Karl Custer, up on stage as the cosplay masquerade’s emcee, is doing his best to follow along with Reni Mimura and the Moe Moe Dancers. Between the language barrier and the quirky style of the dance, he’s having noticeable trouble keeping up. However, instead of becoming frustrated, the crowd begins to get cry their support, cheering him on. Perhaps it’s because of his very real struggles like this that Uncle Yo is so popular.
On paper, Karl “Uncle Yo” Custer doesn’t have much presence at the New York Anime Festival; a relatively quick stand-up gig and emceeing the Cosplay Masquerade. However, veterans of NYAF, or any other local cons, know that this is a feint, as Uncle Yo will preform before a larger crowd than any other presenter. The stage on which he will preform his standup is seated right in the center of the con, and the masquerade, the largest event at the con easily commandeering three of the largest panel rooms, will hold an audience of over a thousand. The masquerade is A two hour bonanza of fan-produced skits and songs, each with varying success. Even as the weaker acts present, Karl is always at the ready with a gag or rally cry that keeps the crowd energetic and excited.
However, when I meet with him, it’s in the quaint convention press room, with only a few other reporters about; it was A far cry from the excitement of the masquerade that was to occur later that night, I had caught Karl in the brief calm before the storm. Even though he had just come off of two back-to-back interviews, he still graciously agrees to speak with me.
As I set my camera and microphone into place, Karl gave the camera a knowing nod. It was a curious motion, an acknowledgment of an audience that didn’t exist yet. I say it was a curious motion, because it reminded me of Malcom speaking directly to the audience, or any character breaking the fourth wall. However, perhaps that’s exactly what Uncle Yo is, a character speaking to his audience.
Will: You’re very popular at conventions. Last year at the masqurade, the audience really responded well to you as the MC, and your stand up on stage was jampacked with listeners. Would you say this popularity carries over between conventions, or to put it another way, to what extent does Uncle Yo exist outside the convention hall?
Karl: I like to think that Uncle Yo kind of exists as a daily chore; something that I’ve go to keep upgrading like a bonsai tree. (This entails) Going online everyday and putting up stuff on Twitter, if there’s anything good to talk about, put it up on Myspace, if there’s a new anime I’m watching, I have to review it and put it up on another site [Anigamers and Never Yoes Best], but it is something I still love. Every…about once a week I’ll get contacted by a fan, (and they’ll say) ‘I just saw the show, I really liked it’ or I’ll be contacted by someone who wants me to do a private show for their anime club. So in addition to living the regular life; the quest for money, the quest for shelter and all that, there is this little side project which I’m always working on. And the good part about having so many conventions to go to is I’ve always go to be working. It keeps me sharp, it keeps me awake. Doing so many MC jobs, when something happens on the fly, you’ve got to be able to cover for it. When you’re at the convention, you’ve got to be fully focused. When you’re outside the convention, you’re preparing for the next convention. Cosplayers will tell you about how they’ve spent two years on a costume, the convention passes, and now it’s time to begin work on that full-out Cloud from Advent Children. Let’s get the leather together, let’s killing our own oxen and tanning the hides ourselves to get the leather right, it’s a constant update.
W: Could you just give me a rough number of the conventions you’ve attended, either officially or unofficially?
K: Hmm…I can ballpark it at about twenty to thirty. I remember when I reached ten, and I felt like a total nerd for doing it. At the moment, I’d have to take some time to count it out, but I could probably ballpark it at about twenty to thirty.
W: Who would you say Uncle Yo is in relationship to Karl Custer.
K: I think that Uncle Yo is Karl, the way I would like to live my life. I think he’s more free, I think he’s more physical, because he only talks about things that I care about: geeky stuff, comic books, anime. He has the chance to geek out with fans. For example if I mock someone’s fandom on stage, then they’ll come up and challenge it, and we’ll start having more fun with that. And because I do so much inprov in addition to the comedy, so much MCing, Uncle Yo kind of get’s that love from the audience that is kind of the goal of any performer, to make that connection. Before I go on stage, I have a ritual. I put on the tie, in front of a mirror if I can, close my eyes, deep breaths, open and exhale. Then I’ll charge myself up, I’ll do some push-ups or I’ll clench my fists and pretend that there’s this energy rising, that I’ve got my presence on.
W: Going super saiyan?
K: Basically. I mean that’s what DBZ did for a lot of us. It would tell us that this passion thing, not that it really exists, not that you can fire a beam or anything, but it can motivate you. There’s a difference, and you know it, between people who have presence, and don’t have presence. Uncle Yo is almost like this increased awareness, it’s almost like going Kaio-ken, because you’ve got to be aware of everything around you. It’s just as exhilarating as it is exhausting. I think Uncle Yo is so many things. He’s this child that I have to keep updating and teaching and training and working at. He’s the highest ideal performer that I want to be. He’s like the cool kid at school that never got the chance to hang out with any of the cool kids at school. So I came to my own school and made my own friends.
W: There are some people though, who consider their convention personas to be the “real” them, and everything in between to be just what they do to survive. Would you describe yourself this way?
K: The real me… Well, I know that I’m Karl. And I know that I am very much acquainted with the name Uncle Yo. I do turn around and respond to it now. I’d like to think that it’s something I can turn on and off. I would not want to be on all the time, and I’m sure every actor or performer feels the same. I see Uncle Yo more as something I can step into and step out of. While I’m at the convention, and it’s all got to be quote unquote business, that’s ok. It’s still comfortable enough that I enjoy it.
W: Do you ever see yourself not being able to keep up Uncle Yo? With travel and so many conventions, do you think there will ever be a time where you have to choose between your day job and Uncle Yo?
K: That’s the joy of the day job that I’m working now. I’ve put in the time and the commitment that guarantees I can get off when I need to. If I can do one to two cons a month, that’s what I try to limit myself too. If I’m doing it back to back to back, I’m losing lot of weekends and a lot of chances to make money. If (Uncle Yo) ever became a chore, if I ever did not like going to conventions, if I just lost the love of it, then nothing stops me from simply not continuing Uncle Yo. It’s something where I have the freedom to step down at any time, there’s no one who signed me up for a contract. It’s just a matter of ‘Can I find something with enough part time to keep up with Uncle Yo?’. If Uncle Yo can somehow make me money or start paying the rent, that’d be nice too, but not everyone can be so lucky. It’s nice having this little life on the side though, because it’s like this mask and cape that you keep in the closet that not everyone needs to know about.
W: Have you ever promoted a message through your comedy?
K: Yeah, the message that I try to promote is ‘You don’t need to worry about whatever happens in High School, you don’t have to worry about anything that that happens at home, you’re at a convention because you want to be there, to see and experience what other people have to share. If I’m trying to promote anything, it’s the community. I think if it ever became about Uncle Yo first, and the fandom second, I’m not sure I would want to keep doing it. Beacuse it’s really about coming to conventions to share my love with the fans and the fans love with me. Seeing what I’ve never seen before, showing them what I like…It’s about the community, and it’s about sharing. And for people that think that geeks are loners and by themselves, well yeah, one out of every one hundred is that way but we have conventions. The only time you’ll ever get sports teams to meet is when they’re about to do battle, there is no high school football convention. And when there’s a cheerleader convention, it’s all competitive. Where’s the fun in that?
W: Have you considered expanding into mediums?
K: Voice acting potentially. I’m working with a smaller company right now to maybe provide my voice for video games. I’m hoping that maybe I can pull some strings with the Uncle Yo fandom to maybe boost their sales for that. But I’m always looking to create. I would love to write scripts for video games, I’d love to write for comic books, I would love to be paid to write reviews for anime, and I would love to someday create my anime.
Check out Uncle Yo at his site, and the multitudes of videos of him on Youtube.
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