Tenacious D pushed boundaries for 30 years, but one joke brought them undone
The mock rock group Tenacious D, comprising Hollywood superstar Jack Black and longtime collaborator Kyle Gass, have long been famous for pushing the boundaries. This is a band that released a song titled F--- Her Gently and spent a career obsessing over how best to tame Satan (you do it by playing the best song in the world).
And yet, this week, Tenacious D learnt the hard way that there is such a thing as going too far.
Happier times: Kyle Gass (left) and Jack Black perform in Kentucky in 2022.Credit: AP
In Australia as part of their Spicy Meatball Tour, Tenacious D were midway through a show in Sydney when Black suggested his bandmate make a wish for his birthday.
“Don’t miss Trump next time,” Gass responded, referring to the attempted assassination of the former US president the day before.
Within hours, Black had condemned his bandmate on Instagram, cancelled the world tour and announced “all future creative plans are on hold”. Gass was quick to retract his joke.
In a statement posted on social media, Gass said the line he improvised was “highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake”, before apologising for his “severe lack of judgment”.
He added that he did not condone violence of any kind.
Given this may be the end of the self-described “greatest band on Earth”, let’s look back at the wild history of Tenacious D.
Rock! Formation!
Black and Gass first linked up in 1986 as members of the Actors’ Gang theatre troupe in California, where Gass was the house musician and Black was an aspiring actor. The two formed Tenacious D in 1994 and performed one gig and one song at a dive bar in downtown Los Angeles.
The group became a staple of the 1990s LA scene, regularly playing at celebrity hotspot The Viper Room. It was here that Tenacious D first crossed paths with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who was so impressed with the band’s presence he gave them a cameo in the Foo Fighters’ Learn to Fly music video.
Jack Black and Kyle Gass announce a 45-day fast to mark their DVD The Complete Master Works, in 2003 in New York.Credit: Getty Images
Before the release of the 2001 debut album, Tenacious D, the duo had a shortlived TV series released on HBO, produced by Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk and Arrested Development’s David Cross (who were at one time a comedy team themselves). The series was cancelled after three episodes.
Tribute: The greatest and best song in the world
But who needs a TV deal when you’ve just written the “greatest and best song in the world”? Released in 2001 as a single from their self-titled debut album, Tribute was really the moment Tenacious D launched into the mainstream.
Despite initially failing to make an impact in the United States, the song was a hit here, peaking at No. 4 on the Australian singles charts.
Something about the truly insane lyrics (Be you angels? And we said, Nay, we are but men!), as well as a memorable video clip starring Grohl as a demon, struck a chord, and for a long period in the early noughties, Tribute maintained a chokehold on pop culture.
Playing politics
While the Gass remark about Trump has made headlines around the world, it’s not the first time the band have talked politics.
In 2004, Tenacious D played a benefit concert to support John Kerry’s US presidential election campaign. They closed their set with Tribute (what else?), vowing to help rid the country of George W. Bush, or as Black described him, “the worst f---ing president in the history of time”.
Tenacious D perform in California in 2008.Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Black and Gass have also been long-time critics of Donald Trump. They sang their song The Government Totally Sucks at an anti-Trump rally on January 20, 2017, the day the then president was inaugurated.
Now what?
Is this RIP for Tenacious D? It’s hard to say. Right now, the internet seems pretty divided on what to make of Black’s response.
Some have commented that given Black’s form as a comedian and frontman of a crude band, his supposed shock at an off-taste joke might have more to do with protecting his bankability as a film star at the box office.
As well as family-friendly franchises such as Kung Fu Panda and Jumanji, Black will star in a big-screen version of the video game Minecraft, due to hit cinemas early next year. Given Trump is the odds-on favourite to become president (again), that’s a lot of moviegoers to miss out on.
What becomes of Tenacious D remains to be seen, but with reports Black is already back in LA, for now, it seems the greatest band on Earth are no more.
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.