Yank Blog

Platinum and Nerdy!

happysteve — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:07:07 +0000

This just in at The Official Weird Al Yankovic Web Site:

PLATINUM & NERDY!
The single of “White & Nerdy” was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and the ringtone was certified Gold as well - both career firsts for Al! Many thanks to all our fans!

You’re welcome! heh. Many congratulations!

Go Into Al’s Brain

happysteve — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:03:22 +0000

This picture was taken at the OC Fair in Orange County, CA by UHJeff…

The Medulla Oblongata is not a pasta.

New in 2009, Al’s Brain… a 3-D journey through the human brain. Premiering at the OC Super Fair.

I haven’t been able to find much info about this attraction or even about the OC “Super” Fair yet, except for one little blurb. It looks like American Scenic is the company who designed it. In their Projects page under “Recent Attractions” it says:

Al’s Brain: “Weird Al” Yankovic takes visitors on an incredible and entertaining exploration of the human brain

Sounds like we’ll be taking a fantastic voyage soon to see what’s going on in his head. Woo! Anybody else find any info about this attraction?

Are you weirder than Weird Al?

happysteve — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:40:39 +0000

If you’re close to Rockford, Illinois, you can try to win a pair of tickets to see Al at the Rockford MetroCentre on August 10th. What do you have to do? Go to this post at the “Rockford Register Star”:

Tell about strange things around here, Win tickets/meet Weird Al

and make a comment with 100 words or less with something weirder than Weird Al wearing water wings while waterskiing in the wicinity of Wed Wock Walley… whoops I mean in the vicinity of Red Rock Valley. Or you could email a photo or video too. See the post for details.

Three winners will get a pair of tickets to the show, and one of the three winners will also get backstage passes. Nice!

Deadline for this contest is 12pm CST, Monday July 28th.

ABC Saturday Morning Cartoon Preview ad, 1984

happysteve — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:04:52 +0000

Oh man, check out this blast from the past found in kerrytoonz’s Flickr photostream:

“This ad is from TV Guide that was for a preview show that aired the Friday before the Saturday morning fall lineup, and featured Hanna-Barbera cartoons Super Friends, and Scooby and Scrappy Doo. The show was filmed at a theme park, which I believe was Magic Mountain and had Scooby Doo in a costume and Weird Al Yankovic as the host.” — kerrytoonz

ABC Saturday Morning Cartoon Preview ad, 1984 on Flickr.

Wow, I remember Turbo Teen and Dragon’s Lair (I used to love the video game). Wolfman Jack had a cartoon series?!? Huh. And interesting to note, Weird Al is wearing one sequined glove like MJ for “no apparent reason”. heh.

Al is back on the road

happysteve — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:33:49 +0000

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.

Venue Change in Billings, MT

happysteve — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:10:45 +0000

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.

Elliot in the Morning Interview

happysteve — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:33:06 +0000

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.]

No star for Weird Al in 2009

elvis — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:27:35 +0000

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!

Weird Al on Morning News

happysteve — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:25:54 +0000

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]