CNN reports that Max Weinberg is not going to be the band leader (or have any other role) on Conan O’Brien’s new late-night show. It’s a fairly unremarkable story, but it reminds me of this anecdote, told by Weinberg and contained in a Rolling Stone article written by David Fricke, which I’ve always enjoyed (and which might come in handy in contract negotiations):
About 10 years ago, a well-known actress on an NBC sitcom (Weinberg doesn’t reveal her name) requested a sabbatical from the series to make a movie. NBC said no. Her agent pointed out that Weinberg was allowed to go off [from the NBC show Late Night with Conan O’Brien] for six months at a time to play with Springsteen. “The NBC lawyer thought for a second, then said, ‘The next time Bruce Springsteen asks your client to play drums with him, she can do that.’ ” Weinberg grins, noting that in the NBC legal department, “it is known as the Weinberg-Springsteen Rule.”