When Entertainment Tonight anchor John Tesh decided he needed a couple of months to embark on a concert tour to promote his new album "Live at Red Rocks," ET's father company, Paramount Pictures, told him no.
"It got down to a real shouting match," said Tesh during a phone interview from Los Angeles. "I was told they'd rather not have me do this and even took me to court and tried to get a restraining order to prevent me from taking any further action."Paramount lost, and that's when the former student of Juilliard School of Music decided he could live without his position on one of prime-time's top entertainment news shows.
"I quit ET," he said sharply. "I couldn't believe my employer of 10 years was trying to stop me from doing what I've always wanted to do. I was willing to take a couple of weeks off - without pay, may I add - to play some music for my fans. So I quit."
The early retirement lasted about three weeks, said Tesh. "Paramount sat down with me, and we hammered out a deal. If I'm to take my music on the road, I would still have to do some ET broadcasts while I'm away. Now, things are almost back to normal. But I did learn something. I learned how fleeting TV is."
Keyboardist/composer John Tesh will bring his music to Abravanel Hall, Saturday, June 24. The music begins at 8 p.m.
"To give you an idea of how fleeting this business can get, I even have a `disfigurement clause' in my contract," Tesh continued. "If I were to noticeably gash my face, I would be out of there, and fast. Now with music, it doesn't matter what I look like. The expression is not on my face but what's inside. That's why I love what I can do with music."
Tesh began playing music when he was 6. Growing up in Garden City, he played rock organ and trombone in several rock bands "to meet girls." After graduating from North Carolina State University with degrees in music and communication, Tesh kicked around within the broadcast world until becoming an anchor/reporter at New York's WCBS-TV, where he received two Emmys and an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.
In 1981, he worked as a commentator for CBS Network Sports and won a third Emmy - this one for Best Musical Composition for the Pan American Games and the Tour de France themes. Ten years later, two more Emmys came his way for his music on NBC Sports' World Track and Field Championships.
"I generally see my music written for pictures," Tesh said. "So when I decided to to the Red Rocks concert, I wanted to the show to become a musical and visual work."
The "Live at Red Rocks" video not only features the Colorado Symphony Orchestra but visual performances of 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Nadia Comaneci and 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Bart Conner - who happens to be Comaneci's fiance.
"Growing up I listened to a lot of Jethro Tull, Yes, Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake and Palmer," said Tesh. "I love the specticle of those types of productions. And through recent years, I've been watching Peter Gabriel and the types of things he's been doing as well."
Though the Salt Lake concert will not feature all the visual elements, Tesh said the music should speak for itself.
"Salt Lake it a big hotbed for music like this," he said. "I love playing there."
The upcoming show will be his second appearance in a little over five months. He came through Dec. 5 to support his "Family Christmas" album. And though Salt Lakers are interested in Tesh's music, others apparently love it as well. "Live at Red Rocks" snapped Yanni's 47-week run as the No. 1 new age album on the Billboard charts, and became the first No. 1 album of Tesh's career.
"You must remember, the audience I reach ranges from ages 8 to 75," Tesh laughed. "Some people in the audience dress up in tuxes and formals while other dress in jeans and T-shirts. Some also come to hear the simple songs while others delve in the complex. What most people don't realize the music often skips from the steady 4/4 beat to 3/4 to 7/8. It does get quite complex at times."