We talked to ‘Weird Al,’ who plays Fraze tonight.
Yankovic talks about hitting new heights.
Music videos have been a major part of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s musical identity for more than three decades. However, a new approach to the format paid huge dividends for the modern master of musical parody, who performs at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering today.
Yankovic’s promotional campaign for his 2014 album, “Mandatory Fun,” included the release of a new online video each day for eight straight days. It was massively successful. “Mandatory Fun” was his first No. 1 album and also the first comedy album to achieve that honor since 1963 and the first comedy album ever to debut at No. 1.
“It was mind boggling,” Yankovic said. “I never dreamed a No. 1 album was an option. There’s essentially a glass ceiling for comedy albums. They never did that well. I got very emotional about it because I knew something historic was happening.”
Yankovic didn’t tour in 2014 in support of “Mandatory Fun,” but he continued promoting it in some unusual ways.
“Making the video releases an event worked so well that these business people suddenly took notice,” he said. “I was invited to be interviewed on Fox Business News. I was invited to speak in front of thousands of people at an Adobe conference as the guy who cracked the Internet and figured out how it worked. I found the whole thing funny. I just did what I thought would work best for me. I don’t know that I created a new paradigm that’s going to change the industry, but I gave it a good shot.”
“Mandatory Fun,” which won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album, was also the final release on Yankovic’s record deal. While he received three offers following the album’s success, he isn’t ready to rush into another label contract.
“It’s a nice mike drop to finish your record contract with a No. 1 album,” Yankovic said.
He called it gratifying to know offers are there, but he said he is not planning to sign with a record label. “I was under contract for 32 years, and I had such a great sense of freedom (after the contract ended). Even though I was being offered a nice chunk of money, I just wasn’t interested.
“I was sleeping better at night,” he said. “I wasn’t beholden to anybody. I didn’t owe anybody anything. I don’t have to ask anybody permission to do anything, which feels nice. I don’t want to sign another contract, at least not anytime soon. I want to be indie for a while and see how that works.”