Chatting with stand-up comedian James Camacho

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Comedian James Camacho. Photo Courtesy of James Camacho

Stand-up comedian James Camacho chatted about his inspirations, comedic routine, and future plans.

Inspirations for his comedy routine

He opened up about his inspirations for his stand-up comedy routine. “What inspires my comedy routine is a mix of wanting to cope with my unorthodox mixed race upbringing and also venting about things currently going on in my life. Basically complaining with style,” he said.

Kevin Hart’s ‘LOL Network’

Camacho spoke about being a part of Kevin Hart’s “LOL Network” and Kevin James’ “Kevin Can Wait.” “Doing both Kevin shows were really surreal,” he said. “If I told my younger self I would have done these things I wouldn’t believe it! Kevin Hart’s LOL Network was a bit weird to be honest.”

“I posed as a Lyft driver and picked up unsuspecting passengers- who were actually background actors- and told them jokes. It was kind of a disaster. I’m telling my jokes, driving a car, with a camera on me to someone who is trying to get their five seconds of fame. A huge bomb,” he recalled.

‘Kevin Can Wait’

“‘Kevin Can Wait’ was the real deal,” he said. “I grew up watching ‘King of Queens,’ and meeting and working with these actors that were in my living room every day: Kevin James, Leah Remini, Gary Valentine- was crazy.”

“I was so nervous but once the cameras rolled it was just work and I left feeling like I didn’t embarrass myself – so that’s a win in my book,” he added.

Future plans

On his future plans, Camacho shared, “My plans for the future include filming my first comedy special. As much as I’d like a gigantic number of people to see it, I really just want the people who see it to think it’s great (and share it).”

“My plan is for this special to start the cycle of me writing new material, perfecting material, and putting out specials on a consistent basis. I am also putting a lot of work into my podcast, ‘Kicking it With Camacho’,” he added. 

The digital age

On being a stand-up comedian in the digital age, now with streaming and technology being so prevalent, Camacho said, “Being a comedian in a digital age is a blessing and a curse. It’s great you can have your own channel and outlet for people to find you.”

“You no longer have to wait for a network to get your stuff out, but it also creates a lot of pressure to constantly produce material and also opens you up to a lot of criticism. I honestly don’t trust social media or any of these digital age phenomena,” he said.

“They’re all designed to make money and they don’t care how they do it but I get it’s what you got to do now. Sometimes I do wish I was a comedian before the digital age when it was all about making the people in front of you in the room laugh,” he added.

Technology in his daily routine

Regarding his use of technology in his daily routine, he said, “I use it in many ways. I usually spent an hour a day posting on the various social media platforms and then also another hour or so shooting and editing content.”

“I still try to write on paper and be a little hands on because I like to have the attachment to my work, but I’m sure with AI around the corner that will change soon… Robot comedians,” he exclaimed.

Advice for young and aspiring comics

For young and aspiring comics, he said, “My advice would be to never forget- writing is the most important thing. I’ve been doing this for over 8 year and I’ve had ups and downs and immense fortune to do TV, have viral social media content, and podcasts.”

“All of those things are fun but the feeling when your new joke works for the first time onstage is the best feeling in the world. If you keep writing you will stay in this for a long time,” he added.

Success

On his definition of the word success, Camacho said, “Success to me is being able to do what I love all day everyday. I actually consider myself successful, because I do comedy for a living.”

“I am by no means very successful, just successful in my own definition. I’m on the low level of successful, I’d say. Sometimes I forget this because naturally I want more- more TV gigs, better venues to perform in, more followers- but it’s important to keep things in perspective. I am very lucky,” he said.

Fans and supporters

For his fans and supporters, he concluded, “I love you. It means so much when you come out to shows. It means so much when you take the time to watch, like, comment, message. I’m such a low self esteem person I can’t believe it sometimes. An artist always wants to be appreciated for their work and I thank you.”

To learn more about stand-up comedian James Camacho, follow him on Instagram.

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About the Author: Chimdi Blaise