We
tend to think of our favorite rock bands as the people who recorded the
soundtrack to our lives. They do that, but they are also building up
their brand. A rock band is a business. We don't think about that as
much when these bands are in their heyday recording the new hits. Years
later, when the radio station isn't playing their new music, the bands
rely on the old hits. They rely on the brand name that they created
One
of the shrewdest business men in music is probably Gene Simmons. Gene
realized early on that not only was his band Kiss recording music that
the youth of the day was enjoying, he also knew that he could market the
brand and make even more money. Gene and fellow band member Paul
Stanley never lost sight of that, and they've made very good money
through the years. Some might say these guys we're corporate sellouts or
overdid it or whatever, but really it's just good business.
As
the years go on, our bands change personnel, and sometimes it's not a
pleasant situation. Key members of bands are sometimes kicked out.
Sometimes they want to be a part of what's happening today, and their
bandmates won't let them. To the hardcore fan of whatever band, that can
be difficult to accept sometimes. To the casual fan, when they see the
name of the band that they loved in their youth still playing, they just
go and see them. Personal doesn't matter as much as the songs they love
being performed at a reasonable level.
We've
watched the drama through the years regarding Van Halen. David Lee Roth
left the band, there was a time when he might have rejoined and he
upset the Van Halen brothers. Ultimately, David was welcomed back, but
his replacement, Sammy Hagar, as well as longtime bassist Michael
Anthony, seem to have been exiled. It's a business.
If
you're a fan of Styx, you know who Dennis DeYoung is. He's the man who
wrote a majority of the band's biggest hits. In fact, he wrote eight of
their nine Top 10 hits. His voice is unmistakable, though he does not
have the image of your typical rock star. Some people say he would look
more at home on a Broadway stage. But when you listen to this guy sing
he sounds like he did back in those glory days. He just turned 71 years
old.
Rather
than get into all of the particulars, about a year after the band's
successful reunion tour, Return To Paradise Theater, things started to
get shaky with the other bandmates. They felt Dennis was holding them
up, and they ended up kicking him out of the band. Tommy Shaw and James
Young, who were with the band through their most popular years, continue
to rock with other people taking the other roles, along with the
occasional appearance of founding member Chuck Panozzo.
This
ended up in court. Dennis DeYoung did not go down without a fight, and
he won the right to bill his concerts as Dennis DeYoung and The Music Of
Styx. This was significant because, despite rumors that he didn't want
to tour, Dennis has been touring at some level every year for nearly two
decades. He surely wanted to continue to rock and perform the music of
Styx. We can now say that it was a clash of personalities in the band.
The thing is, people still want to hear the music of Styx performed
live, and now they have two options. Will there ever be a reunion? Who's
to say, but I doubt it.
Another
band that has had some major controversy over the use of their name is
the Australian based Little River Band. Pretty much a soft rock group
with good harmonies, they recorded many hits in the late 70s. At some
point, at the request of record executive Irving Azoff, the band was
brought back together in the 80s. They signed an agreement that made
them all equal partners in the corporation that owned the name The
Little River Band. By then, they had recorded all of their relevant
hits.
For
whatever reason, lead singer Glenn Shorrock, vocalist and guitarist
Beeb Birtles and vocalist and guitarist Graeham Goble all walked away.
These were the three who wrote and sang almost all of their big hits.
This left a man who did not record on any of the major hits, Stephen
Housden, as the sole owner of The Little River Band trademark.
Currently, Stephen doesn't even tour, but there is one singer from the
tail end of the band's success, Wayne Nelson, still touring with them.
It
has been messy in the years that have followed. Glenn Shorrock, Graeham
Goble and Beeb Birtles attempted to tour as The Original Voices Of The
Little River Band, only to be shut down by Stephen Housden. The Little
River Band at the time attempted do some of the band's classics for a
40th Anniversary appearance on The Tonight Show, only to receive a cease
and desist letter from the three founding members.
Legally,
Steven Housden can do whatever he wants. Legally, he owns a name that
he really did not have a hand in building up to the famous level that
they had achieved. Is it fair that the people who clearly wanted to play
the band's music live and tour were shut out? There are certainly
differing opinions on the topic. Personally, I think it's a bit unfair
that it has turned out this way, but life is sometimes unfair.
The
bottom line to music is that while it is an art form and the musicians
record songs that are dear to us, it is also a business. Years later,
when your new music isn't being received to the level it once was, you
can still tour on those big hits and make quite a bit of money. While a
hardcore fan of The Little River Band knows that this band isn't what it
once was, the casual fan remembers the hits. As long as the current
band performs them in a respectable level, the casual fan isn't likely
to care too much.
