Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacious defense", a phrase used by NBA basketball sportscasters Walt Frazier and Marv Albert.
Kyle Richard Gass is an American musician, comedian and actor best known for co-founding—and being a member of—Tenacious D, a Grammy-winning comedy band. He also co-founded the bands Trainwreck and the Kyle Gass Band, with which he also performs.
Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines, post-punk artists incorporated hip hop music into their performances and collaborated with hip hop artists, and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is considered to be rock music in which lyrics are rapped, rather than sung. The genre achieved its greatest success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Tenacious D is the debut studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, released on September 25, 2001 by Epic Records. The album's polished production was a departure from the band's acoustic origins, due in part to the production of the Dust Brothers. "Wonderboy" was the first single released from the album, followed by "Tribute". Both singles had music videos filmed for them, with the Liam Lynch-directed "Tribute" video achieving cult status. While Tenacious D did not achieve chart success after its release, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) by the end of 2005. Despite only peaking at number 38 in the UK, it had sold 426,000 copies countrywide by 2006.
"Tribute" is a song by American comedy rock duo Tenacious D, and the second single from their self-titled debut album (2001). It was released on February 11, 2002, in the United States and June 24, 2002, in Australia. The song is a tribute to what Kyle Gass and Jack Black refer to as "The Greatest Song in the World".
The Complete Master Works is a two-DVD set by Tenacious D, documenting their gig at the Brixton Academy on November 3, 2002. The DVD also contains the band's TV series, a collection of short films, two documentaries on the band, music videos, and live TV appearances. The video was a major success, going 6× platinum in the US and 2× platinum in Australia in the Video Longform category. The disc's cover features band members Jack Black and Kyle Gass in Baroque era costume, replete with powdered wigs, a violin and harpsichord.
Trainwreck is an American southern and comedy rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 2002. It was founded by Tenacious D guitarist Kyle Gass and actor JR Reed.
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a 2006 American musical fantasy comedy film about comedy rock duo Tenacious D. Written, produced by and starring Tenacious D members Jack Black and Kyle Gass, it is directed and co-written by musician and puppeteer Liam Lynch. Despite being about an actual band, the film is a fictitious story about the band's origins, and their journey to find a magical pick belonging to Satan that allows its users to become rock legends.
Creed Bratton is an American actor, singer and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom The Office, which earned him five nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
John Platania is a session musician, guitar player, and record producer. He was born in 1948 in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, in Ulster County, near Woodstock.
Carrie Luz Rodriguez is an American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and plays the fiddle, mandobird and tenor guitar.
The Pick of Destiny is the second studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, the soundtrack for their feature film of the same name. The album was released on November 14, 2006, through Epic Records, and debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200.
John King, also known as "King Gizmo", is an American music producer and one-half of the Los Angeles-based duo the Dust Brothers. As the Dust Brothers, King and Michael "E.Z. Mike" Simpson were noted for their dense sample-based music, notably on the Beastie Boys' 1989 album Paul's Boutique, and later in 1996 with Beck's Odelay.
Tenacious D is a television series that ran on HBO from 1997 to 2000. It features the fictional accounts of the real-life comedy rock duo of the same name, which is composed of members Jack Black and Kyle Gass. All of the episodes of the show are available on Tenacious D's The Complete Master Works DVD.
JR Reed is an American character actor and singer, originally from Corvallis, Oregon. He is best known for his roles as "Lee" with American rock band Tenacious D, mainly in their television series and in their 2006 film The Pick of Destiny, as well as featuring at live concerts. He would also form the band Trainwreck with Kyle Gass in 2002 alongside Tenacious D guitarist Kyle Gass, performing as the lead singer. Trainwreck broke up in 2010, though reformed in 2018. Outside of these appearances, Reed mainly features in sporadic television, web-series and film appearances, as well as in commercial work.
John S. Konesky is an American guitarist and record producer, best known for his role as the lead electric guitar player for Tenacious D.
Steven Shane McDonald is an American rock musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the Los Angeles alternative rock/power pop band Redd Kross. He is a founding member of the hardcore punk band OFF! – serving as a member from 2009 to 2021 – as well as the current bassist for the Melvins. McDonald has appeared in numerous film projects with his older brother Jeff McDonald, including the 1984 film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and its sequel Lovedolls Superstar; and the 1990 film Spirit of '76.
Kyle Gass Band (KGB) is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2011. Fronted by Tenacious D lead guitarist Kyle Gass and vocalist and guitarist Mike Bray. The backing band consists of electric guitarist John Konesky, bassist Jason Keene, and drummer Tim Spier. The band have released two albums, Kyle Gass Band (2013) and Thundering Herd (2016). The band also occasionally tours acoustically as The Kyle Gass Company.
Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 is a 2022 American three-part docuseries about the music festival Woodstock '99. It was released on Netflix on August 3, 2022.
