Tyrone Kahn keeps the faith
with more Demented music

Weird Al Yankovic isn’t the only nerdy white guy who owes his funny music career to Dr. Demento. A whole generation of geeky musicians, with names such as Worm Quartet, The Great Luke Ski and Dino-Mike, get played not just by Dr. Demento, but also by hard-working Internet radio hosts Tyrone Kahn and David Tanny.

Someday I’ll ask Dr. Demento whether he’s heartened or bedeviled by the corps of eccentric Internet radio hosts he’s inspired to carry forth the flickering flame of funny music.

Uber-geeky by nature, they’re nevertheless devoted to Dementia and the like-minded artists who have found a welcoming audience on the Web and in the nerd network of sci-fi and comic book conventions.

David Tanny of DFSX Comedy Radio is one such host, programming 24 hours of comedy songs on his Live 365 channel. While David prefers a tamer, family-friendly brand of Demented music (and in fact banned Her Shit Don’t Stink from DFSX), he championed My Fat Ass Itches and other songs before I ever cracked Dr. Demento’s playlist.

David Tanny gets dee-mented!  (0:25).

Kahnman cues cat show

If you enjoy David’s style, you’ll thrill to the frenetic delivery of Tyrone Kahn, whose Kahnman’s Comedy Corner appears at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. CDT every Wednesday on DFSX. The February 7 show will feature The Ballad Of Morris The Cat, as well as Cat Hair Everywhere from Lee Fortune, the Dallas artist who produced my EP.

Tyrone (named for movie star Tyrone Power) first began broadcasting the “Dr. Tyrone” show from his bedroom when he was a kid in Baja Beverly Hills, Calif., spinning Steve Martin and Weird Al Yankovic records. On weekends, he listened to Dr. Demento on the now-defunct KMET 94.7 in Los Angeles.

“I love comedy music. I’ve been inspired by Dr Demento. He’s the reason why I do this show,” Tyrone says.

Tyrone is so devoted to the music that he once delayed heart surgery to attend the annual BORED Tour. He’s comfortable in the presence of Weird Al, but the iconic Dr. Demento throws him for a loop. “When you meet somebody that big, you kinda get tongue-tied or you talk too fast,” he says.

Coming soon: Kahnmanapalooza

Still inspired by Dr. D but determined to carve out his own comedy music space, Tyrone breaks unreleased songs from musicians such as Dino-Mike, whose upcoming album will feature a track recorded in studio during the Kahnman show.

He’s seeking a venue for the first Kahnmanapalooza (rejecting my suggested “Kahnman Con,” a play on the sci-fi conventions that double as unofficial funny music venues), a live show set for July to be headlined by Demento artists The Great Luke Ski and Worm Quartet.

Tyrone also calls me regularly with updates on his parodies-in-progress, “Let Me Pee” and “Man With The Runs”. (“Why don’t you write like that?” taunts listener Seth Pybas, taking a swipe at Her Shit Don’t Stink. “Sounds like you and him are the Rodgers & Hammerstein of potty songs.”)

Mazel Tov!

But happiest of all, Tyrone and bride-to-be Rebecca will be married in a traditional Jewish ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 11. Tyrone’s Demento faves, the Four Postmen, will entertain at the reception. Guests will include Grant Baciocco (pictured with Tyrone above), lead singer of Throwing Toasters.

A brief honeymoon at Disneyland will follow, and then it’s back to the funny music grind.

“I think there is a lot of hope for comedy music artists. As long as DFSX stays on the Internet, you guys will have an outlet for comedy music,” Tyrone says.

“The more people I get for my show, the more popular it’s going to become. That’s my goal, to get a lot more listeners. I want to get as many (Kahnman) fans as Dr. Demento. I don’t know if it’s gonna happen, but that’s a good start.”

Tyrone Kahn introduces TWAVGD  (0:34).

Posted in: Profiles at 5:01 pm Wed, Feb 7, 2007.