The Blanks are an a cappella singing group comprised of Sam Lloyd, George Miserlis, Philip McNiven, and Paul F. Perry, the group's vocal arranger (who also did the vocal arrangements for the Scrubs cast's performance of Colin Hay's "Waiting For My Real Life to Begin" in Season Two's "My Philosophy").
Accomplished actors all, the one we know best is of course Sam Lloyd, who plays Ted the Lawyer on Scrubs. While students at upstate New York's Syracuse University together, he and Paul Perry formed a Beatles cover band they called The Butties with fellow classmates Robert (A.K.A. "Robbo") Morey and Mark Humble. Sam's roommate George Miserlis acted as the band's manager.
After college, Sam and George moved out to L.A. to pursue their careers, and became involved in a quartet including Philip McNiven, in which they performed songs from the musical "Forever Plaid." In Autumn 1993, they had plans to audition for a job on a cruise ship, but their fourth dropped out. Paul, who had plans to move out to the west coast later that year, was asked to push back his arrival date and join the group as a replacement for the audition. They ultimately didn't get that job, but the four stayed together performing for fun over the years.
Both groups have stayed alive, with concentration on The Butties when Paul and Sam are on the east coast, and concentration on The Blanks when they're out west.
How The Blanks came to be on Scrubs can be traced back to a birthday party. Scrubs producer Tim Hobert and his wife Jill Tracy (also a good friend of Sam's who guested in "My Philosophy") were in attendance at the bash where The Blanks performed their signature number, a lyricized version of John Williams' "Superman March." The tale of the group and the song reached Bill Lawrence through Tim, and the guys were invited to perform at the show's first Christmas party. Their performance was so loved that inspiration struck: Ted should have an a cappella group! And J.D. should see Dr. Cox as a superhero! And The Blanks should perform their "Superman March"! Unfortunately, when time came to shoot "My Hero," copyright issues prevented the use of the song that started it all, so "Underdog" was suggested instead -- the weekend before filming was to begin. In fact, none of the songs they perform on Scrubs were a part of The Blanks original act -- the idea to have Ted the Lawyer's band go through various silly specialties, from cartoon theme songs to '80s sitcom themes then commercial jingles, was the writers' invention -- a true testament to The Blanks' talent and adaptability.
The fictitious band, revealed to be called The Worthless Peons, returned for Carla and Turk's wedding, the circumstances of which allowed a rare meshing of The Blanks and The Butties: Sam, Paul, Robbo, and Mark recorded a performance of The Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" which Sam, Paul, George, and Philip (who all appeared earlier in the episode providing an a cappella version of "The Wedding March") then lip-synched to.
Because of licensing, that recording will likely never be released for public purchase, but you can still find a heap of great tunes on the recently released Blanks album, Riding the Wave, which includes nearly all of the numbers performed on Scrubs -- in pristine recording-booth quality, and therefore just slightly different than the versions heard in episodes because those were all performed live on the spot. You can also purchase Butties recordings at their website, including their rendition of "Joy to the World," which was featured in Season Four's "My Best Moment." There too can you find information about live performances -- the band has regular east coast gigs and are hoping to go bi-coastal soon. As for The Blanks, they have recently launched their own website, where you can find more info on the guys, their music, and their live shows in the L.A. area.
-- Updated October 28, 2005
Special thanks to The Blanks
TheBlanksWebsite.com
Riding the Wave
The Blanks on iTunes
TheButties.com
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