The Jerky Boys | |
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Born | |
Occupation | Comedians |
Years active | 1989–2001 2006–present |
Known for | Prank calls, comedic skits |
The Jerky Boys were an American comedy act from Queens, New York City, New York, whose routine consisted of prank telephone calls and other related skits. The duo was founded in 1989 by childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. [1] After Ahmed left the act in 2000, the Jerky Boys continued on as a solo act featuring only Brennan, before going on a 19-year hiatus after the 2001 release of the franchise's penultimate album, The Jerky Tapes . Brennan released a follow-up album of new material in November 2020.
The phone calls were made by calling unsuspecting recipients, or in response to classified advertisements placed in local New York–based newspapers. Each call was made in character, usually with over-the-top voices influenced by the duo's family members. [1] Many compilations of the group's work have been released onto albums. According to the act's current record label, Laugh.com, the Jerky Boys have sold over 8,000,000 albums since their 1993 debut.
Brennan began making and recording prank telephone calls in the 1970s, and teamed up with Ahmed, in the late 1980s/early 1990s in their Queens neighborhood. [2] The duo made a number of bootleg tapes of their recorded phone calls that eventually were obtained by New York–based radio personality Howard Stern, who played the duo's tracks on the air. [2]
The English rock band Radiohead named their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993), after a Jerky Boys sketch in which the caller poses as the victim's mother and says: "Pablo, honey? Please come to Florida." [3] A sample of the sketch appears in the song "How Do You". [3] The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, said: "The notion of phoning up people cold is so nineties. It's just the ultimate sacrilege – turn up in someone's life and they can't do anything about it." [3]
The Jerky Boys gained notoriety from their exposure on The Howard Stern Show , and released their first album, The Jerky Boys , in 1993. The album topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The duo released the platinum The Jerky Boys 2 in 1994, followed by The Jerky Boys 3 in 1996, The Jerky Boys 4 in 1997, Stop Staring at Me! in 1999, and The Jerky Tapes in 2001.
In 1995, the duo starred in Touchstone Pictures' The Jerky Boys: The Movie . The movie was filmed in 1993–94, and it was almost universally panned by critics. Kamal became an independent filmmaker in 1997. [4]
In 2000, tension between the two developed. [2] The duo appeared in the Psychopathic Records film Big Money Hustlas , but because Brennan and Ahmed were unable to get along with each other, they did not share any scenes in the film; Brennan played a supporting role as the police chief, and Ahmed appeared in a cameo as Frank Kissel, an audience member at the strip club. [5] By the end of the year, Ahmed passed a note down to the manager, who passed it to Brennan: Ahmed had decided to quit the group. [6]
Ahmed released a solo album, Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk , in 2000.
On March 20, 2007, Brennan, who is now the only constant member of the group, kept the Jerky Boys name and released a solo album, Sol's Rusty Trombone , a collection of mostly ring tones and skits. [2] On March 5, 2010, Brennan, in conjunction with Inner Four, released two apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch platform: The Jerky Boys Prank Caller, and The Jerky Boys Pinball. In late 2011, Brennan started a weekly podcast titled The Jerky Boys Show with Johnny Brennan in which he discussed the history of the calls, how the characters came about, and other hijinks. The podcast also gave the opportunity to fans to speak to Brennan directly. The podcast ran for 17 episodes and then abruptly ended in November 2012. [7] Brennan announced a subscription for new calls being regularly released each month but this never occurred. [7]
He recorded new prank calls for a Rolling Stone retrospective in 2014. [8]
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Other minor characters include:
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The Jerky Boys
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The Jerky Boys 2
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The Jerky Boys 3
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The Jerky Boys 4
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Stop Staring at Me!
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The Jerky Tapes
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Apps information |
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The Jerky Boys Prank Caller
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The Jerky Boys Pinball
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Sol's Rusty Trombone
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Jerky Boys: Unreleased EP
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Rolling Stone Calls
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The Jerky Boys
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Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk
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Jerky Boys: The Movie
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The Best of the Jerky Boys
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The Ultimate Jerky Boys Collection
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Rolling Stone cited Paul Feig, Amy Schumer and Seth MacFarlane as examples of comedy influenced by the Jerky Boys. [8]
The Jerky Boys: The Movie, also known as The Jerky Boys, is a 1995 American crime/comedy film starring Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed, best known as the comedy duo the Jerky Boys.
Kamal Ahmed, usually called Kamal, is an American director, comedian, and former member of prank phone calling comedy group The Jerky Boys.
Johnny Brennan is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, and writer, known as the creator of The Jerky Boys, which released a series of prank phone call CDs, between 1993 and 1999.
The Sifl and Olly Show is a comedy TV series that incorporates sock puppets, animation, and musical performances. Musicians Liam Lynch and Matt Crocco created and performed the series. The first episode aired on MTV in 1998. The show was cancelled in 1999. The characters, along with new material, currently appear on Liam Lynch's podcast entitled Lynchland.
Souvlaki is the second studio album by the English rock band Slowdive. It was recorded in 1992, and released on 1 June 1993 by Creation Records.
Slowdive are an English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Christian Savill (guitars), Nick Chaplin (bass), and Simon Scott, all of whom played on the band's early records. Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.
Jerky Boys 3 is the third comedy album by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. The album was released on August 20, 1996, and was the first Jerky Boys album released on the Mercury Records label.
Jerky Boys 2 is the second comedy album released by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. The album was released on August 16, 1994, and was the final Jerky Boys album released on the Select Records label, distributed by Atlantic Records. Like their debut album, it also went Platinum. This album was also nominated for a Grammy Award at the 1995's Grammy's for Best Comedy Album, but lost to Sam Kinison's Live From Hell.
Jerky Boys 4 is the fourth comedy album by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys, and the second album released on Mercury Records. The album was released in 1997.
Roy D. Mercer was a fictional character created by American disc jockeys Brent Douglas and Phil Stone on radio station KMOD-FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Douglas, who performed Mercer's voice, used the character as a vehicle for comedy sketches in which he performed prank calls. The two released twelve albums of prank call recordings under the Roy D. Mercer name via Virgin Records and Capitol Records. The character was essentially retired in 2013 after Stone's death.
Big Money Hustlas is a 2000 American comedy film directed by John Cafiero as his feature film debut. The film, a homage to exploitation films of the 1970s, focuses on a streetwise San Francisco detective who tries to take down a New York City crime lord. It stars Insane Clown Posse's Joseph "Violent J" Bruce and Joseph "Shaggy 2 Dope" Utsler, and Twiztid's Jamie Madrox and Monoxide Child, and features appearances by Harland Williams, Johnny Brennan, Rudy Ray Moore, Mick Foley and the Misfits. Released direct-to-video, the film debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart, and was later certified platinum by the RIAA. A Western genre follow-up, Big Money Rustlas, was released direct-to-video on August 17, 2010. In 2015, Insane Clown Posse announced the production of a sequel entitled Big Money Thrusters.
Touch-Tone Terrorists is a series of CDs featuring prank phone calls, released from 1998 to 2015.
Broderick Dornell Smiley is an American stand-up comedian, television host, actor, and radio personality known for his prank phone calls. The calls feature Smiley disguising his voice carrying a conversation with the recipient of the call. He is the host of the nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show based in Atlanta from its flagship affiliate WHTA "Hot 107.9". He starred in a sitcom, The Rickey Smiley Show, which aired on TV One. He is also a featured columnist on the Fox-produced tabloid nationally-syndicated TV show Dish Nation. In 2015, Smiley appears on Rickey Smiley For Real, a reality television series about his life.
Perry Francis Caravello is an American actor, comedian, and internet personality who is best known as the star of the 2003 movie Windy City Heat and the host of the internet stream Perry Caravello Live.
The Jerky Tapes is the sixth comedy album by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. The album was released in 2001, and is the first Jerky Boys album to be released by the independent Laugh.com record label.
The Best of the Jerky Boys is an enhanced, comedy compact disc compilation album by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. The album was released on the Select Records label on October 22, 2002.
Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk is the debut solo comedy album by prank call artist Kamal Ahmed, former member of the Jerky Boys. The album was released in 2000, shortly after Kamal's departure from the Jerky Boys. The album was released by the independent Deep South Records label.
Sol's Rusty Trombone is the seventh comedy album by prank call artist, the Jerky Boys. The album was released in 2007, and is the second Jerky Boys album to be released by the independent Laugh.com record label.
Longmont Potion Castle is the stage name of a musician and surrealist prank caller from Denver, Colorado who has been active since 1986. The name is also used for most of his prank call albums, and for the project in general. Details about his personal life are scarce, and his real name is kept a secret. Over the years, his mostly self-published albums have gained a cult following, especially among musicians.
A prank call is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.