Another lunch break, another interview transcribed. This time it’s the greatest band in the world, Tenacious D! Known to mortal men as Jack Black and Kyle Gass, you should all know the history of Tenacious D, but not just a listing of things they’ve done in the past, but also a chronicling of their rise . . . to power!
This interview was done about two and a half years ago, backstage before the D’s show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The place was packed, packed, packed, and the boys receiving a reception that closely resembled Beatlemania. It was insane, and one of the most fun times I ever had at a show. Both JB abd Kage were really very nice, sharing their beer with me and my wife and taking a great picture of them "taking me to rock and roll jail" (the two of them pulling on my arms, which sits in a frame on my desk at work). If you haven't seen the classic HBO episodes yet or haven't listened to their album, do so. Nothing has ever made me laugh as hard as Tenacious D.

Enjoy!

(Mul)Doomstone

Jack Black: Wow. (applauds)

Kyle Gass: Jeez, I don’t know.

JB: Yes, absolutely.

KG: That’s a good question to start things off.

JB: B.D.? A.D.? It’s already A.D., so that has a nice ring to it. What is A.D.? Why isn’t it A.C.? (much discussion takes place about what A.D. stands for . . . no one present is actually sure.) I’m changing my answer. The answer is no.

(M)DS: I have a theory that most great bands contain two true icons, i.e. Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Rcihards. What makes Tenacious D the greatest band on earth is that you cut out the middleman.

JB: HaHa! Ha! Yes!

KG: I would agree with everything! These questions are all rhetorical.

JB: These aren’t questions, these are just general truths.

(M)DS: So what’s going on with HBO? Are there going to be more shows?

KG: You know what, they offered us more shows, and we said we would love to do more shows because it was great and we had a great time doing them. And they said, "Well, you guys will stop being executive producers, stop writing the shows, and basically become actors on somebody else’s show."

JB: They said, "We want you to become The Monkees. You can still write the songs." Didn’t they say we could write the songs?

KG: We could write the songs, but they said, "You guys are going to be so busy, we really don’t want you to be creatively involved."

JB: And we said, "OK . . . no."

KG: We said, "Why were the first shows funny? Why did people like them? Wasn’t it because we were involved with them?" It was back and forth.

JB: And you know what? Fuckin’ HBO gives fuckin’ Bob Odenkirk . . .

KG: No! No!

JB: Fuckin’ Bob Odenkirk gets a six figure deal and we get shit!

KG: Don’t print that.

JB: Print it! No, don’t print that. I’m just saying . . . Their idea was, that because this would turn the show in to a "real" show, there had to be a new set of rules. Whatever it was, it was total jackassery. And now we’re still in negotiations, so we don’t really know.

KG: We shouldn’t even really talk about it. But you got the scoop!

(M)DS: What music did you guys listen to growing up?

JB: I don’t know who turned me on to Simon & Garfunkel, but I listened to a lot of that early, early on. I also listened to Dr. Suess records, and I imagined myself alone on stage, singing harmonies. One note would come out of my nostril and another note would come out of my ear, and another note would come out of my mouth. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to achieve that, so Kyle had to join the team.

KG: I remember having enough money to buy one record, I could only buy one record. And - this was a long time ago, because I’m old - it was a choice between The Beach Boys’ "Endless Summer," one of their first greatest hits compilations, or Sly and The Family Stone’s "Greatest Hits." I knew I had to get a greatest hits record, because I only had so much money. You know, more bang for the buck. I went with The Beach Boys.

JB: (groans)

KG: I know. It was tough. I made a mistake.

JB: Well, that’s good, but check this one out. I go into the record store, and at this point I am really, really in to Journey, OK? I’m real young. I don’t know if I am twelve or thirteen, but I go in there and I am getting my Journey, some new Journey I don’t have, and this sixteen year old guy in a flannel shirt goes, "Don’t get that. Here, get this." And he hands me "Blizzard of Oz." I’m like, OK. I fucking took it and bought it and it changed my life.

KG: And that kid . . .

JB: Is known today . . . as Johnny Depp. (laughter)

(M)DS: What are you guys listening to now?

KG: Well, I don’t know . . . should I divulge the secret? (Jack nods) I don’t like music. I really don’t. I play it, but . . . I don’t know. It’s a hard thing to talk about.

JB: To Kyle, music is just math. And if it makes sense numerically, than it must be good. And if it pleases certain sensors in other humans, then . . .

KG: I used to like playing it, but now that it’s my job, it’s kind of arduous.

JB: I like music. Right now, I’m listening to nothing.

(The roadie, Lee Lee Lee Lee Lee Lee Lee, talkin’ fuckin’ Lee, interjects): That’s not true. You listen to Sebadoh.

JB: Yeah, I enjoy Sebadoh, I enjoy Urge Overkill, but they’re no longer around.

KG: What else is on your platter?

JB: I enjoy Elliot Smith . . . Pavement, I enjoy Pavement.

KG: I listen to whatever Jack has on his platter. I have to go to his house because my house is too messy.

JB: You know what I’m into now? Fuckin’ Linda Ronstandt! I didn’t like here until now, and I realized, wait a second, I do like her! What the one kick-ass hit? The one that makes me dance?

KG: He’s just saying that.

JB: No, I mean it. What’s that one kick-ass hit of hers? It kind of rocks a little bit? (Much discussion takes place about which Ronstandt tune Jack refers to; no one is really sure).

(M)DS: Which artist would you most like to swoop down on and encourage to continue, and to which would you most like to say, "Stop"?

JB: Wow.

KG: I know the stop one. It’s the guys with the hit right now, the one that goes, "I like girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch . . ."

JB: That’s not stopping anytime soon.

KG: ‘N Sync, any of the boy bands.

JB: I’d say to continue, Urge Overkill, who are continuing, just not together. I’d say, "Hey, get back together."

KG: Urge should get back together. It was like a brotherhood.

(M)DS: There’s a bong visible in one episode, and Jack, you talk about mushrooms in another . . .

JB: Right, right . . .

(M)DS: Do you think you’ll become a target for outraged parents anytime soon?

KG: It would be an honor.

JB: Nah. They’ll just blame Marilyn Manson. It’s always Marilyn Manson’s fault.

KG: Well, have you seen the guy? Take a look at the guy! It makes perfect sense. The guy’s out to lunch.

JB: Awww, he seems like a nice young man.

(M)DS: Is the lack of response from the audience in the HBO show indicative of the response you got when you first started playing?

JB: Normally, I would say no, because whenever an audience sees the D, the spontaneously erupt.

KG: There’s been a big upturn since the TV show, because for some reason, a lot of people watch TV. We did one of those Miller Genuine Draft "Blind Date" things [a promotion where people when tickets to a club show, not knowing what band they will see]. We thought we were pretty good and could win over any crowd, but we found that we couldn’t win over people that were flown in and given free beer.

JB: And they’ve been thinking for two weeks, "I wonder who we’re going to see?"

(M)DS: They think they’re going to see Aerosmith.

JB: Right! And we walk out, and no one recognized us. Maybe, maybe a two percent recognition rate.

KG: There were enough drunk guys up front that were disappointed, yelling, "Fuck You! You Suck! Faggot!"

JB: You know in some movies, when they have the chicken wire in front of the stage?

(M)DS: Like in "The Blues Brothers"?

JB: Right. We needed that. But instead, we were pelted with garbage, ice, beer . . .

KG: The good news is that we were very well compensated, so we continued just for contractual reasons.

(M)DS: Do you guys get asked if you’re brothers a lot?

JB: Oh, yeah. And the answer is no.

(M)DS: I wonder why everyone always says that?

KG: Does anyone ever ask if we’re gay lovers?

(M)DS: Someone told me today to ask if you two were married.

JB: Ha! Haha! Haaaaaaaaaaw!

KG: We can’t legally be married in our state. But we will go to Hawaii if necessary.

JB: I like girls . . . that wear Abercrombie and Fitch!

KG: Chinese food makes me sick!

(M)DS: I guess that about does it . . .

JB: We got some funnies in there, right?

(M)DS: Oh, yeah . . .

JB: Well, feel free to funny it up a bit if you have to. A little editorializing, if you will.

KG: And take some of this beer. We’re not going to drink all of it.