Ricky Velez Strips Down, Bares All in New HBO Special, “Here’s Everything”
The stars are all aligned for Ricky Velez to have a gigantic career in comedy. His debut special premieres on HBO tonight, Saturday October 23rd at 10pm and it’s a powerhouse. Produced by Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson, the special feels nothing like a debut hour. “Ricky Velez Here’s Everything” marks the first time Ricky’s stand up is appearing anywhere on television, but it has all the markings of a second or third hour. Here’s Everything may not literally offer everything, but there’s so much range here. Velez gets deeply personal in some moments, and in others brings brand new perspectives to some cultural phenomena that we’re all too familiar with in 2021 America. Funny throughout, Velez brings an energy to the stage thats uniquely Velez- an Irish/Puerto Rican from Queens who’s still part city kid, part young dad figuring out how to break the chain of some of the darker sides of his own upbringing. Ricky is able to dig through the messiness of the human experience bringing laughs to bits about old people, a hilarious visit to the Dominican Republic, the culture clashes that comes along with marriage and having in-laws, and stumbling through first time fatherhood.
Seeing Ricky’s first HBO special was a true pleasure. After seeing a funny kid with a lot of potential win New York City’s prestigious “New York’s Funniest” competition at Caroline’s Comedy Club in 2015, it’s incredible to now see Ricky prove he’s a contender to become one of the best.
I talked with Ricky ahead of the special’s premiere, and found him to be fully appreciative of what a big moment he’s experiencing. The excitement of introducing yourself to a national audience through HBO- the network that invented the special- means everything. “It feels special. This is the first thing I’m ever putting on television. So that’s a really cool place to be, that the first stand-up I’ve ever put on television, is HBO,” he told me. Filmed at Brooklyn Steel, “Here’s Everything” has hip urban look, perfect for Velez’s delivery and demeanor. It looks and plays great, a perfect vehicle to help launch him to whatever is coming next.
The skills and the talent are all Ricky, but he’s got more than that. He’s got the backing of close friend Pete Davidson on the project, and comedy star maker Judd Apatow on board. Apatow has an incredible track record of finding young performers who have something special and helping to develop them and take them to the next level. It was Apatow who introduced the mainstream to Seth Rogen, helped Paul Rudd find his niche, brought Jonah Hill to the forefront, and launched Amy Schumer to superstardom, and that’s just the tip of the list. Ricky told me how he met Apatow while auditioning for a role as Davidson’s friend in the movie “The King of Staten Island,” and turned that opportunity into an ongoing working relationship that gave birth to this special and several other projects.
On the day he auditioned for the movie, Ricky said he found himself on the same lineup at a comedy club where Judd was also performing. “Thank God, the audition went well because that would’ve just sucked, I’d be staring at him for the rest of the night for two separate shows,” Ricky said. He knew he wanted to impress Judd, so he did two different 15-minute sets in front of him. “I wanted to show him my material, and how I write,” he said. Within a couple of weeks, Ricky remembers getting a call from a number he didn’t know. “We didn’t have each other’s cell phone number or anything like that. He got mine, called me up, and I was sitting in bed with my wife, and he was like, “Do you want to write on the movie?” I was like, “Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Let’s go.” And then, before you know it, he bought me Final Draft and I’m sitting on set, just typing away. He’d be like, “We need 15 jokes about this.” Boom. And me, Dave Sirus, and Judah Miller would just go at it. And that was the coolest experience because he’s put me, now, in a place where we can really do some really incredible work. And then, we spent the pandemic writing. So that was incredible. I just grew a muscle that I wasn’t even sure was there. So it’s been really fun and I really enjoy it. And the thing about Judd is he makes you put in the work. We work, we write a lot, but, at the same time, it’s… That’s why the material is always better.”
Velez says something he learned from working with Judd is that it takes a great team to create something great, and he was pretty excited about the entire team who worked on the hour. He credits director Michael Bonfiglio for the visual vibe of the special, and helping keeping keep everything focused on momentum. It was Judd Apatow’s idea to approach Bonfiglio to shoot the hour and he turned out to be a perfect fit. Having HBO, Pete Davidson and Judd Apatow on your team has other perks. Like getting Rolling Stone photographer Mark Selig to shoot your promo poster. Ricky wanted his poster to be eye catching- and really really funny. Ricky came up with the concept, and Mark helped him implement it perfectly. Ricky’s idea was to be stark naked for his poster. “It was funny because I just brought it up to Judd, I was like, “Hey, I think I might want to do it nude.” And he was like, “Yeah?” I’m like, “Yeah.” Selig was on board immediately. “Mark was so incredible, even calling me the day before. He’s like, “So how do you want to do this? Do you actually want to be nude or you want to wear a colored thong?” And I was like, “I’m going to be nude. So it’s nice to catch an eye here and there. I can’t wait to see it in the street. That’s what I’m excited about.” The result is explosive. Eye catching and unforgettable.”And then, yeah, it just worked. It worked, and it was fun, and I’m proud of it. And I’m glad that I got to shoot with Mark And Mark was really the sweetest, nicest man I’ve ever worked with.”
Velez knows his team goes way beyond the group who worked on the special. He appreciates the many comedians who have helped him to develop into the performer he is today. Influences like Chappelle, Bill Burr and the late Mike Distefano all helped inform his aesthetic. He explained. “I’m not mimicking, but, at the same time, when you watch your favorites so much, and you’re a student of it, I think, sooner or later, you mold into your own version of what you think is a great comic. I think my influences really weigh heavy on how I… There’s so many times where I’m just like, “You think Burr would find this funny?””
Comedy friends are important to him as well. The comedians he developed along with- his peers- are still his inner circle. Like his Fat Baby crew. How do you describe Fat Baby? They’re not a comedy troupe, they’re more of a rolling party that held weekly shows in New York City that have become the stuff of legend. Along with Giulio Gallerotti, Ben DeMarco, Josh Wesson and Velez, Fat Baby was a comedy hybrid. A blend of stand up, sketch, improv, digital and raucous disruptive NYC crew. “I love all those guys. All those guys are brothers to me. And that was the really cool part about going back on tour, was I was like, “I don’t care what it costs to bring them. I just wanted everybody to be a part of this experience.” We went to Miami and I ended up jumping in an alligator-infested lake on purpose. It was ridiculous. It’s just Fat Baby stuff. People don’t understand that, though. But, yeah. We had a great time. And all those guys are still exactly who they are, and I love it.”
And of course, there’s family. Off stage, when he’s not writing and planning a future, Ricky is all about his family. Throughout the hour he talks about his parents, his wife and his young son, three year old Leo. But if you really want to get a glimpse of Ricky as a dad you’ll have to stick around during the closing credits to see the footage that you’ll fall in love with. A special moment for his son, that becomes a special moment for the young dad and anyone watching it as his boy gets a moment in front of the camera.
“What’s funny about that, was that it was not planned at all. My kid, he loves guitar, and he loves Machine Gun Kelly. It’s unbelievable. And I know Colson, and he’s a good friend, and he always makes videos for my son, and my son just thinks it’s the coolest thing in the world. And that day, we brought the kid in early because he goes to bed by 7:00. He’s on a very tight schedule. So we brought him in early, and they were doing a test shot. And I didn’t tell anybody, I just grabbed him by the hand, and he was like, “I want to go to the stage, I want to go to the stage,” because we told him there was going to be a stage, and walked him in the room. And he was just so comfortable walking up there, walking to the front, and I turned on the speaker, and then they cleared the stage of the people they had doing blocking, and he just rocked out for three, four songs. And, at the end of it, he goes, “One more!” Ricky said, sounding every bit the proud father. “One more,” was him, begging to do one more song. But it was cool. Everybody in the room started clapping for him. He’s so cool. He’s the coolest kid in the world. It’s amazing to be with him. I love what we get to do for my kid. I just love the opportunities he’s getting to see. He’s really enjoying it.”
Now that Ricky’s put “Here’s Everything” to bed, he’s already working on the next thing. He’s worked on at least 3 film projects since wrapping, and immediately went to work on new material for the stage. “The day I taped it, I never touched my material again. I went away from it. I was opening for John Mulaney and he turned to me and he was like, “What are you doing, dude? This is the victory lap. You got to run in the victory lap,” referring to the chance to just coast on the polished material you just recorded before the special airs. But Ricky scrapped it all and started fresh and said he’s already back at a place where his 15 minute set is so strong. “I’m doing weekends at the Cellar and the response has been incredible. So it’s been nice to feel like I used to feel as a kid in comedy, like almost a little bit scared of it again.”
Ricky Velez: Here’s Everything debuts tonight, Saturday October 23rd at 10pm ET/PT on HBO, and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
