Episode 10 - Jon ”Bermuda” Schwartz - Part One (Weird Al Yankovic)

On this episode, my guest is Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz. For over 4 decades, Jon is best known as the drummer with the iconic "Weird Al" Yankovic. The two met while recording the parody "Another One Rides the Bus" at the Dr. Demento show on September 14,1980, then shortly after, Yankovic invited Schwartz to join his band, gave him the nickname "Bermuda" and they have worked together ever since. Jon is also the official band historian, known for keeping meticulous lists and notes, and has archived an unsurpassed collection of unique audio and video products from around the world that feature "Weird Al" Yankovic. He is also an avid photographer and in 2020, Jon published Black & White & Weird All Over, a coffee-table book featuring his unreleased black-and-white photographs of Weird Al from the early '80s. In 2022, he went on to publish the follow-up Lights, Camera, Accordion! a collection of his colour film photos of Weird Al from 1981-2006. For our interview, we talk about the importance of maintaining a consistently high level of excellence, embracing the creative challenges that are presented to you and always being open to maintaining another career in order to maintain a comfortable life while you work to pursue your creative endeavours. As this interview ran close to 2 hours, I have divided it into 2 episodes, so let’s sit back and get started with Part 1 of my interview with Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz. Follow Jon at https://www.bermudaschwartz.com