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Scrubs That ' The Blanks'

• 14th Nov 2011

The Blanks are better-known world wide as “The Worthless Peons” or “Ted's band from Scrubs”. What many people don't realise however, is that before The Blanks were those singers from the telly, they were a real life group, and still are.

On hearing that one small section of my all time favourite medical comedy were coming to town, I called in the troops and off we popped. The venue was 53 degrees in Preston, large enough to demonstrate the popularity of The Blanks and yet reassuringly intimate feeling at the same time. Naturally I elbowed my way to the very front, dragging with me my slightly shyer companion. To me, no gig is worth your pennies if you don't get a bit of nose hair, or in the case of the mostly shiny headed Blanks: no hair. Especially when dealing with the legend that is Theadore Buckland (Swoon).

One question that occurred to me was how does a group, famous for appearing in a handful of episodes of a hit TV show, translate into an a capella stage act that has to entertain sold out venues for a few hours at a time? It’s a tough one. On the one hand, they have to entertain the majority of their audience, who are inevitably Scrubs fans. On the other, they have to appear credible enough to warrant any kind of musical respect and longevity. I found the balance tipped a little too far over to the former. Only slightly though, but you can't really blame them for that. The truth is, no matter how good they are if it weren’t for Scrubs I wouldn’t be likely to take three trains to see a middle aged quartet of a cappella singers. That's just, as The Blanks might sing, “The Facts of Life”.

On baritone we have Sam Lloyd and George Miserlis, bass is Paul F. Perry, and tenor is Phillip McNiven. I'm pleased to say the show doesn't fixate on Lloyd (Ted in Scrubs). Each member gets equal time in the spotlight, which is terrific, because every Blank is a talented showman, with valuable offerings to bring to the performance. It was easy to imagine The Blanks in red and white stripes and straw hats, as they regaled us with tales of shoe polish and donned Santa hats in late February. Despite everything else, they are in their purest form an a cappella band. And they are unquestionably good. Forgetting for a moment what made them famous, there is something quite beautiful about the naked human voice. Comedy or not, I could listen to these guys crooning on for hours; in fact I'd have no qualms about inviting them to play at my wedding.

The show itself was an odd and eclectic mix of songs. Some featured in Scrubs (Including Over the Rainbow and an interesting take on Lazlo Bane's theme tune) but there were also comedy intervals, seventies medleys and some original tunes. As with all great a capella acts, they included the help of a few children's toys. If it wasn't wishing us a Happy Halloween with a talking pumpkin, it was pouring water over a (electric) dancing Mrs Claus to “Maniac”. At one point they teased that a certain Mr Braff had made the effort to appear, much to the excitement and consequently dismay of the female audience members.

It is very clear that The Blanks have enough talent and charisma to hold their own outside of the Scrubs bandwagon. Having made the discovery that, actually a capella is pretty cool; it's apparent that there is far more to The Blanks then just being “Ted’s band”. They deserve to be merited all on their own for their creativity, talent and comedic value. From their touching rendition of “Over the Rainbow” to their hilarious version of “Hey Ya”, The Blanks do not disappoint. And the show doesn't stop when the singing has finished. After each performance they spend up to three hours meeting with every single person who cares enough to stay behind. Pretty generous considering their packed schedule, they must be knackered.

With three trains to catch and much to my chagrin, I was unable to stay for the meet 'n' greet. No matter though, I dropped them an e-mail the next day to which I received a personal and very witty response from the band expressing their disappointment about not having “met and gret” me. Talented, famous and friendly? A full package from The Blanks, ten out of ten from me, and I shall definitely be returning next time.