Not surprising news, per se, as Max Weinberg’s role in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band notoriously clashed with his late-night TV schedule, but sad news for longtime Conan fans nonetheless: In an interview with City Pages, rock veteran Al Kooper revealed that though guitarist Jimmy Vivino, bassist Mike Merritt, and others plan to stay in Conan O’Brien’s backing band, former bandleader Max Weinberg will no longer be behind the skins.
“[Weinberg]’s not in that band anymore,” Kooper said, adding later: “They let him go. This is a big transition, and they’re all signing new contracts and everything so they replaced him, as far as I know.”
Kooper’s claim has not been confirmed by O’Brien or Weinberg’s reps, but being that he shares multiple band members with the former Late Night/Tonight Show house band, it adds up that he’d have the inside scoop.