How a Columbus trio ended up backing Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass

The Columbus band Mt. Air formed in the weeks before the Covid pandemic broke, gathering at a point in time when members Sean Garnder, Casey Cooper and Nate Rothacker were all either coming off of a divorce or the end of a romantic relationship. In a recent interview, Gardner described these earliest jam sessions as “almost more therapy than band practice,” recalling how the three would meet and talk about life in between bursts where they hashed out covers and worked up an assortment of down-key originals.

“And we put together seven or eight songs in February, which, as you know, is a pretty dreary month in Ohio,” Gardner said by phone in early April. “And those songs definitely have a very winter-in-Ohio feeling.”

Such is the case with the mournful “Ghost Away,” which Mt. Air posted to Bandcamp in October along with a brief synopsis of the concept behind the track. “Two lonely people, both overburdened with emotional baggage, have a fleeting romance. One of them never answers their phone again,” the band wrote in the accompanying text. “The other one writes this song.”

Considering these heavy realities, along with the fact that Gardner cited introspective troubadour Elliott Smith as a key influence on the group, the musicians were initially taken aback when comedian/musician Kyle Gass of Tenacious D reached out and asked Mt. Air to be his backing band for an ad hoc concert celebrating his birthday in Columbus last year – an invite Gardner linked to Rothacker having previously played drums alongside Gass in Trainwreck in the mid-2000s. That initial show, held at a crowded Eldorado’s, sparked an ongoing creative relationship, with Gass inviting Mt. Air to back him for a handful of fall shows and then a string of Midwest dates this year, including a concert at Rumba Cafe on Saturday, April 4.

“At first we weren’t sure how it was going to work,” said Gardner, who has been joining his Mt. Air bandmates in pulling double-duty on this current tour, opening the shows with a set of originals and then backing Gass for his headlining set. “But the thing is, Kyle loves old Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield. And even some of the songs he’s covering currently, like [Arlo Guthrie’s] ‘Coming into Los Angeles’ or ‘The Guitar Man’ by Bread, it honestly sounds like it could be the same genre as Mt. Air, where it’s just ’60s acoustic rock with lots of vocal harmonies.”

For Mt. Air, the concerts have allowed the musicians to embrace a more playful side that has generally been absent from its music. “And I think that’s one of the things we struggle with in this band, because we are playing these sad songs, but we joke around all the time,” said Gardner, who added that the trio has nearly finished work on its debut album, eyeing a late 2026/early 2027 release. “And so, it’s been refreshing to play for Kyle’s audience, because they’re looking for humor, and they’re waiting for the joke, and it reminds us to not take ourselves so seriously. And I think we’re having a lot of fun doing that. It’s given us a lot more confidence.”

This confidence has helped the musicians to react more fluidly in the moment when playing behind Gass, with Gardner noting that the frontman will sometimes propose a set only to pivot at the last minute. “So, we do our best to prepare, but sometimes things get thrown at you,” said Gardner, who further credited the musical malleability the players have developed to having backed a range of Columbus musicians in recent times, including singer Sam Corlett and the rapper Ebri Yahloe. “I think having that chemistry, and having all played together in bands in the past, it’s definitely helped. … But as a band, we’re looking for cues the whole time [we’re onstage], so it’s not like any set I’ve ever played before, where everything is rehearsed and we know what’s about to happen.”

The performances have also allowed the trio to break out some different gear, with Rothacker, for one, swapping his brushes and a muted approach to his kit for a double-kick pedal and a more muscular playing style. “We’re a softer band, and in the Mt. Air set, every note is delivered with meaning and feeling,” Gardner said. “And then we get to switch gears with Kyle and just, like, rock. … And at the end of the show, we’re covered in sweat. And, really, it’s been great to have both identities and share them with everybody every night.”