Back when Paul Schafer played along with the musical guest on Letterman

Something to do with budgets? I can't really remember. When the Letterman group played with L7, they had something like a total of six guitars going. Pretty crunchy.

When Peter Bjorn and John were on earlier this year, some lady from the band played the bongo part.

I've long been curious as to what, exactly, the arrangement is/was between the featured band and the Letterman house band, because my recollection is that not every musical guest employed Paul and the boys/girl (though the majority seem to), even post-'80s.

If it truly is, or was, a mandated thing, as Lawrence the Looter says, it's, of course, unfortunate that guests are made to present generally inferior performances to satisfy that obligation (not to mention members of the guest band being forced to break out the triangle just so they can participate -- I think drummers often fall victim to this simply because they might otherwise be have to sit in on someone else's kit, and that is almost always extremely uncomfortable). But truth be told, these collisions are often pretty fascinating for me -- I'm glad that we have that shaky version of "Trompe le Monde" (Black Francis in fine voice though) with bad Schaffer soloing and somewhat forced literate skronk guitar-work from Sid McGinnis.

And at other times, the performances are perfectly good. I'm not sure why anyone would object, on musical grounds, to the Screaming Trees and JAMC performances linked -- the bass player's white trousers and Stanley Clarke conviction in the JAMC one(?), because his playing is pretty faithful to the recording (maybe a bit busier and more R&B informed, but still appropriate and definitely not "funky" in the conventional sense).

Random notes:

Nice to see Steve Ferrone get a chance to, ahem, rock out (looks like he was having fun) in that Screaming Trees clip; he sounds good there.

One may not care for the playing of Anton Fig, he might not always mesh well with the featured act (though I think he does fine usually and is sometimes great), but he definitely isn't "ham-fisted". I prefer Steve Jordan, actually, but not everything he played on the Letterman show was golden either: check this performance of the band playing "Panama" with Eddie Van Halen(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZU32Ex4p04) -- not bad, per se, but kind of weird (all-around).

I'm pretty sure I once read an interview with Anton where he spoke of Tony Williams subbing for him in the band. How cool would it have been to see Tony Williams play behind The JAMC or Screaming Trees? I wonder who the band did back, if anyone, when Tony subbed (don't know how long he did either).

they backed up Dinosaur Jr. once I'm pretty sure (Start Choppin' era)

there's a Green Mind-era Dino Jr. clip on youtube, but it's in such terrible shape you can't really see if the house band is in on it

SJ sounds totally fine on that Van Halen clip to me. Still, what a weird thing to do.

lol @ Chad Smith on timbales. I wonder what would happen if you were in RHCP in the early 90s and you didn't have abs.

I still don't get why though.

PAUL SHAFFER circa. 1991: "Oh, FANTASTIC! Chainsaw Kittens are scheduled to come on AND I GET TO PLAY THE ORGAN AGAIN."

To be fair,it's really only some of the fills that I'm not feeling, as far as the drums go (and more-so it's the way that the toms are tuned -- just sounds odd for that song) in the Van Halen clip.

x-post

Jordan OTM on RHCP and abs.

I saw Urge Overkill play Bottle of Fur with the house band. Paul Schaffer was pounding the chimes at the end. They sounded better than they had any right to.

oh man i thought the same thing about abs when watching the video

maybe that's why they went through like 6 different guitarists at the time, dudes just didn't have the abs for it.

It's not every band that plays with the house band. It's actually quite rare. I always thought it was just bands with a cool sense of humor who were free wheeling enough to do it as a way to shake things up.

I think they did this with Stevie Ray Vaughan. I've seen it. It was on either Letterman or Carson.

I don't think a band would play on national tv w/out their regular drummer just for a laugh.

I thought it was a rule. A buddy of mine was in Poi Dog Pondering back in the day and when they did the Letterman show there were major negotiations to get every member of their own rather large band out on the stage- one of the two drummers ended up banging a stick on a soda can!

I'm trying to imagine what it would've been like had G.E. Smith played along with the Replacements on SNL, and I don't like what I'm seeing in my head right now.

I'll have to ask Ted about that, Ken.

Ha! You do that, John.

Found that SRV clip. The WMDB backed him on "Wall of Denial".

...and here's Sonic Youth

Here's a clip from a time when Dinosaur Jr. played and the house band guitarist took a little lead break that I don't think Mascis appreciated, as he proceeded to subsequently bitch slap him with a blazing solo in response.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV6b4eij7ZQ

I heard Tito Puente was on there once and they made him play the drum kit while Anton played the timbales.

Maybe it's a way for the guys in the show band to let real bands know that they're studio musicians for hire and they're available for recording?

Yeah, Will Lee never did a single jingle vocal until he was discovered during that Chili Peppers performance.

Okay so this is pretty fucking hysterical too, The La's "There She Goes" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVd2x0EpnYA&feature=related

funny becuase Shafers on the tambourine, the guitarist brought out the old Rickenbacker AND for the lead singer who supposedly demanded a mixer with the original 60's dust still on it when recording the album, this must surely be the sound he had in mind...

plus a Beatles bonus in the end. I LOVE it

This is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwhyGz2tQJc

Is that the clip where Paul throws his tampon into the crowd?

I had never seen that Dinosaur jr clip before - Mascis just SLAUGHTERS that house guitarist!

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up
Posted: August 26, 2007 5:33:29 PM
Something to do with budgets? I can't really remember. When the Letterman group played with L7, they had something like a total of six guitars going. Pretty crunchy.

I'm glad that we have that shaky version of "Trompe le Monde" (Black Francis in fine voice though) with bad Schaffer soloing and somewhat forced literate skronk guitar-work from Sid McGinnis.

Was watching this clip for a while before I realized it must be from Letterman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jeZtxB_pGI&feature=related

Aargh the dreaded end page, try again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jeZtxB_pGI&feature=related

Forget it. It's The Bangles singing "If She Knew What She Whats."

"Wants"

Tarfumes mentioned this over on the VU thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2u_xYIEOCg

The Kinks on Leno in '93 except it's really Ray & Dave with Leno's rhythm section and pianist.

Back to Letterman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o11abgxUxsc

The B-52's doing "Love Shack" backed by The World's Most Dangerous Band.

with Kate doing the "TIN ROOF...RUSTED" cause clearly Cindy is under the weather.

I also love how they walk out and just instantly go into the song, no hesitation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zizL69E362E

ZZ Top: "Pincushion" w/the CBS band

I think I remember a band (Pere Ubu, early 90s?) where only two or three members had been invited to play on the show, and were complaining about it somewhere.

Looking at the longest version of their appearance, in the intro Dave mentions that the band had to pay their own way to New York after both their label and NBC refused to. So if that's true, and Letterman's people where like, "Only three of you can be on the show, and Paul gets to sing harmony"...yeah, I'd be pissed too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dhvuq0cEY

"Oh, one more thing: Anton gets to play congas AND regular drums!"

Here's an interesting one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRC2yPiqyU0

XTC's first performance _period_ in 7 years, doing "King For A Day" in the summer of '89, and needing the backing since there were only three guys in the band by then.

Pere Ubu’s label at the time (Fontana) refused to pay for their flights to play on Letterman because the album wasn’t selling. Someone — probably David Thomas — helpfully pointed out that $2500 was not a huge expense for a major label for a national US TV appearance that might help boost sales. Due to the publicity surrounding this, Jane’s Addiction, R.E.M., and others helped pay for Ubu’s travel. I was a huge Ubu fan at the time, but I missed the show. When I eventually saw it, I wondered why such a startlingly unique band would waste this opportunity by playing one of their dullest songs.

The only band I know of that turned down a Letterman appearance because of the house band stipulation was the Replacements, but I assume there were others. And Anton Fig is one of the worst drummers in the history of sound.

Yeah, what is the deal with that guy? I actually saw him play live once and it did not change my opinion.

The only band I know of that turned down a Letterman appearance because of the house band stipulation was the Replacements, but I assume there were others. And Anton Fig is one of the worst drummers in the history of sound.

I wasn't surprised to see his name pop up in the credits for Dylan's "Clean Cut Kid" on Empire Burlesque - it makes the complete suckage of that track all the more understandable - but he's also on Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual and I love that album. I guess he works with that album's production because in a way they wanted something like a drum machine without completely sounding like one.

FWIW, this is still one of my favorite 'Viewer Mail' moments.

Not Letterman's band, but re: the Replacements, when Westerberg returned to SNL, I liked how he made use of the show's horn section for "Can't Hardly Wait." It's one of the few times I've seen a musical guest benefit from the house band. (I still prefer the "Tim" version, but the horn arrangement on the Pleased to Meet Me version is actually pretty good in its own right.)

I guess he works with that album's production because in a way they wanted something like a drum machine without completely sounding like one.

Fig is on a few records where his awfulness doesn't intrude, but he's also on no fewer than NINE Joe Bonamassa albums, which cancels out any positives in his discography.

I actually saw him play live once and it did not change my opinion.

I almost went to see Booker T and the MGs in 1991, but decided against it when I found out Fig was the drummer on that tour. I can't think of a worse possible choice for that band.

Imagine Metallica on Letterman with Paul on keyboards and no Lars

...or Lars in the back thrashing a triangle!

There's a bunch of Lou Reed clips like this, but singling this one out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVFcj-QLpu0

"Busload of Faith" during a Chicago residency. The Lou Mullet is OUT OF CONTROL

^^James Cotton on harp!

an example of this I quite admire is when XTC were on the show in 1989. I *think* this is the one and only time they played live on television after 1982 and PS and his band do a pretty good job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amx5CK7vdoc

from an interview with the plugz' bassist re: their famous/great turn as bob dylan's band on letterman in 1984:

Paul Shaffer tried to jam along with us at soundcheck. It didn't go well for Paul. Bob told Bill Graham, “Lose the clown on the keyboard.”

Ok, so I nominate this as the best clip of all of this phenomenon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUPSilcJFrQ

Duane Eddy sits in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqy0JafNerE

the boys jamming with sly and robbie, 1985.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Padjp3Fhnhg

every year or 3 i do a search for the video evidence of john mcenroe jamming with toots and the maytals on his short-lived late nite show. no luck so far.

Do you know the David Bowie story about him?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcC6nx3C8i0

Pretty sure this is a repost. But I love this collection of Lou Reed playing on Letterman

xp

i didn't, but i just searched and assume you mean the story of bowie catching him butchering the "rebel rebel" riff in a hotel they were both staying in. ha!

Yes, that’s the one

Rosanne Cash & The World's Most Dangerous Country Band (featuring Anton Fig)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsO8HvcTGs

A HAWT "Green, Yellow & Red"

Master bassist Will Lee on bongos! Anton and Mike D do the duel drums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7-17aBxu5o

an example of this I quite admire is when XTC were on the show in 1989. I *think* this is the one and only time they played live on television after 1982 and PS and his band do a pretty good job.

📹

This popped up on my social media feed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4VTClsw8RY

As mentioned in the comments, this was actually from 1988, not 1990 (though the song/album is from 1984) and awhile back I posted a link to the Grammy ceremony mentioned. It may no longer be active, but it was startling to see how low tech the Grammy's used to be compared to today - it's almost like a high school production albeit taking place in Radio City Music Hall. Reed's performance is a brief segment in a long suite of performances celebrating NY. He basically performs half of a song in one of the box seats, and then Run-DMC runs out from underneath and performs in the aisles.

Anyway, re: the clip, I thought Sid McGinnis played some really good guitar on that one. I didn't know much about him, but a quick Google search reveals that he had some pretty strong prog credentials before Letterman was even on the air: he's all over Peter Gabriel's second album (and toured with Gabriel as well) and he also appeared on a few tracks from Robert Fripp's Exposure. He later played with Laurie Anderson and Warren Zevon (a close friend of Letterman's), and he's appeared on Dire Straits' Making Movies, Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones and David Bowie's much-maligned Never Let Me Down though he mostly appeared on two of the strongest cuts.

IGGY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaI6ZeS8huk

"Real Wild Child" (1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujK_UO3Q1W4

"Cold Metal" (1988)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBZzL8sSARs

"Home" (1990)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IQhxFXWssM

"The Highway Song" (1993) (PAUL ON GUITAR!)

TIL Iggy Pop is left-handed.

Newly Uploaded DaJo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OewFqWI9y0

"Animals Medley" (1983)

...and "Stranded In The Jungle"

#onethread

"Meanwhile, back in the jungle..." is one of my favorite Dolls lines, mostly for the delivery and how it hilariously marks the change in perspective in the song.

I kind of wonder if it inspired Jonathan Richman's lyric "meanwhile, back in the bed..." even though they're completely different songs.

Probably. It’s from the original version of that song, or one of them, used to be able to keep track.

See also Chuck Berry -> Mark Bolam, “meanwhile, I’m still thinking.”

Mark Bolan

Marc Bolan

Meanwhile, I’m still mistyping

i think this is the original

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9PbMucPXU

According to one of those Ace "Golden Age of American Rock'n'Roll" comps, it actually was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewSKkewqNBE

A case of a Doo Wop group on a smaller label losing the hit to another, more established group on a bigger label.

^^the Doo Wop group=The Jayhawks

yeah! this is the "hitchhike" Marvin Gaye--> REM's cover over There She Goes Again thing all over again

I was reminded of the thing about The Jesters covering “The Wind,” by Nolan Strong and The Diablos, and being talked up by Lou Reed.

With ATCQ for their network debut. Bit chaotic but Paul gets some airtime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrbS29R0U-U

Jimmy Webb does MacArthur Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUPSilcJFrQ

this Leon Russell one is fantastic - Dave improving through some technical difficulties!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIpYRjnpGjQ

"We'll be back, right after this, with Jerry Seinfeld."