A Rock Band Is A Business

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.

Dennis Rodman Goes To North Korea

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman went to North Korea, and the media here in America ripped him to shreds afterwards for not taking North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, to task for his government's polices.  Meanwhile, Google executive Eric Schmidt makes a trip there on business, and nobody seems to care.  Rodman dared to show the North Korean leader respect as he would any country's leader.  That was his first mistake, I guess.

At issue is Rodman's comments about the Korean leader being a great man and his father and grandfather being great men as well.  Rodman mentioned that Kim Jong Un suggested that President Obama give him a call so they can talk.  The flamboyant basketball Hall Of Famer even pointed out that the common interest both leaders share in basketball would be a good place to start a conversation.  How dare he.

Before I voted third party again, Obama intrigued me when he dared to say he wouldn't rule out speaking with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Just making that comment drew the ire of fellow candidate and Senator McCain.  How dare he suggest that he could just talk to the enemy.  Just talk, mind you.  Personally, I agreed with Obama on that issue.  We will only achieve real peace with enemies by talking to them.

I won't debate that Kim Jong Ill was brutal to the North Korean people according to everything we've been told.  People were forced to cry and wail for three days when he died, according to reports I've seen.  But the man leading the North Korean people is 28 years old and not the same person as his grandfather or father.  Maybe he would be open to change?  Maybe a conversation or two wouldn't hurt?

But, no, let's just attack Rodman for saying nice things about the North Korean leader while on a trip as an ambassador for the sport of basketball.  How dare he.  Doesn't he realize what countries are part of the Axis Of Evil?  I'm not suggesting that America and North Korea should be buddy buddy all of a sudden.  I just think there is no harm in at least talking and seeing if anything can be done now that North Korea has a new leader.

The Styx Reunion With Dennis DeYoung Will Never Happen

The current lineup that calls themselves Styx just did The Big Interview with Dan Rather recently. It seems that 20 years later they are still spouting some of the untruths, negativity and resentment towards the man who guided the band through their biggest success. This would be the success that allows them to tour now and sell tickets. It prompted me to finally come to some realizations that I feel like expressing here. Some may agree and some may disagree. I'm sad that it's come to this.

The Styx Reunion With Dennis DeYoung Will Never Happen

I consider Styx to be one of my favorite bands all time. One of the things I liked about the group was the optimism expressed in some of their lyrics. The idea that you're okay as you are and that you shouldn't be worried about keeping up with somebody who has a better image. Many times that image is fake anyway.

I came of age in my musical awareness in the era of Cornerstone and Paradise Theater. The latter album remains my favorite of the band, but I went on to discover their entire catalog and enjoy The Grand Illusion very much as well. Their music made me happy.

As a fan, you want to believe that the band is getting along and everything is good with them. However, it's all an image. I've grown to realize that a band becomes a corporation of sorts. It doesn't happen initially. Usually, you get a group of friends together who dream of making it big. One day, they get a record deal if they're lucky. One day, they make a hit song on the radio. If they're really lucky, then they can make a few more hits. When that happens, that's pretty much when they become a corporation.

What I mean by that is they now have an image that means something. The brand name, if you will. Look at it this way, all of the old bands that people enjoyed back in the 1970s and 80s, they aren't getting new music played on the radio anymore. Those days are gone. They can make new music all they want, but it won't go anywhere. People coming to their concerts want to hear the hits from their glory days.

At a certain point, you're stuck playing those old songs. However, many of these old bands realize how fortunate they are to have a musical catalog that people want to hear live many decades later. At some point, through lineup changes and all of that, one or two band members are the ones who own the name. Sometimes, key band members are locked out. It isn't that they have passed away or don't want to be a part of it. They are locked out from the group.

I finally got to see Styx play live when they did their Return To Paradise Theater Tour back in 1996. They sounded better than ever. I felt like the band was on their way to possibly making more hits. At that point in time, I strongly believe they could have done it. Dennis DeYoung was always the one who had the better sensibility about what worked for that band. However, when the opportunity struck, the other band members conspired to kick him out of the band.

If you remember VH1 and the Behind The Music series, you can see the hatchet job the other band members did on Dennis. It was never fun for them all of a sudden. I don't believe that. He was a dictator who demanded things be his way. I don't know about that either. While I do believe Dennis was the guiding hand, I don't believe anybody was forced into anything. Regardless, they kicked him out. They even said he didn't want to tour anymore, which has been proven to be another lie by them.

I did attempt to see the band without him not long after he was kicked out, and I left disgusted. Could they not have at least tried to find a person on keys who did his songs and sounded at least close to how he did? Other bands who have done a similar thing have done a much better job with the replacement member. It's almost as if the other two principal members didn't care who they put there. Just put somebody up there, because we're going to emphasize the music of our guitar player instead. We're going to revise what the history was. Whatever.

I've watched in the years that followed as Dennis has worked very hard to show everybody what he can still do. He recorded a far better album (100 Years From Now) than anything they have done since kicking him out, in my opinion. He is showing people he can still sing and play, and the man is 71 years old. To sound as good as he does is amazing.

My hope was that all of these years later, perhaps the band would have gotten over their attitude. Not saying everybody should become friends, but perhaps they would give us all one more tour. Sadly, I understand now that this will never happen. Maybe this has always been the case, but some of us who were holding out hope are now beginning to realize the truth.

My opinion will not be popular with the followers, and really I don't care. Without Dennis, those guys wouldn't be able to use that name and have it mean anything. Dennis was the guiding force that helped make all of that possible for them. Tommy Shaw wasn't even in the damn band when they had their first big hit.

I realize that Styx as I knew them is over. There's a band calling themselves that now, but that band is dead to me. I really don't care what they make or what they do. When I want to hear the Styx stuff live, I will just look to Dennis DeYoung. He's made a better attempt to create an authentic Styx performance than the band calling themselves that now. I look forward to the new album he's currently working on.

Everybody has to live with the decisions that they've made. Fair enough. But, those guys calling themselves Styx now aren't the noble and wonderful guys they have some people believing. They'll make the music, and people will go see it. They're doing okay financially, so why tamper with their model? They don't need to present the Dennis side of the band's catalog authentically. They don't even have to give fans some of the key hits that they might want to hear.

It's just the reality of the world. Greed runs the world. You think about music in a different light, but ultimately it's still about the money after a certain point. Those guys have the name brand with them, and the name brand allows them to do whatever they damn well please. Sadly, they've taken a name that once meant something and turned it into a tribute band. Good for them. I hope they enjoy their money. But the Styx that many of us would lie to see will never happen.