Yank Blog

Yep, the final leg of the tour is finally under way. Weird Al and the band are riding around in a big ol’ bus going across the country to entertain and delight folks wherever they go ( And to see how many hotel soaps they can each collect. The winner gets a miniature trophy. ) Anyway, check out Al’s latest post on his MySpace blog.

This just in from the Official Tour page…   For those going to see Weird Al on August 12th (formerly at Casper WY), the show is now at The Shrine Auditorium in Billings, Montana.

If you missed out on the Elliot in the Morning Interview with Al, you can now hear it at EITMonline.com. Scroll down the page a little. It’s broken into two mp3s, but be warned the first 3 minutes is a string of clips of Al songs.

Also, check out a whole mess o’ pics from them at Flickr.

[Special thanks to Stephanie M for the heads up.]

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce published their list of recipients for stars in 2009 earlier today, and once again, Al was not selected among the 25 announced celebrities. It baffles me how they can continuously overlook the best-selling musical comedy recording artist in history, at what is arguably the height of his career.

Recipients included Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley, The Village People, Tinkerbell, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Burton, Leslie Caron, Charles Durning, Ralph Fiennes, William Petersen, Kyra Sedgwick, John Stamos, Mark Burnett, Chuck Lorre, Kenny “Baby Face” Edmonds, Dave Koz, The Miracles, Doug Morris, Rush, Shakira, KFI radio personality Bill Handel and KCRW host Harry Shearer.

This is not the news we were all hoping for, but it’s not over. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure Al eventually gets his well-deserved star, and of course, we will resubmit the application again next year. Hopefully the Chamber will then correct their mistake.

But let’s end this update on some upbeat news — the summer tour kicks off in a little over a week! There are 45 scheduled dates in North America. If you get the opportunity to attend one near you, it’s an adventure you don’t want to miss! Also, Al has been hinting in recent interviews that there are some pretty exciting projects in the works. I would expect we’ll hear more about them as the year goes on. 2008 once again, is shaping up to be another great year to be an Al fan!

Some links for your enjoyment:

According to EITMfans, Weird Al is going to be on a radio show called “Elliot in the Morning” Friday morning.  Check the EITM links on the side for the stations.  I think they all have a “Listen Live” feature.

No audio, but here’s a pic of Al with the Magic Morning Show in Detroit.  [thanks algonacchick]

An interview with Weird Al on Billboard Magazine.  [thanks weird_el]

And watch the Star Wars Troopers cheer for Al.

The concert tour is about to start up again, so it looks like Al’s going around to spread the news.  First check out WGN Chicago where Al also takes part in their “Web Promo Only” section and goes head-to-head with their own Skip Parker.  And when you’re done doing that, run over to MyFox Detroit for their Q+A session with Al.

[thanks algonacchick for finding the Detroit link]

Ooh! Check out these pictures from lucky, lucky photographer Graham Hancock. Apparently, Barenaked Ladies brought Weird Al on stage to do a special POLKA VERSION OF “IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS”!!! How awesome is that? Man, I wish I could’ve heard that. Unfortunately, all we have to go on are these very nice pics of Al (in glasses?) and a spiffy looking light blue accordion… and our imaginations.

Update: No need to rely on imagination anymore! A couple resourceful commenters have tracked down the video. Too bad Al was incredibly shy and hid behind the speakers the whole time. Thanks so much Amy and Richard!

Concert alert, there has been a venue change at Edmonton, AB. The show is now at the Winspear Theatre.

Happy Five Year Anniversary Yank Blog! Sorry I have been ignoring you, baby. It won’t happen again honey, I promise. Here, I brought you some flowers and chocolates.

If you remember from the Roland interview Al mentioned being in a recording studio with an artist named Sarah Taylor, you probably wondered who she was. Well, wonder no more. Here’s a post from her on the Bill Mumy Fan Club site. Apparently Al came in with two large accordions, one of them being the new FR-2 digital, and played on several tracks on her upcoming album. There’s also a nice picture of Sarah, Al, and Bill Mumy on the page. Sounds like it’ll be a fun album. Be sure to keep an eye out for it when it comes out.

[ Found by Orthography Enthusiast ]