Turns out in addition to being a terrific actor and musician, Hugh Laurie is also a heck of a musical arranger. When he found out the proceeds were going to charity, David gladly cancelled his weekend plans and agreed to help turn us into recording artists.
And so there I was in Capitol’s historic Studio B about to record music with this multi-talented-roster of TV stars and musicians with whom I had never played a single note.Īnd as if that wasn’t enough pressure, did I mention who was producing this recording session? None other than multi Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster. Their regular bassist, former child actor Brad Savage was out of town, and the folks at Universal who produce “House,” suggested me as a possible replacement. The group had never recorded together until they gathered at Capitol Records on a recent Saturday morning to do a couple of songs for the “House” soundtrack CD. Today they play various venues around Southern California with all the proceeds going to charity. Along with James Denton of “Desperate Housewives,” Bonnie Somerville, formerly of “Kitchen Confidential,” and several other talented musicians they form a group known as “Band from TV.” Grunberg, who is as positive and enthusiastic a guy as you’ll ever meet, formed the band for all the right reasons: To raise money for important causes like pediatric epilepsy research, and to have fun. Bob Guiney, of ABC’s “The View,” and “The Bachelor,” also happens to be an experienced singer. Greg Grunberg, who plays the mind-reading cop on NBC’s “Heroes,” also plays a mean set of drums. Hugh Laurie, star of FOX’s “House,” sings and is an accomplished pianist.
I have played the electric and standup bass since Junior High School, and while I occasionally sit-in at New York City jazz clubs, have never played professionally. I’m just back from a weekend in Hollywood where I had the privilege of joining some other amateur musicians, who also make their livings on TV, to record at the historic Capitol Records studios. And so a rare offer to combine that with one of my other passions – music – was beyond my wildest dreams. He was featured in Making Music Magazine.I never take for granted that I get paid to do something I am passionate about: Being a reporter. Grunberg also plays drums in Band from TV, along with Heroes co-star Adrian Pasdar. Grunberg's older brother Brad is also an actor, sometimes billed as "Johnny Cocktails". While appearing on G4's Holiday Hit List in 2003, Grunberg stated he is the only man in Hollywood with four g's in his name. The site features Grunberg interviewing top epilepsy experts on the need to talk more about epilepsy, and includes a section for people all over the world to talk about it. More stars will be added in the coming weeks and months.
In 2009, Grunberg launched Talk About It, a Web site dedicated to epilepsy education and awareness, featuring many of Greg's co-stars and celebrity friends, including Garner, Larter, Pasdar, Ramamurthy, Ventimiglia, Panettiere, as well as Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Dr. In March 2007, Greg served as the chair of the first National Walk for Epilepsy, presented by the Epilepsy Foundation. In the past, this has included events such as an auction of guitars handpainted by celebrities such as Donald Trump, Pink and Grunberg's Alias co-stars Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan, concerts by the Band From TV that includes Grunberg and Hugh Laurie and an online auction of cartoons drawn of Heroes co-stars such as Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, Noah Gray-Cabey, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Leonard Roberts, Milo Ventimiglia, and Hayden Panettiere. He often organizes charity efforts to raise funds for the Pediatric Epilepsy Project in Los Angeles. Grunberg's son, Jake, has epilepsy, which has inspired Grunberg to take an active role in raising awareness of the neurological disorder and raising funds for research. He is married to Elizabeth Dawn Wershow and has three children.