Bands: Are they still legitimate with 1 or no founding members?

[Jules]

There is no right or wrong, here. I am just interested in hearing different viewpoints.

A few items to get us started:

The Oak Ridge Boys were founded in the 40's, and somewhere along the mid '60's all the originals were gone. BUT, that doesn't really apply here because the core group that was the best known were together for decades for the most part. I only mention them to point out that you can't be legalistic with this stuff because there are so many factors.

AC/DC: While Angus and Brian have been the two 'front men' for 45 years, with Brian briefly absent due to a medical issue, the entire 'engine room' has been replaced since the band's heyday. This is an example of a moot point. Many people are turning out to see the current lineup and of those, many are probably oblivious to the fact that there are different guys upstage than used to be in those positions. But for me, it is so far removed from what AC/DC was about that I wasn't even tempted to go see them.

Molly Hatchett: Sadly; all the original guys have passed away and mostly at really young ages, relatively speaking. They have a running "last man standing rule" and that has guided the band's continued presence through a myriad of members. If you were going to a Molly Hatchett concert this evening, how would you feel about seeing the current lineup?

Foreigner: Other than Lou Gramm guesting singing, Mick Jones is the only one left but I think his presence is extremely limited and sometimes non existent. Long time replacement singer Kelly Hansen is on the way out, as well. Despite what had been a farewell tour, there seems to be no ending in sight for the band.

John Kay and Steppenwolf: When John Kay decided to discontinue his solo career and tour as a band again, he opted to call the act John Kay and Steppenwolf and used hired musicians. In this case, the image was so centric on him, that I don't think people cared much about which musicians may have come and gone, though several were very long term 'members'. They had a spell of performing with no bass player, as well!

Who am I missing? There are lots of acts out there from over the years that have few if any originals left but that make a living off the name.

[tcbetka]

I would agree Jules--if there are no remaining members from when the band(s) became "popular," then I think it should be like AC/DCv2 or something like that, lol. Some sort of indicator that says "this ain't the real thing, but we still use the name." For Starship, Micky Thomas is (last I heard) the last remaining member from when they became popular as Jefferson Starship. They're apparently going by the name "Starship featuring Mickey Thomas," but it's nowhere near the same thing as it was when Donnie Baldwin played those tunes. The new drummer, who has been with them many years now I think, just doesn't play the identifying fills in the same manner. Some he tries, but some he doesn't even do that. And to make matters worse, they re-recorded some of the their most popular hits from the 80s/90s, and that's what you get now when choosing the song(s) on Spotify. Very disappointing when you have to spend a few minutes searching, just to hear the ORIGINAL version. It may be a copyright thing so that they can capture more of the revenue, I don't know. Maybe the record company still owns the rights to the original tunes...whatever. It's just disappointing as a long-time fan, because while it's the same guy singing...it's NOT the same song.

[Jules]

I met Starship's drummer while working at DCP 2 years ago. Nice guy and an interesting story. Maybe I'll tell it on Coffee with Jules this week.

[tcbetka]

I met him once as well--at least I think the same guy is still playing with them. He was a pretty nice guy, and he's a good drummer. No question...otherwise he wouldn't be on the gig. But it's just not the same for me as when I listen to Donnie Baldwin on those tunes. Dude was tremendously underrated, IMHO.

[Jules]

I'll tell this story here. Maybe a YouTube video isn't good idea. His name is Darrell Verdusco and we actually knew of some people that ran in the same circles, though we would have never otherwise crossed paths other than DCP.

Darrell had ordered a snare drum on the website, but at the time it showed as "in stock" even if the supplier had it. So, when he ordered, it seemed that it was in our warehouse, but actually it would have shipped directly from Ludwig. I am going to recall the details the best I can, but some of this may not be exact but the story is still going to play out the same...

He sent an email that evening saying that he was taking the red eye from California to come pick up this drum. The email wasn't received until he was already on the plane. Flying clear across the country would normally seem extreme; but people came from all over to see DCP in person, so no one thought anything of that part of it. The concern was that he was flying in to pick up a drum that wasn't there.

When he arrived at the store, the guy that took his order (I am going to keep names to myself, I feel like I am already borderline violating some ethics with this story.) came out to tell him that the drum wasn't there. Turns out Starship was playing somewhere in the general vicinity so the flight wasn't specifically to get the drum. And how did Darrell take the fact that his drum wasn't there? He brushed it off and picked a different snare drum. He was a pretty cool guy, but most actual pros I have known over the years tend to be. Prima donnas seem to be pretty rare any more. But, he was happy with his purchase and visit and left to go play the show. I considered going to see it, but didn't for whatever reason.

[tcbetka]

Yeah, that sounds like the same guy...although he had a nickname that I can't recall. But I think that was the name of the guy I met after one of their shows, circa 1999/2000 or so.

But he didn't know me from Adam, and we talked about gear for quite a while, 10-15 minutes or so, after his gig. Very nice guy--and like I say, he was a great drummer. He just wasn't Donnie Baldwin, who I'd been listening to for 15 years (now 40, lol). When you listen to a tune for 30-40 years and pay specific attention to the drum part, you tend to notice when the live drummer doesn't play it the same way. And we're talking some of the more "signature" fills in their tunes. So, nothing against him--I'm just waiting for DB to play the fill(s) when I see them play live.

But given what happened between DB and Micky Thomas, I don't thing we're ever going to hear the two of them onstage again.