Kyle Gass
Kyle Gass |
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Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960)[1] is an American actor and a member of the band Tenacious D (along with Jack Black) and Trainwreck. In Tenacious D, Gass plays lead guitar and sings backup vocals, and also plays the role of Black's comic foil in most of their comedy routines. He is often referred to as KG or Kage, although he is sometimes given the nicknames Rage and Rage-Kage, in-jokes about his very calm personality. He is also known as the other half of Tenacious D.
Biography
Early life
Gass was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. At the age of twelve, he began playing his first instrument, the flute. Soon after, he began playing the saxophone. By the age of twelve, Gass began playing an old nylon-stringed guitar[2] that was lying around the house.
While appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on November 15, 2006,[3] Gass claimed to have been the youngest graduate of the Juilliard School of Music with a degree in classical guitar studies at the age of thirteen.[4] Earlier, in an article in the Sunday Times on October 29, 2006, Jack Black stated that Gass was the youngest graduate of Juilliard.[5]
Career
Much like his musical career, Kyle's acting career also started at a young age. His first acting gig was a 7up commercial. Upon graduating from Las Lomas High School in 1978, Kyle went on to attend UCLA. While in UCLA, Kyle met actor Tim Robbins, who recruited him into the Actor's Gang. Kyle soon graduated from UCLA in 1986. In 1984, a sixteen-year-old named Jack Black was one of the new recruits in the Actor's Gang, and it was because of this that the two had met. According to Kyle, he actually did not like Jack a whole lot at first, but the two eventually settled their differences and soon became good friends. Kyle even taught Jack how to play the guitar, and the two soon formed a band, calling it Tenacious D.
He was also featured in several episodes of the television show Fear of a Punk Planet, which has since been released on DVD. Kyle has also made an appearance in the Good Charlotte video for "Lifestyles of the Rich And Famous" as a lawyer who is questioning a dog.
He appeared in an episode of Friends as a hobo, Lowell, a friend of Phoebe's from the streets and in the comedy Elf as a would-be children's author. Gass also made a cameo appearance as a hotdog stand owner in the Seinfeld episode, "The Abstinence".
He also appeared on several episodes of the short-lived Judd Apatow TV show, Undeclared, available on DVD.
He has appeared with small parts in multiple Jack Black films (Shallow Hal, Saving Silverman, The Cable Guy, etc.) He also has been part of most of Kung Fu Records' movies, Kung Fu Films, which includes Fear of a Punk Planet and Cake Boy.
He has also appeared in Jacob's Ladder (film) with Tim Robbins, playing the character of Tony.
He has a cameo as a singing karaoke cowboy in the 2007 movie Wild Hogs starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. Gass sings a Pussycat Dolls song, in addition to a few others.
Gass recently auditioned for a demon part in The Reaper pilot to be directed by Kevin Smith, but wasn't hired to Smith's disappointment.[6]
Trainwreck
Gass also plays guitar and sings vocals in the band Trainwreck, under the pseudonym Klip Calhoun. As of 2005, the band consists of:
- Klip Calhoun — guitar and vocals
- Daryl Lee Donald — vocals and percussion
- Lance Branson — keyboard and vocals
- John Bartholomew Shredman — electric guitar
- Boy Johnny — bass and vocals
- Dallas St Bernard — drums
The band started playing live in 2005 and recorded a live album in Los Angeles in 2004 with Gass and John King of the Dust Brothers producing. The album was released in December 2004 through Sony Music. Trainwreck has toured America supporting the Reverend Horton Heat and the Supersuckers.
The band is recording its first studio album with King and Gass coproducing. It is also negotiating with television networks to record a pilot TV show.
References
- ^ Gass was born in 1968, rather than 1964, according to the State of Mississippi. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- ^ Bill Schulz (2006-11-23). "Kyle Gass". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "imdb.com". Retrieved 2007-03-24.
- ^ It should be pointed out that Juilliard did not have a guitar program in 1973, but began its graduate level guitar program in 1989 under Sharon Isbin, and its undergraduate program in 2002. For reference see article on Sharon Isbin.
- ^ The Sunday Times (2006-08-29). "Dude, where's my guitar?". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SModcast #8 [1]