Tenacious D

Tenacious D (sometimes referred to as "The D") is a band composed of musicians and actors Kyle Gass and Jack Black, who perform rock music, folk metal ^*" target="_blank" >^*," target="_blank" >comedy rock ^*" target="_blank" >and even country-rock [http://flakmag.com/music/tenaciousd.html. In essence, they are known for their upbeat classic rock style infused with vulgar comedy. The band first gained reputation in 1999 starring in a self-titled HBO television series known as "Tenacious D", during which Black and Gass tried to establish themselves as "The D" and the "Greatest Band in the World". Comedy Central occasionally airs the short-lived television series.

History

Beginnings (1984 - 2000)

Sixteen-year-old Jack Black met 24-year-old Kyle Gass in Los Angeles in 1985 when they were both in the "The Actors' Gang" theatre troup. Ironically, Black and Gass didn't much like each other at first, but the two eventually worked out their differences. Later, Gass taught Black to play the guitar, and eventually asked him to form a band. While they can both sing and play the guitar, Black is billed as the lead singer and Gass as the lead guitarist.

The first album (2001 - 2004)

"The D" released Tenacious D (#38 UK), in 2001. For their first album, they enlisted the help of Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl (former drummer of Nirvana); keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish; guitarist Warren Fitzgerald of the Vandals; and bass player Steve McDonald. The Dust Brothers produced the album. The majority of the songs on their debut album stem from early versions as seen on their HBO television series.

The first single off of the album was "Wonderboy", which has since become popular on both college radio and modern rock stations.

The second single is the band's signature song "Tribute", a tribute to the "greatest and best song in the world", which according to the duo they once played to outwit a demon (played by Grohl in the video) — but which they have now forgotten. Celebrity Ben Stiller also has a cameo in the music video, as Black grabs his arm while passing by. Early versions of the song incorporated guitar riffs borrowed from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", suggesting comically that the so-called "greatest song" was in fact that song, but this was minimized in the album version.

Two singles followed "Tribute": "Dio", and "Fuck Her Gently". "Dio", a tribute to rock singer Ronnie James Dio, asked for Dio to stop playing rock music and allow them to fill his shoes. Dio liked the song enough to let the band appear in his next music video "Push." The video for "Fuck Her Gently" (released in May 2004) featured animations by Spümcø, the studio behind Ren and Stimpy.

Several songs on this album are preceded by "skits" where Jack and Kyle go through some sort of rudimentary creative process or argument which immediately precedes the next song. Most of these skits are adapted from HBO episodes and showcase the band's absurdist humor.

Side Projects

On screen

The Tenacious D song, "Jesus Ranch", was featured in the 1997 film Bongwater, performed by Jack Black's character, Devlin. The song was later featured in one of their HBO shorts, which they aired in 1999.

Earlier, they performed as a band in the movie Bio-Dome (1996) and shared the silver screen in 2001's Saving Silverman and Shallow Hal, but not in character as "The D".

In 2003, they released a DVD entitled Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks, which features their HBO shorts, videos, and a live performance from London's Brixton Academy (recorded on November 3, 2002).

A Tenacious D movie, entitled The Pick of Destiny, is planned for a 2006 release. Directed by Liam Lynch, who helmed their "Tribute" video, the film will portray the fictional beginnings of the band and their rise to super-stardom. Black comments that the movie's cast includes "Tenacious D, the Devil, and Sasquatch."

The first track from The Pick of Destiny, entitled "Dude, I Miss You", was unveiled by the duo on December 17, 2004, at St. James Theater in Wellington, New Zealand .

On a 2005 Saturday Night Live episode, Jack Black hosted, and "The D" played a song about a spelling bee, and also a song about King Kong.

Black and Gass also made an appearance in the first episode of Tom Goes to the Mayor to be televised on Adult Swim. In the episode, the duo were known as "The Bear Trap Brothers," two competitive brothers who ran bear trap shops that were located side-by-side.

Other bands

Guitarist Kyle Gass a.k.a. "KG" also plays guitar and sings vocals for the band Trainwreck, under the pseudonym "Klip Calhoun" along with lead roadie and sometimes vocalist of "The D", JR "Lee" Reed, under the pseudonym "Darryl Donald".

Films

Both Black and Gass had minor roles in Jim Carrey's movie The Cable Guy as Matthew Broderick's friend and a man at home. Black has had quite a successful acting career starring in films including Shallow Hal, High Fidelity, School of Rock, and King Kong. They are also writing their own film, The Pick of Destiny. Both School of Rock and Shallow Hal have been particularly well received by the fans and critics alike.