But before Basile became Basile, he was known to his Greek family as Basile Katsikis. Like millions of other Greek-Americans, Basile Katsikis was raised in a Greek household which was often at odds with his American surroundings.

The timing, Basile contends, is right for this type of show. "We do not have parents and grandparents coming over to the U.S. anymore and people crave the old stories about our Greek upbringing," he says, "We're not going to see these times again."

SKENE: Which cities in North America have the highest concentration of Greek Immigrants?

BASILE: How close is your local diner? What do I look like, a Census pollster? The immigration of Greeks to the United States and Canada was at its height just after WWII. Most who emigrated to the U.S. stayed in the New York area with family and friends because New York City had the most opportunities for work. However, Greeks had opportunities to spread out all over the United States to be with family and friends, especially in cities like Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. 

SKENE: According to your press kit, the Greek Show will be spoken half in English and half in Greek. Why you perform your show in 50% Greek and 50% English? Why not all in Greek?

BASILE: This question has come up before. The simple truth is, not all of my audience are as fluent in Greek as I am. I was raised to speak Greek before I spoke any English. It wasn't until I was five years old that I spoke English and, oddly enough, my mother made me learn English after she heard me imitate Bullwinkle Moose in Greek.

Doing the Special Greek Show 50/50 really makes it fun for not only the audience, but for me as well! Things just don't translate the same from Greek to English and from English to Greek, and therein lies the humor! 

SKENE: You're a Greek-American. Will your experience be similar to Greek-Canadians, Greek-Australians, etc.?

BASILE: Yes, in many ways, and no, in other ways. The most similar experiences will be with the Greek-Canadians. When you leave for another continent, other cultures are involved, so you have to find the cultural differences and go on. It's like playing a different city. You just have to do your homework and find out things about your surroundings. Speaking about Australia, Canada, and England, we are planning a tour for both my Greek Show and my American standup show as we speak!

SKENE: Do you wear a Foustanella (traditional Greek costume) when you perform your Greek Show?

BASILE: No! I only wear that traditional dress when there is a family gathering and only if goats and sheep are invited. If you look closely, I look pretty good in a dress and ... that goat looks pretty HOT too! 

SKENE: When did you first perform your Greek show? 

BASILE: My first Greek show was about three years ago. I am from an island in Greece called Ikaria. If you know anything about Greek mythology, you may have heard a story of a father and son escaping King Minos from Crete. Together they made wings of wax and feathers and then flew from the island of Crete to escape the tyranny of King Minos. After flying too close to the sun, the young boy Ikarus' wings melted and he crashed onto an island now named after him, "Ikaria." And you thought the Indians mastered peyote!

The people who come from the Island of Ikaria have a national convention every Labor Day Weekend. It's really nothing more than a mini family reunion, with several thousand attendees. Well, they asked me to entertain them for an evening and I did! I never touched any of my material and just talked about Greek traditions and the goings on of a Greek family...and it was a hit! Since then, I have been asked to open for Greek singers and to put on my own concert. I try to do at least one Greek show a week in the city where I perform my regular standup material, or I will do fundraisers for churches and Greek festivals.

SKENE: Do you talk about growing up Greek in your traditional standup act?

BASILE: Yes. What I really talk about is how my Greek mother screwed up all of the traditional American holidays. On Thanksgiving, she cooked steaks! For Halloween, she would cut pieces of Baklava and put it into the bags of little trick-o-treaters. These kids would walk away asking themselves, "Why is my candy so sticky?" 

And my favorite story is when my tooth fell out, my mother told me to put the tooth under my pillow so that the tooth fairy would come and give me money. The next morning, under my pillow, I found my mother and father's personal check for ten dollars. I wasn't all that smart either. I thought that the tooth fairy was embezzling money from my parents. 

SKENE: When do you plan to release your CD Growing up Greek In America: Basile Live from Greek Town? 

BASILE: At least not for another six months. Right now I am too busy putting the finishing touches on my new CD Basile Unleashed, that will be out at stores some time in July 1999. 

We are now preparing a promotional tour for the album! As far as the Greek show being recorded, we have already recorded some shows in Greek, but first things first, Basile Unleashed!

SKENE: Has your grandmother ever seen you perform? 

BASILE: Sexually? I'd rather not go there. I had an uncle who has seen me perform, too, but that caused a lot of trouble in our family. The only thing I ask is this, is it wrong for an eight year old boy to do a table dance for his uncle? Who's to say! Dressed the right way, tips are coming in... I mean, who's using who? Perhaps, I'm sharing too much with you!

SKENE: Are there any famous comedians of Greek descent?

BASILE: Yes, but many have Americanized their names: Johny Carsonopoulos, Rich Littledimas, Joey Bishopoulos, and Bill Cosby (but Bill continues to deny his roots), to name a few.

SKENE: Do you ever have any opening acts?

BASILE: When I do my Greek or American concerts, I bring my own opening act. However, when I add on a show to my usual week at a comedy club, I just use the opener that is there.

SKENE: Do you plan to continue performing your show at comedy clubs or will you eventually move to theaters or function rooms?

BASILE: We have already made that move. It's a great feeling to go from clubs to a theater. It's a sign of growth of your fan base and of your personal standup comedy show - American or Greek for that matter! It's very difficult when you do the larger venues. You really have to slow down so everyone can keep up with you. But I LOVE IT!

SKENE: Do you find you talk to the crowd more at the conclusion of a Greek show than after a regular American standup show?

BASILE: I ALWAYS thank people as they leave any of my shows. I am always available to sign autographs and to talk to them afterwards.

SKENE: What, if anything, differentiates the Greek sense of humor from every other sense of humor?

BASILE: Humor is humor. There is nothing scientific about it. If you have a character or a certain type of persona that works for you on stage, it will work for you whatever the language. What has made my standup career successful is the ability to be theatrical and go into and out of characters, whenever I needed to. You can do the same in Greek or in any other language.

SKENE: Is promotion of a show like this one any different from the promotion of a regular standup show?

BASILE: Of course. There are roughly 3.5 million Greeks in the United States today. What you must do to get the attention and of the Greek community is fairly simple. Go directly to the local Greek-Orthodox churches and various groups within these churches and spread the word! We have done Greek radio shows, interviews with American-published Greek newspapers, and I get quite a bit of national notoriety writing for the Greek-American Magazine, a monthly magazine promoting Greek heritage and spotlighting various issues that we Greeks deal with here in the United States. I write a column called "Growing up Greek In America." You then get mainstream media to cover you as well, since you're a bit of a novelty, and that helps too!

SKENE: Do you have any upcoming Greek shows scheduled?

BASILE: YES! Cincinnati June 6th at Go Bananas, Boston June 13th at Nick's Comedy Stop, Houston June 19th at Bobby's Comedy Corner, Levittown, NY June 26 at Governors Comedy Club. That's it for the June dates. There are 22 other Greek show dates through the end of the year. Just go to my Greek site to find current dates for all shows - www.opabasile.com

SKENE: Will you (or have you) ever perform(ed) in Greece?

BASILE: I have performed in Greece and it was GREAT! We are in the planning stages of putting together a special show at the American Embassy in Greece. We would love to tape there and use it for a future special, we'll see. However, this won't happen until March 2000. I'm just too busy with the new album, Bullwinkle Moose and commercial VOs, touring--both Greek and regular standup shows--and running for Best Male Standup of the year. My cup is kind of full! 

If you want to find out more about my Greek or American shows, just visit my web sites or I'll meet you at your local diner. Hey, I need the material!