Amir Questlove–Thompson

Like, watching the Teamster guys and the crew guys, like, at furious pace, in two minutes, like, build an entire set while, you know, the artists are quick-changing in the back, and, well, they make it in two minutes flat, and... To me, that's the best part of the show, like watching the choreography of a well-oiled machine.

Like, watching the Teamster guys and the crew guys, like, at furious pace, in two minutes, like, build an entire set while, you know, the artists are quick-changing in the back, and, well, they make it in two minutes flat, and... To me, that's the best part of the show, like watching the choreography of a well-oiled machine.

Absolutely. So even though Paul Schaefer was the first generation SNL late night band, when Paul went to the David Letterman show, which, you know, I will say that the David Letterman talk show, especially in its first season, 10 years. It was such a kind of 80s counterculture moment. My parents always felt that those guys were hip, even though they were like totally nerdy.

Absolutely. So even though Paul Schaefer was the first generation SNL late night band, when Paul went to the David Letterman show, which, you know, I will say that the David Letterman talk show, especially in its first season, 10 years. It was such a kind of 80s counterculture moment. My parents always felt that those guys were hip, even though they were like totally nerdy.

Absolutely. So even though Paul Schaefer was the first generation SNL late night band, when Paul went to the David Letterman show, which, you know, I will say that the David Letterman talk show, especially in its first season, 10 years. It was such a kind of 80s counterculture moment. My parents always felt that those guys were hip, even though they were like totally nerdy.

They kind of liked the irony hip, the nerdy hip of Paul and David Letterman. And so as a kid, I just—you know, Paul was just, like, the coolest guy ever. And so, you know, I mean, at the time, I didn't realize as a 10-year-old that, you know, someone were to come to me and say, you know, young man, in 35 years, that will be you on television.

They kind of liked the irony hip, the nerdy hip of Paul and David Letterman. And so as a kid, I just—you know, Paul was just, like, the coolest guy ever. And so, you know, I mean, at the time, I didn't realize as a 10-year-old that, you know, someone were to come to me and say, you know, young man, in 35 years, that will be you on television.

They kind of liked the irony hip, the nerdy hip of Paul and David Letterman. And so as a kid, I just—you know, Paul was just, like, the coolest guy ever. And so, you know, I mean, at the time, I didn't realize as a 10-year-old that, you know, someone were to come to me and say, you know, young man, in 35 years, that will be you on television.

Like, you know, like my version of, you know, a Christmas story, you know, like my Jacob Marley. But— To me, when I was offered the late night thing, when you're doing the pros and the cons of it all, Yeah, in my head, I was like, wow, you know, this is my chance to be the Paul Schaefer. But Paul's very unique. I'm definitely not the Paul Schaefer of The Tonight Show.

Like, you know, like my version of, you know, a Christmas story, you know, like my Jacob Marley. But— To me, when I was offered the late night thing, when you're doing the pros and the cons of it all, Yeah, in my head, I was like, wow, you know, this is my chance to be the Paul Schaefer. But Paul's very unique. I'm definitely not the Paul Schaefer of The Tonight Show.

Like, you know, like my version of, you know, a Christmas story, you know, like my Jacob Marley. But— To me, when I was offered the late night thing, when you're doing the pros and the cons of it all, Yeah, in my head, I was like, wow, you know, this is my chance to be the Paul Schaefer. But Paul's very unique. I'm definitely not the Paul Schaefer of The Tonight Show.

Like, you know, Paul and David almost have this Run DMC-esque finish each other's sentence kind of camaraderie going on. I'm not there with Jimmy yet, but, you know, I've made my mark still.

Like, you know, Paul and David almost have this Run DMC-esque finish each other's sentence kind of camaraderie going on. I'm not there with Jimmy yet, but, you know, I've made my mark still.

Like, you know, Paul and David almost have this Run DMC-esque finish each other's sentence kind of camaraderie going on. I'm not there with Jimmy yet, but, you know, I've made my mark still.

All the time. Um, I can tell what type of artists we're dealing with based on how late the camera blocking the rehearsal, the day of is, and, um, kind of a way that artists handle, um, that control issue is usually with time. Oftentimes we'll get an artist that will drag their feet. It's now 10 minutes late. It's now 15 minutes late. And the artists don't understand like,

All the time. Um, I can tell what type of artists we're dealing with based on how late the camera blocking the rehearsal, the day of is, and, um, kind of a way that artists handle, um, that control issue is usually with time. Oftentimes we'll get an artist that will drag their feet. It's now 10 minutes late. It's now 15 minutes late. And the artists don't understand like,

All the time. Um, I can tell what type of artists we're dealing with based on how late the camera blocking the rehearsal, the day of is, and, um, kind of a way that artists handle, um, that control issue is usually with time. Oftentimes we'll get an artist that will drag their feet. It's now 10 minutes late. It's now 15 minutes late. And the artists don't understand like,

blue collar and white collar office politics like, hey, we're a union group and we have to take an hour break at this specific time. And, you know, the things that they don't generally get, you know, artists are sometimes in their own ecosystem, their own world, their own bubble where they're not thinking like, oh, am I going over union time? Like,

blue collar and white collar office politics like, hey, we're a union group and we have to take an hour break at this specific time. And, you know, the things that they don't generally get, you know, artists are sometimes in their own ecosystem, their own world, their own bubble where they're not thinking like, oh, am I going over union time? Like,

blue collar and white collar office politics like, hey, we're a union group and we have to take an hour break at this specific time. And, you know, the things that they don't generally get, you know, artists are sometimes in their own ecosystem, their own world, their own bubble where they're not thinking like, oh, am I going over union time? Like,