Q 6

PLAYBOY: They say the camera adds 10 pounds. Since you're both already on the hefty side, did you feel compelled to get in shape for the movie?

Kyle Gass: We knew it was coming for a long time, and as you know, we've had a lifetime battle with our weight. So I thought, Okay, this is the time. I got the trainer, I exercised every day, and I got the special diet food delivered to me. I was working as hard as I could. I probably dropped 20 pounds. Then we started the movie and there was a full buffet on the set. Somebody must have said, "Jack and Kyle love to eat. Let's not spare any expense." We'd have a full breakfast; then craft service would show up with doughnuts and nachos and any snack you can think of. When I'm working and there's any sort of pressure at all, I find solace in food. I literally gained it all back. We shot the last scene on the first day, when I was still looking very crisp and good. But when we finally got around to shooting the earlier scenes, I looked like Jabba the Hutt. I created my own continuity problem.

Q 7

PLAYBOY: Porn star Ron Jeremy claims he gives hope to old, out-of-shape guys: If he can get laid, anybody can. Does the same philosophy apply to Tenacious D? Are you providing an example for bald, overweight guys who want to be rock stars?

Kyle Gass: Oh absolutely. That's what we're all about. A lot of people think, I'm not thin enough to be a rock star. But look at us. We're both eating too much, and we're doing just fine. You don't need to have electric guitars. You don't even need a rhythm section. It's not about volume or chops. It's about what's in here. Please make a note that I'm pointing to my head and heart simultaneously.

Jack Black: A lot of people don't know it, but Kyle is actually not bald.

Kyle Gass: That's right. This is a fashion choice. I have a full head of hair, but I choose to shave my head.

Jack Black: He's like that guy from the Prodigy, the singer with the reverse Mohawk. He's making it cool to be bald. It's an artistic choice.

Q 8

PLAYBOY: You're the self-proclaimed greatest band in the world. Can you confer that title on yourself? Doesn't it have to be given by some higher rock authority?

Jack Black: You're absolutely right. It's stupid to call yourself the greatest band on earth. Somebody else has to call you that. But I don't think we've ever uttered the phrase "We are the greatest band in the world." Not once. As far as how we stack up in the rock hierarchy, that's not for us to say. We leave that for others to decide.

Kyle Gass: Actually, I think we have said it.

Jack Black: What? When?

Kyle Gass: In the movie. I'm pretty sure you say it at some point. [Long pause. Black glares at Gass.]

Jack Black: Oh yeah, that's right. It's the last line of the movie. Good call, Kyle. Good call.

Kyle Gass: Oh, wow. Can we erase that part?

Jack Black: You fucking idiot.

Kyle Gass: I feel horrible. If you have any pity on us, you'll just forget that I said anything.

Q 9

PLAYBOY: You languished in relative obscurity for most of your career, but now you've signed to a major label and are in a feature film. There's no nice way to ask this: Have you sold out to the man?

Jack Black: I take issue with that question. What does it mean to sell out? Does that mean you've stopped doing good work because you've sacrificed your integrity? If the product you're getting paid to make is just as good as the product you were making for free, I don't understand what the sellout is. We're doing exactly what we want. Nobody fucking wrote this movie for us. Nobody writes our songs for us or tells us what to do. How have we sold out? It makes no sense.

Kyle Gass: Well, it is possible to sell out. Look at Eric Clapton back in the 1970s. He was doing the hardrockin' stuff in Cream, but then he started pandering, trying to get the hits and fit into a marketable genre. Or look at what Kiss did with its disco album, or Soul Asylum with that "Runaway Train" song.

Jack Black: I feel I kind of sold out a little bit when I did the movie Shallow Hal. I had an opportunity to work with some dudes I thought were really funny, but it didn't turn out as I'd hoped. I wasn't proud of it, and I got paid a lot of money, so in retrospect it feels like a sellout. But the D never sold out. We never did a commercial, and we've been offered a few. We could've gotten paid more for this movie, but we wanted creative control.

Q 10

PLAYBOY: The Pick of Destiny has a lot of famous cameos, from Amy Poehler to Tim Robbins and Ben Stiller. How did you persuade them to appear in your movie?

Kyle Gass: Most of them owed us favors. Ben Stiller was originally just a producer on the movie, and we told him, "Dude, you've got to come down and actually earn your paycheck." At some point Will Ferrell was supposed to be in it. I said, "You know, I was in Elf. How about some reciprocity?" He promised to do it, and then he was busy. Thanks, Will. We really appreciate it. So Ben stepped in and hit it out of the park.

Q 11

PLAYBOY: You've collaborated with a lot of mainstream musicians, including Dave Grohl, the Dust Brothers and Page McConnell of Phish. Are they fans, or do you suspect they may be a little envious of the D?

Jack Black: Well, it goes back to that old cliché: All actors want to be musicians, and all musicians want to be actors. You know, the grass is always greener and all that. Dave Grohl is a funny guy. I think there's a frustrated comedian in him. He supported us early on, before we got the HBO series. He checked us out at the Viper Room and gave us a big boost in confidence. But I don't think Dave or any of the other musicians are jealous of us. It's not as though they're trying to replace Kyle. Nobody wants to break up the D. They just want to inject themselves in there and become the third member. Whenever it's just me, they'll say, "Where's K.G.? Is he around the corner?"

Kyle Gass: [Laughs] They're usually pretty satisfied with just you.

Q 12

PLAYBOY: Meat Loaf plays Jack's father in the movie. Was he picked for his musical ability or his large girth?

Jack Black: I always thought of him as the perfect choice to play my dad. We look alike, obviously. He looks as if he could be in my family. But it was mostly his energy that inspired us to cast him. Just watching him sing is an education in rock. We basically said, "Will you sing in the movie, yes or no?" He said, "For you guys, yes, because I like your stuff."

Kyle Gass: This is the first movie he's sung in since The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so we were pretty fortunate.

Jack Black: I'm sure directors ask him all the time and it just bugs the shit out of him.

Kyle Gass: You think?

Jack Black: Dude, how could he not be asked a thousand times to sing in movies?

Kyle Gass: Well, then why wouldn't he do it?

Jack Black: It's like John Travolta. He didn't want to dance in any movies after Saturday Night Fever until Tarantino got him to do it in Pulp Fiction. We are to Meat Loaf what Tarantino was to Travolta.

Kyle Gass: I guess you're right. If you're reading this, thank you, Meat.