Jack Black
Appearances
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And it feels like they like to get people that are on the cusp, that are like exploding, popping off in a certain way.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Cause I didn't want to audition, but then I didn't audition. I had an idea in mind that I never went and followed through with, but, um,
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, I don't want to repeat it because now it really sounds stupid in my mind, but my audition was going to be basically, I was going to be a superhero that I created. I don't remember what it was called, but it was like a combination of the Hulk and maybe it was just the Hulk.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I was going to come in as the Hulk and just jump around and do like this weird slow motion kind of performance art dance where I would crush things with my foot and then do like a mimed, the earth is cracking. I was not going to get in and I knew that, but I had practiced it in the mirror in my living room a few times. But I never pulled the trigger.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Sometimes you're up for the battle and sometimes you're just like, pass. Okay.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I auditioned for the Coen Brothers as well. And I also had a similar super shitty audition. It was for the Hudsucker Proxy.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But, you know, I don't remember the specifics of why it was so bad. But I knew when I walked out, I did not get it. Yeah.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But I loved auditioning early on. But that was, you know, in the before times.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Because once I got School of Rock, I didn't have to go on auditions anymore. And it took some adjusting. I was like, what? I don't have to audition? But what if I want to audition? But I like going on auditions. And then if it felt good, like I kicked ass, I didn't even really care if I got the part or not. I was just like high on that buzz.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yes. I remember just coming up. Dude, probably my first job when I was 13 years old for the commercial I did for a video game called Pitfall for Atari.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I just went in on that audition. I loved acting. My stepdad drove me around to all the auditions. And I had this kind of character who was sort of a cocky character. Like, this thing. Even at 13, I could do my eyebrows like this. Like, I'm cocky. I think I know what to do. And it looked funny if a 13-year-old did that kind of attitude, the cocky attitude.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And so they said, we did the audition. I wasn't doing that character. I was just doing, just last night. And they said, can you do it again this time and do it a little cocky? And in my mind, I was like, oh, they fell into my trap. That's my one move. I was like, I can try that. I'll try that. And just last night, it was, you know, whatever. And I remember leaving, and they were laughing.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
that feeling and i've been chasing the dragon ever since really because when you crush an audition in a weird way i like it better than doing the job sure because then you're the weird thing is like sometimes you'll get the part and you're like oh fuck now what and you get to the set and it's like no in the audition i did it this way and they're like forget about the audition jack so what we want you to do is this totally different thing i'm like
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It's a different pressure when you're performing for the thing that a million people will see. The audition, it's just for that room.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I was a child actor, I guess you could say, which is a little embarrassing always.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, because there's a stigma to child actors. You know, like it's not good for kids to be out there in the industry.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It is if they love it, you know, and I loved it. So it was good for me. But, yeah, you know, if you get the sense that there's a stage mom or stage dad that's pushing it and the kid doesn't actually want to be there, that's when I can imagine some psychological damage. It's like child labor. It's like, leave him alone.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So the Actors Gang was like the radical, political, commedia dell'arte, almost like a theater group that got going and popular in the 80s. And it was Tim Robbins and a group of other actors from UCLA who started this company. And if you were a young actor in the 80s and you were checking out the theater scene, they were the red hot chili peppers. They were just like the green berets.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
They were so rad. And I would go to their shows. their plays. They had a play called carnage of comedy. That was all about televangelism. And they had another show called freaks. And it was about a circus, uh, workers and, and performers. And I was like, just hanging out.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I was the young teen. And I just wanted to be part of that world so much. And, uh, and they, uh, cast me. I got a little part in a show called, uh, uh, the big show down in Santa Monica. And it was all about the South American Sandinista, like all of the politics surrounding that and American, you know, globalism, a bunch of shit. And then I didn't really get it, but it was super fun.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I brought some songs and I brought some music and they, they let me put some songs into the play.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yeah. Well, just little jingles. The director said, hey, we need some little songs here because it was like a game show. And so I did a little of that. And that's where I met Kyle. And it started off as a little bit of like a rivalry because he was the music guy in the company. And I was coming in with my songs and everything.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
You weren't playing guitar until... I wasn't playing guitar. I was just recording songs on my four-track.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But that's how I got in the actor's gang, and then we ended up going to the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 89. Oh. And then we took that show over to Joe Papp's Public Theater in New York.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And got the worst review I'd ever read. But I thought it was so mean that it turned funny to me. Like, I actually kind of liked reading it. I was like, oh, I was just laughing at how mean it was. The slam.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I wonder if he listened or if he just read. Because I listened and loved. Thanks, dude. Love your book.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
You know what I was specifically interested in was your time at, what was the theater company where you learned the improv from the guru of improv?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And because I've only heard whispers of this mythical creature named Del Close.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Kind of, but there was some dumb ridiculousness happening over there too.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
No, I never did Groundlings, but I did go and enjoy and watch Maya jam out over there. Maya Rudolph, we went to high school together. Nice. A lot of people don't know.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I do remember because I was like the king of the castle and I was rocking with my improv classes over there. And then she came in. She was like four years, three years younger. And she was so good at improv. I actually got intimidated and then I had a crisis and I couldn't do improv for like a whole year. It was like, this kid is just a kid and she's so much better than me. What's happening?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Did we meet before SNL? Yes, because we did a movie together. Not before SNL. The movie had to be after SNL. Was it before?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Let me check my laptop. Let me tell you what my first memory of you is. I saw you on Conan. And you played Andy Richter's little sister. Yeah. And you had those braces on. And I was like, what? Who the hell is that? What? Cause I did not know you, but it was like, you were shot out of a cannon. You were so funny and so intense. And your love for Conan was so like white hot.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I was like this person, whoever this is, is a revelation. And I was obsessed with you. And I talked to years later with Mike sure about it. And I was like, were you obsessed with Amy? Like I was the first time she was on Conan. He's like,
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
course I was like yeah you had an effect I think on a whole like community of comedians and performers like uh dude there's someone new on the stage you must have felt that like there must be a before and after that Conan appearance yeah
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
You maybe didn't have to audition for some thangs. They were like, you, we want that.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It was. Don't tell me. I'm going to get this. Jingle, jangle, wrangle, bungle, dum, dum, dum. Vapourize. Envy. Man, I loved working with you on Envy.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
We were a couple. Let's be honest, though. Envy, it kind of whiffed.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And then – I remember at the time I was like, see, you don't have to be stressed. You can just relax and have fun and have good vibes the whole time. And then when it kind of belly flopped, I was like, maybe I do need more stress. Maybe it's not good to be so comfortable and relaxed all the time.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, I kind of like it. The, uh, the structure of the day, because you got to get your sleep and everything's built around getting all your work done and you're all the sleep you need. Cause I need that beauty rest more than ever. Uh, And so you compartmentalize the families at home so you're able to just In a weird way, it's kind of like a vacation.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Even though it's hard work, you don't have all the distractions. You're focused just on this one thing. And I need my at least one hour of memorization every night where I just focus on the thing.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I do. I memorize the next three days worth or whatever I've got on the call sheet. The call sheet is my guide.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And they all just give you three days ahead of time. So you're like, okay, I'm going to memorize all three of these every night. And just keeps you three days ahead of the game.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
My ideal number is what they tell you. Eight hours is golden. Agreed. But I usually will get six.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I know. But I wake up and then I need to do a little bit of New York Times spelling bee. And then I will go back for bonus snoozeleberries once I get to genius. But what else do I have?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, I can take a nap, like I took a nap at SNL. Yeah. But to do that, I have to go kind of like Elephant Man, where I get so many pillows that I'm almost sitting up. But it's the only way up, because if I lay down flat, I might die. I don't know. I wake up with horrible headaches and nightmares.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
That was a thing. It was a thing when I first started doing it. Because it takes a little while to get used to. A few days.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
You're not going to sleep on your belly anymore. You like that? Well, that's gone.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So, you know, you got to figure out, okay, I'm going to sleep on my side like this. And then I can sleep on my back. Just don't go on your belly. And then it was like... Is it possible to have sex while wearing your CPAP machine? Yeah. Why would you? Just take it off and have sex and then put it back on.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Is this a turn off or a turn on that you have this Darth Vader?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I mean, some people have a Darth Vader kink. They want that mask. Mask on, mask off. Your choice, babe.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, this all started years ago because my sons loved Love on the Spectrum. And I was like, oh, good. This is our show. Because I'm always looking for ways to connect with my boys who just don't want anything to do with me. Because once they hit that age, that 16, 18, it's like the least thing you want to do is hang out with your parents.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And anything I like, they're automatically, well, I hate it. But they like the show. And I was like, I'm going to watch it with you guys. And we watched it. And we loved that show and loved Tanner. And I got a call from Lewis, our publicist. It was like, hey, Kelly Clarkson is asking if you'll do a video for Tanner from Love on the Spectrum who loves you. I was like, what? He loves me?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yes, I want to do a video. So I made a video for Tanner just telling him how much we love the show and how great he is. And I love his philosophy of life. His whole life, his mission is to bring smiles and joy around the world. We need more Tanners. And I sent that over and they showed it and he saw it on the Kelly Clarkson show and was like, oh, my God, it's Jack Black.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And so we didn't meet. We just had that one connection through Kelly Clarkson. And then I got the call saying, hey, he's going to be here the same time you're here promoting Minecraft. Will you do a surprise run out? And I was like, yeah, this sounds really great because it was, you know, they were long overdue that we meet in person.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And so they had that idea that I thought was really funny where it looks like I did a pre-tape. And I was like, I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I'm on the road promoting Minecraft. But I just want to tell you that I just think you're amazing. But I also have superpowers, Kung Fu Panda, like ninja moves, which means I can come through the doors right now.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I come running in and I thought it was so funny that I was like, that's going to be funny because it's a good reveal. And I was like, I hope that it's a surprise and that no one tells him. And when I came through, I wasn't prepared for how emotional.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I almost started crying. We were hugging. There was so much love.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I did give a contact. There's a way for us to communicate now.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But yeah, to be continued. I got to get with him. We have a plan to do some workouts. He's going to show me some techniques for bodybuilding.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It just goes to show, I had a blast making it. I love Jared. We worked together on Nacho Libre. But while I'm making it, I feel the same as Envy. And this could be another Vapourize. We might get Vapourized and no one goes to see the movie. You just don't know. You go out there. You do the best you can. You let the chips fall where they may. And this time, it feels like we rolled a Yahtzee.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And the music in it is so meditative. And there's some architecture in there where I think there's benefits to it. We're going to see. a whole new generation of architects making crazy-looking buildings because their brains are exercised hundreds of hours on making structures, even though it's in the virtual world. But there was also an element of Jared wanting us to look ridiculous. Yes.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Because my costume is so form fitting and really was just very revealing of my shape. My pear shaped, you know, that I'm like right now I'm wearing this stuff. This is all to distract you from my shape. I like a triple XL t-shirt with so much crazy.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, this is mostly what it is. It's tie dye explosions and it kind of drives your eye away from my shape. But this costume, it was just like a tight sweater shirt. And then Jason Momoa with that ridiculous mullet and, like, a pink leather jacket with fringe. He looks so ridiculous. That's part of the charm, though.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It's like, we're not here to look pretty. We're here to make some funny ridiculousness happen.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So I was never restricted in movement. The feeling is- That's my main thing is I'm always able to get real physical.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
When in doubt, kick it out. I was doing some we called them chop kicks, chop kicks. It's like chopsticks, but chop kicks. And that was also along the lines of I refuse to let these junket interviews get boring. I'm going to go nuts if need be. If I ever feel like we're going down a road. I'm going to – the chop kicks will come out. There will be a flurry.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So our director of Kung Fu Panda 4 said, hey, I really want a Tenacious D song in the movie. Like, could you guys do a cover? I was like, well, it depends. Like, what do you think? And he was like, you know, Pat Benatar hit me with your best shot. And I was like, I love Pat Benatar, but that doesn't feel right.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And then it was actually Sharon, our manager, who was like, you should do Britney Spears.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And then I said, hit me baby one more time is the one. Hit me baby one more time because it's Kung Fu Panda hitting me one more time. And we bounced that off the director, Mike Mitchell. And he was like, yes, do it. And so I called Kyle and we went and we laid down the hot tracks.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And it just so happened that our bass player, who also does all the producing of all the Tenacious D albums, is obsessed with Britney Spears. So I was like, this is falling into place.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And he laid down a bed that was a little faster than Britney's version. So it had a little more paprika because you don't want to just come and just do exactly what they did. You want to put a little different spin on it. And I got so into this one part. That's really hard vocally. And I did it probably like a hundred times and I would come back on different days.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Like it's still not there that where she's like, give me a sign. She does this little vocal diggity. It's like a little trill. It's a little up and down, like one of these. And I didn't really have it. And we kept, kept on working. And then I got it one day and that's all you need. You just need to capture the lightning in the bottle one time. And he put it in.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I had a festival, for those of you who don't know, it was a comedy music festival. We did it for four years, and I thought, this is going to be the fucking Coachella of comedy music. And it was not. Every year, less people came. I was like, what is wrong with the world that this is not getting bigger every year? And then finally we quit doing it, but I stand by it. It was the best festival.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And you were so beautiful to say, yeah, I'll do it. Of course. You answered the call. I didn't know if you'd be availed, but you came down and you said, I'll do it, but... I want you to come out and sing with me, Jack. I was like, done. Done. A dream. What are we singing?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I can't remember. But I think. What key is it in? I'm not going to get any of those lyrics right, by the way.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I remembered not one word. I understood it. Or the melody or the harmony.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But on the day when we did it at Festival Supreme, it crushed.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
See it online the way it was meant to be. We just needed one more rehearsal here before we did this.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Not with Tenacious D. You didn't? No. But I have used it. I mean, because those songs, I wrote those songs. But still. I feel them in my blood. And, you know, we do have rehearsals. We go and we work it all out.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
That's my memory gymnasium. But these songs that other people wrote, especially, you know, when the lyrics don't really tell a story. It's easier when you tell a story that's linear.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But Take Me to the Pilot is one of my favorite songs of all time, but I have no idea what it's about. Or even like, you know. what is arguably the greatest rock and roll song ever written, Stairway to Heaven. If there's a hustle in your hedge grow, don't be a law man.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Oh, you're probably right. It's just a spring clean for the May Queen. I contend Robert Plant doesn't know what that song's about. Nobody knows what that's about. And it doesn't matter.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Just the idea of dancing to Stairway to Heaven is so funny to me. Because it's like, is it slow dancing?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Is it weird? When I dance, I like to close my eyes because... I feel less inhibitions.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Here's what I'm nervous about. Eye contact on the dance floor.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I guess I immediately start feeling like, is the dance partner uncomfortable with my eye contact? And also- how do I fit into this? Do they think I'm dancing well? There's just something. I think I prefer to dance alone.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Well, if I'm going to go dance and maybe I'd like to have like a half hour warmup by myself and then like go right into the dance party. Yeah. I'm like getting warmed up.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It's like right now this feels good, but it probably looks bad.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yes. But when you're dancing, I feel like you're feeling it. You're letting the feeling of the dance, the music is moving you.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I think I do some of that when I can break out of my self-conscious. But a lot of the time, I think I'm dancing like I'm putting on a show, which can be stressful for me and anyone I'm dancing with.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Right. Because I was just thinking maybe you can teach me how to dance.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I can't believe she asked you to. Here's a confession, OK? I had never laughed harder than when I first saw Gallagher. On television in 1974, 1975. I was just like five or six years old, maybe seven. And he was on a show called Laugh-In, which was a game show, which was just random audience members on stage. And then these professional comedians who would make them laugh.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
That was the whole point of the game. And you had to not laugh.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I remember seeing Gallagher and, uh, he did the funniest shit. Yes. He was, he was exploding pumpkins or, or watermelons, but he also did this one where he came out and he was just like, uh, you vegetarian. He had a banana, you vegetarian. And, and, uh, The person who was the contestant was like, no, me neither. And he peeled off the banana and there was a hot dog inside and he took a bite.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I fucking laughed and cried. And I was like, this is the genius. This is who I want to be. I want to be Gallagher. And then, you know, over the years and the decades go by and you have different heroes. And I was like, yeah, he kind of faded in the past. But I always remembered. No one made me laugh harder than that when I was six years old. And then I heard like the saga.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
The drama. A friend of mine wanted to make a movie, a documentary about his life because mainly of his drama that he had with his brother who he taught all of his moves to. He's like, look, we're going to franchise this. You're going to do what I teach you to do and then you'll go out as Gallagher too. And his brother was like, yeah, teach me your ways. I'll do it. And then.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Over the course of the years of them doing this, he and his brother kind of had a falling out. And Gallagher was like, you know what? We're done. You're not Gallagher 2 anymore. I'm pulling the plug on that. And then Gallagher 2 was like, I choose not to stop. I am Gallagher. In fact, yeah, maybe I'm Gallagher 1. Maybe you're Gallagher 2.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And the manager, Gallagher's manager, sided with the brother for some reason. Whoa, I didn't know that. And it got fucking weird. And I just thought, this is Shakespearean, this. And then the manager also, he had a kid in the neighborhood who would come over all the time and was like, you manage Gallagher?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And then the manager was like, tell you what, kid, I'll teach you everything that Gallagher done. And he taught him all the things. And that kid grew up to be Carrot Top. No! I'm not joking! This is an epic movie.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
You kind of have to have the sign off on all parties involved to really do that. Otherwise, I think it gets – you don't want that kind of anger and bad mojo on your project.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yes. Do you remember the sketch that didn't make it on SNL when I was there with you?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I have recently, can I say three different things? Absolutely. One thing, I realized I stopped listening to music. I was only listening to podcasts and audio books and I was like, I gotta get music back in my life. Stat. And so I did this thing called chrono marathons where you pick a band that you love and then You've never done this before to that band.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So you start at the very first album, and you go chronologically through their whole catalog. It's a great way to get in the nooks and crannies. And there's probably some bonus tracks that you never listened to. Listen to all of it, even the shitty songs, because then you find these. It's just an interesting way to hear music. I had never done it before, and I swear by it.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But I went to the ones that were like the ones, you know, I did Pink Floyd. I did the Rolling Stones. I did the Beatles. I did Led Zeppelin. I did Elton John most recently. Just, you know, all these great, you know, musicians and people that you're like, I bet you there's some songs that I've never even heard that they wrote.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I like to do a little star on the ones that are my extra specials. And the most fun part is going, oh, this album is when they fucking hit their stride. And you go, they got this window here. There's usually like a four or five year window where their best shit went down.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Why then? And it's also like, oh, yeah, I love this band in this window, 1978, Steely Dan, you know. But anyway.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I also like to get my steps and walk around the neighborhood. You love your steps. I do. It's all about the steps for me.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yeah, it's a new thing. I've entered my cinephile phase of my life.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I like to be guided by people that really know great cinema. For instance, I read this book, Cinema Speculation, by – Quentin Tarantino, and he just talks about the movies that shaped him and that he loves. And I will listen to a chapter where he just focuses on one movie like Rolling Thunder or whatever. He likes a lot of Westerns.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And then I'll watch the movie that he was talking about, and then I'll go back and listen to the chapter again, like a kookaburra. It's kind of like going to school.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
I'm creating a school that I would want to go to. Actual school, I fall asleep. But this, when I curate my own school, it's really fun.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So I feel like this microphone is telling me exactly where to sit and which direction.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Because I believe we were there with Queens of the Stone Ages, Josh Homme.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I believe there was an Urge Overkill member there. Am I right? Was there not... Nash Cato in the house?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
But let me just say this. Urge Overkill is in my top five. I love Urge Overkill. And I love me some, who's that incredible legendary Chicago producer who died recently?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
In utero. Yes. With the heart shaped box. Yes. And it was like fraught with drama. There was something where he was revving up again. Like there was,
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
A lot of pressure on him to deliver a big commercial hit machine. And he's like, that's not how I do it.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yeah. Isn't that the way it always is? Isn't it like the turmoil and the gut-wrenching stress? And then the beautiful flower grows out of that weird toxic soup.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yes, it is a good lesson. And in theory, I feel that way. But in reality, when it's time to go on the high wire, when it's time to go out and be on camera or in front of an audience, I do always have a little piece of me inside of me that's going, I hope this thing gets canceled at the last second. There's a fire alarm and I don't have to go out there. Cause there's always a panic.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
There's always like a stress. Like I just did SNL last week. Let me tell you something. It was so fun. Love, love that, that little, I've always had like the most incredible experiences, but also the most stressful week going into, you're heading there and you're just mainly going like, God, I hope I don't shit the bed. Just hold it together, man.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Don't fuck this up because you don't get another take. You only get that fucking one take.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Because it's. I did take a weird nap. And you know who knew I was gonna was Donna.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
This incredible woman. People don't know. Well, she does get a little screen time.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Did you ask her, hey, who is your favorite person you ever helped to dress? Because that's Donna's job. She helps the. the host get dressed and in and out of costumes really fast. And she also does other things too. Like she like said, Hey honey, is there anything you want to eat before we go on tonight? And a little break between dress rehearsal and the show.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And I was like, I have a hankering for like a Italian chap salad with no onions. She's like, you're going to get it. I'm going to get that for you. And it was soothing, but it also had like a little hint of this is your last meal. And I want you to have whatever it was like, you know what I mean?
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
That's tame, yeah. Oh, yeah. Compared to what she's probably been asked for.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
When you're in the trenches before the show, who knows what you're going to ask for for your last meal or whatever. It's maybe the last time I do some things.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Let me tell you something. I heard that quote, and it touched me so hard in my heart. And I thought, Amy is an angel. And I bet you it had something to do with me getting asked back, because there was a lot of good vibes you put out there in the universe for me.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
And that's nothing to sneeze at when Amy Poehler's in your corner blowing the horn in my praises. That's a big thing.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
Yup. Three, four, three, four, five. That was my little window of Saturday night live magic.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
The Strokes. People don't realize, I hosted thrice. The first one was the Strokes. The second one was John Mayer.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
yes uh and the third one was neil young that's crazy that's right but the first one was the strokes which was crazy because i love the strokes me too and they were so big for people who don't remember like that soundtrack around new york 2001 2002 was last night that song incredible it was the theme song for new york city that that year um and then um
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
The powerful gust of wind that almost blows the whole Sparrows into the atmosphere. Yeah. That was a really fun, funny sketch.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
This was a really fun, magical return. And when I got the call, first of all, from Sharon, my manager and your manager.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
So I got the call from my publicist, Louis, and Sharon. And they said, Jack, are you sitting down? I was like, oh, man, what's about to happen? I didn't know. They're like, you got the call to be on SNL.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Jack Black
It's very emotional. Well, because I had such great memories of doing it all those years ago, decades before. And I didn't think I would ever be asked back because not because I didn't have a career and like things are going great, but it felt like a part of a time where. I don't know. Lorne works in mysterious ways. He's got a feeling of like what is going to work best for that show.