Members Vito Corleone Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 I was sorta curious about this as well. Given neither left for 'music' reasons and it's doubtful either will perform with a band on this level again. JD... the male was always a question mark. After all he signed a 6 year contract with USMA as lead vocalist of their band so we knew at most we'd have him for a couple of years.... his departure was disappointing but it made sense. Her departure on the other hand made no sense at all. An American Idol trialist twice, she worked for the Post Office, had strong local roots and enjoyed the spotlight of being in a band. Hew departure was shocking and something we never saw coming. Even when you think you know what people are likely to do, you so often don't. And you said something about "significant other" issues? Yeah, nothing will bring about a quick departure from a band quite like a spouse whining about it at home every day. One thing I like about having two singers is that should one ever leave---even without notice---we'd be able to limp through gigs until we found a suitable replacement. Losing both at the same time? Yeah, that might be a signal that it's time to just hang it up. All any band can do is just prepare yourself for the worst as best as you possibly can. Keep that rolodex close by and don't burn bridges. I know our young singer isn't going to be around forever. She came in with a big smile on her face a few weeks ago announcing that we "had her" for at least the next two years. (She took a two-year scholarship at a local university.) And she's totally into being in the band. Loves the gigs. Loves being on stage and playing rock star. Gets along great with all the other band members. Likes the $$. I'm working with her really closely on getting new promo together. But even still, two years will fly by like nothing and even then there's nothing saying she won't get some other offer or something else will happen in her life and she'll walk in tomorrow saying "this is the last gig, guys! Sorry!" Or, she may be our singer for the next 10 years....who knows? All you can do is just hope for the best and be prepared for the worst, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 Based on gut feel. You have two people one of which has a pretty big obligation to the military and his sidekick walking into one of the top bands in grants area with a big repution. They got an instant promotion to the top without paying the blood sweat tears of building that band. Its a lot of work to play in a band like that. I figured they would bail out because it was an easy plum to pick. They didn thave the emotional investment of the founding members. They walked is the bottom line, so its not like you say I got it wrong. Dave don't kid anyone ,, you have had your bumps and bruises with the front end along the way. There are so many times with things that the only thing that holds them together is the investment of time. Noobs don't have that. It doesn't take that much for them to make a change of direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 Tim's assessment is pretty much on the money. Again the reason both left the band were wildly different and for personal reasons... but I have no doubts those decisions were made without a blink b/c either member didn't shed any blood for this band. I personally had a longstanding rule when it came to hiring talent.... never go with an unknown player. We bent and broke both rules. Neither player really understood what we went through. The Castle had already been built. They stepped into an already working and functioning band. So many people have approached me and said "Well just find another singer"... Well then ... who? We already know the players out there and there pickings are slim. Last summer we auditioned a bunch that just did not fit the band or the performance. Again investing in an unknown is not worth the effort in my opinion. Perhaps if we were just a performance band booking privates we could have easily slipped anoth singer and moved on... but when you are carrying in the name, rep and legacy of a 12 year old nightclub band you need to have someone that will connect with the audience. Did JD connect with the audience? Not as well as our former singer, but his talent was a force to watch and experience.... and he seemlessly intergrated himself into the bands performance in a way that he didn't just stand out... he brought the entire band to a whole new level. The sad thing is... up until JD departed (early May) the band was firing on every cylinder. We came from a position the summer before where the band was broken and wasn't in a position to continue on. Instead we found JD, retooled the set, renamed the band and rebranded the show... the show was killer and it was starting to take off. Rehearsals were organized, productive and fun. The shows themselves were electric. Nuts was always fun... but this was a different level. JD brought out our A game. For the first time in years we were challenged and we all started to feel like musicians again. Our last show with him was interplanetary. We could have performed that on any concert stage and gotten the same crowd reaction. Am I upset it's over... of course but I'm a better musician for having experienced it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 Even when you think you know what people are likely to do, you so often don't. And you said something about "significant other" issues? Yeah, nothing will bring about a quick departure from a band quite like a spouse whining about it at home every day. One thing I like about having two singers is that should one ever leave---even without notice---we'd be able to limp through gigs until we found a suitable replacement. Losing both at the same time? Yeah, that might be a signal that it's time to just hang it up. All any band can do is just prepare yourself for the worst as best as you possibly can. Keep that rolodex close by and don't burn bridges. When JD joined the band in Septemeber he was separated from his wife for three years and headed for divorce. Over the holidays they reconnected and they decided to make it work... one last try. In Jan he moved her from her family in FL up north where he's stationed. He assured us that it would not be a problem.... although we all knew she was not happy with the band. If you saw JD on stage, in his element and you were married to him... you wouldn't let him out of your sight. Woman stalked him. Right after a killer show (large venue... 1,000 people through the door) during load out... everyone on a high, JD gathered everyone together... in a group hug. It was a surreal moment. All night I could tell something was weighing on him but he didn't let it show during the performance. In that group circle he told us it was his last show. We thought he was joking. He was not.He just found out that afternoon that she was two months pregnant... and she gave him an ultimatum... quit the band, immediately... or over the weekend she was flying home to Tampa. Period. We had just signed up as a house band for a local club for Thursday night gigs. Plus despite the lack of weekend club dates we had several public and private paying gigs booked throughout the summer. Boom... JD wasn't able to do any of them. How do you act supportive of a guy who was a team player and is now faced with this life changing moment knowing it's destroying everything you just built. We were all shell shocked. So a few days later we convened at my house to discuss the future of the band. Does everyone want to stay... can Ashley move out front? Can we get another male singer to compliment and cover some songs. The answer was a uniform 'Yes'. It just so happened that I had a guy in mind.... a terriific local singer. Played mostly solo gigs and was a multi instrumentalist. Terrific kids with a great voice. Think Frankie Vallie, Micheal Jackson, Justin Timberlake... red flags were immediate. He wasn't current on Top40 (yet we was an R&B recording artist... how could you NOT be up on the latest and greatest). He couldn't rap... his stage experience in front a band was more of a dinner hour band playing Stevie Wonder and classic RnB. He was a 60 year old in a 30 year old body. We went out and saw him perform... I think everyone saw the potential. We brought him into rehearsal and he wowed us on some material... but seemed very uncomfortable singing anything outside his wheelhouse. At best we thought he could handle Bruno Mars, Maroon 5 and some Timberlake stuff... but the rest was really out of the question. He's never sing rock, rap songs or really bring the 'party'. He was a serious singer. So we were leaving that up for Ashley who was more than game... she was excited and a vivacious personality out front... but she had no chemistry with our new male lead. It was awkward at best. Still we carried on and she did a fantastic job holding the show together. A natural performer. She sang 'Crazy Bitch', 'Shook Me", 'Sweet Child" right alongside Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga. The show was moving along until mid-June. For over a week she wasn't answering emails... missed a rehearsal, showed up late to a show.... She called our band leader with a confession. She had a religious convergence... met a man, and was getting married and was no longer able to perform with the band. Her future husband reinforced this with his own... firm letter to our band leader. And just like that... poof. She was gone. There's more that I'm not sharing here but honestly NONE of us saw this coming. With JD we were prepared at any moment there could be an exit... his commitmente to the military, his roots down south, tension with his wife. But Ashley.... she was here one day... the next day gone. She also cut ties with all of her friends.It was like she had suddenly died. So in less than 60 days... both singers left for wildly different reasons. When that happens you look up to the sky and say "This is a sign, huh?" LOL Especially when you look at your gig calendar and realize that the act you were just selling is no more... NOW you have to retool and rebrand again. For what... $800 gigs 90 mins away? As I said... if there was a scene worth fighting for I'd still put some energy into this... but as I said... it's not worth it... not for the public gigs and not for the privates. It costs money to run a band on this level and there has to be a market for it to surivive. Right now there just isn't one. At best it's a break even business. So for now we'll take a break. Had our last show on Sat and drew an incredible crowd... we can still pump the legacy of this band. No one is going to come along and wipe away 12 years of great shows memories, engagements, weddings, relationships... etc. So many people came up to me last Saturday and said they had a lot of summertime memories tied up with this band. How can you not feel good about that. When we first started I would have never imagined we'd have the following we had. And that's worth closing the door, to preserve that, rather than dillute it with 40 more attempts at trying to resurrect the lineup. Although, after last Saturday's show one has to wonder.... I could do that once a month for free. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 The answer is obvious. Bring back the old singer who owns the name. Give him an extra $100 because he owns the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 Except that he's a douche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 The answer is obvious. Bring back the old singer who owns the name. Give him an extra $100 because he owns the name. It's my firm belief that our former singer will never perform in a band again. He resigned knowing that. If the band wasn't going to conform to his needs then he was going to end the band period! There was no in his inflated mind that he was going let the band carry on with a new singer. We made him a clear offer last Fall of $2500 for use of the name and he scoffed... he would never sell it at that price. He also threatened that he was going to reform the band... and that other parties were interested in buying the name. All of it showed desperate tactics on his end. He has a baby on the way... he's married now.... his stage life is over. It was over when he said "Guys, I can't do this anymore... let's move on.. Good luck finding a new singer". His now wife HATED the band. Guess where she met him. LOL We've already joked whether we reform in a year as "A Tribute to Nuts In A Blender" whether he could have any legal recourse. Former members of, Tribute to... The Band Formerly Known As... all seem very grey, but playable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 I guess everything good comes to an end. You guys are at an age where other things tend to get in the way of bands. A second window of opportunity will open up when you get to the age that band members have the kids out of the house and they have more freedom and time. Some guys are able to play all the way through their lives, but typically they get out when family , and work take priority. Name it guts in a blender....and go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 8, 2014 Members Share Posted August 8, 2014 We've already joked whether we reform in a year as "A Tribute to Nuts In A Blender" whether he could have any legal recourse. I'm not a copyright/trademark attorney, but I'd have to guess "no". Otherwise, Don Henley probably would have shut down every "Tribute To The Eagles" band years ago... Heck, there are even "Tribute to Prince" acts out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted August 9, 2014 Members Share Posted August 9, 2014 depending on when the guy did the copyright on the name ,, he may not have a leg to stand on in front of a judge if he quit or got booted, then decided to lock up the name due to revenge. Rather than offer him 25oo i might have kept the name. kept it in play and found a lawyer that would jack the jerk around if he made any wave. I doubt that it would take too many letters from the lawyer before he folded his tent. If the guy could steal the name to screw grant and the guys over , paybacks would be hell. Nothing like a real blind side dime drop well after the fact to even up the score. They never see it coming and they never know where it came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicmanmu Posted August 11, 2014 Members Share Posted August 11, 2014 Sorry to see it end, but it sounds like you're making the right decision. You guys were way beyond the weekend warrior bands that most of us deal with, and like you said, if you stop making money, then you have to reevaluate what you're doing, and as someone said, this is the time in life where major life changes (marriage, children, new jobs, etc.) take place that make it even harder to continue what you're doing. I for one have appreciated reading your insights, stories, etc. throughout the years, and I wish you nothing but goodwill and good luck going forward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members n9ne Posted August 12, 2014 Members Share Posted August 12, 2014 For whatever this is worth.....from the International Trademark Association: In the United States, if a trademark owner ceases use of a trademark without intent to resume use of the trademark in the future, the trademark will be deemed abandoned. Under the Lanham Act, non-use of a trademark for three consecutive years creates a rebuttable presumption of abandonment of the trademark (whether registered or at common law). The standard of proof for abandonment in the United States is “clear and convincing” evidence of abandonment without an intent to resume use. Objective evidence, such as the length and cause of non-use, outweighs self-serving testimony that a mark owner never had intent to abandon the mark or to not resume use. Evidence of the intent not to resume use may be inferred from public statements in marketing or other media that a company is changing its name, or that its products will be discontinued or produced and sold under another mark. Intent to resume requires that the trademark owner have concrete plans to resume commercial use of the mark, such as proffering negotiations with a new buyer or distributor. It is not sufficient to show such efforts after the mark has been abandoned. http://www.inta.org/TrademarkBasics/FactSheets/Pages/LossofTrademarkRightsFactSheet.aspx It seems to me that if the singer has not used the NIAB name in two years and has no plans to use it in the future....then you only have one more year before his trademark is considered to be legally abandoned. Of course, I'd consult a trademark attorney before using it again, to make sure you do everything to the letter of the law.....which may be more trouble than its worth. But at least it's an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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