SHIFTING GEAR
RICH ECKHARDT
Television: the True Final Frontier
I recognize that I’m here to boldly go into
the studio, on stage and on television and
share my experiences with you guys, so
you’re more prepared than I was when
you’re doing those things. One area where
I have a tremendous amount of experience
to share is in performing on television. I’ve
done numerous appearances on a large
variety of shows, including The Tonight
Show, The Today Show, Regis and Kelly,
Ellen, Later, Grand Ole Opry Live, The Late
Show with Craig Kilborn, CMT Total Access,
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Austin City Limits,
Music City Tonight and even Extreme Home
Makeover. I’ve played the halftime show in
Dallas on Thanksgiving—I even performed
at the Superbowl when Janet Jackson infamously had that wardrobe malfunction! I’ve
also done country and pop award shows,
and I’ve even jammed on European TV.
Rich Eckhardt performing on The Early Show in New York
City. Photo by Cristle Chapman.
Learn to make more of less.
You would think that when it comes to
performing on TV, you’d have all the best
work conditions and all your killer gear, so
you and your band could make the most
substantial impact possible on the millions
of people tuning in to watch. Don’t I wish!
Unfortunately, in the midst of a heavy tour
schedule, it’s not always feasible to get
your “A” rig from coast to coast in time.
More often than not when I’ve done Jay
Leno, we’ve flown in from another city halfway across the country, and I have to rely
exclusively on my
Roland GT- 8 pedalboard under my
feet and a rented
amp behind me. In
these instances, it’s
vitally important to
have a fly rig that
you can count on
to sound as close
to your main setup
as possible. After
much programming
and tweaking, my
GT- 8 is pretty close,
but I have to admit
there’s no substitute for the massive
rig I have with me every night on tour. It’ll
move the hair on my legs when I stand in
front of it and jam. Most of the major television shows that have live entertainment
will film in either New York or Los Angeles,
so I’ve arranged with the good people at
Kustom to have the Coupe amps that I play
available for me from either SIR (Studio
Instrument Rentals) or Center Staging in
those cities. My Production Manager will
secure one for me whenever we get called
on to do one of the major network shows.
Don’t mess with the Union!
Once on The Tonight Show we built our
monitor mixes and ran through the song
that we’d be playing a few times. Then they
were ready to do their camera blocking. The
crew began lowering the wall that would
isolate us from the audience until we started
our portion of the show. As the wall was
slowly moving toward the floor, it was about
to come to rest on top of a stage light sitting on the ground near me. I started to
lean forward to drag the light towards me
and out of harm’s way, and I quickly realized
that there were three Tonight Show staffers
who were closer to it than I was, and they
weren’t making any effort to move it—so
I stopped myself and pretended I was just
nervously pacing instead. The wall stopped
just inches above it. It turns out the light
in question had to be moved by a union
lighting technician. He was summoned by
walkie-talkie, and we all waited until he got
there. He moved the light eight inches for
the wall to clear it, and we went on with the
camera block. I thought it was silly. I could
have yanked that thing and reset it myself
in a few seconds, but that’s not the way it’s
done in TV land.
Be ready for any old thing.
There was another time while filming
The Today Show when the backline company brought me the wrong amp. It was
a Kustom like we asked for, but it was an
old full tuck-and-roll Kustom from the early
‘70s. A vintage amp can be a beautiful
thing… unless it doesn’t work. Then it’s a
doorstop! I literally had to bang on the top
of the amp with my fist (something I did
gladly out of frustration, I might add) just
before cameras went red in order to get
through the three songs we did for a viewing audience of 15 million.
Keep it in perspective.
I’m passing along these experiences to
you this month so that you’ll know what to
expect when your big break comes, and
they turn the cameras on you. It’s never
going to be a perfect scenario, and pitching a royal rock ‘n’ roll fit won’t fix anything. You’re gonna have to get out there
and give it your best. At that point, just
remember there are 10,000 pickers who
would love to be there doing what you’re
doing. Steal a moment to look around and
take it all in. In spite of all the incidental
problems, you just made the big time!
Keep Jammin’.
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists
in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put
him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing
lead guitar with Toby Keith. His new album Cottage City
Firehouse is available at his website and CDBaby.com
