8Sided Blog

the scene celebrates itself

kevin shields in the new york times

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Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine granted The New York Times a rare interview, published today, on the occasion of signing a deal with Domino Music. The back catalog is included, and the 2013 album m b v appeared on streaming platforms for the first time. That’s good, because everyone pretty much forgot about m b v, probably because it was never streaming (sad but true).

Kev also promises two new ‘back-to-back’ albums, a promise I’ll take with a grain of salt. There’s also this bit that gave me a chuckle:

“My nieces and nephews — they would complain to me, because when they would try and show their friends, they can’t find it anywhere,” Shields said. “They’re like, ‘Why are you so purposely obscure? You know, it seems stupid.’ That kind of stuff that made me think, ‘Yeah, I guess my perception of the world isn’t the world.’ There’s a whole world out there I know nothing about.”

It’s Me and Your Granny on Bongos: Who Owns a Band Name?

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The proliferation of reunion tours by veteran acts — including bands formed over 50 years ago — is arguably a result of dwindling sales royalty mixed with the advanced age of the art form and its fans. The age factor inevitably leads to original members dropping off the bill, whether for ill health (or demise) or weariness of road life.

The New York Times examines the fine line of when your favorite band is no longer your favorite band because it’s missing key members — or even all its members:

“If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s the Fall,” the singer Mark E. Smith, who peremptorily hired and fired dozens of members of the Fall, once said. But only a few musicians can carry off such lordly “l’état, c’est moi” proclamations. Mick Jones might be on that short list.

Over the years, Foreigner has shed every main member of its early lineups until only Jones was left. But, argued Phil Carson, the band’s manager, “There’s only been one original member, ever. Mick handpicked everyone. We’ve had five or six keyboard players, almost countless drummers. If Mick Jones says it’s Foreigner, it’s Foreigner.”

{But Jones} sometimes misses shows, depending on his health. Last year, when he was forced to skip a show at a 10,000-seat arena in Tel Aviv, a fan told The Jerusalem Post he felt the night was “tainted with con.” {…} But Carson says fans enjoy Foreigner just as much whether Jones is onstage or in his slippers at home: “I’d say 90 percent of people at the shows have no clue who was in Foreigner.”

This piece also discusses an important topic that’s rarely brought up at band practice — the assignable ownership of a name:

Disputes over the rights to a band’s name are thorny because they combine elements of trademark law and contract law, said Loren Chodosh, an entertainment attorney whose clients have included Nada Surf and TV on the Radio.

Band names typically qualify as trademarks, and trademarks can be assigned by contract. “A band agreement, in a lot of ways, is like a prenup,” Chodosh said. “It’s about what will happen if things go wrong and somebody leaves, which nobody wants to talk about. Bands don’t start to hate each other until they’re successful.”

Most bands, Chodosh said, never establish contractually how the band trademark is owned. In the absence of a contract, she added, “Trademark law prevails. And because trademark law is not uncomplicated, it’s difficult to say who owns that trademark.”

Once a band feels like a growing concern (which may occur as early as the moment the band comes up with a name) it’s a good idea to determine where the band name resides. Does it follow all the band members, like the “last man standing” agreement Bobby Colomby of Blood, Sweat & Tears mentions in the article? What if the band splits in half? Is there indisputably a ‘band leader’ or defining presence that’s logically tied to the name? Figure this out. Get it in writing.

I think it was Mike Mills’s podcast interview with Brian Koppelman where he tells the story of REM’s band name agreement. If one band member called it quits REM would have to dissolve. So when Bill Berry left the band, he had to give explicit permission for REM to continue as a trio. I’m not sure if this was a legal requirement — that is, in writing, agreed upon by all band members — but my feeling is it certainly was.

🔗→ Reunion Tour! The Band Is Back! Wait, Who Are These Guys?

Clean Socks and the Touring Musician

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Here’s an article in yesterday’s New York Times about Hans-Jürgen Topf, a German man who has created a successful business in a microscopic niche — he handles the laundry needs of major touring acts:

His company, Rock ’n’ Roll Laundry, provides equipment and laundry staff for touring productions. […]

When on tour, he often spends three to four hours every afternoon ironing the performers’ clothing, his least favorite part of the job, while simultaneously washing the crew’s garments. On some tours, he spends up to 20 hours a day doing laundry, he said. After a show, the machines go into specially built rolling cases, so they can be loaded onto trucks and brought to the next location. […]

Joe Pomponio, a stage manager for numerous festivals in Europe who has worked frequently with Topf, said by phone that, for many acts that have spent years on the road, comforts like professionally done laundry have become vital. He added that he did not know anybody who offered services comparable to Topf’s, and that Rock ’n’ Roll Laundry was a fixture on the European festival circuit.

The article goes into detail how Topf happened onto this business idea (trigger warning: Ted Nugent is involved). This business is fascinating because, in a way, it’s a no-brainer. When a band is on tour, reliably getting laundry taken care of is a source of much stress. Any major group would be happy to dedicate a portion of a tour budget to have this worry off the plate. That Topf stumbled into this by chance makes one realize all the other unserved niches out there waiting to be filled. It’s also brilliant that Rock ’n’ Roll Laundry travels with their own machinery.

Clean clothes were a constant concern on the four extended bus/van tours I traveled with as a performer. We anticipated and planned for concert venues on the itinerary that had washing machines on premises or nearby — these were the holy grail of touring — and panicked if there was nothing definite on the horizon. On the bus tours, we rarely slept in hotels, but we’d sometimes get a hotel room for a day so we could use the laundry facilities. And then there’s one artist I toured with whose solution was to wear cheap white t-shirts. He’d toss a shirt after a couple of days and, once he ran out, would take a cab to the nearest Walmart to buy another shirt, socks, and underwear pack.

I’m mostly romantic about my touring days, but this article reminded me of all the grit, dirt, and sweat. Tour-life is an alternate reality that helps one appreciate the simple luxuries, like clean underwear.

🔗 → He Knows the Stars’ Dirty Laundry. Because He Washes It.