DVD/CD Review: Band From TV

If you “Desperate Housewives” fans thought James Denton (Mike) looked completely natural playing in a band when Blue Odyssey made its debut on the show, that’s because he was.

You see, in real life, Denton is a member of Band From TV…

For the past few years, the band has been performing at various venues to benefit some wonderful causes. And now they’ve released a DVD/CD to benefit those causes even more.

“Hoggin’ All the Covers” features the original members of the band: Denton, Hugh Laurie (“House”), Bob Guiney (“The Bachelor”), Bonnie Somerville (“Cashmere Mafia”), and founder Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”) [The band has since been joined by Jesse Spencer (“House”) and Teri Hatcher (“Desperate Housewives”).]. They’re backed by a group of professional musicians and backup singers.

But if you think this is just a group of celebrities that think they have talent when they really don’t, you’d be wrong because the band has some serious musical chops. Grunberg is a phenomenal drummer and he has a pretty good voice too. Guiney has got a good pop voice and Somerville could out-Janis Joplin Janis Joplin. Denton has got a great country twang, not to mention a pretty solid Elvis impersonation. And Laurie is an extremely gifted keyboardist with a pretty good voice himself.

The DVD/CD features a live performance as the band rips through an eclectic group of classic covers like “Piece of My Heart,” “You Really Got Me” and “Viva Las Vegas.” Music Director Chris Kelley does a great job with the arrangements including putting “Pink Cadillac" over “The Theme From Peter Gunn” (which sounds really cool).

But in all honesty, Band From TV isn’t about sounding good (although they do). It’s about having fun. And as the DVD shows, they have a lot of it.

And the fact that all that fun is for charity just makes it that much better…

Proceeds from the DVD/CD will benefit the favorite charities of the band members: the Epilepsy Foundation (Grunberg), Save the Children (Laurie), Donate Life (Denton), The Art of Elysium (Guiney) and the Child Abuse Prevention Program (Somerville).

And not only will you get to see the concert on the DVD, but you’ll also get hilarious interviews with the five celebrities and the professionals that back them up. And there’s an interview with Greg Grunberg about his charity and how the band got together. Plus don’t miss the backstage time lapse feature to hear the fab five doing a great rendition of “Man of Constant Sorrows” (which they don’t do during the concert).

During this season of giving, we always see people doing good for others. It’s nice to see people who do it all year long—and enjoy doing it as much as these people do...

“Hoggin’ All the Covers” is available exclusively at Amazon.com. You can purchase it here.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com