Not only can he do voices, but he can make them say the funniest things possible. Lumino Magazine got a chance to ask Pablo a few questions about his comedy, his audience, and his shows at the Chicago Improv March 15-18.
First of all, we wanted to know how much of Francisco’s comedy is based on his own life. “Mine is based I think 75 percent of it is based on the reality of [my life,]” Francisco said. “The other is on seeing other people. I’m a single guy, so when I see other people in relationships and stuff I make fun of people in relationships. Some of my best friends are…you know, I’ll talk about other people, what I see that they’re going through, and then sometimes I’ll make it my own. I’ll make it more clear to people, if that makes sense. But 75 percent of it is all real. And 25 percent is fake. It’s bull. It’s quacky jokes and stupid puns.” Francisco’s topics vary and can range from fake movie trailers to compulsive gambling, a topic that he seemed adamant about. “All my friends gamble except for one. They hate all the team players. ‘I hate that team!” Francisco imitated. “But they put their faith in them.” In a serious tone of voice, he warned, “Don’t you ever go out with anyone who gambles. Any person who gets online and gambles. Anyone who goes, ‘I just go to the casino once a week, baby. That’s all I do. I like to play a few cards.’ Right there, it’s over.” Francisco continued on the subject, peppering his speech with impressions. “I paid rent for my roommate for a whole year and a half, believing every stupid lie. ‘Hey man, you’re going to get your money. Did the Raiders win?’ And everything else. His dad called me and goes ‘What am I going to do with my son? He blew everything.’ Well, I would say ‘Don’t bet on the Raiders.’ That was my advice to him,” Francisco joked. “So yeah, I’d say 75 percent is real, the rest is just goofin’ off.”
With such a wide variety of impressions that are done so well, Francisco often practices them before bringing them to the stage. “I test them out on friends first,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll do a good Chris Rock. ‘What’s the deal going on with that,’” Francisco said in his best Chris Rock voice. “I’ll do Chris Rock that I think is totally perfect and there’s some guy going ‘No, you’re off.’ I don’t get that. That kind of sounded like him, right?” Francisco asked. “’What’s the deal going…’ and a lot of people go ‘That’s not…that’s not him.’ And a lot of people say, ‘Man, you hit it right on the money.’ So yeah, I have to work on my impressions with my friends.” Francisco seemed certain, then uncertain, then pretty sure that he’s never really failed an impression while onstage. “Well, so far that hasn’t happened,” he said. “Oh, you know what? I think it happened one time. Nope, it didn’t happen yet. But I won’t do it if I really can’t feel it. If I know I can’t do it, then why even try. A lot of people do a George Bush that sounds like Clinton. So far, so good.”
Francisco has been to Chicago a few times, but hasn’t seen much of the city, which apparently has lead to his belief that it’s nothing but Oprah. “I’ve been there three times,” he said. “I’ve been there when the weather is really good. And I’ve been there when it’s been snowy…Oprah still films there, right?” he asked. “Ok. I’ve been there three times. For some reason when I think of Chicago, I think of Oprah. Can I go to a taping? That’s what I was thinking. I was thinking of two things at once when I was answering your questions. So yeah, I’ve been to Chicago Three times and it’s fantastic. Oprah and Michael Jordan. Didn’t [his restaurant] close down? I remember I went into there and it was kind of geeky.” His limited knowledge of the city has left him with a desire to see more of it. “I would play in Chicago at Zanies one day. That’s it. I’d go there and do one show and there’s a place called Pheasantville or something. I forgot the place. They have another comedy club about 90 miles away from there. So I’d only play there one day so I could only get around so much. I’m looking forward to getting there,” he said. “It was a good little area that I had last time I was in Chicago. It was beautiful.”
Francisco’s upcoming shows at the Chicago Improv will include plenty of his well-known antics. “[You’ll] see some of the old stuff. I’m going to goof around,” he said. “I’ve got a new album out called “OUCH,” with Comedy Central. It’s in stores or you can go to Amazon.com or www.pablofrancisco.com," Francisco said in a sort of Mexican accent. “I want to goof off and just make fun of moves and the Oscars and all the cheesy movies that have been coming out. And I want to try to make it like a Saturday Night Live show with one cast member.”
The kind of people that comprise Francisco’s general audience varies. “Eighteen, 19, and 22 years old,” Francisco said. “A lot of eighteen year olds. The Demographics are eighteen to forty-five, fifty. Last night there was a guy that was sixty five that was really excited. It moves around.” Francisco seems to think that all of his shows are similiar, but tends to favor his late Saturday shows. “They’re all pretty much the same, except for Saturday 9 o’clock shows,” he said. “Those are the best for me. I just did a 7 o’clock show and dealt with all the grampas and grammas that wanna come in cuz their families talk them into coming into a 7 o’clock show not knowing who the headliner is so they go there. ‘Let’s see a show!’ and they get there and I’m dry humping and doing fart jokes. It doesn’t work out.”
In the next few months, Francisco has a few things that his fans should watch for. “Comedy Central is airing my special again,” he said. “And that’s it. Just being part of the tour again. Being on the ‘Mind of Mencia’ on Comedy Central. Doing little stuff like that. I go on Carlos’s show. I do the movie previews guy. I do little characters and stuff. I goof off.” Francisco also has a special cause that he’d like people to be aware of. “Make a donation to the Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. …I’m in Washington right now. It’s where the soldiers go after they leave Iraq. They go to this Walter Reed Hospital. If anyone wants to make a donation, that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been raising money.”
When asked if there was anything else we should look at, Francisco said, “Just pablofrancisco.com… That’s pretty much it, girl!”
• Photos courtesy of Pablo Francisco.
