Emmy nominated Greek American comedian Basile shared his thoughts about the Australian leg of his "Blame it on the Greek" tour just before its conclusion, with audiences rushing to his last two shows: December 6 St Kilda Memo Music Hall Melbourne and December 9 at the Hurstville Entertainment Centre in Sydney.
Basile has entertained millions of comedy fans around the world, so Greek City Times sat down with him as he wraps up his trip to Australia which he promises to return to again in 18 months.
1. How have Australian audiences received your tour so far?
The Australian audiences have all been heaven-sent! They are truly the perfect Greek English, speaking audience that I look for when I perform a Greek-themed comedy concert. My shows have been extremely well received, and thank God the audiences have adopted me as one of their own.
2. Any memorable incidents during any of the shows?
When I had three shows that I can remember that actually had four generations of a family. That included the children, the parents, the grandparents, and even the great grandparents. That was something special for me when you can make all four generations laugh at the same material. It was just magical!
3. Are the majority of your audience in Australia, Greek-Aussies or have you attracted non-Greeks as well.
You have to remember that the first time that I came here back in 2004/05 it was strictly me, BASILE and my Greek material. Then I got involved with two major multi-ethnic tours with George Kapiniaris, Tahir Boljic, and of course, Joe Avati. That allowed me to open up more of my general audience and show what I was in front of them. This included not only Greeks, but Italians, Lebanese, Turks, and just about every other ethnic group that is represented here in Australia including the Ozzie fans. Those were for the “Comicus Erectus” & “The Good, The Bad And the Ethnic” Tours that I did in the years following throughout Australia and New Zealand.
4. How has your routine changed over the years? Any particular elements you adapt given there are many 2nd and 3rd generation of Greeks in the diaspora?
I suppose, that the various shows that I perform, four in all, including, but not limited to, my Greek themed comedy show, my general audience comedy show, my corporate show, and of course, my show that I do for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and also Celebrity Cruise Lines! All four of those individual type shows have different material for each. I wanted to be versatile, and it’s not the easiest thing to write material for four separate shows. This current show that I have done here in Australia, that is part of the “Blame It On The Greek” tour that we are on that has been brought to you by Ben Maiorana Entertainment, was a tour to re-introduce myself to the Australian Greek English-speaking audience. So, I was doing roughly 35% of my best of old material that I spruced up, and then 65% of new! And, thank God, I have the ability to work the audience and change a lot of my material, be it old or new, into some thing that was was fun and reimagined! I have that ability to do that, and I use it to the full extent that I can make every show something unique. No matter if your first, second, or even third generation, you’ll appreciate the memories that I bring back to my audience members, as we all grew up with the same stories that we were raised with, and THAT’s the touching aspect of my show.
5. Anything different about Australian audiences when compared to American ones?
Of course we all have the same historical traditions, shared foods, faith, and stories that we grew up with, and that’s what makes this show universally loved by all. The ability to bring back the memories that we can reminisce about. No matter if you married Greek or even a Xeno, the memories that I help relive in your minds, will bring back the memories that we all long for.
6. Are you working on any other exciting projects after you conclude your Australian tour?
Thanks for asking. A sitcom that was supposed to be aired with three episodes (to test out) before Covid hit, with Amazon is being picked up again and we need to film seven more episodes that we will do in Canada. Thank God they love the characters and the premise of the show which has a unique twist. Because this show was of a cooking themed nature, of course we needed to have a cookbook and various cooking segments that will be showed in concert with the Amazon show. Then the big news is that we have just signed an option/development deal with a major production company in Hollywood. That’s all I can say about that, trust me when I’m allowed to give some information about that, you’ll be the first to know!
7. Your message for Australian audiences ahead of your last two shows?
Be prepared for off-the-wall shows and opening up a bit more than usual! I’m going to share a little bit of my general audience show that I do for Las Vegas, Atlantic City and theatre venues around the US and Canada just so we can have a bit of fun for all to enjoy. But don’t worry, it’ll still be Greek themed and I can’t wait to see all of them enjoy these last 2 shows that I have left! So join me for some fun!
You can follow Basile on Instagram & Facebook @BasileTheComedian
www.BasileLive.com
Basile’s voices and characters have been heard on Armed Forces Radio, Television, and Syndicated Radio as the voice of: “The God Father Of Soul, James Brown” in North America, and his comedy segments on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio. His recent Radio Show/Podcast, “A Pinch Of Basile” is now syndicated on selected radio stations in North America and throughout the world and on GreekBeatRadio.com & Grecian Echoes Radio.
Basile has over 100 television appearances throughout the world, Including: HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, A & E, Dry Bar Comedy & the Tonight Show on NBC to name a few. Basile is also known for his voice work as Universal Studio’s Bullwinkle J. Moose, as well as for the Cartoon Network and many Japanese Anime series. Recently, Basile was recently nominated for an Emmy for his work on ESPN’s “30 for 30” series segment, “The Legend of Jimmy the Greek”, as the voice of Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder (Syionidis).
Explosive, Dynamic, and completely Original, are just some of the words that have described one of the most powerful Entertainers in the Comedy World today!
Basile has been brought to Australia by Ben Maiorana Entertainment
