Watch Michael McDonald, Shep Gordon in ‘Star Wars’ Cantina Band Documentary
Comic-Con fan Conan O’Brien revealed this year’s contribution to convention celebrations, with a clip from a spoof documentary about Figrin D’an And The Modal Nodes, the band from the iconic Mos Eisley cantina scene from Star Wars. You can watch a clip below, and see the full version on TBS tonight (Jul. 22).
Michael McDonald and Shep Gordon are among the names roped in to produce an affectionate spoof of VH1’s Behind the Music, which sees members of the Modal Nodes, colleagues and fans reflecting on their career and legacy. “They looked like testicles with eyes but they sounded like heaven,” Gordon says, while McDonald pretends to recall: “That was the tour bus you always wanted to be on. They had that hash from the planet Jakku…” He adds that he was on the “original demo of the cantina song,” and a photo is produced to prove it.
Original Blowhards: the Story of Figrin D’an And The Modal Nodes explores their residency in the cantina, dubbed “the Studio 54 of Tattooine,” alongside their time with Jabba the Hutt. Band member Doikk Na’ts – virtuoso on the Dorenian beshniquel – says: “Working with Jabba, you hit one wrong note, boom, you’re in a rancor pit. Hit another wrong note, boom, you’re in a sarlacc pit. The guy loved pits!”
Earlier this year, the writers of latest franchise episode Han Solo: A Star Wars Story revealed that Bruce Springsteen had inspired some of the lead character’s backstory. “We had both read Springsteen’s biography right around when we were working on it,” said Jonathan Kasdan, who co-wrote with his dad Lawrence. “It’s amazing. And we were touched by his relationship with his father. And we thought that it was a different kind of attitude to have about a parent than we’ve seen in Star Wars. And we thought that would be cool.”