With this week’s BooshKaBaash, multi-venue festival set to kick off tonight with French Horn Rebellion at Mao Livehouse, The Beat takes a quick look at some of the greatest comedy rock groups of all time.

Kind of a stretch from Booshkabaash, to the Mighty Boosh, to comedy rock? Yea , for sure, but hey, why the f*@% not.

Spinal Tap

Formed by frontman David St. Hubbins and shredding virtuoso Nigel Tufnel in 1964 as The Originals, Spinal Tap experimented with different names and genres before adding bassist Derek Smalls to the lineup in 1967.

Vaulted back into the limelight by the hugely popular 1984 Marty DeBergi mock-u-mentary This Is Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap eventually went on score a whole new generation of fans, thanks in part to genius tracks like “Big Bottoms,” “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight,” and “Hell Hole.”

Tenacious D

The self-proclaimed “greatest band in the world,” Tenacious D pairs the obnoxiously-affable comedic styling of one Jack Black with the acoustic guitar wizardy or Kyle “Rage, Kage, KG,” Gass.

After making their on-screen debut in the 1996 Paul Shore classic “BioDome,” The D went on to score their own short-lived TV series, before unleashing their self-titled debut. Songs like “Fuck Her Gently,” “Tribute” and “Kyle Quit the Band” helped Tenacious D’s debut reach number 33 on the Billboard charts, but eventually also gave some misguided studio executive at New Line Cinema the idea the Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny would actually make for a decent feature film.

Van Stone

Regularly ranked the number three band in all of Palmdale, California, Van Stone shred hard tasty licks and sing the heart-felt and touching lines of classics like “25 Dollar Blowjob,” “Spring Break Forever,” and, of course, “We’re Van Stone.”

Formed by twin brothers Randy and Lonnie Van Stone, the Palmdale outfit are currently on hiatus after Lonnie came out of the closet, but their appearance on the 2005 Warped Tour earned them several coveted slots on late night television and enough cash to score cheap beer and skunk weed for, well, at least a couple months.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

The brainchild of comedy mastermind Robert Smigel, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog began his career in 1997 as a sidekick on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, ripping (and pooping) on celebrities, comic book nerds, and hair-metal revivalists alike.

So popular was Triumph with audiences, that Warner Bros. Records released his debut Come Poop With Me in 2003. On hiatus since the 2008 Presidential election, Triumph appears to be prepping a comeback in 2012.

Weird “Al” Yankovic

The king of parody rock, Weird “Al” Yankovic first broke out onto the airwaves in 1979, when his “My Bologna,” a spoof on The Knack’s “My Sharona,” was played on the Dr. Demento Radio Show.

Now a bona fide cultural icon, thanks to hits like “Eat It,” “Like A Surgeon,” “I Love Rocky Road,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise,” and “White and Nerdy,” Yankovic has scored three Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, Best Comedy Recording and Best Concept Music Video, and has been nominated for two more in 2011 for “Perform This Way,” a spoof on Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”