In a spot on Joyride Media, entitled Everything You Know is Wrong, (named after an original song on his 1996 album Bad Hair Day) Al, former roadies Ben Garret (whom you may recognize from Reno 911) and Tom Lennon, Jon "Bermuda" Shwartz (Al's drummer), Ruben Valtierra (pianist), Dr.Demento, and others shed some light, and sarcasm, on Al's career over the years. They do mention numerous times they're sticking to a script (who wrote it? Al?), yet they keep calling it "What the mainstream media doesn't want you to know".
I did not type out the entire piece, though I did type out much of it.
On Himself:
Al: These days most artists really look at it as a-a..an achievement, of sorts, to get a "Weird Al" credit because it's a sign you've reached a certain plateau in your career. Y'know, it's the Third Stage of Success. You get Gold, platinum, and Weird Al. That's the highest honour you could possibly get!
The Accordian?:
Al: ...a door-to-door..uh, accordian school representative came to uh, our house when I was six-years-old and asked if the child of the house wanted to take lessons. And uh-at that early age my parents made that life-altering decision for me that I should, in fact, take accordian lessons.
On His Relationship with Dr.Demento:
I need to look more into the artists he mentioned before I can comment, though I've heard dark rumours about most of them. I do know Frank's son, Dweezil, did some work on The Weird Al Show in 1996 or '97.
Dr. Demento: 1976 I got this cheap cassette in the mail from Alfred Yankovic, Lynwood, California and I put it on and heard a song called Belvedere Cruising, him and his accordian, and a few weeks later another tape came in the mail from him. A song called School Cafeteria. That was even better than the first one, but it was probably in '77 or '78 that I invited him to the station and he showed up in his best Sunday suit...shy, but very, very articulate, personable, and uh...number of further occassions, it was on one of those visits that Al sang a new song live on the air, and that turned out to be Another One Rides the Bus.
Al: That night was the night I met my still drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwarz. He happened to be another one of the people Dr. Demento had invited to the studio. Uh, he had done a cover version of a song called "Woodsy the Owl" [I may have gotten that wrong] uh, and uh, he told me he was a drummer so when it came time to perform the song I said "Hey Jon, y'know uh, why don'cha bang on my accordian case for percussion since you're this hotshot drummer?" So, y'know, he did and he did such a good job banging on my accordian case that I said "Hey, d'ya wanna be my drummer for the next 30 years?" and he said "Okay!"
Bermuda: After we finished playing Bus that night I said something like "You should have a band and I'll be your drummer." uh...but I don't think it was anything specific, like its just fun to play the song like that, and he was a nice, enthusiastic guy, and I could never have predicted there was a serious career in the future. Uh, but a little voice was saying "This is fun! Stick around!" and it was obviously the right place and time for us to meet.
Jim West: Well you know, I've played in a lot of bands so I wasn't really a stranger to, you know, being a stylistic chameleon. I mean I've-it wasn't new to me, you know, in learning cover songs, y'know and when you're playing in bands often-times you're playing whatever current cover songs are, so it wasn't that unusual y'know. It was more exciting though, 'cause Al was adding his twist to it, which was pretty cool.
[clip plays of one of Al's polkas, featuring him singing "I'm a man/I'm a one-night stand/I'm a slave/I'm a little girl/when we make love together"]
On Michael Jackson
Al: Well starting out back in the day, uh, it was very difficult to get permission-um, actually it was difficult to get phone calls returned. Nobody wanted to deal with someone named "Weird Al" Yankovic. Um, but, um...after a couple albums..uh.. the tides starting turning. In fact I have to say Michael Jackson was a big reason why..uh..artsits tended to uh..give me approval ..uh.. after that. Because uh..you know, once Michael Jackson gave his blessing it was harder for everyone else to say "no", 'cause you know..."If, if it's okay with Michael Jackson...you know...I guess it's okay! You know, who-who am I to say that Weird Al can't do this if he's got Michael's seal of approval?" So I-I have to give Michael props on that because he really opened a lot of doors for me.
On MTV
1981 logos
Al: I started about the same time that MTV did. This was waaay back in the days-I don't know if you remember this-this was back in the days when MTV played music videos. It was crraazy! They actually played music video-during, during, like, the day! Like, in fact, like all day long! 24 hours-it was such a concept...and what was cool about the early '80s ...your stuff didn't even have to be very good to make it on the air because they didn't have a big, you know...library of material to choose from. They didn't have a big back catalog in the early '80s so, y'know, my early stuff was really low-budget and, y'know not that great frankly, but they'd play it because they didn't have a lot of choice. So I-I did get to grow up with MTV and we had a nice symbiotic relationship for-for-for many years 'til uh-I-uh had my Logan's Run experience where uh-I became "too old for the demographic".
Tom: People ignore the controversy that's often surrounded Weird Al in his life. Um, the first time he was on tv no-one would film him from the neck up because it was "too disturbing" for the people at home, they said. And then there was that whole thing about Jesus that he said .[They start playing ominous music] He actually didn't say Weird Al was better than Jesus, he said he'd sold more albums than Jesus. I believe that's true. Technically, you can look it up and that is true. [clips to Eat It]
Why would he bring up Jesus in the same manner John Lennon did?
On the Band
Al: Y'know, I-I always like to hear compliments about the band because I always feel that those guys don't get nearly enough credit for the great work that they do. People denegrate the music sometimes because "Oh, its comedy. It's funny. They can't possibly be a real band" but I mean, if you look at the breadth of what they've done over the last 2, 3 decades I mean, they've done everything from zydeco to polka to gangsta rap and they, they nail each genre perfectly. And you know, that's not easy to do. These guys really know what they're doing. It's a pleasure to work with them on a daily basis.
Insanely talented musicians, or working with spirits?
...Tom mentions Weird Al has worked with the same sound engineer for all of his albums "Unemployable? Or loyal? You decide."...
Describing a ritualistic initiation?
Ruben: I learned all the songs perfectly, and when it came my turn to play with Al-during the Dr.Demento 20th Anniversary-he didn't care what I played like. He just wanted to make sure that I took the eye poke well, and fall on my head. So I devised it, when cameras were rolling, that he came over, delivered the eye poke, and I promptly fell eight feet down, on my head, they loved it, they thought it was the funniest thing in the world, and they called me back to go on tour. So there you have it: That's how I ended up with Al.
...Tom and Ben make bizarre not-quite-jokes about restraining orders, breaking into James Taylors house to write songs on his acoustic guitar, Carly Simon, mocking birds, and paying the piper...
Tom and Ben: Al returned after a year wearing long flowing robes, talking about giving back to his people, and smelling like somebodies feet. We were understandably unnerved but we wanted a raise, so we came back to work for him. Turns out he'd spent that year in India with a guy claiming to be a maharishi. At the end of the year, the maharishi tried to get him to invest in a frozen yogurt business
Tom and Ben mention Al played Vegas for years and was "kind of a lost soul".
[Smells Like Nirvana plays just before this conversation. Puts a different twist on the line "What's the message/I'm conveying?/Can you tell me/what I'm saying?"]
On Songwriting and Masonry
Al: First and foremost I'm just..*strange noise* going for laughs. Every once in awhile some satire or actual commentary will creep in. A-against my will. Then-then they're teaching these classes in the -uh- Weird Al discography at the local community college. They're-they're picking apart the lyrics trying to find the meaning [laughs almost nervously].
Ben: Weird Al scholars have puzzled for years over his constant use of the number 27. Which did happen after he took that intensive correspondance course on Kabbalah.
Tom: You don't know what it is?
Ben: No, I don't. He never told me. Did he tell you?!
Tom: Oh, yeah! He told all the guys in the band and me,y-yeah.
Ben: Really?!
Tom: Yeah.
Ben: What is it? [sounds like he opens a folded note] oh my goodness!
Tom: Yeah.
Ben: Wow! Look at that!
Tom: yeah.
Ben: Is that like, Masonic?
Tom: uhh...I think it predates the Revelations.
Ben: Wow!
Tom: ..lemme...fold a dollar bill...like that...[paper rustling]
Ben: Wow! Look at that! ...Nostradamus stuff!
Tom: Yeah...interesting, right?
Ben: *sounding impressed* Very!
Tom: ...and if look and you take the eagle like that [paper rustling] it was hiding there the whole time! Looks like Weird Al, there y'go. On the dollar bill.
Either Bermuda or Jim: Yeah, y'know Al pretty much has outlived-his career has outlived- many of all the bands he's, uh, he's done stylistic comments on. But I mean one way of looking at it is there's never-never a lack of m-material for him to uh work with. There's always going to be something out there. And its interesting too because his career has uh-everytime he puts a record out...he kind of um, regenerates a new audience. The demographic at our shows is all over the map.
Jim or Bermuda mentions couples who have met at Al's shows and gotten married, predicts they'll breed a new generation of Al fans.
Ben: ...Kids, you exist because of the magical talent of Weird Al Yankovic.
Wrapping Up
Ben: Ladies and gentlemen, he may be a monster, uhh...but he's the only Weird Al we've got. And we will leave you with one last memory of our time on the road with him. Every morning when he'd unlock the roadies room and let us out for breakfast and re-education, we'd put our hands on our hearts and sing along with what we called "The 'Weird Al' Anthem". Then he'd charge us royalties for singing his song. That's the way it works with him. [they banter some more then end with Dare to be Stupid]
Hit stores June 21st 2011
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