Rickey Minor to Replace Kevin Eubanks as the MD for the Tonight Show

Commreman · #1 04-14-2010, 01:20 PM

Not that I'm usually up late enough to watch the Tonight Show, but today it was made official that Rickey Minor will take over the reigns of the Tonight Show band from Kevin Eubanks at the conclusion of this season of American Idol. Another nail in the coffin of AI; great news for the Tonight Show, Rickey, and bassists everywhere!

stingray56funk · #2 04-14-2010, 01:24 PM

cool news indeed! Nice to see a bassman at the front!

EricF · #3 04-14-2010, 01:29 PM

Interesting contrast of opinions...

Rickey Minor leaving Idol for Leno

Dr. Cheese · #4 04-14-2010, 01:49 PM

I have got to think that if Rickey Minor values his integrity, playing The Tonight Show has got to be a better gig. He will play good music between segments, and he will back some decent musical guests. AI is nothing but pure hack work, IMO.

Commreman · #5 04-14-2010, 02:00 PM

Both threads got posted at the same time. Maybe the mods can merge them.

I agree wholeheartedly with the good Dr. Cheese. While AI is more high profile (not this year, but in the past), on the Tonight show, Rickey will be backing pros for a change instead of "Band - e - okie".

TC2112 · #6 04-14-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commreman

Not that I'm usually up late enough to watch the Tonight Show, but today it was made official that Rickey Minor will take over the reigns of the Tonight Show band from Kevin Eubanks at the conclusion of this season of American Idol. Another nail in the coffin of AI; great news for the Tonight Show, Rickey, and bassists everywhere!

well......it's probably not great news for the existing bassist of the Tonight Show

JimK · #7 04-14-2010, 03:17 PM

I wasn't sure if it was still Robert Hurst...Wiki sez it is.
Hurst & Smitty Smith are total bad asses in either an acoustic or electric vibe.

Once upon a time, Kevin Eubanks was putting out some heavy records...hopefully, he'll have some time to do so more.
His brother, Robin, is doing pretty OK.

And back in the day, Joel DiBartolo was smokin'.
One of a few electric bassists that could swing his ass off.

JimmyM · #8 04-14-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC2112

well......it's probably not great news for the existing bassist of the Tonight Show

great news for me! i hate the tonight show and that scumbag leno and i think the idol band is the worst on tv. great when they're in their funk/broadway element, horrible at everything else.

eddievanbassman · #9 04-14-2010, 03:32 PM

NOOOOOOOOO!!! I love Kevin Eubanks....hes hilarious

Grateful · #10 04-14-2010, 03:40 PM

I say congrats to Rickey if it makes him happy!

I worked on the same show with him (but in a different capacity) for a few years and can honestly say that he is genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met. He always took time answer dumb questions about his gear and how he arrived at it. He's just a really down to earth guy, and I wish him the best of luck to him at his new gig!

IMHO, the band was always the unsung hero of that show. The contestants had to learn 1 song a week. Rickey and his band had to pull off up to 24 or more tunes, and they all had to be perfect as to not screw up the amateur singers performing.

JimmyM · #11 04-14-2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grateful

I say congrats to Rickey if it makes him happy!

I worked on the same show with him (but in a different capacity) for a few years and can honestly say that he is genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met. He always took time answer dumb questions about his gear and how he arrived at it. He's just a really down to earth guy, and I wish him the best of luck to him at his new gig!

that's a little refreshing to hear. all i ever hear is how aggressively he networks and how ruthless he can be. oh well, i've met nice people who were pretty ruthless in business.

i still don't like that band, though. they should let the guitarist run it. he's killer.

testing1two · #12 04-14-2010, 04:31 PM

I've worked with Rickey on several shows and when you have his attention he's great...getting his attention can be difficult. He loves to be busy and while he's working on one gig he's setting up 5 others. The man is definitely a hustler (to his credit).

But make no mistake, this is more about Rickey seeing the predictable decline of AI once Simon Cowell leaves and keeping his name & face on hi-profile TV gigs. Don't expect a musical metamorphosis on The Tonight Show. These talk show gigs require about 3 hours a day from the band and no outside rehearsal. Knowing Rickey, he has 15+ years worth of charts to draw from so he won't even need to break a sweat.

But career maneuvering aside he's a damn fine bass player and MD and I wish him great success in spite of Leno (sorry, I'll always be on Team Coco).

Munjibunga · #13 04-14-2010, 04:34 PM

Did you guys see that long close-up of Rickey's Sadowsky headstock on AI last night? Roger's gotta be loving that.

bottomzone · #14 04-14-2010, 07:18 PM

Interesting! I'll definitely be checking him out! Who else is he hiring for his band? Will Paul Jackson, Jr. be the new AI MD or will he join Ricky on the Tonight Show?

A Groove is a Terrible Thin gto Waste!

burk48237 · #15 04-14-2010, 07:56 PM

I think its cool to have a bassist leader, especially on that show where the band leader gets a lot of publicity. I have a friend who worked with Ricky Minor on Fox's "Great American Band" and he says nothing but good things about him.

JAUQO III-X · #16 04-14-2010, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC2112

well......it's probably not great news for the existing bassist of the Tonight Show

That would be Derrick Murdock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5KQLaunxIE

And Rickey Minor is a very nice and down to earth person(and always extremely busy).

svtb15 · #17 04-14-2010, 08:32 PM

+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 and on an on..

I never liked Eubanks sound.

.its that snotty front end overdrive through a Hotplate on a Mesa , with a hardwood Rivera or whatever guitar.. Its so saturated and mid heavy the rest of the band disappears in the mix. Terrible sound. It has the sound that jazz guy gets when he want to try to be a rock player. It would be like Angus Young trying to be a like Segovia.. Both good at what they do but know your limits. Eubanks has not figured that out yet.. Terrible rock tone and that is all he uses..

There are lots of great Mesa guitar sounds out there. His is NOT one of them..The sound that he gets is that Mesa sound that gives mesa a bad name among some major league guitar purists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

great news for me! i hate the tonight show and that scumbag leno and i think the idol band is the worst on tv. great when they're in their funk/broadway element, horrible at everything else.

svtb15 · #18 04-14-2010, 08:33 PM

Ricky Minor is a Pros Pro.. +1

Quote:

Originally Posted by burk48237

I think its cool to have a bassist leader, especially on that show where the band leader gets a lot of publicity. I have a friend who worked with Ricky Minor on Fox's "Great American Band" and he says nothing but good things about him.

svtb15 · #19 04-14-2010, 08:35 PM

Yeah that was a nice shot.. Nice 4 string. Roger must be loving it too...

I never watched taht show but Casey James one of the contestants, plays in one of the cover bands that i do when im home.. so i feel like i need to watch it now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Did you guys see that long close-up of Rickey's Sadowsky headstock on AI last night? Roger's gotta be loving that.

JAUQO III-X · #20 04-14-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svtb15

+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 and on an on..

I never liked Eubanks sound.

.its that snotty front end overdrive through a Hotplate on a Mesa , with a hardwood Rivera or whatever guitar.. Its so saturated and mid heavy the rest of the band disappears in the mix. Terrible sound. It has the sound that jazz guy gets when he want to try to be a rock player. It would be like Angus Young trying to be a like Segovia.. Both good at what they do but know your limits. Eubanks has not figured that out yet.. Terrible rock tone and that is all he uses..

There are lots of great Mesa guitar sounds out there. His is NOT one of them..The sound that he gets is that Mesa sound that gives mesa a bad name among some major league guitar purists.

If you want to hear some serious jazz guitar playing with serious jazz guitar tone. Check out Kevin Eubanks first solo recording as a leader called Kevin Eubanks guitarist.