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

Can you describe the songwriting process?

KG: There’s no set process. I’ll try to let the ideas seep in and then hopefully they come out of my fingers. With a sad song, maybe that’s a minor chord.

JB: I remember we had to write a sad song because it’s Tenacious D’s emotional nadir. I hope you print that. I mean, you can print that. So Kyle plays a chord and I’m like, “That’s not nearly as sad as it needs to be.” And then he goes to E-minor diminished. And I go, “Even sadder if you please.” And then he goes to a chord that doesn’t even have a name because he’s squeezing notes out of it that are half-notes and notes that don’t even exist.

KG: Let’s say it needs to be a rocker, then you have to get the right beat to it [snaps fingers]. And when that doesn’t work we just go to Liam [Lynch, the film’s director].

JB: Liam did come in and collaborate with us on a couple songs. He’s a great songwriter.

KG: In his own right.

JB: Have you heard his hit single?

KG: “United States of Whatever.”

JB: “United States of Whatever” swept the nation.

KG: Swept the world. [This is true. In June, 2003, “United States of Whatever” was a top 10 hit in Australia.]

JB: It was weird because he was on our Thunder Squad. He was working for us making short films and things like that and then all of a sudden, he accomplished something the D never did, which was to have a heavy-rotation radio hit. He had a number-one radio hit that was on every station in every city of the country.

KG: That he recorded in his living room.

JB: And I was like, “What the F?”

Beyond the really sad song and the fantasy one you described, are there any others that jump out at you?

JB: Well, there’s a song called “Beelzebus the Final Showdown,” which is pretty powerful.

KG: It is powerful. I think it dwarfs the rest of the movie now.

JB: No, no, no. The beginning of the movie, “Kickapoo,” is also a one-two club to the chops.

KG: We start and end this film with possibly the two greatest songs.

JB: I love “Pick of Destiny,” the song about the movie which is basically a shameless promotional tool but turned out to be a really kick-ass song.

KG: “Classico” is pretty cool.

JB: Now that was a great collaboration because you have Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and the D all working side by side. Can you imagine a better super group, where it was Beethoven on bass, Mozart on drums and Bach on electric flute? What would that band be called?

KG: How about Masters’ Piece?

JB: Dude, how about Master Beast?

The (Second) Greatest Band on Earth

This one has haunted me for a while. If Tenacious D is the greatest rock band on earth then who is the second greatest?

KG: Whew, tough one.

JB: I never said we were the greatest. Did you say we were the greatest?

KG: Nope.

JB: Well then, I’ll tell you who’s the greatest and you can say they’re the second greatest.

KG: I’m going to say Supernova.

JB: Rock star Supernova?

KG: Well, the band’s called Supernova. Because of the way they were formed on television and the members… when you have Jason Newsted, Gilby Clarke, Tommy Lee, Dave Navarro and Storm Large in the same band… Second greatest band, hard to say, hard to say. Phish?

JB: Phish?!