NBC's Today Show

July 22, 2002

On Monday, July 22^st, 2002, Matt and The Matt Savage Trio went to New York and had the wonderful opportunity to perform on NBC’s TODAY Show.  Although the hour was REALLY early, the guys were in great form and had a wonderful time.  They performed two songs… “My Favorite Things” by Richard Rogers and “Nonstop Bebop” by Matt.  As one can imagine, Katie Couric is just as perky and sweet and beautiful in person.  She and Matt hit it off instantly.

It was a truly wonderful experience from start to finish.  We were treated like royalty.  When a beautiful limo showed up at our door in Sudbury to whisk us to the airport, we were totally surprised and thrilled.  Every detail was perfect.  Someone met us and took us to our hotel.  And of course, it was a top-notch hotel!  Our day started VERY early on Monday morning (I don’t know how the folks at The TODAY show do it every day!!!!!).  It was neat seeing the Rockefeller Center up close, and then being escorted inside and seeing a sign pointing to The TODAY Show made it clear that our adventure was real!

Seeing the inner workings of a live television show is amazing.  Everything works like a well-oiled machine.  Each person has his or her job and does it to perfection.  The Trio set up in the TODAY show studio about 1 ½ hours before they were scheduled to appear so that the sound and camera people could figure out sound levels and block out camera angles (which they would later do live!).  Matt thought it was amazing how many television monitors and lights there were covering every inch of the ceiling of the studio.  He loved all the equipment he got to explore.  Everyone there was sweet and showed him how things worked and explained everything to us. Dave (the person giving direction) explained the order of events.  He explained that the band would play “My Favorite Things” as a lead-in “teaser” after a commercial and then there would be a few other guests and then there would be a short pre-produced film segment about Matt and then Katie would interview Matt live.  Finally, the Trio would perform “Nonstop Bebop”.  Dave explained the signals he would give and the timing of things.  Matt listened carefully and followed directions like a pro.

After all the levels were set, we went up to a waiting area until it was the Trio’s turn to perform.  We got to hang out with the other guests scheduled for that morning.  We even met Judith Viorst, the author of “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”.  She was very nice.  It just so happens that Matt likes that book a LOT.  So he started reading a copy she shared with him.  And then, suddenly, it was time for the Trio to perform.  Matt went to give the book back to Ms. Viorst, and she told him he could keep it.  He was THRILLED.  If we hadn’t had to run down to the studio, I would have asked her to autograph the book for Matt.  But we have a wonderful book and a wonderful memory of meeting the author and the knowledge that she gave Matt his very own copy of her wonderful book to keep forever.

The Trio was whisked to the studio, took their places, and the signals were given.  Matt and the Trio started and stopped right on cue.  Musically, it must be difficult to cater to a wall clock instead of the structure of the music; however, Matt timed his solos perfectly, and the group sounded great.

And then suddenly it was interview time with Katie Couric.  She sat right down on the piano bench next to Matt and they had a conversation about music.  Matt did fantastically.  Katie even got smiles and a hug from him.  I think there are adults who are on television all the time who don’t look as comfortable as Matt did on camera.  (Of course, the fact that I’m Matt’s Mom has NOTHING to do with this assessment!)

The Trio performed, following the interview.  The guys had a great time, and the music was terrific.  After the cameras were turned off, Katie Couric took a few quick minutes to let me take some photos of her with Matt.  And then she poked her head into a photo with the three guys and said, “It’s The Matt Savage Quartet!”  She was definitely great.

Before we knew it, our stint at The TODAY Show was over, and we were escorted out a side door to a waiting van.  As everyone knows, there is always a HUGE crowd of people outside of the TODAY Show studio.  Even though our exit was at the back of the crowd, we still needed to walk past some people.  We were greeted with cheering and clapping and people taking photographs of Matt and shouts of “Great Job” and “You’re Terrific” and other supportive words.  Matt didn’t know what to do, so I whispered to him to smile and wave to the crowd and say “Thank you”.  He did.  The crowd responded with a cheer and more clapping.  And then we made it to our waiting van and were taken back to the hotel.

But that wasn’t the end of our adventure (given that we were done with the TODAY Show and it was still morning!!!).  The TODAY Show arranged something extra special for Matt.  Matt wanted very much to see the stock market while we were in New York.  So, the TODAY Show arranged a private tour for Matt and me, escorted by a TODAY Show employee.  The three of us happened to visit the NYSE on the most volatile day of trading in a very long time.  It was truly exciting.  Seeing what goes on behind the scenes when you telephone your stockbroker to execute an order is really amazing.  Somehow, things don’t seem real over the phone, but BOY is there a lot of activity that occurs as a result of each person’s direction.  I find it amazing.  Matt loved seeing all the activity and learning about the history of the NYSE and seeing the things he usually sees on CNBC.  He was thrilled by the extreme volatility of the market that day.

And then it was time to head back to MA.  We decided that we would definitely return to NY with the whole family and see all of the sights we didn’t get to see this trip…the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, museums, shows, etc.  There is so much to do there that we’ll need to spend time in order to experience some of the city’s flavor.  We definitely look forward to returning to New York.

We returned to Massachusetts uneventfully, rode back to Sudbury in our NBC provided limousine, and relaxed.  Matt, John, Steve and I agree that the trip was exciting and wonderful in every respect.