Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band

Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band
Origin	New York, New York, U.S.
Genres	House band
Years active	1993–2009 (as The Max Weinberg 7) 2009–2010 (as the Tonight Show Band) 2010 (as The Legally Prohibited Band) 2010–present (as The Basic Cable Band)
Labels	Hip-O Records (as The Max Weinberg 7)
Members
Jimmy Vivino Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg Jerry Vivino Mark Pender Scott Healy Mike Merritt James Wormworth
Past members
Max Weinberg

Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band is the house band for Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show Conan which debuted on November 8, 2010. Guitarist and arranger Jimmy Vivino is the group's leader. The group was originally formed and led by drummer Max Weinberg in 1993, and played under the name The Max Weinberg 7 when it was the house band for Late Night with Conan O'Brien in New York through 2009. The band then played under Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band during their brief 2009–2010 stint on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in Los Angeles. They were then briefly known as the The Legally Prohibited Band during their participation with O'Brien in the 2010 The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.

During The Max Weinberg 7 days, the band included Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Scott Healy on keyboard, Mike Merritt on bass guitar, Mark "Love Man" Pender on trumpet and acoustic guitar, and Jimmy's older brother Jerry Vivino on woodwinds. When the group moved to Los Angeles to play for The Tonight Show, they added an eighth member, James Wormworth, on percussion. Wormworth had often substituted as drummer when Weinberg toured with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, prior to being made a permanent fixture in the band; Jimmy Vivino had served as the band's leader during those periods. Weinberg did not participate in the Legally Prohibited Tour and his departure from the group and from O'Brien was made official in September 2010.

History

The Max Weinberg 7

Weinberg was the drummer for Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band until its dissolution in 1989. Weinberg returned to school, but soon desired to resume drumming. He auditioned to be the principal drummer for the Broadway show Tommy, but was selected only as the second alternate substitute percussionist. That night, Weinberg had a chance sidewalk meeting outside Carnegie Deli with newly selected Late Night host Conan O'Brien, where Weinberg spoke about his ideas for music on the show. O'Brien agreed to give Weinberg an audition as bandleader for his forthcoming show. Weinberg quickly put together The Max Weinberg 7, recruiting musicians he had worked with during his career, and got the job.

Rosenberg and Pender had played with The Miami Horns, and had a long joint history with Weinberg from touring or recording together with Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Little Steven, Gary U.S. Bonds, and Darlene Love. In the early 1990s Weinberg and Pender were also in a band together called Killer Joe, which also featured Jimmy and Jerry Vivino. The Vivino brothers were experienced New York session musicians and had been members of various Broadway pit bands. They recruited the final two members of the band, Healy and Merritt, who had played together in various bands such as Jimmy Vivino & The Black Italians and The Vivino Brothers Band.^[1] Fill-in James Wormworth was also a member of the Vivino bands, but was initially left out of the ensemble because there was no need for two drummers.^[2]

Members of the band have participated in skits on Late Night, particularly fedoraed LaBamba—who rarely speaks on air and is often the punchline of O'Brien's jokes—and bald, bespectacled Mark Pender, who will often sing a tribute to one of the show's guests only to invariably launch into hysterical shrieking as he climbs the scaffolding of the studio's seating area. Pender was also told by Conan to imitate soccer player Zinedine Zidane's famous World Cup headbutt due to both Pender and Zidane's lack of hair. Conan would tease Wormworth because he drummed barefoot.

Max was often involved in short, awkward, and/or humorous banter with Conan. O'Brien often made jokes about Weinberg's supposedly perverse sexual habits. Rosenberg is often the butt of jokes for both his healthy sized mustache and his often awkward demeanor on air, and his sexual orientation is occasionally questioned by O'Brien through monologue jokes and other comedy bits. O'Brien often has Rosenberg participate in potentially humiliating skits, such as dressing up his mustache in Christmas lights, or shaving it off. Additionally, Rosenberg provided the falsetto interludes for the formerly regular skits "In the Year 2000" and "In the Year 3000". A noted incident of ridicule occurred in 2007 when the camera, which had unexpectedly cut to the band for a reaction shot, caught LaBamba consulting his sheet music with a somewhat puzzled look on his face. This caused Conan to draw attention to Rosenberg's goof, and to claim that LaBamba could not read music. The others are rarely used in sketches, although Mike Merritt takes part in sketches where Conan talks about race, to which Mike's supposed thoughts are used in a voice-over where he ridicules Conan's lack of knowledge about African-American culture and Conan's own "abnormally" pale complexion.

The show often features a performance by a musical guest (a band or a solo artist) at the end, and some or even all members of The Max Weinberg 7 perform as backup musicians for the guests when needed, such as Max performing the drums for the last half of the Death from Above 1979 song, "Romantic Rights" while singer and drummer Sebastien Grainger stands on the bass drum.

Weinberg has, in the past, taken long leaves of absence to tour with the E Street Band. During his absences, he has typically been replaced by James Wormworth, and the band is led by Jimmy Vivino, then referred to as "Jimmy Vivino and The Max Weinberg 7".

The band plays an eclectic selection of music on the show, including frequent performances of songs by The Clash, one of Conan's favorite bands. Examples of songs by The Clash performed by the group include "Police on my Back", "The Magnificent Seven", "Rock the Casbah", "Spanish Bombs" and "Train in Vain".

The band will often play a song to match a holiday or event ("My Funny Valentine" on Valentine's Day), or sometimes play a song that is irrelevant to the event, causing O'Brien to question their choice of song ("Paint It Black" during Christmas).

The band's song "R.C.4" featured in the film Bewitched (2005).

Members of the band performed with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Super Bowl XLIII.

Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band

When Conan O'Brien relocated to Los Angeles to become host of The Tonight Show, The Max Weinberg 7 relocated with him, and added an eighth member, James Wormworth, on percussion.^[3] Jimmy Vivino and Weinberg reworked the Late Night theme into a "less manic" The Tonight Show theme.^[4] The backdrop used for the bandstand depicts the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building set within a Los Angeles skyline, in recognition of the Late Night roots.^[4]

As part of his preparation for the move, Weinberg consulted with Doc Severinsen, the Tonight Show band leader during the Johnny Carson days.^[3]

As was the case on Late Night, Weinberg temporarily left the Tonight Show on occasion to tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Jimmy Vivino took over as bandleader in this instance, and Wormworth moved over to drums. Ronnie Gutierrez was also brought in to cover for Wormworth on percussion. In the open, announcer Andy Richter referred to the group as "The Tonight Show Band", and the graphic was changed to acknowledge Max's absence.

Also, as a result, a skit was born that whenever Max appears on his last show before leaving, Conan would note that Max deserves a 'proper send-off' and the band would start playing, as suddenly his pedestal would begin to drive itself outside the studio with Max still playing. The pod would then move into the streets of Los Angeles where usually something absurd would happen such as Max being pulled over or hit by a speeding truck.

The band left The Tonight Show along with Conan O'Brien after O'Brien's last show as host, which aired January 22, 2010.^[5]

The Legally Prohibited Band

In April 2010, Conan O'Brien began his The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. While the rest of the group was part of the tour under the moniker The Legally Prohibited Band, Weinberg was not,^[6][7] though he did appear at the tour's New York stop.^[8] Weinberg later revealed that he had undergone complex open heart valve repair surgery two weeks after the conclusion of The Tonight Show and had taken three months to recover from it.^[9]

Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band

It was initially unknown whether Weinberg would be joining O'Brien when his new late night show on TBS began in November 2010.^[10] Most or all of the rest of the band were expected to follow O'Brien, alongside his other non-musical staff and crew, to the TBS program. By September 2010, it was clear that Weinberg would not be part of the show, now named Conan.^[2][11] Jimmy Vivino was now the leader of the band, with Wormworth full-time on drums, and the band was firmly ensconced in Los Angeles as a base.^[2] Upon announcing Weinberg's split from O'Brien in September 2010, O'Brien said, "Max has been a huge part of my life for the past 17 years and he is an incredible band leader and musician."^[12] Weinberg said, "my association with Conan, his staff, and crew has been a deeply rewarding experience for me. And, making music with Jimmy Vivino, Mark Pender, La Bamba, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, and percussionist James Wormworth enabled me to become a better musician and bandleader. I thank them for their first-rate work on the bandstand. I wish Conan and his show the best and I do look forward to dropping by."^[12] Both looked forward to Weinberg occasionally stopping by to sit in on the new show.^[12] Weinberg said his health was better than ever but that the "life-changing experience emotionally and spiritually" of the surgery and a desire to remain in New Jersey with his family had played a chief role in his departure from the band and O'Brien.^[9]

On October 19, 2010, it was announced that the new band name for the Conan show would be Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band.^[13]

Discography

Albums

• The Max Weinberg 7 (2000 – Hip-O Records)

Members

• Jimmy Vivino – bandleader, musical director, guitar, arrangements, vocals
• Scott Healy – keyboards, occasional guitar
• Mike Merritt – bass guitar
• Mark Pender – trumpet, acoustic guitar, vocals
• Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg – trombone, percussion, vocals
• Jerry Vivino – saxophones, flute, clarinet
• James Wormworth – drums, percussion
• Past members:
  • Max Weinberg – drums, bandleader
  • Ronnie Gutierrez – fill–in percussion

References

1. ^ Merritt, Mike. "Biography". MikeMerritt.com. http://www.mikemerritt.com/bio.html. Retrieved January 16, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Schaeffer, Christian (2010-09-22). "Jimmy Vivino Talks Johnnie Johnson, Conan O'Brien, and St. Louis' Role as a Rock & Roll Breeding Ground". Riverfront Times (St. Louis). http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2010/09/conan_obrien_tbs_jimmy_vivino_interview_johnnie_johnson_dona_oxford_nbc_tonight_show.php?page=2. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Steinberg, Jacques (June 5, 2009). "For TV Band, Jet Lag Is Part of the Job". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/arts/television/06max.html. Retrieved 2009-06-07. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Conan's 'Late Night' Theme Being Adapted for 'Tonight'". TVWeek. http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/05/conans_late_night_theme_being.php. Retrieved 2009-06-07. 
5. ^ "Conan O'Brien, NBC Seal 'Tonight Show' Exit Deal". Fox News. 2010-01-20. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/01/20/appears-conans-final-tonight-friday/. 
6. ^ Schneider, Michael (2010-03-11). "Coco Coast to Coast: Conan O'Brien announces his national tour (Updated)". Variety. http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2010/03/coco-coast-to-coast-conan-obrien-announces-his-national-tour.html. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
7. ^ Sepich, Scott (2010-04-13). "Conan O'Brien Revives Edgy 'Late Night' Vibe at First Live Show". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/04/13/conan-obrien-revives-edgy-late-night-vibe-at-first-live-show/. Retrieved 2010-04-16. 
8. ^ Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-06-02). "Thank You Radio City!!". teamcoco.com. http://teamcoco.com/blog/thank-you-radio-city/. Retrieved 2010-06-03. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Buckman, Adam (2010-10-07). "Max Weinberg: Open Heart Surgery Influenced My Decision To Leave Conan". Fancast. http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/interviews/max-weinberg-open-heart-surgery-influenced-my-decision-to-leave-conan/. Retrieved 2010-10-12. 
10. ^ Adalian, Josef (2010-04-13). "How TBS outfoxed Fox to land Conan". TheWrap.com. MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36449262/ns/entertainment-television/. Retrieved 2010-04-16. 
11. ^ Greene, Andy (2010-09-24). "Max Weinberg Officially Splits With Conan O’Brien". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/209841. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
12. ^ ^{a b c} Jensen, Jeff (2010-09-27). "Bandleader Max Weinberg won't be following Conan O'Brien to TBS". EW.com. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/09/27/bandleader-max-weinberg-wont-be-following-conan-obrien-to-tbs/. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
13. ^ Gillin, Joshua (2010-10-20), Anne Hathaway discusses nudity in new movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com/features/anne-hathaway-discusses-nudity-in-new-movie-with-jake-gyllenhaal/1129115, retrieved 2010-11-09