Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were part of The Actors' Gang theatre company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacious defence" - a phrase used by NBA basketball sportscaster Marv Albert.[1]

Prior to the release of Tenacious D's 2001 debut album Tenacious D, the duo had a three-episode TV series released on HBO, with the episodes broadcasting between 1997 and 2000. These episodes came about after the band had met David Cross and Bob Odenkirk on the Los Angeles music scene—and Black featuring in episodes of Mr. Show with Bob and David. The band also befriended former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, and this would begin a working relationship between Foo Fighters and Tenacious D.[2] Towards the end of the 1990s, the duo would go on to support large rock acts - such as Pearl Jam, Tool and Beck.[3]

In 2000 they signed with Epic Records, and the year after released Tenacious D, their debut album featuring a full band, including Grohl on the drums. The first single, "Tribute", has since achieved cult-status, and made the band popular overseas, this being mainly the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia.[4] In 2003, Tenacious D released their first concert DVD - The Complete Master Works, which went on to achieve gold and platinum status by the RIAA.[5]

In November 2006, they starred in their own film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, released by New Line Cinema, with Epic Records releasing the soundtrack as their second album, The Pick of Destiny.[6] The film cost $20 million to produce, though only grossed $13.9 million at the box office and suffered poor reviews from critics.[7] Following several years of sporadic festival dates and special appearances, the band released their third album Rize of the Fenix on May 15, 2012 through Columbia Records - the album making light of the 2006 film's commercial failure.[8] In 2014, the band were invited to feature on Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life, a compilation album where various artists cover Ronnie James Dio songs to raise funds for cancer. Their cover of "The Last in Line" won a Grammy for best heavy metal performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[9]

In 2018, the band would begin independently releasing an animatic web series titled, Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto, each of the six episodes uploading exclusively to YouTube every week starting from the 28th of September. Columbia Records released the album Post-Apocalypto on November 2, 2018, just after the release of the sixth episode.[10]

Tenacious D's music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing abilities.[11] Critics have described their fusion of vulgar absurdist comedy with rock music as "mock rock".[3][12] Their songs discuss the duo's purported musical and sexual prowess, as well as their friendship and cannabis usage in a style that music critics have compared with the storyteller-style lyrics of rock opera.[13][14]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Beginnings 1.2 Television series (1997–2000) 1.3 First album Tenacious D (2001–2003) 1.4 The Pick of Destiny (2003–2008) 1.5 Rize of the Fenix (2008–2015) 1.6 Post-Apocalypto and touring (2012–present) 2 Musical style 2.1 Influences 3 Appearances 3.1 Film and television 3.2 Internet 3.3 Live 4 Political activity 5 Other projects 5.1 Trainwreck 5.2 Kyle Gass Band 5.3 Guitarings 6 Band members 6.1 Supporting members 6.2 Former supporting members 7 Discography 8 Awards 9 References 10 External links History Beginnings

Jack Black and Kyle Gass initially met in Los Angeles in 1986[15], both members of The Actors' Gang theater troupe.[16] Black admits due to animosity, he and Gass didn't initially see eye-to-eye, as Gass was the main musician for the Actor's Gang and "felt threatened by Black".[11][17][18] The Actor's Gang travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1989.[19] They were performing Tim Robbins' and Adam Simon's[20] play Carnage.[21] The two befriended during the trip, and by the early 1990s, had become best friends. Black states he didn't learn guitar until he was "around twenty-three years old", so would regularly visit Gass' Cochran Avenue studio apartment, in the deal that Gass would teach Black to play guitar in return for food, mainly from fast-food chain Jack in the Box.[22] Their go-to order was two tacos for a dollar, as it was cheap. If they wanted to splurge, they would go with the Monster Tacos, which included a little extra lettuce and salsa.[23]

The two would work at The Actor's Gang together, and would collaborate in productions.[24] Gass and Black wrote their first song in 1994 after Black had been dumped by a girlfriend, a non-comedic song. The two have since admitted to feeling embarrassed about the song, though occasionally sing it during interviews when telling their story.[25] Their second song came about when Black was listening to the Metallica song "One" in 1994 and told Gass that it was "the best song in the world". Gass told Black that they couldn't write the best song in the world, but Black put a twist on it and said they could "write a tribute". Gass played an A-minor chord on his guitar at the apartment and the two spent three full days crafting the song, when it was done Gass mentioned "they knew they had something". The song made the duo realize their comedic potential.[26]

At their first concert, at Al's Bar,[27] the band performed the live debut of "Tribute", their only song at the time, and the duo also gave the audience the chance to vote for their name.[18][19] Black and Gass gave them the choice between "Pets or Meat", "Balboa's Biblical Theatre" and "The Axe Lords Featuring Gorgazon's Mischief" (Gass' personal favorite).[18] "Tenacious D"—a basketball term used by commentators to describe robust defensive positioning in basketball — did not get the majority of votes, however, but according to Black "we forced it through".[18][28] The venue had become a hotbed for upcoming bands due to the success of Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so much so that in attendance was David Cross who later cast Jack Black in his sketch comedy television series on HBO, Mr. Show.[3][29]

Maynard James Keenan, lead vocalist of the band Tool, had also met Cross on the Los Angeles scene, and therefore had also become involved in Mr. Show. Keenan would go on to invite Black and Gass to support three Californian Tool concerts in December 1995.[30][31] Tool was the first large act that Tenacious D were a support act for. Black had previously attended UCLA with director Jason Bloom, therefore, when Bloom was made the director of 1996's Bio-Dome, Black and Gass were invited to perform a short song in the film. The two wrote the song "5 Needs", and this was their first on-screen appearance as Tenacious D.[32]

In 1997, Tenacious D had become a popular act on the Los Angeles music scene, and would perform at the The Viper Room every Sunday. Peter Stahl, the vocalist of the band Scream, worked at The Viper Room at the time and became a fan of Black and Gass. Stahl invited friend Dave Grohl to come and visit The Viper Room to see Tenacious D, though Grohl initially didn't want to go. Grohl changed his stance and went to see the band perform and thoroughly enjoyed it. This would start a relationship between Grohl, Black and Gass.[33]

Tenacious D recorded their songs "Tribute", "Kyle Quit the Band", "Krishna" and "History" and released them in a demo tape called Tenacious Demo, in the late-1990s with Andrew Gross, distributing it to various record companies until HBO offered them a TV show based upon the tape and Black's work on Mr. Show.[34]

Television series (1997–2000) Main article: Tenacious D (TV series)

Cross, with Mr. Show writer Bob Odenkirk, continued his involvement with Tenacious D by producing three half-hour shows based on the band.[35] The series, entitled Tenacious D, premiered on HBO in 1997, immediately following an episode of Mr. Show.[36] While a total of three episodes consisting of two shorts each, ten to twelve minutes in length,[37] were produced, only the first was aired that year; the final two episodes did not air until the summer of 2000.[36] According to Gass, the series was cancelled after HBO requested ten episodes with the stipulation that he and Black would have to relinquish their role as executive producers,[38] and only write songs.[39] After the series aired, the band continued to perform live. At a show at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, they met Dave Grohl, who remarked that he was impressed with their performance;[40][41] this led to their cameo in the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly" music video.[41] The popularity of Tenacious D further increased as they began to open for high-profile acts, including Beck, Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters.[3]

First album Tenacious D (2001–2003) Main article: Tenacious D (album)

In May 2000, Tenacious D signed to Epic Records.[35] As Black's profile increased due to his roles in films such as High Fidelity the band worked on recording their first album with producers the Dust Brothers.[3] In 2001, they released their debut Tenacious D. It peaked at #33 on the Billboard 200 on October 13, 2001.[42][43] While Tenacious D usually appears as a duo, the album was backed by a full band, consisting of Dave Grohl on drums and guitar, keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish, guitarist Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals, and bassist Steven Shane McDonald of Redd Kross.[44] According to Black, they chose to use a band because "no one's ever heard us with a band".[44][dead link] The majority of songs on the album were performed previously on their short-lived television series.[45]

"Tribute" Clip of "Tribute" from Tenacious D. Problems playing this file? See media help.