Dancing With the Stars music director Ray Chew breaks down how the show pulls off live music every week — “unbaking the cake” on arrangements, managing rehearsals and executing under the pressure of live TV where “there is no do it again.” Ray also shares how he got his start (including Saturday Night Live and Showtime at the Apollo ), what goes into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast (including “rainy day vocals”) and what he learned from working with legends such as Quincy Jones and Alicia Keys.
Kristin Robinson: The Dancing With the Stars season is about to start, and I wanna talk to you about that, but I also wanna just talk to you about what it means to be a music director. How did you get started MDing for TV shows?
Ray Chew: Well, my first television job was Saturday Night Live . My next television job was Showtime at the Apollo .
Kristin Robinson: Have you seen, uh, TV change over time in their willingness to hire live musicians?
Ray Chew: We are a unicorn. I don’t see any other show that does that. There’s no do it again. You’re in front of millions of people. It, it’s being seen right now.
Kristin Robinson: Have you ever had a musician who you’ve covered on the show reach out to you and-
Ray Chew: We did Janet Jackson week. The producers of that product is Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jimmy Jam said, “Hey, man, you did us right on that stuff. “
Kristin Robinson: Because you’ve been able to be on Dancing With the Stars for this long, has it been a blessing for you to have the same job?
Ray Chew: Nah, I’m k- I’m kinda getting tired … No. [ Laughs ]
Kristin Robinson: [ Laughs ] Yeah, what if you’re like-
Ray Chew: No, I love it.
Kristin Robinson: … “I’m over it, actually. ” [ Laughs ]
Ray Chew: Oh, nah, nah.
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