Ed Masley

The Republic | azcentral.com

When a young “Weird Al” Yankovic took his accordion into the restroom across from the radio station at California Polytechnic State University to tape a parody he’d written of the Knack hit “My Sharona,” he wasn’t expecting to launch a career that would sustain him well into his 50s.

He was just hoping to get a few spins on the Dr. Demento Show.

But "My Bologna" topped Demento’s Funny Five and landed Yankovic a major-label deal at the suggestion of the Knack’s Doug Fieger while establishing a formula that's seen him through such culture-rocking parodies as "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana" and "White & Nerdy.” That last one peaked at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 on its way to going to platinum.

Even then, the idea of topping Billboard’s album chart was “beyond the realm of possibility” for Yankovic. Or so he thought until two years ago when “Mandatory Fun” debuted at No. 1 on the strength of an internet-savvy promotional blitz in which he released a video a day for eight straight days. It was the first time a comedy album had reached that peak since 1963 and Yankovic was as surprised as he was thrilled.

The star checked in to talk about his chart-rocking success with “Mandatory Fun,” the viral video campaign and his humble beginnings as an accordion-wielding teenager calling the Dr. Demento request line to see if they could play some “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Question: How did that feel when “Mandatory Fun” became the first comedy album in more than 50 years to top the album charts? Was a big deal for you?

Answer: It was a huge deal. Part of my job description is I closely follow the Billboard charts. I had been somewhat obsessed with them. And I just never anticipated that I would ever have a No. 1 album. I was well aware that comedy albums don’t traditionally chart that high. There always seemed to be a bit of a glass ceiling.

I was very happy that my previous two albums had cracked the Top 10 and that was kind of a big deal already. I just never thought having a No. 1 album was in the cards. Honestly, I thought I would just sort of quietly fulfill my contractual obligation and put out my last album. Obviously I hoped it would do well. I was very proud of it. But I never, ever would have anticipated it doing as well as it did.

Q: Do you think the viral video campaign put it over the top?

A: I think so. That really made a huge impact because my videos were sort of omnipresent that week online. It was a calculated gamble. I didn’t know how well it would go. In fact, some people were trying to talk me out of it. They thought people would get burned out on my videos. And someone else was saying, “Don’t do one a day. Do ‘em all at the same time because people like to binge-watch things."

But I thought doing one a day was about right because 24 hours is about the life of a viral video. People get really obsessed, it takes over the web and 24 hours later people want to see something new. And I thought, well, if I could world-premiere a new video every single day for a week, then hopefully I’ll be able to dominate the conversation online.

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Q: You did kind of own the internet that week.

A: It was pretty crazy. I’ve definitely had periods of my career where I’ve been in the spotlight but I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as in the spotlight as I was that week.

Q: It had to feel pretty gratifying at that point in your career.

A: It was. I mean, a lot of people thought I wouldn’t get a record deal in the first place because of the kind of music I do. Comedy music back in the ‘80s was basically relegated to the domain of one-hit wonders. People thought, “Oh, this is really funny but this is not something one does as a career.” And the fact that I’m now actually peaking 30 years into my career is kind of surrealistic.

Q: You mentioned viewing this as a contractual obligation. At the time, you said this would be your last traditional full-length release. Are you still thinking that way?

A: I think so, yeah. That sounds a bit ironic coming off a No. 1 album, but I think the logic is still sound. What I do lends itself more to single releases than to album releases. It’s more gratifying for me as well because I don’t like to record something and then have it sit in the can for a year. It was always a bit constraining for me to have to wait until I had 12 tracks recorded and then release them all at once.

So I think going forward, it would make everybody happier if I just put stuff out as soon as I wrote and recorded it. And we’ll see how it goes.

Q: What particular qualities do you look for in a song as far as what to parody?

A: I obviously look at the charts and try to picks songs that have either been No. 1 or have really kind of hit the zeitgeist. Then I’ll take that shortlist of songs and try to think of as many ideas as I can. And most of the ideas will be pretty bad. But every now and then I’ll come up with an idea that I think, hey, I can do something with this.

Q: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would be an example of one that didn’t have to be No. 1 because it did kind of capture the zeitgeist?

A: Well, but it was No. 1. I mean, the song was probably No. 1, too, but the album was certainly No. 1. When Nirvana first came out, I was a big fan but I just thought, well, they’ll never be big enough where I can make it into a parody.

But then they proved me wrong and became the voice of a generation. And that particular period sort of reinvigorated my career because that was my first kind of big hit since my Michael Jackson days.

Q: I know “My Bologna” was the first parody that hit for you, but were there other songs before that? What was the first song you parodied?

A: Oh, gosh. I started sending tapes to Dr. Demento when I was in my early teens and some of them were parodies and some were originals, but they were all pretty bad. (laughs) I didn’t have any experience or practice. I was sort of learning as I was going. So I’ve sort of blocked out what those early songs were. (laughs) But I guarantee you that they weren’t that good.

The first one that actually got attention on its own merit was “My Bologna.” Before that, I had a few things. But mostly they hit the Funny 5 because I was calling in on the request line and changing my voice. “My Bologna” was the first one where people that weren’t my friends were calling in and saying, “This is really good.”

Q: Do you think you would have gotten into doing the sort of music you do without Dr. Demento?

A: Probably not. I can’t imagine how I would have had any kind of entree into the music business without Dr. Demento. Nowadays there’s YouTube and a lot of other ways for people to get their music heard, but back when I was a kid, I guarantee you there wasn’t anyone else who would play homemade recordings from a teenage kid who’s singing along to the accordion. (laughs) Dr. Demento was the only option.

Q: At what point did the parody become your calling card?

A: I have the most success with parodies. Dr. Demento played them both but "My Bologna" was a huge hit on the show. The next year “Another One Rides the Bus” was a huge hit. At the same time I had my “Star Wars” parody “Yoda” to the tune of “Lola” by the Kinks. It didn’t get released on an album until five years later, but before that it was a huge hit on the Dr. Demento show, again just me playing along with my accordion, the original demo version.

So I learned at that time that the parodies were really taking off. I’ve always done originals and parodies. In fact, it’s been about 50/50 on my albums the whole time but traditionally, the parodies are the ones that get the most airplay.

Q: Did the idea of being in a normal rock band appeal to you?

A: Well, (laughs) you know, I tried as a teenager and found out pretty quickly that my friends didn’t want an accordion player in their rock bands. So I figured out pretty early on that I had to go my own way in life and figure it out for myself. I’ve always been a bit warped and a bit twisted. My affinity for the Dr. Demento Show spoke to that.

And the accordion, certainly in the ‘80s and to some extent to this day, is considered sort of a weird instrument. So I just kind of played it up. I used the accordion for comic effect. The juxtaposition with rock and roll seemed to be funny to a lot of people. So I just went with that.

Q: Have you ever written serious songs?

A: Well, not per se. I think I probably tried my hand at it when I was, like, 14 years old and it wound up just being so horrible. I was going through some old boxes last year and I saw some old song lyrics I wrote as a teenager where I was trying to be earnest. It was just so embarrassing. That’s not the way my brain is wired. I found that I’m much more comfortable going the twisted path.

Q: You get permission from the artists before you release your parodies. Have there been any really memorable interactions?

A: I’ve had a lot of really wonderful compliments from artists who have said we were able to really capture their sound and emulate the smallest little details in the music.

Kurt Cobain famously said he didn’t realize he had made it until he heard the Weird Al parody. Lady Gaga called it a rite of passage. Chamillionaire said my parody was a big reason why his song won the Grammy for rap song of the year. It’s gotten to the point where getting a Weird Al parody is considered a bit of a badge of honor.

Q: Do you have a favorite parody you’ve done?

A: It’s hard to pick. I like a lot of the parodies off the new album. But I think “White and Nerdy” has got a place in my heart because it’s my biggest-selling single to date and also I guess it’s my most autobiographical. I got to draw from a lot of personal experience there. (laughs)

Q: Right. So that one kind of is your serious song, then.

A: Well, (laughs) It depends on how you define serious, I guess.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Twitter.com/EdMasley

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"Weird Al" Yankovic

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3.

Where: Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

Admission: $39.50.

Details: 602-379-2888, concerts.livenation.com.