For Halloween, One Flew West Escape Into Tenacious D Territory

One Flew West’s Halloween Shows Should Be A Blast

It’s been an interesting year. Sometimes, we’ve just wanted to turn the music up to 10 to get away from it. Fortunately, there’s a band that feels the same way you do, and this weekend they are getting away for real – performing as Tenacious D for two shows. 

First the real band and that sound you hear, soundtracking your pop-punk playlist – it’s coming from the slick angst of Denver’s One Flew West.

Formed in 2010 in Longmont, the five-piece tackles the honest emotions of being young amidst all this sprawl and change happening around us. Their EP from earlier this year, Trial And Error, has a little bit of everything for bleeding hearts; including memorable proto-punk hooks amplifying real-world anxieties, like watching friends get married, settling in after college, and, well, never feeling quite settled at all.  

This weekend, they are taking a break from being One Flew West, performing as Tenacious D for two Halloween shows. Friday’s performance takes place at The Larimer Lounge in Denver, and the next night they’ll be in Fort Collins at The Downtown Artery.

You can find tickets to those Colorado Sound Presents shows here, and here. Both shows will feature the Slow Caves, who will be performing as The Strokes. 

We caught up with the band to talk about these shows and more. 

You’re headlining a few shows this weekend, but as Tenacious D, and not One Flew West. What’s the biggest similarity between the music of One Flew West and Tenacious D?

The biggest similarities between us and Tenacious D are that we have a very similar instrumentation, and we have an incredibly stupid sense of humor. Preparing for these shows has been great because we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously.

Listening to some of Tenacious D’s music, there are so many words. How have you been preparing/cramming for the shows?

In the last month, we’ve listened to more Tenacious D than we ever thought a person could tolerate. The most efficient way of learning all of the lyrics has just been by listening to it as much as possible and learning a few songs a week. Eventually, we were able to learn everything after working through the set bit by bit.

” This last year for One Flew West has been extremely busy, and it’s going to be awesome to just do something stupid and not have any pressure put on it. This one’s just for fun.”

What other challenges does “being” Tenacious D present?

They are an extremely talented band, both as vocalists and as instrumentalists. The main challenge of playing their music is just trying living up to their level of talent. They might be a “joke” band, but there’s no denying that those guys can play.

How helpful is it to get away from being One Flew West for a couple of nights? And what are you able to learn as a band by playing the music of Jack Black, and Co.?

This is something we’ve been looking forward to doing for years. We’ve joked about playing an entire set of Tenacious D songs for a while now, but we’ve only just now finally decided to pull the trigger on it. This last year for One Flew West has been extremely busy, and it’s going to be awesome to just do something stupid and not have any pressure put on it. This one’s just for fun.

If One Flew West could soundtrack some Halloween movies, what movies would they be?

Probably an Alien movie. It would be pretty terrible though.

For our fans constantly in search of new music, what non-Tenacious D songs make it on your all-time Halloween playlist?

Dawson listens to “Monster Mash” and “Purple People Eater” on an endless loop during the month of October. He doesn’t listen to anything else. His favorite place to enjoy those two hot tracks is when he’s in the shower.

In many ways, Halloween seems like the exact opposite of your 2018 EP, Trial and Error, which doesn’t hide behind masks.  It’s a pretty open look into your life. How important is it to be honest with your fans?

In the current social and political climate we’re in, nothing is more important than being honest. So much stuff we’re hammered with on a daily basis (especially on social media) is just false. Everything we do as a band is true to what we believe in, and we’re glad to have fans who understand how we feel.

On the EP, plans aren’t working out; all your friends are getting married; no one’s learning from their mistakes. And this is set to some really awesome pop-punk. It’s got the sound and feel of music for a new start as equally as music for headphones after a breakup. Where do you envision that your music sounds best?

Our music sounds best in a live music venue. Above anything else, we value live performance when it comes to our band. It’s our favorite thing to do, and it’s the best place to share music with other people.

What’s in store for One Flew West the rest of the year and the weeks ahead?

Our new single, “Semi Kinda Right,” will be released on November 16th! In 2019, we plan to play as many shows to as many people as possible. That includes dates in Colorado, as well as other parts of the USA.

One Flew West plays as Tenacious D Friday and Saturday. Both shows will feature the Slow Caves, as The Strokes.