Funny Guy for Weather Report for minneapolis
CASS LAKE -- If you want to know the weather in northern Minnesota, you don't turn to the Weather Channel -- you watch the Rez Report.
Local comedian Rob Fairbanks started posting videos of himself as the Rez Reporter, an Ojibwe weatherman with an exaggerated accent, about two years ago on Facebook and YouTube for fun. As of Friday night, Fairbanks had 39,684 Facebook likes and 1,850 YouTube subscribers.
"I just started doing videos for my friends as a joke, and they encouraged me to keep making videos," Fairbanks said. "After I made that first weather report, it went viral."
Fairbanks lives in Cass Lake where he can often be spotted at the wayside rest shooting Rez Reports selfie-style on his cell phone. Minneapolis born and raised, Fairbanks, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, moved up north to get away from the city six years ago. He remembered experiencing traditional ways when he'd visit his aunt and uncle on the reservation when he was younger. The Rez Reporter character is partly based on his uncle Morris Blanchard, who is from Canada.
"He has a real rezzy accent," Fairbanks said.
Fairbanks has known he wanted to perform comedy since he was young when he used to watch the classic comedy shows "Laurel & Hardy" and "The Three Stooges" with his grandfather. His comedic influences include improv actors on old school "Saturday Night Live," Eddie Murphy, Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, YouTube comedian Ryan McMahon and actor Adam Beach who starred in the 1998 film "Smoke Signals."
"'Smoke Signals' really opened the door for exposure to Native humor," Fairbanks said.
Fellow comedian and former co-host Tito Ybarra of Red Lake teamed up with Fairbanks almost 15 years ago, when the two lived in Minneapolis. Ybarra and Fairbanks hosted the "Rob and Tito Show" for six months on UpStream TV in Bemidji.
"Rob's been able to bridge the gap between the Native and non-native crowds," Ybarra said.
Ybarra said a Rob and Tito comeback could be in the future, and he looks forward to working with Rob as part of the Intertribal Comedy Crew. The crew, which takes Native American comedy on the road, also includes Stuart Perkins and Tania Jo Hall.
"Doing TV is different than performing in front of a live audience," Fairbanks said. "When you're talking to a camera, there's no reaction."
Fairbanks performed his first stand up routine a year ago in Cass Lake. One of Fairbanks' goals is to make it on national TV. He said although some of his content is "rezzy," he doesn't want to be labelled as a Native comedian, rather he wants to be recognized as a Native American who does comedy.
Fairbanks' fame has grown in the Bemidji area so much he gets recognized as the Rez Reporter when he goes out. The local celebrity has taken on hosting events at casinos claiming the moniker "The Darker Bob Barker."
When Fairbanks isn't creating viral videos or hosting events, he's making co-workers laugh on the job. Fairbanks has been working for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe public works department as a heating technician since 2012. A year after he started at LLBO public works, his boss found out about Fairbanks' moonlighting as the Rez Reporter.
"I think he's got a lot of talent," said Vern Lyons, director of LLBO public works.
Lyons said although Fairbanks brings laughter he is serious about his work and handles his day job well. While Lyons has yet to catch one of Fairbanks' stand up acts, he said he experiences Rob's humor quite a bit at work.
"He's got a good sense of humor and has a natural ability to talk to people easily," Lyons said.
The Rez Reporter character may not be a politically correct persona, but Fairbanks said he hasn't heard much negative feedback. Mostly, people thank him for sharing his humor and talent. He said one woman shook his hand and thanked him for his videos. She shared Rez Report videos with her son,who was serving in Afghanistan, on Facebook and it made him laugh.
"When I first started doing the Rez Report, I wanted to bring a positive light to Leech Lake," Fairbanks said. "I wanted to let people know who we are and where we are in Leech Lake. I want to give people a sense of pride."
Fairbanks remembers growing up with family always laughing and pride playing an important role in life. He said different tribes have different slang, but overall Native humor is universal.
"Humor is the creator's gift to cope," Fairbanks said. "That's it."
Rez Reports can be seen on:
Facebook as Rez Report at www.facebook.com/rezreporter
YouTube as Rob Fairbanks channel at http://bit.ly/1xn8eq1
Twitter as @robrezreport at https://twitter.com/robrezreport
Some of Fairbanks' earlier videos are for an adult audience.
Source: https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/howah-humor-from-the-rez-reporter-cass-lake-comedian-videos-go-viral
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