Just as a follow up to my Does Bono Like Ballet entry. I did indeed take the plunge and use that approach in my ads (see below) and press releases.

I actually antagonized over that approach in my print ads because someone suggested that it might alienate U2 fans. You can be the judge, of course. I figured since it essentially complimented the fans for their good taste and didn’t automatically assume liking U2 and ballet were mutually exclusive, it wouldn’t raise too many hackles.

Still, I showed the ad around to people and asked their opinion. Most people though it was cool. The most extreme reaction was “What the F@%^?” from a guy who misread the ad, followed by a chuckle and a comment that it was a cool idea.

The guy who suggested the approach might alienate fans said I should run it by the people at the alternative weekly paper since they would be most plugged in. I didn’t actually run it by them, but did send the ad and press release well in advance and waited for a reaction.

Imagine my glee when I saw that they ran with the angle I cooked up in today’s edition. The writer sort of took off with the general ideas I introduced in my press release. Hopefully it will attract the paper’s readership to the show because right now sales are pretty much contained to the ballet audience.

My ad, however, didn’t appear in the paper. The publisher apologized and said it was in the first proof but accidentally got bumped on the second for a free ad. I was somewhat happy at not having to pay for the publicity until I remembered my friend’s suggestion that the staff of the paper would be a good judge of whether the approach was a good one or not. Suddenly I began to wonder if it was an accident after all…

Hmm, my attempt to set this as an image did not work too well. You can now view the ad here

One of the entertaining activities the artistic director at a job I once held and I used to engage in was reading the solicitation faxes that came in. Some times the entertainment came from imagining the reactions our audience members would have if they ever saw some of these groups on stage. Other times the entertainment came when we saw that someone was trying to pass a group off as an iconic band.

As they say about spam emailing and telemarketing, these agents wouldn’t advertise if it didn’t work. After hearing a story on NPR today, I figured a caveat emptor entry might be a good idea. If you don’t follow the music world closely, you can end up thinking you are buying a performance by legends at bargain prices only to learn that you are getting what you paid for (if not less).

The NPR story was about “truth in music” laws popping up in some states saying people can’t use the name of iconic music groups unless there is an original member in the group. The story mentions The Platters prominently because in addition to some of the original members using the name, the impressario who developed them owns the rights to the name and sold it all over the place to people without any relation to the group at all.

Some groups it is fairly easy to know you aren’t getting the original group. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is one example. It doesn’t take much effort to realize the originals ain’t performing. There is a group performing under the same name in the UK and Germany, but again, it is tough to confuse which group you are about to see.

Other groups it is a little more difficult. For instance, WAR still tours. There were 8 original band members and about 35 other members throughout the years. Currently, keyboardist Lonnie Jordan is the only original member of the band still touring under the WAR name. Under the existing state laws, he is welcome to do so.

The question is, what constitutes an original member? Pete Best was the original drummer for The Beatles for two years, but outside of a Trivial Pursuit game, few would name him as such. Had the band been any less famous, he might have a case for touring with a band called The Beatles under the state laws. (Of course, this also assumes they retained ownership of their songs.)

The biggest impediment to anyone touring under a band name is someone with claim to the name complaining that they are misrepresenting themselves. Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, both very identifiable as members of The Doors have been forbidden to tour under The Doors name or even as The Doors of the 21st Century as a result of a suit by the third remaining member, John Densmore.

Ultimately, if you are thinking about presenting a famous act. It might behoove you to check the names of the people who performed on the best albums against the current list to determine just how famous the band remains.