Halfway through his book signing tour of his latest children’s book, My New Teacher and Me! Al Yankovic graciously sat down to discuss his book and schedule. My New Teacher and Me! features wonderful illustrations by Wes Hargis and is a “celebration of imagination, individuality and the special joy of viewing the world gently askew,” and we’re confident your 4-8 year old will thoroughly enjoy this book!
Al Yankovic Biography
Few would have guessed that “Weird Al” Yankovic, who as a shy, accordion-playing teenager got his start sending in homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento Radio Show, would go on to become the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history with over 12 million album sales. Now entering his fourth career decade, he has won 3 Grammys (with 14 nominations) and countless awards and accolades for Weird Al classics like “Eat It,” “Like a Surgeon,” “Fat,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” and “The Saga Begins.” His most recent album Alpocalypse was released on June 21, 2011, charting at #9 Billboard – the highest debut of his storied career. The first single from the album was the Lady Gaga parody “Perform This Way.” Alpocalypse was nominated for two Grammy Awards, for Best Comedy Album and Best Short Form Video for the “Perform This Way” Music Video.
In addition to his recordings and world-famous music videos, Yankovic is also well-known for his cult-hit feature film UHF (1989), his late ‘90s CBS Saturday morning series The Weird Al Show and the numerous AL-TV specials that he’s made for MTV and VH1 over the years. His previous album Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) spawned the Billboard Top 10 single “White & Nerdy,” the video for which spent two months at #1 on iTunes and garnered over 150 million hits on the Internet.
Since then, he released his greatest hits package The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic (Legacy), wrote, starred in and directed the themed attraction Al’s Brain: A 3-D Journey through the Human Brain (featuring cameos by everybody from Fabio to Paul McCartney) and attracted over 3 million followers on Twitter. And with the recent release of his children’s book When I Grow Up (HarperCollins), Al added “New York Times Bestselling Author” to his resume. An app version of the book for the iPhone and iPad, which recently won a Webby Award, is also available.
In October of 2011, in tandem with the release of Alpocalypse, Comedy Central aired the prime time concert special “Weird Al” Yankovic Live: The Alpocalypse Tour filmed at Toronto’s venerable Massey Hall and released the unabridged version of the concert released on DVD and Blu-Ray. Last year, The Nerdist Channel debuted Face 2 Face with “Weird Al” Yankovic, a web series where Al “interviews” some of the biggest stars in show business including Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Morgan Freeman, and many others. On October 1, Abrams released Weird Al: The Book, an illustrated coffee table book on Al’s life and career, and the follow-up to his HarperCollins children’s book, My New Teacher and Me!, is scheduled for June, 2013.
Weird Al, along with his band of three decades, has performed over 1,000 career concerts and continues to tour with his rock and comedy multimedia show throughout the world.
Wes Hargis Biography
Wes Hargis is an illustrator with more than fifteen years of experience working with newspapers and publishers across the nation, including King Features Syndicate and the Los Angeles Times. The first book he illustrated, JACKSON AND BUD’S BUMPY RIDE: AMERICA’S FIRST CROSS-COUNTRY AUTOMOBILE TRIP, was published by Lerner in 2009. MY NEW TEACHER AND ME! is Wes’s second picture book with Al Yankovic following the success of WHEN I GROW UP.
Al Yankovic My New Teacher and Me! Book Signing Event!
JUNE 26 – CHICAGOLAND
Anderson’s Bookshops – 7:00 PM
123 W Jefferson Ave.
Naperville, IL – (630) 355-2665
http://www.andersonsbookshop.com
Check out some photos from the event!
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Be sure to catch Al in the following cities for his book signing:
JUNE 27 – CINCINNATI
Joseph-Beth Booksellers – 7:00 PM
2692 Madison Rd.
Cincinnati, OH
(513) 396-8960
JUNE 28 – RALEIGH
Quail Ridge Books & Music – 7:00 PM
3522 Wade Ave.
Raleigh, NC
(919) 828-1588
JUNE 29 – LOS ANGELES
Children’s Book World – 11:00 AM
10580 ½ W Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 559-2665
And then his ALPOCALYPSE Tour immediately thereafter:
Date Location Venue
Mon Jul 1, 2013 Del Mar, CA San Diego County Fair
Wed Jul 3, 2013 San Rafael, CA Marin County Fair
Fri Jul 5, 2013 Pleasanton, CA Alameda County Fair
Sat Jul 6, 2013 Las Vegas, NV Reynolds Hall
Sun Jul 7, 2013 Mesa, AZ Mesa Arts Center
Wed Jul 10, 2013 Monterey, CA Golden State Theatre
Thu Jul 11, 2013 Monterey, CA Golden State Theatre
Fri Jul 12, 2013 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Sat Jul 13, 2013 Turlock, CA Stanislaus County Fair – Variety Stage
Sun Jul 14, 2013 Sacramento, CA California State Fair – Golden 1 Stage
Tue Jul 16, 2013 Central Point, OR Jackson County Fair – Lithia Motor Amp.
Wed Jul 17, 2013 Bellingham, WA Mount Baker Theatre
Thu Jul 18, 2013 Portland, OR Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
Fri Jul 19, 2013 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre
Sun Jul 21, 2013 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
Tue Jul 23, 2013 Salina, KS Stiefel Theatre For the Perf. Arts
Wed Jul 24, 2013 Columbia, MO Live on 9th Street
Thu Jul 25, 2013 Omaha, NE Orpheum Theatre
Sat Jul 27, 2013 Evansville, IN Victory Theatre
Sun Jul 28, 2013 Atlanta, GA Symphony Hall
Wed Jul 31, 2013 Cleveland, OH Cain Park
Thu Aug 1, 2013 Sterling Heights, MI Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
Fri Aug 2, 2013 West Allis, WI Wisconsin State Fair
Sat Aug 3, 2013 Prior Lake, MN Mystic Lake Amphitheatre
Sun Aug 4, 2013 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Theatre
Sat Oct 12, 2013 Joliet, IL Rialto Square Theatre Theatre
MY NEW TEACHER AND ME!
ISBN #9780062192035
Ages: 4-8 – $17.99
http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/books/My-New-Teacher-Me
Links:
Al Yankovic Official: http://www.weirdal.com
Al Yankovic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weirdal
Al Yankovic Twitter: https://twitter.com/alyankovic
Wes Hargis Official: http://www.weshargis.com
Harper Collins: http://www.harpercollins.com
Anderson’s Bookshops: http://www.andersonsbookshop.com