SAN FRANCISCO COMEDY BLOG

by Chad Lehrman

Mike E. Winfield must get tired of being called an ‘up-and-coming’ comedian. With a rare combination of supreme confidence and great likeability, Mike has already appeared on B.E.T.’s ComicView, opened for famous acts like Tommy Davidson, and been a finalist in the San Francisco International Comedy Competition.

Many comics struggle to find their voice, but comedy seems to come easy for you. Did you ever struggle?

I’m glad that it appears to come so easy for me. I am not sure if I found my voice. I will say that it is a lot easier than it has been. In the beginning, I spent too much time trying to figure out what people wanted instead of just being myself. I was writing for laughs, and now, I just feel it. Nowadays, the crowd is my friend, whereas before, they were the chick that I wanted to bang, so I wanted to say all the right things in front of her. I would try so hard and ultimately fail. Now bad nights are good nights.

You’ve had to prepare for some big shows this year, such as BET’s ComicView- is there anything special you do to prepare for an important show?

I eat three mangoes. No, I actually weigh all shows on the same level. One is not more important than another. That is how I remain so comfortable on stage. I could go on Leno tomorrow and it would look like I’m in my living room. What’s weird, is that I work a lot harder now, but I care a lot less. Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen.

How do you balance marriage and raising a family with pursuing comedy?

I eat three mangoes. Wow, this was probably the most difficult part of my career. For this one, I had to call up my God, and He has handled it for the most part. I couldn’t do this on my own. I prayed, and things finally started falling into place. Kisha, my wife, used to hate my relationship with comedy, now she even writes some of my jokes. They’re never any good, but she tries. It’s funny because she doesn’t even care about any of the major compliments that people give me about future success. That means nothing to her. She doesn’t care about the competitions. She just wants the check.

The kids love it, I’m like a superstar in the house. I’ve had a lot of good press and had some television spots, and I am still part of a morning radio show. It’s still really amazing to me that a lot of the good things that have happened to me are because people think I’m funny.

Who are some of your main influences?

My dad is a big influence and a bad example at the same time. He is the alcoholic that everyone loves. The way people feel about him is the way I want people to feel when I leave from the stage every time. I want them to say, “He’s a bit out there, but it’s something about him that I love.”

My little brother is an influence also because he is working in a job that he loves. He designs shoes for Reebok. He has been drawing since we were young, and now he does what he loves for a living, and if he can do that, why can’t I? I’ve contemplated giving up comedy many times, not because I don’t love it, but because it’s been embedded in my head that you can’t have a family and survive as an up and coming entertainer. Very untrue. My children are eating well. The other day, we had chicken enchiladas. I’m not making this up.

Do you have plans to move to L.A. any time soon?

This is another one that is out of my hands. If it was up to me, I would have moved to L.A. about three weeks ago. I think with this one, my God is gonna send me the text message to let me know when I can go live down south and start the party. I like L.A. anyway, I have family down there, so every time I’m in town I’m kicking back. A lot of the times I’m down there, it’s not even for comedy, something I would like to change. When I get there for good, believe me, something very special is about to take place.

Mike E. Winfield will be performing October 19th-22nd at Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale. For more on Mike, visit mikewinfield.com.

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