Comedian with a lessonDespite his religious background, Big Mich knew that he’d need to figure out how to follow his passion and make his parents proud. He hopes many can learn from him. Here’s how to kill two birds with one stone. When a pastor’s kid becomes a comedian 0 Please tell us about yourself.I am Mich Alley Dantago Gaoseb aka ‘Vambu with a Nama attitude’, I come from a mix family, my dad is Owambo and my mother is Damara. I grew up in Windhoek Samara location, went to school at Khomasdal High School and I’m now a well established comedian and Businessman. *laughs*
When did you find out you had a “funny bone”?
I think I was born with it, but around 2009 that’s when I was convinced this was my calling. Comedy in general is something that runs in my family. My dad is also a funny guy so I was born a comic. I didn’t have to learn how to be funny. I remember being in trouble with my teachers my whole school life, I was a principal’s office kid because I would make noise in the class or disrupt the learning process one way or another. I was always told by my teachers that I was never serious to the point where if I told the teachers something they’d be waiting for the punchline where I throw a joke. Ha ha, it was crazy man.
Moments in the spotlight?
My comedy is mostly from life experiences, that’s why a lot of people can relate to it. I grew up in a location which was only known for violence and I try to turn that into humour… I get material from daily news and my environment. My best moment was being crowned ‘last comic standing’ my worse was at my one-man show when one comic went over the set timeframe and I had to warm up a bored crowd
How did your family take your career choice?
I come from a very religious family and I am a PK (pastor’s kid) so the environment that I do my comedy in and my family environment don’t actually go hand-in-hand. When you are a comedian you have to touch and tackle all the issues from politics to religion and my mother didn’t appreciate that. She didn’t even come to my first ten shows, in fact none of my family members showed up. But when they realised that I was actually serious about comedy my mother actually came to one of my shows in April this year and it was my best show ever. The best thing a guy can hear from his mother are the words ‘I’m proud of you son’ and that’s what she said to me after 25 years! *laughs*
Is there a miss Big Mich in the picture?
I’m single as a side-chick man. It’s kind of hard for ladies to take me seriously because everyone assumes I’m joking when I’m serious. There’s this one chick I’ve been after for years now but tol today all I get is an “ag Mich hou op man, you are not serious” so comedy does have its pros and cons. Hopefully I will find someone as funny as I am and understand where I’m coming from you know. Namibian comedy has matured to where people can differentiate that the guy at home is not the same as the performer on stage.
Would you advise someone to take comedy as a career?
Our comedy industry is not mature to the stage where comedy is a culture yet but we getting there, so yes, I would advise someone to take it up as a career but only if you are good at it and love doing it. One thing I wish was specified in the Harambee Prosperity Plan was an investment in the entertainment industry in terms of endorsements. We are not taken seriously and that’s a reason for us not growing. You will get someone who has to pack shelves in Shoprite in the day, go to school after five and still be on stage from 21:00, it shouldn’t be like that. People need to realise that investing in human capital is the backbone of the country and these people will help you out of that. If we just accept that someone can have a career out of entertainment then we will have less negativity going.
What are you currently up to?
Right now 1 October I am having a fan bash which is basically a pre-promotion for my tour we are planning and a platform for Namibian comedy fans to mingle and have fun with their favourite comedians.
What are three things people don’t know about you?
Many people don’t know that I had dropped a Gospel album in 2012, that I am a song writer and composer in church. Lol, some think I am uneducated. *laughs*
Any last words?
Coming from a religious background I believe there’s two ways that life could go for you, one is to honour your parents and do want they want you to do and two is you do what you are after. If they want you to stay in school, do so but also work on your goals. Parents can never tell you what to be passionate about, that’s up to you. They can only tell you what they think is best for you. Blessings come from parents, the only ingredient to success.