Tenacious D

Tenacious D Artistfacts

  • 1999-
    Jack Black
    Kyle Gass
  • Tenacious D is the very hard-rocking acoustic duo of Kyle Gass and Jack Black; Gass is the group's lead acoustic guitar player. Much of their act is a satire of rock and roll tropes.
  • The D, who bill themselves as "The greatest band in the world," had a very short-lived TV series on HBO called Tenacious D, from which most of their early songs originated.
  • Gass is also know as "KG," "Kage" and "Rage Kage" Jack Black goes by "JB" or "Jables."
  • Their first (self-titled) album, released in 2001, featured Dave Grohl on drums, keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish, guitarist Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals, and bassist Steve McDonald. The Dust Brothers produced the album.
  • The band name comes from a saying popular with basketball announcers to describe an effective, aggressive defense.
  • The 2010 tour rider of Tenacious D warns promoters that moshing and crowd surfing may occur at a gig and that those audience activities are "not solely grounds for a patron's ejection." The rider also includes a stage scheme where sidemen musicians are referred to as guitarist "Anti-Jesus," drummer "Colonel Sanders," and bassist "Charlie Chaplan."
  • In 2018 they released an intentionally puerile album and animated YouTube series called Post-Apocalypto, which they described as "our bid to save the world."
  • In the years after the band was formed, Jack Black became a bona fide movie star, best known for his starring role in School Of Rock (2003). He also stars in Shallow Hal (2001), Tropic Thunder (2008) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). He's a popular voice actor as well, starring in the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

    Gass shows up in a lot of films, but mostly as a character actor. Look for him in The New Guy (2002) and Elf (2003).

Comments: 2

  • Tom from Marble Falls, Ar"Tribute" is the greatest song in the world, or I'll eat your souls.
  • Beef from Carlson, Quia, Mathere comedy rock
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Fire On The Stage

Fire On The StageSong Writing

When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.