Tenacious D members Jack Black and Kyle Gass have opened up about the impact of Nirvana to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nevermind.
Speaking to Heavy Consequence, the duo were asked whether Nevermind or their own debut album had the bigger impact on rock music.
“Without a doubt, Nirvana… I remember, that thing exploded like an atom bomb,” replied Tenacious D guitarist Gass.
“Nirvana simultaneously created a genre and destroyed a genre with one powerful album. … we’re gonna humbly give the trophy to Nirvana,” vocalist Black added.
Black went on to reveal that he was “heavily influenced by Nirvana,” and recalled seeing them perform live for the first time in 1991.
“It was the best concert I ever saw … And little did I know 10 years later, we would be rocking with that drummer,” he said, referencing the fact Dave Grohl has played on all of Tenacious D’s albums.
Black said he remembers thinking to himself, “‘Who’s that drummer… there’s no question, he’s the best drummer alive right now,'”
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“The fucking thunder that came out of his kit was second to none,” he added.
Gass continued on to reveal that he has “never gotten over” the excitement of collaborating with Grohl.
“I still can’t believe that we got him on our very first record, and that he rocked on all our songs. … And then he would play on all the rest of [our] albums, so it’s almost surreal. It’s hard to process,” he said.
Black also shared his memory of Tenacious D’s first interaction with Grohl, saying: “He fuckin’ somehow popped his head through the curtain when we were playing the Viper Room in the early ’90s and said, ‘Hey, I heard you guys were great. Looking forward to checking you guys out. Have a good show tonight!’”
He admitted that he didn’t think it was possible to get Grohl to agree to play with them, saying: “We didn’t even want to ask him to play drums for us on that first album, because it just seemed too stupid a question. But [producers] the Dust Brothers actually convinced us, [saying], ‘Are you fuckin’ crazy? He said he liked you? You’re going to try to get him on the album!'”
For more on this topic, head over to the Classic Rock Observer.
Check out ‘Tribute’ by Tenacious D:
