The 8G Band for Late Night with Seth Meyers
When Seth Meyers assumes his new seat as the host of Late Night, he’s bringing one of his former SNL castmates with him: Fred Armisen will take over duties the show’s bandleader.
Meyers tweeted the news earlier:
Here’s the first photo of the new @LateNightSeth band! #8GBand pic.twitter.com/jR07bDIZXQ
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 10, 2014
Fred will curate and lead the band, and continue to run it even when he’s off shooting Portlandia. #8GBand
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 10, 2014
Joining the show’s 8G Band with Armisen are (from left to right in the photo): Seth Jabour (Les Savy Fav) on guitar; Kimberly Thompson (session drummer who has played for Beyoncé and many others) on drums; Eli Janney (Girls Against Boys) on keyboards; and Syd Butler (Les Savy Fav) on bass.
“I have always been a fan of Girls Against Boys, Les Savy Fav, and Beyoncé,” Armisen told Splitsider about his new 8G bandmates. “Eli Janney is such a huge part of making that deep, dense sound that Girls Against Boys are known for. Les Savy Fav are so great. Their live shows are among some of the best I’ve ever seen. Syd and Seth are the perfect mix of noisy and melodic. Kim Thompson is an incredible drummer. Getting to watch her play is the best thing ever.”
He added: “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to write a TV show theme.”
It’ll be quite an SNL reunion when Late Night With Seth Meyers kicks off on Monday, Feb. 24: The show is overseen by SNL creator Lorne Michaels, while fellow SNL alumna Amy Poehler is scheduled to be Meyers’ first guest.
As for Armisen’s bona fides, he has a long history in music, having played drums in Chicago punk band Trenchmouth and contributing to indie outfit Les Savy Fav’s albums.
And moreover, this isn’t the only new musical gig for Armisen. A little over two weeks ago, it was announced that he’d be releasing a series of 7″ singles from all his fake SNL bands, including the Bjelland Brothers:
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