Jake Flores: Confidently Unconfident
June 9, 2017
It’s odd the connections you find with people, and my tenuous link to Jake Flores is no different. Heavy lidded eyes, a scruffy style, and a laid back demeanor, often drive people to draw a certain conclusion about one’s…let’s say “recreational proclivities.” The truth about both of us is far more mundane, but it certainly doesn’t hurt your comedic chances when people are setup by your image to expect crazy things to come out of your mouth.
A native of Houston, Flores found his footing and call to comedy after moving to Austin. He’s a devotee to the iterative style of comedic refinement: fail quickly, fix it fast, and keep moving. After finding some success in the Austin scene, he found himself drawn naturally to join the teeming masses streaming the streets of New York.
Among many other endeavors, Flores has appeared on Roast Battle, written long form for the New York Times, and Cracked, and is a regular columnist for the New York Observer,. I confess, I’ve been reading his Homeland episode recaps on the Observer religiously for some time, not realizing it was the same comic I’d followed in our own hometown. And that highlights one key fact about Flores: he sees himself as much a writer as a performer. His approach to writing as part of the comedic training regimen is almost scientific in nature: it’s a muscle you must flex just as much on stage as off. In Flores’s world, success comes from the dogged pursuit of the duality, performing and publishing, and bombing is just as productive as blowing people away.
While many comics we speak with are accomplished podcasters, few stray into the realm of the supernatural, as Flores does with his creation: Mr Cleo. It’s a meta-faux-spiritual experience you don’t want to miss. He also goes viral from time to time (and writes about it) on Twitter, and you can keep up with his past and upcoming appearances and work at feraljokes.com.
Valerie Lopez
Richard Goodwin
