World of Weird Al Yankovic

Thanks for opening this up again, Jon!


What song of Al's had the hardest/most complicated drum track to record? What song are you most proud of your work on?

Many of Al's songs have a certain level of difficulty, and for different reasons. Some require more work than others, and it's the parodies that are typically more difficult than the originals. Trapped in the Drive-Thru comes to mind, that was pretty involved for me. But some of the originals required more work than others, and Genius in France is probably tied for first, along with one of the originals on the new album.

But I'm proud of all of my drumming. There are a few things I'd like to go back and do something different, but only because I thought of something better, not because I need to correct a mistake. And there are a few of those, too, I hear them every time I hear those songs. But, they're also part of the song now, and making it right would be wrong.

Bermuda

So youre never tempted to ask Al if you can change it up a bit when doing it live?

If what I played was right for the album, it's right for the concert! It's never my intention to change a part that we all agreed sounded right. But, and only after years of playing something live, my parts may change slightly due to 1) memory lapse between tours, or 2) I eventually developed a part - a fill, really - that I preferred and wished I could have done on the record. But that happens after 5 or 10 or 20 years, not immedaietly after we finish an album. And I always re-listen to the original recordings of the songs for each tour before we start rehearsing, just to remind myself exactly what the parts are.

Yoda is a song that strayed a little bit over time, but I've kept it in check the last few tours.

Bermuda

Speaking of Yoda, I remember during the end of Touring With Scissors when during the B sections so to speak if I'm using the correct termonology (I.E. Well I left home just a week before) where you would go double time on the drums, then back to normal during the verses. It was a very nice touch, and am hoping to see it again. Just curious if you remember what was the reason for the change?

No change for me there, the only time I go 'double time' is during the next-to-last turnaround at the end of the song. Although not on the recording, I've been doing that for 20 years or more as part of an ending that closes the show (the recording fades, which would be rather anti-climactic to do after 2 hours of mock & roll!)

Bermuda