Hotmail
|
'American Idol' producers hope their new band-focused music
competition will be a (guitar) smashing success
By Dave
Lake
MSN TV
Is "American Idol" too
bland for you? Does Clay Aiken bring an achin' to your ears? Does Katharine McPhee make you want to flee? Then perhaps "The Next Great American Band"
(premiering Friday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. on FOX), the new band-centered reality
competition from the folks who produce "American Idol," will be the musical cure
to your doldrums.
"The Next Great American Band" official
site
But just how closely will "American Band" resemble
"American Idol"? "It will be similar," said executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. The show will follow 12 bands, which
were whittled down from 14,000 demos submitted primarily via MySpace, and whose
ultimate fate will be in the hands of the show's viewers.
John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, percussionist Sheila E., and Ian "Dicko" Dickson of "Australian Idol" will serve
as judges. When asked whether there was "a Simon" amongst the trio, Lythgoe
confirmed there was. "[Dicko] fits that category of saying it like it is. But
it's not a cruel thing," he added. "He's not there to help anybody." Lythgoe
also said that Sheila E. would be honest with the hopefuls. "She got up there at
one point and started playing with one of the bands. She will try and help where
possible, but she's not 'the Paula' -- all heart. I think she's
just desperate to see good musicians succeed."
Also from an international variant of "Idol" is host Dominic Bowden, who hosts the New Zealand version of the singing competition.
One difference between "American Band" and "American Idol" is that the show
is band-focused and not about individual singers. Bands will be asked to play
their own material in addition to the songs of notable songwriters. "We are not
putting a band together," Lythgoe said. "We're introducing talented bands to the
television market."
The premiere episode will feature songs by Bob Dylan, an artist who has never loaned songs to "American
Idol." But rather than asking bands to ape Dylan's sound and style, competitors
will be asked to morph the classic Dylan tracks into their own styles, which
vary from country to alternative rock to big band. A few of the bands have even
had record deals over the years, but eventually lost them.
Another
difference is that "American Band" won't have a results show. Producers will jam
everything into a single episode. The eliminated bands won't be revealed until
the top of the following week's show. Lythgoe revealed that two bands would be
sent home during the first two weeks of the show, while one band would be
eliminated during each of the series' subsequent weeks.
With "American
Band" airing on Friday nights, a traditionally slow night for television, the
show isn't likely to attract the kind of huge audience "Idol" does, though that
could also help the show find a devoted viewership. While previous rock 'n' roll
reality competitions haven't proved particularly encore-worthy, USA has had
success with several seasons of "Nashville Star," a sort
of countrified version of "American Idol," and CBS ran two seasons of Mark
Burnett's "Rock Star," one featuring '80s
hit makers INXS and a second featuring the hard rock supergroup known as
Supernova.
"The Next Great American Band" airs
Fridays at 8 p.m. on FOX.
