Conan OBrien bid farewell do his longtime house band, most members of which have performed alongside the late-night host for 25 years, on Thursdays Conan, which also marked the hosts final TBS episode in its standard hour-long format.
There is one change on the horizon that makes me quite sad, OBrien said of Conans 2019 shift. In January, when our show transitions to the new half-hour format, our band will not be with us. Since we began this journey 25 years ago, my band has been a daily source of joy in my life.
OBrien added, These remarkable musicians have given their talent, energy, enthusiasm and incredible showmanship to over 4,000 hours.
The host then reminisced about the bands 25-year tenure, from the Max Weinberg 7 era on Late Night With Conan OBrien to their brief Tonight Show stay to the Legally Prohibited Band tour to the formation of the Jimmy Vivino & The Basic Cable Band when Conan came to TBS in November 2010.
Throughout OBriens television journey, the house bands members guitarist Vivino, trombonist Richie LaBamba Rosenberg, keyboardist Scott Healy, bassist Mike Merritt, trumpeter Mark Pender, multi-instrumentalist Jerry Vivino and, since 2009, percussionist James Wormworth have been at the hosts side.
Following the tribute, OBrien gave his usual musical guest spot another feature that will leave the show in 2019 to Jimmy Vivino & The Basic Cable Band, who performed a fiery (and perhaps tongue-in-cheek) rendition of Howlin Wolfs blues classic Killing Floor.
The revamped Conan premieres in January. The late-night show will still air four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, albeit in 30-minute form, allowing OBrien to also splinter off into digital properties like podcasts.