Know Any Good Bands?

People all over town have been asking and after months of silence, I am now able to talk about the new show "The Next Great American Band".

The Idol Magic
Earlier this week, fellow producers at 19 Entertainment announced a new American Idol style band search and why not? The Next Great American Band (American Band) is a spin-off of American Idol which is a modern, re-hashed version of Ed McMahon's Star Search. AI is arguably one of THE most popular network reality competition shows of all time. Really, nothing more than a talent competition re-applied to different concepts.

I really loved Star Search as a kid and dreamed of being one day on the show. Junior Singer?, Dancer?, Comedian?, Model? - Nope, I was eyeing Ed McMahon's job as THE HOST...Seacrest, I'm watching you...

It's Still Rock-n-Roll To Me
The new competition will involve scouring the country to find the best "undiscovered" band. I have heard this concept thousands of times and have seen many renditions of this format, more recently the CBS Morning Show even had a similar competition.

A panel of judges (Ala "Simon like") will pour through the contestants in the auditions and determine the 10 semi-finalists who will compete on the show in front of a live studio audience. Audience members and viewers at home will get to vote for their favorite - sound Idol familiar?

Where Are The Real Musicians?
This version of competition is for bands, albeit "Garage", where there are actual musicians at least two or three of the members must play instruments. Sorry new up and coming boy bands, this may not be your ticket, unless you can play an instrument. Where was this show 15 years ago? Even better would New Edition, New Kids on The Block, N'Sync, Back Street Boys, 98 Degrees and LFO have made it through the fire of a panel of judges and a viewing audience of voters? Ah, what do we know.

We are looking at a possible Fall schedule for the program. Stay tuned...