Foreigner - When is a band NOT the same band anymore?

[amiller]

I saw a band on the tube last night using the name "Foreigner." They sounded very good and kept very close to the originals.

Only ONE of the members was from the original band…the guitar player.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the one original member probably has rights to the name, however, it seems wrong somehow to me that they billed themselves as "Foreigner." Only ONE original memeber...wrong, wrong, wrong!

 

[Meathead]

I saw a band on the tube last night using the name "Foreigner." They sounded very good and kept very close to the originals.

Only ONE of the members was from the original band…the guitar player.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the one original member probably has rights to the name, however, it seems wrong somehow to me that they billed themselves as "Foreigner." Only ONE original memeber...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Lou Gramm has had a hard time with a brain tumor...a friend of mine saw Foreigner with Lou when he recovered and said he couldn't sing it anymore. Lou seemed all out of sorts. ..sad.

I saw Journey with a new singer a few years ago and it didn't seem right either.

 

[amiller]

I saw a band on the tube last night using the name "Foreigner." They sounded very good and kept very close to the originals.

Only ONE of the members was from the original band…the guitar player.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the one original member probably has rights to the name, however, it seems wrong somehow to me that they billed themselves as "Foreigner." Only ONE original memeber...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Lou Gramm has had a hard time with a brain tumor...a friend of mine saw Foreigner with Lou when he recovered and said he couldn't sing it anymore. Lou seemed all out of sorts. ..sad.

I saw Journey with a new singer a few years ago and it didn't seem right either.

I can sort of go with a member or two leaving the band...happens all of the time...but ONE original member left. It just doesn't seem right to me.

 

[Meathead]

I saw a band on the tube last night using the name "Foreigner." They sounded very good and kept very close to the originals.

Only ONE of the members was from the original band…the guitar player.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the one original member probably has rights to the name, however, it seems wrong somehow to me that they billed themselves as "Foreigner." Only ONE original memeber...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Lou Gramm has had a hard time with a brain tumor...a friend of mine saw Foreigner with Lou when he recovered and said he couldn't sing it anymore. Lou seemed all out of sorts. ..sad.

I saw Journey with a new singer a few years ago and it didn't seem right either.

I can sort of go with a member or two leaving the band...happens all of the time...but ONE original member left. It just doesn't seem right to me.

If a key member leaves like...Waters from Pink Floyd, Perry from Journey, Gramm from Foreigner...I don't even want to see it personally.
Feels like I'm just watching a cover band.

 

[noseminer]

I saw that last night too and thought the singer did a great job

 

[amiller]

I saw that last night too and thought the singer did a great job

Yeah, I agree, the singer did a great job...it just isn't Foreigner to me. In fact, the whole band sounded great...they sounded like a great "cover" band

 

[meanstreet]

When we opened for Molly Hatchet there wasn't a single guy in the band that played on Flirtin' with Disaster. They were a tribute band in my mind.

 

[amiller]

When we opened for Molly Hatchet there wasn't a single guy in the band that played on Flirtin' with Disaster. They were a tribute band in my mind.

Wow, and they still used the name huh? Yep, a tribute band in my mind also.

 

[meanstreet]

When we opened for Molly Hatchet there wasn't a single guy in the band that played on Flirtin' with Disaster. They were a tribute band in my mind.

Wow, and they still used the name huh? Yep, a tribute band in my mind also.

As I understand it, the original singer (Danny Joe Brown) owns the name but can't tour due to illness/diabetes. The guitar player kind of ran the show and was a member of Danny Joe Brown's solo band years ago (after he had left the band) and then joined Molly Hatchet with the original singer when they reformed (after already having whatever hits they had). Now the singer kind of leases them the name and the guitar player who wasn't original kind of runs the thing. Weird. Hard to call them Molly Hatchet. They were really good, but they WEREN'T Molly Hatchet, LOL (of course Molly Hatchet isn't that recognizable and nobody probably realized or cared anyways, ).

 

[OneArmedScissor]

Tons of bands I like only have one original member left, and after very significantly shorter runs than that. I don't give a flying carp on a stick if they can at least keep up to the same standard set before, as plenty of bands who never change members can't even pull that off.

Now if the sound of the band totally changes to the point where their old stuff basically does not fit in anymore, then yeah, they're just riding on the name and they need to drop it.

 

[Juggernaut]

When is a band NOT the same band anymore?

Ask Metallica

 

[defpearlpilot]

I know it seems kind of arbitrary but I think if you lose more than one original member, you're no longer the same band.

 

[Juggernaut]

I know it seems kind of arbitrary but I think if you lose more than one original member, you're no longer the same band.

depends on the key songwriter of the band.

examples:
Megadeth
Exodus

only 2 that I can think of....yes I'm a metalhead through and through

 

[defpearlpilot]

I know it seems kind of arbitrary but I think if you lose more than one original member, you're no longer the same band.

depends on the key songwriter of the band.

examples:
Megadeth
Exodus

only 2 that I can think of....yes I'm a metalhead through and through

I can see your point. For example, Travis Meeks = Days of the New. He has a new band on each CD but this is an exception. He effectively calls himself DOTN. Same thing for Trent Reznor and NIN.

I'm the main songwriter in my band and the band that is now is not the same as it was with our old bass player. And he didn't write any of the songs!

 

[amiller]

I saw Foreigner live this past summer and they were excellent. Kelly Hansen, former singer of Hurricane, flat out rocks, incredible vocal range. I'll definitely check them out again, I only wish they would have been able to an entire set rather than the 60 min they were given.

Yep, the Kelly Hansen did a great job on vocals.

 

[skoora]

I just watched some youtube of Foreigner with Kelly Hansen and he's really good. Great choice for a replacement. He keeps the original feel in the phrasing which a lot replacement vocalists won't. They'll technically hit the notes but not with the same feel.

 

[jaybird]

I saw Foreigner live this past summer and they were excellent. Kelly Hansen, former singer of Hurricane, flat out rocks, incredible vocal range. I'll definitely check them out again, I only wish they would have been able to an entire set rather than the 60 min they were given.

I saw Foreigner live last winter and Kelly ripped it up! They also had Jeff Pilson (Dokken) on bass, and Jason Bonham on drums. They sounded great! It was like an 80's- early 90's hair metal band line up hahaha!

 

[j666]

I can sort of go with a member or two leaving the band...happens all of the time...but ONE original member left. It just doesn't seem right to me.

If a key member leaves like...Waters from Pink Floyd, Perry from Journey, Gramm from Foreigner...I don't even want to see it personally.
Feels like I'm just watching a cover band.

+666

 

[j666]

I've been in original and cover bands that had key members leave or be fired (singers, lead guitar players) and we never felt like any less of a band with their replacements. As a matter-of-fact, we would usually head a new direction and it would make things exciting all over again.

Building a band name is tough and I wouldn't expect people to give it up just because some of the original members are gone. I dunno...

Now don't get me going on the Ace and Peter replacements wearing their makeup in KISS.

+1000

 

[midnightlaundry]

I saw a band on the tube last night using the name "Foreigner." They sounded very good and kept very close to the originals.

Only ONE of the members was from the original band…the guitar player.

Yeah, I'm guessing that the one original member probably has rights to the name, however, it seems wrong somehow to me that they billed themselves as "Foreigner." Only ONE original memeber...wrong, wrong, wrong!

Lou Gramm has had a hard time with a brain tumor...a friend of mine saw Foreigner with Lou when he recovered and said he couldn't sing it anymore. Lou seemed all out of sorts. ..sad.

I saw Journey with a new singer a few years ago and it didn't seem right either.

Man, that dude is barely a shadow of his former self. He could sing his ass off. Who didn't like Foreigner IV?

http://www.foreignerfiles.com/lougrammband/intro2.htm