While Kevin was always intended to be the band's lead singer, executive producer Greg Daniels approached Baumgartner about possibly playing an instrument, but the actor replied he could not play anything. Daniels and Baumgartner then discussed instruments that would be "funny" to play and brought up harmonicas, saxophones, and drums. They ultimately decided on the latter because they deemed a "drumming lead singer [to] be the funniest choice," regardless of the fact that the actor had "absolutely no drumming experience, and it's a difficult instrument." Baumgartner took some drum lessons, but found filming of the episode to be "the hardest thing that I've ever done artistically." He was aided by a stunt musician who hid behind a curtain near the band. "Phyllis' Wedding" first aired on February 8, 2007 in the United States on NBC. According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 8.8 million viewers watched the episode, and it earned a 4.4/11 ratings share among adults aged 18 to 49. In other words, it was seen by 4.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. AOL TV's Jay Black called the episode "amazing", partly because he believed the out-of-office setting made Michael's "social awkwardness and emotional neediness a lot more enjoyable." Black observed that the "main romantic plotline had some nice movement tonight as well," and praised the Pam-Roy and Jim-Karen storylines in particular for their realism. Writing for IGN, Brian Zoromski rated "Phyllis' Wedding" with 7 out of 10, an indication of a "good" episode. He asserted that the episode contained some "great moments" such as Jim's altoid prank on Dwight and Michael's conversation with Phyllis' amnesiac uncle. In contrast to Black however, Zoromski believed Michael's "over-the-top cartoonishness" actions stretched "the believability of the show's" illusion as reality, especially because they occurred outside of the office. Give Me My Remote's Kath Skerry speculated that after several episodes of a "semi-normal" Michael, the writers "were aching to bring back cringe worthy Michael." She criticized the decision, calling his behavior "borderline ridiculous (and not in a good way). It just seems implausible that someone could be so very clueless that they would act like that in public."