Hey, Geek-Faithers, have I got a treat for you. My friend and fellow geek writer Sandra Dimas just landed an exclusive interview with none other than Weird Al Yankovic! Sandra is awesome, partly because she and I share a philosophy that only the parts of us that need to grow up should. She loves Jesus, Comic Cons, and recently agreed to become Geek Faith Tribe’s official correspondent south of the border. Oh, and check out her shirt!
By Sandra Dimas
Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo—the largest multimedia pop culture convention in Los Angeles—kicked off November 1–3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Thousands of fan-boys and girls invaded the heart of LA to experience the best in comics, gaming, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and other pop-culture goodness. Among the celebrities appearing at Comikaze was none other than the king of geek, Weird Al Yankovic, who graciously granted Geek Faith Tribe an exclusive interview.
SD: Well, first things first, how have you been enjoying Comikaze?
AY: I’ve been having a nice time. It’s been great, very pleasant.
SD: I must say, I’m a huge fan of your work. I absolutely love your music.
AY: Well, thank you very much.
SD: What do you want to say to the many fans like myself who have felt so affirmed by your quirkiness and your unique style of interpreting and translating music and making it your own?
AY: It’s just extremely gratifying to know that I’ve had any sort of affect whatsoever on anybody’s life. I’ve heard so many stories just from these two days here at Comikaze from people who have told me how my music has helped them through some really dark periods in their life or has just otherwise added to their enjoyment of the world. So, I mean, that really truly means a lot to me and that’s one of the reasons why I like doing events like this. I get to interact with fans and really make that kind of connection.
SD: Speaking of making a connection, I hear that your concerts are fantastic—fans say they’re the best out there. What do you add to your shows that affects fans that way?
AY: We all really enjoy playing live, and I think that our excitement is contagious. The show itself has a lot to it. It’s not just guys on stage playing instruments. It’s a full multimedia show with costume changes and a big LED screen and props. It’s very theatrical. We try to make a real show out of it so I think people really react positively to that.
SD: Would you say your faith in any way informs the music that you create or the purpose behind it?
AY: I’m sure it has something to do with it. Yeah.
SD: That’s great. So, we know Dr. Demento certainly inspired you in your early years. Are there particular contemporary artists who inspire you today?
AY: Quite a few. Obviously as somebody who kind of pokes fun of the zeitgeist, I try to keep aware of everything that’s happening in the popular culture and that’s very inspirational. And there are a lot of people who are doing very funny music today that I think are really wonderful. I love The Lonely Island, Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, Garfunkel and Oates, Tim Minchin, Reggie Watts. There’s a ton of people out there doing really wonderful work.
SD: Yeah, I love a lot of them—they’re great. Is there an artist whose music you would really like to parody and just haven’t had a chance to yet?
AY: I don’t want to mention any names because if I haven’t gotten around to them yet, they’re on the list. So they might be on the next album, but everybody needs to take a number and I’ll get around to everybody eventually.
SD: Well, what’s up next for you?
AY: Up next is a little bit of a slow down period because I just got off of a three-year-long tour. I’m half done with the new album. So most of the rest of the year’s going to be kind of just family time. And then I’m going to hopefully finish up the album next year. There’s no guarantee. I have to wait for the cosmic tumblers to click into place. But I’m hoping next year we’ll see the release of a new album. Beyond that, I have a lot of irons in the fire and a lot of things that could be happening, but I’m not at liberty to really discuss them because I don’t know if they’re going to actually come to fruition or not.
SD: Well, I’m certainly looking forward to what’s coming. One last thing: Is there anything you want to say to the Geek Faith Tribe community?
AY: Keep it real…and keep flossing!
SD: Ha! My mother would agree. Thank you so much for your time!
AY: There you have it, Geek Faith Tribe: a scoop and a special greeting from the legend himself, Weird Al Yankovic. To stay up-to-date with the latest Weird Al news, visit his website, “like” him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.
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Editor for Reasons to Believe and co-blogger on Take Two, Sandra Dimas writes on the topics of science and philosophy (“sci-phi”) with a pop-culture twist. As of… uh… right now, she also serves as LA Correspondent for Geek Faith Tribe. Look for more from Sandra in the future, right here—where Geeks and faith unite.