Let's Get Weird!

Tonight, on a very special episode of "Wes's Newsletter"...

Hi!

My next book, releasing January 6, 2026, was recently announced, and I’m thrilled to tell you all about it.

Get ready for…

Who Is “Weird Al” Yankovic?

This will be my second entry in the New York Times best-selling Who HQ series published by Penguin Random House, following Where Is Tornado Alley?, which was released in January of this year.

This book—available now for preorder! Hint hint—was an important one to me. I’ll tell you why.

But first…

What’s it About?

Here’s the official synopsis from the PRH website:

• A young boy who loved polka music and playing the accordion

• A parody singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s wearing bold Hawaiian shirts

• A five-time Grammy winner and Hollywood of Walk of Fame honoree

Read all about how a young boy from California who listened to polka music and played the accordion became a comedian, parody songwriter, and Grammy winner in this biography for young readers about “Weird Al” Yankovic!

When Alfred Yankovic was seven years old, a salesman knocked on the door of his family home selling guitars and accordions. Al’s life was never the same! He drew inspiration from comedian, radio broadcaster, and novelty songwriter Dr. Demento. By the time he was sixteen years old, Al graduated high school at the top of his class and had his first parody song on the radio.

While in college studying architecture, Alfred Yankovic became “Weird Al.” He got a job at his university radio station where he worked on novelty songs, comedy sketches, and developing his public image, which included his signature Hawaiian shirt. His hard work led him to a record deal with Scotti Bros. Records, a time slot with MTV, and a headlining tour act. After releasing fourteen albums, two children’s books, and a comedy movie, Weird Al received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. Today, he is as famous for his Hawaiian shirt as he is for his hit songs, including “Eat It,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” and “Amish Paradise.” Find out more about the life and career of “Weird Al” Yankovic in this biography for young readers.

Okay, so… why’s this book so important?

When my editor at Penguin offered me this title, those weird little hairs on the back of my neck—the ones that always grow in before the main hairs—perked up. I got goosebumps. My smile was so wide that my face ached.

A professional writer should, in theory, be able to write about anything while sounding like an expert (see: Where Is Tornado Alley?). But when professional writers get to write on a subject that they care deeply about, it makes the whole experience more amazing and special… and easy.

I hope you’ll agree with me when I say that parody musician “Weird Al” Yankovic is an absolutely awe-inspiring talent. (If you disagree, you are wrong, by the way.)

The man, the myth, the (weird) legend.

Sure, Al’s reinterpreted the music of others for the sake of comedy for more than four decades, but he and his band also specialize in writing original songs that mimic the styles of other artists. In short, Al and his band can write and play in quite literally any style of music. And when you’re judging musical ability, a fact like that one gets you ranked pretty high.

But there’s more to my admiration for “Weird Al.” One that is infinitely more personal.

Way back in 1996, Wes Locher was little more than a nerdy sixth grader who owned far too many turtleneck sweaters, had an abnormally large head, and didn’t know anything about music. But at some point after March of that same year, awkward Wes came into possession of a cassette version of “Weird Al’s” album Bad Hair Day. You know this record. The lead single was “Amish Paradise,” (a parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”) which became an inescapable hit.

I listened to Bad Hair Day for years. I loved it. Still do. It was funny, irreverent, and the genres that Al chose to feature on the record included everything from hip-hop, to R&B, to rock ‘n’ roll, and even barbershop quartet. It had range. And for someone who was only just developing their music palate, it was a wonderful piece of art to experience.

But it went beyond that.

Al inspired me to write parody songs of my own. Any time a big hit took over the radio, I secretly penned my own lyrics to the song. This was, of course, before YouTube and social media, so I wasn’t putting my secret songs out into the world. I just did it for me. I did it because it brought me joy. (That’s a thing you can still do, as it turns out… make art for art’s sake, without the need for likes, subscribes, or the purposes of commerical success.)

As I sat in my bedroom writing these silly parody tunes, wearing my turtlenecks and bearing the burden of my abnormally large head, I inadvertently learned about song structure. I knew a verse from a chorus, and a pre-chorus from a bridge. My interests went beyond parody, and soon I was crafting original songs of my own design.

By middle school, I was taking guitar lessons. I downloaded a pirated copy of Cool Edit Pro on the family computer and taught myself how to program drums and record digitally.

By high school, I was recording and producing my own original songs, playing all the instruments and singing my own lyrics.

In college, I used these lo-fi home recordings to tantalize other musicians into joining an actual band.

An actual image of myself and some of the musicians who were conned into spending time with me over the years.

That band spent the next eight years making records between nights crammed into an extended minivan with all of our gear and equipment as we crisscrossed the Florida peninsula playing rock shows in bars, in music halls, on college campuses, in humid warehouses, and even at the birthday parties of our fans.

You’d better believe I was excited to write about “Weird Al.” Without him, everything that was great about my 20s wouldn’t have existed.

Thanks, Al.

Know a curious kid who loves to read? Consider preordering them a copy of Who Is Weird Al Yankovic? at the link below.