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A funny thing happened this week while we were taping the show. It was John [Rzeznik]'s birthday and everybody really made an effort to bring him presents. Everywhere he turned, it was cake and choruses of "Happy Birthday." Little did we know, he absolutely hates his birthday! He was trying to be as polite as he could be but he just wasn't handling it well.
Fortunately, the bands had better luck than he did. This week, they're doing songs from Queen, a heavy rock act that morphed into this huge global pop act. I don't want to ruin anything but there are a couple of whopping surprises. One of the bands has a change in their line-up, and another one really embraces theatrics in their performance.
We have a small but loyal audience so, regardless of the size, we're dedicated to making this show as good as it can be. I've done some TV shows where I feel a bit embarrassed afterwards but I'm actually proud of this show.
If it had been a lot of the same bands, it would have been a bit tedious. But there are big bands and teeny bands and punk and country. I'm really proud of the variety of artists because there's something for everyone!
Fox's The Next Great American Band airs Fridays at 8 pm/ET.
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I'm sitting here looking at the Sydney skyline waiting for my flight to America to judge The Next Great American Band [Fridays at 8 pm/ET, on Fox]. I fly back-and-forth every week because I'm also judging Australian Idol at the moment. I was putting on a brave face at first but, luckily, I'm never in America long enough to get jetlagged!
Like Idol, this show deals with people's aspirations and dreams. I was really disappointed last week when Franklin Bridge was voted off. I don't know what happened! They blew us away when they first played so I don't know why the public didn't embrace them.
It's a little frustrating because, at the moment, it appears that I'm the only person in the world who loves the show. I'm a pretty honest person and, if we were making bad television, I'd be the first to admit it. But the thing that makes it worth it is the fact that I get to judge some incredibly talented bands. Nobody can take that away from me.
The biggest advice I've got for these guys is to imagine themselves not as contestants but artists. They should imagine themselves as the sort of artists that play gigs in front of roomfuls of real, paying people, the sort of artists that will be doing interviews and having articles written about them. What I'm really saying is start to walk it like you want to talk it. Start being fascinating.
Happy Thanksgiving! Have a great holiday.
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