Tenacious D is a comedy rock band consisting of Kyle Gass and Jack Black. The two are both accomplished actors and musicians. They met in Los Angeles when they were both in a theater troupe called "The Actors Gang". Kyle taught Jack how to play the guitar, and eventually asked Jack to form a band. While both Jack and Kyle sing and play the guitar, Jack is the lead singer while Kyle is the lead guitarist.
They started out as stage act and, after being noticed in a nightclub by comedian Larry David, were given a series of comedy shorts on HBO. They released their first album, Tenacious D (#38 UK), in 2001. When the pair performs live they do so with just their acoustic guitars. However, for their album, they enlisted the help of Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and Nirvana, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell, guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and bass player Steve McDonald. The Dust Brothers produced the album.
The signature song of The "D", as fans and themselves like to call the band, is Tribute, a humorous cross between The Devil Went Down to Georgia and Stairway to Heaven. The song is a tribute to the "greatest song in the world", which the duo once created and have now unfortunately forgotten.
Their song "Wonderboy" (#34 UK, #48 Australia) and its video were also well-received, as a parody of and tribute to both the fantasy genre and epic metal. "Wonderboy" was a tale of an unlikely superhero, portrayed by Black in the video, as he formed an alliance with a fellow adventurer (Gass) and attempted to destroy a fire-breathing hydra.
Their song "Dio" was a tribute of some sorts to the rock singer Ronnie James Dio. In the song they ask that Dio stop playing rock music and allow them to fill his shoes. Dio himself liked the song enough that he let the band appear in his next music video "Push".
The third single from the album "Fuck Her Gently" was released in May 2004. The video was animated by John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy, and features Jack and Kyle as nude cherubs on the shoulders of Satan.
A Tenacious D fantasy movie, The Pick of Destiny, is planned for a 2006 release. Directed by Liam Lynch, who helmed their "Tribute" video, the film will portray the fictional beginnings of the band and their rise to super-stardom.
They have released a DVD entitled Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks, which features their HBO shorts, videos, and live footage.
Guitarist Kyle Gass also plays guitar and sings vocals in the band Trainwreck, under the pseudonym "Klip Calhoun".
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
DVDs