Off Limits: Lyle Lovett

Running Video Description Time Code 00:02 Various city/band setup Shots Lovett OC Shots of band practice Sam OC Narration Cold Open: Sound Up: Lyle Lovett: Tomorrow will be 47 shows in 54 days In a way its sort of like getting to go to musician fantasy camp. Sam Bush: Ive never been in an ensemble this big since I was in high school band. (music up) Lyle Lovett: Theyre doing what theyre doing to bring my songs to life. Thats a great feeling.

Lyle OC

00:31 00:53

OFF LIMITS Packaged Opening Shots of audience and band onstage Key: Lyle Lovett and his Large Band / Bass Performance Hall / Fort Worth, Texas, USA Band singing around microphone Sound Up: Audience claps. Lyle takes stage and starts to perform.

01:20

VO 1.1: Narrator: Rarely does a singer/songwriter as unique as Lyle Lovett come along. The four-time Grammy Award winner has been a fixture on the popular music scene since his first self-titled album, Lyle Lovett was released in 1986. With a career spanning 3 decades and 13 albums, his distinctive sound has been described as a blend of folk, swing, country, blues, jazz and gospel. Its this style of eclectic genreblending that has won the hearts of legions of loyal music fans worldwide. Much Lyle Lovetts success can be attributed to his dedication to reach out to his fans through live performances. He is

on the road each and every year, for several months at a time. Touring with his Large Band of 15 musicians is the only way to re-create the textured sound achieved in the recording studio. Lyle Lovetts singular style of down-home simplicity, mixed with the clever complexity of his lyrics, and presented with the support of some of this centurys most talented musicians, makes each show appear easy. What fans will never see is that delivering Lovetts distinctive music for a live audience in a different venue every night is an art in it itself. Sound Up: Stagehands grunt while lifting a grand piano 02:37 Stagehands loading equipment onto the truck Band singing around microphone. VO 1.2 Narrator: Where the art is most visible is on stage. There, Lyle Lovett surrounds himself with some of the best talent Austin, Nashville and Los Angeles has to offer. Gifted artists who help bring his music from the page to the stage. The Large Bands 15 members are as diverse as the recording artists catalogue of songs. Russ Kunkel is one of the most sought after drummers in American music history. His beats have graced 30 years of classic recordings for the likes of James Taylor, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne amongst countless others.

03:12

Russ OC in suit and tie Russ: One of the things thats great about Lyle as a band leader is that the musicians that he picks to be in his band are exemplary. Russ: I mean, every single seat every player is really, really great. Thats the main with the exception of Lyle, its the main reason I like to come our here and do this because Im on stage with really, really great players.

Russ OC with drum kit Key: Russ Kunkel / Drums

Sound Up: (Tuning guitars) 03:37 3 Strings on stage preparing VO 1.3: Narrator: Sam Bush has been dubbed the King of Newgrass. He is one of North Americas premier Mandolin players and his lightning fast solos add a distinctive bluegrass texture to Lyle Lovetts music.

03:50

Sam and fiddle player OC Key: Sam Bush / Mandolin Sam speaking OC

Sam playing

Sam: I get to be the occasional visitor in the Lyle Lovett Band and um, its a great situation because Ive known Lyle since the 80s Sam: when he and John Hagen and James Gilmer opened a few shows for the band I was in called New Grass Revival. You know, immediately, we knew that there was something special about this guy, and he wasnt just another singer/songwriter. And it was, you know, the most unique songs youd ever heard, great singer, fine guitar player. VO 1.4: Narrator: One of the youngest on tour with Lyle Lovett, Viktor Krauss, has played bass with a whos who of contemporary musicians. The list includes Elvis Costello, Carly Simon, and John Fogerty. Rounding out the super group is James Gilmer on percussion and John Hagen on cello, old friends who have been performing with Lyle since his humble beginnings back in the early 1980s. They wear his music catalogue like a favorite pair of jeans. James: Lyle and I have been, we were friends before we started working together, and you know, I think well always be friends. But you know, James: to stand up with these musicians I

04:16

Man Tying Tie

04:44

CU Drum kit and brush

James OC

Key: James Gilmer / mean Victor Krause on base and Sam Bush Percussion / Road Manager is here on Mandolin. Mitch Watkins and Ray Herndon on guitars. John Hagen who CU Guitar plays cello whos been with us forever and then to stand next to Russ Kunkel every night, you know, I mean, thats. Thats great. 05:11 Drum Kit VO 1.5: Narrator: Moving that greatness from town to town during a live tour takes an entirely different set of talents, but requires the same strict attention to timing and detail. Lyle: this is our 53rd day and our 46th show. Lyle: Tomorrow will be 47 shows in 54 days, and its a rigorous schedule but its kind of what we have to do when we take out the large band just because there are so many of us. There are 30 of us in the band and crew all together, counting our drivers. And you know, we carry 3 busses 3 coaches for the band and the crew and 2 semi-trucks for the equipment, sound, lights and all the gear. And uh our drivers are great our crew is great. Those guys work so hard. They are the first guys there, everyday. You know, they sleep on the bus. They roll overnight, no matter how close or how far the next show is. They wake up in the parking lot of the venue that were playing on a given day, and they get off the bus, and they go right to work, they start unloading the trucks with the help of the local stagehands that are hired for the day. Sound Up: Jack Albeck: Im gonna throw our cable pick on that same beam for the front truss, and Ill go in front of you and Jack: a cable will be breasted back to the proscenium with the sheave up top I said

5:20

(Visual: Flash to white) Key: Lyle Lovett / Singer / Songwriter On the Road Lyle OC

06:27

Stage hands taking equipment to stage Jack OC Key: Jack Albeck /

Lighting Director / Production Manager

breast. (smiles) Jack: The key is keeping track of the hands in the beginning allocating them to the departments so they all have tasks to do, otherwise if we dont get the tasks started, people tend to wander off without direction, and you lose control of the entire day. So as long as you keep it started the right way, itll finish the right way. VO 1.6: Narrator: A tour this size requires staggering-logistics: three busses for the musicians and crew, and two tractor-trailers devoted to their gear. Moving this many people on a grueling schedule of back-toback dates can only be accomplished by a life lived largely on the road. While the team of technicians begins setting up for tonights show, Lyle relaxes on his own bus, recovering from yet another overnight ride.

07:05

Jack directing stagehands at night Equipment being moved to dark stage

07:33

Key: Lyle Lovetts Tour Bus / 10:30am / 9 hours to showtime Pan to Lyle on Bus. Lyle OC

Sound Up: Lyle: Well, yall come on in. These coaches are, we lease these coaches through a company in Nashville, and you know they set em up, they always give us really nice, new equipment. And, we sleep back here. Lyle: When were playing 6 nights a week, I do try to sleep. I try to sleep as long as I can, which is not always a long time, but I do try to it just helps with the physical nature of singing. Sound Up: Lyle: With 8 of us on the bus, we use the bottom 2 tiers for sleeping, and then the top tiers we use for storage. (Camera shows it) The junk bunk is how they refer to it. We sleep here. I sleep down here (Camera shows it) sometimes. I have a - my guitar is sleeping in here right now. Thats about it. Lyle: Its not quite the same as when

Lyle Driving Lyle OC

youre sleeping and not moving, but it has a kind of an active effect on your dreams - it does for me, I mean you can dream some crazy stuff when youre rolling down the road, so thats kind of interesting. We had one week where every night we had 500 plus. 6 nights in a row we had a 500 plus mile drive, so every night sleeping on the bus, and you can - at the end of the week you can sort of feel that. I mean its nice when you can get to spend a night in a hotel or a night or 2. 09:21 Key: Lighting Trusses Assembled / 11am / 8 hours 30 minutes to showtime Lighting trusses being pushed into place Truck back of truss 09:45 Jack OC Brian walking away from camera Jack: This is very standard. A front truss and a back truss. Theres about 144 lights. So its a nice size. With a 16-piece band this time, its just about the right number. Sound Up: Brian Gilbert: This is what happens when we get in a hurry. We just have to fix this can here. Well fix that up. Itll just take a couple of minutes to do.

Key: Bryan Gilbert / Lighting Technician 10:01

10:47

Brian: Its pretty easy, you just bolt it up and hang it and run the cable, you know, run it to the dimmer, check it, let Jack Truss in lower right, Brain touch it. After he does a pre-focus we raise center left. it up in the air and do an actual real focus, when everythings down on the ground. Dewey makes sure our consoles working because every night, you know something could happen in the truck. It could get beat up, you could knock a chip out of it. Its real bad when the roads are real bad, and if the consoles in the wrong place in the truck it sort of jumps around it can bounce around, then the next day you get it going with the console, you open it up and reset chips and you know, do maintenance on it. John OC, directing stagehand Sound Up: John Richards: This one will

go right around the truss in the back. Someone will tell ya same thing. This one will go downstage by the handle you see right there. 10:57 John walking left to stagehand Lyle OC driving Lyle: John Richards, who I met in 1988 and who Ive been working with ever since I havent gone on tour without John Richards since 1988. Hes just, hes such a smart and hard working guy I mean, he just rolls up his sleeves and does whatever needs to be done and he always puts a great crew together for us. Hes just the heart and soul of the crew. John: Were waiting we have to get the lighting truss out of the way before we can fly the PA. Its in front of the PA. Also we have to wait on the riggers to get all the steel up. This guy; see if you can get a picture of this guy. Theres a guy in the hole up there. Hes gonna take, thats called basket right there those 2 pieces of steel. Hes gonna take that basket up and tie it around the steel thats in the ceiling. Whats gonna happen: Its gonna end up on 2 pieces of steel like this (uses hands), so the point ends up hanging in the middle. You know, some days you come in and you go well I want the point here and they say well it cant be here because theres not a hole in the ceiling or the weight wont hold it up here so we kind of have to go, where the weight the PA weighs about 2000 pounds, so we have to go in the ceiling where itll hold that much weight up. We work at the riggers pace because its really dangerous, really dangerous stuff. If they fall they fall right? Dangerous work. Thats why they get the big bucks. VO 2.1: Narrator: Tonights show in Fort Worth, Texas, will be a special one for Lyle Lovett. A proud Texan, he knows the fans will expect a great show. And there will be

11:25

WS of Auditorium with working stagehands in foreground. Key: John Richards / Front of House Sound Engineer

12:22 City Shots Beauty shot of concert poster

the added pleasure of entertaining his family and friends who will be joining the audience. Since the tour is near its end and tonights show is sold out, the usual local media circus wont be present for pre-show interviews. 12:49 Key: Tioga, Texas, USA / 11:30am / 8 hours to showtime Pan of Corral VO 2.2: Narrator: Lovett takes advantage of this relative calm before the performance to ease some stress by visiting his horses in near-by Tioga, Texas. Born to a family of ranchers, he has recently taken to breeding and competing reining horses.

Reining has a long American history, and looks like the western form of dressage: riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops.
Lyle is passionate about the breeding of his Stock horses and he approaches his riding with the same discipline that he applies to his music. Sometimes it even helps to get the creative juices flowing. 13:25 Lyle OC driving Key: Lyle Lovett / Singer / Songwriter Lyle: I ride some really, to learn about it and because its fun. You know and Ive ridden all my life but I never went to a horse show. I never competed in a horse show in my life until, gosh, 5 years ago. Sound up: Woman: She loves being pet on. Lyle: Well shes easy to like (laughs)

13:54

WS of Lyle and Tim on horse Key: Tim McQuay / Horse Reigning Champion / Breeder

Lyle: Tim is not only a great professional rider, competitor, hes such a good teacher too, you know these guys are so knowledgeable and you see how when they ask the horse to do the things they want it to do, its very low stress on the horse. And

thats a nice feeling when the horse does its job willingly. Going out and riding the horse those are activities that do support the creative side of things, well because riding a horse with a guy like Tim McQuay, it does inspire your imagination. Its more of a just something that makes you think. I do enjoy pursuing things that Im interested in but of course, I dont get to ride the horses as much as Id like, but the trade off is, when Im not home getting to ride my horse, Im getting to play a song and thats something else that I really love to do. So I consider myself extraordinarily lucky in that regard, and I certainly realize that not everybodys able to do something for a living that he loves to do, that he would do for fun if he werent able to do it for a living. Sound up: Lyle: (does a reigning trick spins the horse around in a circle) 15:36 Transition graphic Pan/tilt right/up of audience view Key Sound Setup / 12:30pm / 7 hours to showtime Key Jacob Perkins / Sound Technician Jacob setting up audio gear and cable

Lyle trotting on horse

Lyle OC driving

Jacob: So these cables carry all the audio that has to be processed before it goes to the speakers. Jacob: Were also multi-tasking as were about to pull the snake through the hole. You ready Jerry? Jerry: Ready! (He pulls up cables with a rope)

Jacob pulling cables through hole in floor

Jacob: And this is what brings all the audio from the stage to the mixing console. On the stage well put up all the

microphones, the microphones go to one central box, and from that box, all of it comes through to up here. Once it comes in here we take it to these racks to be processed, and then it goes back through one of these to the stage to go to the speaker system. 16:28 Lighting truss being raised Sound Up: (Lighting truss being raised) Jack Albeck: Uh, were going to go just a touch higher. Right there. Beautiful Stagehand: Love it in every way? Jack: I really do. Jack: We have a sponsorship deal with Yamaha, and that pianos ours for the tour and thats our piano every single day so sound wise, we always stay consistent. I bring a local tuner in everyday, and we tune the piano before sound check, and I have a tuner come back after sound check and touch it up right before the show. Sound Up: Stagehands lift a grand piano onto staging. 17:20 Key: Instrument Setup / 1pm / 6 hours 30 minutes to showtime Ryan OC Key: Ryan Coleman / Band Technician Ryan: Well we got the amps that the musicians use and we got different things; you got cello and this is the violin set-up. We got mandolin and acoustic guitar, electric guitar, so its setting up their pedals and their cables. Making sure theres no noises or anything. Like the singers dont require any set-up but the instrumentalists, theres pedal steel, guitar, bass, the drummer, percussion, cello, violin, mandolin, guitar an electric guitar, and then Lyles got 2 acoustic guitars. And then the piano, which Gary takes care of the piano, so, quite a few instruments and connections and amplifiers and things to deal with you know, but I set up the risers and do all the amps and try to use as much help as

Jack OC Key: Jack Albeck / Lighting Director / Production Manager

possible. you know I play guitar and have a band and so Im familiar with how to set them up and how to work on the gear and I kinda know how to do it from playing with my own group so that helps a lot. I think thats how most back line and instrument techs start- because they play music themselves. 18:42 Key: Lighting Check / 1:30pm / 6 hours to showtime WS chairs and John walking across background John OC Key: John Richards / Front of House Sound Engineer Sound Up: (Instruments Tuning) Jack: Just a hair offstage John: Were gonna level these 2 boxes out. You look at the top box on the stack, its pointed right at this seat. So were gonna get the other box pointed right at the seat. Then well know after that that theyre going to hear it right here. The stack; every box in the stack has its own amplifier so we can adjust the stack from top to bottom. The ones at the top will be louder than the ones at the bottom when we get finished. Lyle: I tell you- the crew- they just work so hard. and I think thats the way life is really. Theres only nothing happening if you let it be that way. And certainly, when traveling around with 30 people and getting to go to a different city almost every day over a 2-month period, man, theres a lot going on. Jack: Well its about 7 minutes to 2, which is about 7 minutes away from our 4 hours. And ideally in 7 minutes ideally were done with out initial set-up. We release the local crew then we take over and start doing sound, line checks, and getting ready for the band so its been a great day. All went according to plan (smiles). VO 2.3 Narrator: With Technical set-up now complete, the tight schedule will only allow

19:21

WS zoom of stage setup Lyle OC driving

19:48

Key: Set-up Complete / 1:50 pm / 5 hours 40 minutes to showtime Jack OC

20:11

(Visual Transition) \Key: Band Arrives for

Sound Check / 3:45pm / 3 hours 45 minutes to showtime

the musicians and Sound Engineer John Richards less than an hour to get their sound dialed-in for the new venue. Sound Up: (Ray Herndon vocals)

20:26

CU of man too close to microphone Jack OC

Jack: Lyles been out for a while. Next thing thats gonna happen is the bands going to be arriving, getting ready for sound check and well be practicing some of the songs and keeping up what theyve got going on for the show for the day.

20:38

Lyle +Performers on stage

Sound Up: (Band arriving, General vocal and instrument warm up Lyle greets Billy Williams.) Lyle: Billy Williams has produced every piece of music that Ive ever recorded. From my first Demos in 1984 to all of our records. So he came to Fort Worth to help us finish the tour. Billy: Is that where we are? (laughs)

Lyle and Billy OC

21:06

21:28

Billy: Lyle gets a lot of mental relief if Im here listening for him. And he feels he Billy OC doesnt - I think he probably feels that he Key: Billy Williams / Music feels a little bit more secure that someone is Director / Studio Producer helping. I think you would describe it as listening to the band, analyzing whats happening, to see if theyve drifted into anything that can be corrected. MS of Sound Board Russ: Sound check in a 16-piece band is considerably different than a sound check with a 4 piece band. It can be chaotic if Russ OC behind Drum Kit everybody wasnt as conscientious as they Key: Russ Kunkel / Drums are, that we only have a certain amount of time to do it, and no-one wants to be up here any longer than they have to. They want to give the front of house mixer and the monitor mixer everything that they need. But, uh, it could be pandemonium.

21:54

CU man with guitar Quick ZOut to Sam

Sound Up: Sam Bush: This is the bluegrass side of the stage (more guitar rehearsal) Sam: One of the things Ive learned - Ive never been in an ensemble this big since I was in high school band is that the larger the number of people it seems, or thats the way this group plays. The larger the number of people, the less you play, the less notes you play, and you have to keep your parts sparse, otherwise its just gonna be a big cluttered mess. And um, so between Lyle and Billy Williams and the way the songs are arranged. It really it stays uncluttered but when it gets big it gets really big. But at the same time, everybody - you gotta stick to you part. Sound Up: Lyle: Hey Sammy, on Up in Indiana were gonna stick with our regular game plan. Well just do our normal arrangement. Bllly No extensions Lyle: That okay? And, so alright, lets run that. Billy: Lyle, he knows what he wants, as you can tell by when you hear his music, you know its Lyle, because of Lyle, not because of something that some of us have done. We just sort of help him get what he wants. Sound Up: Lyle: Solo section Up in Indiana, starting with the steel. (guitar tuning) Count us in? Russ: One, two, one two three VO 3.1: Narrator: Each day at 4pm, after several hours of Technical set up, Lyle Lovett and a group of some the most talented musicians in the world assemble on stage for a Sound Check. Despite the fact that the tour is 46 shows deep, Lyle insists on daily rehearsals, and continually works at

Sam OC Key: Sam Bush / Mandolin

CU of Guitars

Lyle OC

22:53

MS Lyle looking away Billy On Stage

23:21

City Shots Key: Bass Performance Hall / Fort Worth, Texas, USA WS of auditorium

perfecting his songs. 23:42 Lyle and band practicing on stage Key: Sound Check / 4:00pm / 3 hours 30 minutes to showtime Sound Up: Sound check rehearsal begins with Up in Indiana

Lyle OC driving Key: Lyle Lovett / Singer / Songwriter

Lyle: As a songwriter, as the guy that makes up the songs to hear them come to life in the hands of these musicians is immensely gratifying. And so the chance to get to work on that every day and after a show if we have a night, an overnight drive to be able to talk about the show and think about what worked and what didnt work and what we want to try different the next night, um thats you know its really great. Sound Up: Song stops - Lyle: We cut you a little short didnt we. Lets go ahead and, lets play Mitchs full solo. S we, you and I were together on it. One, two, one two three (Up in Indiana starts again)

24:50

MS of violin player Key: Sam Bush / Mandolin

Sam: Well, its his job to correct us I mean, you know, Lyle runs a tight ship, hes a good leader, and if you see the show, hes generous about featuring everyone, but I mean Ive learned things from Lyle, in every situation theres something to be learned. Lyle: For the most part theyre my songs and I mean these guys that Ive worked with over the long haul, I mean they just try and help me, I mean its just, its what it always feels like. Theyre just trying to help me have it come out the way I have in mind for it to, -its just incredible just how generous they are really, and they, it just feels like this unconditional support that I get from them. Sound Up: Up in Indiana continues.

25:15

CU on guitar playing

Lyle OC driving

Drummer on stage Lyle: Just standing in the middle of that

band and listening to everybody and realizing the entire time that they are doing what theyre doing, you know, to help my songs, to bring my songs to life. Well, thats a great feeling. Lyle OC driving Sound Up: Up in Indiana continues. 26:24 Full band practice on stage Sam: Ever since 1995 Lyles been calling me to be an occasional guest with the band sometimes for a couple of weeks. Im here for the last 8 shows of their whole summer tour and so the main challenge is that you have to hit the ground running because everybody else is tight, theyve been doing this for a couple of months now and I cant come in and mess it up, I mean Im supposed to enhance, not distract and take away. But I mean fortunately Ive played a lot over the years and theres a catalogue of songs I do know. And every once an a while during sound check rehearsal Im kind of, going uh oh, Ive got to go back and do some homework before the job and show up prepared. Sound Up: Up in Indiana song finishes. 27:28 Lyle on stage finishing song Lyle OC driving Lyle: In a way its sort of like getting to go to musician fantasy camp. You know I mean to be able to play with Russ Kunkel and Victor Krauss and Mitch Watkins and Jim Cox and Ray Herndon, to be able to stand up there and say to one of the greatest drummers in the history of popular music and rock and roll to be able to say, you know, Try this I mean, thats just an extraordinary opportunity. And the idea of that occurs to me over and over throughout the course of a tour. Sound Up: Lyle Where have you been getting your reference from? 28:13 Far Shot Russ behind drum Russ: This is 153, alright, try this? 1,2,3,4,

Sam OC

kit

1 (next song cute as a bug starts) Russ: Lyles music is so eclectic, uh, it spans a lot of different genre, and some of it is a lot like the stuff I do with Jackson Brown or stuff that I did with James Taylor, but there are things that I get to play in Lyles Band that I never got to play before like a lot of the big-band swing tunes that he does and kind of the Texas swing stuff, Ive never had an opportunity to do that, so it was a real great thing for me to be able to play that, and thats a lot of fun, its a lot of different kinds of music. And hes just a fun guy to be around too. Sound Up: (section of Cute As a Bug song)

Russ OC behind drum kit Key: Russ Kunkel / Drums

28:45

Zout from band practice John OC Key: John Hagen / Cello

John: There are moments of improvisation and there are moments when we try to keep it as close to the album as possible. If theres a signature solo on an album, well keep it in the show. If theres - we start throwing it around and adding solos, its totally up to the player. Sound Up: Section of John Hagens Cello Solo

29:39

ZOut from Johns Cello. Pan Left to Lyle Lyle OC Driving

Lyle: For me its such an extraordinary opportunity to have this group of musicians together for an extended period of time, even when you record in a recording studio, its s shorter period of time, you know you might if you record 2 songs in a day, then you dont go back to them but in a live situation on a tour, you have a chance to continue working on ideas over a several week period. Sound Up: More of John Hagens Cello Solo

30:15

John Cello solo

Billy: Things do change throughout the

Bill OC tour and I attribute that to Lyle wanting to Key: Billy Williams / Music make small changes to keep it more Director/Studio Producer interesting in his mind, and I find that most refreshing when I come out and Ive missed a bunch of shows. Sound Up: New song starts: Make it happy. Lyle and singers around microphone Billy: A song called, Slap your baby on the um. I noticed that he has the group singing around him at the centre mic, as opposed to where they were at the beginning of the tour. Everyone was in their place on stage, we were all spread out, its much more intimate this way. Sound Up: Song continues : Make it happy. 33:20 Lyle and band around microphone Lyle: We started doing that arrangement in the centre mic, only a couple of days ago. You know when you sing on mic you listen to a blend from a PA and the monitors, but when you stand next to somebody and sing, thats a, whoa, thats really fun. Sound Up: Song continues : Make it happy. Lyle: Willie Greene, Harry Bowens and Sweet Pea Atkinson and Arnold McCuller are just such extraordinary vocalists and uh, you know Arnold has sung on so many records that youve listened to. I mean if you just look and youll see, oh, there he is there he is, there he is. An incredible session singer. His main gigs over the years have been with Phil Collins and James Taylor. Sound Up: Song finishes Make it happy. 32:28 Extremely low angle shot with star flare John: Lyles had such an amazing career. Weve been touring for 22 years, but he

Lyle OC driving

John OC

keeps coming up with fresh ideas. He keeps the band fresh and its just amazing to me. If hes gonna go on, Ill go on as long as I can. Of course Im older than he is, so. Sound Up: New song I live in my own mind

32:56

Insert: Lyle Lovett Choir door placard Key: Choir Rehearsal / 6:00pm / 1 hour 30 minutes to showtime

Sound Up: Choir rehearses VO 4.1: Narrator: After the Sound Check, pianist Jim Cox goes over some last minute rehearsals with the local choir that will perform in tonights show. On this tour, Lyle has invited a different choir in every city to add the gospel component to his sound. Sound Up: Choir rehearses

33:26

ECU of singer

VO 4.2: Narrator: Tonight, Eric Birdine and the Messengers, based in Fort Worth Texas, have been hand picked to fill that roll. Theyve rehearsed the music for months, but tonight on stage will be their 1st time performing it live with the large band. Sound Up: Fan: Lyle Lovett, baby! Whoa! Ticket Collector rips ticket: Enjoy the show. Fan: Thank you. Choir practice finishes. Jim Cox: Great, thats it, thats a song.

City shots Beauty Shot Concert Poster Audience beginning to que in lobby Key: Audience Arrival / 6:30 pm / 60 minutes to showtime 34:20 City shots Zout Key: Lyle Lovett Creates Setlist / 6:50pm / 40 minutes to showtime WS of busses Key: Russ Kunkel / Drums

Russ: Lyle doesnt like to play the same set that he did in a town that he played previously he likes to change it up, which I dont know any other artist that does that. Hes very conscientious about giving people a show they havent seen before.

34:33

Instert person holding playbill John: Sometimes we get into a groove where theres a certain thing like if we, new album were promoting a lot of those songs well try to get as many of those in as possible, so theyll show up every night. And then itll be filled in with, I mean hes got such a big catalogue of songs. Hell fill them in with whatever he feels like that night, and they can vary. Sound Up: (Victor puts on sock) John: Now thats a look. Victor dresses backwards. He dresses from the top down. (laughs) Lyle: In the beginning of the tour we just sort of think about how its gonna work, within that way of what can we do to highlight the particular musical attributes of this group of musicians. I consciously dont want this show to be like last years show when we went out with the band. Its more of an exercise for me and just thinking about how I want the show to go, then it is trying to figure out what were going to do. Sound-Up: Fan: Lyle Lovett, Whoa! (Laugh) Fan 2: We in the right place? Usher: Yes you sure are. Enjoy the performance Fan 2: Thank you very much

Key: John Hagen/ Cello

Key: Wardrobe / 7:00pm / 30 minutes to showtime

35:03

People dressing in dressing room

Lyle OC driving Key: Lyle Lovett / Singer / Songwriter

35:44

People talking in hall

James: Lyle and I have worked together so long, we started working together back in 1978, I guess we just kind of click on the James OC right things for each night during the set. Key: James Gilmer / Really Im just like a sound-board for him Percussion / Road Manager to throw things at and see if it you know what my opinion is of em too.

36:02 Lyle OC driving

Lyle: I enjoy discussing the previous nights show with him and listening to his input, I mean thats it would be the biggest mistake in the world for me to not allow these talented people that I get to work with, Input you know?. I want them to play. I want them to bring their ideas to our show and to my music, and in doing that, I hope it makes it fun and interesting for them. Sound Up: Guitarist strums backstage Almost time. Ray Herndon and Willie Greene do vocal warm ups. Ray: Now Ill go way up Boy, that is high! (laughs)

36:48

WS of audience filling seats Key: Mitch Watkins / Electric Guitar

Mitch: Well, theres always a bit of jitters, for me thats never gone away. Yeah, theres a ritual for me. I go and tune and make sure my fingers still work and uh, you know, just warm up a bit. Ray: Getting a little finger exercise, a little warm up because we got a lot of duel guitars to go on out there in a little bit. Sound Up: Backstage Dressing room: Ray: Cmon in. You can see John warming up. This is Johns ritual, right here. (John tunes cello) John is preparing for the show. John: I have to tune. Im tuning that one. Especially that one. Ray: But of you go, Ooooh like that it helps him a lot. Oooh He loves that joke. John: And you know what? That Joke never gets old. In their minds. Ray: It doesnt. I laugh every time. John: Watch (tunes) Ray: Ooooh. (feigns laughter) John: It just kills him! It kills him every time. Thats so funny, wait.. (tunes) Ray: Oooh. Feigns laughter again. Ray:

37:06

Ray OC Key: Ray Herndon / Electric Guitar / Vocals John tuning and pans between John and Ray

Its so funny! John: Alright Ray, alright. Nobodys paying you to be an actor. 38:05 MS of John tuning Sam OC Key: Sam Bush / Mandolin Sam: Each one of us Im sure has a routine. As a mandolin player, one control I have over my sound, is to have good, new strings every day, I like to take a piece of steel wool and just go up and down em, Even if theyre new, even new strings have a slight bit of tarnish on them, and then that makes them a little slicker, and I think it helps the pick not wear quite as fast. Because I use the side of a pick and then sometimes I need to just kind of take steel wool and make sure the sides are nice and smooth. And because I play so hard Ive got to coat my 1st - well and I broke my finger years ago and the nail came back really thin - I have to coat it with crazy glue because sometimes Im strumming and brushing on the strings and itll almost wear a hole in it so, once you do that youve got to take 1500 sandpaper, sand it smooth and then take some steel wool to get it smooth and (snap) youre ready to go. (laughs) And the bottom line is: if I think it helps, it helps. Thats what it is: I think it helps so I guess it does. Sound Up:

39:13

WS of audience sitting Key: Setlist Complete / 7:10pm / 20 minutes to showtime Lyle steps off bus

Ray: Willie did you see the setlist? Willie: No Ray: Well were going to find one. Ray: Find the setlist buddy. (looks in dressing room) Ray: Did you get a setlist? Next Room? Next room Setlist, got a setlist? Heres

the setlist! CU/Insert of setlist Mitch: There you have it. There you have todays official document todays gospel. John: Dont put that on the internet. John: We see the set list usually, maybe 20 minutes before the show and well take a good quick look at it and plan accordingly what were gonna be needing to do, if anything is different that night or what is different, whats been added, or whats been taken out. Sound Up: Arnold McCuller marks his setlist: Arnold: 3, no big deal Im not there so Ive only got 3 tunes at the top of the set. Then I wait from here, to here. Oh my god I could die. 4. 5, 6. John: It is always interesting and were very curious to see the set list because you know, you might be under some pressure where you werent under pressure last night. Because there is some pressure when youre playing for 2 or 3 or 5 thousand people in different situations, so were always curious to get the set list, Sound Up: John rehearses cello backstage 40:50 Key: Bass Performance Hall / Fort Worth, Texas, USA Insert on Camera LCD screen Various shots of performers preparing and final practice. VO 5.1: Narrator: After sleeping on a bus the night before, Lyle and his team of 30 world class technicians and musicians have spent the last 12 hours preparing for tonights very special performance in Fort Worth Texas. This crew has seemingly moved mountains to make this show happen, facing overwhelming amounts of work with unforgiving deadlines at each location, and amazingly, theyve done it 46 times in 53 days.

John OC

40:15

Arnold marking setlist Key: Arnold McCuller / Vocals

40:28

CU of Setlist Key: Bass Hall Nears Capacity / 7:27pm / 3 minutes to showtime

Sound Up: Audience mills. Final Audience members take seats. 41:20 WS of auditorium, audience sitting ready VO 5.2: Narrator: And now, after hours of set up and preparation, its show time. At precisely 7:30pm Lyle Lovett steps on stage and this well oiled machine starts up right on cue, with the sole intent of bringing his best music to life. These are internationally respected songs, and it takes the musical strength of all these exceptional musicians to bring it to life. Sound Up: Lights dim, Audience claps. 41:50 Fade Out of audience from Stage Billy OC Billy: Listen to his first record, and listen to all those songs and I think everyone can hear a uniqueness in what he does; The brilliance in his lyric; with Lyle I think Key: Billy Williams / Music thats one thing that makes him so Director / Studio Producer attractive to his fans. And that is, he doesnt give into the obvious. He says what he wants to say in the way that he wants to say it, and thats Lyle. Thats the magic. Sound Up: Song starts Im A Soldier, In The Army of the Lord. 42:24 MS of crowd. Insert of performers clapping Lyle OC driving Key: Lyle Lovett / Singer / Songwriter Lyle: You know, no 2 shows, as similar as they might seem. No two shows ever feel the same to me. No two audiences ever feel the same. And what from the - from an outside perspective might seem repetitive, theres just a great deal of variety. Sound Up: Song continues Im A Soldier, In The Army of the Lord. CU of guitar neck from behind Lyle: Its just really pure fun I think. And theres not a better feeling then seeing people enjoy. Theres got to be a certain amount of vanity to it. It is, its a great feeling to see people enjoy what you do.

Sound Up: Song continues Im A Soldier, In The Army of the Lord. Lyle: Youre not doing it for the reaction, I mean its just kind of a- its a great bonus if there is a good reaction, and if theres a good enough reaction, it allows you to keep doing it. And thats where, I think thats the addictive nature of it. Sound Up: Song continues Im A Soldier, In The Army of the Lord. 43:50 ZOut from Lyle to show more of stage Billy: Hes a very unique talent, he has a vision of his songs and the way he wants them from the beginning, and I think thats the main reason that its Lyle Lovett music. Its always been the same. Its always had that wonderful thing. Sound Up: Song finishes Im A Soldier, In The Army of the Lord. Audience cheers. 43:45 Dip to black Night venue exterior Key: Final Encore Complete / 10:25pm Sound Up: Lyle: Thank you very much. Audience cheers band runs offstage. John: That was a show. Very nice Vocalist: Yes, it was very good, I loved it.

ZIn on Lyle singing

44:49

Performers leaving stage through hall. Sam OC Key: Sam Bush / Mandolin

Sam: once were through playing, yeah, we can relax, have a beer and have a laugh. But I mean theres been enough of the same musicians over the years with Lyle that it is a family style atmosphere, I love to watch these guys go at each other in a playful way, cause, and I get to join in now too because I now know everybody pretty well. Sound Up: Russ: Sam Bush! My favorite Bush! (they hug, laugh).

45:18

Performers hugging.

John: This is my family, uh, thats one

John OC Key: John Hagen / Cello

reason I really enjoy coming out on the road because Im never having as much fun or am as active or around as many people as I am on the road with these guys. Its terrific, I love it. Sound Up: Beer opened. Sam Bush: Mighty fine Uncle Russ. My Golly. Piano Player: Wonderful bits of business. John: Whiskey River, take my pants! (laughter)

45:47

Performers in dressing room Victor OC Key: Victor Krauss / Bass

Victor: Its kind of like being in a play, you know where you become really close with this good group of friends and you share all the same silly jokes and then when you get off the tour its kind of like reentering into your real, you know, into your real life.

46:03

Sound Up: Buck Reid enters dressing room Man enters through double Ray: Way to go Buck. doors John: He gets it done. Damn right. Way to go Buck. Men in dressing room having Sam: and lets hear it for the unsung hero fun. of the band, Mr. Ray Herndon, ladies and gentlemen! (clapping) Razor! Look at that energy! Ray pretends to be asleep then wakes up. Ray Oh, sorry. Hey how you doin? John: Showtime Ray! (laughs) Sam: Its time to play. (laughs). Ray: No. Great show. Sam drinks Ahh heres to a frosty beverage. Arnold: Cheers, mate. Sam: And a fine show, ladies and gentlemen. I dont care what they say, I think were really good. Arnold: I dont care what you say. I think Im really good. Sam: Damn right.(laughs)

46:44

People gathered in room as

Sound Up: VIP audience members mill. PR

woman in green ushers Key: VIP After Show Reception / 10:30pm

Woman: Cmon back, cmon in! Youre doing good come back this way. Lyle: Playing in Texas we know so many people I mean a lot of people who were at the after show reception were people that I really know and uh, or who were friends of people that I really know so sure, Im happy to meet them. Sound Up: Guitarist: This is my brothers wife, Lesley. Lesley: Hi, nice to meet you. Lyle: Very nice to meet you. Guitarist: This is my sister, Jane. Lyle: Oh, so nice to meet you. Lyle: Im so grateful to the people that buy tickets and come to our shows, but you know, they might not always do that, and I think any performer is aware of that and so, in that way it really enables you to appreciate the people who are there right now. The fact that they come to see you is just huge. And, you know, those are the people that keep you going. The only thing I dont really like about those after show receptions is uh, you dont have time to really talk to somebody. I always worry that Im not able to give quite enough time to folks, and Id hate for somebody to walk away from that, you know, not feeling good about it. VO 5.3: Narrator: Tonights show held an extra special meaning for Lyle, as his mother Bernell was also in the audience.

Lyle OC driving

48:03

Lyle in VIP after show

? Lyle talking to mother. Lyle OC driving

Lyle: Gosh, without mom and dads encouragement and support, I would never have had the chance to play music. The song South Texas Girl is really, you know, for me is about thinking about my

parents relationship and how good they were to me and now Ive got my relationship with April and you know just sort of the circle of life. I hope theres not a finish line. Thats what it is. Uh, the tour will be over but the music isnt over and the pursuit of the next song is never over and looking forward to the next show is never over. 48:59 Dip to black CU on guitar playing Lyle OC driving Sound Up: Sound check rehearsal: You cant resist it. Song starts. Lyle: Early in my career, uh, when I first started doing promotion and promotional interviews, sometimes I would be asked, If youre able to be successful, what would that be and, the answer that I would give to that question now is just the same as it was then and that is: success to me is to be able to keep doing something I like to do; to be able to keep doing this. Its the doing of it that is the success of it. The reward, the payoff, whatever you want to call it is just getting to do it. Thats what its about. Sound Up: Sound check rehearsal: You cant resist it. Song continues.

WS of band practice 49:53 50:56 Roll Credits Fade to Black