“Without giving too much away, I’m actually playing the role of Colonel Sanders in the show,” confesses drummer Brooks Wackerman, speaking of his current gig on tour with the musical/comedy duo Tenacious D. Taking a break from his steady gig with punk legends Bad Religion, the drummer has been fully recruited into the multi-media circus involved in promoting The D’s sophomore album and the soundtrack to their film, The Pick Of Destiny.

“Stylistically, I almost feel like I’m doing musical theater,” Brooks explains. “There’s acting involved. Musically, it’s not all just bashing or playing quietly either; there are definitely a lot of dynamics, which I like. The drum parts stay interesting, and Jack [Black] and Kyle’s [Gass] comedy skits are always entertaining. During rehearsals, there have been times where I’ll have tears in my eyes just from the comedy that’s being presented.”

With Tenacious D packing venues as large as New York’s Madison Square Garden, Brooks found a new way to adapt to the acoustical challenges of playing big rooms. “This is my first tour using in-ear monitors,” he explains. “In the past I’ve battled with acoustics of arenas or outdoor European festivals, because you never know what type of monitor mix you’re going to get. Now I find myself not hitting as hard, just because I can hear everything, so the in-ears are really helping. We also have a great sound guy who is very detailed with every drum that I hit, so I never have to worry about, say, the toms not being heard.” Advertisement

Gail Worley

Photo by Rafa Alcantara