Nick Alexander has been called the “Catholic Weird Al.” Weird Al, of course, is a well known for writing parodies songs. A parody is a song that takes the music from another song (usually one that's well known) and changes the words to give it a humorous new meaning. Nick Alexander has taken songs from popular music and gives them a Catholic twist. Some of the songs he's done are “Old Time Gregorian Chant” -- to the music of “Old Time Rock n' Roll”, “Repent” -- to “Respect,” and “Should I Stand or Should I kneel” -- to the music of “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” Nick Alexander has already released two comedy albums and is going to be releasing a new one this year. His website is www.nickalexander.com . I emailed him and asked him to answer a few questions for our readers.

Q1: What made you decide to write parodies?

When I was a little kid, I'd watch "Weird" Al Yankovic videos and think, "I can do that". And I did. (Now that I look back, I see that most of what I wrote was terrible). But throughout the years, as I went through different phases, such as immersing myself in Christian Contemporary Music, or ignoring all music altogether, I never quite lost the bug. Even in the mid-90s, when I was a single musician, I would write a parody or two just to practice general songwriting. Some of these actually became popular in my local circles, but I had no plans on taking it further than a side hobby.

I went to a Catholic Association of Musicians conference to promote an EP of inspirational tunes I had written. We were relaxing, after hours at a Pizza Hut, and a guitar was being passed around. I shared my songs, and they went over so big that nearly everybody there confirmed for me this new calling. It was so crazy, you know? So I prayed that if God really wanted me to do this, that by next year I'd have completed an album. God answered my prayers, almost to the day. "A Time to Laugh" has become a wonderful success for me, still selling strong, five years running.



Q2: Nick, I've found that parodies are a funny thing; people seem to either love them or hate them. How have you experienced this from people you've encountered?

I would respectfully disagree. I've found people either love or loathe parody artists, rather than the individual parody songs. Go to a comedy club, watch Saturday Night Live, go to a folk coffeehouse, you'll find that the parody song is among the most consistent laugh-getters around. Parody songs work because songs are powerful in themselves, and they trigger emotions and memories within each member of an entire audience. To take that memory and to skew it into something utterly different is surprising and effective.

However, to declare that you are the Catholic "Weird Al", immediately two sorts of negative connotations occur: The first is whether one resembles physical and wacky characteristics to "Weird Al" himself. I'd hate to disappoint folks, but my hair's not bushy red, nor do I surround myself with Hawaiian shirts. There is an audience for that stuff, and I don't mind it, but such hijinks do not complement my personality. I'm more laid back, a keen observationalist, have done my homework, but am also immersed in popular culture, and am finding ways to have each complement the other. Be in the world, not of it.

The second negative connotation is the case of some other religious parody bands, whose goal is to proselytize without earning any laughs. I've heard some songs that chastise the listener for liking the song in the first place. I assure you, that has never been my approach. If I do a parody song, I've got to make it funny, first and foremost. If, while doing so, I can share a positive message about my religious beliefs, that's icing on the cake for me. These artists do nobody any favors by avoiding humor altogether, because it demonstrates that their faith has encouraged them to write the basis of a song, but they must use another person's melody. That, sad to say, is stealing, and it gives our faith a bad name.

So, in short, I don't blame anybody for having bad initial impressions for the monicker I'm under. I chose "The Catholic Weird Al" because it very accurately represents what I do. That said, I would hope that if there are some turned off by tacky images in their heads, they would still give it a chance. Comedy is subjective, and if my humor doesn't do it for you, there's plenty of other good, positive, faith-affirming comedy out there, as well as great Catholic music.



Q4: I'm really looking forward to your new album. Can you give us some hints about what kind of material will be on the album?

The first two albums I did were accomplished rather quickly, thanks to the expert hand of Ron Zabrocki, along with the fact that Catholic parody songs were quite new, so there was a surprise factor. This third album ("I Wanna Be Debated") was a hard album to write, mostly because I did not want to fall back and repeat myself. I also didn't want to write an album that went over the heads of the average Catholic, or average listener; I wanted to write songs about the experience of being faithfully Catholic, today, with everyday issues at the forefront. It will be my most topical album, and I suspect my most accessible.

The parody songs I wrote are from a strong mix of popular standards from the 60s to the present. I'll be parodying The Beatles, ABBA, Queen, The Ramones, The Mamas and the Papas, Five for Fighting, J. Giels Band, and songs from both Grease and Footloose. David Smith (from Crossed Hearts), is my producer this time, and he is incredible. To have him and Teresa Smith working on it is a true answer to prayer; they are the best there is in the biz, and they could have had phenomenal CCM careers if they wanted to; they're that good.


Q5: Before becoming Catholic, you said on your website that you were
protestant. How has your Protestant background influenced your ministry?
Do you feel that the it has influenced you in a positive or negative way?

To convert to Catholicism was the hardest thing I had ever done. It was to leave behind my past, and enter a world that was very foreign to me. It was not too long before that I had thought Catholicism to be a cult, or a sincere denomination that believes falsehoods. Of course, when I believed these things, I never once considered going to the source and understanding why Catholics believed such, and whether there was a Biblical-basis of such. Imagine my surprise when I kept discovering my own prejudices of Catholicism shriveled when I encountered the fiery enthusiasm from Catholics affected by the Charismatic Renewal, and my own arguments against Catholicism collapsed when I discovered "This Rock" magazine and tapes from Scott Hahn.

When I first decided to write these parody songs, my conversion experience became a lifesaver. There was so much fodder from my own experience. A foreigner may see things that a lifelong resident may never have considered before.

I am indebted to my Protestant upbringing, especially to the enthusiastic religious groups I hung out with while in high school and college. This is where my faith journey began, where I first encountered that Jesus was really alive and loved me. This is where I got fired up with enthusiasm for living out my faith, and not merely settling with occasional trips to church. As I continue to grow in my own faith journey, I see that what I truly loved about being Protestant is more forcibly present in my Catholic faith. Jesus comes to us at every single liturgy, to come inside us and change us and make us all part of His body; what could be better than that?



Q6: What is your favorite Weird Al song?

There's so many. The one song I play of his in concert, if appropriate, is "Yoda", which, if you think about it, is an improvement over the George Lucas universe. The "Star Wars" mystique includes this notion that "the Force" is neither good nor evil, and could be used for both. But "Yoda" contains these lines:
"Luke, stay away from the darker side
but if you start to stray let the Force be your guide".
This is actually a more Christian reading of the Star Wars mythology, and that suits me just fine.

That said, "One More Minute" totally, utterly, rocks.




Q7: What's favorite Catholic band or musician?

My favorite Catholic songwriter is Mike Harrison. He wrote this one album for Greg Walton ("Spirit of Fire") that is just fantastic. He just completed a kid's album that is both deeply spiritual and a lot of fun. A close second is Robert Filoramo Jr., another great songwriter with a powerful voice. Get these two a record contract!



Q8: Where do see the Catholic music scene in five years?

The Catholic music scene can really go places if it plays its cards right.

Since the Catholic Association of Musicians started in 1996, it has been said that the early years of "Jesus Music" is where Catholic music is today. The problem is, it's been ten years, and we're still at the same place! Most Catholic radio stations are rare, and if they do play music, they limit it to a half-hour a day. Most Christian radio stations will not play a Catholic-based song, for fear of alienating their audience. Most Catholic churches do not know how to bring in a Catholic musician, or know that Catholic music is worth supporting! Thinking about it, most Catholic Churches define "Catholic Music" as the St. Louis Jesuits or Carey Landry.

And yet... there's some great happenings over the horizon. The birth of the Internet has made song promotion all the more easier. The rising popularity over the MP3 format has made individual songs most accessible of all. Modern recording techniques has made creation of great albums at the most affordable levels yet. Genre defining artists who have approached their faith from a hip-hop, rock or other musical basis, and do it well, are something to get excited about!