With the 8G Band’s Departure, Late Night With Seth Meyers Also Loses One of Its Signature Bits

When Late Night’s 8G Band takes its final bow on Thursday night, the change will mark not just the loss of a great house band—but the end of one of Seth Meyers’ most amusing recurring bits.

Eliminating the 8G Band also means letting go of Fred Armisen, who performs in the band (when available) and also serves as Meyers’ occasional improv partner.

While Armisen, the 8G Band’s musical director, might still oversee the group’s pre-recorded musical contributions to the show, he presumably won’t be a consistent presence on set anymore. He’s been with the show since it debuted in 2014, at which time he was also a full-time performer in the band.

Since night one, Meyers often followed his monologue by posing a simple question to Armisen, prompting an answer that would inevitably put Fred’s impressive improvisational skills front and center—and crack up Meyers in the process.

On Late Night’s debut episode in 2014, Meyers asked Armisen whether it was true “that you have a new show on the History Channel?” Armisen replied without missing a beat, detailing his (fictional) new show, Recent History. “It only goes back the past hour or so, but with a historical spin,” Armisen explained.

On future shows, Meyers continued to pose similar questions to his former SNL co-star—usually something specific about a project or activity Armisen claimed to be involved in: A new cop show. A citizen’s arrest. A celebrity fragrance. A baseball league.

Variably called “Fred Talks” or “Fred Checks In” on YouTube, the franchise was loosely coined “It’s Time to Ask Fred a Question” behind the scenes, according to IndieWire. Meyers told the outlet that he comes up with the questions on his own during his walk from the dressing room to the stage. Meyers also preps the audience for the bit, allowing them to enjoy Armisen’s “magic trick” of effortlessly rolling with whatever the host throws at him.

The bit has also shifted gears over the years, with occasional runs of other themes. In “Fred Judges a Book by Its Cover,” Armisen extrapolates the entire plot of a real book when Meyers shows him its cover art. In “Fred Armisen: Art Aficionado”, the Portlandia star and co-creator provides the backstory to a real painting Meyers shows him on the spot. In “Extremely Accurate TV Recaps,” he does the same with the titles of TV shows.

Meyers and Armisen go way back, allowing the pair to riff comfortably. They overlapped on Saturday Night Live together for Armisen’s entire run from 2002 to 2013, and continue to work together on projects like Documentary Now!

Some of what makes Armisen a great leader of the 8G Band are the same qualities that make his impromptu back-and-forths with Meyers so effective.

“There’s a music to it,” Meyers told IndieWire of Armisen’s off-the-cuff responses, “and it speaks to Fred’s musical background.”

Late Night’s YouTube channel has compiled a few playlists with many of Armisen’s past lies—ahem, answers.