Tenacious D
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
The crazed, wide-ranging sense of humor and intensity that Black brought to Tenacious D also made him a sought-after character actor, appearing in films like #Bob Roberts, #The Cable Guy, and #Saving Silverman; Gass film career includes supporting roles in #Jacobs Ladder, #Idle Hands, and #Evolution. Similarly, the Ds act showcased Blacks theatrical, versatile vocals and Gass deft support on the guitar in seemingly stream-of-consciousness songs about smoking pot, the duos musical and sexual prowess, and subjects straight out of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as in equally absurd and inventive sketches.
The duo met at an acting class and began playing together in 1994, making their live debut later that year at ~Als Bar, playing just one number, the aforementioned homage to the worlds greatest song, Tribute. In the audience that night was comedian/actor David Cross, who invited Black and Gass to appear with him and other like-minded performers such as Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo in a series of alternative comedy shows. The D soon headlined shows at venues like ~Pedros and Largo, planting the seeds of a die-hard cult following; not even their inauspicious film debut in 1996s #Bio-Dome slowed their momentum. The following year, their appearances on Bob Odenkirk and Cross brilliant HBO sketch comedy program #Mr. Show With Bob and David and a 1998 performance of Sex Supreme -- which sang the praises of a ménage à trois with KG and JB -- on #Saturday Night Live hinted at the duos just-beneath-the surface popularity, which began to rise into the mainstream with the groups 1999 HBO series. Though it lasted just three episodes, Tenacious D included, among other adventures, the groups search for Inspirato, the cosmic creative force; the love triangle between Black, Gass, and a heavily pierced, Satanic clog dancer who threatened to destroy the group; and the discovery of %Lee, Tenacious Ds biggest fan. More of the Ds brilliantly dumb songs debuted on the show, and fans began trading and auctioning video and audiotapes of Tenacious D. The duo also played opening gigs for friends like Beck, Pearl Jam, and the Foo Fighters and embarked on their first full-fledged tour; Epic won a bidding war to sign the group. In 2000, Blacks popularity and prominence as an actor grew with roles in films like #Jesus Son and, especially, #High Fidelity, where his turn as the larger-than-life record store clerk %Barry made him a bona-fide star. Meanwhile, the group worked on a self-titled debut album with the Dust Brothers, Dave Grohl, Phishs Page McConnell, Redd Kross Steve McDonald, and other friends.
In 2001, the Ds momentum hit critical mass: The group set out on their second nationwide tour, playing significantly larger venues than before and selling out many of their dates. And, despite an attempt to recall Tenacious D at the last moment because of its back cover, which depicted two babies chained to an altar, their debut entered the charts at a surprisingly strong number 33. Meanwhile, Spumco, the production company of #Ren & Stimpy mastermind John K., crafted an appropriately witty and raunchy video for the single Fuck Her Gently, and, last but not least, the duo continued work on a Tenacious D movie.
