Pablo Francisco knows how to bring audiences to boisterous laughter through an arsenal of characters, spontaneous outbursts and clever insights. His latest Comedy Central special, They Put it Out There, combines his sharp wit and rhetoric to drive the audience through his views on owning hybrid cars, qualifying for the Porno awards and what it would be like growing up with midget parents. TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Amanda Thambounaris spoke with Pablo Francisco recently about his tour, the smart car and where he gets his inspiration from.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: So how does it feel to do your second 1-hour special on Comedy Central? It was extremely funny, congratulations!
Pablo Francisco: They Put it Out There, that’s the new album, that’s what I call it. I’m making fun of things that people put out there. Like the Shamrock guy, he looks like he farted and kept the face, you know, like those kinds of things. It’s making fun of people who are fun to make fun of because they did it first. They came out and they put themselves out there, so that’s why we do it. It’s actually fun, I mean usually a lot of comics in the beginning phases want to do HBO and stuff like that, but Comedy Central has proven to be one of like the most watched specials out there. A lot of people watch their comedy specials and it’s really exciting, so I think it’s fun because I want to put out something that’s different from other comedians.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: How did you come up with the title They Put It Out There for the special?
Pablo Francisco: Well, we looked at the act itself and it had the same kind of structure that other comedians do, that’s basically telling people about themselves and stuff, so we said we’re going to change it up. And, we don’t decide everyday who we make fun of it’s just basically, I go, ‘I’m making fun of a lot of people I noticed,’ and I go, ‘Yeah, I’m making fun of them because what they’re putting out there is kind of stupid,’ not stupid but overdone. Like every infomercial is overdone. And so I go, ‘Well, let’s make fun of the Shamrock guy, and we’ll dog the bounty hunter and the smart car. These people invested so much money into this, the company I think Chevrolet, to come up with this smart car and it doesn’t even have a spare tire. It’s economical, but it’s so tiny. And really, I mean it’s like do you have to make something that small, just a little bit bigger than a Fisherprice? And actually like make it heavier. So, let’s make fun of those things and we’ll keep it at a minimum. I can’t make fun of somebody that’s a super-duper millionaire. So, I just keep it at the level of why we’re making fun of it, this is the way I’m looking at it and basically that’s what came out. Everything we made fun of should be made fun of for good reason-- because it’s stupid. So there you go, we’re making fun of those things.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: Where did the inspiration come from for your new material? Is it material that you improvise or is it material you prepare ahead of time? Tell me a little bit about your process.
Pablo Francisco: It usually starts with some of my friends when they come over. I have one of my comic friends, I said, ‘Why don’t you live with me for a few months,’ and after a while it’s like, he lived downstairs and when he comes home and I’d see him and I’d just go, ‘Hey man, what’s going on with your Eraz?’ And he’s like ‘No, no, no, I have to choose this smart car thing and I have this girl with a smart car and she’s bragging about it,’ and then we start going after it. ‘Really? The smart car, I love those cars etc.,’ and then we just go off on it and we make fun of it. That’s the best way of going after something like that. Basically you see the purpose of it—I love the infomercial, ‘Not only do you get the Ginsu knife, you also get the cheese shredder too, but if you don’t like the Ginsu, keep the cheese shredder because we don’t want it either!’ And you go, ‘Wow, these people are actually trying to insult my intelligence.’ ‘Come to Pep Boys and buy three tires and get one free.’ Like, are you that stupid to make me believe this, is it supposed to be like a fun joke? Are you serious? ‘Buy one shoe and get the other one free here at Payless.’ You know what I’m saying? It’s like they’re putting us out there. Don’t go to Exxon—here at Exxon we have super prickly, super-duper gas, but if you want the crappy gas we have that too. Don’t go to the other side of a brothel, we have girls over there with diseases, don’t go there. We have it anyway, we have it here, and it’s weird. So we go, ‘What? Can I make fun of that?’ We’re going to put it out there and that’s how it started. It started with the Brokeback Mountain. Homosexuals were coming up to me saying, ‘I’m homosexual!’ I’m like, ‘It’s okay be proud of it.’ I’m not calling Brokeback Mountain bad, don’t think I’m putting out homosexuals, of course I’m not. So some people have to catch themselves before they start looking stupid when they confront you about it. The reason I do it’s because they put it out there. I’m not going to go bring out someone’s business instantly. Everyone has a good shot. The TMZ guys, those guys, they put it out there without you. I don’t get TMZ. They got to know their place. I think I know my place and they put it out there, so I’ll go after it.
Listen, are you going to be another ding dong and go and buy Twilight the movie and you’re going to watch it once or twice and go, ‘That guys hot.’ But, buy the Pablo Francisco DVD and you know what happens? Pablo is a good icebreaker, bring it out at a party and show people fifteen minutes of it, just fifteen minutes. And you will have the whole hour go by and you’ll be happy that you didn’t have to talk for that hour. I’ll keep the party going. I’m not bragging about it, it’s just that it’s goofy and it’s nuts, and obviously wacky. It will hold your attention for at least a good fifteen. But, anyhow, it’s PabloFrancisco.com, I hope people like it. It’s juvenile. You can make fun of me, I got a bald spot so make fun of my bald spot. This is comedy that is just stupid and good. It’s not expected to be taken seriously, but it’s out there. So, I’m basically not a star, I’m like a YouTube Simon Cowell kind of star. But, the money is good though, the money is in the pocket so that’s fun. It’s a beautiful thing.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: What has life been like for you since the special aired? How did you feel that it went?
Pablo Francisco: People have a lot of things to do in life. If it was only going to air once, then there would be a lot of ratings. But, people know that the special runs fifteen times. So, I’m always happy knowing that it’s going around there and I’m starting to see people talk about it. And it’s fun, but I’m already use to that kind of excitement when people tell me they saw me on YouTube. If you asked me, if someone said, ‘I’m popular on YouTube,’ I would have said, ‘Big deal.’ But, now I’m like, ‘Wow,’ people do see you, everyone becomes their little star. Everyone gets their little star of fame so I’ve been very happy. I’ve been very, very lucky. But, Comedy Central—people will watch me more on YouTube. But, then again Comedy Central would back me up, Paramount did, we’re happy. I’m just happy you’re interested, as you can do goofy stuff and sell it.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: What brings you back to stand-up comedy?
Pablo Francisco: It’s just addicting, it’s fun. You meet other people that do it and then you want to see their stuff. Stand-up comedy is basically; every comic is used for something. It’s a fun thing, comedy is fun and as long as you recognize how good you are and what improvement you need in it, then you can just keep on having fun with it. But, yeah the album is going to be available in all stores; it’s going to sell here and there. But, I didn’t know that record producers and production houses that make these DVD’s are really, really against downloading. I’ve never seen people so angry when it comes up. My friend downloaded another album I had and walked up to me during a comedy festival when I was hanging out with the producers, and they went crazy. And, I actually had to tell my friend he had to leave and the producer guy said, ‘My album is not going to sell okay.’ That’s what it’s all about. It’s about being sneaky. And he goes, ‘This is why most companies are going broke, there is no more Best Buy or whatever, and I was like, ‘Well, I didn’t know it was all about downloading.’ I really don’t get it. So, it will be on YouTube and stuff, but if you want to buy it, if you don’t, bring it to me and I’ll sign it. It will be in stores and you can check it out and stuff, but have fun with it. And I hope people buy it, but if they don’t buy it it’s okay. Just have fun with it.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: What was the driving force behind choosing to do voices and impressions for your comedic performances? Any particular reason for that?
Pablo Francisco: Because it makes a better picture. And it’s also for the audience. And when I was watching television, I always really paid attention more when Steve Martin or somebody would tell a story; it was great. I like someone who animates it and girls do a great job like, ‘Oh my God’ and ‘check it out [in the high pitched Valley-girl type tone that he does].’ And, it’s so cute when they tell a story, their eyes get big and they’re paying attention because they’re excited. I would say a woman more than a guy. Animation is necessary, but not all the time. Like over the phone I need to control it because I’m not driving.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: You have referred to yourself as a "universal comic." Was that your mission from the beginning or something you grew to be over the course of your career?
Pablo Francisco: I grew into that. Basically, I was going to use music and stuff and I was going to talk about my family, but everybody does that. So, basically universal. It has pretty much proved itself because it’s in every single country right now. So, doing pretty well.
TheCelebrityCafe.com: How would you describe yourself in three words?
Pablo Francisco: I would describe myself in three ways-- honest, caring and caring again, so two ‘carings.’
Pablo Francisco is on tour now in New York at Gotham Comedy Club. Go check it out!