JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii comedian Mel Cabang enjoys a meal at one of his favorite restaurants -- Like Like Drive Inn.

Leeward fun

AFTER three years in town, the annual "Make Me Laugh" concert heads to the Leeward side this April Fool's Day.

"I think it's going to be a lot of fun," said Mel Cabang, the elder statesman of Hawaii comedy who has headlined the show since 2003. "This is a new experience, to see something like this in that area."

April Fool's Laughfest "Make Me Laugh 4: Westside" Where: Dot's, 130 Mango St. in Wahiawa When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Tickets: $20 Call: 622-4115

Joining Cabang are some of the next generation of local comedians. Kaleo Pilanca makes the jump to co-headliner this year, with Stan Egi, Da Hawaiian Guy from Molokai, Cathy Tanaka and Elroy also on the bill.

"The kids are real fresh, and a lot of people haven't seen them," Cabang said. "We're trying to bring comedy to people who don't have access."

FOUR YEARS ago, it was Cabang who didn't have access -- to the outside world. After being convicted on gambling charges in 1998, he served three years in federal prison.

"I did what I did and I had to pay for it," he said over a late lunch at Like Like Drive-Inn last week. "If I knew the consequences would have been as grave as they were, I would have never done it."

Doing time served as a wake up call for the 63-year-old, who first made a name for himself here as a singer at a nightspot called the Ranch House.

With a successful career dating back to the 1960s, a house in Hawaii Kai and money in the bank, Cabang essentially lost everything after getting involved in a large-scale bookmaking operation.

The ironic thing? He emerged from the experience without taking much flack from the general public.

"I left (prison) with $125 that I saved from working for 17 cents an hour," he said. "But the notoriety of things that happened ... that's why everybody knows me."

Instead of being recognized as the comedian who sings during his act, brings phallic items on stage and makes fun of anyone who dares to get out of their seat, Cabang is now regularly asked for odds on upcoming sporting events and when he's planning another trip to Las Vegas.

And even though it's been almost seven years since the start of his incarceration, the comedian continues to use the experience as fodder for his stand-up routine. He'd rather forget about it and move on, but he's also savvy enough to understand the forces behind his resurgence.

"I do make light of what I did," said Cabang. "And it's made me more popular than I've ever been."

THESE DAYS, Cabang lives in a modest studio apartment in Makiki and drives what he calls a "junkalunka" Honda Accord. He doesn't expect to ever fully recover financially from his run-in with the Internal Revenue Service, but keeps plugging away on the private party circuit with a few public performances like this weekend's "Make Me Laugh" concert.

"What I going do if I retire?" he asks. "Survive on Social Security?"

Instead, Cabang taught himself how to shoot, edit and produce television commercials. After an initial run with Caesars Cleaners following his release from prison, he's since spread out to working with other local businesses in an effort to both make money and maintain his exposure among the general public.

He's also started exercising again, and is working on releasing a three-disc comedy DVD with '70s and '80s-era performances by local legends including Frank DeLima, the late James Grant Benton, Freddie Morris, Frank B. Shaner and Karen Keawehawaii.

When asked what it will be like performing alongside comedians young enough to be his grandchildren, Cabang laughs at how he's now addressed as "uncle" instead of just Mel.

"I hang with the kids ... a lot of them sat in with me at Brew Moon," he said. "They have fresh ideas and they're always energetic.

"But I look at myself as a young guy, and apparently I'm not!"