Gary Owen discusses the difference between Black Church and White Churches.
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Gary Owen.
00:10Gary brings his own music with him, by the way.
00:12Ah, Richard Marks.
00:13That's really nice.
00:14Right here waiting.
00:15That's good stuff, man.
00:16Yeah, I appreciate that.
00:17Confirm or deny, you were voted the funniest black comedian in San Diego.
00:21True, that was a real contest.
00:23That was a real contest.
00:24What it was, it was a radio call-in, and I had just started doing stand-up.
00:27Okay.
00:28So I called in.
00:29I didn't say I wasn't black or black.
00:30I just said I want to sign up.
00:31So I showed up, and I won the contest.
00:34And keep in mind, it was San Diego.
00:36It was like Nick Cannon and Tony Gwynn.
00:40You know what I mean?
00:42It was like the funniest black guy in Harlem.
00:44Put it in perspective.
00:45Okay, San Diego, black's different, right?
00:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:48That's cool, man, but it does so happen.
00:50I was watching a lot of your stuff, and I'd seen you before, and I've seen you in movies.
00:54You've done a number of appearances in films, but you have a substantial black following.
01:00Huge.
01:01Huge following.
01:02I'm like Karl Malone in Utah.
01:03I'm like the only guy, man.
01:05Because you were doing a great, I was watching, and it's a bit I'd seen before of yours, which
01:09is great, talking about going, the difference between going to a black church.
01:13And a white church.
01:14And a white church.
01:15And you're nailing it, because it's, give us some of the insight.
01:18Well, my wife's black, and you know, I grew up, I didn't go to church a lot, but when
01:23we went, it didn't take that long.
01:25You know, 10, 1045, we was at IHOP.
01:28Did IHOP?
01:29Exactly.
01:30I went to a church with my wife one time.
01:32I go, why are we still here?
01:34It was like 3 o'clock.
01:35I was like, I'm missing the Bengals game.
01:37Yeah.
01:38I can't do black church during football season.
01:40Yeah.
01:41And now, I've been to some black funerals, which goes toe to toe with black church.
01:46Really?
01:47I had a buddy die last year, and not to bring the show down, but they asked me to speak
01:50at the funeral.
01:51Yeah.
01:52And four of us spoke, and that was great.
01:54Yeah.
01:55Then the preacher went up.
01:56He saw packed church, I can say some souls.
01:58Yeah.
01:59He started getting people to get saved.
02:01It had nothing to do with Devin anymore.
02:02At one point, I forgot who died, because he was talking so long.
02:05I go, what?
02:06Who died?
02:07Oh, it's Devin's funeral.
02:08That's right.
02:09He spoke so long, somebody literally came from the side of the stage and goes, we've
02:14got to wrap this up.
02:15The cemetery closes at five.
02:16We've got to get Devin in the ground.
02:18Wow.
02:19It's like 415.
02:20We've got to get Devin in the ground.
02:21To do it so long, we almost lost Devin.
02:24He almost stayed at the church.
02:25So did you get cut?
02:26Did you get to speak?
02:27I spoke.
02:28No, we spoke.
02:29It was great.
02:30This just lets me know, even though I'm dead, it doesn't matter.
02:32I told my wife, don't let that happen at my funeral.
02:34I just want people telling stories about me, getting everybody to laugh.
02:37I don't want nobody going up there trying to get saved.
02:39I was texting people going, would you just raise your hand?
02:41I was like, dude, I already got saved.
02:42Well, get saved again.
02:44But it is.
02:46And you know what though?
02:47If you go like, and there's also a lot of times there's a good energy too, when you
02:51have a real rip roaring.
02:53Oh, black church?
02:54Participatory thing.
02:55Oh, it's a talent show.
02:56Yeah, yeah.
02:57It's a talent show.
02:58There's song, dance.
02:59It's amazing.
03:00Do you have some drinks?
03:01My niece is biracial and I took her to church with me.
03:04The white church?
03:05The white church.
03:06The white church.
03:07And she was like, this is so boring.
03:08Like she didn't know why we had to whisper.
03:10She was like trying to, she wanted to stand on the pews and sing.
03:13And I was like, we can't do this here.
03:15And she told her mom, she's like, I don't want to go to church with her anymore.
03:18Right.
03:19Because black people talk back to the preacher.
03:21It's true.
03:22Talk about it.
03:23I see you.
03:24Preach on it.
03:25And if somebody gets saved, like they're happy.
03:27When white people get saved at the white church, they just get saved.
03:30It's like, it's a moment between you and Jesus.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Black church, it's a moment between you and the congregation.
03:35Yeah.
03:36I see you, Charles.
03:37I knew it.
03:38I knew you'd come around, Charles.
03:40I knew it.
03:41They kept grabbing their wives.
03:42I told you he was going to be okay.
03:44I told you he was going to be okay.
03:46His parole gets dropped off next week.
03:49Oh.
03:50Your wife is the daughter of a founding member of the Black Panthers.
03:54Yeah.
03:55Wow.
03:56Yeah.
03:57Well, he, my, I never met her dad.
03:58He got murdered when, when she was six, but he was, he was, it was him and Huey Newton.
04:03No kidding.
04:04So you've been to Wakanda.
04:06Wakanda?
04:07No.
04:08Did you see, there's a, there's a really interesting parallel between the Black Panther party
04:12and the Black Panther, the movie.
04:14Weird.
04:15Yeah.
04:16And, and I don't, I don't want to get too heavy about it, but there are actually deliberate
04:20parallels in the movie.
04:21Like the shot in Oakland where the Black Panther party began.
04:24Well, the director is from Oakland.
04:25Exactly.
04:26Ryan Coogler.
04:27And Ryan Coogler did a lot of these things deliberately.
04:29And the Black Panther party lost its way in some respects because they really disrespected
04:33women.
04:34The reason why Black Panthers in the, in the movie, Black Panther in the movie has women
04:38surrounding him and helping him so much and doing so much is, is a sort of a contradiction
04:42of what the Black Panther party actually failed to accomplish.
04:45Hmm.
04:46Are you featured in a, is there, is there a nod to you in the Black Panther movie too?
04:49Because you're close.
04:50Listen, I tried to get the part of T'Challa.
04:53I don't get it.
04:55I got a bad agent.
04:56I went up for Amistad.
04:57I didn't get it.
04:58I went up for like, Panther didn't get it.
05:00I don't get it, man.
05:01Blood Diamond.
05:02I was right there.
05:03I was right there.
05:04It's funny though, to watch, to watch some of your stuff and you've got rooms.
05:08It really, it's, it's, it's, it's a whole black audience just, and all different ages
05:15just howling.
05:16But also I was howling.
05:17The stuff is, is, is great.
05:18You're very sharp and very funny and dynamic on stage.
05:21And then you, you ended up though.
05:23I was reading Shaquille O'Neal's comedy jam.
05:26Is that, was that a tour or a show that you wrote?
05:28It was a tour and it was a show and then they, it turned into a tour.
05:31Were you, so you, are you, are you buds now at this point with Shaquille O'Neal?
05:35Shaq introduced me to my wife.
05:37No kidding.
05:38Yeah.
05:39When he played for the Lakers, he had a clothing line called Twism.
05:41Still for the world is mine.
05:42And my wife worked at Twism and he brought his staff out to a comedy club one night.
05:47This was 20 years ago.
05:48And I just wanted to meet Shaq after the show.
05:50And she just happened to be there with like 30 other people.
05:53Yeah.
05:54So I met her and Shaq still takes credit for introducing us to this day.
05:57We were filming and we was on, it was like five days in a row.
06:02We were filming our show.
06:03Yeah.
06:04So he owns a 24 hour fitness in Orlando.
06:05And I said, damn, I want to go to the gym.
06:07He goes, just go to my gym.
06:08I said, what am I going to do?
06:09Just say Shaq sent me.
06:10He goes, yeah, they all know me over there.
06:11So I go to 24 hour fitness and I walked in.
06:14I said, Hey, I'm friends of Shaq.
06:16He told me to come in and work out.
06:17The guy goes, yeah, right.
06:18We're all friends of Shaq.
06:19And he wouldn't let me in.
06:20I drive back to Shaq's house.
06:22I go, dude, they wouldn't let me in.
06:23He goes, get your phone out.
06:24So we did like a pretty woman video where I said, Hey, I just went to 24 hour fitness
06:28and you guys wouldn't let me in.
06:29I go, but Shaq said I'm okay.
06:31And Shaq comes around my corner.
06:32He goes, he's good.
06:33Let him in.
06:34Cast him on my shoulder.
06:35So then I go, I go, Hey buddy, don't you feel stupid for stopping me?
06:39Right.
06:40I come back on my phone and I show him the video guy goes, can't argue with that.
06:44You're good.
06:46We put it on YouTube.
06:47It's on YouTube.
06:48Gary's great to have you by here, man.
06:49Okay.
06:50Since, since I got a black following and this is a rock station.
06:52Since I came into Richard Marks, I'll go out to living color.
06:56All right.
06:59Bring everybody together.
07:00And by the way, they played our, they played our, uh, our charity event that we had him
07:03in and they, that was a couple of years ago and they, they killed it.
07:06Killed it?
07:07Yeah.
07:08That's a great song.
07:09And he's wearing a shirt that features JFK on it this morning, who has a little moment
07:11in this song.
07:12Yep.
07:13There you go.
07:14Dude, I'm here for you guys.
07:15I know.
07:16I'm here for you.
07:17I love it.
07:18All right.
07:19Let's hear it for Mr. Gary Owen, ladies and gentlemen.
07:29Bye.
07:31Sigh.