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Jo Koy In His Elements Q&A

Q&A: Jo Koy on ‘In His Elements,’ Filipino Culture, and Bringing Netflix to Philippines

Our Kuya Dyosep finally got to bring Netflix to his motherland, thanks to his new Netflix special, In His Elements! Jo Koy changes things up a bit in this show premiering globally on Independence Day, June 12th. Instead of a typical one-man stand-up comedy special, the Filipino American comedian is presenting to the world an entertainment format close to a Filipino’s heart: the variety show.

Eat Bulaga!” Jo Koy shares in our Zoom interview with him today. “I used to watch Tito, Vic, and Joey like, those were my inspirations.” Taking inspiration from local variety shows, he celebrates all things Filipino such as food, music, and dance. He also showcases talented Filipino American artists, bringing to the spotlight Bboy Ronnie, Grammy-winning producer !llmind, comedians Andrew Lopez, Joey Guila, and Andrew Orolfo, and singer/songwriter IƱigo Pascual.

Days before the Netflix premiere of In His Elements, Jo Koy held a virtual interview with Philippine media to talk about his new special, love for Filipino culture, and exciting projects in the works. Read below highlights of our Q&A session:

First of all, belated Happy Birthday!

Jo Koy: Oh, love you! Thank you!

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So it was your first time to do a live taping in the Philippines earlier this year. How different do you feel is the Filipino audience in Manila compared to the shows you’ve done perhaps in other cities and countries?

None at all! And I can’t wait to tell the world and show the world that. You know, that special that I shot. That’s the one thing I really wanted to drive home with that–that you can go to the Philippines as an artist and perform. These people get it! Comedy’s comedy, entertainment’s entertainment. You can sing, you can dance, you can tell jokes. Filipinos speak English fluently. They get it, they get that kind of humor. It’s hip. It’s fast. It’s new. The generation is cool. Like, I mean, that was my whole point with that special. To really showcase and embrace our culture and just show people like, yeah, you can go to the Philippines for vacation if you want! You don’t have to go learn how to speak Tagalog for a year to go to the Philippines, you know? That’s what I want. I want people to see our food and see our people and understand our culture. And that’s what that was all about. That’s why I did that.

Jo Koy in a Jeepney
From Filipino street food to our iconic Jeepney, Jo Koy features all things Pinoy in In His Elements

You were in this scene in the Netflix special, in the tenements with Bboy Ronnie. You were talking about all these opportunities that we have today that we didn’t have back then. For someone who would want to showcase his or her talents nowadays, what would your suggestions be for someone to get out there? Let’s say Jo Koy was starting out now, with everything that’s available?

Man, that’s a great question. And you’re so right, because when I started my stand up, it was 1989. So if you could just imagine how hard it was to promote my brand and get my word across and the inspirations that I had, you know, it was hard for me to find other Filipino influences in my area, you know? So it was like, literally me going to Kinkos, making copies of posters, and putting flyers on cars, and telling people where I’m performing. You know, it’s a long, long, long road to travel.

Now you have all those tools in the palm of your hand. You can put a thousand flyers on a thousand cars with a with a click of a button now. You can make a flyer on your phone that says “Whatever Your Name is Live at The Coffee House Down the Street” with the address and the date and time and you can make a beautiful flyer and actually take a picture of yourself and put it in that flyer right there on your phone. And then send it to a hundred people, and then you can pay a little extra like maybe twenty bucks and get it to about ten thousand people if you want.

The thing is, you still have to want to do it. Either you have to go to the coffee store like I did and have to print out a thousand flyers and cut them myself, or take the time to make the flyer on your phone, and then send it out to people. You still have to have that drive. So make sure whatever it is that you want to do, make sure you have that honest drive and you’re willing to do whatever it takes, travel any road it takes you. The long hard road, whatever obstacles in front of you. Be ready for it and enjoy the process. Enjoy the journey. So I mean, that’s my little advice.

“Just make sure it’s right here in your heart. Be passionate about it.”

You know, nothing’s easy. It took me twenty seven years to get Netflix. And even when I got Netflix, they said no. They said no. I don’t know if you saw Live from Seattle, my first Netflix special, but they said no to it. And I had to physically pay for that myself. I financially did that. I made that happen myself. And then I brought it back to Netflix and then they watch it, and then they’re like, “Okay, we’ll take it.” So that’s the road I traveled. So when you say that, “Oh, Joe, I don’t think I can make it, blah blah blah.” Don’t tell me that. You’re singing to the wrong choir! You know what I mean? You know, you can make it. You just got to work really hard, the tools are in your hand and take advantage of it. Just make sure it’s right here in your heart. Be passionate about it.

In the show, your chemistry with the other talents was evident, the interviews and spiels ran smoothly. How did you guys make yourself comfortable with each other? And can you share some behind the scenes moments, the ones that really stood out for you?

First and foremost, like I said earlier, I paid for that Netflix special. And that’s how hard it was just for me to get into Netflix. So when Netflix offered this third special to me, I had to give an opportunity. So that’s the whole point of this special. I was like, “I got the door open a little bit here at Netflix, let me get some Filipinos in here.” [laughs] Like, “How many Filipinos do I know?! Get in here, I got the door open!” So, you know those are all my friends. I didn’t have an audition for any of those guys. They’re all my friends. They’re all in my phone.

Andrew Lopez, Jo Koy, Joey Guila
Andrew Lopez, Jo Koy, and Joey Guila at Rizal Park, Manila

You know Andrew Lopez, the one that looks like Coco [Martin]. He opened for me for a year and a half. He was on the road with me. Joey Guila I’ve known, you know, through the standup world for almost 20 years. Ronnie used to do all my Bboy events in Vegas. We also opened for Snoop Dogg together 20 years ago, so that’s how I know Ronnie the Bboy. And then Illmind, the producer. I met him three years ago and we’ve always stayed friends and I told him if I can get this, if I can get this Filipino variety show funded by Netflix. If I can get Netflix to pay for this thing, I want him to produce the theme song and I want him to go down to the Philippines and, and scout talent and have them perform on his track. And it happened!

So I flew him out to the Philippines and he wrote that theme song, he produced that whole thing. Just to hear those little kids, rap on top of it in Tagalog, you know what I mean? It was so cool. That’s why that chemistry was so good because we’re just friends and now we get to share this all together. You know, we get to watch this be aired to 180 countries and people are going to see a Filipino theme song in Tagalog. They’re going to hear it for the first time and it’s going to be so cool!

This show is very different from your usual. Instead of an hour long solo performance, you shared the stage with friends, you had videos where you showed different aspects of Filipino culture. Weren’t you scared that people won’t be as receptive to such a treatment? It’s not pure comedy. It’s like partly a travel show.

Yeah. Well, here’s the thing. I embrace my culture. Obviously, you’ve seen that through all my specials, and the only way I can give back is through this special. I wanted to showcase the Philippines. How can I highlight the Philippines without shoving it down your throat? You know, I mean? I still want to perform. I still want to tell jokes, but I also want to show people what Filipino food looks like. And I also want to show people what a Jeepney looks like, you know? I want to show people with Filipino food looks like, I want people to hear what Tagalog sounds like. And how can I cram that and mash that all together in 59 minutes? A variety special’s the best way.

Jo Koy about to eat street food

When I used to live in the Philippines, I used to live there from when I was from 6 to 11. And one thing me and my sister used to always watch were the Filipino variety shows! Eat Bulaga! I used to watch Tito, Vic, and Joey like, those were my inspirations. Before I even knew what American style comedy was, Filipino variety shows were my inspiration. So it was inevitable, like this was supposed to happen. And now it’s my responsibility to make sure that it’s hip and make sure that it can get to the mainstream and hopefully, you know, people in Kansas City or Texas will watch it and go, “I like that! I need to go visit that country!” And that’s what I want that special to do.

In His Elements really stands out from all your other Netflix specials. It really feels like your love letter to the motherland.

Yeah!

It really feels like that. So was there any new discovery about the Filipino culture, maybe about yourself, when you were spending time here in the Philippines to create the special?

Yeah! You know, that’s such a great question. And I think I’ve answered this before, but the culture shock that I got, when I lived in the Philippines, in the 70s, you know, from ’76 to ’81? It was Filipino! You know what I mean? Like, people spoke English, but it was very Filipino. Everyone was my mom, you know what I mean? Everyone was my mom!

 ā€œThis is the one special where I was like, I need to go back home, the Philippines. I need to show people where my mom is from.ā€

But now you go to Philippines and you got this hybrid Filipino now that’s embraced Filipino-American culture. And now they’re through social media, through YouTube, through Netflix, through Instagram. They’ve embraced it and they get it. It’s hipper. It’s younger. The generation is just, there’s this hybrid going on now. It’s like the Filipinos and Filipino American culture, and it’s meshed together! And it’s this new kind of Filipino and that was very eye opening for me. Like I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And I was like, happy to be a part of that. None of us had to change our act when we were performing, because everyone got it. It was like I was performing in America. And it was a beautiful thing.

Aside from those you’ve already worked with in your special, do you have a dream collaboration with any other celebrity?

I hope you guys watched my last special Coming in Hot for Netflix. The cool thing about Coming in Hot is Steven Spielberg watched it and I got to go in on a meeting with his company Amblin, and Spielberg gave me a deal. So I have a movie deal with his company. and that’s from that special. And of course the collaboration is going to be amazing. On board is Dan Lin who created IT 1 and IT 2, he also did the Aladdin movie that just came out. He’s on board for Executive Producer as well. It’s a Filipino story! It’s called Easter Sunday and we’re writing it right now and Steven’s got my back. So yes, the collaboration is real and I’m 100% behind this thing and writing the script as we speak. And of course you’re gonna see more of our culture getting out there because I can’t get enough of it!

There’s a part on the special about the breakdancers. Travel shows would usually feature, when they’re doing a feature iin the Philippines, it would be like Boracay or Palawan or other other areas like that. But you chose the tenements. Did you make that decision to not sugarcoat anything about the Philippine culture?

Yeah. You know, there’s beautiful parts, and there’s parts that you need to see. There’s also an awakening as well, you know? My whole point was, with this special I want to bring Filipino Americans to the Philippines. And they’re there for the first time, right? And I want them to see exactly just how hard the struggle is, and understand what their parents sacrificed for them to have a beautiful opportunity in America. What they gave up, what they had to leave, and that’s what you got to see. You have to see that. You have to appreciate that. You got to understand that we’ve been blessed and this is eye opening.

“I want to show you guys the beautiful side but I also want you to see the harder side. And letā€™s all embrace that and be aware of it.”

And this is why when you have a platform like I do, where I get to talk to millions of people, this is my way of showing the world. There’s people out there that need help, and especially with me. I remember leaving that tenement and looking at my sister, and I’m like, we got to do more than just this. There’s more work after this. After the special is done, you and I have to do something for this. You know, I’ve been blessed. I can do it. So yeah, I want the world to see that, and just show just how beautiful these kids were. Even though they’re in the hardest situation, all they wanted to do is dance! How cool is that? And they were auditioning, they were killing it. You know, when the cameras were gone, they were still dancing? It was amazing! And I wanted all of them! I wanted to pick all of them and get on stage! Our stage wasn’t strong enough to hold them. I could only pick a few. So yeah, man, that’s why I did it. Man, I want to show you guys the beautiful side but I also want you to see the harder side. And let’s all embrace that and be aware of it.

Jo Koy at the tenements

For your fans and fans of stand up comedy in general who want to break out as a stand up artist nowadays, what advice can you give on how to find your own voice and style?

Just take your time. Take your time and don’t rush your voice. And just be honest, that’s the most important part, man, be honest. Everyone knows comedy’s about embellishments, and pain and honesty, being vulnerable. But for the most part, just make sure it’s you. Make sure it’s you you’re talking about. It will all come to you. I remember when I first started stand up, and I was with this guy. Vet. He’s in the game for about 20 something years already. And he just looked at me, he goes, “You know, it’s gonna take you about 10 years to find your voice.” And I thought he was full of crap when he said it. I thought he was just trying to scare me because he wanted me to quit or something, I don’t know what it was. But I didn’t understand what he meant. Until 10. He was right! Because it took me 11–no, it took me about 12, 13 years to talk about my mom. It wasn’t easy. I don’t want you guys to think like I was just talking about my mom, right when I started doing stand up. It took me a very long time to figure that out. How can I tell my mom’s story without other people feeling like they’re not a part of it, or it was too specific, or you can only be Filipino to hear this part of the joke. I didn’t want to do that. And I had to figure it out. How do I tell this story, and let people know I’m Filipino indirectly. But at the end of the show, go, I got it. And my mom is just like your mom. That’s what I wanted.

This special was so much fun to watch and it looked like you guys had a lot of fun doing it. But if you can pick just one experience from it all that you would like to remember forever, what specific experience would that be? From your recent visit in the Philippines.

Oh, wow, I got two. Okay, so the first one that I love the most is watching illmind write that song. The theme song. Just seeing him knock that out in three days the way he did. And then those Filipino kids coming in there. I mean, they wrote those those themselves, they wrote those rhymes themselves and the way they were, the swag that they had! Oh, it’s just so beautiful and to hear Tagalog like that just rapping in Tagalog was just so good. What a beautiful thing. You know, I imagined it, but I didn’t imagine it that good and Illmind killed it. So that’s my one memory. Every time I watch that trailer, just seeing that kid rap it was just like, yes! How cool is this?

And then two, my second, would be the MOA Arena. After I shot In His Elements I still had to perform at MOA Arena and do another show. And it was completely sold out. And I think it was the night before, two nights before, I went to some little bar, a little bar in Manila, where they were doing an open mic. They were doing some some Filipino open mic and I told the guys that I was with, “Don’t tell them I’m coming. I want it to be a surprise.” So I walked in and it was so crazy to just walk in and see these guys perform. And then of course, I’m taking pictures with everybody. And then looking at three of those guys that were in a bar in Manila doing stand up. And I gave them the opportunity to open for me at MOA Arena and I thought that was the coolest, coolest thing to be able to give that to them. Like hey, congratulations. Open for me at the MOA Arena. So it was really cool.

How did your son find the Philippines and how did you feel sharing the culture with him?

Oh! My son loves it! He couldn’t get enough of it. The only bad part was the volcano erupted. So we were locked in, we couldn’t go out due to the ash. So I couldn’t really take my son out like I wanted to. But he still got to see it. We still went to Cebu. He got to see Manila. It wasn’t as fun because we had to wear masks, and we had to run inside really fast, but he still loved it. And just him walking out on stage at the end of the special, man. That’s my everything. So, you know? I can die. [laughs] You know what I mean? To do that and come full circle from a little boy that was living in the Philippines to on stage on a Netflix special and pulling my little boy out to share the stage with me. That was my everything.

Jo Koy: In His Elements premieres globally on Netflix on June 12, 2020. Follow Jo Koy on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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