Conan O'Brien announced on the February 18, 2009, episode of "Late Night" that The Max Weinberg 7 (rechristened as The Tonight Show Band, and adding a second percussionist), the house band on that program, would be accompanying him to "The Tonight Show" as his version's house band. It was announced February 23, 2009, that former "Late Night" sidekick Andy Richter would be O'Brien's announcer. Richter replaced O'Brien's former long-time announcer Joel Godard (who stayed behind in New York) when his rendition of "The Tonight Show" began.