Rolling With The D

Forty two and bellowing like a teenage girl at the back of the 19A, Jack Black is one extraordinary fellow. Where Billy Bob Thornton, Keanu Reeves and Russell Crowe failed miserably, this college-trained thespian made the near-impossible transition from actor to rock star, balancing duties as front man of gargantuan rock duo Tenacious D with roles in cult films like High Fidelity, School Of Rock and Nacho Libre.

Now Hollywood’s favourite cartoon actor and the only plus-sized gentleman allowed anywhere near a romantic comedy, Black is more than a household name; a multitude of Facebook and Tumblr accounts are dedicated to documenting his general awesomeness. Typical GIF-accompanied factoids include; he hangs out with Dave Grohl, does a mean version of ‘Kiss From A Rose’, sometimes does interviews while playing Guitar Hero (though not today, thankfully). But the most extraordinary thing about Jack Black is that he is genuinely as awesome as he constantly says he is.
“We’re in the masterpiece business,” he growls, when I ask why it took so long to put together The D’s third record Rize Of The Fenix. “We could have put out a record earlier, but it wouldn’t have been a masterpiece.”
It’s an effortless answer, typical of the star’s smirking, showboating comedy stylings.
“We needed every minute of that six years. We wanted to put out something on par with The White Album for instance, we don’t want to put out, you know, another Big Country album… although I do like that song quite a bit.” Suddenly he’s thundering through Big Country’s 1983 hit ‘In A Big Country’, “‘Like a lover’s voice fires the mountainside…’ No! we wanted to have something with more lasting power and sorry, six years is what it takes.”
Tellingly, I’ve yet to mention Kyle Gass, the consistently brilliant but significantly less famous other member of Tenacious D, who is, for this interview at least, happy to sit back and let Black do the bragging. Between 2001’s self-titled debut and 2006’s The Pick Of Destiny, the D have morphed from a pair of celebrity-endorsed nobodies to one celebrity and one guy-who-played-the-sidekick-in-Shallow Hal. It’s an issue that’s rather insensitively addressed on the new album. “Hollywood Jack hit the big time and went to make movies,’ Black shrieks, “Rage Kage was left far behind on the dust of his dreams.”
I’m guessing it made for an awkward coffee-break. The D’s last visit to Ireland was in 2008, when they played a monster double-header with rock Gods Metallica in Dublin’s Marlay Park. Was Metallica-sized success something they expected when they first got together?
“Well, we probably dreamed about it!” Gass exclaims.
“That show was one of the highlights,” Black nods. “I love a big fuck-off festival. I didn’t feel like you guys were getting any less of a Tenacious D experience just because of the size, I thought that that was one of our best shows. Marlay Park. It was one of the highlights of our touring career. Let’s get back over there! How come we’re not going there? Are we? I can’t believe we’re not coming to Ireland!”
Well, they’ve been busy. Just last week they played an exclusive show at Austin’s trendsetting SXSW festival. Conversely, I’m delighted to hear nothing remotely trendy on Rize Of The Fenix.
“Our goal was to make it better than sex,” Black deadpans, “and I’m happy that we’ve achieved it. It absolutely is better than sex, but one of the drawbacks is that it’s extremely addictive and there’s already been reports of people unable to stop listening to it. They’re not going to work, they’re not going to school, they’re ignoring their loved ones because they’re just stuck in the car listening to it over and over again. It’s a serious problem.”
“I think she’s asking if we attempted to go in a different musical direction…” Gass interrupts.
“I know, I just wanted to say that! It didn’t even matter what the next question was.”
Gass continues, “There was a temptation to maybe do one hip hop song, but we realised we’re not that good at it, so we stuck with what we do best.”
“Was there really a temptation to put on a hip hop song? Are you talking about ‘Cherries Jubilee’? We have a rap called ‘Cherries Jubilee’ and it did not make the cut. The Lonely Island boys did something similar on Saturday Night Live already, it’s basically the same idea, two silly white guys just fucking sucking!”
Of course, it’s the D’s uncensored silliness that made them such a massive hit in the first place, and with almost everyone – they’ve yet to court the all-important female demographic.
“Let’s just look around at the other bands that have incredibly strong female followings.” Black reasons. “Who are these guys? Maroon 5? All that it takes is incredible good looks and maybe lean heavier on the melodic element of the songwriting. Is that it? Is it their sweet melodies? I mean, what do women want? Kyle, have you done your market research?”
“They want strong but sensitive, but not abrasive. I think they want somebody understanding.”
“So, emotionally brave... I think we’ve done that. I think we’ve gone to those places.”
I voice my educated opinion that the album’s closing number, an impassioned ode to a 39-year-old, toothless, chain-smoking whore who happens to be the apple of Black’s eye, could be a future ladies’ night anthem.
Black breaks into song again. “‘Because it’s ladies’ night…’ We need to fucking write a ‘Ladies Night’! That’s what we need! ‘…and the feeling’s right!’ Awh, yeah!”
Meanwhile, ‘To Be The Best’ sounds like it could be the D’s answer to ‘Eye Of The Tiger’.
“Totally,” Black agrees. “It was inspired by those kinds of songs, inspirational rock that you can exercise to. There’s a music video coming out for that one, that’s gonna be our first release. We’re working with the rock icons of our time to try and get us back to the top. Dave Grohl is there, training us and screaming in our faces à la An Officer And A Gentleman, we have Josh Groban giving us some feedback. It’s a pretty powerful jam.”
Grohl, who’s been a fan of Tenacious D since the late ‘90s, also makes a couple of ass-kicking drum cameos on the album.
“He was an early champion,” Black gushes, “from our humble beginnings when he came and saw us at the Viper Room, he gave us an injection of confidence. He believed in us. I mean, this is coming from one of the greatest musicians on the planet and a guy that we were inspired by. That was big.”
There’s still a couple of months until Rize Of The Fenix hits the shelves. How does Black recommend we enjoy this paragon of awesome?
“If you want the real full-on experience, you’ll just go home, you’ll put the CD in your stereo with some headphones – not the ear buds, the big fat headphones – and you’ll just lay down and close your eyes and you’ll let the music sink into you. Kyle, would you agree with that prognosis?”
“I would, and I would maybe add a nice glass of wine, too.”
“And if there’s a loved one who might soak your feet in some hot water with some Epsom salts, a little rubadubdub while you listen to Tenacious D, so be it.”
Sure, they’re cooperating now, but Fenix skit ‘Flutes And Trombones’ sees the duo throwing punches in a pretty nasty studio brawl. I imagine these late-night scuffles are a frequent occurrence in the world of Tenacious D.
“Of course!” Black booms. “I mean, we’ve never fought about flutes and trombones per se… I don’t mind having a flute on the album, in fact, I encourage it. What it’s about is control. I don’t want Kyle secretly coming into the recording studio when I’m not around and changing the album and controlling the destiny of Tenacious D.”
“It’s a team effort in the end,” Gass nods.
“There’s a paranoia there, and that’s what we were kind of making fun of. It’s the wrestling for control that is funny to us.”

Rize Of The Fenix is released on May 11 on Epic Records.