I’m a cable-news junkie, but watching it from your couch is not gonna get it done. “You’re just immediately putting yourself up for the crazies, which I didn’t really want to do,” said the guitarist and actor, who’s had roles on “Drunk History” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Then, adopting a seriously-though tone, he acknowledged that he’d paused before wading into politics. “We’re gonna lose a lot of Nazi and KKK fans,” he deadpanned. plays a pivotal role in Earth’s destruction.)Īsked if Tenacious D had a substantial red-state following that the band might be worried about alienating, Gass nodded. It also goes in mercilessly on the Trump family in ways we’ll leave unspecified so as to avoid spoiling episodes that haven’t posted yet. The humor is filthy, for one thing, with countless F-bombs and many, many crude drawings of penises. Rock, after all, is more or less missing from pop’s center right now - one reason that Cal Jam has quickly become something of a beacon for survivors like Iggy Pop and Garbage, both of whom are on this year’s bill along with Tenacious D and Foo Fighters.Īnd yet there’s some truth to Black’s claim that “Post-Apocalypto” might work better in the wilds of YouTube than it would have in a more tightly controlled venue. For Tenacious D, pretty much everything is a joke except for the music itself, which has always reflected Black’s and Gass’ deep knowledge of (and abiding love for) the tropes of old-fashioned hard rock and heavy metal.īut in 2018 it’s not especially surprising that a mainstream media company would turn down a show built around songs like Tenacious D’s - even when sung by a bankable Hollywood veteran who helped push last year’s “Jumanji” reboot to worldwide box-office sales of nearly $1 billion. The band mates were joking around, of course. “Are we trailblazers? Yes,” Gass said between bites of salad. The two had just finished practicing and were eating lunch before heading to Guitar Center to buy new instruments for Saturday’s gig. “You know what? I’m glad nobody put it on their stupid network,” Black insisted as he sat next to Gass on a lumpy sofa at Tenacious D’s rehearsal space in North Hollywood.