Photo: Trouble No Moare [Appearing Jan.6th at the Boulder Theater] By David Browne, Rolling Stone | In the last few years, CJ Strock, a talent agent who worked with the later incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band, faced an unusual dilemma. As seen in catalog and merch sales, a market still existed for the Allmans, their quintessentially Southern rock & roll, and their improvisational live shows, but the band itself didn’t exist: They formally gave their last performances in 2014, and Gregg Allman died of liver cancer three years later.
With an eye toward introducing new fans to the band, Strock had an idea — essentially a new Allmans. He reached out to musician clients who were familiar with the songs or who had some connection to the band but were never actually in it. Thus was born “The Allman Brothers Band Presents Trouble No More” — as it’s billed on concert tickets and posters — a multiracial, eight-piece ensemble that plays the band’s repertoire but, thanks to the approval of the Allman Brothers estate, isn’t just a tribute band. Trouble No More’s first show, this past March, was even at New York’s Beacon Theatre, a venue synonymous with the original Allmans and their longstanding residency.
“I don’t want to give everyone this idea, but the model we created here is awesome,” Strock says. “It’s taking the songbook from the original band, which is beloved, and putting players in the mix who are decades younger. We still feel there’s a brand out there.”
Age, death, and retirement have taken their tolls in classic rock, leaving many heritage groups — the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Eagles, the Temptations, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan and ska legends the Skatalites among them — with only one or two founders in their lineups. In many of those cases, the audiences are still there, eager to hear the hits and see a legendary band onstage no matter who’s in the lineup: The Stones, Eagles, and Dead & Co. were in the top five grossing tours of 2021, pulling in a combined $225 million.
Johnny Van Zant, who took over the frontman role in Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987, 10 years after the death of his older brother Ronnie, has witnessed that devotion firsthand. He says he’s watched fans bring the ashes of their loved ones to the front barriers near the lip of the stage at their shows. “Anything’s good to carry on if it’s done properly,” he says of today’s Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is down to one original member, guitarist Gary Rossington. “Look at Ford Motor Company. Guys started it out a long time ago. . . .
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Then there’s a longtime problem in pop — copycat acts who might use a band name without permission. Allmans manager Holman, who consults on Trouble No More, says keeping a band on the road with an altered lineup is vital to keeping the trademark and preventing touring fakes. “I realized that if the show was endorsed and presented in a way by the Allman Brothers,” he says, “we’d be able to maintain the trademark.”
According to Stacy Grossman, a lawyer who represents artists in connection with trademark and copyright matters, trademarks for musical acts are available in several different categories, from live performance to merchandise and recordings. “If a band isn’t performing, they wouldn’t be able to maintain the trademark and it would expire,” she says. In most cases, that trademark has to be renewed between the fifth and sixth anniversary of the initial registration, and then in 10-year marks afterward. In the case of the Allman Brothers, the live-performance trademark will be up for renewal in 2027.
Trouble No More shows also serve as a savvy way to sell Allmans merch, recordings, and in the near future, a line of cannabis products. “If Trouble No More didn’t exist, there would be no live marketplace for the ABB brand,” Strock says. (A portion of ticket sales goes toward educational programs at the Big House Museum, the Allmans museum in Macon, Georgia.)
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Others are excited by the possibilities of Classic Rock 2.0, even if partly in jest. “Can you imagine how cool it would be if someone in the Beatles organization said, ‘I’m going to get Harry Styles, Post Malone, and Ed Sheeran and put together a modern-day Beatles?’” enthuses Strock. “And you go to the show and they’re selling official Beatles merch? That would be hugely successful. From a fan point of view, that would be amazing.”
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Read the whole story here – good info on trademarks, etc:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/future-classic-rock-tours-one-160217814.html
FYI: Trouble No More will be appearing in concert at the Boulder Theater on January 6, 2023!
https://www.facebook.com/TNMBand/
The Future of Classic Rock Tours: One or Two Surviving Members…or None?
