On a recent Monday afternoon, Weird Al Yankovic is at the Radisson Hotel and Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville talking about his quarter-century in show business.

He's in the region a few weeks early to promote his new tour, and even for him, it's hard to believe that at only age 48, Yankovic, the king of song parodies, has been performing for more than 25 years.

"The music and faces might change, but the challenge of writing and creating lyrics to spin a tribute never changes," says Yankovic, who is doing one show Saturday at Star Plaza Theatre, and promises to bring all his favorite "customized" versions of popular song parodies to eager audiences.

Live concerts are the part of his career Yankovic enjoys most, when not in the recording studio.

"I miss seeing my wife and family back in Los Angeles when I'm touring, but it's a great opportunity to connect with audiences," he says.

And no matter how grueling a tour schedule might be, Yankovic says it's still easier than when he agreed to appear on the 1992 CBS annual staple television special "Circus of the Stars XVII," which forced him to banter with co-ringmasters Alan Thicke and Downtown Julie Brown while balancing 55 feet in the air on top of a swaypole high above Universal Studios Theme Park in Los Angeles, with his ever-present accordion -- but sans nets or air cushions below.

"What audiences saw was real," Yankovic says, noting he teased several years ago on his blog, www.weirdal.com, that some network should resurrect the "Circus of the Stars" concept.

"I was like, I think it's time for a comeback, don't you? I mean, I know I'd like to see Lindsay Lohan juggling flaming pins. Or the band members of Korn walking a tightrope -- or K-Fed selling cotton candy. Actually, he might be doing that right now. Sweet!"

That was back in 2006.

And to Yankovic's surprise, this summer, NBC revamped that idea "coincidentally" and now is airing a reality-show version called "Celebrity Circus."

But if anyone appreciates the idea of "imitation as the most sincere form of flattery," it's Yankovic.

His first song, "My Bologna," a parody of The Knack's "My Sharona," was recorded in a college bathroom in 1979.

After being played on the "Dr. Demento Show" radio program, it caught the attention of Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack, and Fieger arranged for his record label to sign Yankovic for a short contract.

"It's not a secret that it's a tough time for music labels and recording studios," he says.

"But I've been so lucky that music labels have been cooperative and supportive of my work."

The only artist ever to publicly express dissatisfaction with Yankovic's art form has been rap star Coolio, who claimed Yankovic's "Amish Paradise," a parody of his "Gangsta's Paradise," was "disrespectful" of his song, which he thought was too serious to parody.

However, Yankovic proved the music label had given permission, which he mistakenly assumed meant they also had secured Coolio's blessing to parody the song.

The video featured Yankovic's friend Florence Henderson in complete Amish garb opposite a singing Yankovic, who was wearing a wide-brimmed Amish hat, which, when removed, revealed his sporting "twists" and "dreadlocks" a la Coolio's do.

Some of Yankovic's other famous friends who have joined him in music videos include Ruth Buzzi and Pat Boone in "Gump," a parody of "Lump" by Presidents of the United States of America, and Dick Van Patten in "Smells Like Nirvana," a parody of Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Outside the recording studio, Yankovic says his other favorite friends include comedienne Judy Tenuta, comic Emo Philips and actor Seth Green.

"I've met a lot of great people along the way, doing all the things I love so much," he says.