Tucson is a special place for comedian Steve Treviño, who is dubbed “America’s Favorite Husband.”
He’ll never forget the kindness of strangers.
“Tucson’s kind of a special place,” he said.
“My water pump on my car broke in Tucson when I was moving to LA. I was fixing it in an AutoZone parking lot, and somebody came and helped me. I’ll never forget it.”
He’ll return to The Old Pueblo for two shows at the Leo Rich Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 17.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “We’re doing new material. We just released a special on YouTube. I think it’s deeper now, more relatable, more honest. I’m just excited to be putting out material that people can relate to.
“I’m talking about the struggles of raising children and talking about how me and my wife complement each other. I bring things to the table that she doesn’t have, and she brings things to the table that I don’t have. That’s why our marriage is successful. People see that being different is always a plus.”
Treviño has been viewed online more than 223 million times, has attracted more than 2 million social media followers and has headlined comedy specials on Netflix, Showtime and Amazon Prime. A promotional clip for his Netflix hit, “Relatable,” generated 56 million views on Facebook alone, with the title, “When Your Wife Comes Home from Shopping.” Treviño also produced and wrote for Pitbull’s “La Esquina” reality series.
Raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Treviño always wanted to be a comedian.
“There is no backup plan,” he said. “I still feel like the young guy. I haven’t quite made it. Most of my team is female and I like it that way. When I talk about my wife on stage, I want to make sure it’s fair and balanced. They help me. They give me that female perspective that’s important for my act.”
It’s important to make his gigs enjoyable for both people watching the show, he added. He enjoys his stand-up career and the podcast with his wife, Renae, “Steve Treviño & Captain Evil.”
“I’m lovin’ my life,” he said. “I do what I want when I want. There are no networks telling me what to do and what to say. My wife and I produce shows, the podcast and social media. We live on our own little island. People keep finding us anyway.”
Treviño has been offered TV shows, but he doesn’t want to go through the routine pilot. He wants to cut to the chase.
“People say they want to write a show with me, but unless they’re going to pick it up, I’m not interested,” he said. “I don’t want to film or write a pilot. I don’t want to go through that. I make TV show money on my podcast.”
“Steve Treviño & Captain Evil” is the result of the pandemic-dictated break. He said he hears from fans that the podcast got them through COVID-19.
“I just tell them, ‘My podcast got me through COVID,’” he said. “I had no idea how much I needed the stage for my mental health. It was tough and live performers weren’t even thought about in the media. They were finding relief for all these other people. We sat there and thought, ‘What about us? We can’t perform.’ I think performing music and the arts is very, very important for mental health.
“When people say, ‘I survived cancer. All we did was watch your videos’ or ‘You saved our marriage’ or ‘I deal with depression, but I watched your special,’ it’s touching. I get anxiety about it. I have so many messages coming in all the time on the website or social media. I don’t want to miss one. It could be an important one. I spend a lot of hours of my day responding to messages that are important. I might change somebody’s day and life.”
Steve Treviño
WHEN: 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 17
WHERE: Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Avenue, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $43
INFO: ticketmaster.com, stevetrevino.com
