The Daily News Leader from Staunton, Virginia • 64

36 Daily News Leader, Wednesday, July 3, 1991 The Statler Brothers Show Vmmty sfftxsw dtefoafe odd ffaPH i m. ft I 1 1 XXh -r side the knot," Phil emphasized. "We were part of the act and still didn't know how he did it," says Don. "We were standing there helping him do it and I have no idea how he did it," Harold adds. Talent for the show is relatively easy to find.

"That's no problem, because there's no place for anybody to work on TV anymore," says Phil. "They're looking for a place to work." "They're out doing conventions and fairs, but as far as television, nobody is booking them," says Harold. Marshall Grant, the group's agent and partner, is also talent coordinator for the show. "So he's taking care of finding the acts we want," says Don. "We have some stand-up comics on the variety segment," says Don.

It's clean, wholesome fun, he adds. "It's hard to find a clean comic. We're very careful." "We know that sooner or later they'll call the people we have booked cornball," says Harold. "But this is a family show and that's the way we want it." "We want it like that and TNN. We have comedy, we have magic, we have jugglers all kinds of things.

We run 'em on and run 'em off." The hour-long show features various segments, including musical talent, nostalgic trivia and comedy. The Statlers compare the one-hour show to the old Ed Sullivan Show. "It's an old-fashioned variety show," says Harold. We've got stand-up comics, we've got balloonists, we've got magicians that would absolutely amaze you' says Don. "You name it," says Jimmy.

"We've got a guy who juggles a chain saw," continues Don. "It's unbelievable, some of this stuff." "We had an escape artist on, this is the God's truth," joins Harold. "He said, 'Could you all come over and help me with my We said sure. He said, 'Tie my hands. Tie them real We pulled them tight.

He said, 'No, pull them We pulled his hands together so tight they were red and they had rope burns on them. We tied the rope in knots and laid his jacket over his hands. As soon as we laid his jacket over his hands, he pulled his hands out then put them back in." "He put his hands back in By DUSTY TINDEL Staff Writer After more than two decades in the country music business, the Statler Brothers are ready for a change. Fans can see that change at 9 o'clock on Saturday nights beginning Oct. 5 when the Statler Brothers host a series of shows airing on The Nashville Network.

Each hour-long show features music by the Statlers, a guest star and other acts and segments as well. The group "studied a long time" before deciding on an original name for the show, according to Don Reid. "We had a lot of input on that," Harold Reid agrees. "We talked about it. We voted.

We had a whole lot of and we finally decided on "The Statler Brothers Show." "It was a tough decision," jokes Don. "We figured that's what everybody would end up calling it anyway so we might as well call it that," adds Phil Balsley. -Some of the show's guests will be Barbara Mandrell, Roger Miller and Jimmy Dean. "It's not just country music," says Don Reid, "because it's on The Nashville Network, it We figured that's what everybody would end up calling it anyway so we might as well call it that (The Statler Brothers Show')" Phil Balsley the end of the segment," says Jimmy. The shows were filmed in Nashville this spring, about three during a week.

The final week of filming took place the last week in June. No plans have been made for filming the Happy Birthday, U.S.A., celebration to be used as one of the shows at least "not this year," says Phil. Each show is filmed before an audience of about 130. The show also features an orchestra. Don described the set as resembling a little theater.

"The curtains open and we TNN does also," says Jimmy. "So that's the way it's going to be." "You sort of have to tell some acts before they come the type of show it is," says Don. "Especially in comedy. Cable's given comics so much freedom. Well even late night network it's unbelievable the things they can get away with saying." The show is a variety, however, music will make up a major portion of it.

During most shows the Statlers will do three numbers in addition to the guest's music. The changes and challenges brought to the Statlers through the show have been welcomed I The effect of the added time and energy demands is that the group's touring schedule will ease up somewhat. The group hopes the increased exposure through television may swell audience sizes, so that even though fewer concerts are performed more fans will attend performances. The idea to do a series of television shows was not the Statlers'. TNN made the proposal.

"They came to us," says Don. "They started out by saying, 'Would you all be interested in doing a We said, 'Maybe, we'll From there it sort of grew from a special to a series. We said, 'Well, I don't know. We've turned down these opportunities before. It's a lot of work.

It ties you down. You have to stack off from your concert "But after we talked about it," continues Don, "we said, 'Well, you know, it might be interesting. This is something we've never done. It might be fun." "It has been fun, too," says Jimmy. "And they gave us absolute and total control," adds Don.

"We write the show. We produce it. And we star in it. We do whatever we want to." "TNN asked for a long-time commitment, which we come out on stage," says Don. "We've got a painted backdrop of a small town, rather than a big city.

At the end of the street is this school house," he adds referring to the school-house where the Statler Museum is located. ones. "It's been fun," says Don. "It's probably more fun than we've had in a long time. I've probably worked harder than I ever have in my life and am having more fun." "We have more fun doing it because it's something new," says Harold.

"It's around-the-clock-grind, but it's great," says Don. One regular feature on the show is the six-to-seven "When you look at it you think of Staunton," says Jimmy of the small-town image. "We've gone back way back to the basics," says Don. "We even have the little cards on an easel sitting on the side of the stage. When we change acts, then we change the cards.

The show will consume a considerable amount of the Statlers' time. Over the course of a few months, taping the 13 segments took four weeks. The Statlers, however, also co-produce the show and the Reid brothers write the scripts. We're all in this thing together everybody's be as good as it minute "Yesteryear" segment in which music and historical events from a particular a year are revealed and viewers guess what year is saluted. "We give historical facts then do pieces of songs from that year," says Don.

"We reveal the year toward name is on the line. So it's got to can be. wouldn't do because we wanted to see just how 13 was going to go over before we See SHOW Page 38 Jimmy Fortune.