Band Aid: Heroes Star Moonlights with Famous Friends in BandFromTV

Working hard for the money — charity, that is — is rarely this much fun. When Greg Grunberg — aka Matt Parkman on NBC's Heroes — pulled a band together with some of his buddies in television, it was supposed to be a one-time charity gig for the Guitar Center Music Foundation.

"We thought that was going to be the end of it," says James Denton, who plays Mike the plumber on ABC's Desperate Housewives, of aptly named BandFromTV. "Little did we know it was going to keep growing."

In addition to Grunberg and Denton, the band's main members include Adrian Pasdar (Heroes), Bob Guiney (The Bachelor) and along with Jesse Spencer and Hugh Laurie (House).

Grunberg, a drummer for a garage band with guitarist Chris Kelley and former Eagles keyboardist Barry Sarna, agreed to play for that now-memorable Guitar Center foundation fundraiser. "On that bill was the group Chicago, there were the guys who played with Macy Gray," Grunberg recalled, "and no one cared, press-wise, when they walked the red carpet. But when we walked the carpet, they went crazy. I thought, 'Wow, there's real star power in this novelty.'"

Catch BandFromTV at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California, on October 25, and in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 21 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Both concerts benefit epilepsy awareness organizations.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from their appearances (corporations have paid up to $200,000) and sales of their CD/DVD Hoggin' All the Covers (available on Amazon.com) are split among the various charities each supports.

"Teri Hatcher [Desperate Housewives] has joined us on stage, and Hayden Panettiere [Heroes], Jorge Garcia [Lost], [comedian] Wayne Brady and [singer] John Mayer. Every time somebody joins us, I insist that they have a charity," says Grunberg, who plays for the Epilepsy Foundation (his thirteen-year-old son, Jake, has the disorder).

Since it's all about philanthropy, there are no egos to contend with, band members say. "I'll be front and center singing, but when it's Hugh's turn to sing, I love backing him up — none of us has a problem relinquishing the spotlight," says lead singer Guiney.

Full-time day jobs make scheduling a challenge, but they make it work. "I was fortunate to be able to play on every gig," says Spencer, the Aussie fiddler who became a regular last year. "I've missed rehearsals, but I've never missed a performance because my schedule is not as bad as Hugh's."

With Sponsorship from Express Jet, the band hopes to go on the road more often, possibly to perform for troops in Afghanistan. Pasdar, the addition on guitar (his wife is Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks), is hoping that Hatcher, Panettiere or Somerville can join them.

"As devastatingly handsome as the men in this band are, it's not the same if you don't have a girl."

Check out Band from TV's concert schedule, live show and rehearsal galleries at their official website www.bandfromtv.org

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As published in Emmy Magazine