There is a new show in town! And this one features Seattle bands performing live and broadcasted on CW11/KSTW. We talked with Nolan Lehman, who shoots the live band performances for the new show, about trying to capture live gigs, what the new TV program will be about and more!

Jake Uitti: How did Band in Seattle come to fruition?

Nolan Lehman: Owner of Victory Studios Conrad Denke wanted to do a music show for years.  Band in Seattle was his creation.  He finally decided to take the plunge to produce the series and started set construction in the summer, with the first concerts recorded in September 2013.  He then found a broadcast partner in CW11/KSTW and shows will air starting on Dec 7 at 11:00p

JU: What is your role in the project? What is the aim of the program?

NL: This is huge team effort by the Victory Crew.  My small role is directing the live music concerts with up to 6 cameras and project manager. But as I said I’m just one of MANY working to make this happen.

Not only will you get exposed to the great music scene in Seattle, you’ll hear new music and get to meet the band as they go through their real lives.  It’s almost impossible to get to know members of a band unless you’re one of their friends. We‘ll explore what makes these remarkable individuals tick. We look at what they do for a living outside the band and how they find balance in their lives between relationships, family, career and other interests. And we explore where they got started, where the ideas for the tunes come from, and what drives them to keep doing this even if it doesn’t make much money for them.

JU: How can a band get to be a part of this? What sort of musicians is BiS looking for?

NL: Currently we have all the bands booked for the 1^st 13 shows.  Our hope is to get outside funding so we can continue the series for a longer run.

At Victory Studios we have a lot of fans of the club scene here and we use their judgment along with submissions that we receive from bands. We look for great quality and uniqueness. It’s not hard to find.   Now the word is spreading through the music community and we are getting a lot of bands hoping to be part of the next record sessions.

The bands are all genres, from rock, folk, funk to hip-hop and Jazz. Should the series continue we hope to set up a website for submissions.

JU: And as the director of the live music shows, what do you look for in a performance? What is it that you want to convey to the audience (both live in studio and on TV)?

NL: The production team feeds off the energy of the band’s performance.  If at the end of a performance the band, studio and control room crew have worked up a sweat, it’s usually a good recording!

As director I’m looking to give the home/web viewer a feeling of watching it as an audience member.  Close ups of solos, wide shots for full sound, pick up shots of other instruments.

Basically I think of what I would be looking at during a live show.  I’d look at the lead singer, then over to the bass player, back to vocal, then drums, etc. – that’s how I try to direct.

JU: What is your personal hope for the TV show, BiS?

NL: All of us at Victory and CW11 are hoping BiS turns into an ongoing series. This of course will only be possible if we pick up financial sponsorship.  Owner and CEO Conrad Denke has staked a lot to get this going as he has a passion for music.  There’s so much great music in the area and we know the next big name will emerge come from the Pacific Northwest –we’d like that to happen on Band in Seattle.