ended up being one of the biggest jokes of my first special, and that’s when I knew how to talk about my mom and what stories to talk about.”
Another hit everywhere he performs is the skit about his growing-up years when “my mom cured everything with Vicks Vapor Rub” that “I should have died nine times as a kid.”
“It was huge! So, I think any situation that my mom is involved, they love it!” he said.
Apart from his mom whom he swears loves his every joke about her, a favorite subject of his comedy is his teen son Joseph Herbert Jr. “He’s here with me,” he said. “He loves it here, he thinks it’s the best. He can’t get enough of it. He loves the places we’re staying at and the food we’re eating. It’s been fun. I bring him to specific shows but this one was really, really important because we’re shooting a special for Netflix and I want him to see that and I want him to be a part of it. More importantly, I want him to see what my childhood was, where dad was a kid.”
Jo Koy used to live in Cubao, Quezon City. “I got family all over the place,” he said, while recalling childhood years in the Philippines from when he was five until age 11 when his family moved to the States.
“Oh, I remember everything. All the sari-sari stores. I remember running up and down with my cousins, and having a good time out here. It was always the best,” added Jo, who was spotted filming at Farmer’s Market in Cubao last week as part of a new Netflix special.
Meanwhile, bringing his comedy to Netflix “changed the game” for him. But it wouldn’t have happened had he not poured his life savings into producing Jo Koy: Live From Seattle. “One hundred percent, all of (my life savings). Netflix said no, and we went ahead anyway and shot it, and let them say yes when they watched it. When they watched it, they bought it right away! But if I didn’t make it, if I didn’t produce that special, I wouldn’t have been on Netflix — ever!”
Comin’ In Hot, his follow-up to Live From Seattle, took his act all the way to the top and “made it what it is now.” It was paid for by Netflix due to the success of Live From Seattle.
Told that his success has made many a Filipino proud, he responded that it’s a dream come true. And for Filipino audiences to patronize him through sold-out shows such as his Mall of Asia Arena gig yesterday (according to concert promoter MMI Live), “it means everything to me!” Jo Koy, who did five shows the previous time he was here in 2017, added, “It’s what I’ve always dreamt about, and to be able to do it in a giant venue in Manila, where my mom is from, it means so much to me to embrace the culture like this, and have people out here proud of me for the representation. Also putting us out there, and (having people) laugh with us rather than making fun of us, we’re enjoying our culture the right way.”
It’s not lost on Jo Koy that he has arrived in the country at a “crazy time,” what with the Taal Volcano eruption and ashfall situation. In fact, his Just Kidding show in Cebu was affected by the airport shutdown and cancelled flights, and moved from Jan. 14 to tomorrow, Jan. 17.
Since he believes comedy can do something good especially during times of tragedy, so, “Of course, I’m always going to talk about situations that happen during my stay here. I’ve never experienced something like this before, the whole world finding out that the Taal volcano erupted and here I am... just a weird experience, you know. I can’t wait to share that onstage.”
And no, he no longer feels stage jitters. “Oh my god, no! I enjoy no matter what situation I’m in, it could be an open mic, an empty bar, it could be anything, or it could be a sold-out arena, whatever. It’s the same excitement that I get no matter what stage I walk into, I just enjoy stand-up, I love it!”
Jo Koy also has some advice for aspiring comedians: “To any upcoming Filipino out there, especially those living in the Philippines, just watch my specials and know that it’s possible and remember that people said no to me, too, and I still had to make it happen. Just do it, stay focus and keep that dream alive, it’s going to come true. Hard work pays off — always.”
source: philstar.com
