In a recent interview with the Ultimate Classic Rock podcast, Chicago trumpet player Lee Loughnane speculated that, eventually, the band might continue performing without any of its original members. “I don’t see why it won’t continue onward,” he said, “in the fact that the music has really sustained us.”
True enough, Chicago is the type of act that has never depended on one flashy front man or a featured soloist. In Loughnane’s thinking, it is the songs that continue to bring the fans out, not the specific individuals onstage. And there are an increasing number of classic rock acts touring with great success despite the fact that their only connection with the original band is the repertoire and the name on the ticket.
Lynyrd Skynyrd recently joined this ignominious club following the death of guitarist Gary Rossington. Other bands touring with no original members include Yes (Steve Howe joined early in the band’s history, but he was not in the first aggregation), Kansas and Foreigner (founder Mick Jones is still officially a member, but he has been sidelined with health issues for some time).
This issue has been discussed before by my fellow music scribes at the Houston Press, but I don’t know that there is a real answer to this conundrum. Sure, many people love the music and want to hear it, hence the proliferation of tribute bands in recent years. Some of these groups are outstanding. Brit Floyd, for instance, does a fine job of replicating Pink Floyd shows from years past, with lasers, film segments and all the sound effects from the records. However, when a bunch of musicians – no matter how gifted – performs under the banner of a veteran band and there are no original members on the stage, that constitutes false advertising, or at least something close to it.
Maybe a consumer warning is in order. Kind of like when you buy “crab meat” which carries a label informing the buyer that it’s, er, “imitation crab meat,” really just a bunch of leftover fish parts molded in the shape of a crab claw and adorned with the appropriately colored dye. Until then, caveat emptor.
Ticket Alert
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was a hit during the swing revival of the ‘90s, and they are still at it today. Under the direction of front man and band leader Scotty Morris, BBVD (hmm, that doesn’t sound quite right) is on the road, stopping at the Heights Theater on Friday, March 7. Tickets are on sale now, and there’s still time to get your zoot suit altered if you have put on a few pounds over the past few years.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have announced the “Sweet and Sour” tour, which will coincide with the re-release of two of the band’s albums, A Ghost is Born and The Whole Love. The Houston date is Sunday, May 4, at the White Oak Music Hall, with Waxahatchee opening. Ticket presales begin today, with the general sale on Friday.
Concerts This Week
Frank Zappa’s music is not for everyone. You may have discovered this fact if you ever put on a Zappa album when guests were visiting and cleared the room within minutes. But, like Jerry Garcia once said, comparing the Grateful Dead to licorice, most people don’t like licorice. But those who do really, really like licorice. And so it is with Zappa’s oeuvre. His son Dweezil assumed the mantle following Frank’s passing, despite being given an exceptionally dumb name by his father. Zappa the Younger will perform tonight at the House of Blues, highlighting material from Frank’s mid-‘70s albums Apostrophe (‘) and Roxy and Elsewhere.
Veteran Red Dirt artist Wade Bowen released his tenth album, Flyin’, a few months ago, supported by a video for the football-themed song “Friday Night,” which features former Dallas Cowboy Troy Aikman. Bowen will perform tonight and tomorrow at Main Street Crossing in Tomball.
How can you not respect an artist who started her own label to release her albums and called it Righteous Babe Records? Ani DiFranco refers to herself as “a human rights-centered artist,” drawing inspiration from folk singer Pete Seeger and supporting a number of causes (abortion rights, LGBTQ rights) while steadily releasing music over the course of three decades. Catch her on Friday at the House of Blues.
Sundance Head is, if nothing else, a trooper. And he comes by it honestly, being the son of Texas singer Roy Head (“Treat Her Right’). The younger Head had a spot of bother just before Thanksgiving, accidentally shooting himself in the stomach while chilling at his ranch near Tyler. Despite winging himself, Head is back on the road, performing at the Mucky Duck on Saturday.
