[Trombone-l] Dancing with the Stars

[ALEX ILES]

Hi Z,

DWS is a fun job. Harold Wheeler is the m.d. Great guy and fantastic 
musician. The band is great too. The usual bones are Andy Martin, 
Reggie Young and bass bonist Craig Gosnell. Reggie has a very busy 
touring schedule with Earth, Wind and Fire, so I get to fill in once in 
a while. There's a quick run through of the music in the morning,then a 
quick run through with the dancers. Then a dress with everyone. Then 
the show that afternoon. Not a lot of musical rehearsing. Just get it 
together quick...Harold and Tom Ranier write most of the charts 
especially for each show. It's a pretty amazing chore to get all the 
numbers arranged and on the bandstand in short order!! [while dealing 
with sometimes temperamental amateur dancers in the process!!]

The producers [mostly all from the UK] treat the band really well. The 
judges and all the contestants are all very nice too. They sometimes 
come out to hear gigs and concerts when the players mention it to 
them!!

And there is always PLENTY to look at on-stage too...[!!!]

There can be some pressure as everything is played LIVE, but the 
thought that crosses the band members' minds the most...."We're 
actually getting PAID for this?!?!"

LX
==========================
On Mar 12, 2007, at 10:26 PM, zemry1 wrote:

> How was the experience of Dancing with the Stars? How many practice 
> sessions
> are there, if any? Is the music arranged especially for the show?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu
> [mailto:trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu] On Behalf Of ALEX 
> ILES
> Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 11:09 PM
> To: Bill Langston
> Cc: trombone-l at samford.edu
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Lawrence Welk (off-topic tangent)
>
>
> Most of the live TV shows you see today [even dubious shows like
> "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars"] are performed LIVE by
> LIVE musicians. Once in a while, something is pre-recorded. It might be
> the opening title music and a few "bumpers"--the music used to take the
> show in/out of commercial breaks-- and maybe some of the music for the
> [non-competing] guest acts.  I get to sub once in a while on "Dancing
> with the Stars" and that is almost ALL live music. The only
> pre-recorded material might be the opening credits.
>
> LX
>
>