ABSOLUTE REX
Comedian Rex Navarrete

By Dennis A. Amith, AsianConnections.com

     College is the turning point for many individuals. Getting prepared for the real world, making good use of the knowledge gained and preparing for the future. But for Rex Navarrete, a turning point in his life was when his Asian studies professor at San Francisco State University, Dan Gonzales encouraged the student to take his comedic skills on stage.

     That encouragement was enough for Rex to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian. His hard work and continuing persistence has made him one of hottest upcoming comedians in the country. Rex has opened for talents such as Rob Schneider of "Saturday Night Live" fame and Paul Mooney who is best known for creating the character, Homey the Clown for "In Living Color."

     His routines touch on issues of home life, family and politics with good-natured digs at his Filipino culture.

     An example is one of his routines which involves his residence in Daly City which is known for its large Asian population.

     "You ever drive through Daly City and wonder why there's so much fog?" Navarrete asks his audience. "It's not from the ocean. It's not from the ocean water heating up. It's all them damn rice cookers."

     An alumnus of San Francisco State, Navarrete graduated with degrees in Film and Asian American Studies. Navarrete worked as a youth counselor for West Bay Filipino Multi-Services and Japanese Community Youth Council in the Bay Area. He currently runs a men's support group for people in drug recovery and tours all over the country to promote his comedy and his debut CD, "BADLY BROWNED." He's in tune with today's important issues and he also uses his humor to educate people.

     We recently caught up with the popular comedian to explore the world of Rex Navarrete.

Dennis: The title of your debut comedy CD is titled "BADLY BROWNED." How did you come up with the name?

Rex: I got the name "BADLY BROWNED" just by chance. As I do with all my material, I never sit down and write, it all just comes when I go out and about. I liked BADLY BURNED and BADLY BEIGED before it all, but everyone liked the one I picked. It means a lot to different people, so maybe you should ask them folks who have heard the album and ask them what it could mean. I am currently going nuts over the name of the next CD. I'll let you know once it comes out.

Dennis: Where did you grow up and what kind of atmosphere did you grow up in?

Rex: I was born in Manila in 1969 and raised in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. I came here to meet my parents in Chicago two years later. I grew up and was raised by my grandparents in the Philippines. Then here in the Bay Area, I grew up in South San Francisco the rest of my life. The neighborhood was pretty much working class and racially mixed.

Dennis: What kind of music do you listen to?

Rex: I am mostly into rock music. I listen to the Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys and Radiohead. I like anything that's sincere or self-produced.

Dennis: What inspired you to become a comedian?

Rex: I decided to try comedy for the first time in '89 and I have been doing it ever since. I really didn't do well in the beginning, but I didn't want to give it up. I had too much fun not getting paid for it.

Dennis: Did you have any comedic role models who inspired you?

Rex: I got interested in comedy through Tito, Vic and Joey from the Philippines and then I got into Eddie Murphy in middle school. He taught me how to write stories and do characters. He is still my main influence and then came others. I decided to try comedy for the first time in 1989 and have been doing it ever since.

Dennis: What is the most satisfying aspect of being a comedian?

Rex: The most satisfying thing about being a Filipino comic is the fact that other Filipino's dig what i do in a big way. I love to see folks connect to what i write and perform. I don't do comedy every hour of my day so it's nice to have this gift and skill in my back pocket. Comedy also helps me get through the day as a sanity saver.

Dennis: What is the most frustrating part about being a comedian?

Rex: The most frustrating part is being thought of only as an ethnic comic before being an American one. Asian comics are treated as oddities especially if you're a male. So being a Filipino comedian is a lonely experience in the big world of American comedy. Clubs aren't into booking minorities other than African Americans, so I had to create venues and niches for myself. I am somewhat underground, but I like it though.

Dennis: Let's talk about your debut comedy CD, "BADLY BROWNED." Many people including myself love your CD!

Rex: I'm flattered you like the album. I am very proud of it although it only contains a third of all my material so there is more to come.

Dennis: Was it very difficult for you to create this CD? What was your reaction when you heard the CD was sold out?

Rex: It wasn't so difficult creating the album, just editing it. I had a hard time deciding which of my children could make it to the final cut. It was recorded live in San Francisco from a show that ran only 90 minutes. It's also the first Filipino comedy album made in the mainland. So I am very proud that the CD sold out in three months without so much as word of mouth carrying it.

Dennis: With all the performances you have, you must run into some really weird stuff. Have there been any unusual situations during any of your performances?

Rex: The only unusual moment that ever happened to me was a couple of years ago in Seattle at a Filipino youth conference. Someone threw a nickel at my head. I was so upset but I went on.

Dennis: You have a busy schedule. What is a typical day for you?.

Rex: A typical day for me is to get up late, go to work, call friends from work, meet friends after work and hopefully get ideas for new material from those moments and then go to sleep late. Oh yeah, I have to feed my Leopard Geckos with chopsticks.

Dennis: Would you like to get into television or movies?

Rex: I would eventually like to get into TV/film but only on my terms. I don't want to have TV careers like other comics I know, who burn out creatively and spiritually. I would also like to direct other actors or comics in film. I don't really like seeing my self on screen, though I did star in a short film coming out next year. I would like to work with comics who can do drama, like Robin Williams just so I could mess around with him and the crew during the breaks. I would hate to do sidekick kind of work, you look and sound dumb.

Dennis: How did your family respond when they found out their son wanted to purse a career in comedy?

Rex: My sister knew that I was doing comedy two years before my parents did. They eventually found out through reading about that I had entered a comedy competition held by the San Francisco Examiner. They were excited and worried because they never saw me as stage material, being pretty quiet and shy at home.

Dennis: So, now we know about Rex Navarrete the comedian. What about Rex the student? Were you the serious student or the class clown in college?

Rex: In school, I was both the serious student and the class comedian but never the clown. The clown always got sent to the office and the comedian lived to write for him. In college, my professors were aware of my sense of humor and that's where I got the message to start taking it seriously and bring it to stage.

Dennis: What was your favorite subject in college?

Rex: I really liked all my Filipino American Studies classes the most. That's where I felt the most at home and where my courage developed. Thank God for Ethnic Studies.

Dennis: What can we expect from you in the near future?

Rex: In the near future, expect to see me do more college gigs up and down California. In the meanwhile, I am just writing new bits that have yet to see the stage. I am thinking about the next live album and how I might be a different person at that point. I will record it at SFSU again without a doubt, maybe in late March or early April.

Dennis: I read somewhere that you are planning to release a video real soon.

Rex: I don't think a video version of my work will come out anytime soon. I really want my fans to come out and experience the greatness of something happening live where I could totally be open to chance. It's such a communal thing when I have a big room filled with first time folks sitting with others who have seen me grow over the years.

Dennis: How about some final words for your fans in the Central Valley and advice for the GenerAsians out there who want to pursue a career in comedy?

Rex: For those who are interested in comedy, learn to take humility and success as learning tools, nothing more. To all my fans, thanks for making me work harder and for not noticing my goof-ups. I do hope to do something, maybe even the full-length show of "BADLY BROWNED" in Fresno someday.

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Check out Rex Navarrete's debut comedy album, "BADLY BROWNED" which is available from Classified Records (http://www.crworld.com) through mail order or from your local record store's comedy section.

Check out interview #2 with Rex (Asian Pacific Review - Vol. 5, Issue No. 3) by clicking here.

Thank you to AsianConnections correspondent Dennis A. Amith. This interview by Dennis originally appeared in Asian Pacific Review - Vol. 3, Issue No. 1

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