The "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" house band, Cleto and the Cletones, knows that all musicians deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. From left: Jimmy Earl (bass), Toshi Yanagi (guitar), Cleto Escobedo Jr. (alto/tenor sax), Cleto Escobedo III (bandleader; alto, tenor & soprano sax), Jeff Babko (keyboard), Jonathan Dresel (drums). [Photo by Jason Poss]
Musicians Tell TV Networks:
#RespectTheBand!
Musicians this week held a rally and performed outside ABC headquarters in New York. Elected leaders and others in the entertainment industry joined the musicians for speeches, chanting, and a whole lot of music.
Musicians have been negotiating a new contract for over two years with ABC, CBS, and NBC for work performed on work done on live or recorded television programs initially aired over a broadcast network or in syndication, including variety shows, awards shows, game shows, talk shows, morning shows and sports broadcasts. They chose to rally outside ABC because this round of negotiations is happening inside ABC headquarters.
“I’m a proud union musician," said Alvester Garnett, a noted jazz drummer and educator who has performed as guest on numerous live television shows. "Musicians just want our slice of the pie. We aren’t asking for the whole pie—just the same slice other performers working on these very same shows get.”
Show your support by signing the online petition at afm.org/band.
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