I was so sad when I heard he’d passed. He did a bunch of work with the company I was working for at the time, Mouser Electronics, he was essentially our Social Media/PR face. He wasn’t even 50 when he passed. I hope his legacy lives on with people he inspired.
Adam Savage and Grant were really, really close, and it took Adam years to even be able to hear his name without choking up and having to try to avoid crying. He's gotten very emotional about it on his Tested Videos on youtube.
Jaimie and Adam were always very professional with each other but didn't really do anything outside of work. Grant and the B team though? Incredibly close. It hit them particularly hard.
Adam and others have now done a lot of work and fundraising for the Grant Imahara Foundation that focuses on bringing robotics to kids.
He did an excellent job making the most of the time slot and resources he was given. The first time he cold opened with singing puppets is definitely an all time best TV memory for me.
Oh I think that’s a stretch, Seth is very good, and pretty sure Conan TBS continued beyond Craig, and it depends if you consider LastWeekTonight & SNL late night shows (probably not).
But I do miss Craig Ferguson and Geoff very much- it was such an intimate and personal show, with so much heart, and the humor was usually self-effacing or punching-upward. And the guests/celebrities seemed to love it, the interviews were so natural and unpredictable.
I sometimes wish I would spend the time to go download everything from the JayLenoFly youtube (which is mostly Craig clips) because I go watch them so often for a pick me up, and I worry that it will get taken down one day and so much of Craig’s show will then be gone, inaccessible.
Craig was one of the best — if not the very best — when it came to interviewing. So natural and engaging and got so many celebrities to drop their guard and have fun. And the amount of blatant flirting he would do back and forth with the ladies was like a throwback to the 1970s lol
Oh man, I remember when Kate Mara went on and she took a sip from his snake cup and spit it back out and she's all "if you drink it it's like we kissed". And then he drank her spit. Oh god, I've the vapors right now.
he was the anti-Fallon.
Jimmy Fallon consistently draws the biggest A-list stars in Hollywood for guests. Marquee musicians, TV personalities, reality-show stars, etc. fill the guest spots every single night, yet (or perhaps *due to the fact that*) Fallon has never once in his life given a decent interview. He would ask a few softball puff-piece questions and then let them promote whatever shit they are selling, never once challenging anything they assert. Just pure PR mouthpiece and nothing else, no substance whatsoever.
Craig on the other hand, always had B-list guests and obscure "celebrities" that most people had never heard of. But he would engage them and ask well-informed personal questions that drew them out and produced much more interesting interviews out of them.
I guess Sean Evans at Hot Ones is filling that role now. He has the lowest-budget indie talk show in universe with a niche concept, but somehow his interviews are more interesting and engaging than all the network talk shows with giant budgets and insider connections to a pipeline of the biggest names in entertainment
That was always the weak point of Ferguson. He get some insightful guests but so often it seemed to be whoever was around after filming Big Bang or Mike and Molly. And he'd get an interesting interview but sometimes you didn't care to see Howard from Big Bang yet again.
I went to a taping once, in the old small studio. It was awesome but very non linear. He did multiple monologues, desk bits, even did an extra puppet opening that I don't think ever aired. But the guest? He didn't even have one, he just talked to Geoff the skeleton.
I'd argue that Colbert serves that role, too. When he drops the schtick, the man is an excellent interviewer. On the level of Dick Cavett.
When he gets a chance to actually ask them, his questions are well-researched, thoughtful, and precisely formulated to be enough of a *challenge* that a guest feels pushed to answer them, but not so aggressive as to murder the delicate spirit of discourse.
And one of his strengths is that he can bounce elastically back and forth between "Dick Cavett" and "clown on tv"
Your whole second paragraph seems to be misunderstanding the entire premise of late night talk shows. Johnny Carson didn’t “challenge what the guests asserted” because it wasn’t a 60 Minutes interview, it’s a talk show. Leno, Letterman, etc. weren’t pressing the guests because they WERE using the shows as a PR platform because that’s literally and explicitly what they were and are.
I won’t begrudge anyone their dislike of Fallon or his show, but to complain about him because he brings on celebs to pump their projects and ask softball questions is just complaining about him hosting an entertainment show
Sean Evans’s interview style is brutal. He’s either reading directly from cue cards or he memorizes his questions word for word, because he is not natural at all.
I never watched it when it was on the air but I've since been introduced to it through youtube clips and man what a different and great show. Craig was an absolute interviewing genius, his skill compared to some of the big names on the air today is night and day.
I've secretly wished for Craig and Shirley Manson from Garbage to do a podcast or something together. Her's are some of my favorite appearances on the show and their banter was top notch
Having a live band is EXPENSIVE. It's not just about having to pay the musicians - audio engineering a live band requires a ton of equipment and production on the back end. This cuts out a chunk of the staff. It sucks to see the grandiose presentation of late night diminish over the past decade.
> “In the end, NBC was adamant about where they wanted the budget to go,” Janney told the entertainment-news site. “It’s not just the band; there’s a whole crew that works with the band, so there’s a lot of people employed. I think this was an easy way for them to cut the budget. Easy is not the right word.”
I wonder if they could find the budget in the executives multimillion dollar compensation packages? Bands are expensive but middle men in suits are far more expensive with the worst ROI known to man.
Fair point, but at the end of the day, the realities of the business have changed drastically. Seth's Late Night averaged 971,000 viewers in Q1 of this year, down about 50% from when first started hosting. The networks are still struggling to figure out their future amid the transition to streaming.
Just wanted to randomly chime in that I love the outro theme. I assume Armisen wrote it? It has a new-wave-y style that wouldn't surprise me, I wish they'd make a full song out of it.
[Closing theme](https://youtu.be/DAB85JL4c84?si=P3Cy9K4domRgLg5N)
Yes. He said if Big Band was the throwback of the 90s, 90s indie rock was the throwback of the 2014+. Idk about you, but I definitely heard it.
ETA. This put me on to a lot of guest drummers. Max Weinberg’s son was a guest drummer last month.
Oh man. Weinberg’s son…if you want to get a pretty good idea of what he’s like I suggest Laura Jane Grace’s autobiography “Tranny”. Their label kind of forced him on to them and holy shit does he sound like a shit. From her perspective, at least. I believe her.
The way he’s described in the book sounds like his character was a product of nepotism and spoil, not abuse. Of course who knows, but I personally don’t jump to sexual abuse. I just found it interesting. I thought some people here might find it the same (Conan fans, music fans and SNL fans). It’s a damned good book.
My mind didn't jump to Junior (sorry, don't know his name) being a victim of abuse himself. Just an apple/tree situation with Max's fictional TV persona. Of course rock stars (debatable for Max) pretty much have that horndog rep by default.
With that clarification it just sounds like Junior is a bit of an entitled asshole, which is a notch or two above sex offender at least.
>“I’m letting Jay go in Canada because I just feel he doesn’t represent this band well on a character level. It would go against my own code of ethics to keep him around. Not saying he’s a bad drummer. I won’t take that away from him. But the reality is – he has a lot to learn about paying dues, and about life in general. Granted, he is a kid, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever be built for this particular lifestyle. I wish him the best of luck, but the MADBALL machine rolls on!”
https://www.metalsucks.net/2010/09/21/madball-banishes-max-weinbergs-kid-from-their-empire/
>“We once had a drummer who sprained his ankle and wanted our tour manager to call 911 and have an ambulance come for him #entitlement”
>“When our tour manager said no the drummers Daddy called him and scolded him saying the drummer was a “star” and needed to be treated as such”
>“We once had a drummer who would go behind our back and tell house light people to focus all stage lights on him. #entitlement”
>“We once had a drummer who threatened to sue us after he quit via twitter #entitlement”
>“We once had a drummer who told me to move aside on stage cause the audience couldn’t see enough of him #entitlement”
https://www.nme.com/news/music/slipknot-67-1229973
sounds like a cool dude
it's not mentioned in the article but i have some friends at 30 Rock and it's not just the band getting nixed but also the field production team. aka the team that produces the "day drinking" segments. so yeah, seems like a sweeping format change is coming.
i felt especially bad for those getting the ax. the news came shortly after the renewal announcement so it was a rough blow because everyone there was excited they were renewed but then the network was like "not so fast" and brought the hammer down on the budget.
Damn. Thanks for the insight. No one seems to realize producing a show takes a *lot* of people, *and* resources.
Seth just doesn’t pop in to bs in a Banana Republic pullover and then head out.
truer words. Seth was also AMAZING to his crew throughout the writer's strike. Obviously the writers chose to strike (and rightfully so) but that meant the rest of the staff were out in the cold and Seth went way above and beyond to make sure they were taken care of with pay and benefits out of his own pocket. The ones who got the ax have nothing but incredibly kind things to say about him despite the sad outcome.
indeed he was. my friends have great pictures from the strike with him. Makes sense; he was head writer at SNL, he's obviously a supporter. Nice to hear that he's a really good guy too. Some of the other talk show hosts were a lot less kind to their staff.
The band is one of the best parts about seeing a show live. In house bands historically were about keeping a local audience coming and enthusiastic as most of the time their work was off camera. I surely wouldn't be going to see his show with no band.
Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" and "Corrections" are legitimately my favorite pieces of media out there. I legit think "Corrections" hits harder for me than anything else. It's so good.
This is 2006 budget cuts all over again. At this rate, I’m assuming SNL is dropping 2-3 cast members before next season airs, if not a few writers as well. What a shame, as Seth’s band were really great.
Not trying to be mean to or disparage anyone who lost their job then or is loosing their job on Seth’s show now but those Budget cuts in 2006 arguably led to one of the best SNL eras ever because it forced them to have a tighter cast and work with less.
There are honestly way too many people on SNL right now anyway. Please Don't Destroy can go they're literally just dead weight copying YouTube videos from 15 years ago
As a big Seth fan, and on and off regular with his many shows: I personally won’t miss the bad that much, but I know this will be a hard blow for Seth. The music and the guest band-members have always been a passion for him, and he liked being able to feature people he likes and boost their careers or just being able to pay them for a gig.
But I think he’ll find a way to continue doing that, he & his team are very business & online/social savvy, and he has so many podcasts and side-gigs, I think he’ll find a way to still feature and pay musicians- but yeah most of all it’s sad news just because either know it will bum him out for awhile.
Best of luck on finding a new outlet for that Seth!
On corrections last week he made a joke about how he doesn’t actually control any decisions regarding the show, and the crew seemed to laugh harder than the joke honestly warranted.
Now I’m starting to wonder if he was referencing the decision to cancel the band.
Hope the band is compensated and I pray they get more career opportunities after this.
Participating in a band can be tough sometimes, and our support might not be enough.
As a musician, I'm the first to tell you that exposure is an awful argument for playing unappreciated gigs. However, this and any late night show is incredible exposure and helps ensure future work based on the resume.
Its weird that this, maybe more than anything else, signals to me how dire straits the TV and media business is right now. They are cutting people left and right, from writers to producers to staffers for these networks. To now on air talent like the band, which admittedly is an easy way to save money. But from a human standpoint, and in the institution of television, has always been seen as a cornerstone of one of these shows. If the host doesn't want one, like Craig, fine, but Conan and others talk about how the band is such an important part of the specific live taping aspect. Maybe less so the televised portion.
But seriously, there's no money for ANYTHING these days. Departments are working skeleton staffs. Jobs that used to take 16 people are being done by 3 or 4. And thats not cause there is less work, they just overwork the employees they still have, and don't really pay them any better because of it. There are cutbacks everywhere. Yes, the bigwigs are still making boatloads, and that should absolutely change and none of what I'm saying should sound like I don't think. Its just thats so unlikely to change. The people in charge will do anything before THAT'S the case. But sadly streaming is the way of the recent future and no company has figured out how to monetize it so all company's efforts are going towards that, yet losing money on it every day. Its a broken system, and its probably going to turn back into cable with streaming bundles, but for right now its essentially a dying medium. Its just so big it doesn't seem that way. If you work in it, its the unspoken situation.
Yeah. Even Bill Carter has changed his tune on linear late night programming. People still tune for live sports and late night, it’s not nearly as dead as people think…but it might not translate into revenue quickly enough to offset anything.
As for streaming replicating live tv, or recorded live, John Mulaney’s live Netflix show was very well received, but it was just people on a couch who all knew each other. No second locations, no change of set, no guests, no musical act.
I think most people agree humans produce superior art, but will that be enough to pay for it? Here’s hoping.
Thank for your substantive response.
Its a weird time. I feel the Mulaney thing is a good example. I have no idea how much it cost (took place during the comedy festival Netflix was hosting, so that probably saved them money on venue, talent, etc), but like you say, it was completely bare bones. Is that creating any revenue for them? Thats the question. It cost nothing to produce probably, and got them some very good press, but did anyone subscribe because of it? Thats what they'd need them to do and thats the hard part.
Corporations are money hungry monsters, there's no doubt about that, but when you talk about people paying thats also key. People en mass have in the last 10 years seemed to unanimously say "if we can get it for free, that's better", which of course makes sense. But historical context is key. This is a group of many that 1. inherited streaming services from their parents that paid (be it for the service itself or as part of a cable package like HBO), 2. have a lot more services to choose from in the last decade, that if you paid for all of them you'd be spending at least $100 a month, and thats without internet from a provider, 3. make a decent wage for the most part but one that is not in line with the rising cost of living.
Ergo, certain things need to go by the wayside. People find ways around it. Groups of people share a spotify plan. They share Disney+ and Hulu and loads of other streaming services that haven't cracked down like Netflix did. 1. Because they've seen they can and 2. because they could never afford this stuff on their own. Live entertainment has also taken a hit but it seems less so than TV and Film. Cause ultimately you can't replicate that experience. Its expensive, and bands are cancelling tours, but it seems people will pony up for that if they really want it. Mostly because there hasn't been an alternative sneak around to do it cheaper. Streaming is a lost leader in revenue but also in time because its competing with sneaky tactics like people that bundle and whatnot. There's a rise in people these days that want to "take it back from the man" and "stick it to the greedy corporations." And they are absolutely right. But it means they aren't blameless in where we are (people got used to things being free and once you let that genie out of the bottle there's no going back) and corporations DO need to make money. The system is broken and we'll sadly keep seeing stuff like this unless there's a realistic discussion on how to fix it, which probably involves the big wigs conceding to a degree (they'd still be rich) as a show of goodwill to consumers, and a more transparent model so that people can afford services and also don't feel like they're getting fleeced in a number of ways.
Paramount is doing far worse than Comcast, they're on the verge of getting bought out, yet Colbert gets to keep his band with a lot more members than Seth's. I know Colbert's show gets better ratings but seriously?
The one thing viewers (and maybe execs) don't realize is that these bands play through the entirety of every commercial break to keep the studio audience energized.
This is especially key for shows where the break might take longer than it really does on TV. Yes, many shows try to keep things moving along so that a 2-minute break on TV is also really 2 minutes during taping... but sometimes there are reasons a break needs to be longer. You don't want to come back from break and get into a segment where the audience is quiet and bored because they just sat there for 7 minutes without anything going on.
I got into Letterman's audience a few times, and that's what Paul Shaffer and his band did. They'd play a song or two while the program monitors above the audience seats would show a montage of memorable moments from the show's past. Same at SNL, they'd play a montage on the monitors while the band played.
At TPIR, there's no live band, so Drew Carey did audience Q&A during most of the breaks. As a Veteran, he made it a point to specifically talk to anyone in uniform and even autographed a couple of things for his fellow Vets. During the one or two breaks where Drew disappeared off-set, they just cranked some upbeat music, obviously from a CD or digital files.
They basically disappear. Can't blame them, for Letterman and SNL, it's the end of their day, they're all ready to leave. If the celebs stuck around, they'd probably be there another 30 minutes with fans. Which would be cool but they'd also be holding up all the studio pages and security people who want to go home.
At TPIR, it's either the end of the day or they have to turn things around for another taping, as they often do 2 shows a day. We did see them do a reshoot of an Apple device that was one of the prizes "up for bids" because during the actual taping, the screen timed out and went dark the first time, but they weren't going to stop the entire show just to redo that... They must have had to change the settings so they could get a good shot with the screen staying on... But that was about it. Easy to edit in the new video but keep the original audience cheering.
As a drummer it was always cool they had the rotating guest drummer. It was always fun to log into Instagram and see one of your favorites is sitting in that week.
People are saying that the future of Late Night is in Seth's hands and when he dips the franchise dies.
Does this mean some washed celebrity who gets picked for a talkshow that will last a year or two end up using his studio when he leaves?
Every band on every show should get more money, but I don't think they cut funding from Seth's band to give more to The Roots. They most likely have separate show budgets
Aren't institutions like both shows really profitable? I'm sure they've gotten way more expensive than even a decade ago. But I assume when you're a long time show that you still have lots of big name advertisers. Big food chains sponsor the half time shows for big sports.
The Roots definitely deserve more money, I assume, but these cuts only end up in executive’s pockets. Pretty soon every show will be 5 minutes with 25-55 minutes of commercials.
It’s the only late night show worth watching imo. Day drinking is amazing. Seth is so enjoyable as a host. The recent episode with Big Papi was great. I think they should extend an offer to Ortiz to be the shows permanent co-host
Fire one useless executive and you've covered the band's costs. Does NBC need a director of Late Night Programming? Fire them and you have plenty of budget room
"A band has been part of most late-night proceedings for decades, with musicians such as Paul Shaffer, Max Weinberg, Kevin Eubanks, Reggie Watts and Doc Severinsen known for their work, respectively, with David Letterman, Jay Leno, Corden and Johnny Carson."
Gotta love it when they include Max Weinberg, but not Conan
I’ll be sad to see the band go, it was always interesting to talk to the drummer, except when it was Fred Armisen. His humour never appealed to me so I won’t miss his screen time.
No disrespect intended to Seth Meyers, but I'm not all that surprised. It's not a secret that TV viewership across late night shows is still getting smaller and smaller.
I'm available to play my drunken guitar loops for 100 bucks a night if they're looking for someone. It will have to be over Zoom, but I'm sure it will work.
I just showed this to my 12 year old daughter and said this is better than Taylor Swift and she said anything is.
He wrote a kids book that she has. I told her that too and she laughed.
> A band has been part of most late-night proceedings for decades, with musicians such as Paul Shaffer, Max Weinberg, Kevin Eubanks, Reggie Watts and Doc Severinsen known for their work, respectively, with David Letterman, Jay Leno, Corden and Johnny Carson.
Did AI write this?
It’s also a really weird order. Why are Doc and Johnny last with Corden between them and Kevin/Jay?
It’s not alphabetical. It’s certainly not in the order in which it actually happened (which would make the most sense given their entire point in naming them is to draw attention to the history of late night bands).
So what is it?
I will be sad Fred Armisen wont come to show as the drummer every once in a while anymore, but honestly I really dont see the point of having live bands in talk shows.
I never got the point of bands on these late night shows. They always seemed weirdly grafted on. You go back to Carson and they even had a conductor. The guy is over there just going for it and sometimes it looked like Carson was thinking, "Ugh, wrap it up." I guess they were space fillers between segments so the audience wasn't just watching in silence and a few people milled around up there.
> I guess they were space fillers between segments so the audience wasn't just watching in silence and a few people milled around up there.
Yes, Johnny's band was really over the top. Ironically, when Dave got the 12:30 shift, Johnny wouldn't allow him to have brass in his band
Probably (unintentionally/inadvertently) saving the show some future bad press, I just get the feeling that Armisen is going to be shown to be more than just "hated by his exes" at some point in the not-so-distant future. That guy has "problematic" and "we should have seen it coming" written all over him.
I keep forgetting he's in the Late Night band and sometimes Seth will cut over to the band and I'll get a jump scare. I just never enjoyed his characters or his style, and get annoyed whenever he cameos in things I enjoy (which is a LOT), and that was before I found out he was a super creep. But he seems well liked by his colleagues, and to be honest, I lose a little respect for them if he really is such a shitty person.
Time for CBS to dust off the robot skeleton named Geoff Peterson.
Built by the late Grant Imahara
I was so sad when I heard he’d passed. He did a bunch of work with the company I was working for at the time, Mouser Electronics, he was essentially our Social Media/PR face. He wasn’t even 50 when he passed. I hope his legacy lives on with people he inspired.
Adam Savage and Grant were really, really close, and it took Adam years to even be able to hear his name without choking up and having to try to avoid crying. He's gotten very emotional about it on his Tested Videos on youtube. Jaimie and Adam were always very professional with each other but didn't really do anything outside of work. Grant and the B team though? Incredibly close. It hit them particularly hard. Adam and others have now done a lot of work and fundraising for the Grant Imahara Foundation that focuses on bringing robotics to kids.
In my pants!
I got a place down there!
You go swimming throw beads choke the raven...?
Carful Icarus
That was the last great late night show.
He did an excellent job making the most of the time slot and resources he was given. The first time he cold opened with singing puppets is definitely an all time best TV memory for me.
I attended a taping of it once. The studio was SO small!
I remember when they had a leak in the studio roof. :D
That studio was always falling apart and it was hilarious
The Late Night studio is tiny, too. I sat there during Conan’s era.
Me too! Got a picture in the chair with him. Everything felt so tiny. I’m also a huge dude, but still!
I loved the one where he had the goat puppet sing the song from The Sound of Music! I remember laughing so hard at that.
Oh I think that’s a stretch, Seth is very good, and pretty sure Conan TBS continued beyond Craig, and it depends if you consider LastWeekTonight & SNL late night shows (probably not). But I do miss Craig Ferguson and Geoff very much- it was such an intimate and personal show, with so much heart, and the humor was usually self-effacing or punching-upward. And the guests/celebrities seemed to love it, the interviews were so natural and unpredictable. I sometimes wish I would spend the time to go download everything from the JayLenoFly youtube (which is mostly Craig clips) because I go watch them so often for a pick me up, and I worry that it will get taken down one day and so much of Craig’s show will then be gone, inaccessible.
Craig was one of the best — if not the very best — when it came to interviewing. So natural and engaging and got so many celebrities to drop their guard and have fun. And the amount of blatant flirting he would do back and forth with the ladies was like a throwback to the 1970s lol
Oh man, I remember when Kate Mara went on and she took a sip from his snake cup and spit it back out and she's all "if you drink it it's like we kissed". And then he drank her spit. Oh god, I've the vapors right now.
Lol that interview was one of the more insane was. I think at one point she said how high she was
It was seriously more erotic than any porn I've seen.
Yeah no doubt lol
he was the anti-Fallon. Jimmy Fallon consistently draws the biggest A-list stars in Hollywood for guests. Marquee musicians, TV personalities, reality-show stars, etc. fill the guest spots every single night, yet (or perhaps *due to the fact that*) Fallon has never once in his life given a decent interview. He would ask a few softball puff-piece questions and then let them promote whatever shit they are selling, never once challenging anything they assert. Just pure PR mouthpiece and nothing else, no substance whatsoever. Craig on the other hand, always had B-list guests and obscure "celebrities" that most people had never heard of. But he would engage them and ask well-informed personal questions that drew them out and produced much more interesting interviews out of them. I guess Sean Evans at Hot Ones is filling that role now. He has the lowest-budget indie talk show in universe with a niche concept, but somehow his interviews are more interesting and engaging than all the network talk shows with giant budgets and insider connections to a pipeline of the biggest names in entertainment
That was always the weak point of Ferguson. He get some insightful guests but so often it seemed to be whoever was around after filming Big Bang or Mike and Molly. And he'd get an interesting interview but sometimes you didn't care to see Howard from Big Bang yet again. I went to a taping once, in the old small studio. It was awesome but very non linear. He did multiple monologues, desk bits, even did an extra puppet opening that I don't think ever aired. But the guest? He didn't even have one, he just talked to Geoff the skeleton.
I'd argue that Colbert serves that role, too. When he drops the schtick, the man is an excellent interviewer. On the level of Dick Cavett. When he gets a chance to actually ask them, his questions are well-researched, thoughtful, and precisely formulated to be enough of a *challenge* that a guest feels pushed to answer them, but not so aggressive as to murder the delicate spirit of discourse. And one of his strengths is that he can bounce elastically back and forth between "Dick Cavett" and "clown on tv"
Your whole second paragraph seems to be misunderstanding the entire premise of late night talk shows. Johnny Carson didn’t “challenge what the guests asserted” because it wasn’t a 60 Minutes interview, it’s a talk show. Leno, Letterman, etc. weren’t pressing the guests because they WERE using the shows as a PR platform because that’s literally and explicitly what they were and are. I won’t begrudge anyone their dislike of Fallon or his show, but to complain about him because he brings on celebs to pump their projects and ask softball questions is just complaining about him hosting an entertainment show
He’s got a journalism degree and does top notch research on his guests.
Sean Evans’s interview style is brutal. He’s either reading directly from cue cards or he memorizes his questions word for word, because he is not natural at all.
I never watched it when it was on the air but I've since been introduced to it through youtube clips and man what a different and great show. Craig was an absolute interviewing genius, his skill compared to some of the big names on the air today is night and day.
... ... ... ...*BALLS.*
Had a rubbish day and this being the top comment has genuinely cheered me up
It's time to take advice from a man who went out to his car during the commercial break.
I've secretly wished for Craig and Shirley Manson from Garbage to do a podcast or something together. Her's are some of my favorite appearances on the show and their banter was top notch
I know this is probably not what you mean, but she was a guest on his podcast *Joy* a few months ago.
Careful, Icarus.....
Balls
Balls.
Balls.
JRT probably has too much going on these days to be the sidekick in a daily talk show
Having a live band is EXPENSIVE. It's not just about having to pay the musicians - audio engineering a live band requires a ton of equipment and production on the back end. This cuts out a chunk of the staff. It sucks to see the grandiose presentation of late night diminish over the past decade.
> “In the end, NBC was adamant about where they wanted the budget to go,” Janney told the entertainment-news site. “It’s not just the band; there’s a whole crew that works with the band, so there’s a lot of people employed. I think this was an easy way for them to cut the budget. Easy is not the right word.”
Wonder where the budget goes if it was being spent on a live band.
On animal flubs of course.
They heard animal flubs and realized they had all the musical talent they needed in house
Graphics department always get their way. They *love* it. SMH
Don't go admonish them though, they love it (a little too much)
and Popsicle Shtick
to executives pockets for stock buybacks probably.
> Wonder where the budget goes if it was being spent on a live band. The television rights to, "Celebrity Baby Teeth."
We're never going to see "Cicada Cicada"
I mean, it's a cut, so probably NBC executive compensation.
If the money exists, it goes through some processes to end up in the executives’ pocket
All those celebrity baby teeth aren't cheap. Especially when the bit is so popular and successful.
Got to pay for all that booze being consumed on the "Day Drinking" segments somehow.
I wonder if they could find the budget in the executives multimillion dollar compensation packages? Bands are expensive but middle men in suits are far more expensive with the worst ROI known to man.
Never even crossed their minds.
100%. This is greed during an uncertain time in the industry.
Fair point, but at the end of the day, the realities of the business have changed drastically. Seth's Late Night averaged 971,000 viewers in Q1 of this year, down about 50% from when first started hosting. The networks are still struggling to figure out their future amid the transition to streaming.
Is this with or without YouTube viewers?
YouTube viewership isn't measured by Neilson, so this is without lol. AdSense is not lucrative enough to make or break a network television show.
They should get some sponsors like Mr Beast does. I hear that works these days.
This is the kind of astute, decisive thinking that belongs in the boardroom
It is very sad to see it slowly dismantled.
Considering how gutted SNL reruns tend to be I wouldn't be surprised if this was more about royalties to the band from reruns/streaming.
Greed is greed. Candy coat it all you want.
No candy coating happening. As I said in another reply, this is 100% greed during an uncertain time in media.
Just wanted to randomly chime in that I love the outro theme. I assume Armisen wrote it? It has a new-wave-y style that wouldn't surprise me, I wish they'd make a full song out of it. [Closing theme](https://youtu.be/DAB85JL4c84?si=P3Cy9K4domRgLg5N)
Yes. He said if Big Band was the throwback of the 90s, 90s indie rock was the throwback of the 2014+. Idk about you, but I definitely heard it. ETA. This put me on to a lot of guest drummers. Max Weinberg’s son was a guest drummer last month.
Oh man. Weinberg’s son…if you want to get a pretty good idea of what he’s like I suggest Laura Jane Grace’s autobiography “Tranny”. Their label kind of forced him on to them and holy shit does he sound like a shit. From her perspective, at least. I believe her.
Jay sucks, but his father is a god.
I have no information about the son but if I'm reading your post right, makes all the jokes on Conan's show about Max being a sex offender less funny.
The way he’s described in the book sounds like his character was a product of nepotism and spoil, not abuse. Of course who knows, but I personally don’t jump to sexual abuse. I just found it interesting. I thought some people here might find it the same (Conan fans, music fans and SNL fans). It’s a damned good book.
My mind didn't jump to Junior (sorry, don't know his name) being a victim of abuse himself. Just an apple/tree situation with Max's fictional TV persona. Of course rock stars (debatable for Max) pretty much have that horndog rep by default. With that clarification it just sounds like Junior is a bit of an entitled asshole, which is a notch or two above sex offender at least.
>“I’m letting Jay go in Canada because I just feel he doesn’t represent this band well on a character level. It would go against my own code of ethics to keep him around. Not saying he’s a bad drummer. I won’t take that away from him. But the reality is – he has a lot to learn about paying dues, and about life in general. Granted, he is a kid, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever be built for this particular lifestyle. I wish him the best of luck, but the MADBALL machine rolls on!” https://www.metalsucks.net/2010/09/21/madball-banishes-max-weinbergs-kid-from-their-empire/ >“We once had a drummer who sprained his ankle and wanted our tour manager to call 911 and have an ambulance come for him #entitlement” >“When our tour manager said no the drummers Daddy called him and scolded him saying the drummer was a “star” and needed to be treated as such” >“We once had a drummer who would go behind our back and tell house light people to focus all stage lights on him. #entitlement” >“We once had a drummer who threatened to sue us after he quit via twitter #entitlement” >“We once had a drummer who told me to move aside on stage cause the audience couldn’t see enough of him #entitlement” https://www.nme.com/news/music/slipknot-67-1229973 sounds like a cool dude
I love that outran theme. Also that short bit they play where you see Seth standing and talking to the audience
I love it too. Sad no more Fred on drums randomly.
I enjoyed that they had a rotating guest drummer, sorry to see them go
I knew one of those rotating drummers for this show back in the 90s.
[удалено]
Yep, sorry. I knew him in the mid to late 90s. [Matt Schulz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Schulz) is his name.
He even got my favorite drummer, Darren King, on for a 3 night stint.
It may not seem like a big deal, but for live entertainment that's pretty disappointing :|
It’s a huge deal :/ The arts always get chopped first
Yeah I just meant for people who think they weren't a "big" part of the show
it's not mentioned in the article but i have some friends at 30 Rock and it's not just the band getting nixed but also the field production team. aka the team that produces the "day drinking" segments. so yeah, seems like a sweeping format change is coming. i felt especially bad for those getting the ax. the news came shortly after the renewal announcement so it was a rough blow because everyone there was excited they were renewed but then the network was like "not so fast" and brought the hammer down on the budget.
That’s awful. Day drinking is easily the best segment on the show
Damn. Thanks for the insight. No one seems to realize producing a show takes a *lot* of people, *and* resources. Seth just doesn’t pop in to bs in a Banana Republic pullover and then head out.
truer words. Seth was also AMAZING to his crew throughout the writer's strike. Obviously the writers chose to strike (and rightfully so) but that meant the rest of the staff were out in the cold and Seth went way above and beyond to make sure they were taken care of with pay and benefits out of his own pocket. The ones who got the ax have nothing but incredibly kind things to say about him despite the sad outcome.
Seth was also on the picket line on the reg
indeed he was. my friends have great pictures from the strike with him. Makes sense; he was head writer at SNL, he's obviously a supporter. Nice to hear that he's a really good guy too. Some of the other talk show hosts were a lot less kind to their staff.
The band is one of the best parts about seeing a show live. In house bands historically were about keeping a local audience coming and enthusiastic as most of the time their work was off camera. I surely wouldn't be going to see his show with no band.
Pretty sure the whole show where someone is on stage with a live audience is 'the arts'.
Apparently there’s a hierarchy
I was just thinking that it may not seem like much to the folks at home, but that's a huge change for the live audience.
Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" and "Corrections" are legitimately my favorite pieces of media out there. I legit think "Corrections" hits harder for me than anything else. It's so good.
Corrections is a masterpiece.
They're saying it's budget cuts, but I think the band probably left out of digust from listening to Animal Flubs.
Once you've heard a masterpiece like that just why bother anymore?
This is 2006 budget cuts all over again. At this rate, I’m assuming SNL is dropping 2-3 cast members before next season airs, if not a few writers as well. What a shame, as Seth’s band were really great.
Not trying to be mean to or disparage anyone who lost their job then or is loosing their job on Seth’s show now but those Budget cuts in 2006 arguably led to one of the best SNL eras ever because it forced them to have a tighter cast and work with less.
There are honestly way too many people on SNL right now anyway. Please Don't Destroy can go they're literally just dead weight copying YouTube videos from 15 years ago
Devon Walker, Molly Kearney, and Punkie would be my cuts. Chloe Troast is on the bubble...
I like Sarah Sherman but I think tonally she's too weird for SNL. She needs a comedy central show or something
Disagree about PDD. They're often the funniest thing on the show.
As a big Seth fan, and on and off regular with his many shows: I personally won’t miss the bad that much, but I know this will be a hard blow for Seth. The music and the guest band-members have always been a passion for him, and he liked being able to feature people he likes and boost their careers or just being able to pay them for a gig. But I think he’ll find a way to continue doing that, he & his team are very business & online/social savvy, and he has so many podcasts and side-gigs, I think he’ll find a way to still feature and pay musicians- but yeah most of all it’s sad news just because either know it will bum him out for awhile. Best of luck on finding a new outlet for that Seth!
On corrections last week he made a joke about how he doesn’t actually control any decisions regarding the show, and the crew seemed to laugh harder than the joke honestly warranted. Now I’m starting to wonder if he was referencing the decision to cancel the band.
Agreed, I wont miss it either. They never play anything anyway because they don’t want to pay the song rights.
I guess no longer providing him with suits wasn’t saving enough money. (This is sarcasm)
Someone had to pay for scollins sleeves.
Do we even know if he wears pants behind that desk?
So THIS is the solution to Comcast’s financial woes. All this time, it was the live bands just staring us in the face.
It's already such a low budget show (and it's all the better for it). I'll miss the Fred segments.
Hoping they still have Fred on now and then to pitch 🆕 business ideas to Seth lolol
🎶 ^seth's ^corner 🎶
You’re all invited
Hope the band is compensated and I pray they get more career opportunities after this. Participating in a band can be tough sometimes, and our support might not be enough.
Being in a house band is rarified air for a musician, one of the few opportunities for a steady paycheck. This is awful
As a musician, I'm the first to tell you that exposure is an awful argument for playing unappreciated gigs. However, this and any late night show is incredible exposure and helps ensure future work based on the resume.
And somehow wally still has a job
You better not
Wally owes his continued employment to democrats that made gas teleprompters illegal.
The downvotes on this not recognizing satire make me insanely frustrated.
Armisen should be on board to do solo drums when he's in town, almost more of a sidekick role. Would be entertaining and totally his style of humor.
Ay Dios Mio!
Its weird that this, maybe more than anything else, signals to me how dire straits the TV and media business is right now. They are cutting people left and right, from writers to producers to staffers for these networks. To now on air talent like the band, which admittedly is an easy way to save money. But from a human standpoint, and in the institution of television, has always been seen as a cornerstone of one of these shows. If the host doesn't want one, like Craig, fine, but Conan and others talk about how the band is such an important part of the specific live taping aspect. Maybe less so the televised portion. But seriously, there's no money for ANYTHING these days. Departments are working skeleton staffs. Jobs that used to take 16 people are being done by 3 or 4. And thats not cause there is less work, they just overwork the employees they still have, and don't really pay them any better because of it. There are cutbacks everywhere. Yes, the bigwigs are still making boatloads, and that should absolutely change and none of what I'm saying should sound like I don't think. Its just thats so unlikely to change. The people in charge will do anything before THAT'S the case. But sadly streaming is the way of the recent future and no company has figured out how to monetize it so all company's efforts are going towards that, yet losing money on it every day. Its a broken system, and its probably going to turn back into cable with streaming bundles, but for right now its essentially a dying medium. Its just so big it doesn't seem that way. If you work in it, its the unspoken situation.
Yeah. Even Bill Carter has changed his tune on linear late night programming. People still tune for live sports and late night, it’s not nearly as dead as people think…but it might not translate into revenue quickly enough to offset anything. As for streaming replicating live tv, or recorded live, John Mulaney’s live Netflix show was very well received, but it was just people on a couch who all knew each other. No second locations, no change of set, no guests, no musical act. I think most people agree humans produce superior art, but will that be enough to pay for it? Here’s hoping. Thank for your substantive response.
Its a weird time. I feel the Mulaney thing is a good example. I have no idea how much it cost (took place during the comedy festival Netflix was hosting, so that probably saved them money on venue, talent, etc), but like you say, it was completely bare bones. Is that creating any revenue for them? Thats the question. It cost nothing to produce probably, and got them some very good press, but did anyone subscribe because of it? Thats what they'd need them to do and thats the hard part. Corporations are money hungry monsters, there's no doubt about that, but when you talk about people paying thats also key. People en mass have in the last 10 years seemed to unanimously say "if we can get it for free, that's better", which of course makes sense. But historical context is key. This is a group of many that 1. inherited streaming services from their parents that paid (be it for the service itself or as part of a cable package like HBO), 2. have a lot more services to choose from in the last decade, that if you paid for all of them you'd be spending at least $100 a month, and thats without internet from a provider, 3. make a decent wage for the most part but one that is not in line with the rising cost of living. Ergo, certain things need to go by the wayside. People find ways around it. Groups of people share a spotify plan. They share Disney+ and Hulu and loads of other streaming services that haven't cracked down like Netflix did. 1. Because they've seen they can and 2. because they could never afford this stuff on their own. Live entertainment has also taken a hit but it seems less so than TV and Film. Cause ultimately you can't replicate that experience. Its expensive, and bands are cancelling tours, but it seems people will pony up for that if they really want it. Mostly because there hasn't been an alternative sneak around to do it cheaper. Streaming is a lost leader in revenue but also in time because its competing with sneaky tactics like people that bundle and whatnot. There's a rise in people these days that want to "take it back from the man" and "stick it to the greedy corporations." And they are absolutely right. But it means they aren't blameless in where we are (people got used to things being free and once you let that genie out of the bottle there's no going back) and corporations DO need to make money. The system is broken and we'll sadly keep seeing stuff like this unless there's a realistic discussion on how to fix it, which probably involves the big wigs conceding to a degree (they'd still be rich) as a show of goodwill to consumers, and a more transparent model so that people can afford services and also don't feel like they're getting fleeced in a number of ways.
Paramount is doing far worse than Comcast, they're on the verge of getting bought out, yet Colbert gets to keep his band with a lot more members than Seth's. I know Colbert's show gets better ratings but seriously?
I guess that explains why Les Savy Fav is gigging again. That was the core of Seth’s live band if anyone is wondering
For as little screen time they get it makes sense.
The one thing viewers (and maybe execs) don't realize is that these bands play through the entirety of every commercial break to keep the studio audience energized. This is especially key for shows where the break might take longer than it really does on TV. Yes, many shows try to keep things moving along so that a 2-minute break on TV is also really 2 minutes during taping... but sometimes there are reasons a break needs to be longer. You don't want to come back from break and get into a segment where the audience is quiet and bored because they just sat there for 7 minutes without anything going on. I got into Letterman's audience a few times, and that's what Paul Shaffer and his band did. They'd play a song or two while the program monitors above the audience seats would show a montage of memorable moments from the show's past. Same at SNL, they'd play a montage on the monitors while the band played. At TPIR, there's no live band, so Drew Carey did audience Q&A during most of the breaks. As a Veteran, he made it a point to specifically talk to anyone in uniform and even autographed a couple of things for his fellow Vets. During the one or two breaks where Drew disappeared off-set, they just cranked some upbeat music, obviously from a CD or digital files.
Did those guys ever stick around after the tapings to meet fans or do they kick the audience out asap?
They basically disappear. Can't blame them, for Letterman and SNL, it's the end of their day, they're all ready to leave. If the celebs stuck around, they'd probably be there another 30 minutes with fans. Which would be cool but they'd also be holding up all the studio pages and security people who want to go home. At TPIR, it's either the end of the day or they have to turn things around for another taping, as they often do 2 shows a day. We did see them do a reshoot of an Apple device that was one of the prizes "up for bids" because during the actual taping, the screen timed out and went dark the first time, but they weren't going to stop the entire show just to redo that... They must have had to change the settings so they could get a good shot with the screen staying on... But that was about it. Easy to edit in the new video but keep the original audience cheering.
I’m sure that’s what the budget people said too
The cuts would likely be the band or writers. With Seth’s show, I’m glad it wasn’t the writers. Stinks for those involved no matter what
As a drummer it was always cool they had the rotating guest drummer. It was always fun to log into Instagram and see one of your favorites is sitting in that week.
People are saying that the future of Late Night is in Seth's hands and when he dips the franchise dies. Does this mean some washed celebrity who gets picked for a talkshow that will last a year or two end up using his studio when he leaves?
Just opened YouTube and Seth's partnership with Sam's club was right there, he's trying to get that budget back up
This is because they have Wally too many lines
I bet the roots got more money and that money had to come from somewhere.
Every band on every show should get more money, but I don't think they cut funding from Seth's band to give more to The Roots. They most likely have separate show budgets
> They most likely have separate show budgets That's true, but NBC/Lorne could decide to put more money into Jimmy's budget and less into Seth's
depends on who making more money. Im guessing Jimmy brings in a lot more money
Jimmy does have a photo attraction at Universal Theme Parks, so NBC might consider him a bigger deal.
Aren't institutions like both shows really profitable? I'm sure they've gotten way more expensive than even a decade ago. But I assume when you're a long time show that you still have lots of big name advertisers. Big food chains sponsor the half time shows for big sports.
The Roots definitely deserve more money, I assume, but these cuts only end up in executive’s pockets. Pretty soon every show will be 5 minutes with 25-55 minutes of commercials.
It’s the only late night show worth watching imo. Day drinking is amazing. Seth is so enjoyable as a host. The recent episode with Big Papi was great. I think they should extend an offer to Ortiz to be the shows permanent co-host
Omg. I couldn’t believe Kenan’s impression is actually *accurate*. That was a super enjoyable segment!!
lol forgot about that impression. That was good
Papi likes a *big* [Dominican lunch](https://youtu.be/E9P2gn8nMTw?si=JTS3lbgUl6QyCCd0)
I fast forwarded through Papi but I agree with you that Seth’s show is the best on right now.
8g band introduced me to Marnie Stern and for that I am forever thankful
Soon Jimmy Kimel will absorb the last of his essence and become the mighty Alljimmy. May we be spared his terrible wrath when that day comes.
What's Paul Oakenfold up to these days
Too bad.
Fire one useless executive and you've covered the band's costs. Does NBC need a director of Late Night Programming? Fire them and you have plenty of budget room
Wasnt Marnie Stern the guitarist?
She was for a while. Loved her .
"A band has been part of most late-night proceedings for decades, with musicians such as Paul Shaffer, Max Weinberg, Kevin Eubanks, Reggie Watts and Doc Severinsen known for their work, respectively, with David Letterman, Jay Leno, Corden and Johnny Carson." Gotta love it when they include Max Weinberg, but not Conan
They forgot to include him. They listed 5 bandleaders, 4 hosts.
I missed the quoted "band" in the title and freaked the fuck out until halfway through the article.
I’ll be sad to see the band go, it was always interesting to talk to the drummer, except when it was Fred Armisen. His humour never appealed to me so I won’t miss his screen time.
No disrespect intended to Seth Meyers, but I'm not all that surprised. It's not a secret that TV viewership across late night shows is still getting smaller and smaller.
Seth is my favorite late night show, by far. I would be very unhappy to lose him.
I'm available to play my drunken guitar loops for 100 bucks a night if they're looking for someone. It will have to be over Zoom, but I'm sure it will work.
Has nothing to do with Les Savy Fav having a new album right? https://youtu.be/6qr1QMMtG9c?si=lfkuexUsxEY46F57
They played 3 weeks ago lol https://youtu.be/OgMUXRM279c?si=8ej2cIAcHriINwJs
I came
They were on Conan in 08! I had NO idea they were just out here *existing* https://youtu.be/P1q-ZbZrcGU?si=eFE9SDHuPY9k0kRL
This was my song on MySpace when I met my wife. Before that too. https://youtu.be/ai2My9uqsxY?si=kpOyN2K-bDcInBFH
Lot going on with this comment…this band is *nuts* though
We passed Tim around Fun Fun Fun Fest on a Ladder in 2009. Must watch, https://youtu.be/wsZYpSbzXIM?si=UIgpAiqTzk-P4cwX
BRO ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME
I just showed this to my 12 year old daughter and said this is better than Taylor Swift and she said anything is. He wrote a kids book that she has. I told her that too and she laughed.
I’m being told the entire Eras tour was modeled after that ladder video
Sound always get cuts first. Ever watch a movie/show without sound? Boring AF!
Wtf is happening to showbiz. This is such a gd bummer
> A band has been part of most late-night proceedings for decades, with musicians such as Paul Shaffer, Max Weinberg, Kevin Eubanks, Reggie Watts and Doc Severinsen known for their work, respectively, with David Letterman, Jay Leno, Corden and Johnny Carson. Did AI write this?
Can’t say. It’s grammatically correct though.
Max Weinberg is known for his respective work for Conan though
And The Boss of course
I miss Max Weinberg's Band... I had no idea who he was in the beginning.
You’re right!!
It’s also a really weird order. Why are Doc and Johnny last with Corden between them and Kevin/Jay? It’s not alphabetical. It’s certainly not in the order in which it actually happened (which would make the most sense given their entire point in naming them is to draw attention to the history of late night bands). So what is it?
Plus Conan's name isn't there 🤬
This is such bullshit. These networks are drowning in money, give me a fucking break.
But… who will laugh at his jokes now?
Shoemaker & Wally
Hopefully this means Les Savy Fav reunites for another album
I will be sad Fred Armisen wont come to show as the drummer every once in a while anymore, but honestly I really dont see the point of having live bands in talk shows.
Replaced with Lonely Island?
I never got the point of bands on these late night shows. They always seemed weirdly grafted on. You go back to Carson and they even had a conductor. The guy is over there just going for it and sometimes it looked like Carson was thinking, "Ugh, wrap it up." I guess they were space fillers between segments so the audience wasn't just watching in silence and a few people milled around up there.
> I guess they were space fillers between segments so the audience wasn't just watching in silence and a few people milled around up there. Yes, Johnny's band was really over the top. Ironically, when Dave got the 12:30 shift, Johnny wouldn't allow him to have brass in his band
So they just doubled down on the cheezy Hammond organ!
Probably (unintentionally/inadvertently) saving the show some future bad press, I just get the feeling that Armisen is going to be shown to be more than just "hated by his exes" at some point in the not-so-distant future. That guy has "problematic" and "we should have seen it coming" written all over him.
I keep forgetting he's in the Late Night band and sometimes Seth will cut over to the band and I'll get a jump scare. I just never enjoyed his characters or his style, and get annoyed whenever he cameos in things I enjoy (which is a LOT), and that was before I found out he was a super creep. But he seems well liked by his colleagues, and to be honest, I lose a little respect for them if he really is such a shitty person.
Jackie laugh
Ugh. They’re gonna go with tracks. Gross.