The Black Leprechaun is back, and he's ready to get old-school

If you ever lived anywhere around Capitol Hill in the early-to-mid 2000s, you know the Black Leprechaun. Somewhere between four and five feet tall and generally sporting a green shirt with a shamrock on it, he'd come around while you were waiting for the bus or walking up to the 7-11 and tell you he was "the only black leprechaun you'll ever see," and then offer to grant your wish for $5. We haven't seen him around for a while (he told us he's been in Hawaii), but he called us up the other day to let us know he's back -- and he's stepping up his game.

For one thing, he's not just the only black leprechaun in the world anymore. "I'm to only black leprechaun in the universe," he declared. "I'm pretty sure even Obama knows about me."

The reason he was calling, though, was to try to get a number for Oktoberfest, because he wanted to play the festival with his band, which he's calling The Black Leprechaun and Awesome. "We just love music. We play a little bit of country music," he said, adding that rap isn't really his thing. "We might throw in a little bit of hip-hip, but we don't like it. I like that old-school music. That just makes you feel so good."

With that, he launched into an a cappella rendition of a song he called "Big Butt Girl," which he sang to me for a couple of verses -- and it wasn't half bad. The Black Leprechaun's claim to fame may be mostly being both black and a leprechaun, but he's got a surprisingly soulful voice. "It's a great big old world / for my big butt girl," he crooned, holding the final note for a couple of seconds before breaking into a laugh.

"That was off the hook," he concluded.

Unfortunately, we couldn't track down a number for Oktoberfest before he had to get off the phone (he was at a Walgreen's, he explained), but we had no doubt that he'll make a formidable case to whoever's doing the booking -- and neither did he.

"I could teach a dog to say meow," he said.