Kimmel’s street party rages on
When “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” shut down Hollywood Boulevard for a Paul McCartney concert two years ago, so many people turned up that the former Beatle, gazing into a sea of humanity, cracked, “You all right back there in … Santa Monica?”
Musical performances have long been a hallmark of late-night television, but Kimmel tries to take it to another level, in part, as the host explains in an interview in his office, because musicians were about the only guests he could book when his program began 12 years ago. Now he’s mashing up bands from past and present and occasionally shutting down traffic in Hollywood for the likes of Van Halen, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.
“Better that than for the premiere of some crappy action movie across the street,” Kimmel says, nodding toward the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. He’s not hearing many complaints, though. An edited transcript of our conversation follows
Q: You closed down Hollywood Boulevard right off the bat with Coldplay on your first show. What do you remember about that night?
A: It was the end of our first show, and there was a lot of pressure. I remember sitting on the steps of the theater, seeing all these people and not really believing that everyone, including Coldplay, had come to my show. I had reached the finish line. Of course, I was forgetting the fact that I had five more shows to do that week. And we probably had no idea who our guest was the next night.
Q: In the early days you taped the show live. Did the later hour cause any problems with the neighbors?
A: Not so much. You’d be surprised. People in Hollywood were OK with music at 10 p.m. Except when Korn played. They had speakers stacked up 20 feet high. It was like they were trying to kill everyone in the audience.
Q: You’ve done several of these music mashups, Wee-Z Top (Weezer and ZZ Top playing together), REO Speedragons (REO Speedwagon and Imagine Dragons). Do you have a favorite?
A: Probably Kenny and Warren G. That was the one I was most worried about. I don’t think Kenny G was overly familiar with the Warren G version of “Regulate,” but he knew the Doobie Brothers riff really well. So he latched on to that, and it was just a very pleasant surprise.
Q: How many more of these do you have planned?
A: We have many, many planned. The whole thing started when I saw a performance of Huey Lewis and the Foo Fighters in Japan. Huey Lewis and the Foos. I love a good pun. In fact, we spend way too much time around here thinking up stupid puns. I couldn’t even begin to add up the hours.
Q: What’s the dream pairing?
A: I would really like to get TLC and Sia together.
— Tribune Newspapers
Birthdays: Actress Eva Marie Saint is 91. Actress Gina Lollobrigida is 88. Playwright Neil Simon is 88. First daughter Malia Obama is 17.