weird al yankovic
Posted on 06. Jul, 2010 by molly in play
words > THE COTILLION
As a teenager, Al began sending homemade tapes of his songs to Dr. Demento, a nationally syndicated disc jockey known for playing comedy and novelty music. Demento found a certain charm in the accordion-powered ditties that Al recorded on a cheap cassette player in his own bedroom, and gave him his first airplay.
The singer-songwriter’s first real brush with fame came in 1979 when he recorded “My Bologna” (a spoof of The Knack’s “My Sharona”) in the bathroom across the hall from his college campus radio station where he had a weekly DJ shift. A devoteé of musical satirists Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, Allan Sherman and Stan Freberg, Yankovic’s budding career took off when the song became a sensation on the nationally syndicated “Dr. Demento Show.” By the time Al graduated from college, he not only had a modest cult following from the good Doctor’s radio show, but he also had a couple of nationally-released singles. A few years later, Al landed his first recording contract and has since created an extraordinary legacy of music and ground-breaking videos, including hits like “Eat It,” “Like A Surgeon” and “Amish Paradise.”
Today, Weird Al Yankovic is the undisputed king of pop culture parody and has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history. In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has amassed 30 Gold and Platinum albums, 7 Gold and Platinum-certified home videos and 3 Grammy Awards (with 11 nominations).
Weird Al Yankovic and his band (the same talented group of musicians that has performed with him since 1982) will be back on the road again in the summer of 2010. Yankovic often describes his live concert performances as “a rock and comedy multimedia extravaganza” with an audience that “ranges from toddlers to geriatrics.” Apart from Yankovic and his band performing his classic and contemporary hits, staples of Yankovic’s live performances include a medley of parodies, many costume changes between songs, and a video screen on which various clips are played during the costume changes.
Don’t miss Weird Al Yankovic on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm. Reserved seat advance tickets are $35.00 at Select-a-Seat, The Cotillion, House of Sight & Sound and the employee clubs. Tickets on the day of the show will be $38.00. For further information and to charge tickets by phone call 316-722-4201 or logon to thecotillion.com.
Mark Your Calendars for these Upcoming Events at The Cotillion…
Jul 13: Weird Al Yankovic Jul 15: Mark Chestnutt Jul 16: Adam Lambert
Jul 29: Maic Slim & The Teardrops Jul 30: Joan Armatrading Jul 31: Lamont Carlis “Old School”
Aug 6: Jamey Johnson Aug 15: Gordon Lightfoot Aug 20: Cinderella
Oct 2: Delbert McClinton Oct 5: Daniel Tosh Oct 16: Cheech & Chong
Oct 29: Asleep at the Wheel Nov 12: Black Label Society
