We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aurelio Bocanegra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aurelio, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Being a Comedian is no different than any job. If you want to be successful you have to be driven and passionate about your profession. Driven. Relentless. Able to handle doors being slammed in your face, Obstacles that arise and to keep pushing forward.

When I first started almost two decades ago I was relentless. I would go and hangout at comedy clubs every single night. I’d spend all my money on gas and parking. I remember a booker calling me one night. He said “what are you doing tonight?”, I said “I have a date”. He said “oh I was going to see if you wanted to perform”, I said “yes! I will be there!”, he said “what about your date”, I said “I’m canceling it”. Comedy always came first in the beginning. No gig was too far. No show was too late. No amount of money mattered. That’s all of course changed now. But in the beginning I was absolutely relentless. When you’re in business for yourself there are no days off. No vacation. But if you’re doing what you love, then it’s not really work.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I “discovered” I had a talent for making people laugh while in the Air Force. I used to have shift supervisors and people I served with come and hangout with me on post. They were supposed to be patrolling the base and proving security. But they would come to my post and hear me joke around. They kept telling me “bro you have to try comedy. You have to”. So one day I did. I went to the Laugh Factory in Hollywood and did their open mic. There were no spots left. The line was already too big. But I was determined to perform. So I asked the line “anyone want to sell their spot?”, a guy asked “how much you paying?”. I performed that night for the first time. Well worth the $40. I found another club. The Icehouse in Pasadena. They had an open mic you auditioned for. It was a bringer show. Bringer show is what you call a show where the booker wants you to bring people to the show in order to perform. Many comics have a stigma for bringer shows. I never did. Because eventually every comedian is a bringer. Even the biggest ones. Otherwise they wouldn’t advertise their shows and events.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This month is a special month for me. I’m 10yrs sober. 10 years ago I was an absolute mess. I had begun to miss comedy gigs because of my drinking. I lost my place to live. My car broke down and was unfixable. I accidentally damaged my new phone while drunk. Everything came crashing down. Rock bottom. The morning after the last time I drank I woke up and said “it will all work out”. I don’t know how. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I know that I will never drink again and I will fix my entire life. I was a personal trainer by day. I wasn’t very good. My work ethic sucked. But armed with a change in philosophy I refocused. I was also able to buy a car by the skin of my teeth. I used it to live in and drive for a ride share company while I wasn’t training. Comedy took a back seat during this time of change. I listened to motivational videos all day long. The power of positive thinking! I became the most successful trainer at my gym and was quickly promoted. I was so busy I ended up only driving for the ride share company for 6 months. I moved into a great little studio apartment in Pasadena. I eventually started my own training business but lost it during the pandemic. It’s during the pandemic that I again refocused and realized several things. I only got the day job so I could perform at night. But I became so busy I hardly performed. So I told myself that once the pandemic stopped I would focus on performing comedy full time again. 3yrs ago I ran into a friend and he told me about cruise ships needing comedians and I’ve been busy ever since.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I learned early on that it takes a long time to earn money in stand up comedy. Especially in LA. There are so many comedians. Took me almost two years before someone paid me to perform. Even then it was only around $25. So I figured out that if I produced shows I could earn more. I could also book my buddies that had shows of their own and we could take care of each other. Staying busy is key. So that’s what I did. I created a brand “The Good, The Bad & The Funny”. I networked. I booked comics. Comics booked me. But there’s also the added pressure of filling the club.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ComedianAMB.com
• Instagram: @ComedianAMB
• Facebook: @ComedianAMB
• Youtube: @ComedianAMB

Image Credits

Dirty at 12:30 photo is by Tina Compise and has given me permission to post. The other two photos were taken by me