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Former house band for Conan O'Brien

Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band was the house band for Conan O'Brien's late night talk show Conan from its debut on November 8, 2010 to the final episode of its 60 minute format October 4, 2018. Guitarist and arranger Jimmy Vivino is the group's leader. The group was originally formed and led by drummer Max Weinberg in 1993, and played under the name The Max Weinberg 7 when it was the house band for Late Night with Conan O'Brien in New York through 2009. The band then played under Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band during their brief 2009–2010 stint on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in Los Angeles. They were then briefly known as The Legally Prohibited Band during their participation with O'Brien in the 2010 The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. During The Max Weinberg 7 days, the band included Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Scott Healy on keyboard, Mike Merritt on bass guitar, Mark "Love Man" Pender on trumpet and acoustic guitar, and Jimmy's older brother Jerry Vivino on woodwinds. When the group moved to Los Angeles to become The Tonight Show Band, they added an eighth member, James Wormworth, on percussion. Wormworth had often substituted as drummer when Weinberg toured with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, prior to being made a permanent fixture in the band; Jimmy Vivino had served as the band's leader during those periods. Weinberg did not participate in the Legally Prohibited Tour and his departure from the group and from O'Brien was made official in September 2010. The band's final regular appearance on Conan was on the show's last hour long episode on October 4, 2018. With the show switching to a half hour format, it was announced the band would not be returning in 2019. They appeared on four special episodes recorded at San Diego Comic Con that year, and the final eight episodes of the program in 2021 as Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Four.

Max Weinberg was the drummer for Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band until its dissolution in 1989. Weinberg returned to school, but soon desired to resume drumming. He auditioned to be the principal drummer for the Broadway show Tommy, but was selected as the second substitute. That night, Weinberg had a chance sidewalk meeting outside the Carnegie Deli with newly selected Late Night host Conan O'Brien, where Weinberg spoke about his ideas for music on the show. O'Brien agreed to give Weinberg an audition as bandleader for his forthcoming show. Weinberg quickly put together The Max Weinberg 7, recruiting musicians he had worked with during his career, and got the job. Rosenberg and Pender had played with The Miami Horns, and had a long joint history with Weinberg from touring or recording together with Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Little Steven, Gary U. S. Bonds, and Darlene Love. In the early 1990s Weinberg and Pender were also in a band together called Killer Joe, which also featured Jimmy and Jerry Vivino. The Vivino brothers were experienced New York session musicians and had been members of various Broadway pit bands. They recruited the final two members of the band, Healy and Merritt, who had played together in various bands such as Jimmy Vivino & The Black Italians and The Vivino Brothers Band. Fill in James Wormworth was also a member of the Vivino bands, but was initially left out of the ensemble because there was no need for two drummers. Jimmy Vivino and Weinberg reworked the Late Night theme into a "less manic" The Tonight Show theme. The backdrop used for the bandstand depicts the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building set within a Los Angeles skyline, in recognition of the Late Night roots.

In April 2010, Conan O'Brien began his The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. While the rest of the group was part of the tour under the moniker The Legally Prohibited Band, Weinberg was not, though he did appear at the tour's New York stop. Weinberg later revealed that he had undergone complex open heart valve repair surgery two weeks after the conclusion of The Tonight Show and had taken three months to recover from it.

It was initially unknown whether Weinberg would be joining O'Brien when his new late night show on TBS began in November 2010. Most or all of the rest of the band were expected to follow O'Brien, alongside his other non musical staff and crew, to the TBS program. By September 2010, it was clear that Weinberg would not be part of the show, now named Conan. Jimmy Vivino was now the leader of the band, with Wormworth full time on drums, and the band was firmly ensconced in Los Angeles as a base. Both looked forward to Weinberg occasionally stopping by to sit in on the new show. Weinberg made a cameo appearance in a monologue bit on the October 28, 2014 episode of Conan, briefly "filling in" on drums for regular drummer Wormworth, who had "gone missing" in the middle of the episode. On October 4, 2018, with the announcement of the show’s switch to a half hour format, it was announced that The Basic Cable Band would no longer appear regularly on the program. Members did reunite for four special episodes at San Diego Comic Con in July 2019, and for the show's final eight episodes (as Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Four) in June 2021.