His humble Cal Poly radio station bathroom beginning is legendary in San Luis Obispo. His songs are instant classics and his music videos are constantly downloaded.
On Tuesday, Oct. 9, with a 7 p.m. early curtain at the Cohan Center, Cal Poly Arts will present “Weird Al” Yankovic, backed by his longtime band.
The return engagement celebrates his multi-media “Straight Outta Lynwood” tour.
“Weird Al” Yankovic, the king of pop culture parody and a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo alumnus, has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history, according to a recent press release from Cal Poly Arts.
In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has amassed 28 gold and platinum albums, seven gold and platinum-certified home videos, and three Grammy Awards (with nine nominations), according to the release.
Yankovic’s latest release, “Straight Outta Lynwood” — his 12th studio album — debuted at No.10 on the Billboard charts, making it his highest-charting album to date.
The centerpiece single on “Straight Outta Lynwood” is “White & Nerdy,” a parody of Chamillionaire’s No. 1 smash hit, “Ridin’.” Yankovic directed the video clip, which features cameos by Donny Osmond, Seth Green, Judy Tenuta and Mad TV’s Keegan-Michael Keys and Jordan Peele.
The “White & Nerdy” video went straight into heavy rotation on VH1 — debuting at No. 5 in their Top 20 Countdown — and racked up a few million hits on YouTube.
“Straight Outta Lynwood” also features parodies of Green Day (“Canadian Idiot”), Usher (“Confessions Part III”), Taylor Hicks (“Do I Creep You Out”) and R. Kelly (the 11-minute epic “Trapped in the Drive-Thru”), as well as the now-traditional polka medley, “Polkarama!” which this time includes accordion-fueled renditions of hits by such artists as 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Weezer, Pussycat Dolls and Kanye West.
During the course of his career, Yankovic has directed many of his own award-winning music videos.
His video for “Smells Like Nirvana” was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1992 and was chosen by Rolling Stone as one of the “Top 100 Music Videos Of All Time.”
Yankovic created his own television specials for MTV (“AL-TV”), Showtime and the Disney Channel.
His feature film, “UHF” (1989), became an instant Top 10 best-selling DVD upon its release in 2002, and his CBS network series, “The Weird Al Show,” was released on DVD earlier this year.
General public tickets for the performance range from $36 to $48, with student discounts available on all seats, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
To order by phone, call 756-2787; to order by fax: 756-6088. Order online at www.pacslo.org.
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