James & Ernie ride wave of success

FORT WINGATE, N.M., April 3, 2008

The audience for the James and Ernie show nearly filled the Wingate Elementary School gym to capacity the night of March 27.

The event was the fourth performance by the comedians in 2008.

"Oh, man, we're just riding that high from the show," James Junes said following a two-hour performance.

Wingate Elementary students were preparing for spring break. The show was booked to encourage children to reach their goals despite roadblocks. The show was also a reward for the students for doing so well in school.

"You feel like you're on cloud nine when you get done with a show," Junes added.

The comedians entered the show with no plan and relied on instinct and the vibe from the audience.

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"I had that feeling like I didn't know...I had zero material before the show," said Ernest David Tsosie III. "What should I do or say when I get out there? Once that curtain opens it's a whole different story. We don't worry about it at that point."

"You become this whole different person," Junes added. "We become James and Ernie."

That's exactly what got the audience laughing as the two comics joked about reservation life through the eyes of a boarding school survivor, IHS patient, Wal-Mart shopper, husband and wife and college students.

Skits included hickey designs based on tribal affiliation.

"The pueblos have pottery designs," joked Junes.

"The Plains Indians - beaded designs," added Ernie.

They added the Navajo rug design, which they said extends to other portions of the upper body.

The duo is now in their seventh year, a pairing that began in Tuba City when the two were solo performers and were asked to combine their acts due to time constraints.

Since then they have become popular and a household name across Indian Country. Their debut DVD "James and Ernie-fied '04: Live in Farmington" was a success.

They re-released the Farmington show in a special edition that includes a bonus show that was only seen in IHS facilities.

They announced that their new DVD will be released during the Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque. The new DVD, "Fun in the Sun," highlights new material.

At the Wingate show, the two worked the stage with experience. At times they even finished each other's sentences.

"We watched our first show on tape. Man, it was dreadful," Tsosie said. "You know all the big gaps, the space, and after watching all that, we're rocking it now, you know?"

The duo learned to improvise and to keep the show going with little spaces in between skits.

"We could go anywhere and use anything on stage, in the crowd, if someone sees us in a crowd we would use that," Junes added. "We have a whole arsenal of material, both brand new and old."

"Some of it we don't even know if it's there. It just comes out," Tsosie added.

There are even times when they sit backstage after a show dumbfounded as to what it was that worked the crowd so well.

"What's harder now is finding an open day to schedule something," Tsosie said. "We're getting booked and there are times when we have turn down stuff. It's hard to accommodate everyone."

In the beginning it was different when they performed three shows a month. Now shows are scheduled almost back to back and not just on Navajoland.

"It's hard right now to keep up with the demands of entertainment," Tsosie. "Not that we're complaining."

Their success is still astonishing to them.

"I still can't believe it, that we've done it," Junes said. "When I'm out there on stage, I still can't believe it."

Junes and Tsosie acted in Sheephead Film's feature film "Mile Post 398" where Junes portrayed a party-goin' fun-loving guy named Marty and Tsosie portrayed Ray Yazzie, a father who befriends the main character Cloyd, played by Beau Benally.

Tsosie won best supporting actor at the 2007 American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.

The duo is scheduled to perform Friday at Veteran's Memorial Fieldhouse in Fort Defiance. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 and $7 with student IDs. Tickets can be purchased at Cocina De Dominguez in Window Rock or the day of the show.

Information: www.jamesandernie.com or www.myspace.com/jamesandernie.

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