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Extra Website: Kevin Eubanks Won’t Lead TONIGHT Band??
I am – Hercules!!
Is longtime “Tonight Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks to join former “Tonight Show” announcer Stuttering John Melendez on the Leno scrapheap?
The website for Warner Bros.' “Extra” entertainment news show says it has a source that confirms Eubanks will be replaced when NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” returns to 11:35 p.m. on March 1. Apparently someone named Lisa Stanley reported the same thing on Los Angeles radio station KRTH-FM.
Eubanks, famous for cackling at the lamest of Leno monologues, was also bandleader for “The Jay Leno Show.”
NBC denies the report, but Extra’s site still has the story, which can be found here.
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...or a sense of humor?
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It seems to me that this will be a "fresh start" for the tonight show. Leno will be back, but different and doing the same show in a different way.
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So NBC is considering Darius Rucker? What about hiring the Blowfish too? Blowfish gotta eat! Capture that 1995 frat boy demographic.
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…if they replaced Eubanks with Hootie, most of Leno's audience wouldn't even notice.
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...they get La Bamba or whatever his name is from CoCo? that would be a very low blow...or what bout John Mayer...hes lookin for work now isnt he?
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That fucking scumbag Jay stole the tonight show from Conan - pretending he was going to retire and shit. He doesn't need the money but I guess NBC was scared he'd go to some other network. Leno's a passive-aggressive dick whose audience is old people who are dying - smart move NBC. Abandon ship Kevin - I wouldn't want to be associated with Jay at this point either. I hope guests just refuse to go on his show. Fuck Jay.
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A penguin, wearing a bowtie. I basically want Opus to get the gig.
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and brandford marsalis.
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someone had to say it.
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Leno's going to bomb, and they have no one left to turn to. They have failed epically. They could have avoided this mess back in 2004 by just letting Jay stay until his 60's and letting Conan walk away back when he was still cutting edge (I hate to admit that, as a longtime Conan fan) instead of keeping him at 12:30 for another 5 years. I hope the silver lining from Coco is that it will reinvigorate him and shake up his skills b/c he and his staff got really stale; maybe it was the bigger budget, but looking back at the latenight days, they were able to create so much with so little.
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that guy is the worst.
he won't even sit up. -
Conan and his staff didn't get stale, they just had to pander to an 11:30 audience. So if they're guilty of anything, it's selling out. Still, the Conan Tonight Show was 1 billion times better than Leno's Tonight Show.
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He'll let you know what you're getting into. Eubanks apparently didn't have much of a problem with being an ass kisser (which the job entails, according to Marsalis).
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Proves Eubanks has some form of talent.
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Getting rid of the ever-faithful band leader too? That's fucking low, NBC.
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That there hasn't been a single promo aired during the Olympics coverage announcing his return. I guess there's plenty of time left, and maybe they're not quite sure how it's going to go over, but they've got to at least throw something out there and assess reactions.
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Not even out of curiosity guys.
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besides Eubanks? No one will watch the show anyway.
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He made a fortune for pretending to laugh at Jay Leno, and now he can spend the rest of his life doing whatever he wants in music, like Branford Marsalis. Leno's the black hole of funny, and Kevin the astronaut from 2001 who survived.
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That way it doesn't count in the ratings.
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I hope the 1st guest walks off the show after sitting down for 7 seconds
"I am sorry Jay. I know I told you I'd do the show, but I changed my mind. Well, we had 7 good seconds of what I promised. Bye now."
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nice 2001 reference
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comics felt they needed to have a band anyway.
Fronted by a twit who laughs at the hosts jokes when the audience doesn't, or who performs rim shots for jokes that bomb.
It's like some prehistoric throwback to the days of Vaudeville.
Dump them already. -
With 10 minutes of Awkward silence. And then Letterman is the second.
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Feb 16, 2010 3:53:41 PM CST
I hear the first guests are Pamaler Anderson and Niggalas Cage
by joelseph01
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Oh, the irony Kevin...
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HAHAHAHA! baba booey!
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You realize that outside of this site and a few others that cater to teenage and twenty something losers that the vast majority of the country does NOT feel the way you guys do about Leno. Leno didn't lose any audience at 10pm, he still doubled Conan and Letterman's audiences, and the vast majority of Hollywood doesn't hate him. As far as being a bandleader having to kiss the Host's ass, are you guys talking about Paul Schaeffer?
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Eubanks was very vocal about conana getting the shaft, he even went on one of the news shows and said Leno was a changed man, obsessed and power hungry, eubanks also was quated as saying Leno's drug problems had gotten so out of hand that firnds were scared for his life.is it possible Leno had eubanks fired?
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Branford Marsalis, the original Leno bandleader, left early because he didn't want to be Jay's "bitch." Maybe Eubanks woke up after an 18-year nap and decided the same thing.
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Except everything they run in that 10 PM slot has been doing better than Leno. Face it, the guy's an unfunny has-been.
That's why everyone under the age of 80 or who owns a tv with more than one channel hates Jay Leno.
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Feb 16, 2010 4:40:25 PM CST
You can record Kev, "That's cold, Jay!" and play it over
by onin solstice
Eubanks had enough lame ass Leno jokes. Let Leno find another stooge to validate the garbage he calls comedy.
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That is why you fail, Coughlins Law.
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I went to watch the tonight show in 2008, and 'off' camera he was a humble and charming guy, who won me over. The whole band and stuttering Steve the warm up man all seemed genuinely fond of Jay and the show.
So there you have it, I was unsure about the guy, in 2008 found myself watching his show on TV each night and liking his monologues, went to watch it being recorded, was completely won over. End of, so far as I'm concerned, but oh yes this 10pm show was SHITE. -
Leno didn't lose any audience at 10pm?
Weird....how did reruns of Law and Order last week at 10pm gain a larger audience than leno's show? -
Kevin Eubanks is as plain and boring as musicians come. Now if only Leno went the hell away...
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Time to put some money on this!
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Now I really won't watch.
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It's the only explanation.
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his audience is he was apparently averaging the same numbers at 10 that he did on The Tonight Show. However, that was part of the problem. He was getting Late Night numbers in Primetime. But that's not to say his entire Tonight Show audience followed him to his earlier time. Sure, some probably did, possibly even 60%; the same 60% that Conan supposedly lost when he took over the show. Which was another problem with Leno's 10pm show - splitting The Tonight Show audience between 2 shows.
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Uh...oh...
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My hero...He can slap a mean bass too.
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Maybe not, but still... Eubanks makes Steve Urkel look like Malcolm X.
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I always wanted to see Kevin sing one more time. Would be a shame to see him go without a final bow.
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They might as well go with recorded music...that would be commensurate with the level or the show's coma-inducing production.
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Is Les Paul still alive? Or what about Bill Hailey?
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...where did all the Jay hate go? Is anybody actually going to be watching the show? If not, why does this matter. If so....why does this matter? lol It's just the "band guy", and Eubanks has been making a joke out of himself for years. Same with Paul Shaffer. They're both very talented guys, but they're punch lines (ha! yes!). Nothing more.
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without Eubanks' trademark laugh and "bah-da-dum, DUMMMMMM" guitar riff after every damn joke in Leno's monologue?
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...then it will speak to a specific strategy Leno is using...to make his show, and him, seem less white. Is there anything about him that isn't contrived?
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Feb 16, 2010 8:45:03 PM CST
Are there any more ways NBC can fuck up the 11:35 time slot?
by indiana-joe
This whole moving Jay back to 11:35 thing was only going to have a chance if there was little to no change. His audience isn't the kind of people that want change. They want their Jay Walking on whatever night and their headlines on whatever night and their the band is on pot joke every night. When they tune in and see that the nice black fella who always laughed at Jay's jokes is gone they'll probably be confused and not come back. They might have gotten 75 or 80 percent of the audience back if they used the same set and had the exact same show. Change doesn't equal good for Leno's future.
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Feb 16, 2010 9:01:48 PM CST
Jimmy Kimmels bandleader did a hilarious impersonation of Eubank
by sighborg
Search for it. It's dead on. The cackling laugh, the pandering.
While Kimmel's Leno was funny. His bandleader's Eubanks was brutal. -
I was *just* about to post the same thing you did, then noticed as I was logging on that you'd already done the job for me. That guy's Eubanks was really unappreciated. And here I am not knowing his name.
As to Leno picking black bandleaders to seem "less white," didn't Kushnick pick Marsalis because she actually enjoyed his music? -
Marsalis hated Leno's ass...and it showed. His leaving the Tonight Show had a clear reason...and they found Kevin...a black guy much more willing to laugh at Leno's jokes...the term "shuffle and jive" comes to mind.
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...with Marc Allen where he says he found out the job of Leno's band leader required him to be an ass-kisser, and he "aint no ass-kisser".
http://tinyurl.com/y86s4sq -
are all sucking Conan's dick. God forbid somebody has a differing opinion from you tards. How does it feel to be Conan's downfall? Start watching his show live and maybe then he'll be a success.
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Sell-out!!! You know Eubanks was fired!!!!
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Someone more popular than "Hercules"? Yes.
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he'll laugh just as hard every time leno does a joke about making whoopee.
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I won't ever see Eubanks' replacement either.
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It's amazing how many people still think this whole thing was Leno's fault. lol
In all seriousness, I honestly DO hope all the outspoken O'Brien supporters tune in to his new show (wherever it may be) *every night*, because they certainly didn't before he was let go. And I'm not being sarcastic--I really want the guy to succeed. -
I won't ever see Eubanks' replacement either.
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yeah that was my first thought too, you might be right.
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Was probably done to tap into Arsenio's demographic. At least that was how it came off to some at the time.
And Coughlin's Laws is probably that flaming intern that Leno used to exploit. -
right
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I'm pretty much done with late night network tv. If I'm in the mood to watch something after The Daily Show, I might turn on Letterman. Or not. I really wish Colin ferguson was on earlier, that guy is funny and fun to watch in spite of not usually having any
A listers on as guests.
And as much as I like Conan, I think the best thing for him to do in the future would be to do something else, like creating tv shows or movies.
I thought that goofy private eye show he made for Andy had a lot of promise ( only had 6 episodes though).I just think if he goes back to late night talk show format it'll have too much of a been there done that vibe. The guy's too good to be stuck in that stale old format.
Either way, I aint watchin Leno, I doubt if he or NBC will miss me or my demographic though.
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Fail.Glib, are we? Obviously, the dubiousness of Father Coughlins is lost on you (or perhaps you don't mind it...) and you appear to have missed the brunt of his trolling as well as the point of contention that most Talkbackers have with the recent debacle at ol' NBC.
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you dont even know his fuckin name. GJ.
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sure he can retire. But why should he? If he still wants to work and the network is willing to keep him on then whatever. Also I enjoy Coughlin's trolling. It's so ridiculous to see this site with almost 100 percent unanimous opinion on something. Conan aint all that great. In a perfect world NBC would just drop out of this race since both Leno and Conan are stale as dog shit and just give it to Ferguson (who does what Conan does only a million times better these days) and Letterman. I don't even know why I'm ranting anymore about this. It's old news. And now everyone's being a bunch of sore losers around here.
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Scummy bastard works harder and harder each day to distance himself from the situations he ensures he is put in.
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I hate the guy. All of it, his lame ass humour, his pretend nice guy shtick, his unwillingness to even thank Johnny Carson on his first Tonight Show.
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If Leno shot and murdered someone, it wouldn't be his fault....it would be their fault for getting in the way of the bullet.
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...lost all that many viewers. The Nielson Group conduct their polls on something like only 5,000 TVs across the nation, and from what I understand they pretty much monitor the TV-viewing habits of "wholesome" families, since they're the ones who complain the most about what's on television. These people were NEVER going to watch Conan O'Brien with his "weird" humor, and few of "those kinds of people" are going to stay up later than midnight, so Jay was just right for those being monitored by the Nielson Group. I'm willing to bet Conan was doing just fine, only those 5,000 or so televisions that the Nielson Group monitors didn't reflect it. It's sad when 5,000 carefully selected TVs speack for over 300,000,000 viewers. People always say that we Conan supporters should've been watching him, so that none of this would've happened...well, I DID watch him, almost every single night, as did my girlfriend and roommate. I tend to think Conan was doing all right, maybe not as POWERHOUSE as Leno apparently was, but well enough. Those Nielson numbers frighten the HELL outta advertisers, though, and that's usually the nail in the coffin for every great shows--just looked at the Firefly TV series, canceled b/c it was supposedly failing, yet it had enough of a following to demand a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! It couldn't have been doing TOO badly in actual fact, just those darn Nielsons again, scaring away sponsors. Sigh...anyways...we're all just floating...
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with a trained seal that barks on command in exchange for sardines. No one will know the difference.
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Feb 17, 2010 8:50:32 AM CST
Update: Kevin Eubanks to be replaced with Kevin Sorbo.
by snake foreskin
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Feb 17, 2010 8:53:34 AM CST
Update: Kevin Dillon replaced by some other guy named...
by snake foreskin
Bruce.
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at Leno's lame jokes. That's what hell would be like for Conan O'Brien.
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Feb 17, 2010 10:47:15 AM CST
THIS JUST IN: Leno hires toy chimp banging cymbals as bandleader
by spyguy
"CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" said a unnamed source close to the toy chimp.
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You are missing one key item champ, the affiliates ratings dropped like a stone. That is what propelled the change, and that is a local issue, not a national nielsen issue. I love me some Conan, but he was killing the locals with the bad ratings - and huge losses in revenue. I hope he jumps to HBO, not Fox.
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...as new Tonight Show band. On March 1, the chirp of a lone cricket is heard, echoing across the face of the continental United States.
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When Trey and Matt eviscerate Leno on one of their South Park episodes. Here's hoping for that scenario anyway...
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Jeff Zucker STILL HAS A JOB!!! Guess all of corporate America operates on the "nothing succeeds like failure" system now.
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This is how NBC generates buzz for the return of Leno? OMG Kevin might not come back!
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Are you an idiot? Leno was the one killing the affiliates and the reason NBC lost it.
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Feb 17, 2010 2:05:58 PM CST
On Valentine's Day, Kevin Eubanks is replaced by an iPod
by royston lodge
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I'm sure he'll pass the buck on this one, too.
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Bitterness is a poison you swallow to kill Jay Leno. Ponder THAT next time you're taking a dump, Herc.
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What about that guy that fronted Magic Johnson's talk show band? On about the same style of "humor." Leno is such a pariah now, I hope people continue to remember what a back-stabbing, classless doucher he really is.
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Conan wasn't killing the affiliates with bad ratings, it was LENO'S SHOW! How can Conan's bad ratings bring down the affiliates when he comes on AFTER THEM?! Leno was to blame for that one.
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Anyone else notice that the Late Show marquee was recently modified to add Paul Shaffer's name under Letterman's? Looks like that partnership is only getting stronger after almost 30 years.
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yea my bad, i fucked that one up -it was Lenos fault with the locals
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That's cold man....
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that fucker was downright Shakespearen in his laughing!
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...certainly not in the league of Carson's band or even Conan's. Could not care less if Kevin walked.
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He was an old guest voice of theirs after all.
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Check it on youtube tomorrow or something for you horn dogs.
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... during the Olympics tonight? It featured a smirking Leno driving one of his convertibles down PCH. It was disgusting.
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the one who starts howling after Kevin starts up his guitar?
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...of all of his former trappings, which include Eubanks and Melendez. Won't work, though - everyone will still see him as the grasping, backstabbing jerk he is. He's outed forever.
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Feb 18, 2010 7:17:03 AM CST
Naw, South Park burned Leno in the Fishsticks episode
by jaylenotookmyjob
He retold the Fishsticks joke in a way that was completely unfunny and just laid there like a festering scab. But of course cartoon-Eubanks laughed his damn head off.
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Talk about aging 1995 fratboy demographic. And of course it gives Leno's staff of manatees several easy jokes per show with Leno ribbing Adam Duritz over his faux-dreads. The only lamer geriatric-Gen X band I can think of would be Smash Mouth but I hope none of Leno's producers see that suggestion!!!
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Kevin and his band always sounded mediocre. Lack of chemistry? I don't know...because there's some quality musicians in that group. But man, they always sounded weak...no spark at all.
Compare them to Conan's band or even Kimmel's...No contest. Doc Sevrenson's (sp) band owned all. Check YouTube for the clip of John Mclaughlin on guitar with Doc on the tonight show ripping up Cherokee. Why can't we see musicianship like that anymore?
And mucho respect to Branford. He compromises nothing for his music. You could tell he hated that gig in those early Jay episodes...he really came off as a dick. It was best for all involved that he left. -
Hard to believe Chris Elliot is her father. Either she's adopted or the mother is a blind super model who doesn't know what Chris looks like
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No one but Kevin Eubanks can belieably laugh at horrible jokes. Jay is doomed.
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Feb 18, 2010 4:20:31 PM CST
Only a matter of time and Leno will be canned yet again
by pizza the hut
Who will fill the late night slots? Fallon??? BWWWAAAAAhahahahahahaahahaaaaa!!!!
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...the real question is...who will care? He's the boy who cried "retirement"...only to come back against many peoples' wishes. Next time he leaves and crafts some phony goodbye...will anyone actually give a shit...or will people rejoice? I'm guessing more will be in the latter category.
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Here's my idea for a new reality series: NBC hires a complete stranger off the street to head up their programming slate, and then the series follows this completely "unqualified" person as they make better, more widely accepted and more profitable decisions than those currently doing the job. I dare you NBC...do SOMETHING before your entire network is gone.
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Fuck the Olympics....it's the fucking bandwagon of sports...where people who don't even like sports watch and convince themselves that they enjoy it.
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Might be a good idea, if no management heads are rolling yet.
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Just like him lying with a bunch of kids at the end of Tonight Show only to come back to it and that moment will be a physica tv moment to show how false it is.
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wonder who will NBC get to replace him. I doubt many people would want that tarnished job.
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on NBC. It's the kiss of death... I have a guess who would want the Tonight Show after Leno leaves: Jimmy Fallon, Carson Daly, every current and former member of SNL, every Stand-Up to ever have an HBO or Comedy Central special, every writer for every Late Night talk show, every writer for every current or former sitcom, etc, etc, etc...
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I just read Jett's comment way up top...truly funny shit man
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I just read Jett's comment way up top...truly funny shit man
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Promoting Jay's return, You never once can see Leno's eyes! He has no soul!
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maybe thats why Kevin left him
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So, he really could be Jay Leno
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my bad. k
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