Yank Blog

Woo! With the new leg of the Straight Outta Lynwood tour beginning soon, it looks like more interviews are starting to pop up again. The Pocono Record (News and Info from Northeast Pennsylvania) gets Weird Al to talk about life, the universe, and everything. Well, specifically about Atlantic Records, Coolio being cool, the internet, etc…

There is a slight goof though:

When Atlantic thwarted his attempt to release “You’re Pitiful,” he released the song and the video privately on his own Web site.

Yeah, there was no video for YP. Not by Al at least But the rest of the article looked okay.

Read the interview

From the Morning Call Online, Parodist ‘Weird Al’ still getting the last laugh. Al talks mostly about the impact of the internet on his music.

”But,” he says, ”to coin a phrase, cream rises to the top. So if your stuff is good, a lot of people will hear it.”
…
Then again, ”Maybe people are finally catching up with me,” he says, laughing.

And I love the bit about Nina at the end of the article…

These days, his daughter, Nina, is his biggest critic.

”She likes my stuff from early on,” Yankovic says. ”I was neck-and-neck with a [children's television show] ‘Blues Clues’ soundtrack for a while, but I’m proud to say that my daughter is still a fan of my work.

”Although, for some reason, she doesn’t like me singing to her in person. I’ll start singing lullabies to her or making up silly songs, and she’ll say, ‘No, daddy, don’t sing. Put on the CD.’ She likes the recorded material better.”

Ha ha ha!  Classic.

Fans of Jim “Kimo” West will be happy to know he released his latest CD today. Here’s the latest news from Kimo:

“Hotel Honolulu-The Hawaiian Tribute to the Eagles”

His second CD for L.A.’s CMH Records, Kimo gives a dozen classic Eagles songs his a warm and breezy island-style treatment and includes one new original track. Featuring Kimo on slack key guitar, steel guitar, ukulele, bass and Hawaiian percussion. Produced, Recorded and Performed by Jim “Kimo” West.

Available April 24th at major retailers including Wal Mart, Best Buy and at www.cmhrecords.com

New tour dates have been posted at WeirdAl.com, plus the venue for Pittsburgh PA has now been changed to the Byham Theatre.

June 7 – Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Amphitheatre
June 9 – Lubbock, TX - Lonestar Amphitheatre
June 10 – Wichita Falls, TX - Kay Yeager Coliseum
June 12 – Prescott Valley, AZ - Toyota Center
June 14 – Henderson, NV - Henderson Pavilion
June 15 – Stockton, CA - San Joaquin County Fair
June 20 – Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Center
June 24 – Duluth, MN - Duluth Entertainment Center
June 28 – Muskegon, MI - Muskegon Summer Celebration
July 1 – Cedar Rapids, IA - Paramount Theatre
July 10 – Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
Aug 4 – Charlotte, NC - Carowinds

Bad news for folks who got their tickets to see Weird Al at the the Amphitheatre at Sandcastle on July 7th. According to this press release the amphitheater will not open this year. Therefore, look for an official announcement soon that this show will be canceled. At the moment, it’s unknown if another date in the area would be scheduled. When similiar situations have happened in the past, there was usually a rescheduling in the area. There is also unconfirmed information that once the ticket agent is officially notified about the cancellation, they will email all ticket buyers about how to get refunds.

Of course, if you don’t want to worry about “If and when” a show will be in the Pittsburgh area, you can use the handy dandy fancy schmancy Concert Finder on Yankovic!. If you have your tickets, don’t forget to login to Upcoming.org and tell people you’re going! It’ll increase you’re “cool level” by twenty three points!

Ha! You thought it was going to be twenty seven points! Hmm, you’ll have to find some other way to earn those four extra points.

DoogToons now has a higher quality version of the animated video “Trapped in the Drive-Thru” on YouTube:

I’ve been meaning to post about this, but I kept procrastinating. Maynard posts last week, who you may remember from Living Comedy God, with another great interview with Al while he was in Australia last month.

You can download it at: http://www.maynard.com.au/downloads/podcast/BackstageAl.mp3

Weird Al Star Fund has posted another two great items for auction on eBay!

First off, we’ve got a full color “Weird Al” Yankovic one-of-a-kind art poster by Aron. It’s sooooo colorful, you’ve gotta see it!

Second, we’ve got a treat for the Al Gals! An authentic autographed pair of “One More Minute” concert undies! It’s truly a unique piece of “Weird Al” Yankovic concert memorabilia.

And don’t forget, there’s just under three days left for the collection of “Weird Al” Yankovic items, including posters, four videos, newspaper clippings, flyers, and five back issues of the rare out of print Midnight Star fanzine!

Don’t miss your chance to get these great items. All proceeds from the auctions go to the Weird Al Star Fund.

Bid early! Bid often!

Woo! New tour dates listed at WeirdAl.com

June 3 - Reading, PA – Sovereign Performing Arts Center
June 6 - Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre
June 8 - San Antonio, TX – Laurie Auditorium
Sept 23 Jackson, MI The Potter Center
Sept 24 Benton Harbor, MI Mendel Center
Sept 28 Champaign, IL Univ. of Illinois

The Yankovic Concert Finder has been updated. Find your nearest one now!

(Thanks “A Man“)

edit: Oops, we were so excited about the new tour dates, we accidentally listed some twice! All fixed now. (Thanks Patti and jedm!)

I wanted to point out this great collection of “Weird Al” Yankovic items on eBay. There are a couple posters, four videos, newspaper clippings, flyers, and five back issues of the rare out of print Midnight Star fanzine! It’s an instant collection! Check out the auction for details.

The best part is that all proceeds from the auction are going to Weird Al Star Fund! Here’s your chance to get some really great items, and help us out at the same time.

We’ll also be listing a one-of-a-kind full color Weird Al poster with artwork by Aron. And we’ll be having a nice item for the Al Gals too, so keep an eye out for those great items! I’ll post about it here when they’re available .

Bid early, bid often!