The Groggy Squirrel

So, tell us a little bit about ‘Alien Sex Party’

Alien sex party is about all the crap parties I went to after leaving school and how much I regret and hate them. I used to go to raves and Uni parties and really pushed my self to have a ‘good’ time, though I never did. I talk about my theories on why people have to party and the lessons I have learned over the years.

Is there actually an Alien Sex Party in the show?

There is Alien sex in the show as well; it helps connect all these odd stories together. I hypothesis what alien sex would be like and realise (without giving too much away) that in a weird way it’s sort of my drive for going to all these parties. The Alien sex part is also giving my self an opportunity to write more fiction comedy, so I’m not stuck telling stories about crap parties the whole show, which would get annoying; I reckon. Like every joke starts with “…and then this one time I was really wasted..”. And then ends with “I’m just lucky the cops weren’t there.” Which did happen but you can’t base a whole show on that.

The Alien sex is the science fiction part, outside of reality. My last show was about zombies and was a bit nerdy, with this show I’d like to get a lot nerdier. But at the same time balance it out with ‘cool’ party stories. “Yeah I read comics, but I once drank a whole bottle of Malibu. Yea I know. How am I still alive? If I was in a Puerto Rican street gang my name would be Malibu. Ricardo Malibu. I’d be a knife expert and sing to my victims after I stab them.”

You made your solo debut last year (What to Do When the Zombies Attack) – what did you learn from that show?

The whole show is closer to the one central theme. I was way to loose with my ‘07 show and had a lot of Zombie fans/enthusiasts saying, “I liked the show, but I wanna hear more zombie stuff.” Then I would have a whole conversation with them for an hour about zombies and they’d be like, “you should have put that in the show.” I realised by the end of the season people come to festival for more then just comedy. So I was determined more then ever to write a new show and stick to the theme. I came up with a really ambitious idea of doing a science show where I grow a clone of myself on my arm and it’s like a sidekick who’s in heaps of pain cause he’s a freak of nature. But then the more I wrote that the darker it got and it was too scary. So eventually I arrived at the present idea, which was a lot more fun.

Until recently, you’ve been based in Perth – what advice do you have for other interstate comedians making their way to Melbourne’s festival?

The festival is heaps of fun but can also become very tough, scary and lonely. If you are not in a group show make friends, or if you are in a group show make friends anyway. Talk to other comics while flyering, go see the smaller venue shows and get to know people, cause they will understand what you are going through. One cure for a tough review or a small audience is having a good bitching session with another comic, because you need to get back in the game for the show you have that night. Or celebrate a victory with someone who knows exactly the feeling you get from a kick arse gig. Last year I was in a venue with a joint green room so it was really good being able to talk with other comics and the majority of comics are cool people. We are all comedians so we are going to be like minded people. It’s too easy to take things seriously and forget that all we are doing is comedy; it’s not that big of a deal.

Also for comics who are not doing a show, it’s a great idea to visit the festival but come interstate outside the festival as well, get spots and meet people then. It’s a good way of preparing for festival, instead of just debuting in a festival show and being unknown.

Xavier will be performing at Club F4 from the 24th March to the 13th April. For booking details click see The Purple Rooms website