Kyle Gass says the D will ride again—vowing Tenacious D’s hiatus after his on-stage Trump assassination joke is only temporary and that he and Jack Black have already “hashed it out.”
Kyle Gass is ready to plug in the guitars again. Speaking with Rolling Stone, the Tenacious D co-founder confirmed that he and Jack Black will resurrect the comedy-rock duo after a self-imposed exile sparked by Gass’s inflammatory on-stage wish for a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
“We will serve no D-wine before it’s D-time — but we will be back. We will return,” Gass declared, ending 17 months of silence on the band’s future.
The Joke That Stopped the Tour
On July 14, 2024—hours after Trump was grazed by a bullet at a Pennsylvania rally—Tenacious D kicked off their Spicy Meatball Tour in Sydney. Presented with a birthday cake, Gass blew out the candles after quipping, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
The line detonated across social media. Black instantly called himself “blindsided”, scrapped the remaining 19 dates, and froze all creative projects. Gass issued a since-deleted apology—“I don’t condone violence of any kind… I profoundly apologize”—but the damage was done.
Inside the Fallout
Gass tells Rolling Stone the aftermath felt like “Defcon 2 in the camp.”
- He admits it was “a terrible mistake” born from improvisational riffing, not malice.
- Black—then juggling Kung Fu Panda 4, Borderlands and Minecraft franchises—feared collateral damage to his family-friendly brands.
- The two “hashed it out” in private, with Gass accepting full blame: “It was my f***-up.”
Why Reunion Makes Sense Now
- Brand Cooling Period: The 17-month gap lets advertisers separate Black’s corporate partnerships from the controversy.
- Fan Demand: Vinyl re-presses of their 2001 self-titled album have sold out three times on Record Store Day since the hiatus, Entertainment Tonight notes.
- Streaming Metrics: Spotify data shows monthly listeners held steady at 2.4 million, proving the audience never left.
The Marriage Analogy
Gass frames the partnership like a rocky marriage: “You go through ups and downs and try to understand your partner.” Black echoed the sentiment last August, saying, “I love the D and everybody takes a break sometime.”
What Comes Next
While no dates or new material were announced, Gass’s phrasing—“D-time”—hints at a ceremonial, possibly tour-launch event rather than a low-key comeback. Insiders expect:
- A one-off Los Angeles warm-up show, mirroring their 2018 Post-Apocalypto pop-up at the Shriners Auditorium.
- A fifth studio album recorded in Black’s Embassy Studios garage, where they cut the first D demos in 2000.
- Podcast or limited-series documentary dissecting the hiatus, capitalizing on the redemption narrative.
Until then, Gass is on what he calls “the long ride home,” penning acoustic riffs and waiting for the green light from Black’s camp.
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