HOLLYWOOD, CA – Band from TV is a collaboration of TV stars/musicians that has raised more than $2 million over the last three years for various causes, first organized and led by Heroes actor Greg Grunberg. For the band's rehearsal space, which doubles as an intimate performance venue, Grunberg is using a new QSC Audio K-Series loudspeaker.
"My oldest son has epilepsy and I saw this band as a wonderful vehicle to help raise money for the National Epilepsy Foundation," comments Grunberg. "Having band mates who also happen to be in some of the most popular shows on television creates an amazing opportunity to really reach out to our fans to help support these wonderful causes."
Along with Grunberg, a veteran TV actor who has also appeared on Alias and Felicity, Band from TV has also performed with other musicians/actors, including James Denton (guitar, Desperate Housewives); Hugh Laurie (keyboards & vocals, House) Bob Guiney (vocals, The Bachelor, GSN Live), Jesse Spencer (violin, House), Adrian Pasdar (guitar, Heroes), and Scott Grimes (keyboards/vocals, ER, American Dad). Rounding out the band are musicians Chris Kelley, Barry Sarna, Jon Sarna, Chris Mostert and child star turned bass player Brad Savage.
Organizations that have received funding from Band from TV include TalkAboutIt.org, The Conservation Fund, Rush University Medical Center/Epilepsy Center, The Art of Elysium, the Child Abuse Prevention Program, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Lupus LA and The Indiana University-Kenya Partnership. Support for additional charitable organizations are in the works.
"You cannot play with our band without giving us a charity to donate to, and every time we play, each celebrity gets to donate at least $10,000 to a charity," Grunderg said. "QSC Audio, Sears, Lowes, etc., love what we're doing, they love the fact that we support the charities that they support and they are able to help us out with what we need, which helps so many people."
The new rehearsal/performance space, Grunberg adds, is called the Band from TV Showroom. "We just recently completed this really cool place," he said. "For the past three years, we had a lock-out rehearsal space that we'd pay way too much for, but the key for us was to leave our equipment, come in a flip one switch and play. But we never had the great sound. But now that we've built our own space, we literally wanted – and I know this is going to sound like a commercial – the absolute best sound possible."
While the Band From TV Showroom will be used primarily as a rehearsal space, it's has also been designed to be used to host small charity events with about 100 guests.
"In investigating all of the great products out there, after going to every leading retailer throughout all of Los Angeles, every sales person would say, ‘you could go with this or with that brand, but if you really wanted to step-it-up, you should get a QSC K-Series System.' I'm not kidding you – that happened at least six times; three times to me, and three times to Brad Savage, our bassist. It was obvious. We were going to get the QSC Audio K-Series."
Two QSC Audio K-10s are suspended from the ceiling trusses, which provide the majority of the vocal foldback for all of the band members on stage, with two K-Subs providing low-end punch. Two QSC K-8s are used as stage monitors, with one of the K-8s handling triple duty by providing foldback to Grunberg, the percussionist and the bassist, with the second K-8 providing foldback to "the musicians up front and the backup singers," he noted.
Grunberg continued, "I don't use in-ear monitors, therefore I really need clear sound around me." Since Band From TV is a big band, with sometimes over 12 musicians onstage, "I need to have a clean mix, and I have to hear all the vocal cues, horns, fiddle, and the timing has to be right. The wedge I use has to have a really good mix for me, and the K-8 delivers."
With so many musicians onstage, Band From TV really puts the K-Series loudspeakers through their paces. "QSC can take much, much more than any other amp or loudspeaker that I've listened to," said Grunberg. "And the K-Series are capable of handling much more signal, which keeping it clean without distortion."
Upon getting the K-Series loudspeakers down to the Showroom, Band From TV promptly played eight songs to evaluate their new tools, in their yet-unfinished rehearsal space.
"We didn't have the sound dampening insulation installed, no fine tuning at all, we didn't put the speakers in the proper places, it was just a thrown-together rehearsal," said Grunberg. "And the speakers sounded sooooo good, and now with them properly installed and EQ-ed, they sound 10 times better."
Grunberg added that the gear helps the band rehearse better, tighter, longer, and more efficiently, with less ear fatigue. "Everyone trying to be louder than someone else, that's just the nature of not being able to hear yourself and hear others. As a drummer, I am always trying to play softer and have more dynamics to every song. You have to come from a place where the song is exciting. If you can't hear what's going on, and you're constantly playing louder, well, you don't have to do that with QSC K-Series. It's a big difference."
And what does the future hold for Band From TV? "We have a lot of gigs coming up in 2010," said Grunberg, "and this studio is the one thing that we have finally done for ourselves in the three years we have been together as a band. And it's going to generate so much money for the charities," he added, also thanking QSC Audio for its support.
For more information, please visit www.bandfromtv.org and www.qscaudio.com
