Most people probably recognize Jimmy Vivino's name and face from late-night television.
The New Jersey native has performed as part of Conan O'Brien's house band since the comedian entered the talk-show scene with his "Late Night" show in 1993, lending the guitar skills he has honed since taking up the instrument as a kid.
But his work as bandleader of the Basic Cable Band and music director for Mr. O'Brien's show makes up just part of a decades-long career as a guitarist and music arranger.
This Saturday, Mr. Vivino and the group the Barn Burners will headline the eighth annual Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival. The free, day-long festival takes over the Wayne County hub's downtown with performances at several venues. Mr. Vivino will close down the main stage in Central Park with a blues rock and soul set that starts at 7:45 p.m.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Mr. Vivino said recently by telephone from Los Angeles.
Mr. Vivino first picked up a musical instrument as a child, but it wasn't the guitar for which audiences know him today. He began learning trumpet at age 9 "and never looked back," he said.
"I just never wanted to do anything but play music anywhere," Mr. Vivino said. "Any kind of music with almost anyone."
He and his brothers would play music, dance and sing together, trying to follow the lead of family groups like the Osmonds and the Jackson 5. When Mr. Vivino was around 11, he started on guitar after his uncle left one in his basement. He started arranging music, too, and decided to commit to the guitar at 23.
He spent a couple years on the road playing in a show band and then ventured into New York City, where he performed in various clubs and met and worked with such well-known musicians as Phoebe Snow and Al Kooper, among numerous others.
"I started to find out if you're where people are, you'll meet them, and that's how gigs will happen," Mr. Vivino said.
He spent many years playing in New York and also worked in Hollywood doing orchestrations for films. He even "seriously considered" moving to Los Angeles but stayed on the East Coast and eventually got the job with Mr. O'Brien's house band.
Mr. Vivino moved to California a few years ago when Mr. O'Brien took over hosting "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno. But after a much-publicized debacle in which Mr. O'Brien left the show and NBC, the host and his crew found themselves without a television home.
"I'm working not for but with the greatest bunch of people," Mr. Vivino said. "Conan really showed his love for all of us and the family aspect of his upbringing. When things went bad, he assured us that things were going to (improve) if we would stick with him."
Mr. Vivino did, and soon he went out on the road with Mr. O'Brien and the rest of the gang for "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour," a live show the comedian did until he was contractually allowed to return to television. Mr. O'Brien eventually found a home on TBS with his new show, "Conan," and Mr. Vivino took over from longtime bandleader Max Weinberg to lead the new house band, the Basic Cable Band.
They "left the rat race," Mr. Vivino said, and found in TBS a great place to make music and comedy.
"And that's really the best thing that's happened to us, is sticking together and hanging with it," he said. "It's tough to not jump ship, but when you got a guy like Conan telling you something, I believe him."
The show shoots four days a week, which offers Mr. Vivino plenty of time to make music with some other groups, like the Barn Burners, a band that recently reformed after the death of former leader Levon Helm, also known for his work with the Band.
"I'm on a red-eye (flight) most likely Thursday night east or west or south or wherever it takes me. I'm restless about sitting around on the weekend and not playing music," Mr. Vivino said, adding with a laugh, "I am a really transplanted New Yorker that doesn't really know what to do here on the weekend."
The Honesdale festival offers music in the borough's downtown from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Activity on the main stage starts at 1:15 p.m. and will include performances by Emish, the Badlees and Pat O'Shea and the Honest Men in addition to the Barn Burners. The night will close with the Late Night Ramble, featuring music by Pat O'Shea and the Honest Men at the Cooperage, 1030 Main St., from 10 p.m. to midnight. Several artists also will display their work around town during the day.
The Barn Burners play a lot of music from the Band plus Muddy Waters and rockabilly, and Mr. Vivino expects they will throw in some originals, too, from his latest album. And a few more people might even join the Barn Burners on stage, Mr. Vivino said, especially if he runs into anyone he knows.
"I'm sure we're going to pick up a few stragglers and put them up on stage," he said.
Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com, @cheaneyTT on TwitterIf you go
What: Eighth annual Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival
When: Saturday
Where: Downtown Honesdale
Downtown bands: Shows run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Performers include Doug Rogers & the Hoy Polloy, the Antique Emporium, 1040 Main St.; Merchants of Groove, RE/MAX Wayne, 416 Main St. at Fourth Street; Freight Train Boogie, Dave's Super Duper, 200 Willow Ave.; Sidetracked, R3 Hardware, 541 Main St.; Chasin' the Dog, Fred Miller Pavilion, Main Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets; Two Steps Back, the Home Front, 833 Main St.; Poison Love, between 933 and 939 Main St.
Main stage: Mayor's proclamation, 1:15 p.m.; national anthem sung by Leah Schweighofer, 1:20 p.m.; Emish, 1:30 p.m.; The Badlees, 3:20 p.m.; Pat O'Shea and the Honest Men, 5:15 p.m.; Raffle Drawing, 7 p.m.; and Jimmy Vivino and the Barn Burners, 7:45 p.m.; Central Park.
Late Night Ramble: with Pat O'Shea and the Honest Men, the Cooperage, 1030 Main St. 10 p.m. to midnight.
Details: Admission is free. For more information, visit www.honesdaleroots andrhythm.com.
BCS Rankings 2012 vampire diaries derek jeter Red Bull Stratos Redbull Stratos steve mcnair vice presidential debate
No comments:
Post a Comment