Tenacious D Hunger Strike Proves They're Just Hungry For Attention
 

What a great article. If you're a fan of the D, don't forget their new DVD comes out today.

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Tenacious D Hunger Strike Proves They're Just Hungry For Attention

Pair stick it out in glass box for a mere 23 minutes.

by Jon Wiederhorn

NEW YORK — They were supposed to remain suspended in a glass cage above Times Square for 45 days. Tenacious D didn't even make it 45 minutes.

A mere 23 minutes after being hoisted in the air to begin what they claimed would be an extended hunger strike, Jack Black freaked out and Kyle Gass pulled handfuls of hidden M&Ms from his costume, plunging them frantically into his mouth. The goofball rockers were lowered to the ground and carted away in an ambulance.

Not everything went wrong. The "hunger strike" had been coordinated to encourage fans to buy their DVD, "The Complete Master Works," and the pair's antics made "TRL" viewers and curious onlookers more than aware of the Tuesday release. And the duo didn't even have to miss a meal to do it.

The ruse began four hours earlier when Tenacious D swaggered into the conference room of the Millennium hotel dressed like superheroes. Black and Gass wore capes and silver, skin-tight spandex that revealed their bulging bellies. Their chests were emblazoned with large D's, and their faces were creased with the grim determination of mega-men on a mission.

The Tenacious D press conference was announced to the media without any details, and throughout their hunger strike announcement, Black and Gass played it straight, insisting they planned to remain in the glass booth for a month and a half with no food and little water.

Black said he and Gass would remain aloft for 45 days or until their DVD went platinum, world hunger came to an end or there was peace in the Middle East. When they got hungry, they would "live off the power of each other's rock" via a guitar they were bringing with them, Black said.

Like a marathon runners, Tenacious D made preparations to deal with the ordeal. "I had five McSurf and Turf deluxe cheeseburgers earlier today," Black said. "Also, I took a multivitamin. It was a large, horse-pill-sized super-multi."

There were signs early on that the D were in way over their heads. They may have at one time been starving artists, but like most successful rock stars, they don't have much recent experience avoiding food.

"I have gone over eight hours without eating [once]," Gass said. "I feel fully prepared."

"One time I slept for 12 hours, so I think I've pulled 13 hours," added Black. "This is gonna test our will, but I feel confident we're gonna make it 45 days."

Tenacious D's publicity stunt is similar to an act of real tenacity by New York illusionist David Blaine, who remained suspended in a glass cage over the Thames River in London for 44 days.

At the press conference, Black bristled at the idea that the D had copied Blaine. "I want to make one thing clear," he said with a straight face. "We are not out on some bullsh-- thing where you go up for 44 days and 44 nights. We're going for a full 45 days and 45 nights, and not only that, but I have evidence that David Blaine had liquid cheeseburgers pumped into his box through a tube. We will not have a tube."

Minutes after being driven off in an ambulance, Black and Gass were pushed into the "TRL" studio in wheelchairs and feigned complete disorientation. "I lost track of time," Black slurred. "I'm pretty sure we were in there for 45 days."

After regaining his equilibrium, Black blamed the aborted hunger strike on design flaws in their costumes, adding that after he was removed from the tank, he was fed an IV of gravy and quickly recovered.

This report is provided by MTV News

Brilliant! I'm deeply impressed!

hahaha, these guys are hilarious.... black is one of the funniest guys ou there right now!

The D rules!!!

Long live the D!!!

I thought this was a totally awesome stunt from when I heard they were going to do it. It only lasted 23 minutes, brilliant! I bet they needed help on the outside. Jack Black probably though of that one, he's so fucking funny.

Poor KG - he gets no credit. :(

I think what I love best about them is that they have the musical skills to back up their comedy.

That made me laugh, just a shame it didnt get the coverage the Blaine stunt got.

hahahah that's great.... these guys are consistently hilarious, Jack Black is one of the funniest people around (too bad he gets put into painfully un-funny roles in a good deal of his films, ESPECIALLY Orange County.... ugh).

That was hilarious. Just reading that made me crack up!

"live off the power of each other's rock"

awesome

lol you beat me to it. good lord i love the d.

The D are great.. hilarious stunt too!

that's so cool. awesome!

Ingenious.

absolutely hilarious....

The D owns me.

I may be the minority on this one, but if you have to resort to gimmicks and publicity stunts to sell your music, that's pathetic.

cough *Britney Spears* cough

I don't find them amusing either, I think Jack Black is an attention whore, "Look at me! I'm silly and have messy hair! Oh! I'm fat too and don't mine wobbling my bare belly about!"... their music is novelty music which is unfortunate because Black has a great singing voice, if only he used it properly.

I am not overly amused by Tenacious D, either. There are a few guys I know that think the two of them hung the moon and the stars, and I just don't get it.

"Fuck Her Gently" is a great song, though...

SUPREME!!!

If this isn't on a t-shirt already it needs to be so that i may purchase and wear it...

excatly right, that is the best part.

they are sooo funny

one of the funnest things i ever saw was JB doing a lord of the rings parody, you can still find it over on ifilm, extremly funny :)

Sorry i dont really think they are using gimmicks to sell their music, they are just doing what they do best and that is rock the house.

So, anybody watch the DVD yet?

I watched the whole thing this weekend - it ROCKS. It's really well-done and has so many great features on it that are really made just for the fans. A quick review:

Disc One: "For The Fans"

Live At Brixton Academy - this is an edited version of a recent live show - it's very good although it was a little slow at times. Great performance, though, and lots of fun little skits between Kyle and Jack.

HBO Shorts: It's great to have all of their HBO episodes on one disc in excellent quality, especially since people were selling video tapes with the episodes on eBay for a lot of money. They're all very funny.

Disc Two:

Concert Videos: This is three short films that play during the D performances. They are all really freakin' disgusting and hilarious. I do not recommend watching them while eating.

In The Studio with Tenacious D and On The Road With Tenacious D: Both are 20 minute (or so) documentaries and are shot mainly with handycams - they're a little choppy but are nicely done. They're really for the fans.

Music videos: Wonderboy, Tribute (and documentaries on the making of each video) and Fuck Her Gently. The Wonderboy video is really boring and FHG is essentially a Ren and Stimpy cartoon. Tribute is great.

There are also three TV appearances - Conan, Mad TV and Crank Yankers. Mad TV is really the only great one.

All in all - if you're a D fan - pick this one up - it's hysterical.

I'll have to check out the DVD it sounds fun.

Seeing them in concert was sweet, wedged between Jimmy Eat World and Weezer was a little off, but still amazing.

any word on a new album?

lol ... those guys rock my fucking sox off

this has got to be the shittest attempt at publicity...yes they are funny, but come on...what a joke!!!

am i just missing a really funny side to them doing sweet fa for publicity?

I'm sorry, but Tenacious D are just doing what Ween have been doing for the past 10 years, only not as well. Sure, they're good, and funny.... but don't deserve the amount of praise they get.

Absolutely. I can't put it any better than that.

The D Rocks

The DVD is great as well