In the fifth grade, Jerry Rocha got his first break as a stand-up comic. “My fifth grade teacher actually made a deal with me,” recalls the Texas-native. “He said ‘If you shut up during class, and don’t make jokes, I'll let you do five minutes on Fridays.’ I was like ‘Absolutely.’”
Unfortunately, Rocha is afraid that you may have heard another version of that tale. “It turns out Jamie Foxx had the same thing happen to him,” Rocha laughs. “I read that recently and I was kind of annoyed. I was like ‘Oh, great. Now somebody really famous has the exact same story I do, so now no one’s going to believe me!’” On stage he tries to make people laugh about things that otherwise might make them uncomfortable. “Not to be crass,” he explains, “but farting in an elevator is always going to be funny, you don’t need a comedian to help you find that humorous. Something tragic happening? There you might need a comedian to help you find light in it.”
Jerry Rocha performs at Go Bananas Thursday-Sunday. Tickets are $8-$12. Get showtimes, tickets and venue details here.
