Features

Let It D: Tenacious D, The Greatest Band in the World (or Maybe the Second Greatest, They’re Still Working That Out)

The Pick of Destiny

There are a number of guest stars in The Pick of Destiny but perhaps the one that may be most surprising is Ronnie James Dio. Didn’t you suggest he should be put out to pasture [in“Dio”]?

JB: He heard the song and he knew it was the ultimate show of respect to say, “We want your torch.” We could have asked for Ozzy’s torch but we asked for Dio’s torch. Yes, we were saying it’s time for you to retire, you’re too old to rock. But at the core of it we were saying, “You are the cock and balls.”

KG: Dio understood.

JB: He wanted to party with us. It did not take any arm twisting.

This article will hit before the film is released. So as a bit of a teaser, how would you characterize the narrative?

JB: The story is an origin episode of the D. It’s like Superman. In the first episode you have to learn about Jor-El, you’ve got to talk about the crystals. So here you get to know, what was the beginning beginning?

KG: It’s like in a marriage when you say mommy, daddy where did you guys meet? It’s about our first epic quest.

JB: To become the greatest band on earth. We serve it up to you like a fresh salami.

The HBO series and especially the shorts seem pitched to an older audience. What is the tone of the film?

JB: It’s geared towards adults but it’s made like a child’s made it. It’s like a rated R children’s movie. Now I don’t know who’s going to see that movie…

KG: I’m saying it’s an adult fairy tale.

JB: Triple! [JB and KG exchange three high fives in rapid succession.]

If you were compare Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny to other films, which ones come to mind—excluding Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia and Apocalypse Now ?

KG: Why did you take all of those films away from us? Okay, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and the Godfather, Parts 1 and 3.

JB: I’m gonna say a pinch of Road Warrior, a sprinkle of Jaws, a healthy handful of Blues Brothers and a shaving, just a little parmesan shaving, of Animal House.

KG: I’m gonna say if you took Airheads, Crossroads and Grease and mixed it into a tasty liquor and poured yourself a glass, then you’d have the D movie.

JB: [Disgusted] Airheads ? Crossroads ? Grease ? A blast of the cheese!

What about the music that appears in the film: Were those existing D songs or did you write them specifically for The Pick of Destiny ?

JB: Most of them were written on assignment. We need a sad song, we need the song the D wishes they could play in their wildest fantasy…

KG: It was a tall order.

JB: We had to wrack our f’ing brains. Who were those guys who wrote all those musicals, like The Mikado ? Hammerstein and McConaughey?

KG: Gilbert and Sullivan.

JB: We were like Gilbert and Sullivan on this one.

KG: Wow!

JB: I hope you print that. I mean, you can print that!