Self- Dstruction

Cinequest Film Festival is taking over Downtown San Jose as we speak, and last night I went to the California Theatre to check out Tenacious DTour, a documentary that followed the D on their world tour in support of The Pick of Destiny. A funny thing happened when my friend and I went to pick out seats. We ended up sitting right next to Kyle Gass and his girlfriend. for those of you who aren't familiar with who he is, he's the other guy in the band who's not Jack Black. We had our momentary silent freak out when we realized it was him, at which point I quietly leaned over and told him he was awesome. He quietly thanked me, and normalcy was restored until a few kids came over asking for autographs. He obliged but soon realized the mini pencil he was given to sign with wasn't going to work. Thanks to my new Andy Warhol Happy Bug Day tote bag, complete with handy organizational top compartment, i had easy access to my pen. I handed it over with great joy, and he was able to make the day of a few 14 year olds. I wasn't sure if most people didn't notice, or that they didn't want to bug him, but he was left alone pretty well. As the documentary got underway, one thing became abundantly clear: Kage, as he's refered to through most of the film, has a Jack Black-sized chip on his shoulder. I can understand his frustration. Black is a major movie star. It is addressed in great detail that Gass has to deal with press junkets and photo shoots that not-so-politely push him to the side in favor of Black. This came to a head during an incident at The Late Show with David Letterman, when JB basically had to threaten a walkout 5 minutes to showtime after KG was told that he wasn't going to be on the show. Apparently, they only had room for the "talented and hilarious Jack Black". KG was obviously angry, and devestated by the slight. So much so that Gass got up from his seat and exited the theatre during the scene. Black stood by his friend, and at the last minute the twosome walked on stage together. The audience was none the wiser. The scene brought me to tears, mostly because Gass was sitting next to me, and his tension as that scene approached was palpable. During the Q & A, he confirmed that it was too painful to watch.

I wish I could say that meeting Kyle Gass from tenacious d was so totally awesome, but really, it was a little sad. He came off as being angry, bitter, and at times, deeply resentful of Jack Black. I'm sure it's not easy being in the shadow of such a larger-than-life personality, but from what I could tell, Black is aware and sensitive to the feelings of KG. The ending is quite redeeming, though. It shows them six months after the tour ended collaborating on new material in a quiet, two-person jam session, with only a small tape recorder and their guitars as witnesses. Gass said it is his favorite scene.


SIDE NOTE: It should also be mentioned that the mounting tension between the The D increased due to both of their unease at the change in format for the tour : the duo was joined by outside musicians. A drastic change from the idea that they are a "duo", no? Also, The Pick of Destiny failed to ignite theater box offices around the world like they had hoped. For what it's worth, The Pick Of Destiny is awesome. It's a cult classic, and they should both be very proud, no matter what the box office returns were.