Jerky Boys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Jerky Boys | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Queens, New York, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Comedy Prank phone calls |
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| Instrument(s) | Telephone | |
| Years active | 1989-Present | |
| Label(s) | Select Records Mercury Records Laugh.com Records |
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| Members | ||
| John G. Brennan | ||
| Former members | ||
| Kamal Ahmed, John G. Brennan | ||
The Jerky Boys was an American comedy duo from Queens, New York, whose routine consisted of prank telephone calls and other related skits. Formed in 1989, The Jerky Boys was made up of former childhood friends John G. Brennan ("Johnny B."), and Kamal Ahmed ("Kamal").[1] Since 2000, when Kamal left the act, The Jerky Boys have continued on as a solo act featuring Brennan.
The calls were made by ringing up unsuspecting recipients, or in response to classified advertisements placed in local New York-based newspapers. Each call was made in character, usually with over the top voices influenced by the duo's family members.[1]
According to their current record label, Laugh.com, the act has sold over 8,000,000 CD's since their 1993 debut.
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[edit] History
[edit] Duo
Brennan began making and recording prank telephone calls in the 1970s, and teamed up with the younger Kamal, in the late 1980s/early 1990s in their Queens neighborhood.[2] The duo made a number of bootleg tapes of their recorded phone calls that eventually found their way to New York-based radio personality Howard Stern, who played the duo's tracks on the air.[2]
The pair gained notoriety from their exposure on the popular Howard Stern Show, and released their first album, The Jerky Boys, in 1993. The album topped the Billboard charts and was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The duo released the double platinum, The Jerky Boys 2 in 1994, followed by The Jerky Boys 3 in 1996, The Jerky Boys 4 in 1997, Stop Staring at Me! in 1999, and The Jerky Tapes in 2001.
In 1995, the duo appeared in Touchstone Pictures' Jerky Boys: The Movie. The movie was filmed in 1993-94, and although it was almost universally panned by critics, the film has achieved cult status among The Jerky Boys' loyal fan base.
[edit] Solo act
In 2000, tension between the duo developed, purportedly because of professional jealousy on the part of Kamal,[2] and Kamal quit the group.[3]
Kamal released a solo album, Once A Jerk, Always A Jerk, in 2000.
On March 20, 2007, Brennan, who is now the only constant member of the group, kept The Jerky Boys name and released a solo album, Sol's Rusty Trombone, a collection of mostly ring tones and skits.[2] A full-length prank call CD is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2007.
[edit] Regular characters
- Big Ole Badass Bob The Cattle Rustler - an American Westerner/Texan who drives a semi-truck (voiced by Johnny Brennan)
- Curly G., Cradle Rock - a throwback rap artist trying to catch a break; appeared on one track to date ("Bamm!" from The Jerky Boys 3 album) (voiced by Kamal Ahmed).
- Sammy Cox - older man with a pronounced lisp; appeared on one track to date ("Herman" from The Jerky Boys 4 album) (voiced by Brennan).
- Mike Derucki - (or Michael Derucki) an out-of-work painter (voiced by Brennan).
- Jake - handles in-coming calls for Mr. Silverman, the phony sports agent ("Big Hock" track from the Stop Staring at Me! album) (voiced by Brennan).
- Jocko Johnson - voice and behavior similar to Frank Rizzo; wanted his wife's house knocked down while she was out of town ("The Home Wrecker" track from The Jerky Boys album) (voiced by Kamal).
- Kissel - a confused World War II veteran who often appears with/or complains about a hysterical wife (voiced by Kamal).
- Nikos/Nicos - an immigrant Greek delicatessen owner (voiced by Brennan).
- Pico - an abused Mexican immigrant; often appears with Kissel (voiced by Brennan).
- Frank Rizzo - an extremely abrasive blue-collar Italian-American New Yorker with bizarre complaints and requests (voiced by Brennan).
- Sol Rosenberg - a nebbishy, male 50-something Jewish New Yorker who suffers from various and often ridiculous problems and ailments (voiced by Brennan).
- Rosine/Rocine - a flamboyant Puerto Rican female/latina who often slaps herself (voiced by Brennan). Some believe to be a gay male.
- Silverman - a phony sports agent ("Silverman Baby!!" track from The Jerky Tapes album) (voiced by Brennan).
- Tarbash, the Egyptian Magician - a Middle-Eastern man with a repertoire of dangerous stage tricks who mutilates himself or is attacked by various wild animals used in his acts (voiced by Kamal).
- Jack Tors - a flamboyant homosexual man who makes outrageous requests (voiced by Brennan).
- Brett Weir - a name that comes up frequently in calls such as "Super Across The Way" and "The Gay Model" (from The Jerky Boys album); actually Brennan's brother-in-law.[3] The character, portrayed by actor James Lorinz, also appeared in 1995's Jerky Boys: The Movie.
- Harry Getsoff - A name from the "Flower Lady" and "Moonlight Matinee" tracks from The Jerky Tapes album. The character is perennially away from the telephone, and unable to be reached by the unsuspecting caller who is pranked by either Jack Tors (Brennan), Tarbash (Kamal), or Big Ole Badass Bob The Cattle Rustler (Brennan). In the Jerky Boys CD's Getsoff is credited as the Jerky Boys manager.
- Martha - Kissel's wife, who frequently argues with Kissel while he . Her voice can be heard in calls such as "Uncle Freddie", "Husband Beating" and "Kissel Sails". On "Uncle Freddie" (from The Jerky Boys album), Kissel revealed his wife's name before he began arguing with the person who answered the phone about whether Uncle Freddie had died. [1]
- Anthony - Kissel's son; appeared on one track to date ("Uncle Freddie" from The Jerky Boys album). [2]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
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The Subjectivist League
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The Jerky Boys
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The Jerky Boys 2
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The Jerky Boys 3
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The Jerky Boys 4
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Stop Staring at Me!
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The Jerky Tapes
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Sol's Rusty Trombone
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[edit] Soundtrack albums
| Album cover | Album information |
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Jerky Boys: The Movie (Soundtrack)
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[edit] Compilation albums
| Album cover | Album information |
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The Best of the Jerky Boys
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The Ultimate Jerky Boys Collection
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[edit] Film and TV appearances
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994)
- Don't Hang Up, Tough Guy! (1995)
- Jerky Boys: The Movie (1995)
- Big Money Hustlas (2000)
[edit] Trivia
- Their first release was under the name The Subjectivist League in 1993.
- English rock band Radiohead named their 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey, after the first call on The Jerky Boys 2 album (apparently having heard it on a bootleg tape, well before release of the material on CD.[citation needed]
- The duo frequently incorporated references to The Howard Stern Show in several calls ("Food & Drug Complaint" from 1997's The Jerky Boys 4 album; "You Wanna Scrap?" from 1999's Stop Staring at Me! album; "Bright" from 2001's The Jerky Tapes album).
- Sleeping Bag Records founder, and long time New York City-based music promoter Juggy Gales was prank called by Johnny Brennan (Frank Rizzo) on "The Hucklebuck" track from 1999's Stop Staring at Me! album, one year before the death of Gales in 2000.
- The Jerky Boys are referenced in the Arrested Development episode "Burning Love," in which the character George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) convinces his Christian girlfriend not to burn his Jerky Boys tape.
- Brennan's Sol Rosenberg voice is nearly identical to the voice he uses as pharmacist Mort Goldman on Family Guy
- In a March 2007 interview, Brennan claimed that all of the Jerky Boys characters, including Tarbash and Kissel, were based on people that he knew.[2] Kamal, on the other hand, has claimed both characters were his creations.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Johnny Brennan of The Jerky Boys Spews Off about the History behind the Kings of Crank. Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville (1997-12-04). Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Jeremy The Loner (2007-03-01). A Conversation With Jerky Boy Johnny Brennan. Dean'sPlanet.com. Retrieved on March 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c Dean S. Planet (2001). Kamal from The Jerky Boys. Dean'sPlanet.com. Retrieved on March 20, 2007.
[edit] External links
- AllMusic.com Biography - The Jerky Boys
- TheJerkyBoys.com - Official Site
- Laugh.com - Official Record Label Site
- Jerky Boys Street Team - Myspace Page
[edit] See also
