New Year’s Eve is no longer the most popular party night of the year. That doesn’t mean people still don’t act like fools. Comedian Felipe Esparza seems to be a fan of the holiday.

“I think we should celebrate New Year’s Eve like Mexican birthdays,” Esparza explains. “All month long.”

The winner of Last Comic Standing in 2010, Felipe Esparza is a comedian and actor known for his wild hair, and his raw, real-life comedy that audiences everywhere can relate to. His first one-hour special, ‘Felipe Esparza: They‘re Not Gonna Laugh at You‘ premieres December 28th at 10pm on Showtime. Felipe has released two digital albums, Rebound Material and What‘s Up Fool; both available on iTunes.

We sat down with Felipe to talk about his New Year’s Eve plans and new lyrics to ‘Auld Lang Syne.’

GuySpeed: Isn’t New Year’s just the celebration of a fresh new desk calendar?

Felipe Esparza: No, I actually like the idea of being able to have a fresh start – wipe the slate clean and let’s forget about me getting loaded and making out with your aunt. That was the “LAST year” me.

GuySpeed:What’s your best New Year’s Eve experience? What was your worst?

Felipe Esparza: Best New Year’s was a couple years ago with my girlfriend in Santa Cruz. It was an overcast night in a deserted beach town and we stumbled into an arcade where two teenagers recognized me and challenged me to a group video trivia game. I did not win.

The worst New Year’s was last year when I was on the ‘Last Comic Standing’ tour in Atlanta. I was homesick and after the show just went back to my hotel. All night long I listened to drunks running up and down the hall for hours shouting and having fun yelling “Happy New Year.”

GuySpeed: Your one-hour special is titled ‘They’re not going to laugh at you.’ Did you ever have moments where people are laughing at you but you aren’t joking at all?

Felipe Esparza: There have been those moments but that’s what makes a comedian stronger– taking those moments and turning them into a comedy bit.

GuySpeed: If you could spend New Year’s Eve with one person from the movie New Year’s Eve, who would it be?

Felipe Esparza: Russell Peters! He’s a friend of mine – we’ve worked together many times and knowing him, I’m pretty sure it would be a great celebration.

GuySpeed: What the hell does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ even mean?

Felipe Esparza: Is that what they’re saying?? I always thought they were saying “Old Gang Signs” like, “Yo holmes, we’re not doing that sign anymore after this year.” In other words, I have no idea.

Felipe Esparza’s first one-hour special, ‘Felipe Esparza: They‘re Not Gonna Laugh at You‘ premieres December 28th at 10pm on Showtime. Felipe has released two digital albums, ‘Rebound Material’ and ‘What‘s Up Fool’ and both are available on iTunes.

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