Weird Al Yankovic – An Xperience Interview

Weird Al Yankovic – An Xperience Interview – by Neoptolemus.

I was a high school senior in the mid-1970s, living just west of Syracuse, NY. I was gifted a JVC receiver and speakers from my brother, who picked it up in Japan on his way home from Vietnam. With it, I discovered a Utica, NY FM radio station that played “deep cuts” — songs from rock albums that weren’t heard on AM radio stations. I had to make an antenna from a loop of heavy, multi-stranded copper wire just to pull in a decent signal.

The music was outstanding, but the cherry on top was the Dr. Demento Show — a Sunday evening hour of off-beat songs, like “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”  and Shel Silverstein’s “The Smoke Off.” Stuff that would make you laugh out loud. It was great!

And then, out of nowhere, Weird Al’s “My Bologna” drifted out from the speakers. It was a brilliant parody of The Knack’s “My Sharona.” I loved it!

Many years later, Weird Al’s impression on me was still present. I wrote my own parody song, “My Remora,” about one of my supervisor’s favorite sycophants. A few years ago, I even wrote parody lyrics for the Erotic’s “Steroids and Cocaine,” entitled “Stingers for Ukraine.” (Mike Trash loved it.)

Weird Al Yankovic’s latest traveling circus, The Bigger and Weirder 2025 Tour, pulls into the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Thursday, July 17th, with special guest Puddles Pity Party. It should be a fun night out.

The Xperience Monthly queried Weird Al about aspects of his strange vocation (and, by the way, thanks, Weird Al, for making at least part of my life so enjoyable!):

RRX: First, I have to say I loved your movie, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” released in 2022. It was pure genius, doing a movie that is a parody of your life as a parodist. If this interview were a parody, what question would be the most important one that you would ask yourself, and why? What would the answer be?

AY: I think the most pressing question would be,”Was it really appropriate for you to assassinate Pablo Escobar in cold blood?” And the answer is, “Yes, it definitely was. No one disrespects my woman like that and gets away with it!”

RRX: I believe I may have to report that to the authorities. Moving on, back in the 1970s, I used to listen to Dr. Demento on Sunday nights on WOUR 96.9 FM radio, out of Oneida-Utica-Rome, New York. I believe I even remember hearing an on-air call-in by you to the good medic. Can you briefly describe for us what that experience was like, having your songs played on a coast-to-coast syndicated radio show as a teenager?

AY: You have to understand that this was decades before YouTube or any real form of social media, so the idea of teenage me having his songs played on the radio seemed ludicrous at the time. And yet, here was Dr. Demento, playing a cassette tape that I recorded in my bedroom on his nationally syndicated show. I can’t imagine anybody else in the world that would have given me the time of day, let alone that kind of public exposure. I clearly remember the very first time I heard one of my songs being played on the radio. It was just like the scene in the movie – basically me running around the house screaming, not believing what was happening.

RRX: Your parodies are obviously homages to the original songs and artists you mime. I recall reading somewhere that Kurt Cobain loved “Smells Like Nirvana,” your riff on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” That seems to be the general reaction from most of your musical “victims.” But we don’t know what kind of music you yourself prefer to listen to. What are some of YOUR favorite bands?

AY: Oh, I try to avoid listing bands and artists that I love, because there are just so many of them and I hate to leave anybody out, but … I loved all the ‘60s British Invasion bands, a lot of pop songs from the ‘70s, all the “college radio-friendly” bands from the ‘80s, and a lot of the alternative and indie bands from the ‘90s and beyond. I particularly enjoy bands that don’t try to hide their sense of humor.

RRX: Some people may not be aware that you actually have a considerable body of original work. How would you react to other artists parodying YOUR work? Would you find it flattering?

AY: I mean, how could I not love that? I’d be totally honored. Actually, I have heard a number of parodies of my original songs from fans who have uploaded them to YouTube. Not all of them are brilliant, but some are really quite good!

RRX: When you were a teen, you had a passion for Mad magazine (as did I). In fact, you say in an interview with Dan Rather that you wanted to be a writer for Mad. Did you ever get to meet any of the contributors to Mad, such as William Gaines, or artist Sergio Aragones?

AY: About a decade ago, I was thrilled to be asked to be a guest editor for an entire issue of MAD – I’m pretty sure I’m the only one to ever get that honor! I wish I could go back in time and tell 12-year-old me that one day he would be on the cover of MAD Magazine with Alfred E. Neuman. I’ve met quite a few MAD employees – I’m good friends with the editors (like John Ficarra and the late great Nick Meglin), and writers (like Dick DeBartolo), and have met a bunch of artists as well, including Sergio Aragones. I also met the amazing Al Jaffee, who absolutely blew my mind by doing a Weird Al-themed MAD fold-in! Sadly, I never got to meet Bill Gaines – the one time I visited the MAD offices, he was home sick.

RRX: Thank you for your time. Break a leg at SPAC!

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